by A. K. Koonce
I decided that the apology was enough and put the entire thing behind us. And sure enough, when I glanced down at my knuckles a healthy purple bruise covered the back of my hand. At least now I could admit to having punched royalty. That has to mean something, right?
Next on the list. Kill Queen Cordelia.
What a fucking leap.
Kai had chosen to watch us from behind. Mostly so that Rowan didn't get another chance to look at my ass. At no point when I turned back to Kai did I find him watching my rear-end. He's probably missing Jase. I miss Jase.
I chew on my nail thinking back to my cousin. It'd hardly been weeks since I'd seen him but it feels like years. It wouldn't be forever though, I reminded myself. And if our Fae genes had anything to do with it, we would have forever to live together.
Kai presses his face against the crack. He takes a deep breath in then pulls away quickly. "The seer lives here alright."
"Does it smell?" I ask carefully.
"I'm surprised you can't smell it from there. I've been catching whiffs of rotting meat and dead carcass since I got up on this little witch’s front porch." Rowan waves his hand in front of his face.
I try to sniff again. I don't really smell much of anything. Probably, a good thing for now.
"Um, why would there be rotting meat or something dead?"
"It's pretty normal to bring some sort of a sacrifice for a seer. Not only does the blood help them to really conduct their sort of magic, they can live off the meat for a while and not need to leave their little holes to hunt." Kai bends, trying to get another angle to peer into the cave.
"What, uh... I really hate to ask this. What did we bring for a sacrifice?" My mouth feels immensely dry.
"Why do you think we brought Rowan?" Kai points at his brother.
"Ha, ha, ha. Very funny, asshole." Rowan throws a gentle punch at his brother. Kai fists it with a stern glance.
"Seriously, though?" I attempt to lean around the brothers to try and get a look at the dark cave. Hints of the meaty smell waft up to me as I try to ready myself for whatever sort of magical transformation is about to happen. Without a thought, my hands drift up and touch the amulet clasped around my throat.
All I can picture is this magical movie moment. My body will get picked up by a tornado of air, my arms and legs stretching behind my torso. Color will glow blindingly bright from the necklace as the seer chants some ancient language. In a snap everything will go dark... but then everything will be made new. I'll see things I couldn't before, smell things from farther distances, and get flooded with the gracefulness of the Fae.
At least that's what I'm guessing. I could be wrong.
"Seriously," Kai mocks my accent. "We don't need a sacrifice. She owes me a favor."
"She owes you... a favor? How do you get a seer in debt to you?"
"That's a story about a young Fae who did a lot of stupid things and found a friend who... also did a lot of stupid things."
Rowan crosses his arms, listening to his brother with a smirk. "Kai wasn't always such a good boy," he hums. "Now. Who's going first?"
"Briar is going alone." Kai nods.
"I'm what, now?" His words hit me in the chest, knocking the wind out of me.
"Neither Rowan or I can help you with this. This is between you and the seer. Tell her it's in fulfillment of my debt."
I touch the lip of the cave. The coming and going through the entrance has worn the rock smooth just in this one spot. Every other plane on the side of the volcano is bubbled. Black ash clings to my fingers as I pull away.
A flash of lightning makes light pour over the mountain range, the rumble of thunder quick to follow. I turn my face up to the sky. It's only taken minutes for the clouds to turn near black with the threat of a nasty storm.
Wind blows at my ponytail, sending my hair thrashing behind me. "Are you sure you don't want to come inside, even if only to avoid the storm?"
"This isn't for us to do," Rowan says loudly. "I agree with my brother even if I'm not entirely excited about standing out in the rain."
"You'll look like a drowned rat with those skinny little braids of yours." Kai says.
I can picture Rowan sopping wet. The short strands of hair around his face flattened against his skull and the few long strands braided behind him. He would truly look like a rat. I mean, I'd always considered the braids at the bottom of his hairline to be sort of like rat tails.
"Okay, I guess there isn't anything else for me to do but enter the cave." I clap my hands together.
And to work up the courage to you know... actually do it.
"Are you going?" Rowan says.
"Yes."
"Your legs aren’t moving..." Kai reminds me.
Assholes.
I step forward. "Are you happy?"
"Very." Rowan leans against the mountainside.
A droplet of rain lands on the bare skin of my arm. It's cold and rolls gently down me, following the curve of my forearm. Another drop follows. It'll be pouring soon and I'm not sure I want to meet the seer soaked to the bone.
"Good luck with the storm," I toss to the two men as I push myself through the skinny entrance.
Stone brushes against my chest as I hold in all of my breath. The light from the day only travels so far once I'm inside. Rot fills the cave. Carcasses, bones, mounds of only what I can only assume is old flesh, are tossed here and there. The smell of it burns on the way to my lungs. I gag, feeling my stomach lurch at the sight.
Beyond that there is only more darkness. Even as I try to allow my eyes time to adjust, nothing becomes clearer. How far back will I need to travel to meet the seer?
I check my neck for good measure, reassured that the necklace hasn't suddenly disappeared. As I brush it, it thrums against my skin. I feel the beat of it travel inside of my chest. The metal around the stone warms slightly. All of it disappearing after just a few seconds.
It's as if it's calling out to like magic. The seer couldn't be too far away then.
"Hello?" I try, automatically feeling like the idiot girl in the beginning of a horror film. See this... this is how people die, Briar.
The blade that Kai gifted me bounces against my leg. It rests inside of a sheath that's also clearly borrowed. I pull it gently out and hold it in front of me as I descend where my sight is no longer of use. My feet shuffle against the dust covered floors, echoing through the cave.
Another 'hello' rises to my lips, but this time I resist the urge to call out. The seer might live in this cave, but I'd imagine other animals could live here too. Or other sacrifices she hasn't needed to kill yet. If the panther Kai hunted was as large as it was, how big are the bears? How big are other already large animals?
Picturing some dragon looking creature curled at the back of this cave does my anxiety few favors. Sweat gathers between my palm and the hilt of the knife. I tighten my grip on it, letting the gems dig into my skin.
"Do you really think that will do you any good?" A sensual voice whispers. The sound surrounds me in such a way I can picture her both in front of and behind me.
I point the knife anyway, spinning in a circle. "Are you the seer?"
"Is that who you want me to be?" she says even softer.
What if it's another Wishing Spirit? Or some new monster I have yet to learn about?
"My name is Briar. Briar Anders." I swallow. "I'm here asking a favor to fill the debt of Kai Ziko."
"Yyyeeesssss," The sound is long, drawn out, and all too eerily similar to that of a snake’s hiss. "I can smell my old friend on you. If only he would come in so we can catch up."
"He said this is something I have to do on my own."
No matter how I try, my attention dances in the dark without any one spot to focus. The Seer is neither here nor there... if she's even a physical being at all. I think back to Lylix and her ghostly form. Is that what this Seer is too? A ghost? Or is she more like Lincoln? More Fae than anything.
"And what is it that you've
come here to do?"
"Isn't that something a seer would already know?" I blurt. I bite my lip hoping I hadn't offended her. Remember... I need her help.
"You are young," the Seer laughs. "Your young tongue has yet to be tamed, I see. But I will indulge you. Miss Briar Anders, I've waited many years for your arrival. You've climbed my mountain and found the courage to enter my cave where your senses are of little use..." She sniffs the air loudly. "You have an object of magic."
"I do."
"I remember the piece. I also remember the frantic young girl, whom you so resemble, begging me to deliver you and hide you amongst the humans. You were too powerful from birth to walk among them and not be noticed." Even in the dark I imagine the Seer is smiling. "Now you're back to undo all my work."
"You met my mother?" My hands shake. I lower the knife, still holding it in my hand.
"She was a kind woman, too sweet for her own good. Your strength... the whit of it... that is of your father."
"I struggle to have any sympathy for my father who had my mother beheaded," I admit out loud.
"Don't let your turmoil stew like that. It will turn your soul black." The strings of the Seer's voice pull from all around. Her unidentified position narrowing to just a few feet ahead of me. In a single blink, a soft glow begins to fill the cave. A glow radiates off the seer's skin.
Only with her light am I able to make out her features. Soft brown skin without imperfection, large almond shaped eyes filled with uncapped knowledge, full pouting lips, and dark brown hair that hangs down her back, stopping at the back of her knees are all features that inspire an endless youth. Now without the darkness, I can see many more skeletons. Not all of them are animals.
"You can put your knife away now, Briar." She lifts a delicate brow, that is hardly seen under the blunt cut of bangs across her forehead.
I nod, doing as she says. I try to breathe through my mouth to avoid the smell in the air, and I wipe the sweat from my palms against my jeans.
"Give me the necklace." The Seer holds out her hand.
I reach behind my neck, undoing the clasp and letting the gem and metal gather in my hand. "Will it hurt? Getting my powers back."
"Oh, that depends entirely on your mother, Dear."
"How so?" I stretch out my arm, reluctantly. The Seer waits patiently until I finally let go of the necklace.
She smiles, giving me the full view of every pointed tooth. With a diet like hers I would expect her teeth to be lined with red, pointed and dangerous, similar to the teeth of the Wishing Spirit. But they aren't. Her smile is shining perfectly, just like everything else about her.
"I may have helped seal your powers into this priceless family heirloom, but it was your mother who created any challenges that you may face. I'd assume it's something to make it much harder for anyone else to have the ability of stealing your power."
She lifts the necklace to her eye, examining the stone. "Maybe you'll need that knife after all.” Her smile grows wider. "You'll need to relax." The seer begins. She clutches the stone, my powers, the one thing I have of my mothers, to her chest.
"It turns out that I'm not great at doing that." I start. "Do you, uh, have a name?"
Her large black eyes tick up to my face. "Zeve."
"Zeve." I repeat. "How do we…? I'm ready to start."
Zeve walks around me, eyeing me from head to toe. The silky, brown dress, somehow unaffected by the ragged environment around her, swishes around her knees. It's almost as mesmerizing to watch as the way in which she walks with such confidence and grace.
"I'll open the door for you and the rest is up to you." Zeve steps up so that her bare feet touch my boots. I marvel at the cleanliness of her skin against the debris of the cave floor. More magic? Does a highly sought out seer, like her, have an end to her magic?
"Okay, I—"
Zeve pushes the large stone, warm from her grasp, against my forehead. Heat travels against my skull then down through my body, burning like boiling water pumping in my veins. White light explodes behind my eyelids. My intake of breath is weak, a raspy gasp that claws all the way down my throat and into my lungs. Is it the power from within the stone? Is it the pain of the magic?
My knees buckle, slamming against the ground with a loud crack. The light, the pain, the screaming heat dies away with every heartbeat. I clutch Kai’s knife at my belt.
"Open your eyes." Zeve's voice echoes through a space large and empty.
I open my eyes only to find sand. So much sand. Endless desert.
And no one and nothing in sight.
Twelve
Gullible
Wind tears at my clothes, pushing them flush against my body as I try and push forward. It howls in my ears. It's the only noise in the absence of Zeve's voice. I strain to hear anything more. I'm expectant of the sound of animals in the distance. There’s nothing but the shift of my boots as I take a step forward.
I open my mouth to make a sound, maybe to call out, but dry sand gathers on my tongue brought by the continuous gusts around me. The worry of being without water makes my body already crave a drink, even if I'm not dehydrated.
Far ahead, beyond what I believe to be flat land, I can see where it changes to the bumpy texture of rising sand mounds before the rise of wind-worn rocks. The sun has no end here. There are no trees for shade or even a spot of clouds in the blue sky above.
It's just me and the sun.
I lift one foot and step forward. The world rotates, the 'hello' just a passing thought.
I sink as water rises over my body in a foaming wave. The desert scene being replaced with the expanse of a sea without land in sight. Catching air, I brace myself as the wave pushes me under and a current pulls my body backwards.
Dust plumes into the air around me, hot sand clinging to my now damp skin. My hair drips against my forehead magnifying the sun that beats down.
Holy, fucking fuck. What was that? Where was that?
There is an urge to wipe the salt water from my eyes but when I lift my hands I know it'll do me little good. I clap my hands together trying to brush away the dirt.
What kind of magic has my mother guarded this place with? Better yet, how am I going to find my magic?
Standing, I spin in a circle hesitant to take a step in any real direction. Desert. I take a deep breath and step forward.
My clothes drag me heavily under the rocking of the ocean top. I only glimpse at the stormy sky and fluffy black clouds. They've strung together in the oddest fashion, moving with an unnatural speed. I want to see more. I need to see more.
But my head goes under. My boots are like anchors tied around my feet. Down and down I go. Bubbles edge their way over my face as trapped air finds its escape. I reach, tugging at my laces, and pushing out of my one boot, then the next. I kick. Under me, my legs push and pump myself toward the surface, my arms propelling as they force the water down and my body up towards the sky.
Inside my chest, my lungs burn. It's reminiscent of the magic that brought me into this world. I have to wonder... if that's all it is now. It's not that my body has been deprived of the oxygen it needs or that I've been underwater for too long. It's that this entire place, the desert, the ocean, it's all magic.
It's all magic. And it fucking burns!
Under the water is darkness. Salt stings in my eyes as I look for the surface with little light to offer from above. Air finally hits me. Water slicking every strand of hair flat to my head.
Lighting strikes with a flash across the sky. The clouds glow with it. I follow their curve trying to make out their depictions like a child guessing the shapes as different animals. Only these are most certainly letters.
Just as quickly as the storm offered me visibility of the clouds the water takes it away. Water slaps against my skin pushing my body away and my face sideways into the ground. The hard, sand covered ground.
Damn it all!
I cough water, that I'd inhaled in the punch, out into the dust.
Groaning as I let my head rest, I breathe heavily. The rocks in the distance cast the only shadow for miles against each other. I blink at them.
The shadows curl like a snake then pitch like upside down mountains. This better not be a mirage. I try sitting up but the shadow shifts into nothingness, again. So I lower myself to the dirt, letting my breath send the small particles into clouds.
S.
W.
I.
M.
SWIM. FUCKING SWIM. The desert is telling me what to do when I fall into the ocean? So there is a word in the cloud. Context clues. Context clues. I chant to myself. So maybe my mother was banking on me being semi-smart and less on brawn. But even this... this is almost too easy.
But there isn't anything else to do. I roll my body forward one time and tumble from the sand back into the ocean. The water claws at me with its frozen fingers, so drastically different from the dunes of the dry sand. Another wave is already growing in height not too far away.
I look past it, knowing if I don't start swimming soon I'll be drug back to where I started. But I need the command first. Squinting up at the clouds I hope the darkness doesn't play tricks on me. They swirl and curve so smoothly I wonder how I was able to make out words in the first place.
JUMP.
Jump. Next I need to jump. But now... as I see the wave heading straight for me... I need to swim. Swim, Briar, swim! Something inside of me cheers and I slap my palm down and break the surface of the sea and surge forward.
My shirt catches on thorns, my hand hanging over the edge of rock. Wild flowers, in pale yellows and royal purples shoot up in front of my face. I drag my hands under me and push myself up, getting my feet under me. My sock feet—the pretty boots now tragically long gone. Water gathers in a puddle around me, making the brush I'd landed that's squashed down to the earth sparkle.
