Keystone

by Chloe Adler

  The singing transports me and I close my eyes. It no longer feels like I’m in my body. It’s as if I’m flying above it, swirling around a roofless space, diving and somersaulting on the windless air.

  When I finish and open my eyes, everyone is staring at me, mouths agape.

  Verity’s voice hitches. “Your voice. It truly is like an angel.”

  Standing next to her is an androgynous human. It’s beautiful in its simplicity. Tall and thin. It’s also naked, with both hands covering its genitals. Long black hair flows down the front of its chest, almost a match for Betty’s. She doesn’t notice it until I do. Blinking, the human turns to look at Betty, its eyebrows raised in a crease.

  Betty squeals, leaps up and throws her arms around it. It sinks into her, returning the hug.

  We turn away to give the lovers a moment. After they kiss, Betty pulls off her sweater and wraps it around the human’s waist.

  It stands still for a moment, looking at its hands, moving its fingers slowly. It touches one hand with the other, then looks down at its body. Azotar shakes its head and catches some of its long hair between two fingers, sawing it back and forth. Its eyes widen, mouth opening and closing. Then it turns to me. “You did it. How will I ever thank you?” Azotar’s voice is deeper and more majestic as a human.

  The door to the monolith slides up.

  “Amaya,” Vasily’s booming voice slices through the moment, “we have to go home now.”

  I nod jerkily and look around. The dark meadow in front of the Lake of Tales is packed with Tarans and royalists. Some are smiling while others buzz around angrily. Verity’s armored guards stand at the front lines, pointing their lances at Azotar. The dryads remain on the sides with pointed sticks. A few advance several steps forward.

  “People of Tara.” Verity takes a step forward. “It’s over.”

  “It’s not over!” a royalist yells from the crowd.

  “That abomination is still here,” hisses a woman.

  The crowd surges, an angry mob.

  I turn to Verity, who is holding out her hands as if to stop their momentum. “I can’t protect Azotar and focus on getting us back with all this hostility.”

  Her head bobs tightly. “People,” she roars, “this will take another minute, but if we wait too long there will be no turning back.”

  The crowd halts, mere feet away.

  Someone throws a rock, hitting Betty in the head. She staggers, catching herself on the monolith’s wall.

  Azotar roars, sauntering forward, its newly human teeth bared.

  “Stop,” I scream. “Do you want the fachan gone or not? Because if you do, this is not the way to go about it. I can remove it and return your land to the paradise it once was, but in order for that to happen, you have to stand down.”

  The people make no move to disobey.

  “Well said,” Verity whispers to me before addressing the crowd. “Give her five minutes. Understood?”

  “I’ll be counting,” snarls the man who threw the rock.

  Verity turns to me and nods. “Now’s your window.”

  Quickly, I unsheathe Sanne and draw a doorway. Sabin runs over to join us. I want to wave goodbye but the faces of the angry mob stop me. My gift to them is leaving and taking their oppressor with me.

  The empty space I draw in the air glows bright yellow and a door appears, opening.

  The eight of us leap through it.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  The return lands us all in a heap on the atrium floor, a pile of arms, legs and heads all akimbo. We extricate ourselves and look around.

  “Welcome home.” Candy rises from the stone bench. “Sabin!” she squeals, throwing her arms around her love.

  The rest of us stand around, blinking. Azotar and Betty look at and touch one another. She runs her hands along its long arms and through its long, silken, black hair.

  “Who is that?” Candy extricates herself from Sabin, pointing at Azotar.

  She’s not from Earth, I remind myself, she doesn’t know it’s rude to point.

  It holds out its hand. “I was Azotar but I’d like my human name to be Lake.” It turns to Betty, who nods furiously. “For where I was set free,” it adds.

  Candy raises her brows, looking at Vasily, Forrest and Cedar, who all give stiff nods. She shakes her head, turning back to the couple. “I’m glad you’re no longer a bound prisoner. I know what that feels like.”

  “Actually, can I talk to the two of you over here for a minute?” Vasily crooks a finger at Sabin and Candy. The three move across the atrium and converse.

  I smile wanly at Betty and Lake. “You both probably need some rest.”

  “We do,” Betty says. “And a shower.”

  Lake crooks its head.

  “We can’t thank you enough and we won’t impose.” She takes Lake’s hand and heads toward the front door.

  Vasily stops them midway. “Actually, Candy and Sabin would like to help Lake get acclimated. They’re both refugees from Tara and they know how difficult it can be to fit in here.”

  Candy rushes over, putting a hand on Betty’s shoulder. “Why don’t you stay here for a while? That way, if you need anything . . .”

  Betty heaves a sigh of relief. “Really?” She looks at Vasily, who nods.

  “Of course,” oozes Candy, coming on a bit too strong. “Let me show you to your quarters.”

  Sabin joins her and they lead the couple up the stairs. As soon as they’re out of sight, I turn to my king. “Do you think that’s a good idea? Having them stay here? With us?”

  “For a while, I do. We all need to watch them. I’ve asked Candy and Sabin to keep a close eye on them. They have been wrathful, vengeful creatures after all.”

  That they have. “Good call, having two of their past victims chaperone them.”

  He chuckles. “That’s a benign word for it.”

  The warlock brothers join us.

  “It is a good idea,” Bodhi says, slipping an arm around my shoulder.

  “Yup, and keeping them under our roof? Brilliant,” says Arch. “That way, if they get outta hand . . .” He punches his fist into his own palm.

  I snort-laugh and his brothers shake their heads, smiling.

  “Do you guys think my parents are still here?” I look at each man in turn. I don’t want Mom and Dad exposed to anything dangerous.

  Vasily looks skyward. A star-studded night sky stretches beyond the glass ceiling. “It’s pretty late. They’re probably sleeping.”

  “Why don’t we follow suit?” says Cedar. “Let’s put our girl to bed. We can sort more of this in the morning.”

  “Okay.” I smile as Cedar bends to kiss my cheek. Reaching my arms up, the men lift me up and carry me upstairs to our room in our home. My home. All my negative thoughts from the past whoosh right out of my head. I can almost see them, transmuting from black and red into golden white as they spin and sparkle out the atrium’s glass ceiling and into the ether.

  I let my reality wash over me. I really am home, with all of men and I’m safe. We all are.

  Epilogue

  One Year Later

  I don’t have to fight my way through the sea of paparazzi waiting as I exit through the performer’s door behind the San Diego Civic Theater.

  “I just saw Amaya coming out the front,” yells Cedar. The cameramen and women turn, like one long sea creature, and wind their way through the back alley with Cedar leading them.

  Vasily wraps a cloak around my shoulders, pulling me in for a long kiss. Bodhi and Forrest move behind me, an impenetrable wall. Arch moves out in front, growling at the three remaining camera people who are busy setting up their shots and snapping their pics.

  “You were amazing,” Vasily whispers in my ear. “This way.” He leads me into a waiting stretch limousine and climbs in next to me. The others follow behind us and the limo takes off, paparazzi running behind. A couple blocks away it stops again to pick up Cedar, Jules, Candy and Sabin.


  “That was crazy, bitch,” breathes Jules, who slides in across from me. “What’s up with all that?”

  I sigh and lean into Forrest’s broad shoulder. “A Distant Edge local human making it big?”

  “More like a hot, young, talented local with five hot boyfriends,” laughs Bodhi.

  “It’ll pass.” I wave my hand in front of my face. “I’m today’s ‘it girl,’ tomorrow it’ll be someone else.”

  “Landing the lead in the San Diego Opera is nothing to wave off,” Candy squeals. “No wonder everyone wants your autograph.”

  “Where are Betty and Lake?” I ask.

  “They ran to their favorite restaurant after the show,” Arch says.

  I’m surprised at how well those two have integrated. Betty and Jules both stepped up to manage Ichor when Cheryl split town. We didn’t want the horn to end up in the wrong hands, but I still wish Cedar hadn’t bought it from Bob. That just allowed him and Cheryl to skip out, but at least they’re both gone and can’t hurt anyone in the Edge anymore. And Lake surprised everyone by starting an LGBTQ support center for some of the donors at Ichor. Pretty soon, their meetings were flooded with friends and allies who wanted to join. Now it’s running meetings at multiple venues in the county and coordinating all sorts of educational and social events. Betty and Lake are bona fide pillars of the Edge community.

  “I wish my parents could have made it to the show.”

  “They watched via Skype.” Jules holds up her phone, smiling. “It was nine in the morning in Thailand.”

  “Thanks, Jules.”

  “Are you kidding? I felt like a rock star in our own box.” She giggles.

  I wink. “You are a rock star.”

  “Fuck you, bitch, you’re the fucking rock star.”

  “Well, you’re my rock.”

  “Stop with your sap.” She rolls her eyes but they’re glassy.

  About forty-five minutes later, the limo stops in the mansion’s circular drive and everyone piles out except Jules. I leap back in and wrap my arms around her.

  “Get off me and go celebrate your big opening night with the guys. I’ll catch ya tomorrow.”

  “I love you, Jules,” I whisper into her hair.

  She tosses her newly dyed blue mane and snorts. “Yeah, yeah, right back atcha.” Pushing me out of the car she yells, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do . . .” and slams the door.

  Arch is waiting for me but the others have gone inside. He takes my hand and kisses the back of each knuckle. “It’s your night, diva. What’s next?”

  I look up at him, a smile spreading across my face. “What do you think?”

  “All of us? Aren’t you tired?”

  “Oh, I’m not going to do any of the work. All of you are.”

  “Perfect.” He lifts me up and carries me over the threshold and into our house.