“With some coordination, we’ve got enough power here to face down an army. We’ve even got an Al’eyrn,” Mirim said with a nod to Rose. “Why wait?”
“We don’t really know what Angst is capable of with two foci, especially if they’re driving him mad…which I don’t believe,” Dallow said, taking a deep breath. “And Rose may not be completely ready—”
“I’m ready,” Rose said, turning on Dallow, her cheeks red with anger.
They stared at each other. Dallow’s eyes were apologetic, but he didn’t back down.
“Not to interrupt,” Nikkola said. “But why isn’t Rose ready?”
Dallow cocked his head, and Rose sighed.
“Jormbrinder gives me a lot of power,” she said. “And Dallow has taught me some spells, so I should be fine.”
“But?” Dallow said.
“I hate you right now,” she seethed. “Fine. My foci won’t talk to me.”
“Talk to you?” Mirim asked.
“Supposedly Angst’s foci talk to him, in his head, through music,” she said. “My daggers give me power, but I haven’t heard a peep. Dallow thinks it's because Magic tried forcing Chryslaenor to bond with me. Whatever he did made it so I could bond with Jormbrinder, but my weapon doesn't talk.”
“Through music?” Nikkola asked. “Sure, that doesn’t sound crazy.”
“Exactly,” Rose said. “I think Angst is a liar, and I think I’m ready.”
“Angst always joked about having a relationship with his foci,” Dallow said, gently. “Maybe you just need to figure out yours.”
“One is almost too many,” Rose snapped. “I don’t want another relationship.”
“Angst used to say that too,” Dallow said, under his breath.
“I’m not Angst,” Rose growled but said nothing else.
“We should probably be cautious while you three work things out,” Mirim said, looking from Dallow to Rose to the large daggers stuck to her hips. “I’d like to send a scout ahead, so we’re prepared.”
“That’s not necessary, Mirim,” Victoria said, distractedly. “Enough of us have experience with this. We don’t need to split up.”
“But—”
“Birds will let Sean know if anyone’s nearby,” Simon said in a soothing voice.
“We’re relying on birds,” Mirim said under her breath. “Great.”
“Let’s ride,” Victoria said, steering her pink unicorn to follow Rose into the woods.
She led them along a wide trail, riding two by two for an hour until the path became too narrow. After another hour of ducking under low branches and plowing through thicket, they arrived at a short, stone cliff.
“This can’t be right,” Jaden said. “Are we lost?”
“Nope,” Rose said. “The Fette’s always well hidden.”
“Is there a clearing nearby?” Mirim asked. “It’s a good time for a break, and I’d like a better view of the area.”
Sean raised a hand and closed his eyes. Within moments, a redbird landed on his finger. He brought it close to his ear, a broad smile on his face. The bird sang for a short time before flying off. He pointed after it.
“That way,” Simon said with a nod.
After ten minutes of riding, they found a ten-foot clearing of tall grass and decomposing logs. Everyone dismounted and dismissed their swifen.
“Sean,” Mirim said, placing a hand on the young man’s shoulder. “Would you ask your friends to keep an eye on our surroundings?”
He closed his eyes once again. Nothing happened, but he eventually opened them and nodded at the captain.
She would never say it out loud, but Victoria was bored. She missed Angst, a lot. Their adventure included monsters and flirting and lots of sighs from his friends for being inappropriate. There was always a sense of danger, but it was nothing he couldn’t handle.
“Sandwich?” Jaden asked, handing over a mass of bread, meat, and cheese.
“Thanks,” she sighed, taking it.
“I’m glad we have this time together,” he said, quietly.
She said nothing as she took a bite of her dry meal.
“You’re thinking of him, aren’t you?” Jaden asked, his face tense as a string on a guitar.
“Aren’t you?” she asked, turning on him.
“Well, yeah,” he said, looking down.
“I don’t get it. You once told me that you felt closer to Angst than anyone,” Victoria said. “Why do you want to kill him? Is that out of jealousy?”
“I can’t help my jealousy. You hold him so close,” Jaden said. “When I agreed to come back, I didn’t realize what a distraction you would be from my mission.”
“Oh, so now I’m just a distraction?” Victoria asked.
“No, it’s not like that,” Jaden floundered. “I was just never told that I’d—”
“Incoming,” Simon said, loudly. “Women with wings heading this way.”
“Berfemmian,” Victoria said, hopefully. “I wonder if it’s anyone I know. Can you wave them down?”
“They seem to be ignoring Sean’s birds,” Simon said.
She could barely make out three specks in the distant blue sky. Hailing them by waving, shouting, and hopping up and down didn’t seem to help.
“Is there a way to signal them?” Victoria asked.
“I think so,” Dallow said, his eyes becoming white as he searched through the catalog of knowledge in his mind. He raised a hand and uttered some nonsensical words.
A tiny ball of light shot up and sparked in the sky like fireworks. Two of the Berfemmian veered toward them.
“I’d love to recruit them to help stop Angst,” she said. “They’re tough, skilled fighters, and those wings of light make them fly fast.”
“Sean says their wings are black.”
“Black?” Victoria asked in surprise. “The birds must be mistaken. Berfemmian wings look like rainbows. Here they come.” She waved a hand excitedly.
“Their wings look black to me,” Jaden said, shading his eyes with a hand. “Oh no, not good. Hurry, back to the woods. Summon your swifen, now!”
12
The tent Alloria bought for an obscene amount of gold was about the size of a sock. He walked around it, in two or three steps, and sighed. A year ago, getting stuck in this sleeve of a tent with Victoria would’ve been a fortunate accident, and kinda fun. Now things were different. This wasn’t a tent for sleeping and he wasn’t a teenager looking forward to a late-night romp. Unfortunately.
“This is cozy,” Angst said wryly.
“Right?” she asked, excitedly, apparently pleased with the situation.
The twins stood several tents over, hawking their every move. Karina giggled into her hand while Bella glared at him, her arms crossed. It was as if she’d spent time with Heather. He sighed.
“So, where do I sleep?” he asked, delaying the inevitable.
“You’re silly,” Alloria said with a wide-eyed smile. “It’ll be fun.”
He wasn’t sure he wanted to know what that meant. Was she talking about the party, or the after party?
“Alloria,” Angst said quietly, trying to be gentle. “I’m forty or something. You’re only, what, sixteen?”
“Seventeen,” she said, frowning in confusion. “The same age my mom was when she got married.”
His heart skipped and he took a long draw of sweet wine. She didn’t look sixteen or seventeen, but even his fascination with beautiful young women drew a line in the sand somewhere. No, not a line, a brick wall as tall as a mountain covered in fire. This would never have happened if Dallow, Tarness, and Hector were here. Their admonishing gazes and judgmental glares surely would have kept the young woman at bay. They would’ve been the barrier he needed. He wanted an out and looked at the twins pleadingly. Bella’s eyes went wide, and she shook her head.
“You look so sexy, Alloria,” Karina said. “I love your outfit, especially the tiara. Totally jealous. I would never look as good in that.”
Actually, the twins would’ve both looked incredible in Alloria’s outfit. He was barely sober enough not to say that out loud when he finally realized it was a distraction.
“Oh,” Alloria said, her face a little brighter. “Thank you. Angst bought it for me.”
“Do you like to dance?” Karina asked.
“I love to dance,” Alloria said. She looked at Angst then smiled slyly. “Maybe we could dance together.”
“We should,” Karina said.
“You totally should show Alloria your dancing skills, Angst,” Bella said, her gaze cunning. “I hear you put elephants to shame.”
It actually wasn’t a terrible idea. Nothing could turn heads, and turn off women, like his off-beat ostrich flailing. How had Bella known he was a terrible dancer? She flashed him a satisfied grin but was apparently surprised by his grateful nod. Karina and Alloria stepped aside to plan, talk, and giggle while Bella approached him.
“We aren’t supposed to get involved,” Bella muttered.
“You may have just saved my life,” Angst said, gratefully. “I really don’t want to end up in here,” he nodded at the tent, “with her.”
“After buying her that hooker outfit?” she asked. “Could’ve fooled me.”
“I’m sure it looks that way,” he said. “But that just sort of happened. I actually want to keep more from happening.”
“I don’t understand,” she said. “Don’t you want her?”
“Of course I do,” he said. “Other than the fact that she should be with someone her own age and I should be with my wife. That’s the weird thing. It’s been six months, and Heather is gone, but I still feel like I’m married. Maybe it’s because I’m planning to save her, I don’t know. I still feel connected to my family. It probably doesn’t make any sense, but even though I’m drawn to Alloria, I just can’t.”
“It makes more sense than you know,” Bella said warmly. “It’s said that she’s even crazier than you were.”
“We’re all crazy, Bella,” he said. “Some keep it locked up, others wear it on their sleeve, and a few carry it like a banner. It’s part of what makes us who we are.”
The boom of a drum made Angst jump, followed by another and then more until they created a sort of rhythm. It was loud and deep enough to reverberate in his chest.
“It’s starting,” Karina said, excitedly.
“Let’s go,” Alloria said, taking her hand and leading them through the maze of tents.
Angst held hands with Karina and Bella as he followed them to the open space around the giant bonfire. They joined a quickly growing crowd of mostly naked young men and women. Some wore clothes, like handkerchiefs or undergarments, but only barely. Almost every article of clothing appeared to have lost a fight with a rainbow. It was a celebration of life that smacked his eyeballs. In the midst of his dreary, chaotic, hero’s journey, this was a crate of happy puppies. He couldn’t hold back the smile.
Alloria squished herself between Angst and Karina, practically popping out of her gray, threaded corset. She giggled while she tucked things back in, earning him a disapproving gaze from Bella that once again reminded him of Heather’s wife-look. He retorted with a broad grin that hurt his cheeks. Rolling her eyes, she turned to the fire, but the tiniest of smiles crept up her cheeks. Bella’s reaction took him by surprise, as if she’d been around Angst in similar situations.
Angst jerked his head up when a boom from the largest drum on stage shook the ground. The crate of puppies around him cheered, hopping up and down with more combined energy than both his foci could store. They suddenly spread out, making room for a large, olive-skinned man, who landed before the fire and began to dance. The man had muscle on top of muscle, without an ounce of fat. His pale-green loincloth didn’t cover enough for Angst to feel secure about his own manhood. How was it even possible to be that muscular without eating?
Alloria and Karina were giggling and pointing as the man gyrated to the beat.
“You’ve obviously been to one of these,” Angst said. “How long does this go on?”
“For a night or three,” Bella said.
“What?” he asked in surprise.
She laughed, shaking her head, not once taking her eyes off the spectacle. After the longest five minutes of Angst’s life had passed, the dancer stopped. He raised a hand to his mouth and howled like a wolf at the moon. A chorus of booms and snaps and cracks from the other drums made Angst’s teeth rattle as everyone under the age of forty started dancing.
His best dance move was awkward swaying while desperately hoping nobody would notice that he was off time or that his cheeks were flush and burned hot like the sun. There was no swaying at The Fette. This was dancing like he’d never seen.
Some of them hopped up and down like they were standing on a hot skillet. Others gyrated, humping the air unnaturally as if their joints didn’t work like his…which they didn’t. Alloria and Karina’s dance made his jaw drop. They rocked forward and back, rubbing against each other, their legs intertwined. It was pretty much sex, and he wanted to pull up a chair and enjoy his drink. This was sweaty hedonism at its best.
That familiar, school-dance feeling washed over him. Angst didn’t want to be the only one standing still and tried his best to sort of dance. Desperate to fit in without being noticed, he swayed back and forth like an old man on a child’s rocking horse. Where was his grand confidence now? He was Al’eyrn, a killer of elements, a hero, and…he was still too sober. The awkwardness of every party he’d attended crept up his spine and stiffened his body. This was not what he’d meant when he’d wished to be younger.
Alloria beckoned him over with a sensual gaze that made his heart race. Karina took a half step back to make room for Angst, her pale cheeks flushed with heat, and her long lashes weighing down her eyelids as she continued making love to the air. Moving between them seemed to be an excellent idea and he took a step toward their lusty display.
“Wait,” Bella said, holding him back with a hand on his shoulder. “Look.”
Angst followed Bella’s finger up to the sky. He squinted to make out a shape through the smoke from the bonfire, swooping around high above. Something about the shape set him on edge. Even at this distance, he could tell it was too large to be a bird, yet too small to be a dragon. Was it a cavastil bird? He thought he’d killed all of Air’s pets in Unsel shortly after bonding with Chryslaenor. Maybe there were more.
“What do you think it is?” he asked.
“We’ll find out soon,” Bella warned. “It’s coming closer.”
“I should get my swords,” he shouted over the pounding beat of the party.
“No time.” Bella rushed to her sister.
The creature dove unnaturally fast, landing hard enough before the bonfire to make the ground shudder. Flames blew down and spread out in its wake, making everyone leap away. The music stopped, and the crowd watched as it stood.
“Stay behind me,” Angst shouted over his shoulder as he pushed through the crowd.
‘It’ was actually a she, and he sighed in relief. With the firelight behind her, it was almost impossible to make out her face, but he would’ve recognized that petite frame anywhere.
“Marisha,” he called out, rushing forward. He shouted over his shoulder, “It’s okay. She’s a friend.”
“Angst,” Alloria said. “Are you sure?”
“Of course. Marisha was Faeoris’s best friend,” he explained, facing the Berfemmian. “I’m so sorry I haven’t come to tell you about Faeoris. I was injured, and now I’m trying to fix things.”
She inched back toward the fire but really had nowhere to go. He stepped in for a hug, and she moved to the side.
“Marisha?” he asked. “It’s me, Angst.”
She stared down, shaking her head, but said nothing.
“Please don’t kick me in the head,” he muttered before speaking up. “Are you okay?”
She hunched over as if someone had punched her in the gut and let out
an unnatural moan. Black wings with greasy feathers spread from her back with a wet, crunching sound. Marisha stood tall, arching her back as they unfolded. Her torso was now covered in motley black feathers and she reached for him with talons.
“What…what happened to you?” Angst said, taking a step back.
“You did,” she said, her voice like nails on a chalkboard.
“How did I do this?” Angst said looking her over.
“You killed my essent!” she screeched, wrapping her arms around him and flying high into the night sky.
13
Maarja braced against a strong wind that kicked up dusty snow, temporarily masking her vision. Jintorich stood on her shoulder, long hair from his eyebrows brushing gently against her cheek. He held on with his bare feet that gripped like monkey paws, his armor-thick nails digging in surprisingly hard.
“How will we see anything in this weather?” Bryymel grunted. The stubby Nordruaut crossed his broad arms. “It feels like a trap.”
“Says the man who looks for spies under his pallet before bed,” Gose said with a chuckle. “You’re more paranoid than anyone I’ve known.”
“It’s kept me alive this long,” Bryymel said, peering up at the taller man. “And I don’t trust any from the East. Tarness could be leading them here as we speak.”
Maarja looked over, raising one eyebrow dangerously. She was only taller than him by several inches but leaned forward menacingly enough that he took a wary step back.
“Not on purpose, of course,” Bryymel said. “He is only human.”
“This is one of those times you should not be talking,” she said.
Bryymel nodded and said nothing more. Gose shot her a sidelong glance that hinted at a smile. He looked as tired as she felt. Exhaustion, hunger, and anxiety was all that remained after the battle with the Eastern Nordruaut, with the Fulk’han, and with the monsters. Their thin herd of rebels had been decimated. Their leader and king, Jarle, had the charisma to inspire greatness. His core belief in doing right was enough to rally their pride and discard sense, but even Jarle hadn’t expected the Fulk’han. He couldn’t have predicted the power wrought by Niihlu, Angst, and the monster Lurp. And then there was Fire.
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