by Amy Sumida
Darc sighed deeply, his eyes going an even darker shade of blue. He knew I was right. After the debacle of our reunion, the revelation of my goddesshood, and then the removal of the parts of our souls that held our god powers, Tír na nÓg was in a tremulous state. Our position in it was equally unsteady. One misstep could lead to war. Again.
I'd done some seriously screwed up things when I was Faenestra the Goddess of Light and Mother of the Shining Ones, and the Shining Ones had wanted their pound of Elaria flesh when I'd gone back to being me. Except neither Darc nor I had given up all of our magic and godhood isn't something that can be taken away. We may be grounded gods now—a lot weaker than what we had started as—but Darc still had control over water and had also become the King of Kyanite, while I had gained a Shining One's immortality.
I was a little surprised that the immortality had stayed with me; I'd kind of expected it to wear off. Not that I would have minded; I already had a type of longevity from my spellsinger blood, but Shining One immortality was a step above spellsinger and just one step down from goddess. I healed super fast now. I could still be killed—as could Darcraxis; something that both thrilled and scared him—but it was a lot harder to do. So, when our enemies came for us, we had set them straight. We sang a magical duet; my first song with a non-spellsinger.
That was how we discovered Darc's kingly status. He was now able to speak to Kyanite and access its abilities; use the jewel's power to enhance his words. Kyanite is a stone of communication, and it gave Darc the power to make others feel, see, and understand what he was saying or singing. It could even coerce people; persuade them into thinking or doing exactly what you wanted. Such as forcing an army of Shining Ones to their knees. Kyanite's magic was very close to my spellsinging; a cousin to it. Which is why we worked so well together.
Darc couldn't bring things into being or alter the world around him as I could, but he could alter minds and bring new perspectives to life. He was turning out to be an excellent king as well. There was no one I trusted more to protect our kingdom.
“So be it,” Darc relented. “You will contact me daily and give me updates.”
“I will,” I promised as I tapped the pendants hanging around my neck; my contact charm and my traveling stone. “I promise.”
“I expect you'll be leaving now,” he said with something close to a pout. It couldn't be a pout, though; gods don't pout.
“Come on.” I took Darc's hand and led him back upstairs to our bedroom. “We can say goodbye in private.”
“Aw, El,” Cerberus whined. “How long is that private goodbye going to take.”
“As long as I wish it to!” Darc shouted.
I could still hear Cerberus grumbling—as well as the clink of crystal decanters—as I shut the bedroom door.
Chapter Three
Cerberus had advised me to dress warmly. When I was all bundled up in jeans, a sweater, and a fur-lined cloak he took my hand and led our journey to Earth. We took us through the Veil using the traveling stone I'd given him. Traveling stones and contact charms are Shining One creations. A traveling stone could take you anywhere you can set your focus on, and a contact charm allowed you to communicate with anyone you set your focus on. The contact charm worked in most situations, but the traveling stone had restrictions. It was made to pierce the Veil between worlds. You couldn't use it to bounce around one planet. If you didn't go through the Veil, it didn't work. The way around that was to travel somewhere in another realm before returning to the one you started on. Basically, you had to jump about a bit, but when you needed to get somewhere fast, it was worth the effort.
In this instance, we didn't need to bounce; it was a straight shot through the Veil from Tír na nÓg to Earth. But the question was:
“Where on Earth are we?” I asked Cerberus as I looked around the frigidly damp forest.
The trees were tall and fragrant; pine, I think. Most of them boasted green needles. I'm not a tree expert or anything, but I'm pretty sure that made them evergreens. It was late December, and I was a little surprised there wasn't more snow on the ground. Judging by the air quality and the thinness of it, we had to be at a high elevation. High elevations during this time of year meant snow in most places. But there were only a few icy patches on the ground. Mostly, it was wet. And cold. Very cold and wet.
“The Blue Mountains.” Cerberus started walking. “Oregon side.”
“Right; Sasq'et territory.” I looked around more confidently now that I knew where I was. I wasn't impressed.
My shiny, leather boots were already covered in mud, and my cloak was damp from the heavy mist that surrounded us. Mist is pretty. I like mist. But this thick wetness was more like rain that was too stubborn to fall. It just hung there like sweaty air. Except it was a cold sweat. So cold that it was numbing the tips of my ears and nose; prompting me to pull my hood up and lower my face. The mist gathered on the branches above and fell in freezing drops that pelted me in a nearly constant, but also random, way that made me wonder if it had been the inspiration for Chinese water torture. I held my cloak closed with just the tips of my fingers poking out; even with gloves on, they were going numb too.
“I think I prefer Primeval,” I muttered.
“Buck up, crybaby,” Cerberus shot over his shoulder. “We're almost there.”
“Cerberus.” Chewbacca stepped into our path. “Thank you for coming.”
Huh. How had I never made the connection between Wookies and Sasq'ets? George Lucas must have had a Sasq'et encounter. Or maybe he was a beneather. That would explain so much.
“Fred.” Cerberus extended his hand to shake Chewbacca's. “I brought her like I said I would; this is Elaria.” He turned to me. “El, this is Fred; Sasq'et Elder and a friend of mine.”
The Sasq'et was taller than Cerberus but not as wide. He looked almost lanky and his damp, dust-colored fur added to the effect. His face would have appeared human if it wasn't for the whole covered in fur thing, and the hand that reached out to me, though massive, was only topped by fur. His palm was skin and it was warm; I could feel the heat through my gloves.
“Thank you for coming, Elaria,” Fred said sincerely. “We are beside ourselves with grief and fear.”
“Cer told me about the killings,” I said softly. “I'll do whatever I can to help.”
Fred's face was very expressive despite the fur, maybe even because of it. The sleek lines shifted downward in relief as he sighed and nodded. His hand reached up to pat a gold disc that hung on a chain around his neck. It seemed an unconscious gesture; something done to reassure himself.
“Come, let's get you warmed up before we speak of such horrible things.” Fred turned and smacked the trunk of a tree affectionately; as if it were an old buddy.
It was so casual a move that I didn't expect anything to happen, certainly not what occurred next. The forest shifted around us and suddenly, Fred was walking beneath a soaring, wood archway; a double gate already open for him.
I flinched and jerked to a stop; blinking down the length of roughhewn timber walls that stretched out to either side of us. There were turrets set at intervals down the wall, with sasq'ets standing guard in them. The arch was carved with strange symbols; a ward. An effective one. I realized that the tree trunk Fred had hit was actually the arch's left supporting beam. Through the opening, I could see a brick courtyard with sasq'ets wandering through it and children playing on it. Two little ones—about my height—bounced a basketball between them; dipping and turning like a couple of kids you might find on any playground in America. A female—I'm assuming female by the bulge of breasts beneath her chest fur—sashayed by and got knocked into by one of the kids. She reached out and steadied the offender before giving him a reprimanding look. The kid hung his head a mumbled an apology.
It appeared that Sasq'et children were as well-behaved as they were furry.
That didn't surprise me. From what I'd heard of the Sasq'et, they were a gentle race who had survived not because
of their strength but because of their intelligence and their lack of ambition. They didn't want to rule the world, they just wanted to live in peace on their small portion of it. No; it wasn't the polite kids, or the gossiping groups of mothers who casually cleaned each other's fur while they talked, or even Fred with his ridiculously common name that surprised me. It was their village. If you could even call something so advanced as that a village.
The concealment ward was startling enough, to begin with, but I could have dealt with that and with the Sasq'et fort. Even beneathers who don't possess magic can purchase it from other beneathers. Except that once I got my feet moving again and followed Fred and Cerberus into the center of town, I was hit with even more of a suburban feel. The homes that stretched out in orderly lines from the main courtyard were built of stone and wood but not in the rough way the outer wall was built. These were sturdy pieces of architecture with multiple levels, glass windows, and electricity. There weren't any vehicles so there were only footpaths, but the neatly maintained lawns along those lanes were so normal that they blew my damn mind.
“You have electricity up here? How?” I asked Fred.
“Of course we have electricity,” Fred said in surprise. “We're not savages. We're an advanced race who chose to settle here, Elaria. Figuring out how to supply our homes with electricity, as opposed to the energy we were used to, was easy for us. We built our own power plant, water station, and sewer system. We even have Internet.”
I gaped at Fred, and he burst out laughing.
“You expected us to live in caves?” His furry brow lifted.
“Maybe,” I whispered.
Fred laughed harder and held onto his grin as he led us through the Sasq'ets; stopping to say hello or pat a child as we passed by them. They all gave me and Cerberus friendly smiles; no hint of suspicion in their eyes despite the recent attacks. It was like stepping into a 1950's suburb except the people were furry.
Fred brought us to a single story home in the middle of town. It had a shingle roof with a stone chimney puffing a thin stream of smoke into the sky and a wide porch with an enormous rocking chair. His big feet creaked up the steps and then swished over a welcome mat as he shook water from his fur like a dog. I widened my eyes at the obviously human-made mat that had a picture of a Sasquatch on it above the words; Welcome to Bigfoot Country!
Cerberus chuckled at my reaction as I wiped my feet on a smiling Bigfoot face. We stepped into a delightfully warm home with wood floors, brightly painted walls, and vaulted ceilings. Fred was lumbering toward the kitchen; a space divided from the living room by a wide counter of spliced tree trunk. I went straight for the rock fireplace and removed my wet cloak.
“Cer, take her cloak for her, will ya?” Fred prompted from the kitchen. “You know where to hang it.”
“Got it, Fred.” Cerberus took my cloak from me and hung it on a peg by the door beside his own.
There were only two pegs and no other coats. The mere fact that Fred had those pegs could only mean that we weren't his first non-Sasq'et visitors. Interesting.
“How do you get all of these human things?” I asked as I noted the computer and big screen TV.
“We trade with beneathers who can blend in,” Fred came out of the kitchen with a tray of steaming mugs. “Cider?”
“Oh, yes!” I reached for a mug eagerly. “Thank you.”
“The damp can get to you if you're not used to it,” Fred said kindly. He took a mug, offered Cer the last, and then leaned the tray against the couch. “Please, sit down, Elaria.” He patted a huge, leather chair by the fire. “It's an honor to have you in my home. Cerberus has told me so much about you.”
“Really?” I gave him a dubious look as I sat.
“Well, most of it was recounted recently,” Fred amended.
“That sounds more like Cer,” I said with a smirk at my best friend. “He doesn't talk about people unless they need to be talked about.”
“Just so,” Fred agreed. “And I needed to hear about you. Cerberus says that you can track our assailants with a song.”
“It's possible,” I confirmed. “It doesn't always work. If they happen to be hiding behind a ward like yours, I probably won't be able to reach them. But I've already taken that into consideration, and I may have a solution.”
“Oh yeah?” Cerberus looked up from his cider in surprise. “You've got another plan?”
“I thought I might try my hand at setting a ward of my own,” I said. “I could sing a guardian into place; something that would alert me to a trespasser.”
“You got a song in mind?” Cerberus asked.
“A couple.” I sipped the cider; hot, sweet, and apple-ly. Did I mention hot? Yum.
And you know that I shall help as well, my love, Kyanite added in my head.
Kyanite thought of me as his lover even though he couldn't physically love me. It was kind of adorable but at times it could also be annoying. Mainly, it was evidence of his loyalty to me, and I knew that no matter what happened, Kyanite would always have my back. Just like me and Cerberus. Ky also gave me music. I didn't have to worry about carrying an iPod around anymore; Kyanite could make music out of thin air. Which was a good thing since the air was particularly thin up there.
“Well, let's try the tracking first,” Cerberus said. “I'd like to find these fuckers all tucked away in their lair and then tear them apart. Maybe do some skinning of my own.”
“I just want this to stop,” Fred said softly and fervently; a world's weight of sorrow in his words.
“I promise you that it will.” I felt the vow settle in me. “One way or another.”
Is that your intro? I could practically hear Kyanite smirking.
Chapter Four
It had been a slip of the tongue. I had indeed been preparing to sing “One Way or Another” by Blondie. And after I'd warmed up enough to face the chill again, I followed Fred out to a spot half a mile down the mountainside to try my hand—or voice, rather—at tracking. There was no sign that anything bad had happened there, but Cerberus' nose was doing double time. Then he growled.
Yep; this was where the bodies had been found.
I didn't even have to ask Kyanite to start; the song blasted to life around us as soon as I was ready. A flock of birds rose from the trees around us as I settled into the tingling rush of my magic. Fred had been just as startled as the birds at the initial blare of music, but he settled quickly; his soft, brown eyes going round in wonder. Cerberus must have prepared him; Fred's shock was a fraction of the reaction I'd been expecting.
The men stood together—water dropping like freezing tears over them—and grimly watched me; Cerberus with his massive arms crossed over his chest and Fred with fidgeting hands. I called out to the murderers with my strident lyrics; promising them that I was going to find them and catch them. Nothing would stop me. Even if this didn't work, I would find a way to reach them and kill them for what they'd done to these peaceful people.
The song was so out of place in that calm forest, but then so were the murders. So was I for that matter. But sometimes it took a killer to find another killer, and I had a lot to make up for. My stomach clenched as memories started to rise, but I pushed them back. This wasn't the time for reliving the mistakes of my past. This was the time to make up for them.
The Sasq'et didn't deserve this. No one deserves to be murdered, but especially not these gentle beings who lived quietly on their mountaintop; bothering no one. To kill them was bad enough, but to skin them and take their fur as a trophy? That was beyond villainous; it was macabre. Truly macabre; not in that Victorian, cabinet of curiosities way, but in a psychopathic, shocking, gruesome, just plain fucked up way. Perhaps it was even more macabre than what I'd done. Sweet Persephone; I hoped so. Because if this was the type of monster I'd become, someone should hunt me down too.
Then I felt it; the trace of something colder than the weather. A chill that went even deeper than the mist. Something terrible and twisted had hunted
here. No; not here. This wasn't where the sasq'ets had been killed. This was where they'd been dumped like trash. I was sensing the lingering taint on their bodies, not the murder itself. Where had it been done? Lead me to it!
My mental vision panned out as I crooned on—my voice echoing through the trees—and I found the trail at last. I followed the glowing white ribbon of it down the mountain. Wait. Not down. Up. It had swooped down, over the trees, but then angled upward. I started to move faster along it. Faster and faster. I lifted higher into the sky and flew toward the North. I was close... just a little more... I dropped like a stone and hit something solid. Pain blossomed inside me.
I growled; the song shattering in my throat and my hands clenching into fists with fury. Slamming against a ward could sting; the greater the ward, the more it hurt. This one had hurt like a motherfucker. It was one of the most powerful wards I'd ever felt. Almost as if a collection of beneathers had made it. Cerberus snarled with me; he knew what my frustration meant. I opened my eyes to his angry face and Fred's worried one.
