by Alicia Fabel
Vera tilted her head angrily. “I swear if you’re planning to run away for good so I don’t have to see your face, I will send Mimi after you…. Did she know you were checking in?”
Kale didn’t react.
“Of course she did. I was the only one who didn’t, right?”
“It seemed kinder not to tell you since I was leaving again.”
“What was the mistake, if it wasn’t leaving us?” Vera asked.
“Telling you that I loved you.”
Vera struggled to breathe normally. “Did you miss me at all?”
“No.”
That truth crushed her.
Ferrox? She called the demon horse. Get out here and make him go away. I don’t want to be around him. Ferrox?
He’s locked himself away, so I have to stay here, Kale replied instead. He can’t hear you.
Vera recoiled from Kale’s intrusion. She’d gotten used to Ferrox in her head, but having Kale there was unacceptable. She wove a wall around her thoughts as Marianna had taught her. Layer after layer until she’d encased her mind in a magic cocoon.
Kale looked at her strangely and then seemed to understand. “That’s good,” he said aloud. “You’re getting stronger, which means you don’t need anyone but you.”
Vera opened her mouth to argue when Owly-Bear turned abruptly and began scaling the side of a tree. Kale bumped into her as he spun around, scanning the area in a way that filled Vera with dread.
“Come out,” called Kale, sword already in hand. Good thing Ferrox knew how to pack.
At first, Vera wondered if the arca had actually sensed something, but then there was a rustling. A craggy creature, her skin a mass of splitting calluses, slithered out into the opening. She was a hideous woman above the waist, but her lower half was ten times more disturbing. She was half snake. Her long snake part glittered like silvery rocks. Her hair hung in thick unwashed clumps around her. A forked tongue flicked between her lips—she was less humanoid up top than Vera had first assumed. When she spoke, two curved fangs protruded from her bottom jaw.
“I thought I smelled a nymph.” Shimmer Snake drawled out the s sound with a hiss.
“Do we look like nymphs?” asked Kale.
“No. But you smell like one. Either you are hiding one, or you know where to find one. You are going to take me to her.”
“Lady, get bent,” retorted Vera. “We’re not taking you anywhere.”
Red rippled across Shimmer Snake’s eyes. Vera whimpered. Around her appeared hundreds and hundreds of spiders. Some were tiny and squishable. Others were as big as her head, with fangs that dripped venom. Kale shook his head, his chest rising and falling quickly while he stared at her.
“Are you okay?” he asked strangely.
“Not for long if you don’t get over here and help me with these spiders.”
“There aren’t any spiders,” he said.
“Umm. I beg to differ.” She stamped a few that came too close.
“You’re sure you’re okay?” he asked tensely.
Vera turned to curse at him and stopped short. Her throat clenched. His eyes glowed red with malicious delight while the spiders overtook her. He didn’t move a muscle to help her. She’d already lost him. A rough finger brushed aside her hair, but Vera barely felt it as she watched Kale fall to his unnatural. Something whispered into her ear.
“Vera, fight it,” instructed Kale. “If you let her freeze you in fear, she’ll break into your mind. The nymphs will be lost.”
“Make it stop,” Vera pleaded.
“I can’t,” he said. And then Kale’s own sword pierced his chest from behind. Kanaloa was there to take his heart too. Except it wasn’t real. Shimmer Snake had messed up by conjuring the Infernal because Octo-lord didn’t leave Po. Vera wished he would, though. So she could kick his tentacled ass for what he’d done to her. Anger seethed in her chest, overwhelming the fear. She roused her nymph and directed it through the grass and flowers. Stop the gorgon, or she’ll destroy the nymphs.
Shimmer Snake screamed and lurched away. Vera’s vision flickered from a bleeding Kale to one who watched her with fear of his own. As soon as she met his gaze, his uncertainty melted away, and he turned a dark look on the snake.
“You’re a nymph,” accused Shimmer Snake. Her sides bled from thousands of tiny cuts where the grass and flowers had become blades.
“I guess so.” Vera swiped a foot through the last of the spiders as they dissolved into thin air. The blades continued to swipe at the gorgon’s serpent tail no matter where she slithered.
“You should be bound to a fountain,” cried the gorgon.
“Well, I’m not.” Vera pushed out her kargadan horn and scorpion tail.
“You’re an abomination,” spat the gorgon.
“Yeah, coming from you that doesn’t hurt so much,” Vera said.
“Vera,” began Kale, “not that I mind, but I figure you will later.” He pointed at the lashing grasses. “You do not need to draw out her suffering. I can end it quickly.”
Vera puzzled through his words until the gorgon stumbled. The plants were killing her slowly and painfully—torturing her. Vera pulled back on her nymph, but the plants didn’t stop.
“I can’t control them,” she said. “My magic isn’t directing them anymore.”
Kale raised his sword. All it would take was one swipe to end her torment. The plants had other ideas, though. Vines restrained Kale’s hand. In a few moments, they’d bound the snake in greenery too. Vera knew from watching the rabbit that was how they’d break her down to digest her. The nymph magic had called to the plants, woken them, but once they were alert, they were sentient until sated. There was no stopping them. That meant Vera could not afford to call on her nymph frivolously.
Kale reached out like he intended to brush aside Vera’s hair but pulled back. The strands flared dully.
“You okay?” he asked
“Yeah.” She rubbed her arms and looked for any stray vines. The grass had absorbed every bit of the blood.
“I think we should keep going,” he said.
She nodded. An emptiness settled in her chest. Owly-Bear descended from the tree, and Airlea blinked sleepily.
“Guess that means there aren’t any more gorgons lurking around,” Vera said.
“That will change soon if one picks up our scent,” Kale replied.
“Aren’t there a couple of small valleys between here and the Alchemist Academy?” Vera asked. “What if a gorgon finds us when there aren’t any trees to hide behind?”
“The price would be even greater to call plant life again so soon,” warned Airlea. Her eyes slid closed.
So I was right about the cost of using my nymph magic.
“Then, we’ll move quickly,” Kale said, throwing a long side-eye at Vera’s short legs.
Her whole being rebelled against the idea of riding. She couldn’t stand the idea of being that close to him if he really didn’t want her anymore. Gah, I hate that I’m being such a twit about this. So he didn’t miss me. Big whoop. He’s an idiot bound to a demon and filled with evil. What did you expect? You knew this would be hard…maybe not exactly how hard, but still. She clenched her hands by her sides. And then remembered his face at that moment when she’d broken out of the gorgon’s trance. That wasn’t the face of a man who’d stopped caring. It wasn’t the face of a man who was lost to her. There was only one explanation for how he’d been able to say those things before, without setting off her bells.
“What’s it like when you go away?” Vera asked, carefully modulating her tone and facial expression into genuine concern. “How bad is it for you?”
Her sudden change of subject seemed to throw him. His brow pulled down, but at the same time, he didn’t get upset or avoid her question. He clearly didn’t understand to be wary.
“It’s like falling asleep. I don’t realize what’s going on or how much time is passing. So you don’t have to worry about me.”
Vera
folded her arms. “That’s why you didn’t miss me. Because you took a stinking nap for three months.”
And then dawning flooded his eyes, and his scowl reappeared.
“And telling me that you love me makes it difficult to convince me that you don’t care anymore, doesn’t it? No wonder you regret that. Unless you’d like to tell me flat-out that you don’t?”
Kale’s jaw jumped.
Thought so, buddy. “I would love a ride,” she informed him. “Thanks for offering.”
Vera wondered if he’d change his mind about that, but he didn’t. He looped an arm through hers and swung her around onto his back.
“By the way, I am sooo pissed at you.” She took a breath to keep from railing at him. They’d need to have a long chat soon and figure some things out. “But I’m also glad you’re back.”
6
Kale helped Vera slide off his back. Her mouth stretched open with a yawn. Airlea had slept the whole way and didn’t wake when the arca stopped moving. They were on a sheltered ridge overlooking Noble Valley, home of the Alchemist Academy.
“Are those unnaturals down there?” Vera looked taken aback.
“Centaurs,” he replied. “They guard the city.”
“Why do you seem twitchy?” She was perceptive as always.
“Usually, there aren’t that many patrolling at one time. It looks like the entire battalion is out.”
“Do you think something’s happened?”
“Maybe.” Kale shifted uneasily. Something in his gut told him the soldiers were there for him and Vera. Except Idan was the only person who knew they were headed for the Academy. He was also the only person in Acadia who knew about Kale’s unnatural form. But the satyr couldn’t have gotten a message to the Academy in time for them to gather these troops. If Kale told Vera all that, she would likely conclude what he had: Suzie was probably behind it. Upsetting her wouldn’t do anyone any good, though. They still had to get home, which meant they still had to get inside the Academy and through the world-gate.
“This is a problem for us, isn’t it?” Vera asked.
“If we cross paths with a centaur, they’ll know I’m not one of them.”
“How?” she asked.
“The same way a duck knows a baby swan is not one of her own.”
“So we have to avoid the alchemists, a hydra, and a hundred or so centaurs too. Any ideas on how we do that?”
“A distraction after dark.” He was more sure than ever that a fire would be their best bet. Actually, they’d need lots of fires to divide the battalion’s attention. He didn’t tell her that.
“What do we do until dark?” Vera wondered.
“Sleep,” he suggested.
“Not tired,” she claimed.
“You almost fell off of me a dozen times.”
“Why don’t you sleep?” she asked. “You’re the one who walked for a day and a half straight.”
“I’ll sleep later.” Kale flicked his tail. The cockles he’d collected along the way were driving him crazy.
“Which is when I’ll sleep too.” She leaned away to study something behind him. “Right now, how about I help get all the burs out of your tail?”
Kale shifted away. “I’m fine.”
“I’m sure you are,” she said stubbornly. “But it’s the least I can do after you carried me three-quarters of the way here.”
“I carried you so we could move faster. It wasn’t a favor.”
Vera thought for a minute. “If it makes you feel better, I’m doing this so you’re not distracted later when we need you focused. It’s all about self-preservation—not a favor either.”
“I can still see deception marks, you know.”
“Don’t care. I was just trying to make it easier for you to accept my kindness, but I’m going to help whether you like it or not.”
Kale sidestepped her.
“Stop being a baby. I’m not going to take advantage of Ferrox’s half.”
“It’s my half too,” he told her.
“Well, can you even reach that half?”
Kale glowered.
“That’s what I thought.” She snagged his tail as he dodged and held tight.
They stared off—her hanging onto the end of his tail, and him bent in half trying to reach her. Kale knew that getting his tail free would require losing some hairs. Painfully. While he debated doing just that, she pulled out one of the burs, held it up to show him, and then tossed it aside.
“See, was that so bad?”
It was, in fact. It was completely mortifying having her clean his tail. He didn’t want to admit that, though. Her knowing that he was embarrassed would be worse somehow.
“You’ve held my hair while I puked and picked fish bones and spiders out of it. It’s about time I can return the favor.”
“Is that what you think?”
A crease appeared between her brows. “Is what, what I think?”
“That you haven’t helped me?” He tried to bend around to see her better, but she yanked on his tail until he stopped moving. “You’ve helped me more than you obviously know.”
She focused intently on the burs. “If by help, you mean getting you poisoned repeatedly, making your life complicated, and driving you insane. Then sure, I’m a regular star-helper.”
“You also made me enjoy life again.”
“Then why run away?” she challenged.
Kale sighed. “Because the longer I’m around, the more dangerous I will become to you and everyone.”
“When I fell into your life, you thought I would become an evil siphon, but that didn’t stop you from helping me.” She tugged the last bur free and let his tail fall. “Now, trust me to help you hold on to you until we have a solution. Just like you did for me.”
She made it sound so reasonable.
“You can’t find a solution for this.”
“Thank you,” she said inexplicably.
“Huh?”
She walked around so he could stop twisting in half to see her and planted her hands on her hips. “Whenever someone tells me I can’t do something, I get this rush of determination to do that very thing. You’ve just guaranteed that I won’t fail.”
“Infernals be damned.” Kale looked to the stars still hidden in the dusky sky. He should’ve known better than to try to dissuade her from doing anything she was determined to do. “Then what’s your plan?”
“I’m going to figure out who else is in Suzie’s little network and shut them down. Then I’m going to find a way to break your unnatural bond. Then I’m getting my heart back.”
He almost pointed out that she didn’t really have a plan. She had a to-do list and no idea how to check those items off her list. Plans included steps and action, but they had no idea what to do next. They were wandering around hoping for a miracle. But he didn’t say any of that. Instead, he asked, “You really think we’ll get a happily ever after?”
“I don’t think life is going to hand us a happy ending, no. But I’m going to work my rear end off to make one of my own.” She stared at her toes. “I’m not naïve. I know nothing will ever be shiny and perfect like a cheesy romance movie. I don’t need perfect, though. All I need is for the world to stop imploding, and for you, Mimi, and Addamas to be safe and happy. That’s my happy ending.”
His happy ending was the same. Except he could give two blasts about his own life. The other three lives, however, were non-negotiable. And to those ends, he’d move the stars to see it happen. “How are we going to stop Suzie?”
“Well…” Vera began when the sound of heartbeats and the whisper of metal against wood caught his attention.
Kale tucked Vera near his side and raised his sword as a line of centaurs approached from behind. The soldiers had trapped them on the ledge with nowhere to go. Kale hadn’t heard them coming, and he had been paying attention. They must have been hiding nearby, silently waiting for that exact moment to come out. The arca peeked at the centaurs with one eye, befor
e falling back asleep like his cargo. Kale wasn’t relieved. Just because the creature didn’t sense danger for itself didn’t mean there wasn’t danger in spades for Vera and him.
“Come quietly, and no one needs to be hurt,” said the captain of the band.
Kale was surprised that their bare arms were unmarked. “Where would we be going?”
“The alchemists want to meet you.”
“Why?” Vera asked.
“They want to know why you planned to burn down the city tonight, if our Intel hadn’t alerted us.”
“Your Intel is wrong,” Vera informed the soldier. “If someone’s planning to burn down the city, it’s not us. You have the wrong people.”
“Not you,” said the centaur. “Him. And the fire would’ve devastated half the city.”
“How do you know about that?” Kale demanded. It was still a plan he hadn’t fully formed.
Vera whipped around to face him.
“As I said, Intel,” replied the captain.
Vera gave Kale one more dark glare and then asked the centaur, “Was it from an oracle?”
A couple of centaurs laughed.
Kale knew the topic of him burning down half a city was far from over. She’d only put a pin in it.
“The oracles don’t speak anymore,” said the captain. “They are not how we knew about you.”
Vera frowned. “Let me guess. You received a package with some interesting prophesies, which have all come true. Until now.”
That wiped the mirth from the centaurs’ faces. “You’re to drink these.” The captain held out two corked flasks of black liquid.
“Poison doesn’t work on me,” Vera informed him.
“It’s not poison. It’s a very specialized potion,” said the centaur. “And it will work just fine on you.”
“Our friend is sick. She can’t handle whatever that is,” Vera tried next.
The centaur considered the arca and nymph. “Our instructions say to let those two come on their own. No potions. You two, however, are not to be trusted. Before we made it to the Academy, you’d screw everything up with some escape plan.”
A growl rumbled in Kale’s chest.
“Of course, if you say no, I have permission to put an arrow through all of your legs, so you can’t run. Which would you prefer?” The centaur held up the flasks at the same time as his soldiers aimed bolts at his and Vera’s legs.
