by K R Leikvoll
Luckily, I was feeling drunk enough to stop caring. I lifted the cold glass to my lips and took a swig. The flavor was hard to describe. It was earthy for the moment I could taste it before it burned like fire in the pit of my gut. Just the sip was enough to make everything a little fuzzy.
"I've never owned a home," Arturio said next. I didn't drink, but Mortos and Ronen did.
"I've never bedded a demon," Ronen said clearly trying to get Mortos to drink without thinking of me. Arturio crossed his arms and didn't touch his mug. Mortos shot me a smile before taking a sip. That was double jeopardy, but whatever. I took another swallow and grimaced.
"I've never been to northern Kaeda," I said after thinking carefully. Everyone drank except for me.
"I've never shared blood," Mortos said. To my surprise, Arturio drank with me.
"Last one... I've never loved," Arturio said, refusing to drink any more than he already had.
I drank—not for Kirin, but for James, draining the rest of my glass. The only person I felt like I really loved unconditionally, even knowing he was a demon at one point. Mortos drank. Ronen drank, probably for Alexandra. I didn't honestly believe that Arturio didn't love... maybe he meant selectively romantically.
After finishing that drink, every single person at the table was clearly trashed. Especially me. Between that and my fragile psyche, I burst into laughter.
All three men looked at me curiously.
"I'm on a planet somewhere in space right now," was all I was able to say. Everything felt so unreal, like I could close my eyes and appear back on Earth if I tried.
"I would think so, yes," Ronen replied with a raised eyebrow.
"I'd actually murder someone for a plate of churros," I blurted out, suddenly overcome with how much I missed Earth food. Praetis needed to get at least a few Denny's locations for drunken breakfast.
"What is a 'churro'?" Mortos asked with a laugh. I guess the word sounded funny to them.
"It's an Earth food," I replied in a fit of giggles. They wouldn't know about Mexico or its amazing churros.
"Who would you kill for it?" Arturio asked interested. He seemed like the kind of guy that had probably actually killed people over food before. Or maybe that's another racist wolfman stereotype.
"Let's see... my hit list is getting kinda long. How about Lazarus? I'd kill her for a churro," I chuckled. They all laughed in response. "Seriously though, she needs mental help. Like medication."
"Medicine cannot help something like that," Arturio said with a scoff.
"Aye, what about healing? What if you pressed your little ring on her crazy head?" Mortos asked.
"Heal craziness? I can barely heal myself."
The other bar patrons were paying attention to me again.
Ronen shook his head. "No, I've heard stories of you healing. You most certainly can," he replied.
The barkeep brought another round of their equivalent of beer. No way was I going to be able to drink that without puking.
"All lies. I can only heal myself with the ring. It's pretty useless, actually," I said, studying it on my middle finger.
"I don't believe it," Arturio stated incredibly seriously. "You are the child of Eve who was the child of Evelynn. If you can't heal, I suppose that makes you a failure."
"That sounds like fighting words," I replied. Maybe I could heal someone else if I tried hard enough. I wouldn't admit it sober, but I was definitely on that slippery slope with the demonic power. Eve managed to heal people like a damn priestess since she was a little kid, right? So why can't I?
"Are you going to prove me wrong?" my wolf brother asked in response.
I cracked my knuckles. "Guess so. You going to let me stab you so I can try?" I said, searching for a sharp object on Ronen. They all laughed.
"I have a better idea," Arturio said in his growly voice. He climbed his way around Mortos and his passive Evyan companion and waited for me to join him.
Getting to my feet was a chore. I swayed so bad I thought I was back on the Valkyrie. I had to hold onto his rough fur arm to keep myself steady. I wasn't really sure where we were going, but I trusted him for some reason. Luckily it was only a few tables over. Arturio cleared his throat.
"Excuse me... Sattos? The Divinus would like to attempt to heal your bum eyes," Arturio said to a table of men. I assumed the man with milky eyes at the other side of the table was the Sattos guy.
"I did not know it was her voice I heard," he said with a laugh. "Aye, give it a try, lass. Not even the priests of Kaza'mae could cure blindness."
The men immediately got up and moved out of my way. The blind man adjusted himself slightly so he was facing toward the sounds I made next. After stumbling on my own feet, I managed to sit down beside him. I could make the ring work, I knew I could. I was the Divinus, right? I had to reincarnate a million times to make it there; it had to cooperate at some point. Eve wasn't so tough. If she could do it, I could.
I pushed my hand against his scarred face. Trying to force the light to work while drunk was harder than I thought it would be. The first time I attempted it, I created a bubble around us that caused some "oohs" and "ahhs" from the crowd. Nope, wrong ring, try again.
I focused again, trying to recreate bad scenarios in my mind. I thought of the plaguebearer at first, which caused the ring to sizzle the spot on my neck closed. "Fucking bitch," I winced, rubbing the spot on my throat.
Third time’s the charm. I went as far as thinking of the stone prison with Lazarus and Lydris. That just created a larger barrier around the entire bar. People were walking in and out of it curiously as if they had never seen such a thing.
"I was right, it seems," Arturio called from over my shoulder.
"Get off my back. I can do this," I said, placing my hand over the blind man’s eyes again. The plaguebearer made me heal myself; what was more intense than that? Maybe I couldn't use the thoughts of Lazarus because I wanted to protect myself from her rather than heal. My thoughts drifted to the worst memory of my life. I could see James' blood all over my hands like I was there again. If I knew what I knew now, I would've been able to save him.
That was what it took. I felt the ring buzz furiously against my finger. When I opened my eyes, a white light was coming from my right hand. It transferred to the man's face to his scarred eye sockets. On cue, loud hissing erupted from his flesh. Much like the demonic power, his cells began to regrow entirely new eyes. Everyone around us was in astounded silence. My hands were actually shaking from how shocked I was. I did it. I actually did it!
Several people clapped me on the back. The man was looking at his arms and at our companions with the sensation of discovery on his face. I was drunkenly startled when the man engulfed me in an embrace. "Thank you," he said between sobs. It was even more awkward when he got down on his knees and actually kissed my feet.
I wasn't really sure how to react. I gently grabbed his shoulders by his clothes and pulled him up. "Nah, thanks for letting me experiment on you," I replied.
Before I knew it, I was surrounded by people that needed healing. Normal me would've awkwardly refused, but I was on a roll. The thoughts powered my desire to help them. I aided people with everything from common ailments to actual war injuries. The last Evyan man I was able to heal grew his entire leg back (which was as disgusting as you’d think). The people showered me with gifts in response: tons of gold and silver coins, more booze than I could ever drink, jewelry… one man even gave me his shoes like I'd be able to do something with them.
When the time came for the bar to close and for me to return to my room, I knew I wasn't going to make it there alone. My body was extremely exhausted. It took a lot more energy to heal other people than myself, leaving me completely Jell-O-like. Mortos was busy persuading the Evyan from the bathhouse to go to his room with him. Ronen had left earlier because he had more planning to do the next day with what’s-his-face. Thankfully, Arturio saw my struggle and decided to walk me home.
There
weren't any people out as we started up the path. My heart ached slightly when we walked past the spot where Guinevere showed up. My night would've been very different had I spent it in solitude with... him. I probably wouldn't have learned how to heal until the stakes were too high. I couldn't help having bitter thoughts about them having sex. It almost made me want to cry again, but I held it in.
When we reached the spiral staircase around the geode, I lost my ability to walk. I nearly fell straight off the stairs and down into the depths from where we'd come. Arturio caught me and awkwardly carried me to my room as I directed him.
Someone had come in and replaced the furniture, including a table made of wood rather than glass. My brother helped me make it to my bed. I drank some of the water that was left for me while he lit a lantern in the corner of the room. My head was starting to pound in protest. I was so useless that Arturio had to actually tuck me into bed. He was beginning to walk away, when I called out his name.
"Don't leave, please," I said as I realized how alone I felt.
His blue eyes looked slightly annoyed, but he plopped down on the replacement cushions anyway. Originally, they had only looked like Eve's. Now, I felt like I was staring at Alex. They weren't so different. Both were passed up for the Divinus power. Both lived like outsiders. It was kind of a blessing... in my opinion.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Knocking woke me up. Very, very annoying knocking. That kind of knocking could only come from one person. I didn't even bother to poke my head out from the blankets. My head was pounding like I got hit by a frying pan. I didn't need his irritating attitude right at that moment. Obviously, he didn't care. The door creaked open. I heard him walking toward me, but I stayed underneath my blanket pretending to be asleep.
"Valentine, it’s time to get up," I heard him say.
I didn't move. My chest was starting to hurt again. As much as I wanted to be angry with him, I was more frustrated with myself. It was all my fault, really. I should've told him a long time ago. I hoped that I would've proved that I wasn't evil, but Vince's reputation seemed to override all of that.
His rough hands started to shake me. I ignored it for about a minute before my headache couldn't take anymore.
"Stop shaking me," I snapped, rolling away. Goddamn. It felt like I had only slept for a couple of hours.
"You have breakfast with the council and then your meeting with Alvir."
That sounded like the last thing I would want to do; eat with four prissy jerks with a hangover. Fuck my life. Even my ears were throbbing unhappily. I covered my head with a pillow.
"I really don't have time for nonsense. I have a lot of things to get done today."
"Then leave. You already did your job," I mumbled.
He ripped the pillow off my head. I kept my eyes closed until he threw my blankets on the floor too. "Hey!"
"You are a mess," Kirin said angrily. I reluctantly sat up and rubbed my eyes. He forced a damp cloth into my hands before I registered the room around me. "Wipe your eyes and get dressed," he grumbled, taking out a flask. Drinking? That early? The thought made me want to throw up, so I did, three times into my water vase. Kirin rolled his eyes in disgust and took the cloth back. He wiped my eyes and mouth until he was satisfied and helped me untie my stupid dress.
A knock caused him to stop toward the end of the ties and move to the door. He cracked it open and murmured under his breath while I changed into another dreaded dress. It was super thin and of course white. It was uncomfortable to wear, but I didn't think I had a choice. Kirin waited until I was dressed before he opened the door. On the other side was his succubus. She had a falsely friendly smile written on her face. It was turning into the shittiest morning I'd had in a while.
After fixing my hair, they both accompanied me to the upper part of the geode. I walked in front while they lagged behind me. Their stupid whispers were driving me insane. I almost wanted to prove to her that I was Vince's daughter. I couldn't even tell what they were talking about and it only made me more infuriated. By the time we made it to the council, I was nearly ready to snap. I didn't want him to see how close I was to crumbling, so I kept walking through the door without looking back once.
"Late night?" Sylvia asked, pulling back my chair for me.
I held my face in my hands. "Something like that," I mumbled.
The short female with pink hair was there too, and the blonde Evyan man. The crowned older Evyan wasn't currently present, but I appeared to be slightly early. That asshole woke me up before I had to be there.
"I heard rumors that you were healing people in the southern quarter," the pink haired girl said. "Quite remarkable, really. We were worried based on... well…"
Yeah, yeah.
"I'm sorry I don't know your name," I said abruptly and randomly to stop them from saying what I feared they would. A servant poured us glasses of what I hoped was juice and not liquor. It tasted bitter, but it wasn't booze. My head was thankful for the cold relief.
"It's Merie. The older man is Vya and this is Jotus," the girl told me, gesturing to the blond Evyan man. "I was the last ruler of Kaza'mae before it was destroyed." Interesting. Not really. My head hurt too bad to care about anything other than wanting to go to bed.
We talked about our future plans while we ate the Praetis' equivalent of a salad for breakfast. Ronen and Kirin had managed to convince them to send ships to get all of the stranded people back at the castle. It was relieving to hear that they wouldn't be punishing the people there for the stuff happening in the city with Kirin. Our plans revolved around liberating the northern kingdom for an all-out assault. With Kirin holding Famine, there was the chance that we could corner Lazarus into bringing Nakarius out with the three pieces she had. It was a risky plan that relied on a lot of factors, but the only other option was waiting for her to come to us. That sounded like a worse idea to me.
Throughout breakfast, the crowned Evyan never showed up. Everyone mentioned it was off… that breakfast was his favorite meal, and he never missed it. Suspicious, suspicious. Thankfully, I hadn't slept long enough to forget the detail that Guinevere was up to shady dealings. Sure, the old man could be in bed still, but what if he was being held somewhere? I didn't want to bring it up to Sylvia, Merie or Jotus since I didn't trust them with information that could somehow get Kirin into trouble, too.
After eating, the leaders departed to go do more business and planning with Ronen and Kirin. They all left me alone, thinking that I would walk down to Alvir's house myself. Instead, I decided it would be a good time to investigate. I wasn't really sure of the layout of the city, but I knew that his housing quarters had to be somewhere near where Kirin was staying based on his importance. As I walked around, I did my best to look innocent. It wasn't like they were really going to do anything to me anyway, even if I did get caught.
I snooped into a couple of rooms; thankfully, they were all empty. The other room that was guarded seemed to be my only option. I approached the guards nervously, but I tried to remember to be confident.
"Hi. I'm trying to visit the... king?" I stammered.
Both of the guards looked back at me, emotionless. It took me a couple of seconds to realize that both of them had very foggy eyes. I waved my hand in front of their faces.
"Uh, hello?" I said cautiously, moving closer. They still remained expressionless.
I poked the left one in the chest. No response. Maybe I needed to become some sort of private investigator when I got home. I shook the man softly, but he still didn't move. It had to be some kind of Guinevere witchcraft.
I tried the door handle, and it was locked. Of course it wasn't going to be that simple. I pushed my hand against the door and focused on the ring until it formed a silvery mirror against the crystal. I walked through, bracing myself for whatever was on the other side.
Just as I thought, the old royal Evyan, Vya, was definitely under the same kind of spell as the guards. He was sitting on a chair facing his fireplace with
a blank face and drooling. It was damning evidence that Guinevere was up to something way more sinister than taking Kirin.
I wasn't sure what to do to help him. I put my hand on his forehead, and it was incredibly hot like he was feverish. I focused on the similar sensation from the bar to attempt a heal. The light flowed from my hand and danced around him. It appeared as though he absorbed it, but the fogginess in his eyes didn't disappear. Huh. It was beyond what I could do.
But who could I go to for help? It wasn't like I could go to Kirin. Guinevere was probably stalking around nearby trying to spy on our battle plans. It was so obvious! How could Kirin be blind to it? Ronen was in a meeting. I didn't know where Arturio was. Mortos was probably sleeping off his hangover with that girl from the bathhouse. My only option besides the council was Alvir. I had to go down there anyway. Before I left, I made sure to keep the door unlocked.
"I'm coming back for all of you, I promise," I said to the three bewitched men as I hurried off.
I didn't see a single person I recognized on my run to Alvir's house. I also didn't care that I threw every person out of my way like a football player. Knocking seemed like too much of a waste of time so I ripped the door open out of breath.
Alvir was meditating when I came in. His eyes opened slowly to greet me, but he was silent.
"Hey, I need to talk to you," I said between heaves.
He stood only to put his hands on my shoulders and push me down on a cushion. "We may speak, but first, there is someone that is here to see you," he replied. I looked around curiously at the empty room. Even the asshole living inside my head wasn't out wandering around.
"This is really important," I replied in protest.
Alvir shook his head no. His face was masked with seriousness. "I am going to teach you how to commune with the light so you may speak with our guest," he stated, ignoring my statement. "First, focus on your visions. Do not think of them as many pieces, but a whole."
