by Halie Fewkes
Jesse looked good and terrified, but managed to say, “Just do it then.”
Archie frowned and said, “That’s it? You want me to kill you without hearing the other options?”
Jesse screwed his face into a hateful glare and said, “What then? You’ll let me live if I stay quiet?”
Archie patted him roughly on the side of the head, and said, “Allie and I aren’t going to kill you, Jesse, but we have very powerful friends who are more than happy to do our dirty work. You breathe a word about this to anyone, and I will personally send them straight to Keldrosa to make you regret it. Don’t look shocked — yes, I know where you’re from.”
Jesse swallowed loudly and his glare lost its bite. “And what do you think you’ll find there? It’s a big city.”
Archie snorted a laugh and said, “It’s the north, Jesse. If our friends get up there and ask ten people where to find your house, all ten will kindly point to it and give them a bite to eat on the way. And we all know about big northern families, so think twice about how many brothers and sisters you’re endangering with your antics, because you will find nothing left of them but ashes.” Archie cocked his head dangerously and asked, “Still feel like taking this to the Zhauri?”
Jesse looked to me again, begging me to tell him this was an elaborate joke. When I kept my face callous, Jesse finally breathed, “I won’t tell anybody.”
Archie grinned and said, “Good. Because if you mess this up for us, it’ll be the worst mistake of your life.” Archie looked to me and asked, “Anything to add?”
I shook my head, knowing that shock was seeping through my cold expression.
Archie resheathed the knife onto Jesse’s side and took a second to smooth the wrinkles he’d left on Jesse’s shoulders.
“Good talk, friend,” Archie said.
Archie walked back to me with a spring in his step, put an arm around my shoulders, and we left without looking back. I felt sick. Beyond sick. Guilty, disgusting, and dizzy to name a few. And a little worried, because the care-free person next to me looked like Archie, but everything else about him was wrong.
We were two turns away from Jesse before I looked up and asked, “Are you ok?”
Archie nodded a calm, lighthearted nod as he lowered his arm and said, “I’m fine. This is my hidden talent. I can play any part that suits me. I can fool anyone.”
I would have believed him too, except the color in his face wasn’t quite right. I also found myself looking at his hands, where the slightest of tremors rattled his fingers. I reached to set my palm in his, and the strangest thing happened. His shield didn’t stop me.
“Are the two of you lost?”
We both startled at Kit’s deep voice. He had two other Zhauri with him — the new blond one, and Iquis.
“Sorry,” I said, quickly dropping Archie’s hand as I clenched mine into fists. “Just tried a new shortcut and it didn’t play out. Didn’t mean to bother you.”
I ducked my head to pass them, and none of the three stepped aside to let us by, but they also didn’t stop us.
Archie glanced back as they began conversing in Icilic. “We’re beyond lucky Maverick wasn’t with them.”
“Could you understand them?” I asked.
Archie laughed softly and a little color returned to his cheeks. “Emery taught me some of the northern language years ago, so I can say yes, no, and all the swear words.”
A faint smile crossed my face too, but I still felt sick.
We reached his room in silence and ended up sitting on his bed with a hand of space between us, both leaning back against the wall with our own thoughts. I wished I had my old box of sand to spill in front of the door and secure it, but I hadn’t seen it since Dincara.
“I… just threatened an innocent family,” Archie finally said, looking straight ahead, his gaze falling hollow.
I sighed, because I couldn’t exactly deny it. “I’m sorry I put you in a position where you had to.”
“Don’t be sorry,” Archie replied. “Sir Avery’s the one who’s going to be sorry. Worst shanking Epic of the century...”
“Yeah… but you didn’t want to talk to Tarace because of the danger, and I dragged you into it anyway.” I played anxiously with my fingers. “Now if I go down, I’m taking you with me.”
Archie let a laugh escape. “Well, you sure as life aren’t going down without me.”
My stomach twisted with something that felt like guilt. “Maybe you should let me suffer my own consequences sometimes,” I suggested softly. “I don’t listen to you, I’m not always very nice to you, I haven’t really done a lot for you… I don’t know why you feel so obligated to take care of me.”
Archie shot me a smirk like I was being ridiculous, and said “We’ve been friends a long time. And I mean the laugh together, cry together, face the best and worst times together kind of friends. You were there for me when my life was a wreck, and I’m here for you now.” He shrugged and said, “You’re worth taking care of.”
He stopped like he’d said too much and wouldn’t look at me.
“I know your secret,” I said, surprising even myself with the sudden confession. “Sav told me who your mother was. I understand why you’re worried about getting close.”
Archie clamped his jaw shut and nodded sharply.
“And I hear you don’t do well losing people you’re close to.”
Archie closed his eyes and let his shoulders sink back against the wall. “It’s easier to live with everyone at a distance,” he said, releasing a deep breath. “I never meant to let you slip through the cracks.”
We fell into a sleepy quiet once more, and I leaned my head back against his wall to let my eyelids fall closed, listening to my breathing, to his breathing, and the silence of the deep underground.
“No, I told you,” Archie’s frantic voice woke me.
I didn’t even hesitate this time, setting my feet on the cold floor, dragging my blankets to where he lay curled in a tight, unmoving ball beside the door like the last time I’d stayed over.
I laid one of the thicker blankets on the floor beside him as he twitched sharply. He shook his head, getting even more worked up. “I tried to tell you,” his voice broke halfway through the plea, and he tucked his head down to cough a deep sob from his throat.
I intertwined my fingers with his, noticing again that his shield wasn’t stopping me, and he squeezed them tightly. “I’m sorry,” he cried to his own chest as his entire body trembled. I used my free hand to toss the extra blankets I’d brought over us both, and Archie gasped, looking straight at me. I wasn’t sure if he’d woken, or if this was part of the dream.
“I have to leave,” he told me, breathing loudly through his nose to clear it. “I can’t keep doing this.”
“We’ll talk about it tomorrow,” I whispered. “Get some sleep.”
He shook his head again and said, “You’re in danger when you’re with me. I dreamed...” he tried to gesture toward all of me, but I refused to release his hand. “The blood was everywhere. I tried to stop it, but—”
“That’s all it was,” I said gently. “Just a dream.”
He pulled his free arm over his face and continued to shudder and take sharp, irregular breaths as I wriggled closer and draped an arm over his shoulder.
I pressed my chin to his forehead and whispered, “Hey, I’m right here. We’re both safe.”
Archie laughed to himself and said, “No we’re not. I don’t know how we ever could be.”
I couldn’t help but sigh, because he was right. We’d left too many loose ends too close to the fire.
Tarace was probably in another city right now, gathering opinions from our other leaders. Sir Avery was likely out talking to Ratuan and Sav, which couldn’t bode well for anyone. Jesse could turn us in at any moment, or the Zhauri could come to collect on our information.
“But I’m glad you’re here,” Archie murmured, almost too softly to hear.
I smiled
into his hair and said, “Me too. Go back to sleep.”
I woke up on the floor this time, bolting upright as I realized nobody was next to me.
“Hey! I’m still here,” Archie said, standing next to flickering orange flames in the fireplace. “I was just about to wake you.”
I gazed at the fire to let my eyes adjust, smelling deep spices in the air. “What’s that smell?”
“This is the tea I’ve been telling you about,” he said, carefully handing a cup down to me on the floor. I wrapped my hands around the heated porcelain and made sure it was steady before bringing it beneath my nose, letting it cool.
“I can’t believe you decided to share,” I said, the sharp scent of autumn filling me with warmth.
“Yeah, well...” he smiled hesitantly. “Nothing says sorry about last night like a good cup of your favorite tea.”
I smiled at him and took a sip, finding the tea spicy and lightly sweet. Archie sat on his already-made bed and sipped at his own, and I could see why he lived for this stuff.
“Archie?” I asked, drawing his attention as I set a hand on his knee. “Is something wrong with your shield?”
He settled his eyes on my touch before placing his warm palm on mine. “I think… I’ve come to consider you a part of me,” he said slowly, giving me a sad smile as he pulled my hand up and returned it to me. “I’ve heard of things like this happening with mages, but… I think we can both agree we shouldn’t-”
A sharp rapping on his door cut him short. I leapt to my feet as Archie pulled it open and Corliss hunched forward, breathing heavily like she’d sprinted to reach us. “You need to get out of here,” she said between quick breaths, eyes on me. “Sir Avery just came into the Wreck and told the Zhauri to detain you. The Dincaran kids are making their break this morning.”
“What?” I exclaimed, already grabbing my belt of short swords to fasten around my hips. “The Dincaran kids aren’t escaping until tomorrow!”
Archie handed over my knife to put in my sandal-laces as Corliss said, “Sir Avery is about to start sending teams to help the kids escape, and I just watched Kit and the new blond Zhauri leave the Wreck on their way to your room. Archie’s is probably next on their list.”
I glanced fearfully at Archie, but I didn’t even need to ask the question. He already had his own sword sheathed at his side and was pulling on a light pair of boots.
“Has the escape already started?” Archie asked. “Or do we have time to warn the Escalis that Izfazara’s in danger?”
“I have no idea,” Corliss said, “but I’ll come with you to find out.”
Archie fixed a determined stare on both of us as I stuffed my bag beneath his bed, opting to leave it behind for the sake of speed.
“We’re not letting the Zhauri take us,” he said. “If we run into them on the way out, do everything in your power to fight back. Especially if they’ve split the group in two.”
Chapter Twenty Two
Ebby
Ratuan-day came but twice this year, and this time Ebby clamped her hands together, holding them to her chest on the edge of her bed as she waited. This was what she wanted. She would be going home with everyone she cared about.
A knock on her door violently startled her and she tightened her mind as Vack pushed it open.
“Aren’t you coming?” he asked, stepping in with a frown. “We’re supposed to meet down at Jalia’s house. Let’s go.” He held a hand out to her, since Ebby was still struggling to jump properly, and she froze. “What’s wrong with you? I thought you were excited for Mir to show us the baby falcons.”
“I was...” she faltered, pulling her feet onto her bed and folding her legs with her dress draped over her knees. “I just don’t feel like going anymore.”
Vack walked all the way over to her with a scrutinizing squint, trying to read her face as she clamped her mind shut. “What’s wrong?” he demanded.
“Nothing,” Ebby replied. “I’m just not feeling well.”
Vack stepped back with a hint of worry in his eyes. “You’re an Epic. You can’t be sick. We should tell my father—”
“No! No, I’m not that sick,” Ebby said, trying to maintain an illusion of calm while keeping her thoughts locked in silence. “I’m really just thinking, that’s all.”
Vack frowned and held his palms up like a scathing question. “About?”
“Just... thinking,” Ebby said. It was incredibly hard to think up a lie while keeping her thoughts on lockdown.
“You’re leaving today, aren’t you?” Vack said.
Ebby felt her cheeks flush red at the thought she might singlehandedly destroy all Ratuan’s hard work and planning. “What makes you ask?”
“I just wanted to see how you’d react,” Vack said, grinning at his own cleverness. “You look guiltier than a chicken thief, Tear-salt. It’s alright, I’m not going to tell anyone.” He looked behind himself, then swept his hand to the side, shutting her door. “I guess... It wouldn’t hurt for us to talk before you go.”
His grin faded quickly as he glanced around the room, like an animal suddenly realizing he’d trapped himself.
Ebby gestured to the empty space on the bed beside her and found herself smirking at Vack’s hesitation. “Vack, you look like you’re in pain.”
“I just don’t like...” he gestured back and forth between them, at a loss for words. “These conversations.”
“We can keep it short,” Ebby said, and Vack finally leapt onto her bed with both feet, settling to face her with his legs crossed.
They fell silent and Vack bit at the side of his thumb nail.
“What are we going to do?” she whispered. Vack just shifted his eyes up to her, waiting for the rest of the question. “About each other. What are we going to do when everybody wants us to kill each other?”
“We could agree not to,” he said. Ebby liked the sound of that. “It would haunt me my entire life if I killed you,” he said.
Ebby raised her eyebrows and asked, “Would it really?” Vack nodded and then shot a meaningful glare her way. “And I hope you feel the same?”
His defensiveness made her smile. “I don’t want you dead,” she said. “I don’t want anybody to die.”
Vack shifted uncomfortably and then folded his hands in his lap, arm spikes protruding to either side as he chewed on his next words. He never thought about what he was saying before he said it, so maybe this goodbye meant something to him after all. Finally, he asked, “Are you sure you want to go?”
She’d also never expected to hear those words from him. Was he serious? Before she could even think what to say, Vack pressed on, “I just think it’s stupid for us to be fighting when we could actually do something that matters. And... I’m sorry if I haven’t always been exactly nice to you.”
Ebby launched her eyebrows into the sky at that understatement and let out a laugh of disbelief. “No. You haven’t been.” And yet, the poorly worded apology took a giant weight off her shoulders.
“I just... I was mean because I didn’t want to like you,” Vack said, immediately adding, “I still don’t like you very much, but I don’t want to be your enemy. And we’ve seen Sir Avery. He doesn’t want you back because he loves you. He wants to use you as a weapon.”
Ebby didn’t argue that point. She knew it was hopeless.
“And... Jalia likes you,” Vack said, running out of persuasion rather quickly. This wasn’t a strength of his.
“That’s why you think I should stay? Because Jalia likes me?”
Vack looked at his hands and said, “I’m worried what will happen to you if you go back.”
Ebby just watched him for a minute, knowing his insides were squirming more with every second of silence. “Vack... That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
Vack just shrugged like he had given up all hope of being a respectable man one day. “Yeah, well... I think you should stay.”
Ebby found herself considering it, then thought h
ow badly Ratuan would be hurt if he could hear this conversation. She’d just die if he ever found out.
“He’s using you, you know,” Vack said casually, as though merely pointing out Ratuan’s hair color.
Ebby realized she’d let her guard slip, and she frowned heavily. “Ratuan loves me,” she said, emboldened by the words, even if Ratuan had never said them.
“I know he does. But he also knows everything about you, and he knows how to manipulate you. You give him power.”
Ebby squinted at him, because she wouldn’t back down when it came to Ratuan. “I only give him power to do things that are good. That’s all he asks of me.”
Vack shrugged as though it didn’t matter to him, but Ebby caught a brief taste of care and concern in the air before Vack realized he’d let his thoughts slip too. “I’m going to leave before Mir and Jalia come looking for me,” he said. They’d officially breached his acceptable level of discomfort.
“Alright,” Ebby said to her bedframe, reluctant to let Vack walk away so quickly. She just wanted to argue a little longer, or spend an extra minute sharing complaints about the Twenty-five Powers of Conflict.
Vack was on his feet but hadn’t moved, as though torn between the desire for a swift getaway and something still needing to be said.
Ebby turned her eyes up to him and waited, knowing he couldn’t survive the silence for more than a minute.
Vack folded his arms and said, “I just want to tell you... You can always come back. If you want to.” He shrugged, still unable to look at her. “Even after we’ve fought a hundred times and claimed we were never friends, there will always be a place for you here.”
Ebby’s throat began to constrict, and she tried to hide it with a scoff. “We never were friends, Vack.”
“I know,” he replied. “But we could have been.”
Ebby’s throat grew painfully tight as she realized Vack had his hand out to shake hers. And he was finally looking at her. Ebby grabbed his thickly gloved hand in hers and shook on what was probably goodbye for a very long time.
Vack caught her thoughts and replied, yes, but not forever.
