To help Kopius and Daisy process the loss, they all bowed their heads, even the animals, and Brux said a prayer to the light for their teammate’s souls.
“And the second seal?” Daisy asked.
“It’s not broken,” Van said.
“Or cracked, or damaged in any way,” Paley added.
“So where’s the demon illness coming from?” Kopius had moved onto the couch and sat with his arm around Daisy.
Paley shuddered. “Solana’s demons brought it here.”
“But how’s it being sustained in our world?” Kopius asked. “The vibration here is too high for negativity to linger, whether it be demons or an illness they carry.”
“It makes no sense,” Brux said in agreement.
Daisy seemed to be focused on some unseen distant place, again, connecting to messages given to her from a different plane of existence. “There’s been a breach of nature.”
“Are you picking up some kind of message from your bond with the natural world?” Van asked.
“We’re all extensions of nature.” Daisy closed her eyes. “Can’t you feel the disruption?”
The animals responded by getting fidgety. Some hooted, some chirruped. One growled.
Wiglaf’s round, blue eyes, peered at Van, his ears raised high. “Wrrf. Milmp ep.”
“Something unnatural is here, in this world. It’s like…a ripple in the universal grid. Not a tear, but a disruptive force.” Her eyes shot open. “That is the origin of the illness.”
Van perceived underlying anger in Daisy she hadn’t noticed before. As if Daisy’s poisoning had given her the ability to harness the power and fury of mother nature. This would make Daisy a formidable enemy, and a great asset to the team if she desired to become a Grigori warrior.
But this connection would put Daisy’s aptitude for healing at risk. Anything that provoked Daisy’s unbridled wrath might cause her to lose control. Van worried that Daisy’s newfound interest in healing people would instead turn to hurting them. Just as it had for Zurial.
“Looks like we still have work to do,” Kopius said. He held a handful of dried fruit that looked like apricot twists and tossed one into his mouth. His skin had already regained color, and his perky attitude had returned. He offered some to Daisy.
She popped an apricot twist into her mouth.
It was the most food Van had ever seen Daisy eat.
She turned to Van. “How much time do we have?”
Van knew Daisy meant the Alignment. “The window is closing in six days.”
“Six days!” Daisy leaped from the couch. “We must get you back.”
Kopius and Brux practically had a nervous breakdown when Daisy exerted herself by hopping to her feet. They fussed and fretted over her.
Daisy waved them away. “I’m fine.” She turned to the animals. “Off you go, friends. Thank you for caring. I love each and every one of you beautiful creatures.”
The little ones scurried up her arm, and she kissed each in turn. The larger animals, like the one that looked similar to a deer, walked over to her, and Daisy bent to kiss each of them. One by one they scuttled, hopped, dashed, and flew out of the opened window, except the larger ones who stood with their noses to the suite’s door.
Paley rushed to open it and happily escorted the larger animals out of the inn.
After Daisy finished, her worried eyes turned to Van.
“It’s okay,” Van said. “We’ll be cutting it close, but we’ll make it.” The confidence she had gained through Thalassa’s test made her unafraid of the balancing force of her Anchoress light, the Quasher.
Then a terrifying thought crossed her mind about the others, especially Brux. His instinct was to protect her, to give his life for her. Van was certain he would die trying to protect his sister, too. What if the Quasher went for Daisy, or Paley to hurt Van, or to draw her out. None of the others were equipped to survive a direct confrontation with the shadow beast.
“We need to get moving,” Van said, eager to get back to Lodestar.
They packed their few remaining items—some clothes, food, wineskins—and cleaned the room.
Van offered Kopius a sip from the Cup. After the emotional torture he had gone through watching over Daisy, she figured he could use a hit.
He shook his head. “I’m good. Don’t need it.”
“Good choice.” Brux zipped his backpack. “Van, put the Cup away. Stop trying to give everyone you see a drink.”
“Most people need some kind of healing, Brux,” Van snapped.
“The liquid heals the body, not the soul,” he reminded Van, and then leaned over and whispered, “most people need the latter.”
She heeded his words and tucked the Cup away in her backpack.
“Will Ferox take the Cup?” Daisy had changed out of her dress and into marketeer’s clothing—cargo pants with many pockets, a ribbed tank, and an overshirt.
The same worry had crossed Van’s mind. “I’m not sure.”
“He won’t,” Paley said. “He’s a good guy.”
“We have two items,” Brux said. “The Coin and Cup. There’s no way Ferox will let us leave with them.”
“Our assignment was to check the seal, not retrieve the Cup,” Kopius said. “We successfully completed our mission.”
“That’s not the problem.” Brux grimaced. “With two items, the Balish will have the ability to annihilate us in a war.”
“Not a chance,” Kopius said. “Not against our Grigori.”
“Ferox would never use the items in a war against us,” Van said. “It’s an incorrect use.”
Brux said to Van, in a low voice, “I guess we’ll see if there’s any truth to his feelings for you.”
His words drove a jolt of fright into Van’s heart. “I guess we will.” She raised her chin and tugged on her backpack.
The team left the inn and headed to the docks.
Van spotted Ferox right away, standing on the bow discussing some important matter with a crew member. Her insides swirled. She caught herself instinctively smiling, and, for the first time, didn’t push away her feelings for him.
Ferox saw them trooping down the docks and met them as they came on deck.
“Daisy.” Ferox smiled and held out his arms. “Glad to see you’re okay.” He wrapped her in a hug.
Van watched their every move. She didn’t care for Daisy’s firm grip around Ferox. She seemed to like his attention a little too much for Van’s taste.
Am I over-reacting?
Being allowed to feel all of her emotions was new for her. Integrating them would be an upcoming challenge.
But by the looks on Kopius and Brux’s faces, they didn’t care for the hug either.
“I hear we’re all friends now.” Daisy’s smile seemed to brighten the entire world.
Ferox’s smile grew bigger.
Van didn’t like it one bit. “Are we ready to sail?”
Her comment seemed to bring Ferox back down to earth. “Ready when you are.” He turned toward Van and clasped her hand. “How are you doing?”
His attention, along with Kopius escorting Daisy away from Ferox to a cabin, greatly improved Van’s mood.
“We have some things to talk about,” Van said, meaning the items.
“We do.”
His intense stare made Van realize he thought she meant their relationship. Although pleased his mind went straight to notions about them being together, she blushed.
Everyone settled in, ready for the ride back to the mainland.
The Obelus set sail.
As soon as they docked at the Skeleton Coast, Ferox reunited with a royal squadron sent by his father, King Nequus, to find and retrieve his son.
Brux and Kopius tensed at the sight but calmed when Ferox didn’t order his troops to chain them together and toss them into the dungeons.
Ferox and Van strolled over to a private area behind some nearby shanties.
“This is where we part,” he stood face to f
ace with Van, holding her hands.
Van felt like sobbing. She knew her eyes watered and tried hard to hold back her tears. A drop trickled down her cheek.
“I have to get back to Balefire and talk to my father.” Ferox caressed her cheek and wiped her tear away with his thumb.
His glossy eyes reflected the emotions of his heart. He would miss her too.
“Like when Manik left Zurial,” Van said.
Ferox smiled. He reached into his pocket, took out the Coin, and held it up. “One item for me, one item for you.”
“Just like—”
“Manik and Zurial.” He slipped the Coin back into his pocket.
They remained silent, staring into each other’s eyes.
Van tucked away every detail of his face into her memory, to take with her and cherish. Just like she was taking the Cup.
“We’ll meet again. Soon,” Ferox said, his voice husky. “I promise.”
Van nodded, pretending to be a good trooper about their inevitable departure, yet her jerky eagerness betrayed her broken heart. Leaving Ferox was worse than any test she had faced so far. She couldn’t bring herself to look at him. She feared it would create a problem—her clutching onto him and never letting go.
He gently raised her chin with his fingers, compelling her to meet his gaze.
“Hey,” he whispered, moving so close to Van she could feel the heat emanating from his body. “I mean it.”
His lips grazed hers.
Van leaned into him and wrapped her arms around his neck.
He hungrily returned her embrace.
They kissed.
And kissed…
Chapter 56
Brux and Kopius were pleased Ferox allowed them to keep the Cup of Life, but not happy he took the Coin of Creation.
Daisy and Paley thought it was the right thing to do.
So did Van. She could use the Cup to cure those infected with the demon illness, and Ferox could use the Coin to find his way back to her, although she didn’t tell the others that last part.
They all worried how Uxa would take the news.
No one commented, or cared, about Van’s lovesickness. Least of all, Brux.
Van was left alone to wallow in her own misery as the team made their way back to the nearest TAV.
Accepting her emotions proved a difficult challenge, including her near-crippling empathy for Brux. His place as a protector in Daisy’s life had been taken by Kopius, and, at the same time, as Van’s assigned protector, he had to deal with her getting romantically involved with the guy she needed to be protected against.
Nevertheless, everyone seemed to be in good spirits, confident they had successfully completed their mission. Other than running into Balish soldiers, few dangers were waiting for them on their way back to Lodestar.
“Wrrp meep,” Wiglaf said as a goodbye before he disappeared back to his magical realm.
Brux appeared next to Van. “We should make it back with a few hours to spare before the Alignment ends.”
“As long as nothing comes up.” Paley chewed on her cuticles.
“Stay positive,” Van said. On the outside, Paley appeared fully recovered from her ordeal with the illness, but her eyes reflected a haunted soul.
As they trudged through the woods, Daisy and Kopius stuck together, talking and laughing, uninterested in anything but each other.
Paley and Brux seemed glad to have survived another journey. Paley made a continuous effort to hold Brux’s attention, and they bantered in good cheer. Although, the Twin Gemstones seemed to be taking their toll on both their energy levels.
After some time, Brux called for the team to stop and take a break.
Kopius and Daisy sat next to each other on a rock and chatted as if they were the only people in the worlds.
“Whew, I need to take a load off.” Paley plopped down on a rock.
Without a word, Brux walked toward the trees.
“Excuse me,” Van called, hands on her hips.
Brux stopped but didn’t turn around. “What?”
“Where’re you going?”
Brux twisted to glare at her. “To the bathroom, if you must know.”
“Oh.” Van’s cheeks flared. She didn’t expect such a personal response. His bathroom habits were none of her business. “Okay.”
“You sure?” Brux said. “It’s okay with you that I go relieve myself? I have your permission?”
Van snorted. “Sorry for caring.” She stomped away. That’s what I get for showing my concern?
Van sat down next to Paley, who offered Van some apricot twists.
Before Van could take a bite, they heard a commotion coming from the woods.
“Brux!” Van leaped to her feet and rushed toward the noise, along with Paley, Kopius, and Daisy.
They stopped short at a clearing by the edge of a cliff. All of them gasped.
Brux was engaged in full-on, hand-to-hand combat with…himself!
Van stared flabbergasted.
“What the?” Kopius muttered. “I want to help but…” His eyes darted from one Brux to the other.
Brux smashed his fist into the other Brux’s face. The two grappled dangerously close to the edge of the cliff. One Brux’s foot slipped during the struggle, and he stumbled, almost falling over the side.
Van wasn’t sure who to root for, or if she was happy or sad about the near-death of one of the Bruxes. She had no idea which was the real one.
“Daisy, can you tell which one is Brux?” Paley asked.
Daisy’s eyes darted back and forth. “Um.”
“It’s me,” one of them said. “I’m Brux.”
They wrestled, one flipped the other who crashed to the ground. He sprung to his feet.
Van squinted, trying to find a difference in the Bruxes—looking to see if one looked more tired than the other, or if one had bruises in the wrong spot. Her eyes strained. They were identical.
“I’m Brux,” grunted the one now held in a headlock.
Van had a brilliant idea. “Show us the Twin Gemstone.”
The Brux in the headlock awkwardly fumbled in his pocket and pulled out the gemstone.
“Aha!” Kopius cried, ready to swoop in and help.
“Wait,” the other Brux said. He released the other from the headlock and also pulled out a gemstone.
“Dammit,” Van said. Whatever the creature, it made an exact duplicate of Brux, down to his clothing.
The fight got more brutal and deadly as the Bruxes battled to the death.
Van couldn’t take the stress. “Stop!”
Both Bruxes ignored her.
She reached into her pocket to grab the Coin and realized she didn’t have it anymore. Ferox did.
Daisy placed a grip on Van’s arm. “You couldn’t have used it anyway. They’re humans.”
“One of them isn’t, it’s some kind of creature.” Van glanced at Daisy. “I was only going to use the Coin to point to the real Brux, not blast them with it.”
The Bruxes grappled dangerously close to the edge of the cliff.
“What do we do?” Paley gripped Van’s hand.
One Brux slammed the other to the ground.
They heard a loud creaking sound coming from the cliff. A crack inched its way between them and the Bruxes, forming an unstable section on the ledge where the Bruxes fought.
“I don’t know what to do,” Van said, her stomach in knots.
Daisy’s eyes glazed and she stared into the distance at nothing. “We need help,” she said as if talking to someone unseen.
Within seconds, several white birds flew overhead and swooped down from the sky. They looked like overlarge seagulls but their beaks were sharper, and their feet were wider than the Earth World’s birds.
Their loud squawks echoed as they zoomed down and pecked at one of the Brux’s heads. He raised himself off the ground and swatted at the birds.
“That’s the imposter!” Paley pointed at the Brux being attacked by the bi
rds as if she figured it out all by herself.
Kopius took a step forward, Van grabbed his arm to stop him.
“We have to be sure.” She felt sweat bead her forehead. Paley and Brux were bonded together by the Twin Gemstones. “If the real Brux is killed by accident, Paley will also die.”
“I didn’t think of that.” Paley’s finger zipped to her mouth. She gnawed on her cuticles, again.
“We can trust the larumbelles.” Daisy stared proudly at her bird friends.
“I’m going in.” Kopius cautiously stepped forward and walked over the crack in the ground and onto the unstable ledge.
The edge of the cliff dropped several inches—not at the crack between the team and the Bruxes—but the ground under the Brux’s feet who wasn’t being attacked by the birds.
Kopius stopped, afraid to walk closer to the edge. He stepped back, behind the crack.
The Brux struggled to maintain his balance. His feet teetered on the edge. As he regained his footing, the ground beneath him completely gave way, and he dropped out of sight.
Daisy gasped. “That’s the real Brux!”
“No, it isn’t,” said the Brux standing on solid ground, still swatting away the pecking larumbelles.
“It is!” Daisy insisted. “The birds were sent to us by Lilla.”
“How do we know we can trust her?” Van had become jaded from her personal experiences with other Elementals, and Lilla was the Elemental Guardian of All Animals. “No Elemental I’ve ever met has helped me with anything without paying a price.”
The birds stopped attacking the Brux standing near the edge of the cliff, circled around him a few times, and then flew away.
“Daisy, you know it’s me.” Brux had spots of blood on his face and hands from the pecks and scratches caused by the larumbelles.
“Don’t listen to him. I’m Brux,” the other one shouted. His voice carried upward from the side of the ravine.
Obviously, he had grabbed a jutted-out rock, or a strong root dangling from the side of the cliff and had stopped his fall. Brux’s hands came into view as struggled to climb back onto the cliff. Van knew if he hadn’t been so drained from the gemstones the climb back onto solid ground would have been easy.
The Brux standing on the cliff angrily glared at the other. He made a move as if about to walk over and make sure the other Brux didn’t make it.
Plague of Death Page 42
