by Jenn Nixon
“Well?”
“A mutual exchange of assistance.”
Cyndra rolled her eyes.
Rune shook his head and bit into his jerky before moving back to his original position near the fire.
“It’s like you’re talking and saying nothing at the same time. Kind of amazing and completely fucking annoying.”
“I have reasons, caster. The history you know is a lie. I was there, I saw the world die,” Zorin said, seeing the dread and confusion cross her face for an instant. “Finding your cousin is imperative, yes, however, if I left you without imparting what I know, teaching you about the crystal’s power…I don’t want your death on my conscience. I—”
“I saw something when I touched the crystal,” Cyndra said softly. “Everything was green and alive.”
“Yes, it was.” Zorin breathed in deeply. “You were very young when the flare came.”
“Five…I think,” she whispered and glanced over to Rune. “Did you know sign at three years old?”
He nodded.
Cyndra’s shoulders dropped. She scrubbed a hand down her face and turned to the docks. Rune approached, offering the last half of his jerky stick and shrugging. Cyndra sighed but gladly took the food. “One day and then you’ll take us to Baltimoretown?”
“Yes,” Zorin replied, ignoring the rush of hope surging through his veins.
“Where’s your island?”
“Across the bay.” Zorin circled the fire and turned his gaze southeast. “With enough height, I should have no problems getting us all there.”
“No fucking way. Boat or no deal.” Cyndra crossed her arms over her chest while shaking her head.
Rune smirked and shrugged when Zorin met his eyes.
“If it is the only option—”
“It is.”
“Then I will see to it,” Zorin reluctantly replied, balling his fists as he stalked toward the nearest boulder and lifted into the air, hearing her scoff from behind.
Ignoring her this time, Zorin caught a gust of wind to climb higher, then altered his direction to the abandoned docks to search for a boat for the pain in the ass caster who seemed determined to fight him every chance she got despite his desire to help.
When she saw Mergan’s prison, once she felt the power of the mirror-wraiths guarding the mansion, after he told her the truth, maybe he’d finally be able to break the ice and gain some semblance of cooperation from the defiant caster. If he didn’t, he had little chance of being human again and the entire planet had no chance of recovering.
Forcibly turning away from the gargoyle soaring through the air, Cyndra went to her bag and unpacked the water, the box since it was on top, a container of dried fish, and the last banana she’d probably have for months. She sat cross-legged on the ground, closer to the fire, and set everything down in a semi-circle. Her stomach rumbled. Cyndra took out two strips of fish, glanced over her shoulder to catch Rune’s eye, and lifted her hand.
“Still hungry?”
He nodded.
“I have a banana we can share, too,” she said, relaxing some when he sat beside her and plucked the fish out of her hand. He signed thank you. “Welcome.”
I think he’s telling the truth.
“Probably, but…can we not talk about it for a bit? I’ve hit my weirdo limit for a while. How about we share a little? I grew up in the South part of the Eastzone with my grandfather and cousin, did ZoneCorps at seventeen, moved to Turner’s Village in Virginialand at twenty-one and turned my government trailer into a trade shop. Been in the marketplace ever since. Pretty boring, really. Your turn. What’s your family name?”
Rune shrugged. My guardians gave me theirs so I could get my ID badge at seventeen.
“Guardians, you mentioned them before…where did you grow up?”
The building I lived in used to be a school in the North Westzone, near California Island. My guardians, teachers from Florida, resettled west since they had family there, turned the land into a farm. They told me I appeared on their doorstep a week after the flare, wearing my crystal, and holding a blank sheet of paper in my hand.
“Blank?”
He nodded. Until two weeks ago.
“Weird.” Cyndra thought back to the day in question. Nothing odd came to mind. She’d spent the morning gutting Kyle’s catch of the day and the afternoon trading with Milo’s father, the butcher, and one of the garment shop owners. At a loss, she shrugged, took a long sip of water, and tilted her head slightly when the wind kicked up faster.
He irritates me as well, but he has answers and he’s here right now, willing to give them. We can easily survive the woods together, make our way north to the next town, and hope we find passage—
“If your journey is my journey, we need to start thinking like a team. So after he tells us what he tells us and shows us his proof, we talk it over and figure out the next step.”
Rune grinned. Thanks, Cyndra.
“For what?”
Trusting me to remain at your side. I’ve had several days to come to terms with what I can do. I can only imagine how you feel given your introduction.
“Yeah, wasn’t cool and fun like my fantasy books.” Cyndra frowned when the guilt and fear and all the confusion boiled up to the surface again. She didn’t want to catch fire again, so she breathed deeply and bit into her banana, offering Rune the other half. “Where’d you get the jerky?”
On the train trip through the darklands.
Cyndra shuddered.
I don’t think it’s as bad as you’ve been told, the land is…black and desolate, but that’s all you can see now.
“They say it goes all the way around the earth like a ring. Others say you can feel death in the air.”
I didn’t. Don’t misunderstand, it was very depressing…
“What about all the mutated animals? We have mut-wolves here, but hunters have said they’ve seen buffalo with two heads.”
Perhaps I went at the right time because I didn’t see anything.
“Brave, that’s for sure.”
Rune smirked and shook his head.
“Honest to goodness, braver than me.”
He rolled his eyes. You are very interesting, Cyndra.
“Likewise.” She chuckled as she tossed the banana peel into the fire and packed the container back in her bag. Even with no idea what she was about to learn, Cyndra felt slightly better knowing she had a friend going through the same thing. “I hope that we—”
Rune gasped. He gazed over her head and then lifted his brow. Cyndra turned to the odd sight of Zorin driving a small recreational boat toward the shore. Rune’s eyes lit as he jumped up from the ground and ran over. Cyndra, having seen enough boats to last her a lifetime, put the box back in her pack and secured it tight. Then she stood up and kicked dirt onto the fire to put it out.
After she looped her arms through both straps of the pack and hefted it to her shoulder, she double-checked her sai was in place and picked her hat from the ground before she approached the shore.
“Bio-diesel engine, enough to get us there and back twice.” The smug look on Zorin’s face disappeared when Rune waded into the water and neared the boat grinning from ear to ear. Cyndra had never seen anyone so excited over a boat before.
“If you want…” Zorin said, confusion twisting his brow. “Do you know how?”
Rune shook his head as he jumped into the boat.
“He wants to drive?” she asked, pausing on the shoreline.
Zorin nodded and edged the boat as close as he could, which sadly meant she was going to get wet too. Cyndra walked in, knee deep, and flung her backpack over the side. When she glanced up, Zorin towered over her holding out his hand. She clasped it, feeling a cool sharp jolt pinch her spine. He pulled her straight up and set her on the deck before she blinked.
“Uh, thanks,” she said.
He nodded before moving back to the controls where Rune stood, marveling at the every piece of equipment as if seeing it for the first time
. Cyndra didn’t care who drove and sat on the port side bench and set her pack between her legs, doing her best to ignore what happened when she touched Zorin’s hand.
After a quick driving lesson, the engine revved louder and the boat started to move. Rune maintained a slow speed as he turned the boat around, heading back in the direction Zorin had come from, toward the docks and away from Baltimoretown.
Cyndra gazed out at the bay. The setting sun lit the sky, bright orange and pink clouds with hints of purple scattered across the horizon creating a marvelous sight she rarely saw during her travels. She never came this close to shore and now she was heading to some strange island with a gargoyle who claimed to know the real history of the flare.
Still at her weird limit, Cyndra shut off her brain and set her head down on her pack, letting the salted air and rhythm of the boat’s movements relax her body.
“Cyndra,” Zorin called loudly.
She jerked awake and lifted her face from the backpack. “Shit.”
We’re here. Rune’s happy voice echoed in her head.
Cyndra adjusted her hat, even though she didn’t need it in the dimming sunlight, and covered her mouth when she yawned.
“If you wish to rest—” Zorin began.
Cyndra shook her head as she stood up and swung her pack over her shoulder. “Eat, sure, that we can do…while we talk.”
Rune offered her a thin smile and nodded his head. I have a bit of jerky left.
“And I have two ears of corn and a quarter loaf of bread that’s going to go bad in a day,” she said, following them to the dock. When she turned toward the island to see a dark imposing lighthouse before her, she gasped and stopped dead in her tracks.
“Do either of you eat squirrel?” Zorin asked.
Cyndra stared at the beautiful structure made of large mismatched rocks. That same familiarity overpowered her insides as her eyes settled on the cast iron walkway and glass enclosed lantern room at the top. She’d never been here before. Why didn’t it feel that way?
Cyndra? What is it?
“Nothing.” Shaking her head, Cyndra walked toward Rune and ignored the strange look in Zorin’s eyes and the butterflies it created in her stomach. “And yes, I eat…anything. That’s the only way to survive these days.”
“I have a stove and icebox in the lighthouse.”
“You live here?” Cyndra asked, shuddering.
“Yes,” he replied.
Who lives there? Rune pointed to the enormous mansion north of the lighthouse.
“We…will get to that eventually.” Zorin turned to Rune. “There is a cache of weapons on the lower level, you are free to take anything you need.”
Huffing and biting her tongue, Cyndra picked up her pace and walked off the dock first, making a beeline for the lighthouse. Zorin glided past her and then blocked the path. She clenched her jaw and fist, feeling the heat rising.
“Do not wander the island alone, Cyndra.” He stared down at her with steely blue eyes as his wide chest expanded and his breathing hitched. “The mirror-wraiths felt your presence the moment you awakened and most certainly know you are here. They normally stay on the mansion grounds but—”
“What the shit?” Cyndra rubbed a warm hand over her face. “Those things came after us. A little warning would be nice. What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“I…” Zorin’s brow dipped.
Rune squeezed her shoulder. We’re all a little tired and hungry, I’m sure he meant to tell us.
“I think you’re giving him too much credit,” Cyndra snapped and gazed back toward the boat. The idea of being trapped on an island with a bunch of creepy wraiths and a gargoyle was not part of the deal. Her need for answers could wait until she reached Pristy. No one in her right mind would stay. Cyndra knew it might be her only chance to leave too.
“I didn’t mean to offend,” Zorin said, tucking his wings back, which she figured he did to make himself seem less imposing. It didn’t work. “Rune is trained, that is why I offered him the weapons.”
“It’s fine, just…drop it.”
He shook his head. “I should have told you about the wraiths. In my defense, I have hundreds of years of history to tell you and I’m still at a loss as to where I should start.”
Rune lifted his brow. Eat first, then talk?
Cyndra sighed but nodded.
Zorin led them to the entrance of the lighthouse and into the weapons room that looked more like a disorganized storage space. They walked silently up three dozen or so stairs to a large elaborate living space she’d only seen in faded magazines published long before the flare. Although it only had one couch and one table with two wooden stools, the beautiful wood floors and walls were unlike anything she’d seen in person.
As she ran her hand along the smooth surface, saw the icebox similar to her own tucked under a cabinet, and a large wood burning stove, the smile formed easily. One of the two doors on the opposite side was opened and she almost fainted seeing an actual toilet.
Amazing right? Look at this view. Rune said, peeking out one of the large rounded window on opposite sides of the room.
Cyndra gazed out the other, to see the ocean, and sighed at the gorgeous sight of the light bouncing off the waves. When she turned back, she and Rune were alone.
“Where’d he go?”
Rune pointed up.
Cyndra set her backpack against the icebox and started pulling out everything she was willing to share, keeping more than enough for her and Rune to make it a couple of days if needed. Zorin’s heavy footsteps echoed above. He came down the stairs with a squirrel and rabbit, gutted and skinned, skewered and ready to cook.
Rune frowned. I’m sorry I don’t have much to offer in the way of food, but I do have some dollars and a couple Zonecoins, which is why I was happy at the docks. I had enough to get us both there.
“Oh, that makes sense,” Cyndra said, setting the bread, her dried fish, and the ears of corn on the table next to her sai. “Have a pot?”
Zorin motioned across the room. “Under the stove. The lavatory has a sink.”
“You have running water?”
“There is a well on the island.”
What’s the other room? Rune asked.
“Sleeping quarters. The former keeper slept there.”
“In a bed?” Cyndra asked, feeling her eyes widened.
“Yes,” Zorin answered as he crossed the room and set the game on the cutting board sitting on top of the icebox. “I have a carrot and flour. Do you like stew?”
Who doesn’t? Rune projected with a smile.
Cyndra twisted her mouth, knowing she’d feel like shit if she didn’t offer it up. “I have a potato and some spices…”
“Stew it is,” Zorin said, half smiling as he turned to Rune. “May I borrow a knife?”
Nodding, Rune slipped one of the older knives from his belt and handed it over. It was different from the ones she’d seen him use when he fought. Zorin studied it for a moment and then got to work on the game.
Cyndra went to the stove and found a couple large pots underneath. After pulling both out, she carried one to the lavatory and tried not to stare at the shower hidden behind the door. She brought a half-full pot back to the stove to see a few more items on the table while Zorin started a fire.
No one talked as they prepared the meal. Even though it was odd seeing a winged man stirring the stew, Cyndra watched him and the corn bobbing in the pot, thinking it was the first time she felt normal in two days, despite the exciting, cool vibes the gargoyle was throwing down.
For now, she’d take as much normal as she could get because soon, the weird would rear its ugly head and fill hers with even more questions.
Zorin set two bowls of squirrel and rabbit stew down on the table while Cyndra plucked the corn out of the hot water with one of the forks left behind by the previous owners. She set both on an empty plate and slid it closer to Rune.
“We’ll split one,” she said to the ca
ster. “Can you cut it?”
Sure. Rune answered.
Cyndra grinned up at him and signed thank you.
Zorin nodded. He turned back to the stove and scooped the last of the stew into another bowl, ignoring the tightening of his stomach. Only when his guests began eating did he tip the bowl to his mouth.
The food easily warmed his body and soothed his hunger, dampening the temptation to absorb the casters. When Cyndra pushed a hunk of bread closer to the edge of the table near the whole ear of corn, he wiped the corner of his mouth and set the bowl down.
“That’s yours, Zorin.”
“This is enough for—”
“You’re twice our size, you need more food.”
“I’m a siphon, I can sustain my strength simply being near you,” he said, watching her cheeks darken. The power of her energy sizzled through the air. Zorin sucked in a breath trying to ignore her unique vibration. “Casters give off enough residual power for me to absorb.”
“Oh, I see,” she said, swiping her bread along the edges of the bowl to collect every bit of gravy inside. “Still, you should never turn down food.”
“You’re right, but you can have the corn, it doesn’t agree with…me,” Zorin said as he picked up the piece of bread and tossed it into his mouth.
Cyndra took a long sip from her water bottle then passed it to Rune who happily drank as his gaze went toward the lavatory. She chuckled and nodded her head. “Already thought of that.”
“What?” Zorin asked, not privy to the whole conversation.
“You have clean running water. I’m gonna fill up before we leave.”
“Certainly, you’re welcome to anything you find in the lighthouse,” he added, “both of you.”
Thanks. Rune dipped his head. You’re a great cook, too, that was amazing. Did someone teach you?
Having prepared the answers to a dozen questions, Zorin smirked at the odd opener and leaned against the wall, staying close to the warmth of the stove, as he nodded.
If you’re going to give us a history lesson, you may want to try being a bit more forthcoming. The caster rolled his eyes playfully. We both have a lot of questions.
“And if you’re really struggling with a place to start…how about the Shield. You said I was related to it.”
