by Lindsay Nall
“But you do care about him.”
“I care about all of you.”
“Mari…” She held up a hand and Vander took the hint to get lost. He left her sitting next to the stream with her thoughts. She sat there until deep night started to set in, a time when the stars shone brightest and unfortunately the night bugs were heavier.
“Marisol Kilo.” She put her head up when she heard a man’s voice call her name. “Marisol Kilo.” There it was again she looked around the woods but saw no movement until Marclay dropped into her lap. She shrieked with a start and glared at the Wigget. “Marisol Kilo?!”
“Mari are you okay?” Vander, Reagan, and Nyght were all coming into the clearing startled out of sleep by her scream.
“Yeah I’m fine it’s just…who is this?” She looked at Marclay with a cocked eyebrow, the source of the strange voice.
“What do you mean who is it? It’s Karter! Who else would be calling you on your Wigget at this time of night?!” Mari bit her lip at the chastisement and shrugged.
“Could have been a wrong Wigget…”
“A wrong Wigget…time in the field has addled your brain, Mari.” Behind her Vander covered his laughter with a coughing fit. “Where are you currently?”
“You should know where I am.”
“So much for polite conversation!”
“Get to the point Karter, what do you want.”
“Your Uncle appears to have gone missing.” She snatched the Wigget and held it close to her face.
“What do you mean missing?!”
“Well not missing per se but he turned off the locator in his emblem. We need you to go find him, his last transmission was somewhere outside of Ipsburg.” Mari thought over where they were and how far it was to Ipsburg.
“That’s not far, just a couple of hours walk from here.”
“Faster if you use the wind.” Karter interjected.
“Alright I’ll leave now, I’ll let you know when I find him.” She turned off the communication channel on the Wigget and released Marclay who hovered in front of her face with her teeth bared. “Oh chill.” She waved away the Wigget and stood.
“We’ll go with you.” Mari was already shaking her head before Reagan stopped speaking.
“No, if my Uncle doesn’t want to be found then he’ll flee pretty quick if he hears the Silhouette is anywhere around him.” Nyght stepped forward with his arms crossed over his chest and his feet spread wide, everything in his body language spoke disapproval.
“I don’t like the idea of you going by yourself.” Mari nodded understanding both his need to protect her and his need to not let her leave when he thought she was still angry with him.
“You trained me well, I’ll be fine.”
“Take Storm,” Vander whispered holding out his Wigget who flew over and landed on her opposite shoulder than Marclay sat on. “Send him back to us when you find your uncle.” She nodded but Nyght’s gaze never left her face. “Be careful Mari.” Vander whispered. She nodded to him and held out her hands to draw the wind to her, if she used it for speed she could be in Ipsburg within the hour.
“Mari…” She opened her eyes to find Vander and Reagan had taken a few steps back but Nyght was right next to her. “I… I don’t want…”
“This came at a good time Nyght, stand back or you’ll get knocked over.” Nyght watched her with those beautiful liquid silver eyes of his as he took a step back. She could see all of the emotions in them as if she were looking at his soul, all at once with one look he was asking for forgiveness, understanding, patience, and most importantly her heart but she shut herself off to them and closed her eyes letting the wind pick her up and carry her off towards her destination.
“Goodbye…” Nyght whispered hoping the words would carry on the wind to her ears alone.
Eleven
Mari made it to Ipsburg a little over an hour later and scouted out the taverns in the town. She knew there had to be a couple of them as Ipsburg was one of the larger towns and knew even more that her Uncle was more than likely warming a stool at one of them. As she made her way into the fourth tavern she heard familiar laughter and narrowed her gaze on the bar. Sitting in between two large-chested women with his arms around each of them and a pint in one hand was her Uncle. Muttering obscenities under her breath that would make her father roll over in his grave she marched over to him and smacked him upside the back of the head.
“Now ladies no rough play remember? At least not yet.” Mari grumbled another oath and reeled back to hit him again.
“It wasn’t us.” The woman to his right whispered as she slipped out of her Uncle’s grasp. The other woman turned to see Mari glowering over the back of her Uncle’s head and followed suit of the first woman sliding away and out of reach.
“Oh come on ladies…” Marinique Rayne spun around on his barstool with a licentious leer on his face only to get smacked across the face.
“What the hell is wrong with you!?” He shook his head to clear the stars and looked back to his niece.
“Mari? This is no place for you! What are you doing here?!” She rolled her eyes putting her hands on her hips.
“Karter sent me to find you because you went missing! What’s the big idea turning off your locator and just vanishing?!” Marinique looked into his pint like a child being scolded.
“You were worried?”
“Of course I was worried, you idiot!” Marinique stood and threw his arms around his niece wavering slightly on his feet as he hugged her.
“You do care.” She was getting seasick from the movement and pushed him off of her.
“Stop embarrassing yourself and get your things together, we’re leaving.”
“Where are we going?” Marinique threw a couple of coins on the bar and picked up his jacket.
“We’re going back to meet up with the others.” Mari added another couple of coins to the bar in an attempted apology for whatever her Uncle had been up to before she got there.
“No, you’re not.” Both turned to see a beautiful woman in the doorway watching them with a stilted gaze.
“Who are you?” Mari asked.
“They call me Terra.” Mari cocked an eyebrow and looked the woman over from head to foot. She wasn’t intimidating looking but there was a certain aura that emanated from her that put Mari ill at ease, something familiar that she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
“What’s a Muse doing here?” Marinique asked looking the woman up and down also but where Mari was trying to figure out her aura her Uncle was admiring the woman’s curves.
“The Five wish for me to monitor both of you for a while.” Mari and Marinique exchanged mirrored looks of confusion.
“Why?”
“Your abilities are beyond one so young to the Silhouette.” Mari could agree with that but then she looked to her uncle and pointed a thumb at him.
“What about him?”
“His actions have been questionable lately.”
“Great even The Five think you’re an idiot.” Marinique sighed and bowed his head.
“Such cruelty. And from my own niece!” Marinique sniffled feigning hurt.
“What’s our assignment then?” Mari asked. The Muse looked around the Inn slowly then returned her gaze to the two Shadows in front of her.
“The other group is heading south; you are to head west with my accompaniment in the morning.” Mari wasn’t happy about it but she knew there was no use in arguing with a Muse. Marinique let out a little sigh with a nod then turned back to the bar.
“Well if we’re not heading out until morning I will be returning to my stool.” Terra watched him walk away then leaned in a little closer to Mari.
“He’s one of our top warriors?”
“He’s mostly an idiot.” The Muse seemed slightly shocked at Mari’s honesty but shrugged and sauntered off to a secluded corner of the bar.
After booking a room for the night Mari made her way to her room and held a hand out
for Storm who had been sitting on her opposite shoulder from Marclay. “Time to send you back little friend.” Storm cocked his head back and forth in response. “Don’t give me that look I told the others I would send you back when I got here and well… I’m here.” Marclay flew down and landed next to Storm curling around him with her wings out. “Marclay, he has to go.” Marclay shook her head and wrapped her wings around him tighter. “You two are going to make me call them aren’t you?” They both nodded. “Well, I guess I can call Reagan.” The two Wiggets hissed at her idea. “Vander?” They hissed again. Letting out a loud sigh she took a seat on the small bed and sat both Wiggets down in front of her. “Fine, Marclay call Nyght.”
Leaning back against the headboard of the bed she waited for Marclay to connect her call to Nyght’s communicator mentally preparing herself for a conversation she was hoping wouldn’t happen.
“Hello?” Nyght’s disembodied voice came from Marclays' mouth.
“Hey, Nyght.”
“Mari!?” She nodded then realized he couldn’t see her.
“Yeah. I got to Ipsburg and found my Uncle.” She wasn’t sure why she didn’t say anything about the Muse or the change in their travels but it seemed he picked up on her missing information. He was silent for a long minute then spoke again.
“You’re not coming back are you?”
“Not right now.” He went silent again. She couldn’t figure out what to say to him, her heart still hurt from what she had seen this morning and the fact that he wasn’t allowed to love anyone. She knew he did though and in her own selfish stupidity, she had let that happen. “Maybe it’s for the best, you know put a little distance in.”
“You think that’s what I want?” His tone was dark, angry, making her bite her lip.
“What do you want then?”
“I want to talk like normal adults! I want to know what’s going on in that mind of yours that has you acting like this! I want you!” Storm cocked his head back and forth between Mari and Marclay, Marclay stared at Mari, she stared right back. What was she supposed to say to that? Damn the AI upgrades in these two.
“Nyght…” She knew what she wanted to say but knew she shouldn’t say it. She wanted to tell him exactly what she was feeling and thinking, she wanted to demand an explanation for the woman in his room, she wanted to figure out if they had a future or not, above all she wanted to be in his arms. “I need to be here for now.” A quiet sigh reached her ears from the Wigget.
“Marisol, when will I see you again?” Honestly, she didn’t know. She had no idea how long this Muse was going to be hanging around or if she would be staying with her Uncle after she was gone.
“I don’t know; it may be a while though.” He went silent long enough for Mari to wonder if he was still there. “Nyght?”
“Very well. Be careful.”
“You guys too.”
“Goodbye.” The connection went dead making her sigh. What was she going to do?
The new group of three, Mari, Marinique and Terra the Muse traveled for a week but something didn’t sit right with Mari. The Muse never helped out in battles with demons, even though Mari knew Muses were in the hierarchy of angels and were vastly powerful but this Muse hid from the demons as if she was afraid of being seen. Aside from the fact that the Muse had demanded Mari not use her eye, she said it was so she could gage her abilities better. It also bothered Mari that Terra asked so many questions about Shadows and the Silhouette, questions she should already have the answers to or be able to do her Muse mind-meld thing and pick the answers right out of Maris’ or Mariniques’ brain. If she had that ability at all she didn’t show it, in fact, she didn’t show any of the abilities a Muse should have and finally the concern of it got to Mari.
They had stopped in a small town to rest for the night and quietly Mari crept into her Uncle’s room. Now was the only time she would have to talk to him without the Muse around and she wanted to know if he noticed the same oddities that she did.
“Uncle, wake up!” She shook him lightly and he rolled over.
“A beautiful woman in my room!” Marinique reached out to grab Mari but she side-stepped him.
“Wake up you pervert!” She smacked him but he just smiled and lunged at her still half asleep.
“I like it rough.” He smiled and started making kissy faces at her.
“Oh, this is ridiculous! Marclay! Bite him!” Marclay jumped from Mari’s shoulder and bit Marinique through the sheet.
“Owe! What the…Mari? What are you doing in my room? Where did the beautiful woman go? And why does my butt hurt?” Marclay flew off the bed and nestled back on Mari’s shoulder giving off a little shudder of disgust when she did.
“I’m just gonna take the beautiful woman comment as a compliment and move on. I need to talk to you.” She took a seat next to her Uncle as he rubbed his eye and his rear simultaneously as he glared at Marclay out of his one open eye.
“What time is it?”
“Late but I need to talk to you about the Muse.” That seemed to wake him up a little more.
“Terra?” Mari nodded. “What about her?”
“I don’t know…does anything seem odd about her?” Marinique cocked an eyebrow at her. “I’ve met Muse’s before. They never ask questions, they always just pull the information from people’s minds as they saw fit, had no problem fighting demons, almost showing off what they could do but this one… it’s like she’s afraid of them.” Marinique leaned on his knees and shrugged.
“Maybe she is afraid of them?” She shook her head.
“The Five wouldn’t allow a Muse like that into the field with Shadows…” The statement made her eyebrows furrow. “Wait…Uncle? Have you ever heard of a Muse being sent into the field to observe Shadows?” He opened his mouth to say something but stopped and shook his head.
“Now that you mention it no I haven’t. Every Muse I’ve ever met has been OCD, I’ve never seen them outside of an office unless necessary”
“She wears a lot of perfume too…”
“Mari what are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking we need to place a call to Karter.” Marinique nodded laying back down. “In the morning, sleep well.” Mari stood and opened the door to his room to leave but the moment she got the door open she was thrown back across the room by a high-pitched wail, a demon call. When she looked up from the floor at least half a dozen demons were clawing into the room walking on the walls and ceiling but what held her attention was the demon in the doorway, or rather the Muse, Terra.
“Such a touching moment. The smart little girl figured it out.” Mari growled and got to her feet. Next to the bed, her Uncle stood ready to attack. Marclay in her need to protect her owner took off full force at the demon but it easily backhanded her into a wall.
“Marclay!”
“Who are you demon?” Marinique yelled over the chattering and howling of the other demons in the room.
“I’m not stupid enough to answer that question.” The demon threw out its hand giving the smaller demons the signal to attack.
“Keep them distracted!” Mari yelled digging in her Uncle’s coat pockets for his box of matches. She couldn’t draw on fire unless it was already created and her frantic search was making her more panicked. She felt the breath of a demon on the back of her neck but when she turned a flash of pewter whipped by her face and right into the demon’s skull.
“Front breast pocket!” Marinique yelled throwing more knives into the demons that were closing in on her. Oh sure, now he tells her where the matches are. Locating the box she struggled with getting the match to light, she was shaking so bad the match stick broke in her hands. She could smell the sulfur from them, she had almost had it lit but she wasn’t going to go looking for it. She pulled another match from the box and struck it quickly. The fire sprang to life and she pulled it to her hands feeding it, expanding it, molding it in her hands into what she wanted.
“Get down!” Marinique dropped to his
stomach as she turned and released the fire on the room in a spray of red and yellow flames. The demons shrieked and screamed as they were destroyed by the fire but when she turned her attention to the demon in the doorway it held up its arm and ran when it caught on fire. Immediately Marinique was out the door after it chasing it down the hallways of the tavern as Mari tried to put out the fires still burning in the room. “Oh, this is pointless.” She called the water in the washbasin to her and used it to put out the last of the flames licking up one of the walls.
“It got away.” Marinique whispered when he walked back into the room.
“I’m more concerned with what it wanted.” She put the matches back in her Uncle’s jacket and turned to lean on the desk to face him. Marclay had gathered herself and returned to Mari’s shoulder where she was happily making little chattering noises as Mari absentmindedly rubbed her side.
“Information more than likely.” Marinique walked over to the basin but frowned when he saw it was empty.
“Yes but information on one of us or the Silhouette?”
“That is the question isn’t it?” Marinique walked over next to her and pulled a flask out of his coat pocket. Taking a swig he handed it to Mari and she followed suit.
“I’m just not sure I want to know the answer.” She handed the flask back to him, taking one more drink from it he put it back in his pocket.
“I think the big question is what do we do now?” Mari tapped her lip at his question, she had an idea on what she wanted to do but she wasn’t too sure the Silhouette would be too happy with her following through on it without even checking in. Shrugging she decided to follow her instinct.
“I want to go off the grid for a while and go back to Ipsburg.” Marinique cocked an eyebrow at her.
“Ipsburg?”
“It’s where we met up with the demon isn’t it?”
“You want to try and find the tear the demon used.”
“Find a Witcher, find the demon’s name. Find the demon’s name…”
“You can find the tear and summon it. Alright, we’ll go back to Ipsburg, you really are my niece.” She rolled her eyes and turned off Marclays’ locator. It was better the Silhouette thought they were here last and kept on moving instead of thinking they were backtracking. Mari just hoped the demon, whatever it had wanted, it hadn’t discovered.
