“They fit in down here. There’s room on the platform, too.”
“Reasonable enough,” he said and left it at that.
Mara set her bags down and gave me a once-over. “Are you okay?”
“Fine,” I said. “All fine.”
Mara didn’t look like she believed me. She scratched one leg against the other. The anklet probably chaffed against her skin.
“You could have told us before you ran off,” she pressed.
“I’m not in the habit of answering to anyone. Free country and all,” I said, then gritted my teeth to keep a tirade from tumbling out.
As much I liked Lev, Mara had no idea what I had been through in my life. She hadn’t yet earned my trust or my respect. I refused to answer to her. She must have thought my nervous prattling session on the train meant I wanted to be mothered.
Definitely not.
An eight-foot-tall reptilian strolled by, studying our exchange with interest. We were just a moment away from drawing a crowd on the platform, and that wasn’t how we wanted to introduce ourselves to Raishana. I’d already attacked one woman in the last few days, and I was still trying to decide if Jane had deserved it. I didn’t need to add another to the tally sheet. Despite how much I wanted to.
My heart rate couldn’t catch a break, which couldn’t be good for the baby. I took a deep breath, then forcibly relaxed my shoulders and tempered my voice. “If I want you to know something about me, I’ll be sure to tell you.”
I turned to Lev. “What do we do first?”
Mara’s face fell, but she stepped forward. “The city is beneath the train station platform. We should find a place to stay and then begin our search.”
I slung my bag over my shoulder and lifted the heavy case. “Any idea where to begin looking?”
Lev picked up their cases. “I thought we’d start in the library of the city. They might have genealogies or the local printed news.”
I made a face. “Underwater?”
Lev grinned. “Maybe they use seaweed paper.”
“That’s a great idea,” Mara simpered.
A movement caught my eye and noticed a small man totter from shadow to shadow across the terminal. When I blinked, it looked like a trained monkey. When I blinked again, the silhouette resembled a cat. Traveling must have taken its toll. I was tired and seeing strange things. I shook my head and squeezed my eyes closed. When I opened them, the figure had disappeared in the crowd.
We followed the crowd to the counters along one side of the curved wall and took our places in a short line. Two others seeking admission to Raishana were in front of us, waiting for a khaki-uniformed woman to acknowledge them.
The admission and customs officer had smooth green skin, the color of sea foam. Her eyebrows twitched every few seconds, but she had a smile that promised a good experience. She had only two arms and lacked the humanoid-cephalopod hybrid shape the Librarian had mentioned the locals had; I knew she wasn’t native to Raishana.
Finally, it was our turn. She called us forward with a sharp-toned, “Next!” She tucked her flaxen hair behind her ear.
That’s when I saw her earpoint. Fae.
The official was Fae. Had Arún’s parents discovered my pregnancy? I clutched my middle. Were they coming to take me back to the Fae Realm? A cold sweat broke out all over my body.
“Hello,” she said. “Welcome to Raishana.” She glanced up. “What lovely wings you have,” she said, tilting her head upward. Her gaze narrowed. “My name is Bitteen.”
“Thank you,” I said.
For long moments, she didn’t take her eyes off my wings.
A flush swept over my face. She didn’t look like anyone I’d met at the castle, but maybe she recognized me from the Eilean Ren gossip papers. I nixed that idea as quickly as it had come. The Fae were far too polite to print scuttlebutt and hearsay.
Her reverie broke into another smile, too sweet. Sickly sweet. “How may I help you?”
Somehow, she knew me. I was certain of it. Maybe she despised me because I wasn’t Fae or maybe it was because I’d snagged the most eligible Fae bachelor in the Kingdom. My mouth opened and snapped shut. I didn’t know what to say to fill in the gaps. The Fae woman’s presence could mean so many things, almost all of which terrified me.
Lev stepped forward. “Where would we find public record documents? We’re trying to discover what happened to a friend of mine.”
“In order to leave this platform, you must apply for special visas. They take three Raishana days to be approved.” She looked like a teacher speaking down to a student. She handed Lev three clipboards that looked like they were made of coral.
“How long is a Raishana day?”
“You’re Earth-ers,” she stated it as though any simpleton could tell. “One Raishana day is equivalent to forty-eight Earth hours.”
Lev’s eyes widened. “Three of those days?” He harrumphed. “Surely there must be—”
She pointed to the garage-sized door behind her. It had been designed to be large enough to allow crowds inside. Yet, since we’d been there, they’d only passed one or two through at a time.
“The city is currently off-limits to you.” She waved a hand in a circular motion around us. “This location is currently the only portion of this realm open to you. You can find everything you need here in the terminal, and a meal card is included in the paperwork.”
I fought panic, and my hand fluttered at my collar. Maybe they wanted to keep me there until the Fae guards could collect me. I won’t give up my baby. I mentally screamed at the firmament and railed at the cosmos. I didn’t care about the prophecies; those old things had nothing to do with me. We had to get out of there.
Mara placed her on the Fae woman’s hand. “I lived here once… Surely you can speed things along? Maybe you recognize me?”
The uniformed woman’s gaze darted to me. Something hardened about her eyes, and her mouth tightened. “When you are approved, you can go into the city. Not until then.”
She leaned around the three of us, instead making eye contact with the next person in line.
“What about beds?” Surely they had something other than benches.
“Next!” The staccato voice was like a guillotine that silenced any more arguments.
Like that, we were dismissed without another word. My eyes watered, and the back of my throat burned. I didn’t like Bitteen at all.
Mara put her hands on her hips. “What do we do now?”
We crossed to an area with benches.
My stomach growled, and I rifled through the paperwork. “I can’t believe this is standard procedure. There aren’t any beds or anything out here. She only gave us meal cards.”
Lev dropped the luggage on the nearest metal seat. “Clearly, someone is trying to keep us out of the city.”
Mara tugged on her braid. “That means we sneak in. What other choice do we have?”
We couldn’t leave Raishana until we had what Lev needed. Staying in quarantine for six New Haven days had not been a part of the plan.
I nodded while I tried to match logos on the food cards with kiosks on the arrival platform. “Where do we start?”
“They must have shifts at the gate,” he said. He turned to Mara. “Do you remember anything about when you lived here?”
She bit her lip and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she shook her head from side to side.
“Then we do the best we can,” Lev said.
“I didn’t see any other way into the city.”
The Fae woman passed the next three travelers into the city. There was another reason for our being stranded in the station. I could feel it in my bones.
I won’t give up my baby. The same words circled my thoughts, coming forward over and over. They were my new mantra. I didn’t care who Bitteen worked for.
Lev shook his head. “Neither did I. You?” He turned to Mara, and she shook her head again.
“That settles it then,” he said. “
We’ll set up camp here.”
“While we’re waiting, we might as well fill out the forms and give them back to her.” I dropped into the seat and started filling in the blanks on the paper. “We don’t want her to suspect anything or alert anybody.”
“Very good,” Lev said. He seated himself at the other end of the bench and began filling in his questionnaire. Mara took the spot next to him and worked on hers, the light glinting off her unique foot jewelry.
After we had all completed them, Mara offered to walk them over. Lev went with her. When they were finished, they strolled about the terminal, hand in hand. While they were within eyeshot, and out in the open like this, I didn’t expect any trouble, so I pulled two sweaters from my clothes bag and formed a ball. Next, I pulled a fizz-tonic from the case and downed it.
This pregnant woman needs a nap.
It was nothing new. I didn’t know if I could sleep with the uncertainty of not knowing who Bitteen was or what she intended. But I was certain sleep would hunt me down and take me prisoner at a most inopportune time if I didn’t take a nap then.
I settled on the bench, stretching out. Bitteen’s purpose would soon become clear. I knew it. My feet grazed the armrest at one end and the top of my head touched the armrest at the other end. Since I was only average by mortal standards, it meant the benches must not be very long.
The metal wasn’t really comfortable, but it was the best we had until we could get into the city. I wasn’t going to ignore the usefulness of a lull.
I tucked earplugs into my ears to limit the chatter of the milling multitude. The plugs didn’t drown out everything, but dulled sounds to a low roar. If Lev or Mara needed me, I’d still be able to hear them.
While I waited for sleep to claim me, Arún knocked on the door to my thoughts, and I pictured him in front of our home fire just before I’d kissed him, his face awash in the love he had.
As I was drifting off, something shifted in my middle—like nerves or butterflies, and I couldn’t help the smile that cracked my face. I must have looked crazy, grinning like a fool and almost asleep on a bench, but I couldn’t help it. Born or not, our baby lived. And, for the moment, there wasn’t anything in the world I loved more.
31
Amnesia
Mara
I laid a hand over my eyes, trying to shut out the dull hum of the platform. The bright lights had dimmed hours earlier, but it made no difference. Adrenaline still coursed through me. My heart beat faster than normal, and no matter how I twisted and turned, sleep refused to come.
My bottom lip still hurt from where I chewed it, trying to quell the trembling that threatened to make my teeth chatter. It had been bad enough that I knew some things and didn’t know so many others. When the ex-angel had disappeared, the muddled gaps in my memories made my concern skyrocket. She must have determined to give me a heart attack as bad as Lev’s had been.
No other travelers had been banished to the benches. That alone made us targets.
Potential foes were around every corner. I remembered so little of my time in Raishana. I had been terrified for her, and then she reappeared as though there wasn’t a Boss after her. Like the Boss didn’t want to make her into a breeder.
More hours ticked by, the noise from the crowd diminished even more. Lev still snored, and Woe took slow, even breaths. How could they sleep?
Danger lurked, but I couldn’t tell where. I wanted to give in. Do nothing. Wait for the inevitable to swallow me whole. But I couldn’t.
Because… Lev…
The narrow bench squeaked as I rolled over. Lev snored gently by my head, but I was still awake. My anklet itched. Thirst attacked next, driving drowsiness away. Finally, a trip to the bathroom became inevitable. So much for rest.
I sat up, considering the facilities across the way. Maybe that would be the key to getting some rest. Carefully, quietly, I climbed to my feet. I didn’t want to wake either of the Keepers.
The door hinges squeaked as I entered, but at the threshold to the bathroom, I gaped. The layout was like that of snail shell, and I followed the corridor toward the center, running my hand along the wall. Instead of tiles, everything had been dressed in mother of pearl—from the doors on the stalls to the sinks, every inch shone. The reflection from the old-fashioned lamps made the room doubly bright. When I stepped inside, I expected the floor to be slick as the inside of an oyster shell, but, instead, the surface had been roughed by a thin coating of coral sand. A bank of three sinks to the right matched the bank of stalls to the left. A mirror rested over each sink, set in sea glass frames.
Afterward, I stopped at the sink farthest from the exit, twisted the starfish spigot, and waited for the water to warm. I washed and then lifted a handful to my lips. The salty liquid hit the spot, and I wished to bathe in it. A handful barely touched the dehydration that worked its way through my Mer cells, but it was the best remedy I had. I took another handful then another.
The entrance squeaked, and footsteps approached.
When I glanced up, expecting to see a stranger, Bitteen studied me through the reflection, her arms crossed. I hoped she couldn’t see the tremble that moved through my body. Surely she hadn’t figured out our plan.
“Mara,” she said. “So nice to see you again.”
“Nice to see you.” Over the sound of the running water, my voice trailed away. She spoke as though we’d known each other through more than paperwork.
She tucked a strand of hair behind her pointed ear and then studied the back of her hand. She crossed to the sink nearest the door, turned on the water, and stuck her hands beneath it. “A mutual friend sends her greetings.”
Black spots danced in my vision. I shut off the water, and I didn’t know whether to shake my head or nod. “W-w-what?”
She couldn’t possibly mean what I thought she did. Could she?
She smiled, the expression twisted and sickly. “I have a message for you,” she tipped her head to the side, “and a warning.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” But a part of me reeled at what I already knew she meant. I had to be wrong.
“Ah, yes,” she went on. “Our friend mentioned that partial amnesia might be a side effect of her mind meddling. Scrambled things up a bit, did she?”
Bitteen knew about the holes in my memory. Bitteen was a Raishanan paper pusher. A Fae woman that I’d never seen before that day. Wasn’t she? She had to be.
She shut off the water and sniffed. “Remember who you are and who you belong to.” She nodded toward my leg. “You haven’t been forgotten.”
“What do you mean?” I stammered. I couldn’t remember, but I knew.
“Everything is going according to her plan,” she said, her lips peeled back in a pointy-toothed snarl.
I flinched when she reached into her pocket and removed a small, golden medallion. She pressed a button in the middle and then held it up. A three-dimensional image of Shannah appeared over it.
My sister had been bound and gagged.
“Shannah,” I whispered. She was still alive, and the Boss knew everything. The horror bound me, too. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t move.
My mouth dried. Until that moment, I had been certain that the Keepers had protected me from her. That my anklet hadn’t buzzed, warmed, or shocked me because of them. My knees buckled, and I slammed my hand against the sink to keep from falling. It hadn’t been the Keepers that had kept me safe, and I believed that they would be able to save Shannah.
Bitteen pressed the button again, and Shannah disappeared. “She’s still alive, you know. Let’s keep her that way, shall we?”
I had no answer. My mouth refused to work.
I backed away, scanning the mother of pearl bathroom. At that moment, we could have been the only two in the world, and I was defenseless.
Bitteen rolled her eyes. “I won’t kill you. Your job isn’t completed, and there’s still a chance that Shannah will survive.”
&nbs
p; My tongue came loose then. “Is that the warning?”
She pursed her lips. “The warning is from me.”
“W-w-what?”
“Be careful of that boyfriend of yours.”
“Lev’s not my—”
“Save it. I can read minds.”
I didn’t argue.
Her eyes narrowed. “Except his. I can’t figure out what’s going on in his mind…” Her voice trailed away as she rinsed her hands. “It’s like staring at a churning sea.”
The silence stretched between us.
“W-w-what does the Boss want me to do?”
She flicked her wrists, flinging water from her fingers. “Nothing but keep your Mer mouth closed. You’re good at that. That’s all you have to do.” She arched an eyebrow. “Let their plan progress as it will.”
The anklet warmed around my leg. When the first shock surged through me, I froze with my hand on the sink, unable to move. Like a statue knocked over, I slammed into the ground. She slipped from the room as another wave, even stronger than the first rolled through me.
Shannah wouldn’t be saved from the mastermind that held her, and I’d lead Lev and Woe into a trap with no escape.
Lies. I believed a daydream. Lev couldn’t save anyone. Me, least of all. None of them could. I had been caught in a net with no way out.
Hope shattered into a thousand pieces.
Another surge slammed into me, and I waited to be found.
To be rescued.
But no one came, and I remained at the mercy of a captor I could not see.
Finally, the surges stopped. Sweaty and beaten, I curled into a ball beneath the mother of pearl sinks, my cheek pressed against the gritty floor, sobbing into my hands.
I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.
32
Whiskey in the Jar
Jason
Our Lady of the Park, Catholic Cathedral, New Haven City
Seated in my desk chair with my back to the door of the Athenaeum, I stared at the map on the wall, cradling a glass in my hand. The room was back in order after the mess with Jane and Woe. I took a sip of the amber liquid and savored the light after-burn and the final notes of honey and cinnamon. The scotch was older than I was.
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