by Brindi Quinn
“Speak, vile Daem!” said the Elf. “I have left your tongue unbound so that you might speak the answers that we seek!”
“Go to hell.”
She stormed over and gave the floor between my legs a good, hard stomp. “Where is the star?!” She was furious.
“Go. To. HELL.”
“ARGH!” She formed her hands into a circle.
“Wait!” The second innocent put up a hand.
“Be quiet, Sape! Let me exact his punishment! He is as insolent as his kin!”
“Scardo,” said the innocent, “come take the ropes, okay? Rend, just hold on.”
The lanky man hopped up and exchanged places with the girl. From this angle, I could see that we weren’t actually in a boat. We couldn’t have been. We were traveling through a mountainous area with trees and grass. From where I sat, there was no water. But this thing looked like a boat from the inside, so what the hell was it?
“Hi-ya again, Sowpa!” said the innocent.
“My name is Gershaw.”
“Okay, Gershaw. Tell us where the star is, and I’ll let you have some of me. How does that sound?”
“What?!” Kantoo shook her head with gusto. “Trib! You can’t do that! That’s gross!”
“It’s ground, Kantú.” The girl turned back to me. “What do you think of that, Gershaw?”
So the squirrel’s name wasn’t ‘Kantoo’? That was just that big guy’s backwater accent?
“Gershaw?” prodded the girl called Trib.
“You can go to hell too.”
“Hm. Are you sure?” she asked.
“No thanks. I’ve had better.”
“Really? Bummer! Well, how about another try, just to be sure? Rend, could you release his whole head?”
“ARGH! Punishment would be better suited for thi-”
“Just do it, Rend,” said the big guy. “If this doesn’t work, we’ll let ya have yer way with him.”
“Fine.” The Elf’s smile was so diabolical that it actually made me a little worried. It didn’t matter, though. They’d never get the star.
The Elf muttered an incantation, and my head fell forward. It was still reeling.
“Here you go!” Trib reached for my horn.
“Fuck! Get off!” I tried to butt her away, but it was pointless. I’d gone too long without an innocent. If my wrists weren’t stuck at my sides, they’d have started shaking. It felt good. It wasn’t as good as her, but it was good. I pulled in as much as I could before Trib yanked her hand away.
“Little tease,” I spat, neck pulsing.
“You can have more!” she said. “All you have to do is tell us where the star is!”
“No.”
“Here you go!” She put her hand back on my horn.
“Argh!” I tried not to take it in, but I couldn’t stop myself. I sucked in some more. Mid-pull, she yanked her hand away.
“MORE!” I couldn’t stop my mouth from begging.
“Ready to talk?” she asked.
“GIVE ME MORE!”
She started to move her hand to my horn, but stopped just inches away. “Where’s the star?”
“Shut up, you bit-”
“Where is it?”
“Give me more first!”
“Nope! Tell us right now, Mr. Gershaw!”
The small high I’d gained from the pull made me throw back my head and laugh, but it wasn’t enough to make the feeling of empowerment stay.
“Ugh! This is pointless!” yelled the Elf. “Is it not my turn?”
“That’s up to Mr. Gershaw,” said Trib. “Well, what will it be?”
I was on the verge of that feeling, and I wanted it more than anything. Was the star really all that important? It wasn’t even mine to begin with.
“Oh,” said Trib. “Too bad. I guess it is your turn, Ren-”
“Hold on!” I said. I wanted to be stronger than this, but I wasn’t. “I want your word. If I tell you where the star is, I get as much as I want.”
“No!” said Kantú. “Trib, don’t agree to that!”
“That’s my deal,” I said. If I was to give up the star, I’d make sure to take my fair share of this girl. And my fair share? All of her.
“What do you think?” Trib asked the big guy.
“Naw,” he said. “We’ll figure somethin’ else out. He’ll drain ya dry.”
“Yes,” agreed the lanky man at the back of the boat. “I cannot agree to something like that.”
“But he’s so close!” said Trib. “Can’t you kids see that?”
“Course we can, but we’re not gonna let ‘im consume ya!”
“All right, then,” said Trib. She neared her face to mine. “Can you make a better offer? Otherwise it’s time to bring in the big stuff!”
The ‘big stuff’? Like they had anything that could intimidate me.
“My offer stands,” I said. “You for the star.”
“Okay, Rend.” Trib retreated her life-giving hand. “You heard him!”
The Elf let out a cackle. Then she pushed up the sleeve of her cloak and touched her arm with the opposite finger. “Mikkan. We are ready for you.”
Mikkan? Who the hell was that?
There was a loud cracking sound from above, and then I saw something stomach-turning: a man falling through the sky in a funnel of cloud.
A fucking ANGEL?!
The circle of cloud made contact with the center of the boat thing, but didn’t rock it. The swirling funnel fought with itself, blocking out the man contained within. Even through that veil of cloud, I could see his disgusting shine.
All at once, the cloudy fighting stopped. The air was clear, and there stood one of them.
“Hello, ancient one,” said the angel.
“What are you doing here?! Get away from me!”
“Show them what they seek, or I shall kill you as I killed your brethren.” He reached a shine-infested hand to my forehead.
“Do it! Slaughter me! I’ll just come back again!”
“I would not be so certain. You are not the being you once were. You are not complete. Should you die now, you would be left to wander.”
Damn it. He was right. But I couldn’t let an angel win!
“Piss off.”
“Where have you hidden the star?” he demanded.
He couldn’t tell? That was good. At least I had that advantage.
“Kill me and you’ll never know,” I said.
But the angel only started to laugh. He was mocking me!
“Kill me and be done with it. You’ve had your fun.”
“Fun? Oh, no,” said the angel. “I do not laugh because this is fun. I laugh because it is almost time.”
“Time?”
But vomit rose in my throat when I realized what he was talking about. The whistle. How long had I been knocked out for? Hours? If that was the case, then there was a good chance that it really was almost time!
DAMN!
“Aha,” said the angel. “See? You know it as well. Here is what I will offer you. Once it starts, if you tell us where the star is, I will make it stop. If you do not tell us where the star is, I will take on my true form. Do you know what that means? Your time will be slowed. You will be locked in place. Your suffering will last as long as I seek to pause your state of-”
But he was cut off by that shrill torture that only I could hear.
“ARGH!” I let out a yell and my head lolled. My hands were still bound at my sides, so I couldn’t cup my ears. I couldn’t get any relief.
I wouldn’t let that angel know anything. I’d been willing to tell them, if it meant I’d get a whole innocent out of the deal, but now that there was an angel involved, I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing he’d won. I’d never- “ARGH! STUPID ARDETTE!”
It was too much, too shrill, too brain-throbbingly loud!
“Well?” The angel leaned in. “What will it be? Shall I slow your time now?”
“GO TO AAARGH!”
&nb
sp; “Very well,” said the angel. “Prepare yourselves, I am about to unsuppress myself.”
Unsuppre-
But at that point, everything changed. I was lost in timelessness under the power of the angel’s glow.
The shrillness slowed, but was still just as shrill. I couldn’t handle it. It pierced its way into my skull. Over and over and over again it continued to sound. I wanted to black out. I wanted it to fucking stop!
STOP IT!
Under the angel’s full weight, the whistle went on for what felt like ten minutes. And then another ten passed. And then another. I couldn’t take it. I was being driven insane.
“Fine.” I could barely speak.
The angel smiled.
Smug bastard.
“Where is the star that they seek?”
Turn it off. JUST TURN IT OFF!
I couldn’t concentrate with it like this. And I couldn’t show them with my hands bound.
“Unbind.”
The angel nodded. “Rend, he requests to be unbound. I will suppress myself so that you can cast it.”
The shrillness sped, and we were all released from the angel’s weight. A moment later, and my hands were unbound, but my body was limp from the strain of the whistle. I brought my hands, which were shaking, up to my head.
STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT!
“Show us,” threatened the angel. “Show us now, and I will block the sound from you for good.”
STOP IT! If he went back on the deal, I’d rip him to pieces.
Shaking, I brought one of my hands down, ripped open the buttons on my shirt, and bore my chest to the rest of the scum.
“What is it?” said the Elf, scowling. “There is nothing there!”
I put a finger onto the left side of my chest and whispered, “Appear.”
The hidden yellow star tattoo revealed itself. The angel bent down, put his hands on my ears, and the whistle’s shrill call stopped.
I toppled to the ground, panting.
“That’s the star?” Kantú curiously approached me. “What’s it do, Grottsy?”
“Haven’t a clue,” said the big guy. I finally knew his name. ‘Grottsy’, but it sure as hell wasn’t fitting for a burly man like that.
“Well, now that we know we’ve got it, we can go to the place marked on the map! Let’s set our course for that right away.”
“Do not be so hasty to react,” said the Elf. “There is a change of plans. We are to meet them at the marsh.”
“The marsh?” said Trib. “What marsh?”
“Ya mean that swamp forest we crossed on our way ta Druelca?” asked Grottsy.
“Yes.” Rend nodded. “There will be an issue, however. Apparently, Mikkan is unable to enter that place.”
“What?” said Kantú. “Why?”
Because he’s a stinking angel, that’s why.
“That marsh holds a curse. It is called ‘The Dragon’s Wrath’. If I go there, I will cease to be.”
“You’ll cease to be?” asked Trib.
“He will die.”
The Squirrelean formed herself into a squatting ball and let out more of those squeaking noises. “So that curse that Ardette was talking about was real?!” she asked.
The Elf nodded. “It would seem as such.” She brought her finger to her arm again. “Mikkan. You may return. Continue to watch us from the skies.”
“Yes, pact holder.”
The angel returned the way he’d come, summoning a swirl of clouds and rising into the air.
I was still trying to catch my breath.
“Should I help him out?” asked Trib.
“No,” said the Elf. “Allow him to suffer. For his vileness, let him suffer.”
“It’s not his fault,” said Trib. “It’s not like he has a real h-”
“SHUT UP!” I yelled.
She’d almost said it. I couldn’t let her say it. If she said it, the star would be lost, and I’d be changed.
“Here, Sowpa. You can have enough to help you liven back up, but no more than that.”
“That is not necessary, Sape!” hissed the Elf.
She really hated me as much as I hated her.
“Yes, it is,” said Trib. “You don’t know everything. That’s why . . . Just let me help him. Ground?” She walked over and squatted next to me roughly. Now that I thought about it, she was more like a boy than a girl.
I was furious for what they’d done to me. I wanted to retaliate. I wanted to refuse her help. I wanted to fight back. But I was too weak. I couldn’t do anything. And the thought of innocent was just too good.
She placed a hand on my horn. “Go ahead.”
I pulled it in and felt that rush. My head started to grow light, and I found myself laughing. If I’d had more strength, I’d have ground her palm into my point until I could feel her blood rushing down. The thought was tempting, but I was still too weak. I needed to gain a little more before I could try to exert that much force.
The boy-like girl clicked her tongue.
I took in another gulp and studied her. “How are you still an innocent? If you know so much, how are you still one?”
“Even if I know,” she said, “I’ve still decided the way I want to look at things. I’ve still decided to keep an open mind. You see, I’m always open to the idea that I’m wrong.”
What a stupid way to be. That was just called indecision.
I pulled in more, and that lightheadedness grew and traveled down the back of my neck, soothing the leftovers of the whistle’s reeling. “How do you know about me?” I asked.
“My uncle contacted a deceased Elven Elder named Roran. From him, he found out a lot of things that he passed on to me. One of them was the story of you and your brother. I knew right away when I met Mr. Ardetto. I’m not a Magir, but because of this,” – she pointed to her hair – “I’ve always had that sort of perception.”
Because of the enchantment placed on her?
“You aren’t afraid of me?” I asked.
“Nope!”
“Heh. That’s a mistake.” I grinned because I was stronger now, and I was about to indulge again.
I grabbed her hand with the intent to push it deeper into my horn’s point. She was an idiot for coming to heal me. I was going to make her suffer. I was going to use her like I wanted to use her. I was going to steal her innocence.
But something stopped me.
I’d rejected the star all those years ago. I’d kicked it from its buried place, and since that day, I hadn’t been able to call upon that other spectrum of emotions. Without the star, I was only the dark part, so how I was now able to feel something light was beyond me, but I felt it nonetheless. I felt it just a tiny bit, and it made me release her hand.
Trib smiled at me. “Yeah, that was me. Not you. Didn’t it feel good, though? To call from something born in light?”
“How did that happen? I can’t-”
“That’s another part of my enchantment. It was a gift from Elder Roran to my uncle.” She again motioned to her hair.
“The gift to lend from your light? What purpose does that serve?”
“None,” she said. “Until now. Maybe he could see a glimpse of what was to come?” She tilted her head to the side. “Anyways, I didn’t know it would turn out like this, but I think I’m one of the only people that can help you, so that’s why I’ve decided to stick around! Not to mention, if the good guys win, I’m sure I’ll get a handsome bonus from Elder Pietri. By the way, are you strong enough to hold yourself up now? I think you are, so I’m going to let go!”
But I gripped her wrist again before she could. Not because I wanted to suck more life out of her, but because I wanted to feel just a little bit more light.
“Are you my brother’s girl?” I asked.
“No!” She laughed heartily. “I’m not interested in old men like you guys!” She slipped her hand away. “If I were you, I’d behave until we reach the marsh. Mikkan doesn’t like you, and neither does Rend. If
you try anything, one of them will knock you out, so for your own good, behave! Besides, you’ve probably gathered what they’re going to use you for. Even I’ve figured that much out! I think it’ll be better for you! I really do!”
“Go to hell.”
Any light I’d borrowed from her was gone. I was back to being the dark part. The star on my chest sizzled.
Trib nodded, pushed herself to her feet, and went to relieve the lanky pilot. “Ahoy, Scardo! I’ll take it from here!”
Chapter 16: The Sacrifice
“Elder Nosrac?” I said. “Is this where you’ve been?”
The bird said nothing.
“I called him here,” said the moon. “I knew that he would be needed once you arrived.”
“We need him?” I glanced at the bird, which pompously lifted its beak in return. “For what?”
“That can wait. First, ask those questions which are the cause for your visit.”
“I want to save Nyte,” I said. “Is there a way?”
“Why do you wish to save him, my daughter? Do you have a good reason why this one man’s life should be spared?”
“Because I love him.” I lowered my voice. “I know it’s selfish.”
The moon was silent a moment before continuing, “History does repeat itself. And what do you think of this, Elf?”
“I will willingly die. I do not wish to leave Aura, but if it is what is best for the state of the world, I will do so. I will not let her sacrifice herself.”
I knew that was what he’d been counting on all along. I knew that for him, this trip to the moon was only so that we could free it and bring about ad’ai and that, if I didn’t find some other solution, Nyte would martyr himself. It’s what he’d been planning from the start, but hearing him say those words now, out loud, was too much.
A tear lit by silver-pink effulgence slid from the corner of my eye. I hid it from him.
Steadying my voice, I asked, “Is there some other way to go about all of this?”
“There is,” said the moon. “And you know it well. It is the solution that you would act out if given the choice. You must take his place and pass the responsibility of separating the land to a future generation.”
