AetherBlood

by Alexis N Sage

  If they were scared, let them be scared. She was their AetherBorn. She had delivered them to safety time and time again and nothing would stop her from protecting them. Elena would come back to her, perhaps not right away but she would come back.

  It was Ruby’s job to make sure there was something to come back to. That she was someone worthy of her return. Someone worthy of her leadership.

  She was an AetherBorn and she had cowered in fear for long enough.

  Chapter 41

  Doorway

  “Ruby! Liam! Ruby!” Zag knocked incessantly on their hotel room door. “You guys there? It’s important!”

  She unlocked the door, barely having enough time to tighten her robe before he came barreling through. Elijah and Ren were on his heels and cast an apologetic look in her direction before stepping inside.

  “Sorry,” Ren said, running a palm over his shimmering head, “We were having lunch and he just yelled something and ran here.”

  “We tried to stop him,” Elijah added.

  Ruby waved them off, “No worries. We’re used to it.”

  She gestured for them to come in, realizing too late that Zag was already sprawled next to a bare-chested Liam on the bed, pointing excitedly to something on a map he’d brought in. The knowing glance Ren and Elijah exchanged made her face burn as she realized how their state of undress must have looked. Their personal activities were apparent to everyone in the room. Everyone but Zag it seemed, who continued to talk excitedly at Liam.

  “Girl, you have got to see this! I figured it out!” He beckoned her to come closer, “We’ve been following this dude in a circle. All over the country! And it’s just getting us closer to Westerlake!”

  “Yeah, we know. Ruby already figured that out,” Liam said.

  “Well, obviously! She’s the queen bee,” Zag beamed and pointed back to the map, “but do you know why we’re on this morbid little treasure hunt?” He knocked a pen against the paper, waiting for her to answer.

  “No?”

  “Ha! Well, you won’t like it, doll. I mean, it’s brilliant, but for sure you won’t like it.”

  “Zag, will you stop with the theatrics and please just get to the point?” Elijah yawned and rolled his eyes.

  “Ugh, fine. So, we know the murders are all near the water, right? Well, I started thinking– why the water? Why not anywhere else? Seems totes random, no?” He paused to look around the room before continuing, “So I did some digging, got Ray on board, and turns out that these spots here,” he drew large circles around the places where they had found the murdered Elementals, “are like energy centers of sorts.”

  “Meaning what, exactly?” Ren asked.

  “Not sure yet. Not technically. But who knows, this mumbo jumbo is more Twilight Zone than science if you ask me. Whatever! Anyway, these parts here where our homeboy left the bodies are exactly where the Aether Plane has the most contact with the real world. I couldn’t get that weirdness out of my noggin! Energy centers, murders, circles. Sounds like a freakin’ ritual!” Zag threw his hands up in excitement, “And guess what? It is!”

  “It’s what? A ritual?” Liam asked, leaning in closer to the map, the duvet slipping dangerously closer to his waist level. Ruby had to look around to make sure she was the only one paying attention before nudging him to cover up.

  “Yep! Some weird thing from eons ago. Turns out that if you end an Elemental life in each one of these energy sucks and close the ring,” he drew a circle around the map for emphasis, “some big doorway thing is supposed to open.”

  “A doorway where?” she asked, turning the map around to face her.

  Zag knocked the pen against his head before tucking it into his shabby hair, “That, I have no clue of, milady. I was lucky I could even dig this stuff up. But I know it has something to do with Westerlake. Ray said the plane was the the most accessible there. Like it had the most energy out of all the other–” he thought about the word to use, “ports. Yeah, I like that!”

  “Zag! Pay attention!”

  “Right! Sorry! But yeah, that’s basically it. Circle, murder, energy ports, Westerlake is in shit.”

  With his last statement, the room fell silent. She was afraid to look at their expressions out of fear of falling apart. They’d played directly into Demas’ hands. He had strung them along and they had followed him; she had followed him. All the while the real danger was threatening their home and she had allowed it to be left completely unprotected. If Demas and the deities were to attack right now, they had no chance of survival. Sure, the knights and AetherBorns would put up a fight but she doubted it would be enough. Not if he caught them by surprise.

  “We have to warn them. Elena is on her way back there, she can start securing the center with the rest until we make it back,” she said, silencing the thoughts she didn’t want to hear. “Zag, can you let everyone know?”

  He nodded, folding the map under his arm before rushing for the door.

  “Zag!” She yelled after him, “You did great. Thank you.” She watched him give a final salute and disappear into the hallway.

  “We’ll call our people back home. Have them meet us in Westerlake,” Ren said.

  “Guys, I can’t ask you to do that.”

  “You’re not. We’re offering. Besides, I’ve never been to Westerlake. I hear it’s beautiful!”

  Their eyes met and she smiled, only for a moment before her lips turned downward and a sadness settled across her face.

  “Yeah, I’d live and die there.”

  Chapter 42

  The light she saw before

  Elijah followed Ren outside, trying to keep up with his pace and almost dislocating his shoulder on the door frame. The door closed behind them, the slam sending a rush of adrenaline through the room, followed by an immediate hush.

  She tossed her suitcase on the bed next to Liam and started dumping her clothes into it in a rush. “Why do you think Westerlake is so important?” she asked, cramming a pair of jeans into the pile.

  “I’m not sure. But there has to be a reason for so many Elementals to end up there,” he noted, following her lead and beginning to pack himself. “That can’t be a coincidence.”

  “I wonder why there of all places.”

  “Maybe they like the pizza, I’d stay just for that! We have the best slice in the country!” He laughed but stopped as soon as she shot an unimpressed glare in his direction.

  “I’m serious.”

  “I know. But I don’t know what to tell you. As far as I know, there’s been generations of Elementals being born in Westerlake for as long as anyone can remember.”

  “Since Westerlake was formed?”

  “Probably even before that!” He announced excitedly, “My dad once told me that when our grandparents first started building the center, people died in the tunnels on the regular. Like it was cursed or something.”

  “And they still kept trying to build there?”

  “Yep. Maybe something drew them to the place.”

  “Like whatever that energy is that Zag was talking about. Something from the plane.”

  “Could be.”

  “Well, it’s a start at least.” She rubbed the back of her neck, “We should see if I can find the portal to the plane when we get back.”

  “And do what if you do?”

  “I don’t know. Get Demas in there or something.”

  Liam’s body tensed next to her. “And then what?” he asked, eyes fixed on the edge of the bed.

  “Then I kill him.”

  The silence lingered like the scent of gasoline in an alley. When Liam finally spoke, his eyes were a shade of green she hadn’t seen before. She tried to discern the meaning in them but he’d built a wall to keep her out. “That’s suicide.”

  “What other choice do I have?”

  “How about choosing not to attack a murderous deity?”

  “You know I can’t do that.” Her hand grasped his, “Things are different now.”


  “You definitely are.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Ever since we started this whole wild goose chase you’ve been changing. It’s like you don’t care about anything but him and his deities.”

  “Liam, he’s going to kill everyone! That’s his big plan. I can’t care about anything else right now. I have to stop him!”

  “What if you can’t? What if he just goes on killing Elemental after Elemental? You going to keep chasing him around the country?”

  “No. Like I said, I’m going to kill him.”

  “By yourself? You’re going to go up against four deities all by yourself?” His hand jerked away from her, “Look, I know you’re an AetherBorn and have the sword or whatever but you’re not invincible. And you’re not that strong.”

  “Well, I was really hoping that the rest of you would help out.”

  “The rest of who, exactly? The ones in the center? Do you mean the kids or the AetherBorns you brought in who are afraid of their own shadows? Who is going to be strong enough to do this with you, Rue? Do you even have a plan?”

  He stood in front of her. His body blocked the rays of sun coming through the sheer curtain and it made the hotel room remind her of his sleeping quarters at the center. How she wished to be there right now and not stuck in this strange town– and in this conversation.

  “Look,” he continued, “I love you and I will follow your little butt wherever you go but I hope you trust me enough to believe me when I tell you that you need a plan. One that’s better than ‘I’m going to kill him’. You had to watch me die once, please don’t make me go through that with you.”

  Ruby’s heart broke. She’d been so preoccupied with everyone’s safety that she hadn’t stopped to think about how her actions might affect him. Of course, he was upset. If he wanted to rush in and get himself killed, she’d be furious. She ached for him. She wanted to tell him that she was sorry. That she would be careful. That he had nothing to be worried about. But her eyes failed to focus on him, gazing instead over his shoulder, into the small beam of light that escaped into the room.

  Her gaze traced the direction of the light, following it to the wall. It was dark but she could still see bits and pieces of the room. Blood covered every inch of it. Everything around her was coated in its red thickness. She looked down at her hands, vibrating from the sight of them. It was as though someone had sliced open her arteries and painted the world with their contents. Her attention slid back to the light she saw before. By the time she realized what it was, it was gone.

  “Rue? You there?” Liam asked.

  “Huh? Uhm, yeah. What happened?”

  “You zoned out for a second.”

  “Oh. I think I just had a vision.”

  “You did? What did you see?”

  She wanted to describe it but there were no words. She wasn’t even entirely sure what she saw herself. “Blood,” she said, “a lot of blood. And–” she paused, glancing back to the window, “I think I saw a portal.”

  The warmth of his hands on the back of her legs relaxed every tense muscle in them. She let out a breath that had been caught in her throat for what seemed like an eternity. Her fingers ran through his thick hair, settling to cradle his head in her lap. She tried to remember some detail of the vision but the only straw she could grasp was the blood. So much blood.

  There were too many questions washing over her. So many that she had to steady herself just to breathe. Stay here. Stay with him. Don’t go back there. She recited, hoping to avoid another vision without success. Before she could take another breath, she was back in the blood room. Staring at the portal with eyes wide as saucers, clueless as to where it might lead.

  Chapter 43

  Decide

  Ruby felt like she had spent half her life on trains. The shaking, the whirring, the sudden jerks in her seat had become like a ritual for her. Each squeal of the wheels against a rusted track silenced her rustling thoughts, sending her back into the car, half reclining in front of Zag and Ray, who were more than a little friendly. She heard Zag say something resembling a joke, sending Ray into a whirlwind of laughter. The AetherBorn’s hand landed on his forearm and stayed there, lingering playfully.

  Oh, for Christ’s sake! Are they flirting?

  She remembered these moves. Her and Liam used to play the same games. Now the only moves Ruby could think of involved the dagger and a very dead Demas. She replayed the thought in her head, hoping the blood she saw in her vision was his.

  “I’m going to get a cup of coffee,” she said, pulling up the drooping waistline of her jeans.

  Zag offered a half nod in her direction, but that was as much attention as she got from the two. Shaking her head, she closed the car door behind her. No one needed to see that.

  The train jolted, sending her into the side railing. She cursed under her breath but kept walking. She thought about finding Liam – Cyril had pulled him away some time ago for elder business, and he was likely bored to tears by now – but having this one moment alone seemed precious, and she didn’t want to part with it.

  Carefully making her way to the main car she felt her footsteps slow. She was a few doors away from Jake’s seat and tried to use whatever positivity she had left to wish for the door of his car to be closed.

  It was wide open. Figures.

  Ruby turned to look in, slowing her steps yet ready to get away as soon as time allowed. Jake was slouched in the seat, his hand twirling a vape pen thoughtlessly, gaze to the window.

  “Finally kicked the habit?” she asked and watched his head jerk to face her.

  “Nope. Forgot to charge the battery last night,” he said with a smirk. He pointed to the empty seat in front of him. “Need some company?”

  Not really, she thought but came in anyway.

  He sat up, tucking his feet in to make room for her. “So how are you feeling?”

  “Ugh. I guess you want to talk about my little freak out.”

  “We don’t have to.”

  “Yeah, right! I can see you’re dying to talk about it. It’s fine. I think I owe you an explanation.”

  “So, this whole thing with my dad,” he chewed the bottom of his lip until it flushed, “what happened there exactly?”

  “Other than what I said already?”

  “Okay, I don’t need the attitude. Just tell me what happened, geez.”

  She twirled a piece of hair into a point. “Sorry. Every time I talk about it–” she paused. “It’s just hard, that’s all.”

  “I know, Rue, but he’s my dad. I deserve to know.”

  “Remember before the treaty? When you came to see me, and I told you about my plan?”

  “When you made yourself a martyr for my dad and Elena,” he said.

  “Yeah, that time,” Ruby fidgeted in her seat, rearranging herself to sit on her hands to avoid biting her nails. “I did that right after I went back.”

  “In time, you mean?”

  “Yep. My original plan didn’t exactly go to plan.”

  “How did you even figure out how to do that?”

  Her mind disconnected as thoughts of that day flashed by. She remembered the surprising pull of the sword, its power sinking into her. Saw the room spin in front of her again just as it did that day to carry her back through time. Then, like a bullet, it struck her. The image of Cyril slicing Liam’s throat, his eyes falling lifelessly in her direction, and the blood. All the blood. “Let’s just say I had motivation,” she finally said.

  “You mean my dad killing Liam.”

  “I’m sorry, Jake. I know you want him to be a hero. I can’t un-see it, I wish I could.”

  Jake slid off one of his loafers and rested a leg on the seat. His gaze left her, softly landing back at the window and the passing view of the landscape. “I get it, you know,” he said in almost a whisper. “The connection between you two. I get it more now, I think. Living through something like that, you decide pretty fast how you feel about someon
e.”

  She wondered if he was remembering his brother’s death at that moment. His face offered no clues but something in his tone made her feel like he wasn’t just talking about her and Liam.

  “I still love you,” he continued. “That won’t change. Ever. But I get it now.”

  Ruby wasn’t sure what to say. Instead, she leaned in and reached for his hand, offering a gentle squeeze. His face didn’t budge but she continued to hold his hand, her own gaze drifting to the window to join his.

  Sometimes how you feel about someone doesn’t need any deciding at all.

  Chapter 44

  One by one

  The floor was slick beneath her bare feet. She took a calculated step, sliding a little before regaining her balance. Her hand reached for a wall to hold but caught only a handful of glittery air instead. Ruby had a feeling that she was back in the Aether Plane. When she opened her eyes, the mixture of glitter and black fog around her only confirmed it.

  She took a few more steps forward, almost falling each time.

  “What the hell is that?”

  Ruby looked down, trying to discern why it was so difficult for her to move. The floor was covered in a dark liquid, not plasma, but something just as murky. She knelt down, sliding her finger against it and lifting it up to her face. The liquid dripped down her hand, getting brighter with each touch of her skin until its color changed entirely. Not plasma but blood.

  She looked down to the floor again and stifled a scream, seeing the deep red spread from her stained feet, rolling over the ground beneath her until the edges of eternity.

  Following its trail, she braved another step, then another, splashing more of the blood over her legs. She trudged through it, feeling its thickness in between her toes but not stopping. Ruby walked for hours, until her legs could no longer carry her, until she was shaking and almost every inch of her legs was reddened and stained. Her next step sent her tumbling on all fours and yet she crawled forward, splashing blood on her chest, her neck, her face.