The Midnight Strider (The Chronomancer Chronicles Book 2)

by Reilyn J. Hardy

  She doesn’t look at me. “Because nobody owes me anything,” she says. “Not their time, not their protection, not their love. Not anything.”

  I don’t know what to say to her. She’s right, no one owes anyone anything. That never seems to stop others from usually expecting it though. “Sometimes being too strong pushes people away,” I say, stuffing my hands into my pockets. “Like what I was doing to you.”

  “You were hurting,” she says after a moment of silence.

  “So are you.” I stop in my tracks and grab her wrist. She doesn’t have to stop, she’s stronger than me. But she does anyway. Rhiannon turns to face me. “It’s all just been building up since you died, hasn’t it. You’ve never talked about it, not even to Jace.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because he was a kid, and you wouldn’t dump all that on a kid.” I sigh and let go of her wrist. “People don’t owe us anything, but that won’t stop them from wanting to help, even when there’s nothing they can do.”

  “Then what’s the point?”

  “Sometimes it helps to just know that people are there for us. For times like this, when we want to talk, and even when we don’t. Friends who will give us space when we need it, and who will be there for us when we need it.”

  She nods and we start walking again. Rhiannon slips her hand in mine and starts swinging our arms.

  “I thought you didn’t like me,” she says. “I thought things were awkward between us because you were Jace’s friend, not mine. He was our common ground, and he was gone. And I didn’t know how to be your friend. I didn’t even know if we were.”

  “I’m sorry,” I tell her. “I didn’t mean to make you feel like that.”

  “I know,” she says, squeezing my hand. “I forgive you.”

  We get back just after Maite and her brothers had. They caught several squirrels, and were preparing them for the stew Lerra started, who has her hair tucked back into her cap. When Coin spots us, he gets up from his seat and walks over to Marisol.

  “Don’t you have something to ask your mother?”

  “No,” she says, and shrinks down into her seat. Coin pulls her back up again.

  “Out with it,” Maite says, putting the squirrel into the heated pot over the fire. The vegetables are lain out neatly on the table, peeled and cut.

  “She wants to go with Art and Rhiannon.”

  “Absolutely not.” Maite’s reply was quick, she didn’t even take time to think about it.

  “But Mom!” Marisol runs toward her. “I can take care of myself and I’m just as good as Coin with tracking, he said so himself.”

  “You’re too young,” she says, directing her attention back to the stew.

  Marisol crosses her arms. “Dad would’ve let me,” she says, averting her eyes.

  Maite nearly drops the potatoes in her hands. “Don’t you bring up your father. I don’t want to hear another word. You’re not going, Marisol.”

  Marisol tucks her unruly hair behind her ear and looks at me for some kind of assistance, but I have none to offer. I shrug my shoulders. I don’t know what she expects me to do about it.

  She rolls her eyes and stomps away from her mother and into one of the other rooms. I can see myself in her, when David would make me angry. Telling me no, as though he was the boss of me. It seems childish now, but at the time, my freedom was being restrained. When you follow directions in exchange for a reward that you never receive. I did things for the wrong reasons, and I felt punished for them. I’m sure it’s no different for her. She’s a teenager. I think at that age, we all feel like we’re entitled to things. Some of us never grow out of it, either.

  I sit back in my seat as Maite serves dinner. We’re joined by her two brothers, Salvador and Valentino. They’re twins and look nearly identical in my opinion, but there’s something different. I just can’t put my finger on it. Marisol doesn’t come out to join us, and no one seems bothered by it. They talk and laugh. For the most part, I’ve been tuning in and out of the conversation. When I tune in, nothing ever makes sense, and I find myself tuning right back out.

  Salvador hasn’t taken his eyes off of Rhiannon since we came back in. She’ll smile sweetly, raking her fingers through her hair as she tries to avoid his advances politely. When he moves to touch her hand, she retracts, keeping one hand in her lap and the other, twisting her hair around her finger as she averts her eyes. She looks at me, widening her eyes, and then looks back at Sal.

  “Rhiannon has a boyfriend,” I blurt out.

  She looks at me again, her eyes are wild. Thanks, she tells me sarcastically through her expression. She rolls her eyes as she turns to face forward again.

  Sal focuses on Rhiannon, and he touches her arm, grazing his fingers against her sleeve. “I don’t mind if you don’t,” he says. She stands up, accidentally knocking into the table.

  “Please, don’t touch me.”

  “Salvador!” Maite throws her towel across the table and Valentino shoves him.

  “What is wrong with you?” I hear him under his breath.

  “What? I was just being friendly.”

  “No, you were harassing her.”

  I get up and follow Rhiannon into the other room.

  “Are you okay?” I ask her as she sits down on the mattress.

  “I’m fine,” she says, rubbing her temple. “It happens all the time.”

  “Doesn’t make it okay.” I sit down beside her. “I’m sorry for what I said.”

  She laughs. “I can’t believe you called Jace my boyfriend.”

  “I never said a name,” I say, nudging her. “You thought of him all on your own.”

  “It was implied!”

  “Was it?” I ask, wiggling my eyebrows. “It’s okay if you like him too, you know. There’s nothing wrong with giving it a chance. You should think about talking to him.”

  “We’re too different. His kind was created to kill mine.”

  “Sometimes things change,” I say. “Even my mom thinks you’re a good person. Mother Nature herself. The one who created the werewolves, said that you,” I lower my voice so no one overhears me, “a vampire,” I say, “are a good person.”

  “When did she say that?”

  I frown.

  “Well, technically I guess it hasn’t happened yet.” I drag my shoes against the floor. “She told me in Nevressea. After Lerra finished the prophecy.”

  “Really?”

  “You may be — what you are — but my dad said you don’t kill people. You don’t even hunt everyday. You do what you can to be human, and that is something both of my parents recognize and appreciate.”

  “But they can’t fix this.”

  “They don’t have to, Rhiannon. You aren’t broken.”

  She leans her head against my shoulder just as someone knocks on the door.

  It’s Sal. Rhiannon fidgets in her seat and I stand up.

  He puts his hands up in surrender.

  “I just came to apologize,” he says, looking at Rhiannon. “It was inappropriate of me, and I’m sorry for that.”

  She nods and he leaves without another word.

  We only go back into the living room when Maite’s brothers leave.

  Maite comes right up to Rhiannon, putting her hands on her arms. “I’m sorry for what he did,” she says. “I never want you to feel uncomfortable here.”

  Rhiannon shakes her head. “I’m not uncomfortable,” she says with a small smile peeking at the corner of her lips. “Thank you, though.”

  Coin makes sure Rhiannon is okay too before following Maite to bed. Rhiannon and I remain at the table, with Coin’s map spread out in front of us and held down by cups of tea. She has her hand gently clasped around her mug while we try to figure out when to leave, and how exactly we’re going to get there.

&nbs
p; “We’re not alone,” Rhiannon says quietly, pointing to the room. I turn and see Marisol spying on the two of us. She’s trying to hide in the shadows.

  “Yeah?” I ask as she stands up into the light.

  “Please take me with you,” she says to us, pulling out a chair for her to sit in. She sits right in between the two of us. “I swear I can help. Maite’s not gonna want Coin to go either. He’s sick, okay? I can go in his place! — I can go in his place,” she says softly a second time.

  “Your mom said no,” I say, sitting back in my chair. “You should think about actually listening to her.”

  “But I can do it,” she says and frowns. “She just doesn’t believe in me.”

  “It’s not that,” Rhiannon says. “She wants to protect you.”

  “By making me live in fear?” Marisol stands up. “I lived in fear for so long. I made myself stronger so I wouldn’t have to deal with that anymore. I can’t sit here and do nothing.” She looks at me. “Not after what you said.”

  “There’s no guarantee that the Reaper is coming back,” I say. “We were just throwing possibilities around —”

  She shakes her head. “I was there when Coin had that dream. I listened to him tell Mom about it. I overheard the whole thing. I just want to help.”

  I look at Rhiannon and she shakes her head at me. ‘We can’t,’ she mouths, but Marisol has hope in her eyes. I can almost hear my dad telling Nova that he wants to bring me back to Newacre to hide. I wonder now what would have happened if I went back instead.

  “We should let her come,” I say finally. She squeals beside me before covering her mouth with her hands. Rhiannon sighs. “If Coin’s sick then he’s not gonna be able to protect himself anyway, and we won’t be able to protect him either, Rhiannon.”

  She only averts her eyes.

  “We should leave now,” Marisol says. She runs out of the room and comes back a few seconds later with a bag hanging from her shoulder. “I’ve already packed my things.”

  “You don’t really pack light,” I say, folding the map. I tuck it back into my pocket. “Are you sure you’ve done this before?”

  She starts gathering her mess of curls and ties her hair up. “We’ll get to Harnsey before sunrise,” she tells me. “I’ll meet you two outside.”

  I put on my jacket as she leaves.

  “I still think this is a bad idea,” Rhiannon says.

  “I know, but what choice do we have? We don’t have time to waste.”

  “Okay,” she says quietly. She looks around the small shack. “I’ll be outside in a minute.”

  I nod and I let myself out.

  Marisol has her bag on the ground and she’s stretching where she stands.

  “You’re sure about this?" I ask her. "You really want to come with us?”

  She stands straight up and turns to face me. “Please don’t doubt me,” she says.

  “Coin’s a friend. I just want you to be safe.”

  “You really don’t have to worry about me,” she says and reaches over to grab her bag. She runs her finger beneath the strap as she turns to face me again. “I can take care of myself.”

  Why does everyone keep saying that?

  Rhiannon finally comes out, after what felt like a lifetime. “What took you so long?” I whisper.

  “Nothing,” she says. “I just wanted to make sure we didn’t leave anything behind, and I left a note thanking Maite and Coin for dinner.”

  At least one of us has good manners. It didn’t even occur to me to leave a note.

  “Maybe I should leave one too,” I say, but she stops me before I can turn around.

  “I said it was from the both of us.”

  “You two sure walk slow!” Marisol calls from ahead.

  We try to shush her. She only quiets down when we finally catch up.

  She smiles proudly, looking up at the sky, grabbing the straps of her bag with her hands. This still feels wrong, but we have to get to Jace and get to Newacre. We didn’t have time to spend the night. Who knows when the destruction began.

  Marisol leads the way as we walk through the uncultivated land. Gillamoor was surrounded by it, which I assume makes it a good hunting area, not that I knew anything about hunting. We could constantly hear things moving in the distance, but Marisol would tell us not to worry. It’s just an animal.

  Rhiannon’s chest would expand beside me, and she’d nod in agreement once picking up its scent.

  I cross my arms and watch my feet as we walk. The days were scorching hot, but it was still winter. The nights were cool.

  “Are you sure we’ll be there by morning?” Rhiannon asks.

  Marisol looks back at us and nods.

  Rhiannon purses her lips together and raises an eyebrow as she glances at me.

  ‘This is a bad idea.’

  It’ll be fine.

  We stop in our tracks and look at each other. She’s frowning, matching my own confusion.

  ‘Did we just —’ I nod and she smiles. ‘You trust me.’

  We resume walking after noticing Marisol had gotten a little farther ahead. She doesn’t seem to care whether we’re behind her or not. I uncross my arms and stick my hands into my pockets.

  Of course I do.

  We walk through the tall grass, weeds, and vines as we follow Marisol through the edge of Gillamoor. What separates them from the beginnings Harnsey forest. I get out my dagger and start cutting through the grass after getting hit one too many times in the face, but eventually I get tired of doing it and return it back to its sheath.

  I don’t know how people hunt out here, I can hardly see Marisol in front of us. I don’t know how people can spot animals. Maybe their eyes were trained for that.

  “It’s not much further,” Marisol says from up ahead. “We’re almost there.” I look at Rhiannon and she frowns at her words. She averts her eyes and starts moving her lips.

  Are you counting?

  She holds her hand up to shush me even though I technically didn’t say anything.

  She shakes her head.

  ‘I don’t think we’re almost there. Actually, I know we aren’t almost there. It’s too close.’

  What do you mean?

  We stop walking. It’s quiet, not even crickets are making a sound. There are no other footsteps. Marisol is no longer walking.

  “We’re being hunted.”

  Canarywarts are all over my skin now. Everything is quiet beneath the night sky. We’re standing in grass taller than we are. Even when I was ghoul food, they messed with my mind somehow. I didn’t even know what was happening then, and becoming a prisoner in Mithlonde was fairly straightforward.

  I have never been hunted before.

  Rhiannon pushes me behind her as she listens to our surroundings. I reach for my dagger.

  ‘Don’t.’

  What are we going to do? Just stand here?

  She doesn’t respond. She turns her head and grabs her arm, pulling the dart out of her skin she was just struck by. Rhiannon turns around to face me, her eyelids are fluttering.

  “Maybe you should run,” she says as she begins to sway backward. Her eyes roll to the back of her head. I grab her before she can fall and we both hit the ground.

  “That needle was dipped in deadman’s blood,” Marisol says from somewhere in the distance. “It paralyzes vampires.” Her voice is nothing but a whisper.

  Someone grabs my arms from behind before I have a chance to reach for my dagger. Salvador comes into view as he picks Rhiannon up.

  “You tricked us!” I yell, struggling against Valentino’s hold.

  “I knew she was a vampire,” Marisol says as she steps into view, staring at Rhiannon in her uncle’s arms. “I don’t know how she can walk in the daylight, but I’m sure she’ll still burn.” Marisol looks at
me. “I don’t know who you are, but I’m sure it doesn’t really matter.” She shrugs her shoulders. “You don’t seem like anyone important to me.”

  ‘I told you she shouldn’t have —’

  I know, stop scolding me.

  Even her thoughts are weak, her body still immobile. I close my eyes. This isn’t exactly the time for her to try to lecture me. We have to figure out how to get out before they set us on fire.

  What do we do?

  She doesn’t respond. Valentino rips my sheath from my belt and shoves me forward. I stumble, crashing down to the ground. My cheek burns against the rough grass. He makes me get to my feet, grabbing me by the arm and yanking me up, and we walk forward. There’s a cleared circle with an old metal post in the center.

  It’s surrounded by ash on the ground, crowded by rocks built to keep the fire in.

  Valentino shoves me to the ground again, and throws my dagger across the circle. When I turn around, they’re binding Rhiannon’s wrists while Marisol builds a fire. She’s still unconscious while they hold her up to tie her to the post. Sal runs his fingers along her cheek.

  “Such a waste.”

  “Stop touching her!” I start to get up, but Valentino comes out of nowhere to kick me right back to the ground.

  “Friends with vampires?” he asks me, circling me like a shark. “They are monsters.”

  I ignore him.

  “Marisol! She didn’t kill your father. You said so yourself, it was a vampire named Maverick —”

  She cackles and shakes her head. She stops with the kindling at Rhiannon’s feet. “You really think it matters which vampire?” She comes right up to me, and crouches down so that we’re eye level. “A vampire is a vampire. They’re all the same.”

  “Ignorance is bliss,” I mumble as she gets up.

  She turns around. “Ignorant? Me? Who is the one who let me come so willingly?” she asks, getting in my face again, her torch beside us. “You’re cute in this lighting.”

  “You mean fire?”

  She runs her hand along my jawline.

  “I hope you don’t suffer,” she says. “I would have knocked you out too but unfortunately, deadman’s blood wouldn’t've worked on you.”