The Midnight Strider (The Chronomancer Chronicles Book 2)

by Reilyn J. Hardy

  “She’s still mad at me. Bringing us here didn’t help, I’m sure. Way to relive old memories of me leaving her all over again.” Jace takes a sip from his mug.

  “That’s not why we’re here,” I say.

  “Doesn’t matter. We’re still here.”

  It should matter. I sigh, cupping my mug.

  “How long do you think she’s going to stay mad?” he asks, he breaks his attention away from her to look at me.

  “Well, she’s immortal. She could stay mad forever,” I say. “Or you could apologize and see what happens.”

  “How do you apologize for that?”

  “You don’t leave,” I say simply, and drink from my mug again. I’m not sure what he expected me to say. Nova returns to the table holding a handful of keys in his hand, Nadia trailing behind him.

  “The inn keeper gave us five rooms,” he says, throwing four keys onto the table. The band stops playing shortly after and everyone claps. “Grab a roommate and grab a key!” Nova says as they start coming back toward us.

  Kina links her arms with Rhiannon’s and Miko’s.

  “Share a room with me?” She asks. Miko shrugs and reaches for one of the mugs on the table. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen Rhiannon smile so wide.

  Jace kicks the leg of my chair and I nearly spill my drink.

  “Roommate?” he asks me as I safely put my mug back onto the table.

  “You don’t want your own room?” I ask, raising an eyebrow in Rhiannon’s direction.

  He hits my arm. “Roommate?” he asks again.

  “If you insist.”

  “Well, I want my own room.” Nadia declares, reaching for one of the keys on the table as Jace and I stand up.

  “I wanna room with my two new friends,” Benny says, draping his arms around mine and Jace’s necks. Jace picks up Benny’s hand by his finger, and throws his arm back at him.

  “Don’t touch me,” he says.

  Benny slowly slips his arm down from around the back of my neck also.

  We walk through the pub area and near the center of the building, is a spiral staircase where you can see every floor, guarded by a steel rail. I turn to Jace, but Benny cuts between us and stares at me.

  “Where do you want to sleep?” he says.

  “Can’t you sleep in your own room?” I ask.

  “You don’t want to be bunk mates?” he asks.

  “Considering the first time we met, you were on top of me, no.”

  He shrugs and starts trailing after Nova, who says no before Benny even has a chance to say anything. “But!” I hear as they go up the stairs.

  “No.”

  “Nova —”

  “No.”

  “Think he’s going to wear him down?” Jace glances at me. I shake my head.

  “Nova’s old, I doubt it.”

  We head up the stairs after them, passing many crooked doors. “Why is he here again?”

  “He led me to Newacre. He knew about the ghouls.”

  “I wonder what else he knows.”

  “Think we should’ve let him stay with us?”

  “Hell no,” he says.

  I laugh. He doesn’t even think before answering.

  The rooms at Whitleaf’s Inn were larger than the rooms I was used to, and actually reminded me of my dad’s cabin. The room we stayed in was a one bedroom with two beds, a wardrobe and vanity with matching wood frames. The living area had a sofa that pulled out into a mattress, with a wooden table and chairs, and a candlelit chandelier brightly illuminating the room. The bathroom was decent in size, the shower looked like most, cement ground with a center drain, and the water ran warm. This has to be one of the more expensive places to stay — I wonder how much it costs.

  Nova’s old though, I don’t doubt he has money. But he isn’t the typical rich Aridetian, who needs electricity and hot water for baths, or else they’re completely unhappy. There were a lot of those types in Valfield. As a kid, I was among them. Nova seems to adapt and never complains. People like that from rich territories are hard to come across — then again — he’s not exactly people.

  The window overlooks the lake, but I think it’s hard to find a window in Nevressea that doesn’t overlook the lake or at least some part of it. Even in the inner parts of town, the lake could still be seen between bridges and walkways.

  Jace jumps onto the bed nearest the door and wraps his arms beneath the pillow.

  “Tired already?”

  “Well, I didn’t exactly get a good night’s sleep,” he mumbles into the pillow. “This bed is so soft. You know what I slept on in Harnsey?” he asks, turning his head so he can glance at me. “A hammock.”

  “Aren’t those supposed to be comfortable?” I ask.

  “Yeah, I guess but I always had trouble getting out of mine. Effie would just tell me I was doing it wrong but she’d criticize everything I’d do. Older sisters…”

  “She sounds fun.” Speaking from experience, Effie wasn’t very fun at all. Not that he would know I knew that.

  “Yeah, she’s something.” He moves his face back into the pillow. I back into the living area and fumble with the Heliosi. He’ll never know.

  I leave the room and Nadia passes me.

  I reach for her arm and she gives me a look as her hand slips into mine. “Oh, change your mind?”

  “I told you, it’s —”

  “I know, I know. It’s out of your control. I wasn’t being serious, I promise.” She doesn’t let go of my hand though. Doesn’t matter, I need to talk to her. “What’s up?”

  “I thought about what you said.”

  “You have?” She raises her eyebrows in surprise.

  “But there's a problem, Rhiannon can read my mind again. She wasn’t able to after I became a chronomancer, and then suddenly she can again and —”

  “Oh, right. I can fix that.”

  “Temporarily? I don’t want to shut her out completely.”

  “Of course, just let me know. So what changed your mind?” She swings our clasped hands. I pull her to the side when another guest tries to pass us.

  “Jace and Kina,” I say. “They have some kind of bond to their dad, and I want to break it. Without Jace needing to challenge him —”

  “And dying? You know, we’d be able to bring him back, I’m sure.”

  “We?”

  “You want to save your brother, right? He is the Reawakener —”

  I shake my head. “No, he’s not coming back as a dark creature, no offense.”

  “None taken.”

  “Besides, he told me they get reincarnated. And I think he’s starting to question whether or not he’s good. He’s different now, he’s more, I don’t know. Serious, I guess. He always seems concerned.”

  “Well, he does like a vampire and he’s got no freedom. I’d be concerned too.”

  “What’s between you two?”

  “Me and Jace? Way too much —”

  “You and Rhiannon.”

  She purses her lips together and sighs, slipping her hand out of mine. She crosses her arms and faces toward the stairs. Nadia moves away from me and leans against the rail, looking down at the lower floors.

  “It was a long time ago, it doesn’t matter now. Besides, it’s she who doesn’t like me.”

  “Well if it was a long time ago, put it behind you,” I say. “You’re both traitors, and we’re stronger if we trust each other.”

  She raises an eyebrow. “You’re going behind your friends backs and you’re talking to me about trust?”

  “I’m not purposely making things difficult for them.”

  “Fine, fine. It’s better this way, anyway. Rhiannon wouldn’t understand.”

  “Why?”

  “She’s very on and off with things,” she says.
“With what she thinks is right and whatever, like there are bouts where she’s unaccepting of what she is and she becomes good samaritan Rhiannon for a little while. She’s in that right now, it’s disgusting.”

  “She’s trying to be good. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

  “No, she’s resisting.”

  “Aren’t you doing the same thing?”

  “No, I’m not. Just because I’m not on Drarkodon’s side, doesn’t mean I’m pretending to be something I’m not. Rhiannon wouldn’t approve because it would put you in danger,” she says, and pinches my cheek.

  I brush her fingers away and rub my face. “Will I be able to help Jace and Kina?”

  “How, exactly, are you looking to help?”

  “Get them on the Midnight Strider. Well, Jace, at least. Maybe if that breaks him away from his dad, it’ll give Kina a choice or something. It’s not fair that they have to follow their dad around like —”

  “Lost puppies?” She raises her eyebrows. She leans back against the railing and props up her elbows. “He might die, Arthur. If you want him on the Strider, he might die.”

  “Not if I tap into my Norhurst blood, like you said. I can keep him alive.” I rub the back of my neck and fix my collar so it’s sticking up. “I just have to hide my neck, right?”

  “So much for you to learn,” she says. “Maybe you're the lost puppy.” Nadia gets up and walks right up to me, backing me up against the wall. “It’s a good thing I opted to have my own room,” she says. “Three-thirteen. Come up later when you feel like it.” She smirks at me, and runs her fingers along my jawline before continuing down the stairs.

  I look back at my door, closed behind me.

  Chapter SEVENTEEN

  slightly unstable

  The first time is bitter. It leaves a foul taste in my mouth. Crimson liquid, tasting like iron and salt.

  The second time isn’t any easier. My stomach contracts, my mouth waters. I want to throw up, but I swallow it down. I drink it with a glass of grape juice to mask the flavor, but it doesn’t help much.

  “Is it doing anything?” I’ll ask, and Nadia will check my neck. She tells me the black dot has turned into a line, growing larger as it pierces through one of the spirals of the triskelion.

  “It’s working,” she’ll say, flipping my collar back up. “Slowly, but it’s working.”

  “Maybe we should increase it,” I suggest. I reach for her arm but she pulls away from me. Her eyes narrow. I look away from her.

  “Maybe you should actually eat something. When was the last time you’ve eaten? You look awful.”

  “It’s been a few days, maybe.”

  “Arthur, you need to eat. You can’t just sit in here all day — your friends will know something’s not right. You can’t just keep saying you aren’t feeling well.”

  I get to my feet, stumbling a little. I lose my balance and she steadies me.

  “This is why you need to eat. Come on. We’ll go down to the pub. Are you able to make it down the stairs?”

  My head is throbbing. Her voice feels like it’s bouncing around in my skull.

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” I say. I stumble again. “Or maybe I’ll just… stay here.”

  “I’ll be right back then.” She snaps her fingers and disappears in a blue cloud of smoke.

  I sit back on my bed and lie down. I'm not lying, that I don’t feel well. I don’t. No one said it was going to be easy to summon the ship of the dead.

  My stomach contracts again, and this time I’m not sure I can swallow it.

  I get up and run to the bathroom and hang over the toilet. Nothing comes up, not at first. I feel something in my throat, tickling. I stick my hand in my mouth and something pokes my finger. I try to grab it, and it moves, pulling away from me. From my finger.

  Leaning over the toilet, I cough.

  Wheezing, I try to force whatever’s stuck in my throat to come out. It does, eventually. Falling straight into the water. It’s a spider, nearly the size of my hand.

  I fall against the floor and back up against the wall. My chest rises and falls at a rapid speed, and all I can hear is the sound of my own heartbeat, thumping wildly in my chest.

  I get back up and peer into the toilet.

  It’s gone.

  I push myself off of the ground completely and move to the sink, splashing my face with water while I mentally tell myself I'm going to be okay. I wipe my face with my shirt. I’m just not sure I believe it.

  I look up at the mirror and I take a step back.

  The face I see staring back at me isn’t mine. He looks like me, but it’s not me.

  “Apollo?” I don’t blink, I don’t turn away. I don’t want him to disappear.

  But he just looks at me, he doesn’t say anything.

  His eyes are large, blood shot. They’re a darker gray than mine now. Almost black. The scratch from Stheno is still prominent on his face, but his clothes are too dark, I don’t know if his side is still bleeding. It probably is. He has less freckles than me now, because his face is full of scars. Still, he looks like me.

  My hand reaches for the glass, and my fingers press against it. I watch as his eyes move to look at my hand and he does the same, albeit slower than me.

  “I’m going to save you.”

  He pulls his hand back down.

  “You can’t,” he says. He averts his eyes, and takes a heavy breath. Apollo directs his gaze back onto me. “It’ll ruin you.”

  “It doesn’t matter, it’s my turn to protect you.”

  He just shakes his head. Slowly, like he’s disappointed. A small disbelieving smile peeks at the corner of his lips. He doesn’t believe me.

  “Please don’t —”

  “I —”

  Someone pounds on the door.

  “Arthur? Are you all right?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” I say, and look back at the mirror.

  But he’s gone.

  I close my eyes and lean back against the wall, sliding back down to the ground. He’s gone, again. I lost my brother all over again.

  *****

  I do as Nadia instructs me to. I hang out with my friends down in the pub so they know I’m fine. I tell them that I am, besides they have other things to worry about. Their concern is elsewhere, which is lucky for me. Trying to find Vihaan, making sure Miko’s family is okay, and Jace has his father to worry about. He's been avoiding us recently, me in particular, and I don’t know why. I wonder if he knows, but he couldn’t know. Nadia wouldn’t tell him.

  I pick at my food, tearing it up on my plate, pushing it around with my fork. Not realizing how much doesn’t actually make it into my mouth.

  Getting up from my chair, I decide to go look for Jace. I check The Wet Fish first, but he’s not in there. Walking along the edge of town, I spot him heading into the woods.

  Rhiannon's on the bridge, looking down at the lake. I look between her and the forest. Chewing on my cheek, I walk past her and head back to my room.

  I don't want to lie to either of them. When I pass her, she doesn't turn around. Not even when I look back.

  Crawling into my bed, I shiver beneath the sheets, pulling the thick covers over my body.

  Jace wakes me when he accidentally slams the door, but I don't turn around. Instead, I close my eyes again.

  Once he's asleep, I go back to the bathroom, and I wait, leaning against the wall. Staring at the mirror, I even try to repeat my actions, but Apollo hasn’t come back. Neither has the spider. Or any other spiders. Both have left like they never appeared in the first place. Maybe I imagined it.

  No, I can’t think like that. I’m sick of thinking I’m seeing things. I’m sick of thinking I’m not okay.

  I’m fine.

  I think of Zoirin, I still have her bear. Sometimes I’ll tuck it int
o my back pocket and take it with me, but most times I don’t. I don’t want to risk losing it.

  My nails are still black, though a little chipped around the edges. The fact that I was so embarrassed by it seems so stupid now. But that was a time of ignorance, or at least a time of pretend. When things were safe and I was careful. Treating myself like glass. No wonder people wanted to break me. Now that I am, I don’t know how to work with the sharp edges I’ve been left with.

  No one teaches you that, how to work with yourself once you break. They don’t teach you how to put yourself back together, they just expect you to do it.

  Maybe my hands haven’t bled enough.

  I think Apollo has, but I can’t bleed for him.

  *****

  The pub downstairs is rarely busy in the early mornings. I sit beside Jace, pushing food around on my plate while he stuffs his face. My brother is still on my mind, and how everything is going to work with the Midnight Strider. I’m starting to doubt myself. What if I’m not strong enough to do this?

  “Are you okay?” Jace’s question catches me off guard and I force a smile. I didn’t realize I was frowning. I shake my head slightly, and shrug my shoulders.

  “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” I ask.

  “You’ve been different, and I know I haven’t really been —” he’s giving me that look again. The apologetic one. I hate that look.

  “Jace, don’t.”

  “Your death isn’t the only reason why I left,” he says.

  “I thought you —”

  “I left because I didn’t know how to handle your death, yeah, but also because I found out what happened to Lerra’s mom — and I didn’t know how to deal with that without you.” His brows furrow, and he averts his eyes away from me. He faces forward, and drums his fingers against the table. “When I bit into her neck and tore her head off, I saw something. I saw the past, her past. Just like she said, my dad and Champ, they killed her. I didn’t mean to find my family — I mean — I didn’t know they were alive anyway, but I had no intention of staying with them. Not after what I saw. But my dad — he — he did some wolf thing. He made me surrender to him. I didn’t have a choice. I had to stay.” He looks at me, but not for long. “I don’t want to go back, Mae. I want to stay here.”