The Midnight Strider (The Chronomancer Chronicles Book 2)

by Reilyn J. Hardy

  I sit down and so does she.

  “People just don’t trust him,” Jace tells me. “But that isn't his fault.”

  I nod and reach into my pocket.

  “I almost forgot — Rhiannon,” I say, pulling the prism out. Her face practically lights up at the sight of it, dangling from my fingers.

  “I didn’t think I’d see this again!” she says as she pulls it over her head. She fumbles with the prism between her fingers. “I wish this was the only thing I lost.”

  “You looking for this?” Jace asks, the charm bracelet is resting on his hand. I get up from my seat so he can move over and I take his.

  I feel like we’re back in the cabin; he’s concentrating on hooking it around her wrist while she doesn’t take her eyes off of him. Only this time, when he looks up at her, she kisses him. He doesn’t leap away from her like he did on Christmas Eve last year after noticing the mistletoe, and it’s not the same as the one Rhiannon gave him as a dare.

  This one is gentle, as her fingers brush against his cheek when she pulls away, and he greets her with a smile.

  It's about time.

  “I knew it!” Miko shouts as she smacks her metal cuff against the table, scaring Jace out of his seat.

  “FU — MIKO!”

  I can’t stop myself from laughing. I don’t know what’s funnier, Miko’s outburst, or Jace’s.

  Rhiannon grabs Jace’s wrist and gets him to sit down. Past them, I see Nadia as she tries to slip unnoticed out of the inn.

  “I'll be right back,” I say as I get up and follow her outside. I push the door open and she’s halfway across the bridge.

  “Where are you going?” I ask and she stops, but she doesn’t turn around. I step forward and let the door swing shut behind me. “Trying to leave without saying goodbye?”

  She turns around.

  “You don’t need me anymore.”

  I shake my head. “That’s not true,” I say. “I’ll always need my friends — all of my friends.” I take a step forward. “Nadia, I wouldn’t have gotten through this without you.”

  “I turned you into a necromancer.”

  “I fixed it,” I say, rubbing the back of my neck. “Nova said the triskelion started to repair itself — Nadia — you did something anyone else would’ve done in your position. Don’t villainize yourself. You’ll have enough people doing that to you, don’t make it easier for them.”

  She takes a step toward me, her large eyes scan my face.

  “So, we’re friends?” she asks. It’s like she’s looking for a lie to surface on my face.

  “I’d like to be.”

  “I could use a friend, Artemis.”

  I raise an eyebrow. “What happened to Arthur?”

  “I didn’t want to get attached.”

  “Well, you have more than me,” I say, reaching my hand out to hers. “Come on.”

  Her gaze falls to my hand, and I see the beginnings of a smile peek at the corner of her lips. She fills my hand with hers, and allows me to lead her back into the inn without a fight.

  We return to the table, or the few tables that were shoved together. Rhiannon’s chair is pushed up beside Jace’s, though she’s sitting more in his lap than on the actual chair while she twists his hair around her finger. Kina didn’t waste any time and has a plate in front of her, full of food and Nova sits beside her, trying to sneak a sausage off of her plate. Benny dances by himself on the dance floor, still doing moves I don’t know how he’s capable of doing.

  When we sit down, Rhiannon reaches for Nadia’s hand. She cups her hand over hers and gives it a gentle squeeze as she smiles at her.

  I nudge Nadia’s shoulder with mine. “And you thought you’d never be friends.”

  A laugh escapes her lips as her cheeks flush.

  I sit back in my chair and I watch them as they all talk to each other without a care in the world, fully knowing it isn’t going to last. But I don’t want to ruin anyone’s night.

  We managed to make it out of a very stressful situation in the Underworld. We managed to make it out of the Underworld. Laughter is well deserved.

  “Can you two maybe get away from each other?” Kina asks, staring down her brother and Rhiannon. She points at her plate with her fork. “I’m trying to eat over here.”

  Jace narrows his eyes and wraps his arms around Rhiannon’s waist from behind, and kisses her neck. Kina groans and throws her fork down on her plate.

  Rhiannon smacks Jace’s arm.

  “Stop being childish, Jubilation,” she tells him as she slips into her own chair. “Jace,” she corrects herself as she glances at him. “I meant Jace.”

  He doesn’t take his eyes off of her.

  “I didn’t even notice.”

  She tries to hide the smile beginning to surface.

  Kina gets up from her seat and grabs hold of my sleeve.

  “Dance with me,” she says. “I need to get away from —” she shoots an accusing glare at Jace and Rhiannon, “whatever this is.”

  “Mae doesn’t like parties or dancing or fun,” Jace says.

  “Maybe not,” Kina says as she sweeps her gaze back over to me. “But what about Artemis? Just one? It can be a slow one,” she says just as the tempo slows. “I think that’s a sign.”

  I feel like I’m being challenged.

  She offers her hand to me. “Come on, Artaemeus.”

  “Okay,” I say and take her hand. She yanks me to my feet. “As long as you never say that again,” I tell her and she laughs, pulling me toward the dance floor.

  *****

  It was more than one dance, but I don’t think I’ve had that much fun in a while.

  The room is quiet when I go up, and at first, I’m surprised by the person sleeping on my bed. I’m not used to Apollo being back. My brother.

  I turn away from the bedroom doorway and plop down on the couch just as someone knocks. I force myself back to my feet. Jace might’ve forgotten his key.

  But when I open the door, it’s not Jace.

  It’s Amelia.

  The door flies open and she hugs me tightly.

  “Thank the Immortal Ones you’re okay,” she says in an almost threatening way. “I was so worried about you — what were you thinking?”

  My heart sinks as the memory of seeing David flashes in my mind. I have to tell her.

  “Can I see him?” She looks past me and into the room.

  “Who — oh — he’s asleep.” I step forward, forcing her to step back into the hallway as I close the door behind me. “There’s something I have to tell you.”

  She tucks her red hair behind her ear and furrows her brows. Her knees are bent slightly, slouching a little. She tended to do that to be eye level with people who are shorter than her. Amelia stares at me intently, and I don’t know how to say it.

  “When we were leaving the Underworld,” I start, averting my gaze. “I saw — something.”

  “What? Artemis, what?”

  “I found David,” I say. “But he wasn’t… David.” I lean back against the wall, against the frame of the door. “I don’t know what I saw. It was his body, his head, but I don’t think it was David.”

  The door opens behind me before she has a chance to speak. Apollo is standing there, but he doesn’t make eye contact with me or Amelia.

  “When Malachi brought him to the Underworld, I tried to bring him back but it didn’t work.” He looks at me, then at Amelia. “I don’t know what I brought back.”

  Amelia takes a step back away from us, her hands cupping her mouth. She then lunges forward and throws her arms around Apollo.

  “It doesn’t matter,” she whispers, hugging him tightly. “The point is you’re safe now.” She releases him and stands between us. “It’s nice to see you both together again,” she says, gentl
y touching Apollo’s cheek with the back of her finger.

  “I’m so sorry, Amelia,” he says.

  “Hey,” she says, “look at you, Apollo,” she continues and smiles, even as her eyes are watering. “You’re back. I never thought I’d see you again. But you,” she says to me as she raises an eyebrow. “No more unsupervised visits to the Underworld.”

  I chew on the inside of my cheek.

  “How mad do you think Stanton’s gonna be?” I ask.

  “Stanton?” Apollo asks. “Stanton Montgomery?”

  I nod.

  “He’s still around?”

  “He covered up the attack.”

  “What?”

  “Yeah,” I say. “People spent years thinking we all died in a cave in.”

  “Well, who cares if he’s mad,” Apollo says. “Stanton’s an asshole. He’s always been.”

  Jace and Rhiannon come stumbling up the stairs, unable to keep their hands off of each other.

  “Wow, I missed a lot,” Amelia says loudly and the two of them break apart from each other. She looks at me and frowns, pointing at the two of them, not so subtly. Jace laughs nervously as he begins to turn a bright shade of red. “Oh look, he’s blushing!”

  “Shut up, Amelia,” he grumbles while Rhiannon pinches his cheek.

  “It’s cute when he gets nervous,” she says with a grin. I’m certainly amused. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she says, kissing him on the cheek.

  “Maybe I should walk you to your room —”

  “I’ll be fine,” she says as their fingers slowly untwine as distance comes between them. “Goodnight, Jace.”

  “She’s teasing me,” Jace says, leaning against the rail as he watches her walk. She turns around and winks at him as she disappears up the stairs.

  “Well, I mean you have hands —” he shoots me a glare. “But it’s worth it, right?”

  He nods without hesitation as he glances back at the stairs.

  “Rhiannon is pretty hot,” Apollo says.

  “He’s not wrong,” Amelia adds.

  I raise my eyebrows as I look between the two of them and then at Jace, who narrows his eyes. “Hey —”

  “Jubilation,” I tease before he can say anything else.

  He laughs and shakes his head. “I knew that was going to come back to bite me.”

  “I didn’t even notice,” I say in a daze, mocking him.

  “Shut up,” he says and loops his arm around the back of my neck, pulling me down to give me a noogie. I think it hurts even more now.

  “She definitely makes you stronger — shit,” I say as I weasel away from him.

  Amelia just shakes her head. “Boys,” she says and heads down the stairs.

  “You may look like my best friend,” Jace says as we go into the room, “but I won’t hesitate to hit you if I have to.”

  “I’m sure Rhiannon’ll have no problem hitting me herself.”

  “That’s my woman,” he says and grins.

  “What about you?” Apollo turns around to ask me as I close the door. “Girlfriend?”

  “Are we really having this conversation?” I ask.

  “Why not?” Jace says. “When you came back from Mithlonde, you asked me about Rhiannon.”

  “Boyfriend?”

  “Neither,” I say.

  “Wait,” Apollo says as he holds up his hands. “You went to the Iron Realm of Mithlonde?”

  “And brought home a souvenir,” Jace adds.

  “What?”

  I shrug. “The dragon prince may — or may not — have come through with me.”

  “Here I thought you were behaving because of me,” Apollo says, crossing his arms.

  “I was!” I say, albeit a little defensively. “Last year was just the start of —”

  “Your life, basically,” Jace interrupts before I can finish.

  “Me? What about you?” I ask. “I wonder how mad your dad is.”

  “I don’t even wanna think about it.” He jumps onto the couch and lies back. He tucks his arm behind his head and looks at Apollo before looking at me. “This is weird.”

  “You’re telling me,” Apollo and I say at the same time. We both frown as we exchange glances.

  “And it just got weirder.”

  “Okay, in our defense,” Apollo says, “that didn’t even happen when we were kids.” He looks at me. “But I guess we’re not kids anymore.”

  Unfortunately.

  Chapter THIRTY-ONE

  vampire bites

  Your brother is — not you,” Jace says as he comes into the room with a plate of food, the door slams shut behind him. I look up from where I sit on the couch as he puts the plate down on the table between us. He takes a seat across from me.

  “Thank you for stating the obvious,” I say with a frown, putting the Heliosi onto the table.

  “I mean, you guys look so much alike but I don’t think you could be any more different,” he continues. “Didn’t you say you became like him after the — attack?”

  “He grew up with my uncle,” I say, slouching back onto the couch. “I would’ve been surprised if he managed to stay the same.”

  My uncle broke him, and now he’s out. It’s probably time I stop feeling sorry for myself and start assigning blame to whom is actually at fault. Drarkodon.

  I was just a kid, and my uncle used that innocence and vulnerability against me.

  “I’m glad we met when we were kids,” he says, rubbing his palm against the armrest. “This year,” Jace starts, shrugging. “I mean, the things that happened. If I didn’t already know you, I don’t think we’d be friends, Artemis.”

  “Artemis?” I repeat after him.

  “Just trying it out,” he says. “I don’t want to think of you as someone I don’t know.”

  “What about home?” I ask, and he shrugs again.

  “My home is wherever you guys are.”

  I start to laugh and he frowns at me.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “You thought — me and Rhiannon —” I can’t stop laughing.

  The side of his nose twitches as he grabs a bread roll from the plate and dips it into the cup of vegetable stew. “You know how many girls were interested in you in Newacre?”

  “Zero?”

  He scoffs as he tears the bread and plops a piece into his mouth. “Loads,” he claims, “I’m pretty sure some of them just settled for me.”

  “You’re lying.”

  Jace shakes his head and points at me. “Like you said yourself, people love those freckles.”

  “I was kidding!”

  “Doesn’t matter,” he says, “it’s still true — plus wasn’t Nadia interested in you? And she’s like a foot taller than you.”

  “She is not! She’s only like — four inches taller. She’s around Amelia’s height I think. It’s not fair, I always wanted to be that tall.” Jace just laughs and I shake my head. “But me and Rhiannon?”

  He sighs and finishes his bread, dusting his hands off over the plate. “I was jealous,” he says. “You guys just seem so close and she was avoiding me — and you were avoiding me. Kina said she was always sneaking around, you were never in the room. I mean, that’s just how it looked.”

  “I was avoiding everyone because of —” I point to the back of my neck.

  “Thank you,” he says.

  “For what?”

  He just shrugs again.

  “You saved Rhiannon. If you hadn’t been doing that — she wouldn’t be here anymore.”

  “I didn’t save her, Apollo did.”

  “Fine, if you want to get technical about it. You summoned the Strider, you got us in the Underworld. Apollo wouldn’t’ve known to save her if you weren’t there. She’s here, with us, because of you. Regardless
of who brought her back.” His gaze drops down to the plate between us. “I’ve been a shitty friend to you this year.”

  “Nah, you saw me. I was killing myself. I was weak, throwing up spiders. Hallucinating.”

  “You wanted to save your brother. You wanted to help.”

  “I let Drarkodon out.”

  “You made a mistake. How could you've known that was gonna happen?”

  “I think Drarkodon did,” I say. “It feels like he’s always five steps ahead. I was thinking about it ever since he didn’t kill me. He doesn’t know who his heir really is. All those dreams I had about him wanting to kill me and end the chronomancers — he doesn’t know. He just knows whoever got left behind would’ve became the chronomancer whether we were supposed to or not. And he assumed the other would come to save them.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because history is repeating itself,” I say. “I asked my dad what made him want to be a chronomancer, and he said he never wanted to be. He wanted to save his brother. Sound familiar? Drarkodon knows me better than I know myself because all of this has already happened before with my dad. I don’t know what he’s going to do.”

  “You should probably talk to your dad.” Jace starts to smell the air. “Do you smell that?”

  “I try not to,” I say.

  “No,” he says and gets up to look out the window. “I smell smoke —”

  Jace and I exchange glances.

  Rhiannon.

  I completely forgot about Marisol.

  I follow Jace up to Rhiannon’s room. The door is already broken, smoke is emitting from the inside. There’s fire burning through one of the tables and Marisol is hovering in the air, her hands are clawing at her neck. Apollo is standing between me and her, his arm extended; his hand, clutching air until he tightens it into a fist.

  He’s suffocating her.

  “Apollo! Put her down! Now!” He looks at me and his eyes are pitch black. Now I see why whenever my eyes turned black, people took a step back. Here I am, doing the same thing. “Apollo, please, put her down.”

  He opens his hand and she drops to the ground. He blinks several times and his eyes return back to normal. “I’m sorry,” he says. “I was just trying to help. I sensed Rhiannon was in danger and I just —”