by Hickory Mack
There were tons of little plants sprinkled in her path, and she was careful to avoid crushing any. Frida made a game out of it, dodging this way and that, leaping over a tiny plant with an even tinier yellow flower. Frost blazed his own path, uncaring of anything around him.
It didn’t take long to arrive, and Elsie quickly scouted out a spot where the water was slightly deeper. Stealing a glance at Cross, she saw that he’d turned his back to her, keeping an eye on their surroundings, but especially the other hunters. Frost stood between them, eyeing the witch suspiciously.
Elsie stripped down and slid into the water, wrinkling her nose. It was warm, which she’d figured since it was so damned hot out. She splashed water over her face and down her neck, wishing it was a shower instead. Nothing felt more refreshing than a cool shower after a good workout.
“What made you volunteer for this specific mission?” she asked Cross, scrubbing herself as best she could in the meantime. “I’m sure you’re doing it because you want something from the hunters.”
“You’re right. I do want something from their organization, and they’re being exceptionally difficult about it,” he said.
“Difficult is their default setting,” Elsie snorted.”The Hunter Clans don’t give anyone anything for free, and even gifts come with a price. If they offer you something, think long and hard about whether you want to accept it because you have to be willing to do what they ask of you to get it. Did you actually volunteer for this mission, or was it asked of you?”
“I volunteered,” he said in a guarded voice. “I figured it might bring me in close contact with a nest.”
Elsie tilted her head to one side. “Why on Earth would you want to go into a nest? Have you ever been in one before? Some of them are great, but some of them are depressing as hell.”
“It’s personal.”
“Do they know that’s what you’re after?”
“Yes. I was very clear in my request,” he told her.
“Well, whatever you’re looking for, good luck to you. You’re basically trying to make a deal with the devil. If at all possible, look for other options,” she suggested, then stepped out into the heat. She’d let the dry air and hot sun dry her off.
“I’ve exhausted pretty much all other options,” Cross said, so quietly she almost missed it.
“Pretty much all is not the same as all. These people raised me. I know what I’m talking about, and it’s best to avoid them at all costs,” she replied.
“I guess I’m having a hard time taking advice on how to deal with the hunters from their prisoner,” he said. If she were a wolf, her fur would have bristled at that comment.
“I was too lax and didn’t do a good enough job of avoiding them. They came into my home and used a curse to force me to work for them. Maybe you should consider me a captive rather than a prisoner. At least a prisoner has the assurance they’ve done something to deserve their captivity,” she snapped back at him.
He didn’t answer, and it only served to make her angrier. Elsie pulled her clothes and boots on, followed by her cloak, then snatched up her staff. She walked back toward the convoy without another word to the irritating witch. When he started to follow them, Frost threw a snarl his way and walked with his ears level with Elsie’s shoulder, making sure Cross couldn’t get too close. Frida made a game of trying to trip the both of them as they walked until Frost scooped her up and carried her in his teeth while she batted at him and hissed.
Back at the camp, they were fed peanut butter sandwiches with mercifully cold water to wash it down. It was plain and boring, but there was enough to fill everyone up. Thankfully, the wolf had already fed himself. Elsie couldn’t imagine having to spend hours listening to him try to get peanut butter off the roof of his mouth. Frida was given fish in a can, which she initially turned her nose up at but eventually ate with great reluctance.
Once everyone was fed, they piled back into the truck, and Elsie immediately took up the lotus position, blocking everyone else out. Especially Cross. The trucks moved on, traveling until dark, while Elsie rotated between meditation, time manipulation, and sleep. They stopped to eat a simple dinner and then continued on. She learned each vehicle had two drivers who would switch off so one rested as the other drove.
Elsie couldn’t sleep, her mind far too busy with everything going on. Separated from both of her mates, only being able to feel one of them, and dealing with anxiety over releasing Frost as she’d promised, it all tumbled around her mind in a neverending array of worry and fear.
She watched the sun rise from the tailgate of the truck, Frida snoozing on her seat while Frost lay beside her, letting her lean comfortably against him. Her hand wrapped around the pendant, she thought of Wren, hoping the spirit of earth would find her soon.
Chapter 26
Morning stretched into afternoon, and there was still no sign of Wren. When the convoy halted, Elsie was the first off the truck, walking away without a word. As before, she was followed, but Cross kept his distance this time, sending Fairbanks and Hasprey instead. Elsie didn’t give a fuck. The witch—with his rugged looks and stupidly perfect hair—could avoid her all he wanted.
Frost stayed with her, eying the pair with suspicion, which she felt said a lot. He’d been okay with her being alone when Cross was with her, at least until the witch had upset her. He wasn’t okay with these two.
She found a quiet place and stared into the space in front of her, looking for the fissures that would let her into other worlds and dimensions. She’d thought a lot about Wren’s demand that she learn to open a portal from one part of this world to another, and she’d finally made sense of it.
Learning to jump using spatial magic was useful, but it didn’t allow the practitioner to move through solid objects. If she were locked in somewhere, she wouldn’t be able to get out. However, if she could open a door from one space to the next, there was no cage on Earth or anywhere else she could be contained.
Hundreds of fissures lit up before her eyes, each sparking with a different level of intensity. Signatures of the worlds and dimensions that lay on the other side. None of them had the same pattern as Earth. She called her ethereal magic, letting it fill her up, and kept looking, but her eyes were constantly drawn to the fissures she could easily see, making it almost impossible to look deeper.
Elsie closed her eyes and breathed, folding her legs under her so she sat in the lotus position. Frida mewled and changed into her alebrije form, feeding her own ethereal power into Elsie’s. The long feathers of her train dragged in the dirt as she circled around the reaper, fur and feathers brushing up against her, sparking little jolts of power against her hands whenever they were touched.
Keeping her eyes closed, Elsie searched for the fissures again, feeling their presence rather than seeing them. She searched for anything that felt similar to what Frida was showing her. The alebrije was telling her to look beyond what was easily apparent. Raising her hands, she mentally pushed those fissures aside, clearing the path to see what lay in the space between.
Frida purred in response, and when Elsie’s upturned hands returned to her knees, the alebrije rubbed her head in her palms. There was a new sensation, a faint buzzing that tasted of Earth and felt like a cool breeze. It was subtle and distant but so much clearer now that the distractions were out of the way.
Elsie’s chin raised, and her eyes moved under their lids, searching without seeing. Her concentration was so focused and controlled that when a hand landed harshly on her shoulder and a man’s voice sounded in her ear, she leapt to her feet and shouted, her heart racing.
With a single fluid movement, the Staff of Sanaia was in her hand and she whirled around to strike at the head of the man who’d touched her. Fairbanks stumbled back in time to avoid her first strike, but he wasn’t fast enough to avoid the second. She landed a hit on his thigh with a solid whack, and he gave a grunt, still trying to move away.
“I warned you not to fucking touch me,” Elsie
growled, darting in for another hit, but she was stopped by Cross. He didn’t have an actual stave, just a decent-sized branch, but he’d taken her hit without hesitation, giving Fairbanks enough time to retreat.
She could feel Frost’s amusement, but the thrice-damned wolf stayed where he was. It was Frida who was incensed. Her tail feathers stood on end, making herself larger as she hissed and yowled, creeping up on Fairbanks with her back arched. The alebrije did not appreciate their session being interrupted.
Elsie didn’t miss a beat. If the witch wanted to defend the guy who’d touched her without permission, she’d make him regret it, and then she’d go hunt Fairbanks down to issue him the beating of his life. She went at him with fast and efficient movements, attacking not Cross, but the stick he was defending himself with. It couldn’t hold up to the barrage of attacks for very long.
The witch was well trained. He matched her blow for blow, not only absorbing her hits, but countering them, deflecting the worst as often as he returned jabs of his own.
“Why don’t you calm down so we can talk about this like civilized people?” he asked, grunting when she landed a solid strike against the center of his makeshift weapon. If she just kept hammering away at it, it would break.
“I was civilized when I warned each of you not to touch me,” she growled back, maneuvering the staff to switch direction faster than he could react and landing another hit. “You probably come from a coven, right? A place where women actively search for their mates?”
His face grew guarded, hardening under her words. “Yeah.”
“I may be the daughter of a witch goddess, but I’m not one of those women. I am not looking for a mate, especially not some hunter asshole with no respect for personal boundaries,” she said. For fuck’s sake, she was having enough trouble keeping track of the two she already had.
“Within the Hunter Clans, a request to not be touched is meant to be taken extremely seriously. Get the fuck out of my way and let me beat him. It’ll be easier on him than whatever the other officers punish him with,” Elsie demanded.
Fairbanks paled from where he stood, well out of harm’s way, trying to avoid Frida, who wasn’t done intimidating him. Cross looked stunned.
“You don’t want a mate? You’d take that chance away from someone?” he asked, blinking several times. Elsie’s lips drew back in a sneer.
“Are you of the opinion that I’m supposed to offer myself up to some stranger before I’m damned well ready to settle down?” she demanded. “Because fuck that. I refuse to give others control over my fate. It’s my life to live, and no woman should be forced to be some fucking breeder for males to masturbate into.”
Cross was so shaken up he left himself wide open, and she struck hard, finally snapping his weapon in two. He dropped the halves and looked at her seriously.
“I think it should be a choice for both.”
“It isn’t a choice anymore, not once the bond forms,” Elsie said. “What you mean is you think a man should have the choice of testing a female for a bond if he wants, regardless of her feelings on the matter. I’ve met plenty of men with the same mindset, so don’t worry, I’m not shocked.”
“You’re projecting. That’s not what I mean at all—”
She twirled her weapon and swung it at him, intending to hit him hard enough to incapacitate him while she took care of Fairbanks. Her senses were suddenly overwhelmed by a blast of power. Earth and white moon magic slammed into their space, and Wren’s hand wrapped around the Staff of Sanaia, stopping it mid-swing.
“It’s a shame to see you waste your energy on someone so far beneath you. I don’t know what this man has done to anger you, reaper, but I’d be happy to dispatch him for you,” she said, a delighted smile playing on her lips. She looked over to Frost and narrowed her eyes. “I see you’re being useless, as usual.”
Elsie let her take the staff and folded her in a tight embrace. Wren petted her hair and kissed her forehead while sending dirty looks toward Cross. Seeing the earth spirit, Frida chirped with excitement and abandoned her torment of Fairbanks, her tail feathers folding into place as she trotted over to say hello.
“Why are you always stopping me from hitting people?” Elsie questioned, and Wren laughed at her.
“Punishing those who annoy you is my job.”
“What’s mine?”
“Practicing daily and pleasing me.”
Elsie felt heat in her cheeks and hoped the flush wasn’t visible. Cross relaxed from his defensive stance and motioned at Fairbanks to get going. The soldier set off for the convoy at a brisk walk, grateful for the chance to escape.
He wouldn’t be grateful for long. Robbed of her chance to beat him, she’d turn him in to whoever the fuck was in charge of this mission as soon as they returned. They might just abandon him in the desert. He’d be wishing he’d taken the beating soon enough.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” Elsie told the spirit, and Wren looked contrite.
“At first I thought something must have held you up in that damned place, so I resigned myself to wait. Then I got impatient, so I found you. What have you been up to all this time?” Wren asked.
“You have a lover,” Cross said, interrupting their conversation. Elsie could see the little hamster wheel turning in his head as he put things together. Wren slowly turned her head in his direction.
“She has a mate,” Wren hissed, and Cross looked like he’d had enough surprises for one day. He didn’t even ask how this woman could be Elsie’s mate. Everyone knew some demons took more than one form, and from the power Wren was throwing around at the moment, she felt like a demon. Of anyone within the convoy, Cross was both the safest and most dangerous person to trust with that knowledge. He wasn’t one of them, so he was unlikely to rat her out. But he might use the information to get whatever it was he was looking for.
“I misunderstood,” he said to Elsie. “Of course you’d want to protect what you already have.”
“Tsk. I didn’t want any men touching me before finding my mate, either. It happened by accident. As I said, it’s something that should be a choice,” she replied. A dangerous smile graced Wren’s lips as she looked at the witch.
“Did somebody touch you?” she asked.
“It wasn’t me,” Cross said so quickly Elsie snorted, trying to stop a laugh from escaping.
“Which one was it?”
“No one of consequence. If he isn’t smart enough to turn himself in, Cross here will make sure it’s taken care of,” Elsie told her. She didn’t want the idiot dead, just punished, and Wren’s protective streak might go a little overboard. Cross nodded his acceptance of the responsibility she’d given him.
“Hmmm,” Wren hummed.
“You’re in time for lunch. Isn’t that why you came over here?” Elsie asked Cross.
“Yeah, they actually cooked something today,” he replied.
“Oh good.” Elsie released Wren and picked up Frida. “You’re going to love convoy meals.”
“Your tone suggests otherwise,” Wren said, biting her lower lip.
“Some people actually do like them,” Cross put in, and the spirit gave him a cursory once over.
“Who is this person?” she asked.
“Security detail to make sure I don’t run away.” Elsie rolled her eyes. “He’s not even a hunter.”
“He is one of your people,” Wren said, surprised. “Don’t you know any better than to throw your lot in with them?”
“I have my reasons,” Cross said stiffly.
“He wants access to the nests,” Elsie told her, looping her arm through Wren’s elbow to pull her along. People stared when they made it back to the convoy, and there was no question as to why. With her pale features, long, silky white hair, and the antlers she didn’t bother hiding with a glamour, she was stunning. Even those who hated magical creatures couldn’t help but watch her walk by.
Cross separated from them, leaving their care to Hasprey as they waited for t
heir food, which turned out to be an onion soup that smelled awful. Elsie accepted her bowl with a sigh, grinning when Wren refused to take one for herself.
“How does one call themselves a cook when they’ve screwed up something so basic?” the spirit demanded, looking like she was about to tip Elsie’s bowl into the dirt. She quickly drank it down so her mate couldn’t take away her meal, trying not to make a face because it was so awful.
“They make things as cheap as possible to feed so many people. The food is rank, but it always has been. It almost tastes like home,” Elsie joked as Cross returned.
“Your home tastes terrible,” he said, and Wren nodded in agreement.
When their break was over, everyone piled back into the truck, except Wren. She looked at the huge machine dubiously, a frown on her face.
“What’s wrong?” Elsie called.
“I hate those things,” Wren answered, and Elsie gave her a patient smile. The more time she spent with the spirit, the more she realized how strong her opinions were on certain things.
“They’re not running on gas anymore. They’re on solar power,” she said. “Does that help at all?”
“Not much.”
“But some. You can sit with me so it won’t be so boring anymore. Share stories with me,” Elsie persuaded. Wren fussed a bit more, but she eventually gave in, pulling herself into the truck and looking around at those inside. Fairbanks was no longer with them, so Elsie’s security team was down to five.
“Are all of these your jailers?” she asked, and Elsie nodded. Wren scowled at each of them in turn as she accepted a seat that Elsie unbolted and pulled close to her own. Frost situated himself in front of them, protective as always, and Frida nestled in his long fur, curling up for a nap.
“I wasn’t given any clearance for another person to join us. Was Cornick aware she would be attending this mission?” Cross asked.
