My mind drifted back to a time I didn’t like to think of.
My mother sang as I sat in the tub in our kitchen.
“First thing we do is we wash our ears, suds it behind, and then rinse it clear. Then what we do is wash our hair…”
My mother’s hands froze and she stopped singing.
“Mama?”
I felt fingers trailing along my back before she called my father. “Nadim!”
He ran into the kitchen. “What? What’s wrong?”
“Look.” Her hands were touching my back.
“Mama?” I asked again, wanting to know what was wrong.
“It can’t be. There’s no magic in our families,” my father said.
My mother stood, leaving me in the tub to argue with father. “But what about Great-Aunt Marmie?”
He shook his head, and I could see how upset he was. “That’s too distant. There’s no way she could have gotten enough to be marked on her back. It might be a bruise.”
“And if it’s not?” My mother was wringing her hands as she stared at me. “Then what are we going to do?”
“I don’t know.”
But they’d figured it out.
“My parents weren’t Wyrd Blood, and neither were my grandparents. As far as I know, there wasn’t any magic in my family tree except for some great-aunt.”
He nodded, and I caught the sideways glance and knew bitterness must’ve leaked into my voice.
“Why did you want to know?”
“I have a theory that the more generations magic skips, the stronger when it shows. It spreads out or condenses depending if the magic is passed from grandparent, to parent, to child, or shows up several generations later.” Ryker turned his head toward Burn. “How many people in your family have magic?”
“Every single one of them has a little.” Burn smiled and held up his finger, lighting it.
“Two examples hardly prove the case,” I said.
“There’s many more than two,” Ryker replied. “It’s been true of every person I’ve questioned.”
Was he right? It was an interesting theory.
I nearly went flying over a branch, but Ryker’s hand on my arm stopped me from face-planting. I regained my footing and there we were, officially in the Ruined Forest.
Chapter 24
I was warming my hands by the fire and doing my best to ignore every stupid person at camp, which meant I was sitting by myself. Stupid. Very, very stupid. Probably needed about five more stupids to cover the level of stupidity I was surrounded by. Served them all right if they died. I’d prefer them not die at all, even the bastard standing beside Ruck, but it was probably still going to happen.
Ruck stood there, looking up to Ryker as if he were a god. How had this happened?
I rubbed my arms, warming them, and a creeping magic tingled up my skin. It was unlike any kind I’d ever felt. It was nothing like Ryker’s magic, which blasted you, unapologetic in its potency. Burn’s was a warm brush across your skin and Sneak’s was a short spurt, but not until you were up close. This was completely different. It was strong but with a slithery feel that made me want to scratch the skin off my body. Something or someone was out there, right beyond our camp, and it was watching us.
The feeling of something touching my skin grew stronger. I sat for a second, deciding between screaming the alarm or alerting them quietly.
I looked up, seeing if anyone else was catching a weird sensation. Everyone else seemed relaxed. Ryker headed toward the fire with a log in his hand, but I saw the near-glow of his magic in his eyes. He wasn’t looking to stoke the fires but to do battle. I remained still as he approached.
He tossed a log in the fire as he said, “We’re surrounded. Once they come, get Ruck and Sinsy and stay in the center.”
I nodded, but there was no way I was going to stand back in a fight when my life might be on the line. I glanced over at Ruck, who was looking my way as if he sensed something was amiss. I wiggled my fingers, our sign for trouble coming. He turned and alerted Sinsy.
It didn’t take long for the attack to come. The good news was that there was only one Wyrd Blood in the group from what I could tell. Bad news was we were surrounded on every side and outnumbered four to one.
Ryker, Sneak, and Burn spread themselves out. Burn grabbed Sinsy, pulling her behind him quickly as he drew his sword. Sneak stepped in front of Ruck, who had a dagger drawn. Ryker seemed to think he was going to block me, as he moved toward the Wyrd Blood, a fairly large man with slick hair.
The rest of them started to clang their way toward us with swords. Sinsy claimed the first kill with an arrow to the chest. I heard the clanging of swords and saw Sneak lop off a head.
Burn was lobbing fireballs as I threw my dagger, catching another in the throat. A glance over at Ryker and I couldn’t make heads or tails of what was happening around him. He held no weapons, but as I saw someone attack him, they fell to the ground dead before they touched him. He was making his way toward the other Wyrd Blood but couldn’t get close to him. It was like the Wyrd Blood was made of oil, slipping away from Ryker.
I grabbed my dagger out of one dead body before gutting the next, but there was another wave of attackers coming for us.
Ruck took a hit and fell. Sinsy immediately went to cover him, but her arrows were dwindling. My magic swelled in response. No, my people were not dying. Not while I had blood in my veins.
I wasn’t a stranger to fighting, but I’d never dealt with an attack like this—ever. In the past, I’d tried to ignore my magic when it flared, or tried to suppress it. I’d never intentionally churned it up when it felt this out of control already.
But that was exactly what I did as I looked over at Sinsy and Ruck.
I edged closer to Burn. “Give me the biggest flame you can.”
Burn held his palm up, the fire a couple of feet high. I wrapped my hand around his wrist, sinking everything I had into his flame. It leapt toward the sky in a blast and then I blew on it, creating a blowtorch that reached a good twenty feet.
We spun together and, between the two of us, torched every attacker coming. We swung on the Wyrd Blood, who already was making a run for it, last.
We’d already started torching him when I heard Ryker.
“Don’t kill him,” Ryker screamed. Burn and I immediately stopped, but I was pretty sure it was too late.
We all walked over to see the Wyrd Blood convulsing on the ground.
Ryker looked down. “I wanted him alive.”
I threw my hands up. “You should’ve told me before we fought. That’s on you.”
“You were supposed to stay out of the fight,” Ryker said, as if that was the same thing.
“Maybe we can still get something out of him?” Burn said.
The guy stopped twitching. I nudged him with my toe. No movement. “I don’t think so. What do you think they wanted so bad that they followed us into the Ruined Forest?” I still didn’t know what Ryker was after at Bedlam, but they must’ve known he was coming.
Ryker looked straight at me and said, “You. They want you.”
“Me? Maybe they’re after whatever it is you are trying to get. Why would they want me? They don’t even know about me.”
“That’s why I wanted one alive. You’re an untrained Wyrd Blood that has a lot of magic, and they know it. They think they’ll be able to control you, and I’m sure word has gotten out about you by now.”
“Well, that’s just rich.”
The moment went from serious to funny. Looking around at all the dead bodies, it was that or go crazy.
The laughter subsided as it hit me. I hadn’t even broken the Bedlam ward and they were already coming for me. It was over for me. One of Ryker’s people must’ve talked, and now I’d been officially labeled.
Unless it was Loretta. I never should’ve given her that dragon’s claw. After I disappeared, she’d probably sold my secret.
I moved over to Ruck. “You okay?”
He rubbed
the side of his head. “Took a blow that knocked me out of it for a second, but I’m good. I’ve got a hard noggin.”
Burn looked around, kicking bodies here and there. “I think we’re going to need to move camp. Burning flesh does not smell good.”
I nudged Ruck in the arm. “He’s stealing your lines.”
Ruck squinted at Burn. “I’m blaming it on the head trauma.”
Ruck shot his eyes toward Ryker and back to me. I knew what he was saying because I was thinking it myself. Did you see all the people drop around him?
My eyes went wide, as if to say, How could I have missed it? I stepped closer and whispered, “Weird, right?”
“Scary is more like it.”
“Let’s pack up,” Ryker called.
Ryker moved about the camp and swung a couple of bags onto his shoulder, and I realized one of them was mine. “What are you doing?”
“Carrying your bag?” His eyes went to my arm, which had a couple of blisters forming. I’d felt the sting but hadn’t looked at the damage I’d done. I’d gotten a little too close to the blowtorch Burn and I had made.
“Give it to me. I carry my bag. You carry yours.” I laid a hand on his sack. “Yours.” I wrestled mine from his hand, realizing I was being a touch aggressive, since he wasn’t actually holding on to it. “Mine.”
I slung it over my shoulder and walked, hoping I was going in the right direction.
Chapter 25
We had to walk a couple of miles away before the scent dissipated. We went another two miles before we set up camp. Ryker didn’t think there was a man or woman alive that would be willing to go this deep into the Ruined Forest, even for me. I hoped he was right.
We set up camp again, except this time I noticed that my pelt seemed to end up surrounded by Ryker’s, Burn’s, and Sneak’s. If that wasn’t enough, I smelled like burned flesh. One of them had exploded bits onto me. I headed toward the sound of running water.
“Where are you going?” Ryker asked.
I waved my hands at my bloody physique, figuring it was the easiest explanation.
“I’ll come with you.”
“I can wash myself, but thanks.” I headed toward the water.
“I’d hate for you to drown.” He followed anyway.
There was a definite smile in his voice that he didn’t try to disguise.
I knelt by the stream, splashing my face and then my arms and legs.
“That was impressive back there.”
I hesitated for a second before I continued cleaning up. “Thanks. What was that thing you did?” I was sure he’d know what thing I was talking about. When people dropped dead around you and you hadn’t even lifted a hand, you had to expect at least a couple of questions.
“That was something I only do when I have to.”
As far as an answer, it was pretty lacking.
He squatted a few feet down and rinsed off as well. He only had forest dirt to rinse, though, as when we were fighting, nothing was able to touch him.
He straightened but didn’t leave as I continued washing up.
I didn’t bother looking at him when I asked, “Are you afraid of me running, or of more attackers?”
“More attackers.” The answer was quick and decisive. “I don’t think people will follow us in this far, but the deeper we get, the more other threats grow.”
Everyone knew dangerous creatures lurked in the Ruined Forest. I stood, shaking off the wetness from my hands, thinking it might be a good idea to get back to the group.
“So, this thing you do, it’s pretty controlled, right?” Information like that would be good to have when I was sleeping in camp with him tonight.
“It is now.”
There was a story there, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear it.
No wonder he was so feared. How did it work? Did he mess with their minds? I’d killed other Wyrd Blood by accident because our particular types of magic didn’t play well together. Not just me dropping a bunch of dulls. “You just…”
“You don’t want to know the specifics.”
I took a step back to camp, wondering who I’d really gotten messed up with. I stopped. “How do you know I won’t leave in the night while we’re in the middle of nowhere?”
“Besides the fact that I’m your only hope with the Debt Collector? You wouldn’t leave your people behind.” He stood on the bank with a smile on his lips, as if he had me down pat.
As I walked past him, I might’ve accidentally bumped him with my shoulder, not that it budged him. I hated being predictable.
We were all unpacking our gear again, all going through the same motions at the same time, and that was when I realized something had shifted in our dynamics. Ruck was handing more wood to Burn as he cooked some meat on the fire. Sinsy was cleaning off an arrow. She’d caught everyone dinner? We weren’t two groups traveling together. We were one. What was happening?
One fight and we’d somehow become each other’s people? That was all it took? It had been a bad fight, but were we really that easy? One bloodbath and we’d sleep with you? We were that girl.
Or had this happened even before we’d set out and I hadn’t noticed? Had we theoretically slept with them on the first night? How long had we lasted before the lure of roofs and good food had won us over?
Burn called everyone over for dinner and was handing out chunks of meat as we settled around the fire, one big group. But I didn’t want us to be. We were two distinct crews, even if we didn’t appear that way when we fought, or ate, or slept…
Burn handed me a chunk of meat that appeared to be the leg of some sort of bird.
I looked around, hoping someone had salt. What were the odds someone would’ve packed salt, though?
Ryker held out a small pouch to me. No way! My night was saved. I didn’t even care if we looked as if we were one crew, if the fake half of our crew traveled with salt.
“Burn, did you hear me?” Sneak asked, having been talking to Burn about switching pelts.
I glanced up and saw Burn watching me dump salt onto my meat. Damn, the pouch had been nearly empty. I turned to ask Ryker if he had any more, and he already was holding out another pouch.
I finished salting to see Burn’s eyes narrowed even more. He acted as if salt was a strange occurrence.
“What? I like salt.”
“She likes salt,” Ryker said, not looking up from his meat.
“Yeah, all good.” Burn nodded. I caught him looking back at Ryker for a second before giving Sneak his attention again.
I’d finished my last bite when Ryker stood and said, “You ready?”
“For what?”
“Practice.”
I moaned, and I didn’t care who heard me.
Chapter 26
I woke to a mostly sleeping camp, except for Ryker and Burn sitting off by themselves. Ryker held a stick and was staring at something he’d drawn into the dirt between them. Burn was watching him while he made small bursts of fire in his palm.
“It’s not going to work without her. She juiced you,” Ryker told Burn as I approached.
“You sure?” Burn asked.
“Positive.”
I made my way over and found a log to sit on. “What do you mean, juiced?”
“You lent him magic. There’s a handful of Wyrd Blood who can do it, and it appears that you’re one of them,” Ryker explained, most of his attention on the dirt in front of him.
I could juice people? That was what I’d done to Burn? Very interesting. Maybe…
“Could I juice someone else to help break the ward?”
Ryker glanced up. “No. You can lend them some of your magic to make them stronger, but it doesn’t work in reverse.” He stared at the dirt again, rubbing the stubble along his jaw.
Didn’t work in reverse? No, that wasn’t interesting at all. That pretty much sucked.
I glanced down at the dirt that had Ryker’s attention and realized it looked familiar. “Is that a rough
drawing of the map you always stare at?”
“Yes.” Ryker tapped the dirt map with a stick. “We go this way and we’re going to have to travel outside the forest, and it’ll add days to the trip.” He tapped the stick in the other direction. “We go this way and we have to cross the Brim River.”
So this was the reason Ryker had always been staring at these maps. As far as choices, I didn’t know which was worse. They were both bad, though. I’d thought going through the Ruined Forest was rough enough, but crossing the Brim River, if the stories were true, was like agreeing to take a bath in a vat of acid.
“I say we try and cross the river.” Burn pointed to the line that must’ve been the Brim River.
If we went around, I’d have more time to figure out how to break the ward before Ryker sent me to my death. I’d also be a much larger target out in the open.
Ryker’s eyes met mine. “What do you want to do?”
Was he leaving this up to me?
Burn tapped his heel next to the dirt map. “East and cross the Brim River or west and risk being seen?”
I kneeled in the dirt and dug my hand in until I found a worm. It wasn’t as large as I normally would use, but it would do. I cupped my hands and whispered, “Do we go around or straight to the river?”
I placed the worm back onto the ground in the center of the dirt map. The worm wriggled around for a couple of seconds. We all watched it as it crawled and wriggled this way and that before it seemed to head in a definite direction.
“We head east and cross the river.” Now that the choice had been made—by the worm—the reality set in.
Ryker reached forward, picked up the worm right before it disappeared, and then placed it back down. When he leaned back, there was a smirk on his face.
“I’ll go wake the troops and spread the joy.” Burn stood and walked toward the heart of our camp.
Ryker stayed put, as if he knew I wouldn’t let what he did with the worm go. “What was that about?”
“You juiced up the worm.” He smiled, as if I was also part of what was amusing him.
Wyrd Blood Page 14
