The Scrolls of Gideon

by Sonya Bateman

  “Now, what about your leg?” Mr. Wilt said, moving like he was going to take a look.

  I stepped around him. “It’s fine,” I said, despite knowing it damned well wasn’t. But I had the beginnings of an idea, and I needed some time to shape it. I couldn’t screw this up. If I failed to stop both of them at the same time, I’d only get everyone killed. “Let’s keep going.”

  I limped ahead without waiting for either of them to respond, already searching for the next soul to ask about Sir Cromwell. My leg felt worse with every step, but I wasn’t even going to try relieving the pain. Not yet, anyway. Because I had to be critically injured if this was going to work.

  Right now, I was damned glad I’d gone back to Cobalt and gotten more tattoos. The protective magic kicked in when I was close to death, and it’d work even if I had no spark left. All I had to do was get Mr. Wilt and Dom to look at them, and they wouldn’t be able to harm me. I just had to figure out how to take advantage of the fear that the protection spell caused without letting one of them get away.

  As I slowed to pick my way across a jagged scatter of wood planks that used to be a ship, I felt a soul nearby and reached out tentatively, hoping it wasn’t one of the insane ones. There was a faint tug in my head, and a voice said, Gideon? Is that you?

  My breath caught sharply as I recognized the voice. Low Tide, I thought, too shocked to say anything out loud. Unfortunately, it was pointless to ask him about Livingston Cromwell, since he hadn’t been dead for long. I didn’t even want to say anything to him. Tipping off these two bastards that his soul was still around seemed like a bad idea.

  Yes, it’s me. Only I think I’m dead.

  Holy shit. He’d actually answered my thought. Can you hear me?

  Yes. Hey, that was weird. Something made me answer you.

  Yeah, that was me. Sorry about that. It’s a long story. I glanced over my shoulder to see if either of my captors suspected anything. Maybe being able to communicate with Low Tide could help me somehow. Listen, man, I’m really sorry you’re…

  Dead? Yeah, well, you didn’t shoot me. I never liked those twins, honestly. My head started to throb as he talked, and a thin stream of blood ran from one nostril. I’m confused, though, he said. How are we talking?

  I can’t explain it. But I’d like to ask for your help, I thought carefully, trying not to phrase anything in the form of a question. Sometimes being the DeathSpeaker felt like playing anti-Jeopardy, except I was the only contestant and there was no jackpot prize for succeeding. I would appreciate it if you could let me know what’s going on back there with everyone else, if that’s possible.

  Oh, yeah. You want me to be your spy, right? I can do that. It’s weird, though. I can go anywhere inside this big air bubble thing, but I can’t get out.

  “Are you even trying to find the ship anymore?” Dom suddenly said in rough tones behind me, jerking my focus away from Low Tide. There was a sharp, stabbing pain in my head as I almost lost him.

  I looked back at Dom so he could see my nose bleeding. “Yeah, I’m trying,” I said. “But every time you open your mouth, I have to stop and listen to you. Maybe you could quit interrupting me?”

  Dom seemed like he’d say something else, but a sharp glance from Mr. Wilt held him back.

  Listen, I can’t talk long, I thought at Low Tide. Please go check on them, and tell me what’s happening as soon as possible.

  I’m on it. You know, this is kind of fun. Except for the being dead part.

  Something popped in my head, probably my eardrum. And Low Tide was gone.

  I kept walking and breathing as I tried to ease the blinding headache back a little. I had no idea how long it would take Low Tide to get back to me, but I hoped it would be before the next hourly check-in.

  Because as soon as Mr. Wilt gave Kjell the all-clear signal, I had to make my move.

  CHAPTER 25

  “I’m telling you, I don’t think this Cromwell guy is actually down here,” I said.

  Mr. Wilt had stopped our little search party to catch a breath, and I’d plunked down on a handy wooden barrel before my shaking legs could drop me where I stood. “I’m doing everything I can,” I murmured, closing my eyes as my head throbbed behind them.

  “Well, you’re not doing enough.” Dom’s voice grated on my ears. “The ship is here, and we’re going to find it.”

  “Maybe it is, but Cromwell isn’t!” I lifted my head slowly and met his eyes. “Look, I’ve already interrogated probably a hundred of these souls so far,” I said. “They’re pretty much free-range down here, and not a single one knows anything about Sir Livingston Cromwell.”

  Dom sneered at me. “Then I suppose you’ll have to interrogate a hundred more.”

  “All right, dial it back a little,” Mr. Wilt said. “We can afford a few minutes to think about this. Meanwhile, I need to check in with Kjell.”

  As he turned away to use the radio, Dom looked me up and down with a smug expression. “They told us you were supposed to be a real challenge,” he said, lowering his voice so only I could hear him. “Powerful, practically unstoppable. But you’re nothing. One little threat to your freak friends, and you crumple like a wet tissue.” He leaned in close and showed his teeth in a contortion that could never be mistaken for a smile. “You know they’re dead no matter what you do, right? Hell, Solveig’s probably killed at least one of them already.”

  I sprang to my feet, shoved him out of the way and walked toward Mr. Wilt, who was on the walkie with Kjell. I heard the other man say through the speaker, “The big one is awake now. He’s pissed about his girlfriend, but he hasn’t tried anything yet.”

  “Hey,” I said angrily. “Asshole.”

  Mr. Wilt turned and raised an eyebrow. “Is there a problem?”

  “Yeah, there’s a lot of problems,” I said. “But right now I’m only concerned with one of them. I want to talk to my brother, right now.”

  He flashed an incredulous look. “Don’t think because I’ve been courteous, you’re in a position to make demands,” he said. “Why would I let you do that?”

  “Because I don’t believe you anymore.” I glared a challenge at him. “I think they’re already dead. So either you put Taeral on that thing and let me hear that everyone’s okay from him, or I don’t move another step. Drag me, leave me, kill me, I don’t care. I’m not doing shit unless I know they’re all right.”

  Mr. Wilt looked from me to Dom, and his eyes narrowed. “Fine,” he said evenly, and clicked the walkie on. “Kjell. Let the Fae talk to his brother.”

  “Excuse me? Sir?”

  That tone right there was the reason I couldn’t let this go on any longer. Mr. Wilt might be in charge, but he wasn’t there to stop the twins from doing whatever they wanted. And the further away he got, the more his hold over them was slipping.

  “You heard me,” Mr. Wilt said. “Put the Fae on.”

  There was a brief pause, and then the radio squawked. “Talk,” Kjell said from an obvious distance.

  “Gideon?”

  Taeral’s broken voice went straight to my heart, and I had to stop myself from punching Mr. Wilt in his stupid Australian face. He might not have touched anyone directly, but he was the one who’d made all this happen. “Are you going to give me that thing, or do I have to pantomime pushing a button every time I want to talk?” I said. “You know I won’t break it. They’ll die if you can’t check in every hour, remember?”

  Mr. Wilt handed me the unit grudgingly. “You stay right here in front of me.”

  “Fine,” I said as I took the walkie and hit the call button. “Taeral, I’m here. How bad is it?”

  When I let go of the button, a few seconds passed before Taeral came through. He was laughing, and there was a terrible rasping quality to the sound. “I am trying to think of a time when it’s been worse,” he said. “I’m afraid I am failing at that.”

  Reluctantly, I pushed the button again. “Don’t worry about it. I know how bad it is,” I
said. “Listen, I’m going to find this stupid ship, and Mr. Wilt is going to honor his promise and not let you die.” I knew Taeral wouldn’t believe that for a second, and I was counting on it. “There is a way out of this. Just stay alive for a while longer, okay?”

  That was me letting him know that I was about to try something. I released the talk button and waited for his response.

  What came back wasn’t what I expected. “Muiid ag téaht ar do’shoon, daartheír.”

  We’re coming for you, brother.

  Just as Taeral finished speaking, there was a distant thud, and he let out a pained cry that was cut short by a snap of static. “Goddamn it!” I shouted, thrusting the walkie at Mr. Wilt. “That wasn’t a spell, and you know it! He doesn’t even have enough spark left to hold his glamour. Get your flunky back on the line right now.”

  Mr. Wilt snatched the unit from me. “Kjell, what did I tell you?” he barked into it. “If you’ve hurt him, I’m going to take it out of your ass.”

  After a few long seconds, the walkie crackled. “He was trying to use magic,” Kjell said sullenly.

  “No, he wasn’t. They speak a different language, you moron,” Mr. Wilt said, and then looked at me. “You have one second to tell me what he said, and you’d better be convincing. If I think you’re lying—”

  “He said there’s so much mandrake in him, he can hear the Eastern Seaboard,” I shot back without missing a beat. “You do know that stuff’s not just poison, right? It amplifies every sensation. The Fae use it as a recreational drug, but only in tiny amounts. One drop is almost too much. And you bastards poured a whole damned bottle down his throat.” My fists clenched before I could stop them, but I managed not to take a swing. “He’s completely incapacitated. It’s a miracle that he’s even able to speak.”

  Mr. Wilt stared at me for a moment longer. “All right. I believe you,” he finally said, and spoke into the radio. “Put Taeral back on. Let them finish. And keep your sister’s hands off him.”

  The responding static burst almost sounded pissed off. “I am fine,” Taeral said, sounding anything but. “Gideon, are you all right?”

  I debated lying to him, but decided against it. He knew I wasn’t. “Of course not, but I’ll survive,” I said. “Like I said, just stay alive.”

  When I released the button, Taeral said. “I will. And brother … I swear on my life, I will see that we all return home safely.”

  Don’t!

  I came very close to screaming that out loud. He’d promised to protect me. Again. And if he didn’t keep that promise, he would die.

  But I also thought I knew why he’d said that. When a Fae made a gealdht, a promise, it was a living thing that wanted to be kept. And the promise itself would give him the strength, and the magic, he needed to keep it — even if there was nothing left of his spark. It was a powerful upside to the downside of death by broken promise.

  A shiver moved through me as I depressed the CB button. “Taeral, I…”

  “That’s enough.” Mr. Wilt yanked the walkie from my hand and gave me a look that suggested he knew I was hiding something. “I’ll deal with you in a minute,” he said as he hit the side button. “All right, Kjell, they’ve talked enough. Is everything still good on your end?”

  “Of course it is. We’re fine here,” Kjell replied. “You know we can handle … wait, hold on.” He clicked off.

  A full minute later, he still hadn’t clicked back on. And then the sounds reached us, fainter than the last time but clearly signs of a struggle. There was at least one gunshot in the mix.

  “Kjell! What’s going on?” Mr. Wilt yelled into the radio. When there was no response, he clicked again and said, “Talk to me, damn it.”

  His only reply was silence.

  Mr. Wilt glared at me. “What did you do?”

  “Nothing,” I said. “How could I do anything? They’re half a mile away, at least.”

  “You did something,” he growled. “Tell me!”

  “All right, you got me. I used my psychic powers to convince the twins that they’re actually frogs.”

  The blow landed before I saw it coming, and I was on my knees gasping for breath. But just as Mr. Wilt started to rant at me again, Low Tide’s voice ripped into my head and crowded everything else out.

  Hey, your brother just kicked some serious ass! The twins are down for the count.

  Relief and anger flooded me at the same time. What took you so long to get back to me? I thought at him, forgetting about not asking questions.

  I thought you only wanted to know if anything happened. Something happened. So I told you.

  Okay, great. Thanks.

  A hard kick to my stomach punted Low Tide out of my head as pain dragged me back to the moment. “What the hell?” I rasped, trying to look up at Mr. Wilt. “I didn’t even say anything!”

  “I asked you a question,” he snapped. “What else have you been using your psychic powers for?”

  I tried not to laugh, but I couldn’t help it, even though it hurt. “Come on, don’t you speak sarcasm? I thought you were Australian,” I said. “I don’t have psychic powers. Like I was trying to tell you, I didn’t do anything.”

  The radio crackled.

  Mr. Wilt grabbed for it, pushed the button in. “Kjell?”

  “Kjell cannot speak with you right now. You will have to settle for me, human.”

  For the first time in my life, I actually felt like cheering at the sound of Taeral’s voice. But I decided that would only earn me another beating, so I kept my mouth shut and smiled inwardly as I watched the rage spread on Mr. Wilt’s face.

  The tall man glared at me as he pressed the talk button. “What happened to Kjell and Solveig?” he said, and waited.

  Taeral came back. “Your dogs are suffering from a slight case of death, and I’m afraid it’s quite contagious,” he said. “You’ll be the next to catch it.

  When Mr. Wilt held the button down to talk again, I anticipated what he was going to say and shouted, “Don’t listen to him, Taeral! He won’t kill me!”

  Mr. Wilt looked surprised for a second, but then he smiled and released the button so Taeral couldn’t hear him. “Very clever,” he said. “You’re right that I can’t afford to kill you, even though I’d really enjoy that, but it doesn’t matter. They’ll never reach you in time.” He nodded past me, and Dom stepped up.

  Honestly, I was surprised the other man hadn’t tried to kill me while everything was unfolding. But Dom looked confident, almost gleeful. And when Mr. Wilt spoke again, I found out why.

  “Go,” he said. “Stay hidden, and pick them off one by one. Leave the captain alive.” He looked hard at me, and added, “That way the DeathSpeaker will have one person he still has to save.”

  “I’m on it,” Dom said, his grin widening just before he melted into the shadows.

  Now it was my turn to act. This place was a maze, and it was impossible to see everything at once. Plus I’d already seen an example of Dom’s sharpshooting skills. He didn’t have to get very close to take them out — and they’d never see him coming. There were more than enough hiding places in here.

  “I’m going to assume you’re speechless with horror,” Mr. Wilt said. “I’ll also assume that you’ll try anything you can think of to warn them, so let’s put an end to that right now.” He tossed the walkie-talkie into the air and casually put a bullet through it, shattering the unit into little plastic pieces. “Now, you and I have a ship to find. Get up.”

  I gave him a dead stare as I struggled to my feet. “Look, I can barely walk,” I said, injecting complete despair into my tone. It wasn’t as hard as I wanted it to be. “My leg’s a lot worse now, and I’m still losing blood. Let me wrap it up, and that should keep me going for a while. I’ll use my shirt.”

  Mr. Wilt nodded assent. “Make it fast.”

  I shrugged out of my coat and peeled my shirt off with slow, exaggerated movements. At first Mr. Wilt barely glanced at me. But when he turned
fully to make sure I was complying, the protection tattoos on my chest glowed blue.

  His eyes bugged out, and he took a stumbling step back as the fear hit him. “What … how … you can’t,” he sputtered. His limbs started trembling, and he dropped the gun on the ground and raised both hands in surrender. “Please don’t hurt me.”

  “Oh, don’t worry. This won’t hurt a bit,” I said casually as I retrieved the gun and pointed it at him. “You’ll be dead before you feel it.”

  I pulled the trigger, and the bullet drilled through his forehead to drop him where he stood.

  “Three down, one to go,” I said, starting to put my shirt back on. But then I changed my mind. If I left it off and Dom tried to sneak up on me or something, the tattoos should keep him from attacking. So I used the shirt to bandage my leg after all, to hopefully slow the bleeding a little, and tied my coat around my waist.

  “Hey, Low Tide,” I called out. At least communicating with him would be a little easier now that I could speak freely. “You still around?”

  Yes, he answered immediately. There was that weird forced answer again. What’s up with that?

  “I’ll explain later. Listen, I need you to try and warn them somehow. Dom is coming for them.” I shoved the gun in my jacket pocket, barely noticing the nausea from the cold iron bullets on top of everything else. “And I’m coming for him.”

  I’ll do my best, Captain, Low Tide said. He was gone before I could respond — or point out that he’d called me Captain.

  I smirked as I headed back the way we’d come, looking for Dom’s trail. Thanks to years of forced hunting, I could track just about any animal across any terrain, including human animals. And I didn’t need magic to do it.

  I would’ve worried about being too late, but I refused to let that happen. No one else was dying today.

  Except Dom.

  CHAPTER 26

  I had no idea how long it would take for Taeral and the others to reach me. But Dom had a head start, so I had to get to him before he found them.