"But have you met him?"
"Not personally. Why?"
I ignored her question and asked another of my own. "So, you’ve never made a spell or a potion for him?"
"No. Why?"
I shook my head. "Just curious."
"Just curious? You think she’s telling the truth?" Bob asked his fellow demons.
Kel said nothing, which seemed fairly standard for him, while Larry stared me down as he contemplated Bob’s question.
"I don’t know," Larry hedged. "She looks pretty serious."
"Yeah, but no one’s ever just curious," Bob pointed out.
I rolled my eyes and forced my focus back to the sorceress or voodoo doctor or... whatever. "What’s your name?" I asked, hoping I could quit referring to her by vague occupational monikers.
"Shellaka."
"Ooh, can we call you Shelly?" Larry asked.
"Got any human meat, Shelly?" Sue eyed her shelves of strange jarred objects as if they were fucking grocery items or something. "Like this eyeball, perhaps?"
She grunted. "That’s an eye of a fae."
Ugh, gross.
Sue’s lip curled in disgust. "Fae are too sweet for my taste."
"Mine too," Shelly agreed with a small smile.
I had to hope the old biddy was talking about their personalities being too sweet rather than their persons. Otherwise, what kind of fucking world did I actually live in?
"Anyway," I stressed, trying to get the conversation onto a different track. "Can you take me to see the guys? I need to know they’re all right."
She grunted and nodded. "This way."
I rolled off my pillows and tried to stand, but dizziness swarmed my head along with nausea. I waited for just a few moments as the vertigo settled, then staggered onto my feet and followed Shelly and the demons out the little hut door.
There were multiple shacks outside, including a bigger one on the left, which I assumed was Shelly’s, and four littler ones, about the size of mine, curving around to the right. The slapdash way the five little huts had been constructed made me think they were very recent additions—as in "built just for us" recent.
I approached the first hut and found Ash lying inside. A meaty red slash trailed across his chest, looking blistered and possibly even infected. Sweat clung to his hairline, and his brows were furrowed tight, as if he was having a nightmare.
This whole thing felt like a nightmare.
I left the first hut and checked the second, which held Cal but only barely. His mountainous frame took up the entire diameter of the cylindrical hovel. His head and toes were skimming the walls, and his broad shoulders looked even wider packed between the walls. He had animal furs draped over top of him and pillows piled underneath. He, too, was sleeping, and he shook like he was freezing, despite his rosy cheeks.
Why the fuck were we not healing properly?
After checking on Dan, Rob, and Ben, I exited the final hut and found Shelly and the demons sitting on logs gathered around a fire. It was not cold in the Lunaley, so I assumed the fire was mostly for cooking rather than warmth. Sure enough, she flung a big black pot that looked strangely like a witch’s cauldron over the flames and plopped back down.
A screech tore through the air, alerting me to the presence of a chimera.
"Run!" I shouted, darting toward my hut as the lion-eagle-dragon lit on the ground with the grace of a butterfly. "Hide!"
My hut didn’t have more than an animal skin sheet for a door, but I hid behind it anyway, peeking through the crack to where Shelly laughed near the fire. Laughed? What the hell was wrong with her?
The demons had crowded in with me, lining up behind me as if I would somehow protect them. As if anyone could.
"Run, Shelly!" Hugh cried, waving his black-clawed hand wildly behind the curtain. She couldn’t see him, but he didn’t seem to care.
The chimera strolled closer to Shelly, and she held out her hand. There was nothing in it, no food or water for the beast, but still it came nearer. A strange cooing sound fluttered out of his mouth, almost like the call of a dove or an owl, and it pushed its face into her palm, allowing her to stroke its head.
What. The. Fuck?
The same breed of beast that had damn near killed me and my immortal lovers was also calm and caring enough to be petted? It didn’t add up.
"I found your egg," Shelly muttered, shooting me a stern glance. "I thought about giving it back to the mother you stole it from."
The mother had lived? Unbelievable....
"Please don’t," I begged, pulling back the curtain a bit more so I could speak to her easier. "We almost killed ourselves trying to get that egg. The Storm King will surely finish the job if we fail to bring it to him."
Her dark gaze narrowed. "You are on an errand for the king?"
I glanced at the ground, no longer wanting to meet her gaze. "Not of my own free will."
"Everyone has a choice."
"Not where the king is concerned."
She paused, her palm resting gently on the chimera’s broad snout. "There is always a choice."
"You wouldn’t understand," I scoffed. Not only that, but I wasn’t really at liberty to discuss the issue with her. I decided to change the subject. "How are you able to get so close to the creature without it trying to kill you?"
She tittered, the lightest sounding thing she’d uttered since I woke. "They’re quite gentle when they’re not defending their nests and their young."
I shared a skeptical look with the demons and slowly exited the hut.
The chimera turned to me, growling low. I put a hand onto my golden ax—just in case I needed it for a hurried defense. It kind of surprised me that it was still on my waist at all; I thought for sure I’d have lost it in the woods when I blacked out.
Shelly put her hand up, and I froze. "Stay. You have magic in your veins."
"So do you," I argued. At least, I was pretty sure she did.
But she shook her head. "I can create small amounts of magic through potions and spells, but I am not inherently magical. The energy does not flow through my veins as it does yours."
Ash had said earlier that he was pretty sure chimeras didn’t like magic, that his chimera form didn’t want anything to do with us. In fact, he had struggled to keep himself from slashing us with his talons. But why?
I released my ax, allowing it to hang loosely at my side once more. "Why do chimeras hate magic and magical beings? And if they hate it so much, why the hell do they live in one of the most magical forests to ever exist?"
"Chimeras do not hate," she specified, standing up and tossing a few orange-and-white-striped roots into the cauldron. "They simply act on instinct. Magic and magic users are their natural enemies. Their claws, fangs, and tail spines emit an anti-magic poison when their foe’s skin is breached. For a normal person, the poison is totally harmless; the wound is just like any other cut or scrape. But for a magical being, it can be lethal until the poison runs its course."
"How do you know this?" I asked, daring to hedge a bit closer.
The chimera watched me with darkened eyes, but the growl was absent for the moment.
"I love the chimeras," she said plainly, going back to petting the beast’s head. "I love watching and studying them. I’ve seen the extent of their uses and their harms. I understand their behaviors and instincts. It took years, though."
"So, why do they choose to live in the Lunaley?" I asked, reiterating my question from before.
"Because they refuse to nest in any tree other than the Luna Tree."
"The ones with the dark blue crescents?"
She nodded. "That’s the one."
"So, the Eristani people need the trees, not the magic," Ben muttered, emerging from his hut in a stumble.
"Ben!" I said his name in a desperate whisper as I rushed to him, wrapping him carefully but completely in my arms.
He hugged me back, tighter than I was expecting, and it gave me hope. The stronger he was, th
e stronger the likelihood was that we would all survive this nightmare.
At the sight of two magical beings around the fire, the chimera growled and took flight, disappearing beyond the canopy.
Good riddance.
"Correct," Shelly said, answering Ben’s musings. "The leaves and vines are used to make the nests. The Luna Fruit are used to feed the hatchlings when they emerge. The stone-like bark is used to sharpen their fangs, talons, and spines. They need these things, and so they risk living here, despite the fact that the forest is magical."
Ben rubbed his face and pinched the bridge of his nose, as if trying to stay alert. "If the trees can survive without magic, then that’s all we need—some saplings to bring back to Eristan. If we plant them in the oasis near Erishwar, then the chimeras should naturally repopulate."
"They can," Shelly said, sounding sure of herself and her knowledge. "This world survived many years without magic before the gods came and went, and it will continue to survive regardless. The trees will be fine."
"Then we know what we need to do," Ben said to me.
"Yeah," Dan replied, staggering from his hut and plopping down on a log, "dig up some stupid trees."
"Dan!" I sped over and sat down on the log beside him, snuggling into his chest. "Thank the gods you’re alive."
"Thank yourself we’re alive," he chuckled gruffly. "The gods don’t give a fuck."
"How are we alive?" Ben muttered to no one in particular. He might’ve just been talking to himself. "It doesn’t make sense, not even with the blood bond taken into consideration."
"Blood bond?" Shelly asked. "No wonder the chimeras dislike you so much. That’s strong magic."
Dan turned and glared at her. "Who are you again?"
"Shellaka. The woman who saved your lives."
"But you can call her Shelly," Larry said, smiling, completely oblivious to the suddenly sour atmosphere.
"What did you mean about the blood bond?" I asked Ben. "You do remember how I included sharing in each other’s strength and power as a last-minute addition?"
He nodded. "I do, and that’s exactly what I mean. We were all weak and dying. Even if we relied on one another in a magical way, it shouldn’t have been enough. So how did we live?"
"Maybe we’re more powerful than we thought?" Dan suggested.
Ben shook his head and paced around the fire. "Maybe..."
The Sea Prince put his arm around my shoulders and kissed the top of my head. "Speaking of the blood bond, have you been keeping things fair? That was the number one rule we all agreed on, if you recall."
I laughed. "Seriously? You just woke up from a near-death experience, and the first thing you think about is sex?"
He grinned cheekily. "I’m always thinking about sex."
"Me too," Larry agreed. "You ever possessed someone then fucked their significant other? It’s some intense shit."
My mouth fell open, and I was momentarily stunned into silence.
"No, Larry," Dan said slowly. "We’ve never once possessed someone, let alone used their incapacitated body to fuck with."
Bob shrugged, ignoring the hint of repulsion in Dan’s tone. "It’s too much work if you ask me."
"Breathing is too much work for you," Hugh retorted.
Bob put up both hands in agreement. "Exactly! That’s why I don’t do it."
"No," Larry argued, "that’s why you always get caught. Human bodies need to breath in order to appear normal. Exorcisms are painful, you jackass. Why risk it?"
I took a deep, calming breath, inhaling the intoxicating scent of Dan’s spicy skin. Then I exhaled slowly, tuning out the demons chattering, and got back on topic.
"Cal’s ahead," I admitted to Dan. "I owe everyone else some private time. Especially you and Ben."
His smile stretched wider. "Good. You, me, and Ben can hang out here while Rob, Cal, and Ash go and collect the trees."
"No, no," Ben protested. "Sorry, Sailor, but I think I need to be with the tree-extracting group. I need to make sure it’s done properly so that the saplings don’t die during the journey home. We can’t take any chances."
Dan grinned, looking rather smug. "All right, then. I’m down for some one-on-one Sexy Lexi time. Maybe we can reenact the last time we were alone together..."
I blushed, my lady bits tingling at the remembrance of that night on the lake, but no one else seemed to pay any mind to his naughty suggestion.
"Fine," I agreed. "We can stay here and catch up on some time together. We already know that time kind of ceases to exist here. I suppose there’s not really a reason to hurry."
Ben was still pacing around the fire as if he were deep in thought. "It still feels urgent, though, doesn’t it? The time thing is difficult to wrap your head around, even for me, and I’ve studied relativity and a bit of quantum physics."
"Yeah, it does," I said, agreeing with his first statement, even though I had no fucking clue what he meant by the second. "But at the same time, so much has happened to me that was supposed to be impossible, that this kind of just feels like any other thing in my life."
"Totally understandable," Dan said, kissing my head once more.
Shelly put a hand on her rounded hip. "Are you even going to ask if you’re welcome to stay? Or if I’d be willing to share my food and water with all of you?"
Kel chuckled at her ridiculous question, which started Larry and Sue laughing, and finally Bob. Hugh didn’t laugh, but his smile was huge.
"Good one, Shelly," Hugh said. "I mean, of course they’re welcome here. We wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of building the huts if they weren’t."
She raised a brow at the demon. "It still couldn’t hurt them to use manners. I thought they weren’t as pompous as angels?"
Bob crinkled his nose and scratched his head. "She has a point."
Hugh huffed and glared at Ben. "Prove to her you’re not an arrogant asshat."
Ben paused his pacing and blinked, glancing between Hugh and Shelly. "Um, may we stay for a few more days?"
"See?" Hugh said, crossing his arms haughtily. "Told you they were fine."
Shelly rolled her eyes and shuffled over to stir the soup. "I suppose you can stay then."
Something shifted in one of the huts, and soon the curtain to Ash’s space slid open. "Do I smell something cooking?" he asked, his voice groggy from sleep and exhaustion.
Dan removed his arm from my shoulder, allowing me to stand up and hurry over to his brother.
"Are you okay?" I asked, carefully tracing the scarred lines across his neck and chest. "How are you feeling?"
I wondered if our wounds would ever heal completely.
"I’m okay," he rasped, tucking me into his side. "Just tired as fuck and sore all over."
"The soup will help," Shelly added somberly. "There are special ingredients in it."
Hopefully not fae eyes and newt balls.
"Soup?" Cal asked, emerging from his hut. "Thank the gods. I’m starving." He glanced around the fire. "Where’s Rob?"
"Right here," the final brother answered, pulling back the animal skin sheet and bracing himself on the doorway of the tiny hut for balance. I was surprised the whole thing didn’t topple right over. "How long have we been out?"
"Weeks," Shelly reiterated for those who’d shown up late. "But do not panic. Time acts differently in the Ley."
"Who are you?" Rob asked, rubbing his sleepy gray eyes.
Bob sighed loudly. "Her name is Shelly. Shelly. One more time for the people in the back—Shelly. Now let’s stop asking all the damn time."
Rob glared daggers at the demon, and I immediately knew which one I’d rather not piss off.
"You might’ve been enjoying your little lawless vacation in the Ley," Rob threatened in a dangerously low voice, "but I won’t remind you again that you are currently speaking to your prince. You’re one smart-ass comment away from getting that attitude knocked right out of your charcoaled head. Understood?"
"Yes, Your
Highness," Bob apologized quickly. "I definitely wasn’t talking to you, though. I was, uh, talking to the others because... Kel, here, forgot the witch’s name again even though she told us a thousand times. Right, Kel? Your memory is about as bad as my sluggishness."
"You mean laziness," Larry muttered, and I totally agreed.
Kel’s eyes went wide before he glared at Bob. "Nuh-uh."
"Uh-huh," Bob argued, shooting him a glare that screamed "Shut the fuck up."
He didn’t have to tell Kel twice. The poor demon was already quiet as it was. Now he appeared to be almost caving in on himself.
"It’s Shellaka," Shelly clarified for the group as she grabbed a pile of wooden bowls and dipped them each into the pot.
"Well, thank you for your help and hospitality, Shellaka," Cal said, resuming his usual political pleasantness as he sat down on a log. "We are in your debt."
Finally, she smiled, apparently satisfied with our gratitude, or at least satisfied with Cal. I walked over as casually as I could and sat down beside him near the fire—just in case the voodoo doctor got any funny ideas about my Sky Prince.
As we ate, talked, and slowly regathered our strength, I finally started to feel optimistic again. We might’ve been battered by this impossible mission to the desert, but we hadn’t yet been beaten.
We had the egg, the solution to the harpies’ endangered species problem, and soon we’d have the Treaty O’ Ley back in place.
All we had to do was collect a few saplings, and we could be on our way. Easy-peasy.
Right. As if it’d ever be that easy.
Chapter 19
A few days later, we were totally healed. Thank the gods. The magic might not have worked instantaneously as usual, but at least it worked at all.
That evening, I found myself standing in front of a small pond not far from Shelly’s shack. Its magical blue waters sparkled, its surface miraculously free of the near-constant mist floating along the Lunaley’s forest floor.
Ben, Ash, and Cal had already left to collect the Luna Tree saplings, and as promised, I was on a date with Dan. Rob had insisted on tagging along too, and since neither Dan nor I were known for turning down a good time, we graciously obliged. The prior had chosen the location—obviously, considering it was near a body of water. But the latter had chosen the activity—drinking games.
Stormy Nights (Storms of Blackwood Book 2) Page 16
