by Miles, D. L.
Zia sniffled, and thought of how many times Aeryn must have faced something worse than this. How many times had he run into this kind of wall? When a setback almost cost him a STRAY.
“It’s different this time,” she whispered, “it’s personal. And we still don’t know why they’re doing it. The board won’t label them as STRAYs if they don’t have a reason. Although they’re Specters, so they could just be doing it for fun.”
“There must be a reason,” Hayden said, “and I bet if anyone is going to figure it out, it’ll be you. Because you’re kind of psychotic when you put your mind to something.”
Zia actually laughed, and shoved him away from her. “Shut up. I’m passionate.”
“That’s one way of putting it,” Hayden grinned at her, and she found she couldn’t help but smile wider.
“Who told you I was here?” Zia suddenly asked, remembering what he had said. As far as she knew nobody knew she was going to Wraith, since she didn’t even know until an hour ago.
“A woman,” Hayden said, “she just sort of appeared in my car, I think she was a Caster. She left behind ashes though.”
“Ashes?” Zia’s back straightened. “With black hair? Narrow eyes?”
“Yeah,” Hayden inched towards her on the bench, “you know her?”
“Maybe,” Zia jumped from the bench and started walking when Hayden joined her. “You got your car here?”
“It’s across the bridge,” he said, pointing towards where they were heading, “I couldn’t get it over here. No permit.”
Zia picked up the pace, and when they crossed the border to the North Quarter she spotted Hayden’s car. He hurried to open the door for her, and they both climbed inside.
“What are you thinking?” Hayden asked her, and Zia just shook her head, not sure herself.
“You here?” she looked into the backseat, and only saw a bit of ash there. “If you wanted a distraction, I’m guessing I gave you a good one.”
“Noble, what are—“
“You did, indeed,” the woman with raven hair flashed into the backseat, leaving no ashes behind her. “You’re good for one so young…maybe.”
Hayden jumped at her sudden appearance, but Zia never moved. She stared at the woman, and asked, “Why are you following me?”
“Coincidence,” the woman shrugged, “we have similar goals, and I think you can help me.”
“Is that why you gave me the dagger?” she asked. Hayden was silent in the driver’s seat, just watching the girls talk.
The woman rolled her eyes away, and Zia realized that had been an accident. She said, “Sure. But I’m here to give you something else.”
“What is it?”
The woman reached into her jacket and pulled out a few folded papers. Slowly, she handed them to Zia, who took them greedily. She started reading, though she didn’t like taking her eyes off of the Realm Walker.
“This…” Zia began, flipping through the pages.
“Yes,” the Walker agreed, “everything you need.”
“Who are you?” Zia looked up from the papers, eyeing the woman.
“Name’s Machatta,” she purred, eyelids dropping ever so slightly, “and I want Achaicious dead.”
“Why?” it was Hayden that asked. Machatta shrugged, and tied her hair back with what looked to be a single strand of her hair.
“He’s the reason I was banished,” she revealed. Zia was surprised that she would tell them so much, unless it was a lie. She narrowed her eyes at the woman in the back seat.
“How’d you get back?”
“Power,” Machatta smiled. “Don’t feel too bad about not sensing me, you don’t seem very good at it, child.”
“What’s that mean?”
Machatta shook her head, and gestured to the papers in Zia’s hands. “Just make him STRAY, and take him down. Delmont will just be my gift to you; he killed your brother, right.”
Zia pursed her lips, not happy that this woman knew so much about her. Just how long had she been following her? Just how often did she not notice a Specter was in her house, like Mal, or standing right next to her? She had always thought she had good senses, but maybe being half human was dulling her mind.
“That’s what I thought,” Machatta said. “We both want Achaicious in the catacombs under the Arks, so why not work together? This would look good on your file, after all.”
“I don’t care about my file,” Zia declared, but Machatta just raised one eyebrow at her, lips tight. “Okay, I care a little. But that isn’t important right now.”
“You’re file is very important to certain people,” Machatta hinted, and just before she left she added, “Specters aren’t the only monsters in this city.”
Chapter 23:
Aeryn’s blood was boiling, adrenaline rushing through him over what Zia had done. He walked along the sidewalk, replaying everything in his head; she wasn’t anything like her brother. Donataen was by the book, did everything right, and made sure that his emotions never got the best of him. But Zia, she just ran into everything and decided to figure out what would happen later! Aeryn huffed, knowing he was more upset at himself than her.
He shouldn’t have brought her, knowing that Achaicious and Delmont had killed Donataen. But he was her mentor, and he had thought she would be able to control herself; thought he would be able to control her. How wrong her was.
He had never expected her to attack Delmont though, and actually be able to knock him back a bit. But now he had to try and get an order from VA to bring in Achaicious and Delmont, but they could counter with a harassment suit against Zia. Just as Aeryn was going to get Cindy and head over to VA, he heard a car screech to a stop beside him. He turned to find Zia jumping from the vehicle, Hayden Rider in the driver’s seat.
“Aeryn!” she cried. “I got it!”
Zia explained what had just happened, being sure to show him the papers Machatta had given her as proof. She had handed over all the information to get an order to label Achaicious as STRAY, and probably Delmont as well. She was excited, so much so that she completely forgot to care about Machatta’s motive. All she cared about was catching Achaicious. But Aeryn had something else in mind.
“We need to give this to the Ark,” he told her, eyeing how Hayden hadn’t moved from the car. “We should have an order by tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” Zia questioned. “Let’s get him now! We have the reduc-chains, why don’t we just—“
“No,” her mentor ordered. He placed a firm hand on her shoulder, leaning in so close that he could barely focus on her eyes. “If you want to make sure he stays in the catacombs then we have to do this right. Ventori might work in a lot of illegal ways, but not this time. This is for Donataen, and you don’t want to mess that up, do you?”
Zia paused, but soon shook her head. She said, “No. So what now?”
“Go home,” Aeryn said, “or go on a date. Wait until I contact you, and we’ll bring him in with a proper order.”
The papers slipped easily from Zia’s hands and into Aeryn’s, unable to look away from him. He’s right, she thought, I can’t screw up again. She nodded at him and asked, “You won’t go without me, right?”
“Never, kid,” Aeryn smiled, and whistled for his steed. Cindy appeared from around the corner, and he climbed onto her. As he rode away Zia watched him go, wondering if that was where her brother had gotten his typical saying. Whenever she wanted to go on a case with him, she asked him if he would go without her; and he would simply reply, “Never, kid.”
She heard the door to Hayden’s car click open as he got out. Zia glanced over at him, and he had his hands on the door. He asked, “You want me to take you home?”
Zia thought of her mother, and how she had an appointment at the hospital that afternoon. Her father would be taking her, and as much as Zia wanted to run to see her, she couldn’t face the silence of that house. Not yet, and she shook her head.
“Want to go do something fun?” Hayden gave
her a sly smile, and somehow she gave him one back.
“What did you have in mind?”
Hayden was strapping on his own helmet just as Zia snapped her goggles over her eyes. Even though it probably wasn’t the best time to be feeling what he was, he couldn’t help it; it was like they were on a date. He could tell she felt guilty over something, but she seemed to have recovered quickly. It must have been since Aeryn had agreed to let her go with him tomorrow.
“Move over,” Zia was pushing a hand on his chest, shoving him to the back of the motorcycle, “I get to drive.”
“Okay,” Hayden laughed, and she climbed over the bike. He grabbed onto her waist, not feeling the least bit emasculated by her attitude, and questioned, “Have you ever driven one of these before?”
They were out front of his house, and she had seemed pretty interested in going for a drive on his new bike. He had hoped to have her arms wrapped around his waist, but this was a good alternative.
“Nope!” Zia revved the engine. “It can’t be that hard, right?”
“Maybe I should—“ Hayden tried to stop her but she rocketed off. She tore down street, and Hayden was beginning to get scared as she took the turns too fast. But he could hear her laughing, and that was good enough for him.
When Hayden tapped on her shoulder and pointed to a nearby tree she pulled over. It was a giant willow tree, with its vines hanging low to the ground. Zia cut the motor, and they each climbed off; but as she did it, was the same as when she tried to get off of Cindy, and she fell over.
Hayden caught her easily, and hoisted her to her feet. “You’re pretty good for not having any experience.”
“Thanks,” Zia regained her balance, but Hayden never let go of her arms. “I get that a lot.”
“I know,” he smiled, “you were always the best novice.”
“Thanks…I think. Why’d you want to stop here?”
“I was pretty sure we might die if I let you go any further,” Hayden admitted, and brushed his fingers down her arms until they wrapped around her hands. He pulled her into the vines, and when they made it to the other side it was as if they had entered another world; one just for them. She pulled off her helmet, and pushed up the goggles. Hayden unbuckled his own helmet and tossed it casually on the ground.
“I had complete control,” Zia argued, grateful for this distraction. If she had continued to think any more about Achaicious, or her mother, she would have lost her mind. “You know I never thought I would have gotten this far so fast.”
“Neither did I,” Hayden admitted, referring to something else entirely. “I’m a little jealous.”
“You better be,” Zia snorted, “that makes working with Aeryn so much better.”
“Yeah, I meant I’m jealous of Aeryn,” Hayden leaned against the willow tree, hands now in his pockets. Shyly, he looked up at her, a half smile on his lips. Zia swallowed, remembering what he had said to her.
He held his hand out to her, and she took it. Hayden pulled her towards him, one hand snaking around her waist, his other leaving her hand and going into her hair as he pushed the goggles off of her. She did the same, and ran her fingers through his hair as she pressed against him. They breathed each other in, and Zia could feel her heart beating against her ribcage. It was as if a million fireworks had gone off inside of her mind when their lips connected, like nothing she had ever felt before.
She leaned onto her toes, getting closer to Hayden. When their lips parted she found she was thinking it was too soon.
“Better than Cal?” Hayden smiled, giving her another light kiss as he spun her around so her back was against the tree.
Zia smiled back. “Way better.”
When Zia realized that it was well past the usually time her mother got home, she figured it was time to leave. Hayden gave her a ride back to her house, and she waved goodbye to him on the sidewalk, still a little giddy. But as she turned to her house, reality set in.
Slowly, she moved to the front door, wondering how hard it was going to be to hide the fact that she had discovered Donataen’s killers. The door opened, and suddenly her mother was hugging her, tighter than Zia could ever remember.
“Mom?” Zia asked. “Are you okay?”
“Oh, I am,” she sobbed, “I’m perfect!”
Zia hugged her back, but Win quickly let go. Her cheeks were flushed, and she had clearly been crying, and she said, “I’m not sick!”
“What?” Zia wasn’t sure she had heard her properly.
Win brought her daughter inside, and explained as best she could about what had happened. Cash was there as well, while Iscah had gone home. They told their daughter that her sickness had cleared up; the sickness that cursed the humans of New Havilan had been cured from her blood. Zia looked shocked, but she quickly grabbed Win into a hug.
Zia insisted that they go out for dinner that night, and they did. It was almost enough to take Win’s mind off of the truth, but she found whenever she looked at Zia something seemed off. Her daughter was having difficulty making eye contact, and she seemed to be lost in thought at some moments.
But whatever was wrong could wait.
Iscah wasn’t picking up her phone, which normally would have worried Zia, but she chose to think it wasn’t anything. She was probably still embarrassed about what had happened, and was hiding in her room. If anything, she would come over in a couple of days; which was hopefully when Zia would have ranked up as a Ventori.
So she sat in her room, still excited over the fact that her mother had been cured, and over what had happened with Hayden. Things were turning around until Mal appeared in her room, dust falling to the carpet.
Zia jumped up from her bed and raised her hand to hit Mal again but stopped when he flinched. His eyes had been shut tight, and he opened one to peek at her under his bangs. He said, “I apologize for following you again, but I thought you might want to know what I have discovered.”
“Discovered?” Zia questioned, hoping it didn’t have to do with her hitting Delmont. What if Aeryn couldn’t get an order?
“It is about the Realm Walker that has been following you,” he said, coming forward a step, “she is not who she claims to be.”
“You know about her?” Zia whispered, wondering how close her parents may be to her room. But there was silence in the house, a comfortable silence. “Why didn’t you say anything.” She smacked him on the arm and he held the spot, not moving.
“I saw in the car,” Mal went on, “you should know that she is Achaicious’ sister, that he had banished many years ago in their homeland.”
“Really?”
“Yes,” Mal pulled his lips towards his teeth, “I just thought you should know. Goodnight, I will not bother you again here.”
He put up his shield, and watched as Zia cursed his name. She waved her arms around in the air, trying to find him as if that would work. He smiled, until remembering her under the willow tree with that other Ventori. His hands turned to fists at his sides, and he left her on her own.
He decided not to say what he knew of her mother, that he could see the mark of the companions on her skin. Outside, he looked over his shoulder at her house, and knew that he had accomplished his goal of convincing her that not all Specters were bad; which meant he could leave now, especially with Aeryn around.
But the thought of not seeing her again made him sad, and angry. Why was that?
Chapter 24:
Zia dreamed of everything that night; she dreamed of catching Achaicious, and Delmont. She dreamed of her brother, her mom, and even Iscah; but in her dreams Iscah wasn’t herself…she looked the same but Zia could sense she was different. She also dreamed of Hayden, but every time she saw him, Mal would interrupt. Zia tossed and turned in her bed, until she heard birds chirping outside her window, and decided it was time to get up. Today was the day she would bring Achaicious into Ventori Ark.
But before that, she ran down into the kitchen, feet stomping on the stairs. She called out, �
�Mom?”
“I’m right here,” Win said back, turning the page of the North Quarter Gazette in her hands, “good morning.”
“Morning!” Zia dashed over and gave her mother a hug, still unable to believe she was okay. It was a miracle, and that was it. But Zia couldn’t help but wonder what this strange feeling was in the back of her mind when she was near her mom; it had never been there before. She brushed it off as nothing, only her own insecurities. Zia put on the coffee maker and noticed her father’s briefcase wasn’t where it normally was. She asked, “Did dad leave already?”
“Yes,” Win nodded, a small smile still on her lips, “he had to get into work early, something about some missing cold case files he had to find.”
“Cold case files?” Zia froze, and thought of Donataen. Did Win or Cash know that those missing files could be Donataen’s case? That someone was looking into how he had died? Trying to appear calm, she sat down at the table.
“Apparently some files went missing last night,” Win turned another page and took a sip of tea, “they think it was just an interns mistake. Oh dear, it wasn’t you was it?”
“No, why would it be me?” Zia questioned until she remembered that she had told them she had a job working at the Ark, in records. But she breathed a sigh of relief that it had nothing to do with Donataen…or did it? “Do you know what files went missing?”
“I think your father went to figure that out,” Win said, and Zia left it alone. If Aeryn didn’t contact her soon, she would go find out herself, anyway. Waiting around the house would be too agonizing, even with her mother there.
While Zia waited for her coffee, she started to think about her dreams, or more specifically, Mal. “Hey, mom, can I ask you something about Donataen?”
That caught Win’s full attention, and she set the newspaper flat against the table. She said, “Of course.”
“I was just wondering…” Zia paused, “did he ever tell you he was dating someone? I mean, I don’t remember him ever dating, and I know that’s not something you tell your little sister, but we spent a lot of time together.”
