by Shea Berkley
I understand Leo’s nervousness. We’re two supposedly rich, underage high school students in the most expensive rooms at one of the biggest hotels. We’re a con man’s dream target, but we have no choice. Trying to dream-share in the car with Mom ended in a bust, and a quick call confirmed she wasn’t in jail. It would have been so nice if she’d been in jail. The last time I saw Mom, she said she wasn’t asleep. Millispit venom had put me under. Thankfully, I’m not stupid enough to go that route. Nope, we decided to knock me out in a way more common to Vegas.
A knock sounds and Leo lets in the big dude from the lobby carrying two darkly tinted bottles labeled absinthe. The guy’s uniform of crisp black pants and wrinkle-free white shirt with the hotel logo on the breast pocket flags him as a hotel employee. His beady eyes, thick chest, and a single-minded vocabulary flag him as an opportunist. “I risked a lot bringing you this.” He puts the bottles on the highly polished entry table and eyes first Leo, then me. “Underage and staying here, you got to have the means to make it worth my while.”
“I said we did.” Leo reaches into his back pocket to pay, and I stop him.
“I need to check it out first.”
The guy smirks. “You open, you buy.”
I smile back, and it’s far from friendly. “If it’s what you say it is, I will.”
“It’s the real deal. Not even watered down, which means you’re going to get seriously messed up, but go ahead.” He pulls back his coat.
Leo whips out his incordium dagger and points it at the guy, who looks at Leo like he shouldn’t be playing with sharp objects. “Mellow, skinny boy. Nobody’s going to shank anyone tonight.” Slowly the big guy pulls out a packet of sugar cubes and a slotted spoon and tosses them on the table. “Just so you know, your drink of choice wasn’t easy to find. Not exactly popular.”
Red-faced, Leo stashes his dagger and tries to look threatening, which honestly, makes him look even sillier. Knowing what I know, that Leo has most likely killed more people than the guy standing in front of us ever will, I feel I should warn him. “I know he doesn’t look like much, but thinking that way would be a mistake.”
The guy looks Leo up and down and nods. “We’re cool. Right?”
“Never cooler, bro,” Leo says even as beads of sweat pop out on his forehead.
After getting a crystal glass and carafe of water from the fully loaded bar, I pour an inch of green liquid into the glass, set the spoon against the rim and place the sugar cube on top. Slowly, I pour the water until the cube dissolves and the liquid turns a milky green.
“Cool,” the guy says and leans in for a closer look.
Not knowing what it’s supposed to taste like, I take a sip and I’m not disappointed. Thick and flowery, it’s like I’m rolling in the meadow. Like I’m in the woods, really there, and everything is perfect.
There’s no doubt I could become addicted to absinthe. Just one sip and I want more. A lot more.
I nod to Leo and he turns to the guy. “Seventy-five a bottle, right?”
Tipping the last sip into my mouth, I lick my lips to get every drop. The guy watches me out of the corner of his eye. “One-fifty a bottle.”
“What the—”
“Pay him,” I say without looking over at the pair.
Leo counts out the bills and the guy stuffs them in his pocket and heads to the door. “If you need anything else, girls, drugs, whatever…don’t hesitate to find me.”
Once he’s gone, Leo glares at the door. “He’s coming back with his nefarious buddies. You know that, right?”
“He won’t. When the elevator reaches the lobby, he won’t even remember coming up here.” I take the glass, sugar, spoon, and absinthe to the coffee table in the living room and slump onto the couch.
“What about all that money?”
“You didn’t actually give him any.”
Leo dives back into his pocket and counts out the bills, then looks at me warily. “It’s all here. I’m not complaining exactly, but maybe we shouldn’t do that anymore.”
I nod. It’s an easy promise to keep.
“So, do you think it’s going to work?” he asks.
“I’m about ready to find out.”
For the next twenty minutes, we sit in front of the TV. Leo switches from sports channel to sports channel, giving me a running description of what’s right and wrong about the teams as I pour sugar-infused absinthe into my system until my body feels as if it’s floating.
My mind conjures up images of Kera. Her beside me on the couch, her head on my shoulder, laughing the way she does that makes me believe in the goodness of people. She leans close and tells me she loves me and I melt. I blink and she’s walking from the bathroom into my bedroom, her long, gorgeous legs poking out of a teeny-tiny towel she has wrapped around her.
The visions aren’t real. I know it deep in my soul. I miss her voice. Her lips. The feel of her skin against mine. I have to get back to her, and there’s only one way that will happen. I down another glass of absinthe and pour another. Soon, I don’t see Leo or hear his excited chatter. I don’t hear the sounds of Vegas or see the sun rise over the city. All I feel is the warmth of nature being poured into my body and the pounding warning that I have to find Mom. Halfway through the second bottle, I slowly slip into unconsciousness.
I don’t know how long I lie there, my mind swirling with memories that plunge me into fears best left alone. One thing is glaringly clear. All of them center on Mom.
I wrestle my personal demons she helped create and when I finally shake loose, I’m again sitting on a bed in a rundown motel room where the air is stale and thick in a way that makes me want to not take too deeply of a breath. Mom is in the bathroom, fumbling through her toiletries. A haze of cigarette smoke fills the air. When she reenters the room, she stops cold. The last of the smoke she’s drawn into her lungs is released and her hand instantly goes to her necklace and rubs the amber between her fingers like a child does a security blanket.
I stand and face her, but I don’t make a move to go near. Her bare feet inch back. The sleep shirt she’s wearing is a T-shirt owned by a guy three boyfriends ago. He was a dick, but he always bought top-quality graphic tees of which I’m a proud owner of three. He never should have left on laundry day. The one Mom’s wearing has a picture of a dirt bike doing a wheelie across the front. She looks at the still-locked door and then back at me. “What are you doing here?”
Dark circles ring her eyes, a telltale sign she hasn’t been to sleep yet. “Late night?”
“Early morning.” She brushes a wet strand of curly hair off her cheek, but I know she’s lying. Her gaze lands on the bedside table stationery. She quickly crosses the room and shoves it in the drawer. Turning around, she leans against the tabletop. “You need to leave. However you got here, just go and leave me alone.”
“I can’t.”
Her hand inches toward the phone with room number 22 on it. “Leave, Dylan.”
“I’m not really here,” I say as calmly as I can. “I think you know that.”
Her hand stops moving. She takes a staggered breath and places her hand to her eyes as if she wishes to hide from me. “When will this be over?”
“When will what be over?”
“My life? I’m so tired. I’ve given it my best, but it’s not good enough. Not for me and not for you. That’s why I left. I could tell you didn’t need me anymore. You’re better off without me. We both know it.”
I stare at the pathetic figure in front of me. I’ve been angry with her for so long, it’s hard to just let it go, but I do, forcing it all out and taking a cleansing breath. “How often do you tell yourself that?”
“Every day,” she says on a ragged whisper.
I take a small step forward. “Do you believe it yet?”
“No.” The admission is so quiet, it barely makes a dent in the air.
I lightly touch her arm. “Mom, I just want to help.”
“You can’t. No one can.”
Her hand slips over mine and she gives it a squeeze.
I let out a long, sad sigh. “What are you doing here?”
“Distracting myself.” She looks up at me all beaten and worn down by life. “What else is there?”
“This is why you stole money from Grandpa? To come to a dump like this? You could have stayed with them. They wanted you to.”
“Yeah, right.” The hitch in her voice tells me she doesn’t believe that. “And I didn’t take anything he couldn’t afford.” She looks away. “Don’t look at me like that. All I need is a little luck and everything’ll be fine.”
“You need sleep.”
She turns her suddenly watery gaze onto me. “I do. I lied before. I’ve been up all night, but I hate going to sleep. I have bad dreams…about Baun. About you. About my mom and dad. I just want it all to stop.”
Tears. Again. Why does she always fall into tears? I can’t just stand here and watch her melt into a ball of water. I pull down the bedcovers and fluff her pillows, changing the rough sheets into baby-soft ones and the mattress into a cushion of downy feathers that supports and cuddles her at the same time. I blow a soft breath out, filling the air with the scent of meadow flowers and sweet herbs that are at the core of absinthe. When I turn to her, she’s watching me closely.
“You’ve changed.”
“For the better, I hope.”
I tuck her in, but before I can pull away, she grabs my hand, her watery gaze unwavering. “When you look at me, what do you see?”
“I see you, Mom.”
She bites her lip as I stare down at her, waiting for I don’t know what. I think she’s going to burst into hard-core tears, but instead, she tugs on my hand, urging me to sit. Today is the first time she’s willingly touched me in years. I can’t walk away. I stretch out my legs as I lean my back against the creaky headboard, and I stroke her wet hair from her face. She closes her eyes. “I’ve been talking with men all night, praying one of them would like me. None of them did.”
“I like you, Mom.”
She curls into my side, a small, hopeless, helpless person. “You never did know what was good for you.”
She breathes deeply of the absinthe-scented air and falls into the first restful sleep she’s had in weeks. I turn to the bedside table and open the drawer. The motel stationery, with its faded logo and curled edges, tells me exactly what I need to know. Closing the drawer, I bend down and whisper into her ear, weaving my magic over her, “Sleep until I get back.”
I don’t get up. I don’t have to. I slowly fade into a dream about Kera. I miss her like crazy, and when I finally come around, I’m back in my room at the luxury hotel, still slumped on the couch with empty absinthe bottles on the low table in front of me. In the chair to my left, Leo sits like a patient watchdog guarding his sheep. Basketball is on the massive TV and he tries to keep his excitement down to a low roar.
I push myself into a sitting position and scrub my hands up and down my slightly numb face. Leo glances my way. “Hey Sleeping Buddy. Did you have a good nap? I know I did by the drool I left behind on my pillow.”
He picks up a pillow and tosses it at me. I catch it, pull a disgusted face at the huge wet mark, and throw it back at him. “Gross, dude. What time is it?”
He cranes his neck to check the clock hanging on the wall in the dining area. “Three o’clock.”
“In the afternoon?”
“That stuff knocked you out, bro. Never seen anything like it.”
I nudge one of the empty bottles with my foot. “Get rid of these, will you?”
As Leo collects the bottles, he steals a questioning glance at me. “You look like shit. I hope to God it worked.”
I lock eyes with him, feel my gut twist on itself, and nod. “I know exactly where she is.”
Waterlogged
Kera didn’t mean to fall asleep. Fighting the Tharnians had exhausted everyone, including her. It happened so quickly, she found herself in a dream with Dylan. They were in a glass pool filled with warm water situated high above a big city that glowed with a million colorful lights. The view was stunning, but startling. She pushed away from the edge and kicked to the other side.
Dylan laughed and swam to her. He wore only a pair of shorts and she was wearing practically nothing but tiny strips of cloth girls in the human realm wore to swim in. She felt self-conscious, but she tried not to show it. “Where are we?”
“In Vegas.” He swam around her and whispered in her ear. “Alone.”
The warmth of his body made her shiver.
“Not really, though.”
“It’s the closest I could come to seeing you.” He took her in his arms and pulled her close. He was getting very good at dream-sharing. It almost felt real. He kissed her neck and said, “I needed to see you.”
She gave in to the illusion of his nearness and kissed him back. His hands were warm against her skin. She missed him. It was hard being strong. She didn’t want to fight anymore. She wanted to be with Dylan, exactly as they were right now, skin against skin and lips against lips. He made her feel safe and wanted. It was a precious gift. One she cherished, but she couldn’t relax. He was trapping her in his arms and every moment brought him closer to death. She finally pushed away. “I have to go.”
“Why?”
“Trust me, Dylan. I don’t want to, but I have to go.”
The hurt in his eyes nearly killed her. She pressed her lips to him one last time and when she woke, she put her hand to her heart, afraid it had stopped beating. She shifted within the coolness of the shadows and saw everyone was asleep. Even Bodog snuffled peacefully in the little burrow he’d made.
Staying with Dylan for as long as she did had been a risk she couldn’t afford to take. She had to deal with the Seven Sisters before they joined with any of Teag’s enemies. Once they did that, it would be nearly impossible to stop whatever disaster they had set in motion.
Kera slowly stood, but when she took a step, a twig snapped under her foot. She stopped and glanced back at the group. Everyone still slept. Everyone except Bodog. They locked eyes. Kera put a finger to her lips and backed away. He blinked once, twice, three times, looking almost confused as she crept out of camp. Before she completely disappeared, she looked back and saw him blink one last time, frown, and turn over.
Her intake of breath stilled. She was forgotten before she had even left. It’s what she wanted, wasn’t it?
The way to the Seven Sisters’ lair was lit by a big, bright moon, a spotlight that should be more of a warning than a lure, but she didn’t listen to the tumble of thoughts that warned her to stop. She was doing the right thing. None of her companions were prepared for what the sisters would put them through. Only she was strong enough.
The path took her to the shores of an inland sea. From the protection of the trees, she listened to the dark waters lap at a sandy inlet, a gentle lullaby to the night. She didn’t know much about the Seven Sisters, no one actually did, only that they were a form of siren, irresistible to men and deadly to anyone who got in their way. They had killed Wyatt in a surprise attack and weren’t above doing the same to her.
Methodically, Kera moved deeper into the Seven Sisters’ territory, searching for telltale signs the sisters were close. A half hour later, she saw one of the sisters, a tall brunette, walking along the shore, a crossbow slung across her back. Not even a siren takes an innocent stroll with a weapon like that. It was clear she was on watch and waiting for trouble.
Kera dropped low and pulled her incordium blade free. She waited for the woman to pass, but then a blond-haired sister came in to view. A long sword slapped against her hip as she walked. She suddenly stopped and called for her sister to be still.
The blonde peered into the woods in Kera’s direction, and Kera eased herself deeper into the shadows of the night. If they detected her now, she would lose the advantage of surprise.
When the blonde finally relaxed, the taller one’s lips thinned. “You and everyone else
are making me nervous. We should have stuck with the old ways instead of concentrating on one man. Look at how the human’s death has affected Neve.”
“Leave her be. Her love was real.”
“Yes, but—”
The blonde held up her hand, cutting off her sister and pulled her sword free. “There it is again. Do you hear it? Someone is breathing.”
Kera immediately held her breath.
“I am breathing,” her sister said.
The blonde shook her head, ignoring the brunette’s irritation. “Someone besides you.”
Seeing how serious her sister acted, the tall brunette swung her crossbow forward and notched an arrow. “Where?”
The girl pointed straight where Kera hid. “Over there.”
Together they approached. It didn’t give Kera much time to think. As plans went, hers was simple. She popped up, hand glowing, and sent a burst of power toward the brunette, pushing her back to the shoreline and into the inland sea.
Kera easily dodged the siren’s arrow and set a spell into motion. The next moment, the woman screamed as she melted into the water only to morph into a forest of kelp.
The blonde rushed forward, her sword over her head and a look of rage on her face. Kera took a quick step back and hit the woman with a blast of power that instantly stopped the charge. The woman’s immobile body was leaning forward, her arms outstretched, the tip of the sword an inch from striking Kera.
Beads of sweat formed on Kera’s forehead at the close call. The sword thudded to the ground as the spell Kera used reached the woman’s fingers. The blond woman’s gaze slanted down to see roots where her feet once were. A strangled scream ripped the air as the spell raced up her body, casting the beautiful woman into an ugly, twisted oak tree, its limbs bare and pocked with knotholes. At the juncture of its main branches, her mouth morphed into a gaping hole rimmed with a white fungus that looked similar to teeth. At the bottom edge, green moss streamed from the mouth and down the trunk. Above the mouth, a tiny knot protruded nose-like from the trunk, and above that her eyes became two smaller holes, though neither blinked. She could only stare, cast in a form as ugly as her intent.
