by H. D. Gordon
I felt as if someone had snatched the air right from my chest, as if the world had shifted noticeably under my feet. A tumult of emotions was raging through me, and the combination was mildly dizzying. I began to sob and I couldn’t help it and I hated myself for it.
Caleb’s blue eyes lit up with sympathy, and he pulled me to him in a hug. He held me close and stroked my hair as I dampened the shoulder of his shirt with my tears. In my ear, over and over, he whispered, “It’s okay, Aria. Everything is okay.”
At some point, my pride pulled me back into a proper position, and I was able to dry my eyes so that I could have what would probably be my very first utterly candid conversation with Caleb Cross, son of the man who was likely my enemy. I wasn’t sure at all what I was hoping to accomplish, but I knew from experience that I felt I owed Caleb more than lying and going behind his back.
I started with the good news, because he was so sweet and so…Caleb.
“My informant with the Peace Brokers says the superiors have called off the investigation of your father’s company,” I said. “As far as they’re concerned, Cross Corp is in the clear.”
Caleb looked surprised by this, but not in the way I’d expected.
“Why?” he asked.
I shrugged, my brow furrowed. “I guess they didn’t find anything worth investigating. I mean, I don’t know. She wasn’t really specific.” I tilted my head, confused. “This is good news, though, right?”
Caleb mumbled his next words, but I heard them anyway. “You tell me,” he said, and sighed heavily.
“I visited your father,” I said, deciding to spill everything before drawing conclusions about Caleb’s state of mind. “Before I found you guys on the Bay Bridge, I went to your house. Talked to your dad and brother.”
Caleb nodded, as if he’d already known. “They gave me their version,” he said vaguely.
“Do you want mine?” I asked.
He shook his head, but explained himself before my heart could sink too low.
“I don’t need it,” he said. “I watched the playback for myself.”
“The playback?”
Caleb gave his male equivalent of an eye roll. “I set up cameras, like, everywhere. I saw what they said to you when you were looking for me…” His jaw flexed beneath his handsome cheeks. “I’ve seen a lot of things, actually.”
“Listen,” I said, “As far as I’m concerned, I’m done looking into your father and his company, too. I’ve had my fill.” I swallowed and shook my head. “In fact, I’ve had enough to last me for the rest of my life, so you don’t have to worry about me or my friends poking around in things. We won’t be. Actually, I’m pretty sure the Masked Maiden is retired. For, like, ever.”
This information did surprise him, and he sat back in his seat as he absorbed it. He was silent so long that I thought he wasn’t going to respond, but finally, he sat forward again and placed a hand under my chin. He gave me a real smile, the smile I’d so missed from him since things had gone all wrong between us, and he placed a small kiss on my forehead.
“That’s too bad,” he told me, staring into my green eyes as if the universe were trapped there. “Because I didn’t think she was so bad.”
I leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on his lips, my body just acting without thought. It wasn’t the kind of kiss I gave Thomas after going a few days without seeing him; it was the kind of kiss that was meant to show gratitude and love.
“Thank you, Caleb,” I said.
Caleb Cross nodded. “Any time, beautiful girl.”
CHAPTER 36
For the first time in what felt like forever, sirens whooped through the night, and I felt no urge to pull on a mask and swoop in to see what was the trouble. Three days had passed since everything had happened, and the realness of it all was starting to set in.
I sat now in one of the arches of the bell tower belonging to the Assembly of God church near the eastern edge of the city. This spot was becoming a frequent of mine, as the church sat atop a little hill and the bell tower rose forty feet into the air. I could see for miles in every direction, but the shadows of the arch and the night made my form little more than a dark spot amongst dark spots.
Resting my head against the cold stone composing the arch, I closed my eyes and took in all the smells and sounds of Grant City. I tried, as I had been for the past three days, to think of nothing at all, but the events kept playing in a loop. The more I tried to push everything down, the harder it tried to pop back up, and my emotional state was really beginning to suffer for it.
Mostly, I was just sad. I was sad about all the things that had transpired and all the things that were yet to come. I wondered if everyone—humans and supernaturals alike—faced such hardships in their lives. I wondered if the kind of depression and anxiety I was feeling were not just part of being alive, but a core doctrine of living. I wondered if there was a world beyond this one, and where my soul would be taken once Saleos got his hands on it.
With not so much as a flutter, Remy landed on the stone arch in the bell tower beside me, jolting me out of my morbid thoughts. Without lifting my head from where it was resting, I sighed and looked over at him.
“Sup?” I said.
“I didn’t surprise you?” Remy asked. “I thought I was pretty sneaky.”
“You were. I just saw your aura sail through the night sky a moment ago, and figured you were coming for a visit.”
Remy sat down beside me, his booted feet dangling out over the edge along with mine. He removed the large hood from his head and sat silently for a time, letting the breeze brush through his ruffled blond hair.
“You okay?” he asked, looking out at the city landscape, with all its lights and buildings blotting out the brilliance of the heavens.
“I’m fine,” I said.
“That was a default answer.”
I shrugged. “Okay. I’m not fine. I feel like a butt and I kinda want to just die. How’s that?”
Empathy spiked in Remy’s aura as he looked at me. “It’s honest, at least.”
I leaned against the stone wall to my left and rested my head again. “What’s up, dude? I assume you were looking for me for a reason.”
“Depressive and smart,” Remy said with a little grin. “That’s hot.”
I only looked at him. Remy gave a humorless chuckle and held up his hands. “I’m going to be going off the grid for a little while, and I thought I’d let you know, just in case you tried to get a hold of me.”
I nodded. “That’s cool. Thanks for the heads up.”
“And Raven is coming with me,” he added. “I’ll take her off your hands for a bit.”
“I bet she was glad to hear that.”
Remy’s head tilted, and I watched his aura to see a little bit of insecurity flash through it. It was endearing, because it was not an emotion one saw from a Demigod, and because I knew it meant he really had a thing for my girl Raven. He needn’t have worried; she was carrying a pretty bright flame for him as well.
“I hope so,” Remy mumbled.
I patted his leg. “Take my word for it, buddy. She’s definitely into you.”
Remy grinned. “Of course she is,” he said, though he knew he couldn’t fool me. “Anyway,” he continued, “I wanted to share some insights with you, since I like you, and I think you could use them.”
“That so?” I asked.
Remy gave a single nod and met my eyes. “It is, but first, I want you to tell me exactly what happened on that bridge with Leonard Boyce, and skip the bull, if you don’t mind.”
My shoulders stiffened a fraction. “You were there,” I said. “You saw what happened.”
Remy gave me an unconvinced look. “I know that I saw your friend die, and then suddenly come back to life. So I’ll ask you again, what happened on that bridge, Aria?”
“Why does it matter?” I asked, and my voice came out a whisper.
Remy let out an exasperated sigh. “For one, you need to t
ell someone, you stubborn little Halfling. Believe me when I say keeping certain secrets all to yourself can be soul-crushing. Second, because you can trust that I won’t share it with your group of followers.”
“They’re my friends, not my followers.”
“Irrelevant.”
My hands were clenched into fists, and I bit my lip hard enough to bleed. At last, I said, “Fine. You’re right. Sam did die, and I saved her.”
“How?”
I only looked at him.
“Aria, how, goddamnit?”
“I might have sold my soul to Saleos,” I said. “But, like, don’t make a big deal out of it.”
If not for the seriousness of the conversation, the way Remy literally slapped a hand to his forehead might have been funny.
“You’re joking,” he said, though we both knew that I was not. “Well, that was stupid.”
“Ew,” I shot back. “What was I supposed to do, just let her die?”
Remy’s gaze met mine square. “That’s what happens in our line of work, Aria, and in life in general, but especially in our line of work. People die.”
“Yeah, well, I’m done with this stupid ‘line of work’ and Sam’s alive and what’s done is done, so what do you want me to say about it?”
I knew Remy was just trying to be a friend, but I was getting angrier and more upset, and frankly, I just didn’t need his crap.
To my surprise, Remy wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close at his side. I stiffened at first, but eventually, gave up and leaned into the friendly embrace. From his aura I knew that he was more than sympathetic to my situation, and that he hadn’t come here to fight.
“Listen to me, Aria, okay?” he said gently, giving my shoulders a little squeeze. “Just hear me out. First, stop sitting around feeling bad about what’s happened. Stop replaying it all in your head. It’s pointless and will drive you mad. Second, don’t get confused about the role you’ve played in everything that’s transpired.” He looked at me dead-on, and gave my shoulders another squeeze. “You’re the good guy here. And that’s the truth.”
I swallowed. “It sure doesn’t feel like it.”
Remy surprised me by slapping my thigh hard enough to sting. Though to be fair, my thigh muscle is as hard as a rock and probably stung his hand in the process.
“Snap out of it,” he said.
“You totally just hit a girl.”
“Pfft. You’re not a girl. You’re a soldier—a damn whiny soldier sometimes, but still a soldier.” Remy shook his head and looked back out over the city. “You made choices with the intentions of helping people. You stood up when everyone else sat down. You were sold into an army before you learned how to read and write, and then you escaped that army and found a family. After all of that, you sacrificed your own soul to save a member of that new family. You must understand that you’re quite extraordinary, Aria Fae. Despite all your moodiness and crappy quips.”
“What?” I said. “Your quips are the crappy ones.”
Remy gave me a crooked grin. “Sure. Whatever. Do you hear me, though?”
I nodded, because my throat felt tight and I didn’t trust my words. My brow furrowed. “I never told you about how I was raised with the Brokers,” I said. “How’d you know?”
“Uh, first of all, you’re a Halfling, and pretty much all Halflings get claimed by the PB, except for Demigods like myself, of course. And, on top of that, you’re building a bit of a reputation amongst the supernatural. A Halfling who defied the Brokers and then turned into a vigilante? People are talking. You were aware of this, no?”
I shook my head. “I’ve been a little distracted, and living in a sort of bubble, I guess.”
“Yes, well,” Remy said, “surely you’re aware there is a growing state of unrest between the races? The Vamps had their whole civil war thing, and you yourself had a hand in the Fae Queen’s unraveling. Supposedly, there have been uprisings with the Wolves and clashes with the Shifters. Demons and Angels are dipping their hands into things…” He waved a hand at the city. “And then you’ve got whatever is going on here with the humans and the Halflings. Things are…tense, to say the least.”
“Seems an understatement,” I mumbled, not having viewed things from this perspective before, too caught up in my own mess to look at the bigger picture. Now that I was, I could see he was right, and that the entire world seemed to be in a state of disarray.
“My point is,” Remy said, “I’ve been alive a lot longer than you, Aria, and I know how to sense when a greater threat is on the horizon. Maybe the biggest threat since the Great War and the Dividing of the Territories.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. Every supernatural being across the realms knew the history of the Great War and the subsequent Dividing of the Territories. So many of all kinds had died, and it was the reason for the way things were setup among the supernaturals today. The Peace Brokers were the ones who tried to keep all the treaties and alliances intact, but based on what Remy was saying, they seemed to be doing a crap job of it.
“Anyway,” Remy said, “when the metaphorical crap really hits the fan, I’ve got a feeling the good guys are going to need every soldier we can get.” He gave me a small nudge. “That means you, Miss Fae. So sack up and stop beating yourself up, okay?”
“I probably won’t even be around by then,” I said. “Sold my soul to a Demon. Remember?”
Remy rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well, I guess you better start looking for a way to wiggle out of that deal, you little dipstick.”
“You’re the best pep-talker in the universe, you know that?”
Remy shook his head. “And I don’t even get paid for it. It’s a tragedy that I must live through.”
Remy stood and pulled his large hood back over his head, casting his the top half of his face into indecipherable shadows. He looked down at me with a handsome grin and held a hand out to me. I sighed before taking it and letting him pull me to my feet.
“I know how to fix you,” he said, and opened his arms in invitation for me to step into them. “I’ve got time for a little flight before I run off with the sexy Succubus.” His white teeth flashed from the darkness of his hood. “What do you say, Halfling? Want to go for a sail among the stars? It’s what all the cool heroes do.”
I laughed. It was the kind of offer a girl who’d always longed for wings just didn’t refuse.
CHAPTER 37
Clouds moved in from the west with a lazy progression. I sailed across the sky of Grant City not really seeing anything I passed. My conversation with Remy was replaying in my head, and I couldn’t help probing at all the things he’d mentioned as he flew us around with the ease of a winged creature despite his lack of visible wings.
Could the supernatural races really be on the verge of another Great War? Were the Peace Brokers trying to douse a flame that was spreading too quickly to control? And what was the nature of this supposed reputation I’d been building? Did it put my friends and loved ones in danger?
More so, could it be there was a way to break the deal I’d made with Saleos while simultaneously maintaining Sam’s safety?
These were questions I had no answers to, and limited time with which to seek those answers. The worst part of it was, I wasn’t sure I even wanted to go poking at this nest. I was interested in climbing out of the hole I’d dug with the time I had left, not deeper into it.
As we landed on the roof of my apartment building, I realized I’d made the entire trip on autopilot, my mind a million miles away and busy with other things. Remy tipped me a wink, gave me a kiss on the forehead, and told me to hang in there. I gave him a nod and tilted my head back as he shot up into the night sky and disappeared into the distance. The force of his takeoff lifted my hair off my shoulders and ruffled my clothes.
I jumped when a familiar voice spoke behind me.
“If I didn’t know better, I think I’d be jealous.”
I felt a smile form on my lips and spun on m
y heels to face Thomas. “It’s a good thing you know better, then,” I said, and then I was in his arms.
It was almost as if there was a magnet between the two of us, and once we came within a certain proximity of each other, we were pulled together by a force greater than either of us.
For a while thereafter, we were too busy for there to be any words, and that was more than okay by me. I let The Thomas Effect take place in full force, let him drown out the world and all its troubles with the touch of his lips, the gentle tug of his hands, the feel of his scarred skin against mine, and the steady beating of his heart.
When we’d concluded this urgent business, however, and we lie on our backs on the rooftop, our clothes a bed beneath us, and the stars a blanket above, Thomas said, “I missed you, little Halfling.”
It broke my heart to hear these words. By my birthday the following year, he would be missing me a whole hell of a lot more. I’d gone and fallen in love with this man, and now, I was pretty certain I was going to break his heart.
“I missed you, too,” I said, and very much meant it. It seemed to me there was simultaneously so much to say, and nothing to say at all.
How did you tell someone you loved that you were dying? How did you deal with the reality that your death would likely cause them way more pain than it caused you?
If you were me, you didn’t. You just lay where you were and stared up at the stars, placing your fingers over the cracks that threaten to crumble you, and hold yourself together.
“Aria,” Thomas said, “I have to ask you about something, and I’ve got a feeling you’re not going to want to answer.”
“I don’t love the sound of that,” I replied, sighing and folding my hands behind my head. “But I’ve got a feeling you’re going to ask anyway.”
Following my movement, Thomas laced his own hands behind his head. I tried not to get distracted by the way his arms flexed beneath his t-shirt. There was a pause, then, he said, “I want to know what happened on the bridge.”
Jesus Crist on a cracker. Why was everyone so obsessed with this? Couldn’t they just be happy that we’d all walked away? It’d been, like, three whole days. The buttwipes needed to let it go.
