by Tenaya Jayne
"If you had to guess, would you say he's from Zeren, or Fortress?"
"I think he was a royal soldier."
Copernicus laughed. "Fantastic! Bring him to me in the morning. From now, until the strike, I want him by my side."
****
Forest woke up on a gasp. The bedroom was dark, and she was alone. She threw the covers off and went to the window. There was nothing special about the night, it looked like most nights, but Forest shivered with a nameless premonition. She feared the future. Time was pushing her toward something… something she never wanted to approach or recognize.
She was filled with desperation, a slow burning desperation like a fire ember. An internal demand to know, feel, and hold her love for Syrus in her hands. To drink it down in slow gulps until she choked or drowned. The world was closing in on her like prison bars. Time was burning though the air all around her.
She closed her eyes and sought out Syrus with her heart. She would bring him to her without words. She would make him follow her primal call. Come here, now!
A smile curved her lips as she heard him stir from the other end of the house. She faced him as he opened the bedroom door. The light from the hall fell over her and forced her pupils to constrict. Her smile grew. He looked as she knew he would, one eyebrow raised quizzically, a small hopeful smirk around his mouth. She hit him with another blast of come-hither.
His smirk turned into a full smile, "Oh, yeah?"
"Yeah…Close the door behind you."
"Why?"
"Please."
He shrugged and shut the door, closing out the light. By the time he crossed the room and took her in his arms she was crying. She didn't know she would cry. She felt too much. It was breaking her apart.
"Forest?"
She clung to him with all her life. "I feel danger all around me. It never felt so real until right now. I hear time slipping past me with every beat of my heart. A blade hangs over our heads, ready to cut us away from each other…and this love"—she put her hand on her thundering heart—"this is its own happiness and its own sorrow."
"Where does the sorrow come from?"
"From death. There are those who seek my life, who seek yours. What if right now is all we have left?"
"What if it is?" he asked gently, his voice never betraying the yearning and ache in his heart, but she could feel it as sharply as her own pain.
"There is nothing outside this room. This room is the world. Will you burn it down with me?"
Red lightning began snaking and cracking over his hands as he moved them over her skin. He filled her with electricity. It raced and sparked in her blood, bones, and even her very cells. She cried out as he filled her with rollers of red-hot electric rapture. He racked her heart, and wept with her, as they fused body and soul.
****
Rahaxeris gazed blandly at the empty, broken cage. There was always something he had to clean up whenever he returned to Regia from being off world. He reached his hand out and touched the invisible remains of what was obviously Merhl's handiwork. He turned back into the main room of Baal's cave. He sighed, disappointed and annoyed, as he looked over the shelves. Baal had always been full of himself, but Rahaxeris hadn't realized the extent of his narcissism. He was trying to become a god, using experiments, illegal substances, and magical artifacts from other worlds.
Rahaxeris shook his head and made to leave. Baal was the least of his problems. He'd surface on his own without Rahaxeris chasing him down. Baal was only concerned about himself and his own power. Hurting innocents wasn't his goal. That seemed to be Copernicus' job.
Just thinking Copernicus' name made Rahaxeris squirm inside. The ground the Aluka Circle had gained while he was off world was impressive. He had to check his anger toward Menjel for allowing it to happen under his nose. No amount of ire would make Menjel care about the loss of life.
As Rahaxeris came back to the Rune-dy's headquarters, his anger grew to such a pitch he had to shut himself in his private chambers. Why was he the only Rune-dy who seemed to have a heart or any semblance of a conscience? And just as he was beginning to build some real rapport with Forest, the ugliest skeleton in his closet had to rise up and come back. It had always been a faint possibility Copernicus would come back, one he'd always hoped he'd never have to face. When Forest learned the truth, would he lose her?
Chapter Fifteen
The windowless cell was dark and overwarm. It smelled of dirt and old stonework. Netriet and Merick were totally alone for two days. Some of the time, Forest brought food to them instead of letting the guard handle it. She'd stay for a little while, asking Netriet questions about the shadow. Aside from that, all those hours, they spent isolated together. They took turns sleeping on the narrow bed. Merick exuded optimism at all times, even though she knew he didn't really feel it. He focused all of his energy on trying to make her laugh or distracting her with stories. And somehow, in the dark belly of a castle, waiting to learn if she would live or die, Netriet found a home, not made of a roof and walls, but the indestructible foundation of Merick's heart.
She could feel the morning dawn, even though she couldn't see it. She knew in her gut this would be the day her fate was decided. Lying on her side, she opened her eyes. Merick sat against the wall beside her, holding her real hand, his head slumped on his chest, dozing. She reached out and gently caressed his cheek.
He roused and rubbed his eyes.
"It's morning. I don't have much time left. I can tell it will be today."
"You don't know that… It could be quite a few more days, weeks even," he argued.
"No. I don't think so. I know it's morning, but it might be late morning, I can't tell. It could be within the hour, minutes even, before they come and take me away."
Merick shook his head. "Netriet, did I tell you about the time me and Tek got drunk and—"
"Shh…" She placed her finger on his lips. "I need to tell you something."
He grimaced. "It really might not be today, you don't know."
She smiled sadly. "Shut up and listen to me."
He turned to face her fully. She sighed, looking into his warm dark eyes, knowing it might be the last time she could fall into them. "I have to tell you goodbye."
His cheeks flushed, his eyebrows raised, and moisture coated his eyes.
"If I am about to die, I want to die believing I was loved. Truly loved for who I am. Even if it's not really true. I want to believe it in my heart. Then I can die in peace. I can die feeling as though my life was not wasted, and I was something other than a monster. That there was good in me, and you could see it, and love me for it."
He brought her natural hand to his lips, a single tear falling on her hand as he kissed it. "Then you can go in peace, Netriet. I love you. It's not a trick or an illusion. You can believe it. Really believe it, because it's the truth…I love you." He pulled her onto his lap and held her. "How can I survive, knowing I failed you?"
"How have you failed me, Merick?"
"I didn't save you. I promised I would."
Deep inside her chest, Netriet could feel the shadow coil and uncoil, but it didn't speak to her anymore.
"You brought me back to myself. You saw me, even when I only felt her. You were my anchor. In my darkest moments, it was you who pulled me back."
"How?"
"Love. Not your love for me. My love for you. My true heart, my real mind, are yours, Merick. So, if this is the end, I have to tell you the words, even though I'm afraid to say them…I'm in love with you."
He buried his face in her hair and clung to her. For a few minutes, they were silent. She could feel his heart hammering, could almost hear it.
"When this is all over and you're freed, will you come with me to the coast, like I asked you before?"
Netriet looked into his eyes and smiled.
"Will you take my mark, and give me one in return? Will you share the rest of your life with me?"
She kissed his mouth. "Of course."
/>
"You're not going to die today," he said firmly. "I know it. You wouldn't be so cruel to leave me alone like this."
"Tell me what our home on the coast will be like."
"Small and humble, because we'll be terribly poor. Buying the land will take almost all of my money. But we'll have a fantastic view of the sea from our windows. The sounds of its waves will lull us to sleep at night and keep our nightmares at bay. We'll have a porch where we can watch the sunset on the water. We'll have peace, Netriet. We'll salvage each other and create a life of quiet."
"And you'll make love to me every night?"
"Every night?" he said in mock horror, making her giggle. "What kind of machine do you think I am?"
Her easy smile fell as the sounds of footfalls came down the hall. She clung to him as tightly as she could.
"It's not over, Netriet." His voice was fierce. "It's not over."
Kindel, flanked by two security ogres, came into view through the bars. "It's time, Netriet. Forest is ready for you."
Merick and Netriet got to their feet. He held her hand.
"I'm going with her," he said fiercely.
"Calm down," Kindel said. "Forest said you were to come, too."
Both Merick's and Netriet's hands were bound before they were escorted upstairs. She could feel her spine as she walked, her lungs expand as she breathed, and her heart moving her blood through her veins. She was aware of every part of her body as she marched to her fate.
Kindel led them to a council chamber. Long curved benches lined the room and rose up the incline of the floors like stacked scales. The voluminous room, designed for many, was empty except for them, Ena, Kindel, and Forest. Forest stood above them, behind a podium, in a black robe, her hair pulled back, her silver and green necklace glinting on her chest.
Netriet's heartrate kicked up at the look on Forest's face. She looked pained and resigned.
I am going to die.
Forest cleared her throat, placing both hands on the podium. "For the crime of murdering Zefyre, Elf Priestess, former high council member of Fortress, and for the crime of assault against the courtier Syblee, and for duplicity… The sentence is death."
A roar of pain erupted from Merick's lungs.
Forest shouted over him. "Death to the entity living inside Netriet, otherwise known as the shadow. The evil being will be removed by Shi, guardian of the Wolf's Wood, who originally placed it inside Netriet to save her life, unknowing the side effect it would have. If Shi is unsuccessful in removing the shadow, a revision will be written on Netriet's sentence, and she shall remain in the custody of Fortress until a solution is found."
Netriet collapsed against Merick. She looked up at Forest, her eyes filled with tears and gratitude. "Thank you."
Forest smiled and blew out a breath. "And since we're here, Merick, you face charges of assault, unless Kindel decides to drop them."
Ena piped up from the corner of the room, "Oh, drop the charges, Kindel."
He smirked at her. "For love, Ena?"
She nodded quickly. Kindel laughed. "All right. I drop the charges."
Kindel unbound Netriet and Merick. Forest came down from her podium. She took off her black robe, folded it over the back of a bench, and tucked her necklace inside her shirt. Her sword was already strapped around her waist.
"Shi is expecting us. She's already told me she's not sure this will work, but she's optimistic." She looked at Kindel. "Are you coming?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"Of course."
"Then, no. In case the extraction doesn't work, I'd rather not be around for Merick to punch me again when you take Netriet back into custody."
Forest chuckled as Kindel walked away. "Okay, are you ready?"
"More than ready," Netriet said eagerly.
Forest turned her ring into her palm and opened a portal to the Wood.
****
The portal closed behind them, and they stood on the beach of the river. Netriet saw the silvery purple water, but she couldn't comprehend or appreciate the beauty around her. She took one breath, the air ramming down her throat, and she couldn't exhale. Her lungs locked up as the shadow rushed through her extremities. The sounds of Forest and Merick talking bounced on her ears, louder, then softer, as if she was underwater, and they spoke to her from above the water. The darkness pushed through her to the surface, caught under her skin, and still it pushed, tearing her open, until all she could hear was her own screaming.
Chapter Sixteen
Merick's eyes were dazzled by the beauty of the Wood. He hadn't been there since his youth. He took a step forward, still holding Netriet's hand, and was jerked backward when she didn't follow. Her hand clamped down on his painfully. He looked back at her, and his heart clutched.
She stood rigid, her face blank, eyes wide but unseeing. The black tentacle in her iris uncoiled, losing its shape, flowing through her eye, filling it until the amber of her iris was drowned completely. The tiny veins in the whites of her eyes turned from red to black. Her other eye began to darken as though bruised. The next second, the shadow was hemorrhaging through it as well, and both her eyes resembled glossy black balls. Before Merick could do anything, or even think, Netriet fell, unconscious to the ground.
Merick cried out in alarm as Shi materialized beside them. Forest knelt on the other side of Netriet and held her head up off the ground. The strangely beautiful ghost reached her long branchy hands down and touched Netriet.
"What's happening to her?" Merick shouted.
Shi gasped and pulled her hands back. "There's no time to do this the way I wanted. We're going to have to improvise."
"What do you—" Merick's question cut short.
The black of Netriet's scars broke out, inky lines bleeding under her skin. Her back arched, and she rose off the ground as if an invisible ogre lifted her up. She hung suspended in the air, her arms shot straight out, palms up, fingers spread, eyes closed, head craned back, and toes pointed.
"Don't," Shi shouted at Merick as he reached for Netriet. "Don't touch her."
"What's happening? What do we do?"
Merick's heart filled his throat at the look on Forest's and Shi's faces. They didn't know. He was losing her. They shouldn't have brought her here.
"What are you waiting for?" Merick shouted at Shi. "Do something!"
"It's too interwoven inside her. I can't just pull it out. I'd have to…" Shi's eyes darted from Merick back to Netriet, hanging there like a marionette.
Netriet began to move, her limbs stayed stiff, but she drifted in the air, her toes scraping lines in the ground.
"Not good," Shi said. "The Heart is trying to reclaim itself."
Merick stumbled as he tried to catch Netriet. He got back to his feet and chased after her. He wrapped his arms around her waist. At his touch, she shattered like stone under a hammer. Her body coiled in, and he dropped to his knees, Netriet in the fetal position in his arms. Her eyes shot open, but it wasn't Netriet looking at him. Her mouth pulled open, and a terrible laugh screeched from her throat.
"I knew you'd kill her, Merick," it hissed.
"Back off," he ordered.
It laughed again. "Too late…too late."
A tremor ripped through her body. An invisible force wrapped around her again and jerked her from his arms. Her body contracted in the air. Then she shook her head and moved her arms, fighting the restraints on her. A terrible scream of pain shot out of her. It wasn't the shadow screaming, it was Netriet. Forest and Merick ran beside her, and Shi faced Netriet and floated backward in front of her. Netriet was dragged faster and faster.
"Cut her!" Shi yelled. "Give it a way out, now! Don't let her reach the flames!"
Forest pulled her sword but looked as apprehensive as Merick felt about using it on Netriet. The sword was too deadly. She sheathed it again and pulled a knife from her boot.
"Here!" Forest, now behind, threw the blade to Merick.
Netriet continued to scream and thr
ash as the blackness on her skin continued to cover more ground. Gritting his teeth, and heartbroken to have to hurt her, he cut a gash on her forearm. Her blood spurted out, then came the smoke. From the wound, black smoke and oil slithered out, pulled through the air on the same force that had Netriet.
"More!" Shi shouted.
The trees grew thicker. Just beyond them, Merick could see the dark flames of the Heart.
"Shit!" He pushed in front of her, trying to slow her down. "I'm sorry." He cut her on her shoulder, slicing through her shirt. Again came a braid of smoke and oil that flew by his head. He cut the side of her neck, her cheek, and a long line on her chest above her breasts. The darkness ran out from her wounds. She was almost to the flames. She slowed, looking as though she was held aloft by the black cables sliding out of her body.
****
Closed and blind to the world around her, Netriet turned within and faced the shadow.
Why? She cried. I loved you.
Netriet had no more words. She looked on the shadow as she paled, turned translucent, then faded away completely. She could feel the slimy ribbons wrapped around her heart slide off and pull away, leaving her breathless.
Some of me will always be with you, Netriet, she whispered as she left. Just as I have taken a piece of you with me.
****
Merick, Forest, and Shi huddled around Netriet as she came down, the last wisps of smoke exiting her wounds. Merick held her cradled in his arms. She was unconscious, her head resting against his chest. The wounds he'd given her were already closing. Her scars were almost invisible now, just texture on her skin, the same creamy color as the unscarred parts of her. She was so beautiful and finally, she breathed peacefully.
When Netriet opened her clear, amber eyes, Merick fell harder in love.
She reached up with both her hands and pulled his face down to hers. "She's gone," Netriet whispered. "You saved me. I knew you would."
****
For a while, Netriet stood alone, next to the Heart, looking into the flames. Forest and Merick gave her some space when she told them she needed a few moments.
