Slip Song (Devany Miller Series)

by Jen Ponce

  “How would I do that?”

  A knife materialized in his hand and I realized it was the same one he’d used the first time he’d shown up in my bathroom. He’d used it to make me his Archaeon Tezrya that time—Right-hand woman. I curled my lip. “It has to involve blood?”

  “The best things always do,” he said and took my hand. Instead of my palm this time, he made a small cut across the crook of my elbow, the place Bethy always called the blood-mobile vein. It spurted but then his mouth covered the wound, sucking.

  “Um. Ew. Stop.” I yanked at my arm and stumbled when he let go, my butt hitting the counter. “I’m not drinking your blood.”

  “Ah. I could insist but, lucky for you, that’s not necessary.” The knife disappeared—back into the Slip, I presumed—and then he walked too close to me for comfort. “You can call me anytime. I’ll stay in the shadows. Watch for intruders.” His fingers brushed my collarbone and though he didn’t force sensations of lust into me, my body responded to his touch. For the briefest of moments I thought he meant to kiss me but he vanished just as suddenly as the knife and I was alone, shivering, in the bathroom.

  -TEN-

  “You gave a Skriven free physical reign on Earth?” Arsinua’s hissing drew curious looks from the kids who were on the couch watching TV with Jasper. They were both getting a kick out of explaining the show to him, since he’d never watched any TV before arriving at our house. I’d hear Liam or Bethy, sounding shocked by his ignorance, then giggles when Jasper would reply to their constant questioning of his lack of TV knowledge. I could only hope he wouldn’t tell them he was the pure form of a demon soul.

  “Yes. He will do everything in his power to keep Jasper from getting killed. I don’t see why it’s a problem.” I could think of a number of reasons why it was a problem, but damn it, I was getting tired of being castigated by Arsinua. Yeah, I’d missed having her in my head after I pushed her into Lucy’s body, but now, now I remembered why she’d driven me nuts.

  “He’s a Skriven. He’ll kill people. Torture them. Take their souls.”

  It was my turn to hiss, only it was really more of a shushing sound because her voice kept getting louder and louder. “What we need to focus on are magic lessons and figuring out a way to compensate for the time difference between here and Midia.”

  She threw her hands in the air. Apparently I was annoying her too. Good. “I’ve already told you, there isn’t a way to do that. Impossible.”

  “A mere year ago, I would have thought other worlds, witches, and assassin spiders were impossible. Now look at me. I’ll believe just about anything can happen.”

  She dropped her gaze. “Fine. I’ll do some searching. Of course, I’ll have to be cautious. They’ll be looking for me.”

  “Can you cut your hair, wear something different? Oh wait. They found Zech because of his magical signature, right? Can you change that?”

  “It changed when I took Lucy’s body.”

  I frowned. “Then how did they find you to put you in jail?”

  “I turned myself in. It was the only thing I could do.”

  I put my hands over hers. “Arsinua. You were trying to protect people. I know you feel guilty, but what if you hadn’t made a deal with a Skriven?”

  “I wouldn’t be here in a stolen body. Your husband wouldn’t be dead. Zech wouldn’t hate me.”

  I swallowed past the pain in my throat. “And what if things had gotten worse?”

  Her brow wrinkled.

  “What if you hadn’t made the heart and the Theleoni kept stealing people? If Yarnell were still alive? They could have snatched Tom and he might still be dead. Or maybe they dragged me to Midia, or my kids. What if they gained enough power to take over your world? Yeah, it’s been shitty and terrifying but I’d rather have this than the what if. You did something. You took action. Please don’t hate yourself for caring to do something.”

  She looked away from me but I saw the glimmer of moisture in her eyes. “Thank you.”

  I squeezed her hands and then let her go, crossing to the living room. Bethy sat on the floor painting pink polish onto her toes as the three of them watched an old Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode. “That’s a pretty color.” I bit down on the urge to tell her to be careful not to get polish on the carpet. In my pocket, my cell vibrated. I yanked it out. Travis. “Hey little brother.”

  “Uncle Travis!” Bethy knocked over the polish but grabbed it before it spilled. “I want to say hi to him. Is he coming?”

  I held my finger to my lips. My brother said, “In Seattle. I’m in line to board. Thought I’d call and let you know I’ll be there at 10:30.”

  “I’ll pick you up then. Or Ann will.”

  “Ann? Please don’t do that to me.”

  I laughed. “It’ll be good for you.”

  He snorted. “Gotta go. Love you.”

  “Love you too.”

  Bethy yelled the same and Travis gave me instructions to hug her, then he was gone. “I wanted to talk to him, Mom.”

  “Sorry babe. He was getting on the plane. You’ll be able to talk with him tonight.” I slipped my phone back into my pocket and looked at Jasper. “What do you think of Buffy?”

  He shook his head so Liam said, “I think he thinks it’s a waste of time.”

  Bethy and I looked at each other in mock horror. “He hasn’t watched enough of it yet. Wait until he sees Spike.”

  Liam rolled his eyes toward Jasper. “Mom has a Spike fetish.”

  “Hey. I’m not alone in my feelings for him.” I looked at Bethy, who wrinkled her nose.

  “I like Edward better. Sorry Mom.”

  At Jasper’s blank look, I said, “He’s a twinkly vampire. Stick around long enough and you’ll get to see that movie, too.”

  “You all have a deep fascination with vampires. It’s good you’ve never seen the beasts they are modeled after.”

  I stared hard at him.

  Bethy asked, “What beasts?”

  If I’d been closer, I would’ve kicked him. Instead, I laughed and said “Oh Jasper. You haven’t changed since high school. Always the kidder.”

  “Mom. He was serious. Hell, he’s never even seen a vampire movie.”

  “Language, Liam.”

  The soul’s smile was relaxed as he said, “Fleshcrawlers. They live in a swamp a long, long way from here. Pale, bloodless skin but for the flush of stolen nourishment from the animals they prey upon. Without remorse or reason. Unlike your emotional vampires, fleshcrawlers do not hold conversations with those they consider their prey.”

  “That’s stupid,” Bethy said, not looking up from her pinky toe as she slid the brush over her nail.

  “And not true,” I added, thinking of Nex. Hell, even the queen was chatty. I knew firsthand and I was alive to tell the tale.

  “No? When did you meet a fleshcrawler?”

  Reminding myself my children were listening, I hunched down a little, making claws with my fingers. “In my nightmares.” I straightened, shooting Jasper another look. Didn’t he know he shouldn’t be telling Midian stories around my children? What else had he said to them?

  I flopped beside Bethy on the floor and scooted my foot next to her. “Me next.”

  Instead of answering, she finished her own nails and passed the polish to me.

  “Where’s Ann? She loves Buffy.” I unscrewed the lid and started on my big toe.

  “She went for a walk.”

  A tiny thread of fear wound its way through me. I hated the thought of her out there with the Theleoni running loose, though surely they wouldn’t harm my family again, would they? Hadn’t they gotten their revenge? I capped the polish and pulled out my phone again, texting Ann and hoping she would answer right back. She didn’t often carry it because she worried the electronic radiation messed with her psychic abilities.

  After one episode ended and another began, I called her. From somewhere upstairs, I heard music and cursed.

  “Language,” Lia
m said and I rose from the floor.

  “Sorry kid.” I left them to their marathon and crossed to the door, slipping my feet into my snow boots, sans socks. I pulled on my jacket and stepped outside. No sign of Ann in either direction, of course. That would be too easy. Then I caught the faint scent of patchouli in the air. “Neutria, are you messing with my nose again? Why don’t you give me something really useful like Spidey-sense or something?”

  Not a cartoon spider. I would kill your Spiderman and drink his insides.

  “Thanks for the image.” I sniffed again, stepped off the porch, sniffed. Turned. “You’ve turned me into a damned bloodhound. I didn’t know spiders had noses.” I followed the smell, cursing Neutria and Ann in the same breath.

  Neutria didn’t answer, though she chittered at me in amusement.

  I hunched my shoulders and trudged down the block, sucking in deep lungfuls of air as I followed the scent, trying not to let the fear overwhelm me. My fingers curled into tight knots in my pockets as I scanned my neighborhood, looking for Ann or for someone who didn’t belong. The afternoon sun tried its best to melt the snow, but already the clouds were piling up, gathering for tomorrow’s snowfall.

  I had to stop this. I couldn’t live with myself if anyone else in my family got hurt because of me, because of what I’d done or what I knew. But the idea of leaving Bethy and Liam in the midst of their grief killed me.

  A spot of yellow a few blocks down sped my heart up. Ann? Was her coat yellow? Damned if I could remember. Please let it be her. Please.

  My eyes stayed on the yellow as I walked, my mind going back to my dilemma. Stay with the kids or go stop a personal apocalypse. If I didn’t keep my spawn from finding their souls, I would be dead. If I left, who knew how long I would be gone? Who would take care of my kids? What would they think of me for leaving them? Wouldn’t they hate me?

  Squinting, I realized it was Ann walking toward me and the sudden release of the fear made my thighs watery. I stopped, panting, though I hadn’t been running or even walking that fast.

  Ann could stay with them. Their grandparents. My brother, when he got here.

  The fear rushed back, a different kind, the kind that reminded a person of all they had to lose and how tenuous a grasp on life a human really had. “Shit.”

  “Devany? Is everything okay?”

  I bent double, suddenly lightheaded. I was going to have to leave my kids. When they most needed me. To save them, I would have to leave them.

  Her arms went around me, leading me home, keeping her voice soft and light as she told me everything would be okay.

  I didn’t have the words to tell her she was wrong.

  I managed to pull myself together before we hit the front stoop. Ann didn’t push or pry, though her eyes stayed glued to my face as if she were worried I might snap. “When Travis gets here, I need to talk to you both.”

  She nodded. “All right.” The questions were in her eyes but they would have to stay unanswered for a while.

  “I’m not going crazy.”

  “Of course not.” She smiled, reaching into her pocket. She held out a necklace, silver chain dangling through her fingers. “I made this and forgot to give it to you when I got here.”

  She slid the necklace into my hand; the pendant a heart shaped locket. I thumbed it open and smiled to see two tiny pictures of Liam and Bethy as babies. “Where did you get these?”

  “I found them on your Facebook page and shrunk them down.” Her slender fingers flipped the locket over. “Inscription.”

  “A mother’s heart is always with her children.” My eyes stung. I squeezed them shut for a moment then pulled her in for a hug.

  “Whatever it is you’re struggling with, I will help. You aren’t alone.”

  I broke away from her, smiling though I didn’t feel like smiling. “Let’s go in before we turn into snowmen.”

  Her hand caught my arm as I reached for the door. “What’s going on? Why are my dreams filled with darkness and terror?”

  The knob chilled my palm. I hung on but didn’t turn it. “If I tell you why, it might make those dreams worse. If I tell you, I’ll be putting you into even more danger than you are now being around me. Do you really want that?”

  “I’ve always thought it’s better to know what you’re up against. It’s a lot easier to fight a known enemy than an unknown one.”

  “You say that, but sometimes ignorance makes you happier.”

  The wind kicked up, blowing a bitter reminder of the snow coming. Ann shivered. “Let’s go in where it’s warm to talk philosophy.”

  Inside, we shed our winter gear, leaving boots to drip on the mat and coats to hang over the heating vent. The kids and Jasper were playing a game using dice and some coins from the vacation jar. I watched them for a half an hour, trying to suss out the rules and failing miserably, though it looked like Bethy and Liam neither one had any trouble figuring out Jasper’s game.

  I realized I would have to tell the kids I was planning on leaving. I hated the thought of it. Hated even having to contemplate such a thing. But it had to be done. Soon. Before the funeral.

  Taking a deep breath, I said, “Bethy and Liam, you guys want to go have a shake at McD’s?”

  “Yeah,” Bethy said, scooping the money in front of her—by far the biggest pile—back into the vacation jar at her knee. “I want a chocolate shake with whipped cream.”

  “Strawberry is better.”

  “Not even.”

  They bickered as they got ready. I felt rather than saw Jasper’s eyes on me. When I turned, he reached out and touched my arm briefly before letting his fingers fall away. “Give them a choice in the matter.”

  I glanced over my shoulder, then lowered my voice to a whisper. “There isn’t any choice involved. I have to go. They have to stay behind.”

  “Couldn’t they choose who to stay with?”

  I hadn’t thought of that. Hadn’t thought much beyond telling them. Thinking of Tom’s parents, my brother, Ann, Dad, I realized there were a lot of choices they could make. I nodded, giving him a smile of thanks as I slipped my own winter things back on.

  After getting our sugar fixes, we sat in a corner where we could talk without being overheard. Bethy had her arms curled around her shake, her eyes closed. Liam sat slouched in his seat, his eyes on the rest of the room, his shake untouched.

  “Why are we here, Mom?”

  I rolled my plastic cup between my palms. “Shakes. To talk. To get out of the house for a bit.”

  He nodded, though didn’t look like he bought it.

  “I have something I need to talk to you about. I thought it would help to have a bunch of sugar at the same time we talked.” I tipped my mouth up and he almost returned my smile.

  A slurping sound from Bethy turned my eyes her way.

  “You’re going to get brain freeze.”

  Her small shoulders rose and fell. One eye opened. “This isn’t going to be about Jasper, is it?”

  I tipped my head. “Huh?”

  Liam said, “You know, ‘Kids, Jasper is going to be your new dad.’”

  I laughed before I could stop myself. “What? What on Earth gave you that idea?”

  “He’s not your friend,” Bethy said. “We’ve never met him before.”

  “And he stares at you when you aren’t looking,” Liam said. He stirred his straw around and around, dislodging the plastic dome from his cup. “I like him okay. But no way can he take over for Dad.”

  His voice was low and held a lot of pain. I sighed. “Guys, he’s not a boyfriend, not a romantic interest. He’s just not. He’s a friend. Just like Arsinua.”

  “Another person we’ve never met,” Liam said, almost under his breath as he glowered at a nearby table. The family, made up of a dad, mom, and kids, chattered happily over their meals.

  “I had a lot of friends in high school and college you’ve never met. Arsinua and Jasper just happened to be able to come for your dad’s funeral.”<
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  “Fine. Whatever.” Liam capped his straw with a finger and lifted it from his cup, sucking the ice cream out of the bottom.

  “I’m sorry. I know you are both having a hard time. I wish I could make things better. I wish I could take away the hurt.” I rubbed at my collarbone, trying to rid myself of the pain burning underneath it. Sadness wasn’t just an emotional pain.

  “So why are we here? Not just shakes.” Bethy slurped again, running her straw around the bottom of her cup.

  “Not just shakes.” My stomach twisted. I tried a calming breath but it didn’t seem to abate the acid boiling inside me. “I have something I have to do to keep us safe. It means I’m going to have to leave as soon as the funeral is over.” I shut my eyes for a moment. “I want to give you guys the chance to choose who you’ll stay with while I’m gone.”

  “Are you going after the people who killed Dad?” Bethy’s whisper made me cringe.

  I popped the lid off my cup and fished for the cherry that had sunk into the chocolate and whipped cream. When I didn’t answer, Bethy shoved at my arm with her hand. “Mom.”

  “No.” Shit. I hadn’t thought this through. I hadn’t taken the time to come up with something that would’ve made sense, that would’ve made my leaving a little easier to bear. I wracked my brain but came up blank. “No. This trip isn’t about your dad.”

  “Then what is it about?” Liam’s face was paler than usual. “What could be so important you have to leave us right now?”

  I had planned to tell Travis and Ann the truth about everything when my brother arrived. Could I tell my children the same? Should I? When they’d been kidnapped by the same people who had killed their father, Ravana had wiped their memories of the event. It hadn’t been out of the kindness of her heart, either, but to screw with their heads more when she’d put a look alike in my place. They didn’t remember any of it, though I suspected the trauma came out in the frequent nightmares they’d both had since. Would telling them bring those memories back? Shit. Double and triple shit.

  “It’s complicated.”

  “It’s stupid. I can’t believe you’d leave us.”

  “Liam,” I said, then stopped. He was right. But I had to. Otherwise one of my spawn would find his or her soul and I’d end up leaving them permanently. “I’m sorry.”