by Jen Ponce
“Yes.” Oh god. That meant I had to sit through it again. How unfair. It was hard enough the first time.
“Why don’t you go talk with your children?” Jasper suggested. “Take a break from this and be with them.”
I wanted to protest, to say that I needed to work through everything that had gone wrong and see what I could do to fix it but he was right. I hadn’t seen the kids for almost two weeks, even if they didn’t know I’d been gone. And I would have to tell them I was leaving again. Damn. “You’re right. I’m going to take them for ice cream. I’ll be back later.”
They nodded and I went upstairs to collect my children.
-TWENTY-THREE-
Queen Anyang didn’t know what to make of my gills. She studied me for a long time, perplexed and not a little worried―at least that’s what I hoped.
“Who gave you the Gift?”
I’d talked this part over with Tytan before we’d hooked to the swamp. He’d been all for telling the queen to ‘stick it up your ass, I’m not telling you,’ but I thought that a little circumspection was in order. When I met with Nex, he told me that it wasn’t something he could’ve imparted after being separated from his body but, “My queen, though fierce, is old. You can tell her that the healing drink of her blood brought on the changes within you. She will not believe that she provided you with something so precious on accident, but there really would be no other explanation, unless you tell her the truth.”
So I lied and Nex was right, she didn’t buy it, but how else could it have happened? I gladly would’ve gotten rid of the damn things if I could have but Nex said the Gift, once given, could never be taken away. Thanks Nex.
“You have to help me hide them,” I’d told Tytan.
“I don’t know, they’re kind of sexy.”
I shook off the conversation and followed Queen Anyang into the swamp, leaving Ty, Jasper, and Nex behind as I had before. This time, though, Tytan had a protection circle around them as did Jasper and all three were on alert. Tytan had protested that she hadn’t grabbed him until he’d gotten to Casttown but I said, “We don’t know if that will be the case this time. Do you really want her to get her hands on you again? You aren’t fully healed as it is.”
The queen pulled me down into the swamp water. It was just as unpleasant this time and I fought not to panic as my air ran out and I had to take gulps of the milky water.
The queen yanked at my arm and pain shot through my shoulder. “What?”
I heard nothing in my head. She pulled me down and down, past the black maw we’d swum through before. Something wasn’t right. This wasn’t right. I turned my body, fighting with her strength to keep her from descending further with me in tow. “What are you doing?”
“We are resealing the pact.”
“But this isn’t the right way,” I said. I knew it was the wrong thing to say when she whipped around and got in my face so fast my heart almost jumped out of my chest.
“How do you know that?” Her teeth flashed even in the milky gloom. I pulled again but couldn’t free my hand. She’d sunk her claws into my wrist and tendrils of blood strung up and out of the wounds.
“Let me go.”
She hissed at me and plunged downward. I fought her or tried to. She was too damn strong and despite my flailing we continued our descent. My ears popped and the pressure on them grew until I worried they would burst. The Gift didn’t extend to bearing the pressure of the deep waters.
A hook. I had to get away from her before she killed me. I didn’t even get the thought out before she slammed me against a rock that jutted from the murk below. Her sinewy body was cold against me and strong. I wouldn’t get away. Not even through a hook.
“I do not suffer fools like you to live. Steal my Gift. Lie. Take advantage of my hospitality. I think a few hundred years buried in the depths might teach you manners.”
I struggled against her but she only pressed up against me until the rock scraped my back and my head buzzed from the pressure and the pain.
“Amara sent me back. In time. Ow. I didn’t have a choice.”
“Lies.” Her mouth opened and she yanked my shirt away from my neck, exposing my shoulder and collarbone. Oh shit this was going to hurt.
“I fucked it up the first time. The pact. I came back to fix things.”
She clamped down on my neck, her teeth sinking into my flesh. I couldn’t scream, I didn’t have air but my mind exploded into terror. All this power and I would die here in this monster’s arms.
The button. The control room. I slammed my thumb down and the heart’s magic blew her back from me, ripping the flesh at my neck. For a moment, she floated, stunned. I pushed off from the rock, trying to flee but I was too slow, too out of my element. She caught my ankle and dragged me down, past the rock, farther into the depths. The pressure increased until something in my ears gave way with a sharp pop of pain, muffling even the sound of the water rushing past. I was going to die. God, I didn’t want to die.
I kicked her hand with my free leg knowing I wouldn’t hurt her but unwilling to give up without any fight.
Blood pumped from my neck, bright streamers of red that curled upward and away. Then something pale streaked past and my leg was free. I swam as best I could, trying for the surface and failing miserably. I bumped into the rock and found a handhold, as the water below became a blur of violence. Something was attacking Queen Anyang, another fleshcrawler. The dark water became darker with spilled blood. I tried to convince myself to swim away, to hook, but I couldn’t move. My body was on fire and the neck wound throbbed in time with my ears. A high pitched whine made it hard to hear.
A body flew past me, slowing rapidly in the water. Queen Anyang. Her blood smeared mouth hung open and her sightless eyes seemed to glare at me. Then someone had my upper arm―in a much gentler grip than the queen’s―and swam me upward.
Nephele.
“Thank you.”
“I should thank you. We have been watching our queen’s madness helplessly. It wasn’t until you returned that I knew I would have an opportunity to kill her.”
“Return? Wait. What?”
She lifted something from her neck and held it close. The key. Amara’s key.
I squinted, my vision blurring. “I haven’t given that to you yet.”
“I know. And yet I have it.” She took me through the dark tunnel, not to the surface as I’d hoped. I was feeling lightheaded and sleepy and found I didn’t really give a shit one way or the other where she took me as long as I could close my eyes
“Blood loss,” she said and passed me to another fleshcrawler. “Queen Anyang pumped her full of poison.”
Poison? Was that why my head was ringing? Why my heart was pumping so sluggishly in my body?
I felt a sharp pain at my elbow then another was tugging my pants down. I tried to fight but if I hadn’t had a chance against one crazy monster, I certainly didn’t have a chance against a roomful.
Another sharp pain flared at my groin, then the uncomfortable feeling of something being forcibly pushed through my veins overtook all else.
I didn’t pass out either, damn it. Being aware through the whole thing was not fun. Especially since I had no fricking clue what they were doing to me. One of them had my head pressed to the side while they worked on my neck.
My ears rang nonstop until I thought I would scream. I thrashed but it didn’t dislodge any of them from their incessant tugging at my flesh. It wasn’t until they let go of my head that warmth filled my ears and the pain and ringing went away.
I righted myself, waving my arms in the water as I assessed my body for damage. Eased my neck back and forth. Looked down at my thigh and got all embarrassed because I hadn’t shaved since god knew when and you could tell. There was a puckered scar there where they’d opened me up for whatever reason and then sealed it shut.
“Can I have my pants?” Devany, your manners. I grunted to myself. “And thank you.”
Nephele h
anded them to me but of course I couldn’t get them on in the water.
“We did what we could to clear out your system.”
Did what they could? Shit. “Which means what?”
Nephele’s eyes, while still black and seemingly depthless, looked kind. “Most of your kind dies from a fleshcrawler’s bite. But the queen gave you the Gift. Since you haven’t died, I’m not sure what may happen.”
“I won’t turn into one of you, will I?” My lip curled, I couldn’t help it.
She hissed her laughter. “Would it be so bad?”
“Yes.”
More hissing.
Besides Nephele, I could see at least four other creatures swimming around me. The council members? “What happens now?”
“We elect another queen,” one of the four said.
“Or we rule as a council,” Nephele shot back.
Screeching ensued and I almost wished I still couldn’t hear. I waited the argument out, wincing, then said, “What about the pact?”
Nephele looked at the other members of the council. “We should uphold the bargain. We can’t keep our home from invasion without help.”
The four conferred amongst themselves. Nephele didn’t seem worried about not being included nor did she try to swim closer to hear. When the conference was over, one of the four asked, “Would you renew the pact with us?”
Considering it benefited me too, I agreed. Swimming through the murk in my underwear and shirt with my pants tied around my waist so I wouldn’t lose them, I followed Nephele and the council to the place I first stunned them all on accident.
Nephele had an amused look on her face like she remembered―which was impossible. Then again, time travel and breathing underwater was impossible too, so what did I know?
Two of the fleshcrawlers brought out the rashn and once again its concentrated power lured me in. I didn’t shut my eyes or give myself over this time and managed not to stun them with unrestrained magic.
“Our pact with your predecessor allowed us to live in peace, hidden away from the prying eyes of the world. The essence of the magic made our swamp unremarkable, unmemorable. This is what we would like from you in return for keeping your Skriven souls safe.”
“I will do my best to fulfill my part.”
Nephele inclined her head. They began a slow, sonorous chant that beat their normal screeching speech. I went down into my control room and sat in the power center. Didn’t have the energy to look for the right controls so I decided I would just have to find what I was looking for where I sat. I had no idea how to go about making this place unforgettable and decided I would put together a collage of forgettable things in my head and push power into them. The brute force approach worked when all else failed, right?
Forgettable. The color grey. Not like Jasper’s eyes but the grey of cloudy skies and nondescript clothes. The boring presenter who read from her slides. The teacher who did the same with the textbook. Flat land. White cars. Anniversary dates? I snickered then told myself to shut up and grow up. It didn’t quite work. Geezus, as if I needed to have a mental break down now.
Concentrate. It took me a few moments to get over the brain fart and then I began putting energy into my thoughts. I pictured Skriven getting bored just thinking about the swamp, humans getting chills and walking away, witch-folk forgetting the swamp as soon as they were distracted, a certain invisibility that was unremarkable or uninteresting.
I pushed from the core of the heart, drawing from the Source of the Slip, the swamp, and the rashn itself. ‘Forget. Those who do not live here. Forget.’
The control room began to light up as the power grew. Dials flashed, metal parts vibrated and pulsed. Some toggle switches began clicking maniacally back and forth. Steam whistled out of one of the remaining cracks in the main housing. “Forget!” I let go of the built up power. A huge clap of noise and light exploded around us. The rashn burst like a overfilled balloon, the superheated Source scouring every one of us who stood in the circle.
I opened my eyes. Blood oozed from each one where the rashn had pummeled them. I supposed I looked the same and decided I’d had enough of the swamp. If I could help it, I would never come back here again.
“Did it work?”
Nephele looked positively orgasmic. “So much power.” Her black eyes landed on me and I felt a rush of fear.
“Yeah. Lots of power. And more where that came from.”
She licked her lips. Another of the fleshcrawlers swam toward me and I pushed back in the water best I could trying to avoid the grasping hands.
“I’ll take it all back. I’ll invite every witch, every Wydling, every duallie, every human, every Skriven--”
“Stop. We won’t hurt you.” She didn’t look like she was convinced of it herself. “Come, I’ll take you back to the surface now.” When I didn’t move toward her outstretched hand, she said, “I promise I will not harm you this day.”
This day. That was gratitude for you. I took her hand and mentally prepared to launch World War Three on her ass. She tugged me through the water, traveling fast enough to make my ears pop over and over again. Since they were still sore from being ruptured it wasn’t too pleasant a journey. I almost cried in relief when we hit the surface and didn’t even flinch when she came up behind me and Heimliched the water out of my lungs. Yeah, I puked again. Still better than being below.
I wiped my mouth but couldn’t bring myself to say thank you. Instead I said, “Key?”
She had a sly look on her face. “You aren’t supposed to have it yet.”
My stomach did a swoop. “What?” I thought back to our last encounter. Had she been wearing something around her neck that time? I couldn’t remember seeing it but then again, I had no idea it existed then.
“The Originator who gave this to me told me you would be here for it. You do know she looks to have you killed? She is afraid because you know how to kill them.” Nephele’s black eyes shone in the gloom of the swamp. “She took one of my sisters. As insurance.” Her teeth flashed and she lifted the key over her head. “She doesn’t understand our people if she thinks that will stop me from betraying her.”
I took the key, feeling sick to my stomach. “What about your sister? Amara isn’t nice.”
She hissed. “Neither is my sister. They can be not-nice together. Now that Anyang is gone, I have a chance at power and I intend to take it.” She swam a few feet away then turned back. “Don’t expect a warm welcome if you come again. All debts are balanced. If you need favors you’ll pay for them dearly.” She went ass over head in the water and disappeared before I could think of anything appropriately sarcastic to say in return.
-TWENTY-FOUR-
“What the hell happened?” Tytan asked as I dragged myself out of the muck and collapsed on the mushy ground.
“Everything that could go wrong. I did get the fading part right though.” I shut my eyes for a moment. Swallowed. How would Nex take the death of his queen? I opened my mouth to tell him and my stomach protested its contents once more.
Jasper knelt by me and I could feel the healing magic working its way into me. Like Jasper, it was gentle and warm. Tytan squatted down beside me too and I felt his fingers moving aside my shirt. His curse pleased me. “Not as bad as you, though,” I said.
“Which one of them tried to chew your head off?” The violence in his voice pleased me too. I was one sick puppy.
“The queen. She didn’t believe my story.” Of course. Duh. “So she dragged me down to the bottom to kill me. Nex? I’m sorry. Nephele killed Anyang.” I tried to put sympathy in my voice but I really wasn’t that sorry.
“I understand. My queen was always a vicious creature and would rather kill than negotiate. It is one of the things that first attracted me to her.”
I thanked my lucky stars I wasn’t a fleshcrawler. Then I realized Nephele had never said what the poison was though I believed she’d worked to get it out of me. “What’s the fleshcrawler poison do? Please tell me i
t won’t change me. I’d rather die. No offense, Nex.”
“None taken,” he said, as unperturbed as ever. “She poisoned you?”
I nodded. The bite didn’t hurt, felt more numb and rubbery than painful.
“I doubt that’s true. You wouldn’t be alive otherwise.”
Someone―Tytan—touched my thigh. “Do you ever shave?”
“Excuse me?” I tried to sit up and Jasper held me gently prone. “Stop gaping at my legs.”
“You’re white enough to be a vampire,” he said, his fingers brushing the wound there.
Jasper glared at him. “She almost died.”
He shrugged then winced. His wounds still hurt. “So did I. Nex?”
Nex floated toward my hairy legs and I made a weak attempt to kick Tytan. He just caught my leg under his arm and grinned at me. “They drained you?”
“I don’t know. They said they pushed the poison out. Now let go and stop staring.” My face was getting hot and I cursed myself for being embarrassed.
“Devany, sweet. If they drained you, what on earth did they fill you up with?”
“I don’t know.” I pushed Jasper away and sat up, curling my legs toward my body. Well, one, anyway. Tytan still held the other. “Give me my leg.”
Nex looked thoughtful but didn’t say anymore. Surprise. He’d probably tell me months down the road that, ‘Oh yeah, you’re going to turn into a worm. I would’ve told you sooner but you would’ve just worried.’
“We need to meet up with the Carnicus and do the next thing.” I tugged again and Ty finally set me free, letting his fingers slide along my flesh as I pulled away. I shivered and not from cold. “Where can you be that’s safe?”
“She won’t set foot on Earth or Midia.”
“You sure? I mean, she was here.”
He raised his eyebrows. I showed him the key. “Nephele said Amara gave it to her and said I’d be coming for it. We’re getting played.”
