by Rainy Kaye
And he was the captain.
I needed his help if I had any chance at finding Fiona, so that meant I was still his pawn in whatever game he was playing.
“So, about how far out is this talisman?” I yelled over the fan noise. I tried to hide the apprehension gurgling up in my chest.
“I tracked it into the bayou,” Thibaut shouted back without looking at me. “It should take us about ten minutes to get there. Fifteen, maybe.”
“So, is it in a chest or something?”
I couldn’t imagine what a talisman was doing out here, but then again, I wasn’t sure where they belonged, either. Before now, I hadn’t considered such things existed, but at this point, I just had to roll with the situation. There were so many new discoveries in the last few days, and not one of them had been good.
He didn’t respond, and I couldn’t tell if it was because he hadn’t heard me over the buzzing, or if he didn’t like my question for some reason.
“I need to work on my spell,” I lied so smoothly, it almost startled me. “The more information I have, the more ready I can be.”
He jerked around to stare at me. “You’re telling me you need to fuckin’ prepare before you can do magic?”
Sure. I could go with that. It wasn’t an entire lie, but not exactly the truth, either.
“Yes,” I said, scanning the bayou. “It takes a little time for it all to percolate.”
If he knew what my best trick was, he would have appreciated the pun.
“A creature called the Devourer has it.” He turned back to the front of the boat. “You need to find a way to get it from him.”
I leaned so far forward in my seat, I nearly toppled onto him. “I’m so sorry but did you just say a creature in the swamp has it? As in, I have to take on a swamp creature?”
Randall looked between me and Thibaut, but didn’t comment.
“Yes, and you better percolate fast, missy, because we only have until nightfall,” Thibaut said.
“And then what happens, pray fuckin’ tell?” I snapped.
“Then he wakes and eats the talisman,” he said. “Devours it, if you will.”
I narrowed my eyes at the back of his stupid head. “You didn’t think any of this was pertinent to mention?”
“I’m sure we can handle it,” Randall chimed in.
He shot me a look to keep quiet, and I pinched my mouth shut and swallowed hard. All my objections lodged in my throat.
My mind spun up. I didn’t have any kind of magic at my disposal to defeat an ant, let alone whatever was lurking out in the bayou. I wasn’t much of a fighter, either, and I had used up all my good luck just escaping Green River.
If Randall didn’t have a plan, we might not be leaving the bayou.
“You gotta be…” Thibaut muttered, squinting into the distance. He reached for the console next to him.
The boat slowed, and I followed where he was staring. Far ahead, several figures dressed in dark clothes stood on the bank, nestled among trees.
My back stiffened. It was impossible to imagine a scenario where running into strangers in a swamp while hunting a talisman-munching creature ended well.
“Who are they?” I said in a low voice.
“I should have brought a gun,” he grumbled, ignoring me, as he hunkered down in his seat.
He didn’t have any weapons on him. This guy really had been convinced of my non-existent superpowers.
I pushed down the nagging notion that I had, in fact, conjured a wall of magic. Somehow. It seemed unlikely I would be able to do it at will, though, and I certainly wasn’t going to get that lucky twice in a row.
He turned the boat onto low speed and guided it toward the opposite bank. The people didn’t seem to be doing anything. They just sort of stood there, not quite frozen in place, but not actively talking or spreading out a picnic or whatever people did in the bayous.
The boat jarred a little, and I looked up as the front touched land. Thibaut eased the boat off the lake and guided it through the trees, heading toward the water on the opposite side, out of view of the onlookers.
The bottom of the boat caught on something, and our little watercraft jerked, trying to move forward. Thibaut switched it to high gear. The fan roared up and we shot forward, smooth and effortlessly. Right before we hit the water, the backend swung to the side and slammed into a cypress tree. It veered back and sent us sideways into the water, fan buzzing.
Another similar sound filled the air, competing with the noise from our boat. A moment later, an airboat rounded in front of us. Several of the dark-clad figures were piled into the seats. The boat hauled straight toward us.
Thibaut careened wide, arching away from them. He straightened the boat with a sharp jerk and floored it. Our boat shot forward, planing above the water.
I didn’t know much about the physics of airboats, but I had to wonder what the owners of this thing had been up to if it could lift three people out of the water.
Our pursuers skidded into a U-turn on our trail. We swayed as we barreled forward. The other airboat came up on us like we were about to play a version of bumper cars. Thibaut veered left and took land and water without slowing down. We hit an incline like a ramp and bounced through the trees. Judging from the noise of the other boat, they weren’t far behind.
We bounced and spun halfway. I closed my eyes as the world undulated with a strange kind of grace. The other boat came up behind us, unrelenting, and I realized this was the strangest chase I was likely to ever be involved in.
I still had no idea what it was about. Something told me the talisman had to be involved, though.
A bridge arched ahead, seemingly out of nowhere among the lack of manmade structures. It was comprised of what must have once been pallets and looked like it had been built and then abandoned, staying upright only because it remained untouched.
Thibaut maneuvered our boat straight under the bridge and out to the other side. On my right, a wooden structure rose up out of the water. In a moment, it formed into a large ship suspended by a network of cables. The middle sagged, and several window panes had come loose.
I turned my head to take it in as we zoomed by.
The world rattled. I clenched the side of my seat to brace for another earthquake.
The air fell silent underneath the whirring of our boat. I twisted to check for the pursuing airboat, but it was gone.
“Ah, fuck,” Thibaut said, and his words seemed to echo around us.
I snapped back around as our boat slowed.
Dead ahead, something gurgled and emerged from the water.
7
I had never contemplated what a swamp monster would look like, but this creature would not have been my go-to if pressed. Its head was a hybrid of a dog and alligator, but its body proved broad and strangely humanoid as it rose from the green water. Sparse vegetation hung off its back and arms, as if it had become one with the bayou itself.
Its dark eyes, glinting with intelligence, searched us.
“I’m guessing that’s the Devourer,” I said numbly, unable to look away.
“We woke him up,” Thibaut spat. “Now we’ve lost our advantage of catching him by surprise.”
I pressed my lips together. “Mm-hmm…”
Thibaut turned to look at me. “You’ve got to stop him before he eats the talisman.”
I started to reply, but Randall interrupted.
“Bring us to the shore so we can go around behind the creature,” he said, gesturing toward Thibaut.
Part of me wished I could read his mind, but most of me was thankful I could not.
Thibaut inched our boat over to the bank several yards from the Devourer and guided us right to the edge. With stiff legs, I climbed down from my seat and then stepped out on the ground. It was soft, but firm enough to support my weight. Randall crawled out behind. Thibaut remained in his seat like the coward he was, and that I wanted to be.
Fiona. I needed to find Fiona. Anything could
be happening to her, and most of it probably unpleasant. I still had no idea who those wielders were, the ones with tentacle magic, or why they had even taken her, but none of that mattered. She needed me. I wasn’t going to let a gator-dog stand in my way.
Swallowing hard, I crept toward the Devourer. He turned in a slow circle to face me, watching us with interest.
“So, you had a big idea, right?” I whispered to Randall.
“Yeah. Put up that wall-thing again,” he said.
I shot him a glare.
“You know I can’t do that,” I said low enough Thibaut couldn’t hear.
“You did before,” Randall said, stepping with me as we crept toward the Devourer.
“I don’t know how, Randall,” I hissed. “I thought you had a real plan.”
We came to a stop at the edge, right before the water. My attention flickered between the Devourer and searching for signs of any alligators ready to ambush us. The bayou seemed to have an array of things that didn’t like me.
I focused on the Devourer.
“Um, hi,” I said slowly, and then cleared my throat. “I’m looking for a talisman.”
He extended one thick wet arm and made a circle with his long fingers and thumb that ended in sharp nails.
I blinked, trying to determine what he could be attempting to communicate.
The yellow glow filling the circle of his fingers kicked off panic in my chest. I ducked before I had even fully registered what was happening. Fire shot overhead as he flicked back his hand, spreading his fingers. The whooshing sound filled my ears. Heat rolled over me and then faded.
I looked over my shoulder as the bayou behind me smoldered and then extinguished. I spun back around to face him.
He made a circle with his fingers again.
“Yep, loud and clear,” I muttered and darted past Randall, veering toward the airboat. I scrambled onto the little craft, Randall by my side. “Move, move!”
Thibaut made no motion, transfixed by the Devourer.
I fluttered my hands at him. “Are you friggin’ insane?”
With a rumble, fire shot out across the stretch of land and faded.
The Devourer twisted to face the airboat.
Thibaut seemed torn, expressions warring on his face.
I leaned down and stabbed at the controls. He slapped away my hand, coming back to attention, and flipped on the boat. My legs wobbled as we turned away from the bank. Fire rolled past right where the boat had been.
The airboat took to the water and sped farther into the bayou, away from the Devourer.
I scurried back to my seat before I fell overboard, and then hunched forward, shaking.
I couldn’t defeat the Devourer, not with my magic, not with physical force, not with even dumb luck. Thibaut’s plan wasn’t going to happen.
The boat whizzed along at full speed. I couldn’t bring myself to sit upright, to think any thought but that I was in over my head, and I had no way of recovering this time.
When the boat slowed, night was beginning to fall. I lifted my head. Down the bank stood the silhouette of a small house, the deck jutting out into the water. Thibaut brought the boat onto land and cut the fan, coming to a stop near the house.
I dropped down from my seat and climbed out. My legs shook a little as I walked down to the edge of the water, and then leaned forward and peered in the direction we had come. I couldn’t see far in the rapidly descending darkness, but there were no signs the Devourer was coming after us. No gusts of fire illuminating the distance.
I turned and headed with Randall and Thibaut up the steps to the front porch. The stairs swayed under me and each tread felt like it would collapse.
A small table with a lantern and metal canister sat outside by the front door. Thibaut went to it and rummaged around. A moment later, he lit a match and started the lantern. He shook the match out, flicked it over the edge of the porch, and then lifted the lantern, the only bit of light we had to ward off the darkness.
Without a word, he pushed open the front door.
Inside, musty wet air greeted us, and I had to wonder the last time this place had been used. Randall left the door ajar, but the air outside was so thick and still, it barely made any difference.
My stomach grumbled and gurgled, and I pressed my hand to it through my shirt.
Thibaut made his way across the small room to a futon against the wall. He sat that lantern on the floor and deftly swung the futon out into a bed.
“How long before we can head back?” I asked.
“Whenever you’re ready,” he said simply, but his expression in the shimmying light didn’t look so at ease. “Just don’t wait too long. He will eat the talisman for his next meal.”
As the realization that he thought I meant to take on the monster again dawned, a grin spread across my face without my permission, and I laughed.
“I’m not going back there,” I said, gesturing vaguely outside. “I want the hell out of this bog.”
He stared at me as I continued to giggle. I tried to stifle the laughter, but I was broken. The idea that I could face a creature that could shoot fire from its fingers was as mind-boggling as it was hilarious.
With a growl, Thibaut stormed toward me.
“We made a deal,” he said in a low voice. “You would get my talisman, and I would take you to the Dark Bazaar. So, hold up your end of the damn deal.”
I peered up at him, no longer laughing but the madness not quite yet faded.
“I can’t,” I said simply.
His features darkened.
“Use your damn magic, and get me my talisman,” he yelled, leaning into my face. “Get me my fuckin’ talisman!”
He turned and slammed his fist into the wall. Randall made a move toward me, but Thibaut tipped his head back and let out a long angry cry. Goosebumps raced up my back and down my arms. I took a step back, closer to Randall.
Thibaut wheezed in a breath and then flung forward, growling as he hit the wall again. The cabin didn’t seem all that durable to begin with. The last thing we needed was this maniac to damage it.
“What is it even for?” I asked with a biting edge. I wasn’t going to be weak around him. He would seize the opportunity to do something else new and terrible. “There’s probably more of them somewhere.”
“I’ve searched so long,” he said, his s sounds oddly snake-like. “I can’t start over.”
I scanned his twisted, anguished form. He seemed just this side of losing control entirely, from tearing this place—and us—apart.
I asked in a measured tone: “What does it do?”
“The Gates of Guinee,” he said. He ran both hands through his hair and tugged. “It’ll open the Gates of Guinee. Do you know how hard that is to do? Even your magic, it can’t open them. It needs the talisman. This talisman.”
I tensed, and all hope fled down into a puddle and evaporated. “I don’t even know what that means.”
His wild eyes settled on my face. “You have to get it for me.”
“I can’t help you,” I said. There was no point in pretending any longer. “You chose the wrong witch.”
He snapped straight and his upper lip curled in a snarl. “What did you say?”
“I’m not a witch. Not a good one, anyway. Not one worth all the trouble. I can’t get your talisman. In the morning, we need to leave the bayou. If we keep trying, we will die.” I took a slow breath. “I can’t help you.”
Whatever fragile bubble he had been enclosed in, that seemed to pop it.
He reared back. “You lied! You dumb bitch!”
Randall pulled me aside as Thibaut stomped toward me, but he didn’t swing. Instead, he stormed out of the house and disappeared into the darkness outside.
My stomach sank as I contemplated our situation. We were stuck in a bog with a monster and an even scarier man on the brink of a nervous breakdown.
And if we didn’t find a way to help him with his talisman, we would have no way of resc
uing Fiona.
8
Randall and I moved the lantern to a heavy wooden end table in the corner that had curved rustic flourishes on the legs. We turned to stare at the pulled-out futon.
“How many bugs do you think have taken up residency in that thing?” I asked.
Randall rubbed his face with both hands. “I’m so damn tired, I don’t even care, as long as they make room for us.”
My whole body ached, and I went weak in my spot. My eyes burned, my neck felt strained, and my mind was looping weird half-thoughts I couldn’t bother to try to finish.
“I think Thibaut went to confront the Devourer himself,” Randall said.
I lifted the corner of the mattress nearest me and peered under it for creepy crawlies. “Good, then he can get himself toasted like a marshmallow. I’m not going back out there.”
As soon as the words were out, Randall and I both paused in our spots.
I looked at Randall but couldn’t quite meet his eyes. “I’m sorry. I just don’t have the skills for this. I wish I did.”
“You do,” he said, like we were talking about what colors socks I own and not my ability to manifest supernatural powers. “If you did it once, you can do it again. Maybe you just need to practice.”
I dropped the mattress. “I’m far too exhausted for a training montage, and woefully lacking in a rough-around-the-edges mentor. The best I can do tonight is hope the bayou doesn’t swallow us whole.”
Carefully, I lowered onto the bed and crawled across it. With a grimace, I settled down on the mattress, but my body remained tense, ready to spring at the first tickle of spidery legs. Randall laid down next to me, a foot away.
I rolled onto my back, tucking my hands under my head, and stared up at the ceiling.
After a long moment, I asked, “How hard do you think it is to control the airboat?”
“He took the keys,” Randall mumbled, turned away from me. “He put them in his pocket when we arrived.”
