Queen of Lies

by Kel Carpenter

  “Carson City?” She nodded. “As in Nevada?”

  Her nose scrunched as her eyebrows drew together. “Are you sure you’re alright from that fall?”

  “It wasn’t a fall. I jumped.” That didn’t seem to make her think any differently.

  “Right,” she drawled out. “Who did you say you were again?”

  I eyed her, weighing my suspicions back and forth.

  “Lena.” The young teenager clicked her tongue and motioned for me to follow her back up the staircase.

  “So, what brings you here, Lena?” she asked, clearly not buying my name. I trailed next to her, damn silent by comparison. She stomped like a herd of buffalo, and her voice hit an octave that made me wince when she spoke. Did she have to be so loud?

  Fortunately for her, the demon found her fascinating. I studied her while we walked, taking note of her lithe frame and honey-colored eyes. Half breed.

  “I’m not sure, really,” I replied, detailing the many hallways we passed by. It would be easy to get lost in this place without her, even with my sense of smell.

  “You don’t know why you’re here? Oh man…” She stopped and regarded me a bit more shrewdly. “I got an idea.”

  “Do you now?” I asked, a little amused. She beckoned me on, turning into a bigger hallway. This one followed into a very large room where several people were clustered about. I took in the broad stature and height of the men as they looked up. None of them were familiar, and that didn’t sit well with me, or my demon. She regarded them as a threat.

  The younger girl didn’t seem to skip a beat as she went up to them, asking if they knew me. Every single one shook their heads and before she could ask any further questions, a shout echoed from the balcony outside. I crossed the foyer, stepping around the strange men entirely, and emerged on a white marbled terrace.

  And what I saw went beyond my wildest dreams.

  I want to call it a yard, but a green space this large couldn’t be considered that. It was easily the length of three football fields, and just as wide. Out in the very center, a contraption of some sort rose above everything else, even towering over the house.

  The base was like a giant corkboard that wrapped around like a cylinder. Stacked a good twenty feet above it shifted to solid wood, or really, wood that was more akin to Swiss cheese. Giant spikes poked out of holes in it, almost impaling a man attempting to climb it. I grimaced at the realization that it was an obstacle course, not all that different from the simulator at Daizlei. The next level started at least forty feet above the ground and I had no words for it. The hall of spinning knives came to mind as I stared at the inner workings of several layers of pendulums. The metal glinted in the sunlight as they swung ready to strike.

  Not that anyone seemed to get that far.

  Beyond the device that drew my attention, hundreds of men and women sparred in the field. Some fought with weapons, others their hands and feet. Even more odd were the animals that attacked each other. Massive grizzlies that stood over ten feet tall. Wolves of every size and color. Birds of prey with wing spans twenty feet wide. Hell, there was even a hippo tromping through as it let out an angry roar and proceeded to sit and roll, causing the three large cats trying to pounce on it to run for their lives.

  I’d run, too, if an almost two ton herbivore tried to roll over me.

  The girl’s words came back to me.

  Shifters. These were Shifters.

  My gaze swept the grass looking for a recognizable face, but I didn’t have to wait long. The brown-haired beauty put two fingers to her lips and whistled sharply.

  I snarled at her without thinking as I clapped both hands over my ears.

  The entire yard came to a complete halt and looked to the girl.

  All but one.

  He was farther away from the house, sparring with five people: three men, two women. One of which had unmistakable red hair. The other, so blonde that dye could not achieve that color, and if that didn’t give her away, the sword of ice would have.

  My heart surged in my chest as the demon instinctively reached for them, and by extension, I did as well. I swung my legs over the balcony, ignoring the shouts from below as I landed silently. The people—Shifters—parted before me. As a quiet hush fell over the yard, I paid them no mind, relishing the cracking of twigs and slick grass beneath my feet. They carried me far and fast across nearly two football fields. The girl followed behind me, although her tramping was beginning to get on my nerves. The demon found her utterly charming when she wasn’t loud as shit.

  How lucky for her.

  That thought died away as I stepped past the last of the Shifters that stood waiting. Watching.

  Just as quickly as I reached the people I sought, a wall of men appeared before me, brandishing swords.

  I stopped instantly, knowing there were more at my back.

  The hair on my arms rose at the perceived threat. None of us— me, Violet, or the demon—were going to tolerate that.

  “Who are you?” one of them asked. I wondered why I was getting asked that so much. Surely if my sister and cousin were out here, they would have some idea who I was?

  Yet it seemed no one did.

  “Move.”

  It was a single word, and the only command I would give before parting them myself. The air held still as I raised my eyes to the man directly in front of me. He was easily twice my weight, and there were a good twenty of them surrounding me.

  But they were the ones who should be afraid.

  No one keeps me from what’s mine.

  “Who are you?” he asked again. Behind him, the clash of swords clanged again before halting.

  I hadn’t used my power since coming back. Just as I heard all that was around me, I felt it too. There was a shift in the air as someone drew a bowstring. It was easily a hundred yards away, but I heard it as if it were right beside me. I tasted the change in the wind.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” I whispered. The Shifter in front of me frowned, his eyes drifting from me to what I knew to be the archer far behind. His eyes narrowed just the slightest when the arrow released, and I spun on my heel bringing my hand up to catch it only two inches from my face.

  First, there was an audible intake of breath. It seemed the crowd only then realized that something very different walked amongst them. Then there was a cry to stop as I threw the arrow with pinpoint accuracy—back at the archer. It sailed straight and true, landing with a thunk in the wooden post just above his head, nestled between his curly hair.

  “Selena?”

  One single word shouldn’t hold so much anguish, but my name did, and I knew the voice as well as I knew my own. I sighed softly as I turned back to the wall of men. They had parted, and there, before me, was Aaron.

  I didn’t even know what I was supposed to call him now. I had only just found out his name when everything happened. It was odd. Awkward.

  “Selena!” another voice nearly yelled. I flinched at the volume but resisted covering my ears again. Since when did everyone speak so loudly?

  “Anyone care to tell me where we are?” I asked, searching the faces behind him. There were so many people here. Too many. It set me and my demon on edge. Was it strange that I didn’t view us separately like I did Violet? I wasn’t certain. Maybe that was part of it.

  Footsteps trampled grass, almost as quiet as my own. My sister and cousin ran for me, but it was not them who swept me into a tight embrace.

  It was Aaron.

  His arms wrapped around me, cradling me close. I always thought his scent was understated while clinging to everything, but I realized it now invaded every particle of air. Smoke wasn’t a strong enough word for it. It was a smoldering fire. Crackling flames and just the briefest hint of something I couldn’t name.

  I allowed it, for a moment. The last memories I had of being awake where gut wrenching and terrible. I had collapsed in the middle of the black market, but he held me together. He didn’t pull me away
from the sunrise until the screaming started. Screaming that I knew without asking was my own.

  Another twig snapped, and the man that had his arms wrapped around me bristled. Instantly, the demon went on the offensive too. But not for my sake.

  Oh no.

  She viewed them as a threat to him.

  Goddamnit. I wondered what the consequences would be. When they would hit me.

  I suppose they could have been worse, or at least that’s what I shrugged it off as while I twisted in his arms.

  A statuesque blonde with bright blue eyes watched us, two male Shifters at her side. It wasn’t really me she was watching, but him.

  “Who is this?” she asked sharply.

  My fingers curled and uncurled as I pinned her with a level stare. Her eyes flicked to my hands and narrowed.

  “And why is she wearing your clothes?” the girl continued.

  Of course, Aaron decides right here that now is the moment to make my big introduction. If only he could have done it with less snarling.

  “This is my signasti. Selena.”

  I pulled back from him, batting away his clinging arms. With this many people around, I wasn’t comfortable being close to anyone. It made me restless.

  “Signasti?” the girl asked slowly, like she misunderstood.

  I ignored her and instead turned to my sister and Blair.

  Now that I had parted from Aaron, they didn’t seem to have any qualms with running forward and throwing their arms around me. The comfortable warmth from earlier spread throughout my limbs. They were alive and well.

  But something had clearly happened here.

  “We were worried about you. Don’t ever scare us like that again,” Blair whispered against me.

  “What are you talking about?”

  They both froze and a sense of dread settled in my stomach. It wasn’t as hard not to succumb as before, but the darkness still edged my emotions. At least the darker ones.

  “I don’t know how to tell you this…” Blair said as she pulled back a little.

  “Just spit it out.” That came out harsher than I intended.

  “You’ve been asleep for a long time,” Blair supplied, glancing to Alexandra for help. My sister’s lips pressed together as she cupped my face.

  “How long is a long time?” I asked.

  “Two and a half months. It’s mid-November.”

  I think the world dropped out from under me.

  My feet lost their balance as I stumbled back, fighting for control of shaky legs. No one made to move towards me as I stared between the three of them bewildered.

  I was asleep for over two months? November? I’m seventeen now?

  What had happened? How was that even possible?

  For every question I had, another followed it.

  I searched desperately for something—someone—that could make sense of it all.

  No one wanted to get near me. Not even Amber, who I had spotted just off to the side of the crowd. They were…scared of me. All but Aaron. He fearlessly approached me, hands held up in a posture of surrender.

  “Why don’t we go inside and talk?” His voice soothed me and I nodded slowly.

  “I would like that.”

  They had shocked me, and I wasn’t freaking out.

  Yet.

  I was…trying. Just as Violet told me. It wasn’t a lot, but it was a start.

  Let’s see how long it lasts.

  Chapter 17

  We didn’t return to the room I had woken up in. This one had bookcases mounted along two walls, mismatched furniture, and a large weathered rug. A globe sat on one end table, ancient and peeling. The polish on the bookcases had clearly seen better days, and while the furniture was nice, it was also broken in. On the far wall, two French doors were slightly ajar, letting in a soft breeze that sent the billowing white curtains dancing.

  I walked to them, lifting my hand to catch the sheer material between my fingers. If a material could be creamy, that was the only way to describe the sensation. Somehow the thin curtains were supple, yet delicate.

  “I never thought I would be able to take joy in such small things. I woke up and the world feels different. I feel different,” I murmured.

  “We didn’t know if you were going to wake up,” Alexandra said. There was so much pain in her voice. So much hurt. And I had unintentionally put it there.

  “I always do.”

  “How much do you remember of what happened?” Blair asked me. She stepped forward and I turned to face her. To face them. Alexandra and Blair, two young women that hated each other and now found themselves standing on the same side. Amber and…Aaron. The two who saw my downfall. Strangely enough, no others had followed, though I was positive that they must be here.

  There was a time that I would have answered, enough, and made them accept it.

  But that answer wouldn’t do. Not anymore.

  “Bits and pieces. It’s hard to say really…” I swallowed hard, moving around them to take my seat in the only chair. They followed my lead, seating themselves.

  They thought I was going to run, I realized.

  “You always have before. It will take time for them to see,” Violet whispered.

  Time. Yes. The one thing we never seemed to have enough of.

  “You collapsed in the street and started talking to yourself. Then you started screaming. Do you know what happened after that?” Amber cut in. Her voice wasn’t gentle or coddling like the others were trying to be. I appreciated it. The last thing I wanted was to be coddled.

  “Amber,” Alexandra snapped.

  “Don’t,” she snapped back. There was more bite than I expected. “You didn’t see what I did. She leveled the market, Alexandra, and that’s not even—”

  “What? What did you just say?”

  I didn’t speak with anger or demands. It was small, like the broken person I was. A person only holding on by the tiniest of threads. I came back to do better. To be better.

  I hadn’t considered the mess I left behind.

  “You didn’t even realize, did you?” Alexandra asked, but it wasn’t really a question. She knew I didn’t. I could see it in her eyes. She was my sister, after all. If anyone here knew the madness that plagued me, it was her.

  I shook my head, averting my eyes to my lap.

  “Tell me everything,” I whispered.

  “You caused an earthquake,” Amber replied.

  Okay…at least she gave it to me straight.

  “How bad?”

  “It would have only been the black market, but somehow you tapped the ley line. The tremors reached as far as San Diego. Over two thousand people died,” Amber continued.

  Two thousand…?

  Just like that, and I didn’t even remember.

  My lips parted as the first inkling of ice ran through me. I shied away from it, pulling myself back to the present. The shadows danced but the demon banished them. It seemed that together we could do what I could not.

  If only that had been two and a half months ago.

  “How did you stop me?” I asked, my gaze darted to Alexandra, but she didn’t provide the answers.

  “We didn’t,” Amber replied. “He did.”

  My eyes shifted from her to Aaron, another pang filling my chest as I took him in.

  His cheeks were hollower than I remembered. His skin paler and almost…clammy? He looked damp, but not from sweat. His dark brown hair flopped across his forehead into his eyes. It was him, but he was not well.

  “How’d you do it?”

  “I spoke to you.”

  It could have only been the two of us in that moment for all I knew. If I was broken and he was the other half of my soul, did that also make him broken? Or was he the stronger half—the half that would make me whole? Our entire relationship was so messed up.

  It was hot and cold, filled with a passion that strayed so close to hate. I suppose they were two sides of the same coin. I couldn’t feel nothing for him, but
I didn’t know what I was supposed to feel either.

  My demon wanted to reach for him. To soothe the crinkles in his brow, but I would not do that here. Not in front of all of them. There were things that needed to be said, but those words were private.

  “We should talk,” I settled on eventually. His expression stayed guarded, but he gave me a tight nod. It was a start. I was trying.

  “That’s long overdue,” Amber retorted.

  “What happens between her and I is none of your bus—”

  “I know,” I said.

  Aaron’s eyes flashed a question. So hopeful but scared to hope. Could I blame him? I’d done this to us, to him, to everyone. At the end of the day, it was my fault in every sense of the word. I needed to own up to that and be honest.

  The cold chip on her shoulder melted a little as Amber sighed.

  “You’re different,” she said. I cracked the first inklings of a smile.

  “I know that too.”

  Another breeze swept through the study and I lifted my face to greet it, relishing the coolness against my skin. I flicked my fingers and the doors slowly opened further, allowing a tidal wave to blow against my skin. It carried the voices from down below with it, melding with every beating heart and breath that my friends took. A lullaby meant only for my ears.

  The moment was surreal in every sense of the word.

  “I’ve done a lot of bad things, and I will probably do more before this war is over…but I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything I’ve done that has led us here. And I’m sorry for missing our birthday, Alexandra. You shouldn’t have been alone,” I said, my voice came out rasping and harsh. Then again, I think anyone’s would have.

  We descended into a comfortable silence and for once it wasn’t taut with some kind of pressure just waiting to break. There was no rush of power or heavy tension. Only the sound of breathing.

  I wouldn’t call myself a changed woman. Not yet—but one day—one day I would be. For now, I had reparations to make. Answers to find.