Stunning.
I was too fucking distracted to be dealing with end-of-the-worlds dramas.
“If we’re going to do this, we should leave straight away,” I said, resigned. I needed to know more than anyone. “And if you two insist on coming as well, despite the fact that this might be a dangerous mission, then I insist that at least three of Abil’s sons get their asses there as well, because I’m not taking responsibility for Willa.”
Rome scoffed, lifting himself up from where he was propped against a wall. “Firstly, Willa can take care of herself. Don’t underestimate her. Secondly, of course we’ll be there. Why the hell would you think we wouldn’t be?”
“Good morning!” A cheery, sickly sweet voice intoned from the doorway. “Look at my place, filled with so many lovely gods.” Pica dragged the word lovely out, because she loved it so much.
“Because of that,” I muttered. “Someone has to distract the crazy bitch.”
The five of Abil’s sons exchanged a glance, and I could see that they were trying to figure out the best way to handle this situation. I enjoyed watching those blessed bastards sweat a little, so I just reached out and pulled Emmy into my side, stepping us away from Willa and her guys.
“What are you doing?” she whispered, pressing her curves into me. I fought back the urge to just disappear us back to my house.
“Watching the show,” I returned, giving her a wink.
She tilted her lips in a slow smile, and I almost kissed her. Right there. The only thing that stopped me was the fact that if I kissed her, I would then need to find the closest soft surface.
“What’s happening in here, Willy, my little love boo,” Pica chirped, dancing closer. She appeared to be dusting the walls, even though she had a block of soap in her hand. It scraped across the furniture as she glided it over the edges. “You’re not planning on leaving me, are you? Because that would be very dangerous.”
She didn’t expand on the danger, and it wasn’t clear if she was referring to danger from her or Staviti.
“Well,” Willa started, moving a little closer. “I was hoping to stretch my legs. Just a short walk. I’ll be back before you notice me gone.”
The soap in Pica’s hand exploded; I quickly swung Emmy behind me so that she wasn’t pelted with the shards. Rome did the same with Willa, taking the full brunt.
“Whoops,” Pica trilled. “Must have squeezed it too tight.”
Everyone was on alert then, Abil’s sons manoeuvring themselves into defensive positions, fanning out around their girl. Pica wasn’t acting in a threatening manner at all, but we all knew she would give no warning if she was about to attack. Her randomness was a skill she’d developed: it gave her an edge in battle.
Pica stepped forward, turning her head to examine her ‘Willy boo’, and then she nodded. “Yes, some fresh air is exactly what you need. You’re looking pale.”
Willa didn’t argue, she just pushed her way past her bodyguards and smiled brightly. “You’re so right Pica. I love how right you are.”
Pica’s return smile was broad and genuine. “Yes, love. Always love.”
Then she was gone, back to whatever crazy world she inhabited in her head.
The tension drained from the room and I allowed Emmy to return closer to Willa, now that Willa was no longer a target.
“Let’s go, before Pica changes her mind,” Yael said in a low voice. “And I for one vote that we don’t return, because this place is driving me crazy.”
He wasn’t actively using his Persuasion, but there were tendrils of it in those words. He was desperate to get away from the love dungeon that Pica had created here for them. Willa quickly hurried about, pulling on some shoes and tying her hair back. Emmy and I waited near the door.
When we made it outside, we walked in the direction of the spot where Pica had chosen to build Willa’s house, passing through an elaborate garden. It really did look as though we were all setting out for a walk … except that I grabbed onto Emmy and Coen grabbed onto Willa as soon as we were out of sight, and the eight of us stepped immediately through a pocket, leaving the platform altogether.
We hadn’t discussed where to meet, but we all ended up in the same place anyway. It was where the panteras usually gathered—almost like a central meeting place for them. It was a short distance from the cave that housed the Mortal Glass, so the reason for their chosen gathering place wasn’t such a surprise, if you thought about it. They were the guardians of many things in Topia, and the glass was one of them.
A wave of cold hit me as I glanced around at the clearing, blinking to try and clear the spots of white from my vision.
“Oh my gods,” Emmy whispered, her voice small beside me. “It’s snowing!”
She sounded equal-parts horrified and excited, and I watched as she ran to the huge, twisted tree by the bank of the river running through the clearing. The Abcurses were also watching as Willa squealed something and did the exact same thing. The girls huddled beneath the cover of the tree together, clutching at each other, looking out at the falling snowflakes.
“It’s snowing.” That had come from Aros, his tone astounded.
I wasn’t sure if this was a good sign or a bad sign, but I knew one thing for certain: it had never snowed in Topia before.
“You don’t have to hide,” I yelled out to Emmy and Willa. “This isn’t like the acid-snow in Minatsol, it won’t cause you any harm.”
They ventured out cautiously, and it was then that I realised we were completely alone.
“Where are the panteras?” Rome asked.
“Maybe they’re taking refuge from the snow,” Emmy supplied. “Is there shelter anywhere near here?”
“The cave,” Willa muttered, already turning and marching off.
I caught Aros and Siret passing an amused glance before following after her. “Wrong direction, Rocks,” Siret said gently, his hands landing on her shoulders when he caught up to her, turning her the right way.
She didn’t even bat an eyelid—just continued in the same determined march, though facing the right direction this time. I slowed behind their group, preferring to walk with Emmy. She seemed nervous, so I wrapped my hand around hers, twisting our fingers together and giving her hand a squeeze. She looked up at me, apparently surprised by the gesture.
“I don’t want you running away,” I grunted.
“Oh …” Two fine little wrinkles appeared between her brows as she frowned. “I don’t really know how to do the disappearing-and-reappearing thing that you guys do, so …”
“Travelling through pockets,” I supplied. “I’ll teach you.” Just as soon as I’m sure you won’t use it to run away from me.
“Thank you.” Her voice was low, soft, genuine. My hand twitched, and I fought the urge to drag her home and exploit the sudden pliability I could sense from her. It was infuriatingly appealing that all I needed to do to win her over was offer her information.
By the time we reached the cave, the snowing had intensified. Our clothes and hair were dusted in frost, and Siret had been forced to stop and materialise cloaks for everyone. I also had the ability to makes things appear and disappear, but I liked to keep that to myself.
Sure enough, the panteras were gathered below the overhang of the cave opening, several glowing eyes blinking at us from further within. We all stopped before entering, because it wasn’t wise to intrude on the creatures uninvited. If any other god had turned up unannounced, they would have already been driven from the land by now, of that much I was certain. Luckily, one of the panteras broke free of the others, moving towards Willa.
“Leden,” she greeted, stepping away from the Abcurses and tossing her arms around the pantera’s neck.
Leden nudged her affectionately, and we all watched as the two of them seemed to carry out a brief and private conversation, before Leden turned around and disappeared back into the cave. Willa followed, speaking over her shoulder.
“We can go in and light a fire. Lede
n has asked why we came—I told her that strange things have been happening with the servers.”
Strange things have been happening among us, too. The pantera’s voice filled my head, apparently projected to each of us, judging by the nervous jolt that ran through Emmy’s body. I waited for Leden to elaborate, but she only continued to lead us further into the cave.
“Here will do,” Coen finally grumbled. “Willa, do you want to light a fire?”
“It might burn us all down,” she replied dryly.
I heard another of the Abcurses chuckle, but it was now too dark to see which one it had been.
“Just concentrate,” Aros soothed her. “You won’t hurt anyone. Start small.”
There was silence, then, and I set my hands against Emmy’s hips as I waited, drawing her back into me. The cloak was an unwanted barrier between us, but I didn’t want her to get cold, so I allowed it to remain. When she rested her head back against my chest, I tried to tell myself that she didn’t already own every piece of me.
After half a click, a small ball of flame burst to life, illuminating Willa’s face, set in deep concentration. She crouched, setting the little fire against the ground before running her hands through the flames, encouraging them to grow. It was fascinating to watch, but as soon as there was enough light to see by, I wasted no time in re-directing my attention to Emmy. She wasn’t frightened at all. There was an almost feverish look in her eye, a hunger for answers that made me grin.
The panteras didn’t stand a chance.
Eleven
Emmy
Panteras were like nothing I’d ever experienced before. I could almost feel the wealth of knowledge contained amongst them. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if they knew everything. Literally every single thing there was to know about both worlds.
I need it … I needed the information.
Cyrus’s hand tightened minutely on my forearm, and I tilted my head back to see him. He wore a lazy grin, looking far more relaxed than I’d seen in a long time.
“Which one are you going to start with?” he asked me.
I didn’t bother to play dumb, I never liked that game. “That one,” I said, inclining my head just enough so that he knew which pantera I referred to. I didn’t know if it was a male or female, but it was beautiful. Like Willa’s pantera, only its coat was black. Black as the darkest night sky. It was shiny as well, like velvet draped across a powerful body.
One kick could kill me, that much was clear. Or … the old me anyway. Gods were a little harder to knock off.
“Sparrow,” Cyrus murmured, almost sounding pleased. “He’s an elder. One of the oldest pantera that I know of.”
Knowledge. That was basically what he was saying. Old equalled experience.
“That’s the one,” I decided.
And I guess that I don’t get a say in this decision?
The voice filtered through my head, and for a beat I was too frozen to register what had happened. It was only because I’d heard a pantera just before, when we first arrived, that I knew who was speaking.
Apologies, I started, unsure if I’d been unnecessarily rude or not. I didn’t realise you could hear our conversation. I would very much like to speak with you.
There was a brush of something across my body, sending trills down it. It felt like power, like the sort of power Cyrus wielded, only a hundred times stronger.
You crave knowledge, Sparrow stated. Beware of learning more than your mind can handle.
Willa had said they were cryptic, something that frustrated her to no end. Me, on the other hand? I absolutely loved riddles. I found myself stepping closer. Cyrus remained at my side and it felt nice to have him there. Most of my life I’d had Willa, but she always needed a lot of help with … everything. She was strong in her own way. Strength of character being the top of that list, but she was often in trouble that I had to save her from. I had to be the mature, capable part of our duo. It felt, in this circumstance, that I could rely on Cyrus to help me. I could relinquish some of my control.
As I moved closer, the panteras shifted away from Sparrow, leaving a space around him for me to step into. Cyrus remained a little behind. Close enough to help if needed, but not crowding me.
Hello, Fertility, Sparrow greeted me politely.
“You can tell?” I blurted out loud. The mind-talking thing was a little too weird for me.
If a pantera’s snout could grin, I felt like this pantera might be doing just that.
I can tell. But you are not here to talk to me about your gift. You seek other knowledge.
The tone of his voice was so deep and rich, it sent trills down my spine every time he spoke in my head.
“The servers,” I started, “there’s something wrong with them. They’re violent. Uncontrollable. I’m worried about what this might mean.”
Sparrow lifted his head and I turned to find him locking eyes with Cyrus. I wondered if they were talking to each other.
Cyrus gave a single nod of his head. “I feel no loss of control,” he finally said out loud. “My power is as it always was.”
What were they talking about? I took a step closer to Cyrus, and his entire attention fixed on me.
“Your power?” I asked.
The colour of his eyes deepened. “I am born of the energy of Topia. If others born of the same energy are starting to be affected, then it stands to reason that …”
“You might start wielding axes and making groaning noises too,” I finished for him, dread sinking into me as I swung to Sparrow. “Is that possible? Can Cyrus be corrupted like the others?”
Huge dark eyes regarded me. Anything is possible. In regards to the Neutral energy, it will all depend on the strength of the vessel. On the strength of the heart. Cyrus is much more than just his energy. Have faith, young friend.
“You should have said something,” a hard voice cut in from the side.
I’d temporarily forgotten that Willa and her guys were there, and I was a little surprised to see Yael and Siret standing close by.
Yael was the one who’d spoken, and he took a step even closer. “If you lose control of your power, Neutral, all of us will be fucked. That isn’t something you should be waiting to tell us.”
Cyrus crossed his arms, arching a single eyebrow in Yael’s direction. “Something you should have figured out for yourselves, isn’t it? Everyone knows I am born of the Topian energy.”
Yael threw his hands in the air, massive bicep muscles framing either side of his head. “There’s more than one thing going on right now. And to be honest, I don’t think about you much Cyrus, so your power isn’t on my mind a lot. Just tell us next time.”
Cyrus’s power bristled across his skin. He didn’t like being reprimanded, but when Yael’s head swung toward Willa, who was standing next to her impressive fire, I felt Cyrus calm down.
He understood why the Abcurses were so upset. Anything that put Willa in danger was a sore point with them.
“I will be upfront in the future,” Cyrus conceded. “I was mainly waiting to see if the pantera had been effected, but so far they are as normal.”
Energy washed over the entire cave then and I found myself plastered back against Cyrus, his arm banding protectively around me. Yael and Siret were in my line of vision and I noticed that while they also looked worried, there was amusement in their gazes as they watched Cyrus and me.
Pantera are affected. A chorus of voices echoed in my head. It sounded like the entire herd were speaking to us. We have lost five of our members.
There was a heavy moment. A mourning feel to the air.
They disappeared, unable to remain with us. They said they felt … different. That they were being called away. We haven’t seen them since.
Willa rushed toward Leden—the pantera she had bonded with—her face creased in sadness. “What can we do?” she cried, burying her head in Leden’s neck.
The Abcurses closed in behind her, looking casual as anything, but it was clea
r that they were on high alert.
Leden’s answer was lost to anyone but Willa, as they began to communicate in silence—the small sounds that Willa released were the only indication that they were even having a conversation. Eventually, she turned, and her eyes flicked between the Abcurses before finding me.
“We have to prepare for a fight,” she finally announced. “It’s clear that something has happened to upset the balance of the worlds, and I’m pretty sure that whatever it was … it has something to do with us. Maybe it’s my power, maybe it’s the fact that I somehow brought Emmy back to life, or maybe it’s that I returned from the imprisonment realm and dragged my mother with me—”
“I’m sensing a theme here,” Cyrus noted dryly. “When you said it has something to do with us, you meant it was your fault, right?”
I glanced back over my shoulder at him and his eyes met mine briefly before he looked back to Willa, his hand tightening in its grip on my waist. He was pretending not to see the warning in my eyes.
“Whatever’s happening is not your fault,” I spoke up, before one of the Abcurses could jump in to defend her.
I shoved Cyrus’s arm away in my censure, taking a step forward. He also took a step forward, his hands finding my shoulders and dragging me back to rest against his front again. He was warm and strong, a solid force to ward off the creepy vibes I was getting from the cave, so I didn’t try to break away again. I wasn’t sure that I really had the strength to stay away from Cyrus, and I didn’t think that I wanted to, deep down.
“I should go and see them …” Willa muttered, almost to herself.
I was confused, and Cyrus was clearly confused—judging by the fact that he didn’t immediately voice an opinion. The Abcurses, however, picked up on her meaning immediately, possibly hearing an errant thought in her head.
Neutral: A Curse of the Gods Novella (Book 4.5) Page 9
