Dead of Winter

by Kresley Cole

  I can hear a metal opener tinking against beer bottles, can hear the throat of a bourbon fifth against a shot glass. They turn up music on a radio I "found" a couple months back and pair off.

  The zydeco doan disguise what's happening inside. For the first time, Clotile looks upset.

  I figure I'd do just about anything to keep this scrawny little fille from crying. "We can borrow a pirogue and paddle out farther. I got more traps, me."

  She latches on to this like a bass on a line, and we doan get back for hours.

  Near sunset, we creep up the cabin steps. "Stay behind me, girl," I whisper. When Maman's beaux get drunk, they always need to swing their fists--usually at her or me.

  Inside is all a mess. Eula and a man are naked and passed out on the couch I got to sleep on. Clotile shrugs at that sight like she doan care, but her cheeks are red, her eyes glassy.

  Maman's door is open--I hear a man snoring from the bed--but I know better than to glance in that direction.

  Beside the couch is my stack of library books; liquor's spilled over them. It makes me so angry, like I need to swing my fists.

  Clenching my jaw, I snag a few beers out of the icebox. Clotile doan miss a beat, grabbing the bottle opener. We head back out to the pier. As we watch the sun set between two cypress trees, she pops open beers for us, like she's been doing this for a while.

  I never have, but figure, Why not? I sip, not sold on the taste. I suppose it'll grow on me.

  By the second one, I feel great, relaxed in my own skin. "Clotile?"

  "Hmm?" She looks mellow, buzzed herself.

  "Everybody says we got no hope of goan anywhere. You ever think we deserve better than the Basin?"

  Without hesitation, she says, "Non."

  I ponder it over another sip. "Ouais, me neither."

  My eyes blurred with tears.

  Yet Jack had made plans to get out of the Basin and fight for a better life. He'd intended to fly in the face of everything he'd grown up believing.

  That struck me as unimaginably brave.

  Did he still feel he didn't deserve better? If Clotile had ever dared to hope for more, she'd been punished with something much, much worse than Basin life.

  With me as a lingering witness to his thoughts, Jack's mind turned to another sliver of time.

  He and I were walking hand in hand, just after we'd had sex for the first and only time--and right before we'd gone into battle against the cannibals.

  'Bout to face shittier odds than I ever have, stone-cold sober, and I never felt so good. Is this what being at peace means? No damn wonder everyone wants to feel this way.

  Evie glances up at me with those blue eyes, and she's so fucking beautiful I nearly trip over my feet. Her scent is honeysuckle, which means she's all but purring. Her lips curve, and that smile hits me harder than any punch. She's got no regrets.

  Good. 'Cause I'm never letting her go. I might reach too high to have her, but she doan think so. I want to say something, to tell her how I feel about what we just did. Everything I think to say could be taken the wrong way.

  So I squeeze her hand and keep it simple. "A moi, Evangeline." Mine.

  She promises me: "Always."

  And I believe her.

  "Hey, blondie!" Finn called from below. "Is this a no-boys-allowed tree house?"

  I jerked my head up, my tie with Jack severed.

  7

  "You're early," I told the Magician as Matthew and I climbed down. We still had twenty minutes.

  "Wanted to avoid the midnight-hour traffic."

  The three of us hurried into the first floor. Metal sheeting made up the walls. Moldy hay covered the ground. A rough-hewn table and a couple of benches furnished the area.

  Finn sat on one, raising his leg along it. Matthew took a seat next to him.

  When Cyclops padded over hesitantly, Finn grumbled, "Free fort, sit where you want." But he kind of grinned when the wolf plopped down right beside him.

  "We could've come to you," I told him. Maneuvering through this camp must be hell for him.

  Sweat beaded his lip, and he was out of breath. "The closer I am to you guys, the better for the illusions."

  The watchtower wasn't that far from his tent. How close were we cutting it?

  He situated his crutch over his lap. Aged stickers of cats decorated the metal parts. Who had it once belonged to? "So an Empress, a horse, and a wolf walk into a fort. . . ."

  "If this is a dirty joke, I'll pass." I'd missed the Magician's humor. Tilting my head at him, I said, "You don't look so good, Finn."

  Was there even a spare Advil to be found? Selena's arm had to be hurting her too, but with her extensive training, she probably knew Jedi tricks to limit pain.

  "I feel like a bucket of fuck, but I'll be ready," he assured me. "Right, Matto?"

  "Ready Magician!"

  I sat on the other bench. "I heard you took a header off a ridge."

  "H to the Azey. That army blows Baggers. My bear-trap injury never quite healed up. Didn't take much to rebreak my leg. Selena was worse off, though. She broke her arm in two places, cracked her ribs, and fractured her collarbone."

  Just a week ago? I'd suspected she had accelerated healing.

  "Somehow she dragged me back to the fort."

  For Selena to refrain from killing Arcana was one thing. Quite another for her to save another card. She'd shown loyalty to someone other than Jack.

  I guessed she and Finn had smoothed over their animosity.

  "Good thing I'm dying young," Finn continued in a nonchalant tone, "or I'd be shit out of luck with this bum leg."

  "Dying young?" He wasn't kidding.

  "Made peace with it." He shrugged. "Kind of think we all should."

  "Because of the game? We don't know that yet." As I spoke, another gust howled, drilling horizontal rain against the metal walls.

  Finn looked up warily. "Not just because of the game."

  After three months of near constant downpours, the weather was shifting. Occasionally, we'd get hurricane-force winds--and a fog so thick it bordered on tangible. "Have you guys gotten snow here yet?" I thought I'd spied a single flake the night I'd left Aric.

  "Not looking forward to that. SoCal surfer boy here, remember? Just think: if the snow comes down like the rain has . . ."

  "Snowmageddon!" Matthew cried, cracking both of them up.

  "Yeah, Matto, that groundhog came out to check for nuclear winter. But then a Bagger ate him!"

  He almost had me laughing. As soon as I got Jack safe.

  Finn's demeanor turned serious again. "Eves . . ." He opened his mouth, closed it, then frowned at the wolf. He probably wanted to talk about Lark--without her overhearing.

  I'd help him out. "There's a medic who's taking good care of her."

  He nodded, but a question lingered in his gaze. He peeled at a sticker of an orange tabby.

  "She felt terrible about how everything went down," I told him. "When she realized you'd survived the mine collapse, her entire face lit up. Her eyes watered. She was as into you as you were into her."

  "We're here for a mission, people"--Selena swept inside--"not group therapy."

  Gabriel was right behind her, watching the Archer--like a hawk.

  She assessed me. "You gonna have enough juice for this? Don't see your glyphs."

  My Empress power gauge. "I'll have enough." Since emotions fueled my powers, I feared I'd have too much. "And you?"

  Under her jacket, she wore a pistol holster; over it, an arm sling. A sword belt circled her narrow waist. "I got a Glock and a cutlass. Consider my swash buckled."

  Joules barged inside, his skin sparking with anger. AC/DC. "You're really goin' to do this?" he demanded of Gabriel. "Infiltrate an enemy camp with a bowless Archer--and an untrustworthy Empress? How do you know she won't lose her shite and claw you to death?"

  Dick.

  "Selena has weapons," Gabriel pointed out. "And I trust the Empress in this."

 
Yes, I'd gotten more control of the vicious red witch; didn't mean it was foolproof. If we failed tonight and I didn't return with Jack, would she slip the leash?

  Oh, man, I really hoped I didn't murder Gabriel and Selena.

  I cleared my throat. "You guys have your bandannas?" The wetted material would serve as a filter against my spores. I hoped.

  Gabriel tugged one from his jacket pocket. "And I have Jack's scent from his tent. But I need to lock on it over there before you deploy."

  "Just let me know you're ready." I was acting like I had total command over my powers. No matter how stressful, painful, or lethal the situation grew.

  Joules created a spear in his palm, twirling it. "The other side of the river is out of my range, Gabe. You're goin' to be on your own. No cover, no backup."

  "I've already given my word that I will go."

  Joules sparked brighter. "And I told you I wouldn't, not without payment."

  "Then we part ways here for a time," Gabriel said gravely.

  "Enough with the bromance!" Selena snapped. "Joules, this area is reserved for people about to do shit. So kindly remove your Oirish arse."

  "One day, Archer . . ." But he did turn to leave, passing Tess on her way in.

  "Hey, guys." She pulled off her hood, smoothing her long mousy brown hair back. "Can I go too?"

  I shared a look with Selena, then asked, "Uh, why?"

  "I can help you carry Jack if he's been injured. Selena can only use one arm, and Gabe might be busy."

  When we remained unconvinced, she said, "I let you down before, Evie. I want to make up for it."

  Tess had balked when she'd had a chance to stab Death--but what if she hadn't? I never would have known the real Aric.

  Yet then, had I truly known him? The man behind the armor? "Tess, if you'd gone forward that day, you would've been too late. Death was already getting free. You don't owe me anything."

  "I know I'm the laughingstock of the Arcana," she quietly said. "But I can't stop being that unless I do something meaningful. I'm asking. Please."

  Gabriel studied her expression. "She's going," he decided. "She can help. Do you have your bandanna?"

  Tess nodded eagerly.

  Selena raised her brows at the angel. "Do you know something about her powers that I don't? As in, do they ever work?"

  On the day I first met Tess, Matthew had listed some of her mind-blowing abilities. Teleportation, levitation, time manipulation, and more. She was the World Card, the great Quintessence. Unfortunately, she struggled with her gifts.

  "She could surprise you, Archer."

  "So she goes." Selena hiked her shoulders. "You're in luck, Evie. If we get chased, she'll be even slower than you are." To Tess, she said, "You screw this rescue up, and I'll skewer you with my new sword." She unsheathed a few inches of it with a threatening look.

  Gabriel frowned at that, fluttering his silky black wings. Again, he grimaced with the movement.

  "Come clean about the injury, Gabriel," I said.

  "I was shot during a flyover last week." He stretched out a wing, revealing a bullet wound in that feathery expanse. A hole went straight through the bony part. "I haven't quite healed yet."

  From last week? So he had rapid healing, like Death and Selena.

  "Unfortunately, wings provide a large target. As Joules says, 'It's like hittin' the broad side of a barn!' " An Arcana weakness. "We can wait a couple of days, ladies, or I can take you one at a time tonight."

  "Tonight," I quickly said.

  "The problem is that we go one at a time on the return leg as well."

  "We need to get to Jack, now--hell or high water, and all that." I turned to Matthew. "Any tips? Anything you'd like to tell me about our mission?"

  "I already did." He cast me a look of pure confusion. "Carousel? Struck? Ah! You listen poorly!"

  Had he ever been this exasperated with me before? "Of course, sweetheart. I just meant anything in addition to that. Hey, maybe you could tell me how long till Violet closes in?"

  "In a way, she's here."

  "What does that mean? I thought we had more time before the twins joined up." Had they already begun Jack's torture?

  "She's here, in a way." He'd just reversed his words.

  My breaths shallowed. "Gabriel, I'll cross with you first--and last on the way back." I turned to Finn. "Get to work."

  "On it." He rolled his head on his neck. "You guys will be able to see each other, but to everyone else, you'll look like soldiers." He began to chant in his mysterious magician language, the air blurring at his lips.

  By the time he'd finished, the four of us looked like unshaven, middle-aged men armed with machine guns.

  Finn had grown even paler. "Just try not to get too stressed. Sweating and increased heart rates affect my illusions. Good luck, guys."

  "Thanks, Magician." I hastened outside, the others following.

  Gabriel crossed to stand before me. "Empress, are you ready?"

  I was putting a ton of trust in him, an Arcana. Though I owed Lark, her betrayal had done a number on me. "Uh, ready."

  When Gabriel gripped me under my arms, Selena jerked her chin at me. "See you on the other side." She knew I was having doubts.

  The trues only worked in this fort. Once we left, Gabriel could drop me in the drink.

  For the High Priestess to drag down to the abyss.

  I could use my body vine, the one that grew from my skin, to tether myself to him, but that might screw with Finn's illusion. I would risk a dip to save Jack. I would risk anything.

  --in our own way, in our own way.--

  The Lovers' call. It was loud because of proximity, but sounded staticky. "Let's go, Gabriel!"

  Without warning, he shot into the air, making my stomach plunge. I squeezed my eyes tight, fighting not to shriek.

  "There's nothing to be frightened of," he said. "You can look now."

  I cracked open my lids. "Wh-why are we going so high?" We seemed to be a mile above the river. Up here, the winds were gale force. Were we making progress at all? Hovering in place?

  "I don't know the Priestess's reach." Another Arcana secret. "Better safe than sorry." His voice sounded strained. From the pain in his wing? What if it gave out?

  My heart was thundering. With his acute senses, he could surely hear it.

  "For all that you're the Empress, you're still a regular girl, aren't you?"

  I'd revealed a fear of heights. Had they thought me fearless before?

  I squinted against the wind, gazing back at the fort. Outside the minefield, I could make out lighter dots across black ground. The stone forest. After the Flash, men lacked cover for shootouts; instead of--oh, I don't know--not shooting at each other, they'd built rock trees.

  Gabriel followed my gaze. "From up on high, I see things that can't be random--shapes, designs, clues--all the time."

  I blinked again. From here, those white stacks kind of looked like stars in an inky sky.

  "Empress, I have the senses of both angel and animal, and I recognize the gods' return."

  "Um, okay?" Cult crazy, cult crazy, I'm about to die.

  "No matter what happens, I want you to know that I dearly wish you could end this game."

  What happens? Did he mean, like, any second now? I should've bound us in vine!

  Just when I was sure he was about to drop me, he descended to the edge of the bluff on the other side. "You're the only Arcana fighting for a different future than the one we've been dealt."

  As we touched down, I felt guilty for doubting him.

  "I go now. For Selena." Eager much? He saluted, then took to the air once more, the backdraft of his wings whipping my poncho.

  Long moments later, he flew back with the Archer in his arms, holding her close, reluctant to let her go once they landed.

  Oblivious, Selena pushed at him to stand on her own. Gabriel cleared his throat. "I return with Quintessence." He disappeared into the murk once more.

  As Selena
and I waited, misgivings about my plan arose. "What if something goes wrong?" I tucked the end of my ponytail into my poncho hood. "What do you think the Lovers would hit back with? Would they use guns?" So far, most Arcana had spurned them.

  Selena limbered up, stretching one of her long legs. "Some say the Lovers throw poison darts like Cupid himself. And wouldn't that be adorable?" she added in a disgusted tone. "But I'd expect guns, considering their army."

  Poison didn't affect me, and a bullet wouldn't kill me. Not so for the others. Was I leading them to their deaths? I'd gotten used to being a leader, telling people what needed to be done. Still hadn't gotten used to the responsibility.

  "But check this, Evie--my arrow's already in flight. So I don't give a shit what the Duke and Duchess Most Perverse are packing. If you told me the twins could vaporize archers with their eyes, I'd still try to save J.D."

  Oddly, that made me feel better, as if she'd pep-talked me.

  When Gabriel returned with a wide-eyed Tess, he said, "Allow me to detect Jack's scent and get a lay of the land. It might take a few moments with these winds."

  As we waited, the World Card bit her fingernails and tapped one of her boots. To everyone else, she'd appear to be a two-hundred-pound soldier with a nervous disorder.

  Selena slapped the girl's hand. "At ease, Quintessence."

  "You could stay here," I told Tess. "Keep watch or something."

  "She goes where I go," Gabriel said. "And I've got the scent. Ladies, shall we rescue the hunter?"

  8

  The camp was like a ghost town. No soldiers roamed the grounds as we navigated our way through a maze of tents and lean-tos.

  One large tent had light spilling from it, and male voices carried from within.

  A middle-aged woman shuffled around a nearby cooking fire, ladling food into bowls. Her ankles were hobbled, her feet bare on the freezing ground.

  A slave. Under General Milovnici's orders, this army abducted females, "involuntary recruits."

  My nails lengthened, turning into purple thorn claws.

  Selena must've noticed my tension. "Don't even think about it. Stay focused on J.D. Once we free him, we'll worry about these prisoners."

  With difficulty, I turned away from the woman.

  Gabriel inhaled short bursts of air. "I scent Jack just around the corner of the ridge ahead. He's in a tent that's off by itself, a boon for us."

  Selena's gaze swept the area. "Can you tell how many guards?"

  "I think about twenty or so."