books 1 - 3

by Ella J. Smyth

  “Man, what a dump. Right, Ho’neo?”

  She turned her head towards the spirit wolf, only to remember he wasn’t here. She was by herself now. No spirit wolf, no Honi. Nobody.

  She threw her head back and took deep breaths. Her fists clenched on her thighs. It had been years since she’d felt this helpless. Ever since she’d met Honi, she’d learned to rely on his strength and support, knowing that he had her back. Sure, they’d run into difficulties like all couples, but he’d never told her to leave before.

  Her breath escaped her chest in gasping sobs. She squeezed her eyes together to stop the tears from coming, but it was no use. As quietly as she could, Adi mourned the end of her relationship with Honi. Mixed in was the fear of what she was to face by herself.

  Eventually exhaustion won out over sorrow. Adi didn’t remember drifting off, but when a loud knock sounded on her room door, it woke her out of a deep sleep. It took her a few moments to get her bearings, but then she sat up so quickly, the room swam in front of her eyes.

  Honi had followed her! He’d gotten out from under Nina’s influence and come after her. She didn’t have to face all this alone after all. Adi got up and rushed to the door. Her tears had dried, and she was sure her smile was radiant. She pulled the door open and stopped. In front of her was a gaggle of small, bedraggled animals. And behind them—Nina.

  Before Adi could react, Nina had pushed into the room. She towered over Adi, slim and confident, her silky black hair cascading down her back. She would have been beautiful, if not for the coldness emanating from her. Her black eyes reminded Adi eerily of the bearded dragon she’d seen on her way down the hill from Heota.

  “So you ran like the coward I thought you were. You actually thought you’d get away that easily? The only thing you’ve done is made it easier to get rid of you, Adi. No boyfriend, no witnesses. Thanks, sweetie.”

  34

  Honi strode back to his parents’ house as quickly as he could without breaking into a jog. As it was, people were turning around, staring at him. He wanted to glare back, to punish them for their open nosiness, but with his parents living in the community, he held himself back.

  His mom was preparing a late snack in the kitchen as he stormed past her. Her head shot up, and she called him by name. Whatever she wanted, it would have to wait. He needed to speak to Adi first.

  By the time he reached the end of the hallway, he was breathing heavily. He collected himself, knocked, then pushed open the door to her bedroom. He stopped and swallowed hard. The room was pristine—bed made, no clothes on the floor, no sign that anybody had ever been here.

  “Adi?” he whispered, then cleared his throat. He ran back towards the kitchen, his voice rising. “Adi!”

  His mom stared at him. “Why are you shouting?”

  “Mom, where is Adi?”

  Her face relaxed into a serene smile. “Adi? I haven’t seen her yet today. She should join us later, so we can get to know her better.”

  Honi turned his head towards her so quickly he was in danger of whiplash. He’d waited for his mom to welcome Adi into the family for days. He was well aware how cold everybody had been towards her, and he blamed himself for being such a coward and not standing up for her. Now she chose to be super-mom? He took a deep breath to make sure he didn’t shout at her.

  Once he was sure he had himself under control, he asked, “Mom, do you have any idea where she might have gone?”

  His mom shook her head. “Why, should I? Isn’t she in her room?”

  He couldn’t quite suppress his rising panic. His mom didn’t know where Adi had gone. She also wasn’t aware his girlfriend had taken her suitcase, all her clothes, and had vanished as if she’d never existed.

  There weren’t many ways to disappear out of Heota. Adi didn’t know anybody who would let her stay at their house. So she must have hitched a ride, or walked down to the bus-stop at the bottom of the hill. Honi grabbed his car keys and ran towards the front door. As he ripped it open, he stared into the wide, frightened eyes of Con.

  “Honi,” the teenager stammered. “I need your help, please… I had a vision. There were so many of them… Adi is in great danger!”

  35

  Adi’s eyes widened in terror. The look in Nina’s eyes promised impending doom. There was no warmth, no sympathy, only hard anger. Adi shook her head slowly as she stepped back. She wasn’t ready. She hadn’t even taken her coat off, for goodness sake. This was the single worst moment for the showdown the Queen had begged her to face.

  With a triumphant grin, Nina advanced on her, step by step, as Adi retreated. Her mind was a pit of swirling terror. What was she supposed to do? She was on her own, entirely alone. How could she possibly stand up to Nina? And if she tried, what was she supposed to do with her? Even though Adi knew the fate of the worlds depended on her, could she really kill a human being? There had to be another way.

  When the edge of the bed connected with the back of her knees, Adi sat down with a surprised yelp. Nina took another step and towered over her.

  “Did you really think you would get away so easily? I’ve worked for weeks to make sure it would be my choice of time and place when you’d finally meet your death, Adi Gutseel.”

  Adi blinked in surprise. So Nina had planned the whole thing. Not that there had been much doubt after what she’d learned from the queen, but it came as a shock to hear it from Nina herself. The tall girl laughed again.

  “You know, it was pathetic. Honi’s family was actually looking forward to meeting and welcoming you. They’d planned a special celebration in your honor. Thankfully, I found out before you arrived. By the time you got here, I was already in control. You had no idea, and Honi still doesn’t suspect.”

  Adi’s mouth dropped open. The nasty comments by Honi’s friends and family, all the snide remarks towards her—they had never been personal. Everything slotted into place. Why there had been a room prepared for her, but nobody had really acknowledged her presence in the house. Why Honi’s dad had been so friendly towards her in hospital, but then turned on her.

  Adi’s throat closed up as her temper rose. Nina had stolen the experience of being welcomed by the Fishers, of finding a new family, from her. That was unforgivable. What a nasty bitch.

  “Well, it doesn’t matter anyway. For the last year, Honi and I had sex nearly every night. He was lonely, you know that? When you went to Germany, I screwed him every night in his dreams. Bet he never told you about that, did he?”

  Adi’s eyes widened. She could feel her heartbeat pound in her temples. No, Honi had never told her that. But then again, maybe Nina was making it up. She couldn’t tell without speaking to Honi.

  “He also told me what a bad lay you were. How sick he was of your complaining. He told me how you were too weak to have your own spirit animal, and how pathetic it was that you wanted Ho’neo. In fact, he called you a scrawny-ass, whiny bitch with bad hair.”

  Adi touched her hair self-consciously before exploding. She jumped up and pushed Nina as hard as she could.

  “You’re lying! Get the hell out of here!”

  Nina didn’t expect her outburst and took a step back. When Adi tried to push again, Nina deftly sidestepped her, grabbed her wrist with one hand, her arm with the other, and before Adi knew what was happening, she found herself flat on her back. Goddammit, Nina was some kind of ninja. Adi stared up to the ceiling until the room stopped spinning. Nina stood over her, laughing.

  “That’s all you got? That was sad.”

  Adi snarled. “You complete bitch. I’m going to…”

  Adi’s angry words were cut off when Nina’s foot came down hard on Adi’s neck. It hurt. It hurt like hell, even though Nina didn’t put much pressure behind it. Adi’s windpipe was crushed by Nina’s foot, and for a second Adi was afraid her fight was ending here. She tried to choke out a word, but couldn’t get it out. Her fingers scrabbled at Nina’s ankle, trying to dislodge her.

  Then Adi remembered she ha
d other powers she could use. She wasn’t exactly helpless. She willed her body to relax and went boneless. Surprised, Nina lost her balance and moved her foot away. Adi inhaled deeply and and gathered her psychic power. She dug deep into her mind and pulled the threads of her spirit-walking energy up into her fingers. She bundled them into a white-hot ball, opened her eyes, and flung it with everything she had at the raven-haired girl in front of her.

  Nina caught the ball of energy between her hands as if it were nothing. She played with it, pulling it in this direction, then that, like warm taffy. Eventually, she grabbed the ball on both sides and pulled hard until it puffed away into nothing. She tilted her head to the side and smirked at Adi.

  “I thought you were this big bad spirit walker who was destined to save the world. Looks like you aren’t as good as you think you are. Once I’ve gotten rid of you, everybody will be under my control. Whoever rules the spirit animals, rules the people. There’s nobody who can stand up against me. And your precious queen is dying. I can feel it. Soon the energy drain will be complete, and her powers will be mine. Nothing can stop me now. Not in this world or in the faerie world. I’ll be the ruler and immortal.”

  Adi stared at her, numb with shock. She had used all the power at her disposal. She had nothing else. Nina kept her eyes on her and whistled. Adi’s head spun towards the door, terrified of what might come next. For a second or two, there was nothing. Then a dragging noise, slow and ponderous, announced something coming. Something moved at ground level. Adi’s head turned, and she watched in horror as a huge reptile dragged itself on short stubby legs across the threshold into the motel room.

  Adi had never seen a live Gila monster, but recognized it from pictures. It was far larger than normal, as long as a grown man, and covered in tiny bumps. Black and golden with a huge round snout and black reptilian eyes. Its tongue flickered in and out, scenting her. Nina clicked her fingers and pointed at Adi.

  That galvanized her into action. She pushed herself up on her elbows, and scrambled back on her butt to get away from the massive spirit animal. It hissed loudly, and with a speed that belied the bulk of the reptile, it launched itself at Adi. Before she could pull out of reach, its huge purple-gummed maw clamped down on her forearm.

  Adi stared at it in total disbelief. Then the pain registered. Where the animal had pierced the skin, pain pulsed in shrill waves across her skin. As she watched, the giant mouth moved left and right, up and down, grinding its teeth into her flesh, her muscles, down to the bone.

  Adi began to screech, shrill howls of unbearable torture. Her entire body convulsed as she tried to pull her arm out of the monster’s reach. Red-hot agony radiated from the bite area. It seemed to go on forever, minutes, hours, days. Eventually her voice broke and only hoarse groans left her throat. Nina spoke again.

  “Don’t worry, the poison won’t kill you. But isn’t it painful? Gila monsters don’t have fangs like snakes. They grind the poison into your tissue. They say the pain of the bite is more painful than the poison itself. The neurotoxin will knock you out, though. You won’t be in any position to fight me now.”

  Adi’s sore throat was a minor irritation to the continuing agony in her arm. When the Gila finally let go and retreated to watch her with black eyes devoid of emotion, Adi stared at her arm. The entire length of it was mauled, bleeding, the skin destroyed. The limb had swollen to twice its normal size.

  The pain eased off a fraction now the reptile’s teeth were removed from her flesh, but the toxin would soon move through her entire body. Her arm was weak, and she couldn’t lift it. Her face felt hot and wet from tears. Adi knew she wouldn’t survive the next ten minutes. Nina straddled Adi’s upper body.

  “This is where we part company, Adi. I’m sorry, but I can’t let you live.”

  Nina grabbed behind her and pulled out a wicked-looking knife. She casually placed the sharp blade against Adi’s jugular. The coldness of the metal felt good against her feverish skin as the poison coursed through her bloodstream. Adi didn’t want to look at Nina when she took her last breath. She stared at the ceiling, her wide brown eyes blurry with tears.

  She would never see Honi again. Never get a chance to make up with him. In a few seconds, she would bleed out on this dirty motel room floor, adding her blood to all the dirt and spills that had stained the carpet beneath her. She closed her eyes, waiting for the bite of the blade through her neck, expecting to drown in her own blood in a second.

  Nina chuckled. The pressure on her skin increased. The agony of the poison had subsided to a dull pounding throughout Adi’s body, bringing the sharpness of the blade into strong focus. Nina moved her hand sideways, and Adi’s skin split under the deadly blade.

  36

  Honi stared at Con. The teenager was bent over, breathing hard, leaning against the side of the door frame. Minute tremors ran through him. He must have forced his injured leg to carry him all the way from his house to Honi’s. Honi stepped next to the young man and put his arm around his waist for support.

  “Come inside and sit down.”

  Con pulled away from him and repeated, his voice trembling with anxiety, “No, we don’t have time. I saw Adi in a vision. She was on the ground, surrounded by reptiles and weird creatures. I woke up before I saw what happened to her, but Honi…,” he took a deep breath, “…she looked like she was dead. There was blood everywhere.”

  A cold chill ran through Honi. His entire body stiffened, and he swallowed hard. He forced himself to calm down, to not shake Con until he told him everything. When Con winced, Honi loosened his grip on him. He hadn’t realized how tightly he’d grabbed the kid. He closed his eyes and breathed until he was ready to speak.

  “Where is she, Con?”

  Con shook his head. “I don’t know. She was on a carpet, like the cheap ones you’d find in motel rooms.”

  Honi considered this. It was getting late. Adi had left hours ago, but she had no car. The next motel was in Lawton. Contacting the police wasn’t an option. What was he going to tell them? “My girlfriend ran off after we had a fight, and my cousin had a vision she was in trouble?” Yes, that would go down well with the local cops.

  Con sagged against him. His face was so pale against his black hair, he looked like he’d pass out any minute.

  “Before I go looking for her, I need to get you back home,” Honi said. Con shook his head, his expression tired but stubborn.

  “I need to come with you. I don’t know why, but I do. This wasn’t an normal nightmare. It felt… different. You know how after a dream you can’t remember the images for long? Well, this is like I watched a movie. I can remember every detail, the color, the way Nina looked at her—”

  “Nina?” Honi shouted. This time, he did grab Con and shook him. “Why didn’t you tell me straight away Nina was there?”

  Con shouted back, “Let go, you’re hurting me! I only just remembered! It didn’t seem important!”

  Honi cursed but let go. “Fuck. Adi’s warned me over and over again. I didn’t want to listen. Jesus. I need to find her.”

  He whirled around and ran towards the car. As he clicked the car open, Con followed him.

  “Wait! I want to help!”

  Honi looked at Con favoring his uninjured leg, the way his small frame sagged. The young man was beyond exhausted, but the fire in his black eyes told Honi he would have his back. It sure wouldn’t hurt to have another spirit walker, even an untrained one, by his side. And maybe Con would have another vision that might help them find Adi. Honi nodded at Con to get in on the passenger side. He pretended he didn’t hear the groan of pain when Con lifted his bad leg into the car.

  A soft ‘woof’ from the backseat announced Ho’neo’s return. Honi turned around, and their eyes connected. As clearly as if the wolf had shouted it out loud, Honi mentally picked up one word from him.

  ‘Hurry!’

  Honi nodded, pointed the nose of the rental car downhill, and stepped on the gas.

  On the d
rive to Lawton, Honi stared at the road disappearing under the car like a conveyor belt. The strip of unpaved surface, each stone highlighted by the car’s powerful beams, soon changed to a black monotonous ribbon. The car rumbled softly, and Con had fallen asleep pretty much the moment he’d relaxed in the car seat. Honi prayed there were no cops around. He couldn’t afford to be pulled over.

  He slowed down as he passed Medicine Park, and again, when they reached the outskirts of Lawton. Honi spotted Nina’s beaten-up Honda only because Ho’neo pushed his wet nose against his neck and growled before staring across the road at the familiar old landmark of Herbie’s Motel.

  Honi swore softly and pulled over. There were no lights illuminating the building’s weather-beaten front, and the neon sign facing the road was turned off. He’d had assumed the motel had been closed down. On their first night here, they’d stayed in the modern new place on the other side of town. Honi shook Con. The teenager blinked sluggishly and yawned.

  “I think we found her. Do you want to wait in the car?” Honi asked.

  Con shook his head. He unbuckled himself and slowly got out. His jaw dropped as Ho’neo wiggled onto the passenger seat and followed Con outside. Honi shrugged. He didn’t have time to explain why a giant wolf was traveling with them—not when Ho’neo snarled at him to hurry up. A heavy weight settled in his stomach as they rushed along a row of identical motel doors. Ho’neo ran ahead and stopped in front of number nine. The door was slightly ajar. Honi considered knocking, but hesitated when he heard voices inside. He pushed the door open—just enough that he could look inside. His eyes widened.

  Adi was lying on the ground, her face turned towards him. It was ashen, gray, her eyes closed. For a moment, Honi was convinced that he was looking at her corpse. Con gasped inaudibly, his hand flying up to cover his mouth.

  Nina sat astride her chest, clutching a knife against her throat. Beads of blood trickled from a cut on Adi’s skin. Honi inhaled sharply. Nina’s head flew up, and she stared at him. He raised his hands as if the gesture could stop time, as if it would stop Nina slashing Adi’s throat. He was too far away, helpless to stop his girlfriend’s murder.