A flash of fur streaked past him. Ho’neo barreled into Nina and knocked her away from Adi’s prone body. Nina bounced unceremoniously onto her butt, the knife flying out of her hand, barely missing a bright-green iguana. The large reptile hissed in irritation, its foot-long tail whipping to and fro. Nina’s wide, innocent eyes met Honi’s. She smiled tentatively.
"Honi! I’m so glad to see you. I came here to talk to Adi and make peace, but she attacked me with this knife. I didn’t have a choice but to knock her out. Would you help me restrain her, so she won’t try again when she wakes up?
Honi slowly shook his head as he considered the scenario in the room. He kept getting distracted, couldn’t focus. His brain felt fogged up, making it hard to think straight. Something was wrong, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. Like two sets of images overlapping, but not quite matching, the situation made no sense.
Adi had a bad temper sometimes, and he wouldn’t put it past her to physically push somebody if they annoyed her. Yet here she was, unconscious on the ground. She hadn’t moved since Honi walked through the door. He wasn’t even sure if she was breathing.
Con grabbed his arm and squeezed hard. For a moment, Honi was able to breathe and think clearly. Adi was lying here, possibly dead. Why was his mind struggling to understand this? Every time he wanted to bend down and help her, something stopped him. Something caused him to keep thinking that it was her fault, that she didn’t need his help.
He could feel the wrongness of the situation in his bones. Con had had a vision that mirrored the scene in the motel room. He’d been able to warn him because Con was a spirit walker. A spirit walker. Honi’s thoughts cleared a little. He was also a spirit walker. Goddammit. Bit by bit, his brain felt sharper. He closed his eyes, concentrating on Con’s hand on his arm, and focused. His thoughts bounced and ricocheted for a few more seconds, and then all the cloudiness disappeared.
Something pulled and prodded on the edges of his consciousness, but with his eyes closed, he ignored it. Here was the situation: Adi was in front of him, defenseless, injured. The woman he considered his oldest friend had been sitting astride her with her knife on Adi’s throat, about to kill her. That was all there was to it.
Honi opened his eyes and stared at the young woman. For the first time, he saw the real Nina. There was no innocence in her bright eyes, only corruption and hatred. When he spoke, he shocked himself with the angry growl that resonated from his throat.
“Nina. You have done this. You are responsible. I see you. You have no more power over me.”
Nina scooted back as he approached her. She lunged for the knife, grabbing it as she jumped up at the same time.
“Well done, Honi. You’re stronger than I thought. Let me give you a choice, for old times’ sake. You can either join me, or you can follow your precious Adi on to the next world.”
Honi’s heart ached. Bit by bit, he remembered the last few days. All the slights Adi had been exposed to, all the nasty things that had been said about her. He hadn’t stood up for her. He hadn’t defended her. It hadn’t been his fault, but he still blamed himself. His girl deserved much better than what he had given her since they arrived in Heota. He wasn’t going to let her down again.
“Give me that knife. It’s over. Adi needs help, and I won’t allow you to stand in the way.”
Nina laughed, a bitter and hateful sound, then she struck at him, quick as a rattler. Honi had expected the attack and pivoted on his feet to avoid the knife. He tried to hold on to Nina so he could take the weapon off her, but she was too fast. She allowed her body’s momentum to carry her past Honi, then dived low under his arms to pop up behind his back. Honi swung around, but he was too slow. A searing heat cut along his side as her knife sliced through his jacket, shirt, and skin. It was only a flesh wound, a cut that most likely didn’t even need stitches.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Ho’neo standing over Adi, gripping a monitor lizard and shaking it hard before flinging its broken body to the other side of the room. The other spirit animals backed off before moving forward again. There were too many of them, and even though Ho’neo did a great job sending them off, Honi knew he had to finish this sooner rather than later.
He feinted and attacked to the right, then grabbed Nina’s knife-arm with the other hand. Nina yelped in surprise, trying to pull away. Honi squeezed her arm hard. She dropped the knife, but at the same time, a pain so sharp that he groaned loudly, tore through his injured side. The bitch had punched the wound with her fist as hard as she could from her position.
Blackness encroached his vision, and that moment of weakness was enough for Nina to pull herself loose. Before Honi could straighten up to grab her again, she had torn through the open door into the hallway. Honi lunged for her, but it was too late. She had pushed Con out of the way, and was already a hundred yards ahead of him and racing towards her car.
He couldn’t afford to go after her. Adi was hurt. His concern for her made his knees buckle and his stomach turn. He turned towards her, holding his hand against the cut in his side. Ho’neo stood above Adi, licking her face, whining softly. There was blood on her neck, but the cut was tiny and had already stopped bleeding. The spirit animals had disappeared.
Honi dropped to his knees and felt for Adi’s pulse. His fingers were shaking so hard, for a moment he couldn’t feel her heartbeat. He shook his hand out, took a deep breath, and tried again. This time, the pulsing against his fingertips was fast and thready, but it was there. He nearly sagged with relief.
Then he looked up, and his gaze fell onto her arm. He hadn’t noticed the extent of her injury before. His eyes widened and his stomach heaved. He looked at the massive wound, the skin destroyed, Adi’s flesh looking like hamburger meat in the artificial light. The swelling had made her arm grow to twice its size. He had no idea what could have caused the damage, but she needed medical attention. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed 911. The operator promised to send an ambulance right away.
The next call was to John. He needed to know what had happened and that Nina was at large. Honi closed his eyes, one hand clasping Adi’s, the other pressing his cell phone to his ear. The phone rang and rang. Honi was about to give up when the shaman finally answered.
“John, thank God! I need your help. Can you come down to Herbie’s Motel, room nine? Yes, as quickly as possible, please. And bring your first aid kit.”
He disconnected the call, then closed his eyes and pushed as much support and love as he could towards Adi. Now it was his job to take over where she’d left off. Nina was too dangerous while Adi was out of action. He couldn’t even afford to go with his girlfriend in the ambulance. Honi had no idea what powers Nina had, but unless he dealt with her right now, she’d be going after Adi again. And next time, he might not be around to save her.
Adi never woke up, not even when the EMTs loaded her onto their gurney. Eventually, Honi pulled himself onto the bed, staring at his hands. Con’s hand was back on his arm, taking as much comfort from him as he was giving. When Honi looked up, he noticed the tear tracks on Con’s face.
“I’m sorry you got dragged into this,” he whispered hoarsely.
Con shook his head.
“I can’t believe Nina did that. I was so scared when she attacked you. And poor Adi…”
“She’ll be fine.”
Honi put his arm over Con’s narrow shoulders. He winced as the movement pulled on his wound.
“Why didn’t you tell the EMTs to look at your injury?”
Honi shrugged. “It’s not deep enough for stitches. I really didn’t want to explain why I have a knife cut in my side. It’ll be a lot easier if the cops don’t get involved, don’t you think?”
Con nodded. He didn’t seem happy, though. Honi sighed.
“Look, John will sort it out. Wouldn’t be the first time he’s patched me up, either.”
Ho’neo squatted on his other side, pushing his nose into Honi’s neck. By the time John arrived, Con h
ad fallen asleep, and Honi’s eyes were dry again.
37
John bent down and wrapped Honi into a huge hug.
“I came as quickly as I could. I also spoke to Liz at the medical center. She couldn’t tell me much other than Adi is stable and they’ve identified the poison. Looks like a Gila monster got her, although they’ve got no idea how one got into the motel room.”
Honi nodded, clinging to the older man. He was grateful for the update, but keenly aware of Nina being out there.
“Wanna tell me what happened?” John inquired gently, disentangling himself, and sitting down next to Honi. Ho’neo moved out of the way, grumbling quietly, although John couldn’t hear him. Before Honi could answer, Con blurted out, “It was Nina. She tried to cut Adi’s throat. Honi’s spirit wolf stopped her just in time.”
When John stared first at Con, then at Honi, Honi nodded. He explained what had happened, and how Nina had somehow influenced everybody in Heota, including himself. John’s face took on an angry scarlet. When Honi was finished, John’s fury was palpable.
“What. The. Hell. Why…? Where…?”
It would have been funny if Nina wasn’t still out there. John jumped up and paced up and down the room, carefully avoiding the bloodstain where Adi had lain. Eventually he calmed down enough to speak in full sentences.
“So what you’re saying is that Adi was under attack the entire time she was in Heota. That we, your family, our tribe, were manipulated into hostility towards her. A spirit walker whose life’s purpose it is to keep us all safe. How did we not notice?”
Honi couldn’t answer the last question. Adi had tried to tell him again and again, and he had blown her off. Hurt her and sent her away. It was his fault Nina had gotten hold of her. His anguish must have been visible, because John kneeled in front of him and punched him lightly.
“Stop it. I’m older and more experienced, and even I didn’t notice what Nina’d done to us. I’m far more worried that Adi is alone at the hospital. I’ll send some of my nephews to watch over her. I’ll make sure Nina won’t be able to get anywhere near her. I don’t know how long we’ll be able to keep Adi safe, though. You have to find that girl and neutralize her.”
Jesus. Neutralize her. That sounded like something the Queen might have said. Honi sat up straighter. The kernel of an idea started to form in his mind. Without Adi, he was by himself against a woman who had already proven to be stronger than either of them. He couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t fall back under her mind spell. He had no idea how she’d done it in the first place.
But what if he could lure her to the spirit world? There, he had powers he didn’t have in the human realm. Plus, with a bit of luck, Adi was there as well. They’d experienced this before last time both of them were hurt. They’d woken up in Faerie and stayed as long as their bodies were unconscious in the human world.
“Okay. I’ve got a plan. I need to travel to the other world. Will you help me?”
“Can I come?” Con piped up eagerly. Honi had to smile, but shook his head.
“You’re completely untrained. I’m not sure you’ll be able to be of much use to us in Faerie. But I’ll be defenseless once I cross over, and I don’t know how long it’ll take. I’m sure John could use your help to make sure I’m safe. Will you do that?”
Con nodded. He looked a little disappointed but when John explained that he had to look after Adi and couldn’t be in two places at once, he cheered up.
“I won’t let you down,” he said solemnly. It was time to leave. Honi and Con followed John’s SUV back to Heota.
An hour later, they walked into the shaman’s house. While Honi got comfortable in the guest room, John brewed one of his special teas. Honi wrinkled his nose at the familiar smell. It wasn’t his first experience with shamanic brews. They always tasted nasty and did weird shit. John had one he said, ‘opened your third eye,’ which wasn’t exactly part of the Mekui’te lore. The shaman had no problem dipping into other cultures when teaching Honi about his spirit-walking abilities. Wisdom was wisdom, he declared. The third eye brew had given him the worst hallucinations of his life. Plus a massive headache the next day.
He used the bathroom, then quickly changed into a pair of John’s comfortable sweatpants before slipping under the covers. When John carried the pot with the brown, evil-smelling liquid into the room, Honi nearly gagged. He forced himself to drink two large cups of the noxious brew before laying back.
The stuff was potent. Only a few minutes later, Honi’s head was swimming. Every time he blinked, it got harder to open his eyes. Con and John were talking when his lids got so heavy they stayed shut. The last thing he heard was Con’s astonished voice, “Damn, he’s gone already. That was quick.”
Blink. His eyes opened to a blindingly blue sky. The best way he’d describe it would be to imagine the most glorious day over the Wichita Mountains in winter when everything was sharp and crisp. Then add a filter that deepened the hues and made them more saturated until the blue became the best version of itself. No color like it existed in the human world.
He inhaled deeply, desperate to experience the perfect purity of Faerie air. He’d barely pulled the oxygen into his lungs when he coughed and spluttered. Purity my ass—what he’d inhaled smelled greasy and wrong. He knew the borders between the worlds were breaking down, but he hadn’t expected a lungful of rotting garbage on a dump truck in the heat of the summer!
Breathing as shallowly as possible, Honi got up and made his way towards the queen’s castle.
38
Adi had the weirdest dream. She was warm and loved, her face gently caressed with wet kisses.
“Honi, stop,” she muttered, pushing against her amorous boyfriend. When her hands connected with soft fur, her eyes flew open. Lavender-blue eyes stared straight into hers. A gorgeous furry face laughed at her surprise, a tongue flicking out from a long snout, passing over her cheeks.
“Woah,” she gasped. The large wolf moved back, giving her space to sit up. “Who are you?”
“No idea. I hoped you could tell us.”
Diarmuid’s voice sounded nearby. Adi turned around. The faerie warrior sat slightly behind her, his face exhausted.
“Why am I here?”
“Again, I don’t know. Judging by your arm, you got mauled by some nasty critter. I managed to heal the worst of it, but it’ll scar.”
Adi fell back onto the grass, huffing out a breath. She hadn’t been sleeping or meditating. But there was another way for a spirit walker to cross the barrier—when they got hurt and were unconscious.
“Shit,” she said quietly. She remembered. Nina had done this. She’d sicced some huge lizard on her and… hadn’t she been about to cut her throat? Adi’s hand flew to her neck, and she flinched. No, her throat was fine, but there was a small wound. Nina must have been interrupted. How long for was anybody’s guess. She needed to hurry up.
“Okay. I’m here now. How’s the queen?”
Diarmuid shrugged. “No better, quite a bit worse.”
He tried so hard to sound unaffected, it made Adi’s chest ache.
“Look, Diarmuid. You don’t need to act tough with me. If it were Honi, I’d be freaking out. It’s perfectly normal to be upset.”
The captain shook his head. “If I allowed myself to feel anything, I wouldn’t be able to stop. It’ll be over soon, one way or another.”
Adi nodded. She got that. He was right, too. They were running out of time. When she looked up, the strage wolf was grinning at her. She quickly checked—the animal was a girl. Cool. Adi grabbed a handful of fur and pulled herself to her feet.
Diarmuid’s eyes looked beyond her shoulder. He frowned, then smirked.
“Speaking of your human lover—there he is. Just in time. I’ll go check on the queen. You know where to find me.”
At his words, Adi turned around. She barely noticed that the warrior had excused himself. Through the front gate, Honi walked towards her, a bright grin on his face. D
amn, was she glad to see him. She waited until he was within reach, then threw her arms around his neck. He bent down and hugged her back.
“Honi! I didn’t expect you here. After what you said to me, I wasn’t sure I’d ever see you again.”
Honi lowered his head, regret washing over his features. “I wasn’t myself. I’m so sorry. Nina had us all fooled. There is no excuse for what I said to you.”
Adi shook her head vehemently. “She told me what she did. I know it wasn’t your fault. I wasn’t sure whether you’d join me here, but I’m sure glad you came. How did you do it? Are you okay?”
Honi nodded. “One of John’s brews.”
Adi grimaced. She’d heard enough about them to know they weren’t pleasant. Honi lowered his head and placed his lips over hers. He moved slowly, giving her plenty of time to push him away. She didn’t. Honi sighed contentedly, leisurely exploring her mouth. Adi reveled in his tenderness. She’d missed him so much, having him back in her arms made her forget all the nastiness she had to face. Much too soon, the white wolf barked loudly, drawing Honi’s attention.
“Who’s that?”
Adi shrugged her shoulders.
“I have no clue,” she answered honestly. “She licked my face when I woke up.”
Honi grinned before turning serious. “Okay, let’s plan. Our bodies are safe in the human world. But how do we get Nina here?”
“I don’t think that’s going to be a problem. She’ll want to finish the job as quickly as possible. I assume I’m in the hospital, right?”
Honi nodded. “John is arranging for some Lawton guys to guard your room. They all know Nina, so she won’t get past them.”
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