by DM Fike
Walking into Rafe’s bedroom, I found him not in the bed or at the table but standing to the side of the room’s single window. He peeked out the corner, trying not to disturb the stained curtains as he viewed something outside.
His body language put me on edge. “Is something wrong?”
Rafe spun around, apparently having not heard me arrive. I had no idea how he could have missed it, given how much racket I make struggling to get out of the tub.
“Ina,” he gasped. “Glad you made it tonight.”
I recognized the slight annoyance in his voice. “Sorry I missed visiting a few nights in a row. Guntram ordered us to scour the forest for an air golem.”
“Did he now?” A hint of smugness had entered into Rafe’s voice.
“He expected it, like you said he would. He’s concerned the air golem hasn’t appeared yet.” I bit my lip. “I hate leaving him chasing after things that will never appear.”
Rafe waved his hands dismissively. “Let him stew a bit. It won’t hurt him any more than them leaving you in the dark about Mt. Hood, right?”
“I suppose,” I said reluctantly. When Rafe continued to lift the curtain with his fingers, I asked, “Is something wrong?”
He scooted away from the window, tone apologetic. “Probably just my imagination, but I swear I recognize the same black SUV driving down the road.”
“Black SUVs drive on Highway 101 all the time. They’re really popular.” I did not tell him I only knew this because, after hanging around Vincent, I scanned for telltale police vehicles now.
“You’re probably right.” Rafe scooted across to the table, snatching the motel key marked with a green plastic keychain. “Let’s walk and talk, shall we?”
We headed outside. Despite looking piqued, Rafe insisted on taking a longer trek. He led us across the highway into a wooded area. I wished I had brought my boots but managed not to complain. The thin trunks of scraggly trees appeared like ghosts in the dark, made all the more sinister by the occasional set of headlights illuminating them from behind. I felt better as we pushed our way into the brush, street noises fading into a muddled swooshing behind us.
I gave Rafe a recap of Guntram and my fight with the afanc. Rafe surprised me, knowing as much about the scaled beaver vaettur as Guntram.
“You should have banished him no problem with your lightning.”
I hated how everyone seemed to think the little rodent harmless when it had knocked me out for a day. “I didn’t exactly have lightning pith to draw from. Guntram had me drain all my batteries practicing lightning before we encountered the little bugger.”
“His loss for being so short-sighted.” Rafe clicked his tongue. “You should always have lightning on hand in case you need it.”
“You sound like the forger at the homestead.” I made a face. “She’s working on a charm that can hold lightning like my other elemental charms.”
Rafe stopped in his tracks. “Really?”
I nodded. “She even made a prototype once, but it kinda blew up in my face.”
Rafe looked like I’d told him she had built a rocket ship to the moon. “She can transfer lighting pith?”
“From a battery to the charm, yes. But don’t get your hopes up, Rafe. She’s run into some real kinks with the lightning charm. I doubt she’ll get past them.”
“You must tell me if she makes further progress,” he said. “Promise.”
“Okay, promise.” I gestured for us to walk again.
We’d made it to the edge of the forest. I fully expected to turn around and head back to the motel. Rafe, however, emerged into a quaint little neighborhood of older single-story homes.
“What are you doing?” I hissed at him from the trees, staying out of the street lights.
“I’m not ready to go back yet. Munsel Lake’s not too far from here. We should head there.”
“But that’s a mile of walking through residential Florence. I have to return to the homestead soon.”
“What’s a mile to us? Fifteen extra minutes? Come, Ina.” He urged me forward. “The night is still young.”
I glanced up at the stars. Given the Big Dipper’s position, dawn was still several hours off. I also had too much nervous energy to sleep.
“Fine,” I relented.
We trotted through more streets, although I insisted on ducking under cover in undeveloped fields whenever possible. Rafe stayed close to me, his hand brushing against mine. A few months ago, I would have found such close proximity exciting. Shepherds frowned upon personal relationships with other followers of Nasci, and we didn’t mingle with normal people, which left little room for romance.
But any thought of romance instantly conjured up Vincent. I couldn’t get the stupid cop out of my head. Even though he made me angrier than all of Tabitha’s barbs put together, I couldn’t erase the memory of him leaning in close for a kiss. That’s why, when we finally reached the empty dock at the eastern end of the lake, and Rafe casually put his arm around my shoulders, I shrugged him off.
He immediately backed off. “I’m sorry,” he said curtly. I couldn’t tell if I’d offended him or not.
I forced my shoulders to relax. “Trust me, Rafe, I’m not a girl you want to get close to.”
He threw me a wistful smile. “I will be the judge of that.”
Thank God, though, he didn’t try to pull any more Casanova moves as we strolled along the lake’s edge. A cool night breeze flittered over us, sending ripples across Munsel Lake. Branches snaked out like bony fingers all around us. Most people find middle-of-the-night walks creepy, but I love them. The world appears much more at ease in the dark with all the diurnal creatures off to slumber.
And the nocturnal creatures come out. A screech owl hooted as it swept down into the canopy not far away. The pleasant skitters of deer mice crunching pine needles mingled with leaves brushing against each other. The moon shone over this quiet nightscape, gentle as a child’s night light.
I closed my eyes and breathed it all in, fresh pith tingling in my veins. All the troubles of the last few days seemed to melt away.
“You were right to go for a walk,” I told Rafe. “This is just what I needed.”
Rafe didn’t answer, although I heard him shuffle away from me.
I opened my eyes to find he had disappeared down the rocky beach, wading ankle deep in the waters to maneuver around a half-bent tree whose bough touched the water’s surface. I could barely see his legs through the foliage.
“Rafe?”
“Shush!” he commanded back.
Chagrined but on alert, I picked my way over to him. He stood shrouded in branches and shadow as I tiptoed on the stones, careful not to clink them against each other. After I skirted around the tree between us, I found him panting and staring out on the water. His hands shook, and he bent over slightly, pale and shivering.
I leaned in close to him and whispered, “Rafe, are you okay?”
“There.” He jerked his head toward the lake. “Look.”
Nothing good ever happens after someone asks you to look at something in frightened whispers, but you must obey.
Halfway across the lake, a dome of water bubbled up, amassing in size as if something below the surface contributed to its growth. It grew to twice our height before flinging out two blunt appendages. As I grabbed Rafe by the shoulder and pulled him back, it formed a clear head with glowing teal pupils. No hue would have calmed my beating heart as its face contorted into a grimace of rage.
Rafe rasped, “Water golem.”
Unfortunately, it made sense. We were only miles from Mercer where we’d fought the afanc. Still, I hadn’t mentally prepared myself for a fight, especially not on such a peaceful night.
Rafe recovered before me, hands spread out as if he could stop the water golem with his palms. This agitated the golem, who decided to hone in on us. The water golem didn’t have legs, its torso attached to the lake. It skimmed over the water toward us, propelled by a foaming wave.
Rafe’s body trembled, but his hands followed its every move.
I snapped out of my stupor. “Get back in the trees!” I shouted as I drew a triangle over waves. This allowed me to run barefoot on top of the water, putting myself between Rafe and the water golem.
I thought I heard Rafe yell something after me, but my brain didn’t register words as I faced the water golem. I yanked Rafe’s bracelet out of my hoodie pocket, grasping it in my hand as we collided.
Immersed in water and floating, everything around me pulsated with nasty vaettur pith. I tried to absorb some without the bracelet, but it burned, giving me an instant headache. Worse, a strange squeezing sensation tightened around my neck. The golem meant to suffocate or drown me, whichever came first.
I wouldn’t let either happen.
Slapping Rafe’s water charm between both of my hands as if in prayer, I focused on the golem’s energy. As the dull pain increased into a steady pounding, the water golem gargled out a scream of protest. Despite the awful stabs, though, the pressure around my neck loosened.
I was absorbing the water golem.
Unlike before, I couldn’t watch the golem vanish as I forced it into the tiny charm, but I could feel it collapse. Its thrashing energy ebbed while the wave-like motions of the bubble caved in on itself. When my head broke back into the night air, I found myself gasping, waist deep in Munsel Lake. My pithways screamed for me to let go of the bracelet even as I held on for dear life and finished the job.
By the time I’d finished draining the last vestiges of the water golem’s pith, I didn’t have enough strength to stand. I probably would have drowned if Rafe hadn’t caught me, his own arms shaking as he hauled me back to shore.
“You did it!” Rafe’s voice rang in my ears. “You cleansed the water golem!”
CHAPTER 11
WE MADE QUITE the suspicious duo as we bumbled on the sidewalk. I recovered slowly as I allowed fresh, soothing energy back into my pithways, but then I had to support a wobbling Rafe through the empty residential streets. At best, we looked like drunken idiots. At worst, drug addicts scouting for an easy score. Thankfully Florence is a sleepy town, and we didn’t run into a single person, not even near the highway, as we hobbled back to the motel.
I laid Rafe down as gently as I could on the mattress before tucking him in. Then I collapsed backward into the lumpy bedspread. At least it was better than the straw crud back at the lodge.
Once I’d caught my breath, I turned to Rafe, his pale face only inches from mine. “What happened back there?”
He cracked an eye open. “You won,” he wheezed.
That’s not what I meant. “But why do you look like it beat the snot out of you?”
Rafe closed his eyes and sank farther into the pillows. I thought he had paused to compose himself, but then his eyeballs rolled behind his eyelids. He visibly relaxed, a light snore escaping his lips.
Rafe had fallen asleep.
I stayed with him to make sure he’d be okay. I arranged blankets around his prone form, and his breathing eased into a steady rhythm. When I poked him, he rolled, so I didn’t worry he’d succumbed to something serious like a coma.
It would have to be enough. Rafe’s alarm clock told me dawn was just around the corner. I hesitated leaving the water charm full of vaettur pith with him in such a vulnerable state, but what else could I do? If I brought it back to the homestead, someone would immediately sense its presence. I placed it on the bedside table.
Then I sat in the bathtub, kembar stone shining with its inner glow. I gathered my restored water pith and drew an underwater breathing sigil. Throwing myself forward, I expected to teleport out of there.
Nothing happened at first. All I did was soak through my hoodie.
“Great,” I muttered. On top of everything else, I’d screwed up the underwater breathing sigil. I must have been really exhausted.
At least my second attempt succeeded. The underwater breathing sigil whisked me out of the motel and back to the homestead lodge.
* * *
The next few days passed in a blur of training, made all the more frustrating by my increasingly klutzy sigil work. Guntram grew frustrated as I messed up skills that I’d mastered ages ago. I could always warm up to them eventually, but it took way more effort than it should have.
Guntram also insisted on honing my earth skills by burying me alive. While he allowed me to keep my head above ground, he decided on the third day to introduce ants crawling inside the dirt mound. He believed the stimuli would hasten my progress, but it only ended with me getting ants in my shorts. As retribution, I served Guntram tea with grass clippings later that afternoon. He made me clean all of Sipho’s dirty laundry when he realized what I had done, but it was worth his green-stained mouth.
Meanwhile, Darby fared way better than me. In the evenings when Guntram holed up in the library, I discreetly watched Tabitha and Darby from a distance as they ran through various routines. Although a handful of the exercises seemed painfully pointless (does anyone really need to run three miles while casting a string of fire in her wake?), others showcased how far Darby had come. Like me, Darby could not only breathe underwater and walk through fire, but she could break through an earth prison, launch herself over fifty feet skyward and glide back down safely, and throw up a series of rapid defensive shields like a ninja. She had even mastered a few combo pith moves, like a whirlwind of water.
I secretly cheered for Darby. I couldn’t wait for her to pass her trial so she could escape her slave-driving augur.
In between the mundane days, I endured some awful nights. Every sleep brought on some nightmare. Along with the recurring fire and wind scenarios, I also dreamed of drowning in water, creating a playlist of elemental horrors for my subconsciousness.
That would have been bad enough, but each successive visit with Rafe deteriorated too. He healed physically, but emotionally he fractured. He fixated on strange things like wanting to know when Sipho would finish my lightning charm. He kept glancing out the motel window, as if looking for something. But worst of all, he hinted at some greater relationship between us.
On the fourth night, after he asked for the millionth time which shepherds were on Mt. Hood, and I told him for the millionth time I wasn’t quite sure (and in all honesty, would never tell him), I tried to get to the heart of the problem.
“Rafe,” I began slowly, as he paced the motel room. “I’m worried about you.”
Rafe paused midstride. “What do you mean?”
“You’re acting erratic, concerned about stuff that we can’t do anything about.”
“I’m fine,” he said a little too forcefully. “Just focused. I need to stay focused.”
I nodded. “Sure, let’s focus. We’ve got one last golem to go.”
Rafe fingered the three charms around his own neck, all full of golem pith. “Earth will strike soon.”
“And this time, you won’t play hero and try to absorb the golem, right? The water golem really put you through the wringer. You’re no good to anyone dead.”
Rafe’s eyes softened. “Ah, Ina,” he said, hand extending for my cheek. “You really do care about me, don’t you?”
I dodged his caress by sliding to the side. “Please,” I begged. “Not this again.”
His brow furrowed with some emotion. Irritation? Jealousy? “Is something wrong?”
Whoa. I hadn’t meant to offend him. I struggled to explain. “There’s this other guy…”
He grabbed me so hard by the shoulders that I almost fried him with fire pith. He’s lucky I had self-control as he whispered, “You have a boyfriend?”
“What? No.” I shoved him off me. “Even if I did, what’s it to you?”
Rafe shrank. “I guess I assumed we were partners in all this.”
“We’re partners with the golems,” I clarified. “Not romantic partners.”
He looked up at me through his lashes. “But we could be more.”
My face grew hot. I’
d reached my limit. “It’s getting late. I’m going.”
He knew he’d crossed the line as he trailed me into the bathroom. “I’m sorry, Ina.”
I didn’t let him off the hook. “Get it through your skull that we’re not an item, Rafe. Maybe after this whole golem thing is over, we should take a hiatus.”
Rafe paled. “But what about protecting Nasci?”
I adjusted the kembar stone in the water, letting the water pith swirl around my body. “You forget, Rafe. I’m already a shepherd. That’s what I do.”
I might as well have slapped him across the face. His eyes deadened, hard angry lines stretching across his face. “Fine,” he snapped. “Just remember to come back. We’ve still got an earth vaettur to absorb.”
I didn’t respond, drawing an underwater breathing sigil and thankfully executing it on the first try. I flashed through the portal and found myself back in the lodge pool.
I pushed aside a tinge of regret. I shouldn’t have been so harsh on Rafe, but he needed to respect boundaries. I couldn’t deal with any more of his advances.
* * *
After a night of restless anticipation over wrangling the final golem, the last thing I wanted was yet another day of training. No one told that to my augur. Guntram woke me up at his normal death hour. He watched me mumbling over my morning tea, bumping around the kitchen due to lack of sleep.
He raised an eyebrow. “Not feeling well, Ina?”
I pasted on a cheery smile. “Just sick of life, that’s all.”
Guntram didn’t even acknowledge my sarcasm. “That’s a poor attitude for a shepherd of Nasci.”
“I don’t remember optimism being a tenant of shepherd code,” I said around a swallow.
Guntram opened his mouth to reply when a muffled noise from outside caught both our attention. It grew louder until we could clearly identify it as a raven’s caw. More frantic than their standard racket, this cry held an edge of urgency that meant only one thing.
The raven had a message for Guntram.
My augur fled outside, me hot on his heels. The raven, who had been circling the lodge, swooped immediately down to land on Guntram’s shoulder. The two touched foreheads as they communicated using their kidama connection.
