Reapers

by Ain Soph

  It’s unrelated, but I have to know, and now, while we’re hashing out all of our problems with one another, it seems like as good of a time to ask as any. “What about your ‘missing years’ Edric? After you saw me in the fields of Timberwood, you left. There are things I don’t know about you, that even after all this time you still haven’t told me. You weren’t even planning to tell me about your mom. Don’t act like I’m the only one who’s been keeping secrets.”

  Edric looks at me with narrowed eyes. I can’t tell if he’s angry or confused. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I lived in Timberwood. Then, I joined the Dagger Corps. There are no ‘missing years’ of my life.”

  I scoff at his blatant lie. He’s going to get angry at me for talking to Dryden, but he won’t even tell me the truth about something so simple? “Mori said you up and left Timberwood a year after Lucie and I were thought to be gone. I know, Edric. And really, it’s not even that big of a deal, but you honestly feel like you have to lie about it?”

  Edric shakes his head and runs his hand through his hair. He’s just as irritated as I am. “You’re the one lying here, Luxem, trying to make up some big story so you can get the attention off of yourself and back on to me. I didn’t go anywhere. Don’t bring Mori into this. If you’re going to start making stuff up, leave innocent people out of it.”

  I look at him in disbelief, angry at both Edric and myself. He can’t tell me how to grieve or who to confide in. He doesn’t have any control over who’s able to help me move past my tragedies. I need to place my own mental health before Edric’s feelings, but at the same time, I hate myself for not being able to talk to him. I want Edric to be the person I can confide in and grieve with. I want to cry on his shoulder and let him tell me everything’s going to be okay, but I can’t do it. That’s never been the kind of relationship we have, and I don’t know how to change that. I glance toward Dryden and Artia. They’re both leaning against two trees, no longer talking. Instead, they’re just quietly taking in the scenery. Every now and then, Artia says something and Dryden nods his head, glancing in my direction. Our eyes meet and he raises his eyebrows and nods his head in Edric’s direction, asking if everything’s okay. I nod my head and turn toward Edric. There’s nothing I can tell him to make the situation better. He’s already hurt, and I can’t change how I feel. Maybe Edric and I really have drifted too far apart in the past five years. We’re both different people, and the dynamic of our friendship is different than it was when we were children. Maybe we always needed Lucie as a buffer between us. Whatever the reason, there’s something broken between Edric and I that can’t be fixed, and his attitude toward Dryden is only widening the gap between us.

  Edric sighs and leans against the building behind him, putting his hand in his pockets. The four of us had just made it to the outskirts of the Void, where the city meets the wild forest beyond. That’s as far as we made it before I could no longer handle Edric’s attitude. I’m not sure what else to say to him. The silence between us is heavy with tension, and the longer we go without finishing our conversation on a positive note, the more likely it seems that we won’t. I care about Edric more than he’ll ever know, but that’s part of the problem. Whatever new dynamic is influencing our relationship feels painful. Since meeting at the Remnant camp, the relationship’s felt tense, as though one wrong look will set the other off. It’s tiring and I don’t want to deal with it anymore. I’m finally starting to feel a semblance of the control I worked so hard to find after Lucie’s disappearance, and I want to see how far I can take it. I want to see if I can become whole again, and I wan to complete the mission. I can’t let myself become derailed by Edric.

  I shift my eyes back to Edric to see him staring at me. I raise my eyebrow in question and he bites his bottom lip, looking away for a moment before turning back to me. “You can’t just replace me, Lux. I’ve tried my hardest to be there for you, and I’m still trying. No matter what happens, I want to see this through until the end. I’m just asking you to not turn your back on me. I want to protect you. That’s my personal mission. Please, just let me do it.”

  I feel like crying. An ache is developing in my throat from trying to swallow my feelings about the situation, and I have to wonder if it wouldn’t be better to return to the numbness I felt before talking to Dryden. “You’re irreplaceable to me, Edric, and you always will be. But, I don’t know what’s happening between us. I love that you helped this entire way, and I definitely needed it. I needed someone to take the reigns for a while, and you were there, and you were incredible.” I shake my head and let my voice drop to a whisper, trusting the breeze to carry my feelings to Edric, “But, look at us. We have two more people that we’ve involved with this mission , and they’re stuck standing by a tree because we can’t leave the city without having it out between us. That’s not okay, Edric. This relationship we have works until it compromises the mission. I can’t risk that happening. Not after all this time. And, if that’s selfish, so be it, but I need to know if Lucie’s alive. Even if it’s as some hybrid Artian, I’ll take what I can get. She will always come first, even if I find out she’s dead and there’s nothing I can do to bring her back. And, Edric… I can protect myself. I’m a mercenary too, and a good one. There are parts of my story that you don’t know about. I can handle myself.”

  Edric stays silent, listening intently to everything I have to say, but after I finish, he looks into my eyes and creases his forehead. “What are you going to do if you can’t bring her back, Luxem? I may not need to protect you physically, but what about emotionally?”

  I clench my jaw and squeeze my right hand into a fist, imaging I’m grasping a blade in it. “Then, I’ll make everyone involved in Project Artian pay. There are times when I think to myself that maybe Project Artian has the potential to finally bring peace to the world, but I draw the line at loss of life. That’s too high a price to pay.”

  Edric’s eyes widen in surprise, but he doesn’t respond right away. Instead, he glances at Dryden and Artia to see them once more engaged in conversation. I briefly wonder what they’re talking about, but the thought is fleeting. My talk with Edric is taking up most of my energy at the moment, leaving me to compartmentalize everything else. First, I’ll finish with Edric, then take care of the next order of business. I’m jerked out of my thoughts by Edric’s gentle fingers running through my hair. I raise my eyebrows at him and hold my breath. Edric leans closer to me, enough that I can feel his breath tingling my face, as he whispers, “Just promise me, Luxem. Promise me that you won’t replace me. Not with him. Not with anyone.”

  I take a step back and Edric’s hand falls to his side. Leveling my gaze with his, I nod my head in response. “You’re irreplaceable, Edric. That will never happen.” Edric releases a deep breath and gives me a half smile. He’s not completely himself yet, but he’s getting there.

  “Excuse me, I’m sorry to interrupt, but we need to get on the road. Daylight is waning and our time is precious if we want to make it to Timberwood today.” Edric and I turn our heads to see Dryden standing in front of us with Artia a small ways behind him. She’s kicking a dirt pile with her foot and looking completely bored with the situation- as usual.

  “Well, I’ll be seeing you guys later then,” Artia crosses her arms and waits for our responses with a smirk. Typical Artia just trying to get a reaction.

  “I thought you were set on coming with us?” Edric asks in confusion. I’m also unsure about what changed Artia’s mind, nut I’m not going to give her the satisfaction of asking.

  Artia shrugs her shoulders and gives me a small frown before picking up the bag she set by Edric and I when we started arguing. “It may not look it, but Dryden has a lot of equipment in the back of his garage that people would just love to get their hands on if they knew he was away. I’m going to watch the stuff- doing him a teensy favor- and in return, Dryden’s going to do me a little favor.” Artia smiles at Dryden while his face remains impassive. Bef
ore I can ask about the favor Dryden promised Artia, she waves a finger in front of Edric’s and my faces. “And the favor is between Dryden and I, meaning, it’s none of your business.” Of course. Regardless, I didn’t want Artia to come with us in the first place, so if she decides on her own to remain in the Void, I have no complaints. I’m sure the favor aspect of it will make Edric even more suspicious of Dryden, though. Still, he has no complaints about Artia heading back to Dryden’s shop. She didn’t get close enough for us to feel sad at her leaving, so when Artia turns to head back to the Void, the three of us just give her a small wave before heading on our way.

  I’m the first to break the awkward silence between us by asking Dryden about the car he mentioned at breakfast. After I told Edric and Artia about our plan to head back to Timberwood and find the group of boys Lucie hung out with, Artia’s first question was how we were all going to get there. Dryden told us he has a car that he keeps hidden on the outskirts of the city in case he ever has to leave in a hurry. The four of us decided we’d use that car to drive to Timberwood. “How much farther do we have to walk before we reach the car? It should be close if it’s just on the outskirts, right?” I’m not particularly concerned about the distance, but at least it’ll give us something to talk about.

  “Not too much farther,” Dryden brusquely answers. The three of us fall back into strained silence and I sigh. If we stay like this, the car ride to Timberwood will be nothing short of miserable, and it’ll end up feeling much longer than it actually is. Dryden hold up a hand to stop us from walking and scans the area surrounding us. It’s thick with foliage and I can’t make out anything but heavy, overcrowded leaves and dark, almost burnt looking tree bark. For the Void looking as nice as it does, you’d think the area around it would match the beauty of the city. Instead, it looks more like an industrial waste land. Dryden walks over to a thick patch of trees and bushes and starts clearing everything away, slowly revealing a small, beat up vehicle. After realizing he’s uncovering the car we’ll be using for the trip, I rush over to help him. After watching me struggle with a branch, Edric joins us, making it clear he’s there to help me, not Dryden.

  “You really hid this,” I grunt. I didn’t realize there was a thorn bush hidden in the mix of leaves and branches until I poked the tip of one of my fingers on its sharp points.

  Dryden shrugs and answers between breaths, “I had to. This is a fully functional vehicle with a filled tank. If I just left it in the open or an easy to reach area, it wouldn’t even be here for a day before someone would make off with it.” I glance over at Edric, but he stays silent while he works. I know he wants to interact with Dryden as little as possible, and after our talk, I doubt he wants to cause any more conflict. Still, I wish he’d interact just a little instead of keeping to himself.

  When we finally get the car free, I wipe the sweat from my forehead and realize that, while a little dinky, the car isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Dryden hid it just under two weeks ago, so I didn’t think it was going to have that much wear and tear on it, but I’m surprised that Dryden can brush most of the dirt off with just his hands. He takes the keys out of his pocket and tosses them toward me. I quickly cup my hands, just barely catching them, and give Dryden a questioning look. “I’ve never been to Timberwood. I have no idea what roads to take. Then again, if you don’t want to drive, you can always direct me from the passenger seat.” I don’t have a problem driving Dryden’s car. I’m just surprised he’s actually allowing me.

  Before I can say anything, Edric finally speaks up, adding his own opinion into the mix, “I can drive, Lux. Hand them to me. You can sit in the passenger seat.”

  Edric reaches out to take the keys, but Dryden puts his hand on Edric’s arm to stop him. Edric pauses and harshly glares at him, willing Dryden to back off, but instead of backing down, Dryden holds Edric firmly in place. “I don’t feel comfortable with you driving my car. You’ve been a lose cannon this entire day, and I don’t trust what you’re going to do. I don’t even think you know what your next move’s going to be.”

  Edric and Dryden stare at one another for a while longer before Edric pulls the offending hand off his arm, letting his fist close around it with force. Dryden grunts in pain, but he keeps his expression neutral. My eyes widen at Edric’s strength. I can clearly see Dryden’s fingers turning a deep purple where Edric’s cutting off the circulation. It’s not a trick of the light. He’s actually hurting him- and bad. Edric leans toward Dryden’s face and growls, “Touch me again, and you’ll have to learn how to fix cars one handed.” He tosses Dryden’s hand away from him and saunters to the backseat of the car, slamming the door behind him. Dryden cradles his injured hand into his chest and glares after him, pure hatred glistening in his eyes.

  I release a deep breath I didn’t realize I was holding and walk toward Dryden to take a look at his hand. “Are you okay? I’ve never seen him like that before. He was unrecognizable. I know it probably seems like bad taste to defend him right now, but I swear to you, the Edric I know is not like that.” I shake my head and glance toward the car. Since this morning to now, Edric’s been undergoing a complete change in his personality, and it has to be from more than just petty jealousy. I’ve seen Edric jealous before. I’ve seen him angry, sad, bored, mischievous- and he’s never been downright malicious. Or violent.

  Dryden closes my hand over the keys and starts shuffling toward the passenger side of the car. “You’d better drive. I don’t know what’s happening between you and Edric, but he can’t act like that. It’s not my call whether the two of you stay partners, but if he’s going to start giving in to violent impulses, I’d seriously rethink who you’re traveling with, Luxem.” I flinch as he closes the door. Edric acted like a stranger when he threatened Dryden, and I don’t know how to keep his temper in check when I didn’t even know he had one.

  #

  The car ride is tense enough for me to count down each minute in my head. The Void and Timberwood are fairly close, and the three of us only have to last in this car for about three hours, but the ride feels unimaginably long. Dryden and Edric haven’t spoken a word since we began the drive, and I’m bored. I’m bored and stressed and I hate that I have another possible lead on the Reapers, I’m feeling more emotionally stable than I have in days, and I have to cater to the egos of my traveling companions. I want to celebrate on the way to Timberwood, not spend the car ride like this. It’s been about forty minutes of complete silence, and my head is starting to ache from the hostility surrounding me. Dryden seems like he’s just a quiet guy, so I didn’t expect him to be too talkative during the ride anyway, but again, Edric’s surprising me. I didn’t expect him to be so silent, and the attitude emanating from him is throwing me off balance. I’ve never seen this darker, more aggressive side of him, and during our travels together, Edric didn’t seem like he had a malicious nature. But, then he met Dryden and something in him snapped. He’s been behaving differently ever since the three of us teamed up. I still think his personality change is from something bigger than jealousy, though. Something is going on in his mind that he’s hiding from me, and the longer he goes without talking to me about it, the more agitated I get. Then again, this is probably how Edric felt when I opened up to Dryden and left him in the dark.

  I finally break the silence (again, it has to be me), hoping that some of the discomfort will evaporate. I want to talk to Edric about whatever is going on with him, but it’s a conversation that will have to wait for later when it’s just the two of us. He’ll never open up in front of Dryden; I don’t even know if he’ll open up in front of me. “Thank you for the car, Dryden. We used a motorbike to travel to the Void, and while that would have been fine for just Edric and I, we definitely needed something bigger for the three of us, especially since at first, we were going to be traveling with four.” I ramble on, not really paying attention to anything I’m saying while looking back and forth between Dryden and Edric. Neither of them react to me. Edric
remains pensively looking out the window and Dryden keeps his focus trained on the road in front of us.

  Finally, Dryden gives a small grunt and responds, “It’s not a problem. I’m just hoping that the drive pays off and we’ll be able to get some useful information from those boys you talked about.”

  Edric scoffs in the back seat and meets Dryden’s eyes in the rear view mirror. He fixes him with a sharp glare and hisses, “What would you even know about the guys Luxem was talking about? You came out of nowhere and put yourself into this mission. No one asked you to come along. And, we don’t know anything about you other than the fact that you were a dog to the very militia that kidnapped Luxem’s sister. You’re a threat. You’re a threat to me. You’re a threat to Luxem. You’re a threat to the very nature of this mission.” Edric’s voice raises with each word and Dryden motions for him to quiet down, making Edric even angrier. He kicks Dryden’s seat, and I slam on the breaks, bringing the car to a sudden halt. I’ve had enough of this.

  Before I can stop them, Dryden turns around to address Edric directly, “Are you trying to get a reaction from me? Do you want to fight? What is it exactly that you’re trying to start here? You’re a mercenary and I’m a mechanic. You’d win, Edric. Does it satisfy you to hear those words?” Dryden and Edric are locked in a death glare and I shift in my seat, wondering if I should still interrupt. Dryden seems like he’s maybe trying to appease Edric, but the tension is still thick, and it feels like a fight can break out at any moment. Dryden continues, his words seething and quiet, “Do you think that if you try to act like the tough guy here, she’ll finally see you as a man and feel the same way back?”