Unwanted

by Mari LaRoche

  A shot cracked and snow kicked up where Viv had been a moment before.

  “They’re herding us,” Nia hissed as they reached the door. Donal, carrying Amir, was right behind them. Viv bounced off the door, made of heavy wood.

  “Let us in!”

  The door swung open, accompanied by an irritated voice. "No, dammit, woman!"

  Viv ignored the low gravelly voice and rushed inside anyway. Nia followed on her heels, Donal a breath behind. A wide room with sparse mission style furniture met Viv’s gaze.

  “Down!” A man crouched, half hidden by the door, a slender Asian woman at his side.

  Donal duck walked to the wall, falling to his knees and laying Amir down. The door slammed shut again.

  A dark-skinned blond man knelt by an open window, a rifle at his shoulder. As Viv watched, he squeezed off a shot. Three other rifles leaned against the wall next to him.

  Without breaking stride, Nia grabbed a rifle and clips of ammunition and settled at the opposite window, breaking the glass out using the butt of the rifle.

  The smell of blood mingled with the strong odor of unicorns.

  Viv glanced from Amir to Donal. A patch of blood stained his jeans on his right thigh, spreading slowly.

  “It’s nothing.” Donal remained crouched, maneuvering to put himself between Viv and Amir and the two by the door.

  The Asian woman stared back, then dropped her gaze to Amir, a worried expression creasing her brows. The man beside her strongly resembled the man at the window save for jet black hair rather than blond.

  “Why are people shooting at you?” Vivian asked.

  “Stupid, too. Why did you let them in, Zhi?” The pale haired unicorn glared at Viv for a second before returning his attention to the window. "I forgot how much your kind stinks."

  The Asian woman sighed. "Where I come from, dragons are good luck creatures. Nor are any of them ill intended, unlike those currently in the woods shooting at us."

  Her voice was low and musical, with an inner core of strength, like silk over steel.

  "Do you have a first aid kit? My friend was hit." Donal had shifted Amir, and his hand came back stained with blood.

  The woman, Zhi, nodded. She blurred, and then was at Donal’s side, the large metal case in her hands.

  Nia and the unicorn at the window ducked as bullets flew.

  “They’re moving something closer; that’s covering fire.” Nia reloaded the rifle

  "It’s unicorn hunting season. Your kin found us." The blond at the window fired again, and a faint scream echoed. “The illusion they’re using is too damn good to get an accurate shot on them.”

  "They’re talking, can anyone make out what they’re saying?" Nia asked, ducking more bullets.

  Ears ringing, Vivian strained to make out the conversation in the woods.

  Zhi’s delicate fingers took Amir’s pulse. “Xavier, he’s dying."

  Viv shivered, the words distracting her. Amir needed help, soon, and neither of the unicorns seemed likely to give it. Despair niggled at her.

  The dark-haired unicorn pulled a knife from a sheath at his waist, moving with deliberation. “I’m Cyril. I can guess why you're here."

  “Don’t even think about healing him!” snapped the shooter.

  “Xavier. I’m an adult,” Cyril responded. His eyes met Viv’s, a deep green like leaves at dusk.

  Tears, of exhaustion and reaction, swelled into Vivian's eyes. They burned as she pushed them back. "Yes. What do I need to do for you, so that you’ll heal him?" Vivian spoke fast, hand trembling on Amir’s shoulder.

  "There's absolutely nothing that you can do to make it worth our while," snapped Xavier.

  The sound of engines nearing shattered the quiet in between exchanges of gunfire.

  "I can hear them bringing reinforcements." Donal put pressure on his wound, using a bandage Zhi gave him.

  "Yes, we’re not deaf. That’s why they’ve pinned us, they probably plan on setting fire to the house, so we run out into their waiting arms. I don't want to do a heroic charge into bullets, either. So we stay here until we get options."

  “Protect us.” Cyril cut his forearm. Using his other hand, he dabbed Amir’s forehead, then began working his way down.

  Viv closed her eyes to focus on her hearing.

  “Won’t that bring the house down?”

  “They’ll survive. And that’s all the mission requires.”

  Goblin voices, arguing.

  “A rocket will more likely kill them!”

  “Then oops. Set it up, Charlie.” The low voice was firm.

  Viv’s eyes snapped wide. “Open the door!”

  If you change, we’ll probably be merged. And you’ll be submerged Viv…there has to be another option.

  Nia glanced over her shoulder at Vivian. “Why?”

  “Rocket launcher. I need to get out before they’re set up so I can draw their fire.” Viv touched Amir's cheek. "If I don't come back from this, I love you." Her voice broke on the words.

  Merging was worth it if they were safe, and the unicorn had already started healing Amir.

  At the door, she took a long steadying breath, already pulling energy into herself. When she felt full, Vivian bolted out the door, calling the dragon shape.

  She screamed as several bullets hit her abdomen and chest. Caught mid-change, they didn't kill her, but they hurt beyond anything she’d ever experienced. The change flared through her, and the remaining pain was enough that her hoarse bellow of rage flattened trees.

  The backblast and the missile that hit her hurt, flinging her back and over the house. Straightening her wings, she stopped the uncontrolled flight, but her ribs hurt. It was the first time a weapon had ever hurt her in dragon form, and anger welled from deep within.

  She gained altitude to make it easier to see where they hid. Illusion affected her less in dragon form, and she spotted ten crouched under cover, still arrayed around the house. Bodies sprawled, testament to the unicorn and Nia’s skill.

  She overflew them. Their fear smelled delicious. Muscle memory directed her first strike at the nearest of the attackers, a male goblin.

  He tried to run as she pounced, teeth clashing. His hot blood poured over her tongue, sweet and rich, as she bit down. He convulsed, then went limp.

  She spat the body out and scanned for the next. Nia and the unicorn were firing on the band as she flushed them out, willing to take their chances against bullets rather than her teeth and claws.

  Disappointing. Where was the courage of the dragonslayers of old?

  One goblin zigged when he should have zagged. Her claws, long and sharp, ripped through his armor and she gutted him.

  Chewing corpses was fun. She sniffed, then drew back. He smelled off, and memories of drugs or poison rose. Three on her flank took advantage of the cover her bulk offered from gunfire and slashed at her with their blades. Swords against her hide were like thorns scratching her, annoying and a tinge of pain. She retaliated with talons as long as their swords, careful not to injure them too much. Playing with them was fun.

  What am I doing?

  While daoine sidhe were incredibly fast, she was faster. She was the cat, them the mice.

  Two dark grey sports utility vehicles roared into view where the trees parted, still distant from the clearing. Probably planning to try to ram her. She spat on them. The thick glob wasn’t saliva, but an acidic and corrosive substance that clung to whatever it touched. Far away as they were, hissing filled the air as it ate into the vehicles.

  Doors opened to a chorus of curses as the passengers tried not to get it on them. People thought of dragonbreath as fire, but this was far more effective.

  20

  One of those bailing was Brigit, loose hair bright as a flame against dark leather armor of a familiar color and texture. The same was what currently encased Vivian.

  “Yes, she’s wearing armor made from our skin.” Ušum’s presence was close enough to touch.

 
; Viv’s haunches bunched and she leaped into the air, spreading her wings, to close the distance faster.

  She had a bone to pick with Brigit. Perhaps by picking the daoine sidhe’s bones.

  Again, the thought both attracted and repelled Viv, memories pressing on her of tastes she didn’t want to remember.

  “I’m sorry. I’m not a nice person.” Ušum sounded tired. “I wanted us to be separate, and it looks like it’s not going to happen. Dragonform pushes us together faster.”

  “The alternative was being burned in the house.”

  “I know; I wish it had been different. Let’s kill her before we merge so you can enjoy it too.”

  Viv swooped, shattering trees as she swiped at Brigit, who’d made a stand near a rocky outcropping. It guarded her back, a wise move.

  Brigit countered, scoring a hit along the side of Viv’s forelimb. The sword, made of crystal, actually split through the scaly armor, and laid the wound open to air.

  It hurt.

  Viv roared.

  Brigit smiled, still in readied stance.

  More firearms sounded as the other daoine sidhe and Donal, Nia, and the unicorn exchanged fire.

  Viv’s wings snapped as the soothing cold of her magic rushed over her to comfort her. The fire that ignited in her belly burned cold as well. Memories of other fights crowded close, and she let them guide her as she circled out of reach.

  "You die today, wyrm" Brigit called smugly. "This blade can kill you. You suck at fighting."

  Memories of pain clawed their way along Viv’s nerves, of Brigit directing the skinning long ago. The anger lowered her already basso voice. "The bones of other hunters argue with you."

  She spat at Brigit, who dodged out of the way and threw a knife. A pinprick, but it burned.

  “Dragonsbane. You are so screwed now; it’ll slow you down even more.”

  Viv lashed out, catching Brigit with the edge of a claw, and slamming her into the rocks. Another pinprick and that hand started numbing.

  “Should I just shoot her?” Nia asked, a distance away.

  “Do it and my mother will hunt you down!” Brigit snapped.

  “Viv needs to do this,” said Donal solemnly.

  “No, no I don’t! Shoot her, please!” The world wobbled around Vivian as she back-winged toward them.

  Bridgit darted for cover as a single shot ran out. Red blossomed on her forehead, under the front edge of her helm, a miraculous hit. She fell to the ground.

  Nia was as good a shot as she thought she was, apparently.

  Viv landed and wobbled down to human form. The wounds showed black against her tanned skin, and Ušum was a close presence.

  Memories of Donal, face alight with emotion, of Amir, laughing as she splashed water at him.

  The cascade of memories wound around her like a persistent cat.

  A familiar scent cleared her mind for a moment. Amir, healthy.

  He came out, supported by the Zhi. He shook off her hands and ran for Vivian. “I’m sorry!”

  Viv smiled at him, brushed her finger against his lips, then let herself collapse to hands and knees as the weight of memory grew too heavy to stand under.

  Vision faded to gray, splashed with all the vivid colors of sunsets and ocean deeps, of fights and lovers, all of them nibbling at her core self.

  “Stay stubborn,” Ušum said. “Maybe we can beat this and preserve at least a part of you.”

  Strong arms embraced Vivian, Ušum bracing her against the chaos and surge of the memories.

  Familiar voices, words floating around her.

  "Mage." Amir’s anguished voice.

  Amir lived, that was what mattered.

  21

  "Vivian! Viv!" Floating in grayness, her mind unravelling, Amir’s voice roused her. Full of pain, desperation, and love, it woke an answering flicker in her breast.

  Pinned under the weight of millennia of memory, Vivian struggled to assemble her thoughts. The emotions that answered Amir’s call lightened the weight.

  She drew a difficult breath, remembering her body.

  "Good. There's some of you left." Ušum's rich voice was full to the brim with relief. She sat cross-legged by Vivian, her expression worn and sad. Naked, her long hair fell about her, the thick abundance of it concealing her body.

  With effort, Viv sat up. She glanced down at herself—she could see the textured rock beneath her, through her. She was like a hologram. Wearing clothes.

  “I’m a ghost?”

  “And it’s an improvement from a little while ago. You have form and consciousness again. Something pulled us back apart and settled us here.”

  Fear and wary gladness sent a cold chill down Viv’s spine. She liked Ušum, but she’d spent most of her life as the single occupant in her skull. On the other hand, she seemed to be the personality that was submerged…To distract herself, she asked “Why are you naked? You had clothes in my head.”

  Grim laughter spread across Ušum’s face. “I’ve been sad and worried, and I grew up in a clothing optional place. I can manifest some if it bothers you.”

  “Please, it’s weird otherwise.”

  Vivian politely turned away and surveyed the place where they sat.

  The green expanse of a garden met her wondering eyes. Neat plots were spread out around them, each carefully pruned and tended bed separated from the next by thin paths of laid stone. Viv and Ušum sat on a square yard of sandstone, its color leached by time to dull red, surrounded by chamomile and mint. Thyme overgrew the cracks separating the stones of the walkway. They sat in the center of an herb garden laid out in a Celtic version of a traditional shield knot. That symbol repeated over and over across cultures; she didn’t need anyone’s memories but her own to recognize it.

  She inhaled the scents, fresh and clean and sweet. The subtle curves of the beds and the gentle power that radiated from the symbol drawn by the placement of living plants and stone whispered of protection.

  Beyond the edges of the garden, trees flourished, almost screening the enclosing stone walls, each type carefully cultivated- yew and alder did not normally thrive near each other. Alder liked wet, and yew emphatically did not. Side by side, how did the gardener avoid giving the yew wet feet? Oak, elder…even ash. Tended lovingly, all of them were nearly perfect specimens.

  Squinting, Viv focused on the wall of the garden. Made of several kinds of sedimentary stone, the veins of color in the rocks blended harmoniously. The craftsmanship was exquisite, smoothed by rain and time. This garden had stood for a long, long time. One of the plants in the clump of slow growing yew stood taller than she did.

  Viv frowned. She’d been more interested in rocks than plants, but she could identify each at a glance. As well as the magic associated with them.

  Ušum’s memories. The thought brought nervousness back front and center.

  "Will it last?" Despite her efforts, Viv’s voice cracked with worry. To occupy her hands and stem rising panic, she leaned forward. The scent of thyme rose in the air as she plucked a small sprig.

  Vivian turned to harvest a few daisy-like chamomile flowers, crushing them between her fingers and inhaling their light scent. The interaction with the world calmed her; she wasn’t a ghost yet. Even if the world was only in her mind. Irrational, but emotions often were.

  "I'm not entirely sure." Ušum patted the ground. She now wore a red sundress, thin strapped and light enough that her every movement made it dance around her. "Stop playing with the magic plants. Maybe Donal and Amir came up with something. You did mention it more than once, and Amir said he knew a mage. A mage would be needed to separate us and make a refuge like this. Since I’m showing in this place as a separate person from you, they must have found a mage soon enough."

  “Where are we? We’re not in my head?”

  “No. We’re in a pocket of magical energy, molded to look like a garden. I’d heard mages could do that; they’re called sanctums. They exist a little to the side of reality, not a part of
any dominion, but still real.”

  "Vivian!" The place echoed with the call, fraught with anguish.

  Ušum grimaced. "That's what love gets you. Lots and lots of pain. I saw pain in Donal; I've seen it in so many men… I don't know why you all bother with it."

  Shaking her head, Vivian glanced at her. "Because it's worth it. And I think you wanted it. You're just a coward. I didn’t really come back until I heard him."

  Ušum shrugged. "Possibly. It might be love, it might be that names have power, it might be both. You’ve rubbed off on me enough that it sounds like love might be worth it, at least at first."

  Viv focused on the plants and pulled off a few sprigs of rosemary. The sharp piney scent filled the air, pleasant but potent. Out of nowhere, as she sought some form of comfort. Nuby came to mind. She wanted to find Fate and recover Bast. She had so much left to do!

  Tears pricked at her eyes, hot and angry.

  A breeze ruffled the plants, coming from behind them.

  As the plants swayed, a male voice commented, "Interesting."

  Vivian jumped and she and Ušum twisted to look at the speaker.

  He was an older man, his braided dark hair liberally streaked with white, his close-trimmed beard entirely white. Bright blue eyes sparkled, a color eerily like lightning. An aquiline nose balanced a strong jawline. He wore an age softened T-shirt with a picture of a dragon rolling dice and faded jeans tucked into scuffed combat boots. He was very lean, the muscles in his arms prominent despite his age.

  "Amir wasn't joking when he said that this would be an interesting problem." He nodded to Ušum. "You…aren't like anything I've seen before. A construct of memory and knowledge, but with the mind and will of a living being. Magic doesn’t do that, that I’ve ever seen." He switched his gaze to Vivian. "And you are the person who lived and grew in the body that's currently stretched out on Xavier’s couch.

  “Who are you?” Ušum’s tone held a predatory interest; Viv wasn’t entirely sure if it was solely sexual.

  “Alonzo, at your service. Others have already agreed to pay my fee, so all we need to do is solve this puzzle.” His smile was surprisingly sweet, but the thought of Amir paying for this bothered Vivian.