Natasha was no longer able to concentrate on her lessons with Maylan; her mind was constantly on Lucy. She contacted Fox regularly, but he had no news for her. She could feel herself falling into a depression and was glad that she had her father and aunt with her for support. She was getting to know them well and a good relationship was developing.
One morning, a week after they had received the devastating news about Lucy, Maylan walked into the dining room, waving a piece of paper. “I have finally heard from Jamit,” she said. “He’s back home and thinks he can help.”
“He has the cure for Lucy?” Natasha asked. She was not as excited as Maylan; she couldn’t let herself be. If she got her hopes up and then had them dashed, she didn’t know how she would cope.
“He’s not sure yet, but he thinks so. He will have a look and get back to me later today.”
“What if he doesn’t?” Natasha could not stop herself from asking.
Nobody spoke. They didn’t want to think about that possibility.
Breakfast was abandoned. None of them felt like eating any longer. Natasha’s lesson for the morning was also cancelled. Nobody could concentrate on anything as they waited for news from Yong.
A few hours later it arrived. The piece of paper that materialised on the arm of the chair Maylan was sitting in gave both good news and not so good. Jamit had found what he was looking for and had all of the ingredients he needed to make the cure, except one. He needed Joonie’s blood. Or, to be more precise, the potion which would cure Lucy required a small amount of Joonie’s blood, or that of a blood relative. The spell which turned zantrane into a poison involved the use of the magic-user’s blood. As a result, it was also needed for the cure.
Jamit had not been informed that Natasha was Joonie’s daughter, so was afraid that he would have to try to locate Joonie or find a way to get a sample of Maylan’s blood to Yong. As Maylan was not able to travel through a ‘door’, he didn’t think her blood would be able to either.
“It looks like you are going to Yong after all,” Maylan said to Natasha. “I will inform Jamit that someone will be along to see him soon and will provide what he needs.”
“The only ‘door’ still open isn’t close,” Natasha said. “It will take hours to reach it. Then how will I get to Jamit?”
“You don’t need to go to that ‘door’,” Maylan said and winked. “It’s time for your next lesson.”
Since being banished to Earth, Maylan had found a way to create her own ‘door’, in the hope of being able to use it. As far as she was aware, no other witch or wizard knew how to do this and she had hoped to keep it that way as it could prove to be a very dangerous spell in the wrong hands. Under the circumstances, however, she was more than willing to teach Natasha.
It was a simple enough spell and Natasha was able to soon memorise it. The words did not have to be said loudly and Natasha promised to whisper them whenever she was not alone so that nobody else would hear what she said.
The spell itself was not difficult. The hard part was having to draw the shape of a door in the speaker’s own blood. Without that part, the spell was just meaningless words. It took a while before Natasha managed to find the courage to slice her thumb with a knife in order to draw blood and, had it not been for the fact that she was doing it for Lucy, she didn’t think she would ever have managed it.
Thankfully she and Maylan had stockpiled plenty of the healing potion so Natasha was not bleeding for long.
“That’s why that was the first thing I taught you,” Maylan said when Natasha commented.
Once Natasha had mastered the ‘door’ creation spell, she was eager to go to Yong, but Maylan said there was one more thing she needed to learn. The spell she had been taught would create a ‘door’ which would disappear as soon as the creator had passed through. There was a slight variation that Natasha needed to learn which would leave the ‘door’ open until she deactivated it. This was in case she wanted others to follow her. Natasha had no idea why she would need to know this, but agreed to learn it anyway.
Once she was competent in both spells, she packed a bag with a few changes of clothes and a supply of the healing potion. Jamit had not indicated how long it would take to make the potion that would save Lucy so Natasha might have to stay on Yong for a few days. Before leaving Earth, she slipped a penknife into her pocket; she would need it if she wanted to create more ‘doors’.
“Be careful,” her father said to her as he hugged her goodbye. “I wish I could come with you, but I can’t risk Joonie sensing me being back on Yong. Taking me would put you in too much danger.”
“I know,” Natasha said. “Look after Lucy for me. I’ll be back before you know it.”
She then turned to Maylan. “Any words of advice?”
“Trust no-one. Stay with Jamit until the potion is ready then come straight home.” She hugged her tight. “Good luck.”
Natasha was surprised to find she had tears in her eyes and quickly brushed them away. Then she turned to the wall behind her from which all pictures had been removed. She took out her knife, cut her thumb and began to speak the words of the spell. With her blood, she drew the shape of a door on the wall, just large enough for her to fit through. As soon as the spell was complete, the part of the wall between the two sides of the door shape she had just drawn disappeared; there was nothing but blackness where the wall should have been.
Natasha turned to Maylan. “This has been tested, right? I mean, I know you haven’t been able to use this to get to Yong, but other witches have, haven’t they?”
“Of course,” Maylan said. Natasha wasn’t sure she believed her.
She was shaking as she turned back to the ‘door’. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, thought about Jamit and stepped through it.
Her feet touched solid ground and her eyes shot open. She was in the front room of a cottage. There was a fire burning in the fireplace and a man sitting on a sofa, staring into the flames.
“Are you Jamit?” she asked and he jumped from the sofa.
“Who in the Creator’s name are you and how did you get here?”
Natasha looked him up and down. He was a small, thin man with a long beard and bushy eyebrows. He was frowning at her and did not look friendly. Then again, he had no idea who she was and she had just materialised in his house. She could understand the hostility he appeared to be feeling.
“My name is Natasha. Maylan sent me. I’m her niece, Joonie’s daughter.”
Jamit’s eyes widened. “Joonie has a daughter? I always thought she had a son.”
“She lied.”
Jamit looked at her closely, taking hold of her chin and moving her head from side to side. “I can see a bit of your mother in you,” he said, “but you take after your father more.” Apparently satisfied that she was who she claimed to be, he released her and said, “Come with me.”
He led her to the back of the house where he had a workroom set up. There was a large glass beaker containing a clear liquid on a stand. It was bubbling away but Natasha could see no evidence of a heat source.
“Invisible flames,” he said when he saw where she was looking. “They burn hotter than normal ones. Give me your hand.”
She did so without thinking. It hadn’t occurred to her that he would take her blood without warning and she cried out when he slashed her palm. He held her bleeding hand over the beaker and counted as ten drops of blood fell into the liquid, which turned a dark shade of purple. Without speaking, he handed Natasha a vial of liquid and told her to drink it. Recognising the colour, she did so and her hand started to heal.
Jamit pointed to the potion he was making. “When this turns clear once more, it will be ready.”
“How long will that take?” Natasha asked.
Jamit shrugged. “Five, six hours. Maybe more. Come. I will make you some tea.”
Jamit led Natasha to the kitchen and asked about her while he made the hot drinks. He wanted to know everything about her and how
she had ended up on Earth. Maylan trusted him enough to make the potion for Lucy, so Natasha did not hesitate and told him everything.
When she had finished, he looked at her thoughtfully. “I need to ask you a favour,” he said. “Please do not feel under any obligation to say yes, as I know that what I am about to ask you may be more than you are prepared to do.”
He hesitated and Natasha indicated that he should continue. “My sister is a seer. Because of her abilities, she is being held prisoner. There are no jailers; there does not need to be. The room she is being held in is impenetrable by anyone with emotions.”
Natasha stared at him, thinking she could not have heard right. “I have a spell,” Jamit continued, “which will remove all emotions from a person. I would perform it on myself, but it would mean I would be permanently changed as I would not be able to perform the counter-spell.”
“Are you asking me to surrender all of my emotions so that I can rescue your sister?” Natasha could not believe the words she was speaking.
Jamit nodded, then he dropped his head, embarrassed that he had brought the topic up. “Please forget I said anything. It is too much to ask.”
“No, it isn’t,” Natasha heard herself saying. “If you save Lucy, it’s the least I can do.” It wasn’t until she finished speaking that she realised she meant what she said.
Jamit slowly raised his head. He could see no indication that Natasha was lying to him. “Thank you,” he said. Then he smiled.
“I was thinking about going to see a friend,” Natasha said. Maylan had said to stay with Jamit, but she was so close to Fox she couldn’t bear to not visit him. “How much time will I have?”
“Let me go and check on the potion. Based on its colour, I may be able to give you a rough idea.”
As soon as Jamit left the room, Natasha took out her communicator and contacted Fox. “Sorry Nat,” he said. “I can’t really talk now. I should be keeping quiet.”
“Where are you?” she asked.
“In the building where the central records are kept,” Fox said. “I will be here for a few more hours yet. Can I call you later?”
“Sure,” Natasha said and disconnected the call. She then sat back and waited for Jamit to provide her with an estimated timeline.
————————————-∞————————————-
Fox looked at his communicator for a moment before slipping it back into his pocket. He had just lied to Natasha. Again. Every time he did so he felt a stab of pain. Would she ever forgive him for all of his deceit? Most of it had been for her, but this time it was definitely for himself.
He returned to his room, where Soolin was sitting on the bed, completely naked, waiting for him. He had already warned Komi to stay away so there was no chance of them being disturbed.
Without saying a word, he undressed and went over to her. Taking her in his arms, he closed his eyes, pretended he was with Natasha, then kissed her.
How he always stopped himself whispering Natasha’s name as he made love to Soolin, he had no idea, but so far he had managed to keep quiet whenever he was with her.
He was getting close to finishing when he heard a gasp behind him. He turned his head and saw Natasha standing in the room beside the bed, her eyes blazing with anger. “You lying bastard,” she shouted as he stared at her in shock.
Emotionless
“Wait Nat,” Fox called out as he ran out of the room. “This isn’t what you think.” In his haste to catch up with Natasha, he didn’t realise he was still naked.
He grabbed hold of her arm to prevent her running down the stairs. “Please Nat, listen to me.”
“Who is she?” Soolin asked from the bedroom doorway.
“The woman I am in love with,” Fox said. “The woman I pretend I’m with whenever I’m with you.” He turned his attention back to Natasha. “Soolin means nothing to me, I swear.”
“Nothing?” Soolin said in a choked voice. “You said you loved me.” Tears started to fall down her face.
“I said a lot of things I didn’t mean. You were a distraction, that’s all.” Soolin walked into the bedroom and slammed the door.
Fox returned his attention to Natasha. “I’m just using her for sex, nothing more.”
Natasha tried to pull her arm away, but Fox was holding it too tightly. “I don’t care,” she said.
“What do you mean you don’t care?”
“I don’t care about you and I don’t give a damn about who you are screwing. Right now, all I care about is Lucy.”
Fox’s mouth dropped open in shock. Her words stung.
“So why are you so angry?” he asked.
“You lied to me. You said you were doing all you could to help Lucy and instead I find out you’re too busy getting your leg over to even think about helping. Tell me, have you bothered to even try to find the spell book?”
Fox said nothing. Admitting he had found the spell book would not be a good move, given the mood Natasha was in. “I could have come here,” Natasha continued. “I could have been doing the research that you promised me you were doing. But you kept assuring me you were doing all that could be done. While Lucy lay dying, you actively prevented me doing anything to save her. What sort of monster are you?”
She tried again to make him let go of her, so he tightened his grip. Natasha placed her hand on his chest and spoke one of the spells she had been taught. As though he had been punched by someone much stronger than Natasha, Fox flew through the air and hit the wall. “Don’t ever touch me again,” she said.
Turning her back on him, Natasha walked down the stairs. She wanted to get out of the house, to get as far away from him as she could. It didn’t occur to her that she could create another ‘door’.
Hearing the commotion, Bolene walked out of the lounge in time to see Natasha reach the bottom step. “How did you get here?” she asked.
Natasha had a more important question. “Did you know? Did Fox tell you that Lucy is dying? Have you been doing as little for her as Fox has?”
Bolene’s silence told her all she needed to know. Natasha turned away from her and opened the front door. Trey was there and she pulled up short before walking into him.
His look of confusion was replaced by one of joy. “You’re here,” he said. “Does that mean Lucy is okay?”
Natasha was about to snap at him, but stopped herself when she saw that he was serious. “You don’t know, do you?”
“Know what? I’ve been so busy trying to track down Joonie I’ve hardly had chance to say hello to anyone, let alone be told anything. What’s going on?”
Natasha almost didn’t tell him, but he had the right to know. “While you have been doing what you promised to do, everyone else has been doing bugger all.”
“That’s not true,” he said and glanced at Bolene, who looked away. “Tell me it isn’t true, Bo.”
“It’s true,” she said in a quiet voice. “Fox found the spell book immediately, but only someone from Joonie’s bloodline can open it. We decided not to tell anyone.”
“What?” Natasha and Trey said in unison. It was impossible to tell which was more stunned.
“Are you telling me that when I told Fox that Lucy was dying he had the means to save her and did nothing?” Bolene’s lip began to tremble as she nodded her head.
“What do you mean ‘dying’?” Trey asked. Before Natasha could say anything, he turned to Bolene. “Lucy is dying? And you knew?”
“Looks like I’m not the only one they have been lying to,” Natasha said.
At that moment, Fox stumbled down the stairs, holding his head. He could feel a lump forming where it hit the wall. “Nat, please. We have to talk about this. You have to let me explain.”
“Maylan warned me not to trust anyone,” she said. “It seems she was right.”
She turned her back on him and walked out of the door. Fox ran after her and took hold of her arm once more. This time, when she tried to free herself, he did not
hing to stop her.
The calmness in Natasha’s voice when she addressed him made him shiver. “Touch me again and I will kill you.” He thought she had finished, but then she spoke the words that broke his heart. “Ever since I found out we couldn’t be together I have wondered how I could force myself to stop loving you. You have just made it really easy.”
Unable to move, Fox watched her walk away. He couldn’t speak; he could hardly breath as he saw Trey chase after her and say he would take her wherever she wanted to go. She climbed into the vehicle Trey had been using since arriving on Yong and soon they were both out of sight.
He was still staring at the empty road when Komi and Lukine arrived. They instantly knew something was wrong. The fact that Fox was standing outside the house without any clothes on indicated that it was serious.
Soolin chose that moment to leave the house. She walked up to Fox and slapped his face. He didn’t react. He didn’t even look at her. “Stay away from me,” she said then walked over to her vehicle.
Komi didn’t speak to her; he was too concerned about Fox. He placed his hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. “You might want to put some clothes on.”
“Why?” Fox said. “Why does it matter if I’m naked? Why does anything matter anymore?”
Komi glanced at Lukine, who shrugged. He had no more idea as to what was going on than Komi did.
Between them, they managed to persuade Fox to go back into the house and get dressed. Lukine found Bolene in the lounge, crying. She was too upset to tell him what was wrong, so he just held her while she sobbed.
————————————-∞————————————-
Fox didn’t think he would want to talk about it, but once he started, he didn’t stop. They were sitting in the kitchen, drinking coffee, and Fox told them everything that had happened.
“This is my fault,” Komi said. “If I hadn’t pushed you into sleeping with Soolin, none of this would have happened.”
“No,” Fox said. “This is nothing to do with Soolin. Nat is mad at me for lying to her. She believes I betrayed her and she’s right. I should have put her needs and Lucy’s needs ahead of my own and I didn’t. She accused me of letting Lucy die and I don’t blame her.”
Fox Among the Demons Page 27