by Alicia Fabel
“Mitch,” Kale said.
Vera’s heart stuttered. She braced herself and peeked around Kale. Mitch laid on his back on a dining table. One side of his face was red like a sunburn and half his hair was missing. Down Mitch’s neck, the red became blistered. His shirt had been removed, showing the same blistered red down most of his chest. Two women, whose hands and forearms glowed, had wrapped Mitch’s arms to the elbows in the same cloths as the other burned woman.
“Did you do this to yourself?” asked Kale flatly.
Vera gaped at Kale. What kind of people was Kale used to dealing with to think something like that?
“How dare you,” growled one of the glow-women.
“It’s okay,” rasped Mitch to the woman. To Kale, he said, “No.”
Kale twisted to look at Vera. He wanted to know if Mitch was telling the truth. Vera nodded.
“You’re sure?” Kale asked her.
“Uh, yeah. You really thought he’d do that to himself?”
“It crossed my mind.”
The offended woman said, “Listen here, Guardian. Mitch is the reason my sister is not lying here in his place. Or dead. You can—”
“Your sister? Is she the woman over there with the burned arm?” Kale asked.
“Yes. The pan caught fire with no warning. If Mitch hadn’t acted so quickly…” The woman sniffled.
“Was anyone else nearby?” asked Kale.
“Liah,” said Mitch.
“Liah wasn’t anywhere around, Mitch,” said the woman. “I was there.”
“Liah fed chickens. Wasn’t her turn.” Mitch labored to speak clearly.
“Okay, that’s enough,” said the other woman, speaking up for the first time. “Mitch needs to heal. He’s not thinking straight through the pain. Please, Guardian.”
Mitch mumbled something, shaking his head.
“Dad?” Gage’s cheeks were red from cold when he rushed into the room.
“You’re right,” Kale told the women. “We’ll go.”
Kale turned Vera by the shoulders, nudging her to leave. Vera hesitated, eyeing Gage. The poor man. Vera wanted to help him.
“Careful,” Kale whispered mockingly into Vera’s hair. “Don’t want to make it too obvious.”
“Shut up,” Vera mumbled, blushing.
She could feel Kale laughing at her as she marched from the room without looking back a second time.
Kale stood on the bedside table, one foot braced against the far wall, trying to catch a butterfly with a basket from the wardrobe. The butterfly had been resting on the center of the bed when they’d returned to the room. Vera had oohed and aahed, seeming to forget that she was angry with Kale for steering her away from Gage. Kale had been less enthusiastic at the sight of the winged bug. They hadn’t left a window open, so it hadn’t gotten in by mistake.
“Don’t hurt it,” Vera said, tugging on Kale’s pant leg.
“I’m not going to hurt it.”
Kale swiped with the basket and missed. The butterfly flitted across the room. Kale stepped down from the bed, waiting for it to land again.
“What color is that?” Vera asked.
“Aejoh,” he answered.
“A-Joe,” Vera repeated. “It looks strange. Red and green but neither of those. Not brown either, but red and green make brown.”
“It’s not a color that exists in your realm. It’s a shade of magic.”
The insect landed on a wall. Kale inched toward it, just as the butterfly started to pump its wings. He swooped in, trapping it beneath the basket.
“Now what?” Vera asked.
“Now, you need to get dressed.” Kale wiggled the basket’s lid under the rim, careful to not lift the edge high enough for the thing to escape.
Vera lifted an uncooperative brow.
“If you get dressed, we can let the butterfly go by the stream and look for eggs to feed your overgrown chick,” Kale amended.
That made her compliant. Vera grabbed the pile of borrowed clothes and hurried into the bathroom. Kale sat on the edge of the bed with the basket on his lap. He cracked the lid. The butterfly fluttered its wings. Slowly, Kale lowered his hand into the basket and waited. Sure enough, after a couple more wing flaps, the butterfly walked onto his hand and spread its wings flat. Kale pushed the lid away and lifted the messenger out.
Kale inhaled through his nose and gently blew across the butterfly’s wings. As his breath brushed across, they sparked, igniting a flare of violet script that swept and curved across the wings. The butterfly had a message for him. Threadbearers dying. Danger Monroes. Corydalis. Moonset. The words flared only once then burned away. Kale placed the butterfly back in the basket. Now that the message was received, the butterfly would fly home once it was released.
Corydalis flowers bloomed at the edge of the Velvet Woods this time of year. It didn’t narrow down exactly where this mysterious informant wanted to meet, but Kale assumed they’d be watching for him. They’d show up wherever along the forest edge he chose. Without knowing who this person was, Kale couldn’t risk taking Vera with him. Nor could he leave her safely behind. What he wouldn’t give for one of the magicked doors from the palace to lock everyone out, but more importantly, lock her safely in. Hopefully, he’d figure out what the message meant before he had to decide what to do about it.
“Hey Kale,” Vera began as she exited the bathroom. “Why does magic here look different than the Elite’s magic?”
“You can see magic?” Kale asked with surprise.
“Yeah, I figured everyone could.”
“Nope. Add that to our list of your magical oddities.”
“Any closer to figuring out what I am?”
“Not yet,” he said. “What does magic look like to you?”
“Back at the palace, it looked like colored mist.”
“And the witches here?”
“A whitish glow. Some glow bright, others not so much. The women healing Mitch glowed up to their elbows. Only that one girl gets all glowy, like a glow-worm.”
“Which girl?” asked Kale.
“The one who ran into us downstairs before.”
“Of course. The one running away from a magical crime scene.”
“Crime scene sounds pretty serious,” Vera said.
“A fire has to feed on something, but this one barely charred anything. If it fed on magic, it would explain why there was no smoke and no damage.”
“You think someone set Mitch on fire?”
“Maybe Mitch has a secret.” Kale handed the basket to Vera. “Do me a favor and point out that glow-worm next time you see her. And be careful around Gage. He’s hiding something too.”
“That’s two favors,” Vera pointed out. “I don’t think Gage is dangerous.”
“I do.”
“I’ll take your opinion into consideration,” Vera said flippantly.
“How’d that make your head feel?” asked Kale.
“Peachy, because I wasn’t lying. I considered your opinion and decided to ignore it unless you have a real reason for not liking Gage.”
Kale was quiet, letting Vera think she’d won. He hadn’t had a chance to tell her about the exodus of Monroe men last night. And he wasn’t going to so long as the people involved were being targeted. Kale wished he knew what Mitch and Gage had been arguing about out there under the moonlight.
“Ready to find Eggbert some breakfast?” Kale asked.
“Yes.” Vera bounced excitedly on her toes. If Gage’s secret hurt her, Kale would kill the man slowly.
13
Vera peered through the duck egg Kale held up to the sun.
“See, no baby duckies,” he confirmed.
“I still feel kind of bad about stealing them.” Vera chewed her bottom lip.
“Mama duck will lay a new clutch. This nest smells like me now anyway, so they’ll be abandoned.”
“Something you knew would happen before you touched them in the first place.” Vera rolled her eyes.
<
br /> “Guilty. Are you going to release that butterfly so we have a way to carry these?” Kale picked up a second egg.
Vera pulled the lid off the basket. The butterfly was still until Vera shook the basket gently. Then it pumped its wings and lifted into the air. Wobbling on the breeze, it hovered for a minute before following the stream back toward the farm. Had the butterfly flown the other way, it would’ve headed for the lake instead. A wedge of glistening water peeked between the bluff walls at the opposite end of the pass.
“Don’t get yourself eaten by a giant chicken going that way,” Vera murmured.
“Are you talking to a butterfly?” Kale raised a brow.
“It’s no weirder than talking to you.” Vera stuck out her tongue and handed Kale the empty basket.
“Touché. Make yourself useful and find another nest. We’ll need twice this many to have enough until you wean Eggbert off eggs.”
Vera wandered down the rocky streambed, checking under shrubs and behind outcroppings as Kale had done. The smell of juniper and musty soil rose into the air as Vera used her foot to part the thick shrubs. When Vera bent to peak under a tall scraggly shrub near the sheer cliff walls, a pointy red face bared its teeth at her, growling low. Vera jumped back with a yelp and raced back down the bank. Kale had crossed to the other side of the stream. He looked up sharply.
“What happened?” Kale stepped up to the water’s edge.
“There’s a fox in that bush.” Vera scanned the bank for the ferocious animal.
“You do have terrible luck, don’t you?” Kale chuckled. “Foxes aren’t usually this far from the mountains so early in the year.”
“It’s not going to come after me, is it?”
“You probably scared it away. But maybe you should come to this side of the stream, just in case.”
“How do you suggest I do that?” Vera eyed the water, which was at least waist-deep and twice as wide as she was tall.
“It’s pretty narrow here. Jump.”
“Yeah, that’s not happening. Have you seen how short my legs are?” Vera planted her hands on her hips.
“Every time I want you to move faster,” Kale answered. “There’s a rocky ledge farther down you can use to get across.”
Vera scowled but followed the stream to the rocks Kale pointed out. There was a section of rough water with four stones peeking out of the water at uneven intervals. The one in the center was only as big as her foot.
“This is snowmelt, isn’t it?” asked Vera, the chill from the water wafting over her face.
“And we do not have an extra set of clothes,” Kale said. “So no swimming or getting naked will be involved this time.” He was laughing at her.
“Maybe I should stay over here and make friends with the fox. See how fast you get your protector-butt wet getting over here to save me when I get mauled,” Vera suggested irritably.
“You’re being absurd.”
“You’re being a dick.”
Kale turned stony, waiting impatiently for Vera to get her big-girl panties on. Trying not to think too much about how many shades of wrong things could go, Vera stepped onto the first stone. The second was a stretch, but Vera made it just fine. On the third stone—the itty-bitty one—Vera’s heart spiked while she balanced on one foot in the middle of the stream. Icy mist puffed up her pant leg. One more step and it was an easy hop to the other side, but that last rock turned out to be a problem. While the stone appeared big and solid, it was unstable. As soon as Vera put all her weight on the rock, it wobbled. Unfortunately, she’d already committed, and there was no way to get back to the tiny rock without a swim. Vera windmilled her arms, trying to regain her balance, the rock shifting beneath her feet.
Kale grabbed a fistful of Vera’s tunic and yanked her forward just as she lost the fight for balance and fell backward. He didn’t worry about being gentle either. Vera slammed into him. The hand he’d tangled into Vera’s shirt ended up pressed between them. Right up against Vera’s pounding heart. Kale’s other hand pressed into Vera’s hip where he steadied her. Neither of them moved. Vera’s face was plastered against Kale’s chest. Kale seemed to be breathing hard too. Feeling Kale’s body against hers only sped up Vera’s frigging traitor-of-a-heart. Vera’s stomach flipped. Aww, crap on a sexy cracker. Vera lurched back, and submerged her foot into ice water.
She gasped, jerking away from both Kale and the stream. Cursing the Lady up and down, Vera shook the water from her shoe. Silently, she was cursing herself. At least the wet foot gave her an excuse to not look at Kale for the moment. Holy nightmare, Vera! Admittedly, she didn’t have much experience with men, but this was a definite sign that she needed to spend some time with a man other than Kale. Before she lost her mind. Or her dignity.
“Come on.” Kale headed into a shallow alcove. “I found another nest just before you started shrieking like a banshee.”
Vera followed, gritting her teeth with each squelchy step.
“You checked them, right?” Vera asked as Kale added an egg to the basket.
Kale lifted an egg to the sun. “They’re good.”
Vera held her tongue while Kale transferred the rest of the eggs to the basket. His shoulders were tense when he stood. Without warning, Kale grabbed Vera and pressed her into a crouch, setting the basket off to the side.
“Shh.” Kale pointed down the pass.
Vera followed his finger and saw a woman picking her way along the streambed. The woman looked over her shoulder a few times and cast long glances toward the bluffs above.
“That’s the glow-worm woman,” Vera whispered. “She’s not glowing now but that’s her.”
Kale placed a hand on Vera’s lips as the woman drew closer. His leg, pressed against Vera’s, tensed.
“Stay,” Kale ordered as he rose to his feet and stepped into the woman’s path.
Glow-woman startled. She looked at Kale, and then past him toward the end of the pass. If Vera had to guess, the lady was wondering if she could outrun Kale. Vera would tell her the answer was no. The woman didn’t run so she must have realized that for herself.
“Out for a walk?” Kale asked pleasantly.
The woman did not respond.
“All right then. Care to show me your hands?” asked Kale.
“My hands are bare. I’m sure you see them well enough,” the woman replied flatly.
“Yes, I can see deception written across your fingers and curling up the backs of your hands to disappear beneath your sleeves. But what I’d like to see are the palms of your hands.”
“Why?”
The hands Kale and the woman were discussing began to glow. The glow deepened, spreading past the woman’s wrists and all the way to her neck.
“Because I’m looking for a bloodstone brand.”
The woman slowly lifted her hands, palms down. The glow intensified.
“She’s going to use her magic on you,” Vera called out, rising from her crouch.
The woman’s eyes widened with surprise at Vera’s sudden appearance. Kale quickly grabbed Vera and tucked her behind him.
“Yes, I figured she would,” Kale said tightly. “That’s why I told you to stay put.”
“Oh. Whoops.”
The woman didn’t blast them. Instead, she rotated her hands to show off unbranded palms.
“She didn’t kill Cassie,” Vera said, earning an annoyed look from Kale.
“Cassie’s dead?” the woman asked with alarm.
Kale nodded once.
The woman moaned, threaded both hands into her hair, and pulled the strands while pressing in on her head at the same time. The woman turned her back to Vera and Kale. Her glow flared as she screamed. Part of the bluff wall popped, and then crumbled with a roar to the streambed. She caused a freaking landslide by screaming. Vera stared with wide eyes while Kale tried to nudge her safely behind him once more. Startled by the noise and dust, the fox from earlier darted out of his hidey hole.
“No!” cried the woman,
spinning back toward the two of them with a wildness in her eyes. “Stop her. Don’t let her get away.”
Vera gave Kale a what-the-hell look when he swooped to pick up a stone the size of his palm. Without looking, Kale pulled back his arm and winged the stone over the landslide debris. Vera wondered what he hoped to achieve since the fox had disappeared already. A pained yelp followed, answering Vera’s unasked question. She covered her mouth with both hands. Kale had killed the fox. Blindly. With only a pebble.
“What’s your name?” Kale asked the woman, unruffled by what had just transpired.
“Liah,” The woman rubbed away her tears, leaving streaks of grime.
“Liah, I need you to answer a few questions.” Kale hadn’t flinched at the name, but Vera was sure he recognized it from Mitch’s babbling that morning.
“I did it,” Liah said simply and without prompting.
That was unexpected. And way too easy. Then again, this Liah woman was obviously nuts. Nuts enough to create an unnatural army on Earth and poison her own people.
“What did you do?” Kale asked Liah.
“I set the fire. I tried to kill Mitch.”
Also not what Vera had expected.
“Why?” Kale asked, unaffected.
“To stop him from talking to you.”
“About what?” pressed Kale.
“I cannot say. Too many lives are at risk.” Liah scratched her arm anxiously.
“Are you afraid of what I’d do if I knew?” Kale asked.
“No, you’re not the one I’m afraid of.”
Well, that can’t be good. What’s scarier than Kalesius, Terror of the World?
“Who are you afraid of?” asked Kale.
“The fox in the hen-house,” Liah replied.
“Did a fox raid the nest a few days ago?” Vera asked, finding her tongue. “Is that what happened to the chick in the hatchery?”
“No fox did that,” said Liah.
“You know who raided the nest?” asked Kale.
“Not a who. A what,” said Liah. “A what did that. A what that is not from Summartir. Not from anywhere. Not supposed to exist.”