by Linsey Hall
Something connected us, something almost tangible. I could feel my link to him. Like a rope bound us together. I clung to it, focusing on him instead of the past, and he did the same.
It had never been so apparent that we were stronger together than apart.
Our magical skills complemented each other. We fought well together. But it was this…this ability to be an anchor in the storm for the other… That was the true strength of our relationship. We might have known each other only a short time, but it was so obvious. So obvious that it scared me.
He was the one for me. Forever. Like Cade for Bree, and Lachlan for Ana. Maximus was my one.
Did that mean I loved him?
I blinked.
It probably did. I’d never loved a guy before. I had no idea what it felt like. But I liked how this felt.
Now wasn’t the time to say it, though.
We were nearly to the island, and we had a lot in front of us before there would be any time for a real date, much less expressions of love or questions about the future.
I shivered at the idea and thrust the thought away.
I kept my gaze glued on the shore, focusing on the task ahead. “We're almost there."
Maximus turned to look behind him as he rowed. He steered us toward a flat part of the beach that was nestled between two large rocks. When the boat beached itself on the shore, he jumped out and dragged the thing onto the sand. Once it stopped, I climbed out. As soon as I departed, the boat folded in on itself until it was a tiny dragon scale once more. I picked it up and put it in my pocket.
I turned, tilting my head to catch the rustle of the trees. Unlike the forest we had just left, these trees had leaves. They looked alive, and there were animals in these woods. I could sense them, could hear their heartbeats and the pad of their paws on the ground.
"Let's go." I started away from the beach, headed toward the forest.
We made our way quickly between the trees. None of the animals bothered us, but a few of them stopped to look, peeking little heads out of their dens and peering around tree trunks.
As I walked, I shifted uncomfortably. The energy from the prison trees was still bursting inside me, and I didn’t love it.
When we came upon the clearing, I spotted the little house immediately. It was a cottage, something hand-built hundreds of years ago. Two thin wisps of smoke escaped from the chimney, but not enough to be from a full fire.
“Twenty bucks he's in there," Maximus said.
"I hope you're right." Because it looked pretty empty to me. Not a single light in the window, and the nearly dead fire weren’t good signs.
We approached the door and stopped on the doorstep.
An intensely strong scent of rotten something wafted toward me. I wrinkled my nose, looking down at the ground, toward where the scent seemed to come from. A fluffy bush sat at the doorstep, reeking profusely.
"Ugh, Wither Wort.” I pinched my nose. "It always reeks so badly, but it’s so useful in potions."
Maximus’s jaw was tight as he knocked on the door. We waited. My heart began to pound as the silence went on.
"There was a fire in the hearth. Do you think he's gone?" Maximus asked.
I tilted my head, listening. “No. I feel like I can hear his heartbeat." I strained my ears, using my new power. Yes, that was definitely a heartbeat. "He's in there."
Maximus reached for the door handle and slowly twisted. He pushed the door open, and stale air rushed out. It carried the faint scent of the fire, but mostly dust and neglect.
I darted in front of Maximus, stepping into the darkened space. Fiery red embers sat in the hearth, recently extinguished. The room was small and dimly lit by the fire with a little kitchen on one side. It wasn't much more than a table and some bowls. On the other side was a ratty old dining set. A bed lined the back wall. A figure lay on top of it.
A very still figure.
He looked like he wasn’t even breathing, but I’d heard a heartbeat.
I crept toward the bed, silent as a mouse. As I neared the man, I realized that he looked so old, he might as well be a mummy. There was no fat on him, no muscle. He was made of papery skin and bones, and he lay so still that it looked like he'd been entombed here.
I couldn’t even see his chest move.
My heart thundered. Oh fates, had our lead just died?
4
Maximus looked at me. "Something's wrong.”
I bent over the body of the too-still man and pressed my fingertips to Tiresias’s slender neck. I waited, breathless.
Finally, I heard the faintest heartbeat. Even weaker than before, since I had to get this close to hear it. I looked up "He's alive. Barely."
I laid my hand upon the man's bony chest. He lay beneath a very thin blanket. Was he ill? Had someone been caring for him and left? Because he looked so bad, I would've sworn he was dead.
I focused on the life force that I felt within him, using my most useful and most hated tool. It was faint, so faint that I didn't think he'd be able to rouse himself.
What he needed was more energy.
Jackpot.
I had so much energy from the trees I'd killed to save Daphne and Lotus that I was desperate to get rid of. It swelled within me, still straining at my insides, seeming to make my skin feel tight.
"I'm going to try something." I began to push my magic into the man, giving him the energy that I’d taken. At first nothing happened, but then I felt it. The energy was draining from me and going into him. A grin stretched across my face. I couldn't help it.
Now this was cool. I was like a vessel for the magical energy, able to pass it from one thing to the other if I didn’t want to use it for myself.
"Are you doing what I think you’re doing?" Maximus leaned closer.
"I think I am, and it's awesome." This was a rare magical skill, and I couldn't believe that I now had it. It seemed that the power of Hades was developing within me, just like Artemis’s power. In a sense, I was able to give life.
Beneath my hand, the man's chest began to swell. It felt like muscles and fat were developing on top of his bones. The signs of life that had disappeared from his body were coming back.
Color returned to his face, and his cheeks filled out. His hair started to look fuller. It gleamed in the very dim light of the fire’s embers.
I was definitely bringing this guy back to life.
Heck yeah.
Once I'd given him all the magic I’d taken from the trees, he looked like he was just sleeping. No longer dead, just resting.
I shook him gently. "Hey, Tiresias. Wake up."
He didn't move. I shook him again.
Nothing.
I looked at Maximus. "Can you go get some of that smelly plant from outside? I think he needs something to really rouse him."
Maximus nodded. "On it."
He only needed a minute to retrieve the plant, and I took the rustic version of smelling salts from him. I waved the leaves beneath Tiresias's nose. At first, nothing happened. Then he gasped coughed, and sputtered. He sat upright, eyes wide and unseeing.
"Who's there?" he demanded.
"I'm Rowan. Can't you see me?"
"No. I'm blind, you daft fool.”
"Oh, is that…normal?"
"Normal ever since that bastard Zeus took my sight.” His blind eyes searched the room. "Someone else is here. Who is it?"
“I’m Maximus. We’re here to ask you some questions."
"Of course you’re here to ask me questions. I’m the world-famous seer, aren't I?”
"Does that mean you’ll answer our questions?" I asked hopefully.
"Depends on what you give me."
"I brought you back to life tonight."
"I wasn't dead. I was just resting."
"It looked like a very deep sleep," Maximus said.
"Well, I'm 3000 years old. Of course it was a deep sleep."
There was something weird about the way this guy slept, if he started to loo
k dead every time he did it. But that wasn't the question I wanted to ask him. I wasn't going to waste them. These seers could be tricky, and I didn't want to lose any of my chances.
"What do you want?"
Tiresias frowned. "I don't know. I have everything I want."
"How about the world? You can play a role in saving it." Maximus leaned forward. "The Titans have escaped. Three of them. We’re trying to put them back, but we need to know where they are. We need to know where the Stryx are, too. Do you know anything about this?"
Tiresias scowled. “The Stryx, you say?"
"You know them?" I gripped his arm. "Please, tell me anything you know.”
"Who said I know anything about that?"
"Don't play coy. You clearly know who they are."
"Fine, I hate those witches. They’re evil. I'm no saint myself, but they're evil incarnate.”
"Then you can help us," I said.
"I suppose I can. But first, tell me who your people are."
"My people?"
"Yes, your people. I need to know who I'm working with. I need to know I can trust you, and the best way to know somebody is to know who they associate with."
Fair enough. “I’m a student at the Undercover Protectorate Academy. My purpose there is to help the world. To protect it. To protect everyone.”
"I'm not sure they deserve it." Tiresias frowned. "After you see the things I've seen, for thousands of years…Well, I'm just not sure."
"I know. There are some bastards out there. But a lot of people are good. And those are the ones I’m trying to help. Can you imagine the damage the Titans would do?"
He nodded. "Yes. In my visions, I've seen them returning to earth. They'll destroy everything good just by existing. Their black magic will pollute the world and suck all the good away."
“Not to mention whatever the Stryx have planned for them,” I added.
He nodded, then turned his blind gaze to Maximus. "And who are your people?”
“I was once a gladiator in Rome, but now I work freelance for the Order of the Magica and the Undercover Protectorate. "
“Oh, another do-gooder, are you?"
"I don't know about that." Maximus shrugged. "I just know I don't want to be an asshole."
"Well, saving the world will help you avoid that fate." He turned to me. "You, girl. You said you work at the Undercover Protectorate like this man here. Well, I'd like access to the libraries. For a full day?”
"Yes, I can arrange that."
"Do it now. I want to hear that you have permission." His wrinkled face twisted with suspicion.
It was nice to have the resources of the Protectorate behind me, that was for sure. I pressed my fingertips to my comms charm and called Bree. It didn’t take long for her to find Florian and gain permission from the night librarian.
Satisfied, Tiresias nodded, and I cut the connection.
“Can you help us now?” I asked.
“I can.” Tiresias led us out of the little cottage, his steps surprisingly spry for such an old man. Then again, he wasn't just any old man. Immortal Greek seers played by different rules. He also had all that energy I’d given him.
The clearing was quiet, with the moon overhead shining a bright light that illuminated the trees. Tiresias went to the center of the clearing, where the remains of a fire lay cold and black. There was a small pile of fresh wood next to it, and Tiresias began to build a fire. It didn't take him long, and soon the crackling warmth lit up the night.
Maximus and I joined him, looking down at the flickering flames.
Tiresias looked up at us, somehow able to easily find us despite his blindness. In fact, his lack of vision didn't seem to slow him down at all.
"You say that you want to know where the Stryx are located?”
“Yes." I nodded.
"Then I will need to borrow your eyes."
My jaw slackened. "My eyes?”
"What precisely do you mean by that?" Maximus asked.
“My two primary strengths as a seer are augury and seeing prophecy in the flames. Both of those skills require eyes."
“Augury?” I asked.
“Reading the future in the movement of birds. You can see how I’d need your eyes for that.” He chuckled, possibly at the bad pun.
I raised a hand to my face, touching the corner of my eye. "Would you need to keep them for long? Will it hurt? Can you even put them back in?" My stomach turned. I was willing to do a lot for this cause. Anything, really. Even this. But it sounded downright awful.
Maximus stepped forward. “I’ll do it."
Tiresias smiled. "Slow down now. I need her sight. She’s connected to the Stryx, so it will make my vision clearer.”
I swallowed hard and nodded. “What do I need to do?”
“First, we will sit.” He lowered himself to the ground and crossed his legs.
I sat next to him, with Maximus on my other side.
Tiresias held out his hand, and I took it, wincing at the cold of his flesh. He turned his blind gaze to meet mine. “This will be temporary, but unpleasant. I won’t be taking your actual eyes, but your ability to see.”
I really hoped he was telling the truth.
“Okay. Do it.” My voice was firm, at least.
Magic sparked around our joined hands, pale blue and bright. Under the glow of the moon, it looked like fairy lights. I could feel the animals in the forest around us, their heartbeats echoing in my ears and their footsteps growing louder as they moved closer to watch.
The blue glow traveled up my arm, and my heart began to pound. It was getting closer to my eyes. Soon, it was up toward my neck. The glow was bright, nearly blinding. I clenched my jaw, determined not to make a sound.
Maximus gripped my other hand, and I clung to him. I didn’t want to rely on his support, but I wasn’t strong enough to resist it.
The light glowed brighter and brighter around my body, until finally, my vision went dark.
I swallowed hard. “It’s working.”
“Excellent.” I could hear the grin in Tiresias’s voice.
Oh, fates.
I really hoped I hadn’t been taken for a ride. Would he just get up and run off with my vision? I couldn’t even properly race after him. I’d seen blind people accomplish incredible things. But that took practice. And right now, I was floundering as the world went dark beyond my eyes.
“Is it working?” I asked. “Can you see?”
“I can.”
“You are fearless,” Tiresias said. “Most would not give up their sight.”
“A worthy cause.” I’d seen worse things and kept going. I wasn’t going to be held back. Not after so long in captivity.
“He’s moving his hands over the fire,” Maximus narrated. “Red magic is flowing from his palms into the flames.”
“Thank you.” I squeezed his hand.
Maximus continued to narrate as Tiresias made the flames dance. I felt the flicker of heat, and slowly my hearing seemed to become even better. When Tiresias shifted next to me, I felt like I could imagine exactly how he moved.
Even so, I felt my lack of sight keenly. Anxiety crawled across my skin as I waited for answers. All around, I could hear the animals as they sat at the edge of the clearing. Their feet shifted on the leaves, their hearts pounded, their fur rustled.
How many were there? Were any dangerous?
I so wanted to see them.
But I could feel them, at least. A connection that I couldn’t deny. It was stronger than it had ever been. Even stronger than when I’d been with Artemis.
“The flames are flickering higher,” Maximus said. “Twelve feet. Fourteen. The smoke is curling and black.”
Oh, how I wish I could see.
The connection with the animals strengthened. Rabbits, foxes, wolves. I could feel them as if they were one with me. As if their hearts beat alongside my own. As if their breaths flowed with mine and their muscles moved as mine moved.
I blinked
blindly.
What the heck is happening?
Because something was definitely happening. I could feel the magic between the animals and me.
My heart began to race, thudding violently in my chest. My breath heaved, and I tightened my grip on Maximus’s hand.
“What is it?” he whispered, clearly able to feel my distress.
“I don’t know.” Then my soul left my body.
Or something.
It was impossible to describe. But one moment, my consciousness was within my own head. Then, in the next, I was joined to something new. Something feral.
I blinked, suddenly able to see.
My vision was strange at first. Colors looked different. I was lower to the ground. And damned if I wasn’t looking at myself.
I could see myself sitting on the ground between Maximus and Tiresias, the light of the tall fire glowing red upon our faces.
Holy fates!
What was I?
I looked down, spotting big furry paws. They were gray, with long, sharp claws. I turned around and looked behind me, spotting a gray tail. The world smelled different, too. Earthier. And my thoughts were slower.
Don’t stress out. Romeo’s voice sounded from beside me.
I looked over, spotting the little racoon, along with Eloise and Poppy. The badger and possum stared at me with big eyes.
You’re joined with the wolf. Romeo grinned toothily. I can sense you in there.
I tried to speak, but couldn’t. This had better be temporary.
Romeo patted my leg. You’ll be fine. Just don’t eat us, okay?
I shook my head, since it was the only way I could communicate, then turned back to the fire. My body looked fine, at least. I was sitting upright and still breathing. Still holding on to Maximus’s hand. That had to be a good sign. Because as cool as this power was, I didn’t want to be a wolf forever.
I wanted to give a little yip and tell Maximus I was here, but I didn’t dare interrupt Tiresias. Now that I could see, it was obvious that he was working hard. I didn’t want to distract him from controlling the flames.
The fire flickered tall and bright, rising almost thirty feet in the air as a narrow column. Bright reds and oranges danced in the night, lighting up the trees that surrounded the clearing.