Walk on Water

by September Thomas

  “Does the Harkon family ring a bell?”

  Of course it did. I leaned back, teeth clenched, and the chair squeaked.

  Fey royalty. Powerful fey royalty.

  “I thought so,” Toren said when I didn’t respond. “And this one is the youngest. Goes by Ryder. He’s a bit of a black sheep of the family, so to speak. Which works in our favor, because at last check, his family disowned him. And that family has remained staunchly loyal to the Order over the centuries.”

  “So you’re thinking they won’t come running to his aid if they get wind he’s in danger?” I asked, peering up at the television screens again. Nothing had changed.

  “Not in the least. Getting into dangerous situations seems to be right up his alley.”

  “Fine,” I said. “But do you think that someone with that amount of power is going to be ok with a unit of fifty or so troops showing up and just taking someone that you say he’s shown an interest in?”

  “He’s not stupid. When forced to face even a tiny fraction of the Order, especially within the confines of a densely populated city—even with safety measures in place—we expect him to see reason.” Toren’s tone had turned clipped and brittle.

  “If you think you can get her to surrender peacefully, I believe you. But Toren—”

  “Yes?”

  “You’re walking an incredibly fine line.”

  “You got it, boss.”

  The line went dead.

  I had to trust his instincts. Toren knew his people, he had a strong grasp on strategy. He knew what was at stake here. If he said he could contain the situation, then he could. He’d done it dozens of times before.

  With less harrowing stakes, a tiny voice whispered.

  I smoothed the sheet of paper in front of me, eyes skimming the words without really seeing them until something snagged my attention. A name. Mateo. Mateo Lopez. I frowned, eyes moving to the top of the report again. It was from the medical examiner explaining the soldier had recently died of heart failure. It had apparently gone unnoticed and undiagnosed.

  Strange, though. When I’d met him, he’d exhibited no outward signs of distress, aside from the stress of sitting next to me. And new soldiers got physicals on day one. It should have been caught then.

  I peeled a sticky note from the stack on my desk and scribbled instructions for my secretary to pull his medical files.

  Then I set the report aside and sighed at the endless river of black text that awaited.

  21

  Zara

  I woke slowly after a blissfully dream-free night.

  As consciousness rolled in, I realized I ached all over—starting with the hard tile grinding into the edge of my hip. My cheek leaned on something soft, something with a steady heartbeat. Breath tickled my ear as the being holding me close dozed. My adrenaline ratcheted up a notch until I remembered Ryder kicking in the door and pulling me into his arms.

  Sure enough, when I opened my swollen, salt-crusted eyes, I saw broken bits of door and mirror littered the floor. He’d pulled me against him, acting like I was less of a stranger he’d recently met and more of a friend, whispering nothings into my hair as I cried. We’d fallen asleep like that, surrounded by shards of debris, the harsh florescent light beating down.

  I took a moment to savor the sense of security his arms brought me, to breathe in the unique smoky-cinnamon scent that was Ryder, before I pulled away, scrubbing my scabbed hands over my face. The movement woke Ryder who peered at me through slitted eyes, a question reflected in them: Are you OK?

  Was I OK?

  Could I ever be OK again?

  I shook my head. His lips thinned but he didn’t speak.

  I nudged him from the bathroom so I could clean up, grimacing when I saw the full extent of damage we’d caused last night. It would cost a fortune to fix. The sweltering heat of the shower only made me feel mildly better. Standing hurt. The bottoms of my feet were tender where the shards of glass had sliced through the thick skin. Finn would have to help heal them and my hands later.

  Ryder must have dropped off the fresh clothes I discovered on the sink, and I pulled them on without thought. After kicking aside pieces of the bathroom to make a trail to the door, I waved at the incubus from the opening, offering use of the facilities.

  He’d looked irresistible in the dark last night, all six-foot-six of lean muscle and unabashed swagger. But the tendrils of daylight reaching through the curtains somehow made him more devastatingly handsome. A fallen angel. The light teased highlights of purple and orange in his midnight hair, and further emphasized the slashes of cheekbone riding high on his face. The single dimple I’d spotted in the club was tucked away. He glanced over at my invitation, uncurling his rangy body from where he sat on the edge of the bed, and patted the comforter next to him. I sat, leaving about a foot of space between our hips, not quite sure where things stood with us.

  “Come now, we’re well past that.” His large hand hooked around my hip, and he tugged me closer, his thumb rubbing small circles over my dark-washed jeans. “I assume it’s back to work today? Hunting down the other Gods?”

  A corner of my lips twitched. “You got it.”

  “And how are you feeling about Finn? Last night got pretty intense.”

  I plucked at the comforter. “I don’t know. I mean, I do know. I hate what he was going to do, I hate that is a part of him. But I guess I also understand that he can’t help his instincts. I can’t imagine what it’s like having an internal drive like that. I saw how you got when your instincts took over.” My arms curled around my body.

  “That’s incredibly mature of you.” Ryder’s tone was carefully neutral. “So, you feel OK working with him?”

  “I think so. I kind of have to. He’s really the only other person who knows what’s going on. And he’s operated in my best interests for the most part.” I hesitated. “But I still don’t trust him.”

  “I don’t think that’s a bad thing,” Ryder said. The tightness in my chest relaxed. “The only thing you truly have at the end of the day are your instincts. Follow them.”

  Silence filled the room.

  Then Ryder spoke again. “I didn’t think Water ever woke first.”

  I tipped my head up to scrutinize his dark gaze. Finn had filled me in on the plane, pulling out bits and pieces of religious history lessons I’d long forgotten. The First of Four to wake was always the strongest and typically regarded as the leader of the bunch. Most of the time Fire claimed that position of power. Air would also take the reins from time to time. Earth had only come First twice. Water never.

  “I suppose there’s a first time for everything.” I shrugged. Even the Kraken hadn’t understood why I’d woken First this time, but It’s pleasure at the discovery was a palpable thing.

  “I’d say we’re in for a particularly turbulent time.” Goosebumps raced across my skin. That sounded foreboding. “If the healer is needed first, something is going to go incredibly, horribly wrong.”

  My brow furrowed. Historically, Fire possessed the most destructive abilities while Water was the most serene, regarded as a supreme healer in a number of cultures. I hadn’t thought to examine the situation like Ryder was, and I wondered if the idea had crossed Finn’s mind at all.

  “OK. I’m in.” Ryder’s bright shift in tone caused me to jerk, my hand clenching on the comforter.

  “What?”

  “I’m in,” he said. “I’m coming with you. ”

  “But you… the bar—your job. Your home?” Words sputtered through my lips like a faulty sprinkler.

  “It’s all replaceable,” he said as if it were truly nothing. Maybe it was. “I’ve been around for thousands of years. Things have gotten stagnant here. Predictable. Boring. My blood burns for adventure. And pretty little you stumbling through the doors of my club was obviously the sign I was looking for. You’re stuck with me now.”

  “But we were only coming to you for help finding extra security. We weren’t asking
you to—”

  “And I don’t trust anyone else with your security, I’ve decided. You’re simply too important and far too interesting.” Ryder slapped my thigh and tingles that had nothing to do with pain raced through my muscles. He stood. “I’m going to shower since stars knows when I’ll be able to again, and I’ll meet you downstairs in a jiffy. Get going. Use those weird superpowers of yours to figure out where we’re heading next.”

  Ryder disappeared into the bathroom. The hiss of water through the shower head told me how sincere he was about all of this.

  Given Finn’s feelings toward the incubus last night, he was probably going to be pissed.

  With that, I shrugged and headed for the door. Images from last night flickered before my eyes: the monstrous horse, the trail of clothing, water sputtering from a woman’s lips as she convulsed next to the pool. To hell with Finn. Maybe that’s who he was. Maybe he could have moments of weakness, too. But if he could have moments like that, so could I. And Ryder was becoming a weakness. If he wanted to join, far be it for me to stop him.

  I opened the door and there was Finn, sitting on the floor, leaning against the frame. He’d probably stayed the night there. My heart tripped at his thoughtfulness, of not coming into the room even though it was his, too. I nudged his thigh with my foot and he blinked into wakefulness. A watchful guard he was not.

  “You have fifteen minutes to get ready. Ryder’s in there now.” I stuck my thumb out at the door. “If you’re still in this, meet me in the lobby.”

  He stared up at me with bloodshot eyes, a myriad of emotions crossing his face. And he nodded.

  Then I headed downstairs.

  Paper crinkled as I smoothed the deep creases. My head bent so low over the map my nose practically touched it. My hair fell in a curtain around me as I studied the crisscrossing blue and red lines. I pressed my palm to the page and thrust my magic into it like I had before. A point north of here pulsed silver and I circled it with a felt pen.

  I wasn’t sure why it worked this time. Maybe proximity played a role.

  The hotel manager hadn’t given me a second look when I’d requested a copy of one of the maps tucked back in a cubby behind the front lobby desk. She’d been distracted by the phone pressed to one ear as she babbled about talking to the police about vandals and the cost of window replacements. After hearing her end of the conversation, I found it difficult to look her in the eye and accepted the colorful document with mumbled thanks.

  I wished I still had my phone. Just holding the slim, rectangular box would have provided me a level of comfort. Now, though, I picked up a box of cards from the table tucked in the corner of the lobby and spun it around in my hands. It was an old habit. The box wasn’t quite as long as my phone, and the edges felt strange against the pads of my fingers, but it would do for now.

  At least I knew where we were going. I slapped the page triumphantly and leaned back. A woman at the table next to me glanced over and wrinkled her nose over her to-go cup of coffee. I bared my teeth in a feral smile, and she looked away.

  “Keep that up and your face will freeze like that,” a voice warm as molten chocolate murmured beside the sofa. I scooted over, allowing Ryder space to share the small sofa with me. He scrutinized my face again. “Much better. Any luck?” He pointed at the map in front of me.

  I snorted. “Take a look.”

  As Ryder hunched over the page, the woman looked over at me again and this time I cast her a mild smile. I couldn’t risk my face freezing after all. She frowned and turned her attention back to the newspaper in her lap. The headline written in broad letters across the top caught my attention: Evacuations in South Korea as nuclear crisis from North spreads. The subhead said something about the United States sending a navy fleet to help millions of evacuees flee the island nation, and goosebumps pimpled my skin. Nuclear war was looking less like a hypothesis and more like an eventuality.

  “So will you help us, or not?” Finn’s steely words scattered my thoughts. “We need to move.”

  Ryder cocked an eyebrow and tipped his head to the side, some of his still-damp hair flipped into his eyes. This time highlights of green and gold glittered in his locks. I clutched my hands together in my lap to resist touching its softness. The incubus stretched his long legs and slung his arms over the back of the couch, cupping my shoulder possessively. Secretly delighted, I shook off his hand, but not before Finn noticed. His eyes narrowed dangerously.

  “Something I need to know about, here?” Finn sputtered, his color rising. He tugged on a hoop pierced in the top of his ear. “Why exactly did you stay the night, Ryder? That wasn’t part of our agreement.”

  “You’re out of line,” I snarled, the rawness of his emotions only succeeded in igniting mine. “He was going to walk me to the door and leave as planned, but then we stumbled across you and your midnight snack.” I took a deep breath. “Since I was upset, he chose to stay to make sure I was OK. This,” I spun my finger in a circle around the table, “could all arguably be your fault. You should be glad he convinced me that you can’t help who you are.” Finn’s jaw ticked and I leaned back. Ryder’s chest rumbled underneath my shoulder as he tried to contain his laughter. I elbowed him in the side but it only made the shaking worse.

  Men.

  “You might have a point,” Finn ground out, sounding a lot like admitting that was the equivalent of pulling out his fingernails. “But now that it’s daylight, and you’re safe and sound, I need an answer about what we discussed last night.” His right eye twitched, trying to silently communicate something. I glared and wondered where the woman had gotten her coffee. Maybe I could use some after all.

  “I’ll be tagging along,” Ryder muttered mildly.

  “No. No way in hell are you joining us,” Finn growled.

  “Well. I am the best. And I’m the most powerful of everyone I know, with one small exception.” His shoulder butted mine playfully. “And since you are in a dire situation dealing with the Order and all, I think it’s best I throw my weight into the ring. This could be fun.”

  Fun? Dealing with the Order was fun? Nothing about any of this was fun.

  My fist balled in my lap. One minute he made me feel all relaxed and tingly, and the next I was the most violent version of myself I’d ever seen. What was up with that? I caught Ryder watching me from the corner of his eye and his body shifted subtly in anticipation of the slug. Reluctantly, I un-balled my hand. The smile that spread sensuously on his lips indicated that he knew exactly what was going through my head.

  “I may not have seen you for a few hundred years, but you broke the pact first,” Ryder continued, talking to Finn. “And you dumped a huge problem in my lap. I feel it necessary to handle this personally. Especially since she’s involved. Deal with it and move on.”

  Finn’s gaze darted between the two of us. Hundreds of years? These guys hadn’t talked in hundreds of years? At a complete loss for words, the kelpie scoured the map in front of me. He knew he was caught between one hard place and another, but we had an agenda that couldn’t be put off while he tried to work out a better argument. “Where are we going?”

  I cleared my throat and leaned over the map again, brushing strands of hair out of my eyes. “Wisconsin.” I jabbed the circle I’d drawn before. Right in the middle of the northern part of the state, right in the center of the Wakee Indian Reservation. My finger tingled when I tapped the location again.

  Finn regarded the map, one finger pressed to his lips. “You know, since you’re coming with us Ryder, you could prove yourself useful in a really big way.”

  “Not gonna happen,” Ryder drawled.

  “But you can teleport.”

  “You can teleport?” I gasped, spinning to face the incubus. “That’s a thing?”

  “Oh it’s a thing.” Ryder scratched his elbow. “But it’s not something I can do right now.”

  “Why not,” cried Finn. “You used to do it all the time—”

  “Because I’
m nowhere near full strength.” He patted his shirt, then his pants, and withdrew a stick of gum. “Because I haven’t used magic in two-thousand years. Because regardless of magic returning, it’s nowhere near where it needs to be for that kind of thing. Because if I were to try it right now, even after you supercharging me, Zara,” he chewed for a second, “I risk splicing us into tiny pieces. Some where we’re going and some left there.”

  That sounded disgusting. I shifted in my seat and I caught the woman staring at me again. Why did she keep looking over here? And why did I get the feeling she was listening to everything we were saying?

  Finn was leaning so far forward in his chair he was practically falling off, but noticed my shift in focus. Lazily, he leaned forward and twisted his body one way and then the other as he stretched. As he did, he shot a look at the corner behind him. When he faced front again his expression told me he’d seen her and had gotten a similar vibe.

  “Ok. If teleporting is out. It’s really time to go,” I said and patted Ryder’s thigh, wincing at the false cheer in my tone. Ryder eyed me in that way he had where I could see the gears grinding away in his brain but didn’t object when I stood up. Thank the gods the man could pick up on nuance. But as I grabbed my bag, the woman who’d been watching me lifted a cell phone to her ear.

  Her lips formed an unmistakable word: “Now.”

  The world stood still for a moment.

  Then it sped up. Ryder swung her way. He must have heard her and had lifted a hand to do… what, I’ll never know. Because the piercing shriek of a siren pierced the air.

  Beyond the woman, through the wide, plate glass doors that formed the front of the hotel, the street lit up, awash in blue and red flashing lights. My mind whirled with confusion, my breath freezing in my lungs. A dozen police cars blocked the road in front of the hotel, holding gawkers back, as people wearing black, uniformed armor and clutching military-style guns marched to the front of the hotel. There were maybe fifty of them, faces all obscured by helmets outfitted with shiny black visors. Their shoulders were emblazoned with red and gold patches, the symbol on them was an O with a forward slash through them.