by KJ Baker
“Let her go!” I yelled. “She’s got nothing to do with this!”
Dark Hair cocked his head at me. “I should have slit your throat at the shop, mortal,” he hissed. “You have become a major irritant. I’ll enjoy watching the life drain from your eyes.”
“You will not threaten her,” Raven said, stepping in front of me, and his voice was all the more menacing for how quiet it was. “You will not even look at her.”
Dark Hair’s eyebrow rose. “I don’t understand you, Arion. You are the king of the Shadow Court! You could have your pick from a thousand beauties. Why would you choose such a frail, weak thing?” He stared at Raven for a second, his eyes narrowing. He glanced between me and Raven and back again. Then his eyes widened with sudden understanding. “I see it! It’s her, isn’t it? She’s the one!” He grinned evilly. “Oh they are just going to love this back home!”
“Shut your mouth,” Raven growled. “Let the girl go. The mortals don’t need to be involved. This is between the two of us.”
“I will let the girl go when you give me the map.”
Raven said nothing. I could tell he was assessing his options, his lines of attack and retreat, the likelihood of getting us all out of this alive. I’d learned to read him that well.
“Asha, the map.”
I slung the bag off my shoulder and took out the rolled up photographs. I hesitated only a second before handing them to Raven. If this is what it took to free Gracie, then fine. Dark Hair and the map and the freaking Orb of Tir could all go to hell as far as I was concerned. None of it mattered compared to the life of my friend. I tried to catch Gracie’s eye, but she didn’t look at me. She was staring straight ahead, her skin pale and her lips bloodless. I’d never seen my friend so scared, and the sight of it sent a pang right through me.
“It’s going to be all right, Gracie,” I told her, hoping I was telling the truth.
“Release the woman and I’ll throw you the map,” Raven growled.
Dark Hair’s eyebrows rose. “You think I’m that stupid? Give me the map and then I’ll release the mortal.”
“You think I’m that stupid? You think I’d trust the word of an Unseelie?”
“At the same time then. You toss me the map, I release the woman.”
Raven ground his teeth. “Agreed. On my count. One. Two. Three.”
He tossed the map at Dark Hair. The Unseelie Fae raised his hand to catch it, releasing Gracie, who jumped to her feet.
I saw the flicker in Raven’s eyes that told me what he was going to do. The moment the knife was removed from Gracie’s throat, he moved. In a blur he leapt at Dark Hair, hand whipping out to snatch the map from the air before Dark Hair snagged it. Realization of Raven’s ploy swept across Dark Hair’s face and his lips pulled back in a snarl, but it was too late. He was too far away to stop Raven from taking the map.
But somebody else wasn’t.
Gracie moved, but not towards me. Instead, with a shriek, she threw herself at Raven, slamming into his chest and shoving him with all her strength. All of Raven’s attention had been focussed on Dark Hair. Gracie’s unexpected attack knocked him off balance for a fraction of a second.
That was all Dark Hair needed.
He snatched the map and brandished it triumphantly. “I always said you were a fool, Arion. Too consumed by your emotions. You let them cloud your judgment. Did you really believe the girl was the victim?”
My gaze shot to Gracie and a shiver of unease went through me. “Gracie?”
She straightened, turned to face me. There was an expression on her face I’d never seen before. Her mouth was twisted with contempt as she looked me up and down. Then, very deliberately, she went to stand beside Dark Hair.
“I told you it would work,” she said, raising her eyebrow at him in a smirk.
My mouth dropped open. “Gracie?” I gasped out. “What are you doing?”
“What’s it look like?” she replied. “The same as you. Standing by my lover.”
I staggered, leaning heavily against the doorframe. Had I just heard that right? That couldn’t be Gracie talking. It couldn’t. Raven isn’t my lover, I wanted to say, but the words would not come.
Raven growled deep in his throat. “Fates curse you, Taviel. There has not been a human slave since the accord was signed. Even your fellow Unseelie will not countenance this. You have made yourself an outlaw.”
“The Unseelie will countenance whatever it takes in order to get the Orb of Tir back to the Summerlands,” Dark Hair replied. “And soon all mortals will be our slaves, so what does this one matter? I’ll just say she’s a prototype so they can see what they’re missing out on.”
I pushed away from the wall and tottered forward. “What the hell have you done to her?” I hissed at Dark Hair.
“He’s not done anything to me,” Gracie replied. “Only made me see the truth. Only made me realize where my true allegiance lies.”
“But he’s a monster!”
“Don’t you dare say that! You’ve always been jealous of me! You’ve always wanted my men for yourself!”
“Jealous? What the hell are you talking about? We’re best friends! We’ve never been jealous of each other.”
“Were best friends,” Gracie corrected. “Not anymore.” Her eyes flicked to Raven. “You’ve chosen your side and that makes you my enemy.”
I stared at her in horror. “Gracie, listen to yourself. This isn’t you talking. He’s done something to you. He’s twisted your mind, turned you against me. Please, Gracie. Come over here and we’ll leave together. We’ll find some way to fix this.”
“Fix it? Why would I want to do that? I love him. I’d do anything for him.”
And that’s when it all fell into place. Dark Hair had used his glamor on her. It was the only explanation for her behavior. Gracie wouldn’t have stood a chance.
I didn’t recognize my own voice as a howl of rage tore from my throat. I lunged at Dark Hair, a red sheet of fury obliterating my thoughts. The bastard had destroyed my friend. I would kill him for it.
Raven caught me, dragged me back. I fought him, desperately trying to reach Dark Hair, no thought in my head other than I would make him pay.
“Asha!” Raven’s voice was close by my ear. “This is not the way! It’s what he wants! Remember our mission.”
Our mission? What did I care about our god-damned mission? He’d hurt my friend!
“It seems we have two courses of action before us and which we choose is up to you,” Dark Hair said conversationally. “One: you let me and the map walk out of here and nobody else need get hurt. Or two: you insist on fighting me and risking the lives of both the mortals. Which will it be, oh mighty king?”
Raven’s chest was heaving, and I realized he was struggling to keep control. He was a warrior, a soldier, and I sensed every instinct in him straining to fight Dark Hair. But a soldier is also trained to keep civilian casualties to a minimum.
“Go,” he said softly. “But know this. I will come after you. I will find you. And when I catch you, I will make you pay for everything you’ve done since coming to the mortal realm. You will wish for the Spire to put you on the rack when I’m done with you.”
Dark Hair inclined his head. “I would expect nothing less of the King of Shadow.” He turned to Gracie who stared up at him adoringly and ran the tip of one finger down her neck. “Ah, what fun we could have had together,” he whispered. “Unfortunately, where I’m going, you’re not allowed.”
Gracie’s eyebrows furrowed. “What do you mean? I want to stay with you! I couldn’t bear to be without you!”
Dark Hair sighed dramatically. “Ah, true love does funny things to you.” His eyes fixed on Raven. “Doesn’t it, my old friend?”
Then without warning he raised his hand, muttered something in Fae, and blinked out of existence.
For a moment there was utter stillness in the room as the three of us stared at the space where Dark Hair had been.
Then Gracie let out a howl. “Where is he? Where is he?”
Her face was contorted into a mask of utter despair. The sight of it twisted my insides and made me feel oddly nauseas.
“He’s gone, Gracie.”
“No!” she wailed, tears streaming down her face. “He wouldn’t leave me! He loves me!” She collapsed to the floor on the spot where Dark Hair had been standing, burying her face in her hands and sobbing like her heart was breaking.
I took a step towards her but Raven caught my shoulders. “You can’t go near her.”
“Of course I can! She’s my friend and she’s distressed! Let me go!”
His grip only tightened. “Asha, listen to me. She’s not the person you knew. Not anymore. She’s Taviel’s slave now and she would do anything—anything—for him. Do you understand what I’m saying? There’s no way of knowing what subliminal commands he’s left in her mind—commands she’s not even aware of yet. But she’ll carry them out no matter what they are. She’s dangerous, Asha. You can’t go near her.”
I glanced to Gracie then back to Raven. “Then what do we do? We have to help her, Raven!”
His expression tightened. “She is an enemy combatant now. She must be dealt with.”
It took a second for his meaning to sink in. When it did, I ripped myself from his grip, horrified that he would even think such a thing.
“Don’t you dare! Don’t you even think about it! I don’t care what you say—she’s my friend. We have to help her. We have to! There must be something that can be done.”
“There is nothing,” he replied, his voice deadly calm. “All that she was before Taviel took her has been superseded by his glamor. She thinks only of him, his will. Since he showed up...” He trailed off.
“What?”
He glanced at Gracie, eyes narrowing. “Since he showed up...It might be possible. There might be something I can do.”
I leapt on it. “What? Whatever it is, do it. Please help her.”
“A mind wipe. I could erase her memories, take all trace of Taviel from her mind.”
“Then what are you waiting for?”
He shook his head. “It’s not that simple. There will be...consequences.”
“What sort of consequences?”
He looked at me and his lilac eyes shone with compassion. “I’m sorry, Asha.”
A jolt of fear went through me. “Sorry for what? What consequences, Raven?”
“I need to remove all memories of Taviel but some of those memories, such as what happened here tonight, contain you and me as well. In order for the wipe to work I must erase all memories of us as well. If I don’t, and she remembers either me or you, it will trigger the memories of tonight—the memories of Taviel. And then his control will reassert itself.”
I stared at him as the import of his words settled in. “Are you telling me—” I stuttered, unable to finish the sentence. I swallowed and started again. “Are you telling me that Gracie will forget me? My best friend won’t know who I am anymore?”
Raven nodded slowly. “I’m sorry, Asha.”
I had lost my shop and my livelihood. Now I was going to lose my best friend too? I didn’t realize my knees had given way until Raven caught me. He held me close, saying nothing.
Over his shoulder, my eyes settled on Gracie. She was still weeping and now she was yanking on her hair as though she wanted to rip it out of her scalp.
I pushed myself away from Raven and looked him in the eye. “If you do this, will she be herself again? Will she be able to live her normal life?”
“She will. It will be like none of this ever happened.”
As if I never happened, I thought. As if all the times we’ve cheered each other up, all the times we’ve cried on each other’s shoulder never happened.
I drew in a deep breath. “Do it.”
Raven watched me a moment longer, then nodded. Releasing me, he turned and walked towards Gracie.
“Get away from me!” she screeched at him. “It’s your fault he’s gone! It’s your fault he’s left me!”
She scrambled to her feet. Her eyes were wild, her expression one I’d never seen on my friend’s face. It was full of hatred.
“I’ll kill you!” she shrieked. She launched herself at Raven, fingers clawing for his face.
Raven caught her wrist, twisted her arm behind her back, and then clamped his free hand around her forehead. He began speaking in low, urgent tones. I didn’t understand the words—they were in Fae—but the sound of them made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.
Gracie shrieked, thrashing in his grip, but Raven held her fast. I bit my lip, fighting the urge to go running to her aid. That was not my friend. I had to remember that. Raven was trying to save her, not hurt her.
A pale white light surrounded the two of them and Gracie suddenly went still, eyes glazing over, expression going slack. Raven continued to speak in a low voice until, finally, Gracie’s eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed.
Raven caught her before she hit the floor, scooped her up, and carried her over to a chair, placing her into it gently. I hovered nervously behind him.
“It’s done?”
He straightened and nodded. “It’s done. When she wakes, she won’t remember any of this.”
Gracie’s eyelids fluttered. She gave a low moan and then opened her eyes, blinking them as if coming out of a long sleep. She looked up at Raven and me and it took a second for her eyes to focus. When they did, she frowned.
“Who the hell are you?”
The words sliced me like razors. It’s me, Gracie, I wanted to shout. It’s Ash. Your best friend.
But Raven spoke before me. “I’m Chris. This is Sadie. We live just down the hall. We came to borrow a bottle opener, remember?”
Gracie blinked, scratching her head. “You did?”
“Sure. Then you came over all faint. Are you okay?”
“Um...I think so,” Gracie said. “I just feel a little...sleepy.”
Raven nodded, giving her a kind smile. “Maybe it’s best if you go to bed. We’ll leave you to it. Come on, Sadie.”
He grabbed my shoulder and turned me towards the door. I couldn’t help glancing over my shoulder at Gracie.
“Wait!” she called suddenly.
“Yes?” I cried, hope surging in my chest. Had she remembered me after all?
“Do you want that bottle opener or not?”
The hope died. There was no recognition in her eyes as she watched me. I was a stranger to her now and always would be.
Raven waved a hand, in which a bottle opener had miraculously appeared. “Already got it. You gave it to us before you fainted, remember?”
“Oh...yeah,” Gracie said faintly. “Well, it was nice to meet you.”
Raven gave her that charming smile of his. “Yeah. You too. Good night.”
With that, he dragged me through the door, down the corridor, and out into the street. Once outside, the cold wind helped to clear my head a little, but it did nothing for the pain in my heart. Oh, Gracie.
In silence, I allowed Raven to guide me round the block to where he’d parked the car and I climbed dazedly into the passenger seat. Raven hit the gas, and we sped away. I didn’t ask where we were going. I didn’t care. I felt numb.
“Are you all right?” Raven asked, when we’d put some distance between us and the apartment block.
All right? Was he serious?
When I didn’t answer, his frown deepened and I knew he wanted to talk, but I wasn’t ready for that yet. I stared out of the window, watching as the buildings of my city sped by. I’d spent my whole life here. I knew the parks and the cafes and the restaurants. I knew the people who I passed on my run every day and those that worked in my favorite coffee shop. My old life lay just beyond the glass of the car window and yet it felt so impossibly distant, like something seen through the wrong end of a pair of binoculars.
I don’t know how long we drove, but it was dark by the time
Raven pulled the car into the parking lot of a hotel. I didn’t bother to get out, only moving when Raven opened the door and held out his hand to pull me up. I registered the expression on his face—worry—but I couldn’t bring myself to care.
I allowed him to lead me up to a room—one much more sumptuous than the motel room we’d stayed in near the museum. It was large, with a marble bathroom and views that overlooked a river. I took in these details superficially, not caring either way.
I lay down on the bed, rolled onto my side, and brought my knees up to my chest. After a moment, the bed moved as Raven sat.
“Asha?” he said, his voice soft. “Do you want to talk about it?”
I didn’t answer. The bed moved again and Raven’s chest was suddenly pressed against my back, his arm coming around to hold me close.
Something inside me broke. Sobs wracked my body. Tears streamed down my face. Raven said not a word. He just held me as I cried myself to sleep.
Chapter 12
MORNING CAME TOO SOON. I woke slowly, moving up through layers of foggy sleep until I finally became aware of a warm presence at my back. The presence made me feel unaccountably safe, despite the memories of yesterday that were clawing at the edges of my thoughts.
I blinked my eyes open. It took a moment to register the details of the hotel room around me: the large bed that I was lying on, the massive flat screen TV attached to the wall, the plush carpet covering the floor. Where was I?
Oh. Ok. I remembered, even though I would rather forget. Images of Dark Hair, of Gracie, of everything that had happened yesterday, flashed through my head. Oh, Gracie. My stomach twisted with anguish, pain squeezing my heart. I felt empty somehow, as if I’d lost a part of me that could never be recovered.
Early morning sunlight was streaming through the windows and the clock at the side of the bed read 6.35am. I rolled over and found Raven asleep next to me. Wisps of midnight hair had fallen over his face and they rose and fell with his breath. He looked peaceful, more peaceful than I’d ever seen him.