by D. N. Hoxa
“So, give that to him, then,” Hiss said to me. “Give him his revenge.”
It made sense. “Bo-bo and Ari are already working with the sidhe. If we find them, we’ll find the siblings, too.”
“He’s not strong enough to kill them,” Julie said. “They’re Primes. He’s a Level Three, and he’s alone. He left his pack when he married my friend. Wolves are only as strong as their packs.”
“He’s not alone,” Hiss said. “He has Elo and me, and hopefully, you.”
“He always has me. He knows that,” Julie whispered. Tears in her eyes again. “I’m sorry that Bo-bo and Ari found you. I wasn’t aware that I was being spied on when I was speaking to Charlotte. I haven’t been as observant as I should be these past few years.”
“Spied on?” I asked halfheartedly. “You mean you didn’t do it on purpose?”
Julie had sold me out to the necromancers. That’s how they’d found out that I was Elo, even though I didn’t look like Elo at the time. They’d known where I was living, too, and they’d broken into Mandar’s house. They’d ruined everything inside it.
“Of course not. Lola lives in that house,” Julie said. Her hands were fisted so tightly, her fingers looked completely white. “But Charlotte is very determined. When she wants to talk about something, she will. And I thought we were safe behind the bar. Apparently, we weren’t.”
“But why didn’t you say so that morning?” Mandar, Lola and I had come to her pub and had accused her of selling us out, and she’d never denied it.
“What difference would it have made? I wanted to! The gods know, I wanted you away from here before I knew anything worth knowing. To have the Winter prince here asking about you?! I wanted you gone, and Mandar would have never believed me anyway. So, I didn’t bother,” Julie said.
I appreciated her honesty more than she knew.
“Of course, he would have believed you. I do.” And I was more relieved that she could imagine. She’d never betrayed my trust. I’d done the right thing coming to her for help.
Of course, I had—it was Hiss’s idea.
Julie waved her hand and turned her head to the other side for a second. “I still think talking to him is the best option. If he gives you what Vera is looking for, you’ll have time to focus on finding everything else.”
I looked at Hiss. All ten of his eyes were closed. He was thinking.
But I didn’t need to for much longer because Julie was right. I didn’t know how much time I had to prepare for the sidhe, but the sooner I could do it, the better it would be.
“Then I’ll talk to Mandar,” I said reluctantly. That was not something I was looking forward to. I’d lived with that man for almost two weeks. I’d cared for him. His betrayal hurt, but if his cooperation made things easier, I’d take it. I wasn’t going to be guided by my emotions, too.
“Do you have any idea what the elf meant by spirit?” Julie asked.
“I wouldn’t worry about the spirit. I’m worried about the soul,” Hiss said. “I’ve heard rumors from a group of werewolves in the pub the first night Elo worked here.” You could tell he didn’t even want to talk about it by the way he dragged his words. He usually was very clear.
“And?” I rushed him.
“They call her the Soul Splitter. She does exactly what the name suggests. I’m not certain that she is what we’re looking for, but for now, she’s the only one here I know that has to do with souls in any way.”
“A Soul Splitter? You mean she splits souls?” Julie asked.
“Precisely.”
Then, she looked at me. “You need to find that Fidena woman again and demand she gives you more information.” Julie stood, slamming her hands on her thighs. “How can she tell you to stop men like those sidhe and not give you a single piece of information that is clear? We don’t even know if the people we’re talking about are any of those things she wants you to find! A believer or the magic could be anything—anyone!”
I understood her frustration because I felt it tearing up my chest, too. “I don’t think I’ll find her again if I go back to the Waterfall.”
“You won’t,” Hiss said. “Her work is done. It’s up to you to carry out the rest.”
“Thanks, Hiss.”
“You’re welcome.” He must have missed the sarcasm in my voice, probably intentionally.
“So, we just go in blind?” Julie asked.
I stood. “You don’t have to—I do. I can’t force you to help me, Julie, but if you do, I need to know that you’re doing it for the right reasons.”
Her jaw locked tightly for a second. “You don’t need to know my reasons.”
“Then what do you want? You said it yourself—everybody wants something in return.”
But she shook her head. “I don’t want anything from you.”
“Then I’m going to have to know what your reasons are.” And if they were strong enough to ensure she wouldn’t quit halfway. I didn’t know what the next days or weeks or months were going to look like, and she didn’t, either. But we both could safely assume that whatever awaited us wasn’t going to be easy.
“Charlotte,” Julie said. “She belongs to Gaena as much as her mother did. My daughter never got to see it before her death. And if we stop the sidhe, you’ll go home. You’ll take your House back. You can extend an invitation to me and her. A day will do.” She looked down at the ground again, a sad smile taking over her tired face. “I guess I do want something, too.”
The pain that suddenly spread all over her was breathtaking. I had to hold onto my chest for fear my heart would break free. It consumed her completely, and I was in awe that she had such great control over it. Very few people did.
I desperately wanted to ask her how her daughter had died, but I held it in. It wasn’t my business. If she wished to tell me, she would.
“And you’ll have it. I will get my House back, one way or the other. And when I do, you and Charlotte are welcome in any House for as long as you please.”
It wasn’t a promise I made easily, but I made it first to myself. House Heivar would be mine again, and when it was, everything would change. Not only for Julie, but for me, too.
Chapter 7
Chapter
* * *
Julie took me inside her house through the backdoor and down a long dark hallway. The music from the pub shook the ground every few seconds until we reached the stairs to the second floor. As soon as I stepped onto the first stair, the music cut abruptly.
“A sound blocking spell, nothing fancy,” Julie informed me as she led the way. To me, it sounded very fancy. We didn’t have sound blocking spells back home.
Up on the second floor, there were six doors, and one of them was half open. Through it, I could see light blue tiles and a sink—a bathroom. She showed me to the guest room I was to sleep in. It was twice as big as the one I’d used in Mandar’s house, but this one had no warmth to it at all. Nothing was in there but a bed for two and a single nightstand at its side, completely empty. While I was in the bathroom, she brought me some sushi to eat. I wasn’t hungry, but I knew I’d need strength, so I ate.
With my stomach full, I lay down next to Hiss. He slept and I watched him, thankful that he was there. Whatever he was, it didn’t matter to me. He was there for me when I needed him. I would never forget it, even if I lived to see my thousandth birthday.
I must have slept at some point because, when I woke up, a little sunlight peeked through the wooden blinds in front of the windows. I’d dreamed, and I don’t know what of, only that it had been bad. Bad enough to make me feel like I was in the middle of a trap, even minutes after I woke up.
“Do you trust her?” I asked Hiss as he lazily made his way down the bed. He hadn’t inspected the empty room the night before—there was nothing to inspect. But that morning, he took his time to slither over every inch of the wooden floor and lick every corner of the walls until he was satisfied.
“Of course not. But I don’t think trust matters now,�
�� Hiss said. “What matters more is that the Light sidhe don’t cross to Gaena. All the risks we have to take to ensure that never happens will be worth it, I think.”
“More war,” I said, more to myself than to him. “That’s what they’re going to do. The sidhe will just be one more army to fight. We’ve been fighting for hundreds of years. I don’t see how anything would change in Gaena, as sad as that is.”
“No, Pain Seeker. Everything would change. The sidhe know how to use the Stone of Creation. The lands will be drenched in blood, and there will be nobody left to fight anymore.”
His voice was hushed, like he was afraid someone might hear. With his every word, I imagined the scenario in my mind. Chills washed over me. Worse than war? I never thought such a thing was possible.
“What is it, Hiss? What does it do?” He knew exactly what I meant.
“The Stone is powerful—that is all I know. Come, Elo. We have to find Julie. There’s no time to waste.” And he moved toward the door.
Julie was ready for us when we went downstairs. Charlotte was ecstatic to see me. She even hugged me, and I hugged her back. Then, she was ordered back to her breakfast by Julie, while she put a black shawl over my head to hide my hair and my face. It reminded me of the piece the Shadow sidhe had had on her. She’d come mounted on a panther made of shadows, and she’d helped me kill the sidhe in front of Mandar’s house what felt like years ago.
Julie put an oversized jacket over me, too, even though it was warm outside. It was dark green, similar to what Lola wore, and it hid Hiss perfectly. He wrapped himself around my torso and rested his head on my shoulder. He was very calm, while I was ready to start throwing up all the sushi I’d eaten the night before.
The front door was a long way from Julie’s kitchen. It didn’t lead us to the pub like I’d thought. Instead, it led us three doors down from it. It was like her house went all the way around the other two next to her pub, and to see it from the outside was impossible. I wondered how she’d gotten the Shade to pull something like that off but didn’t ask.
For now, I was a nervous mess, trying to keep the shawl as close to my face as possible, and my eyes down on the ground. It was barely nine in the morning. Not a lot of people were out and about, but it would only take one to recognize me.
Thankfully, Mandar lived in the Shade, too. It took us all of one minute to reach his house, and when I saw the fence gate, the stairs, and the two-story house I’d lived in until recently, my heart ached even more.
“He’s probably still sleeping,” I said to Julie. Mandar and Lola didn’t sleep at night—they sparred in their living room. They only went to sleep at dawn and slept until noon. “We should come back later.” I really didn’t want to talk to Mandar.
“Right now is fine. If he’s asleep, he’ll wake up,” Julie said and pushed the gate open. “Quick. The less time you spend outside, the better.”
I followed her with my head down. When she knocked on the door, it was like she was slamming her fist on my head instead. We had to wait for a couple of minutes for Mandar to get up, and when he opened the door, he looked worse than Julie had the night before, when she’d seen me.
But she didn’t even give him the chance.
“Pull yourself together,” Julie said and pushed him to the side to get in. For a long moment, I didn’t know what to say or how to act. I couldn’t even look him in the eye. I’d trusted him so much. He was the only thing my instincts had led me wrong about.
And now, I was here, about to ask for his help again.
He wore only black boxer briefs and nothing else. His muscled chest glistened under the sunlight, and his face was white as a sheet. If I cut him right now, he wouldn’t even bleed. And the way he looked at me, you’d think I was a ghost for real.
Eventually, I gave up hoping he’d say something, or that I would gather that much courage so fast. I just slipped into the house past him and made my way into the living room.
Not much had changed. They’d replaced the coffee table with a new one. The necromancer had broken the old one to pieces, but the furniture, though torn, still remained the same. The kitchen was the same as I’d left it. He must have repaired all the broken legs of the chairs because they seemed to be intact. Hiss slithered down my legs and immediately rushed for the cabinets. He must have been hungry. Just the thought of food made my stomach turn.
Julie wasn’t there, so I assumed she’d gone up to wake Lola. When Mandar stepped through the doorway between his living room and kitchen, I was speechless yet again. He’d put clothes on—grey sweatpants and an oversized shirt full of small holes. It was better than seeing him naked.
“How?” It sounded like the word choked him on the way out. “I saw you. I smelled you. You died.”
His warm brown eyes bore into me, pinning me in place. There were so many emotions coming off him right now—and pain, too. Disappointment, guilt, shame, and most of all, disbelief. I pushed out his pain as fast as I could.
“Turns out, Pain Seekers don’t die. My magic healed me back to life.” I sat down on one of the couches in the living room. My legs were slightly shaking. I was going through a lot of emotions, too.
“Elo, I—” he started but didn’t finish. I stayed there, my eyes on the turned off TV screen. Where were Julie and Lola? I didn’t want to be here right now. It was too much.
And when Mandar made his way toward me, I thought about running out the door altogether. But even if I’d tried, he wouldn’t have let me. He squatted in front of me and took my hands in his before I could stop him. He was close—too close. He’d see every reaction on my face the way he watched me.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, squeezing my fingers tightly. “I was a fool. I didn’t know what I was doing. I haven’t known what I’m doing for years now, but that’s no excuse to do what I did. Can you ever forgive me?”
The pain that laced his every word made it impossible to ignore him. I felt it all on my own shoulders. How could I not understand a motive, even for betrayal, when I knew exactly how it felt?
“I forgave you that same night,” I told Mandar. “But I’m never going to forget it.”
Sweat dripped down to his brows. “I’ll never stop trying to make up for it.”
“I don’t trust you anymore, Mandar,” I forced myself to say. “But things have changed now. There is something big I need to do, something…almost impossible, and as much as I hate being here, I’m going to need your help.”
I didn’t see him blink, even once. Maybe he was afraid that if he closed his eyes, even for a second, I’d disappear. Maybe he thought he was in a dream. I thought I was in dreams often, too.
“Of course, he’ll help you,” said a voice from the doorway. I looked up to see Lola, her short reddish hair all over the place, her pajama top stained in four different places. She smiled when she saw me, even though there were tears in her eyes. She ran across the room, and Mandar only had a second to get out of the way before she slammed into me and hugged me.
She didn’t say anything, didn’t ask me questions, just laughed. I laughed with her. I’d missed her so much. I hadn’t even realized how much I loved her until now. She didn’t let go of me for a while, and I was perfectly fine with that. We hugged and we laughed for as long as we needed to. There would be enough time to talk.
The silence was deafening. Lola, Mandar, and I sat around the dining table, while Julie stood by the counter, arms crossed in front of her, looking at the floor. Hiss was nowhere to be seen. Mandar and Lola couldn’t take their eyes off me. I was starting to feel really hot.
“By the gods, get over it,” Julie finally said with a sigh, and covered her eyes with her hand. “She’s alive. She survived. It’s all done. Can we move on to the part where you talk about why we’re here?” Patience was not her strong suit.
“I saw you die,” Mandar said.
“Me, too,” said Lola, offering me a smile. “But I’m super glad you’re here, anyway.”
�
�I’m glad to be here, too.” Alive, I meant. Not in their house.
Julie was right. I needed to get over my discomfort and say what I came here to say. Nothing else was going to get me out of here faster.
“How did it happen? How are you still alive? When did you wake up? Were you with the Guild?” Mandar asked almost breathlessly.
“No, I was not with the Guild. Did the Guild not notice that my body went missing?” I’d been curious to know about it earlier. If the Shade somehow brought me to Manun’s Waterfall, that meant my body was no longer accounted for.
“No idea. I didn’t check. There were a lot of bodies that night,” Mandar said.
I flinched. A lot of death. But it was over for now.
“I’m here because I need your help, Mandar,” I started, promising myself that I had the right to be here, to ask for this. The fate of Gaena depended on it. I needed to do whatever it took to stop the sidhe. “Those men we fought, the same men that Bo-bo and Ari are working with, are planning to get to Gaena and declare war on fae and elves.”
That was only part of the truth, but it was the only part he needed to know for now.
“I have to stop them before they can cross the Gateway. To do that, I need magic. The kind of magic that Signora Vera can provide for me.”
Mandar’s lips parted slightly, as if he already knew where I was going with this.
“She told me before to steal the Seer Eye you took from her, but I am no thief. The only way I can make her cooperate with me is to give her back the Eye.”
“Seer Eye? What the hell’s a Seer Eye?” Lola asked, narrowing her brows at her father.
Mandar was sweating again. He put his arms over the table and lowered his head, letting out a loud breath.
“I can’t give her back the Seer Eye. It’s the only thing that keeps her from killing me,” Mandar said through gritted teeth.
“Your life will be safe, and so will Lola’s. I need the Eye, Mandar. I can’t make her work with me by force, you know that. And she wants it badly enough to ask me, a complete stranger, to steal it for her, even though she didn’t trust me. She will do whatever it takes to get her hands on it.”