by Jocelyn Fox
“We ran most of the way,” replied Calliea. Then she seemed to look at Ross more closely.
“Calliea, this is Ross,” Duke offered. “Ross, Calliea. We fought together in the Fae world.”
Calliea merely nodded at the introduction and turned back to Luca. “Where is Merrick?”
“Inside,” Ross said. “I can take you to him.”
“Are those lost runes you’re working with?” asked the dark-haired woman, tilting her head as she watched Tyr work.
“He doesn’t talk,” said Duke.
The dark-haired woman nodded as though that was a perfectly logical answer, and then turned to Ross. Her eyes were cat-like, dappled green and brown and gold. “I’m Molly. That’s Niall and Jess.” She gestured to the pale-haired man and then the one with the scar across his face, who had stepped forward to meet Duke’s brotherly hug. “And this is Ramel.” She looked at the man in the dark armor. “Or Mab, maybe I should say,” she muttered.
“Nice to meet you,” said Ross automatically, feeling as though she’d just jumped into the deep end of a strange and shifting ocean. She recognized Jess, thinking that maybe she’d met him before at one of the homecoming events or team barbeques. Somehow she knew he was human, even if she couldn’t quite place his face.
“Mab?” Luca repeated, frowning.
Molly sighed. “She’s not taunting us right now, but she basically has control over Ramel.” She rubbed at a chain of bruises around her arm that Ross recognized as the imprint of a hard grip.
“You said you could take me to Merrick?” Calliea said to Ross, impatience plain on her face.
“Follow me.” Ross led the strange woman around the side of the house again, Molly’s explanation to Luca fading behind them. Jess and Duke were talking in low, rapid voices. “Are you Sidhe too?”
Calliea glanced at her in surprise. “Yes. I am Vyldgard, just as Merrick is.”
“Well, I’m glad you arrived when you did. Hopefully you can help him,” she said, too focused on fishing the house key out of her pocket to see Calliea’s look of concern. “Don’t touch the handle, it’s iron,” she cautioned as she propped the screen door open with her foot, unlocking the deadbolt. “V, Merrick! We’ve got visitors!” she called into the living room. When she stepped into the house, she stopped short. If her suspicion was correct, Calliea was not going to be happy.
Vivian looked up from where she straddled Merrick on the floor. At first glance, it looked like an interrupted tryst. But then Ross saw the panic in Vivian’s eyes. Calliea slid past her and she let the door close.
“He had…some kind of seizure or something,” Vivian said quickly, her face pale. “I don’t know if he’s breathing, I don’t know if…I was trying to check…”
“Move,” said Calliea brusquely. Vivian scrambled to the side. Calliea knelt by Merrick’s prone form and promptly ripped the front of his shirt open, brushing the cloth aside to bare his chest. Vivian hugged herself as she watched Calliea produce what looked like a slender stick of charcoal from a pouch on her belt. She began drawing complex runes on Merrick’s skin. To Ross’s practiced eye, Merrick’s chest looked ominously still.
“Fetch Niall,” Calliea said to Ross. When Ross didn’t move, she paused and looked up at her. “Please. I may need his help.”
Ross nodded and Calliea bent back over Merrick. When she finished the first rune, Merrick gasped in a breath and Vivian made a sound of relief.
“V, they’re friends,” said Ross reassuringly as she turned back to the door. She ran around the side of the house. Corsica was nowhere to be seen, and Ross knew she should have felt alarmed but she said without preamble, “Niall, Calliea says she needs you in the house. For Merrick.”
“I will watch Ramel,” said Luca with a nod, and Niall ran back toward the front of the house.
“Don’t touch the handle of the screen door!” Ross called after him. She shook her head. “Maybe I should stop thinking that the day can’t get any crazier, because then it does.”
“The bone sorcerer will probably be here soon,” replied Luca in agreement.
Ross sighed. “Well, is that runetrap going to hold him?”
Tyr held up a hand and pinched his thumb and forefinger together, indicating that he needed a small amount of time to finish.
“Corsica went down to the river. She said something about gathering mud.” Duke shook his head. “No idea what she meant, but Tyr is still working so I’d say it’s a safe bet she’ll be back.”
Tyr nodded silently. Molly peered over his shoulder. Contrary to Corsica’s earlier assertion that he didn’t like strangers, he seemed fine with Molly’s proximity. Then he paused in painting and glanced hungrily at Molly’s pale wrist.
“Molly, step away from him,” Ross said, not entirely sure why she cared so much about someone she’d met mere minutes ago. Molly slid back without a question, and Luca pulled her behind him. Tyr watched her for another moment, his nostrils flaring; then he grimaced and turned back to his runes.
“What’s his flavor of weird?” Molly asked Ross quietly as she walked over to stand beside her.
“He drinks blood. They prefer Fae blood over regular old human, apparently,” replied Ross. Then she frowned. Molly had sounded entirely too much like Vivian with that question. The wording didn’t match the slightly formal speech patterns of the Sidhe. But the Exiled had already shown that they were more attracted to Fae blood. “Are you…Fae or human?” Ross asked, feeling somehow rude but voicing the question nevertheless.
“Half and half,” replied Molly matter-of-factly. She grinned at Ross’s nonplussed look. “It’s a long story, but I’ll tell you afterward if you want.” She turned back to watching Tyr from this safe distance. “Tess and I are going to celebrate with beer and ice cream. You’re welcome to join.”
“Sounds like a good celebration,” Ross said, beginning to genuinely like the other woman. “What’s the occasion?”
“Stomping the bone sorcerer, of course,” Molly replied. She glanced over her shoulder at Ramel.
Ross followed her gaze. “Is there something wrong with him?”
“Yes,” Molly said bluntly. “Queen Mab is using him like a puppet.”
“Queen Mab…like…Shakespeare Queen Mab?” Ross felt again like she was swimming in a vast, dark sea.
“Like ruthless Queen of the Unseelie Court Queen Mab,” affirmed Molly.
“Well…okay,” Ross managed.
“They didn’t tell you?” Molly motioned to Duke and Luca.
“They did…I just…” Ross shrugged.
“You didn’t really believe them. That’s reasonable.” Molly nodded, then she smiled puckishly and lowered her voice. “My guidance counselor thought I was crazy in the seventh grade because I told her about the Small Folk.”
“The Small Folk?” Ross repeated weakly.
“The Glasidhe. They’re about as tall as your hand, very beautiful, like all the Sidhe. They’re very good scouts and fierce warriors.”
“Right.” Ross blinked. “Of course.”
Molly smiled again. “It’s a lot to take in, but just go with it. Don’t think too much about it, especially in the next day or two. You’ll only make your head hurt.”
“Okay.” Ross couldn’t think of anything else to say. They stood in silence watching Tyr, Molly looking at the motionless Ramel every now and again. Then Tyr stood and surveyed his work. He nodded and snapped his black feather brush in two, tossing the halves into the grass.
“Guess that means he’s done,” commented Molly. She glanced at Ramel and pressed her mouth into a thin line. “And I guess that means I should try to get him inside.”
“Is he like a zombie or something?” Ross tried to understand what Molly meant by puppet.
“No, he’s just a little slow to move sometimes. I think it’s because he’s fighting Mab every step of the way now.” Molly sighed slightly, rubbing at the bruises on her arm.
“Sounds kinda like a zombie to me,”
said Ross under her breath. Louder, she said, “The front door should be unlocked. Niall and Calliea are inside with Merrick.” She felt slightly proud that she remembered all their names.
Molly nodded and spoke in a low voice to Ramel, who turned woodenly and began walking toward the front of the house with her.
“Has Corsica reappeared?” Ross said.
“No.” Duke shook his head.
“Should we go looking for her?” she asked reluctantly. She didn’t relish the prospect of searching for the unhinged Exile through the swampy brush of the riverbank, but she also didn’t like the idea of Corsica lurking around the house unchecked.
“You know the land,” Luca said to Ross. “I do not think her intention was escape, but do you think she could have gotten very far if it was?”
At Luca’s words, Tyr shook his head emphatically. Ross wasn’t sure which part of the question he was answering.
“The river isn’t very deep, at least not right now. After it rains sometimes it will get pretty high but it’s not much more than a creek at this point in the summer.” She considered. “I don’t know. It just depends.”
Luca looked at Tyr thoughtfully, but then his face suddenly lit with strange anticipation. “They’re coming,” he said, looking back at the house.
“The bone sorcerer?” asked Duke quickly.
“Yes. And Tess,” Luca said.
“Since when do you have a spidey sense like that?” Ross asked.
Luca grinned. “I can feel Kianryk. He is bringing Tess, and Gryttrond is chasing them. They are going to spring the trap on him.”
“Fantastic,” muttered Ross. “What’s the plan?” She thought quickly. Calliea and Niall were in the house. She assumed they were players in the fight against the bone sorcerer. Merrick and Vivian she counted out, along with Corsica and Tyr just on the grounds of trustworthiness and sanity. She wasn’t sure if Jess was going to fight the bone sorcerer, but she wished they had time to set him up in the house with a weapon to protect Vivian.
Luca looked at Duke and then to her. “Take Tyr to the shed by the river and stay there until the fight is over. Corsica will probably go to where he is.”
“What?” Ross felt slightly affronted, though she recognized the logic.
“You are mortal and this is a dangerous fight,” said Luca. “Let us handle this threat from our own world.”
“What about Vivian?” she asked. “I can’t just leave her.”
“We’ll make sure she is protected. She’ll stay in the house along with Merrick,” said Luca, speaking more quickly now. He nodded to Jess. “And Jess, to watch them.” Duke’s teammate nodded wordlessly.
She looked at Duke. “Noah, what do you think?”
“I think we’d better let him call the shots on this one,” Duke replied slowly and seriously. “We don’t have the firepower they do. I’ve seen the damage they can cause.”
“Well, yeah, I’ve seen that too. They blew up my truck,” Ross reminded him peevishly. She sighed. “All right. Guard duty it is. Come on.”
Tyr began walking toward the river without question. Duke fell into step beside her.
“He’s much less difficult than his partner,” Ross commented as Tyr picked his way through the brush, his silver hair catching the sunlight that struggled through the boughs of the trees overhead.
“I’m guessing he’s actually the brains of the operation,” Duke agreed drily. “It’s the quiet ones you really need to watch.”
Ross snorted and stepped over a fallen branch as the shed came into view among the tangle of greenery. Then the earth suddenly shifted beneath their feet with a faint rumble. Ross froze and held her free hand in front of her as though preparing to be knocked off balance. She glanced at Duke with wide eyes, and they hurried into the green undergrowth. Tyr stood against the small building, his gray eyes worried and perhaps a bit frightened as he gazed back toward the house. Duke took up a position along the side of the shed, holding security on the river side. Ross faced the house, her eyes scanning the yard. They stood for what could have been minutes but felt like hours, the humid air pressing heavily around them. An explosion erupted in front of the house, and a moment later a scream pierced the heavy, humid air. Tyr crouched down by the shed and covered his ears with his hands.
“Well,” said Duke, glancing back at the house. “Sounds like the big showdown just started.”
Chapter 28
Tess clawed her way back to consciousness. The whirling power of the Caedbranr reached into the blackness and looped about her, pulling her back to her body like a rescue line. She felt rough rock beneath her cheek. Her right knee throbbed, and the entire left side of her body prickled with strange numb spots that she knew would flare into pain when the shock of her fall faded.
The bone sorcerer. Luca. Kianryk. The house by the river. Trees flashing by as they ran. The girl tied to the tree.
Her fractured memory rushed back, the fragments quickly reassembling into a recognizable mosaic. She struggled to her hands and knees; vaguely she noticed that her shirt and breeches on her left side were shredded, her skin studded in places with small rocks from the gravel. Traces of blood trickled from her wounds, mixing muddily with the dirt staining her body. She dragged in a breath and heard Kianryk snarling with staggering ferocity.
The bone sorcerer. The runetrap.
The pain clouded her mind and her vision wavered. With a wordless growl, she released the bonds of her taebramh, letting her power expand, filling her limbs with cool white fire that soothed the sharp, immediate pain. Time enough for pain when the bone sorcerer was trapped. She staggered to her feet, unsteady despite the roar of her taebramh. The power of the Caedbranr swelled in her chest, curling into the space where her caged taebramh had burned. She turned and faced the bone sorcerer.
The faceless black figure reached up and pulled at the hood of its dark cloak. Tess panted and licked the blood from her lips as the hood fell away, revealing the sorcerer’s face. She took a step back, stunned.
The bone sorcerer looked like a Northman.
About as fast as a Northman can run.
Had Niall known that the bone sorcerer was a Northman? The thought flitted through her mind. She couldn’t have put words to exactly how she knew, but she could see it in the high planes of his cheekbones and the line of his jaw. He was short and slender for a Northman, but there was still unmistakable strength in his shoulders and legs. But unlike any Northerner Tess had ever seen, the bone sorcerer bore a pattern of blood-red runes on every visible inch of skin: his face, his neck, his hands where they emerged from his sleeves. A black mark like a thumbprint of ash stood out on his forehead. His eyes were still blue, though. A blue almost like the blue of Luca’s eyes, save for the chilling deadness in them.
The bone sorcerer took no notice of the bristling, snarling wolf standing between him and Tess. He folded his hands and said, “Quite the chase you led me on. But I would expect no less from a Bearer of the Iron Sword.” He stepped toward her. Kianryk tensed to leap and the bone sorcerer knocked him aside with the flick of a hand. Tess swallowed hard against the bile rising in her throat. She reached for the hilt of the Sword.
“Ah, no, I think not.” The bone sorcerer said a word that sounded wrong to Tess. Its syllables flew sharp as daggers into her arm, arresting its movement. Tess felt her war markings flare as her taebramh thrashed against the bruising grip of the dark mage’s spell. She tested her legs. If she couldn’t draw the Sword, she could at least draw him closer to the runetrap. She gritted her teeth at the burst of pain from her knee, but her legs worked. She stumbled backwards, clumsy but moving.
The bone sorcerer matched her pace unconcernedly. “Now, what is the Bearer doing in the mortal world? Hopefully you are not here on my account.” He smiled. Blood stained his teeth.
Keep him talking, keep him moving. “Malravenar is defeated. We’re hunting down all of his minions.”
“Minions.” The bone sorcerer smiled again. “You
know, most mortals are dull creatures. Hardly worth the blood I can drain from them. But you…you are interesting, Tess O’Connor.”
Tess fought the urge to ask him how he knew her name, focusing instead on lengthening her strides. Her right foot caught on something, wrenching her knee, and she stumbled but managed not to fall.
“Tess!”
She heard her name again, this time in a voice that made her heart leap despite the pain, despite the bone sorcerer advancing on her, despite the spell immobilizing her sword-arm overhead. But she kept her gaze focused on the bone sorcerer, even though every instinct told her to turn her head, to resolve that movement in her peripheral vision into Luca. There were more footsteps, a door opening, sounds that swirled around her.
The bone sorcerer stopped, his cold eyes traveling along a line behind Tess. She knew without looking that the rest of the warriors who had traveled through the Gate with her stood behind her, ranged across the green expanse of the yard.
“So this is the we you speak of,” he said to Tess, smiling slightly. “A veritable feast. I shall enjoy it. And I will start with you, ulfdrengr.” He turned his gaze to Luca.
Tess felt her taebramh explode in protest, a snarl spilling past her clenched teeth. As the bone sorcerer said another sharp word, she broke through his spell on her arm, lurching forward with the force of her movement as she drew the Sword. It blazed bright as a star, but the bone sorcerer sucked in its light, becoming again that faceless black figure.
“Foolish girl,” he said, his voice rippling on waves of searing heat. Tess slashed with the Sword, cutting through a piece of the shadow; a solid cold force smashed into her and knocked her to the ground again, igniting the pain of her wounds. She blinked stars from her vision and the bone sorcerer suddenly stood not a stone’s throw away from her, watching her with his cold eyes as he advanced. Holding the Sword before her like a shield, she scrambled backward, scrabbling at the ground with her good leg and her elbow. The grass slid coolly beneath her skin. Then there were hands under her arms lifting her. The dark mage came inexorably closer.