by Jocelyn Fox
“A police station,” said Ross. “They followed her to a police station. They did well.”
Tess nodded. “We can cross reference with any news reports of a missing teenaged girl, make sure she got home all right.”
“Well, you’re a regular Sherlock,” said Jess with a trace of a wry smile. “I can do some searches, let you know what I find.”
“Thanks.” She sighed and sat back in her chair, leaving her spoon in her empty bowl. “All right. Seriously, I have to figure out how to get the Lethe Stone from this bonehead.”
“Bonehead…bone sorcerer. I see what you did there,” Duke said with an approving grin.
“It was unintentional, so that’s even better,” said Tess. She stood and collected her bowl. “Time to go talk to Merrick. Thanks for the food.”
Luca followed her as she walked across the living room. She turned and smiled up at him. “Am I going to have an oversized shadow for a few days?”
He grinned and stole another kiss. “Yes. I may never let you out of my sight again.”
She chuckled, marveling at the warmth that his simple statement kindled in her chest. They both moved toward each other at the same time, and she slid into his arms with a sigh of contentment, resting her cheek against his muscled chest. “I think I can live with that,” she murmured.
“You have returned Kianryk to me twice now,” he said, his voice a low rumble.
“And you’ve carried me away from battles twice now,” she replied, tilting her head up to smile at him. “I think we can call it even.”
He lowered his lips to hers. “Perhaps we shouldn’t keep score.”
“Mmm. Keeping score could be perilous,” she agreed mischievously. She tightened her arms around him, relishing the feel of his broad back under her palms and the flat plane of his stomach pressed against her. Then she drew away with a sigh. “Duty calls.”
“If you kept your arms around me for much longer, you wouldn’t resist my charm,” he agreed. “And then we would get nothing done, duty be damned.” He kissed her forehead and smoothed her hair back with one large hand. “I should go see that Kianryk isn’t teaching Mayhem too many bad habits.”
Tess chuckled as she watched Luca go and then opened the door to the study as quietly as she could. Her smile faded as she saw Ramel, his chest covered in strange white mud. His skin, where it was not the angry red of minor burns, was gray. Molly dozed beside him, sitting on the floor by the futon with her head pillowed on her arms by his side. Merrick slept under a blanket on the air mattress that took up the rest of the floor space. He, at least, seemed to be improving. Luca had told her about the difficulties that they’d had once the portal had dropped them on the banks of the river. Tess swallowed past the lump in her throat. She looked at her own newly healed scars and wondered if she could heal Ramel with her new abilities in the mortal world.
It does not exactly work like that, the Sword murmured in her mind. You are the vessel.
Anger flared in Tess at the Caedbranr’s words. Oh, my life is worth more than his because I’m the Bearer?
That is not what I said, the Caedbranr replied almost gently. It is merely that your abilities in the mortal world correspond to your duties as the Bearer.
Will you ever stop speaking in riddles? Tess demanded. The Sword fell silent and didn’t answer her. She sighed and stepped further into the room. Molly stirred and looked up, her feline eyes alert the instant she opened them. For a moment Tess and Molly stared at each other. Ramel’s harsh breathing filled the silence.
“I didn’t mean to wake you,” Tess said softly.
Molly nodded and chewed on her lower lip as she checked on Ramel.
“How is he?” Tess asked. The words felt inadequate, but she searched for something larger to say and her mind remained blank.
“Not dead,” replied Molly curtly. Then she heard the aggression in her own voice and sighed. “Sorry. It’s been…a long day.”
“A long couple of days,” agreed Tess. “And then whatever you were dealing with in the Unseelie Court.”
Molly nodded. “It’s strange. I should feel relieved. I’m here, I escaped Mab.” She shook her head. “But now I don’t know what to do.”
“Not kill me, I hope,” Tess replied dryly, arching an eyebrow. She winced internally, wondering if it was inappropriate for even that small joke with Ramel lying unconscious. But she’d learned that sometimes humor was needed in the most incongruous of circumstances. To her relief, Molly’s lips twitched with a small smile.
“I mean, that was number one on my to-do list,” Molly said, crossing the small space between them. “But, you know…I figure that Mab can suck it.” She shrugged and her smile threatened to blossom into a grin.
Tess chuckled quietly. “I wish I could see you tell her that to her face.”
Molly rolled her eyes. “And get frozen into a human Popsicle? No thanks.”
“Half-human Popsicle,” Tess corrected her with a smile. She wondered, not for the first time, if Mab really punished unruly subjects by encasing them in columns of ice. It wouldn’t surprise her.
Molly took a deep breath. “I know that I should probably be mad at…what’s her name, the redhead. The one who threw the spell.”
“Vivian,” offered Tess.
Molly nodded. “I feel like I should be mad at her, but that explosion busted the spell that Mab had put on him.” She grimaced. “There were some pretty nasty runes on the surface of it, from what Niall could tell. Runes to burn anyone’s fingers if they tried to remove the breastplate, runes to blind anyone who tried to draw a counter-spell.” She shook her head. “And then on the inside of the breastplate…did you see it, Tess?”
Tess shook her head.
“The master rune was on the inside of the breastplate. She made it so that it cut into his skin, Tess, so that it was like there were knives constantly marking the rune into his chest.” Anger flashed in Molly’s eyes. “How could she do that to one of her own Three?”
“The explosion damaged the rune enough to free him?” Tess asked carefully. She shivered. While they were all prepared for gruesome tasks, she doubted any of them would have been able to knowingly detonate that explosion next to Ramel, even if they’d suspected it would free him from Mab’s curse.
“As far as we can tell. The armor was the key to it, and we destroyed what was left of it.” Molly nodded firmly. They stood in silence for a moment.
“So…” Tess began slowly. “You have your memories back?”
Molly kept her eyes on Ramel. “Yes. There are still a few patches that are fuzzy, but I have enough to remember who I am. Who I was.”
“Who you are,” Tess corrected her softly.
“I’m definitely not the girl that got knocked off the garrelnost anymore,” Molly said in a voice so soft that it was almost a whisper.
“Well, I’m not the girl that stabbed the garrelnost in the eye with the horseshoe anymore, either,” replied Tess. She smiled a little at the memory. She’d seen enough terrible things and fought enough battles that the thought of the garrelnost and its stinking mottled fur didn’t turn her stomach anymore. She wasn’t sure if that was a good thing.
“Remember retrieving that horseshoe from the little stone cave?” Molly asked, a nostalgic smile now on her lips as well.
“The one you and Austin thought was an outlaw’s camp,” said Tess with an answering smile. She remembered climbing up the stone wall, the dust gritty under her palms, as they retrieved the iron objects that they thought would protect them against the perils of the Fae world.
“Yeah.” Molly said fondly, though her eyes were sad. “That’s part of what I have to figure out, I guess. If I want to stay here in the mortal world. And if I do, what do I say to Austin? Or do I just leave him alone?” She turned her head to look at Tess. “If I go back, I think Mab will kill me.”
“For not killing me?” Tess tried to change gears to match Molly’s thought process.
“Partially, I
think.” Molly sighed. “It’s complicated.”
Tess watched her friend’s face, beautiful and smooth like the Sidhe at times and then shifting into the expressions of human emotion. “If you stay here, won’t you have trouble like Merrick did?”
“I’m a half-blood,” replied Molly with a crooked smile. “The runes that are used for travel will be just fine for me. I might even get them as tattoos so that I don’t have to worry about rubbing them off.”
“Tattoos? Scandalous,” said Tess, widening her eyes in mock dismay.
“You’re one to talk!” said Molly with a chuckle, tugging at Tess’s sleeve to reveal the complex emerald swirls of her war markings.
“Fair point,” conceded Tess. She crossed her arms thoughtfully. “Ramel is still bound to Mab, right?”
Molly nodded. “As far as we know. He didn’t…it wasn’t like with Finnead. She had to release the spell on him, but he’s still bound to her as one of her Three.”
Tess kneaded at her forehead with a knuckle. “Life would be much easier if my friends weren’t all so powerful and important.”
“Again…you’re one to talk,” said Molly dryly.
“I know. I’m just trying to think. If you stay here in the mortal world, will Mab hold him accountable for that? Will she punish him for not ensuring that you killed me?” Tess shook her head.
“I wouldn’t put it past her,” said Molly grimly.
“He’s not strong enough to travel through the portal now,” said Tess, “and he probably won’t be well enough for at least another few…weeks?” She shrugged and pressed her lips together. “I think that I’ll need to return with the Lethe Stone before that. I’ll tell her that he wasn’t strong enough to go through the portal, and I wanted to fulfill my end of the bargain.”
“She could still kill him,” whispered Molly. She swallowed hard. “I’m still frightened of what she might do to him, Tess. Even here in another world.”
“I know.” Tess looked over at her friend. She couldn’t quite believe that it was really Molly, that she was talking to her best friend again as though they hadn’t both traveled into another world and been separated for months, first by the loss of Molly’s memory and then by Tess’s binding to the Sword. It felt like they’d traveled across the world, but they’d ended up back at their own familiar doorstep. After a moment, Tess let the feelings of familiarity and fondness wash over her. “But what I also know,” she said slowly, “is that we’ll figure it out together.”
“You’re a true friend,” said Molly, her voice clotted with emotion.
“More like a sister,” corrected Tess.
“More like a sister,” agreed Molly, smiling through her unshed tears. “I know we’ve never really been big on hugs and you were wounded in the battle…”
“Super awesome healing powers unlocked,” said Tess with a flourish, pushing up her left sleeve to show Molly the fresh scars. Then she smiled. “Get over here. Everyone needs a hug once in a while.”
As she hugged her best friend for the first time in a long time, Tess thought that Luca wasn’t the only person she loved who had been returned to her on this journey into the mortal world. Then the seriousness of the moment was broken when Merrick stirred and sat up, his dark hair sticking up wildly in all directions. He blinked at them as they stepped back from their hug. Tess raised her eyebrows bemusedly – the Vyldgard navigator, a very capable warrior, looked remarkably like a particularly handsome college student awakening after a night of revelry…if college students had delicately pointed ears and flawless alabaster skin.
“What is that amazing smell?” he asked with a yawn.
“Gumbo,” replied Tess. “Apparently Jess has some impressive culinary skills.” She looked at Molly. “If you’d like, I can sit with Ramel while you eat.”
Molly shook her head without any hesitation. She began to say something but then pressed her lips together.
“I’ll grab you a bowl,” offered Tess.
“I can take care of that,” Merrick said as he stretched. “I should make myself useful.”
Tess smiled. “It’s good to see you, Merrick.”
He bowed slightly to her. “And you, Lady Bearer.”
She scowled at him in mock reproach as they headed toward the kitchen. “If you call me Lady Bearer, I’ll be forced to call you the Arrisyn.”
He grinned. “I have no issue with the name given to me by the Vyldretning.”
“The Arrisyn and the Laedrek, together again,” said Tess teasingly. To her delight, Merrick blushed, two faint spots of color appearing high on his cheekbones. He was saved from having to reply by the lively shouts of greeting from the kitchen table. Duke sat with his arm around Ross, Luca had been enticed to try a beer, and Niall had come in from his watch over the bone sorcerer. Haze sat on the table with his own miniature portion of gumbo. Ross kept glancing at Haze as if to reassure herself that there was really a small, fierce Fae eating gumbo out of a thimble-sized bowl with fastidious manners.
“You’re lookin’ fit as a fiddle now,” said Duke approvingly, toasting Merrick with a can of beer.
“Yes, well, now I’m covered with the proper runes,” replied Merrick, lifting the edge of his shirt to show Duke the pattern of runes that Calliea and Niall had inked on his skin. He smiled a little abashedly. “They’re simple, but you have to know the correct pattern. Runes to fortify against the strangeness of this world and protect us from the forces that would strip us of our power.”
“They should have continued to teach those protection runes to young ones, even if the Gate was closed,” Niall said. “But that wasn’t for me to decide.”
“I am eminently grateful that you knew them,” said Merrick. His gray eyes darkened as he ladled his bowl of gumbo from the steaming pot on the stove. “It was a close call.”
“Too close,” agreed Niall. The Seelie Vaelanseld also had a beer on the table in front of him, though he’d opted for a bottle rather than a can. Tess leaned against the wall and smiled a little as she watched the interactions between the Sidhe warriors who had come through the portal with her and the fighters who had been here…not to mention Ross. Other than her surreptitious glances at Haze, Ross seemed to accept the Sidhe with less incredulity than Tess would have expected from a practical, no-nonsense woman like her. It probably helped that Duke and Jess had verified the outlandish story. In any case, everyone seated around the table acted as though they’d known each other for years rather than hours. Deadly peril had a way of bringing people together, she thought wryly.
Luca gave up his seat to Merrick, waving aside the other man’s protests. “It is time for me to go look at this corrupted Northman,” he said as he finished his beer.
Tess made a face at him as they walked side-by-side toward the front door, leaving the hum of easy conversation behind them. “You know, if you’re going to make a habit of drinking beer, you should at least drink good beer.”
Luca chuckled. “I’ll let you be my teacher in that, if you wish.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say I’m an expert, but I’m sure we can figure it out between us,” Tess replied. The sun balanced on the top of the gnarled oak trees as they walked past the blackened crater and burned-out skeleton of Ross’s truck. “We’re going to have to do something about all this,” she muttered. “It looks like a war zone out here, and it would be best if we can keep a low profile.” She glanced down the country road in consideration. “Though it looks like we’re not too close to anyone, so that’s good.”
As they passed the side of the house, Luca told her briefly about Gryttrond’s possession of the gas store clerk and his attempt to claw through Ross’s bedroom window with his bare hands. Tess shivered a little at the description. She could imagine the blood-curdling terror at encountering such a strange creature in the night all too easily. In turn, she told him about the girl tied to the tree that Niall had seen while scrying that morning. Luca squeezed her shoulder as the bone sorcerer’s glowing cage came i
nto view. They paused.
“I am proud,” he said seriously, looking down at Tess. Kianryk appeared out of the brush at the edge of the yard, Mayhem trailing happily behind him.
“Proud of what?” she asked, warmth rippling through her at the undeniable love in his eyes.
“Proud of you,” he said with a smile. “You saved that girl in the forest at your own peril without a second thought.”
“Well, I didn’t save her. Haze, Forin and Farin did that, technically. I was just the diversion to bait him into chasing me here,” she replied with a smile, though her face heated at his earnest compliment. “And…I mean, we were going to track down the bone sorcerer anyway, so it was really just speeding up the timeline.” She realized as she spoke that she was downplaying his compliment, but rather than exhort her to recognize her accomplishments, Luca just smiled. He just let her be, let her think out loud, talk without any fear of judgment. She sighed. “I missed you,” she said quietly.
“And I missed you as well,” he said. His hand lingered on her shoulder and his thumb traced the curve of her neck. As if it were the most natural thing in the world, his hand slipped softly up her neck to the side of her face, his calloused palm gently cupping her cheek. She closed her eyes for just a few breaths, feeling the roughness of his hand against her face, wondering at the comfort that blossomed at such a simple touch. Then she turned her face, kissed his palm and smiled at him.
“Time to go figure out what to do with this bone sorcerer,” she said. Luca nodded, and the Sword hummed in its sheath on her back.
Gryttrond paced his cage angrily, throwing a curse at the glowing bars every few minutes with a flash of rusty red sparks. The invisible dome that comprised his cage between the shining arches absorbed his power with little more than a ripple. Calliea sat in the grass a few paces away, cleaning her daggers, and glancing at the mage with a mixed expression of disgust and amusement when he threw his spells fruitlessly at the cage. The two Exiled – Corsica and Tyr, Tess remembered – also observed the bone sorcerer. Corsica crouched on her haunches on the side of the cage closest to the river, watching the bone sorcerer much as a cat watches a caged bird. Her brilliant azure eyes tracked his movements, and she cocked her head to the side with a smile at his spells. Tyr walked the perimeter of the cage, glancing down at the runes on the stones and nodding to himself.