Savage Beauty

by Casey L. Bond

  Right now, she would be about to succumb to sleep. But I hadn’t heard from her since our last sleep walk during my summer slumber. She didn’t reach out to me on the equinox and I hadn’t sensed Pieces since waking. Neither had Ember. That only meant one thing…my sister was up to something. They say it is when your enemy is quiet that they are preparing to strike. My sister was no exception.

  I called an owl from the wood. It landed on a nearby branch and let out a hoot, ruffling its white and brown feathers. A few of them fluttered to the ground. The bird’s large eyes fastened on me expectantly.

  “Watch my sister,” I commanded. While she couldn’t come here at night, that didn’t mean she couldn’t glamour someone and send them in her place, or send some creature to my doorstep. I didn’t trust her, and I didn’t want to leave Phillip without knowing where she was and what was going on around her palace.

  With a tick of its head, the owl flew off toward the castle.

  “You talk to animals?” Phillip yelled from inside. “You can actually control them?”

  “Only nocturnal ones,” I replied with a smirk.

  I called more owls. They landed in the trees all around the cottage. “Spread yourselves through the woods and keep watch. If something or someone comes near the cottage, alert me immediately.”

  Most took to the air, spreading themselves into the forest in every direction.

  Phillip was in awe. His mouth gaped open as he watched them from the door. “Be careful, Luna.”

  Hmm. It almost sounded like he cared.

  Gripping the broomstick, I took off into the dark, through the churning, angry autumn air. All he cares about is getting home, I chided myself. I was merely his ticket there.

  PHILLIP

  She left me here. With Ember. Under the guise of guarding her familiar. A familiar I was certain had never needed guarding in the past. My pain was almost gone. There was no more fever. No cold sweats or inability to control my own hand or behavior. Luna blamed my actions on an adverse effect of one of the spell’s ingredients. I didn’t even want to know what she put into the blue liquid that knit me back together so quickly, or what could’ve caused me to act possessed, like my hands weren’t even my own.

  I was almost completely healed. By tomorrow at the latest, the bones would be fused, the soft tissues would have mended themselves, and I could go home. Which was what I wanted. I needed to be in Grithim; to return and make sure my parents knew I was still alive.

  She wouldn’t need me here – she wouldn’t even want me here. In her space. With her cat. The cat that didn’t need me to watch over her.

  I glanced down at Ember.

  She purred happily, brushing back and forth against my legs.

  I scooped her into my arm and closed the door against the night.

  No matter how much I stroked Ember’s fur, the fire in me wouldn’t be calmed. I needed answers—answers that only Luna had. I had to know what happened to William. My parents deserved to know, too. I understood that she was tired and that the experience must have been traumatic. There was no denying the haunted look in her eyes when she spoke in circles around what happened, or clamped her jaw together, unable to speak the words. It had been eighteen months, but was still too fresh a wound for her.

  Ember’s eyes, yellow-green like Luna’s, stared up at me. “I’m not leaving until she tells me what happened.”

  Ember meowed and promptly tilted her neck to bury her head in my hand.

  “Where’d she get the scars on her face? Hmm?” I asked the cat.

  Ember looked toward the front door.

  “Out there somewhere, huh?”

  She meowed again.

  “I’m talking to a cat,” I said, staring at her, my knuckles running over her fur. “Are you hungry, Ember? We should find you something to eat.”

  She jumped down and scurried across the floor to the mysterious locked door. The locks disengaged for Ember and the door itself opened a few inches. Curious, I eased my fingers into the gap and pulled it open enough to slip inside. Black candles flickered throughout the space, but the light they provided wasn’t enough to illuminate everything.

  My eyes slowly adjusted.

  The room was a long, windowless rectangle, and the scent of something powerful stung my nose. A cauldron, its edges ragged and charred from use, sat in the center of a long counter. There were glass bottles of every shape and size, but unlike the kitchen, these did not contain cooking spices.

  Ember was eating something in a bowl in the back corner of the room, pausing occasionally to watch me. I lifted one of the bottles to read the hand-scrawled label: Tongue of Lizard. Twisting the bottle around, I saw small slivers of dried flesh filling half the bottle. An emptier one had small eyeballs in it. The label read: Eye of Fish.

  There were wings of bats, tails of rats, legs of frogs, centipedes, roaches, the largest spiders I’d ever seen in my life—alive and well inside the corked bottles. With no air. Or food. Or water...

  A coiled yellow viper sat in a large one in the back, its slitted eyes assessing me. It raised its head, tongue flicking as I eased a bottle of scorpion stingers back down onto the table.

  Then there were the ingredients of the human variety... hair, fingernails, peeled skin, dried ears, toes, and fingers.

  And those of the fae: ground faery wings, faery dust, and nightmare powder.

  There were bottles of claws and talons, beaks and brains. A large container of animal skulls sat in the back.

  There were poisons: belladonna, nightshade, rosary pea, oleander, and something called moon seed.

  On top of a shelf, next to a human skull, was the stuffed body of a raven, its wings spread for flight. Below it was a collection of dried mushrooms, and rows upon rows of books whose spines were ragged and falling apart. Spell books, I realized, easing one out after another.

  At the far end of the room, to the left of Ember, was a table with an opened book. Is this what she used for the healing spell? Flipping through the pages, I realized this wasn’t just another spell book. It was Luna’s journal.

  I took it to the chair by the hearth and began to read from the middle of the book.

  I am the only one safe from her insanity. Since William’s death, Aura has come unhinged. Tonight, she killed the woman who looked on us as her children. She’d raised us since birth, yet Aura ended her life without a second thought. The worst part is, it was all my fault.

  Completely out of my mind with grief, I told Uma what happened. Then, she sat me and Aura down and told us about our true parentage, warning us about the dark gifts we might possess and urging us to control our tempers and guard our hearts.

  We were sired by a dark fae King.

  A King who passed a sliver of his evil power on to us.

  A King who took our mother without her consent, and who forced this curse of sleep upon us as well.

  Aura demanded to know how Uma had such knowledge. Our mother died during childbirth, after all.

  Uma said that after we were taken to the castle, the midwife who helped us into the world came to her. She said she could smell the magic while we were being born, and how Mother mumbled incoherently during childbirth, eventually divulging everything that had happened to her.

  A few moments after Uma took her leave, Aura left my bedroom.

  I watched from the window as Uma walked out into the garden. It was nearly dusk and Aura was weakening. Her body was preparing for sleep while mine was waking from it. But even in her tired state, she found Uma and from behind, stabbed her with a pair of shears, forcing them through her back and into her heart. I could hear the squelching sound even from above, the sigh as her spirit left her body, and the resonance of my own scream.

  Aura merely laughed in response. She let Uma’s body sink to the ground, and then with her hands, willed the earth to cover her up, the beginnings of a rose bush sprouting over where she lay.

  I looked over the land that was being taken over by tangled bushes fu
ll of red roses. The color of my sister’s lips. And blood. I realized William wasn’t the first, and Uma wouldn’t be the last person she buried in her garden.

  I flipped back toward the beginning, when another page caught my eye.

  Today, I made fire by my own hand, not with a fire striker and steel. My fingers burned and tingled. On a whim, I pointed at the logs in the hearth and a humming burn began to thrum through my chest and arms. It filtered into my fingers and suddenly forked fire appeared in the fireplace, a fierce and hungry inferno that consumed the wood almost instantly.

  Aura can control earth and water, and like the perfect opposites we are, I can control fire and, my next guess is, air. I just have to figure out how to wield it. Especially against her.

  Was that how she flew? By manipulating the wind beneath her?

  I flipped to the page she’d left off on.

  Last day of spring...

  Malex had promised to help me as soon as I woke. It was the only hope I could cling to throughout my slumber. If I could end her by killing myself, I would. Moon knows, I’ve tried. However, her life force brings me back from the shadows instead of dragging her into them with me.

  The thought hit me full force in the chest. Luna would sacrifice herself to stop Aura? She’d already tried to kill herself to rid the world of her sister, and it didn’t work.

  Luna was desperate.

  But if our life forces were separated, I could kill my sister and remain living, and I would roast the bird she uses for eyes. Goddess, I hate Pieces. Always snooping. Always perched on my sills. Leaving the palace behind was the best move I’ve ever made, but most days it doesn’t feel like I left at all, with my sister invading my dreams and that damned bird always hovering and squawking about.

  As soon as I wake, I’ll see Malex again. He warned that his price for helping me would be steep. I just hope I can afford his price.

  Malex. That was who she’d flown off to see. What type of price would he demand? The infinite possibilities made my stomach clench and my fingers tightened on the journal. Feeling guilty, I marched across the room and put it back on the table, stopping to stare at it. I knew I could keep reading and learn what happened to my brother, but I wanted to hear about William from her lips, not her pen.

  She might be making a deal with Malex tonight, but she also owed a debt to me.

  Soon, I would call it in.

  I needed to hear about his final moments from someone who loved him.

  chapter eight

  LUNA

  After stopping at Malex’s opulent—and very neglected—palace and finding it empty, and then flying over the nearest village without so much as a whiff of him, I found Malex sitting exactly where I’d left him just three short months ago. In his cave, sitting in a plush chair, feet propped up on a table with a book in his lap.

  “I’ve been expecting you,” he said with a smirk on his face. “I thought you’d show up last night.”

  I thought about asking him why he’d deserted his palace, but thought better of it. It was none of my business if the fae Prince preferred to dwell in a cave. Maybe he liked the cool, damp air or the quietness it provided.

  And as for his question, I didn’t need to explain anything to him. He would only be curious about Phillip, and I didn’t want anyone to know about him. I planned to see Phillip back to his palace with no one but me and Ember any the wiser about the Prince of Grithim’s unexpected visit.

  Glancing around, I ignored his stare and pretended interest in his cave. The space was surprisingly cozy, full of all the amenities of home and lit with flickering candles. This cave was no damp hole in the rock. Instead, he’d turned it into a palace of sorts.

  Malex was handsome. Golden skin. Long, black hair. Eyes that glittered a soft, silvery gold. He was dressed in white, as usual, in a suit that must have cost a fortune. The fabric barely whispered as he unfolded his long legs and tossed the book aside, striding across the room to greet me.

  He took my hand and kissed it, his eyes lingering on my cleavage. Pulling my hand away, I cleared my throat. I didn’t have time for pleasantries.

  “You said in the spring you would help me,” I said curtly.

  He chuckled. “So eager. We haven’t even had time to catch up.”

  “I slept for three months. The end. Now, can you please help me?”

  He smiled. “Aren’t you curious about how I’ve been doing this summer?”

  “No.”

  “For all your impatience, you do know how to charm a man.”

  “Now isn’t the time to use my charm,” I volleyed with a smile.

  “Isn’t it? You want something from me. I’d say it’s the perfect time.” With those words, he was in front of me in a flash, his arm snaking around my waist. The dress was accentuating my assets in a way he obviously found pleasing. Malex dragged the tip of his nose down the column of my throat and breathed me in.

  I was strong, but not stronger than he was, and he knew it.

  Phillip’s auburn hair and the slight beauty mark on his cheek flashed into my mind. I eased away from Malex. “You said the price would be steep, but I didn’t agree to it yet,” I warned. Power crackled beneath my skin. Or maybe it was beneath his.

  “You want to get straight down to business. Fine.” He snapped his fingers and a piece of parchment appeared in the air between us. “Gather these items and I will help you with the spell you need.”

  I took the parchment and scanned over the list:

  A Siren’s voice

  The Umbilis of a newborn

  A Dragon’s egg

  A rose from Aura’s garden

  The Eye of a blind man

  A Spirit

  A Wolf’s eye

  The Tongue of Prince Terigon of Ringsted

  I felt my eyes narrow. “Why Terigon, specifically?”

  Malex smiled. “Because we need the tongue of a firstborn Prince or Princess, and because he lied to me. He deserves a much worse fate than merely having his tongue ripped out. In fact, you can tell him I said that. Anyway, two birds. One stone.”

  I was thankful that Phillip was hidden, and that he was second born.

  “It’ll take me a while to get all of these, but the rose... can it be plucked by moonlight?”

  “The spell must be cast under the waning moon. The full moon phase was last night, so you’ll have to hurry because we only have fourteen nights. If you want this to work, each of the ingredients must be fresh. And I’m sorry, but as far as the rose, it must be harvested midday at the sun’s peak, while it’s in full bloom.”

  “How am I supposed to pick one during the day?”

  He winked. “Surely you have a day-walker friend who would help.” Again, Phillip’s handsome face surfaced in my mind. He was my only human “friend,” but I couldn’t ask him to retrieve it. Aura used to kill and hide the bodies beneath her roses, but now she used her roses to kill anyone who crossed her. They were toxic, releasing an airborne poison toward anyone who came close enough.

  “The roses would kill anyone who helped me.”

  Malex flashed a look of sympathy. He knew he’d asked for the one ingredient I couldn’t provide. If I asked, he would supply one, but the price might be more than I was willing to pay. I vowed I would find a way to get a rose without him, or be damned trying.

  “I have faith in your methods of persuasion,” he said with a smile, rubbing his jaw.

  “And the rest of these? Any other special instructions?”

  “You must cut the umbilis, as well,” he warned.

  “And the binding salt?” I asked, holding out my hand.

  “Aw, you remembered,” he smarted.

  Of course I remembered. My goal after coming here would be to see that my sister couldn’t take a single step outside of her castle. Binding her inside would piss her off even worse than binding her to the palace grounds did. She would be enraged if she couldn’t walk among her roses. I almost couldn’t wait to see her in my dreams...h
er beautiful face, contorted in rage...

  I sighed happily as Malex walked into the back of the cave and disappeared behind a wall that led to another chamber. When he returned, he was carrying a small burlap sack tied at the top with twine. “Sprinkle this all around the castle,” he instructed. “It will bind her inside.”

  “And I’ll still be able to cross the barrier it provides?”

  “Yes, but only you. It provides the person who creates the circle access, but will keep all other fae from crossing the line.”

  “Including you?” I asked.

  “Including me. Not that I’d want to visit Aura.” He smiled, looking as if he’d been chiseled from gold.

  “Thank you for helping me.” When I reached for the bag, he held it up and out of reach. “These come with a price, you know. I’ll help you with your separation spell for a future favor; however, the price for the binding dust is a kiss.”

  A growl tore from my chest. “I don’t want to kiss you,” I fumed.

  He tsked, his canines seeming longer than they were a few moments ago. “We all have to do things we’d rather not sometimes. Besides, it’s only a kiss. You’re a beautiful halfling. Powerful. Terrible. I just want a taste of the fury building beneath the beauty.”

  “Then you should seek out my sister. She’s the beauty. I’m the savage.”

  “And what flavor is your savagery, sweet Luna?” He stepped closer, reaching out to ease my hair away from my face. My claws extended, biting into the flesh of my palm as Malex placed a chaste but lingering kiss on my cheek, his eyes widening as they locked onto mine. “Very interesting,” he murmured before pressing his lips to mine. His eyes closed as he kissed me, but I didn’t want to let him have the pleasure of enjoying it if I didn’t. Pushing him away, I wiped the moisture from my lips. “Enough. Give me the dust.”