by Martha Carr
hideORdie: @Fists4Daze Nothing’s crazy right now, which should be reassurance enough.
TrollonaRoll818: @hideORdie I totally get where you’re coming from. Why should we be looking for trouble when we finally have a little peace from explosions and missing kids and black magic being sold like candy? (Sorry to hear about your nephews, btw. Those kids are strong. They’ll be okay.) But I have to agree with @Fists4Daze on this one too. There’s no harm in checking in about where our friends are and what they’re up to. It’s not like this D-class friend owes us anything, but I know I sleep a little easier at night, thinking somebody is out there who doesn’t have a problem standing up for the little guy. Whether that’s helping us where F-Force failed or stepping in where scumbags from back home are trying to sink their teeth into our new lives Earthside. Everybody’s shaken up by what happened. It’s not too much to ask for a little reassurance now and then, especially for those of us with family on this side.
FellwineThis44: This is the most useless thread I’ve ever seen. I can’t even believe I just wasted my time reading these comments. @TrollonaRoll818 Grow some balls. This isn’t your therapist’s office. @hideORdie Your nephews shouldn’t have been running around town getting into that nasty shit in the first place. What kind of parent lets that happen? I’d blame your brother instead. And spells are for pussies.
sharpst8kbringzalldavamps: @FellwineThis44 Dude. Get a life.
sharpst8kbringzalldavamps: @FellwineThis44 Also, my grandma could whip your ass back to the other side with her simplest spell. I would know. I’ve got the scars to prove it.
Cheyenne rolled back in her chair. There’s always something to argue about. Not sure how I feel about people waiting for me to come save them.
She glanced at her phone again and thought about the first new portal ridge and all the O’gúl loyalists trying to smuggle in weapons of magical mass destruction. “I guess that’s what I’m doing anyway.”
After logging out of the Borderlands forum, she dipped into the Y2Kickass server just to check. No new messages from Todd or the master-hacker-wannabe who’d decrypted Corian’s stupid map for her in record time. Cheyenne smirked. I’d know who to ask for help if we needed more of that for these O’gúl war machines using human tech. But if I can’t read Persh’al’s code, Mini-Me sure as hell can’t either.
Below her, the credits rolled at the end of Ember’s show. The fae girl ran a hand through her hair and glanced up at the mini-loft. “You hungry?”
“Got your appetite back, huh?”
“Well, you know, wheeling into the kitchen is pretty much all the exercise I’m gonna get today.”
Cheyenne chuckled. “Yeah, I could eat.”
Ember clicked the remote in her hand, and the TV sank back down into its hidden slot in the entry table beside the door. Then she tossed the remote on the coffee table and pushed back to head to the kitchen. “I’m really glad you didn’t inherit your mom’s culinary tastes. I mean, our kitchen’s not as big, but no way in hell am I cooking for you like Eleanor does.”
The halfling practically skipped down the metal stairs, the chains on her wrists clinking as her hand squeaked on the iron railing. “I’d have to pay you for that.”
Chapter Eleven
“So wait.” Ember grabbed both empty containers from the frozen dinners they’d turned into a late lunch and set them in her lap. “You went in to get interrogated by the FRoE, and that asshole without a name is the one who got in trouble?”
She wheeled herself across the kitchen and tossed the containers in the trash as Cheyenne took their forks to the dishwasher. “Yep. I was mostly telling the truth, too. At least, I didn’t have to straight-out lie about anything.”
Ember hissed out a disbelieving laugh. “That guy really hates you.”
“Oh, yeah. I’m not his biggest fan, either.”
“How did you get away with not telling them where L’zar is?”
Cheyenne shrugged. “Probably because I honestly believe he could be anywhere. He might still be at the warehouse. Or he could be running around DC in broad daylight, sending cars off the road and giving people heart attacks. Something tells me that’s more his style.”
“Jeeze.”
The halfling turned and grinned. “But that drow’s not my responsibility. It was his choice to break out of prison and apparently mess up whatever he’s been planning with Corian and the others. They’re the ones dedicating their long-ass lives to this guy. I’m just his kid.”
Ember barked out a laugh. “That normally wouldn’t mean much, but I think the circumstances change that a little, don’t they?”
“Nope.” The halfling leaned against the wide marble island and folded her arms. “I’ve got more than enough to worry about without trying to keep tabs on L’zar Verdys and whatever crap he gets himself into. Maleshi called him one of the greatest O’gúl thieves with his head still on his shoulders. If that’s true, it means he’s good enough at whatever he does not to get caught.”
“Cheyenne, I don’t know if you realize this, but a person has to get caught first before breaking out of prison.”
Cheyenne shot her friend an exasperated glance before a small laugh slipped out. “I meant, he doesn’t get caught unless he wants to. What I don’t get is what he was planning on doing for the last twenty-five years of his sentence that didn’t really mean anything. Wait to be released so he could meet me for the first time when I’m forty-six?”
“Maybe he was always planning to break out early.”
“Yeah, I thought about that.” The halfling glanced around their massive kitchen. “But Corian and Maleshi seemed really surprised and a little pissed-off when I told them the drow let himself out of the prison-bag.”
“It’s still weird to hear you call her that.”
“I know, right? I almost called her that to her face when I stopped by her office earlier. And yeah, she went back to work.” Ember shook her head, and Cheyenne shrugged. “But I think you’re right about the breakout plan. My guess is, it’s a mix of both. Like they were already supposed to have something in motion before L’zar left Chateau D’rahl, and he was too wrapped up in his victory to wait any longer for whatever plan to unfold.”
“His victory?”
“I’m convinced that’s what he thinks this is. I passed the drow trials, I obliterated that thing at my mom’s house, and apparently, I unraveled a centuries-old prophecy about L’zar Verdys’ kids never living long enough to see what any of that’s like. And yeah, he looked awfully proud of himself.”
Ember frowned and wheeled herself into their sweeping living room, glancing out the long wall of windows at their view over north Richmond. “The only things he can take credit for is seducing your mom and staying behind bars for so long.”
“Yeah, well, good luck telling him that.” The halfling joined her friend in the living room and flopped into one of their new black leather recliners. “I think me being frenemies with the FRoE and all these new Border portals popping up put a wrench in everyone’s plans. Kinda hard to cover all the bases centuries in advance, though.”
With a snort, the fae stopped between the coffee table and the occupied recliner and folded her arms. “A lot can happen in a few centuries.”
“True. Feels like it’s all happening right now, though.”
“Screw him.” Ember shrugged. “He let you spend twenty-one years trying to figure all this shit out on your own. The guy deserves massive wrenches in his plans.”
“Thank you.” The halfling yanked up the handle on the side of the recliner until the footrest came all the way up and she was lying as close to horizontal as one could get in a chair like this. Then she stuck both hands behind her head and stared at the high ceiling of their apartment. “Normally, I’d let him crawl into whatever plan-machine he built to pull out those wrenches himself, but there’s a portal ridge and a team of pissed-off FRoE agents at my mom’s house and a bunch of old O’gúl parts for war machines sitting in Persh�
��al’s warehouse, plus the inevitable attacks I know are still headed my way. If the Crown was already halfway to finding me before Corian gave me that pendant, there’s no way in hell she doesn’t know I passed the trials. You know what? Maybe that’s why L’zar had to find his heir so badly.”
The living room fell silent, and Ember cocked her head. “You lost me on that last one.”
“What?” Cheyenne sat up enough to still spread out in the recliner and look at her fae friend at the same time. “Oh. Breaking news, Em. The drow puzzle box opened right up. And I found out what my legacy really is.”
“For real?” The fae’s eyes widened over a slow, excited smile. “What was it?”
“A giant, useless coin.”
“Aw, seriously?”
“Yep.”
Ember blinked, then a startled laugh burst out of her. “He really didn’t think that one through. One coin. He had no idea who your mom was when he found her for one night of Cheyenne-making, did he?”
A low chuckle made its way up the halfling’s throat, growing into a laugh until they were both too breathless to say anything.
“Oh, man.” Cheyenne wiped the tears off her cheeks and cranked the recliner all the way back again. “I think the drow insanity is contagious.”
“Nothing insane about a good sense of humor.” Ember chuckled and wiped her eyes. “That can’t be it, though, right? Your legacy being just one coin a crazy thief gave you?” She laughed again.
“Apparently not.” Folding her arms, the halfling stared up at the ceiling again. “I found out this morning that the real legacy, if we’re still calling it that, is on the other side.”
“In Ambar’ogúl?”
“Yep. And I’m the only one who can go get it.”
“No. No way.” Ember shook her head and tried to wheel closer to Cheyenne’s armchair. The chair caught on the edge of the coffee table, and she grunted, backing up and inching forward in an irritated three-point turn before finally pushing herself alongside the extended recliner to loom right above the halfling’s face. “You’re not crossing over because some lunatic who happens to be your father told you that’s what you need to do.”
Cheyenne swallowed. “He’s not the only one who said it, Em.”
“Who the fuck cares what anybody else said? These people have been watching you and waiting for you to break some stupid prophecy all by yourself. They could’ve stepped in at any point in your life to help you, and they didn’t. This sounds like they’re putting you on the front lines because they don’t have the balls to do it themselves.”
“Uh-huh. That’s what I meant. I’m pretty sure that’s all I am to L’zar anyway.”
Ember’s brows drew together as she studied her friend’s apathetic expression. “You’re not going, are you?”
With a deep breath, Cheyenne slowly turned her head toward her friend and met Ember’s gaze. “If there wasn’t all this other stuff going on, no, I wouldn’t go.”
“Jesus. Are you serious?”
“I have to. Whatever dark shit that’s going on over there is seeping out of the portals and making new ones because there isn’t any more room. This world, the only one we know, is just the overflow tank now.”
“And you’re trusting the magicals who left you high and dry to deal with all this by yourself.” Ember’s lips pressed tightly together, then she ripped her gaze away from Cheyenne and pushed herself across the living room. “You’re just gonna take their word for it and make that crossing because they said your legacy is waiting for you on the other side?”
“Not just because of that, no.” Cheyenne looked back at the ceiling, but now the recliner didn’t feel nearly as comfortable. “Nobody’s come right out and said it, but I’m pretty sure they all think that if I can put that stupid coin on the O’gúl altar, I’ll be able to stop what’s starting to happen over here. You know, giant portals ripping out of the ground and causing earthquakes and unleashing monsters that aren’t supposed to exist.”
“Well, halflings weren’t supposed to exist either, Cheyenne. Should we just throw you off a cliff somewhere and dust off our hands?”
Cheyenne snorted. “That would solve a lot of my problems.”
“I’m serious!”
Slowly, the halfling sat up in the recliner, pushing the handle back down so her feet touched the floor. When she raised an eyebrow at her friend, Ember’s face reddened and she couldn’t hold back a nervous laugh.
“I mean, yeah. That would solve your problems. Not anyone else’s.”
“I’m not trying to fix anyone else’s problems, just my own. And I definitely count those things coming out of the portals and the Crown’s thugs bringing war machines Earthside as my problems. I’m not just gonna sit around and let that happen if I can do something about it.”
Ember folded her arms. “I would.”
“Well, it’s a good fucking thing you’re not L’zar’s kid, then. Or we’d all be screwed.”
They stared at each other, then Ember laughed and leaned over her lap, burying her face in her hands. “That was a total lie.” Her voice was muffled through her fingers. “If I could walk, if I could do anything beyond levitating in this stupid wheelchair, I’d come with you.”
Cheyenne bit her lip. “I know, Em. I wouldn’t let you, but I’d appreciate it.”
“If I had real fae magic, halfling, you wouldn’t be able to stop me.”
“You sound really sure about that.”
Ember dropped her hands in her lap before sitting back up again to look at her friend. “You haven’t seen a full-blooded fae in action, have you?”
“Nope. Looking forward to the day, though.”
“This plan is insane. You know that, right?”
“Well, yeah. It’s L’zar’s plan.”
The fae shook her head. “How are you gonna do it, then?”
“I have no idea. That’s what I’m waiting for the rebels to figure out and tell me.”
“And that’s why you came back to the apartment? To sit around and wait for a phone call?”
Cheyenne rolled her eyes. “Yeah, that’s exactly why I’m here. ‘Cause I have nothing better to do. No classes to teach, no training with a nightstalker, no FRoE operations where everybody hates my guts but still needs me around. I don’t have anything better to do.”
“We need to fix that.” Ember nodded at the remote on the coffee table, and the halfling laughed.
“Shopping therapy lost its thrill?”
“Binge-watching therapy is totally a thing, you know.”
A sharp buzz came from Cheyenne’s backpack on the other side of the couch. Frowning, she stood and patted her back pocket. Nope. Left my phone on the desk. She walked around the couch and sighed when she pulled the burner flip-phone from the front pocket of her backpack. “Maybe I spoke too soon.”
“I thought those guys called you over and over.”
“Yeah, normally.” Cheyenne flipped open the phone and saw a message from the only number that had been saved in it. Yurik. “Huh.”
She opened the text and cocked her head.
Still on for froyo at 6. Be there or be square.
Cheyenne snorted. “That guy is stuck in the wrong decade.”
“That definitely needs an explanation.”
“Oh.” The halfling glanced at her friend and shrugged. “A couple FRoE agents wanted to meet up later tonight. I might call them friends in a parallel universe.”
“What? Cheyenne, the drow halfling, has more than one friend?”
“You’re hilarious.” Cheyenne typed a reply on the awkward, sticky buttons of the flip phone.
I’ll be there. You keep being square.
Then she tossed the phone back into the backpack’s front pocket and ran a hand through her hair.
“So, what does ‘meet up’ mean when we’re talking about FRoE agents who normally would’ve shipped any halfling they found back across the Border?”
Cheyenne shrugged. “These are th
e same guys who took me to Peridosh the first time.”
“Oh!”
“Hey.” A mischievous grin crept across the halfling’s mouth as she looked at her fae friend. “Wanna come?”
Chapter Twelve
Ember squinted and turned her head to shoot Cheyenne a skeptical sidelong glance. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah. It’ll be fun. And you’ve never been, right? I get to hand over the marketplace-rookie mantle to you.”
“Um, hello?” The fae gestured at herself. “There’s a reason I’ve never been, and now there are two reasons I shouldn’t go.”
“Oh, come on. Don’t tell me fae aren’t supposed to get injured either.”
“Not if they have magic to keep themselves from getting injured. And I’m way less worried about the wheelchair than I am about looking like a human.”
“Okay.” Cheyenne rubbed her hands together and nodded. “Good thing I have something to take care of that part too.”
Ember’s eyes practically popped out of her head. “You what?”
“I’ll be right back.” The halfling chuckled and hurried across the living room before throwing open her bedroom door. The silver ring she’d cast as her illusion charm was right where she’d left it on top of the black dresser. She grabbed it, held it up to the thin light coming from the upside-down chandelier lamp on the other side of her bed, and grinned.
When she reached the living room again, Ember had grabbed the remote and was waiting for their TV to finish lifting up out of the entryway table. “Seriously? I tell you I have this great way for you to finally take a trip to Peridosh, and the first thing you do is turn the TV back on?”
“My skills in having no expectations whatsoever have been honed over a lifetime,” Ember said blankly, staring at the black screen.
“Wow. Even with me? Thanks.”
The fae turned toward her and smirked. “Doesn’t mean I can’t still get excited. What’s this awesome new way?”