by SGD Singh
Ariella’s footsteps reached the landing. “What the hell was that?”
Lexi shook her head.
“Lexi? I said what the hell was that? You better tell me something.”
Lexi spun to face her, noting that Ariella’s face still bled, soaking her collar. “That thing. He… spoke to me… telepathically.”
Ariella’s jaw dropped. “You mean like… soulmate telepathically?”
Lexi grabbed a vase off a shelf and threw it across the room, where it shattered against the stone wall.
Ariella backed up. “Hey, look, maybe all Upperworlders can do that shit, right? Don’t mess up a kidnapped nun’s crap over it, c’mon.”
Lexi glared at her. “Do you really think that’s what happened just now?”
“… No.” Ariella peered out the window. “I actually thought Steampunk Dean Winchester was about to kiss you back there.” She touched the three gouges along her cheek and winced. “Still, it’s possible.”
“I am going to kill Asha.” Lexi punched the side of a cupboard. “This is why she left me here? Wait until I get my hands on that creepy-eyed little…”
Another vase shattered with a crash against the stone floor before she even knew she was holding it.
Ariella said, “Yeah, but… soulmate, Lexi, I mean…”
Lexi snorted, picking up another vase.
“What did he say?” Ariella wasn’t trying hard enough not to smile.
“I will smash this shit right through your skull, Trivedi, I swear to God.”
Her phone rang.
Lexi snatched it out of her pocket, and her heart stopped when she saw the word Nidhan. She ran down the stairs, waving for her friends to gather around her as she accepted the call.
“You’re a dead man, Mamono,” she growled. “If you hurt him, if even a single hair on his head is touched, you will live to regret the day you ever slithered out of your filthy whore of a mother.” Lexi put the phone on speaker. The three Upperworlders joined the others.
Mamono laughed. “Lexi, Lexi, Lexi. And here I was thinking we were going to be such friends.”
“Get to the point.”
“It’s very simple. We want your friend Asha. You can have your useless giant back as soon as you tell us where she is.” His laugh was like the sound of insects being tortured. “You will not beg for assistance from your elders, or he dies. I’ll know if you lie to me, Jodha. And if you do, I promise your friend will die very, very slowly.”
Lexi looked around the group, feeling hysterical disbelief threatening to choke her. “Asha? Asha’s not here and we don’t know where she is. Now tell me if I’m lying, you fat fuck.”
“I thought you understood the situation.” The sadness in his voice mocked her. “We will happily kill your friend. His pain will be our pleasure. So watch your foul Infernal Guard mouth. You have two days.” He hung up.
“Fuck!” Lexi started to throw her phone, but Ariella grabbed her hand, wrenching it from her fingers.
Lexi raked her hands through her hair, tying it roughly into a bun, and sat on the edge of the fountain. Her heart pounded with the frustration of inaction. Her mind reeled against the thought of Nidhan in the hands of the most notorious Goblin ever to weasel out of assassination attempts and get around The Guard’s deportation rules.
The sound of awakening desert life began to fill the gathering night.
The three Upperworlders approached her on silent, split-toed shoes, and Lexi raised her head to glare at the blond. “Explain that thing,” she said, pointing to his sleeve.
The one with black hair stepped forward. “You will speak to the prince with respect,” he said.
Lexi sprang at him, her knife at his throat in an instant, her other hand gripping his dark hair, yanking his head back. His hair didn’t feel like hair. “I will speak however I damn well please. And if you don’t like it, you are welcome to fuck off.”
The blond said something, his voice echoing like a whip across the courtyard, and the black-haired Upperworlder relaxed and nodded at Lexi. She let go of him, and he and Rainbow Hair retreated to the church. Kai, Kenda, and Ariella followed them, but Koko crossed his arms and leaned against the nearby wall, close enough to help if Lexi needed him.
Lexi sat back down on the edge of the fountain with a sigh.
“It’s a medical device,” the Upperworlder told her, his English effortless. “Used for surgery, or transportation of the wounded.” His voice was sheer perfection. “We carry them for inter-realm travel as well. We recently discovered two of them were missing… as you’ve seen, they’ve been weaponized, thanks to an idiotic member of my family. Yesterday we retrieved the other from Witches in Canada.”
Lexi put out her hand, and he dropped the silver disc into it without touching her. It was heavier than it looked, etched with complicated grooves and markings.
“You can track it when it’s been used.” Lexi tossed it back to him. “That’s what brought you guys here?”
“Yes,” he nodded. “They are all connected with a… like a kind of GPS, I think you would call it. It’s activated whenever the device is used.”
Lexi pointed at him. “So you’re what? Inter-realm damage control?”
“It’s like a branch of our military, yes.”
“And princes join the military?” Lexi studied him, noticing his hands, unable to not notice how perfect they were.
He shrugged, looking uncomfortably at his boots. “Sometimes.”
It was ridiculous how beautiful all of him was. Holy hell.
Lexi shook her head and stood. “Well, now, thanks to your fancy weapon and idiotic relative, Underworlders took my fiancé. So you can help get him back.”
At the word fiancé, she saw him flinch before he turned his attention to the ground.
“Okay, Lexi.”
Holy shit. Lexi’s temper flared even as her pulse sped at the sound of his voice saying her name.
“Nidhan has a beacon in one of his molars. We all do. When he’s conscious, he’ll activate it to let us know where he is.”
Another nod. He wouldn’t meet her eyes. Good.
“Until then, we wait.” Lexi pointed to the church. “And have one of your devoted subjects fix Ariella’s face.”
Lexi turned, adding, “And you can stop hiding your wings from us. No one gives a shit.”
His companions blended out of the darkness as she stalked away, and Lexi heard one of them say, “Seriously? Her?”
“Shut up, Dinesh.”
“But… of all the—”
“Both of you shut up.”
Apparently they were all speaking English now. Yay.
Chapter 18
“Welcome to Atala,” Asha’s voice called cheerfully.
A wave of nausea twisted her insides as Jax opened her eyes, blinking in near darkness. Kelakha helped her to her feet before he fixed his night vision glasses onto his face, nodding at her to do the same. The glasses made it seem as if a purple light had been switched on. All their clothes and packs had turned a dark blackish-purple, blending into the darkness around them.
“Why are we in the middle of a wasteland?” said Ursala, looking around at the sea of dark rock in every direction. “This can’t be where they took our guy. And am I the only one having trouble breathing?”
“Are you gonna bitch like this the whole time?” Aquila said. “’Cause we, like, just got here.”
Asha held the Seer’s rosary beads. “The portal drifts every minute, so we didn’t arrive exactly where the kidnappers did. But we’re close. They took the hostages… east.” She tightened the straps on her pack, put her glasses on, and began walking away at a fast pace, and everyone else moved to follow her.
Jax noticed that they all looked miserable, and seemed to have a hard time breathing. Well, all of them except Avinash.
“The Jodha will have the hardest time adapting to this environment,” Avinash announced to no one in particular, his eyes shining like silver as he stud
ied the shadows around them. “Kairav might feel a little nauseous, and Jax won’t feel any difference after her initial adjustment.”
“What about you?” said Ursala.
“Me?” Avinash grinned. “I feel just fine.”
Ursala studied him. “Uh… when was the last time you fed?”
“Why?” Avinash’s grin widened. “You offering?”
Ursala’s eyes widened in alarm and he shoved his glasses onto his face with a grunt. Kairav shook her head at her husband.
“So if the portal moves, it won’t take us back to the convent anymore,” said Kelakha.
“It will stay stable there for twenty-four hours,” Asha answered. “But now that we’re here, I can feel that time moves differently in this realm.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” said Ursala.
“It means it might already have been twenty-four hours back home. I can’t be sure.”
“You can’t be sure?” Ursala stopped. “You’re telling us this now? Are we gonna find everyone, like, seventy-five years old and all wrinkled up and shit when we get back? Because that would really suck ass.”
“Shut up, dude,” said Aquila. “She just said time moves differently. It doesn’t change what we’re here for.”
Ursala straightened his night vision glasses again and mumbled, “Time moves differently. And it’s dementedly freezing here.” He sniffed. “Does anyone else smell that? Like… rotting, molding… dead feet.”
Kelakha slapped the back of Ursala’s head as he passed him. “Yeah. Smells like your mom.”
Asha stopped short, holding her arms out. “Stop.”
“Holy Zombie entrails,” said Ursala stopping next to her.
Jax peeked past Kelakha and felt panic threatening to choke her. Without thinking, she grabbed onto his arm, then, feeling mortified, immediately released him.
They stood at the edge of a cliff and looked down at the destroyed remains of a dark city that looked twice as big as any in their realm. Misshapen sections looked as if they’d been bombed repeatedly, and at first glance, the whole place looked deserted. But as she watched, Jax saw the ruined buildings throbbed with struggling life, and blue and purple lights flickered among the skeletal remains.
“It’s like Godzilla destroyed Tokyo all over again,” breathed Ursala.
Jax looked at Asha but she was in deep, silent conversation with Aquila.
“How the hell are we supposed to get through that?” Ursala was still talking. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m as happy to kill my way through Underworlders as the next man, but… damn.”
“Jax will get us through,” said Asha brightly, turning back to the group.
“Uh, what?” said Jax.
“We trust you, Jax,” Asha smiled at her, placing a heavily-ringed hand on her shoulder. “You have the most experience traveling through a city without being seen. You can do it.”
“But, that’s a…” Jax looked from Asha to Kelakha in confusion. Surviving on the streets had in no way prepared her for this. If Asha expects me to magically figure out an Underworld, well… we’re all royally fucked, that’s what.
“See those mountains there?” Asha pointed. “Beyond the city?”
“No.” Jax squinted. “Barely.”
“At the base of the mountains is the palace. That’s where our Seer is being held.”
“Oh, is that all?” said Ursala. “Uh, excuse me, your Supreme Commanderness, but how the hell are we supposed to get down off this cliff?”
Avinash stepped forward. “Asha and Aquila will fly, Kelakha will shift to something that can carry Jax and Kairav, and you and I will climb down. Look, there’s a spot right here that’s not even that steep.” He slapped Ursala’s arm. “Stop whining and show the civilian what a snuggle-bear you are.”
Everyone turned questioningly to Asha.
She grinned, nodding. “That’s exactly right. You really are a snuggle bear, Ursala.”
Everyone but Ursala and Jax laughed, and Asha Shifted, gliding through the air as Ursala swiped at her. Aquila kicked at his legs, and Ursala jumped back, cursing as Aquila’s hawk followed Asha over the cliff.
“Well, at least I won’t be cold,” Ursala said, shifting to an oversized Asian bear. Avinash kissed his wife on the forehead, saying something in a language Jax didn’t understand, before he followed Ursala to the edge of the cliff. Just before he went over the edge, Jax watched him transform into a terrifying wolf-monster with eyes of orange flame and fur of black iridescence. He grinned teeth larger than a tiger’s before leaving Jax and Kairav staring down at the demolished city.
Kelakha cleared his throat behind them. “Uh… something that climbs rocky mountains easily but can still carry both of you…” he looked uncomfortable with the thought.
“Ooh,” said Kairav. “What about a giant snow leopard, like Bao Chen!”
Kelakha rolled his eyes, and Jax laughed. “That was pretty adorable.”
“Super adorable,” said Kairav.
“Oh, fine,” said Kelakha, shaking his head. “But we will not tell Chen about this. He takes offense at people melting into kissy-faced saps over him.”
“That’s not what I heard,” said Kairav.
Jax saw the look of pain cross Kelakha’s features as he said, “That was only Mia.”
“Oh…” Kairav said softly.
“Just come on, we’re falling behind,” Kelakha said, shaking his head. “And try not to pull fur.”
With a shimmer of spotted fur and dark purple fabric, Kelakha shifted to an oversized snow leopard, almost the size of a pony, blinking light grey eyes at them. Kairav smiled and hopped excitedly up and down like a little girl while Jax just gawked. The snow leopard jerked its head at them in a very non-snow leopard way and Kairav motioned Jax to sit first.
Taking a deep breath, she reached a hand to the big cat’s fur, gasping as her fingers sank into luxuriously soft heaven.
“Oh. My. God.” Jax was grinning before she could stop herself.
Then the fact that she was being asked to actually sit on Kelakha dawned on her, and Jax hesitated, feeling herself begin to blush furiously. She started to back up, but Kairav shoved her ungracefully onto the cat’s back, jumping up to sit behind her, and Jax tried not to picture herself straddling the boy himself.
Kairav squeezed Jax’s arm and giggled. “Well, if we die at the end of this, at least we can say we had some fun first.”
The sound of the giant cat’s growl vibrated along her legs, filling her chest, and Jax froze, feeling Kairav’s arms tighten around her.
“Maybe now is a bad time to piss him off,” she told Kairav.
“Noted,” Kairav whispered as Kelakha moved along the top of the cliff with smooth, feline strides, causing Jax to dig into his fur by the handful, completely forgetting not to pull as he began to descend down the side of the dark rock.
After a slow, careful minute Jax whispered, “Who’s Mia?”
“A girl who died last year. She was very popular with the boys.”
Oh. Jax wondered why she suddenly felt like someone had punched her in the stomach.
Kelakha growled again.
“And you don’t have to whisper,” Kairav whispered. “Snow leopards have excellent hearing.”
Without warning, Kelakha jumped at least ten feet, causing Jax to slam forward at the impact and wrap her arms around his neck. She squeezed her eyes closed as the leopard stopped being careful and started bounding quickly from rock to rock. Kairav’s arms crushed her ribs, and seconds later, they had stopped.
Kelakha was still beneath her.
Jax felt Kairav release her, and opened her eyes to find they had reached the bottom of the cliff.
But something had gone terribly wrong.
Ursala stood with his hands on his knees, retching. Jax loosened her grip from the cat’s fur and stumbled off the snow leopard’s back, and Kelakha immediately shifted, falling to his knees in the dirt in apparent agony.
&nbs
p; “’Lakha!” Jax rushed to him. “What’s wrong with him? Oh, Jesus…”
The force of her panic at seeing him helpless grabbed Jax’s heart and twisted, leaving her stunned.
Kairav hurried to Avinash, who sat checking his weapons. Asha and Aquila sauntered toward them from behind a jagged boulder of black stone, not sparing Kelakha or Ursala a glance, and Jax reminded herself to breathe.
“All right,” Asha said. “Now we know that shifting in this realm causes… well. Let’s just say we’ll only be shifting when absolutely necessary going forward. We have a long way to walk, people, let’s move.”
“Asha,” Jax said, a little too loud, her voice breaking with panic. “Hello? Kelakha’s not all right.”
Asha smiled. “He’ll be fine, Jax. He’s the most advanced shape-shifter in recorded history, so naturally he feels the worst, that’s all.”
“I’m fine,” Kelakha croaked, straightening. He pulled his hair out of his face, tightening the ponytail at the top of his head. “Let’s go.”
Ursala coughed. “Well, I’m not fine. I feel like someone pulled my fucking lungs through my throat with a hot poker.”
“Once we find water, you can mix the purifier into it,” Avinash told him. “That’ll help.”
The city loomed up in the distance, and the seven of them fell into a spread-out formation; Avinash and Kairav at the front, Kelakha, Ursala, and Aquila behind them, and Asha and Jax bringing up the rear.
Ursala started what sounded like an argument with Aquila in Punjabi.
Kairav began singing softly, grasping Avinash’s arm and snuggling up to him as if she were on a walk in a park.
Jax tried to ignore the cold, tightening her hood over her head and straightening her glasses.
“Who was Mia?” The words seem to slip out of her mouth for the second time.
What the hell is wrong with you?
“Mia?” Asha’s steps faltered for a second. “She was one of our classmates. And a dear friend. She died saving Nidhan’s life last December.”
“And Kelakha… he was in love with her.” It was as if thinking something and saying it were the same thing in this realm, and Jax winced.