by Holly Evans
“We’re safe, you’re ok. Breathe,” I said softly.
Logan ran his hand down her back, and she slowly calmed.
The room felt claustrophobic, and the quiet weighed on me. It was oppressive as we stood in a small circle, eyes cast down, locked in our own thoughts. The smell of blood filled my nose, and the adrenaline crash hit me hard. I fought back against the exhaustion and the need to cry, scream, or both. That wouldn’t do anyone any good, and Erin needed me to be strong. To protect her. I leaned in and brushed my lips over her temple before I stepped away and started to plan our next move.
We needed to pack everything we could and move. Everything felt filthy. That room was supposed to be our safe spot, and they’d taken it. I hated nothing more than when a rival breached the sanctity of my bedroom.
“Is this a normal part of adventuring?” Erin asked as she pulled clothing over her bloodied nightclothes.
There was no point in wasting time making ourselves look pretty. We had to be pragmatic and move. I dragged my hair back into a messy knot and double-checked we had all our essentials.
Logan and I looked at each other. What did we say to that? Her quiet tone and the dampness in the corners of her eyes suggested she needed us to reassure her. I couldn’t; I’d have been lying. I shrugged.
“I’m afraid so,” Logan said.
The simple fact was that it wouldn’t be an adventure if it was easy and safe. I enjoyed the competition, the rivalry with other hunters, but I still found the bloody fights distasteful. They were a necessary part of the job, and I put a smile on my face for Erin’s sake. There was no point in dwelling.
I pulled on a pair of shorts and a lightweight shirt over my night clothes and placed Wispy back in his cage. He’d be ok after some sleep. I put some fresh succulent leaves in with him to eat when he woke up.
“Ready?” I asked.
We hadn’t really unpacked, so it hadn’t taken long to pull everything together.
“Where are we going?” Erin asked.
“There was a nice hotel on the edge of the jungle, not far from the lunar temple,” Logan said.
“That pretty little white place?” Erin asked.
Her mouth twitched with a smile and her tone lifted with something like hope. I relaxed. She wasn’t that fragile, it was just a shock. Logan smiled and placed his hand on my lower back.
We left the room without another word. I was tense and ready for another fight. There was a chance that there were more Garou waiting for us. Logan dropped our keys on the front desk and continued out the front door into the balmy night. There was no point in wasting our time and energy on pleasantries.
We paused and checked the street around us before we stepped out into the city. There weren’t any more Garou that we could see. That didn’t allow me to relax, but it was something.
The city had a completely different feel during the dark hours. The happy buzz was still present. It caressed the palms of my hands and made me smile despite myself. The streets were quiet, but not abandoned. People were quietly whispering and laughing as they exchanged numbers, vials, and other things. Parties could be seen flickering in windows far above street levels, and the wild magic looked like a wildfire as it swept in waves over the tops of the trees. Rio felt like somewhere I could call home.
The hotel Logan had mentioned wasn’t too far from the one we’d abandoned. Part of me wanted to be as far away from the original hotel as possible, but we needed to be sensible. The hotel was a small, sleek building with crisp white edges and the soft glow of expensive weaver protections. It bothered me that I felt safer knowing the weaver security was present. I could look after myself. Logan kissed my temple and led the way into the hotel. He turned his incubus charm up as high as he was capable and gave the poor guy behind the desk his most charming smile.
“We’ve had a dreadful night. I don’t suppose you have a couple of rooms free, do you…?” Logan practically purred.
The man behind the desk blinked his large chocolate eyes at Logan and swallowed hard before he gave him a broad smile.
“We do, top floor, and how will sir be paying?”
Logan placed a card on the desk. The transaction was done, and we were free to return to bed. Or head to bed, whichever way you wanted to look at it. I was exhausted and desperately wanted a few dozen hours sleep.
Our rooms were across the hall from each other. I pulled Erin into a firm hug before she departed for the night.
“Eight am breakfast,” I said.
She pressed her cheek against mine.
“See you then,” she said.
Once we were in the privacy of our own room, Logan said, “She’s tough.”
“I know, but I’m allowed to worry,” I said as I peeled my clothing off.
Logan was a mess. His torso was covered in deep cuts and bruises. I pulled out my small healing paste and placed it on the counter in the bathroom before I pulled Logan into the shower and began washing him down. We were very thorough.
Once we were both clean and healed, we collapsed into bed and a dark, dreamless sleep.
19
Wispy was back to himself when the alarm went off. He was chittering loudly and demanding his breakfast. He was quite sure I starved him. We dressed in sensible clothing and good boots and went out into the hallway, expecting Erin to be waiting for us. Logan narrowed his eyes at Erin’s door and sniffed the air. Being half shifter, his sense of smell was far better than mine. I knocked on Erin’s door while Logan paced behind me. Nothing. Logan shouldered the door open and barged in. Her room was a complete mess. Broken furniture, torn bedding, and blood. Her backpack was still there, but she wasn’t.
“Garou?” I asked.
“No,” Logan growled.
We ran downstairs, and I vaulted over the front desk with my silver kris in my hand. I pressed the blade against the receptionist’s throat, causing him to whimper.
“Tell me what happened to her,” I snarled.
Someone had taken Erin, and I was going to make sure they paid dearly for that mistake.
“Your friend?” he whispered.
I pressed the blade tighter against his throat.
“Our magicians took her to the temple. She’s perfect. Our lady will live long and true thanks to your girlfriend,” the man said quickly.
I dug my fingers into his hair and wrenched his head back.
“Tell me where.”
He trembled.
“Our temple, in the heart of the jungle. You can’t stop it. She’s perfect.”
The jungle was too big. We needed more. Fuck.
“Do you still carry a compass with you?” I asked Logan.
He pulled the small brass compass from his pocket and handed it to me. My mind was racing.
“Give me Erin’s hairbrush, and one of your hairs,” I said as I held the compass in front of Wispy.
“I need one of your sparks,” I told the wisp.
He obliged and spat on the compass. I pulled one of Logan’s hairs out and twined it with one of Erin’s from her brush. Then I pressed those onto the needle of the compass and wiped a drop of blood from the receptionist over the top. That gave me something of Erin to pull us to her, some shifter and the compass to help us track, blood from the asshole to help us get to the temple, and pure magic from Wispy to bring it all together. I watched the needle intently as it spun rapidly before it finally stopped and pointed towards the lobby door.
We ran out into the street with Wispy whining from my shoulder.
“Go ahead,” I told him.
He shot in front of us, chittering and growling at all who dared get in our way as we tore around corners and ran into the dense jungle. I tried to force the images of sacrifice out of my mind. We weren’t going to let that happen. She was tough. She probably had them all pinned down with a broken chair leg by now.
The thick green foliage soon pressed against us, clawing at our limbs and slowing our progress into the jungle. Wispy bounced back and
forth between two trees, whining, and the compass started to flicker. This wasn’t going as well as I’d hoped. Logan crouched down and pressed his hand to the bare earth. He was only a tier three earth elemental, but it was enough to give him the ability to speak with the earth and its… things. I tried to be calm and still so as not to distract him, but I desperately wanted to hack my way through the plants that dared bar my way back to Erin.
Logan gave a small smile, stood, and nodded in the direction we were heading. Erin had come through there. We were on the right path. A small weight lifted. We were going to save her. We had to.
The air became thicker as we pressed further into the jungle. The dense foliage around us cut out a lot of the sun and reduced our visibility. Heavy, barbed vines moved across the ground around us. Large pungent flowers slowly turned to face us as we ran past them. The sensation of being watched by multiple eyes made my skin crawl. I held my kris blade in my other hand as we followed the compass and prayed it was taking us to Erin. Logan remained close behind me, his hands occasionally grazing a tree trunk to confirm the compass’s path.
The warmth of the jungle soon became oppressive. Vines moved around our ankles and snagged the edges of our boots as I watched the compass while trying to make my way through the increasingly dense foliage. The trees were growing closer together, and every scrap of earth had been covered in bushes and vines. It was difficult to move without tripping. We’d been forced to slow to a walk. Time was ticking by. We needed to move quicker. Who knew what Erin was going through while we were held back.
A small creature the size of Wispy launched itself at Logan’s face. It seemed to be all teeth. Logan swatted the bright-yellow leathery ball away with a scowl. It hissed and vanished back into the bushes from whence it had come. I ran my hand over the small collection of anti-venoms and similar, reassuring myself that they were there should we need them.
Logan was close behind me, and Wispy flew back and forth between us while whining.
"Track her, find her," I told him.
The wisp flew down to the compass, and I worried for a moment that he might break the alchemy there. It seemed to hold as he brushed himself against the smooth edges of brass before he growled and set off through the thick boughs and hanging vines in front of us. I was torn between following Wispy and keeping my focus on the compass. Time was against us.
A slender, pale, silver and purple flower slowly turned to face us as we walked past. Logan snarled a number of curses, and I turned to see that the flower had latched onto his upper arm and was trying to wrap thorned tendrils around his arm. He hacked and slashed at the vine, but it only grew back with increased vigour. I pulled out my fire powder. A sliver of guilt gnawed at me. I didn’t like destroying things if I didn’t have to, but we had to go and save Erin. I sprinkled the powder on the vine and watched it melt. A high-pitched hissing cry came from somewhere within the undergrowth. Logan had a large red mark on his arm, but the damn thing hadn't managed to break the skin that I could see.
"I'll be fine, let's get Erin," he said.
I gave a sharp nod and pushed forward into the jungle. The usual bird calls and buzzing of insects were oddly quiet and subdued. It was setting my nerves on edge. The area should have been a cacophony of noises, and yet the further we pressed on, the quieter it got. The sound of the plants slithering and crawling over the ground and around the tree trunks sent shivers down my spine. I took a deep breath and focused. The jungle wasn't that big. It was in the heart of the city. We had to be getting close to the centre by now, unless the compass had led us astray.
Logan gave a strangled cry before he hit the ground. I spun around and knelt next to him. He'd turned deathly pale, and his eyes were taking on an awful bruised purple shade. The area around the wound inflicted by the cursed flower was turning a sickly yellow and swelling at an alarming rate. So much for not breaking the skin. I reached into my collection of anti-venoms and tried to think of what I knew about flowers. Fuck. I hadn't bothered to listen in my botany classes. I'd been far more interested in pure magic and the way it manifested in sentient beings.
Logan swallowed hard. His breathing was becoming laboured. I'd have to take a risk. I picked out the anti-venom that worked on the blood and essence. Surely, that would give me some time, even if I was wrong? I pressed two tablets into his mouth and gave him some water to swallow them with while he still could. Wispy hovered over him and gave a soft grumbling whine. Footsteps came from all around us. We were surrounded, and Logan was losing consciousness. I wasn't going to give in. I wasn't going to lose.
20
"Her hair is fire! It's an omen," a reedy voice said.
I ignored it in favour of stroking Logan's face and hoping he returned to me soon. His breathing was easing, and the swelling on his arm had reduced. He coughed and spluttered before he threw himself onto his side and coughed hard. A small spiky ball dropped from his mouth. I was simultaneously horrified and fascinated. I pocketed the ball for later analysis. It was an interesting object, and I didn’t want to risk someone getting their hands on it and being able to use it against Logan.
"He survived the glass root!" a female voice shouted.
"They must join the sacrifice."
Logan slowly sat up.
"They can take us to Erin," I whispered.
Admittedly, I didn't like the idea of joining her as a sacrifice, but it would ensure that we got to the right place. Logan kissed behind my ear.
"Agreed," he whispered.
His voice was gravelly and raw, but he was conscious. Elation filled me. I’d really thought I was going to lose him for a horrible moment there. I wanted to kiss him and hold him close, but we were surrounded. The time for affection would have to wait.
I helped Logan to his feet and looked around for the owners of the voices. They emerged from the undergrowth as one group, each stepping in time with the rest of the group. Their eyes had a slightly glassy appearance. They wore the green and white colours of life magicians, but something about them made it seem as though they were sorely lacking in life essence. Perhaps it was the greyish tone to their rich bronze skin, or the stiffness of their movements.
"You will come and make the world right," a young man commanded.
His black hair was slicked back and had a number of wilted leaves tied into it. His mouth was fixed in a firm line, but it was the vicious looking blade in his hand that made me dip my chin and acknowledge that we wouldn't fight. It might not have been my most intelligent choice, but it would get me to where Erin was, and that was the important thing in that moment.
The group surrounded us in a loose circle. They walked with their eyes focused front and centre, although they snapped to attention the moment Logan or I so much as looked away from where we were going. We followed them deeper into the jungle, which gradually grew quieter until it was silent bar our footsteps. The vines and plants ducked away from their presence. One of them turned brown and died at the touch of a woman's fingertips. I frowned. Life magicians lived up to their name - they gave things life. These magicians were almost like death magicians. They took the life essence from everything they touched. Although, that was unfair to death magicians; they were disciplined and careful. These people were careless and didn’t even seem to notice the impact they had on their surroundings. My stomach twisted into knots as I tried to see what we had gotten ourselves into this time.
We emerged from the dense jungle into a roughly cut clearing with a small crumbling temple. The bushes and roots parted around the remains of short stone walls and pathways. I frowned. The life magicians should have made this a beautiful, crisp place. The life magician places I'd seen in the past were surrounded by bright, vivid flowers set in neat symbols. This place was decaying and broken. Logan squeezed my hand. He'd been returning to himself on the walk. His pace was strong and confident again, which I was grateful for, given I suspected we were going to have one hell of a fight on our hands.
There were eight people i
n life-magician colours around us. Each of them looked drawn and fragile. Only two of them had blades that I could see, but they could have had savage magics that I didn't want to tackle if we didn't have to. We were pushed through the narrow doorway of the rough-hewn stone temple into the cool sticky air. Small sigils were carved into every stone. Something about them niggled at the back of my mind. I hadn't paid much attention in the class on sigils; much like botany, I didn't think it would be that useful to my intended career path. Of course, I'd been wrong. Sigils were very popular around the world, and knowing them would have made my life much easier.
"These sigils are made to trap something," Logan whispered.
Thankfully, Logan had been an impeccable student in the sigils class. I'd copied his homework.
"Why would a temple trap something?" I whispered back.
Someone poked me in the ribs and gave me a sharp glare.
I glared back. They didn't push any further, and I followed them through the narrow space into the central area. The room was round, the floor more rough-hewn stone that had been worn smooth by the many footsteps over the years. Erin was tied to the stone platform in the middle of the room with three priests standing over her whispering something in a rapid, sharp language. Erin was fighting with everything she had. She threw herself against her bindings and gave everyone near her a death glare.
Logan wrapped his arm around my wrist and stopped me from barging through our captors to get to Erin. She was covered in a mix of blood and something green. I needed to get her out of there.
"We need to do this carefully, Kit. There's more to this than we can see."
"We can't let them sacrifice her!" I hissed back.