Dirty Deeds

by R. J. Blain

  “A witness to what?”

  “What is about to happen.”

  Yibal signaled to someone who stepped across the outer circle and stopped beside her. Mal frowned. Ilee. Like everyone else, she was dressed formally in the style and colors of her clan. Yibal held out her hand, and Ilee placed something in it.

  It was round and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize it was the box containing the talisman that would make Nayena virdana of the new giant clan.

  “Virdanas, assemble,” Yibal ordered in a carrying voice as Ilee stepped back out of the circle.

  Female giants came forward. All large. What were the odds that no virdanas had been cursed? Mal didn’t have time to consider. A few moments later, the assembly was complete. There had to be more than fifty virdanas stood in the circle below.

  “Did you know there were so many?” she whispered to Law.

  He nodded. “There are seventy-nine clans. The small giant clan will be the eightieth. I just didn’t expect to see so many here, acting in concert. No wonder that spell packed such a punch. Don’t forget this means that these are all probably dragon shifters, and that doesn’t count who among their companions and the small giants can make the shift also.”

  “Can they cast spells in dragon form?”

  “Let’s hope we don’t have to find out,” he said grimly.

  Yibal began speaking again. Magic enhanced her voice, carrying it to everyone gathered.

  “Tonight we have seen the marriage of Coorsel of Clan Vorki and Nayena of Moontree Clan. We have blended their blood and made the first offering to seal the alliance. Now we will invest this pixie female with a sacred uiral. We shall summon up the power of Yehedros, Cromelin, Skukrekil, and Norrif. We shall ask them to embrace the new Moon Clan we form this night. We ask them to protect this clan, to honor it, to grant it the prestige and power it has given each of the rest of our clans. We ask that they cement this clan with bonds more powerful than blood, more powerful than friendship or oaths. Let this clan be bound by the good of one another and the good of all who belong to Moon Clan.”

  With that, she stepped between the candles and approached Nayena. Opening the box, she removed a small piece of jewelry. A nose ring, Mal supposed.

  With one deft movement, Yibal snapped the ring in place. Given the size of her fingers, Mal was surprised she could be so fast and accurate. The large giant then splayed her other hand on top of Nayena’s head and began a guttural chant. Outside the circle, the other virdanas joined her. The magic in the outer ring rose and split into thin, whip-like snakes. They wound through the crowd, seeming to search. When they found the cluster of small female giants, they pounced.

  They seemed to open jaws and bite deeply, but the women made no sounds in response. More of the snakes stretched outward, seeking. They headed toward the pavilion.

  “What do we do?” Mal asked, feeling like something was wrong, even though this was supposed to happen. Tomorrow, and with all the giants in attendance, and without trying to kill half the guests at the wedding.

  “Nothing yet,” Law said. “Let them complete the ceremony. Clearly we were wrong. They didn’t want it stopped. Or if they did, they changed their minds. Now they are up to something new. We’re going to have to play it by ear and make up a plan on the fly.”

  “You hate playing it by ear.”

  “Don’t exactly have a choice, do I?”

  “She planned for you to be here. She expected you. She’s ready for you.”

  “Maybe, but I’m fairly certain she thought I’d get here later, that I’d be seriously depleted, and she didn’t expect you and your ugly friend.”

  “Friends,” Mal corrected. So’la wasn’t the only one helping. The ghosts were here, and while they couldn’t do the spectacular magic that the demon or Law could, they weren’t helpless either.

  “Friends,” Law agreed.

  At some point, the magic of the outer circle stilled, which was the signal to continue. The words of the chant changed, though Mal still had no idea what they were saying. Power surged, pushing down and outward.

  Mal could feel a tug that she easily resisted. The summons wasn’t for her, but for those Yibal had named earlier.

  The response came like warm honey and scraping teeth. It rumbled through the dirt, and though Mal could feel it flowing around and past her, it left her and Law alone. It encased the giants, limning each in a weirdly bright darkness, which shouldn’t have been a thing but was. It pushed inward and up, concentrating on the ritual circles. It swallowed the circle of virdanas, and they disappeared inside the bright darkness, then moved inward to collect up Nayena and Yibal. The power around them bubbled and swelled before compressing and thickening. The air turned hot and moist. Mal smelled earth and death and wet. Inside the darkness surrounding her, Nayena turned orange. Her wings flared wide, and she floated up in the air. The light of the outer circle contracted. With it came the many tethers connecting the other members of the new Moon Clan, pixies and giants alike.

  The ring squeezed tight around Nayena then disappeared inside, the many tethers protruding like hundreds of tentacles. The orange brightened and leached outward, pulsing along each of the tethers.

  Everything held its breath. Even the wind stilled.

  The tension broke like a taut wire popping beneath a vast strain. Power washed outward along those tethers then back. Nayena’s new nose ring glowed like a tiny sun, and a moment later, everything snuffed out, leaving all in darkness.

  It didn’t last. Yibal lit several witchlights and let them float just above the ritual circles.

  “The Moon Clan is formed. Nayena has been ordained first virdana of Moon Clan. We offer her welcome and blessings.”

  The other virdanas and the collected giants murmured. Not a very friendly welcome, Mal thought.

  “The second offering to seal the alliance must now be made. The blood of Coorsel and Nayena have mixed, and their marriage has sealed a union of two beings and two races. Nayena has stepped into the role of virdana, guardian of the clan, leader, healer, mother, heart, soul. Every soul in the clan is bound to hers, and she, to every soul. She is the first virdana of Moon Clan, but she will not be the last. She will serve and when she dies, she will freely relinquish those ties that bind her so that another may take up the mantle. She will give her soul to sustaining the binding until a new virdana can shoulder the load. She will offer her blood, her life, her soul, her entire essence, to the clan, to bind it, to protect it, to keep it whole. To mark this vow, she offers blood, flesh, and bone.”

  The virdana extended her hand to take one of Nayena’s. She splayed the pixie’s hand then drew a wicked little knife with a hook at the end and sliced through the pixie’s middle finger. It fell to the ground, and bright light flashed. A column of orange light rose up into the air around the pixie. Mal had the feeling it also went down into the ground.

  Yibal stepped back, sheathing the ceremonial blade in a hidden pocket.

  “And so it is done. A new clan. A new virdana. A new alliance. You have done a great service, a wondrous service, for both the cursed giants and your own people. You are to be lauded and thanked, and we do. All of us do. I am sorry that it cannot last. Your marriage, your term as virdana, your life—they begin and end tonight.”

  Nayena visibly started at that, her wings flaring. She didn’t back away, though. Nor did she try to escape. Given her new powers—in addition to whatever pixie power she had—she might have succeeded. Who knew? But nobody was going to find out because the little pixie stood her ground.

  “Think she’ll do the evil overlord thing and explain what the hell is going on?” Mal murmured to Law.

  It appeared giants had great hearing, or maybe just Yibal, because her gaze snapped to where Mal and Law stood.

  “The new clan is necessary to protect the smalls,” she said. “But much has been taken from our small women. The two virdanas who were cursed were killed by their own clans. The men now will have chil
dren and families, though one of their kind is responsible for the curse. My sister is angry.”

  At Mal’s obvious surprise, the virdana nodded.

  “Yes, my sister is among the smalls. She has become nothing.” She gestured toward the gathered group of small giants. “They have all become nothing. Even their own husbands have abandoned them. Coorsel was meant to marry another, but she is now barren and useless to him. The search for a cure has been abandoned. The alliance satisfies the males, and leaves the women betrayed.

  “We will not allow this to stand. Ilee will be made virdana of Moon Clan. The pixies and the giants of the clan will obey her. They have no choice. It is the law. The search to break the curse will continue, and the males will learn their clan roles are changing. They will raise the littles. They will guard the creches. They will forage for food.”

  “I don’t suppose you could just do the same with Nayena in charge,” Mal said. “I mean, did you even ask her?”

  “No. A small must be virdana.” She said it with finality and no little regret. “You must witness.”

  “Any particular reason why?” Law asked.

  He sounded reasonable enough, but every muscle in his body was tense and blue sparks snapped around the ends of his hair. Mal had never seen that happen before. He was like a shaken-up bottle of champagne about to explode. Or maybe a corked-up bottle of Coke someone had just dumped Mentos into. Whichever, the pressure of magic was building inside him fast, and it was going to come out soon, one way or another.

  “When a virdana dies and a new one is anointed, a witness is necessary. We believe you or the housekeeper would be best.”

  “You’ll excuse me for repeating myself, I’m sure, but why?”

  “No one will doubt you when you tell them how it was done.”

  “Do you think I will lie for you? Tell them some story to cover the fact that you will have murdered Nayena?”

  She shook her head. “There is no need. It is only important to say what you see. That we work together this night in service to giants and not to our enemies. That we serve the larger Moon Clan and believe Nayena’s death will now benefit the clan more than her life.”

  “And if I say otherwise?”

  Yibal gave him a rebuking look. “It would be a lie.”

  She had him there. Mal could tell Law believed her. So did she, for that matter. It was sick and twisted, but the gathered giants still thought they were doing the right thing. Or maybe the righter thing. Or less wrong thing? At any rate, they thought they were doing the just thing, at least for the shrunken females. To be fair, Mal agreed that they did deserve better than they were getting. She’d thought so from the first she’d heard of the story of the curse.

  “Ilee, stand within the candles. It will be easier to make the transition of power if you are near Nayena when she dies.”

  Law swore under his breath.

  Mal shot a glance at him, startled.

  “I can’t work the ground beneath them,” he said.

  So he couldn’t swallow them up or get Nayena out of harm’s way.

  Showtime, she said to So’la, who’d been circling high above. Snatch Nayena if you can.

  Without her, the game was over. Of course, the conspirators would have expected and planned for Law to try to rescue her. They’d have established more protections than just making sure he couldn’t swallow them up or shove a volcano up their asses. Whether or not So’la could break through those protections remained to be seen.

  “Distract them,” she murmured to Law, even as she started sending fireballs zooming toward the nearest giants.

  They danced and ducked out of the way, shouting, even as some of the fireballs hit and caught fire. In response, a few shifted to dragon form, while others bellowed and ran for water. Apparently, they’d never been through the stop, drop, and roll drills.

  Something smashed against her stomach, and Mal went careening sideways off the berm. She crashed against somebody and dropped to the ground, landing in a heap. She managed to break her fall with a slight cushion of air thrust out before her, which allowed her to jump to her feet and dodge out from under the feet of the riled giants.

  A wave of water washed around her ankles, growing inches deeper with every passing second. She slogged to the now muddy base of the berm and around to the other side, having fallen on the wrong side from the ritual circles.

  By the time she got there, the water was at mid-thigh. Pretty quick she’d need to get to higher ground, find a boat, or start swimming.

  Unfortunately, she couldn’t see a damned thing happening inside the ritual circle. The surrounding ring of virdanas blocked her view. All she knew for certain was that a battle of the magical variety seemed to be raging. It involved a lot of flashy explosions. The air shook on one, sending impact tremors across the rising floodwaters.

  A current had developed and now dragged at Mal. She gave in and let it carry her toward the battle. Her dress wrapped around her legs, making it difficult to maneuver. She was glad she’d already gotten rid of her shoes.

  The water swirled around the ritual circle without flooding it. A bubble of magic held it protected. So’la hadn’t been able to break through and snatch Nayena, who Mal was pleased to see had managed to create a shield around herself. Or rather, she’d added to the two Mal and Law had established around her earlier.

  Using her new virdana magic would take some time to learn, and the others knew it. Nayena wouldn’t last long against the bombardment of energy whips and balls the cluster of virdanas tossed at her. In fact, Mal was surprised she’d lasted this long, given the odds against her.

  What happened? Are you okay? she sent to So’la.

  Prepare, was his only answer.

  What the hell did that mean? And how? She’d dug magical hooks into the ground so she didn’t float away from the ritual circles. The water was now mid thigh to the giants within and over her head. She glanced around but didn’t see any sign of Law.

  He wasn’t done. Not by a long shot. Trouble was, he was going to be worrying about her and holding back because of it.

  God-damned fucking hero complex. At least So’la would expect that she could take care of herself. Mostly. Or rather, he didn’t mind if she suffered a whole lot and drifted really close to the edge of dying, so long as she didn’t go over. Law’s problem was he didn’t like it when she suffered, which was both annoying as hell and sweet.

  She sensed So’la’s movement long before anyone else became aware of it. He was in freefall. Or no, he was going faster than just falling. He was diving straight at the bubble. Power radiated from him.

  Deciding to help, Mal started throwing all the destabilizing types of spells she could think of at the bubble. For shattering. Dissolving. Melting. Crushing. Evaporating. Crumbling. Fading to nothing. Tattering.

  She hit with one, held it in place, and piled on another. Fast as she could, she slapped them on. Luckily, she’d practiced this sort of thing, as breaking bindings and spell circles were bread and butter in her line of work.

  She didn’t know if what she did helped or not, but when So’la hit the top of the bubble, massive bone-skull first, it caved in, the power crumbling downward like ash. He didn’t slow but snatched Nayena in his talons and winged upward, all in a blur.

  Just then, the water heaved, and the ground rippled like a shaken blanket. The snap of it was so hard, Mal’s neck jerked and her teeth clashed together. The water then whirled around, sucking up into a spout and enclosing the virdanas within. Mal remained outside. She stood in mud, her dress clinging to her otherwise naked body. She shivered as the breeze struck her.

  Dragons roared and launched into the air, wings beating powerfully as the virdanas’ many guards leaped into action. They dived at the waterspout and were tossed outward.

  “Dumbasses,” Mal muttered as they continued to repeat their doomed attempts.

  The squelch of Law’s footsteps warned her of his approach. She turned, annoyed that he was dr
y, with only his shoes and the hems of his pants muddy. He scanned her up and down.

  “You okay?”

  “Something knocked me off the berm.” She frowned, realizing that with all the adrenaline and mayhem, she hadn’t noticed or paid attention to the aches in her chest and ribs from the blow.

  “But you’re all right? No internal bleeding we need to worry about? Imminent organ failure? Brain swelling?”

  “You know, often I don’t get all that hurt on a job.”

  “Just making sure.”

  His gaze roved over her again as she shivered. He slid a hand over her shoulder, and warmth followed, washing over her, drying her dress and hair.

  “Thanks.”

  “Had to. The dress looks amazing dry, but wet it’s fucking insane, and I still have work to do.”

  “What happens now?”

  “Send everybody home. They can deal with the fallout themselves.”

  “What about Nayena? Won’t they try to kill her again?”

  “The small giant females will be punished. Nayena has that power and for the sake of the clan and its standing in the culture, she’ll have to make sure they can never challenge her again.”

  “And the other virdanas? What happens to them?”

  “Likely nothing.”

  She scowled. “Why the hell not?”

  “They acted within clan rules, and Nayena remains alive and unharmed.”

  “So the fact that they wanted to kill her, that they planned to kill her, and that they nearly succeeded in killing her, all that doesn’t matter?”

  “Not to the giants.”

  “It’s not fair that the little female giants pay the entire price. They keep getting hosed,” Mal said.

  “Nothing we can do,” Law said, but Mal could tell that the injustice bothered him as much as it did her.

  At that moment, So’la appeared beside them, back in his human guise.

  “Where’s Nayena?” Mal asked.

  “With LeeAnne.”

  “Good,” Law said. He eyed the waterspout. “Time to finish cleaning up.”