Shifters And Glyphs

by Bauer, Christina;

  Sure, I’d heard the stories about trolls, but I’d always put those tales in the same category as soul shepherds: super-cool stuff, but until I see one with my own eyes, I wasn’t going to believe anything.

  “No,” says the Colonel slowly. “A troll as in … a troll.”

  “Right.” Elle purses her lips. “So we’re flying to Egypt, human-style, and our pilot is a troll. I’ve got time to make a few calls. Maybe I can find us some weapons.” She rubs her palms together. Elle loves magical weapons. “There must something that’d be useful in fighting the Void.”

  “Look, I’m not so sure the Void is a big bad,” I say. “All the guy’s ever said is that he wants the fountain. The jury is out on that one, in my opinion. He might want to help me.”

  “What about the Shadowvin?” asks Alec. “Nothing’s changed there, right?”

  “The Shadowvin are not too big,” I reply. “But they’re definitely bad.” I shiver, remembering how they possessed Knox.

  The Colonel waves his hand. “Y’all don’t need weapons. Once the ceremony starts, you’ll only be dealing with magic.”

  Elle narrows her eyes. “So we need protection spells.”

  “With that much magic around,” says the Colonel. “No ordinary spells would work.” He nods toward Alec and Knox. “That’s why the Luxalta wardens gave you two those glyphs of protection on your backs.” The Colonel’s gaze locks on Elle, and the old fae’s silver eyes glisten with regret. “Or in your case, the glyphs were on your wings.”

  All Elle’s excitement about weaponry evaporates. She takes a half-step backward. “Oh.”

  My inner wolf takes this moment to awaken. Within my heart, she yawns and stretches. “What happened?” she asks. “What did I miss?”

  “The Colonel had some big news. He thought it best to explain it to me first, so he put you in stasis.”

  My wolf lowers her head and growls. “How dare the Colonel put me in stasis?”

  “I’ll explain more on the plane ride.”

  “But I hates planes!”

  “I get that you’re upset, but please don’t go Gollum on me now.” When my wolf starts talking like that evil creature from The Lord of the Rings, she’s so loud, I can hardly think. “I need to focus on Elle right now.”

  My best friend shifts her weight from foot to foot. “No protection glyphs and no other way to guard myself. Thanks for clarifying.”

  “You won’t be without protection.” I shoot a pointed stare in the Colonel’s direction. “That’s why the Colonel is coming along with us, to guard you.”

  “Sorry, sugar.” The Colonel shakes his head. “I’ve studied the Shadowvin for years. Even with my powers, I only have enough energy to protect one person.” The old fae stares pointedly in my direction.

  Now, it’s sweet that the Colonel wants to guard me, but there are limits to this fatherly protection situation. Elle is my best friend, and she’s risking her life, with no one to watch her back. Not acceptable.

  “I’m calling in my boon, Colonel.”

  My inner wolf perks up at this news. “Boon? What boon?” she asks.

  “The Colonel gave me a boon,” I explain in my mind. “It was his way of apologizing for putting you into stasis without asking permission.”

  Across the temple, the Colonel blinks innocently. “Fine. You call in your boon, and I’ll play guard.”

  I haven’t been around fae all my life to miss those verbal acrobatics. The Colonel said he could guard one person, but he didn’t specify a particular name. “Colonel.” I lower my voice to a level that says, I mean business. “You’re guarding Elle.”

  “I disagree,” says the Colonel. His skin glows with silver light, and he looks more like a supernatural being than ever before. “When the fountain gives its bounty, no one can be there except the wardens. No one. I refused to accept that for my little one. Do you know how many years I searched for information about the fountain? I made so many sacrifices, cast so many spells, and all so I could protect just one person at the ceremony. No matter what, I wanted to be at your side when the time came. Your side, sugar. No one else’s.”

  Elle steps forward. “Look, Bry—”

  “Forget it,” I say to the Colonel. “I appreciate all you’ve done, but you’re guarding Elle, first and foremost. That’s the only way to satisfy the boon.”

  The Colonel bows slightly and tips his hat. “Agreed at last.” He straightens his stance. The frightening fae disappears, and the Colonel becomes all smooth human-like charm once again. “Now, if y’all don’t mind, I’ll call my pilot and get the flight set. I expect everyone to sleep and eat on the plane. Y’all need to be prepared for what’s to come.”

  Those last three words reverberate through my soul.

  What’s to come.

  That’s the core of the problem, really. We have no idea what’s about to happen. Whatever it is, it might kill me along with everyone I care about. Worry presses in around me, tight as a vise. I force my spine to straighten.

  Remember, we write our own story.

  The trouble is, I can’t even picture a happy ending, let alone make it happen.

  Chapter 31

  Hours later, we’re all being driven through Cairo in a stretch Escalade that’s the definition of obnoxiously large. The vehicle is all black with tinted windows and a license plate that says FAE ONE in Sanskrit. The Colonel’s driver is a lanky troll named Idjit. Our chauffeur has an overly large head, beady black eyes, and warts. Lots of warts. His charcoal-colored suit blends perfectly with his leathery gray skin. Tufts of white hair peep out from under Idjit’s black cap.

  When it comes to doing his job, Idjit seems to believe that traffic laws apply to everyone but him. He loves to honk at other drivers while blowing past stop signs. Idjit also flew us here in the Colonel’s jet. Happily, he’s a much more careful pilot than chauffeur.

  The divider between the front and back seats rolls down. Idjit keeps driving wildly while turning to address us all. “Welcome to Cairo, ladies and germs.” For some reason, Idjit also talks like a bad game show host.

  The Colonel waves him off. “Pay attention to the road.”

  Idjit sniffs through his exceptionally large nose and rolls the divider back up. As we tool through Cairo’s narrow streets, I grip the Codex Mechanica tightly in my lap. After so many hours of clinging to this thing, it’s like my baby binkie or something. No way am I letting go.

  Idjit takes yet another high-speed turn. This time, it’s so fast that we tilt onto one set of side wheels. My stomach lurches. The Colonel knocks on the divider.

  “Watch it, Idjit,” he says. “There’s only so much my protection spells can do.”

  A ceiling speaker crackles to life. “Yes, Colonel. That idea is a winner!” The way Idjit speaks, I keep expecting him to start talking about our lifetime supply of candy bars or something.

  Glancing out the car window, I watch the sun dip toward the horizon. It’s late afternoon now. Since we didn’t use magic to transport, it took us a while to reach Egypt. Soon the fountain—that would be me—needs to be activated.

  But at what time, exactly?

  When it came to my wolf, I needed to shift before the sun set on my seventeenth birthday, or I’d lose my inner animal forever. Today is the autumn solstice. Technically, the exact moment of the solstice is a few hours from now. Even so, does the ceremony need to start at that precise moment? The Colonel says the records are rather sketchy on this point, which is frustrating. Every cell in my body is keyed up for this nightmare to be over, one way or another. I don’t want to stand around for hours, waiting for the inevitable.

  The back of the Escalade is filled with a C-shaped leather couch. The open part of the C is where the door opens. Knox sits beside me. On the rest of the couch lounges Elle, Alec, and the Colonel. Reggie made good on his promise to disappear. We haven’t seen him since Italy. No problems there. Once or twice, I thought I saw Ty in the crowded Cairo streets, but that could just be my
mind playing tricks on me.

  Knox rubs my shoulder in a soothing motion. “What are you thinking?”

  At these words, my inner wolf prances with delight. On the flight here, I explained everything that happened to her. For some reason, she’s completely skipped over the whole possible death side of the situation. Instead, she’s decided that Knox and I are about to battle side by side, and that will be fun.

  Call it wolfly denial.

  I can’t seem to get her to understand the true danger here, and I’m not sure I want to. In this situation, having my wolf in fight-ready form is much better than her sulking around in Gollum mode.

  “Knox is so wonderful,” says my wolf. “Tell him that, when the Shadowvin show up, we’ll team up and bite them in two.”

  “Sure, I’ll tell him. Eventually.”

  This is a very fae style of answering, by the way. Eventually can mean anything. It’s a handy verbal trick that I learned from Elle.

  Knox gives my shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Talking to your wolf again?”

  I shift in my seat. Getting caught having silent conversations with my wolf? It continues to make me squirm. I hate the thought that I’m staring off into space or something without knowing it. “Yes, we’re chatting.”

  “When you’re done, I’d still like to know what’s on your mind.” He nuzzles my ear, which sends all kinds of warmth and happiness through me. That gets my focus—and how.

  “I was wondering about the autumn equinox,” I say. “When do you think the whole activating the fountain stuff will start?”

  “Don’t forget,” adds Elle. “There’s also the part about your giving your bounty. Do you think they mean handing over paper towels, or what?”

  Knox and I share a sad look. No, they mean giving up my powers and possibly my life.

  Elle sucks in a shaky breath. “Oh, I’m so sorry, Bry. I was just trying to make a joke, but that was a bad choice. You’re formed from magic, and well …” She scrubs her hands over her face. “I’m making it worse, aren’t I?”

  Thankfully, Idjit’s voice blares over the internal speakers, interrupting the rest of this awkward conversation. “Our estimated time of arrival is … NOW!” With a mechanical whir, our driver rolls down the tinted partition between the front and back seats. Idjit turns to face us, his leathery face creasing into a big smile. “We have arrived, and guess what? YOU get a pyramid! And YOU get a pyramid! And YOU get a pyramid!”

  “Thank you so much, Idjit,” says the Colonel smoothly. “No need to get the door.”

  That’s a strategic move on the Colonel’s part. If Idjit stepped outside, we’d be swamped with humans taking selfies. And it would be a big crowd, too. If humans get excited about seeing a fae, a troll would send them positively over the moon. Trolls aren’t even supposed to exist.

  The Colonel opens the car door and steps outside. From where I’m sitting, the false Arctic chill of air conditioning is immediately wiped away by the dry heat of Egypt.

  “By the way,” says the Colonel with a grin. “I figured something out about the ceremony.”

  My breath catches. “You did? Tell me.” The Colonel spent years studying the fountain. If anyone could uncover the ceremony’s secrets, it would be man I once called Poppa.

  Reaching into his pocket, the Colonel pulls out something, leans forward, and slips the object into my hand. “Keep this close, sugar. It’ll help when the time comes.”

  My skin prickles over with excitement. Can this be the secret I need to survive today’s ceremony? Looking down, I scan what the Colonel has given me.

  A single American dollar.

  I frown. “Why give me this?”

  The Colonel sets the stub of a cigar into his teeth. “You’ll figure it out when the time’s right.” With that, he slips out the door.

  Elle nudges me gently with her elbow. “Mind if I take a look?”

  “No problem.” I hand her the dollar. Elle sniffs it, holds it up to the light, and generally checks the thing over. At length, she gives it back.

  “It’s just a regular old dollar.” Elle winces. “Sorry, thought I might have been able to detect something magical on it for you.”

  I shrug. “It’s okay. We both know how the fae are.”

  “Cryptic at best.” Elle slides over to the door, grips the handle, and pauses. “I’d hang on to it, though. You never know.”

  “That’s the truth.” I slip the dollar into my pocket and wait for Elle to leave. A long silence follows. Guess no one wants to go yet. Not that I blame them. The air becomes heavy with worry. A sad thought occurs to me.

  Knox, Alec, Elle, and me … this may be the last time we all sit together.

  All of a sudden, Elle leans over and pulls me into a huge hug. “Love you, girl,” she whispers.

  “Same to you,” I say.

  All the while, I try to focus on Elle’s sweet gesture. Even so, I can’t help but notice how her arms tremble with fear. My unflappable friend is totally scared. My heart sinks. I hate that everyone is here—and in serious danger, no less—and it’s all because of me. My eyes sting with held-in tears.

  “You’ll be fine,” adds Elle.

  “We’ll all be fine.” In my heart, I hope that’s the truth.

  “See you outside.” Elle breaks the hug and slips out of the car. Watching her leave is like watching part of my soul break away. After today, will we ever return to Manhattan? Go to school? Eat too much Ben & Jerry’s on a Friday night?

  Alec turns to me next. For a guy who’s so put together, it’s hard to see him all fidgety with worry. “I … um …” He rakes his hand through his golden hair. “Good luck, Bry.”

  With that, he speeds out the door, and my flight-or-fight response kicks up another notch.

  It’s just me and Knox.

  My mate and I share a gaze that pulls at my heart. I want us to be riding Harleys up to the Adirondacks … running in wolf form under a canopy of trees … or even fighting the principals at West Lake together. Anything but this.

  A warm tear rolls down my cheek. “You better leave,” I say, my voice husky, “or I’ll never have the strength to get my butt out of this limo.”

  “I understand.” Knox starts to go but waits. “Remember, trust your instincts.”

  A fresh weight of worry settles into my bones. I know exactly what Knox means here. After all, we’ve been talking about this nonstop—ever since the Colonel showed me my underground room. I’m about to start a ceremony that somehow drains my magic into the pyramids. There’s only one other human fountain who went through this process.

  Calibur.

  And the ceremony killed him.

  Ever since we left Italy, Knox and I have been pressing the Colonel for tidbits he might remember from his research. You never know—any scrap of information might reveal how I could survive this ceremony. In the end, there was nothing new for him to share. That’s why the Colonel went through so much trouble to make sure he could be here in the first place. There’s no way of knowing what happens next.

  In the end, Knox and I just decided that we’d trust our intuition and when the time came, we’d figure something out. After all, why be a shifter if you can’t rely on your instincts? Admittedly, this isn’t the best plan. It’s all we’re getting, though. There’s no time left to figure out something else.

  Knox leans in closer, his ice-blue gaze turning intense. “Let me hear you say it.”

  I force my voice to stay calm. “I’ll trust my instincts. We’ll figure something out.”

  At these words, my inner wolf shivers with fear. “This is too dangerous. Let’s run away with our mate.”

  “No, the safest path is forward,” I say in my mind. “That’s what the Codex Mechanica told us.”

  That final thought seems to calm my wolf a little. Knox has already moved nearer to the door. Now, I scooch across the seat to close the distance between us. Knox’s hard expression softens as I come near.

  Reaching forward, I set
my palm against his bristled cheek. “We can do this.”

  “Yeah.” Leaning in, Knox brushes the barest kiss across my lips. “You’re my mate, Bry. My life. My soul. I love you.”

  Whoa. That’s a pretty amazing speech. I wish I could find something as stunning to say back, but it’s been a crazy-emotional day. In the end, it’s all I can do to manage a half-smile while I say three words: “Love you, too.”

  After that, Knox leaves as well.

  A sad thought runs through my mind. Was that our last kiss? I shake my head, as if the motion will break loose all these dark imaginings. Straightening my back, I grab the handle, push open the door, and peep outside.

  Idjit has driven us to a parking spot near the Pyramid of Menkaure, the smallest of the three main pyramids, although calling this a parking spot is being generous. Technically, Idjit has left the parking area behind and pulled our Escalade up onto the desert itself. The Menkaure Pyramid stands about a quarter-mile away, outlined against a bright blue sky. Human tourists march around, snapping pictures and chatting. The other two pyramids loom further toward the horizon.

  “I wonder if we have to wait for the exact moment of the equinox,” I say while slipping out of the Escalade.

  Knox opens his mouth, but doesn’t get a chance to answer.

  The moment my feet reach the desert floor, a giant bubble forms around me. That’s an attention grabber. The huge orb stands twelve feet tall and just as wide. Red, gold, and silver hues shimmer along the bubble’s surface. Magic.

  The sphere encompasses Knox, Elle, Alec, and the Colonel as well. We all share shocked glances.

  “Is this what’s supposed to happen?” I ask the Colonel.

  “You got me, sugar.”

  For a moment, the bubble trembles, the colors on its surface swirling around each other in an intricate dance.

  Then it grows.

  The bubble swells high into the atmosphere while surging across the Giza Plateau. As it rolls outward, all signs of modern life vanish. Humans disappear. Old trash and new tents melt away to nothing. Scrub brush and paved roads are replaced with rolling desert. Soon the bubble expands so far, I no longer see its boundaries.