by HD Smith
“So you were just waiting for the other me to show and have my body blink from existence?”
“Well, it’s not like I could reach it from here,” he said as if that were obvious.
“Is anything about this place real?”
“You tell me?”
Was he serious? He crossed his arms and raised one of his eyebrows—challenging me to see what?—the truth about this place? I closed my eyes and slipped outside my body. The roiling ball of power at my core twisted and turned—consuming itself over and over with perfect rhythm, ready to be unleashed, but totally contained.
I looked around the yard, surveying the landscape, trying to see what wasn’t really there. I concentrated on what I could see, trying to break the illusion—remembering that a being of power, a watcher, the Prince of Time’s maker, was part of this place. A glittery blue haze rippled across the sky. I gasped as I saw the red scales of a huge beast, just beyond the edge of Kane’s outer gate.
What was that?
As I’d done in the fourth realm, I raised myself above and gazed down on the land below. What appeared to be Kane’s cottage was the hind leg of a monstrously large dragon.
“A dragon,” I yelled. “What the fuck.”
Its head swung around to look at me. He was huge. His body circled Kane’s gated enclosure, with his tail curling around to form the valley below. I smelled the faint embers of his fire, but the ice blue collar around his neck seemed to leash him to this place. I shivered as the collar’s cold essence hit me.
“You must go now, child, before it’s too late,” the dragon said, in an old world style that made him sound aristocratic and ancient.
“What—I mean who are you?”
He laid his head down as if holding it up had weakened him.
“Wait, I don’t know enough yet,” I said. “I’ll fail.”
A low rumble sounded. It took me a minute to realize he was laughing. “You have tamed the power, girl.” He chuckled. “You could blink us all out of existence with a thought,” he whispered as if drifting off to sleep, “and you don’t think you’re ready...”
World Killer. That was how he saw me.
A moment later I heard the rhythmic rumbles of a dragon sleeping. A dragon. Sleeping.
I opened my eyes, returning to what looked like a grassy knoll outside Kane’s gated enclosure.
The image in the museum came to mind. The Wanderer had slain the dragon in her painting. She clutched his collar—was it the same as the ice blue collar around his neck? I mentally scanned back through the prophecies. The beast. Light or dark can wake the beast. Blood on the Time Queen’s hands will doom the beast. The torque of time changes hands. Were these all related? Was that why Kane needed me to bring him the Prince of Time?
And was the prince a dragon? I mean, I knew I just saw a dragon—the prince’s maker—but dragons weren’t real—were they? Of course, Cinnamon could turn into a giant-headed-rabbit, so I probably shouldn’t rule anything out.
“Does the beast have a name?” I asked Kane, still bewildered by what I’d seen.
“He prefers Tarik.”
“So you know you’re trapped in the curled body of a sleeping dragon?” I asked, still trying to reconcile everything in this place.
“Yes, of course,” he said, as if I were an idiot.
“Okay... He said I was running out of time.”
“He would know,” Kane said, glancing down at my wrist.
I followed Kane’s gaze. The second line was completely filled. Only four hours remained—how? As I stared blankly, I felt a brief disturbance in the air. A breath later, the snick of the blade passed through the barrier. I held up my hand without looking, but there was no explosion of hellfire. This time I caught the dagger in midair with my will and held it suspended.
I looked at Kane, one eyebrow raised. With a flick of my wrist, I flung the blade away, just as Kane threw another.
He threw more, and I tossed them all aside. I approached the sphere of energy covering his prison. I hovered my hand above it, tasting its power, but not absorbing it. The shield thrummed with magic. I imagined it twisted in on itself, and the next dagger Kane threw bounced back, unable to pass the protective shell.
“You must go now, you’re ready,” Kane said.
“Why did I lose the time?”
“Perhaps you should ask why you did not lose more?” Kane said.
“Okay, why didn’t I lose more?”
Kane shrugged. “I can only assume he didn’t allow it. He must like you.”
I rolled my eyes. “But you said I had to come two weeks earlier—which apparently means nothing here—so I wouldn’t worry about the time,” I argued.
“Well, have you been worried?”
“No, but—okay, fine, then what about the three months I lay here on the ground? You’re saying I just happened to overshoot the mark by two and a half months, and Tarik likes me, so time just stopped?”
“That mark on your wrist is tied to Raven’s age, is it not?” he asked.
“Yes. Are you saying it has linked us?”
“That is the simplest way to think of it, yes,” he said. “But he has slowed things all he can—you must go now and rejoin the world. He has no power to help you there. Time from here on out will be constant. She will come of age in four hours, no matter when or where you are.”
“So, no side trips? Good to know,” I added sarcastically.
Kane turned back to his pots.
My training was over.
Chapter 38
I slipped back to the deserted store in East Hareington. I wasn’t sure I could slip the line to Thanos without materializing instantly, so coming here was the next best thing. The door had been kicked in, presumably by someone who’d been searching for me, but the windows were still covered with planks. I peered out a gap in the boards. The street was clear.
I sensed Ronin before I heard him.
“Come,” he commanded.
I turned toward the voice and stepped forward. I felt the energy as his veil engulfed me. From the corner of my eye I saw movement. I glanced back just as a wiry young man bolted away from the gap in the planked window.
I guess my attempt to sneak up on Raven wasn’t going to work out so well after all.
“What’s with the black eye?” I asked.
Ronin touched the edge of a wicked-looking gash across his left eyebrow. It was already starting to bruise. “Mab.”
“Why are you here?” I asked.
“Haven’t you heard, lass? The world’s about to end.”
I cocked one eyebrow. “I give it fifty-fifty odds myself.” Ronin smiled at my completely inappropriate humor. “Shouldn’t you be hiding in the museum with the others?” I asked.
“They wanted an update. I volunteered.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I asked you to stay away. She’ll win if she gets you on her side.”
“Don’t worry. She can’t sense me, and I was careful,” he said.
I raised my eyebrow. “Are you kidding me?”
“The others can’t sense me, lass. You’re the only one with that wee trick.”
I narrowed my eyes, not believing him.
“Not even Mab can’t sense me when I choose to hide.”
“Then why the hell are you still with her? You should leave, hide from her.”
“It’s not that simple. But your fate is not yet set to her wishes.”
I snorted. “Yeah, right. She has two claims, remember? Your bond, which she doesn’t know about yet, and my marriage to Thanos, which she does. I’ve only bargained with her for one favor, and that’s only if I can save Thanos and defeat Raven. If you stay, she’ll make it worse for both of us. You know I’m right.”
“Perhaps, but she has already prevented that subterfuge. She has forbidden me to hide from her. I can’t disobey a direct order from my master.”
Looking down, I said, “I see. Just a thought.”
He lifted my chin
with his hand, drawing my eyes to his. “She doesn’t have you yet, lass. The others won’t give you up easily. Harry and the Devil will contest her claims.”
I tried to smile, pulling my chin away. “Yeah, what am I worried about? I mean, it’s just an unbreakable lifetime binding to you, and a magical marriage bond to Thanos, but I’m sure they allow divorce. Not to mention there’s a high probability Harry will kill me on sight for daring to have his blood—problem solved.”
He held me at arms reach, looking me up and down.
“What?” I asked.
“Where’s the power? I just realized I don’t sense it.”
I held my hand out palm up and let a stream of energy coalesce. “It’s still here. I’ve got it contained.”
“You’ve got it more than contained, lass. It’s like you don’t have it at all. I sense nothing.”
“I didn’t know you could sense it before.” I said, surprised.
“Aye, it was as if you hummed. I take it the advisor helped?”
“Yeah, but please don’t ask me to explain—I’d rather Mab not know anything about my visit to the advisor.” I didn’t want the secrets I’d learned in that place shared, and Mab could force Ronin to tell her everything.
He nodded. “May not prevent it. She’s crafty and will likely ask me to discover anything I can, but we’ll try.”
Ronin looked off to the side and closed his eyes. Mab must have been calling.
“I must go,” he said. “She summons me to return.”
I looked down at my wrist. “T-minus three and a half hours and counting.”
He turned to leave. I grabbed his arm.
“I don’t blame you,” I said. “This journey was set in motion over five hundred years ago. We’re both pawns.”
“Aye, lass, that we are,” he said, before disappearing.
~#~
I sensed the moment Raven left the castle. I waited in the middle of the road, ready to dual. She rounded the corner onto Main Street. Her black leather cat suit looked wickedly out of place on her small frame. She was flanked by Thanos and Mace, who were now dressed in head-to-toe body armor. Their Kevlar vests might stop a bullet, but I’d still have to be careful not to kill them. Thankfully, Cinnamon and the twins weren’t with them.
I glanced back when I sensed someone behind me. It was the wiry man I’d seen looking in through the store window. He scurried away as if hiding could save him from this hell. I sensed more bodies now. As I turned back to face Raven, I saw more than one window curtain move. The town, as dead as it appeared, had life, and they were all watching.
The trio stopped a few yards away. The boys looked deadly and eerily identical. A coy smile graced Raven’s lips, as if she knew a secret.
“How do you like my boys? I can’t believe I get a matched set this time,” she purred, then laughed like a high school girl with her first crush.
“Why are you doing this?”
She giggled. “It’s my time. I deserve to win.”
“Does that mean everyone else deserves to die?” I asked. “Raven, it—”
“Don’t address me so informally, Jayne.”
I gasped as I felt the force of her influence, something within closing like a lock, the very moment the name rolled off her tongue. Fuck me. She shouldn’t have been able to do that.
Raven smiled like the Cheshire cat. She knew she had me this time.
I could hear her laughing in the distance as a fog covered my senses. The muscles in my eyes flexed in and out of focus. A dark haze flowed over them, and I was afraid they’d soon appear dark as night.
My mouth went dry as the final spark of my own consciousness blinked away, and the World Killer was born.
~#~
I expected to wake up to chaos and mayhem, with the burning remains of the world at my feet. I expected to be trapped in my own mind until the moment Raven decided to gloat, seconds before she had my head severed from my body.
Of course, she wasn’t the only one with special gifts. She may have figured out which name would control me, but she had no idea I could wrap up spells in a tidy little bundle and ignore them.
As soon as I was under the control of her spell, the nulling power within me reversed it. As my mind cleared, I caught sight of the hot pink geode my mind used to represent her power, as it sealed itself shut.
I locked eyes with Raven, and recognized the moment she realized the truth. I’d never be hers to control.
“It worked!” she yelled. “I know it did.”
I raised an eyebrow and shrugged. “I guess you aren’t as good as you think.”
Holding my hands out, I opened the valve to the power at my core. I had complete control as balls of hellfire coalesced in my open palms.
“Mace, protect me,” she squealed. “Thanos, kill her.”
Without hesitation, both men took their places. I lobbed the first fireball at Mace, testing his defenses. He swatted it away, easily. Thanos readied his own attack, picking up a large concrete planter from the sidewalk. The crunch of gravel sounded behind me. I whipped around, instinctively throwing another fireball. It was the wiry man I’d seen outside the store window, then again on the street—did this guy have a death wish? He cried out as the purposefully non-lethal sphere hit him in the chest, tossing him down the street. I hoped that would act as a warning to the other townspeople to stay out of the way.
I turned just as Thanos’s planter was about to level me. I caught it with no effort and tossed it aside.
An odd sense of relief washed over me. It took me a second to realize it was Thanos’s fear, not mine. He didn’t want to do this, but he couldn’t stop.
Mace took this moment of distraction to throw his will at me. I threw energy out to block it, just as Thanos sent another planter my way. A woman in a dark dress darted out from a side street, drawing my attention for a split second, forcing me to push too much energy into my counterattack, which shattered the planter into fine dust. There were too many bystanders around. I considered trying to clear the town, but that might mean destroying it.
I didn’t sense anyone behind me until it was too late.
I grunted in pain as the blade of a short sword pushed through me from behind.
Dropping my will, I turned to see Cinnamon—eyes black as night—staring at me. Raven’s laughter echoed in my ears. Nausea and pain churned my stomach. I tossed Cinnamon to the side, not caring much if she survived.
I fell to the ground on my knees, coughing up blood. I screamed as someone yanked the blade from my gut, letting my blood flow freely from the open wound.
“Thanos,” I called, barely above a whisper. “Come to me,” I said, lacing my voice with a command.
A moment later I heard footsteps and saw his shoes as he approached. I could feel his pain and indecision. He wasn’t alone. Raven’s small shoes followed him.
“The blade was poisoned,” Raven said. “You lose. I win.”
“Thanos,” I said, ignoring her. “Please. Hold my hand while I die.”
Raven snorted. I didn’t look at her. My eyes locked with those of my mate.
“Now,” I said, putting power behind my words.
He dropped to his knees in front of me. I cupped his cheek with my unbloodied hand. A static charge of power passed between us, giving him the cure for Raven’s spell. His eyes rolled back in his head and he slumped to the ground.
Raven screamed. “What did you do? He was mine.”
I stifled a moan when she kicked me in the side. The poison was spreading. I was getting weaker. I fell forward, just as Thanos raised his head. I nearly wept when I saw the clear blue of his eyes, confirming he was cured.
“Take me home,” I whispered, and we were gone.
Chapter 39
I lay there, my eyes closed, as Death’s warmth and calm comfort enveloped me. I was in his garden, only this time I wouldn’t be leaving. Not because he’d try to keep me here; this time I was dying. I didn’t want to die. My heart longed
to be with Thanos, but that didn’t matter now.
I opened my eyes. Death’s golden gaze welcomed me.
I smiled at him, but my heart wasn’t in it. I’d run from him. I didn’t love him.
He looked away, to hide his pain at the realization of my true feelings.
“It wasn’t allowed, my sweet,” he said, “it’s better that you love another.” I opened my mouth to say something. He put his finger on my lips. “You don’t need to explain. We always knew it was temporary.”
I barely knew Thanos, but my soul called to him more than any connection I’d had with Death. It didn’t matter that I knew it wasn’t any more real than what Death and I had shared, but it felt real.
I winced as I moved to sit up.
“Easy,” Death said, helping me. “They’re trying to save you.”
I looked down to see blood spreading on my gown. “They’re going to fail, aren’t they?”
He looked away, confirming my suspicion. I pulled his face back around to mine. A small static charge passed between us. He took that as an invitation. Leaning in he covered my mouth with his. I let him kiss me, but the magic wasn’t there.
We both wanted someone else, and there was no ignoring it. Our lips parted as if they were never meant to be together.
“It’s okay,” I said between breaths.
He tried to pull away. I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him close. He returned the hug, but let up when I gasped from the pain.
“Did I hurt you?” he asked, putting me at arm’s reach.
“It’s fine, I’m just sore.”
His brow furrowed. “The pain should be disappearing.” He looked me over, but nothing had changed.
“They’re trying, right? Maybe they’ll—”
He shook his head. “Your realm isn’t strong enough.”
“I have more power than anyone right now.”
“But it isn’t coming from your realm. The poison is keeping you unconscious, and preventing your body from healing. No one in the fourth realm can stop it.”
“Have them take me to the museum.”