by Lisa Daniels
“A warm door?”
“Yes.” Augustin stopped to collect his thoughts. “They have been draining my magic to stretch these tunnels. Sometimes they quit building in directions for different reasons. Once they encountered a keukegn near Melzi, and they shut down that tunnel immediately.”
“Are keukegn bad?”
“Even shifters like me have trouble with them. Cyprian is probably the only person I know who could face one alone.”
“That figures. Noely is quite lucky to have him.”
“Yes, she is. Those two have been driving us crazy for over a millennium. It will be interesting to see how it works out this time. I am going to have to help keep her alive from here on out because after having her, Cyprian probably is not going to be able to survive losing her again. He’s been through more than his share of tragedy. For his sake and hers, I would be willing to give my life.”
Ivy pulled away from him. “Well, I wouldn’t be willing.”
“That’s okay, no one will ask that of you. You need to find out who you are and experience life for a few centuries, not go dying for a couple of ancient creatures.”
“No, I mean I’m not willing to give your life to save them.” Her voice reflected how she felt. “You promised. You can’t go dying now.”
Augustin was not sure how to respond to that.
Ivy folded her arms across her chest. “My life would be enough. Hell, I already almost died for them a couple of times already, so what difference does it make? But you, you are amazing. People like me in this world need for people like you to keep going because you give us kindness that no one else will.”
“I would give my life to save you.” The words were nearly a whisper.
“I am not worth your life. Do you have any idea-”
“Here.” His hand grasped hers and stretched it toward the door. “Feel the lock.”
“What does this have to do with anything?”
“Please, just try to imagine it.”
Ivy sighed, but moved her hand over the area where Augustin placed her hand. “Wow, this is… that’s not a usual lock.”
“No, it isn’t.”
Ivy moved closer to the door. Pressing another hand on it, she slid down so that her face was close to the lock. Closing her eyes, she shifted and began imagining what she was feeling. After years of experience breaking into things, she didn’t have to think about what she was doing before her mind started to work through the security in front of her. There was a reason she had been so well respected in her early days in the guild.
Her movements were nearly imperceptible as she tried to work through it.
Augustin was standing close to her. “It’s an incredibly complicated demon lock. Since they are drawing from my magic, there is nothing I can do to open it, but I have hopes that at some point, once you have your sight back, you will be able to open it. I can give you what knowledge I have of such things.”
Ivy stood up. “It’s not so bad. A bit tricky sure, but-” she grabbed the handle and pushed it open. There was a blast of warm air as the door swung open.
Augustin did not immediately say anything. When he did, he was shouting, “Ester! Ester, come here quickly!” Silence answered them. “Oh gods, I can’t leave her here.”
“It’s fine, we can go get her, then get out of here.”
“No, we can’t, once they realize that this is open, they are going to kill her. I hate to do this, but could you please stand right here,” his hands pulled her right before the door, “and don’t move. No matter what happens, don’t move.”
“How long will you be gone?”
“I just need five minutes. I swear, I will be right back.”
The strange noise echoed through the hallway and the sound of something incredibly large thundered down the hallway as Ivy stood still. Is he some kind of really large bear? Maybe a chimera? And why is he bringing furniture with him?
Suddenly a familiar, oily voice that she hadn’t heard since her fall sounded in her ear, “So you have been here this whole time. That’s fine. We can kill you now that you don’t have your protection.”
Chapter 11
Worth Living For
“Ah, look at that, you aren’t so entirely stupid. My gods,” Ivy fanned her face with her hand, the heat a bit shocking after so long in a prison. “Here I thought I was simply too insignificant for you to finish me off.”
“You are.”
“Oh good, I’m not quite ready to die yet,” she yawned.
There was a pause, “Perhaps you didn’t understand what I said. We are going to kill you now.”
“I heard you say that I’m not worth finishing off. Which is it?”
“Well, uh,” the creature was clearly flustered, “you aren’t worth any extra effort, but since you are already here, it makes sense.”
“So, it doesn’t take you any energy or effort to kill me.”
The oily voice sneered, “Oh, it will be long and painful. I will make sure that you suffer for having escaped the first time.”
“Wait, if you kill me slowly,” Ivy moved her hand as if connecting dots, “that will mean it takes up your time. And I’m sure that means a bit more energy. Well, I am quite flattered.”
“What? No! You are not worth that kind of attention.”
“Oh, so you are going to let me go then.” She gave a melodramatic reaction of relief.
“Shut up, you idiot.” The hissing voice sounded annoyed.
“Don’t tell me to shut up, you have trogden firestain.”
For the first time since she had become blind, Ivy wished she could see purely for the entertainment she was missing. The pair bickered for nearly a minute, and it sounded as if there was a bit of a physical altercation as well, but she could not say for sure. As they fought, she tried to remain still and silent so that they might forget about her.
But he’s not going to be able to fight them on his own, let alone with a medic at his heels. If they were able to imprison him before, what is to stop them from overpowering him again? A much greater fear flitted through her head about what would happen if he thought either Ester or herself were in danger. There was no doubt he would sacrifice himself – he had said as much not too long ago.
Coming to a decision, Ivy cleared her throat. “As much as I would love to sit here and listen to you fight all day, I do have places to go and people to meet if you aren’t going to kill me.”
“Of course we are,” the hissing snapped.
“That was never in question.”
“Of course it was. You said-”
“Don’t start that again.” The hissing was low and menacing as Ivy felt a searing heat near her face. “It will be quick because we need to get that door closed.”
Ivy pressed her back against the door, the flat of her hands moving against the door in tiny motions. “Oh, quickly, that will be nice, thanks.”
“What are you doing?”
“Waiting for you to kill me?”
The heat moved away from her, the hissing drew out like something leaking air. “You should be dead. No creature like you can withstand the sight of me.”
“Oh, really? Hahaha, oh well, I guess that I am rather lucky then.”
“Of course you are with your blood, but it shouldn’t prevent me from completely wiping you off the face of the planet.”
The oily voice cut in, “Worthless. Here, I will-”
Suddenly all three of them fell silent as the sound of something large running down the metal hallway attracted their attention.
Afraid of what would happen to Augustin if he were to try to fight the creatures currently menacing her, Ivy twisted the lock so that it would hold against the side of the prison instead of closing.
Praying to anything that would listen, Ivy reached out her hand toward the oily sound. As soon as her hand grasped it, there was a slow steady ooze that began to move up her arm. The hissing grew louder. Twisting the other demon, she slammed it into the hissing noi
se. This was met with a violent explosion that threw her into the door. The ooze slipped off of her hand, something of which she was vaguely aware through the pain now coursing through every part of her body.
A loud roar attracted her attention for a moment as she began to black out.
Good gods, is that a damn dragon? Well, at least there won’t be much of me left for it to eat. Maybe it will like the taste of demon.
The last thing she remembered was being lifted from the ground and being lifted into the air.
Ivy’s mind told her that she was in a bed, but it also told her that she should be dead. Not sure which part of her brain to believe, she let one of her eyes open a crack. It was greeted by darkness.
Ivy tried to bring a hand up to her face, but realized that it was being held very tightly. She sat bolt upright, believing that perhaps everything had ended with her being in jail, and those were perhaps shackles holding her down. Habit forced her to open her eyes, and to her surprise, her sudden actions had startled a man who was holding her hand. His head had been on what she now realized was a bed, but the most shocking thing about the whole experience was the appearance of the man by her bed. His sandy blond hair was a couple of inches long, framing his chiseled face in a way that made him look like a living statue. His grey eyes had black streaks that made them look like marble, and from what she could see of his figure, the man was all muscle.
Her heart skipped a beat as she looked down on the stranger. Not quite sure how to react, her mouth went into familiar banter, “Oh, taking advantage of a woman who is passed out?”
A hurt look came into the man’s eyes and he released her hand as an older looking woman stepped forward. Her voice was brusque and business-like, “Well, it is good to see you awake. Are you in pain?”
Ivy looked at the man for a moment longer. He stood up and moved away from her. Every movement he made was refined and graceful – Ivy could not take her eyes off of him.
The woman was moving around the bed, checking Ivy’s wrists, pulse, legs, everything that she could get her hands on as Ivy responded, “No. I should be, shouldn’t I? But nothing hurts.”
“Well, Augustin said that might be the case. Something about the magic shielding you from the demons kept you from seeing them, which was the reason for your blindness. It would have quickly healed any pain as well, so I guess my presence here is unnecessary.”
Ivy looked at the woman. “Thank you very much, Ester. For everything. I really appreciate what you have done.”
The woman smiled, her grey hair barely moving as she began bustling around the room. “No need, that is what we medics are for.”
“Um, by chance are you heading to Melzi?”
A stern look crossed her face. “Yes. I was working there when I was unceremoniously pulled away and forced to take care of Augustin. Now I plan to return to fix the problem.”
“Ailey is there.”
Ester stopped what she was doing and turned to look at Ivy, her eyes asking the question that her mouth seemed incapable of asking.
“She was the medic I encountered near Derbe, and she said that was where she was heading. But she does have someone to protect her, so I don’t think you have to worry too much.”
“What do you mean?”
“A shifter that we met named Ash was quite taken with her, and I have a feeling that he isn’t going to let anything happen to her.”
Ester’s eyes went to the man standing near the door. He had a very concerned expression on his face, but he kept quiet as the women talked.
Ester looked back at Ivy. “Is the shifter anything like him?” She moved her head to indicate the man near the door.
Ivy looked at him a little harder. His aura was not as thick or bright as Cyprian’s, but it was far larger and thicker than anyone else’s that she had ever encountered.
“Yes, very much, but Ash’s hair is greenish. Dark green, almost to the point of looking black when you aren’t in the sun.”
“Green?” Ester turned to look at the man, who simply bit his lip in response. “Dear gods, if you meant to make me feel better, you only half succeeded.” She slammed something shut and picked it up. “I wish you the best. Take better care of yourself and consider changing your profession. And you,” Ester stopped at the door and looked at the man, “thank you.” A thin smile spread across her face, and Ivy couldn’t help but feel that it looked out of place. Ester looked radiant with a smile, but it was obvious that smiles were not something that she gave people often.
With Ester gone, the man simply looked at Ivy, who in turn stared at him. He gave a small nod of his head, then turned to leave.
“Excuse me,” Ivy tried to be polite because she wasn’t sure who he was. “Did you see an old man when we arrived? I need to find him.”
The man raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything.
“You see, he promised to help me with something, and I don’t… I’m not… as embarrassing as it is to admit it, I think I need him.”
The man tilted his head and took a few steps toward her. “Why?” The word was spoken very softly and it was full of uncertainty.
“Well, I think… I really like him. He made me feel safe.”
The man frowned. Ivy tried to explain the jumbled feelings. “I might lo-” She cut her words off, not wanting to admit to a stranger that she was possibly in love. She looked to the window for a moment to collect her thoughts before turning to face him. “He made me feel like I was worth something, and I know that I’m not, but I want to try.”
The man moved almost too fast for her to perceive. Before she knew what was happening, he was pressing a hand against her mouth. “You promised not to say things like that.”
Ivy’s eyes went wide as she stared into the startling eyes of the man as he looked down at her. “Augustin?”
“Yes?”
For a few moments, they stared at each other.
Then he looked down and began to pull his hand away from her. Ivy quickly reached up and grabbed it, causing him to look at her again. “Augustin.” She tilted her head to the side.
“Yes?” He looked at her hand on his.
“Oh my gods, you look like you are younger than me.”
His brows knit together. “I look the same as I have for hundreds of years.”
A smile spread across her face. “Well then, old man, you have held up really nicely.” She gave his hand a squeeze.
He pulled his hand away from hers. “I think that it is time for us to part ways.”
“What? Why?” Ivy swung her legs over the bed before realizing they were completely bare. All she had on was a simple shirt that covered the tops of her legs.
Augustin saw her legs and immediately began to blush as he looked toward the window. He cleared his throat as he said, “I think you have proved you don’t need me.”
“Oh sure, just say that you are done with me. That’s what everyone does. I was valuable because I could open the door, but now you don’t need me anymore.”
Augustin turned to look at her, the sun reflecting off of his startling eyes. “You opened the door that I have been struggling with for years. You bested two demons without any help. What value can I offer you? You only need to focus on honing your skills, and there I cannot help you.”
“You promised to be there while I figure out who I am.”
“I think you will be able to do that better without me.”
Ivy stood up. “Oh, so it was never about me realizing my potential. It was about you being needed. Now you don’t feel like you are needed, you are just going to run away.”
Augustin gritted his teeth. “What I have to do is going to be dangerous and I don’t want to involve you in it.”
“Because I might get in your way?”
His eyes flashed as he looked at her. “Because I don’t know if I can protect you. I have already failed once.”
Ivy was struck speechless for a moment. Finally she asked, “Isn’t that why you need to help m
e? I could help. I can break into anything you need, get-”
“I’m not risking you again. I thought that you had died, and I’m not willing to let you get hurt again because of me.”
“Of all the selfish, one-sided reasons I’ve ever heard. You know what?” She grabbed a pillow off of the bed and threw it in his face. “I can’t even say that it is a sweet sentiment. You are just absolving yourself of me the way everyone does because you have no idea how I will get in the way, and I simply am not-”
Her tirade was interrupted as Augustin began to kiss her. The moment of shock was replaced by realization. Ivy pulled back a little. “Oh, I see. Well, that is all you had to say. I don’t care if you are afraid for me, I feel the same way about you. And now that I know, I’m not about to let you just run off.”
Augustin released her and took a step back. “It isn’t appropriate, and I don’t think that I can help you quickly enough.”
“What isn’t appropriate?”
“The way I feel about you.”
Ivy raised her eyebrows. “It’s inappropriate to be attracted to someone?”
“No, it’s inappropriate to want to – you are my student, I should not be feeling this way toward you because it can only get in the way.”
“Noely says that the lessons Cyprian gives her in that department are the best part of the instructing.”
Augustin’s face flushed at the idea. “It isn’t just a physical attraction. A part of me wants to possess you, and for me, that is always a bad thing. I have destroyed more than one city in my life.”
“And I can be there to keep you at peace.”
He looked her in the eye. “You will be the storm that keeps me off kilter.”
“And you are the first rock to which I have ever felt anchored. I don’t want to lose you, Augustin. I didn’t want to lose you even before I knew that you are easily the handsomest man I have ever encountered.”
He flushed again. “You don’t need to lie.”
“Look,” she put a finger under his chin and took a step toward him, “I am not saying this to make you feel better, to boost your ego, or to give you a false sense of your importance.” He smiled at the words he had said to her not too long ago. “I am saying this because with you, for the first time in my life I have actually felt centered. Will you not let me be selfish?”