I internally rolled my eyes as we walked together down the dark litter-lined street. I knew how to at least spy on the guys. I tiptoed up to the door in my mind and gently pried it open, peeking through the crack to see what Jamie was watching.
Instantly, I regretted my actions.
Tucker’s legs were kicking out as a scraping cry of agony erupted from the poor man on the floor. “Ah! It’s burning! It’s acid on my insides!”
He fought free of Jens and tore off his shirt, howling in a way I knew I’d never forget. Tucker looked down, drawing my eyes to his bare torso. Underneath his skin, I saw terrifying little finger-sized lumps running up and down his body, like fast-moving slugs in his veins pumping. They raced as they lit his skin with agony Tucker could only scream incoherently about. They were sprinting, going up his stomach, along his throat and into his cheek, where they gathered like a town meeting. His poor cheek swelled until it looked like Tucker was sucking on a whole orange on one side of this mouth.
“You’re doing great. Breathe through the pain!” Jens instructed his friend, though the angst in his voice didn’t lend itself to much confidence in the offered comfort. I knew that forced reassurance well.
“Lucy, haven’t you been listening?” Britta’s voice held a note of scolding to it.
I turned to her, apologetic, but not sure why she expected I wouldn’t use the bond to sneak a peek. I plopped my butt down on the side of the street, watching the worst alien torture movie unfold before my mental eyes.
I didn’t move for twenty minutes, but watched with tears in my eyes as there seemed to be no end to Tucker’s desperate pleas for deliverance. Three-inch rips were cutting through his skin from the inside now. As soon as blood started to ooze out, the skin repaired itself, like doing up a zipper. The number of skin zippers grew, until I counted fifty at a time peppering his body, opening up and closing like a flower over and over again. Each rip open brought about a fresh wave of agony for Tucker, who yelled to the ceiling through the entire ordeal, well past the point of coherence.
“He passed the test,” Foss declared. “He’ll live. Jamie, come finish the ritual.”
The bubble in Tucker’s cheek began to throb like a heartbeat, moving in and out as the elf writhed and twitched like he was being jabbed with an invisible poker. With each push out, the mass left a pink imprint that began to take shape. At first it was a wonky circle, then three circles tied in loops. Then a small detailed diamond shape, not unlike the one Jens had tattooed on his face, began painting itself on Tucker’s cheek.
Jamie’s hands were pressed to Tucker’s chest, and he began murmuring in a language I didn’t know, a spell I’d never heard of. I wondered if my parents had done this to Jens.
There was a tug of agony from Tucker’s lips, and then the little subcutaneous slugs began to dissipate, travelling back down his body and returning from whence they came.
It felt like a solid five minutes of Tucker going through yet another ferocious seizure. When he finally went limp with a pathetic whimper, I shot up off the curb and motioned for Britta that we were clear to go back inside. Poor girl. I’d been horrible company this entire time.
I bolted up the stairs and burst into the room, running to Jamie as he knelt next to Tucker. I moved Jamie aside and scooped Tucker’s wide shoulders off the ground. I held his head to my chest, burying my face in his sweat-laced hair. That was horrible! I cried to Jamie. How could you let him go through that? He could’ve died!
He’s alright. It’s what Jens went through for your family, only Jens’s was far worse. Lasted nearly an hour. Tucker only swore a portion of his life to me. Jens swore his whole life to your family. I won’t begin to describe the horrors Jens went through for you.
Before Jamie could shove down the memory, I caught an image of Jens writhing on the ground in a similar fashion with his back arched and body bent in a rainbow of pain. Then Britta was holding her brother, who had soiled himself in the throes of the torment and lay unconscious and drooling in her arms as she sobbed. A man in a dark cloak performed the same ritual Jamie just had on Tucker, and I realized without even being able to see the man’s face, that it was my dad. I knew him in the same way you could know the sun was rising even if you had your eyes closed. Britta and Jamie had been in the same room with the amazing Rolf Kincaid, though it looked like no verbal exchanges had been made.
I shuddered and gripped Jens’s arm with my free hand, not knowing how to communicate how not worth that experience I was.
Jens shrugged off my sincerity, lest it become infectious, and went to get Tucker a glass of water.
I rocked the too-tall man in my arms, squeezing him tight so he would know he wasn’t alone. Though Jamie had only been there psychically to hold me in the cell, it had made all the difference. While I didn’t forgive Tucker for everything he’d done, it wasn’t in my makeup to stand back and watch while someone suffered. Call me naïve. I don’t really care.
Tucker shuddered a few times against me, letting out the last of his sobs into my bosom, wetting my shirt. When he finally regained the use of his arms that had been exhausted from the tremors, he reached over and gripped my upper arm, squeezing with a pathetic grasp to communicate his gratitude that I had come back to him.
I pushed his hair from his forehead with my free hand as I rocked back and forth, allowing him the space to break down at the pain and the loss of his lifestyle of untethered freedom. Though seducing Pearl, Gladys and who know who else wasn’t my idea of awesome, I could relate to the small choices you treasured being yanked away from you for the “greater good”.
When Tucker was finally strong enough to sit up, Jens was ready with the water. I watched as Tucker sagged against his friend like a child, wincing as his throat constricted.
The buzzer rang, and Foss paid the delivery kid for the five pizzas and plopped them on the table. I kissed Tucker’s temple and then Jens’s lips before following the scent of olives and pineapple into the kitchen. Britta and I polished off two pieces each before the guys joined us. Jamie and Jens had helped Tucker to his bed and sat with grim faces at the table as they devoured half a pizza each before coming up for air.
We were silent, no one wanting to break the solemn mood from witnessing the ceremony I’m guessing not many got to see. I wasn’t the only one with drooping shoulders and eyelids. Despite the magic of the night, we were all exhausted. Jamie swallowed the last bite of his seventh slice of pizza, and then went with Britta into Jens’s old bedroom. It was strange that Jens had once shared an apartment with Tucker, but judging from the shabbiness and the general lack of care, it didn’t seem like those were cozy and happy times.
Jens knew I needed the lamp on to sleep, so he left it on for me. Being in the dark gave Jamie and I extreme bouts of anxiety, due to our imprisonment.
Jens fished around in the closet and pulled out all the old blankets they owned, spreading them on the ground for the three of us to share. Though I had slept many times sandwiched between the two men I loved, it was the first time the arrangement felt wrong. No longer did I feel that connection to Foss that made me instantly confused and guilty. Our affair was a distant memory, wiped into clarity by my incarceration. I waited until Foss and Jens laid down before I shifted into place on the outside of the two at Jens’s side.
Foss sat up in confusion, but knew he could say nothing as to why his friend’s girlfriend wouldn’t snuggle him through the night. The line had been drawn, for better or worse.
Jens took in my tired face with a hesitation that dampened down his eternal relief that I wouldn’t keep the dysfunction going for the rest of our lives. Thank you, he mouthed.
I pressed a silent kiss to his lips and burrowed into his warmth as he brought the blanket up around us. I’m sorry it took so long. I love you.
Jens nodded and rested on his back, staring up at the ceiling as he breathed for what seemed like the first time in a while.
I knew that I’d done that to him. The man had
gone through physical torture to promise himself to my family, and I’d made him hold his breath so I could be selfish and indecisive. When I’d been starved and broken, Foss could barely look at me, while Jens scarcely left my side. I was a selfish wind elf, a thoughtless water elf, a calloused Huldra, a hurtful siren and the worst kind of human.
And yet, I realized as I watched his thick eyelashes close while he drifted off to sleep, Jens loved me.
Twenty-Seven.
Talar Honung Elixir
Tucker was gone when we awoke, but Jens assured me that was the norm. He was an autonomous creature not used to having to be accountable to others, so letting us know where he’d disappeared to would take him some getting used to.
Foss had gone to pick up breakfast for everyone, and my stomach rumbled in anticipation of the omelets and croissants I would soon gorge myself on.
Jens was different when everyone began to meander about the house and make small talk to pass the time before heavy planning mode set it. He no longer felt the need to play it cool and give me some space. If my hand was out of my pocket, he was holding it. If my hair was down, he was touching it. He wasn’t Romeo all over me or anything. It was the little nuances that took our relationship to a level of seriousness I had not anticipated my mere act of only sleeping with him would set in motion. Nothing else had changed, but I guess I had, and so had he.
Foss returned with a hard look on his face and a breakfast of fast food ham and egg sandwiches, bagels, juice, pancakes and hash browns for everyone. Jens and I ate quietly, his hand affixed around my waist, and mine resting on his thigh.
Tucker ported back to us, landing in the living room far more alert and his old cocky self than he had been when last we’d seen him. He had an armful of bags that he brought into the kitchen and laid out on what little was left of the drab countertop. “Good morning, children,” Tucker sang as he picked up a sprig of dried herbs and hoisted up a massive dead toad by its flipper from out of the bag. “I trust you saved me some breakfast?”
When no one responded, I started assembling a plate of food for Tucker and placed it next to his mystery bags. “Thank you, darling. What a nice little housewife thing to do for your big man.”
My expression mutated into a glower. So, we’re back to that, are we? I picked up his toad and dropped it onto his food, bumping him hard with my shoulder as I made my way back to Jens to finish my meal.
There was a toad, seven different sprigs of herbs, a handful of dirt, a cup of unmarked liquid and a small envelope of green powder that Tucker poured with all the care of using dynamite.
“What are you making?” Jens asked around a mouthful of pancake. Foss kept a close eye on Tucker, but remained silent with his scowl in place.
After a minute of blending, the entire kitchen smelled of earth and stale gym socks. Britta blanched, and I felt bad for the poor pregnant woman with a heightened sense of smell.
“Anyone thirsty?” Tucker inquired. “No? Just Lucy and Jamie? Well, alright. More for them, I guess.”
Jamie and I shook our heads as if they were attached to the same string.
Tucker poured the concoction into two tall glasses and set them on the table, a proud expression beaming on his impish man face. “Drink up, kids. A toast to your new superhero.” He slid his hand over his left suspender as he straightened.
Jens stretched out his arm between us and the glasses. “What are you up to?”
Tucker leaned back against the counter, his arms crossed over his chest in self-satisfaction. “That there’s a talar honung elixir. You’re welcome.” He bowed his head slightly, accepting our silence as applause. When we didn’t drink the nastiness, he prodded with, “I personally don’t need to hear the sound of your girlfriend’s chattering, but I thought you might, Jens.”
I frowned and pushed the glass away, not willing to put something in my body from Tucker – especially when I didn’t know what it was.
“It’s supposed to… what? Bring back their voices? What’s in it?”
“Oh, I forgot one thing.” Tucker put his hands over the cups. As he exhaled, tiny tongues of fire dripped down from his hands almost like honey, heating the drinks and changing the color to a sickly pinkish gray. I was surprised the glass didn’t shatter. The smell mutated from gym socks to a burnt rubber stink.
Britta ran from the kitchen to vomit in the bathroom, and Jamie followed after her to hold back her hair like a true gentleman. He deserved a kid. Not just a regular kid, but like, a crazy smart one with dimples and riddles and buckets of cuteness.
I shook my head at Tucker, who harrumphed dramatically. “You say you want me to guard Jamie, to be his vakt, but you scoff at my help?” He tsked Jens, who sat back to indulge in the familiar back and forth with the friend he’d missed. “I thought all that nastiness was behind us by now.”
Jens chuckled, as if the whole thing was cute. “Oh, Tuck, it’s almost sweet you think I’ll let you give my charge an unmarked drink. You’ve only been responsible for someone else for a few hours. You’ll learn.” He scratched his scalp and shrugged at me. “Maybe we should’ve started him out watching a goldfish.”
Tucker pointed to the elaborately etched gold circle and diamond design on his cheek. “If Jamie dies, I die. I’m not stupid. If there’s anything I’ll protect, it’s myself. So Jamie just became the most well-guarded man on earth.”
My head jerked from Tucker to Jens, begging for an explanation. Jens glowered at Tucker. “That’s not her business to worry about.”
I scoffed and started signing angrily about the idiocy of that statement.
Jens rubbed his hand over his tattoo, tired of the conversation before it properly started. “It’s no big deal, Loos. It’s part of the swearing in every guardian gnome has to go through. It’s a whole big thing. Could we not get into it right now?”
Jens didn’t need to know sign language to understand the rant I was replying.
“How can you not have told her about your vow?” Foss confronted Jens. “You’re telling us she has no idea your life is tied to hers? No wonder she’s so reckless.”
“It’s nothing to get worked up about.” Jens tilted his head back and addressed the ceiling to escape taking in whatever my response might be. “If I die, you’re fine. You’ll be unprotected, but otherwise fine. Since you’re the last person in your family, I’m linked to you. If you die, my life’s tied to yours, so I’d, you know, stop living too. No big deal.”
I had no words, even if I could talk. It was a thing of fortune, actually. It saved me from having to apologize for the cussing out that might’ve occurred if I’d had a voice. In lieu of yelling at him how terrible he’d been to keep something that huge from me, I slammed my fist on the table. We would have words about this. Many unladylike words.
Tucker brought us back to the present. “It’s not poison, Jens. Try it if you don’t trust me. It’ll give them back their voice.” He eyed me with that playful sleaziness that made me want to smack him across the face. “Though, I can understand the show you’re putting up. It’ll keep your woman quiet longer. Every man’s dream – a silent little beauty.” He held up his hands in mock concern. “No, Lucy! Don’t drink the thing that’ll make you better! It’s poisonous! You shutting up for another few months is for your own good!”
Jens shoved the drink toward Tucker. “Show me it’s harmless.”
Tucker sighed. “Really? After I just drank the tonic of death last night? Fine.” He picked up the cup and pinched the bridge of his nose, downing a dainty sip and smacking his lips in mock satisfaction. “Good to the last drop.” He sat the cup down in front of me, leaning his fist on the tabletop. He towered over the table and looked down at me. “It’s a simple potion, darling. Drink up, or get used to keeping your mouth shut while you wait it out.”
I debated downing the stinky drink. I hated being silent when I had a mission burning inside me. Linus was buried, and I needed to get his soul back to him now. I wanted my brother back,
and knew the quest would require me to be able to talk on occasion to make my way through Undraland.
Foss rolled his eyes at my obvious internal debate and shoved Tucker out of the way as he took his plate to the couch. “Don’t even think about touching that, Lucy.” He took a giant bite of his food and muttered, “If she murders Jens for being a permissive idiot, I’ve got dibs on his knives.”
I rested my elbows on the table and leaned my head in my hands, sighing in frustration at the decision that had too many pros and cons to list. I knocked on the door to Jamie’s mind, but he kept it shut tight.
Jamie stormed out of the bathroom and stomped into the kitchen. He picked up his glass and glared at Tucker. Before anyone could stop him, Jamie downed half the glass in one go, choking and gagging through the last of the liquid until it was gone.
Jamie! This affects both of us! You can’t just drink things from dangerous people like it’s nothing! It’s my life you’re taking that bet with!
Tucker smirked at the prince’s discomfort and pointed to the second glass. “One of you has to drink the other cup, too. I split it up because it seemed unfair to force one of you to drink the whole thing. I’ve had it before. Horror of an aftertaste. I’d wager Britta’s more kissable than you are right now.”
That was the wrong thing to say. Jamie flew around the table, cuffed Tucker on the back of his neck and shoved his head down on the table.
Porting was a useful tool, but I was never prepared for it. Tucker vanished before Jamie could take his full anger out, reappearing on the couch next to Foss. “Your little group is a touch high-strung.” He stretched his arm behind the sour-faced man, who scooted over to get some space from Tucker’s smarmy expression that didn’t need a woman around to appear sleazy.
Lucy at War Page 13