by JP Vasha
Mike didn't answer. I don't think he was capable of speaking right now.
Shell didn't relent. He shook the adviser's head, growling deep in his throat, voice commanding like that of an alpha, "Understood?"
Finally, Mike gritted out a barely audible, "Yes."
Shell let his head fall to the floor and rose back up. He looked at Zack with aloofness that seemed to come natural to him. "You tell me next time he steps out of line."
Zack snarled in return. "I don't need you stupid fucking help, Shell."
"It's not up to negotiation, Grey," Shell turned his back to us as he began walking to the rooms' area. "It's an order."
As Shell disappeared into the ship's dorms, I felt Khloe waking up in my mind. Apparently she'd still been asleep throughout this entire saga, probably from sated pleasure. What happened? She asked when she felt the tensed air. Then she growled, and I knew she saw how Mike was looking and the red spots he was sporting. What the hell happened?
It's because you had sex, I explained, staring at Mike with such lack of pity, I was almost surprised at myself. Zack smelled his scent on me, or rather on you, and snapped. Mike had broken some werewolf code and both Zack and Shell taught him a lesson, it seems.
Khloe said nothing after that, probably either in shock or taking it all in. Meanwhile, I shifted my attention to Ambery. "When are we getting to Urram?" I asked. That was our destination after all.
"In a few hours," Ambery replied, a look of pure contemplation on his face. He looked at Zack, who was pacing the deck with a murderous expression on his face, obviously riled up still, and leaned closer to me, whispering, "I suggest you calm your wolf down, Miss Mill, before this little trip overseas is over."
Agreeing, I saw Ambery walking to Mike and helping him up onto his feet. "There, there," he almost cooed, "let's get you all cleaned up and as fresh as new."
As Ambery dragged the barely conscious wolf away, I walked toward Zack. He had such a tormented look on his face, I couldn't help but feel my chest squeezing. I couldn't let him keep feeling like everything was going downhill; I needed him to be okay.
Without saying a thing, I stood in his way and when he froze, seeing me, I hugged him. "Come back to me, Zack," I whispered softly, "Mike's not worth your anger."
He hugged me back instantly, as though he couldn't help himself, and buried his face in my neck. He then snarled, squeezing me almost painfully to him. "His scent is till imprinted in this skin," he snarled, but his fury couldn't quite mask his hurt.
That made me clench him even tighter to me. "It's not my skin," I reminded him, caressing his hair with my cheek, "when I have my own body back, it will be yours. All yours. I promise this to you." Despite our far from perfect relationship, I had no doubt in my mind regarding to Zack Grey.
I was going to fight for him to entrust me with his fears. I was going to fight his demons with him, and for him. He was going to be mine. And I was going to be his, and he was going to accept me for who I was, because while he thought he deserved the perfect mate out there yet he got me, no one was perfect. I wasn't perfect. He wasn't perfect. Yet it would be all right. I just needed to have my stupid body back.
Even if I didn't look good to him, even if my plain looks would make him feel even more sorry for himself by getting me as his mate, I was still going to fight. This was not over. This would never be over. Zack was mine, whether I recognized him as my mate or not. Since he had obviously recognized me, that was good enough. We didn't need more than that.
As though feeling my resolve, he held on to me just like I held on to him.
Chapter Twenty-Three
I think that had we not arrived Urram in the next morning, things on the ship would've been even worse. Thankfully, however, just as dawn came, we saw land ahead and waited almost expectantly until we reached what would be Stonehill, the capital city of this country.
Much like in Barolia Harbor, Stonehill was amazingly beautiful. The winter sun rose here as well, and yet there were so many crops, just like in the previous land, and flowers covered everything, ivies and other mysterious types.
As our group left the ship and went forward, me next to Zack who was still riled up from the night's events, I turned to Ambery and asked, "How come it seems like everything here is close to harvest, when it's supposedly winter?"
"Ah, the enigma of Logia thickens," the Deity murmured with mirth dancing in his eyes, "it's mostly because of the magic. Whether it's winter, summer, spring or fall, there would always be crops to harvest."
"It's because the source of magic is in nature, right?" Mike asked, and when Zack sent him a glare he winced. "I mean, that's what Kim said."
"And my brother was right," Ambery said, ignoring the elephant between us, "nature is magic itself, even, and here in Logia it's much more present than in the normal Earth."
After that, conversation fell a bit, mostly because Zack's foul mood darkened the atmosphere. His arm was around my waist, and I had a feeling I was like a physical wall against him attacking Mike on Spot. Ambery didn't seem to care about my mate's edginess, and Shell kept an eye mostly on Mike, so he wouldn't try to provoke a fight or something like that, even though Mike seemed to be as far from that as one could be.
I understood why Ralph had sent Shell with us after the fight erupted between Zack and Mike. Shell might be serious, severe and quiet, who also acted almost arrogantly and condescending to Zack, but he was like an anchor, more so than Zack or even Ralph. While Ralph was the epitome of balance among werewolves, I had a feeling Shell was the one who truly made everyone feel safe. He had that protective, secure aura around him.
He also felt dangerous in that regard, and that meant that if you piss him off even a little, he would eat your for breakfast. That was why I guessed Mike didn't try anything, didn't even breath closer to me than necessary, and why even rebellious Khloe stayed silent in my head, not pushing for anything with Shell in presence.
I found Shell a mystery of himself. On the one hand, I could catalog him as protective and safe, and on the other hand he reeked of danger, making me feel somewhat antsy to be around him. I had an idea that it might have to do with him not being balanced in himself, that there were two sides that warred inside his head, but I couldn't be sure. I barely knew the guy. It was just a hunch.
When Ambery stopped not so far from the harbor in front of a coffee shop in a row of stores, we all paused with him. "That's it," he said, smiling briefly. "Here's the Cleromancer I told you about."
Zack pulled me hard against him, almost as if he wanted to mold my side to his. "Is she dangerous?" he asked, a growl undertone in his voice making me shiver, and not necessarily in fear.
"He," Ambery corrected, "and while he's many things, dangerous he's not."
"You sure about that?" It was Shell who vocalized that question. Shell didn't say much, but when he did, he always brought up the right concerns.
Ambery made a face. "Just trust me. I've known Orpheo since he was a small kid enrolling into the Red Order Academy."
"If you say so," I mumbled, and just then Ambery opened the coffee shop's door and we all entered. The inside was dimly lit and had a romantic theme to it, with small tables, mistletoe hanging from the ceiling, roses tucked into slender, elegant vases on top of every table. I felt like I stepped into some odd movie, being in such a cliché kind of coffee shop.
"Orpheo!" Ambery called, and I guess it was the right thing to do, since there weren't any customers anyway. "It's Ambery! I've got the guests you told me to go to sooner a few days ago. They'd like to talk to you too."
A door to what seemed to be a backroom was opened, and inside the shop went a man younger than I imagined. So young, in fact, he must've been my age. He was tall and with a mop of natural magenta hair, eyes the same flamboyant Shell, and skin so pale, it seemed like even a small cut by paper would break it. He was slender, and if I needed to describe him by the look in his weird magenta eyes, I would've called him a freak who'd never want
ed to be a freak to begin with.
"Ambery," the man – Orpheo, I presumed – said with a surprisingly thick, low, bass tone. "I expected you and your comrades to come. That's why I was able to get dressed as quickly as I did."
I found myself exchanging glances with Zack, who seemed to be as incredulously confounded as I was. Orpheo was wearing waist-long cloak and a pair of shorts with black boots. His legs were as skinny and smooth as those of a woman, without even the tiniest hair.
Ambery chuckled as though Orpheo told a joke. "Well, well, my friend, no need to be so nervous," he gestured over to us. "These are the Earth emissary. The couple here are Zack Grey and his complicated case of a mate, Carla Mill. The blonde man there is Mike, whose mate, Khloe Daniels, also resides along with Carla Mill in the same body, which originally is hers. Then we have Shell who tugged along for extra security."
Orpheo gave us all a once over and offered a frigid smile. "I'm Orpheo Jaxrel," he introduced himself. "I'm a Sorcerer who's been specialized in Cleromancy and Spheromancy, both arts of divination, using different methods."
"Care to elaborate?" I inquired, curious.
Shrugging, Orpheo complied. "Cleromancy means divination by sortition, the act of casting lots."
"Hold on," Mike said before the Sorcerer could continue, "how does that work? Sortition is used for gambling games, like rolling dices and so on. How could you read the future from this?"
Another chilling smile appeared on Orpheo's face as he put his hand into the pocket of his cloak and drew out a pair of dice. "Let me show you," he said quietly before letting go of the dice. The dice thudded on the floor, rolling around until they fell on two numbers; five and six.
Picking the dices up, he showed us the numbers more clearly. "You see numbers," he said, and then turned to look at it. Suddenly, magic charged into the air, wrapping itself around the Sorcerer. My Necromancy picked on it, tingling under my skin, but didn't want to be released. It wanted to watch another Sorcerer making his magic, wanted to learn alongside myself how he did that.
Orpheo's eyes turned neon, flaring and flashing a purple light. "When I see the numbers," he said softly, "in my head I sea pictures. They could belong to the past, the present or the future, and they could never belong to me."
"What does he mean by that?" I heard Zack murmuring to Ambery.
"He means that, like all divination users, he can't read his own future. This is the thing; no divination user can read the future of another divination user."
"Like the opposite to Necromancers and Demonomancers," I stated, feeling chills crawling up my skin. Zack was now practically hugging me.
Orpheo locked his eyes on me, and I tensed. "The dice want me to see something regarding your soul, Carla Mill," he said softly, "but in order to do so, I need you to roll the dice yourself."
When he handed me the small cubes, I wanted to hurl. But I took a deep breath, braced myself, and threw dice onto the floor. Once they stopped moving, Orpheo said, "Pick it up yourself," and I did, seeing that the chosen numbers were two and two. A double.
Orpheo gritted his teeth when he snatched the dice from me. "A double is a warning," he said, and, as though he was possessed, his head fell back, the magic around him thickened, and I felt it. The six of us weren't the only ones in this room.
"Step back," I hissed, throwing myself away from Zack, "please step back. All of you."
"Carla?" Zack was shocked.
"Do as she says," Ambery said, surprisingly. He glanced at me, his gold eyes serious. "I can feel his presence, too," he murmured.
Zack wanted to argue but Shell grabbed his arm in one hand, Mike's in another, and dragged them back, for my relief. Then my attention was back on Orpheo, who had his eyes closed, his lips parted, his breath almost cut off.
Then, as we watched, I felt the malevolent presence dissipating slowly, and the magic storm calming down, and then Orpheo straightened, stretched his arms, and opened his eyes, locking them on me.
"A double is a warning," he repeated, eyes not wavering away. "It could also be a blessing, but in your case it's the other way. Your future showed me to options; one is that you will get your own body, that you will be able to live happily ever after with your mate, but in order for that life to come true, you'll lose more than you can ever hope to gain."
I swallowed. That did not sound promising.
"The other option is simpler," Orpheo murmured, "and that is you live Logia with your friends, forget about your body, and sacrifice yourself so the other couple would have a chance at happiness."
"No," Zack said, stepping forward and wrapping his arms around me from behind, his body tensed with his seething rage. "There must be another option."
Orpheo shook his head and looked at Ambery. "Michelangelo visited me, as you might've noticed," he said softly, "he said that he warned Carla Von Logia not to come here, that if she ever did he would find her and kill her. But he decided to change the rules of the game." He returned his eyes to me. "Carla, Michelangelo Von Logia offers you a different option. He told me to tell you that you would know of that option when the time comes."
Another ominous notion to think about. "I believe there's a fourth option," I said, shaking a little, "and that it's to get my body and get out of here, all of us together, me and Khloe finally separated. So can you please tell me where I can find my body?"
Orpheo studied me for a few long moments before eyeing Ambery. "The Necromancer who raised these two is Haykon Tollier. Last time I checked with my Spheromancy, he was visiting Mooncore."
Ambery's face fell immediately and that set the wolves and I on edge. "Fucking Tollier," he grunted, pushing his hair back in irritation. "I suspected that was him but hoped it was somebody else but that old geezer. And Mooncore?" He let out a curse in a language I didn't recognize, which must've been Ancient Logian. "I wanted to refrain from going to Mana at all costs, yet the stupid man is there, of all places."
"No can do," Orpheo shrugged almost nonchalantly. "I think Strotford told him about your Earthling gang coming to sniff around and so he fled."
"Why would he flee?" I asked, unable to make sense of this conversation.
"Because I supervise who's able to go to Earth or not. I'm the one giving permission." Ambery grimaced. "Those who go to Earth without my supervision suffer severe punishment. That's why Tollier doesn't want me to find him."
"Who's Strotford, then?" Zack asked, eyeing Orpheo. "Is she another Cleromancer?"
The Sorcerer shook his head. "She's a Cleidomancer," he explained. "Cleidomancy is a much more accurate and simple art of divination that either Cleromancy or Spheromancy. Cleidomancers can answer question of yes and no using a key that would point with surety at the right answer. Simple, but it works. Yule Strotford is very young, about sixteen, and she's also a specialized Sorceress of Cleidomancy. She'll be strong one day, but now she's still learning."
"So Tollier was in touch with her," Mike muttered, and I wanted to bang my head against the floor. This was getting so much more complicated than I'd ever wanted it to be.
"Tollier is her uncle, so yes," Orpheo nodded.
"That sucks," I murmured, slumping against Zack's front. Then I remembered. "What's Spheromancy?"
"Divination using a crystal ball," Orpheo shrugged. "It's my secondary specialization. I'd rather use my Cleromancy, though. It's more easy for me to understand."
Since both crystal balls and dice seemed like madness to me, I decided to keep my mouth shut.
"Well, that settles this then," Ambery sighed. "Another thing, though, before we go to see Tollier. When Carla rolled the dice, have you seen when her body was?"
For the first time, Orpheo smiled truthfully. This smile made him seem to much creepier and fearsome than I'd thought was possible. "Necromancers travel with ash vials," he said almost dreamily, "they gather humans' ash like it was water and they were departing to a wasteland of sand. Three years ago, Tollier was about to cross the portal to Earth to search for cl
ients when, as he was sneaking around to reach the portal, something came through. The body of a dead woman."
Chills went through my skin.
"He took the woman, sensed the Necromancy that resided in her blood, and waited until she was nothing but ashes. He bottled her and gave her a special place in his vial belt, along with another specific vial. He experimented on them, trying to see if he could revive a person from ashes despite it being usually impossible, but, as you can guess, he hasn't succeeded yet."
I didn't even need to exchange glances with the group to understand what Orpheo was telling us. Somehow, Dory managed to send my body through the portal directly to where the Logia portal was, unlike what happened to our group when we crossed from Earth and landed somewhere in a cornfield in Barolia. And, Fate made sure this Tollier was there when the body came across, and so the Necromancer took it and basically waited for it to decimate so when it turned to ashes, who bottled it and saved for later use.
That was just so dark and freaky I didn't want to think about it anymore.
"Thank you, Orpheo," Ambery grinned. "We appreciate the information. We'll leave you now."
We left the coffee shop and Ambery led us back to the harbor. "We'll go to Mooncore at once," he said, stiffness in his shoulders. "We need to find Tollier as soon as possible."
With that, I knew, we were all in definite agreement.
Chapter Twenty-Four
We were aboard Lacey again, and this time, the trip was unusually quiet.
I felt Khloe inside my head, but she was silent, as though she didn't want to risk Zack's wrath or something. It wasn't like her to be so sensible, but I took it, since who knew how long she would stay like this.