Tease

by Mary E. Twomey

  Von’s voice was warm, and I longed to be near the sound that comforted and cradled me, even though I was so far from it. “Those are two words I never thought I’d hear you say. My wife can do anything.”

  With a final gulp and a prayer, I let my fingers say their final goodbye to the tree branch, slipping and letting gravity win, as I knew it inevitably would.

  Forty-One.

  Hugging the Monsters

  Like most hurdles in life, the anticipation of falling was worse than the actual feat. Danny and Lang caught me with nothing more than a disarming bump when my feet hit the ground. Lang clumsily patted my back, but Danny clung to me, holding me tight when my knees buckled. There was something about the earnest nature of the hug I didn’t expect that squeezed the truth out of me. Before I could stop myself, I whispered the confession that had been building in me since the Tiyanak went down. “That’s two babies I killed.”

  At my horrible admission of guilt, Danny’s arms tightened, crushing me to him so I couldn’t run. He didn’t say anything at first, but simply held me through his shock. Lang’s hand on my back rubbed sweet circles, and I hoped he hadn’t heard what a wretched person I was, though by now, we all knew. Danny kept one arm around me and put the other on the back of my head, anchoring my cheek to his shoulder so I could rest my burdens on him for a minute. Danny was showing public affection, and I felt terrible for making him be so nice to me. Never had it been clearer that I was a train wreck than when I stood in the middle of the dark forest, letting Danny comfort my crazy. Danny was saner than I was.

  It was a hard blow.

  “Shh,” he whispered in my ear as he pulled some of the heartbreak out of me. “I don’t want to hear that sort of rubbish from you, yeah? It’s not true. The Manas killed your daughter, and what we killed back there was no baby. Tiyanaks aren’t truly babies.”

  I didn’t know which way was up, only that my soul felt heavy with gravity and guilt. Maybe Danny was right, but it didn’t erase the weight I couldn’t shake. Danny waved the others to move on ahead and held onto me, giving me a moment of privacy in a world where I’d been granted none. When we were alone, Danny lightly scratched my scalp and whispered, “Go ahead. Let it out.”

  Tears welled in my eyes. I hated myself one degree less since there wasn’t an audience around to watch me degrade myself. Danny was being kind because I was fragile. I knew what fragile got a girl, and despised myself for the weakness I couldn’t seem to escape. I didn’t tell Danny any more of the awful things I felt, but I let myself cry in his arms, holding onto him as much as he held onto me.

  It wasn’t until my sobs subsided that I realized he’d been talking to me, making sense of the madness I specialized in. “You’re a soldier, just as I am. You did what had to be done back there. You were brilliant. I’ve never seen a Tiyanak act even remotely human before. They’re usually just irrational monsters, programmed to kill and eat. But you got him to drop his guard. Only you could make a monster hug you.” Then he stopped, examined his words and gave me a tight squeeze. “I’m a monster most days, yet here I am, hugging you because I know you need it, and your boyfriend can’t.” He pressed his cheek to mine and whispered, “You’re a good person, and I’m sorry life is hard.”

  I don’t know why this made my tears dry. Confused as I was, I let Danny wipe my tears with the sleeve of Ollie’s jacket. I was grateful for the simple act that preserved my pride; he knew I didn’t want to look so wrecked when we rejoined the others. “Thank you.” I gripped his gloved fingers and held them to my cheek, using his warmth to anchor me when I felt so hopelessly lost and disconnected from reality.

  He rubbed his thumb down the length of my cheekbone while he held me with his other arm slung low on my waist. “Let’s find Mason and get you home, yeah? I bet Von’s already making plans to take you on your glorious holiday of soup, hot cocoa and American television.” He snorted out half a laugh at my idea of paradise. “Can you keep a secret?”

  “Hello, my whole life is a secret these days. Shoot.”

  “After the cruise, I booked us a trip to Costa Rica for part two of our delayed honeymoon. Mariang’s always wanted to go to the rainforest, and now she’s finally healthy enough for some adventure.”

  Danny’s happiness was just the distraction I needed. “Oh, Danny that’s great! She doesn’t know?”

  “Not a clue. She thinks we’re coming straight home after the cruise. She’s too wrapped up in the wedding part of things to worry about the honeymoon. It’ll be after the baby comes, of course, and after the circus of the ceremony in Terraway, but that’s the plan.”

  “I love it! She’ll be so excited. That’s a great thing, booking a surprise for the two of you. Totally romantic. Good for you.” I smiled up at him, hoping my face didn’t look blotchy and tearstained. “You’ll have to take her dancing when you get there.”

  “Ha,” Danny replied tonelessly. “I think we all know what a fool I look like dancing.”

  I pulled my head back and stared up at him. “All you need is more practice. You’re good at anything you put your mind to; dancing’s no different.”

  Danny studied my face for a few seconds, debating something in his mind. Finally, he held my hand and slowly moved it out to the side, his arm tightening around my waist. His chest puffed out, and I could see him counting to three in his head. My foot moved back as his moved forward, and before I could analyze the situation, we were waltzing through the snow. Though my body was exhausted from anxiety, getting torn up, and not sleeping, somehow we moved gracefully under the stars. The moon seemed to look down at us with a wink, telling us that even though things were hard, there was still beauty to be enjoyed. Life gave us pure moments to cling to, so we had enough hope to lift our heads. I was covered in blood, waltzing with my almost brother, and somehow, without any magic at all, this became our fairytale.

  Danny stepped on my feet four times before he grew frustrated with himself, though I never called him on his missteps. He dropped his arms and broke the rhythm of our dance, rubbing the back of his neck. “I was dreadful still, yeah?”

  “Not terrible at all. Dashing, at the very least. Danny, you’re getting better at dancing the more you do it. When we get home, make sure you practice all the time with Mariang. It’s romantic as anything, and she’ll eat it right up.”

  “You think?”

  “I know. You’re not bad at the whole romance thing. Quit selling yourself short.”

  Danny extended his hand to me to take, so we didn’t trip in the dark. “You know, I think I just might take your advice on that.”

  I blame the waltzing on why I didn’t hear the footfalls that trampled too near for a quick escape. “Danny?” I warned in a whisper, flipping open my dagger and crouching as I braced myself for whatever was coming.

  Danny did the same, his arm stretching in front of me as a shield. His protective instinct was too precious an offer to push away. “It’s a zombie. Let me handle it.”

  I didn’t want to stand down, but I was already injured and unsure of my strength after the whole dangling from a tree thing. I heard growling when the feet came closer, crashing through the woods. I heard the gurgling of too much saliva, and the stink of rancid chicken, mixed with hot garbage in motion.

  Then there were two sets of footsteps.

  Three.

  Seven.

  “Von!” I called out when the monsters came into view, their jaws slack and their eyes unblinking. I hoped my voice carried to the others for help, but didn’t count on the cavalry arriving in time. I moved off to the side to draw out a few of the zombies, so Danny didn’t have to be the target for all of them.

  “Stay behind me!” he warned.

  I think we both knew I wasn’t going to listen. I didn’t wait for the zombies to claw at me first. I leapt forward, slicing and ripping with my blade as best I could. My conscience was too torn to make lucid decisions, so I killed on autopilot, using Danny as the thing that kept me fighting. I c
ouldn’t let Mariang not get to see Costa Rica. I bet it was gorgeous. Danny had to take her there, to waltz with her and romance her, the way a great girl like Mariang was meant to be swept off her feet. I ripped through one throat in the name of my new sister, knowing I would stop at nothing to make sure she had a good, long life.

  I was scared of reanimation happening mid-battle, so I spent probably too much attention on each zombie, mutilating more than was strictly necessary, just to be safe.

  We were down to the last two, and Danny was focused on the one before him. The zombie was a tall and broad-shouldered reverse centaur that made me feel small in comparison.

  I never much cared for feeling small.

  The Tikbalang zombie looked more freshly dead than the others, who’d had chunks of flesh missing on their faces and arms. This one looked healthier, stronger, though his jaw was still slack and his movements rigid.

  I used one of the fallen bodies as leverage, running and jumping off it to fling myself at the tall one who was zeroed in on Danny. My blade glinted in the moonlight before it sunk into the side of his thick horse neck. He let out a howl mixed with a whinny, and then surprised me by sinking his long maw into my right wrist, coming down hard on the bone and ripping through my skin like it was a fruit rollup.

  My scream was interrupted by Von, who flew in from out of nowhere, tackling the zombie. I expected him to latch onto the monster with his fangs and drain the life out of him, but Von resisted. He was firm that somehow he would kick this whole vampire thing.

  I stumbled back, tripping over a body and falling, catching myself with my wrist. It made a horrible cracking sound and sent agony up my arm to my brain. I prayed nothing else would come for me while I was down.

  And then somehow I wasn’t down anymore. I’d been scooped up by something hairy, strong and tall. “Let’s get back to my place.”

  Mason’s voice made me swoon. It was his hairy animal furs that he wore like armor, his strong arms and his presence that distracted me from the pain in my wrist. “Mason?”

  “I’m here, hani.” His words were gentle, almost like a song that soothed what ailed me. “This way!” he ordered, carrying me in his arms and leading the way to safety in a run.

  Forty-Two.

  Take Me Home, Honey

  The way to Mason’s house was still pretty far from where we were, but Mason didn’t stop running. He didn’t slow until he’d crossed a bridge, darted through a frozen tunnel, and ran us through yet more twisted trees with agility belying the icy darkness before he stopped.

  “Wait!” I requested, motioning with my good hand for Ruiz to give me my backpack. Mason slowed near an unceremonious stone well near his log cabin in the woods. “The sagrado stone.”

  Ruiz unzipped the backpack and handed me the wadded-up pack that held the last bit of the stone. Mason steadied me when my feet touched down on the snow, but gave me a fair amount of space when I jerked open the bag using my good hand and my teeth. Without conversation or ceremony, I chucked the stone into the well, exhaling with the last bit of the magical burden off my shoulders. “It’s done, then. We did it.”

  Mason kissed my temple, and then hoisted me up again in his arms, carrying me to the wood cabin. “You did it. Thank you for making sure Sombi wasn’t forgotten.”

  Mason didn’t let me down until he undid a latch at the top of the doorframe, plus one on the side, and kicked open the door, marching straight to his bedroom and laying me down on his bed. It was covered in long, cozy animal furs. “What are you doing here?” he demanded, his eyes wide. “Did you get shot? What happened to you?”

  “Tiyanak,” I mumbled, cradling my wrist to my chest. “I’m okay. Are you alright? Where’ve you been? We came here to bring you home.”

  Mason poured water from a pitcher into a basin on the nightstand, while the others filtered into the main room of his small log cabin. “I’ve been setting traps and trying to get a handle on Sombi. It’s been a while since I was here, and things needed tending to. I would’ve come back. I was going to in the next day or so.” He said it all like it was no big deal.

  “Well, I didn’t know that! I was scared you were being held by Sama or something!”

  Mason’s face contorted as he lit the oil lamp that hung on the wall. “Sama?” He threw a few logs in the fireplace in the corner of the bedroom and lit the kindling, blowing on the embers until the room glowed with a gentle warmth to quell my shivering. The log cabin glowed with amber and flickers of pink as the fire danced, illuminating the sparse wood furniture and fur rug that was stretched out in the middle of the floor. Mason stood, the flames lighting his features with an angelic luminescence. “Why would you be worried about something as crazy as Sama holding me hostage? What could he possibly want with me?”

  Von came into the bedroom, but then stepped back out, bracing himself on the doorjamb to keep from getting too near my blood. “Because Sama went after me to hurt November. He’s getting creative in his desperation, so we wanted you with us to make sure he didn’t get his hooks into you.” The firelight revealed drops of blood staining Von’s shirt from the Type-A Kool-Aid he’d resisted drinking from the tall zombie. My blood was no doubt permeating his nose, but it seemed barely a distraction from the pain in his eyes as he looked at me from across the way. I could tell he wanted to be at my side, but was unable to trust himself. “Let’s get home so we can patch her up. A Tikbalang Amalanhig bit her pretty bad.”

  Mason nodded, but eyed my still bleeding wrist with a skeptical eye. “That’s fine. Let me bandage up her wrist first. I still need to close up the place.” He slowly helped me work off my bloodied jacket, and looked down with a serious expression at my body. “This shirt is ruined, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  I yelped in surprise when Mason pulled out his knife and sliced the bottom two inches from my shirts off in a long line, exposing my belly. “What? Did you think I was going to stab you or something?”

  “No,” I lied. I didn’t know which way was up anymore.

  Mason took his time bandaging the bite so my wrist didn’t move as much, a small smile playing on his lips beneath his half-inch beard. “You came to my house. I’ve pictured you here a thousand times, but never once were you bleeding.”

  “Of course I came. I was worried about you. It was Von’s idea, actually.”

  Mason turned to toss a smile up at Von, who was still gripping the doorframe. “You came to get me.”

  Von nodded in solidarity. “Of course we did. We’re a team. Sama’s targeting the people October loves. I wasn’t about to leave you to fend for yourself.”

  “I figured the two of you might want some privacy, so I took my time coming back.” Mason pried off my left glove, playing with the ring on my finger. A mix of emotions washed over his face. “That’s... That’s a nice ring,” he said to us both.

  “We’re a team,” I echoed. “You can have Allie’s room until she wakes up, so you don’t feel so uncomfortable. But I won’t let Sama get his hooks in you like he did Von. You’re coming home. You belong at my house with me.”

  Mason rested my right wrist to my chest and gathered me in his arms like a child. I leaned into the warmth of his gentle pulling; I’d missed it sorely. He looked like the wild mountain man I adored, having not shaved in who knows how long. He smelled like pine and patchouli, and I sucked in his scent greedily. I could feel his utter acceptance of all the weird things I was, and all the good things I wasn’t. “I’m so sorry you lost your baby.”

  A pang like a hot knife sliced me through the chest. “How’d you even find out about that?”

  “Ezra. I got the news and stayed here to make sure... You know.”

  My eyebrows drew together as I rested in his capable arms. “What?”

  “To make sure September didn’t... You know.”

  Von’s intake of breath told me he was a few seconds ahead of figuring out the thing that eluded me. “Is that even possible? September’s an Omen! She was burie
d properly by Kabayo in his crypt.”

  “The body doesn’t matter. It’s a twisted spirit.” Mason shook his head, his tone grave as he held me, rocking gently to soothe the ache in my chest. I could feel him steadily pulling some of my stress, and loved him for it. There was nowhere to wash my hands, and they’d been crawling with germs. “We don’t know if September died inside of October or shortly after she was born. If a Terraway baby dies in the womb, its soul twists and births into a Tiyanak. Then it appears in the forest of Sombi. I figured with Sama’s involvement, he’d send his spies to search for September’s spirit here. I found a few battalions marching through, but they stopped coming around a while ago.” His voice lowered. “I haven’t found your daughter. All the Tiyanaks I’ve killed recently have either been boys, or girls that were the wrong age. I’m sorry,” he offered. “It’s mostly why I haven’t returned Topside yet.”

  My whole body went white as I pictured my perfect daughter chomping down on strangers in the frozen woods. “W-we have to go find her. Let me try. Maybe she’ll recognize my voice.”

  Mason shook his head, holding onto me to make sure I didn’t go off on my own. “No. If she’s here, she isn’t your daughter anymore; she’s a twisted spirit. She wouldn’t know you from a random stranger. You’re a meal to her, and nothing more.”

  “But I was able to reason with Bobby! I got him to calm down.”

  “Who’s Bobby?” Mason asked Von.

  “Bobby Brady!” I answered, frustrated that no one understood the urgency of the situation.

  “What?” Von’s head tilted to the side. When I explained that I’d named the Tiyanak Bobby Brady, Von’s shoulders deflated. “Oh, love. No. You were able to reason with Bobby, sure, but it didn’t make him not a monster. If September ended up here, she wouldn’t be the girl we love. It would be a violent, twisted spirit. Mason’s right.”