by Silver, Anna
“And Avery and Rye?” she asked him.
“Have been even longer outside the Circle’s protection. Their activity is obvious to me.” Elias yawned and it was a wonder to London that his mouth wasn’t instantly filled with bees.
“Why did you help us, Elias?” she asked, seeing the slivers of moonlight reflected across his large pupils.
“Because you needed it. Because you are trying to save this world and I wish there had been someone like you and your friends to save mine.”
London pursed her lips. Elias’s face was barely visible, but even so she could read the sadness there, the grief and regret. “I’m sorry, Elias. I’m sorry about what happened to you…to your world.”
“So am I,” he said and the words were a breezy, resounding hum like a sorrowful wind.
Her eyes blurred with tears. Here they had left their worlds to try and save another, and Elias had fled his to save himself. What if they failed? Would they have a chance to flee into the Astral like the Beekeeper? Would they want to? How many wouldn’t even get that option? People like her mother and Rye’s dad. People they cared about.
“What do I do now?” London asked. Even though she was grateful for the information on Avery and Rye, she wasn’t exactly sure what to do with it, how to protect them.
Elias looked at her, and something she imagined was as akin to fondness and affection as he could get washed over his face. “You return to the grove and you teach them the error of their thinking. You show them the Astral is much, much bigger than their small minds. And you turn the tricks of your enemies against them.”
London nodded. She wiped hastily at her eyes and rose to leave. Turning her back, she heard Elias make a final request from over her shoulder.
“London, tomorrow, okay? Tonight, you sleep.”
With another nod, she left Elias to the comfort of his bees.
* * *
LONDON MOVED WITH her head down into the abyss of the tunnel, the moon at her back, and ran smack into the hard-as-rock wall of Zen’s chest. “Dammit, Zen. You scared me,” she snapped. A heady drone buzzed behind her.
“You’re the one sneaking around at night,” he shot back.
London, hearing the bees respond to his tension, placed a finger over her lips. “Keep it down, unless you want to know what it feels like to be stabbed by a million needles all at once.”
Zen knit his thick eyebrows together with irritation, but he nodded. “What are you doing?” he whispered.
“Nothing,” London said. “Just going to look at the stars.” As if to prove it, she moved toward the precipice and sat down with her back to the stone.
Zen stood over her. “Bullshit,” he whispered. “Then why were you coming out of that cave?”
London motioned for him to sit. He crouched in front of her, his face finely revealed in the incandescent light of a beautiful moon.
“I heard you talking,” he added. “I heard Avery’s name…and Rye’s.”
London stiffened.
“What did you see on that plane last night, London?”
London was holding her breath but she finally let it escape. She was so tired of lying and secrets, but she didn’t know what Zen knew, she didn’t know if disclosing what she saw last night would only wound him more. “I saw them,” she said at last. “I know how they’ve been spying on us. Kind of.”
Zen moved next to her and propped his elbows on his knees. “What else did you see?”
“What do you mean,” London asked. “They were talking and…and…” London tried to hold it back, but images swam before her and suddenly the tide of pain Si’dah had wept the night before rushed over her again. Her eyes flooded and spilled over and all she could do was bury her face in her hands.
“Oh, London,” she heard Zen say before he wrapped his giant arms around her and pulled her close. “I never wanted you to know. I can’t stand to see you hurt like this.”
London pulled away a bit, so she could wipe her face and look up into his misty eyes. “What about you? Is it fair for you to carry that pain alone?”
Zen shrugged. “Maybe not. But I’m more than strong enough for it—for the both of us.”
“Still, you should have told me,” London said. “This was so much worse.”
“I guess I didn’t think you’d see it like I did. If I had known, I would have prepared you. I thought…I thought I could spare you.”
“I know,” London said. “What did you see exactly?” she asked him now. “Will you finally tell me?”
Zen took a deep breath and cocked his head. “Probably a lot of the same. I saw him at her side. Saw his arms around her. Saw them kiss. I mean, really kiss. Not some peck on the cheek. They were enjoying it, taking in the Outroaders. Both of them. It was sick.” Zen’s face tensed with anger, then relaxed. “I saw her…saw her tell him she loved him. I could read it on her lips.”
London looked at the stars for real now and their beauty was staggering in light of her own suffering. Rye could stop loving her and the universe would go on as though nothing had changed. Somehow, it didn’t seem possible.
She remembered Rye wiping at his mouth when Avery’s back was turned, the one seed of doubt planted in her about his affection for Avery, the one thing that kept hope alive in the deep recesses of her shattered heart. “Maybe it’s one-sided.”
“I saw him say it back, London,” Zen admitted. “And that kiss didn’t look one-sided at all.”
London sighed. She considered telling Zen about Rye wiping his mouth but thought better of it. He would only believe she was clinging to hope. It would only anger him. And if she was right, if it was one-sided, an act maybe, then that would only hurt Zen more. She just couldn’t leave him alone in his pain. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”
Zen pulled her face towards his. “I hate him, London. I hate them both, but especially him. But if I could change it, if I could make him love you again just to see you smile like you used to, I would. You have to know that.”
London nodded and closed her eyes. What Zen was saying, it meant his feelings for her were real. Whatever he was processing about Avery, he really cared about her. Because he was willing to lose her for her own sake.
“Hold out your hands,” Zen said.
London gave him a puzzled look. “Just do it,” he told her, exasperated. Behind them, the bees had quieted into a low white noise.
London cupped her hands between them, palms open.
Zen twirled his fingers over them and series of sparks began to swirl from his fingertips, lighting the pads of hers in a warm light. The sparks came together in the center, a brilliant light hovering just over her palms, and formed a stone heart.
London gasped and Zen touched a finger to the floating heart of stone. Where his finger touched it, a crack formed, deepening, until it split the heart into two halves. Inside each of them glowed a million tiny, sparkling crystals, in a hollow like a miniature cave. They were luminescent, radiating with an inward light that London could practically feel warming her hands and her heart.
She looked up at Zen with wonder. He grinned at her, all rugged and lopsided. “I’ve been practicing,” he said. “It reminds me of home.”
“Geode,” London whispered with awe, looking back down to the floating halves of Zen’s heart.
“I want you to keep one,” Zen said, smiling. “So you’ll always have a piece of me no matter what happens.” He wrapped his hand around one half and the other dropped instantly into London’s palm.
“This piece is mine, so I’ll always remember this moment with you.”
London turned her oblong geode over in her fingers, marveling at the fine, intricate beauty of the little crystals. “It’s beautiful,” she told him. “Thank you.”
Zen bent down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. “It’s not as beautiful as you, but it’ll have to do.”
Chapter 17
* * *
Charms
“I’VE BEEN THINKING,” Londo
n said aloud, shattering the silence at the crowded table.
“Uh oh,” Kim responded.
Breakfast was small and redundant. More bread, more cheese, more honey. This time, a little butter too and one of those jars of jam Ash brought.
London glared at Kim and carried on. “I’m serious. Last night, Elias and I had a talk.”
Elias watched her intently.
“He thinks we should return to the grove. Apparently, it’s a shield of some kind. Avery’s been able to spy on us because we’ve been outside its circle of protection.”
Tora chewed slowly, swallowed, and said, “But Hantu thinks the Circle may still be corrupt.”
London nodded. “I know what Hantu thinks. But I have a better idea.”
“Oh?” Zen asked, brows raised, creasing his smooth forehead.
“I think we should return to the grove,” London stated.
Tora opened her mouth to contest but London interrupted her.
“And I think we should continue practicing outside.”
Now everyone’s mouths were hanging open and their eyes glazed over with confusion. Kim tugged the razored edge of his hair.
“Hear me out,” London continued. “Right now, Elias is the best weapon we have against Avery and the Tycoons. There’s been an open seat in the Circle ever since we uncovered Avery’s deception. And it’s high time we fill it with someone who can really help us. We need to bring Elias into the Circle, where he’ll be protected and where we can meet with him without fear of everything he has to teach us being overheard and used by our enemies. We’re going to need to keep working with him after we leave here and this may be our only way.”
London turned to Elias. “I know you don’t agree with the Circle, but we need you. You told me last night to teach them—show them—what they’re missing. But I can’t do that, not like you can. You’ve lived it Elias, every corner of the Astral. You can help us grasp just how limited our understanding of the Astral has been.”
Tora suddenly piped up. “I think London is right.”
Kim gawked. “Just a second ago you were arguing with her!”
“About this,” Tora corrected. “I think London is right about this.”
Elias looked from Tora to Kim, who sighed loudly and nodded. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the girls have a point.”
Everyone looked now to Zen. He drummed his fingers on the rough surface of the old wooden table. “I gotta be honest. Elias, you give me the creeps.”
“Zen!” London and Tora shouted simultaneously.
“Relax,” he said, “I wasn’t finished. Yes, you creep me out, but you obviously know a lot more than we do. Frankly, I don’t think we stand a chance against the Tycoons. But maybe you do.”
London took a deep breath. She combed her hair back with her long fingers and squared Elias in her most determined gaze. “So, Elias, will you join us?”
The old man’s eyes followed each of their faces around the table. When they fell on London again, he closed them and nodded once.
London blew out a breath of air she didn’t realize she’d been holding. “Great. That’s settled. We go tonight then. We’ll tell Hantu and together make for the grove.”
“What about the rest of it,” Kim pressed her. “The whole ‘practicing outside’ thing?” He made air quotes with his fingers as he spoke.
London scratched at her forehead. “Right. Well, here’s how I see it. If we just disappear off their radar, Avery will know something is up. She’s been one of us before, a member of the Circle. She held a seat. So maybe she can penetrate the grove, I don’t know. If not, she’ll certainly start trying to figure it out once we vanish inside it. And if she catches wind of Elias, she could send Tycoon convoys here to take him in. We need Elias safe and we need him to remain outside the Tycoons’ knowledge. That’s why we can’t just take him with us. Even if we get captured and taken in, as long as Elias is still here, holed up with his bees, he can try to help us from the Astral.”
London looked around, heads were bobbing in agreement. She was afraid this would be a hard point to sell, but her logic was solid and it seemed to be sinking in. “If we take turns practicing in the Midplane, pretending to warp—poorly—we can use this whole spying thing to our advantage.”
Tora’s vibrant eyes narrowed into concentrated slits. “You mean, a diversion?”
“Exactly.” London smiled.
“Make them believe we know less than we do,” Kim finished.
“Avery’s overconfident right now. If we keep her that way, she’s going to make mistakes. She’s going to let her guard down.”
“Wait,” Kim’s fingers flexed where they were holding onto Tora’s. He shook off her hand and leaned across the table toward London. “How do you know that?”
And here it was, the moment London was not ready for. Time to fess up. “Because I saw her. That’s what Elias and I were doing in the Astral. He took me to the plane she and Rye are using to meet secretly. I also think it’s part of how they’re spying on us.”
“She and Rye?” Kim echoed.
London looked down at her own hands. Once, her fingers had been laced through Rye’s as Kim’s were with Tora’s only a moment ago. This was going to break everyone’s heart. “Rye is helping the Tycoons, as you know already. But what you don’t know is that he’s having an affair with Avery. They’re an item now…or something.”
“He’s in love with her,” Zen added.
“Or at least pretending to be,” London amended. She looked away when Zen gave her a questioning glance.
“He’s in love with her?” Kim asked.
“Something like that,” London confirmed.
“No.” Kim shook his head. “No way. Maybe he’s helping the Tycoons because he doesn’t have any choice, but there’s no way Rye would have anything to do with that bitch after what she put us through.” He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms stubbornly.
Tora was silent. London knew that before Kim, Tora had a brief thing for Rye. More than that though, she trusted him. And he her, when London still didn’t. Even for Tora, this would be difficult.
“Look, I know it’s a big, bitter pill to swallow,” Zen piped up. “But we’d better get it down. The sooner we start seeing Rye for what he is now, our enemy, the better off we’ll be.”
Again, London avoided his gaze. No matter how she tried, she just couldn’t accept it as easily as Zen could.
Elias looked at Zen. “Holes in your deck, boy. The suit of hearts will blind you to the Joker.”
Zen rolled his eyes. “Okay, that right there? That’s gotta stop if we’re going to like, adopt you into the Circle. Can’t you pick on someone else for a change?” His feathers were noticeably ruffled, but there was an amiable undertone that let London know he wasn’t as offended as he seemed. But London wasn’t sure that was a good thing. Either way, she didn’t think Zen was taking Elias’s warnings seriously enough.
“Anyway, we need to utilize Avery’s arrogance to our advantage. And at the same time, we can feed her and Rye false information to keep them off our trail,” London said, desperately needing to talk about something other than the subject at hand: Avery + Rye = couple.
“Better keep it subtle. Toss her a few easy ones now and again so she doesn’t get wise,” Kim said. “Let her get close once in a while, or think she’s getting close.”
“Right,” London nodded.
“But what if Hantu is right? What if the Circle can’t be trusted? What if the grove has been compromised?” Tora added.
London combed through her silky jet waves with her hands. “For starters, no more witnesses. Only the Circle can use the grove for now. It has to be off limits to others.”
“Okay,” Tora agreed. “But the Circle has nine seats. You are three. Hantu makes four. Elias will be five. That leaves four others who are still suspect. And in case you forgot, I’m not one of them. How can I meet in the grove if you make it off limits to everyone outs
ide the Circle?”
London scratched at her head. Tora had a point. She kept conveniently forgetting that the Seer wasn’t Otherborn, nor was she a member of the Circle.
“Clearly, Rye has defected as well,” Zen said smugly. “His seat is forfeit. It’s yours if you want it.”
London started to argue, but realized she had no ground to stand on. Whatever was going on with Rye, for now it appeared he’d turned on them as well. They couldn’t save his place until London decided she had enough proof to let him go. And they needed Tora inside. It made perfect sense. “Exactly,” she said, smiling at Zen to show she was on board. “The Circle will get two new members instead of one.”
“And the other three?” Tora insisted. “Can they be trusted?”
It had been a long time since Si’dah sat in her seat among the nine stones. She’d all but forgotten the three other faces who made up their council. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “Elias, do you have a read on the rest of the Circle?”
Elias shook his head. “I told you, inside the grove they are cut off from me.”
“All the more reason to bring you into it,” London replied. “Once you’re inside, do you think you could read them? Find out if they’re still trustworthy?”
“Possibly,” Elias agreed. “The Oracle never lies.”
“It’s worth a shot,” Kim said with a shrug.
Zen only smacked his lips and popped his knuckles. He still wasn’t sold on the Oracle’s power.
London looked around the table at her companions. They were about to waltz into the Astral and pull off a coup of the only alliance of dreamwalkers ever formed. Desperate times called for desperate measures. “I suggest we all try to get some rest today then. We’ve got a big night ahead of us.”
* * *