“The Fool showed up and rescued me.”
I raised my brows. “Matthew saved you?”
“In the nick of time too. I’d injured my leg really bad and wasn’t long for the world—about to be served up as breakfast for the other slaves. Fucking hate slavers, me.” Jack explained the carnage Matthew had caused, and how he’d felt like he hadn’t known the Fool at all.
I shuddered. “Where do you think he went?”
“Doan know. And I didn’t look for him after he left. Even though he saved my life, we got sideways on some things.”
“Like why he allowed all those people to be killed by Richter?”
“Coo-yôn said he had a reason. Said he ‘sees far.’”
Sounded familiar. Would that be his excuse for letting Finn die?
“I tell myself something worse must’ve been in store for them.” Again, Jack stared into the flames. “Cannibals attacking or the plague. I tell myself his reasoning was pure. Some days I even believe it.” Could Finn’s fate have been worse?
Yes. Definitely yes.
Jack cleared his throat and faced me. “So, what’re the details on Circe?” He didn’t want to talk about the massacre any more than I wanted to discuss Aric. “She’s the one you fought outside of Fort Arcana?”
“Yes, but she and I have come to an understanding since then. If free of Paul’s influence, she’ll try to help us. We just need to find her.”
“Okay. We got a plan, at least.” After a hesitation, he said, “There’s something I need to tell you—”
A commotion at the mouth of the cave announced the return of Kentarch and Joules, with the butchered lion in hand.
“It can wait,” Jack murmured to me.
“We wanted to give you more time to talk”—Kentarch set up a spit over the fire—“but hunger calls.” Once the lion started to cook, he handed us each a skewer with a slice of raw meat the color of pork.
As we roasted them over the flames, my attention shifted back and forth from Jack—Is he truly here with me?—to the broiling meat. My mouth watered.
Joules inhaled deeply. “Smell that, would you? Hope we don’t draw company. This is Richter territory, after all.”
Jack rotated his skewer. “When’s the last time anyone saw him?”
I said, “A few weeks ago, we encountered him and Zara. She’s the Fortune Card, a chopper pilot. I’ve tangled with her before.”
“What’s her power?”
“Freakish luck. She can steal it through touch. She was just about to steal mine when Lark and Aric rescued me.”
“Richter’s targeting food depots,” Joules said. “Anything they canna carry back to their lair, he incinerates. No one knows why.”
Jack said, “I’d wondered why supplies had dried up even more lately.”
“Empress, tell him about Richter’s other ally! Ol’ Jackie boy will get a kick out of this. And by kick, I mean stroke.”
As I reluctantly relayed the highlights of my partnership with Sol, the muscle in Jack’s jaw ticked overtime. “Lemme get this straight: he made Baggers dine on you?”
“He also saved our lives from Zara and Richter.”
Joules said, “We were in Death’s truck, running from quakes. Didn’t know we were headed right for a blown-out bridge and would’ve eaten it for certain. But Sol had his Baggers show us a safer route. You haven’t lived till you’ve seen a Bagger hitchhiking with his thumb out.”
True. “Sol’s sense of humor is one of the reasons I liked him.”
Jack’s expression darkened. “And I bet he liked you too.”
“Not in that way. He’s a big flirt, but his heart is taken.” By two. The tragedy of his love life rivaled mine. “Besides, I was so frantic to save you, I was on my worst Empress behavior with him. I’m surprised he could forgive me.”
Jack asked, “How do you know which Baggers are . . . helpful? Which ones are under Sol’s control?”
“I don’t. Odds are against it. He can only sense through a limited number of them at a time, and only when he’s awake.”
“Like Lark with her animal sentries.”
“Exactly,” I said, even as I wished Jack didn’t have to be versed in this deadly world I’d dragged him into. Arcana insanity.
Joules nodded at the cooking meat. “Looks ready. Let’s see if the Empress can keep this down—”
“Because it’s really exotic food,” I quickly added.
Kentarch cocked his head at me, probably wondering why I hadn’t confessed about the baby.
Jack took my skewer from me to blow on it before handing it back. “This’ll be good. Good for you too.”
I took my first exploratory bite. Lion meat tasted like a cross between pork and beef. “Not bad.” Even as Joules and Kentarch chowed down, they kept their eyes on me, as if expecting me to hurl.
But my stomach welcomed this meal like a long-lost love. I dug in, ravenous.
We all did. Jack rolled his eyes with pleasure. Joules had grease smeared over his cheek.
Regeneration fired throughout my body. Aches and pains dwindled as I healed. Energy filled me. Lion meat; who knew?
“Another round of skewers?” Joules asked.
“Absolutely,” Kentarch said. “We’ll save the rest. If we ration it, we’ll have meat for a few days.”
After our third helping, I grew sated and warm for the first time in weeks. Jack was here with me, and the future wasn’t nearly so bleak.
“Your color’s returning, peekôn. Amazing what one meal can do. How’re your powers? Come on, flex for me.”
Joules laughed. “Yeah, Empress, show us some vines.” Asshole. “Maybe some after-dinner strawberries?”
“My powers have been a little wonky lately.” Changing the subject, I said, “Did Matthew tell you where to find me?”
“Non. I knew you were at Domīnija’s castle, but he refused to come off the location before he ditched. He did leave me a message though, wrote it in soot. I figured if he took the trouble to write it, I should memorize it.” Clearing his throat, Jack said, “The Flash taught them that all dreams are nightmares. They became bad dreamers. All hail the bad dreamers as good.”
“What does that mean? Who’s he talking about?”
“You’re asking me?” Jack sipped his flask.
“So where had you been heading?”
“Up to Azey North.”
“To lead them?” That would make sense. As their general once more, he would’ve been able to recruit scouts to help search for me.
Yet he shook his head. “I just wanted to show my face, me. Not slink away like some coward.”
“Wait a minute. You weren’t trying to find me?”
Jack scrubbed a palm over his nape. “Matthew told me you were safe with Domīnija and your grand-mère. I wanted you to move on with your life.”
I couldn’t get enough air. “You were going to let me believe that . . . that you were dead?”
Kentarch stood. “We will allow you two to speak in private.”
“Feck that!” Joules said. “We’re just getting to the popcorn moment.”
Kentarch collared him and escorted him out.
Once we were alone again, Jack said, “I was goan to let you live in peace in that stronghold, the one Domīnija made sure to describe to me, the one with all the comforts I could never give you.”
“Remember how you and I talked about being a team? I asked you not to make decisions all on your own for both of us. But that’s what you did!”
“Matthew showed me visions of you in the aftermath of the massacre. I saw—no, I experienced—what you went through to bring me back. I felt you breaking for me, and I couldn’t let that happen again.”
Had he seen me rocking Tess’s skeletal corpse? “It wasn’t your decision to make.”
“I wanted food and warmth and safety for you. I could only give you more Ash. Hell, I figured I’d be dead soon anyway, so why upset you more? Evie, you looked like you were dancing on a
razor’s edge.”
I had been.
“Coo-yôn took me to the graves you made for me and pauvre défunte Selena.” Dearly departed. “He told me you were goan to make your way with Domīnija. I wanted that for you, no matter how much the idea twisted me up inside me.”
Jack loved me more than he loved his own life. I’d known that, but it’d never been so apparent as now.
“I told Matthew to keep my survival secret and let me stay buried.”
“Well, he didn’t. More than a month ago, he sent me a message of your voice. I thought you might . . . I prayed you’d survived.”
“What the hell’s he playing at?” Then, seeming to steel himself, he said, “Knowing what I did then, I’d still make the same choice.”
My lips parted. “How can you say that?”
“Before the Hanged Man, you had to have been happy with the Reaper. You wear his ring.”
“I walled off part of my heart.” I’d loved Aric, but it must’ve been muted by my pain, by the tourniquet I’d used to keep from bleeding out. Twist, tighten, constrict. “I could never give him all of my heart—and he knew that. He thought my powers were suffering because I never fully grieved you.” Holding Jack’s gaze, I said, “I chose you.”
“And you shouldn’t have!” He threw a rock into the fire. “Doan you get it? You were goan to have Death either way—either you’d be with the Reaper or you’d die out here with me.”
“I’m out here with you now. Of course, you’re probably just passing by. At least I’ll get to say good-bye this time.”
Jack looked at me like I’d just blasphemed. “I woan rest until you’re safely out of the Ash. Which means I’ll do whatever it takes to get you back into that castle.”
“Even try to defeat Death?”
Hesitation. “Matthew told me the Reaper saved your life when Richter struck. That true?”
I nodded.
“When I was in that slaver hellhole, fearing I’d gotten you killed, I told myself that Domīnija is fast with strong senses. I told myself that he would have ridden out and rescued you from Richter. I think that was the only reason I didn’t lose my mind down there.”
“He did save me. I was running into the fire when he caught me and yanked me back at the edge.”
Jack flinched. “I’m torn. I want to kill Domīnija for hurting you. But how can I when he saved your life?”
I’m torn too. I was pissed that Jack continued to make unilateral decisions, but I also realized that Matthew had manipulated him for his own reasons. Jack would’ve been sick and exhausted—his confidence rocked to the core by the massacre—when Matthew had struck a blow as well. Still . . . “You were really going to let me believe you died. You were never going to see me again.”
“Noble cuts like a blade to the heart.” He raked his fingers through his thick black hair. “I wanted to do right by you, but all I did was put you back in the Ash. I left you with a man who would try to murder you just months later.”
One who’d knocked me up—then tried to murder me. “The things I did to bring you back . . .”
“I couldn’t have stopped you, no, couldn’t have communicated with you. I was trapped in that mine.”
He was right. I exhaled, unable to maintain my anger over Jack’s choice. It was a sacrifice born from love. Matthew’s actions, however—
Riiiinnnnngggg. The phone sounded from outside.
Kentarch jogged back in. “It’s him.”
Joules was on his heels, sparking angrily. “I got some choice words to say to that fecker. And to the Hanged Man.”
Surprised to feel my claws tingling, I snapped, “Let it ring.” Beg, Aric? Beg?
Kentarch raised his brows. The phone eventually fell silent.
Then . . . Riiiinnnnngggg. Aric wasn’t going to stop.
“Oh, fine. I’ll get it.” I accepted the phone and connected the call. “This is Evie speaking. How can I help you?”
Aric’s raspy voice carried over the line: “How long have you known he lived?”
“I got my first wave of hope on the night we picked up Finn. Matthew contacted me. My nose bled from his message.”
“And you felt no need to reveal that to your husband? Yet more evidence that our relationship was not what you pretended it to be.”
“I’d planned to tell you everything after Paul’s banishment. But that doesn’t matter. What matters is that Jack is alive, and he brought us a feast.”
“Such a change in your demeanor from earlier.”
My cheeks burned as I replayed that call. Aric had once called me a goddess, had said I’d felled armies. Yet, I’d sniveled like a child: I-I wanna come home. “Disregard everything that I said before.”
“Enjoyed your dinner, then?”
“Did I ever! And the company too.”
“Fauna was proud of that lion. You ate her symbolic creature, the beast that marks her card, her very tableau.”
“And it was mm, mm good! Please give her our compliments. I just don’t know what she did to raise such a tender lion, but the meat was exceptional.” Joules snickered. “Food on the road can be a wonderful surprise. You should get out more.”
In the background I heard wolves howling. Lark howling.
“You enrage the Queen of Beasts at your peril. She’s hunting you even now.”
“She’d already been hunting me. She believes—wrongly—that I killed Finn.”
“Still in denial, poisoness?”
“I’d love to chat and receive some more servings of your hatred, but I’d rather catch up with Jack.”
“Have you told him about our fictitious offspring?” His dry laugh gave me goose bumps.
“I plan to.”
Jack called, “Tell him I’m about to get real cozy with his wife. If he doan like that, then he should come do something about it. Tell him to quit hiding behind that sphere comme un lâche.” Like a coward.
I could hear Aric crushing something. Could he be lured out from that castle? “Oh, Death doesn’t care what I do. He forsook me. Destroyed the ring I made for him. Guess I’m single now.”
“The mortal courts his doom,” Aric grated. “You want him so much, I’ll take both of your heads with one strike.”
“You’ll have to come find us first.”
“Which is just what you want. You won’t taunt me into action, Empress.”
Then why even make that comment? Was he worried he might be goaded into doing something rash? Silence stretched between us. As I wondered what he was thinking, my temper began to fade. Though I’d eaten and regenerated, my emotions still seemed to be all over the place. Pregnancy emotions were supposed to be crazy, right?
Thanks, kid. The gift that kept on giving.
I told the guys, “I’ll be back in a minute.” Ignoring Jack’s frown, I walked out of the cave into the freezing dark.
“Listen, Aric.” I kept my voice low. “You once told me that you wished for the impossible: for me to have chosen you. If you come for me now”—I squeezed my eyes closed—“I’ll choose you.” Somehow I said those words, even as my chest ached at the thought of having to say good-bye again to Jack.
But I’d made a commitment to Aric. We were having a kid, for God’s sake.
If Aric could grapple against the Hanged Man’s influence long enough to give us a chance, I’d honor my commitment. If he couldn’t, I’d still fight to free him. “We began a life together, and I’ll return to it, despite the fact that Jack saved me and our kid. Despite the fact that you tried to end us.”
“Do you recall when I told you that Death was all I’d ever be to you? You used your powers to mesmerize me, but I now have control of my faculties once more. All of your lies will fall away, like slings against my armor.”
“I could have killed you, but I didn’t. Remember when I clawed you but didn’t inject poison? And when I knocked you unconscious but didn’t hurt you?”
“All a ploy. As your grandmother advised, you kept me on as
your protector. Yet now I’ll be your downfall, Empress. As I’ve been twice before.”
Fury surged so swiftly it took me off guard. I feared that just as I’d fallen in love with him, I could fall back into hate. “Not unless you come to me. Oh, but you’re too scared to face me. Pity.” Borrowing his words, I said, “Our game is no fun—if you’re weak.” Click.
Collecting myself, I returned to the cave. Three questioning glances greeted me. “I had to hang up on him.”
Joules laughed. “He’s goin’ to be stewing now.”
Enough to come find me? “Today Paul’s alliance is winning a little less. Let’s continue our streak and get to the shore.”
21
Day 551 A.F.
Still in the #$@#%*! foothills
“That is how you hail Circe?” Jack asked with a chuckle. I’d been kicking waves and yelling along the shore of a medium-size lake. “Thought there’d be some kind of priestess summoning ritual or something.”
My throat was hoarse, and I was out of breath. All I’d done was make ripples across the still surface. “Common misconception.”
We’d been driving late into the night when Joules had spotlighted water not far off the road. Though we were making better time, we remained in the foothills. The lake was in a bowl of rock, a crater with three high sides.
Bleary-eyed Kentarch had been all too ready to stop. Snow had fallen on and off, and he’d had to teleport the truck past several gridlocked wrecks, which always weakened him.
Jack had offered to take the wheel earlier, but Kentarch politely declined. As Joules put it, “Nobody drives the Chariot’s chariot but the Chariot.”
He and Kentarch were currently in the cab, catching up on sleep.
I was glad for this time alone with Jack—but now I could no longer put off telling him about the baby.
“How about we head up to that bluff and drop some big rocks in?” Jack asked. The light snow had tapered off, and a white-dusted trail wound up the rise.
The Dark Calling Page 14