by Krista Walsh
Her fingers trembled as she reached for the bag, and she sensed Lozak’s looming presence behind her. He had followed her to ensure she pulled no tricks, and now his towering height closed in on her, stealing the air around her so she couldn’t breathe. Her fingertips prickled with pins and needles as her nerves threatened to sap the feeling from them completely, but she managed to find the file folder buried deep in her clothes.
Her skin brushed over the sharp edges of the parchment paper, and a moment’s regret passed through her that this book would no longer be hers. For seven hundred years — over two thousand, she reminded herself — these pages had been passed down through her family. A connection across the ages. A power that had kept them bound together.
And now it would pass to a new master. One who wouldn’t keep it safe, but would try to use it to reap destruction on the world.
She didn’t give herself time to think about the consequences. Straightening her spine, she turned on her heel and placed the folder in Lozak’s outstretched hand.
He flipped the papers open to a random page and ran his fingers over the words. Then he snapped the folder closed and rested those same fingers on Vera’s cheek. His touch chilled her, creating squirming bugs under her skin that skittered down her neck and along her spine. It took all of her effort not to flinch away.
“I believe I don’t need to tell you what will happen if this turns out not to be the real book,” he said. Vera didn’t answer. She couldn’t have. Finally, he released her face and smiled.
Before she could step away, he whipped the back of his hand across the same area he had gently caressed. The force of his blow sent her flying across the room, over the collapsed bookshelves. She crashed through the railing against the lower stairs and landed on her back, the edge of the steps ramming into her spine.
If she’d been anything less than she was, the fall would have broken her back. As it was, lights burst in her vision, and she tasted blood from where she’d bitten her tongue.
“I appreciate your cooperation.” Lozak’s voice drifted into her ears as though from the end of a long tunnel. “I’m sure someone will be in touch shortly to inform you of your position in the new world order.”
Vera raised her head and stared at the room through the cloud of dust and slats of broken wood. Lozak was already headed for the front door, with Rega falling into step behind him. Rega caught Vera watching and sent her a look that raised goosebumps on her skin. Beneath the glaze of his recent mental manipulation lurked a steaming anger and a promise that the next time they met, they would finish the fight they had started.
The nameless warlock staggered after them, his good hand clutched to the back of his head, while Humphrey, weak and shaking, moved last. He shuffled toward the door and sagged against the other warlock as they stepped out into the cold October evening.
Through the open door, Vera stared in awe at the normalcy of the world. The streetlights cast their comforting orange glow over the street, and the lights from the other shop windows gave the area a warm, welcome brilliancy. Life had carried on for her neighbors just like any other day, leaving them oblivious to what went on in the bookshop. Had they heard any indications of the fight and ignored them? With the shop having been closed over the last couple of days, Vera wondered if they believed she and Ara were working on renovations or something equally mundane.
And if they found out the truth, would any of them be able to wrap their heads around it? Around the fact that Vera had just given up her opportunity to protect them from whatever Lozak’s leaders were planning, on the off chance that she could find another way to win while saving the people she loved?
Regret and doubt threatened to crush her heart as the reality of what she had done settled over her. She groaned and allowed her head to fall back onto the steps, too exhausted to hold it up.
She knew she should be thinking about what she was going to do next and how she was going to clean up this mess she’d gotten them all into, but her mind had gone numb, overloaded with too many concerns to the point where it had short-circuited. She struggled to hold herself together, but all she could think about was how much she would kill for a cup of a tea and a few hours in bed with a good book. She wanted to see Vidar and Baxter and take them on a long walk to clear her head. More than anything, she wanted to sleep.
But all of those desires were slipping away as quickly as her hope that she had made the right call. She would have to act fast if she wanted to catch up with Lozak’s bosses, and none of that could begin until she found the strength to get up from these broken stairs.
“Vera.”
The sound of her name drew her consciousness further into the room. She hadn’t realized it had begun to slip away. She opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling. The gray paint danced, creating images that grew and faded to silent music.
Giving her head a shake, she propped herself up on her elbows. Before she had to make the effort to push up her own weight, an arm slipped beneath her to support her back, and another arm stretched in front of her to take her hand. Both arms eased her into a sitting position, then helped her swing her legs over the destroyed edge of the stairs so she was seated facing the counter. The broken boards beneath her poked through her jeans into the flesh of her buttocks, but the discomfort felt detached, not yet registering in the haze of her overstimulated brain.
“Are you all right?”
Gabe’s soft question induced her to turn her head toward him. Dismay shot through her at the amount of blood still dripping over his forehead, spilling over the arm of his sunglasses that he had set back in place. Carefully, she raised her arm and pressed the wrist of her sweater against the cut, sponging away the mess so she could see the damage underneath.
His question lingered between them, but she wasn’t sure yet how to answer. At the moment, his health and safety struck her as more important than her own, so she dabbed and pulled away, relieved that the gash didn’t appear overly deep. His lip was worse, the split skin swollen, puffing out his cheek, with hints of a bruise already forming. Lozak hadn’t been merciful, but he’d been smart enough to avoid breaking Gabe’s glasses. Despite the damage, Gabe had pulled through.
The realization didn’t do much to assuage her guilt that he’d been hurt for her sake, but his smile helped.
He brushed her hair out of her face, his brow pinching with worry as he assessed her. Only when she tried to see herself through his eyes did she imagine the condition of her own face. Rega’s blows and Lozak’s final show of gratitude had no doubt left their marks, added to the ones Rega had given her the previous day.
For someone who usually did her best to keep out of trouble and avoid the mess of her vengeance contracts, she had certainly opened herself up to becoming a goddess punching bag.
Her back ached, and when she straightened her shoulders to stretch it out, a series of pops cascaded down her spine, relieving some of the tightness that had been created by her fall.
Feeling more herself, she returned her attention to Gabe, and her throat closed. Unable to prevent it, tears spilled over her lashes onto her cheeks. “I’m sorry,” she said, knowing the words were not nearly enough to express the depth of her regret.
His eyebrows rose over the rims of his sunglasses. “What do you have to apologize for? I’m the one who should apologize to you for being such an idiot. Again.”
He dropped his head to stare at her hand, his fingers massaging the pads of her palms, running over her fingers, skirting around her bloody knuckles. His fingers drifted as though he couldn’t stop touching her, either to reassure himself that she was really here or to confirm that she wouldn’t pull away.
“I’m sorry for walking out on you,” he said. “I know why you made the decision you did, but instead of accepting it, I threw around a whole bunch of guilt and made it that much harder for you to leave. I know you’re not a coward, and that I’m just as afraid as you are about what we might be getting into. But that’s not why you r
an, and I know that.”
He raised his gaze. “I was so angry when I got back to my office that I thought about not turning on my computer and leaving you to your own devices, but I couldn’t. Even the thought that you might be alone and in danger was enough to make me want to come back. But the signal never went off. Then out of nowhere that monster barged into my office and demanded to know where the book was.” He rubbed his cheek and winced. “It didn’t go so well for either of us.”
In spite of her pain, Vera breathed out a groan on his behalf.
Gabe released a breath and bowed his head between his shoulders. “He tried for hours to get me to talk. I guess he hoped that either I would break or Rega would succeed with you. When neither happened, he dragged me back here and used me against you, which went against everything I’d planned. I guess I’m about as useful a hero as I am a PI for you.”
The dejection in his tone pierced Vera’s heart, and she felt some of her worry that she’d made the wrong decision draining away. He had wanted to make things right with her. He hadn’t left her at the mercy of Rega and the Colcex demon on purpose. Ara had been right. Again.
And she had almost paid him back by sacrificing him to Lozak’s brand of torture.
She shuddered at the thought and rested her hand on his cheek. His skin was warm beneath her palm. The heat swept through her, thawing out the numbness that had pervaded since Rega first walked through the door.
“You saved me,” she told him. When he opened his mouth, no doubt to argue, she pushed onward. “In more ways than one, you saved me.”
His furrowed brow smoothed out, and he gave her a smile filled with so much hope that she found herself returning it without reservation, not even caring about pain as her skin pulled on her cheek.
Gabe ducked his head, and the warmth of his lips on hers broke through the last of the static in her mind. She wanted to lose herself in the softness of his kiss, but he pulled away, then pressed his uninjured cheek against her forehead.
“But are you sure about what you’ve done?” he asked. He took her hand in his and curled it against his heart. “I’m not saying I’m not grateful — none of what that guy described sounded like a fun way to spend a weekend — but, Vera, the risks…”
She held her finger to his lips to silence him. “I’m sure.”
“Even with what those people might do with the information?” Ara asked. Having given them a moment alone, the dryad now approached, the duffle bag clutched in her arms. “I also can’t deny I’m relieved by your choice, but what’s to stop them from making things worse for us? What if excruciating pain now is still a better fate than what’s coming?”
Vera raised her chin. “I made the only decision I could live with. Even if the world were to end tomorrow, I’ll know I did my duty to my family. And really, what other reason do I need?”
Ara set the bag down on the step, and Vera opened her arms to envelop her in a tight embrace. Gabe put his arm around Vera’s shoulders, and the three of them collapsed in on each other. For the moment, Vera felt safer than she had in weeks.
Then the floorboards creaked, and she realized they weren’t out of the fight yet.
20
“Traitor.”
Fendal’s voice rasped through the heavy silence of the shop, and Vera braced for a sharp pain to shoot through her mind.
The pain didn’t come, but the uncomfortable knowledge that she was going to have to deal with the Collegiate’s anger made her want to curl into a ball to avoid it. After everything she’d already endured, she knew she didn’t have the strength to defend her choice against them. Their fury pressed in on her, crept down her throat with every intake of air, and expanded in her lungs until she thought she might choke on it. It burned and froze her, stretched and contracted her muscles.
All without a touch.
Every impulse within her screamed for her to flee from Fendal’s wrath, but her rational mind knew running wouldn’t matter. They had come to her for help to end this threat, and she still intended to provide it. They were allies, not enemies. Although they terrified her in a deep, primal way, she had to trust that they wouldn’t physically harm her.
Besides, even if she ran, they would track her down eventually. Curling into a ball would only delay the inevitable.
Carefully, Vera rose to her feet, using the cracked support beam at the bottom of the broken railing to keep her stable, and faced the trio. She tried to draw her shoulders back, but her strained muscles protested. She settled for meeting Fendal’s gaze.
The ancient leader stood beside what remained of the counter, her eyes sparking with shooting stars. Her upper lip was curled with disgust. Under her timeless gaze, Vera understood that she had fallen so far in Fendal’s opinion that even looking at Vera was an insult to her position in the Collegiate.
Behind Fendal, Kurlow stood with her arms crossed, staring down her nose with all the disdain of her immortal years. Nadeen at least made a show of sympathy, even if the corners of her eyes were turned down with disappointment.
These women meant nothing to Vera, no matter how important they claimed to be in the continuation of this corner of the otherworld, so their disapproval weighed on her shoulders as heavily as the dust floating down on her from the toppled bookcases. But she regretted losing their faith, if only because they had trusted her enough to answer her questions. She had so many more to ask, and she doubted they’d be willing to answer them anymore.
“How is it possible that someone who has fought so hard for so long to keep the book out of the wrong hands should fall for such a transparent play?” Fendal hissed. “They said themselves they needed to keep us all alive. What is the pain of your friends to the future of the entire world?”
Vera curled her fingers around the post, restraining herself from snapping it in half. Her poor shop needed at least one leg standing if she wanted to rebuild.
“He might have kept them alive,” she said, “but what would their lives have been worth after he was through with them? I need them whole, and I couldn’t take the risk that he would break them.”
She released each word slowly and steadily, trying to keep control over her slipping emotions. Having already survived Rega’s tortures, she couldn’t imagine being forced to watch him inflict his skills on the people she loved. The thought of it was enough to twist the fingers of horror around her heart.
Fendal threw out her arms, the sleeves of her coat billowing out as they settled at her sides. “No, you took a far greater risk.” She stepped forward, closing the gap between them so they stood only a few inches apart. Vera didn’t flinch. “Hear me now. If the otherworld falls because of the events that have transpired here tonight, know that the blame will be placed squarely on your shoulders.”
Vera clenched her teeth and stared down at the ancient. Anger prickled her skin and scurried through her blood, wiping out the pain of the injuries she had suffered while the Collegiate had remained safe behind their shield, doing nothing.
If the otherworld failed, it would be because they had been too cowardly to take up the fight to keep the book out of Lozak’s hands, leaving the sacrifice for Vera to carry on her own.
She kept that thought to herself, knowing it wouldn’t help anything. Yes, they’d done nothing, but these women were scholars, not warriors. Vera could forgive them for wanting to remain hidden. She couldn’t excuse them for being heartless.
“My shoulders are strong enough to take the blame from a group who have been locked up for so long, they’ve forgotten what it’s like to be a part of the world they’re protecting.” The words faltered in Vera’s throat as emotion and exhaustion played tug-of-war. “It’s wonderful that you’re able to be so sure that you would sacrifice everything you valued for the greater gain. Unfortunately, I am just a woman raised by a family with human values who has people in her life she puts before herself. Call me a traitor if you believe it to be true, but I’d rather be a traitor in your eyes than in those of my fami
ly.”
Ara’s slim fingers rested on Vera’s shoulder and offered a gentle squeeze, while Gabe reached for her hand on her other side.
Fendal scowled. “Your family will survive no longer than you will if Lozak’s leaders use the knowledge in the Book of Universes.”
“I don’t intend to stand by and let them use anything. And while I work to stop him, at least my family will give me something worth fighting for,” Vera shot back. “All we can hope for when we stand against the enemy is that we remember our reasons for fighting in the first place. Lozak is a fool if he believes I’ll stand back and let him do what he wishes, no matter what he threatens. I gave him the book to protect what matters to me, but also to protect those who will stand with us to oppose him. After this, they won’t be watching me so closely. I’ll have the space I need to fight back.”
“Silence,” Fendal said, her voice taking on the power and age that it had possessed in Vera’s dreams. A pressure in Vera’s mind left her incapable of speaking, and she was too drained to close the connection.
“This affair no longer concerns you,” the leader of the Collegiate went on. “You are nothing more than the betrayer of the otherworld, and your participation in this fight is no longer requested or desired.”
The pressure in Vera’s mind increased, and she pushed back to prevent herself from collapsing beneath it. In her head, she saw herself moving farther away from everyone around her, even as she stood still.
“You will find no safe shelter among our kind as Lozak’s leaders set their plan into motion,” said Fendal, “and anyone who stands with you will be ostracized, forced to face the fire and burn alongside you.”
A deep sense of loneliness tore at Vera’s heart. Even though she knew it was being created by someone else’s mind, the struggle against it took everything she had, and her chest ached as she fought back sobs. Fire licked at the edges of her vision, and the screams of her friends echoed in her ears. She saw Gabe and Ara caught in a battle, both of them covered in blood, searching out allies through the smoke but unable to find a single person to help them push their way out of the throng.