by L. J. Stock
Before I could move or gain any sort of bearing, I found myself staring up into my brother’s confused face as he dumped water over the train of my smoldering dress. Somehow, I'd managed to get myself misdirected, and in hindsight, I knew exactly how I’d done it.
“Shit!”
“Cass!” My mom's voice was full of reprimand and I turned my curse inside of myself. She was right to admonish me. There was a child present. The moment it occurred to me, I could hear Oliver sniffling somewhere in the room.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Steven asked, offering me his hand. I set my hand in his but stayed on the ground as the front door rattled violently. There was something very wrong going on, and though I was pretty sure of the answer, I asked anyway.
“What the hell is going on?” Tugging on his hand, I prompted him to help me to my feet.
“I asked first.”
“Steve...” Liana's voice was hoarse and filled with exhaustion.
My brother sighed, his hands moving to his hips as he looked me up and down, the pride in his gaze not so much as giving me a reprieve from the panic.
“Zombies, or moderatus as Damon called them. They started showing up about twenty minutes ago. We've blocked off the bedrooms and the windows, but they seem to just keep multiplying.”
I should have known they wouldn’t be safe. From the moment they had started showing up in places like Salarakis, I’d had a ball of dread lingering in the pit of my stomach. I’d just hoped and prayed to all of the Gods that I’d said goodbye soon enough. Obviously, I hadn’t.
“Water?” I asked, the logical, problem-solving part of my brain finally kicking into action as the house shuddered with the force coming against it.
“What about it?”
I sighed in frustration. He wasn't following my train of thought, which was understandable as it was going a mile a minute, but I didn’t have time to repeat myself. We'd explained about the veneficus before and how they were able to manipulate the elements on both sides through magic. In the chaos, they'd obviously forgotten it was a factor.
“Phone?”
Steven dug in his pocket and handed me his cell, his eyebrows low in confusion as he watched me. I dialed one of the few numbers I knew by heart and prayed she had it close as I started to pace in an attempt to hide the tremble of my hands.
I couldn't believe that I'd ended up here. The last thing I'd thought about before leaping into the fire was my brother, so I knew why, but it was a stupid move on my part. I'd known better. The only silver lining was the fact that I'd discovered their problem, hopefully before it was too late.
“Steven, is there a problem?” Alexa said breathlessly down the phone. The tone scared me. She was one of the most steadfast and unshakable people I knew. The quiver in her voice did nothing to make me feel safe.
“It's me, Lex. I messed up.”
“Damn you, Cass. I've been sitting here panicking. Damon told me the palace was infiltrated almost three hours ago.” There was a pause as her brain caught up. “And why are you at your brother’s house? What the hell is all the banging?”
I shook my head. Most of the answers seemed irrelevant at this moment in time. I hated that I'd scared her, but I'd been following orders, and it wasn't like I'd been able to find water to communicate with her. Even though there had been other elements, I was still shaky tapping into them. The panic had kept my mind closed to this dimension.
“I will explain everything the moment I get there, I promise, but right now I need your help. Moderatus are everywhere here. I just arrived, and I know you want to yell at me, but we need to get my family out.”
“Cass–”
“No time. Pour a bath. I'm sending them your way.”
“Cass!”
“Please, Alexa. Circumstances change. I know protocol and I know I broke it, no matter how inadvertently. I promise you, if the perimeter they've set up is breached, I will get out, no questions asked. I just need help get them out before that happens.”
“Shit. Fine. Your mom brings the kid first. I will talk your brother through translocating himself, and you bring your sister-in-law. You're the only one with enough strength to bring the three of you through. Now get everyone organized and hand the phone to your brother.”
I didn't question her commands. I just handed Steve the phone and started to move. Heading to the sink, I turned on the faucet, swearing under my breath as a few drops hissed out at me. It was my worst fear confirmed – a veneficus had possessed one of the moderatus.
My eyes swept the kitchen, ignoring the consistent nagging of my mother as she followed me closer than my own shadow dared get. As much as I loved the woman, I was about to lose my patience.
“Mom, shut up,” I snapped, getting in her face before spinning and heading to the pantry. I almost cried with relief as I found a case of water at the bottom, the closed unnatural containers keeping the liquid in its place.
“Take Ollie and translocate to the farmhouse. It's secure and safe. Go. Now!” I handed her a bottle and nodded at Liana who held Ollie to her possessively as another round of banging started on the house’s siding, followed by a loud crack.
“Steve? Where are we at?”
He spun with the phone to his ear and raised his other hand in surrender. I needed him to be a fast learner so I threw the bottle at him.
“Cass, maybe I should wait until–” Mom started, but my hand on her arm shut her up. As much as I appreciated her wanting to keep everyone calm, that wasn't what I needed. The urgency was the only thing that was going to push them. The reason Alexa had told me to send her first was because Steve needed something important to him on the other side.
“They need something to focus on, Mom. Ollie is the only thing that will grab their attention. You need to go. Now!”
Mom approached Liana nervously, her eyes glancing to me and back as she reached out to take Oliver. I held my breath, unsure of how Liana was going to react. I knew how strange all of this was for her and I couldn't fault her if she refused to let go. She'd never translocated, and the one time I'd shown her anything, she'd experienced the sound of battle.
“Liana,” I said, stepping forward with my hands in front of me. “We're not going to the other dimension. Just a farmhouse in Connecticut.”
She seemed to consider my words and began to hand Oliver to my mom. It was at that point things started to escalate out of our control. There was a crash of glass at the back of the house, the sound of movement slowly filling the corridor that was, thankfully, blocked. It bought us a little more time, but not as much as I would have liked.
“Mom, go. Now.”
She nodded and uncapped the water I'd given her as Oliver started to scream, his arms outstretched for Liana. His wriggling body made it impossible for my mom to pour the water, but by some small miracle, she managed.
“Think of Alexa, Mom.”
Nodding, she closed her eyes and the two of them seemed to disappear quickly, leaving us in the living room alone. I heard Liana's sob over the crash of the people filtering in through the back of the house and rubbed her back, turning to my brother.
“Steven?”
“I– I think I've got it,” he whispered, the doubt of his voice making me nervous.
“Can't think. Gotta know,” I prompted, moving toward him with Liana in tow. “Do you want to see Ollie again? You have to believe in yourself and you have to focus on him. Visualize him. Think about touching him.”
“I'm trying, Cass.”
“I know you are, but you have to try harder.”
He nodded and poured water into his palm, all of his focus on the little pool that formed there. I stayed quiet, watching him as beads of sweat broke out on his forehead. There wasn't so much as a flickering, and the roadblock they'd built was beginning to waver.
“Steve. How does he smell? Think about him like you're about to pick him up. The smell of the baby powder, the softness of his hair when he first wakes up, and that smile
that reflects yours. See Liana's eyes in his. See the color of his eyes and reach for him.”
I wasn't sure which part of the description had managed to break through, but whatever it was, it worked. His form started flickering as his eyes closed, and after a slight stagger, he was gone, just as the furniture behind us began to topple.
We were out of time.
I pulled Liana farther from the toppling pile. The package of water bottles was still over by the kitchen and our path was blocked. I looked between it and the fire, making the only decision I could.
“Do you trust me, Li?”
“Of course I do. I'm not sure I trust that look, though.”
I understood and smoothed out my face, holding my emotions deep inside, conscious of the expression I was using. If she was going to trust me, I couldn't show an inkling of doubt. I couldn't feel an inkling of doubt. I may have been taking a huge risk, but I couldn't let her know that.
I pulled her toward the fire, her eyes widening as it finally clicked for her.
“Wait–”
“No time. This or we die. I’m not leaving you here.”
Her hands encompassed her baby bump and she took a deep breath as the last of our defense fell easily and the blank-faced shells of people began to stream into the room. Folding my arms around her, I fell back first into the fire, every ounce of my focus on Oliver and my mom.
I didn't tumble from the fire this time. There was too much weight between the two of us. Instead, I landed on my back, skidding along the rug with a grunt as I took the blow for my pregnant sister-in-law and myself. We both heard the thunder of feet on the stairs as the rest of the house joined us, but neither of us moved. We just lay there panting.
“Liana!” My brother was the first to arrive, pulling Liana from me as though she weighed nothing more than a feather. I took in a deep breath and started coughing, the aching points in my body flaring to life as I tried to move.
“What the hell were you thinking?” Alexa ground out, kneeling next to me as she helped to steady my body. “Fire?”
“Out of options,” I groaned. “Twice in one night. I think I'm getting the hang of it.”
“I should add to that ache of yours.”
I gave her a simpering look and shook my head. I'd promised her I would explain, and I had a vague memory of mentioning yelling at me later. Not my most solid plan, but there it was. We were safe and alive. It was more than I could have hoped for, even though my mind was on the palace and the people I'd left behind there.
“Any more information?”
“No. Nothing. This means you're going to explain what the hell happened, and I'm not going to let you out of my sight.”
I groaned in agreement and gathered my skirts around me, my aching body protesting my sudden need for mobility. It was done for the day, even if my brain wasn't down with the program, and my heart was still in Mortisali.
“Come on. You can help me get out of this dress,” I mumbled, rolling to my knees.
She nodded, helping me to my feet easily, even as I groaned in protest. I checked each of my family members and left them alone to get their heads around what had happened as I followed Alexa up, what felt like a million stairs.
I explained everything as I changed slowly – from the accession to the moment I landed on the hearth of the fire. She only had to prompt me once, and that was when I saw my face in the mirror. The dirt and tear streaked mess coalescing with the running mascara and birds nest of hair sent me into a mini meltdown. She sat on the toilet as I took a shower with my eyes closed. I wasn't pushing to get through so I knew I was safe, and here it was just fields, but I still couldn't look.
Alexa nodded in all the right places, proudly praised me for taking on a fight, and mourned with me for a woman who'd bravely given her life for mine. By the time I was through, I felt like I'd lived through it twice, and my head was just as exhausted as my body. The only upside was feeling semi human as I dressed in jeans and a sweater to wait it all out. The tiara was currently sitting on the back of my toilet.
“Have you heard anything from Acantha?” I asked, pulling my wet hair up into a tail at the back of my head.
“Shortly after I was told they'd infiltrated the palace. She said the ships on the coast had reappeared and to stay vigilant. That's why Zander and the Vis Liberi are out holding down the perimeter. We're not taking any chances.”
I sat down on my bed hard, my ass bouncing a couple of times before I could even take a breath. Everyone I loved was out fighting valiantly. My grandmother was on an island with the enemy closing in, and if I hadn't made the mistake I had, there was a chance my brother and his family would have perished at the hand of enemy zombies.
I was safe, just as I'd promised I would be, yet I felt guilty. Guilty that I hadn't escaped faster, remorseful that I had taken the stairwell that had hidden Penthea and inadvertently managed to get her killed, and contrite that I discovered the attack on my brother by accident and by that accident managed to save them. More than anything, however, I felt culpable for sitting here in warm, clean clothes while my father, Damon and many of my friends fought for their lives.
“I know that look, Cassandra,” Alexa said quietly as she crouched in front of me, her hands rubbing my legs. “Don't you dare feel guilty for fulfilling your promise. They're safer with you here. They can fight knowing you're protected and not in danger. You understand me?”
It was a nice thought, but it didn't make me feel any better. I should have been more prepared for an attack. I should have realized that the Regius Custos’ hesitation and overcompensation meant that they were waiting for the enemy to make a move. I was supposed to fight Thánatos to the death but they'd given me a half truth for their expectations of the ball. I was feeling it all, not just the ache in my bones from the fighting and the exhaustion, but that haunting stare of the man I'd killed and every body I’d ignored in my bid for escape. The soldier I killed may have been hidden behind a mask, but he was a living, breathing being and I had taken his life.
No one had thought to prepare me for that.
How the hell was I supposed to kill Thánatos when I had no idea what to expect?
It wasn't like I wanted to be out there engaging in sword fights and melees, but I had a duty and part of that was fighting. If anything, tonight had made me more aware of that than ever.
“What is that look?”
“What look?” I asked, pushing the heel of my hands into my eyes and falling back into the bed.
“That resolute look that says you've made a decision on something.”
“I'm not discussing it now, Lex. We can deal with this later.”
“I don't think so.”
“You can't force me to–”
A crash in the bathroom had my mouth snapping shut, my hands falling from my eyes as my elbows pushed into the bed to raise me from the mattress. Alexa and I looked at one another before glancing back at the bathroom. By all estimates, it took us to the count of five to jump into action. Alexa grabbed her sword by the door as I picked up the first thing I could find, which happened to be a dagger that matched Alexa's weapon perfectly.
“Stay behind me.”
I nodded and fell in behind her, the déjà vu almost crippling as she pushed the bathroom door open with the tip of her sword. This time there were no latros, but it was haunting nonetheless. Acantha was on her knees in the bath I’d filled again after my shower, the water around her pink as the blood on her clothes seeped into the tepid water.
The dress she was wearing was stained in dark red that moved from her stomach to her knees and covered her hands. Her face was paler than normal, her eyes rimmed red while she was shaking like a leaf.
I didn't wait for Alexa's all-clear. I pushed her aside and fell to my knees against the tub, my hands pushing the damp blonde from my grandmother's ethereal face.
“Where are you hurt? Where are you bleeding?” I asked frantically as she sat and stared forward. My hands pulled a
t her clothes and I growled in frustration. “Acantha?”
She blinked once, twice, and then seemed to flutter to life as her head turned, taking me in. Her bloody hands reached for me automatically and pulled me close.
“Not my blood. I'm fine, Cass. I'm fine.”
I clung to her, my hands fisting her wet clothes as I took a second to let myself breathe again. Yes, someone had very obviously been murdered, but Acantha was alive and I needed just a moment to celebrate that before she told us her story.
I could feel my tired body sink farther as the panic subsided and a thin veil of relief settled over me. I had another one of my family back safe and sound. That was more than I could have hoped for. I found myself pushed to the side as Alexa embraced Acantha with her own sense of relief hanging around her, and it was she who pulled my grandmother from the bath and helped her to the bedroom.
I looked between the two women before following and dropping to my knees in front of her again. For someone that appeared to be as young as she did, her eyes gave the impression of being ancient and tired.
“What happened? Are you okay?” I asked, picking up her cold hands in mine. “Talk to me.”
I hated seeing a normally vibrant woman like this. Nothing really seemed to shake her usually. This situation was different, though. It had shaken her to the core and left the fear of whatever deity she prayed to inside of her. It was unnerving.
“The latros and veneficus attacked. They took the younger nymphs from the outer villages. We tried to stop them but there were too many. The Vis Liberi stationed there with me never had a chance. They'd obviously attacked for a reason, and nothing was going to stop them. I heard a couple of them talking from where I was hiding, and… They know. They realized their mistakes after all this time, and they figured out that breeding with the nymphs is what gives us the power to cross. Cass,” she said quietly, looking up and finding my eyes. “I don’t think they realize how to use it, but they know that they’re capable, too. Then they killed the prophet, Daphnis.”