by K W Quinn
“No. That your soul has been sold and a very dangerous person is coming to collect it. Remember that part? That we’re on the run? This isn’t a road trip in your personal romantic comedy with wacky hijinks and a hot dance teacher.”
“You and Dez are—”
“Trying to keep you alive. And whole. Blood and ash, Cass, this is serious.”
“I know.” Cass wanted to slam his fists on something, but he didn’t have the strength. “You think I don’t know that? Everything is my fault here. This whole mess is because of me and the choice I made. I started this whole thing, and now everyone wants me to fix it. And more. Fix the whole world while I’m at it.” Cass flung his hands up. “All I wanted was my best friend. I wanted things to go back to normal.”
“Normal was awful, Cass. Working for minimum wage? Living at home, trying to take care of our moms and make ends meet because your dad was a one-night stand and mine is a worthless gambling addict with anger issues?”
“Aggressive sugarcoating there, dude. He’s an abusive flaming—”
“Look, can we focus?” Andy said. “You need a doctor, and we need to get moving. We’ve been here too long. We’ll leave Charly and Amel a message, and they can catch up when they finish whatever weird side trip they’re on. Whatever was so important that they just had to run off as soon as we got here. They’re taking care of our moms, who know we’re safe. We’ll find a doctor we can afford, and we’ll come right back.”
Cass nodded. “I’m sorry.” He deflated. “I’m just—”
“I know. It’s not fair that all this is happening. I know you did the best you could with what you had, and I don’t know that I could have done it if I’d been in your shoes. I’m grateful. I am. I’m also scared.”
“I wanted to save you. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
“You did save me. Now, please, let me save you.”
Accept
Reyah paced the hallway of the witches’ cabin. Cass was finally asleep and in a real bed this time. Dez and Andy were trying to find a dry enough spot to perform and attract some tips, so she was babysitting again. At least this time, there was plenty of room for her to stay close enough to hear him if he needed anything without being on top of him. Literally. She wasn’t disappointed about that. She was grateful. Thankful. Relieved.
She fiddled with the top of her boot, tugging it up to her knees and then flexing her calf to make it slide down a little bit. She stopped when the motion made the sheath of her soul blade rub against her calf.
Wearing the blade again was a smart choice. She needed to remember that this was a job. Taking it off to dance and play pretend was fine for a little while, but now things were messy, and she was only making them worse by waiting. As soon as this fever broke, as soon as the target was glowing again, she would use the blade and move on.
She heard a thump from Cass’s room and dashed down the hall. Pushing the door open, she could see that he had managed to twist himself all the way around until his feet were on the headboard. Or one foot was. The other was on the nightstand where a lamp had previously stood. The lamp, thankfully intact, was on the floor now.
Reyah shook her head, but she smiled and stepped into the room.
“You are so tragically uncoordinated when you’re sleeping,” she mumbled. Grabbing his ankle, she gently moved him back to the center of the bed. It wasn’t worth it to try to turn him back the right way up, but she did replace the lamp. She knew she should go back to the living room, but she wanted to stay.
He was dreaming, but the stormy nightmares had faded to a lullaby. The sound of the rain outside echoed in his dreams and in her mind. It was gentle. A calm and cleansing rain. She nudged him over with her knee and sat on the edge of the bed. It felt indulgent to sit and rest, listening to the rain and sweet dreams. She reached out, brushed his hair out of his eyes, and ignored the way her stomach clenched when he smiled in his sleep.
She sighed and scooted further onto the bed, stretching her legs out and pressing herself against him. He radiated heat. If anyone asked, she could say she was checking his temperature. She laid her hand against his bare foot. She needed to be close to him, to check on him, not because she liked it. But she did like it.
She liked him. Tarone was going to be so disappointed. He wouldn’t let her out on jobs again for years. She’d fought so hard to get every job she’d ever done. Fought to prove herself worthy as her own person, not just as Tarone’s favorite. She’d had to fight to be respected.
No one would respect her now. She’d be forever known as the Dragon who fell in love. She rolled her eyes at her own dramatics. Whatever. That was a problem for tomorrow. Or later today. But for these few moments, she would sit and pretend this was normal. Just a girl taking care of a boy in the house of witches.
Nothing about this was normal. She wasn’t a girl. She was a mercenary. And this wasn’t a boy. This was a target. And she was sitting in the middle of a group of people who wanted to dismantle the government that gave the organization that she worked for jobs. She was becoming more and more OK with that every day. Which was awful.
She reached for the soul blade tucked in her boot. It was a beautifully worked dagger, Spelled marble covered in runes with a leather-wrapped hilt. It contained more magic than she could ever wield alone. Holding it reminded her of the gifting ceremony and the look of pride on Tarone’s face when he presented it to her. It was the proudest moment of her life. Her biggest accomplishment.
Cass had said his biggest accomplishment was teaching Andy how to drive. He stirred in his sleep, and Reyah put one hand on his shin, resting the blade along her thigh. With him upside down in the bed, it was easy to stare at his face.
In sleep, his face was completely different. He was never this still when he was awake. He was always smiling or moving his eyebrows or licking his lips when he was concentrating or pulling goofy faces to make her laugh.
Now, with all his features relaxed, she saw the man he was under all his boyish charm. His face was proud and regal, and she couldn’t decide which features she liked best: the tiny mole on the tip of his cutely rounded nose, the perfect shape of his Cupid’s bow, or the tiny shadow from the curl of his bottom lip—
“By blood and bone, if you hurt him, I will curse you eternally,” Charly growled from the doorway.
Reyah startled, bringing the knife up instinctively. She leaned protectively over Cass.
“Oh, Charly, you scared me,” she said, sliding the blade back into its sheath in her boot. “How was your trip?”
“Get out of the bed and out of my house,” he said, fists tight at his side.
Reyah’s stomach clenched. She stood slowly. She knew that look. He knew.
She glanced at Cass, still sleeping on the bed. This was horrible timing, but then again, what hadn’t been on this job? She raised her empty hands and moved carefully. “Charly, give me a chance to—”
“I’ve given you enough chances, and the fact that you’re still breathing is a sign of my graciousness. Damn hiding protective wards or I would have been here hours ago. Now go take a walk on the beach or something. Give me some time, and we’ll see you for dinner.”
“What?”
Charly stepped out of the doorway and swept his arms toward the hall. “Go. Walk. Come back later. There is too much to sort out, and I need to see to Cass.”
“But I—”
“Later.” Charly’s voice was like stone.
Reyah carefully moved past him out into the hallway and then onto the porch. The rain blew gently, hardly making a sound against the vine-covered porch. She shivered anyway, wrapping her arms around herself.
Charly knew, which meant Amel knew. Had they told Andy and Dez? Were they going to tell Cass? Should she run now? Her training said to make a break for it and come back under stealth and magic later. Her gut told her there was more to it than that.
More than just a job. She sighed and held on to her braid.
“Yo
u should go. For a while,” Amel said, appearing around the corner.
“Yeah, I was just—”
Amel held up a hand. “Charly’s hot right now, but he’ll cool. Eighteen missed calls while we were holed up getting answers. Charly Spelled those wards himself years ago. Bit him in the ass today. There’s a big knot to unravel here. Stick around to help us, all right?”
Reyah nodded and stepped out into the rain. They knew and still wanted her here. Something very strange must have happened on their trip. She stuffed her hands in her pockets and walked down to the shore. Walking the line where the surf kissed the shore, her thoughts and feelings churned.
She should call Tarone. Or Min. Or run. Or grab Cass and run. But Charly wouldn’t let Cass out of his sight, and Min would just tell her to get the soul when it was glowing and not care how she got it. Tarone would berate her for letting down her guard. Twice, she’d been snuck up on while she was lost thinking about the target. Thinking about Cass. He was still the job, but he was so much more.
She shook her head, grateful for the rain that let her lie to herself a little longer. Just rain on her face. No reason to cry.
Reveal
“None of this makes any sense,” Andy said, flinging his hands up. “The bad guy is actually a girl and has been with us all along, pretending to be our friend, but we can’t kick her out because we need her to turn Cass into some sort of war machine?”
“Harsh but not inaccurate,” Amel replied. Charly and Dez sat at the table with their arms crossed, looking resigned. Amel was leaning on the counter, fiddling with herbs and jars. Andy, however, couldn’t stand still.
“He doesn’t want this. This isn’t his fight. This is your revolution.” Andy jabbed a finger at Dez while he paced.
“It’s our revolution, love. All of us. You should know better than any of us why we need to do this. Why he needs to do this. No one can be free while the Conglomerate is still—”
“No. Don’t do that. You don’t know what it’s like to lose to them. This isn’t a game. This isn’t a noble sacrifice for the greater good. I’ve been there. In the guts of the Dome, all right? I’ve been in it, and I won’t go back. And I won’t let you force Cass into becoming your tool.”
“We don’t want to force him, but he’s becoming something whether he wants to or not,” Charly explained. “And if the Conglomerate finds out—”
“He’ll be lucky if they kill him outright,” Dez cut in. “If they don’t Bond him and use him to bring every last corner of the world under their control. Cass isn’t just a weapon for the good guys. Andy, he has potent magic, but magic doesn’t choose who uses it.” Dez ruffled her hair and sighed.
“Also, bad guy or not, Cass loves her,” Amel added. They all turned and stared at him. “What? Are we supposed to ignore that part? Seems relevant.”
“So, what do we do?” Dez asked.
“Can you read her?” Charly asked, turning to look at Amel.
“Maybe. Dragonkin are tricky. If she doesn’t run outright, I can try.”
“She won’t run,” Dez said. “She won’t abandon this job. And if she’s not already in love with him, she’s well on the way. It was there from the beginning. I had no idea it was because of resonance. It’s so rare, but it’s not hard to see that they feed each other in the right ways. I’ve been pushing her toward him this whole time. Sand and spit, I should have seen it sooner, but I was only trying to help a couple of wanderers on their journey.”
“Don’t beat yourself up, Nadezda,” Charly said, reaching for her hand across the table. “None of us understood the whole picture. Like Min said, Fate has—”
“Wait, Min? Minos? The muse?” Dez screeched.
“The what?” Andy asked, leaning over the table.
Charly lifted his hands. “Whoa, whoa. Hold on. Yes, Min the muse. We went to see him for inspiration about how to help Cass.” Charly pointed at Dez. “He said you’d been on the trail, stirring up dissent and encouraging people to hold on to hope. Keeping the revolutionary spirit alive and all that.”
Dez nodded. “But how do you know him?”
“Been Spelling his place for years. We barter services,” Amel explained.
“The muse that Cass sold his soul to is your friend?” Andy hissed.
“Threads of Fate, like Min said. And he would know. He had a thing with one of the Fates way back when,” Charly said with a chuckle. “We’ve all been playing a game we don’t understand.”
“We’ve been played all right,” Dez groused.
Andy shook his head. “None of this makes any sense.”
“Fate rarely does,” Amel said.
“That was a rude awakening,” Cass said finally. Silence stretched around the room. Everyone stared at him, and he felt his skin crawl. He’d listened patiently through their explanation, wishing it was a horrible nightmare.
“Cass, it’s all more complicated than we can imagine right now,” Charly said, tucking a crystal back into the nightstand. Crystals and some sort of tincture had taken the fever and weakness away, but now Cass felt worse.
He wished he was a Mistwalker because he wanted a thunderstorm. He wanted the sky to rage and weep for him so he wouldn’t have to.
“What’s complicated?” He sighed. “The dragonkin we’ve been friends with is the Dragon who’s been hunting us. I have to surrender my soul if I’m ever gonna save the world. Well, I gave up my soul for Andy, so why wouldn’t the world be next?” Cass spat.
“Fate is involved. It’s never simple,” Amel said from the other side of the bed.
“Tell us what you want,” Andy said, reaching to hold Cass’s hand.
“Short of causing a natural disaster with my feelings?”
“Well, whatever this fever was let me find an echo of something that I was able to ward against, breaking the bond with the weather. I think.” Charly cracked his knuckles. Cass stared blankly at Charly. “What? I don’t want to live in the rain forever. And until you can control this—”
“I want to talk to her,” Cass blurted.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Andy asked gently.
“No, but what is a good idea right now?”
“Rest and recuperation. That was no ordinary fever. It was metaphysical, and I think it has to do with you discovering your abilities. Min said the old Mistwalkers had a ceremony of some kind that helped them achieve their potential. Amel doesn’t have the whole ritual, but he thinks he has some hints.”
“Min got me thinking. Some of the scraps I’ve uncovered in my research point to some kind of ceremony, but I have some new ideas now. I’ve been rereading things. Mentions of a trial by fire might be about your fever,” Amel explained, looking way more excited than anyone had a right to at the moment.
“Pretty thin evidence,” Cass complained.
“Ancient texts aren’t easy.” Amel shrugged.
“Well, I’ll rest later. Right now, I’m too angry to sleep,” Cass said and pushed his way out of the room.
As he headed down the hall, he heard Andy say, “Let him go.” He was grateful at least one person in the room understood.
Rest would have to wait. He needed answers.
Truth
“Kaida, tell me the truth.” He never thought she would be the one with the deep secrets. He had found her on the porch, staring out at the ocean. Now she stared at him, and he had to grit his teeth to stay focused on his anger.
“The truth is my name is Reyah.” She lifted her chin. She was beautiful, but she was a stranger now.
“Reyah. Well. All right, Reyah. Tell me the truth.” Her name felt strange on his tongue. He hated it. He hated her. Didn’t he?
“The truth is that I . . .” She hesitated.
“That you lied to me.” His face was blank. His voice was flat. He wasn’t himself at all. But he needed to get through this. He couldn’t let any feelings show, or they would all rush out. He would hold it all in.
“Yes.” She didn’t break e
ye contact. She didn’t try to explain herself. She was a strange sort of honorable.
“And betrayed the friendship and trust I’d put in you.” He didn’t say love. He couldn’t go that far. “Because I’m a fool for trusting you at all. An idiot who believed the pretty lies you told.”
“No, you’re not—”
“Don’t tell me what I am.” His fists and jaw clenched. Everyone was telling him who he was and what to do. “What I am is furious. What I am is hurt. What I am is fairly sure I never want to see you again.” His composure cracked. He couldn’t keep it all in.
“Cass, please—”
“No. You don’t get to beg. I don’t understand any of this.” The wind tugged at his hair and clothes, and he wanted to follow it, run with it. Run away. He clenched his fists harder, grateful for the sting, and stepped closer to her. “Not my mother or the revolution or what any of this has to do with me or my soul. But you want it? You want my soul?” Cass asked, moving closer to Kaida.
No. Reyah. Reyah was shaking her head, but she didn’t move back.
“You do,” he said. “You want my soul, so take it. Take it. I give it to you. Take it so I can turn into the savior of the world. Turn me into a legend and then leave. Take it!” Cass roared. He was nose-to-nose with her now, and she didn’t flinch. Her chin trembled a little, but she didn’t back down.
“This isn’t how it’s supposed to be,” she said softly. Cass hated the way her voice still warmed him. Her whisper gave him chills.
“No, it’s not. You were supposed to love me,” Cass said. The words burned his tongue. “That was my end game. To fall slowly and steadily in love with you for the rest of my life. I guess I did, though, since taking my soul is like ending my life. Isn’t it?”
She squeezed her eyes shut, and Cass clenched his jaw to resist the temptation to wipe away the tear sliding down her cheek. She reached into her boot and pulled out a white-bladed knife. He noticed her hands were trembling. Some mercenary she was.