Rock, Paper, Shivers

by Sara C. Roethle

  After several hours, they arrived in a remote area near the coast, just as the first rays of morning sun appeared. Their plane had landed in the middle of the night, but none of them had voiced concern over rest as they immediately picked up their rental car and began driving. Luckily Ireland was a small country.

  They emerged from the car to stand amongst a countryside awash with green. The ocean surf sounded in the distance. Alaric and the other men followed Tallie’s lead like silent shadows.

  She walked on for ten minutes, utterly absorbed in her task, but eventually stopped to look around, confused. Sensing Tallie’s unease, Alaric surveyed the countryside anxiously. Had she lost the trail?

  He scented the air. Madeline’s scent was everywhere, but faint. She hadn’t been there in several hours, if not more. He turned his gaze back to Tallie, searching amongst large chunks of rock for an exact location.

  The search went on for another twenty minutes. Unable to stand idly by any longer, Alaric approached Tallie’s side, leaving the other men to wait in silence behind him. She continued looking down at the ground. Alaric wasn’t sure if she was actually looking for something, or just trying to bar any conversation.

  “She’s not here anymore, is she?” he asked softly, leaning forward into Tallie’s gaze so she couldn’t ignore him.

  She tilted her chin down enough that her long, black hair covered her delicate features, then continued walking forward.

  “Answer me,” he demanded, catching up to her side once more.

  She turned her panicked face up to him. “No,” she breathed, “but we can at least look for clues to indicate where she went. She hasn’t remained in one place long enough for me to locate her again.”

  Alaric let out the breath he’d been holding. At least she was still alive. He could deal with her not being where they’d hoped, as long as she still lived.

  He looked over his shoulder, sensing eyes on him, but the others remained back where he’d left them, looking bored. He glanced around the greenery and stones, sure there was someone else around, but his eyes found nothing.

  “What is it?” Tallie asked suspiciously.

  “Someone is here,” he whispered.

  The rustle of a nearby patch of brambles piqued his senses. He turned his gaze in search of the source, knowing he would feel extremely silly if it turned out to be an animal. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d had eyes on him.

  Movement caught his attention once more. “There,” he whispered, pointing to a copse of small, scraggly trees.

  Before he could react, Tallie leapt through the air, shifting fluidly into a wolf before she hit the ground. Alaric had seen other Vaettir shift before, and was capable of small changes himself, but a shift like that . . . he’d only seen once.

  His jaw clenched at the thought of the Morrigan turning effortlessly into a crow. He didn’t know how she’d transported Madeline along with her in that form, but he was sure she did, given there was no scent trail to follow on the frozen ground back where Madeline had first disappeared.

  He shook away his morose feelings as the giant wolf that was formerly Tallie darted around large stones, making a beeline for the copse of trees. Cursing his hesitation, he darted after her, hoping she wouldn’t kill whatever she found. Distantly he heard the rest of their group jogging to catch up behind them.

  He reached the copse of trees a moment later to find Tallie, still in wolf form, pinning something to the ground. No, not something, someone. The woman was tiny, with long green hair and angular features. She wore bulky, mismatched clothes, and seemed almost childlike. Judging by her scent, she was Vaettir.

  Ignoring the snarling wolf on top of her, she turned wide eyes up to Alaric. “You,” she whispered. “Are you really him?”

  He took a step closer as the others reached them. “Am I really who?” he asked suspiciously.

  “Maddy’s boyfriend,” the tiny woman answered, her voice strained from the crushing presence of the wolf.

  Alaric’s heart fell to his toes, then shot back up again in elation. “Get off her!” he demanded, shoving Tallie aside.

  Tallie immediately returned to human form, her clothes reappearing as if by magic, just like the Morrigan’s had. Her rump in the grass, she glared up at him.

  Ignoring her, Alaric reached down to offer the small, frightened woman a hand up. She looked hesitantly at his outstretched hand, then took it. Once up on her feet, she took back her hand and stepped away from him.

  “What do you know about Madeline?” he demanded, his heart still fighting to beat out of his chest. “Where did she go?”

  The woman bit her lip. “So you’re really him then? Alaric? Where is Mikael?”

  Alaric frowned at the mention of Mikael, but quickly brushed the uncomfortable feeling aside. “Mikael is not here. Now please tell me where Madeline is. Time may be running out.”

  The woman nodded. Everyone stood silent as she explained, “The Morrigan took her away yesterday evening. I don’t know where they were going, but Maddy left me a note. She said if I saw you or Mikael, I should tell you she’s alright, that the Morrigan won’t hurt her, but that she hopes to find you soon. She didn’t know where they were going.”

  “One day,” Alaric breathed. “We missed them by one day,” he said more loudly, overwhelmingly frustrated.

  “Will they return to this place?” Alejandro cut in as he took a step toward the small woman.

  Alaric was glad for the interruption, and the logical question. He felt like he was about to lose his mind, or maybe he already had.

  The little woman shook her head in response to Alejandro. “I don’t know. The Morrigan left her books behind, maybe she’ll come back for them.”

  “Books?” Alaric questioned, grasping at any small details that might tell him where Madeline had gone.

  The woman’s face lit up as she nodded, excited to be of use.

  It was clear to Alaric that Madeline had befriended the strange woman, and he was not at all surprised. Madeline seemed to make friends under the most unusual of circumstances.

  “Follow me,” she said happily, then hurried right past Tallie, apparently unafraid that Tallie could shift back into a wolf and eat her.

  Alaric was the first to run after her, followed a moment later by the others.

  “My name is Kira,” the woman explained as they jogged along over the loamy earth.

  Her short legs belied the fact that she was incredibly fast. Alaric had to run at full speed to keep up with her as she darted around rocks, her long, green hair streaming behind her.

  Kira suddenly came to such an abrupt stop that he ran right past her. He skidded to a halt, then turned to see her standing amongst a circle of large rocks. “And this is my home,” she explained breathily.

  Alaric took a step toward her, wondering what she was talking about. He had his answer a moment later as Kira bent down to touch something on the ground. Alaric tensed as he began to sink into the earth, then relaxed when he realized Kira was sinking too. Within a minute they were below the earth, standing in the entrance of a Salr.

  “Are there other Vaettir here?” he asked cautiously.

  He glanced around the dimly lit room. They’d entered the earth ahead of the others, leaving Alaric suddenly alone with Kira, vulnerable to an ambush.

  She shook her head. “It was just me for a very long time, then Maddy and the Morrigan came. Maddy helped to keep me hidden. She didn’t know what the Morrigan would do if she found me.”

  “Where can I find the books you mentioned?” he interrupted, anxious to look for clues now that he knew there was no danger, unless Kira was lying, but he didn’t think she was.

  Kira nodded, then started forward out of the small entry room, leading the way down a long hall. There was a commotion behind him as the others figured out how to enter the Salr, but he didn’t bother waiting for them.

  Kira led him to a large, cozy room with a heavy, wood table, comfy furniture, and a
massive fireplace. He could still smell the smoke and ash of a recent fire. Books lined the large table, recently placed, judging by the dust that had been swept from them. He still couldn’t believe he’d just barely missed Madeline, though the proof was all around.

  The books now in his sights, Alaric rushed forward and began leafing though the pages while Kira stood aside. He could smell Madeline all over the ancient parchment, and the Morrigan too. They had studied these books together.

  He frowned as the contents of the pages became clear. They were books of necromancy, or something like it, filled with rituals to summon the dead. He couldn’t decipher them fully, as the text was in Gaelic, but he’d spent ample time in his five hundred years learning languages, and knew enough Gaelic to get the gist.

  With a sigh, he stepped away from the books, hoping Madeline hadn’t let the Morrigan talk her into something foolish. “Where is the note she left you?” he asked numbly, his back still to Kira.

  “In her room,” she answered, drawing Alaric’s attention to her face. She suddenly seemed sad.

  “Show me,” he demanded.

  She nodded, then ran off again with Alaric hot on her heels. A moment later they arrived in a bedroom. Madeline’s scent was everywhere, and the bedding was still mussed from the last time she’d slept there. It was all almost too much. If they’d gone to Aislin just a little bit sooner . . .

  Suddenly Kira was at his side, poking his arm to get his attention. She handed him a crumpled note.

  He took it gingerly and flattened it in his hands. It read:

  Kira,

  I’m sorry I had to leave you here alone, but I’m guessing it’s how you like things to be. You should be able to leave the Salr now to visit your human friends. I would like to let you just get back to normal life, but I have to ask you a favor.

  My boyfriend, Alaric, is searching for me. I don’t know if he will make it this far, but I can’t miss the chance if he does. If he comes, you will recognize him by his long, black hair and dark eyes. He’s very handsome, and is also Vaettir, like us. He might be with a woman who looks very similar to him, and another man, this one very tall, with long, reddish hair and eyes almost just as red. His name is Mikael. If you see either of them, please tell them that I’m okay. The Morrigan is trying to help me, and I think she knows what she’s doing. I’m trusting in that idea, as I have no other choice. Once I am able, I will come looking for them. Alaric will have trouble finding me since we’re traveling by . . . unusual means. If he still chooses to try, all I can tell him is that I believe we will remain on this continent for a while.

  Tell him I love him, and that our daughter is doing just fine. At his stunned expression, clarify to him that yes, I said daughter. I think we might have a way to win this war, and to control the key, but I cannot say any more for fear this letter will fall into the wrong hands.

  Once this is all over, if I am able, I will return here, and bring you to your sister if you so choose. Just be aware, she may not be the sister you once knew.

  Your friend always,

  Madeline

  P.S. If you see any other Vaettir besides Alaric or Mikael, please do not approach them as you did me. They may mean you harm.

  Alaric let out his breath as he reread the hastily scrawled words. They were a small consolation, but at least he knew Madeline and their child had been well when she wrote the letter. He shook his head. Not just their child. Their daughter. He felt an overwhelming mixture of elation, paired with crushing fear. He would save them.

  Alaric reread the letter again, barely aware of James and Alejandro as they entered the room behind him.

  “Did you see the books?” James questioned.

  Alaric turned and nodded, almost wishing he had taken the time to hide the books from the others. He didn’t want to give Aislin any clues as to what might happen in the near future.

  “We need to find her quickly,” he stated.

  Both James and Alejandro nodded in reply. Alejandro looked worried. James just looked like James. Cold and dispassionate.

  Tallie and Damon appeared in the doorway behind them.

  “Let’s go,” Tallie ordered.

  Alaric didn’t like taking orders, but this one he had no problem obeying. He needed to find Madeline, to stop her from doing whatever she might be doing, before it was too late.

  Sophie sat next to Mikael on the plane, breathing in the stale airplane air, tinged with a smell like antiseptic. She hated flying at the best of times, and her traveling companion wasn’t making it any easier. He had requested numerous plastic cups of wine from the steward over the course of the flight, and was beginning to seem a little drunk.

  “Is now really the time for that?” Sophie questioned, as he ordered what must have been his tenth glass. She’d lost count at some point, and had a suspicion he’d snuck more in while she’d been deep in thought.

  He frowned at her, then sighed as he leaned back against his seat, reclining it the small amount allowed.

  “Flying makes me nervous,” he admitted.

  Sophie’s eyes widened.

  “What?” he asked, sounding almost embarrassed, though Sophie felt he was incapable of true embarrassment.

  She shook her head, then grabbed her seltzer water to take a sip. Flying made her queasy, just like riding in the backseat of a car, though she’d never outwardly admit weakness in either situation. “Nothing,” she answered, returning her seltzer to the little tray attached to the seat in front of her, “just surprised you actually admitted that to me.”

  He grinned, transitioning easily back into the Mikael she was used to. “Come now, we’re practically family.”

  Sophie glared, thinking she liked the embarrassed Mikael better. “No we are not. Alaric is my only family.”

  “And Madeline?” he pressed, leaning toward her, a small, knowing smile on his face. “She’s carrying your niece or nephew. Is she not family?”

  Sophie ground her teeth in annoyance. “Yes,” she answered grudgingly. “Madeline is family.”

  It was the truth. When Sophie had found the note in the trash can, covered in James’ scent, she had been elated by the idea that she’d be able to help rescue Madeline and her unborn child, especially since she’d almost given up hope.

  She’d purchased a plane ticket just so she could follow Alaric’s scent to the boarding area. But as she scoured everything he’d touched, she found no clue as to where he had gone. It was only when she switched gears and started scenting James that she found the note. It had been more than surprising. Perhaps leaving James alive hadn’t been the worst idea after all.

  “We better be able to find them,” she muttered to herself, her thoughts turning back to Alaric and Madeline.

  Thinking she was talking to him, Mikael replied, “I have many contacts in Ireland. Hopefully someone will have seen something. Unless you think you can sniff your brother out.”

  Sophie huffed. “Only if they’re traveling on foot. If they rented a car at the airport, I have no way of locating him.”

  Mikael nodded. “My connections it is. Many reside in Dublin, so that will be our first stop.”

  Sophie frowned and leaned back against her seat. “They better be damn good connections.”

  Mikael looked smug as he received his umpteenth plastic cup of wine. “Everything I do is damn good,” he replied. “You should know that by now.”

  Mikael had gotten them farther than Sophie had thought possible, so she supposed she could give credit where credit was due . . . though she’d never give it out loud.

  12

  Alaric inhaled the coastal breeze as they exited the Salr. The sky outside had grown cloudy, changing the pressure and making everything feel crisp with moisture. He gazed out toward the coastline as the others joined him.

  Tallie wrapped her arms around herself, making the black leather of her coat groan. She gazed up at the clouds warily.

  “That sure was an abrupt weather change,” Damon commente
d.

  Alaric ignored him, though he was thinking the same thing. He began walking back toward the car, expecting the others to follow. They’d searched the rest of the Salr to little avail, gaining nothing of use in their quest for Madeline. He was anxious to start searching elsewhere.

  According to Tallie, Madeline had been on the move all night, and great amounts of energy were gathering wherever she went. Tallie felt the energy clusters were enough that she could probably lead them to one of the places, but it might be a worthless venture, as Madeline had not stayed put in any place for long, likely leaving few clues, if any.

  They were going to the nearest site regardless, as it was better than just waiting at the mostly-abandoned Salr. If Tallie sensed Madeline again, they would simply change course.

  They were halfway to the car when the air pressure changed dramatically, making Alaric’s ears pop. The temperature immediately dropped by ten degrees, and the sky darkened further.

  “Do you feel that?” Tallie hissed, halting in her tracks.

  Alejandro looked up at the sky, his long hair whipping away from his face as the wind picked up. “It feels like standing too close to lightning. Like there are electric currents running from the sky to the earth around us.”

  Alaric shifted from foot to foot uneasily as the hairs raised on his bare arms. His attention was drawn back to the coast. Something was moving out there, like a large, swirling mass of low, dark clouds.

  After staring at the coastline for several minutes, he walked toward the dark scene. A horrible feeling compressed his lungs as his entire body erupted with goosebumps.

  “Where are you going?” Tallie asked breathlessly. “Whatever this is, we don’t want to confront it.”