by WB McKay
They didn't know what to do.
I could feel the slick scales squeezing tighter against my skin. The thickest part of its body was as big as my thigh. I stared down at it, trying to think calm, rational thoughts. Thoughts that would get me out of this. Snakes get this big? It didn't smell fae; it was a real, natural snake. How did it hide in the van without us noticing? I didn't know if those observations would have led anywhere promising, but that was the last coherent thought I had. The rigid bands of muscle were all too similar to the bands of wind that Leandra had crushed me with. Claustrophobia didn't listen to any of the rational thoughts I threw at it. The fear took over.
The next few minutes were a torrent of screams and frantic motion. Some of it was mine, I could barely take in any of the rest. I flung my body around the inside of the van, smashing both myself and the snake against anything I could. My head cracked against a window. Something tore at my leg. I knew I had to be letting loose some serious fear magic, but I gave up trying to get that under control early on in my struggle. I didn't feel Art touching me from behind anymore, and I didn't think I'd seen Enid or Ava since it started. Owen, somehow, was always right in front of me. Yelling and pulling at me. In my terror, he felt both like something else invading my space, and my only hope for help. Help. I needed help.
Somewhere behind the haze of panic that fogged my mind I heard him yell "Shift!"
The van bounced and weaved like the driver was drunk and driving through a field filled with boulders. My breaths came in short gasps, each one more shallow than the next.
Finally, Owen's words sunk in. If I shifted, I would be much smaller and able to get free of the crushing coils, as long as I got out of the way quickly. It took every scrap of concentration I had to push the panic down enough to allow my crow form to take me.
I burst from the confines of my clothes and landed on the back of the driver's seat, a long, strange squawking sound dying in my throat. The snake lunged at me, its jaws gaping. My wings spread to flee, but a flash of metal caught my eye, and the snake's head stopped mid-strike. Owen's hand was just below it, clutching the handle of a large knife. The tip of the knife was buried in the roof of the van, protruding from the top of the snake's head.
I surveyed the carnage inside the van. It had come to a stop, probably because the driver was unconscious with blood dripping out of his ear, just like Enid, Art, and Ava. Now the strange squawk I'd been making made sense. I had been using my magical wail without realizing it before I'd shifted. I couldn't do that in my crow form, but I'd apparently kept trying.
I hopped down to my regular seat. Owen shoved the body of the snake out the door and wiped the knife off on the carpet before sliding it back into the concealed sheath under the back of his shirt.
Shifting back to human took a lot more effort than it should have. I must have expended a lot of magic during that brief battle. I put Haiku back in her sheath and pulled on my clothes. Owen was already checking on his sister and Enid. I went to the back to check on Art. He roused at my touch and then curled into a ball in his seat. His whole body was shaking.
My fear magic was back in check, but it sometimes left some lingering effects. Art was particularly susceptible. I rubbed his arm and spoke softly. "It's over now. Nothing to fear."
He gradually relaxed and returned to a more casual upright position. He managed a weak smile. "That was a powerful one."
I put some warmth into my smile. "Yeah. Fear of imminent death by crushing has that effect on me." It didn't used to. Before Leandra had attacked me, I'd learned to control my magic no matter how afraid I was. Fear magic, wailing--and above all, my death light--were held down under lock and key. During Leandra's attack, I'd lost control of my death light. Ever since, I'd had moments where my control failed. Every time I thought I'd gotten a handle on it again, something slipped.
Instead of looking disgusted with me, Art looked concerned. For me. "What happened?"
My smile turned down into a grimace. "My guess is a gift from the bald pirate shifter at the restaurant." I looked out the door at the dead snake. "I'm guessing that he talked his big friend into trying to have me for a snack." I hadn't gotten a clear read on the pirate's magic when he shifted, but I had sensed something sour. That, mixed with his bald head and the way he'd gotten out of the restaurant without being seen… a snake made sense. Pirates were often rare, or unique, types of fae. A snake shifter who could control other snakes fit the bill. "Maybe crocodiles would have been better."
"The pirates sent us a snake?" he asked.
"No other explanation makes sense," I replied. "Tattered Vest probably wanted the snake shifter on her team after the lava snake in the first trial."
Enid and Ava were sitting up and looking rattled, but otherwise okay. Owen was in the front passenger seat, checking on the unmoving driver. I moved back to my seat just behind where Owen now sat. He gently shook the driver's shoulder and the man stirred, a low groan escaping his mouth. "Hector," said Owen, continuing in a stream of soft Spanish.
Suddenly the man sat bolt upright, one hand clutching his chest and the other gripping the steering wheel. I only made out the words "Dios", "diablo", and "corazón": God, devil, and heart. All words I only knew from hearing snippets of songs in Spanish. The poor human was probably afraid he'd seen the devil and had a heart attack. He seemed in pretty decent shape though. Amazingly, he hadn't run us into any trees when we'd gone off the road. With a bit of inspired driving, we could get back on the road and on our way to Sayulita.
After several minutes of talking with Owen, a walk around the van to check for damage, and a quick look at the corpse of the snake, the driver had calmed considerably. He kept muttering under his breath, but finally climbed back into the van and started it up. I was really glad that the snake had been mundane and not the shifter. It probably would have been an entirely different story if we'd had to explain a human-looking body lying next to the van.
Hector turned around and looked at the group of us while he said a long mouthful that sounded firm and full of passion. I assumed it was a lecture on what bad people we were to have in his van, and tensed while I waited for Owen's translation. Owen cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable. "He says he wants you all to know this isn't something that normally happens here. He doesn't want you to think that snakes attack tourists everyday."
I smiled kindly at the man and put a hand on his arm. He looked me in the eyes and nodded, confident I'd gotten the message. The guilt in my gut took a firm hold after that. I knew it wasn't this place's fault--because the attack that had just put his life in so much danger was the fault of my people. The fae, and me in particular, had brought this trouble to his door. Sometimes, while focusing on recovering objects and doing what needed to be done, I forgot about this part of my job--this part of every fae's job--where we kept the scary things away from the humans.
Hector crossed himself twice and rumbled over the rocks and dirt and back onto the road to Sayulita, determined to get the tourists safely to their destination.
I looked at Owen. He nodded. "Big tip," he agreed.
I wasn't sure what you tipped in a situation like that, but trusted Owen would figure it out. I put my brain to work on taking down giant snakes and whatever else was about to come at my team. If giant snakes were the start of it, the road ahead was about to get a lot rougher.
CHAPTER TEN
We rumbled into a small town with bumpy cobblestone streets. The van stopped next to a cute little park. Owen talked to Hector for a couple of minutes and then handed him a wad of brown five-hundred peso notes. Hector shook his head and handed most of them back, and the two of them got into it. There wasn't anything the rest of us could do but stare, so we piled out of the van. I'd taken a look around the vehicle back before we'd left, but I'd been far in my head at the time and expected I'd missed something. It now stood in front of me, little worse for the wear. There was a bit of interior damage from stabbing the snake into the ceiling, but for the most
part Hector would have nothing but a crazy story and a good bit of cash to remember the day by. I let out a sigh of relief. If I'd known we'd be putting an innocent human in danger I would have found another way to get to Sayulita.
Owen shook hands with Hector. I caught his eye and raised my brows. He stepped over to me. "We worked it out," he said. "I explained to him that we're grateful he got us here safely despite the presented challenges. He still wouldn't take all of it, but we made a deal. Should be enough to get the stains out and fix that mark in his roof."
"Good work." I handed him his bag.
"Let me figure out where we're at. Stay here."
He didn't wait for me to agree. I was feeling a little useless as a leader, but reminded myself that I could only do so much. A good leader trusted their team. That's what I was always wishing Hammond understood, wasn't it?
Enid stepped up next to me, interrupting my introspection. "Not even a long cab ride is boring with you, Agent Morrigan," she said, running a hand through her long, dark hair. "I can't even imagine what we're going to get up to in the next trial."
"I do my best," I said, a smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. Art and Ava stood off to the side, talking quietly while Owen spoke with a gathering of taxi drivers, probably trying to figure out where our destination was from there. "You seem to be adapting well."
She laughed, a musical sound that reminded me of the ocean. "I've seen a lot in my day. Not much surprises me."
"What do you think of the rest of the team?" I asked.
Enid rubbed her lower lip in thought, her dark gaze sweeping quickly past Art and Owen to land on Ava. A sudden tension filled my core. I felt words building up in defense of my friend. "That one is interesting," said Enid, flicking her gaze from Ava back to me. "Her magic is subtle and varied. It smells of the sea and… other things. As a person, she is as difficult to read as her magic. Not a lot of people intrigue me. I think the selkie will make a good mate for her."
A grin split my face before I had time to think better of it. I was supposed to be running a mission, not hosting a dinner party. The people on the team didn't have to like each other, they just had to work well together. Still, I liked the idea. "Interesting," I replied. Ava had stepped off to the side, that distant look in her green eyes. "Her talents make for a hell of an asset."
"Oh, she told me about her spy network." Enid shuddered. "She's more than a little creepy."
"That's Ava." I was glad to have her as a friend because I wouldn't want her as an enemy. "I should go check in and see if we have any new information."
"You're the boss, Morrigan." She gave me a little salute. Somehow, it didn't feel mocking. I was sure she'd learn that from her teammates eventually.
Ava's gaze was still vacant, so I walked over to Owen. "Find anything out yet?"
"Not a thing. My Spanish is decent, but trying to translate from ancient Greek to Spanish is proving beyond my skills. I think all I've managed to convey is that we're looking for something underwater. They keep talking about the kind of fish and the best places to go snorkeling and scuba diving." He ran a hand through his hair, leaving it an unruly mess. "I don't think they'd know, even if I could remember the word for a sculpture or statue. It would probably be a massive tourist attraction if it weren't hidden from the humans."
I patted him on the shoulder. "I appreciate you trying anyway. Hopefully your sister will have some better luck. Let's go check."
Owen said goodbye to the cab drivers and shook their hands. They all smiled and waved at him, looking charmed like most people did after an interaction with Owen.
"You're going to have to tell me how you do that sometime," I said, hooking a thumb over my shoulder as we walked away from the circle of men.
"Do what?" he asked, confusion wrinkling his brow.
"Wow," I said, shaking my head. "You don't even have to think about it before you turn that charm on people, do you?"
Owen pursed his lips. "I was just talking to them. They were nice guys who wanted to help a poor dumb tourist."
I shrugged. "Well, no matter the cause, you charmed the hell out of them." I glanced back to see a few of them on their phones. "They're probably getting in touch with their daughters to try and fix you up."
Owen chuckled, not bothering to look back. "Never thought I'd hear a story about villagers lining up to give their daughters to a dragon."
"That's because most dragons are total dicks," I said without missing a beat.
We were still laughing when Ava's attention snapped back to me. "I have news," she said ominously. Or maybe that was her usual tone. I still had a hard time distinguishing when she was trying to be dramatic. "The pirates reached the water around the statue more than an hour ago."
Definitely dramatic. "That's just peachy," I replied. "Can your friends guide us there?"
"Possibly," said Ava looking chagrined. "These particular ghosts are new acquaintances and the bulk of them are only speaking Spanish to me. I'm not meeting many fluent in English, naturally. Humans who lived and died here a hundred years ago or more didn't have much use for English."
"Did you bring any of those nifty charms that could let Owen speak to them?" I asked. I'd used them before and was glad that they wouldn't be of any use to me right now. I didn't like to think about how many ghosts I walked through on any given day. Not to mention the charms coated my tongue with a nasty dusty taste. "He could serve as translator."
"No," said Ava. She looked around, her eyes focusing on things none of us could see. "Those charms are hard to come by. Someone used a lot of my supply recently." I shrugged. It had been necessary every time I'd used them. "I only have a couple left. I forgot about the language barrier being such an issue."
"Well, I can at least talk to them," offered Owen. "They might not be able to answer back, but maybe it won't be necessary."
"Sounds like a plan," said Art. "Anybody seem particularly willing?" He waved his arm about the space around Ava.
She pursed her lips at him. "You just waved your hand through three of them. That's not likely to make them more amenable."
Art ducked his head and peered at the empty space. "Lo siento," he said, and then at my raised brow he continued. "Don't get your hopes up. 'I'm sorry' and 'please' are about the only words I know."
Fifteen minutes and a lot of one-sided conversation later, we'd learned a few things about the individual pirates. Tattered Vest's team included an androgynous fae who looked like an ice carving, a small man with what appeared to be gills covering his body, and another man who barely managed to keep his tentacles concealed from humans. The ice fae must have been wearing a glamour to avoid detection. That was a lot of unique fae, which meant a lot of wild cards as far as their magic was concerned. The final member of Tattered Vest's team was, as expected, the selkie woman who had joined her at the first trial. I took in the information as we walked, and filed it away for later use.
We strolled through a very cute and touristy town. I saw more tourists speaking English than locals. The biggest crowd of them was centered around a place called Chocobanana. I had no idea what they served, but if I went by the sign and the tone of the crowd, I'd have guessed it was made of solid gold dipped in chocolate. "I hate crowds," I muttered under my breath.
"The place used to be mostly jungle," replied Enid. "I'd almost forgotten I'd been here it's been so long."
Just a few minutes later we'd walked out of downtown and entered tree-lined streets. The sounds and smells of the ocean drifted on the warm breeze. I wasn't used to that. Ocean breezes were always cold back home. A dip in the ocean sounded divine to my sweat-soaked body. It had to be close to a hundred degrees Fahrenheit and the humidity was off the charts. "Are we there yet?" I whined.
That question inspired a five minute conversation between Ava, Owen, and her invisible friends. I tried to tell them it wasn't a serious question a few times, but they didn't hear me. "I think so," Ava finally said.
"I appreciate it," I replied
through gritted teeth. That's what I get for forgetting I'm the boss for two seconds. If I wasn't more careful about my idle whining, they'd be struggling to solve any problem I brought up. They were a good, hard-working team. I needed to be a leader worth listening to.
A couple of minutes later we spilled out onto a breathtaking beach. The waves begged for surfing. This was one of the most serious jobs of my life, and so far it was making one thing clear: I needed a vacation.
I scanned the area looking for some indication as to where to go. During my second survey of the shoreline I caught a faint shimmer in the air and pulled up my second sight. Glamour hid a boat advertising a scuba diving school. A man sat inside waiting. "Over there," I pointed, "there's a boat hidden by glamour."
"Scuba," said Owen with some surprise. "I don't know how to scuba dive."
"Well, finally," I said. "Something you don't know how to do. I was getting a little concerned."
"I'm more of an open skies person," he said.
"This is pitiful, brother," said Ava. "We'll have to take a trip together after this."
Owen was taken aback, but recovered quickly. "I'd like that."
"I don't know how either," said Art.
Ava twitched her nose and went so far as to half-smile up at him. "I could teach you, too."
"I'd enjoy that," said Art. Between how big his smile was and the way the two of them stared into each other's eyes it was hard to even look at them.
"That sounds like a fun plan. We'll go together when this is over, then," said Owen, completely disrupting the moment. He clapped his hands to further draw attention to himself, as though everyone weren't already looking his way. "For today, I'm sure the person in the boat will help us, and Ava can help. Do you know anything about scuba diving, Enid?"
"I don't need to," she answered simply.
"Good," said Owen. "Sophie and I are the only liabilities then."
"Liability?" I asked. "Okay, I guess that's fair. Luckily, Art has become pretty good at ocean rescues, thanks to me." I patted my friend on his shoulder, pulling him closer so he stood front and center. "He can do this neat thing where he puts a bubble of air around your head. Not every selkie does that, you know."