by Lisa Daniels
“Sure he has.”
Zandra looked up at Anani. “We both know that if he were to go on a crusade, whatever he went after would be completely erased from existence. He isn’t a shifter – he’s a force of nature. None of the others are anything like him.”
Anani laughed again, “I suppose no one was like him.”
Zandra frowned, “What do you mean, no one was like him?” Suddenly she realized that he had been using the past tense when talking about the oldest shifter in the world.
A look passed over Anani’s face and he turned away from her. “He’s no red, but he took it upon himself to jump into a volcano to help free Augustin.”
Zandra couldn’t keep the little gasp from escaping her mouth. She covered her mouth, then let her head sag. “I suppose it was only a matter of time before he succeeded. After everything, his pain must have been unbearable.”
Anani shook his head. “He did it while his angelus was watching. He found her, and still ended up sacrificing himself.”
Zandra watched as Anani tried to talk without emotion, as if the story were happening to someone else. She circled her arms around her legs and looked up at Anani, who couldn’t look her in the eye. “Maybe he survived. I mean, if no one followed him–”
As if he hadn’t heard her, Anani kept talking. “I tried to stop him because I knew I would be held responsible for his loss, and I don’t want to be the one to tell the others of his kind what happened.”
“You won’t have to do that. They’ll know.”
He stopped and turned to look at her. With a slight nod, he acknowledged that they were far more connected than most other shifters. “Still, they will want the story. Noely was watching when it happened. And the look of heartbreak on her face was–” His voice caught in his throat as he looked out into the darkness.
Zandra stood up and put her arm around him. Anani turned and buried his head against her neck. She brushed his head. “Don’t give up yet. He may still be alright.”
“He wasn’t the only one. I suppose you never met my charge. Despite everything I tried to do to stop him, he’s gone wondering off into a dangerous situation just like his family.”
“Shh. You will be alright, Anani. You are stronger than you often think you are. You just spend too much time comparing yourself to others in the areas where you are weakest. You need to stop that.” She pressed and held her lips against the top of his head. He squeezed her and remained quiet. “And from what you have said, there is no certainty that either of them is dead.” Suddenly his desperation since the day before made sense. Whatever had happened to him, there was no one else for him to turn to. In all likelihood, he had only encountered her because of how much magical power she was exuding at the time. It would have helped him heal faster just to be near so much magic. Still, she suspected that without her healing efforts, he would have died. The wounds were deep. She began to hum as she stroked his head.
He gave her another squeeze, then pulled away from her. “So, you are acting as a messenger for someone, huh? Hardly seems like the type of thing you would do. There’s no glamor to it, and that kind of intrigue really doesn’t seem like you.”
She took his hand and began to lead him through the woods. “Well, I’ve been somewhat at a loss for what to do with myself. This seemed as good a purpose as any. Besides, it won’t hurt to have someone owe me for a change. I’ve racked up so many debts, I figured it was time to start creating a little nest of favors that I can call in during times of need.”
She could feel his laughter shooting up her arm. “Always an angle in it for you, huh?”
“I'm starting from scratch, so this seems like the best way to start building up my reserves while I figure out what to do with myself. Right now I am more interested in predictable than entertaining or glamorous. Low profile will keep others from realizing I’m around anyway.” She added the last little bit knowing that it would make him happy to hear that she was still getting into trouble. If it sounded like her life had changed too much, Anani would get suspicious. For as much time as he spent away from everything, the shifter really knew how to read people when he was grounded.
“I suppose there will be time later to hear about your last 20 years. I’ll give you a pass for now, but I want a promise that at some point you will tell me what has changed you.”
“Please stop reading me. There are some things that a girl wants to keep private.”
“A girl is entitled to her freedom. You are no girl, and if I have learned anything it is that you are far more dangerous when you are keeping something close to your chest. But I will grant you some privacy. As a way of thanking you for what you did to save me.”
Zandra squeezed his hand. “Thank you. I promise, I will tell you, but for now, I just…” She sighed. “I envy you. If I had the constitution to go sit on a mountain and do whatever it is you do, I think that I would probably never come back.”
“You wouldn’t last three hours before you would start complaining about the chill. Or trying to leave your own mark on the mountain.”
She giggled, “Maybe, but I might be able to make it for the rest of my life away from everything.”
“The last 20 years have been that rough?”
“No. Most of that time was rather enjoyable. Or at least it was the kind of enjoyable that used to make me forget. I doubt that I would be able to find any kind of comfort in it now.”
Anani stopped and pulled on her hand, forcing Zandra to lose her balance. He tilted her face up to his, the look of concern in his eyes so much like what it used to be when she had first fallen in love with him. “Are you going to be alright?”
Now she knew why he had stopped her, even after hearing that it was urgent that she get where she was going. She couldn’t lie.
“It’s not something for you to worry about, is it? Use me as long as you need me. I promise to be alright for as long as you need my strength.”
He frowned, his eyes looking over her face. “You know that I am not capable of cold calculations like that. If you are truly unwell, then you should seek help before it is too late. I do not want to contribute to any issues that you have now. I certainly do not want to make it worse. Things may be… difficult with you, but I have no desire to hurt you further than the last few years have clearly done.”
She gave him a faint smile. There was so much she wanted to say, but nothing that came to her mind would put his mind at ease. Instead she simply said, “You have no need to worry about me, Anani. I have more than enough strength to be what you need for as long as you need. As soon as you are well, you can go back to your abject loathing of me, and I will accept that change knowing that I actually made up for some of the pain I have caused. The time with you will truly be one of the best things to happen to me.” He opened his mouth, but she spoke over him. “I have always meant that when I said it, but it is truer now than it ever was in the past. You don’t need to believe me now because I know you will later. It’s that skepticism that will help keep me focused now too, so keep up the good work.”
He watched her for another moment. Then gently he lifted her off of her feet and rose up into the sky.
“What are you doing? You know I have trouble with heights! If you are trying to get something else out of me, you ought to know this isn’t the way to do it!” Her voice was more like a squeak as she tried to ball up in his arms. She began to shake a little as she clung to the front of his shirt.
“You have both piqued my curiosity and raised several red flags. The best way through this is to get you to your destination as quick as possible. There is no way faster than this. Then maybe I can get you to finally answer some of my questions.”
“Please, let’s walk. I need the fresh air and–”
“The air is much cleaner up here, and it is more likely to cause you to think about whatever it is you are planning. I don’t know exactly what you are thinking to do, but I doubt it is healthy. In fact, I am certain it isn’t. The sooner we arrive, the sooner
you can complete what you set out to do, and the sooner you will talk.”
His pace quickened, and her hair whipped around her at a speed that terrified Zandra. Her ability to argue evaporated as they flew toward Naucratis.
He whispered in her ear, “Besides, if you are willing to help me, I should be just as willing to help you. If you are really looking to rebuild your life, perhaps you can finally be the kind of person I always knew you could be.”
Zandra allowed a couple of tears to roll down her cheeks. Anani was going to hate her later after she told him. Everything that happened in the past couple of days should never have happened. She should have died and Akeno should have lived. Anani was speeding them on the way to finally lay his best friend to rest. There would be no forgiveness for that later. Just as she had been alone most of her early years until she had met Akeno, Zandra would die alone, reviled and hated by the only person still alive who really mattered to her.
The pain roiled around inside her, threatening to overflow. With a sigh, she buried her head in his shoulder and closed her eyes. The fear of flying was gone as the terror of the future loomed before her.
Chapter 5
Things Start to Unravel
They landed a few miles from the small city of Naucratis. The water was an amazing shade of dark blue, and it rolled as Zandra stumbled around trying to find her footing. Anani laughed as she clutched at him.
“It is not the first time you have flown.”
“No, but you forget that I age much faster, and it has been well over a couple of decades. My body isn’t quite so young as it was.”
He pulled her to him and stroked her hair. For a moment, Zandra was tempted to lean into him and let him comfort her, but her comfort only lasted as long as it took her to remember where they were. In a few days, she would be delivering Akeno to his last resting place among his people, and she had no desire to survive the ordeal in front of her.
Before either of them could say anything else, a voice behind them reminded them that there was more to the world than just their own misery.
“Such a sweet couple of little birdies. It’s a shame that these little birdies ended up at the wrong place, at the wrong time. They won’t get to make such a mistake again.”
Both heads turned and took in the creature standing just at the edge of the water. There were several others similar to it standing to either side, but they did not have the same aura of menace and arrogance.
Anani laughed, “Oh, a little lost buggane. There is a perfect watering hole for a little guy like you just over that hill.” He turned and pointed to a forested hill that moved up steeply into mountains. Coming from that direction were others of his kind. The shifter and the witch were surrounded. Anani turned back and looked at the one who was clearly the ring leader. “It appears you have us in a pretty tight spot. How will we ever get out of it?” His voice dripped with feigned fear, something that was lost on the bunyip.
The creature growled at him, “You won’t.” He gave a signal and several of the creatures began to lumber forward, their eagerness causing them to trip over each other.
Zandra put a hand on Anani’s chest to stop him. Under her breath she said, “You nearly died recently. They are mine.”
To her surprise, Anani folded his arms. “I thought you had used up your reserves.”
She flashed a wicked grin at him. “For the sport of buggane baiting, I think I can find the necessary energy. It has been years since I’ve had the chance to do anything so recklessly delicious.” He laughed as she moved to meet the creatures heading toward them.
The first one to reach her immediately caught on fire. She gave his staggering body a quick kick back into his comrades, and the smell of burning, rotted flesh began to hit her nose. Taking a deep breath of air, she turned to the buggane now charging forward from the opposite direction. These appeared to be a little smarter as they spread out along the beach and came at the pair from several different directions. Clearly they had thought that she carried fire, and their mistake at not realizing what she was would cost them dearly.
Zandra began to dance, kicking up sand into the air. It began to ebb and flow like the flow of the waves, and with each time she added sand, the wave of sand tripled in size. By the time the creatures had neared her and Anani, the wave was higher than the trees in the distance. Zandra ended her dance by leaning down, the huge sand wave crashing down on the confused buggane.
One or two had realized what was happening from their strategic positions behind the lines, and they had already turned to flee. Zandra stood up, as if from a bow, raising her hands. The ground beneath the last few buggane gave way, tossing them into the air. As they flailed, the witch brought her hands down in a dramatic gesture. Corresponding lightning seared through them, skewering them as if they were hideous butterflies being pinned in a collection.
There was a furious shout behind her. Zandra realized that the leader had not charged with the first. He would have had a better vantage point, so it was likely that he realized what she was doing before she had wiped out his men. Zandra’s energy was waning, and she felt dizzy as she turned to look at the remaining buggane. He was only inches from her. Reflexively, she threw up a wall instead of an attack spell. He easily smashed through it and his claws raked across her arm and down her side. She wanted to say something to Anani, but Zandra had no idea where he was. The last she had seen, he was moving around, finishing off the buggane who had survived the initial wave of sand.
Zandra staggered backward, blinking at the sudden turn of events. “You little prick,” she muttered. As her body began to tip over, her hands weaved an intricate design in front of her. Pushing it forward, a pattern of fire flew forward as the beast began to charge again. It hit his chest and burned through, causing nauseating fumes to engulf the beach.
Zandra missed most of the aftermath. Before the mark had hit the buggane, she had lost consciousness. A strong pair of arms kept her from hitting the sand, and for the first time in her life Zandra felt no fear as she was lifted into the air.
Zandra was following Akeno through the city, but for some reason he refused to turn to look at her. When she tried to yell out to him, she found that her voice began to choke her. The stagnant air poured into her lungs like sewage water, causing her to splutter and reach her hand up. Her eyes looked up to see Akeno looking down at her. She tried to beg for help, but he just shook his head. “I cannot help you because you killed me. If you had only accepted me instead of trying to woo Anani, we would have been happy. I am sorry.”
Trying to shout out as he turned away from her, Zandra felt something pulling at her foot, dragging her down. A cruel, cold voice in her ear whispered, “You were always going to be mine. You can run as long as you like, but I will always get what’s mine.”
The voice sent chills down her spine, and Zandra began to kick out, knowing exactly who waited beneath her. Akeno was the only person who knew about her past, and she had hurt him repeatedly as she tried to escape that past.
“I was never yours. I belong to no one, and I choose a different path!” She kicked and flailed as the Sluagh-filled air and water poured into her body.
The laugh was shrill as the force yanked her into the darkness.
A comforting warmth spread over her body. Zandra reacted on instinct, pressing out a wall of energy to repel whatever had taken hold of her.
“Zandra! Wake up!” A familiar voice drowned out the laugh, calling her out of the nightmare.
Zandra gasped as her eyes flew open. A strange light was shining down on her from a cloud of smoke. She tried to figure out what she was looking at, but her mind was still in the nightmare. “I can make a difference. I can be more than I’ve been.”
“I know you can.” The firm voice was now soft and a hand was stroking her hair. “I’ve always known you could.”
Though he had never felt so strong or warm, Akeno was the only person who had ever been there when the nightmares started. Everything
had been a terrible dream, and now she had the chance to make it right. “I’m so sorry, Akeno. Oh gods, I am so sorry. How can I ask for forgiveness, for the loss of so many years–” Her voice choked as the pain of two years began to bubble over the surface. She could not stem the tide as she buried her face in his neck. “I swear, just pull through this and I will do whatever you want.” She wrapped her arms around the man she should have loved. “I will be what you want me to be, just be okay.”
The arms wrapped around her and gave her a tight squeeze. Akeno always knew how to make her feel loved, and she had almost given it up. The voice was a little strained as he replied, “Rest. You need to rest. I will take away your dreams.”
The idea caught her off guard, and Zandra began to try to push away. “You can’t! You know that will only make him stronger later.”
“Shh. Rest.” A firm hand pushed her down as another went to her forehead. Zandra tried to fight it, but her eyes grew heavy and she again fell into sleep, but this time she drifted into a dreamless oblivion.
The next time Zandra opened her eyes, there was a beautiful starry sky above her. She sat up quickly and tried to figure out what had happened. Strange images danced through her head as she tried to recall how she had ended up outside. “Where am I?”
“Just outside Naucratis. After you nearly leveled half of the main inn, they felt it best for you to find another place to recover.”
Horror flooded into her mind as she turned and looked at Anani, who was flicking something in a fire not too far from where she had been resting.
She placed the heel of her hand against her forehead. “Oh my gods, I have got to get inside. If you will just give me a few hours, I will be out of your current territory.” Zandra tried to push up onto her feet, and fell over, her face hitting the sand.
Before she could get up, Anani was beside her, wiping the sand off of her mouth. “Just what do you think you are doing? I thought you promised to be my strength while I needed it. Then you nearly get yourself killed. And then you nearly crushed some of the ladies of the night who were celebrating the night off just outside of Fender’s End.”