by Shea Berkley
We face the forest; me stiff, Leo hurt.
I close my eyes and take a deep, calming breath. I’ve never had a good friend. Leo’s constant faith in me makes me nervous. I’m waiting for him to bail, but that’s no excuse for how I’m treating him.
“Sorry.” It’s a word that sticks in my throat. I rarely say it, and never to another dude.
“Damn right you’re sorry. You’re lucky I’m the forgiving type.”
I put out my hand. “Thanks.”
He takes it and we shake. The air is suddenly lighter. The future not so dark. “I’m not good at this,” I try to explain.
“Good at what?”
“Saving the world. The choices I have to make. But I’m trying.”
Leo slaps my back in that way all dudes show their bros affection. “You’re okay.” Once again, he’s serious. “What do you want me to do?”
“Honestly?” At his nod, I tell him what worries me only because it can directly affect him, and I don’t want him getting hurt. “Find Lucinda and make her behave. We don’t need any more problems.”
“You don’t trust her, do you?”
I laugh, though there isn’t any humor to it. Only a weird kind of dread I’m not sure Leo understands. “Deep down, do you?”
“She can be high-strung…”
“Understatement,” I fire back.
“She’ll do what I tell her.” The quiet confidence he shows is so Leo and so misguided.
I press my lips together and try not to say anything, but he’s got to start seeing reality. “I know you like her, but she’s not human. We’re like catnip to her. Fun to play with for a little while, but in the end, all she’ll do is walk away when we need her the most.”
An optimist through and through, Leo just smiles and points at me, determination clearly on his face as he backs away. “I’ll find her and you’ll see. You’ll be glad Cin is on our side.”
“You’ve nicknamed her sin. That’s called a subconscious warning.”
He laughs and I watch him lope back into town, wishing I could have his carefree outlook on life. His promise rings in my ears as I cross the open fields and enter the forest. It’s not like I hate Lucinda. I can’t stop thinking about the first time I met the Lutine. She wasn’t remotely helpful and did more harm than good. On the plus side, she did give me my sword, and she retrieved it from the dungeons when I needed it the most. On the minus side, as soon as she believed Leo was safe, she left the battle without a backward glance. Because of that, people she could have saved died. How can Leo expect me to trust her after that?
Thankfully, Lucinda is nothing like Kera. No girl is. It’s only been a few hours since I last saw her, but it feels like forever. I have no idea where she is or how she’s doing. The only thing I know for sure is that she’s alive. I would feel it, deep in my gut, if she died. I know I would.
Tromping through the underbrush, searching for any sign that one of Bodog’s tunnel entrances is near, doesn’t lighten my mood. I feel like I’m wasting time. Why did he have to run off like that? Near a low-branched tree, I nudge a slightly protruding section with my foot. It gives. Finally, I’ve found one of his tunnel entrances. I start to dig around it, pulling at the grass, when a slight stirring catches my attention. Within the bushes I see a pair of eyes staring back at me. “Bodog?”
The little man nods and puts his finger to his mouth.
“What?”
He points in the opposite direction. Something has obviously spooked him.
When I straighten, a shiver runs down my spine. About fifty feet from where I stand, the form of a man merges with the shadows. The shape is familiar. Very familiar.
The guy moves. A shaft of light touches him. The stocky build. The spiked blond hair. A slight stubble clings to his square jaw.
“Jason?” I can barely get his name out.
There’s no dead-man tinge to his wide face. It’s strong, in that familiar head/neck/shoulder fusion so many wrestlers acquire, like the front end of a battering ram. He swaggers forward, and I clearly see the menacing frown he’s wearing. I’m having a hard time believing what I’m seeing, yet his aggressive manner registers, and I widen my stance.
Jason stops a few feet from me and looks me up and down, and his dark frown eerily transforms into a big grin, one that doesn’t meet his eyes. “Miss me, Dylan?”
“You’re alive?” I don’t know whether I’m happy or terrified by that fact. He was definitely dead the last time I saw him. How can he be alive?
A bitter laugh claws from his throat. “A lot you cared.”
One second his sword is neatly tucked in his scabbard, the next it rings clear and he’s moving…fast. Unnaturally fast.
I barely manage to dodge the sharp point. Once I do, I call vines from the ground and tangle his feet, which gives me time to back up and assess what’s happening.
Bodog squeals from the bushes, and I turn to see the pux swarm from the forest. He bats at the little imps with his stick as they chase him into the woods and away from me. I can’t help him. I’ve got bigger problems in the form of an angry bull who’s somehow managed to grow horns.
Jason slashes at the vines, and in no time, he’s free. His cold blue eyes land on me. “Whatever you’ve got, get it ready, because you’re going to need it all before I’m done with you.”
Okay, this is a serious case of misunderstanding. I don’t draw my sword. He’s my friend. We can talk this through before it comes down to hacking each other to pieces. I back up, my hands up, palms out. “I came back. I promised you I would.”
With a flick of his wrist, the sword he holds does a series of fancy twirls in the air, hissing as it spins. He stops it expertly.
Whoa. That’s not normal. The guy can throw a mean headlock or flip you to the mat like a pro, but rip the air with a sword? Something’s definitely different about Jason.
He glares around the blade, his face twisted with hate. “Do you know what it’s like to be dead one moment, then brought back to life only to find you’re buried alive?”
Before I can comment, he answers his own question in words that rumble hotly from his chest. “I’m claustrophobic. I couldn’t rip my way out of there. For seven days—seven days—I was trapped in a coffin you made. Why’d you bring me back just to leave me?”
“I-I’m—”
I try and wrap my head around what he’s saying. With one blast of energy, I killed everything within a mile, and at the same time, I Frankensteined him back to life? “Dude, I didn’t know. I swear. I thought you were dead.”
It’s like he doesn’t even hear me. He lunges, the sword arcing toward me. “If it weren’t for the pux, I’d still be there. Slowly rotting.”
I slip to the side and feel a stab. The tip of his blade nicks my shoulder. No way should he have been able to do that. I move too fast for humans to keep up—one of the perks of being a first—but Jason follows me move for move, driving me backward until I slam against a tree.
His sword swoops down and hovers against my throat. He laughs, and my stomach clinches.
“Draw your sword.”
“No.”
“You will or you’ll die right here, right now.”
My mind can’t wrap around what’s happening. Jason appears to have first abilities, but that’s…crazy. Like Leo, he’s human.
Someone has definitely been messing with my friends.
“What is wrong with you? We’re on the same side.”
“Do it, Dylan. Let’s see which of us has the right to be here.”
I can feel the burn of anger rise in me. “Do you hear yourself? You’ve turned into a bully just like your dad. You hated him for what he did to you.”
“He got results,” Jason sneers. “Maybe he’s not as stupid as everyone thinks.”
“I don’t think he’s stupid, I know he is, and so are you. Go home before you hurt yourself, Jason.”
He leans close, his eyes hard as steel. “I don’t get it. Why is anyo
ne afraid of you?”
“I don’t know,” I rasp. “And I don’t care.”
“See, that’s your problem. You don’t think big enough. You don’t want to get messy. One thing my dad taught me is that to be the best, sometimes you’ve got to get dirty.”
That definitely doesn’t sound like I’m going to enjoy the next couple of minutes.
“Rumor has it, you die, I get stronger.” He pushes the blade until I feel it sting. A warm, thin trickle of blood runs down my neck. “Do you think that’s a fair trade?”
All I hear is me dying and that totally ticks me off. Jason is supposed to be my friend. What happened? My jaw tenses, and I can feel the power grow hot under my skin. “I saved you. Remember? You were dead, and I brought you back to life. It might not’ve been perfect, but I saved you.”
Jason’s lips thin against his teeth and he nods. “I appreciate it, dude. Really, I do. This isn’t personal. It’s what I have to do to get what I deserve. And I’m going to do what you’ve failed to do. I’m going to conquer both realms.”
“You know what? You deserve everything your dad ever did to you.” I shouldn’t have said it, but I’m angry and hurt he’s actually threatening to kill me, and I don’t stop there. “Mr. Tanner was right. You’re a psychopath.”
Jason’s lips split into a cold smile. “Then let’s get crazy.”
His muscles tense as he draws back to thrust the sword into my neck. Before I can command the tree to split so I can slip away, I feel someone grab my arm and then find myself across the clearing standing beside Lucinda and a stoic Leo. My friend’s eyes are wide and filled with horror as he watches Jason impale the tree with his sword.
They force me into a crouch, and Leo’s sweaty grip tangles in my T-shirt sleeve. “He’s alive? Shit!”
“I know! Doesn’t anyone stay dead in this place?” I still can’t believe he’s alive.
“What happened to him?”
From the rage spilling out of him, nothing good. “I happened to him. Somehow I messed up. I didn’t mean to raise him from the dead, but when I did, I didn’t do it right.”
“Damn it! Do you not watch TV? Movies? Video games? Give me one instance where raising someone from the dead ended well. You gotta fix this.”
“I’m open to suggestions.”
Together, we watch Jason jerk the blade free and spin around, swinging his sword from side to side, his face revealing his shock at my disappearance.
Jason’s shock slowly transforms into something far less pleasant. He lowers his sword and his skin mottles. The veins along his neck protrude. Throwing back his head, he lets loose an inhuman roar. Anger spills out of him in a hoarse, bitter cry that scares the forest quiet. He stomps around like a mad bull and yells, “I’m not quitting, Dylan. I have all the advantages. You’re history. It’s my turn to be the hero.”
“Cin,” Leo whispers. “Can you get us out of here?”
“All of us at once? No.”
It’s good to know Leo’s crazy girlfriend has limitations. I was beginning to wonder.
“Thanks for the save.” I shrug out of Leo’s grip. “Meet you back in town. I’ve still got to find Kera.”
“I don’t know…what about Mr. Bloodlust over there?” Leo nods toward Jason. “Shouldn’t we do something?”
“I don’t think anyone has anything to worry about. I seem to be the only one he wants to kill.” I slowly ease away.
“If he catches you off guard again, you’re in for a serious fight.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence. Now that I know he’s around, I can handle him.” I study the girl hanging on to Leo’s arm. Personally, I believe Leo is in more danger than either of us. “Keep him safe,” I warn her.
She smiles that crazy-chick smile, the one that gives me the creeps, and sidles closer to Leo. The scent of bubble gum invades the space as she slowly blows a bubble until it pops. The next second, they’re gone.
Crazy chick.
Thanks to her, Jason now knows my general direction. I scurry out of there so quickly I scare a rabbit out of hiding. If Jason wants me, he’ll have to find me, and I don’t plan on making that easy for him.
I hear Jason thrashing the ground close behind me. He’s got speed, but I have brains. I double back, find Bodog’s trail, and start tracking him. Easy to do. He left a path of broken twigs and scuffed-up earth a blind man could follow. I do my best to cover his tracks, blowing leaves and debris over the area as I follow.
I feel jumpy in my skin. The first time I entered Teag—which seems like forever ago—a calmness engulfed me, like I’d finally found my home. I had a taste of it back at the village, but now, when I reach out with my senses, the air holds an uneasy vibe; tension warbles against my bones, almost as a warning. The perfection I’d admired has grown a few weeds. The magical brightness has definitely dulled.
The trail leads me to a thick copse of trees. I fight my way through the underbrush and find Bodog cowering into his clothes like a turtle retreating into its shell. I move deeper into the shadows, but he waves me still. “No room.”
There’s gobs of space all around him. “Bodog, did you know Jason was alive?”
He nods, clinging to his stick like it’s his lifeline.
“Shit. Thanks for the heads-up, dude. This is bad. We gotta go.” I squat and hold out my hand.
He turns away and mumbles, “Truth is truth. Fears must be faced. I will not abandon him. What next?”
I can’t wait for Bodog to pull it together. I open my hand and urge him out of his shelter. “I’m serious. We need to join Leo and Lucinda. Now. I got a bad feeling we’re going to need them.”
Bodog lifts his head and shushes me. “Quiet. Can’t hear.”
“Hear what?”
“The others.”
“What others?” I cock my head and listen, but it’s like listening for a feather dropping amid a flock of seagulls.
I slant a confused glance his way. Maybe he’s cracking under the pressure. I know I am. Right now I need the old Bodog.
As he continues his one-sided conversation, I notice he appears less edgy. Maybe I’m overreacting. Maybe Jason being alive isn’t as bad as I think. Sure, he’s mad as hell, but wouldn’t I be, too, under the circumstances? I can’t afford to let his pissy mood distract me. I’m here for Kera.
Reaffirming my reason for being here calms me. I grip Bodog’s shoulder and give it a little shake. “Come on. I need you to concentrate. Where’s Kera? I know you know. You all but dragged me to Teag.”
His googly eyes soften, like he pities me. Really? He’s the one sitting in rags and cowering in a hole. Oh yeah, I forgot. I’m the one everyone’s pressuring to save the freaking world.
Maybe he’s right to pity me.
He grabs my hand, and a strange shift happens. The edges to this world blur, and I see things no one but Bodog sees. Ghostly faces and half-bodies crowd the tiny burrow, blinking at me like I’m the oddity and whispering to one another. Crouching nearest Bodog is a ghostly creature, small, spiny-backed and humanlike, but not human. Its four pudgy fingers slip down Bodog’s cheek in a caress that if real, would leave behind a trail of slime. It tilts its face toward me and where eyes should be are merely slits. Toad-like nostrils flare. Its mouth opens as if it’s gulping air, displaying a full set of pointy-sharp teeth. Turning back, it gets so close to Bodog, it looks as if it’s going to chew off the little man’s ear instead of whispering something into it.
“Bodog.” My call is soft but insistent. I want to know if what I’m seeing is real, but I can’t find the words. All questions stop midway up my throat.
He somehow knows what I can’t express. “Dead are never truly dead.”
No kidding? Jason is proof of that. And while I was hospitalized and in a coma, though technically not dead, my spirit roamed between the realms in my quest to save Kera from Navar.
If dead isn’t dead, then Navar and all his evil cohorts could still be walking around. How pissed off
would he be knowing I’m alive and using his power? Panic prickles my skin. I jerk free, feeling exposed. The apparitions fade away, and I only see Bodog biting on his dirty nails like a failed guitarist.
I don’t have time for a meltdown. The longer I wait for Bodog to get it together, the more I risk losing Kera. I thrust my head into the hidey-hole, refusing to think about the ghost I’m poking through. “Sorry. Time’s up. You’ve got to come with me.”
He squeals as I haul him out by the scruff of his neck. One hand pries at my grip while the other brings the stick down across my head and shoulders. A kick to my knee, and I lose it. I shake him like a pit bull does a chew toy. Can dwarves get shaken baby syndrome? I don’t care. He’s a grown…er…I don’t know exactly what he is, and right now I don’t care.
“Stop it,” I hiss. “Do you want Jason and his new friends to find us?”
He snaps his jaws closed and hangs in my hands like a limp towel, his large eyes staring up at me like twin black holes.
I let him go but keep my hands on his thin shoulders, afraid he’ll bolt. “You convinced me to come back here, and now you’re fighting me at every turn and talking to dead things. What’s going on? It feels like everyone’s taken a left turn when they should’ve taken a right.”
His attention darts back to the base of the tree as if seeking guidance from his dead friends. I give him another shake and bring his gaze back to me. “I’m talking to you.”
“Things exist of which you know naught. Deadly things. Secrets. The way is dangerous.”
“All I want is to find Kera. I don’t care how dangerous it is.”
“Darkness swallows her.”
My mind flashes on the dark souls, how they surrounded me until I was in a lightless bubble. “Is it the dark souls who attacked the village? Do they have her?” I get a little queasy thinking about Kera being held against her will by those things.
“Danger lurks everywhere.”
“What’s new?” Bodog isn’t exactly telling me what I need to know, but he’s not saying the dark souls aren’t involved. I try a different tack. “Do your…” I nod to where I last saw his invisible friends, “…your friends know where she is?”