by Kresley Cole
I'd betrayed him with Aric. I should've believed Jack would somehow come for me. But then I wouldn't know what it was like to love Aric.
Of course, I also wouldn't be knocked up and stranded in the Ash.
What should I say? Damn this dizziness and shock! I couldn't concentrate, couldn't sort my chaotic thoughts.
"If the Reaper isn't here, I know he's on his way."
I shook my head.
In a voice that might have been just shy of hopeful, Jack said, "Dead?"
Joules sat on the other side of the fire. "I wish. That fecker tried to off her. Chased her right out of the castle."
Jack's jaw slackened. "Bebe?"
"It's complicated. He's been brainwashed. Lark and Gabriel too."
"Like the Hierophant did?"
"In the same vein." I wasn't ready to tell him that Aric might have succumbed to buried hatred, a murderous rage, and the inability to let go of the past.
Joules said, "Paul, their medic, was the inactivated Arcana, the Hanged Man. No one inside that big, warm, food-filled stronghold knew. So Paul poisoned Finn to activate his powers. Offed the Magician straight out of existence."
"Not Finn." Jack swore under his breath, his expression shaken. "I'm goan to gut this fils de pute." Jack had spent more time with the Magician than anyone still alive.
Joules tossed more wood on the fire. "The Hanged Man's got this yellow sphere that spread over Death's castle, surrounding the entire mountain. If an Arcana crosses the boundary, he gets brainwashed. When Gabe heard the Empress screaming, he flew off to save her. Then he got nabbed like the rest of 'em. No good deed . . ."
I said, "Paul convinced Aric, Gabriel, and Lark that I killed Finn. Her wolves had me and Joules surrounded. We'd be dead if the Chariot hadn't arrived." I waved toward Kentarch, standing off to the side.
Joules added, "He teleported us--or ghosted more like--through a giant grizzly. Then he materialized the truck and exploded that bear's arse."
Kentarch looked uncomfortable with this praise, but he did take a seat by the fire.
"Teleporting, huh? My sincere thanks." Jack gave him a nod, taking this new Arcana craziness in stride. Then he turned to me. "What happened to your grand-mere? Coo-yon told me she was at the castle."
"Paul killed her. She would've died of natural causes, but he accelerated it."
"He got her too? Condoleances, Evie." He brushed the backs of his busted-up knuckles across my cheek. "You guys got a plan to fight this Hanged Man?"
I nodded. "Circe, the Priestess Card, is a witch. She might be able to cast a spell to neutralize Paul's power. We've been trying to contact her in rivers and ponds on our way to the coast." As Jack seemed to let everything percolate, I said, "Where have you been all this time? Why didn't you return to the fort?"
"I got knocked unconscious in the floodwaters down in the mine. When I woke, I was in slaver chains."
I had so many questions. How had he escaped from them? Where had Matthew been going when they split up? But first . . . "I'm so sorry about your army."
That muscle in Jack's jaw ticked, his tell. Whenever I saw that, I knew he was barely keeping his emotions in check--the levee about to be overrun. "I'm goan to make Richter pay for that. Somehow, someway."
He sounded like Jack, looked like Jack. But he seemed changed. Older. Even more hardened. How could he not be?
"I've been saying the same thing. I thought he'd annihilated the army, Selena, and you." Another wave of lightheadedness hit me. "Where were you going just now?"
"I'll tell you all about it. But first, we have to get you some food. I'll head west and see if I can scare up something."
"You actually think I will let you out of my sight. Adorable."
Kentarch said, "We came from the west. There's nothing."
"Merde. For days, I haven't passed anyone to roll. I can sometimes bag a snake or a rat"--he patted the crossbow over his shoulder--"but I came up empty."
"So you earned your name of hunter?" Kentarch tilted his head. "I could teleport you to a place thick with game. More meat than we could possibly eat."
Huh?
"That so?" Jack asked suspiciously. "You look pretty handy. How come you haven't gone and . . . ?" He trailed off with a look of comprehension. "You're talking about the animals at Death's castle. Lark's creatures."
Kentarch nodded. "I can't go within that sphere."
"But a civvie could." Jack's eyes lit up. "Oh, hell yeah, Chariot."
"Oh, hell no, Chariot!" I clung to Jack's hand. "Did you not hear the part about the giant grizzly? It's too dangerous." I'd just gotten him back!
"You think I'm goan to let you starve when there's game to be had? Joules will stay with you, keep you company. Kentarch and I'll be right back."
"This isn't like poaching an alligator from a Louisiana state park. This is Death, Lark, and Gabriel. They won't let you just walk in there, fill up your shopping cart, and stroll out. She has thousands of creatures now, and under her influence, they're all killers."
Jack grinned. "Then she woan miss a measly pheasant or two."
"Lark's much stronger now than when you last saw her. She'll do anything to hurt me--which means hurting you."
He pried his hand from my weak grip. "It's the only way." He stood. When I reached for him, he seemed to force himself to back away. "You woan sway me in this."
Was he risking his life because he planned on a future with me? He didn't know everything. "There's something I need to tell you--"
"His mind's made up, Empress," Joules interrupted. "You'll have plenty of time to catch up later. But for now, you don't want anything to banjax his motivation or his focus. You don't want to get him killed, do you?"
I glared at the Tower. Selfish much? "This hunt is not happening. Jack, you're not leaving."
Holding his ground, he said, "I know this is tough, but I swear to you I'm coming back." He turned to Joules. "Anything happens to her . . ."
The Tower created a javelin. "I got this."
Jack squared his shoulders and faced Kentarch. "Come on, Chariot. Never teleported before, but by God, I'm ready to poach Dominija's lands."
"Do you require a rifle? Something more than a compact crossbow?"
"Goan in quiet, me. Slip in, bag some birds, slip out. They'll never know we were there."
If I could manage a vine, I'd tie Jack to me. "I can't lose you again." I raised my hand to use my powers, but nothing happened.
"Evie, I promise you I'll be back."
"No time to dawdle." Kentarch took his arm.
A spindly vine finally shot from my palm. It lashed only air. They'd already disappeared.
19
The Hunter
"Mere de Dieu," I muttered when we touched down in a new snowy landscape. I'd officially teleported. One thing I could say since meeting Evangeline: life was never dull.
When I'd first seen her face out on that road, everything inside me had lit up--the way I always felt around her. This time I hadn't nearly gone over my handlebars.
I told Kentarch, "You could've let me give her a proper good-bye, finessing that situation a touch more. Remember, I just came back from the dead." And now she'd had to watch me leave yet again.
The last time she'd lost me, it'd broken her. I couldn't imagine what she was going through back in that cave. It had taken sheer will to leave her.
A million other thoughts swirled in my overloaded brain.
Evie's hurting. Got to feed my girl. Not my girl--she's wearing Death's ring. God, the sight of that . . . like I been stabbed. What'd I expect, me? I left her with Dominija, left her to think I died. When she finds out the truth of that, she'll have my ass. Did I really just teleport?
One thought stood out: What will happen between me and Evie now? I'd have to confess that I'd decided to let her go. Because of Matthew, I'd abandoned her to a man who'd then tried to kill her.
Kentarch said, "Trust me when I tell you she has an acute need for food. We have no
time to spare."
He was right. I pictured her back there, looking so fragile. When I returned, Evie and I would have a long talk.
Tugging my ragged coat closer, I surveyed the snowscape. Kentarch had brought me to the top of a large hill. From this vantage, I could see a castle sprawled over the neighboring mountain. A frozen moat with huge shards of ice circled it. A dirty yellow haze cloaked the entire rise like a bell jar.
"That place is creepy as hell." And I'd thought Haven House had looked spooky?
On this side of the moat, a line of thornbushes as big as trees trailed over the countryside. Evie must've created that fortification.
"Creepy as it may be, that fortress is stocked for an extended nuclear winter."
Yeah, Dominija had told me about all the luxuries within. That was part of the reason I'd let Evie go.
I pulled binoculars from my bug-out bag to scope the building. Electric lights shone from windows, while torches lit the grounds. Smoke curled from three chimneys. I caught the scent of cooking meat, and my mouth watered. On one of the many eaves, Gabriel crouched like a gargoyle.
I could even make out Dominija pacing a room. He'd had everything. Everything. Did some part of him comprehend what he'd lost? What he'd done to the woman he loved? She must've been so confused.
I stowed my binoculars, and Kentarch and I started down the hill toward the dome. "I gotta get her back inside that castle."
"Will you kill the Reaper to do it?"
"I'll kill any threat to her. The rest is up to Dominija." I was conflicted. On the one hand, I hated him for what he'd done to her under the influence. But then I remembered when the Hierophant had brainwashed Evie right out of her head. Could Death be held responsible for his actions when he wasn't in his right mind?
Plus, I felt a deep gratitude to him for saving Evie from Richter's attack.
"You must want her back," Kentarch said. "Will you pursue her?"
She haunted me more than ever. Seeing her again just made it all the worse. But she expected to get Dominija cured--which meant she expected to return to him. I told Kentarch, "I'll end up doing whatever's best for her. Story of my life with that one. You ever been in love?"
He gave a humorless laugh. "You could say that. My wife, Issa, and I were separated months ago. I've been searching for her ever since. I came to this castle for assistance in finding her."
Bonne chance, Kentarch. Good luck, because his Issa was most likely long dead.
As we neared the dome, I unstrapped my crossbow. Just beyond the boundary, Evie's fortification loomed, a frozen forest of towering thorn plants. The foreboding branches seemed to move under the wavering yellow light.
This place reminded me of tales my mother used to read to me, of enchanted winter forests filled with magic and evil villains.
Only this was real.
Snow trails meandered throughout, forged by what had to be large animals. Another grizzly? I checked my bolt-action clip of arrows, knowing it'd take more than this to bring down something so big.
In a hushed tone, Kentarch said, "If Fauna is awake, she will be able to scent you. Should her beasts give chase, your only hope is to make it back here to me."
I nodded, not looking forward to an encounter with overgrown wolves--or worse. "No pressure." More snow started to fall. Merde. This wasn't exactly my preferred hunting environment, and the cold was making my bad leg stiffen up. "I'm heading in." In case something happened to me, I turned to give him a last message for Evie but decided against it.
If I died on her twice, no message was going to fix that wound.
"Be wary, hunter," Kentarch murmured. "All manner of creatures prowl within."
I crossed the boundary, heading into the thorn forest. Vertigo seized me and sweat started to bead my skin. I felt almost drunk. Not surprising. I hadn't eaten in days.
I shook my head hard. A successful take could mean the difference between my girl living or not. Stay sharp, Jack. I'd done this all my life. Even before the Flash, my survival had always depended on my ability to hunt. Clotile's survival and ma mere's as well.
As I eased deeper into the thorns, I began to hear bird calls. Dozens of them nested on high branches. A jackpot of animals!
We're goan to eat good today. I raised my crossbow. Took aim--
WHOOSH. They scattered in a frenzy of feathers, squawking a retreat. I stilled. What had spooked them? Was Lark on to me?
An unsettling quiet fell over the forest. All my senses told me danger lurked, but I continued forward anyway. Those fowl would have to set down somewhere.
I sucked in a breath when I saw large tracks ahead. Wait . . . my own footprints? I'd gone in a circle, me? I swiped sweat from my brow. Jack Deveaux doan get lost.
Not even in enchanted forests.
I peered closer and spotted a second set of prints, almost as large as my own. Those tracks followed alongside mine. Some animal I didn't recognize, something with size to it, was stalking me.
Chills skittered up my back. I straightened, muscles tensed. Finger on the crossbow trigger. I ain't the hunter here anymore--
A roar sounded in the branches above me. I pivoted, swinging my bow up.
Golden eyes gleamed in the dark. A flash of fangs as a beast sprang for me. I fired.
Before I could shoot again, a weighty body crashed into the snow, not inches from my boots. My arrow jutted from one of its eyes.
A lioness! She looked to be a couple hundred pounds. No wonder all the other game had scattered.
My gaze darted as I shouldered my bow. How to get my prize back to Kentarch?
I would be getting it back. We could feed on it for days.
A shriek sounded from the castle. Lark! She must've sensed the kill. Adrenaline spiked my veins. No way I was leaving this lion. I bent down and grasped the carcass under its front legs, maneuvering it for a fireman's carry.
Now to rise. Damn it, I could haul this beast from here. I'd lifted Matthew. But that had been before my injury.
Come on, legs, doan fail me. With a yell, I hoisted it up and across my shoulders. My knees knocked, my bad leg screaming. But I took a step forward.
One foot in front of the other . . . for Evie . . . one foot . . . Lungs squeezing for air, head spinning, I pushed on.
Halfway there. I hoped.
Behind me, creatures gave chase. Their roars and howls were spurs to my back. Another surge of adrenaline. One foot . . . one foot . . .
Just outside of the hazy sphere, I caught sight of Kentarch. His jaw was slack. "You took down a lion? With a crossbow?"
A whistle sounded in the air behind me. I knew that pitch. Gabriel was gunning for me.
Closer to the boundary, closer.
"The Angel is diving for you!" Kentarch held out his hand, even as his gaze was focused on the sky behind me. "Drop the dead weight, you madman!"
No way. Digging into the last of my reserves, I forced my burning muscles to keep going. For Evie. For Evie. Faster, Jack! Boy, doan you know how to run?
From far too close, Gabe yelled, "You're mine!"
I vaulted the last few feet past the border, collapsing forward into the snow. Kentarch dragged the lion off me, then lugged me several more feet away from the dome.
"Ahhhh!" Gabe bellowed his fury. His wings swirled snowdrifts as he reversed direction.
Heaving breaths, I scrambled around to face him.
The Archangel hovered at the edge, fangs and talons bared. "Greet me properly, hunter. Come shake my hand." His wings were much larger than before, and now a lethal-looking claw jutted from each joint.
I croaked out, "Pass."
Eyes crazed and hair wild, he looked like a psycho version of himself. If this shocked me, how stunned had Evie been when Dominija turned on her? She was lucky to be alive.
Gabe turned to the Chariot. "Join us, and we shall find your wife for you."
Was Kentarch tempted by that offer? I called, "Doan you want to know how Joules--your loyal ally--is doing
out in the Ash? I'll tell the Tower you asked after him."
Gabe barely glanced at me, attention on Kentarch. "You do not have to join our alliance. Simply bring us the Empress, and we shall unleash all of Fauna's creatures to locate Issa."
I didn't like that a bit. I rose with difficulty and slapped Kentarch's shoulder. "We got to go, podna." A chorus of howls sounded. "He's just stalling for Lark."
"You're correct." Kentarch clamped my arm and the lion's neck. "I still can't believe you bagged a lion."
Between breaths, I wheezed, "What? Like it's hard?"
His lips twitched. "Come, hunter."
As he began to teleport us, I glanced back at Gabe--just as his wing claw lashed out from behind the sphere.
Air whistled across my throat as we disappeared. The Archangel had missed my jugular by millimeters.
20
The Empress
I paced the cave, using calories I didn't have. I'd started hyperventilating, imagining all the things Arcana could do to Jack.
Snarling wolves, Gabriel's talons, Aric's unnatural strength and speed. If Jack faced the Endless Knight, he would die. With one sword strike, I would lose both of them forever.
Joules sat by the fire. "How do you plan to tell ol' Jackie boy you're in the family way?"
"That will be a good problem to have." I pinched my temples. "I can't do this again."
"You're still in love with the Cajun."
My eyes watered. "Of course I am! We didn't break up, Joules. He was stolen from me."
"So now what are you goin' to do? You got Death's unholy spawn in you."
No matter what had happened, I would still try to save Aric, just as I'd endeavored to save Jack. Both had earned my loyalty.
As long as one didn't harm the other.
"In case you were wondering, my vote goes to the hunter."
"Maybe Jack found someone else out there. We haven't seen each other in months." How long had he been enslaved?
"Come on, Empress. It's not like females grow on nonexistent trees these days. Even if they did, Jack's a goner for you. Gabe, Tess, and me were in and out when he built Fort Arcana. Every day, he was praying he'd get you back and keep you safe inside it."
My tears fell.
"Of course, whichever one you choose, you got to get back into the castle. Why don't you go with the Cajun, and then we take over the place? Jack's good with strategy."