by N. R. Larry
He stopped mid-swing and then dropped his arms to his sides. “You don’t want to do that.”
I stared at him and planted my feet.
His lips twitched like he wanted to smile but then thought better of it. Keeping his gaze on me, he adopted a boxing posture. “You sure?”
I snorted.
He drove a jab into the heavy bag. My body jerked back slightly from the impact, but only slightly. I frowned at him. “Really?”
He raised an eyebrow, and landed another jab, this time with his left fist.
I feigned a yawn.
This time he laughed. “You’re something else.” He landed an uppercut, then turned in a graceful circle and side kicked the back. I went backward and had to dig my nails into the bag to keep on my feet.
“And you’re holding back.” My tone was almost taunting.
He chuckled, and the brassy rattle of his laugh sent a slight tingle through me. Right as I was shaking that feeling off, he threw a series of punches into the heavy bag. With wide eyes, I lost my grip and was tossed onto my back.
I glanced up. His body twisted around, and he landed another side kick. The heavy bag exploded into a puff of sand, grains, and old rags. I sat up, blinking through the dust at him.
“Dammit,” I finally said. “That’s the only one of those we have.”
He offered me his hand. I took it, and let him pull me up. “Sorry,” he muttered. When I was on my feet, he didn’t let me go, opting instead to pull me toward him. “Maybe you should magic me the hell out of here before I destroy anything else in your underground cave.”
The intensity in his voice and gaze flustered me. I shook free my thoughts and gently took my hand back. “As soon as I’m able.”
He sighed, went back into the corner, grabbed a towel, and walked back toward me, mopping the sweat from his forehead. “Yeah, yeah. Are you going to at least answer my question about where the hell we are?”
I hugged myself. “A safe place, with a long history.”
He narrowed his eyes at me.
“We call it the Underground.”
His expression didn’t change.
I closed my eyes. “It’s a place we shouldn’t need in this day and age. A place that is omitted from the history books, although it has a sister made famous from the institution of American slavery.” I opened my eyes, and half smiled.
He blinked at me. “Wait, the Underground Railroad?”
I nodded. “Only, actually underground.” I splayed my hands out. “It was created around the same time, to avoid witch persecution.” I frowned. “It’s made from some of the most powerful protection magic the world has ever known.”
He glanced at the walls with the expression of someone seeing something for the first time. “Wow,” he finally said.
“Yeah.” I sighed and sat down right where I was. “It’s probably one of the safest places in the world. At least it was.”
“You sound bitter.”
I stared ahead of me and then shook my head. “I fucked up,” I said in a quiet voice. “I fucked up bad.”
He sat in front of me. “Again?”
I turned my head to the side and wrinkled my nose. “What does that mean?”
He shrugged and started peeling the tape from around his wrists. “You seem like the type that spends a lot of time fucking up.”
I frowned.
“I mean, it’s what you were doing when we met.” He balled the tape up into a fist. “Well, the second time.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Yeah, are you going to remind me where we know each other from, or what?”
“What did you do?” he asked, ignoring my question.
I stared at him, trying to figure out why I wanted to tell him anything. It’s not like he seemed comforting. In fact, he seemed like he would be the opposite.
Still, I found myself opening my mouth anyway. “You remember up at the warehouse when I…”
“Turned into the magical Hulk?”
I lifted my eyebrows.
He shook his head. “One of the worst things about the reading bans is that people are forgetting all the great characters.”
I sighed and shook my head. “They got it on tape.”
He stared at me.
“And it was aired.”
He gazed off to the side. “Shit.”
“Yeah.”
He stood up. “How bad is it?”
When I closed my eyes, I could almost hear that news anchor announcing what the Party leader planned to do in retaliation to my big screw up. Without opening them, I lowered my head and said, “Extermination policy.”
There was a sharp intake of breath. “I have to get out of here.”
Before I could open my eyes, his hands were gripping me at the elbows, pulling me to my feet. He shook me slightly, not in a rough way, but there was no mistaking his urgency. “I have to get out of here, now.”
I blinked at him, like someone waking up from a lucid dream. Slowly, I removed myself from his grasp. “Look, I know this situation isn’t ideal, but I promise that you’re safe down here. And I don’t know if—” I glanced at the rocky ceiling and wiggled my toes into the sand at my feet. It was a nervous tick. Feeling that dirt between my toes always made me feel safe. “I don’t know if going back to the surface is a great idea right now.”
He bared down on me, and the look in his eyes almost knocked me off my feet. “Safety?” He scoffed. “You think I’m worried about my safety?” He backed away so that I once again had a view of his entire form. “There are people up there that depend on me, and if what you’re saying is true, I can’t abandon them.” He pointed at me. “You can’t keep me here. Either help me, or I’ll find another way out.”
The passion in his voice stirred something in me. It almost made me want to know his darkest secrets. I took a deep breath. “I’m afraid that’s impossible. There is no way beyond that magic.”
He glared at me. “Except you?”
I nodded.
He placed his hands on his hips and scanned me up and down. “Then I’ll have to convince you.”
A shiver ran through me. I didn’t know if it was a threat, or something else.
“And besides, I’m getting anxious.” He stared me up and down again, and then started to pace. “I have to be able to run. I can’t shift here. And when I don’t shift, I get a little…”
I waited for him to finish, but he only threw a look I couldn’t read my way and went back to pacing. “Let’s just say it’s never a good idea to trap a wild animal.”
I nodded. “Take me with you,” I said in a low voice.
He stopped pacing and turned to me, his expression as surprised as I was.
“What?”
I licked my bottom lip, and he sucked in a sharp breath. “Please, don’t do that,” he muttered and went back to pacing. “Geez, I have to get out of here,” he said to himself in a raspy voice.
“Me too.” I went up behind him. “Take me with you.”
He stopped again and then shook his head. “No, no way.”
“Then you don’t leave,” I said simply, crossing my arms over my chest.
His eyes narrowed.
I tried to make my gaze as intense as his.
“I can’t. Take you with me.”
“Why not?”
He sighed and rubbed his temples, before looking back at me. “Because I don’t have time to watch after you.”
“You won’t have to.”
He chuckled. “From what I’ve seen, you need someone to look after you. Constantly.” His expression went neutral. “I mean, you managed to make a damn mess of everything.”
Even though he was right, anger boiled in my blood at his words. I shoved him. He stumbled backward and then blinked at me in obvious surprise. “Are you serious?”
I closed the distance between us and jabbed him in the chest. “You don’t know a thing about me, okay? I
don’t need you, or anyone else looking out for me. Yeah, I messed up, but I’m going to make it right.”
He stared at me for a few moments and then leaned against the wall. “Fine, other than the witch Hulk thing, what can you do?”
I blinked. “What?”
He half smiled. “You said you don’t need looking after, which means you have skills of some kind. What are they?”
I sighed. “What is this, an interview?”
“Of sorts.”
I held up a hand and started ticking them off on my fingers. “I’m trained in two forms of martial arts, in twenty-seven forms of magic, including the use of magical tools, and I’m the unofficial leader of the Underground.” I glared up at him. “That good enough for you?”
He was giving me a different look at this point, it was a cross between curiosity, and… hope?
“Twenty-seven?” he repeated.
I nodded.
He stepped toward me. “You know anything about the healing magics?”
I nodded again. “Of course. A witch that cannot heal simply isn’t a witch.”
He stared at me, considering. I squared my shoulders and forced myself not to look away, even though taking on his stare was like looking into the sun. I wanted to blink.
Finally, he said, “If we get into some heat, and I have to choose between me and you, I’m choosing me.”
I snorted. “Gee, thanks.”
“I’m serious,” he said in a flat tone. “That’s the deal if you want to come with me. He offered me his hand. “You have to bring at least one of those magical tools. Where I’m taking you, it isn’t pretty. Not like down here.”
I stared at his hand, considering. I knew what I would do, but it was hard to make it official by shaking his hand. I had to rejoin the world if I was going to fix what I had done.
Taking a breath, I placed my hand in his. He tightened his grip around it. I forced myself to ignore the way his touch made the hairs stand up on my arm. I told myself it was only a reaction to what I was about to do, but I knew that was only part of it.
* * *
Ty told me to pack light, so I was in my chambers, placing essentials into a small, hunter green military bag I’d snagged from one of the supply warehouses five years ago. I was placing a satchel of herbs into the front pocket, and trying to ignore the feel of Aubrey’s heated gaze on my back.
Ever since I told her what my plans were, she hadn’t said a word to me. She tended to be quiet, but never when she so obviously had an opinion. I went to the trunk at the foot of my bed and removed a velvet bag of stones. Reaching in, I took out my tiger’s eye pendant and placed it with the other one around my neck. I placed the rest with my herbs.
Aubrey snorted. “You think that damned thing is going to keep you safe?”
I turned to her. “It was blessed by one of the most powerful witches I know.” A lump formed in my throat thinking about my mother. But it was time to start facing everything I’d lost before I lost everything worth living for.
Aubrey threw her hands up. “This is stupid.”
I smiled and sat on my bed. Patting the space in front of me, I said, “Finally, she gives me her opinion.”
She glared at me, and then stomped across the room and plopped down. I lifted an eyebrow, very un-Aubrey like. She moved like a cat, and never lost her cool. She must be majorly pissed at me.
“You don’t know anything about this shifter,” she spat.
“Actually, I met him before.”
“Oh?” She crossed her arms. “Where?”
I frowned. “I’m not sure. I’ll figure it out, though.”
“Oh, you’ll figure it out, huh?”
I smiled at the annoyance in her tone. “You don’t have to worry about me.”
She snorted again. “I’m not worried about you.” She stood up so that she could give me the full effect of her glare. “You think simply because you constantly reject the role, these people don’t see you as their leader?”
“Aubrey—”
“Well, they do. They’ll fall apart if something happens to you.”
I stood up. “They’ll be fine. That’s why you can’t come with me—because unlike me, you’re a fit leader.” I frowned, letting the shame drop my shoulders. “I mean, look what I let happen to our family.”
“Oh, get over it.”
I widened my eyes at her.
“You made a mistake, but you can—we can fix it, from here.”
With a sigh, I reached out and rested my hands on her shoulders. “I owe you so much,” I began.
She shrugged away from me. “Don’t do that.”
I embraced her and closed my eyes. “I love you so much.”
She went rigid, but after a few seconds, her body relaxed, and she squeezed me back. Pressing her face into the crook of my neck, she muttered something I couldn’t make it out. I blinked back the tears that were burning my eyes and pulled away.
“What was that?” I asked.
Her human eye was bloodshot. She sniffled and crossed her arms over her chest. “If you die, I’ll never forgive you.”
I smiled. “I won’t die. I promise.”
She stared at her feet. “And you’ll let out the Anchor if you need to?”
I blinked. “That, I can’t promise.”
Her face twisted into an angry expression.
I went back to packing the few things I thought I might need on the surface. “You know how it is, Aubrey. The more I let it out, the more likely it is to take me completely over.” I zipped up my bag and turned to her. “I don’t want to spend the rest of my days an empty case of power. I won’t be human. And we don’t really know what the Anchor is capable of. I don’t think it has a heart. I think it would put everyone on earth in danger.”
She frowned. “Is it bad that I’d rather have everyone else in danger than lose you?”
I smiled and slung my bag over my shoulder. “No, it makes you human.” I walked over to her and sighed. “But you know I can’t let that happen.”
She nodded stiffly. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
I grinned. “That limits my options.”
She almost smiled.
I stared past her, took a deep breath, and then went to my closet. Staring at the doors, I started to shake. Aubrey came up behind me, and right away, I felt a little braver. Drawing in another breath, I opened the door and reached into the back of the closet. As soon as my hands wrapped around what I was after, a wave of warm magic rippled up my arm.
It was almost as good as a warm hug. I closed my eyes and pulled it out. Shaking, I reached in again and pulled out what went with it. Then I turned around.
Aubrey was actually smiling at me. “I haven’t seen that in ages.”
I sniffled and placed the quiver, complete with its six magical arrows around my waist. I peered at the bow and memories came storming at me. My mother running ahead of me in the fields behind our old home, wielding this weapon with the grace of a tribal hunter. Every morning before dawn, she would wake me and teach me how to use it. This time, I couldn’t hold back the tears running down my cheeks.
“A weapon this powerful shouldn’t be stuck in the back of a closet,” I said in a raspy voice. I sniffled again. “It should come in handy.” I placed the bow around my body and straightened.
“A bow and arrow that never misses its mark and never runs out of arrows. Yeah, that’s definitely useful.”
I half smiled. “I’ll send word of where I am daily at the end of an arrow.”
She nodded. “You better.”
I sighed. “Well, I should be going.” I started toward her, arms extended.
She hugged herself and turned around, stopping me in my tracks.
“Sorry, I can’t. It makes me feel like you won’t return.”
I nodded and lowered my arms. “Walk with me?” I asked, even though I knew her well enough to already know the answer.
She shook her head.
“Wish me luck?”
She stared at me for the longest time. Finally, she said. “Like I said, don’t be stupid.”
* * *
I sat on a large stone in the middle of the Underground, where the magic was so potent I could feel it pressing against my skin, when footsteps came padding up behind me. I turned around right as he was taking a huge bag off his shoulder. He dropped it at my side and started pacing the room.
“Let’s get out of here. Now.”
I widened my eyes and peered down at the bag. “What’s in there?” I asked, pointing at the bag and trying to ignore his manic energy.
“Found a room. Lots of weapons. Let’s get out here, now.”
I stood up, and he paced in front of me at least seven times, swiping a hand through his hair and shooting me anxious glances. His bright green eyes were yellowing at the center, and he looked like a really hot madman.
I frowned. “What the hell is up with you?”
He stared at me with the look of someone dying of hunger. More than that, he looked at me like I was his absolute favorite meal.
He scoffed and went back to that nervous pacing. “God.” He threw a hand up into the air. “I can’t even look at you.” He turned on me, his eyes flashing. “Can we please, get out of here?”
My frown deepened. “You can’t look at me?”
He grunted, and scanned me up and down. “Hunter’s hells.” He started tapping his food. A bead of sweat laced its way down his temple. “Please, let’s go.”
I shook my head. “I’m not going anywhere with you until you calm down.”
His eyes popped open even wider. “Don’t.”
I threw my hands up. “Don’t what?”
His jaw clenched and unclenched several times. “Being down here is making me crazy. This is how I get. I tried to warn you. The longer I’m down here, the more dangerous I am. And in this room, with you… I’m going to lose it. So get us the fuck out of here.”
I stared at him, trying to see past the crazed movements. I felt a wild energy bouncing off him. Most of that energy was directed at me. There was something about me, in particular, that was aggravating him. He wasn’t angry, but he was frustrated.
Seeing him like this, past the surface, made him even more compelling. I wanted to grill him right then and there about where we knew each other from, but I knew I wouldn’t get any straight answers out of him as long as the animal part of him was driving him nuts.