Dark Consort

by Amber R. Duell

“Something’s wrong with the Sandman.”

  “Ah.” He scratched the back of his neck. “About that.”

  Hot fury flooded me. “You knew?”

  “There may have been a rumor circulating through the troops last night.”

  I gripped his beak. The smooth white of his mask darkened beneath my hand. Cracks spider-webbed up the curve toward his face, the spaces between peeling away like old paint. “What rumor?”

  “Nora.” His good eye flashed violently. “Stop.”

  I tightened my grip. “Tell me!”

  “He’s with Rowan,” he said with tangible fear as he gripped my wrist. “Please. I’ll explain everything.”

  “Explain fast,” I demanded without relinquishing my hold.

  “He was trying to infect the Watchmen.” He winced. “Rowan found him and took him to the Keep.”

  I shoved him into the wall. Half his beak crumbled, leaving a burnt, jagged crater in place of its curve. I wiped the residue on my jeans and adjusted my bag over both shoulders. “Get whatever you need,” I instructed. “We’re going.” He remained against the wall and dragged air in through his mouth. I raised my brows. “Now.”

  “He let himself be caught,” Kail said in a tone I’d never heard him use before. Defeated. Like he knew this was a battle he would never win. “He could’ve let the sand call him home at any time, but he didn’t. For whatever reason, he wanted to be there.”

  “Were part of my instructions unclear?” I raised my hand to grip his beak again.

  “Fine,” he snapped before striding back the way he came. “Give me two minutes.”

  The threads pulsed against my arm and neck. Soon, I promised them. They could come out and do their job soon. All of them. If Rowan thought I would let her take the Sandman, she was mistaken. She had my Keep. My loom. But she would never have my heart. I proved that much when I took the knife from her. When I plunged it into the Weaver’s chest to protect everyone—the Sandman included. I was wrong then, but I wouldn’t be wrong now. The Nightmare Realm was mine and she was done pretending otherwise.

  “This is a horrible idea,” Kail muttered as he brushed by me on his way to the staircase.

  I stormed after him. “Did you really think I’d leave him there?”

  “I think the Sandman is perfectly capable of taking care of himself, just as he’s done since the dawn of time. Rowan is a fool to think she’s caught him.” He shouldered out the front door. “But what I think obviously doesn’t matter, does it? I’m just a stupid nightmare. What would I possibly know about anything? Especially compared to the newest member of our world.”

  “Watch yourself,” I warned in a voice not quite my own.

  “He wants to be there,” Kail said again, insistent.

  I scoffed. “Why would he? He’s not a masochist, and he certainly wouldn’t want to become bait to lure me in.”

  “And here I thought you knew him better than anyone,” Kail snapped.

  “I do.”

  “No.” Kail kept walking, his shoulders stiff, in what I assumed was the direction of the Keep. “You know a different Sandman than the rest of us. He’s always been good, as subjective as that is, but when he’s around you, he’s almost human. When he’s alone, he blazes a path of destruction through this place.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means, the last time you were in the Blood Tower, he didn’t just look for you. He murdered every nightmare he came across.” His expression turned stony. “Didn’t know that, did you?”

  I wasn’t going to dignify that with an answer. Wasn’t going to feed into Kail’s agenda. The last time I was in the Blood Tower, I would’ve rejoiced to hear he killed them. The only thing that had changed since then was me.

  “Really, Lady,” Kail continued. “Aren’t you even a little concerned that the Sandman was traipsing around your realm, messing with your nightmares?”

  “They weren’t my nightmares then.”

  He leaned a bit closer. “They’re yours now.”

  I opened my mouth to reply, but nothing came out. Nothing could when Kail made such a valid point. I hadn’t known the Sandman was a killer then, but that didn’t matter. It was in the past. Maybe they attacked him first. There were a lot of things only the Sandman could clarify. And I would let him. One day, when this was all over. What was important was that he wasn’t killing any of the nightmares now. Infecting them—taking their minds—was another matter. Until he proved otherwise, I trusted the Sandman in my realm. With my life.

  “Well, as you’ve so keenly shown that you’re able to exert your will,” he said sarcastically, motioning to his mask, “why don’t you bid the entire army to follow us? Might as well get everything over with at once, right? Priorities and all.”

  I shoved past him, my shoulder knocking his arm. “Stop talking before I burn off the rest of your face.”

  “At least try to remember what those threads are for. They’re all you have until you learn how to weave, and Halven did a lot of work to make sure you kept them.” He caught up to me and grabbed my arm. “Actually, you know what? If I’m going to march you toward Rowan—who, might I add, probably wants to kill me slightly more than you at this point—I want my eye fixed first.”

  “You were going to lead me to her in a few hours anyway.” I ripped myself free of him and skirted around a puddle surrounded by a ring of three-eyed frogs. A hundred more puddles dotted the next quarter-mile, filling my head with croaks from their inhabitants. “What’s the difference?”

  Kail leapt over a pile of what looked like beige bird eggs covered in jelly. “Look around you. Where’s the army? Where’s Halven?”

  I rolled my eyes. “He’s your brother. Where did you see him last?”

  “Asleep!” he shouted. “Because it’s the middle of the night!”

  “It’s technically always night here, Kail,” I quipped, weary. It was the darkest part of it, but I wouldn’t concede the point.

  He let out a frustrated groan. “Please, just think about this.”

  “Hm.” I held a finger up to the edge of my mouth. “Okay, thought about it. Not leaving the Sandman to be tortured by your maniacal friend.”

  “So torture is only okay if you’re the one doing it?” He waved to his face. “Look at me.”

  I refused. If I did, I might waver. Or, more likely, I would slam my fist straight into the gaping hole, snapping the entire beak clean off. “You’re the one that said I needed to be feared. Besides, you can still see out of your eye, can’t you?”

  His jaw twitched. “It’s. My. Eye.”

  I glared at him, unamused. “And your mask is your mask. You’ll live.”

  “I regret every minute of helping you,” he snarled.

  I stiffened at that. If Kail wasn’t helping me, he would likely be helping Rowan instead. He never struck me as the type to sit on the sidelines to wait and see what happened. Then again, he was the embodiment of the unknown. There was so much I didn’t know about him. So much I didn’t understand. And chances were, I never would. Especially since, after this was all over, I was booting him back to the Blood Tower where he wouldn’t be able to harass me anymore. That day was still too far in the future to plan, so for right now, as much as I loathed it, I needed him.

  “Fine. Your eye or your mask? I’ll try to fix one now and the other after we get back from the Keep.”

  “If you die in there, Rowan won’t fix either one,” he said, eyes glittering with rage. “You may not know this, but I’m rather vain.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Shocking development, but let’s be real. If I fix both now, what incentive would you have to not turn on me?”

  “Would you like a list?” He held up a finger. “Let’s start with Rowan wants to kill me. I chose a side—your side. There’s no going back for me now.”

  “Pick one,” I said, cutting off his tirade.

  He exhaled slowly and spoke through his teeth. “The mask.”

  I
swiveled to face him and set my palm over his charred beak. The grin twitched lazily, lending me its power, and the curve rose up beneath my hand until his mask was as good as new.

  “There. Happy? Now let’s go.”

  22

  The Sandman

  When Nora tapped against my mind, phantom pain answered. I scrambled to regain consciousness and shove it down before it was too late, but I wasn’t quick enough. By the time I pulled myself together to send her another message—that I was fine—her mind was whirling too fast to listen. It was a massive tornado of worry and anger, crushing any calm thought I sent at it, which only left me with one option. I had to find Nora before she did something stupid, like tackling Rowan head on. I climbed from beneath the sand to find Katie gone and eased the strap of my satchel over my head. I winced as the new skin over my cut stretched from the movement. It felt as if there were shards of glass inside my chest, but I could function well enough for this.

  Baku lounged near the water’s edge, and relief washed over me. He climbed to his feet as I neared. “You made it,” I said. He shot me a look as though the mere thought that he wouldn’t was offensive. I chuckled. “It’s good to see you.”

  He nodded once and eyed my ripped shirt. I should’ve taken a minute to change so Nora would believe that nothing was wrong. Too late now. It was everything I could do to keep moving forward; there was no way I was going to backtrack.

  I cleared my throat. “Any idea where she is?”

  Baku trudged by my side into the Nightmare Realm, skirting around the place burned by the acid rain. He cast a glance in my direction that let me know his exact thought: idiot.

  “You didn’t have to come,” I said playfully to lighten the mood.

  He exhaled in what I interpreted as a sarcastic laugh.

  “We won’t be long.” I hoped. Her magic registered within this side of the realm, which was a small miracle, but it was moving in the direction of the Keep, which was decidedly not. “I need to talk to her for a second. That’s all.”

  The only thing that might keep me true to my word was that I needed the sand for another day. After that, I would be able to resume normal activity. The pain might linger for a few days, but it was of no true consequence. In that much time, Nora would’ve already destroyed Rowan’s tree and taken the realm. By the time we had to join forces against Mare, I would be as good as new.

  On and on we walked, following the trail left by Nora’s magic. Baku leaned into me at one point to offer his support, but I could walk on my own. By the time the Keep was in view, I was beginning to regret not taking him up on the offer. The Watchmen looked down at us accusingly. Was there no other path she could’ve chosen? Their stone eyes bored into me, angry at having missed their mark and annoyed at not being able to leave their post to finish the job.

  Baku snorted. I followed his gaze to find Nora near the base of the cliff with Kail behind her. My heart leapt, my legs pumping before I even realized I was running or that Baku had taken off in the opposite direction.

  “Nora,” I called.

  She stopped mid-step and stumbled forward, while Kail simply turned to face me.

  “Finally,” Kail called back. “I was beginning to think we’d actually have to go in there to save you.”

  “In where?” I stepped up beside Nora. She still hadn’t faced me, her eyes fixed on the ground, but just being next to her made it easier to breathe. With her blonde hair flowing loosely over her shoulders and the pink knit sweater she wore, it almost seemed as if she didn’t belong here. Almost. Because the threads circling her neck told the truth. “Are you okay?”

  There was a pregnant pause.

  “Define ‘okay’,” Kail drawled. “Does walking away from your army to launch a suicide—sorry, rescue—mission, count as okay?”

  “Can you give us a second?” I asked Kail, and he backed away. Indeed, wishes were sometimes only wishes. Of course Nora would mount a foolish attempt to save me. I knew she would the moment she felt my pain. “Nora, look at me.”

  “No,” she said, determined.

  I placed a hand gently on her shoulder, and she shivered beneath the touch. “Why not?”

  She was silent for a heartbeat. “Because, Sandman. I’m supposed to be figuring myself out and claiming the realm, but do you know what I’m doing instead?” Her voice grew tighter, more irritated, by the second. “Instead of marching my army to the Keep this morning as planned, I rushed here to save you. But Kail was right: you obviously let yourself be caught, or you wouldn’t be in front of me. So now, I’m having trouble deciding if I’m angrier at you for going with her or myself for not believing it.”

  She was going to make her final stand today? Without sending word to me first? It was one thing if she didn’t want my help, another to take on her enemy without giving me a heads up. A goodbye in case things went poorly. If she failed, if I hadn’t had another moment with her—how was I supposed to live with myself? Did she understand my feelings for her? Truly and completely? Even now that things were different? Did I understand hers? We deserved a five-minute conversation before she marched off to her potential death.

  “Were you going to tell me?” I breathed. “So I could see you again before—”

  She spun around, and I drew in a sharp breath. Faint reddish-purple bruises fanned out beneath her gold eyes. “So you could tell me not to attack? So you could blame Kail for something out of his control?” She held her hands up. “Or how about so you could see that my hands are back to normal? Care to ask how I accomplished that one?”

  “Nora, I—”

  “I’ll tell you.” Tears rimmed her eyes, but I wasn’t sure if they were caused by sorrow or rage. “The secret to absorbing the Weaver’s power was torture. I carved up the nightmares that killed my friends, and I didn’t even think twice about it.”

  “Nor—”

  “And that’s not all I’ve done. Kail’s mask? I burnt half of it to ash with my bare hands because he tried to talk some sense into me, and I only put it back together because I needed his help. Not because I regretted it.”

  I wrapped my arms around her and held tight. If she wouldn’t let me talk, this was the next best thing. Despite the terrible things she just told me, I loved her. No matter what she did or would do, she was the brightest star in my sky. “Shh,” I said quietly. “None of that matters. You’re doing what you need to. It will calm down one day, and you’ll be able to control your actions.” Urges, the Weaver had always called them. After banishing Mare, after drawing a clear line between Day and Night, his mind became a more volatile place, just as mine became less so. If the Weaver could control himself, if he could learn to be more pragmatic with his violence, Nora could too.

  “Of course it matters.” Her hands gripped my shirt, and she buried her face in my chest.

  I winced against the pain but held tight. “Not to me. When I said always, I meant it.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I—I can’t be—”

  Kail cleared his throat.

  I glared at him over Nora’s head. “There’s a reason I came,” I said into her ear. “I realized something important.”

  She stared up at me, gold eyes gleaming, and continued to hold me close. “What?”

  “Kail showed me a tree that he said used to be Rowan.” I toyed absently with the ends of Nora’s hair, wrapping them around my fingers, though all I wanted to do was kiss her. “When I was with her in the Keep, I noticed her wings were burned.”

  “So?”

  “So, I set the stump on fire that day. It burnt out within seconds, but it was long enough to do some damage. I think if you destroy the nightmare she was, it will kill them both,” I explained.

  She glanced at Kail, who had crept closer. “You knew about this?”

  He sighed loudly. “Obviously.”

  “Then what was all this about?” she shouted, pushing away from me to advance on him.

  “Training,” Kail ticked off a finger.
“Gaining loyalty.”

  She slammed her palms against his shoulders, and he stumbled back. “I could’ve trained in the Keep.”

  “Which is why I told him, thinking he would understand. But when he didn’t, I took it as a sign. You’ve got an army now, and, when you take the Keep back, it will be with a show of force. No one will doubt you then.”

  “An army Halven built,” she argued.

  “Nora,” I said gently, scanning the area in case the Watchmen alerted anyone. The trees remained still. “He’s not wrong about the show of force, and it’s my fault for not realizing what would happen if—”

  “Stop. I don’t want to play the blame game right now,” she said. My chest crackled, the sound like plastic crumpling, and Nora glanced at the torn fabric of my shirt. “What was that?”

  “Nothing important.” I rubbed the skin just below the tattoo where it wasn’t sore. The movement shifted the ever-moving magic beneath, and there was a small pop. “I have to get back to the beach, but there’s one more thing I wanted to tell you.”

  Her eyes widened with worry. “Tell me what happened.”

  I shook my head. “Your sister called to me tonight.”

  “Katie?” She jerked back in surprise. “Why?”

  “She was looking for you.” It was all I felt right saying, especially now. Her mother was a sore subject, and she didn’t need to be distracted if she was about to take down Rowan. “I told her everything. She took it well, considering.”

  Nora chewed her bottom lip, looking askance. “Thanks. I’ll… I mean, can you make sure she doesn’t come here? Use your sand on her until this is all over?”

  So she doesn’t become a weapon to use against me again, is what Nora didn’t say, but she didn’t have to. “Of course,” I promised. “She already has some.”

  “Okay, thank you.” Nora closed her eyes and took a deep, centering breath. “I’ll check in with you soon. After I take care of a few things,” she said, glancing at the Keep in the distance. It was smart not to say her plan out loud with so many ears nearby—it was enough of a risk that I had.