Dark Consort

by Amber R. Duell

  “Stay safe.”

  She nodded and turned to Kail. “We’re going back to the tower to have a little chat.”

  I took her wrist before I could stop myself. Nora looked over her shoulder at me, and her expression softened. “I love you,” I said, wistfully.

  She turned, stretched up on her toes, and kissed me. “Wait for me?” she breathed against my lips, but didn’t stay for my answer.

  Letting her walk away was like watching the sun go down for the final time. When she was out of sight, Baku nudged my leg with a tusk. “I’m okay,” I said, my voice hoarse.

  But I wasn’t.

  23

  Nora

  Maybe I deserved this pain. This exhaustion.

  The hurt was no less than what I put my family through. Katie had called out to the Sandman, for crying out loud. How desperate was she? There had to be something I could do to ease their fears. I couldn’t go back, and Katie couldn’t come here. The last thing I needed was something snatching her up again or her seeing me like this.

  And then there was Kail’s betrayal.

  I definitely, absolutely deserved that, but I didn’t expect to feel so stung by it. Kail was good at what he did. At making me believe he was on my side even though I knew he was up to no good. It was hard to tell which bothered me more—that he lied or that I bought it.

  “Are you going to ignore me the entire walk back to the Blood Tower?” Kail asked in the cool voice he used the first time I met him.

  “Ideally.”

  “You’re not going to snap my mask off or stab my other eye?”

  “Don’t tempt me,” I warned.

  “You’re angry with me,” he said, suddenly chipper. “I’m willing to let bygones be bygones if you think hurting me again will help you get over it.”

  I stared at him harder. Was he serious? Was this another ploy to win me over to his side so he could use me like a puppet? Or was that honestly what he expected of me? Was it what Rowan had done? I balled my hands into fists. “I won’t apologize for what happened earlier, if that’s what you’re fishing for.”

  He snorted. “I don’t expect you to. That’s the ruthlessness that will save you.”

  “Then what?” I whirled on him, arms raised to my sides. “What do you want me to get over, Kail? That we’ve been running all over the Nightmare Realm like fugitives for weeks now, hiding, when this all could’ve ended the moment I got here? That you lied and lied and lied? Every day, you spun your web around me, but do you know the worst part? I was starting to believe you were on my side.”

  “We weren’t simply hiding, and you know that,” he said quietly.

  “Oh, right. I was training. Learning how to use my magic so I could claim my realm when I should already have it.” I stepped closer and poked his chest. “You were going to let me risk my life—all those nightmares’ lives—for what?”

  He hesitated. “The show of strength would’ve earned you the surviving dissenters’ loyalty.”

  “What makes you think I’d allow survivors?” I ground my teeth together until they ached. “How about some straight answers?”

  The corner of his lip twitched. “When have I ever given you a straight answer?”

  “Exactly my point.” I ran a hand down my face, forcing myself to calm down. Kail filled in the blanks when it suited him and talked in circles when it didn’t. It was time that changed. “You’re going to tell me the truth. Now.”

  He lowered his chin, cocking his head to the side. “About?”

  “Why did you show the Sandman the way to defeat Rowan? Why didn’t you take me right to the tree?”

  “I wanted you to trust me first,” he said warily.

  “Trust you?” I burst out laughing. I couldn’t help it. “You wanted to earn my trust by lying to me?”

  He bristled. “I did help Rowan last time you were here. Would you have believed me if I took you there right away? The Sandman didn’t even bother to think on what I said until now. Besides, Halven and I wouldn’t have let Rowan kill you.”

  The laugh died in my throat. “There’s nothing you could ever do that would make me trust you.”

  Except he had made me trust him already. Barely. Day after day, he worked a little magic on me. Not real magic like mine, but his own twisted charm. Each new thing he taught me was another fold of a paper airplane. But now I tossed that plane into the wind and watched as it dove nose-first into the ground.

  “Then it really shouldn’t bother you that I omitted things,” he said with a stiff shrug.

  “What’s your motive?” I demanded. “You said you had one.”

  He thought for a moment—really thought. “I think I’d rather wait and tell you when you’re in a better mood.”

  Then he turned on his heel and strode away. I gaped at his back for a long moment before my mouth caught up to my brain. “Hey, you don’t get to walk away from me,” I shouted, storming after him. “You were the one who started this whole conversation. I was perfectly fine with the silence, but no. You just had to pick at it, didn’t you? Well, now it’s time to fess up before I decide to throw you to Rowan as a parting gift.”

  When he didn’t turn around, I snagged his elbow and attempted to pull him to a stop. “Keep walking,” he said in a deathly low voice and easily extracted himself from my grip.

  Oh, no. He wasn’t going to feign danger to avoid the truth. “After you answer my question.”

  “Remember how Three attacked you in the Barren, and I didn’t ask questions?”

  “What about it?” My fingers unconsciously went to my healed nose.

  “You did kill her, right?” His eyes slid to mine, one flickering too quickly. “That’s how you got away?”

  “Not exactly,” I said slowly as my nerves began to tingle. “Why?”

  “Don’t look back, but—”

  I threw a glance over my shoulder.

  “Or ignore me. What else is new?” Kail droned.

  “I don’t see anything,” I whispered.

  He sighed. “Three of the Hours are following us, so the sooner we get back to the Blood Tower and the army, the better.”

  “What do they think killing me will accomplish?” I hissed. “It’s not going to make Mara disappear.”

  He tsked. “Mara? What does she have to do with this? The Hours are working with Rowan.”

  “No,” I said slowly. “If they were working with Rowan, Three wouldn’t have tried to kill me. She would’ve taken me back to the Keep for Rowan to do it. She was mad that I brought Mara back.”

  Kail’s body grew more rigid, and he eased sideways to stand closer to me. His eyes were the only part of him moving as he scanned the riverbed on our left all the way to the landscape of dense yellow fog on our far right. “That makes sense,” he said finally. “Unfortunately, that means we can’t reason with them. First you killed their creator, then you sent an Ancient back to destroy their world, which in turn will destroy all the worlds. They’re probably seeking vengeance.”

  “I didn’t send her back,” I shot back defensively.

  “There you go again.” Kail slid an arm around my shoulders to encourage me to walk faster. “Splitting hairs.”

  I fought the urge to turn around and search for the Hours. My heart slammed into my chest with enough force I swore it would break through bone. Rowan wanted me dead. Twelve nightmarish knight-like people were hunting me. I couldn’t push the Sandman further away if I tried. My family thought I ran away, and the only person standing in my corner was someone I could no longer believe in.

  Someone I never should’ve believed in to begin with.

  “This is your fault. I could be in the Day World living my real life right now,” I told him.

  “You wound me with your accusations,” he said sarcastically. “I clearly let you know my feelings on the matter before Rowan sent you off with Elkmar. Don’t blame me for your choices.”

  Elkmar. The shadowy nightmare with ribbed horns and webbed hands
that was meant to deliver me to the Weaver after Rowan gave me the knife. He still filled me with unease. The clicking of his voice, the way he stayed so close no matter how I changed my gait… A shiver ran over me. Where was he these days? “Why would you go along with it if you—”

  “Really? Now is the best time for this conversation?”

  I attempted to step out from beneath his arm, but his fingers dug into my shoulder. “You can talk and walk at the same time.”

  He grunted in frustration. “We all have our weaknesses, okay? Just… leave it alone. Please.”

  I opened my mouth to let him know just how much I wasn’t going to let it go—but had he just said please? An arrow whizzed by my head. I tucked my face into Kail’s side with a small shriek.

  “Be fearless,” he said into my hair. “Duck.”

  “Wha—”

  Kail slammed us both to the ground as a hail of arrows soared through the sky, landing around us in a perfect circle.

  “Run!” I ordered, climbing to my hands and knees.

  “No.” He pressed me harder into the ground so I couldn’t move. “If the Hours wanted you dead, you would be. Six doesn’t miss.”

  “Or they want to make me die a slow and painful death.” My voice rose so high, it cracked.

  “We don’t care about the method,” said a deep male voice. “Only the outcome.”

  Kail’s arm shifted, allowing me to scramble to my feet. Three stood before me, her arms folded tight across her chest. Beside her was a second woman in similar armor, a long black braid trailing over her shoulder, the Roman numeral six on her mask. She nocked another arrow, but kept it pointed at the ground. The third nightmare, the one that had spoken, wore a black fur cloak around his shoulders that nearly hid all the shining metal beneath. An X was carved over his face mask.

  “Hello, Ten,” Kail said, dusting himself off.

  Ten didn’t acknowledge the greeting, his eyes remaining on me. Though I couldn’t see them, I felt them, like nettles. It was ages before the burning ceased, and Ten spoke. “Three has something she would like to say.” When the woman beside him didn’t speak, he gripped her arm and pulled her forward a step. “We discussed this as a group,” he whispered to her.

  “I’m sorry for trying to kill you,” she said as unapologetically as possible. Ten cleared his throat, and she added, “Lady.”

  My eyes widened in surprise. She was seriously apologizing? Because someone made her? Like a scolded child reluctant to admit to poor behavior? I glanced at Kail, who looked equally perplexed. “Um.” I elbowed Kail hard in the ribs.

  “Ow! What was that for?” he mumbled.

  “Say something,” I hissed from the corner of my mouth.

  He opened and shut his mouth a few times. “Like what?”

  “I don’t know. Think of someth—”

  “Lady,” Ten interrupted. “The Hours have decided to honor you as the rightful ruler of the Nightmare Realm as long as you have a plan to deal with Mare. If you don’t, we will remove you.”

  I blinked in surprise and eyed Six’s bow. The grin sneered. How dare they? They were giving me an ultimatum? As if it were up to them. The only one here that should be making decisions was me, and right now I had half a mind to turn them into a living Dali painting. You’re welcome, Dreamers. Hope you enjoy your melting clock-people. I filled my lungs until they were near bursting and opened my mouth wordlessly.

  “And,” the Hour continued, “as a show of good faith, you’ll heal Four.”

  Oh, good. More demands. “If I don’t?”

  “She’s a little busy at the moment,” Kail interjected. He flashed a quick look in my direction as if begging me not to freak out.

  “This can’t wait. Neither can Mare,” Six said in a light, airy voice. “You need to kill her now before she regains too much strength.”

  I huffed. “Yeah, well, like Kail said, I’m busy.”

  “If Four dies, you die,” Three spit.

  Kail leaned into my side. “Healing the Hour might be faster than arguing about it.”

  “What happened?” I asked reluctantly.

  “Mare attacked him. We’ve brought him with us, there.” Ten pointed behind them.

  While I couldn’t see anything in the direction he indicated, I did notice the blood coating his metal gauntlet. Not just a few drops, either. My shoulder ached at the phantom memory of Mara’s claws, but I had worn no armor. Assuming Four dressed like the other Hours, he was covered in it, so how was he that bloody? It might be worth healing him simply to see what Mara was capable of against a real opponent. Again, I wished the Weaver’s memory of Mara lasted a bit longer.

  “I’ll look at him,” I agreed.

  Kail gave no outward sign that he approved or otherwise, which was both helpful and stressful. I didn’t want him second-guessing me in front of the Hours, but a bit of validation would’ve gone a long way. It would have to be enough that he stayed beside me when the Hours led me toward their injured comrade.

  Nestled beside the river, directly beside a chain that disappeared below the water’s surface, Mara’s victim laid lifeless. Blood seeped into the short, bleached grass at the water’s edge, then into the stream itself. Small parasitic worms coasted on the surface, soaking up the murky red liquid.

  It took me a long moment before I allowed my gaze to seek out Four’s wounds. The silver breastplate was dented an inch deep, and chunks of his arm were missing, along with the protective chainmail. Claw marks on his neck left him nearly decapitated. Both legs were turned at unnatural angles, and there wasn’t much of his body not covered in crimson. I hardly believed he wasn’t dead already.

  “Not the safest place to leave him,” I commented. “Who knows what lives at the other end of these chains, and with all that blood? It’s like you were asking for trouble.”

  “Clearly, we were in the right,” Three said defensively. “Now heal him.”

  Was she giving me orders again? Where did she get off? I—

  Kail touched my elbow. “All or nothing, Lady.”

  Kill all of them or none of them. One was more satisfying, the other more expedient, and I wasn’t exactly out on a leisure stroll. There were other things to do, so I crouched at Four’s side. With a sigh, I placed a hand on his chest, wincing against the feel of his blood beneath my palm. The thread squirmed weakly, though still very determined to survive. The grin helped—urged my power into the thread, pumping it full of strength.

  Just before the final pieces were tucked neatly back into the knotted ball, I broke contact. The dent remained in Four’s breastplate, though less pronounced, the scratches on his neck still red and angry, and his arms were now covered in scabs. Four moaned weakly.

  “Good as new,” I lied.

  “Finish it,” Three commanded.

  I stood, feeling even smaller than I was in Three’s shadow. “He’ll live. Now, if you’ll excuse us.”

  Six’s bow flew out in front of me before I could make it more than two steps. “If Mare can do that to one of us, imagine what else she’s capable of.”

  A chill ran up my spine. “I’ll deal with Mara. As soon as I finish my other business.”

  “You have an army now,” Three snapped. “Let them take Rowan out while you deal with the real threat.”

  I barked a laugh, which was probably not the wisest idea, and Kail glared at me. “I’m going to kill Rowan with my own two hands, thank you. Who do you think you are? You can’t tell me how to rule.”

  “Lady or not, you’re no nightmare,” Three snarled, lunging at me.

  Ten yanked her back by the collar before I could react and dragged her away. “We will have words with her again, Lady,” Six promised. “But be warned. Next time we see you, you will need to have a plan ready, or we will appoint a ruler who does.”

  “Your friends are leaving.” I motioned behind her where Ten and Three continued to move away, practically dragging Four between them. “Might want to go with them.”

&n
bsp; Six made a small sound of annoyance in the back of her throat, though I wasn’t sure who it was directed at, and hurried after the others.

  “See?” I hissed the moment they were out of earshot. “This has nothing to do with Rowan and everything to do with that evil hag.”

  Kail cuffed the back of my head. “Do you have any idea what they’re going to do now?”

  “Talk to Three again, obviously.” I rubbed the back of my head and started walking toward the Tower. “I bought myself some time to come up with a plan, at any rate.”

  “Right. Time. From the Hours,” he said in a dull voice. “And when that time runs out, they’ll expect you to take down an ancient being. If you don’t? Poof, you’re dead.”

  I stepped over the chain, and at the other end, a large metal cage broke the surface of the water. Small ripples, like those made from a light spring rain, danced around it. The grin widened as something inside gurgled.

  I grimaced, ignoring the tormented sound. “Mara was always going to have to die, but like you said, one thing at a time.”

  “And you choose now to start listening to me? Mara will kill you before you can even raise a sword.”

  “What did you want me to tell them, Kail? That I was busy? Because that was so helpful,” I snapped.

  “This is serious.” His eyes narrowed to slits. “You do know what’s in the Ever Safe, don’t you? And what will happen if you don’t take care of Mara?”

  “I don’t even know what the Ever Safe is,” I admitted. My head throbbed. Rowan, Mara, Hours, the liar next to me. There was only so much more doom and gloom a girl could take. “But go ahead. We have a long way to go, so you might as well enlighten me.”

  He let out a small huff. “Story time really isn’t my thing.”

  “Make it your thing.”

  He waved his hands out in front of him, and his voice took on a monotone edge. “A long, long time ago, before the world as you knew it—”

  I silenced him with a look. “Cliff notes version.”

  “Boring,” he said with a dramatic sigh. “Basically, this place used to be full of what we call the Ancients. Blah, blah, blah, the Weaver and Sandman came into existence when your world needed to balance things out, or some such nonsense. That whole bit’s kind of iffy for me. Anyway, things went down. They locked the Ancients in the Ever Safe, where they’ve been dormant ever since.”