by Ben Meeks
He scratched his neck, his face wrinkled in contemplation. “I really don’t remember any fight. We split up because you were ready to get out on your own. Don’t get me wrong, you still do stupid stuff, like making that little club, but you’re a good Keeper. I wouldn’t have left if you weren’t ready.”
All that time, I had been carrying around hostility and hurt over something that he didn’t remember. What a waste.
“Livy said the antivenom might not be at full strength, so let’s take it right before and try to avoid the snakes as much as we can,” I said, handing him one of the vials.
“What’s in the box?” Cearbhall asked.
I opened it to show him the stone. I held it up to the moon, expecting to see right through it but while the stone looked clear, no light passed through it.
“It’s a soul stone. Once we have Petra beaten down, I am going to use it to take her soul to hold until I find a way to extract Naylet from her. I know how to restore her body but this is the last piece of the puzzle. It should buy me the time I need,” I said.
“Can I see?” he said, holding out his hand.
I passed the stone to him without thinking about it. He held it up to inspect it while I looked at the paper to decipher the procedures to trap a soul; it looked pretty straightforward.
“Yeah, this is the real thing,” he said. “Do you think it’s a good idea to keep a demon soul, especially one like Petra’s, locked up for later use?”
“I don’t like it any more than you do but it’s my only option to get Naylet back. It’s what I have to do,” I said.
“You know Thera isn’t going to let that stand,” he said, bouncing the stone in his hand, feeling its heft. “If you trap it, the demon wouldn’t be completely dead. You’re not thinking this through. Where’d you get it from anyway?”
“I got it from the Queen, we made a deal,” I said absently.
“Must have been pricy,” he said. “Why don’t you send it back with Harlan and call the deal off. It’s not too late. She may not like it, but I doubt she would refuse.”
“I know it’s stupid, but I love Naylet. If there’s any chance, I have to take it, regardless of the consequences,” I said.
He looked over at me and said, “Then I’m sorry about this,” and threw the stone down into the pavement.
I couldn’t see where it hit, the truck was blocking my view. The shattering sound made the bottom immediately fall out of my stomach and nausea set in. I jumped off the hood and moved around, half in shock, to get a look at the damage. Maybe it wasn’t so bad. What had been a solid object just seconds before had disintegrated into a small pile of powder on the asphalt. I couldn’t stop staring at it, trying to make sense out of what had just happened. My body started trembling and my eyes began to water. I had been through so much getting to this point and the one person I was supposed to be able to count on had sabotaged my plan. Without the soul stone there was no hope to restore Naylet. It was too late to come up with another plan. At that moment I might have actually been crazy.
Cearbhall didn’t look happy about what he had done. He started to say, “I’m sorry,” but I cut him off with a fist to the throat, reducing his apology to a rasping gurgle. He didn’t fight back or try to stop me and I didn’t stop hitting him until he collapsed off the side of the hood. He landed motionless beside what had been the soul stone. Looking up I could tell that had caused some commotion with the elves and the T.O., no doubt they were wondering what was going on. A stiff breeze ran across my face, tingling my whiskers and bringing the smell of rain. I noticed the stars were gone, a storm was moving in. We still had a few hours before the deadline Thera set, she was being impatient. I looked down at Cearbhall as the trembling in my body subsided and I came back to my senses.
“Shit,” I said, realizing what I had done.
I needed him one hundred percent before Petra arrived. He would come to soon, I just hoped it would be soon enough. If we made it through this, we were going to have to settle up, and I wasn’t sure what that would look like. I sat down on the bridge beside him and the hopelessness of it all came crashing in. I had been a fool. All the effort I had put in trying to hold onto something that I never really had a chance to get back. Cearbhall was right. Thera wouldn’t stand for the demon to live in any form, even trapped in a stone. I had lost Naylet when she was turned and I was never going to get her back. I had been clinging onto a fantasy and things kept getting worse because of it. No more fairy tales, there is no happily ever after for my kind. I’ve had it drilled into me since the day I became a Keeper.
I heard flapping overhead and looked up to see Petra landing on the bridge twenty feet in front of the truck. She wore no disguise, or clothes. The curves of her unmistakably feminine form were only covered by her black scales. She had a leather bag slung across her back, secured by a strap running over each shoulder. She looked different than she had at Naylet’s house. Before, her scales had looked scuffed and dull, now they were smooth and shiny all over. The snakes that had lay flat during flight were now rising up over her. They were much smaller now and looked to be just over a foot long. That should be much more manageable, at least I had that going for me. I looked back to check on Cearbhall, he was still unconscious. I needed him to wake up soon. I would have to stall her if I could.
“Why is it every time the two of you get together you fight,” she said. “I mean, I know about that business with the siren, and I still agree he was out of line, but you two should really leave your problems in the past.”
I just smiled. “I love what you’ve done with your hair, it suits you.”
“Why do you show me such animosity?” she asked. “There’s no reason to be so hostile.”
“I have to admit, I am going to miss our back and forth after I have killed you,” I said.
“Is there a line I should wait in? You seem to be killing everyone around you tonight,” she said, looking at Cearbhall, still lying on the ground. “Perhaps you want to do me a favor and take care of those men on the trucks? That wasn’t part of the agreement, Obie. You weren’t supposed to bring help.”
“They are just here to make sure you live up to your part of the deal,” I said.
She laughed. “And you thought a few men with rifles would do the job? You underestimate me.”
“Those are soldiers from the Elvin Nation. That makes them women with rifles but they brought a little more than that,” I said, sticking a thumb out at the truck behind me. “That’s not to mention the T.O. backing them up. As long as you stay on the bridge until the fight is over, then they stay out of it.”
“This isn’t what we agreed to,” she said. Her disposition was growing increasingly sour by the second. At this rate we would be fighting before Cearbhall woke up.
“This is exactly what we agreed to,” I countered.
“We agreed that if I win I would get Naylet, you don’t appear to have brought her. Where is she?” she asked stretching her arms wide.
“Naylet is at DeSoto Park, just north of the campground in the woods. Livy is camped there, keeping an eye on her. You won’t have any trouble finding the place,” I said.
She gave her wings a couple of agitated flaps. “How do I know you’re telling the truth?”
I shrugged. “I’ve never lied to you before, besides, it’s not like you have a choice. What about the grimoire? Did you bring it?”
She took the bag off her back and opened the top, revealing a plain leather-bound book. She placed it, still in the bag, on the bridge behind her. “Are you ready then?”
“Answer one question for me first,” I said. “Why Naylet? You were living off babies under the radar for who knows how long. Why go out of your way to kill the woman I love?”
“I didn’t kill her, Obie. I told you, she lives in me now. But to answer your question, I have been here since these humans were beating each other with rocks and cowering in caves. I have always been on the run, hiding from the mighty Keepers. I’m not doing it anymo
re. I came to Georgia for a start fresh and I decided instead of waiting for one of you to find me, I would strike first. Of course that meant finding you, but that was easy enough. That idiot Steve was easy to manipulate into getting your attention. After you showed up at the church, I followed you until I found someone that could tell me everything I needed to know about you. I didn’t realize you were a couple at the time, or I wouldn’t have done it. Feelings can be such sticky things. Your kindness and generosity, it’s sickeningly endearing.”
“I led you to her.” The realization that I was the one that was responsible for Naylet really stung. Petra seemed to take my statement as a question.
“I had an imp at the church and Steve’s house. Once he told me you paid Steve a visit I went to his house and waited. I followed you from there,” she said. “So yes, you made our bonding possible.”
“And Thera?” I asked. “Was the plan to kill her, too?”
“Even if I could, I wouldn’t want to. That would ruin this rich buffet of a world,” she said. “No, I needed her trapped, not killed. Her Keepers are her weakness as well as her strength. I was trying to bind her to Holt. Then she would be trapped in a vessel that doesn’t have to eat and can’t die. I could keep her in that prison for centuries before Holt’s inevitable death freed her, and with his arms and legs removed it would be no trouble keeping him under control. The rest of you would have been easy enough to handle without her. You ruined that for me though.”
I heard Cearbhall moving behind me. I turned to see him pulling himself to his feet.
“We’re going to have a long talk when this is over with,” he said.
“Fair enough. You ready to do this?” I said, walking back to the truck to get my vial of antivenom.
“Let’s get it over with,” he said, downing the other one.
I drank my vial. “Well, Petra, I wish I could say it’s been a pleasure, but I’m afraid your time is up.”
“I feel there is one more thing I should tell you,” she said. A grin spread across her face, exposing her fangs and giving me a general feeling of uneasiness. “I didn’t come alone either.” She spread her wings and gave three flaps. Almost immediately commotion broke out at the truck on the bank behind her. Dark figures moved all around, with muzzle flashes accentuating the scene like a strobe light. I turned to see the same thing happening at the truck behind us. There was nothing I could do to help them, not until after Petra was dead. They should be able to hold their own, as long as they worked together.
“We can’t help them. Let’s handle what’s in front of us and then see what we can do for them,” Cearbhall said.
I nodded in agreement as rain began to fall.
C H A P T E R • 28
He went right while I went left, positioning ourselves at opposite sides of Petra. We circled for a few seconds, looking for an opening but none presented itself. The snakes on her head shifted around, monitoring our positions—she had too many eyes. I lunged forward, dodging and swatting snakes. She turned to face me, bringing the full fury of her rage. Putting most of my attention into dealing with the snakes left me vulnerable to her claws, which dug in repeatedly on my arms and chest. This gave Cearbhall the opening he needed to close in from behind. I could see his arms popping up and down behind her as he landed multiple blows to her back. Even though her scales were shiny and new, they were still tough. If his strikes had any affect I couldn’t tell, but I was too busy trying not to get bit to know what was going on.
Suddenly, she yelped and jumped to the side, retreating a few steps to put some distance between us. Cearbhall stood with a snake in one hand and black demon blood covering the claws of his other.
“Strike upwards under the scales,” he said, gesturing upwards with his bloodied claws. “They aren’t so tough if you can get under them.”
I nodded. “Are you bit?”
“Yep, you?”
“Not sure, scratched up pretty good,” I said.
The shirt I was wearing was in tatters and blood soaked. Couldn’t tell the extent of my injuries, but my shoulders and chest were on fire.
“Got an idea, see if you can knock her down,” he said.
We split up again for our second attack. She didn’t appear much worse for wear so far, besides a little blood trickling down where Cearbhall had removed the snake and a couple of bloody footprints on the pavement. Her face contorted in anger as she gingerly touched the place on her head where the snake had been. Cearbhall threw his prize on the pavement between them.
“You’re losing your cool, Petra. Feeling a little outmatched?” I asked.
“This is the end for you, Obie. I have tried to be reasonable and you have given me nothing but contempt. You don’t worry about the snakes. My venom isn’t going to kill you. I am going to eat you alive.”
“Then I will have to kill you with indigestion,” I said.
Again I closed in, pressing the attack. This time giving two high strikes before dropping suddenly and spinning, sending my tail out to sweep her legs. She collapsed to the ground, landing hard but recovering almost instantly, or would have if Cearbhall gave her the chance. He was on her in an instant, grabbing one of her wings and using it as a shield to protect him from the snakes. Throwing the full weight of his body on her head, he had her pinned for the moment.
“Now!” he yelled.
I jumped forward, being careful to avoid the couple of snakes that had worked their way free from under her wing. She squirmed, unable to escape, her exposed belly prime real estate where I wasted no time moving in. Strike after strike sent my claws digging under her scales into the soft flesh underneath. She shrieked and writhed under Cearbhall’s weight. The more blows I landed, the more enraged she became. She thrashed wildly and rolled Cearbhall off onto the bridge beside her. She spun and jumped on top of him, digging her claws deep into his shoulder. He bared his teeth and snarled in defiance as he grabbed her hand and pulled it out. I tried to get her off but her snakes turned, hissing and striking, keeping me just out of reach.
Petra’s position made it nearly impossible for Cearbhall to get the angle needed to get under her scales. He wouldn’t stand a chance if I couldn’t get her off him. I moved around behind her as she drove her fist into his head. He deflected a few strikes at first, with the amount of blows Petra was able to land cascading into a wave of punishment. After a few seconds his defense was shot. She landed a few blows with his head trapped between her fist and the concrete; he lost consciousness. Her wings stuck back far enough to be out of reach of the snakes. I grabbed them and spun, slamming her into the side of the bridge. She collapsed to the concrete, lying still. I knelt for a moment to take a look at Cearbhall. I needed to know about how long he would be out for. His head was intact with blood running out of his mouth, nose, and ears, so maybe a couple minutes.
The sprinkling rain turned into a light shower pattering on the bridge. Lightning flashed and thunder rolled, rumbling the bridge under my feet. The storm was making enough noise to keep me from hearing Petra get up. I wasn’t aware she was moving again until she was almost on top of me. I tried to jump clear but slipped in the water. She leapt on my back, sending me face first onto the water.
“A promise is a promise, love,” she said, and drove her teeth into my shoulder.
I kicked and screamed my way out of her bite, not entirely sure I was still in one piece. My shoulder revolted and stung; blood poured down my back. I managed to crawl a few feet before she grabbed me from behind, lifted me above her head, and threw me into the front of the truck. The collision, along with all the other injuries I had sustained, had taken their toll. I hurt all over and was glad to have at least a few seconds to rest. I slowly lifted myself into a seated position and waited for her to come to me. Petra composed herself and walked slowly in my direction, my blood running down either side of her mouth. I saw her jaw moving but couldn’t hear what she was saying. It took me a second to realize she wasn’t speaking, she was chewing.
> She swallowed and said, “I have to hand it to you, Obie, you are a tasty dish. I bet you will go right to my hips, but what the hell. We’ll call it a cheat day.”
I reached back to where she had bit me to find a gaping wound, it stung when my fingers touched the exposed flesh. There’s no way I was going to win this one on one in my current condition. I needed to buy time for Cearbhall to recover. I tried to think of something to say but it was too hard to concentrate with the burning in my shoulder. I looked around, desperate for anything I could use against her. The truck would be no use. The glass vial that had held the antivenom had found its way onto the ground beside me, probably knocked off when I collided with the truck. I grabbed it without having in mind what good it could be. Something was better than nothing. I threw it at her and then got the other vial out of my pocket and threw that one too. The first one missed and she didn’t bother dodging the second. It bounced harmlessly off her chest and shattered when it contacted the concrete. I shuffled backward around the side of the truck as she closed in on me. My hand landed in something that made it tingle on contact. I looked back to see the powder of the soul stone Cearbhall had smashed. The rain had turned it into a kind of soul paste. I stopped backing away and waited, taking as much of the goop in my hand as I could. The tingling changed into a burning sensation as I scooped it up. I wish I had taken a few minutes to finish reading the instructions that came with the stone. Regardless, this had to work.
She straddled my legs, grabbed my ripped shirt in one hand, and pulled me close to her. “You’re going to have to do better than that,” she whispered almost seductively.
“How’s this?” I said, smearing the paste into her eyes and face.
She fell back off of me, screaming and clutching her eyes. Liquid goo ran down from underneath her hands as she clawed at her eyes. Using the truck for support, I got to my feet. As Petra suffered and thrashed, I took a minute to catch my breath. I felt my shoulder and the crater in it again. That would take a while to heal. I looked up to where the elves and T.O. should be. The commotion had died down, no more muzzle flashes, but the rain kept me from seeing how they were doing. With her hands over her eyes, Petra spread her wings and crouched as if she was about to take off. Hopefully there were still some elves alive to work the guns.