by Chloe Adler
“Amaya?” Paxil’s voice is so loud I startle, letting go of the men’s hands and yelping. Opening my eyes, I remind myself not to swat at the fairy buzzing around my face. “Did you bring Arch and Bodhi to put the fachan back?”
He’s buzzing around so fast I have to sit on my hands lest I swat at him. I take a moment to look around, blinking in surprise at his words. Bodhi and Arch are here with me. The magic doodad worked! And just like that my brain skips like an old record player. Paxil said what? “The fachan? Put it back where?”
“Azotar escaped the monolith.” Zuri flies over and lands on Bodhi’s shoulder. She kisses him on the cheek. “I’m glad you two are here but it’s not safe. For anyone.”
The three of us rise and she leaves his shoulder to hover in the air before us.
How can Azotar be out? I thought he needed Tara’s leaders to do that. “Has this happened before?”
Zuri shakes her head. “When it first arrived here, it was free to roam. Everyone here helped to construct that monolith according to instructions the king left before disappearing from Tara. In order to bind Azotar there, it took the magic from the leaders of each of the five clans of Tara. I’m the leader of the sprites.”
“And Capatani of the dryads too?”
“Precisely. Plus Sabin of the sylphs and Oceane of the asrai.”
“The asrai?”
“Yes, the water fairies.”
“Do they look like mermaids?”
She shakes her tiny head. “What’s a mermaid?”
“Never mind.” I toss my hair.
“And Vasily of the big folk.”
“Big folk?”
“Yes, they’re big like you, Bodhi and Arch.”
“Where is the rest of Vasily’s family?” I rub my hands together.
Zuri’s eyes moisten. “They’re gone. Hiding in another land.”
“Vasily is needed then, to return Azotar to the monolith, along with you, Sabin, Capatani and Oceane?” Bodhi asks.
“I don’t know. It shouldn’t have been able to break free without the five of us working together to undo the spell.”
“But spells don’t last forever,” says Arch. “It could have weakened.”
“Not in such a short time,” says Zuri. “Unless . . .”
“It had help,” finishes Bodhi.
Zuri lands on his shoulder, whispering something. The two of them walk away from the group.
Who could be helping Azotar? And why? It couldn’t be a fae, not with the way Vasily described politics on Tara. He was literally the only one arguing in its favor. But it couldn’t be anyone from Earth either—it’s difficult, near impossible to get here, and as far as I understand only a handful of people even know about Tara. There is Bob who keeps showing up at opportune times, and he was involved in bringing me back here the last time, I’m sure of it. But what could a mundane human do for Azotar? And why?
Arch puts a hand on my shoulder, bending down to kiss my cheek, reminding me to focus on the task at hand.
Tara looks different. The colors aren’t as bright, the air not as crisp and clear. And there’s a new feeling, a thick heavy blanket of dread, maybe because the inhabitants are worried. Arch lifts his nose and inhales, cocking his head to listen.
A moment later, Bodhi returns with Zuri, then pulls out a tiny shell on a silver chain fastened around his neck and blows. He has a mini-conch too? Of course he does. When Japheth appears a few minutes later, I look between my men and the abada. I never realized how large Japheth was.
“Up you go.” Arch interlocks his fingers and holds his hands low so I can use them as a step up. I do as I’m told and he vaults up behind me. Bodhi lifts himself up in front of me.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
Bodhi pulls one of Vasily’s socks from his pocket, leans forward and holds it to Japheth’s nose. The abada lets out an excited squeal and tosses his blue-green mane.
“What should we do?” Zuri flies in front of us.
“Wait here,” says Bodhi and Japheth takes off. Luckily, Arch is holding me tightly against him and I’m holding Bodhi, otherwise I’d slide off and land on the ground. For the first time ever, I’ve made it to Tara without landing on my ass.
Chapter Forty-Seven
I lean forward against Bodhi’s strong, lithe back. Arch wraps his arms tighter around my waist, the solid steel of his chest pressing against me, reminding me of our earlier tryst. Muscles ripple around me and I close my eyes on a sigh. Japheth speeds through the forest, faster than any horse I’ve ever ridden. This cantor is triple speed and I clutch even tighter to Bodhi.
Many minutes later, when Japheth finally comes to a stop, I open my eyes, surprised to find us still in the forest. The horse creature tosses its blue-green mane.
“What did you do to find Capatani?” Arch asks.
Shit. I don’t say a word.
“I know what she did.” Bodhi reaches back and rubs my leg.
Arch shifts behind me. “What?”
“She sang.”
How the hell did he know that? Damn dryads must be gossiping about me. So that’s what they were whispering about.
“Well then, prima donna,” Arch gestures to me with a twirl of the hand, “mesmerize us.”
“Please don’t watch me.”
“You auditioned for the understudy position in the opera but you can’t sing in front of your boyfriends?” Bodhi asks.
“We’ve already heard you,” Arch adds.
“That was under duress, and strangers are easier.” But they’re both right, I can do this.
“Just pretend we’re not here.” Arch puts his arm around my waist, pulling me against him.
Yeah, like it’s possible to forget they’re here when they’re touching me. I open my mouth and then close it again. This is too hard, going from zero to a hundred in less than a week. I plaster my eyes shut and imagine Vasily. I conjure his face, suck in a huge breath of air, open my mouth and sing.
Everything falls away, inadequacy, fear, even the fact that Vasily is missing. Out come the opening bars to “The Doll” by Offenbach. It’s not supposed to be sung by a mezzo but that’s my range, so I sing it in the wrong tessitura. I can only hope my men are not versed enough to notice.
To my delight, the abada trots forward and in a moment we’re speeding through the forest once again. The wind from our passing whips my voice away, making the singing easier since now I’m certain no one can hear me. So I belt the lyrics louder, laughing into Bodhi’s neck between stanzas. The speed of the ride, the safe sandwich of my men, the words and music of my favorite aria send me into a frenzy of delight.
In mere moments the beast stops and I take a breath, looking around. We’re standing before the Lake of Tales. Arch hops off behind me and helps me down.
“Have you been here before? This is where I found Capatani but I don’t know the significance.”
“Oh yes, this is the meadow that leads to Vasily’s castle, but . . .” Arch spins around in a circle, shrugging. “I don’t know why Japheth brought us here. The castle disappeared when Azotar entered Tara.”
Bodhi jumps down, landing next to me. Japheth makes his conch-slash-cricket-wing sound and circles his tail.
“What’s he saying?” I ask.
“He does that when Vasily is near.” Bodhi pats the abada, who chirps and paws the ground.
“When I was here before, I saw some kind of flashing light coming from over there.” I point to the meadow and hills that stretch beyond the lake.
“That’s where the castle was.” Arch reaches for my hand, staying me, and turns to catch my gaze. “What else did you do to find Capatani? Besides singing and having something of hers for Japheth to smell.”
“Nothing, that’s it.” I shrug. “Maybe it has something to do with what I sang?”
Both men nod vigorously, Bodhi’s shaggy hair flying around his face. I clear my throat and belt out a few lines from “Vergnügte Ruh,” the same song I sang to f
ind Capatani. I don’t have time to marvel at my new lack of discomfort or stage fright, but after several minutes my throat tightens and I work to swallow the desert sand away.
“It doesn’t seem to be working and you look like you’re parched,” says Bodhi.
I nod, clearing my throat several times. “Do either of you have any water?”
Arch face-palms. “We brought nothing, but . . .” He raises his brows at Bodhi. “Isn’t there a fountain near here?”
“It’s been so long since we’ve been back . . .” He looks around, squinting until he spots something, then turns to me. “There are natural springs throughout Tara.” He points to a pile of rocks that look like a cairn. “There’s one over there, or there used to be.”
It looks like a pile of rocks on top of someone’s grave. Not appetizing.
Bodhi clutches my hand and after a moment of hesitation I let him lead me over. From the center is a small jet of water. “It’s potable.” He leans down and drinks—then stands, clutching his throat, gasping. “Poison! At least I drank . . . first . . . saved . . . the fair maiden.” But it’s all he can do to keep a straight face.
I punch his arm. “Not funny.”
I lean down and sip the clear liquid, shocked to find that this is like no water I’ve ever tasted. The consistency is thick, like nectar but—I bend down to drink more. I can’t stop. It’s incredible. There’s an annoying hand on my shoulder and I shrug it away but another hand grasps my other shoulder and I’m yanked up. I tense, about to kick and scream to drink more, but it’s Arch. And he’s shaking his head.
“Shit. She’s not acclimated to Tara. I forgot that the water here can be like crack to humans.”
Bodhi groans. “Me too, man.”
I lick my lips, the sweet liquid coating it, but it’s not enough. Looking back at the fountain, I calculate how much force I’d need to escape my men’s hold and how many steps to get back to it.
“Amaya.” Arch leans down and kisses me. His tongue slams into my mouth and the water nectar is forgotten. I kiss him back, clutching at his shirt and pulling him closer. Bodhi moves behind me, slides my hair to the side and drops kisses along the curve of my neck. I break my kiss with Arch to spin around and kiss Bodhi. The men let me have a few minutes of a back-and-forth make-out session before they release me. Their kisses heat me up from the inside, like kindling, and I find my voice again, the spark.
Chapter Forty-Eight
“That’s it,” whispers Bodhi. “The castle is winking back in. Can you sing and walk? Or even ride?”
My eyes snap open. Arch looks like either he’s seen a ghost or he’s going to propose to me. His jaw is slack, his eyes are wide, and he’s speechless.
“You’ve always had an amazing voice,” says Bodhi. “But there’s something different about it now. I don’t know what it is but you sound like an angel.”
Arch keeps staring at me and my Bach dissolves into giggle.
“It’s gone,” says Bodhi and I follow his gaze to see—nothing but the flowered meadow and horizon beyond.
“It’s her singing,” says Arch. “Back on Japheth?”
“Sure.”
He motions for me to turn around and I do. His strong hands wrap around my waist and he lifts me onto the creature. No time to dissect just how hot that was. Bodhi vaults up behind me and I scoot back for Arch to leap up in front.
“Your turn.” Bodhi squeezes me and I screw my eyes shut, turn my head to the side and continue singing.
The men urge the beast forward. “It’s working,” Bodhi whispers in my ear but I don’t open my eyes or stop for fear I’ll lose it.
Japheth picks up the pace and we ride for a while as I sing the aria. Bodhi squeezes me so hard my song is replaced by a shriek.
“You’ve done it,” Bodhi says.
I open my eyes and gasp. The castle gleams atop a modest hill. The abada begins to climb but as he does, boulders dislodge and tumble down from above. Japheth leaps, avoiding one and sidestepping the next, but there are far too many and they’re tumbling down too fast. We’re only a third of the way up.
“Go back down,” I shriek a second too late. A boulder slams into the abada’s legs and they buckle. The three of us are catapulted off, landing in the dirt. And then the avalanche hits. Instinctively I cover my head as rocks and boulders rain down on top of us. Covering us. Burying us alive. I try to keep a small space to breathe between my arms but the rocks are crushing me. They crush my back, pressing the air from my lungs.
After what seems like hours, the rocks slow and finally stop falling. Or maybe I’m buried under too much rubble to hear more of them coming. I sip small amounts of air, stale and dank, then break into a hacking cough. I gulp in more dust than air. What a way to die, suffocation. I wish I’d pass out so I wouldn’t feel the inevitable pain.
The load on my back lightens a fraction and then a fraction more. Someone is digging me out. I try not to breathe until I’m free but my body is not listening. By the time someone lifts me up, I’m coughing and gagging. Four strong arms are around me, holding me tight.
“We’ve got you, you’re safe.” Arch’s words are strong and meant to calm me but he can’t hide the panic in his voice. “Are you hurt?”
I push them off, bend over and cough. “Wh-wh-what happened?”
“No idea,” Arch says. “Nothing like that has ever happened before.”
“Why me?”
“I was half buried too.” Bodhi points to his jeans, which are filthy and torn. “Japheth dug me out.”
“I was flung across the meadow,” says Arch. “I have no idea how. But I ran back to you two.”
“Azotar stopping us because we’re close?” I ask.
“Since it kidnapped Capatani too, it must be trying to reverse the spell,” says Bodhi.
“But it’s obviously free now, so why keep Vasily?” I look up at the castle, imposing and silent.
“Whatever the reason, it can’t be good,” Arch says.
“We have to get the king.” I take one step toward the castle and a boulder dislodges, crashing down the mountain.
Arch scoops me up under his arm like a football and sprints to the bottom.
Japheth and Bodhi follow.
“We can’t just leave him there.” Arch puts me down but keeps an arm around me for support, comfort or both.
Japheth tosses his shimmering mane and squeals, demanding our attention. When we all turn his way, he sprouts his massive wings.
“Of course.” Arch lifts me onto the abada’s back. Bodhi vaults in front, and Arch behind.
The horse lifts off, flying high above the dark mountain, only lowering himself and us when he’s at the foot of the mesmerizing castle. There’s no moat or drawbridge, but other than that it looks exactly like every princess’s fairytale. Seven white stone spires jut high into the air, glittering in the Taran sun like they’re coated in diamond dust. Two of them end in turrets while the other four reach toward the sky, a giant hand grabbing at heaven. I’m guessing Vasily’s family has a congenital arrogance problem. It’s a wonder he escaped it. The men dismount and help me off Japheth, who snorts and tosses his head.
Arch pats his rump. “We’ll find him, buddy.”
“You speak abada?” I blink at him.
“No, he can’t understand me, but like all animals, they can sense our emotions. Japheth is Vasily’s horse, so I’m showing him that I’m calm and confident.”
In Tara I’d believe anything. And no wonder Vasily is so attached to Sequoia and the other horses in his stable. No wonder he has a stable.
Bodhi walks up the massive front staircase and tries the door, then turns around and shakes his head at us. Japheth chirps and looks up. We follow his gaze to the highest spire, and there in the topmost window is Vasily. He pounds against the glass but there’s no sound. We’re too far below.
And by the looks of it, he’s trapped.
Chapter Forty-Nine
“Can you try and cast a
spell to unlock the front door?” My head swivels between the men.
Bodhi looks at me like I’m the one who sprouted wings.
Arch puts a hand on his shoulder. “Remember, I was able to cast a miniscule spell with Amaya next to me. It was tiny, but it was something.” He looks away and clears his throat.
Maybe I do have something they need.
“Of course!” Bodhi exclaims, then blinks, his eyes misting over. “We’ve been so long without hope, I never dare reach for magic anymore. But now you’re here.”
Something tells me we’ll need more than a “tiny” spell though. “How are we going to get up there?” I crane my head. “If it were as easy as breaking a window, wouldn’t Vasily have done it himself already?”
We watch as Vasily slams a large piece of wood into the window numerous times and it holds fast. Question answered.
“Aperta ianua,” Arch booms at the door. When nothing happens, Bodhi leaps up the steps to try the same spell, then looks back and shakes his head.
Japheth paws at the ground with his hoofs, staring up at Vasily, and then his wings unfurl.
“Hop on,” I cry and the men rush back.
Bodhi jumps on first and Arch lifts me up to him. When the three of us are seated, the abada takes flight, leaping into the air and heading toward the window. The sky immediately darkens and the temperature plummets like an arctic ice storm. When my teeth chatter, Arch leans back into me, and Bodhi tries to warm my arms from behind. Where are my rheo bugs now? Wind swirls and the horse creature fights his way toward the tower spire. We’re about twenty feet away when we get pelted with hail.
“Shit!” I scream, trying to cover my face. The cold rocks bite into my skin and Japheth cries out, veering away from the window. Vasily stands there, hands pressed against it, shaking his head.
Every time we get close to the window, another storm of rocky ice pelts us and we’re forced to descend. We try over and over again but we can’t ascend high enough.
“Let’s try lower,” I call into Arch’s ear. He nods and directs the abada to a window at the highest point we can fly. It’s several floors below Vasily but better than starting from the bottom.