The Reaping (The Moondreamer Chronicles Book 2)

by Tamara Mataya

  “You’re supposed to say I look radiant.” I rest my head on the table.

  “You need more sleep than what you’ve been getting. Magic isn’t—”

  “—infinite, I know.”

  She pulls out the chair next to me and rubs my shoulders. “You’re tense as hell—probably haven’t been doing the stretching exercises I taught you.”

  I haven’t. “I thought about doing them. That’s got to count for something, right?”

  Skortia sighs. “I teach you these things to keep you safe. It’s all a part of it. The stretching is to keep you limber in case of a non-magical ambush and you have to physically fight.”

  “I know.” I lift my head. “I’m not actively trying to avoid listening to you. I know you’re trying to make me stronger.”

  She pokes me in the side, and I jerk and giggle. She smiles. “You haven’t been eating properly either, I can tell.”

  “I had some pizza last night.” We’d ordered some for the Fae soldiers and sat around getting to know each other until the early hours.

  She raises an eyebrow. “And before that? When was the last time you ate a proper meal with vegetables?”

  “Point taken.”

  “Here.” She sets her sludge in front of me. “You need this more than I do right now. Drink that and go back to bed for a few hours. You need proper nutrition and rest.”

  I unscrew the cap. It smells like minty apple—if someone vomited it into a mud puddle. “Will it make me seem less grateful if I plug my nose while I drink it?”

  “Whatever gets it in your stomach, kid.”

  I gag down a slug of it. It doesn’t taste as bad as it smells.

  It’s much, much worse. “Where’s Draven?”

  “He was downstairs training with Kaya and Trina.”

  I grin. “They’re teaching Trina?”

  She nods. “It’s for the best. Humans are so vulnerable.”

  Mare could have easily crushed Trina like a bug. I’m glad Draven and Kaya are taking care of her.

  Maly glides into the room as I’m choking down the last sip of Skortia’s drink. “I’m ready.”

  Wiping my lips leaves a green streak on my hand. Charming. “What's up?”

  Skortia stands. “I'm taking Maly out.”

  Maly beams. “She's going to show me more of my Sprite side. They never focused on that in the army. Said it was the inferior side and there was no point learning the magics of a weak race.”

  “Ouch. That sucks, but Sprites are anything but weak.” No point bringing that up. Coren’s broken hands spring to my mind, and I force the vision of them away. “Even Ashria warned me not to piss them off. You’re definitely not weak, you’re just different.”

  “Yeah. I do need to learn more about myself. Skortia's fixing that now.”

  The thought of them leaving makes me uneasy—but maybe that’s the spirulina or the wheatgrass talking. “And you can't do that here in the training rooms?”

  Skortia shakes her head. “She needs to be out in nature. The woods would be best, but a park will have to do for now. You were with the Sprites—you saw how close to nature they are. We Elves are similar that way.”

  “Ashria's not back yet, and we're waiting on word about the other leaders—”

  “Please, Syxx?” Maly pleads. “Knowing more about this side of me will only make me stronger. I want to be an asset, not a liability.”

  I could hug her. “Maly, you're not a liability. It's just really dangerous out there.”

  “Are you forbidding it?” Skortia asks.

  Am I? No. And if I had to enforce it, I'd only make them resent me. Skortia gives me a subtle wink. Why can't they go out? Maly's a freaking Fae soldier and if there's anyone I'd want at my side in a hand-to-hand fight, it would be Skortia. There's no one safer to go with than her.

  Maly’s the most damaged of the soldiers. Last night she was jumping at loud voices, walking around with startled eyes and nervous energy. Right now her eyes are full of happiness...and hope.

  It’s an afternoon, not a week, and learning about the part of herself she was forbidden to know will be positive for her. Trina and Kaya enter the kitchen, sweaty and glowing, and sit adjacent to each other at the table. “Okay, but—”

  Maly's excited squeal cuts me off. “Thank you! You won't regret this.” She seizes Skortia's hand and leads her out the door.

  Her enthusiasm makes me laugh. “Go grab some weapons before you go, just in case!”

  Their footsteps halt and head downstairs as I suggested. Good.

  “Would you like a cup of tea?” Kaya gestures to the teapot in front of him.

  “Love one. Anything to get the taste or that smoothie out of my mouth.” I rinse Skortia’s bottle out and grab a cup from the cupboard. There’s a plate of cookies on the table. I grab three, put them on a smaller plate, and throw them in the microwave for fifteen seconds. The plate rotates around and around until the chocolate chips get shiny on top and I pull the plate out.

  Moving back to the table, I sit, and take a big bite of a cookie. “Mmm. Melty.”

  Trina steals one and nods agreement, licking melted chocolate off her lip. Kaya declines the third when I offer it to him, which secretly makes me happy because, Mine.

  I give Trina half and wash mine down with my tea. “So what's up?”

  “Not much, though I am getting a bit bored. I've read all the good books you have.”

  “Yeah, there's no television either, so we can't watch movies. And even then...” Kaya's voice trails off.

  “Boring,” Trina finishes. “Can we go out and do something?”

  “Like what?” I should be more annoyed that they’re tag teaming me, but it’s kind of cute.

  “Anything. I'm already going stir-crazy here.”

  “It's safe here.” Déjà vu much? Didn’t I just have this conversation with Maly and Skortia? “What's with everyone suddenly having itchy feet? You've only been here for a couple days. You had the crap beaten out of you, your body needs to rest.”

  “You healed my body. I'm fine now.” I open my mouth but she keeps talking. “Maly and Skortia got to go out.”

  “Wow, this reminds me of conversations I used to have with my parents.”

  Trina laughs. “It so does. Look what you've reduced us to.”

  “Me? You little shit.”

  “What's happening?” Misty walks into the kitchen with Ibor close behind.

  “We're going out today,” Trina says. “To do something fun. Want to come?”

  “Trina!”

  “What?” She frowns like I’m overreacting. “Oh come on, relax. All work and no play...”

  “Can we go to the mall?” Misty asks excitedly.

  Her choice surprises and intrigues me. “The mall?”

  “We only ever got to go when we were on assimilation training. We could never just relax and hang out—we were alert the whole time, learning.”

  “Learning, and worrying about the leaders finding us slacking off somewhere or being in the food court, which was always off-limits,” Ibor adds. “We couldn’t always trust the others we were with not to rat us out.”

  Trina squeals when I sigh and shake my head, knowing she's won. I hold up a hand. “Fine, but we’re not going for more than three hours. It's what, twelve-thirty now? Be ready to leave in fifteen minutes.”

  Their excitement is contagious. It really could be cool to do something normal for a change, though I’m not sure what that will be with our motley crew.

  Draven walks in. “Hey, babe.” He brushes a gentle kiss across my lips.

  I smile. We can hang out in public, away from magic and this Fae war. Like a normal couple. “Hey. We're going to the mall, apparently. Want to come along?”

  He gives me a squeeze. “Why not. I found this at the front door.” He hands me a letter with my name on it.

  I tear it open.

  Syxx,

  I will return before three p.m. Stay close to home. I have ne
ws.

  ~Mom

  “I'm out, you guys.” I toss the letter to the tabletop. Disappointment crushes the growing anticipation I’d allowed myself to feel. Guess I don’t get to pretend to be a normal woman for even a few hours.

  “Why?” Trina reads the letter, face turning into a sulk at the last word. “Damn it.”

  “Ah well. There will be other days.” Misty smiles, though she's clearly disappointed.

  “No. You know what? I want you guys to go without me.” I put my hand up to stop the chorus of 'we won't go without yous' that follow. “Seriously. If we're all hanging around the house under each other's feet, we're going to get antsy and take unnecessary risks when we need to fight. It's better this way. Besides, no sense in all of us missing out on the fun.” I play it casual so they don’t see how sad this makes me, spoiling their day as well.

  They really need a break from this.

  Their excitement outweighs the commiseration, and it only takes a few minutes of flurrying around getting ready before they’re standing by the front door, eager to get going.

  Draven pauses beside me. “I'm staying with you.”

  “No, you're not.”

  “Don't you want me to?”

  “I do.” I so do. Every inch of me, mostly my heart, aches to have more alone time with him. “I want you to get to know Trina as well. She's a huge part of my life, and I need you two to be cool with each other. It's a perfect opportunity to get to know each other while I’m not there cramping your style. Besides, I need you there to protect them. I can't be there if something happens. You’re the strongest one here. Other than me.” I poke him in the ribs.

  He nods. “I love you.”

  “I love you too.” I hug him tightly and then push him away. “I'll see you in a few hours.” I pull him back and whisper, “Take them neon bowling, or something fun, tacky, and loud. I doubt they've ever gone.”

  He smiles. “You're amazing.”

  “I know.”

  “Want me to pick anything up for you?”

  “No, I'm alright. Now go. Have fun everyone!” I smile at them, standing by the door, looking like little kids going to visit Santa. I'm sad that I'm unable to join them, but I made the right choice telling them to go.

  The door shuts quietly behind them, but in the sudden silence it might as well be a gunshot. I walk toward the kitchen, trailing my hand along the wall. I poke around the cupboards, not really hungry.

  What news does Mom have? Are the Sprites turning into bloodthirsty terrors, and we’ll be at war with them next? No, that's a leftover feeling from seeing Coren die in front of me because of them. I'm not going to wonder about this anymore, it only leads to sad things.

  Skortia’s right—I haven’t been getting enough rest. Might as well go back to sleep for a couple of hours, and wait for Mom and the rest of them to get home. Maybe I can dream something happy.

  My stomach rumbles.

  Damn it.

  That spirulina’s going straight through me.

  MY EYES ARE OPEN, AND I'm sitting up before I realize what's jolted me out of a sound sleep. The room spins and I blink hard, trying to orient myself.

  “Syxx! Anyone?” Skortia. The door slams and Skortia's feet pound down the hall. I spring clumsily from the bed and stumble to the bedroom door, meeting her at the top of the stairs.

  She's injured and her face is puffy.

  And she's alone.

  “What's wrong?” Fear jolts through my chest and prickles across my skin.

  “Maly's gone.”

  “Gone?”

  “She's dead.”

  A loud buzzing starts in my ears, and I lock my knees to stave off a faint, but I hold it together. “How did this happen?”

  “It was an ambush when we got back.” Bleakly. She swipes a hand across her face, brushing tears away, but her knuckles are cut and a smear of blood stains her cheek.

  “Skortia, your hands!”

  She looks at them, surprised at the damage. “I hadn't even noticed. I fought for all I was worth, but it wasn't enough. By the time I overcame the two attacking me, she was already...” her voice breaks.

  I pull her into a tight hug, but she pushes me away. “Kaya’s downstairs too and he’s hurt. You need to help him!”

  She violently trembles in my arms until her legs give out and I lower us gently to the hallway floor though I feel like falling as well. I smooth her dreads and my hand comes back covered in blood. Kaya may need help but Skortia’s badly hurt. “Sit still.”

  She’s got a bad concussion—I’m surprised she’s still conscious—and I heal it and her broken jaw, and her glazed eyes clear a little. “Kaya.”

  “Let me heal you first.”

  “We were just in the park.” She speaks in a soft monotone as her hands are repaired. “There was no warning. She had lit up from within, Syxx, really taken to the plant energy. The flowers responded to her like I've never seen. God, she could have been amazing with a little time.”

  “She already was amazing,” I say, suddenly feeling exhausted and heavy. How many times is this going to happen?

  Skortia winces.

  Shit, I didn’t ease her pain.

  I do that, then fix the puffiness in her face. She must have taken more than a few blows there as well. Whoever did this to her had to have been one hell of a fighter.

  “They got me good,” she says. “Fucking Stone Elemental. It's like slamming your fist against bedrock. Well, I don't have to tell you about that. You've fought them before.”

  Yeah I have. No wonder she's hurt. She was lucky to get out of there in one piece.

  She sits up. “Where is everyone?”

  “I'm the only one here. Everyone went out for a bit of normalcy.” I can't say they went to the mall. It feels insanely frivolous right now. “I thought Kaya went with them. Where else are you injured?” I scan her and have a hard time focusing. I blink hard to clear the blurriness. She’s shutting down on me, and I want to keep her engaged.

  “Who cares.”

  I take her by the shoulders and look into her eyes. “This was not your fault. It could have been any one of us. You're lucky you got out of there alive.”

  “I don't feel lucky.” She slumps against the wall and groans.

  I heal Skortia's three broken ribs. “Was it quick?”

  She nods then shakes her head. “It didn't take long, but it wasn't quick enough. It felt like forever. It was a good death. She was stronger than she looked, went down fighting and gave as good as she got. She even took one of them out before the others jumped in. If we'd have seen them coming, maybe it would have been different. Maybe she'd have come back here with me, with tales of kicking some asses in the park.”

  “How many were there?”

  “Six. Three when I'd finished and with the one she'd taken out. I ran. It was all I could do. I made sure I wasn't followed back, but someone was already inside fighting Kaya. I didn’t lead them back here, I swear.” Even her dreads droop sadly, and a deep need to reassure her echoes through my body. I need her to know this isn’t her fault.

  “I know you'd have been cautious. You're smarter than that.” She did everything right and it happened anyways. Life's like that. You can do everything right and it still bites you in the ass and kicks you when you're down. I push to my feet, which takes more effort than it should. “Where’s Kaya?”

  “Downstairs.” She walks faster than I can keep up with. “I just, I fucked up, Syxx.”

  I shake my head, unable to speak. My eyelids feel like they weigh ten pounds each. What the hell is wrong with me? My feet feel like they’re not attached to my body, and I nearly fall down the stairs. Skortia grabs me at the last second, saving me from a faceplant. She covers her face and sobs wrack her tiny frame.

  Give me her pain to spare her.

  “No, you didn't. You didn't.” I hold her and rub soothing circles on her back as her agony filters into me. Her heart has such bleakness it makes my vision cloud with
tears. Why are my arms so heavy?

  “I'll never forgive myself.”

  “You shouldn't feel guilty. If this is anyone's fault, it's mine.” I sigh. “I'm the one who gave you guys the go-ahead. The responsibility ultimately lies with me. No one else.”

  While she doesn't condemn me, she doesn't deny it either. And she shouldn't. I could have stopped them if I'd really wanted to. I'd had a bad feeling about it as well, but I didn't trust my instincts. Sweet, pure, abused little Maly is dead now and it's all my fault.

  Skortia’s physical injuries are okay now, but I'm worried about her emotional wounds. She notices the piercing look I give her.

  “I won't do anything stupid. You know me. I'm a fighter.” She inclines her head. “I always make it through.” The last words are said in a hushed voice. I nod, seeing only Maly's big, trusting eyes.

  She hadn't even gotten to live a life. Not even part of a life, and it's over already. Cut down in an ambush she never saw coming while she was trying to better herself. Trying to embrace a part of herself that had been denied her whole life and ridiculed as weak.

  She didn't even have time to figure out who she was outside of being a Fae soldier. There were so many beautiful things she never got to experience.

  The world full of hurt and brutality was supposed to be behind her. She was supposed to be safe here with me. With us.

  The tears catch up with me. I fucking promised her I'd keep her safe and she trusted me. I failed her so spectacularly it makes me ill. I clamp a lid down on my heart, sealing the pain inside. If I don't deal with this it will fester, and poison me from inside, but I have to go now. There isn’t time to give in to the pain. I shudder, denied the release I desperately need, but I have to warn my friends. Those that are still left – if there are any left at all.

  I have to save Kaya. My knees hit the floor hard, and I’m unable to breathe. I did this.

  How could I have been so stupid? Why didn't I stop them from leaving?

  And shit. Ajda, Kena, Misty, Ibor, Trina, and Draven are still out there. What if something's happened to them too? We've had one attack, others are sure to follow. We're not safe at all. They're under a false blanket of security, innocently hanging out at the damned mall like sitting ducks. I have to warn them.