The Evensong (51 page)

I pushed my way between them, surprised at their softness. The thread on my wrist was still coming with me, showing no signs of resistance this time. I soon forgot about it as I was lost in the reeds, and I yelled out a name again.

I heard a different noise this time. It was under the animal/insect sounds, and I called out. Again, there it was, and I tried to walk towards it. I remained quiet as I walked through the reeds, pushing them out of my way. It was definitely a voice I heard; I was positive.

“Morcant?” I said, softer this time. I stopped moving when I heard the reeds rustling, and then a reply.

“Talise!” He was so close, but I stayed put, afraid I might lose him.

“I’m right here,” I said, looking around to see if the reeds were moving. All of them seemed to be even though there was no wind, and Morcant suddenly appeared, pushing the long plants out of his way. His frightening beauty stunned me, even though I’d seen him before, but he didn’t hesitate.

“What are you doing here?” he asked as he reached out. He grasped my shoulders and pulled me against him. I instantly wrapped my arms around him, squeezing hard.

“Morcant, I’m so—”

“
Why are you here?
” he demanded. His needle-sharp nails were digging into my skin.

“I—I had to find you,” I said, put-off by his tone. “How else could I?”

His eyes were boring into mine as he frowned. “So you decide to
die
?”

“No, look.” I held up my wrist, and he stared at the barely-there thread.

“That’s not assuring,” he replied.

I smiled slightly. “Well . . . if I did die, wouldn’t it be easier?”

He looked at me sharply. “How would it be easier, Talise?”

“Seeing you. As Morcant. Isn’t that what—”

“Please, stop,” he said. “Tell me where you are.”

I was confused for a moment. “But—if I’m already—”

“
Where is your body?
”

“A cave,” I yelled back at him, annoyed. “It’s in a sea cave. I don’t know where. Aidan and Omar took me there, and it’s off the coast. There are lots of rocks and some homes, but they’re far away from the shore.”

He thought hard for a second, and just before he spoke, my thread jerked back, tugging my wrist. I looked at it in confusion, and it jerked again, this time pulling me with it. I stumbled and looked to Morcant for an answer.

“You’re going to be all right,” he said, relieved. He walked with me as the thread pulled taunt again.

“What?” I stared at the line and stumbled after it as it pulled. “But I thought this was it.”

“I’ll find you,” he said firmly, ignoring my comment. “Now that we have some kind of idea . . . it won’t be long.”

The thread pulled at me again, and I fought it this time. “Wait, I can’t go back there!”

“You have to,” Morcant said gently. “But don’t worry. I’ll be there soon.”

I was pulled back again, this time disrupting the calm waters as I fought to stay. The thread was completely taunt now, and my arm was almost under the surface.

I reached out with my free hand, grasping Morcant’s wrist. “Please . . .”

“Trust me, all right?” he said, his fingers at my neck. I wanted to say more, but a final hard tug pulled me under the water and out of his reach. I closed my eyes as I sailed down at an alarming speed, dreading what was to come.

THE
FACE
OF
MORCANT

The reintroduction to pain was incredible. It came with all of the water that suddenly shot up my throat and out of my mouth. I coughed and choked, turning my head as more water came. The coughing wouldn’t stop even though every spasm jerked my fractured ribs.

“Finally. I thought you were really gone.”

Aidan’s voice was awful to hear. I was already cringing from being back in my body, and he made it ten times worse. When I opened my eyes, I could see Omar kneeling next to me, looking slightly winded. Aidan stood over him providing light from his hand. My whole chest hurt, and I realized it must have been from Omar’s constant pounding to get me to breathe again. After being on the astral plane, this was an awful sight.

“No . . .” I moaned as I rolled onto my side. Crying was the last thing I needed, but I couldn’t help it. I would rather be dead than be stuck here. Even though I’d been promised to be found, I still didn’t feel comforted now.

“Oh yes,” Aidan replied triumphantly. “I wouldn’t let you go that easily. That’s just cruel.”

My hair fell over my face, and I squeezed my eyes shut to further block out any sights. It was just my luck that out of all the things I couldn’t do, I couldn’t die. At least, not when it was mildly convenient.

“Plus,” Aidan added, laughing, “at least Omar got to kiss you again. Right buddy? Pretty fair deal.”

Omar mumbled something in reply as I rubbed my lips against the back of my hand. It didn’t do much; the deed was already done. Even if it was just CPR, it was contact with him, which I didn’t want.

“This was all part of the deal, Riley,” Aidan went on, raising his voice so that it echoed off the walls. “I help get you back, I get a little entertainment out of the whole thing. Your undying lover here comes to me with a request: help him get you out of the undine clutches. Who’d have thought I would agree?” Aidan feigned disbelief. “I didn’t think it was such a big deal, but when I look back on the whole thing, I realize it was. To some, at least. And thank the gods for my personality, because I blew it up like no one else could.”

“Give it a rest,” Omar growled.

“Oh no, I’m not done,” Aidan replied. “Look at her—this is the
ideal
time for breakage. I’ve seen this a hundred times, trust me.” He paused and cleared his throat. “I don’t make deals. But this is the exception. Riley, I mean it when I say you’re the best I’ve had.” He got a good laugh out of that, and Omar stood fast; I could hear his shoes slipping on the rocks. When I opened my eyes, I could see he had pushed Aidan against the wall.

“You’ve said enough,” he bellowed.

Aidan grabbed him by the forearms and pushed him away. Omar yelled and lost his balance, catching himself as he fell. His teeth were clenched together and he was holding his arms.

“Remember who you’re talking to,” Aidan replied. “You’re hardly in control.”

He walked away, disappearing on the other side. Omar lay there for a few moments before pushing himself up. He hissed, and I noticed he was gingerly touching his skin. Aidan must have burned him. Serves him right. He left me alone without a second glance, and I hoped he wouldn’t be back.

I absorbed what Aidan had said as I lay still. How Omar had figured out he was an Elemental was beyond me, but I couldn’t believe he had gone to him for help. I wondered whose idea it was to burn down the house, though I suspected it was Omar. Just thinking about everything made my fury grow, and sleep wasn’t even an option. I could only focus on the facts, and the way the seconds passed so slowly. I wanted Linden to be here.

Two days passed. Two horribly long days. I never moved from my spot, preferring to lie down and watch the distant entrance. I didn’t eat and I hardly slept; I felt hollow by the afternoon of day two. Aidan and Omar had stopped the frequent visits to check up on me, and they no longer attempted to leave me food. I didn’t feel much of it, and I planted myself firmly in my mind. There at least I could imagine things, anything that was different from the reality. It’s what I wanted over everything else.

Even though my eyes were open, I didn’t see. It was like a moving picture stuck there with no differences in it. The sounds were the same, and everything had turned mundane.

I was thinking of a time that felt very long ago; eons. I had been in work dodging Linden behind the shelves until he was looking back at me between the boxes. There was the first time I’d seen him in the swamps when he’d been perched on a root. He seemed so curious then, looking at me with his almond-shaped eyes. Funny how things turn out . . . I had been afraid of him when I probed his aura from the bathroom, but I was daring enough to kiss him later. Strange how it had all gotten me here, beaten and drowned and waiting in a hopeless cave who-knows-where.

I kept up the nostalgia and didn’t notice the subtle change in the way the water was moving. My eyes didn’t see the slight dark shape near the mouth of the cave; I was with Linden on his roof. The beat of the waves on the rock had seemed like silence, and the silence was broken when there was a quiet splash of water, and something came up onto the rocks. That something was dripping wet and it stared at me for a long time.

“Riley—” My name sounded choked and strained, but it pulled me out of my thoughts. I blinked rapidly a few times and looked up as my vision was filled with a new sight. Still, I wasn’t sure if I was just making it up.

“Hey, Linden,” I replied in a dry whisper. I almost smiled, but it hurt the tender skin; my lip still wasn’t completely healed. He reached for me, but stopped, his face pained.

“Jesus,” was all he could say for a second as he looked at me. When I felt his cool touch on my arm, I knew this had to be real. My brain couldn’t make that up. I tried to push myself up, instantly needing to feel more. Linden helped, though he barely held me. I could tell he was trying to be cautious, but I didn’t care. I was almost immune to the pain at this second.

“I—I can’t believe you found it,” I said as I clutched his arms. “You found the cave.”

“I’m so sorry it took so long,” he said, carefully pressing me against him. I didn’t care—the fact that he was here was enough. Everything would be all right now.

“Who did this to you?” he demanded, holding my face in his hands.

I would have told him everything he wanted to know, but I saw the figure emerge from behind him.

“So—auctorita didn’t finish you off,” Aidan said as he stood in the crack. Linden’s head snapped in that direction, and his whole body stiffened. I grasped his arms as he stood, trying and failing to keep him near.

“I guess the next step is to follow in your father’s path, right?” Aidan continued as he walked out. “Take on the whole ‘evil’ persona—or is that not in your taste?”

Linden didn’t say anything. He just stood there, his fists clenched, turning his knuckles white.

“This is very heroic of you,” Aidan went on, folding his hands behind his back. “Appearing out of nowhere, totally soaked, ready to bring her to justice—”

The last word came out in a breath as Linden rushed at Aidan, slamming him into the nearest wall. Aidan even seemed surprised; his eyes widened after his head bounced off the rock.

“This was all you,” Linden hissed.

Aidan laughed slightly, still trying to get some air. “In a sense. Do you want to hear the whole gist of it?”

Linden pressed against his shoulders with more force, and Aidan held back any noise of discomfort.

“I guess that’s a no,” he muttered.

Linden replied by tossing him away in a careless action. It seemed so easy for him. Aidan landed heavily but got up a second later. The water on his hands was evaporating quickly.

“Even with the benefit of auctorita, do you really think it’s worth trying?” he said. “Did you not listen when it was plainly stated fire is the strongest?”

Linden actually laughed at that. “Really? I couldn’t tell.”

Just that little bit of confidence in him was enough to get on Aidan’s nerves. In one quick movement of synchronized strength, Aidan launched himself at Linden, hands going straight for his neck. I saw the brief glow of fire before his fingers closed around his skin. My heartbeat accelerated in panic at the brief scuffle. One moment Aidan seemed in control, the next he was on the ground, Linden’s foot across his airway. His face was turning red as he made choking sounds.

“Not so fun, is it?” Linden yelled in his face. The water around the rocks was steadily churning, moving faster and splashing up towards me. I stood, leaning against the wall behind me. I wondered if Linden was consciously doing this.

I was too busy watching the water so I didn’t see what happened when Linden yelled wordlessly. Aidan was up again, smiling as fire bloomed across his hands. Linden cupped one cheek, grimacing. From the crack in the wall, Omar rushed out, confused before he saw Linden. Confusion was immediately replaced with anger, and he disappeared a moment later. I thought he must have been afraid.
Coward,
I thought angrily. All this time he had to hide behind someone else.

The dull sound of colliding bodies caught my attention again, and I had the satisfaction of seeing Aidan fall straight into the water. The rapidly increasing waves swallowed him, and the white caps hid any part of his body. Linden watched intently, eyes scanning the surface for any sign of him. I almost felt relieved—almost. The distant thump of footsteps distracted me, but I looked too late. Omar rushed out from the other room, his fishing knife in hand, and effortlessly buried it in Linden’s side.

My scream was delayed as I watched Linden’s body jerk. It gave Omar the opportunity to pin him in the wall, and he didn’t stop there. My breath finally erupted from my throat as the curved knife came out—smeared with very dark blood—and was plunged right into his stomach. It happened repeatedly: knife in, knife out. Linden grunted against each violent blow as I tried to run to him. It didn’t work. My knees crumpled under me and I fell, only able to yell as I pulled myself.