Author's Preface
Merkra: It’s been a while since we’ve taken this long to cover one subject, hasn’t it? Last one was what? The vampire outbreak in 2300?
Solana: That sounds correct to me.
Merkra: Not that we’ve received a lot of complaints.
Solana: Not that I have seen.
Merkra: Well, whether you’re excited for the ending, or exciting for it to finally end. We’re coming into the home stretch. Those of you that have been keeping up with our sources will have noticed they are getting thinner by the week. That’s only going to continue until we get to the end.
Solana: Circumstances, being what they are, the source material has been scarce which has led to some speculation on our part regarding this story. Hopefully, we are able to keep it both informative and entertaining, despite that setback.
Merkra: One thing we do know for sure is Atania initiated the first kiss.
Solana: I thought it would be Fletcher, if I’m honest.
Merkra: Really? I don’t think it could have happened any other way. If he tried it, she might’ve taken his head clean off.
Atania grumbled, rolling over on the soft mattress.
Mattress?
Shit.
Her eyes shot open to the soft sounds of lute strings being plucked from a few feet away.
Oh no.
“Oh no.”
Oh no.
“Oh fuck…”
Oh fuck.
She sat up, looking over at Fletcher who was sitting shirtless in a chair with his feet up on a writing desk. He fingered the lute strings lazily, his face taking on a quizzical look. Atania winced. Her head was throbbing, and probing her memory for whatever occurred after the kiss last night only worsened the pain.
“Good morning to you too.” Fletch gave her an amused smile but didn’t stop playing.
“Oh gods…” she mumbled as her hands searched her legs and chest. She was still clothed? She looked down at herself, then up at Fletcher, eyes narrowing with confusion. “Did we…?”
“A gentleman never tells.” Fletcher continue to pluck at the strings in his lap despite her eyes going wide.
“Fuck…” She groaned and fell back onto the bed again.
“Wow, that’s insulting.” Fletcher chuckled before gesturing with his head to the corner of the room where a stack of blankets rested. “I slept on the floor. Gentleman…Remember?”
Heat rose in her cheeks, and she threw the blankets over herself again. “Sorry.” She muttered before it all hit her at once. “Wait!” She tossed the blankets aside again and glared at him. “I’m not sorry. Fuck you! You lied to me!”
Fletcher threw his hands up, abruptly stopped the music. “Woah! I didn’t lie to you.”
“I specifically asked you if you were working with any rebel groups!”
“Oh, that.” Fletcher rubbed the back of his neck and alternated shuffling each shoulder up and down. “Technically, you told me you were the king in that situation. So I actually lied to Vilrut, not Atania.”
“And now you’ve dragged me into this shit!” She swung her legs off the bed, looking for her boots. “I am going to lose my head over this.”
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but they already tried to kill you twice, remember?”
Atania slowed after trying one of her boots and looked up at him. Three times, actually. Perhaps the only reason she was alive was because this halfling was either the dumbest or bravest man she’d ever met. Memories slowly rushed back to her, escalating through Penelope using the orb on Father and ending with Gregor attacking her in Fletcher’s room at McGinty’s. There was no pressure getting Yasha to Father anymore, but now Penelope had the power of a devil in a pocket sized orb. Who knew what scale of power that would register on.
Fletcher sat down beside her on the bed, offering her a glass of water. “You should hydrate. Melrhos got you really drunk.”
She took the glass and polished it off in three desperate gulps. Fletcher took it back and said something about getting her some more before stepping out of the room. What was she supposed to do now? She’d come to terms with the fact that Father was a threat she couldn’t deal with. If Penelope had all that power now, could she deal with her? Maybe she should just run. They’d be able to track her with the diviners, but if she could get far enough away it probably wouldn’t be worth going after her.
Fletcher stepped back into the room, closing the door behind him and walking back to sit beside her. She took the glass from him, her eyes meeting his as their fingers brushed on the hand off. This infuriating little being had risked so much to get her out of there. He revealed he was a rebel to her just to make sure she was taken care of.
“Were you a part of this when we first met?” Atania asked.
Fletcher shook his head. “They didn’t approach me until we got you onto the boat.”
She stared into his eyes, searching for any sign of deceit. There weren’t any telltale signs, but he was apparently an expert liar. The second heartbeat in her chest thrummed, and she found herself unable to look away. He didn’t have the exotic eyes of her brethren, but they were beautiful in ways that seemed in her mind to be ordinary, but she’d never taken the time to notice on anyone else’s face.
They were the color of seafoam, with thin circles of brass around the pupil. The color was vibrant, but what really stood out were the lines that creased his face from the constant smile. The stubble that didn’t have to be constantly managed to appear presentable. The carefree aura he seemed to carry, even when she was certain he was buried in the shit at least as deep as she was.
“Hey, it’s alright.” Fletcher placed his hand on her back, gently rubbing it. She’d not felt the tears coming, but the warmth of his touch opened the sluice in her tear ducts. “It’s gonna be alright. You’re safe now.” He whispered, leaning against her as she sobbed.
Safe.
The word sent chills down her spine. “I have to go back.” She’d promised Yasha no one would hurt her. Who was going to keep her safe? Now that Penelope had the power of a devil at her fingertips, who was going to stop her from doing something even more insane than she already would have? She lurched forward, grabbing her other boot and pulling it on.
“Woah, let’s slow it down a little. Why do you need to go back?” Fletcher asked.
She glanced over at him before going back to tying her boots. “You have no idea. It’s going to get so much worse.”
“You’re right, I don’t. I’m here for you, regardless.”
Snorting, Atania shook her head and stood up, going to the desk where Fletcher had put her leathers and dagger to start to pull them on. “You’ve got no idea what that entails.”
“Enlighten me.”
Atania turned to look at him, the ordinarily smug grin replaced with a look of genuine curiosity. “Okay, sure. Why not? I’m fucked anyway. How much worse could it get?”
“Still insulting, but we’re moving in the right direction.”
“Mmm where to start.” Atania took a deep breath. “Alright, a psychopath already wanted to kill me, and I’m directly responsible for her most trusted minion’s death. I have no proof, but I’m pretty sure she tried to have me killed before any of this even started by feeding me and my best friend to a dragon. Now, I’ve run off with a bard from a magical land that has no problems and left behind just the sweetest little girl that I promised to protect. Oh, and if all that wasn’t bad enough. That psychopath has the power of a devil in a tiny ball and I have no idea what that means.”
She took a deep breath, watching Fletcher slowly nod at her. After a few seconds of silence, he perked up. “Oh, you’re done? I was waiting for you to get to the really difficult, scary stuff.” The smug grin slid onto his lips again.
She couldn’t stop the laughter from bursting from her chest. There was nothing about any of this that smelled anything like levity, and yet here she was. Laughing. Even when she was doing her best to ignore his ridiculous antics, even when she had the power to shut it off, he still found a way to get to her.
“In all seriousness, though, we should talk to Melrhos. He’s going to have another plan to hit the castle. If nothing else, he needs to know what they’re walking into.” He said, holding a hand out to her.
She hesitated at first, but eventually took his hand and let him pull her back to the bed. She sat beside him and let him wrap his arm around her lower back. “I don’t have an immediate solution for any of your problems,” he admitted. “Walking back into the castle without any plan or back up is not the one though. Why don’t you tell me more about the little girl?”
Atania shook her head. “Yasha. The girl that’s always with Penelope. With the horns.” Fletcher didn’t say anything for longer than she’d suspected, prompting her to look up at him. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting to see on his face, but the sadness striped across it was certainly not it. “Fletcher?”
“Sorry…” He forced a smile onto his lips that didn’t communicate with the rest of his face. “It’s uhh…happy coincidence, I suppose. I was planning on saving the very same little girl, myself.”
Atania’s brows furrowed. “Why? What is she to you?”
“Oh you know.” His face relaxed, and the bravado that he wore as a mask oozed from him. “She’s become something of a fan.”
“A fan?” Atania leaned away from him to give him an assessing glance. “You’re lying to me again.”
Fletcher pursed his lips and sighed. “Okay, since we’re opening up to each other. I know she’s about eight months old. I don’t know how that’s possible, but I’m assuming Penelope has something to do with it.”
“That’d be a safe assumption to make, yeah.” Something wasn’t adding up. Why would Fletcher Sterling Lightfoot want with Yasha? “What do you want with her?”
“Want with her?” Fletcher scrunched his face up in disgust. “I don’t want anything with her. I’ve got a problem with child abuse. From the little I’ve seen…looks like that island is rampant with it.”
“And that’s why you’re doing all this?” She gestured in a tight circle in their general vicinity. “To save some kids?”
“Is that a bad reason?”
“For anyone with a shred of self-preservation instinct, yeah probably.”
Fletcher shrugged again. She’d not even noticed he’d been holding her hand until he let go, leaving her feeling strangely cold. He threw on one of his flowy blouses with the plunging neckline. The style suited him, but it was definitely not standard Etosian.
“I can’t say I’ve learned a lot of lessons in my life.” Fletcher did up the buttons to just past his belly button and then sat down to pull on and lace up his fancy boots. “There is one that always seems to stick, though. If people need help, I don’t need any other reason to help them. Now, maybe that does make me a fool, or untrustworthy, or any number of things I’ve been called… but I don’t really care.” He stood up and looked up at her with a genuine smile and a shrug. “I can help. That should be all that matters.”
As absolutely insane as that statement was, there was none of that charisma he hid his lies or half-truths with. He really wanted to help because he could. The absolute arrogance in that statement was baffling, and yet he believed it with his whole chest. A soft smile crept onto her lips as she stood and followed him out of the room.
Fletcher led her down the hall and into a room a little larger than the one she’d been in the previous night, and much more comfortable looking. Wooden panels covered the bar grating metal floors, and rugs covered the panels. There were numerous mismatched chair and a long couch, all in a semicircle around a fireplace that didn’t seem to have any exhaust for the smoke, but didn’t seem to be filling the room either.
“Madra,” Fletcher held his arms out, and the tall, lanky druid from the previous night approached, wrapping Fletcher up and picking him up to embrace him. Even with her precise hearing, she couldn’t quite hear what Fletch whispered into his ear.
“Feeling better?” Melrhos stepped around the two men, slapping Fletcher on his back as he approached from where he’d been sitting in one of the big armchairs.
“Little headache, but my legs work…so it could be worse.” Atania said following him over to a side table near the fire.
“You smoke?” Melrhos asked, opening a little wooden box and pulling out two thick cigars.
“No, I don’t.”
“More for me.” He tucked the second cigar into his already straining shirt pocket and popped the first into his mouth. “You give anymore thought to joining our merry band?”
Atania let out a breath and shook her head. “I’m not sure what other choice I’m going to have.”
Melrhos shrugged. “You could run. You wouldn’t be the first defector. Some of them even get away.”
She felt the rest of the room get quiet. Everyone was focusing in on their conversation and it was making her nervous. She swallowed hard against a lump in her throat, but when Fletcher’s callous fingers slipped between hers, it slowly faded. “If I’m going to do this, there are going to be some things you’re gonna need to know.”
Melrhos grinned a toothy, tobacco filled grin and waved her over to sit. “By all means, educate me.”
She sat in the chair beside him, Fletcher sitting beside her and the others filling in where there was space. “I assume you know who Penelope is.” She waited for the affirming nod before continuing. “She’s going to do her best to hunt me down. Probably got soldiers scouring the city for me already.”
“She does.” Melrhos nodded. “Our barriers are impenetrable, though. From what I’m told.” He glanced over at Freya who smiled warmly.
“They are very strong, but not impenetrable.” She clarified. “But that’s not the major issue.”
Melrhos raised a brow and, after waiting too long for anyone else to speak, gestured in a quick circle with his free hand. “Well, on with it.”
“You were told she killed the devil in the castle basement?” Atania asked.
“I was told someone killed it.” Melrhos shrugged. “Half expected it was you, but that’s concerning if she did.”
“She didn’t just kill him. She stole his soul. It’s hanging around her neck like a lover’s locket.”
After a very long, uncomfortable silence, Madra was the first to speak. “Excuse me? The elders died closing that portal…and you’re telling me the devil got through, anyway?”
“If his soul being stuck in an orb around the neck of a madwoman is the same thing…then yes.” Atania glanced over at him.
Melrhos rolled the cigar between his teeth and clicked his tongue. “That is not ideal… do we know what the orb does?”
“Other than stealing souls? No. If she has any access to that power, though. We’re all royally fucked.”
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