Chapter 7
Periwinkle
Istare up at the looming rift, my skin prickling with the weird energy it gives off—that quavery push-pull as if it can’t make up its mind whether to hurl me away or drag me in.
How can this one feel so similar to the other two odd ones I’ve encountered even though the landscape around us looks different?
There’s no forest nearby and no city buildings either. We’re standing in a small cove on a rocky beach, low craggy rocks surrounding us in a semi-circle and ocean waves hissing rhythmically behind us. The air tingles against my cheeks with the dampness of the salty spray.
Jonah looks a little weary after the unexpected plane ride Rollick summoned us onto last night. Unlike the rest of us, his body requires sleep. But he shakes himself to sharper alertness and glances at our headmaster.
I catch a twinge of apprehension before he speaks. “This is three of these rifts now. And it’s been less than a week since you discovered the second one.”
Rollick’s mouth twists. “There are four, actually. My contacts in Algeria have encountered one there—I heard about it in the early hours of the morning when you were already on your way here. That one is even more out of the way than this one or the one in northern Canada, though, so there’s no telling how long it’s been around. It could be even older than the first.”
“Four,” Raze repeats with a solemn expression.
Mirage pipes up in a teasing tone. “Three’s a crowd, four’s a horde!”
The basilisk shifter shoots our companion a chiding look before focusing on Rollick. “There could be even more that we haven’t noticed, then, couldn’t there?”
“Warped rifts and demented creatures all over the world,” Hail mutters, shifting restlessly on his feet. “Wonderful.”
The demon inclines his head. “It’s possible.
Although they seem to have appeared somewhat at random, and three of them are shifting position close enough to human settlements that we heard reports relatively early on.
I’ve had my associates seeking out stories of ‘monster’ attacks much more avidly, so if there are others we haven’t identified yet, we should find them soon. ”
I open my mouth to ask a question of my own, but at the same moment, the rift’s surface ripples. A furry frog-shaped creature with a rat-like tail hops out of the shadow realm and drops onto the rocks with a thump.
It peers around the cove, blinking blearily as if it tumbled out of bed into another world. Who could blame it for being confused?
All of us back up a few steps to give the creature space. It appears to be content with simply gazing around and stretching its legs one by one. Not much of a sprinter.
I dart a glance at Rollick. “Are you still catching them?”
His crooked smile slants even more. “I already have quite a collection at this point. I’m in the process of deciding the best way to handle their continued arrival.
A few colleagues of mine who’ve been helping create a barricade around the city-side rift should be arriving soon to stem the tide here as well. ”
The creature rolls its eyes toward the sky, and a sharp kick of pain races from it into me. The sensation is followed by a dribble of discomfort that’s sour as vinegar.
“The sun hurts its eyes,” I say. “I’m not sure this one likes it here in the mortal world all that much. Maybe we could convince it to go back to the shadow realm?”
Rollick raises his eyebrows. “If that’s true, it might decide to stay on the other side now that it knows what’s waiting for it here. Let’s give it a try. Just give it a little nudge, Jonah, so the effect will wear off quickly and we’ll know whether it’s inclined to return.”
Jonah squares his shoulders and focuses his attention on the furry frog. His conflicted emotions about using his sorcery—strawberry-sweet pride that the powerful demon can count on him, cabbage-bitter shame that his magic depends on bending another being’s free will—waft through our connection.
The indecipherable sorcerous words that slip from his mouth make me shiver even though they’re not directed at me. I’m not sure the sound will ever not remind me of the years I spent tormented by a sorcerer who’s the exact opposite of Jonah’s kind, respectful self.
If David Blaver really were a bowl of rancid broth, I’d like to flip it over and stomp all over it.
The shadowkind creature twitches but otherwise doesn’t move. Jonah frowns. “I’ll try again with more oomph. The other creatures like this have seemed a little resistant to sorcery.”
He tried pitching his magic at the first rift we found too, but it didn’t affect the portal at all. But then, Rollick said sorcery doesn’t usually affect regular rifts either.
Jonah repeats the unnerving syllables in a more forceful tone, and the creature finally spins around. It hops over and heaves itself up toward the rift, vanishing into the shadows at the same time.
Jonah’s posture relaxes. “Even with the extra push I added, considering the way it resisted, I don’t think the effect should last more than a few minutes. We’ll see if it comes back.”
Mirage has swiveled toward the water. He walks to the ocean’s edge, not seeming to care when the waves wash over his sneakers. Of course, if he wants he can simply duck into the shadows and pop out again with them perfectly dry.
He cocks his head. “I saw something jump in the water.”
Hail ambles over to join him, careful to stay out of range of the waves. He studies the ocean with a typical casual stance, but I taste a tang of worry from him. “There are some fish that’ll leap out into the air now and then. If it was farther out, it could have been a dolphin or a porpoise.”
“Yes, they like to have their fun. This was different—I caught a bit of scent in the spray. I think it was shadowkind.”
Could another of the warped beings have emerged without Rollick realizing and slipped into the ocean?
I squint at the rippling water, dark gray under the cloudy sky. It’s hard to search for currents of emotion out there when there are so many sensations flowing into me so strongly from nearby.
“I’ll go take a look,” I announce, and spring into the patches of darkness that undulate across the water.
Raze lets out a disconcerted noise. “Peri!”
When I don’t answer, he ripples after me into the shadows, traveling behind me.
He must be worried that any shadowkind out here might attack me. I’m not going to argue about the company. It’s a little reassuring to drink in the hot-cocoa warmth of his protectiveness.
No one should have to work without refreshments.
I slip over and through the shadowy depths alongside the sway of the water, searching for any unusual flavors. Fish flit by beneath me without giving off any strong impressions. The curiosity—and a bit of consternation—from the companions we’ve left behind on the beach fades with the distance.
Then I catch it: a brief punch of exhilaration like salted caramel. It’s coming from a presence that races past us through the water below.
The surge of emotion contains an eerie quaver that makes me suspect it is one of the strange shadowkind, not some regular mortal or shadow being. I push myself deeper into the thicker shadows below the water’s surface, following its giddy trail.
All at once, the emotions shift, excitement chilling into a slash of panic. The creature dives, hurtling away from me so swiftly that I lose track of its presence in a matter of seconds.
“I only wanted to talk to you!” I call after it, but it’s clearly not in a friend-making mood.
I wait a little longer, aware of Raze hovering nearby, before traveling back to the beach. When I pop out of the shadows with a crunch of the pebbles beneath my feet, three newcomers are standing with Rollick and the others.
I freeze. “Oh. Hello.”
As Raze materializes just behind me, Rollick motions to me and then to the new arrivals: a woman as short as I am but much slimmer, with braided hair that gleams silver and darker gray; a big brawny guy with ruddy brown skin and a black buzzcut; and a leaner guy with an auburn ponytail and a couple of lumps stretching his light jacket just beneath his shoulders.
The demon’s expression has warmed with a broader grin.
“Shadowbloods, this is another associate of ours, Periwinkle. We’re not sure exactly what label she should go by yet, but she consumes emotions and can also blast them out.
Peri, meet Riva, Zian, and Dominic. Since they’re hybrids, they’re much better than we are at handling the kinds of materials that’ll repel more beings from coming through the rift. ”
Zian hefts a sack he must have carried with him from whatever vehicle they arrived in. “And we brought lots of it. Where do you want us to lay the stuff out?”
The demon turns to consider the rift. “Let’s lace the ground with silver and iron pellets all along this stretch of beach…
Bury them under the pebbles so they’re not obvious.
And also scatter them through the nooks in the outcroppings around the cove and beyond.
We can hope this rift won’t wander too much. ”
The three shadowbloods move closer to the rift, the other two carrying bags of their own. Seeing the gleam of noxious metals in their hands, I step back, my skin creeping.
After they’re done laying the materials down, we won’t want to hang around the rift either. The portal might be indecisive, but those metals are all “push” when it comes to shadowkind. And very pushy about it.
If anything, the rift feels even more dithery now. The dissonant energy vibrates into my skin at a higher pitch.
Mirage cocks his head. “Is it excited to see them?”
Hail snorts, but Rollick’s forehead furrows. “The rift does seem to be reacting to our new arrivals. Or possibly to the metals. I’ll have to check with the shadowbloods at the city-side rift to see if a similar effect happened there.”
Jonah turns to me. “Did you find another creature out in the water?”