37. The Price of Darkness #3
The exit drew closer as Adder asked, “Where are the pampered lords now?”
“Sleeping,” I lied.
“Good,” Adder responded, ducking through the large hole in the stone wall. “We shouldn’t have any problems leaving then.”
The asshole didn’t even offer me his hand to help me through the rocky exit. Quickly, I scanned the land littered with tombstones, searching for my target. Coming up empty, we trudged forward, down the steep hills, toward the gates.
Suddenly, a crow cawed. Glancing around, the outline of a dark raven appeared atop a headstone.
Never.
“That’s one of their pets,” I told Adder. “I can tell her to make sure the lords stay in the castle.”
“Witch shit?” Adder questioned, noting the bird and then looking toward the gate, no doubt measuring how much further we needed to travel and how exposed to every window in the castle we were.
“Yeah, witch shit.”
“Make it quick.”
Never cocked her head as I approached, crunching through the dried leaves.
Esbat Cackle’s grave lay before me, a giant stone angel clutching a book perched above it.
I’d beheld spookier things in my time on this estate, this one still made me uneasy, though.
“Never,” I addressed Spade’s familiar. “Can you show me where my sister Prism is… please?”
Never pointed her black beak over my shoulder in Adder’s direction and squawked.
“Don’t worry about him, I’ve got it.” I very much didn’t have it and was making it all up as I went…
but whatever. Never hopped down from her spot on the moss covered headstone and nudged at my pocket.
Confused for a moment, I pulled out Spade’s pocket watch for her inspection.
Never’s wise eyes looked to the watch, then to me, then to the watch again, as if she were piecing something together in her head.
Finally, she tilted her beak to the sky and cawed twice before glancing back at me.
I only stared back in confusion. “I don’t speak bird, I’m sorry.”
“Will you hurry the hell up?” Adder shouted. “This place gives me the creeps. Feels like something’s watching me.”
“Oh, big tough Adder Viper is scared of a graveyard? Grow up,” I yelled back, turning my attention to Never once more.
“Please?” I whispered softly. Witches had always been friends with ravens and crows. We had a natural affinity for each other and an easy communication. I hoped that would work in my favor now, because I was running out of time.
Never tilted her head again before ruffling her feathers, letting one fall. She then pecked the fallen feather and nudged my knuckles. I accepted her offering and watched as she hopped back to her perch on the headstone. Inspecting her long, onyx feather, I ran my index finger down its bristles.
Instantly, a moving image shocked into my mind.
Prism skipped along the forest, stopping to pluck a mushroom from the ground.
Safe, I sighed in relief. Safe and alive.
My beautiful sister spun on her heel—and to my horror—two giant withers stalked behind her.
I wanted to scream for her to run but knew she couldn’t hear me.
This vision, this gift, was simply showing me where she was at present.
“Willowspire is close,” she said to them, seemingly unafraid.
“We’ll be there soon.” The withers in all their gruesome glory, bounded beside her as she frolicked.
And the vision faded out. Tears pricked my eyes as I pressed my palms together towards Spade’s familiar. “Thank you.”
My sister, my brilliant, brave, resourceful sister, had convinced the monster to bring her home.
Or at least tricked them into bringing her back for some period of time.
Regardless, she would be in Willowspire soon—and I had to be there to welcome her home and protect her from being stolen back.
She was coming home because she knew I’d protect her, I’d keep her safe.
Once I had her—I’d never let her out of my sight again.
“Move it,” I snapped at Adder, stomping quickly past him and towards the gates.
The bulky man’s footfalls fell behind me. “I’m looking forward to silencing that disrespectful mouth of yours,” he threatened.
“Not if I silence your beating heart first,” I muttered beneath my breath, stopping at the wrought iron covered by thorns.
Iron kept the daimons in, I realized.
Someone had put a lot of effort into keeping the Blackthornes contained within their ghostly and gilded prison, didn’t they?
I gestured to the gate. “Well, go ahead then.”
“Me? Why don’t you go first.”
“You made it in the first time,” I argued.
“You’re the witch. Use one of your stupid little poems or something.”
“Spells,” I corrected. “Idiot. Do you not even know how you got through?”
Adder glared down at me before roughly thrusting the torch at my chest and approaching the gate.
My gaze drifted back to the onyx castle as Adder huffed against the thorny vines.
Gray clouds hung between the structure’s piercing roofs and a sharp crescent moon perched behind it.
Had they noticed I was gone? Did they even care?
Daimons using me. I didn’t know a lot about daimons, just like the common person didn’t know much of devils.
We didn’t need a thorough history lesson on their lore to know they were evil beyond comprehension.
Goddess, I was lucky to be alive… and yet…
a part of me yearned to return. Despite their darkness, despite our twisted desires…
there was a part of me that recognized them—as dumb as that was to admit.
It was all over now, though. There would be no going back after this.
Adder groaned as he used all his muscle and might to pry the gate open.
“It’s closed by magical means, your stupid biceps aren’t going to crack it—“ But then the gate budged—and budged some more. Something about Adder… the same something that allowed him inside, was allowing him to escape. Or at the very least, he was exploiting a blind spot in the wards somehow. I’d figure it out later.
Only a small sliver of the gate opened, about the width of Adder’s thick neck.
He’d have to struggle a bit longer to get it open enough for his large and useless man-form to squeeze through.
Dense and dusty fog rolled down the hills beyond the gates, unfurling into the lonely streets of Willowspire.
Home… at least it used to be. Prism would be there soon, and I’d be damned if I weren’t there for her after all she’d endured.
My sister needed me, and her need for me was greater than my draw to the Blackthornes.
It was never meant to last forever, them and me. They were there to be used, and I’d used them thoroughly. The end. They’d rot in their castle as sulking midnight daimons while I moved on with my sister and helped her heal.
My throat tightened as I held the iron bar for support and Adder groaned and panted, fighting it open. The gate budged another inch—and a howl tore across the atmosphere.
Adder paused. “What the hell was that?”
My heart stuttered to a stop.
The gallop of fast moving paws thrummed in the distance, crunching leaves, and punctuated by the sound of ragged breathing.
Another howl pierced the night—closer now.
In the distance, the panting ceased as a silhouette of a wolf took shape atop a lonely hill.
Turning on his heel, Adder yanked the torch from my hold and held it up to light the way. “A wolf?” He mused. “I’ve hunted and killed plenty of wolves.”
As if on cue, Wander rose onto two legs, his gangly arms hanging as his chest heaved. In the glint of the moonlight, his sharp teeth dripped with saliva as he snarled in Adder’s direction, walking forward now.
I sucked in my breath and fought to squeeze between the small opening that Adder had made in the gate. Thorns poked ruthlessly into my ribs, and I winced, pushing through the pain.
“Not a wolf, hubby-dearest,” I said, having gotten one shoulder through. “A lycanthrope—and I hope he enjoys picking you out of his teeth.”
“I’m going to fucking kill you, Rumor Malefic.
” Adder grabbed my bicep, pulling me back.
I screamed as the thorns pricked against the bare skin of my arm.
Wander howled again —and at my angle I couldn’t see him, though the lycanthrope’s long shadow washed over my would-be-fiancé.
“Better climb like the scaredy-cat you are.” I grinned, slipping out of his grip and thrusting myself through the gate.
Wet ground broke my fall on the other side as Adder dropped his torch, yelling, “Get back, beast!” The rustle of vines and his yelps from the thorns interspersed between Wander’s barks and snarls.
“Thanks, buddy,” I whispered, sparing one last look at the looming castle I was leaving behind like the cruel nightmare it was.
Onward to Willowspire. Back to my sister, my old life… back to who I was.
As if the Blackthorne Boys had never existed at all.