Chapter 17
CHAPTER 17
Jacaranda
“ W e’re going where ?” Drift asked in the hall outside of Deacon’s quarters.
“Faithless. Now ,” Deacon said firmly.
His pilot huffed unhappily, but said, “You got it, boss,” and put everything into motion for the trip.
I rolled my shoulders and winced. My muscles and joints ached from whatever Tolkabern had done to us. The pain was so intense that I had vomited twice on the onworlder ride back to Allegiant .
Now, weary to my ghost, Deacon helped me to his bed. He pushed my hair back from my forehead and looked at me in concern. “Any better?”
“Laying down is better than trying to stand,” I admitted, then glanced up at him beside the bed. “How are you still standing?”
“I am unsure,” Deacon said thoughtfully. “Perhaps Tolkabern did not have the time to recharge his magic to attack me as violently as you. I do not feel well, but I can stand.”
My head still throbbed. “I pissed blood when we got on board.”
Deacon grimaced. “Do you think the damage is permanent or—"
“No.” As much pain as I’d been in initially, the agony was starting to fade as time went on. “I’m better than when I first attacked him. I think it was a warning shot. And you were right. I knew better than to charge him again. I just…I lost my head when we realized she was gone."
“I only said that to you to gain his trust, though it was true,” Deacon said with a light smile, then sobered. “I just…I hope he was not lying to us.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
He dragged his fingers through his hair. “I do not know that much about magicians, outside of their evil tendencies. I do not know what they are capable of, or if that includes being able to make Sarah just…disappear.”
My stomach cramped at the possibility. “Fuck. I hadn’t thought of that.”
His lips thinned. “I considered staying behind to see if she reappeared, but given his distaste for our attacks on him—"
“That would have been a bad idea,” I said, knowing we wouldn’t succeed. “We can’t go at Tolkabern, just the two of us, with no plan. If she’s not in Faithless, then we will go back to the cave.”
“With a plan,” he agreed with a nod. “Do you need anything?”
“Some plain water would be nice.”
He smiled. “Still wanting to be sober?”
“I want to heal,” I countered. “Alcohol sounds like a great idea right now, which means it’s probably not.”
He chuckled and fetched a glass of water for me. I drank it down, along with two more.
“You may wish to pace yourself, if you are pissing blood,” he suggested.
“I want to flush out my system. Water is good for that.” A nifty trick I’d learned on my Earth travels.
“Very well, then. Would you care to rest until we reach the city gates?”
I settled back onto the pillows. “If you don’t mind.”
“Of course not. I will go pester Drift.”
As he walked away, I noted his limp, no doubt from the magician’s curse. His every hobbled step hurt my heart.
Once he was gone, I tried to rest and sleep, but I couldn’t stop thinking. It wasn’t a problem I was used to. I preferred to let Deacon do the strategizing between us. But the room’s silence was filled by too many thoughts.
What if Sarah is still back in that cave? What if she’s with Rex? Why would she have willingly gone to him? Have they been intimate? The last question made me choke on my water.
I trusted Sarah. Sarah was an honorable person. Sarah was not a cheater.
But Rex on the other hand…
Rex Terian would do anything he wanted at any time to get what he desired. Rex was a piece of shit, and if she was under his influence like he was some mind-controlling drug, then Omen was right—I couldn’t blame Sarah for what she did when she was tainted by him. But that was easier said than done.
I closed my eyes and tried not to think of them together that way. The idea of her and him being intimate made me sick to my stomach, and my stomach was already empty. My head throbbed from it all, and I was so tired. Ever since…well, I couldn’t think of when I had a good night of sleep in recent memory. Or really, ever. The thought of a whole night of quality sleep was like the Tooth Fairy or the Oakevy—a fairytale.
“Jac, wake up. We are here,” Deacon said as he stood over me.
I wiped the sleep from my eyes, realizing that I’d finally passed out at some point. “Sorry—"
“Do not be. I am glad to see you get some rest.”
But it didn’t feel like I had rested. If anything, I was more exhausted by the short nap than when I had dozed off. I scraped myself together and found out Helios was on his way to greet us.
“That guy again?” I grumbled.
“I am afraid so,” Deacon said, sounding just as annoyed. “He insists we need a chaperone to the manor.”
“He did that last time, too. Get ready for some whining.”
When the toady came on board, he sighed as soon as he saw me. “You did not call ahead. Again . Honestly, don’t you people have manners?”
“Nope. Fresh out,” I said.
He rolled his eyes. “Very well. Where is your cockpit? I’ll give directions to your pilot. At least this ship is worthy of flying to my master’s home.”
I glared at the little asshole. “Be glad I feel like shit, or I’d lay you out for that.”
He looked me up and down, before he smirked at me. “Get your ass handed to you, Cozz?”
“I’m a big enough man to admit when someone bested me. Yeah. Lesson learned.” I jammed my hands on my hips. “Don’t fuck with the magicians .”
His face withered. “Uh, yes, very good advice. I wish you a speedy recovery.” Then he minced down the hallway to where he must have thought the cockpit was.
I looked to Deacon. “He took off like his tail was on fire. What was that about?”
Deacon grinned. “I would imagine he has dealt with magicians himself and it did not go well, though I am curious to know what his interaction was, particularly since he survived it, and Helios does not strike me as a survivor.”
I nodded, and Helios returned to us once we were in the air again. Boldly, I asked him, “Care to tell us about your history with magicians?”
A startled look passed over his features. “No. Why? What have you heard?”
“Nothing.” I shrugged. “You just seemed awful jumpy when I mentioned them.”
A spark of fear flashed in his eyes. “Some people say that if you speak of their kind too frequently, they will appear and kill you.”
I laughed. “They’re not the Candyman.”
He and Deacon looked completely confused.
“Never mind,” I said, not in the mood to explain the Earth slang I’d learned. “How have things been since Rex has returned?”
The other man’s eyes darkened again. “I’m sure you’ve seen it, since our broadcast is back up.”
“No, we haven’t. What’s happened?” Deacon asked.
“The fights,” he spat, sounding disgusted. “They have been…diminished.”
“In what way?” I asked.
“My master has ordered them to no longer be to the death. He says such things bore him now.”
Deacon’s eyes were on me for a moment, before he glanced back at Helios and asked, “And what terrible thing does not bore him now?”
“Who knows?” Helios tossed his hands in the air in frustration. “He keeps changing rules, making things better for the lower classes.” He rolled his eyes and huffed, “It has been a nightmare.”
“How so?” Deacon asked.
“If you ruled over a city of the dead, a city populated by those who believe they no longer have anything to lose and only seek to be entertained until they are reborn to the ether, do you think being kind to them would help or would hinder the order of things?” Helios glanced from me to Deacon. “Do you believe they would respond well to any sort of nicety? Or do you think a level of harshness would keep them from storming the city?”
I thought about what he was saying. “So, Rex isn’t keeping his people in line?”
“The city is on the verge of a riot.” The other man jutted his chin out. “I have told Rex this, but he does not listen to me. Or to anyone, it would seem. Not anymore. He has even stopped holding meetings with the city council.”
“He has a city council?” Deacon asked incredulously.
“He did . They are a group of older ghosts who have been on Halla the longest. They know more about this cursed place than anyone. But now, he’s not taking their calls.”
Interesting. And worrisome, as well.
The ship slowed and parked in front of the manor. I slapped the man on his back. “Hopefully, this will be the last you see of us, Helios.”
“If the gods be merciful,” he muttered as we all left Allegiant .
He led us past the guards and through the dark halls that I had memorized the first time I came. I could have walked the manor blindfolded, thanks to the training I’d had from the academy for scouts. We always had to memorize our surroundings in case of power outages or sudden blindness. Scouts had to be useful, no matter their circumstances, or they were disowned by their employers and left to beg on the streets. Our utility kept us alive.
But with my aching body, I was glad to have the escort to show the guards we came in peace. Fighting our way through the manor was out of the question.
Helios knocked on Rex’s bedroom door and sighed. “It would be best if you two—"
The door swung open, and Sarah smiled at us. “Hi, guys!” She happily threw herself at the both of us.
We kissed her hard, taking turns. I didn’t want to take turns. I wanted to throw her over my shoulder and run out the front door. But once she stepped back she had a strange look in her eye that told me now was not the time. Plus, I couldn’t run anywhere at the moment even if I wanted to.
Helios’ gaze narrowed as he growled, “You again?”
Deacon glared at the other man. “Watch your tone when you speak to my consort.”
But she merely smiled at Helios and said, “Yes, me again. And not just me—Rex is in here, too. Uh, let’s go to his office.”
Fuck .
So, the four of us left for his stately office, enjoying the nastiest looks from his guards. Once we were inside, I didn’t take the time to glance around and memorize my surroundings. I didn’t want to be there any longer than I needed, but I couldn’t stop myself from noting the hand cannon collection on the wall behind his desk.
Oddly enough, Sarah sat in Rex’s chair and gestured for us to sit opposite her. Reluctantly, we did.
Warily, Deacon asked, “What is this all about, Sarah?”
“First of all, I’m glad you came.” She folded her hands on top of the desk. “I’m still learning about how communications work here and I wasn’t sure how to send word—"
“Why are we in Rex’s office instead of in Allegiant right now?” I demanded impatiently. “And why the fuck did you run away from the cave?”
She smiled, but it was strained. “I did not like sharing you two, even in that limited format. More than that, Tolkabern was not going to let it go at just watching you two. He liked seeing you both too much for that. I have no doubt that things were going to get worse afterwards.”
Her body trembled and her head listed to the side, while Rex’s face popped out from the side of her neck, startling both Deacon and me.
“It’s true,” Rex said, while we stared at him incredulously. “If Tolkabern got his way on one thing, he would push for another. It’s his way. He would have tried to bed one or both or all three of you. Sarah has flawless instincts.”
Then her body vibrated again, and her head righted. “So, see? I made the right call.”
Helios shuddered. “That does not stop being disturbing, does it?”
I gritted my teeth and asked, “Why are you joined with him again, instead of on our ship? Alone ?”
“Omen mentioned that thing about a remnant of Rex being in me,” she pointed out. “Well, it turns out, we may have traded remnants. That’s why he’s been nicer to his people and I have been—"
“ That’s why he changed the fighting pits?” Helios asked, looking horrified. “You’ve infected my master?”
“Actually, it appears we infected each other ,” she stated, looking way too calm and relaxed. “So, we are working hard to fish out those remnants and put them back where they belong. That way, we are both whole again.”
A muscle in Deacon’s jaw ticked angrily. “Who says he will not take more of you this time?”
“He didn’t take any of me in the first place, Deacon,” she said, sitting up straighter in the chair. “He doesn’t want to be infected by me any more than I want to be infected by him. And more than that, none of us want Faithless to fall apart. As things stand now, the majority of ghosts on Halla live here, which means they have structure and rules, which is a very good thing. That’s probably why the ununited among our crews and friends have not been hassled by the ghosts as much as we thought they might be.”
I sighed and rubbed my fingers across my forehead, trying not to lose my shit. “Okay, so we want Faithless to stand, but what about you ? How long do you think this sorting of remnants is going to take?”
“I’m not sure,” she said, glancing from me to Deacon. “Which is why I think you two should go back home for now.”
“ What ?” We shouted together.
She sighed a bit impatiently. “You both have obligations aside from me—"
“Nothing that cannot be changed,” Deacon said heatedly.
“And Rex has meetings about keeping the peace here and other things, all of which will require our presence,” she went on. “So, I will be busy, probably for the next few days or maybe even longer, while we get everything untangled. You can’t put your lives on hold.”
Then she shifted her gaze solely to Deacon, her own softening. “I know you have more at stake than just me right now. Originally, we were to unite, and then you intended to go back to Orhon for the next part of your plan regarding everything there,” she said meaningfully. “So, it makes sense for me to stay here and handle Faithless, while you handle that .”
I had been so focused on Sarah that I had forgotten about all of that —by which she meant Deacon’s plan to wage a coup on Justice Bateen. But she couldn’t say the specifics in front of Rex and Helios, and had to speak in code.
I had no clue how she kept the partition in her mind between her thoughts and that monster inside her head, but I imagined that was how the remnants must have been created in the first place. Severing lines of memory must have left pieces of memory scattered in her mind. His, too.
Forcing her to speak in code about the coup like this is not going to help that situation.
I regretted the words before I even said them. “She’s right, Deacon.”
He jumped up from his seat. “Have you both lost your minds?” he shouted.
I gently shook my head and closed my eyes, because I couldn’t bear to look at Sarah when I said, “She is not the only thing we have at stake right now, and if the other things do not fall into place, we could lose everything, including her.” And that was not a risk I was willing to take.
His hands fisted at his sides as he studied us each in turn. “This is a terrible idea.”
Sarah’s lips pursed. “If you have a better one, I’m all ears,” she said as she sat back.
He looked ready to wage war, then suddenly, as if he realized that Sarah was right, his shoulders slumped. “No, I do not.”
“Then, it’s settled.” Sarah sounded resigned, but sad, too, and I couldn’t imagine the strength it had taken for her to make such a difficult decision. “Please be careful and take care of each other and know that I am doing everything I can to get back to you both as soon as possible.”
Knowing we had little choice, I stood up and patted Deacon’s shoulder. “Come on.”
“Oh, one more thing,” Sarah said, then she reached behind her, grabbed a hand cannon, and shot a hole through Helios’ head.
Both Deacon and I jumped back in shock as his body slumped to the floor. Unable to believe our Sarah could kill someone in cold blood like that, I looked back at her but saw Rex’s head springing from her neck, which explained the violent attack.
“He should have never let you in here, and I do not tolerate incompetence,” Rex spat, just as the guards ran in due to the loud hand cannon blast. “Burn Helios’ body,” he ordered them. “And execute his ghost if he comes back to my city.”
“Right away, master,” the biggest man said.
“And those two men there .” Rex pointed to us with Sarah’s body, his evil, gloating eyes narrowed on both of us. “Escort them back to their ship and see to it that they leave Faithless immediately. They are not allowed to come back here, under penalty of death.”