Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Torin
I have my arms wrapped around Riley before deciding that’s not enough, so I lift my shirt which I cram over his head when he’s busy talking to Special Agent Kim. This confuses both her and Riley, but she doesn’t know how good Riley is at getting lost and abducted by the enemy.
“I am making sure he can’t be separated from me when we pass through the Door,” I explain.
“I… see,” Kim says, clearly not seeing, but I don’t care whether she sees or doesn’t see. All I care about is getting my Riley from point A to point B with me.
“What about me?” Mickey whines. “Do I go in Riley’s shirt, then?”
“Sure. We can’t lose either of you,” I say. Riley gives me a disgruntled noise as Mickey tries to climb into his shirt, while the agents, Lark, Story, and Vero stare at us.
“Lark… what is happening?” Story quietly asks.
“Shhh… they’ve claimed they are going to help us. Allow them to do their traditions,” she responds.
“This is not a tradition, this is an overly anxious man afraid we’re going to get separated when we pass through the Door like last time.
He thinks if we’re touching, we can’t end up in different areas,” Riley says as he tries to break free, but I’ve been regaining some strength and he has no idea how hard it’d be to break from my hold in his current state.
“We’re ready to go. Vero, are you ready?
Have you left your grumpy pants behind?”
That seems to be a negative as he goes, “I will—”
None of us get to hear what he will do because I step through the Door, feeling pleased when Riley is still in my arms on the other side.
Mickey’s kind of just hanging on too, but I was less worried about him because that creature is still stuck to his shirt, and I would like it as far away from me as it can be.
“I’ve made it. Toast has made it, we’ve all made it,” Mickey declares as he lifts the monstrosity up and crams it near my face like he thinks I want to get a closer look at it.
“Banish that wretched thing at once!” I growl.
“Hon, it’s just a little bat,” Riley says as he gives the thing a single poke on the head.
I shudder before I realize we have an audience. A woman and man in their forties stare at us while I look around the small underground room I’d impatiently waited in while I’d been separated from Riley. I chose to create a new Door here instead of using the location Onyx and her people know about.
“You must be the chosen ones,” the woman says, trying her best to pretend that Riley crawling out of my shirt is not strange at all. “I’m Sterling and this is my husband, Ridge.”
“She is our leader of sorts,” Lark explains before turning to Sterling. “Onyx met with their people, asking them for food. When they told her the food would be sent to us, she was not happy to make the trade, claiming she would spread the food equally among everyone.”
Sterling scoffs. “What lies. You know that food will never make it past the capital walls.”
“We brought some food just for us, but more is being gathered so that we can feed everyone tomorrow. In the meantime, we need to decide how we will safely disperse it without calling down Onyx’s wrath,” Lark says.
Sterling nods. “We will inform others and tell them to keep this quiet, but you know she has spies among us. There will be no way to keep them from knowing, but hopefully they won’t find out until our people have eaten.”
“For now, let us eat,” Lark says as she gestures at the bags we’d brought. “Call the others. We will discuss our next course of action while we do so.”
Lark turns to us and smiles. “I apologize that we really don’t have a table set to dine, but please take a chair so you can eat with us. I know you must be hungry as well.”
I can tell Riley just wants to sleep, but he quickly finds a seat and waves me to the one next to him as a few others come into the room.
They introduce themselves, and while some seem wary of us, they all treat us with kindness.
When they begin dishing out the food that Kim had sent with us, they want to give us heaping plates, and we have to fend them off and make them share it among everyone in the room.
“You don’t know how much this kindness means to us,” Sterling says. “It’s been so long since anyone has promised to help us.”
“What if you leave this realm?” Riley asks. “This land is plainly dying, and you are suppressed. Have you ever considered leaving?”
“It’s our home,” Lark answers. “For many of us, the only connection we still have to our magic is what is left in the ground. We can feel it… even if it dwindles by the day. The idea of leaving that is devastating for most of us. If we could just find a balance between us…” She trails off.
“I fear a balance will never be made,” Sterling says. “But we can hope we’re heading in the right direction.”
“Our hope is that when we find peace, our goddess will return and heal our land,” Story tells us.
The feast is cheerier than I imagined it would be. It reminds me of a time when my own land was filled with people I would dine with. The massive table in my palace would be full as drinks were poured and food was distributed. There was once so much happiness in those halls.
These people aren’t surrounded by a grand palace, they wear rags that hang off their bodies, and still, they try their best to be happy.
Lark turns to us. “We would be very pleased to have you stay with us for the evening. You can stay in our house with Story and me.”
“We can go back,” I say.
She shakes her head. “Please, I insist. I think it brings them joy to see you here. We once lost our faith in gods and goddesses… but having the four of you here to help, including two gods… I’ve not seen people this lighthearted in ages. They have hope for the first time in a long while.”
“I will sleep anywhere,” Mickey says. “I haven’t gone so long without sleep since the day I was born.”
“Wow, I’m very sorry we’ve put you through that,” Lark tells him, sounding earnest for some reason.
“Please ignore him. He doesn’t represent our people in the slightest,” Riley says as she and Story laugh.
“I want to be like him when I grow up,” Story comments, and I genuinely can’t tell whether he’s joking or not.
“Thank you!” Mickey says, beaming proudly before he smacks Vero’s chest. “You hear that, Vero, ol’ buddy ol’ pal? Someone wants to be just like me.”
Vero, who has said absolutely nothing since we came through the Door, just grunts.
“We’re on the fast track to becoming friends, but don’t fret, Riley, you’ll always be my best friend,” Mickey promises.
“Oddly not worried,” Riley says as he eyes Vero who looks like the last person to willingly become friends with anyone.
Lark takes us outside into the unlit streets. I think she notices us looking around because she glances up at the dark lampposts.
“Those assholes cut off our power after seven. They said they need to conserve energy, but meanwhile they’re up there in their towers with all of the lights on,” Story says as he looks over at the wall enclosing the capital.
Even from here, there are clear specks of light that stand out even more among the dim light we find ourselves in.
“We’re the ones who have to work to give them that power, and they won’t even let us use it. ”
“Have you tried cutting them off from things they need?” Riley asks curiously.
“They control everything,” Lark says. “The moment we stop one thing, they’ll stop something more vital that’ll hurt us. It won’t end well for us.”
Riley frowns. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“We’re quite the spectacle. I feel very important,” Mickey says as everyone peeks out of their homes to stare at us while we walk by.
“Well… when you’re used to looking at half-dead and grubby men, it’s easy to see why,” Lark teases.
“I can take my shirt off if it’ll help. I’m actually looking for more followers, and…” I eye the annoyingly attractive Vero with his crop top. “We really don’t want them following the wrong god, so a hood for that one would be nice. It doesn’t even need holes.”
“If you put a hood on me, I will crush your bones,” Vero growls.
Irritation spikes inside me that he’d even think of talking back to me after all he put Riley through. I turn around and abruptly stop, causing Vero to bump into me, which is all the excuse I need to start a new fight. “I would like to see you try.”
“Clothes off first, please,” Mickey requests. “You can leave your socks on for a bit of spice but everything else off.”
“Nope. Noooo. Remember how we’re trying to gain followers? Can’t do that by acting like two roosters,” Riley says, and his hand gently resting on my chest immediately soothes my soul.
Vero scoffs. “I see you’ve been whipped. You do whatever that weakling says.”
“Oddly enough, you do too since you’re stopping every time I ask,” Riley says.
Vero ignores that and looks around for someone else to bully. His eyes settle on Mickey, who doesn’t seem to know what to do with the look.
“Are you going to apologize for mistreating me? Look at my hands! My hands! I could barely eat. I could barely move,” Mickey whines as he shows off his hurt hands from Vero pushing him.
Riley grins. “Do you think maybe it’s not because of your hurt hands but because you’ve had Tommy cut your food for you ever since you revived him?”
“Whose side are you on, Riley?” Mickey asks.
He laughs and gives Mickey’s shoulder a squeeze. “You’re right. I’m on your side.”
“Over here,” Lark says as she nears their home. “While things are… rough, we do have ample homes because the branded aren’t permitted to have children.”
“Yet after hundreds of years there are still many of you,” Riley says.
Lark gives him a very sarcastic “Ha” like she’s pleased he gets it. “Yes. All of us were born from those who aren’t branded. Funny, right?”
“How do they forbid you from having children?” I ask, slightly scared of what the answer might be.