Chapter 31
“There are rumors of a beast that lives in the ivy. That is the ivy. I haven’t seen it yet, but it’s on my list of creatures I want to see before I retire. If it exists, I’ll find it.”
Journals of Reaper J. T. Cross
Nic traversed the woods with more confidence than was warranted, and all day he’d felt Alexys’s judgmental gaze on his back like a laser. It came as no surprise she wasn’t particularly grateful for his help, but he was giving it nonetheless.
In fact, to suggest she displayed any form of appreciation would be a gross exaggeration.
The woman found him wholly intolerable. And she made no effort to hide it.
He chuckled to himself as he remembered the look on her face when she’d seen him the night before, standing on Opal’s porch.
She’d been near feral with rage. In any other circumstance, he too would have been feral with rage (she’d abandoned him after all).
But how could he get truly angry with her when he knew her secret?
And it wasn’t a small secret, it was a life-altering, dangerous one.
That, compounded with Elliot’s rogue assignment that he just so happened to have a hand in, changed everything.
Suddenly, Alexys made sense to him in a way she never had before.
All that attitude, all that bitterness and bite, but underneath, she just needed someone’s help.
And that’s what he was there to do—he was the key to finding Elliot and solving her nightmares.
While Alexys might feel she was capable of rescuing her Warden, only Nic could prepare them for an encounter with the Hollow Walker.
And as much as he wanted to see the creature himself, he also wanted to find Elliot almost as much as Alexys did, which meant their goals were aligned.
And after that whistling, Nic was certain that the creature, and hopefully Elliot, weren’t far off.
“Would you slow down?” Alexys all but wheezed.
Nic slowed his pace and glanced over his shoulder. Alexys did appear incredibly vexed. Her complete lack of athleticism was concerning. By his approximation, they still had a few more miles to go, at least. “Having trouble keeping up?” He couldn’t resist antagonizing her.
Alexys growled something under her breath, no doubt an expletive.
Her cheeks were flushed pink from exertion, and her brow was furrowed as she glared at the ground beneath her feet. She looked so far out of her element, Nic actually felt some sympathy for the poor woman, having been forced out of her cozy office.
Nic wondered if she packed extra clothing, but after seeing the fierce scowl clouding her expression, he decided not to ask.
The heat of the afternoon hadn’t helped things (her heavy breathing punctuated by muttered complaints and the occasional curse), but now the temperature was dropping rapidly, and he worried she’d be cold.
He considered offering her some words of positivity, but the nature of their relationship wasn’t friendly.
In short? Motivational speeches weren’t helpful.
In fact, the opposite seemed to be true.
Perhaps it was their strained relationship or her prickly disposition, but Alexys seemed to respond better to a target than an encouragement.
As if venting her anger made her feel better, allowed her to keep pushing forward and gave her something to focus on other than the exhaustion in her muscles and the sweat on her brow.
And, for whatever reason, Nic was exceptionally adept at making himself a target for her frustration.
When Alexys’s foot tangled in the ivy for the hundredth time and—despite his instruction to avoid it—she knelt to free herself, he offered the first volley.
“Pueraria montana, the foot-a-night vine.”
Alexys paused her disentangling to take a fortifying breath.
“Kudzu is easily my least favorite perennial vine,” Nic said, as if everyone had a ranking of highest- to lowest-rated perennial vines. “It’s considered one of the worst plants ever introduced to the eastern United States. The vine that ate the South, as they say.”
“Fascinating.” She gave him her well-practiced, please stop talking glare, but he ignored it.
When she was unable to wrestle herself free of the bottom-ranking plant, Nic dropped down on his haunches and started to untangle the vine for her.
She tried to stop him, but he just batted her hands away.
He gripped her ankle to hold her steady and tried not to think about the warmth of her skin against his palm.
Once her foot was free, she stepped away with murmured thanks.
Seeing as he was already squatted down, Nic decided to get a closer look at the kudzu and ensure it wasn’t an even less desirable vine like poison ivy. “It truly is fascinating. First introduced in 1876, it’s native to Japan, China, and …”
He could tell she was trying not to listen. He didn’t stop talking. The information flowed out of him with little effort, and he watched as irritation colored her face.
Alexys looked off into the trees as he explained the connection between kudzu and the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition.
She startled, as though remembering something, and he watched her dig through her backpack.
Her look of triumph when she pulled a protein bar from her bag was almost cute.
Her bright blue eyes lit up as she held the food up like a prize.
“The vine is technically a legume,” Nic said a little too loudly, successfully drawing her eyes back to him for a moment. He stood and brushed the dirt from his knees, “A member of the bean family.”
While fighting with the wrapper, she asked, “Why was it allowed to spread if it’s such a problematic plant?”
“It was used in the early 1900s for erosion control.” He took the bar from her and unwrapped it with ease. He handed it back to her and said, “They planted more than a million acres of it. By the time they realized how aggressively it could smother the other flora, it was too late.”
“Dreadful,” Alexys said around a mouthful of food. “What a useless plant.”
“Not entirely. Some people use the kudzu blossoms to make jams or jellies.”
Alexys looked him dead in the eye and wrinkled her nose. She slowly opened her mouth, allowing half-chewed granola to fall out and into the cursed flora below.
She frowned. “Gross.”
Nic’s lips twitched with amusement. “You have horrible table manners.” He flashed her an expression of reproach.
“Table manners only apply if there’s a table,” she retorted quickly.
“You should still pick up your spat-out food. Or better yet, have the decency not to spit it out in the first place. It’s practically littering.”
She shoved the rest of the bar in her mouth. “Not if it’s food.”
Nic shook his head and finally let himself smile. “You’re ridiculous. Must you always be so contrary?”
“Only with you.” Alexys shrugged and shoved the wrapper into her backpack, mindful to avoid any actual littering. “Are you done playing with plants?”
“Of course.” He considered pointing out that they’d be there already had her physical fitness been better, or had she avoided the endless botanical foot snares, but he had picked enough fights. They carried on walking.
“The most impressive aspect of the pueraria montana,” Nic continued, “is its root system.”
Alexys huffed behind him. Groaning at his lectures was better than getting caught up in her worry over Elliot.
“I think that’s all the plant talk I can handle,” she said. “Can we pick a different topic now?”
“But there are still so many interesting facts I’ve yet to tell you. No one lets me talk about plants in the office.”
“That’s because plants are boring.”
Nic looked over his shoulder and stuck out his bottom lip in an exaggerated pout.
Her eyes dropped to his lips, and something warm sparked in his chest.
Nic gave her his most charming, mischievous smile and was rewarded with a pretty blush.
“Fine,” she relented, looking quickly away. “One more fun fact, and then you’re done.”
Grinning triumphantly, he cleared his throat and put on his most professional airs.
He even stopped walking to ensure he had her undivided attention for the final delivery: “Kudzu is officially classified as a Federal Noxious Weed.” Alexys rolled her eyes, but he could see the smile fighting through her annoyance.
“You’re a federal noxious weed.” She was so busy rolling her eyes and insulting him that she neglected to notice the raised tree root in her path.
Nic opened his mouth to warn her, but it was too late.
Her toe caught, her eyes flashed wide, and then she fell flat on her face. She collided hard enough to knock the breath out of her in an audible whoosh, and then she lay still.
He pressed his lips tightly together, struggling to keep the laughter at bay.
“Not a word,” Alexys choked out. She pointed a threatening finger at him before reluctantly accepting his hand to pull her up from the ground. “I just can’t get even a moment of peace.” Nic gave her the once over before carrying on walking.
He checked his watch again. He had to give her credit, they had been at it for hours—the whole day, in fact. But they needed shelter, and fast.
“Maybe the trees heard all your insults and decided to fight back.”
She snorted a laugh and said, “That’d be the day.”
He looked back to find her still glaring at the plants while adjusting her backpack into a more comfortable position. “Come along, Scully,” Nic called over his shoulder. “Onward to glory.”