Chapter 13
It wasn’t fair.
He didn’t know the rules.
Ramon.
I crash to the ground and press the heels of my palms into my eyes, desperately trying to erase the vision of Cosmo’s memory.
Beyond awful.
A boy, his friend, killed. Gods, the agony. I rub furiously at my head, as if I can scrub the image from my mind.
Cosmo would kill me if he knew I'd seen his pure agony. Looking skyward, my gaze tracks the golden dragon. The dragon who has a monster for a father.
—Nymph? What is it—
A wave of exhaustion washes over me, and I realize Ludo is kneeling beside me. “It’s…OK, Lu. Don’t worry.” My eyes sting, filling with tears for both my lost Wes and my hurting nemesis.
Shit, gotta pull myself together. Deep breath.
Ludo hovers an uncertain hand above my shoulder, a gesture that makes my heart ache.
—What do you need, nymph?—
What do I need? I need answers. I need Wes.
—Eat, Nymph—He passes me a couple of apples, then hands some out to Donovan and Alexis as well.
“Thanks, Lu.” I take another deep breath. This is no time to lose it. We have to find Wes. “Guys, can we have a quick chin-wag?”
Maximus snorts, throwing himself down onto the grass. “Chin-wag? Is that what the British girls say when they ride someone's face? You're welcome to have a chin-wag on my jaw anytime, Princess Sexy.”
—Can I hurt the dog?— Ludo asks.
I shake my head. “No, it’s fine. He’s just crass.”
Alexis fixes Max with a withering look. “Your compulsive facetiousness is getting tedious, cousin. Could you do us all a favor and stop?”
“Ooh, I forgot how uptight you were, Lexi. But I’ll rein it in just for you; don’t want your old-man blood pressure to skyrocket.”
A loud thump, and their bickering stops as the ground shudders. The dragon has landed.
Alexis crouches beside me as Cosmo strides towards us. He’s ashen, his usual tanned glow nowhere to be seen, and his eyes are shadowed.
When Cosmo throws a dirty look my way, Lu crosses his arms, making his biceps bulge.
—The dragon is volatile. I watch him—
After having a window into Cosmo’s memories, I understand him a little better.
It’s not surprising he’s so full of hate. I return his scowl with a smile and invite him to sit. “We’re having a planning meeting.”
He pauses, momentarily puzzled by my being nice, then stalks into our little circle. “Give me an apple, Larsen.”
Max mimes an over-the-top bow. “M’lord,” then skips off to the nearest tree.
“Well? Any sign of Wes?” Donovan demands, asking the question we all want answered.
“No,” Cosmo replies, his voice clipped.
“Could you expand on that?” I keep my voice mild. A stupid part of me wants to hug Cosmo, but not the Cosmo who is now; I want to cuddle the small, broken boy inside him.
“I didn’t see any sign of life at all,” he mutters. “I couldn’t… couldn’t get far. There was a storm. The wind was too strong. Almost like it was pushing me back.” He’s lost the usual Drakeward arrogance, and there’s a haunted look in his eyes.
“Pushing you back, like it was sentient?” Alexis asks, frowning.
His lip lifts in a sneer, and Cosmo finally looks a little more like his old self. “Why are you surprised? We are in an unknown realm after all. So, yes, yes. Sentient storm, with voices begging me to give in to the darkness and destroy everything around me.”
Cosmo’s words make me shiver. I zip up my sleeveless hoodie, but it doesn’t help the sudden chill in my bones.
“So, fairy land does have a dark side,” Donovan says, going towards his friend. “But you didn’t become the villain. Think about that.”
I’m not sure what Donovan is referring to, but Cosmo just rolls his eyes. “Yeah, let’s have a parade.”
Enough of this.
“You didn’t see Wes, so we’ll keep going on this path,” I say decisively. “And at least it’s in the opposite direction to the storm clouds,” I add, looking at each of the men grouped around me. “Agreed?”
“If that’s what your gut says, then of course,” Alexis asks.
“I go where you go, Tee-Tee.”
—We follow the path—
I let out a sigh, hoping I can trust my intuition. “Let’s go.”
As we walk, the breeze blows a dry, dusty scent, not unpleasant, more like the odor of sun-baked paper.
“Where do you think our adventures are gonna take us, sweet-cheeks?” Max asks me.
“No idea, and that makes me really nervous.”
“Aww, baby, don’t be scared. I’m the big bad wolf, remember. No one will hurt you when you’ve a hellhound at your heels.” He plants a large wet kiss on my ear.
“Moron,” Cosmo mutters.
Alexis moves closer and cuffs his cousin around the head. “No touching,” he growls.
“Ooh, careful of your brittle bones, old man,” Max chuckles, skipping out of the way of Alexis’s second punch. “Don’t want to break a hip.”
We’re climbing a rise, Max dancing around Alexis, Donovan and Cosmo walking behind me, and Ludo at point.
—NYMPH!—
Ludo raises his fist in a stop gesture. The rest of us immediately freeze.
“What is it?” I whisper.
—Come see—
I join Ludo on the rise to look into the valley below. It’s filled with a soft, diffuse light, and there’s a structure in the middle of the dip.
“What is that?”
Four columns of polished stone anchor an open roof.
The golden glow pulses from the center of the structure.
The light is filtered by shimmering walls of flowing fabric suspended from the crossbeams. The cloth is almost translucent, with beautiful swirling colors like petrol in a puddle of water. “Wow.”
“The architecture looks Roman,” Alexis says, joining us. “Like a sacellum or aedicula.”
I feel myself nodding even though I’ve no idea what those words mean. “I wonder if this is our destination.”
As we move closer, more details become visible. Copper-looking braziers puff out trails of white smoke and something is etched onto the beams. “See those carvings?”
“Entablature,” Alexis corrects.
How does he know all this stuff? “Maximus calls you Lexi,” I reply, “but it should really be Lexicon.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Sass, Ms. Wilson?”
We share a grin. “Sorry, sir.”
—Look, Nymph—
Patches of glitter are beginning to light up the worn, warm stone path beneath our feet, inviting us toward the wide steps of the…what did Alexis call it? Can’t remember. To me, it looks like a temple.
"Are you freaking out?" Donovan says softly, coming up and taking hold of my hand. "Because it looks like we’re heading into a psychedelic fairy rave tent. I can’t tell if that’s a good or a bad thing.”
“Would be a great thing if we had some drugs,” a voice in my ear adds. “I bet the shrooms go hard in this place.” I look around to see Maximus behind me, grinning.
“You are a very irreverent person,” I tell him, biting back a smile.
“Aww, shucks, you like me! Want me to be your prince?”
I turn back to the ethereal pavilion, now a stone's throw away.
Up close, I see parts of the flowing fabric are frayed and worn. Patches of the stone columns are dull and even crumbling in parts. Grandeur past its prime, which only makes me more curious about what—or who—we’re going to find inside.
Donovan grips my hand, and I squeeze it back.
Ludo walks at my other side, eyes constantly moving, looking for trouble. A breeze picks up, and it brings an odd scent towards us.
Woody, slightly bitter, but still fresh.
Ludo freezes.
“Lu?”
The pulse in his jaw is thumping, and hard cords stand out on his neck.
—Bad—
— Smell…so bad—
He suddenly pulls me away from Donovan and picks me up, bridal-style, and takes off running.
Loud yells from the guys, wanting to know what’s going on.
I have no clue, but Ludo has earned my trust. “You’re in charge, Ludo. I’ll go wherever you want.”
—Far from here—
Ludo tears up the meadow, and I bounce in his arms. Suddenly, he stumbles as Max and Alexis tackle him. Donovan grabs at my body and I’m pulled from Ludo’s grasp.
I see my big man being wrestled to the ground.
“STOP IT!” I shriek. “Stop right now!”
“What happened?” Donovan asks as I fight to get out of his arms.
“Ludo felt there was danger, or something. GET OFF HIM!” I yell at Max and Alexis, who are still struggling to pin Ludo.
The tussling men all fall still.
“Danger?” Cosmo asks. “What kind?”
“If you all will stop acting like idiots, maybe we can give Ludo a second to tell us?” I snap. “Now put me down!”
Donovan does as I ask, looking sheepish. I rush to Lu and help him to sit, giving Alexis and Max a dirty look at the same time.
“What the fuck is going on?” Alexis demands.
I turn my back on him. “Ludo? Are you OK?”
He doesn’t answer. I brush a hand over his shoulder and feel the tension in his muscles.
“Ludo? Hey, Lu?” I put my hand up to his face. He slowly looks at me. “Talk to me.”
—It’s…—
—The scent is pain— The look on his face almost makes my heart stop.
The woody, bitter scent?
I don’t know what the smell is, but apparently, it is incredibly significant to Ludo. I stare at him, desperate to help in some way, but he closes his eyes, shutting us all out.
“Alexis, do you know what this smell is?” I whisper, wrapping my arms around Ludo.
“Rosemary?” he suggests. “Eucalyptus?”
“No,” Cosmo says decisively. “It’s myrtle.”
Myrtle? “What does that signify?”
Cosmo shrugs. “It’s used in some ceremonies, I think.”
Damn it. The only thing I can think to do is take a look inside Ludo’s mind.
Forgive me.
—Bitter smoke, hot air, sweat. Hate the smell, it means it’s time.
The metal around my wrist hurts the bruises.
It doesn’t matter how many times I try, I can never slip my hand out.
It’s time for the circus. Three days in a row.
I can’t, I just can’t. How can I die? Too late, the ringmaster is here…
I see flashes of imagery.
Red walls, heavy curtains, men sitting in rows of chairs. There’s a smoking challis pouring out a fog of scent.
Myrtle.
Mirrors are everywhere. In the reflection, a tiny boy with pale hair is dragged onto the platform. Dragged by a chain. The chain is handcuffed to the boy’s slight wrists. He looks into the mirror with mismatched eyes; his reflected image shows a face filled with absolute desperation.
—Please no. I don’t want to, not any more…—Ringmaster circles my throat with his hand and begins to squeeze— “Who will start the bidding?” —can’t breathe. Cold eyes watching me. Always watching. Bitter smoke—a hand in the audience raises….no, no, not him.
Not him.
The smell of herbs remains in my nostrils as I blink out of Ludo’s hideous memories. My head pounds with the darkness that flooded from his mind.
My poor, poor giant. Gods.
I throw myself at him, but his arms remain rigid at his sides. No wonder being touched is so hard for Lu; it’s horrifyingly easy to guess why, but I will reclaim his ability to be loved.
I will. “Ludo? Come back to me, please, my Ludo. I need you.”
More plumes of incense weave around the meadow. Some floral notes, some musk, and some of the smoke definitely carry the same scent as in Ludo’s memory.
“Find a way to make those Godsdamn things stop smoking!” I yell, then continue to stroke and hold tight to Ludo, nuzzling my face into his neck.
Alexis and Cosmo immediately start casting, and a sharp gust of wind directly away the smoke. At the same time Donovan runs to the temple, pitching the smoking metal bowls upside down.
It takes a while, but finally the air clears. “Come back, Ludo. We’re safe if we’re together. Please, my love, please.”
Slowly, his eyes begin to regain focus.
—Nymph—You’re real?—
I stroke my hand through his long white hair. “I’m real, I’m here and I’m never going to leave you, Ludo.”
I place a gentle kiss on his jaw.
—Too broken—not worthy—
“We’re all broken. I’m damaged goods too, but we glue each other’s cracks back together. You’re my glue. Please believe me when I say, I couldn’t exist without you. I love you.”
—Nymph?—
“Lu?”
—For you, I’ll try to believe. You own me. Every piece of me—
I lean my forehead into his. “The feeling’s mutual.”