Slip Song (Devany Miller Series) (28 page)

I’d done it. I’d found Cyres. Now all I needed to do was rescue Tytan, find the
rashn
, and find a safe place for Jasper and Cyres so they wouldn’t have to worry about being used or abused again.

Easy peasy.

Then I heard a sound like a chorus, swell in my body. What the hell was that?  Tom? Was something happening with his soul?

A man cleared his throat behind us. We turned. My stomach sank.

Ellison smiled. “Look at that. I’ve found my soul.” He tugged on his sleeve and shrugged his shoulders. “Are you ready to die?”

-NINETEEN-

I slapped a protection bubble around the us, thickening it as Ellison walked forward, his smile fading. “This won’t keep me from killing my soul and ascending.”

“
You need to go back to the Slip. Right now.” The song grew as he got closer and I realized I was hearing him react to Jasper’s proximity. Couldn’t Ellison hear it?

He glared. “My soul is right there. You cannot keep me from him.”

I put my hands on my hips and tipped my head. “You seriously did not just say that. I’m your boss, dumb ass. I’ll drop you in Antarctica without any power, wearing short-shorts. Then we’ll see who keeps who from doing what.”

“
You gave me leave to be in Midia.”

“
And I can revoke that leave.”

“
On the contrary. You didn’t give me a limit and therefore I can be here until the job is done.” He spread his hands wide. “There are many Theleoni and a lifetime to waste.”

I could feel the growl through Kroshtuka’s thick fur and gripped him for a moment, hoping he wouldn’t lunge at Ellison and break the barrier. We were safe, for now. “If that’s what you want to do, I’ll leave to you it and thank you from the bottom of my heart. They’re asssholes and deserve what they get.” To Kroshtuka, I said, “We’re out of the Wilds, right?” He yipped in agreement. I smiled at Ellison. “I’ll leave you to it, then.” I formed a hook under us, picturing the swamp and the place where we’d exited the barrier I’d made around the queen’s domain.

I grabbed a handful of Nex’s entrails to make sure he came with us. As soon as we appeared in the swamp, I thrust my hand out for the giant barrier. It hummed with power and I realized how amazing it was. And vast. It was so large, the side barely curved into the distance as I gazed along its path. It recognized my touch. Now if it would let me get my group in, I could breathe easier―for a little while.

Nex’s first try through the barrier bounced him off, heat flaring as the bubble repelled him. The second time I slipped my hands within the pulsing shield and spread them, picturing a hole opening up within it. It worked. Kroshtuka was the only one outside when Ellison appeared, lunging. Kroshtuka whirled, sinking his jaws into the Skriven’s arm. I slammed my hands together and said, “No! You can’t hurt him, he’s not Theleoni.”

Ellison’s hands were raised, power dripping from his fingers. Kroshtuka had ripped a hole in his suit and meat hung in bloody shreds. My spawn cursed, letting go of the power. It shot into the sky, exploding overhead in a display of color and show that I guessed was supposed to intimidate me. He cradled his arm to his chest. “I need healed.”

“
Can you do that without my help?”

His glower gave me the answer. Maybe it was wrong of me to enjoy it so damn much but I did.

“I guess you could buy power from another Skriven. But who? Amara? Maybe. She has Tytan in her clutches, torturing his soul’s whereabouts out of him. You wouldn’t mind him ascending and being your boss, would you?” I wasn’t sure what I was expecting but the utter desolation on his face wasn’t it.

“
And you are allowing this?”

“
Of course I’m not allowing it. I’ve been dealing with other shit. And now I’m dealing with you. My trog is doing his best to harry her and keep her mind on other things than torture. I’m not sure how long that will work but it’s all I had at the time.”

He dropped his gaze, his jaw working as he processed this information. He surprised me again by looking up and thanking me. “Ravana wouldn’t have helped him at all.”

“Well, she’s dead. And as soon as I can stop running long enough to think, I’m going get him away from her.”

“
How can I help?”

What could he help with? My eyes went to Jasper, Cyres, and Nex just beyond the barrier. “A
rashn
. Can you find one for me? I was told there was one near Casttown in the bottom of a murk pool. That would free up some of my time so I could focus on rescuing Ty.”

“
That’s all?”

“
Do you have something else in mind?” He was frustrated. Yeah, well, so was I. He wasn’t capable of taking on Amara though I could see that’s what he wanted to do. Rush in and save the day. Unfortunately, she would rend him limb from limb, distracted by trying to unseat me or not.

Wait a minute.

“I do have an idea.”

He heard something in my voice that caught his interest. “Do tell.”

“You know any of her spawn?”

A smile started forming on his lips. “Not well. We don’t play much together.”

“You don’t need to know them well, you just need to help them look for their soul. The louder the better. Make lots of noise. Make sure it’s big news in the Slip.”

“
Nothing more distracting than trying to thwart a plot to overthrow you.”

“
My thoughts exactly.”

He sketched a shallow bow. “And I have your permission to go where I need in order to find this soul?”

Sneaky Skriven. There was a catch in there that he’d use to his advantage if I didn’t figure it out. I was tired and not feeling very clever. “You can go where you need to in order to find the soul, but you may not kill any innocents in doing so, and when the soul is found or I call you home, your permission to hunt is revoked.”

His grin wasn’t so shiny and I patted myself on the back. He disappeared and I breathed a small sigh of relief as the chorus of sound faded with his departure. At least now I had an early warning sign when one of my spawn got close to her or his soul.

Kroshtuka pushed a thought into my head, one that showed me he planned to change back into his human form. I nodded, understanding he wanted some privacy since changing outside of the Wilds was more difficult for him. I walked through the barrier to join the other part of my group. Jasper and Cyres held each other. Nex floated on his own, his cheeks flushed. I did a double take. He wasn’t grey anymore. His skin was a creamy color and his cheeks were pink.

“
You look good,” I said.

He nodded once, his entrails wriggling. “It seems spending time with maids of the sea has invigorating side effects.”

“I guess so.” I eyed him. “Are you okay that she’s not here?”

His black eyes sparkled. “I have seen that we will be together again. It is good enough for me.”

All righty then. Young love. Keeping my smile to myself, I turned to Jasper. He’d been clutching Tam’s body when we hooked and now she laid at his feet in the swamp. Already her cooling flesh was attracting swamp life. I saw a cloud of the nasty mosquitoes and I didn’t doubt that there was a hunting fleshcrawler somewhere close by looking for an easy meal. “Jasper?”

He’d stopped crying but he didn’t look okay. He just stood silently, letting Cyres fuss over him. I reached out and touched his face. Only then did his eyes focus on mine. He said, “I’m sorry. I thought the Theleoni had inured me to such things.”

“Her name was Tam.”

“
Tam. Thank you.” He gazed down at her, her red fur rippling in the light breeze. I couldn’t stand him looking so miserable so I slipped my arms around him and held him. He squeezed back tightly and my heart broke for him. I wanted safety for him. And happiness. For Cyres too, who stood solemnly by, her bruised eyes focused and steady. It made me suspect even more that her flighty behavior back in Galleia was just an act put on to protect herself.

“
I’m Devany.”

She smiled at me and as soon as I let go of Jasper, she hugged me tight around the middle. She laid her head on my shoulder and just squeezed. Her body was impossibly thin and it made me ache deep in my chest. I hugged her back, holding her as tightly as I dared, remembering the wounds Jasper had shown up on my doorstep with.

“You are cared for by my brothers.”

“
I am?”

“
Jasper and Tytan.” She turned her face into my neck and whispered. “They have been hurt badly. I wish for them happiness. Can you give them that?”

I wished I could say yes but knowing how often things when to shit, I wasn’t going to promise.

“That’s okay,” she said, as if I’d spoken aloud. “They will find out together.”

I arched a brow. Somehow I couldn’t picture Ty and Jasper getting together to make each other happy, whether in a good buddy way or romantic way. They were just too different.

“Your hyena awaits.”

For some reason that struck me as funny and I snorted out a half laugh. Kroshtuka stood outside the barrier, naked. Of course I checked him out. Of course I did. How could I not? “Er. You need clothes.”

“They don’t survive the change. I didn’t think they were necessary considering our plans after the hunt.”

Heat flushed my neck and crawled upwards. “Your plans.” Shut up, already. My companions didn’t know anything about our bargain and I didn’t want them to know.

In my head, he said, ‘Does it matter what they think?’

“
Stay out of my brain!” I stomped over to him, the barrier sucking at me as I walked through it.

“
You invited me in.”

“
That was a matter of necessity. Clothes. You need clothes.”

“
It doesn’t bother me to be naked but I’m glad that it made you notice me in all my glory.”

Glory indeed. “Stop. Just stop.” My dirty side kept wanting to look back down at him, so I stood struggling with myself to keep from ogling. I needed a neutral topic and landed on the fight. “Thanks for your help back there.”

“We worked well together. Your other form is quite powerful. I’ve never known anyone who could change into something other than a mammal.”

“
It’s a long story how Neutria and I came to be partners. It’ll probably have to be a tale for another day.”

He glanced over at the three who stood—or floated—inside the barrier. “You’re a world-walker?”

“I am. Not by my own choice but I’ve learned you can’t sit around wishing things were different. Shit happens with or without wishes.” That made me sound so sure of myself. I pushed my hair away from my face and wished I had a hair band. Speaking of wishes and all. “I have to relearn that often.”

“
I would like to help you but I have to get back to my people. What can I do for you there?”

What did I have to do? Find a safe place for Jasper and Cyres. Rescue Ty. Find the
rashn
. Fix my mistake here. Get back to my kids. I really wanted to permanently stop the Theleoni too but short of killing every last one of them … “Do you know what domar berries are? Do they grow where you live?”

“
Yes. There are groves full of them. We use them to supplement our diets.”

“
I was told they keep humans from dying from the magic here.”

“
That is so.”

“
Do you think you and your people could start spreading the word about them near the hooks? I mean, the witches don’t even know about them.”

“
They discount them because they grow in the Wilds. There’s a difference.”

Right. “The Theleoni are stealing humans and dragging them to Midia so they can use them to gain power. The witches, as far as I know, don’t like the Theleoni doing that any more than I do. Wouldn’t you think they’d change their minds if they know that with this tiny berry they could neuter those assholes?”

“I will take your request to the elders. Lizzie especially was quite taken with you.”

“
How do I get you home?”

“
You can jump from place to place without hooks?”

I shrugged. “I create my own.”

“I can orient you if you can take it from my mind.” His yellow eyes gazed at me, full of promise. ‘Now that you’ve let me in, I think I wish to stay.’

I shivered, glanced down and jerked my eyes away. “Okay. Let me let them know what I’m doing so they don’t get worried. Then I’ll take you.”

He nodded, chuckling, and I slipped through the barrier long enough to let Jasper, Cyres, and Nex know I would soon be back. “We will figure out how to get you safe. I won’t rest until you guys can be someplace peaceful.” I heard a splash in the distance and thought of the predators living in the waters not far from where we stood. “Make a protection bubble. There are things that wouldn’t mind eating you.”