Slip Song (Devany Miller Series) (40 page)

“
It sounds like a good temporary solution. If she’ll go.’

I felt his smile. ‘I’ll convince her it’s the best way. Perhaps drop hints about the secret nature of the Wolf Clan. Whether she’s here to get help or here to reveal our secrets she ought to take the offer.’

‘Will you warn them of her intentions? Or our suspicions about her intentions?’

‘
Of course.’ Kroshtuka left the tree and changed, doing it as easily and casually as someone shedding a coat after coming in from the cold. He was joined in his human form by the fox, who changed into a woman with ginger hair almost as beautiful as her fox fur. She and Kroshtuka conferred while Tam attempted to change to her upright form. When she’d finally mutated from wolf to woman, she was crying and looked haggard.

The ensuing conversation wasn’t pleasant. Tam didn’t want to live as a wolf nor did she want to be out in the Wilds, or the Anwar as she called it, and always with a sneer. Kroshtuka told her that his clan did not like to stick to one home, making it sound like they were scattered all over without any structure.

She finally agreed, since he and the fox made it impossible for her to do anything else. He offered to have his people take her to another witch town along the border of the Wilds but she liked that idea even less than staying in wolf form for an extended period. When we were ready to move again, the fox and another wolf took Tam southward. She looked over her shoulder several times before they finally were out of sight.

We didn’t go directly to the village either. Whether out of a sense of paranoia or it was just the way the Wilds were behaving, it took most of the day to get home.

The minute I changed, a hard yank inside my belly made me almost double over. “Shit.”

“
Are you okay?”

“
No. Someone’s trying to get a hold of me.” Tytan? Vasili? Shit. Were the kids okay? “I’ll have to go see. I’ll be back.”

“
I’ll come.”

“
No, it’s okay. Will you let Jasper know we’re back safely?”

“
Yes.” He squeezed my hand. “Be careful.”

“
I will.” I started to hook then remembered the crystal in my jean’s pocket. “Uh. I need my clothes back.” I hoped no one saw the crystal, or if they did, had no idea what it was.

“
You look appropriately dressed.”

“
For here, sure. But my family would think I’d gone nutty.”

We went to his hut and I found my clothes, clean and folded, on a short wooden table by the door. I found the crystal in my pocket and sighed in relief. Either she’d found it and returned it, or it had stayed unnoticed. “I’ll be back shortly,” I said, and hooked away, choosing the basement of my house as my first stop. All was quiet and a glance out of the basement windows told me it was night. I crept up the stairs, listening for movement but didn’t hear anything. Tytan stopped me at the top. “Missed us?” He wasn’t wearing a shirt. Now that I’d had some rolling-around-in-bed time, it wasn’t as tempting to admire his naked flesh.

“I thought maybe you’d called. Someone tried to rip out my stomach.”

He shook his head, his gaze narrowing. “Whoever it was, nip it in the bud. Be harsh. They don’t have the right to be that insistent.” He paused. “Have you been having a good time?”

In my mind I pictured the Carnicus, Leon’s asshole of a face, Sharps, anything but Kroshtuka and his hut. “Not really, no. Nex got taken and now he’s shacking up with a mermaid. We were captured and busted out with the help from a woman who is a duallie and doesn’t want to be. And I haven’t found Cyres yet this time around. The Theleoni who have her are in the Wilds. Last time it was three days before they showed up in Galleia. So it’s a waiting game right now.” I glanced past him. “How are the kids?”

“
They are well. The witch takes good care of them, as does your brother. The one called Ann knows I’m about but hasn’t yet caught me.” He grinned. “She thinks she’s being followed by her guardian angel.”

“
Yeah, well, don’t be too big of a pain in the ass, kay?”

“
If you insist.”

“
I do. And put a shirt on,” I said, after my eyes went ahead and took an unauthorized vacation down his chest, resting on the line between his skin and pants.

“
Perhaps I’ve been waiting for you to show up and give in to your needs.”

“
No. It’s not going to happen. And thank you for watching out for them.” Something I’d forgotten to relay popped into my head. Once it did, I couldn’t believe I could have forgotten it. “Amara will be on the warpath I think. Five of my spawn ripped hers into pieces.”

His eyebrows rose almost to his hairline. “What? You ordered them to help you?”

“No. They came of their own free will.” I needed time to sit and think. Too much was happening and I hadn’t had a decent amount of contemplating time since Tom’s murder. “They said they wanted to try things my way.”

“
Don’t trust them.”

“
Funny, that’s what Arsinua always says about you.”

He snorted. “She would.”

“I’m going to the Slip to see who it was that wants me so bad.” I started to form the hook when Tytan stepped close enough for me to smell the warm, male scent of him but without actually touching me.

“
I can smell him on you.”

I shivered and not in a good way this time. “It’s none of your business.”

“It won’t last, Devany. He won’t understand who you are, what you are. Your power will scare him off and your fierce nature.”

“
And let me guess, you’re perfectly suited to be my man.”

He stepped back, a knowing smile making his dimples pop. “I didn’t say it, you did. Lucky for me, I have all the time in this world and the next for you to come to that conclusion.” He walked away, not giving me a chance to retort, not that I had any snappy comebacks at my disposal.

Cursing him for an annoying fool, I hooked to the Slip, letting the feel of the tug guide me. I stepped out in Tytan’s manse and Ellison was there, looking shaken and weary. “What happened?”

He looked up from the couch and I saw that his face was one big bruise. “Amara sent her goons after me. I escaped. With the help of my brothers and sisters,” he said, incredulity lacing his words. “Why would they help me? We are rivals.”

I shrugged and sat down beside him―not too close though. “Things are changing. They want to help. I’ve promised not to harm them or limit their access to the Source as long as they only collect souls from the dying. That they couldn’t steal souls anymore or take them from people they’ve tricked or tormented. I guess they liked that idea.”

Ellison stared at me as if I were a crazy person. He opened his mouth. Closed it. Finally he asked, “Do I get the same deal?”

“Yes. Don’t use the Source to harm, maim, or kill and you can have access to it as long as I extend permission to you.” I felt like a contract writer. Should I put in a clause about being available to help me when I needed it?

“
That’s ridiculous.”

“
I know.”

He shook his head. “You can’t. You can’t give us free rein.”

“It’s not free rein. You can’t harm or kill people. I can revoke permission. That’s not free rein.”

His jaw worked. I had no idea why he was so angry. Wouldn’t he want to be free? “This won’t stop me from looking for my soul.”

“I guess not.” He’d been more reasonable last time around. It still puzzled me why some of the people I’d met last time knew about the time travel when others clearly did not. “Tytan agreed.”

His lips thinned. “Of course he did. That’s what happens when you let infatuation get the best of you.” He glared at me. “It should’ve been Tytan or me who succeeded Ravana. Not you, a stupid human female.”

“You know what? Shut the fuck up. I didn’t ask to be the boss but now I am, you damn well better toe the line.” I pushed off the couch. “Why did you call me here?”

He rose stiffly, stifling a wince that made me wonder how long Amara’s goons had had him before my spawn rescued him.

“The Theleoni are on the run. I caught three groups and made their lives miserable as you wished. The fourth group fled into the Anwar. I can go there but I don’t have access to most of my magic. I’d be worthless. What do you want me to do next?”

Stay the fuck away from me and my family. “This time mess with the slavers. Free as many of the slaves as you can. No harming or killing people.”

He made a face. “You won’t change the witches’ society. It is the way it is there.”

“
Then it is. I still want you to do it. Yes, it’s an order. Have fun.” I started to walk away, something more satisfying and visual than slipping into a hole but he stopped me again.

“
Why?”

“
Because it’s wrong. Owning people is wrong and slavery shouldn’t exist.” And I’m not just talking about the slavery on Midia. If you’re not an idiot, you’ll hear that, too.

He didn’t look interested listening to any more so I left him, focusing on the shard of crystal to get back to the Dreaming Place.

Lizzie was there, sitting on a rock with a paperback book in her hand. When I stepped in she looked up and smiled. “I thought I would see you here soon.”

-TWENTY-NINE-

The book was one I’d read, by a favorite author of mine. “How’d you get that?”

“
Traders. There’s no telling what they will have on their wagons and it’s a hit and miss. This time, though, my granddaughter picked up a box full of fantasies for me.” She put a length of ribbon between the pages and closed the book, then patted the stone beside her. “Sit, sit.”

I sat, nerves on edge from my talk with Ellison and Tytan both. I hoped she wouldn’t have any bad news to drop on me. My head might explode if I had to deal with anything else, honestly.

“I understand from my dreams that we’ve met before. We met in this Dreaming Place and we gifted you with one Dream and a shard of the crystals in this cavern to use as an
emiliometer
to bring you back here.”

I nodded, still unsure which direction this conversation would take.

“I wasn’t supposed to give you that shard but I did because I’ve had Dreams of you before. They weren’t clear then, not until I met you in real life the first time. Confused images of fire, of pain, of suffering, of strength and hope.”

It was very strange to me that some stranger had been dreaming about me. It was one thing for Ann to tell me that she’d had dreams, quite another for this woman to tell me the same. What did it mean? Anything?

“When one of the elders Dreams of someone, it’s because they are important to our Clan. The Dreams don’t tell us how they are important, however. I’ve dreamt of the lion-headed one too and from what I’ve heard from Kroshtuka he is a bad one indeed.”

Oh lord, was she working herself up to telling me that I had to give the shard back and get the hell out?

“Stop.” She tapped my knee with her hand.

“
What?”

“
You’re obsessing. Your body is tense and you’re jerking that leg up and down like a dog running after rabbits in its sleep. I’m not here to give you bad news.”

I nodded, willed my leg still and did my best to relax. Meditation, Zed and Jasper had told me. The elusive quiet time I was supposed to be using to help me work the power inside me. Lucky for me I’d had the visit to the control room and knew somewhat how to use it. That had come from the Dream Lizzie had gifted to me. That had been the answer to the question I’d asked. “Thank you, by the way.”

She smiled. “Of course. For what?”

I grinned back. “The dream. It helped. It probably saved my life. Kroshtuka’s life. My friends.”

“Good. I’m glad to hear that you found the right question to ask. Anyway, I have seen things from the past and the future. I’m not supposed to tell people what I see in the future because the knowing might mess with what’s fated to happen. However,” she said, mischief in her voice, “I’ve never been one to follow the rules.”

A thrill of superstitious fear twanged through me and I batted it away. I’d always thought it stupid in movies for oracles to speak in code or hide the future in order to not mess up the future. I didn’t believe in fate anyway. Our actions determined what happened next, not some all-knowing, all-seeing entity who spent all his free time deciding what would befall his subjects. That was a ridiculous idea to me. But that was before I’d learned that such things as magic and future seers were real things. Maybe I needed to rethink my beliefs. “If it will help me get through this without dying, I’m all ears.”

She waggled a finger. “I can’t guarantee that it will turn out the way I saw it. In fact, once I tell you, it most assuredly will change. What you can do with the information is change things in your favor.”