Chapter 7

By the end of the second night on the road, our luck was holding out. Asha still hadn’t tracked us. I assumed so anyway since there were no morquals or soldiers to deal with. No more ravagers on our tail. Lady luck had been on our side. Other than a couple of leeches that Bixby and her crew had put down with ease, we hadn’t run into any more trouble. Even our camp tonight was inside a self-storage unit we’d found alongside the highway. The recognizable orange doors, faded by the sun over the years, had still glowed as bright as a welcoming sign. We found one unlocked and pretty much empty, except for the painting supplies and buckets which we were using as stools. Now, sitting inside the four solid concrete walls, with a tiny fire for warmth and light, and a pot of soup boiling with a couple of field mice we’d been lucky enough to catch, all was right with the world.

I’d quickly gotten over the aversion to the thought of eating mice as soon as the smell of the soup hit my empty stomach. Desperate times called for desperate measures. Forgive me, Mickey, but a girl’s gotta do what she’s gotta do. I devoured my soup along with everyone else as Scruff laid in the corner, chewing on his own dinner and not the least bit concerned over creeping leeches or ravagers. Maybe our luck was starting to change.

Starke, on the other hand, was another matter. All day he had been quiet and withdrawn, his normally dark skin sallow and sickly looking. No matter how many times I’d asked, he said he was fine, but I knew he was in pain, even if he wouldn’t admit it. What he had done last night to save us had been massive dark magic. Even someone as new to the magic world as I was, knew that. He wouldn’t speak of it, but the consequences of his actions were very noticeable. I just prayed desperately the falls were indeed the ley line, or he was going to be in some serious trouble. I wasn’t much for religion over the years, but I figured he needed all the help he could get right now. I felt it, deep in my bones.

I stared around the campfire, at the faces of everyone highlighted there, talking amongst themselves and eating their small cup of mouse and mushroom soup like it was a gourmet meal. I guess on this world, it was. Not for the first time, my heart broke for them. For what their world had suffered. For what they had suffered. I thought I knew hardship. I knew nothing compared to these people. And I knew Starke was right. We owed it to them to help.We needed to do whatever we could. And if Amy was right, we just had to find the other elementals. And the magic dogs. Easy, peasy, right?

Putting my empty cup aside, I held my hands out to the fire, so grateful for the warmth. It was the first time I’d felt warm for two days. I noticed a rip in the left sleeve of my jacket, and I sadly poked a finger through it. The coat was slowly disintegrating. Just like my former life.

“Looks like that thing’s seen better days,” Gordo remarked as he shrugged at my sleeve.

“Yeah. I’ll be sad to see it go. It’s my lucky jacket.”

One eyebrow lifted. “Lucky jacket? Wouldn’t want to see what your luck would be like without it then.”

I laughed softly. “Believe it or not, this thing has seen me come out of situations you wouldn’t even believe. Jumping through worlds. Dealing with an unhinged Fae queen. Falling off a cliff with her mutant dragons.”

Gordo stopped chewing and stared at me in wonder. “Did you just say dragons?”

“Yeah,” I nodded.

“There are dragons on the world you come from?”

“Yup. I didn’t mention that already?”

“Uh, no.”

“Yeah we have dragons, along with Fae, Faeries, and Ogres. Oh, and these things called Grimners that are basically dumb trolls with some really weird body anatomy.” I glanced sideways at him. “Don’t ask me how I know that.”

“Sounds very interesting,” he grinned.

“Not telling,” I responded, and thankfully he dropped it.

He shook his head. “That is so mind boggling, I’m not sure if I can believe it.”

“Says the guy dealing with alien vampires and mutant hybrids every day.”

“Yeah, I guess, since you put it that way.” He stared into his cup in silence for a moment before continuing. “Please tell me there are worlds not as messed up as this one? Worlds where everything is normal?”

“Actually, the world I grew up in wasn’t that bad. It was very similar to this one, minus the aliens of course.”

Gordo sighed and placed his tin cup between his feet. “If you come from such a normal world, how are you even involved in all of this?”

I glanced across the fire to Starke who was deep in conversation with Jill. Despite his obvious pain and weariness, he was somehow making her laugh. Always thinking about others beside himself. I only wished I could be half that unselfish.

“Because of him,” I pointed with my chin. “He can be very, persuasive.”

“And he’s really a prince?’

“Yup. Seen it with my own eyes.”

Gordo studied him in silence for a moment. “I really don’t know how to take him. One minute he seems like the world’s nicest guy. Next, he’s crazy spooky. Like what he did last night. That was some jacked up shit. What exactly was that?”

“Can’t really say. I mean, I’m new to all this magic jargon as well. But he called it blood magic. From what I can gather, it is not the most benevolent magic.”

“Hmm. Blood magic.” Gordo tested the word out. “Sounds like some black magic crap. Blood is a very powerful thing, used in a lot of magic rituals to enhance the outcome. It only makes sense that any magic stemming from it would be powerful as well.”

I glanced at him in surprise. “How do you know so much?”

He grinned, making his freckled face look all of ten-years-old. “I read. A lot. Those asshats over there,” he ducked his head to his companions, “they call me their own little walking encyclopedia of mundane and useless information. But deep down, I know they truly appreciate it.”

Yeah, from what I had seen so far, I wasn’t about to totally agree with that statement. But I let it drop.

“Keep telling yourself that, Gordo.”

This came from the guy named Mike, Gordo’s older brother. It was easy to tell really. Their brotherly bond and affection were evident every time they teased one another. Like now.

“Way to eavesdrop, bro. And deny it all you want, but my info has saved our ass in the field more than once. You know it and I know it.”

Mike snorted at his brother’s words, along with his other companions who were all listening to the conversation now, before his gaze moved to me.

“Hope your magic can differentiate between bull dung and truth, since you’re going to hear a lot of the former coming from him.”

Poor Gordo. I almost felt sorry for him and the way they all picked on him, but it didn’t stop me from joining in.

“Not sure if even my magic is strong enough to tell the difference,” I laughed along with them.

“Really?” Gordo threw at me. “Really? You’re gonna side with these assholes?” He was laughing too, so I knew he wasn’t truly upset. “And they say crap rolls downhill, brother, so whenever I speak shite it’s only because some verbal diarrhea has escaped from my big brother’s mouth and rolled on down to me.”

This was followed by a chorus of oooohs from the peanut gallery, egging them on. Mike let loose a loud belly laugh and reached over to grab his kid brother in a headlock, giving him a noogie. I guess that sort of crappy brother thing was a universal move.

“Good one, kid. You’re learning.”

“Get offa me, you big dope,” Gordo whined, pushing Mike away, but he was smiling so I knew he really didn’t mind it.

“So, what is your magic ability, Jette?”

The unexpected question came from Luke. I looked up at him stupefied. How could I answer that really? How could I condense my experience so far into a reasonable explanation?

“Uh, I’m a water elemental. I can control water.”

“Don’t let her fool you,” Starke interjected. “She makes it sound so trivial. She can produce some mean water balls, and her icicle projectiles are on point.”

I quirked a brow. On point? Where the heck had that come from? That was such an un-Starke thing for him to say.

“Sounds impressive,” Bixby crossed her arms and tapped her fingers on her elbows, telling me she thought it was anything but. I couldn’t blame her. It was a lame-ass explanation on Starke’s part.

I sniffed at him, a little more petulant than I would have liked to appear. “I can do other stuff too.”

“True,” Starke continued. “You should see what she can do to a troll with just a taser.”

“Don’t you dare,” I growled, pointing a finger and glaring at him across the fire. “You promised you wouldn’t say a word about that.”

“I did no such thing. You tried to threaten me into not saying anything. I didn’t agree to it at all.”

“Oh, is that anything to do with how she knows about a troll’s anatomy?” Gordo asked and I turned my glare from Starke to him.

“You’re never gonna know.”

“Well actually, Gordo, it is.”

My glare swiveled back.

“Starke, shut your mouth.”

His grin was filled with mischief, telling me he wasn’t about to do any such thing. “You see, we were trying to rescue Jill here from a tower guarded by a Grimner…er, troll to you guys, and the thing had us cornered with no way out. Eight feet tall at least, no lie. Claws at least four feet long that were swinging at us, trying to eviscerate us right where we stood.”

“Starke,” I growled again, but he ignored me.

“The water elemental here, did an impressive tuck and roll that landed her on the other side. She whipped out this taser from her pocket and moved in for the kill. Fearless, she was. While its attention was on me, she jolts this poor Grimner in the back of its knee and brings it crashing down to the floor like a giant redwood, giving us time to escape.”

“Seriously?” Bixby questioned, obviously as much into Starke’s tale as everyone else. “A taser took down an eight-foot giant? You expect us to believe that?”

“Yeah, she tasered its balls,” Jill jumped in, eyes sparkling like she was excited to be delivering the punchline. “The thing’s balls were on the back of its knee, and she zapped ‘em like a motherfu...”

“Thanks, Jill,” I snapped. “I think they get the picture.”

The chorus of ewwws that accompanied the statement were soon followed by peals of laughter. Laughter that I couldn’t help but join in with as my irritation evaporated. The story actually was funny, now that I thought about it. I laughed so hard, tears started rolling down my face. It felt good. Damn good to be laughing our fool heads off. Like it was one big, combined up yours to the aliens, and the cannibals, and Asha, and whatever else the universe wanted to throw our way. After all we had been through. After all we had suffered and lost, we could still laugh. It was liberating.

The laughter finally died off to a few sniffles and the occasional chuckle, but it felt like the dynamics in the room had totally changed. Like we were no longer two sets of strangers questioning each other’s motives. It suddenly felt like everyone in this room were now comrades. Friends even.

“Okay, let me get this straight,” Gordo wiped at his eyes. “You’re the water elemental aka troll baller,” he avoided the light punch I threw at his shoulder. “Starke is the Fae prince. Jill is…?”

“The fire elemental,” Starke answered.

“Right. And you are searching for the earth and air elementals so you can stop the evil queen from destroying us all.”

“Basically yeah. Starke’s mother is one crazy witch,” I rolled my eyes to emphasize my words.

“Hold your horses,” Bixby sat up straighter. “The queen you’re all terrified of is his mother?”

She pointed to Starke.

“That’s correct,” he answered mildly like I just hadn’t spilled a huge spoiler alert.

“Wow. I thought my family was messed up,” she added. “I got nothing on you, dude.”

He ducked his head. “I’ve led an interesting childhood, what can I say.”

“Aw man, so you got no qualms about taking your own mother out?” Trust Gordo to ask the question in everyone’s head at the moment.

“Really, Gordo?” Mike chastised. “Learn some boundaries, man.”

“No, it’s fine.” Starke sounded completely calm and in control. Not the least bit put off by the delicate subject. “I’ve known for a while that to save the worlds I would have to ‘take out my mother’ as you so skillfully put it. I’ve come to terms with that. A wise man once told me to save the lives of many, you will have to sacrifice a few. It is never easy to take life, but I am prepared to do what I must to save all Fae and humanity. It is my duty. As it is my duty to help you and this world. And I will see it through. Or die trying.”

The look on his face was pure, noble, Game of Thrones Starke. I knew he meant it. Every damn word, even the dying part and suddenly I didn’t feel like laughing anymore.