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CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO

Ryker

“Luna is driving me crazy about what we’re doing out here,” Callan said. “I told her that she’d learn soon enough, but that will only keep her at bay for so long, and the others are getting curious too.”

“Maybe it’s time we tell them,” Ellery suggested. “It’s going to come out anyway.”

“I’d prefer to wait until you have a better mastery of your skills,” I said. “But I think we’re getting there.”

“It’s better if we tell them before they find out some other way,” Tucker said.

I pondered this for a minute, but while my instincts screamed to keep Ellery protected, our time for keeping her hidden had ended. It was better if they learned the truth from us, instead of someone sneaking into the woods to discover it on their own.

While I did everything I could to ensure we were alone while she trained, it was only a matter of time before something went wrong. Plus, what would happen if a poltergeist discovered us and decided to blab to everyone?

“If we spread word throughout the villages about my abilities, it will bolster their hope that we can help them against the aristocrats,” Ellery said.

Tucker rubbed the stubble lining his chin as he pondered this. “Once we do that, your abilities will also get back to the aristocrats and the duke.”

Ellery cringed as I ground my teeth together. Learning of her ability to control all five weathers would send my father over the edge; he’d do everything he could to get to her afterward, and while we mostly remained hidden in the Revenant Woods, that could change.

Once my father learned the truth about her, the bounty on Ellery’s head, and possibly mine, would double. I had no idea if he’d keep her for himself or kill her if she was captured.

He’d crave Ellery’s power for himself but would also fear her. And my father destroyed everything he feared, or at least he tried to. He’d certainly done his best to break me.

However, we couldn’t keep this secret forever, even if I’d prefer to. “If you’re okay with it,” I said to Ellery, “we’ll tell them at dinner tonight.”

“I’m okay with it,” she replied.

Alarm shimmered in her eyes, but she wouldn’t back down from this. Pride swelled in me as I rested my hand on the small of her back and pulled her closer.

She hadn’t asked for any of this; she’d simply been born differently than anyone else in our realm. Because of that, she’d been thrust into a battle none of us could have anticipated.

“Hey, Pretty Boy,” a voice called from the trees.

What remained of my good mood vanished as Farley floated through a tree trunk to bob only a few feet before us. Ellery had always advised that ignoring the poltergeists was the best way to handle them, but Farley irritated the fuck out of me.

Unfortunately, we needed his help to uncover more amsirah in the forest and to build an army. Plus, he liked Ellery and looked out for her; for some reason, she liked the annoying blob too.

As if reading my thoughts, Farley grinned to reveal all his crooked teeth jutting out everywhere, and his red eyes glinted with amusement. Poltergeists were mostly a blobby surface with a mouth and eyes, but he waved a short, stubby arm at Ellery.

“Lery,” Farley greeted.

She smiled at him. “Farley. How goes it in the poltergeist world today?”

“Same as always; I float, annoy, and find someone to scare the shit out of with my friends. That last part’s always my favorite.”

“What a fulfilling afterlife you have,” Ianto quipped.

I grinned as, for once, the giant didn’t annoy me. But even at his worst, Ianto was far less irritating than Farley.

Farley shrugged in the awkward way poltergeists had. “I do my best.”

“What brings you by today, Farley?” I inquired.

“Well, I’m glad you asked, Aristodick.”

When Callan, Tucker, Scarlet, and Ianto snorted with laughter, I shot them silencing looks, but the twitch of Ellery’s lips stung.

“You too?” I asked her.

She bit her bottom lip as she shook her head, but she couldn’t hide the amusement in her eyes. Finally, she stopped pretending and gave me an apologetic look. “It was a little funny.”

“Traitors,” I muttered.

Farley rested his hands on his shapeless hips like he was hooking his fingers through a belt that didn’t exist. I suspected the move was left over from his living days.

“What do you want, Farley?” I asked him.

“There’s a woman in the woods asking for you, Pretty Boy,” Farley replied. “She said you told her to locate a poltergeist if she needed you and that one of us would find you. We’re not errand boys, you know.”

I ignored the last part of his statement as I felt Ellery’s questioning gaze on me. “It’s the tall woman from the field. I told her to come here for help or if she knew anyone seeking to join us.”

“She’s got a group of women with her,” Farley said, “and some children.”

“It’s just women?” Ellery asked.

“No, there are some boys with them too.”

“But no men?” Tucker asked.

“Not that I saw.”

“How far away are they?” Ianto inquired.

“About five miles that way.” Farley turned to point back the way he’d come.

“We have to get them,” Ellery said.

“I have to get back to the encampment,” Scarlet said. “I told my parents I wouldn’t be gone long, and while they haven’t said it to me, they’re pretty nervous about me being in the forest.”

“Can you let the kids know I won’t be able to work with them today?” Ellery asked.

“Why don’t you go back with Scarlet,” I suggested. “Those kids are probably looking forward to seeing you, and there’s not much you can do about this. We’ll make sure it’s safe to bring them back and meet you at the encampment before nightfall.”

“Nothing ever goes that easy in these woods,” Ellery said.

“Not always, but we’ll be fine. Plus, those kids need some training if they’re going to protect themselves against the creatures here and in case anything goes wrong.”

Ellery bit her bottom lip as she pondered this. “If anything happens, send Farley to tell me.”

“I’m not a dog,” Farley interjected.

“Of course you’re not,” Ellery assured. “You’re far too handsome.”

Farley wiggled like a dog happy to receive a belly rub, while I rolled my eyes. She was so full of shit, but it appeased the blob.

“We’ll be okay,” I assured her with a kiss. I looked at the others. “Are you guys coming with me, or do you have to head back too?”

“I’m coming,” Tucker said, and Ianto and Callan agreed.

I kissed Ellery again before reluctantly separating from her and following Farley into the woods. When I glanced back, she stood with Scarlet while they watched us go.