Page 38

Swords and Chickens

“N o more,” I gasp.

It’s late afternoon, and I’m bone-deep weary. My sides are heaving, and every muscle aches.

Hecate has worked with me all day outside in the warm sunshine in a clearing just beyond the village. No actual fighting, but exercise after exercise, swinging my sword—stabbing, pivoting. She’s right. I remember, in some deep part of my mind and body, how to do this. I thrill to the knowledge that if this memory is in there, then so are the rest.

But while I know how to do it, I haven’t actually done it in three years, and my muscles are non-existent. Swinging a sword is not easy work. I wish I’d hit the gym more often.

We broke briefly for a lunch of bread and fruit, then more exercise. She said she wanted to see what I could do—which wasn’t much—so she could set me a training schedule.

Something to look forward to.

“Go,” she says when it becomes obvious that I literally can’t hold up the sword anymore. “Go go rest before dinner."

It sounds like a plan, but first I want to check in on Stella and the other horses.

I find the stables around the back of the cottage. They’re sort of open-plan so the horses can wander in and out of the stable into a small paddock area. There are two horses outside, Khaosti’s black stallion and a gray mare I presume belongs to Hecate. She’s beautiful, her coat gleaming almost silver.

I find Stella snoozing in one of the stalls. She blinks open her soft eyes as I approach and lets out a low nicker.

“Hey, girl,” I murmur, leaning close to breathe in her warm smell. “I have a present.”

I hold out the apple in my palm, and she takes it gently, her hard white teeth crunching into the juicy flesh.

“I don’t suppose you have another of those for me,” Zayne says from behind me, making me jump. Stella huffs out her breath and stamps her feet.

I turn to find him sitting on a pile of hay bales. I toss the other apple. He catches it and takes a bite.

“Thanks, I’m starving.”

Wait... “You’re speaking Valandrian. How?”

“Hecate did a spell thing, so now at least I can understand what everyone is saying.”

“That’s great. So what are you doing hiding in here?”

“Just hanging out. I’d forgotten how much I like spending time with horses. They’re soothing.” He peers at me, one eyebrow raised. “You look like you’re on your way to a fancy dress party,” he mutters, taking a bite of his apple as his gaze rakes me up and down. “And is that a fucking sword?”

“Yup. Apparently, it’s mine. And I could sword fight before, so Hecate is trying to jolt my memory.”

“That is both seriously scary and sexy as shit. Did it work?”

Did Zayne just say I was sexy? I’d never thought of him like that, not before that night on the garage roof where he’d sort of asked me to marry him. He’s twisting my brain, so I see him differently. Of course, I’ve always known he’s good-looking, but I guess I had so much other stuff on my mind that there was no room for boyfriends. I was concentrating on getting to know myself—not other people. And Zayne has always been my safe place. From the moment I met him, he made me feel as though things might work out. No way did I want to risk spoiling that.

“Earth to Amber,” he says, finishing the apple and tossing the core to Stella.

“Sorry. I was just thinking… Anyway, no, it didn’t work. I do remember how to use it”—I tap the sword at my shoulder—“but I don’t remember anything else.”

“I guess that means your memories might be in there somewhere.”

“That’s exactly what I thought. I just get so frustrated.” I sigh and plonk myself down on the hay bale beside him. Or at least I try to—my sword gets stuck in the hay, and I have to shift it out of the way. “What about you?” I ask. “I haven’t seen you all day. What have you been up to?”

At first, I don’t think he’s going to answer. His face gets that closed, stubborn look. I reach out and touch his thigh, and the tension oozes out of him as his shoulders slump.

“I’ve been with Khaosti.”

“That’s nice.” I frown. “I didn’t think you liked him.”

“I hate the arrogant fucker.”

I wait, biting back my questions—I’m getting good at that—hoping that he’ll open up on his own.

Finally, he blows out his breath. “He’s teaching me how to control my beast.”

I swing around to stare at him, then swallow. I peer into his eyes, but he still looks the same. “And how is that going?”

He taps his chest. “Total crap. I don’t think it wants to come out. And trying to force it fucking hurts like shit. It’s as if something is clawing its way out of me—which I suppose it is. According to Khaosti, I’m stopping it. ‘Let go of your fear and it will happen.’” He says the last bit in what I presume is supposed to be an imitation of Khaosti. Actually, it’s quite good. “Fucking bossy bastard. He says I can’t learn to control it if I don’t let go of my control first.”

“Well, I don’t blame you for being afraid.”

“I’m not fucking afraid,” he snarls, and I grin. He gives a small shrug. “Okay, maybe I am, but shit, Amber, I’ve got a monster inside me. A fucking big one. What if Khaosti was right the other night? What if I manage to shift… and then I kill everyone around me?”

“Khaosti’s a tough guy. He can look after himself.”

“Maybe. He also says I’m in denial. That I’m trying to pretend to myself that it’s not happening.” He looks at me. His eyes suddenly grow hard. “Did you know? I mean before we left that this was going to happen?”

“No. At least—”

“You fucking knew, and you didn’t tell me?”

“They told me that there was a good chance there would be side effects from when that thing bit you. But I didn’t know what and they wouldn’t tell me, just that you wouldn’t turn into one of those things. I was seriously scared that’s what they meant.”

“Yeah, because this is so much better.” He sounds bitter.

“It is better.” I have a flashback to Khaosti’s wolf when he rushed in and saved us that night. He was beautiful. And Thanouq’s griffin is amazing. I say as much. “It’s actually sort of cool. Really cool.”

He shrugs. “Yeah, but then, that’s them. Apparently, I’m a basilisk.”

I think hard. I’m sure I’ve read about basilisks. “The king of the serpents?” I ask.

“I wish. Apparently, that’s just in stories. According to Khaosti, a basilisk is a cross between a cockerel and a snake. I mean, how the fuck does that even happen?” I snigger, and he glares. “So yeah, I’m afraid. Afraid I’m going to look like some deviant chicken.”

A giggle escapes me, and he glares some more. “Hey, maybe you’ll be able to lay eggs. That might come in useful.”

“Piss off.” But some of his tension eases.

“What else has Khaosti told you?” I ask. Clearly, he talks to Zayne more than he does to me.

“Apparently, those shadowguard things could once shift like Khaosti can, but into different animals. And if they bite someone, that person can catch it like a disease. But only if you already have some Astrali—that’s Khaosti’s lot—blood to start with.”

“So you have some of this blood?”

“Khaosti said his people have been visiting Earth for centuries. Shagging away like rabbits. There are quite a few people with Astrali blood to varying degrees.”

“And if you didn’t have this blood, then nothing would have happened?”

“No, if I didn’t have the blood, I’d be dead. A bite from the shadowguard is fatal to pure humans.”

Which means, if I’d been bitten, I’d be dead. Then something occurs to me, and I’m amazed it hasn’t occurred to me before. Maybe I’m not human. Nah. Of course I am. I look human, don’t I? Then again, so does Khaosti. And Hecate. I’m pretty sure she’s not human either. I push the thought to the back of my mind. Likely when I recover my memory, I’ll know. I doubt anyone is going to tell me beforehand.

“I’m sorry,” I say. “This is because of me.”

“Totally. You owe me big time.”

“So what happens next?” I ask.

“We keep trying. We have another session tonight. I’m sooo close, or so Khaosti says.”

I peer at him warily, like he might turn into a great big chicken and peck me to death. He smirks like he knows what I’m thinking. “Remember,” I say. “I do have a sword, and apparently, I know how to use it.” We sit in silence for a few minutes. “Hey, can I come tonight? Give you some moral support?”

“Hell, no. I don’t mind slaughtering Khaosti in a mindless rage. But I’d feel pretty guilty if I did it to you.” He grins, and I get a glimpse of the Zayne I know and love. “You can come once I’ve got the hang of it.”

“I’d like that.” Maybe.

“Khaosti says I can’t go home until he’s sure I’m in control. And then there are all these rules about not letting people know and not shifting when I might be seen and…” He shakes his head. “I hate fucking rules.”

I latch onto his first comment. “Do you want to go home?” I’d sort of thought that he’d stay with me until… Until what? The truth is I just don’t know. Before I forgot everything, I was being trained to fight. But fight who or what? I can’t expect Zayne to be part of that. As he said, he’s got a life. And I’ve already messed it up enough.

“I’m worried about Josh. He won’t know what’s happened to us.”

He’s right. I haven’t thought about Josh with everything that’s been happening. I’m a selfish bitch. “With any luck, someone will report us missing, and the police will think Lissa and Pete have murdered us or sold us into slavery, and they’ll be shut down.”

“You think somewhere else will be better? At least Lissa is harmless, and Pete is mostly away. Anyway, once I have this thing sorted, I need to go check on the little guy.”

“I hoped you would stay, but you’re right. One of us needs to go.”

“And it’s not going to be you, is it, princess?”

I jump to my feet and then wrap my arms around myself as I look down at him. “I can’t, Zayne. I have to see this through. Besides, if I go back, there’s a good chance these shadowguard things will follow me and finish me off, along with anyone else around me. I need to find out who I am and why I’m here. Then maybe I can stop them.”

“I could protect you.”

I force a smile. “Yeah, of course you could. I’m sure you’ll make a very scary chicken.”

“Piss off.”

He pushes himself to his feet and rests his hands on my shoulders. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to make this difficult for you. I’ve always known you’re not for the likes of me, that you’d leave us behind.” He looks down at me as if considering what to say next, then gives a shrug. “Besides, I’ve seen the way you look at Khaosti.” I want to argue that I don’t look at him. Not often, anyway. But Zayne’s already talking again. “And the way he looks at you when he thinks you’re not watching.”

“He looks at me?”

He just shakes his head and mutters, “Clueless.” Releasing his hold, he steps back. “But Amber, be careful. Don’t trust him.”

“Why? Has he said anything? What do you know?”

“I don’t know anything. It’s just a feeling. He’s conflicted about something. And when he decides what he’s going to do, whose side he’s on… well, there’s a good chance it won’t be yours.”