Page 9

9

Pixie

T he blood and guts are cleared by the time Shaw and Archie return. I’m sat on the same table they had me tied down on, in Dorian’s shirt, eating some leftovers that weren’t destroyed or made bloody by the fight.

I used my earth magic to bury most of the mess and enjoyed watching Dorian scrub away the rest. It’s the least he can do after that chestnut trick.

‘Well?’ I ask. ‘Why were they here?’

Shaw and Archie both share a look and don’t say anything for a moment.

‘If we’re going back to the whole thing of keeping me in the dark, I promise none of you will enjoy the outcome.’

‘Ahhh. I’ve missed being threatened by you,’ Archie teases. He comes over and taps me on my nose.

It’s then I see the sheer amount of blood coating his skin. Fresh and dripping.

Onto my clean fucking floors.

I look at the little splats he’s left behind, and with a cheeky grin, he covers them with his foot as if I won’t notice.

I look at my husband instead, hoping to get some answers.

‘They were from an earth coven.’ He starts washing the blood off in the sink as the pit in my stomach doubles. ‘We found a ship anchored east of the island with five more witches onboard. All except one was Earth. There was a water witch with them.’

That pit becomes a knot.

‘We killed them all. The water witch was young and inexperienced, so it wasn’t a challenge.’

‘You killed them all?’ I repeat. ‘Was that entirely necessary?’

‘They had chains. Torture devices. All sorts of rudimentary magic binding methods. And they were here for you, Pixie. Not us.’ Shaw glares at me, daring me to argue with the need to slaughter them. I stay silent. ‘They wouldn’t have got to you. Never mind manage to contain you. You’re far too powerful for what they had planned, but still. We saw the shackles and gags. We saw the knives and saws. And we knew what they had planned, so we killed them for their stupidity.’

He abandons the water and starts to dry his hands.

‘Oh,’ I reply.

‘Yeah. Oh .’

‘How did they find us?’

‘The witch said they had some kind of amulet that located you on an ancient map.’

‘Amulet? What amulet?’

He glances at Archie.

‘Pix,’ Archie says, flicking off a finger from a turkey leg before he takes a bite. ‘We have some bad news.’

‘Of course you do.’

‘A boat had left the ship before we got there. According to those we asked very politely and with no violence whatsoever-’ Shaw scoffs at that. ‘Three others had left so they could report your location.’

‘To who? Shaw killed everyone who might want me dead.’

‘A queen from the West.’

‘A queen? What queen?’

‘One who we do not want finding you. She commissioned the search. She wants you. And she’s someone who should never get anywhere near you.’

‘Why? I can handle a human queen.’

Now, they all look at Dorian.

‘What?’ he asks. ‘Why are you looking at me like that?’

Shaw clears his throat and takes a step closer to Dorian. The way he approaches, like he’s preparing to tame a wild beast, has the pit in my stomach turning into a swarm of wasps.

‘It’s Lilith, Dorian. She’s the queen in the west.’

The house shudders, and Dorian’s eyes darken. I can taste the hatred suddenly filling the air.

‘Lilith is dead,' Dorian insists. 'She was murdered. Slaughtered.’

Shaw holds out his hand. Hanging in his grip is an emerald green pendant. It glows.

‘That’s impossible. It’s fucking impossible!’

He charges forward and snatches the charm, looking at it with an unreadable expression. There’s anger there, for sure. But also pain. Grief, too, I think.

‘We need to know your allegiance, Dorian. Right now,’ Shaw says firmly.

The two stare at one another.

‘How can you even ask me that?’

‘Because Lilith is after Ashe. And you know as well as I do that she won’t give up. And she won’t be gentle when she does get her.’

‘She won’t get her.’

‘The ships are reporting back to Lilith and her armies as we speak. They have a days advantage on us.’

Dorian crushes the pendant, letting it fall to the floor as dust.

‘We have to leave.’ Dorian takes a shuddering breath. ‘We have to leave right now.’

‘Agreed,’ Shaw says sadly. ‘It was nice whilst it lasted, but we were foolish to think they would stop looking for her.’

‘I’m sorry,’ I say. ‘But who the fuck is Lilith?’

They all stare at Dorian.

‘I’m not leaving our home without a damn good reason why.’

Dorian clears his throat and faces me. ‘Lilith is a shadow master. Like me, but more powerful. Unbound by any curses, she relishes the stealing of souls. She masterfully commands them. A way in which I never could. I was always fighting the darkness of the shadows. They often controlled me. Lilith does not have that problem. She controls them, and they worship her. They are souls sacrificed to her willingly, so they hold no hatred for her. Only love and blind obedience.’

Another shadow master? I knew they existed long ago but assumed he was the last.

‘And why would she want me?’

‘You’re a powerful earth goddess, Poppet. Half the world wants you.’

‘Do you think she wants to trap me like they did Athir?’ I ask. ‘And steal my magic?’

It’s something I have thought about often. I have no idea how they trapped the witch gods. But they did. They could do it again. Especially now they know I exist.

‘We would never let that happen,’ Dorian promises me. ‘We need to pack and get going.’

He leaves the room, charging upstairs to do precisely that.

I look at Archie and Shaw.

‘Now tell me who she really is,’ I say. ‘To him. And why would you question his loyalty?’

Shaw walks towards me. His palm rests on my cheek.

‘Pixie. She’s his wife.’

All the air leaves my lungs.

‘Like… forced to marry kinda wife?’ I ask.

‘No. Like loved and adored. Married. And then watched as she was killed, kinda wife. Except now she’s not dead. She’s very much alive. It’s possible she returned after Hel’s death.’

Great. I save the world and bring my lover’s wife back from the dead.

‘She wants me?’

He nods, brushing the hair from my face.

‘We can’t be sure what she wants with you, but I know it won’t be good. I’m sorry. But we have to go.’

‘This is our home. I won’t run.’

‘Home isn’t a place, Pixie,’ he says. ‘You should know that by now. It’s this.’ He places his hand over my heart and my hand over his. ‘It’s us. You. Me. Dorian and Archie. This place is just shelter. It’s not home. We are home. And if we stay here, Lilith will come and take you. Take Dorian. And we will no longer be home. Do you understand me?’

I swallow the urge to cry, and I nod.

‘We leave. Now.’

‘Can’t you just dream walk her or something? Make her sleep and never wake up like you did the others?’

‘She’s too powerful. But when we’re safe, I’ll walk and find out as much as possible. But right now, we need to pack. We need to run.’

He waits for me to argue. I don’t, so he joins Dorian in packing. I look at Archie, who is tearing into a turkey leg and watching me closely.

‘Are we ever going to able to stop running and fighting?’ I ask.

‘I haven’t yet, Pix,’ he sighs.

‘That chestnut thing was sly, Archie. And gross.’

‘It’s not a guarantee of anything,’ he shrugs. ‘But it would be nice to hear the padding of little paws someday. A mini you would be super adorable.’

‘Oh yeah.’ I look at him, covered in blood and still wearing that stupid hat. ‘Because what child wouldn’t want to grow up in a house where severed limbs and organs decorate their Christmas tree?’ I pick out a chunk of intestine and toss it at him over my shoulder. ‘Merry bloody Christmas.’ I pull down the picture Shaw drew and roll it up before heading up to help the others pack.