Mystic Ink (22 page)

Nix took a long look around once they reached the desert floor. “How lovely. Remind me not to consider this place for my next vacation,” she groused. She could practically feel the dry air sucking the moisture out of her skin. Good thing she had extra water. She hoped she had enough. They had no idea how long it would take to reach Nereus or what condition he would be in after a week and half in the desert.

“Which way, Ban?” Cal said, holding the cape out, then rotating 360 degrees.

Far in the distance, mountains rose above the horizon. Not as high as the Andes or Everest but high enough. Nix hoped they didn’t have her father up there. No way would the water last.

East. A few miles at most.

“Onward ho, then,” Zephyr called as he walked ahead.

“What are we, on the Oregon Trail?” Cal said, looping Ban around his shoulders.

“No need to be so testy, Fireboy.”

“Don’t be such a Pollyanna,” Cal shot back.

What’s a Pollyanna?
Ban asked.

Nix rubbed her temples. This was going to be a long few miles.

Chapter 19

Nix decided that trudging through desert sand was a lot more tedious than walking along the beach. The landscape was littered with boulders and sharp rocks. Every once in a while they would hit a patch of sharp bristly grass. The place wasn’t totally devoid of life. Especially the slithering or multi-legged variety. Snakes, lizards, and scorpions—oh my.

The dry air didn’t help. Cal and Zephyr experimented with cocooning Nix in a bubble of heated air. So far it had succeeded in making her hot, thirsty, and cranky. It took her mind off her father for a little while. Would he be injured? Butterflies roiled around in her stomach, and her jaw ached from gritting her teeth. She may have been angry with him, but he was still her dad. Portia would pay for her treason with her immortal existence. There was no way Nereus or the Delian League would allow her to live after her betrayal.

If Nix were like Chloe or Tabby, she might have felt sorry for Portia, but she didn’t. Portia had always been a conniving bitch.

“We’re not alone,” Zephyr pronounced, scattering Nix’s thoughts.

Dust clouds billowed, rolling along the horizon, heading straight for them. The cloud moved with unnatural speed, closing the distance in a span of minutes. A dark mass was approaching. Nix swore she could hear hooves galloping.

“Are those Centaurs?” Nix asked as she shielded her eyes from the sun and dust. Normally, Centaurs were more interested in studying books and acting superior than in fighting. These guys must have been part of the Centaur Anarchy Front, a radical group dedicated to breaking what they called the Delian League’s stranglehold on the God World. Nereus had been battling them for the last century and a half. Her stomach sank. Gods help her father if they were allowed access to him.

“Afraid so.” Cal unhooked the bow and strung it. “Zephyr, assist me?”

Arrows zinged through the sky, flying so high Nix lost sight of them. No way to tell if any of them hit, but she was betting on yes. Zephyr, using the power of wind, would have ensured they didn’t miss.

“Get down!” Cal shouted over loud whistling. “They’re returning fire.”

Nix grabbed the Mantle and unfurled it over the three of them like an umbrella. Arrows bounced harmlessly into the sand. “Thanks, Ban.”

The ground thundered under their feet. The vibration rattled Nix’s teeth. “What are there, a million of them?”

Cal poked his head out from under the Mantle, then ducked back inside. “Nope. There’s a Cyclops with them.”

“Eddie?” Nix asked, happy to have another go-around with the crafty bastard.

“Possibly. We’ll find out in a minute.”

“What’s the strategy here?” Zephyr pulled the Mantle off the group. The Centaurs were close enough now. There were at least ten, all in man-horse form, and they all looked ready to rumble. Armed with heavy chains, hammers, and axes, the group was garbed in bandanas and leather, similar to the Cyclops leading the pack.

“Kick ass.” Nix pulled a knife out of her pack and palmed a ball of water. “We need to get in and get out, before Portia is tipped off.”

“Works for me.” Cal flamed up, and orange fire danced in his hands and eyes.

A swirling dust devil grew behind Zephyr, picking up rocks, scrub, and sand. As it grew into a mighty vortex, the Centaurs came to a dead halt. The Cyclops urged them forward, taunting them for cowardice.

“I wish he wouldn’t do that,” Nix said. Unfortunately, Eddie knew how to get the pack fired up—question their manhood, insult their pride, and call them pussies.

The horde charged, only to slam into the vortex. The whirlwind sucked half the group skyward, blasting them toward space. Nix lost sight of them for a moment. When they reappeared, it was far off in the distance, probably a mile or two away.

“Way to go, Zeph!” Nix ducked. A heavy chain sailed over her head. A Centaur’s dark shadow eclipsed the sun. He reached down. Hairy brawny arms tried to capture her.

“Bring me the Nymph!” Eddie shouted. “We have unfinished business.”

“Why don’t you drag your fat ass over here and get me yourself?” Nix taunted, narrowly escaping another attempted abduction. The Centaur’s hooves danced close to her. One kick to the head and she would be out cold. Darting between the nearest set of horse legs, Nix hefted the knife and made a swift cut, slicing through the hamstring. Howling, the Centaur crashed to the ground. “Suck it up. You’ll live.” And heal.

Nix darted away, ducking behind the moaning Centaur, staying out of arm and hoof reach. She came around the fallen Centaur in time to see a thick chain wrap around Cal’s neck. Cal was yanked off his feet. The Centaur holding the chain had a large mallet poised to strike as soon as he dragged Cal close enough.

Nix reacted. Water balls the size and weight of marbles aimed straight for the beast’s eyes. On impact, the Centaur’s eyes were blasted inward into his brain. The Centaur howled and clutched his face, dropping the chain and hammer.

Nix raced to Cal’s side. Another Centaur beat her to him. It grabbed the chain and pulled Cal away. They didn’t make it far. Shrieks erupted as Cal super-heated the metal. The stink of burnt flesh filled air. The skin on the Centaur’s hands was gone, burned away.

Zephyr sparred with Eddie and the remaining Centaur. Although to Nix it looked more like Zephyr was toying with them. High up in the air, Zephyr faded in and out: fog to evade, solid to attack.

Nix unraveled the chain from Cal’s neck. Purple bruises and raw abrasions marred his skin. When she tried to tend to them, he stopped her.

“Later,” he wheezed through his battered windpipe. “We’re not out of the woods yet.”

Two of the windblown Centaurs were bearing down on them at high speed. Arrows whistled overhead, ready to strike. Ban rose up out of the sand, blocking the projectiles.

When this was over, she had to find a way to make Ban’s life better. Nix sent a stream of water to the ground, creating a sinkhole. A Centaur stumbled over it. Ass over forelegs, it crashed with a bounce, then stilled.

Cal cried out. A knife was embedded into his shoulder. Hot, angry flames immolated the Centaur responsible. There was nothing left but a charred pile of ash.

“Cal, stop moving.” Nix studied the wound. If she yanked out the blade, she could make the injury worse, and they didn’t have time in a battle situation to wait for it to heal.

Allow me.
Ban curled around Cal’s ankle, climbed up his waist, and settled over the injured shoulder. With a shivering motion, the blade fell to the ground, and Ban remained wrapped around Cal like a makeshift toga.

The ground shook. A rolling wave of Earth bowled into them. The air slammed out of Nix’s lungs as she hit the ground. Eddie was falling. His bulk tumbled forward; a giant Sequoia ready to crush them flat. If she assumed water form, she could escape, but not Cal. She wouldn’t leave Cal to die.

Cal shielded Nix, his large body over hers. Eddie’s shadow blotted out the sun. Nix threw every ounce of liquid under them, creating a rapid stream. Their bodies caught the tide and shot out of the way, barely missing Eddie’s fall.

“What the hell is Zephyr doing?” Cal shot to his feet and searched the area.

A dark shadow rose behind him. Terror twisted Nix’s gut. “Cal! Behind you!” Nix shouted.

Too late. An axe blade sailed straight at Cal’s neck.

“No!”

At the last moment, the blade whipped away, caught in the wind. Zephyr rose over the desert sand, a furious tornado. Eddie’s hand shot up in the air, clasping dead space, failing to make contact with Zephyr.

“Nix, Cal, go find Nereus. I’ll handle him.” Zephyr’s form melted into mist. Cal dragged Nix away as Zephyr’s wind form entered the Cyclops’ nose and mouth. Strangled cries, then choking gasps filled the air. Eddie wasn’t long for this world.

“Ban, which way now?” Cal kept a firm hold on Nix and ran them forward.

“How much farther?” The whole rescue was taking too long.

We are nearly there. Just over this ridge.

“Any traps?” Cal asked.

None that I can detect.

Portia was such a dumb Nymph. Nix couldn’t wait to meet her on the field of battle.

Nereus’ makeshift prison appeared on the horizon. Her father hung suspended above the sand in an orb. Disheveled and naked, he was a far cry from his normal perfection. He had reverted to his God form. Standing fifteen feet tall, his normally luminous green skin was dry and scaly. Strands of kelp and other seaweeds hung loosely from his scalp. He appeared to be in a deep sleep, eyes closed, chest falling up and down in a steady rhythm.

“I’m going to kill Portia,” Nix said. The bitch was going to die.

Cal frowned, but said nothing as they stood at the foot of the orb, examining it.

“This looks like a pretty standard containment spell,” Nix observed. “Why didn’t he just break out of it?”

Cal placed his hand on the barrier. “He’s been drugged.”

“Did Ban tell you that?” Nix tried to keep the annoyance out of her voice. She didn’t like to admit it, but she missed communicating with the alien. Since he had molded onto Cal she couldn’t speak with Ban anymore.

“Yes.” Cal knelt in the sand, dug a few inches, and confirmed what she suspected. “If we don’t release him soon, he is going to dry up and turn to dust.”

“Ban must know of a way to release Nereus. Right?” Nix hoped he did because, even though the spell was ordinary, she couldn’t break it. Not her thing. At least not without the Mantle.

Clouds black as coal rolled across the sky, blotting out the light. High winds whipped Nix’s hair out of its clip. Sand scraped across her skin and stung her eyes. When the winds stopped, Zephyr appeared.

“I can do it,” Zephyr said. He held a ring filled with assorted keys. Flicking through the odd variety of shapes and sizes, he stopped on an old brass one. It really didn’t look like a key at all, more like a half circle with jagged bits sticking out at irregular intervals.

“Is that what I think it is? A Keystone?” Cal leaned over for a closer look, then pulled back. “You could get busted for having that.”

“Not if it was freely given.” The West Wind sniffed as if insulted. “Nereus gave this to me a long time ago. He told me I would know when to use it when the moment came.”

“Come on! Get on with it!” Nix barked. Tiny pinpricks danced up her arms. The dry air made her skin itch. “Time is not on our side.”

Zephyr touched the barrier with the Keystone. Circles rippled away from the key like a pebble in a pond. When the ripples intersected, the entire barrier collapsed. Nereus crumpled to the ground with a soft thud.

“Father!” Nix pried his mouth open, parting his cracked lips. She poured her final water down his throat. He didn’t move. He didn’t cough the water up. Dread knotted her stomach. “Wake up.” When he still didn’t respond, she turned to Cal. “Ask Ban if he can help.”

Cal closed his eyes, then nodded. The Mantle unwound from Cal’s shoulder and dropped to the sand. Like a snake, the Mantle slithered, undulating until it reached Nereus.

Zephyr muttered under his breath, “Am I the only one creeped out here?”

Nix ignored him and snatched Ban off the ground and cloaked him over her father’s head. “Are we too late?”

No. He will recover
.

After an interminable moment, Nereus took a deep breath. Then another. His chest rose and fell to a steady beat. He cracked his eyes open and Nix released the breath she’d been holding. Thank the Gods, he was okay.

“Get back . . .” Nereus croaked. His voice was dry as the sand. He shimmered. His God-state disappeared as he reverted back to his mortal guise.

“Don’t talk, Father.” Nix helped Nereus sit up. When she held her hand out for a water bottle, Cal slapped one into her hand.

“Go back . . .” Nereus flayed his arms. They fell useless by his sides.

“We need to leave.” Nix tucked her shoulder under Nereus’ armpit, while Cal helped pull Nereus upright. Nix stopped. Damn. That niggle of doubt wormed its way up front. “This is way too easy.”

A faint ring came from her backpack. Nix shifted Nereus. Zephyr stepped in and took her father’s weight so she could dig out her phone.

“Hello?” she said, answering it.

White light exploded, blinding Nix for a moment. When the spots faded, Nix saw Portia, garbed in a Destroyer’s Mantle from the neck down. She held Jason under one arm and Devlin under the other. She unceremoniously dumped them face down into the sand.

“Nix. I thought you were the smart sister.” Portia laughed. “I win. You lose.”

The seal dangled from Portia’s silver clad fingertips. Nix wanted to scream. Again, her sister had one-upped her. Only this time the stakes for losing were life ending.

Fuck
.