Realm of Mirrors (The DeathSpeaker Codex Book 3) (18 page)

I could do that.

I clenched the bloody fabric tight, and the word I wanted rose instantly to my tongue. “
Saaruhtán.
”

The cap burst into flames.

I jerked my leg back with a snarl of pain, and the Redcap fell writhing to the ground. With faint horror, I watched his skin shrivel and draw tight, until it was stretched across the outline of his bones. His vast mouth opened in a silent scream as his eyes sizzled in their sockets and left blackened holes.

Nowhere near what I expected to happen.

“Gideon!”

At Uriskel’s shout, I spun and ran for him at a shambling lurch, my mangled leg threatening to buckle every time it touched ground. The two he’d been fighting had him flat on the ground. I grabbed one and pulled him off, and Uriskel immediately flipped the second one and pinned him. “Kill the bastard,” he snarled.

A deep part of me ached to do just that. And it terrified me.

The wild Fae ran off a few feet and turned to face me with a cold grin. I pulled the dagger, knowing he’d rush me—and he did. But my lunge missed.

His didn’t. Thorny nails raked my chest, tearing the tunic and drawing blood.

I slashed at him and caught his arm. With an angry howl, he barreled into me and knocked me to the ground. Strong fingers grabbed my wrist, twisted sharply. The knife fell from my hand.

Damn it, that was
my
disarming trick.

And before I could buck him off, he rammed a knee into my groin.

Agony exploded white behind my eyes. It was slow to fade, and for a few seconds I failed to understand why I couldn’t breathe—until I felt pressure on my throat, and realized he was choking me.

Coughing and struggling, I held an arm out in the direction I’d dropped the dagger and rasped the word the Unseelie soldier at the Castle had used to get his weapon back. “
Tuariis’caen
.”

The hilt slapped against my palm. I gripped it hard and drove the blade into the wild one’s chest.

His grip loosened, and I rolled him over and straddled him. Pure rage flooded my veins. He’d been ready to kill my friends and deliver me to the Unseelie Queen.

I needed him dead. It was the only way to stop him.

And I knew how to do it.

With both hands wrapped around the dagger, I plunged the blade deeper and wrenched upward, through muscle and bone. The wild Fae screamed as blood poured from his mouth. Another hard thrust, and blue-white light crackled from his chest like lightning.

I’d cut the spark from his heart.

I barely realized that the wrenching cry as I yanked the blade free came from my own lips. The wild one shuddered once, and stilled forever.

Breathing harshly, I bowed my head over him and spoke the words I’d heard once from Reun—a prayer for the dead. “
Is féider leis an éirí an bóthar leat
.”

May the road rise to meet you.

“Stop him! They cannot report back to the Unseelie Court!”

Uriskel’s voice seemed distant and weak. I forced myself to look, and saw one of the wild ones running away fast, despite being riddled with bullets.

I lurched to my feet and staggered toward him, holding a blood-streaked arm out, not sure what I meant to do until I spoke the spell. “
Mahrú à dionadth!
”

The shield crushed him against a nearby boulder, leaving him broken and bloodied. But not dead. He twitched feebly beneath the shimmering air, struggling in vain to free himself.

Something in me withered.

A hand clapped my shoulder. “Well done, DeathSpeaker.” Uriskel, gasping for breath. “Now, finish him off.”

I shivered and managed to look at him. “I can’t.”

His lip curled in a snarl. But as he stared at me, his features softened and he nodded once. “I’ll do it, then,” he said almost kindly. “Go and see to the girl.”

I wanted to thank him. But all I could do was turn away, so I wouldn’t have to watch.

C
HAPTER 25

S
adie was mostly unhurt. The Fae she’d shot only came after her once, and she’d split a knuckle punching him in the jaw. Then she shot him a lot more, and he apparently decided he didn’t like bullets—which was when he’d come after me.

And eventually I’d done something much worse to him.

“Let me heal that,” I said, taking her hand carefully.

She gave a weak laugh. “Maybe you’d better save it for yourself. You look like hell.”

“I’ll be fine.”

The corners of her mouth twitched. “You know, you really sound like—”

“A Fae?” I snapped.

She shivered a sigh and looked at the ground.

I hadn’t meant to sound so angry. But if I tried to talk about it right now, I’d only make it worse. So I focused on healing her knuckle instead. Taeral had already taught me how to heal, and it was even easier now that the magic responded so quickly.

Still, I could feel my spark ebbing. I’d drained a lot of it during the fight, and even with the intense Arcadian moon, it would take time to recharge.

“Thank you,” Sadie murmured when I lowered her hand.

I heaved a breath and looked at her. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I just…really didn’t want to do that. After what happened on the mountain…”

“And what might that be?”

Uriskel had come up beside us. His cheek was split open and bleeding freely, his shirt half torn off, and the skin of his exposed arm and part of his chest had been shredded liberally—by the wild ones’ claws, I assumed. If I looked like hell, he was right there with me.

I didn’t want to ask, but I had to. “Is he…”

“Aye.” He grimaced and spat out a mouthful of blood. “Now, you were saying something about a mountain?”

“No. I wasn’t.” I turned away and limped toward the nearest tree. If I didn’t sit down soon, my leg was going to drop me where I stood. I figured with the mood I was in, they’d probably leave me alone—we’d rest so Uriskel and I could heal up some, and then get moving again.

Apparently I’d figured wrong, because Uriskel followed me.

I leaned against the tree and slid gingerly to the ground. “I don’t want to talk about it,” I said without looking at him.

He crouched in front of me. “Well, then. I’ll talk about it for you.”

“What, are you psychic now?”

“This mountain,” he went on like I hadn’t said anything. “You killed many there, but the taste of blood was not to your liking. And so you vowed you’d not kill again.”

My jaw clenched. “Sadie told you. Right?”

“No, she did not. I know this because I’ve been to the place I saw in your eyes, just now. That place of shame and self-loathing no amount of platitudes can ease.”

I shuddered and closed my eyes. “You have no idea what I did.”

“Don’t I?” he said.

“I
slaughtered
people!” Now I did look at him as the rage bubbled to the surface. “I didn’t just kill them. I murdered them, messy and bloody, sometimes more than one at a time. They weren’t even Other. Just humans. And do you know why?” I spat. “Because they were insects. Insects with guns and clubs and Tasers and mandrake oil, and I crushed them. Because I
could.
”

Uriskel raised an eyebrow. “Are you finished?”

“Yeah. Are you?”

“No.” He looked hard at me. “I could tell you tales that would make your blood run cold. If you knew all that I’ve done, you’d find yourself a saint by comparison. But I’ll not do that—and it is not because I’m in the least concerned what you think of me.”

I had to admit, he probably wasn’t. He’d practically gloated about what a horrible bastard he was when Taeral called him on it. “All right,” I said. “Why, then?”

“Because what you feel is right,” he said. “You
should
feel it. Without that remorse, you’re no better than the monsters you fight. Those who seek to destroy you and the ones close to you—they feel nothing.”

“So I’m better than them,” I muttered. “Good for me.”

“Aye. You are.” He waited until I looked at him. “The warrior carves his guilt upon his heart, and he bears those scars proudly. For it is pain that drives him to action, and remorse that allows him to take lives when he’s called to do so. It is his curse, but also his blessing.”

“Or hers.”

This time I didn’t jump when Sadie spoke nearby. Uriskel tilted his head to look at her, and smiled. “Indeed. Hers as well,” he said.

“Guess I’m outnumbered,” I said with a smirk. “Okay, I’ll try to remember that. And…thank you, Uriskel.”

He nodded and rose unsteadily. “Now, we’ve much more to do,” he said. “If you—”

“Hold on.” I pushed myself up and tested my leg. At least it didn’t try to fold instantly beneath me, so that was an improvement. But Uriskel didn’t look even a little better. “Why aren’t you healing?” I said. “Is your spark drained or something?”

He frowned. “I’ll survive.”

“You’re barely standing. Maybe we should get you into moonlight, and—”

“My spark is sufficient, thank you,” he said brusquely, and then looked away. “I’ve no healing capabilities.”

“You don’t?” I said. “I thought all the Fae did. Why not?”

“Because I can fly.” He rolled his eyes. “Generally, all Fae have one or the other. Healing is far more common—but believe me, I am not pleased to be unique in this regard.”

Sadie gaped at him. “Holy shit, you can
fly
?”

“I can,” he said. “Not much use to me when I’m bleeding all over Creation, though. A state I find myself in frequently, which flight does not alleviate.”

“Well then, I’ll heal you.”

I started for him, but he held a hand out. “I sense that your spark is low,” he said. “You’ll need to conserve it, in case we meet up with more wild ones.”

I shook my head. “You’re just as stubborn as my brother. But I’ve got this.” I gestured at Sadie. “I can use the moonstone. Don’t worry, you won’t have to take it off.”

“Oh, yeah,” she said with a smile. “It enhances your spark, right?”

Uriskel flashed an exasperated look. “Fine. But only because you should discharge the stone’s energy, so it will continue to absorb moonlight.”

“Got it. Definitely not because you need help,” I said, with just a touch of sarcasm. “So I’ll heal you, and then we keep going. I’m up to around a fast limp right now.”

“Actually, we cannot continue yet.”

“Now what?”

He gestured at the scattered bodies. “The Redcap knew something of Moirehna’s plans, or he’d not have sought you,” he said. “We must learn what he knows. DeathSpeaker.”

Oh. That.

C
HAPTER 26

I
was a little concerned about trying this. Nyantha’s sister might have been stubborn and annoyed with me, but she wasn’t evil, and she really hadn’t fought too hard. I had a feeling this guy would—and I had no idea what would happen if he got away.

I’d healed Uriskel and managed to upgrade my leg from savaged to sliced, and now we stood over the desiccated corpse of the Redcap. “What happened to him, anyway?” I said. “I mean, all I did was burn his hat, and he went instant mummy.”

“Redcaps thrive on the blood of their enemies,” Uriskel said. “They soak their caps in it with every kill, and their own blood dries as the cap dries. If the cap is destroyed…”

“All their blood goes with it,” Sadie murmured. “I’d heard about it, but I’ve never seen it. Jesus, look at his
eyes
.”

“Yeah.” I tried not to remember watching that happen. I’d be happy going the rest of my life without seeing someone’s eyes boil out of their head again. “Okay, so let’s do this,” I said. “Um…you might want to stand back.”

I took a few steps back myself. Sadie shot me a puzzled look, and Uriskel said, “What exactly does speaking to the dead involve?”

“Well, it used to involve voices in my head, and a lot of pain and nosebleeds. But Nyantha taught me a few tricks.”

Sadie knew what it was always like for me. She’d seen me drive myself to the point of blacking out—and she’d been the one trying to stop me before I got there. “So you can do it without hurting yourself now?” she said.