World Weaver (The Devany Miller Series Book 4) (7 page)

“It made it easier to help your parents escape her gaze. When she finally came out of the fugue she’d fallen into, your folks were long gone.”

“And she only had you to take her anger out on,” I whispered.

“Yeah, well, that wasn’t a surprise.”

“Ty—”

“I remembered what it was like. Maybe I didn’t have a soul, Devany, but I could still bleed. Kids experience everything so much more intensely than adults do, don’t they? Even those without a soul. I knew what it was like and I didn’t want you to suffer the same way.”

Dear god. Sick to my stomach and filled with guilt over something I hadn’t had any control over, I spun around, not sure what I intended to do.

He was gone.

SIX

After Ty’s visit, I’d lost my desire to clean house. Instead, I hooked to the Dream Caves. No one was inside, for which I was grateful. I descended the stairs and followed Krosh’s energy line until I found him in the middle of Odd Silver surrounded by a passel of kids. Liam was there and granted me a quick hug. “Found Bethy yet?” he asked me.

I shook my head. “But I have a lead. Krosh? Do you know where Bayladdy Creek is?”

“We have maps of all Midia in the Caves. Come.” To one of the older kids in the group, he said, “Work on the grounding together until I return.”

Liam flashed me a grin before dropping to the dirt with everyone else. He’d always loved group sports and I supposed this was similar. It was like summer camp, only with magic. That would have been a dream come true for me as a kid.

“Bayladdy is a dangerous place, Devany. The magic there rolls in and out with the tide. It makes people unpredictable at the best of times.”

“My daughter might be there.” I slipped my hand in his, needing his warmth and strength. “I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to her. Something worse than this.”

“I’m sure Arsinua is keeping her safe. She did not take her to put her in harm’s way.”

“I know, but she has. In coming here, she’s increased the chances that Bethany will get hurt.” I shut my eyes and stopped, overwhelmed by fear in that moment. “If I find my daughter and something has happened to her, I won’t be able to stop from killing Arsinua.” It went against everything I was, to say that. But I’d seen my dark side and it was grim.

“We are connected, you and I. Through the hunt and through the Dreams and through our souls. You are many things, Devany, but I do not think you are a murderer.”

But I was. Tytan and I had tortured Danni’s abusive ex and it had been fun. Granted, I’d lost my soul and didn’t have access to that part of me. I’d killed the clone of my son that Sharps had made to hurt me. I’d killed Ravana. So many people gone by my hand. There had been reasons. Ravana was stone-cold crazy and powerful. She’d threatened my children. The clone held a disease that would have infected Midia and turned everyone into monsters. Harrison. Well. He’d hurt Danni unspeakably.

I always had a good excuse. Finding my daughter harmed in any way would be my excuse. I wasn’t sure I could talk myself out of ending Arsinua if my baby was hurt. I took a shaky breath, opening my eyes when Krosh brushed his fingers across my forehead.

“I will come with you if you’d like.”

“What about Liam?”

“My sister is here, and Lizzie. No one will let any harm come to him. Here the transformation has slowed. He’s learning control. The village acts as an anchor as does everyone who lives here. I can be gone for a while without harm.”

I wanted him to come—and I didn’t. A part of me thought that I should take Tytan instead.

He would understand what I needed to do if I found Bethany hurt.

Too well.

“Okay. Thank you.”

We walked to the Dream Caves and he took me into the meeting room. The back wall was pocked with cubby holes carved from the rock. Kroshtuka pulled a rolled up map from one and laid it flat on the table, anchoring it with rocks at each corner. He tapped the map on a place we’d been to recently. “Flingway is here.” He drew his finger down and to the left, to the coast. There were a lot of towns at the edge of the map, more than I’d ever imagined. I still had it in my head that Midia was some sort of backwater with few people. Honestly, I had no idea how many people lived on this world. Or things. “How big is this place?”

“Bayladdy?”

I shook my head. “Midia itself.”

“Would you like to see a globe?” Without waiting for me to answer, he disappeared through a doorway at the back of the room and came out with a glowing rock that floated between his hands. It throbbed with magic and the hair on my arms stood on end.

He tossed it at the table, where it bounced in the air and stopped, spinning. Krosh pushed his magic at it and the globe expanded to detail the shape of the mountains and the rivers, little clouds gusting over the surface.

I’d seen only the smallest part of this world. “Where are we?” I asked, voice hushed.

“Here.” He stopped the globe with his index finger. To the south stretched the mountains, the tornado that spun constantly at Tempest Peaks, and beyond, the sea. Some things were in shadows that shifted when I looked directly at them. “What’s all that?”

“The Wilds. The shadows are the broken places, though they have retreated since you fixed the Omphalos.”

I squinted down at Ketwer Island, where the last of the people infected with the Red Rider parasite had been banished. It was bigger than I’d pictured too. The Swamps roiled in green far to the north of his finger and to the west, a bright yellow glow gilded the land all around it. “The Omphalos?”

“Yes. It’s getting bigger as they repair the borders.”

A dark, gold light banded the witch lands and the glow of the Omphalos. In spots where the border poles had been broken, shadows intruded into the gold. Flingway was a black hole, the Basin more so and I shuddered, remembering. “I don’t have much time.”

“Then we will go. Here.” He tapped the globe and it spun to bring the coast front and center. He tapped again and it grew until the tops of the buildings came into sharp focus. “There’s a hill that overlooks Bayladdy. Take us there and we can walk into town. The tide is out, which is good.”

“What happens when it rolls in?”

He gestured and the globe shrunk back to its original size. “Chaos. We will need to be in and out before it comes in. I won’t be able to control my change during the tides. Not with any reliability. And if I change in a witch town, they’ll take me and probably execute me.”

“Shit. You should stay here. I don’t want to risk—”

“I’m going with you. Two people can search faster than one. You will need to take care as well. I don’t know what effect the tide will have on you.”

I didn’t know either. Would Neutria come bursting forth at will? She did that anyway.

Deep in my head, satisfaction throbbed through me.
I am strong. Stronger than you.

‘Then why do I have a body while you are stuck in there, bragging?’

She didn’t answer, but I felt her amusement anyway. Damn.

“Come, let’s bring your daughter home.”

It wouldn’t be that simple, but I let myself believe it anyway.

***

Bayladdy Creek wasn’t like the other witch towns I’d been in. Okay, it was like nothing I’d seen before. A great metal wall stood between the town and the sea, the rivets big enough for me to pick out from our vantage point on the hill. Metal ringed every building, as a matter of fact. Hell, everything was made of metal. Great silver wheels like steamboat paddles poked through the wall at intervals and there were massive gates, six in all. The harbor was in shadows this time of day, making the water dark as pitch. Ships of all sizes bobbed in the water and the boardwalks were packed with people.

Then I saw the airship. It bobbed at the far end of the wall, its gas bladder a brilliantly colored patchwork. Underneath hung what looked to be a pirate schooner. “Oh. My. God.”

“It’s a port town. There’s a lot of traffic. It would be a good place to hide, especially if you had friends to help you.”

“That’s not helping,” I muttered, eyes on the docks. “Airships?”

Krosh began descending, picking out a safe trail with his keen eyes. “There are many things here. Pirates. Criminals. Inventors and poets. It’s one of the biggest cities in our part of the world.”

“Bayladdy Creek sounds like a hick town. Not a city. False advertising,” I muttered, my hope guttering. It would take forever to find my daughter in this place. And the second Arsinua caught wind I was here, she’d leave and I still wouldn’t have my daughter home.

We didn’t speak again until we’d reached the edge of town. City. Whatever. The buildings held a certain kind of tin can charm that I wasn’t in the mood to enjoy. “Why is everything metal?” Was there some sort of metal that repelled magic? I could reinforce my house with it, in that case. Maybe protect my kids from any further danger.

“The sea air rots wood. They’ve been steadily replacing all the structures here since the last Great Wave years ago.”

There were people everywhere. Some wore clothes like Krosh, some like me. Two men passed us with scarves wound around their heads and draped over their noses. A woman covered in butterflies loitered in a doorway and smiled way too long at Krosh as we walked by. The purple butterflies at her breasts moved, conveniently, exposing her nipples. Krosh laughed at whatever was on my face and we moved on, down sidewalks made of multi-colored stones in shifting mosaics. The patterns changed as we walked on them, and each store had its own unique pattern that I assumed matched the wares inside. Someday I would have to come back here and explore when it wasn’t life or death.

As we walked, I opened what I’d dubbed my Magic Eye to search for Bethy’s signature. Brilliant blues, greens, reds, and oranges flared bright enough to make me stagger. I cut the connection as Krosh’s arm went around me. “What’s wrong?”

“There’s so much noise.” I waved my hand. “Magical noise. No way will I be able to track Bethy that way. Shit.”

“Did you get any other information other than the name of the town?”

“Zech said Arsinua grew up here. I’m not sure how that will help us, though.” We stood for a moment in a doorway, shielded from the press of humanity all around us. “She’s near someplace with a sign that says, ‘Legendary Whiskahol.’”

“Excellent. We’ll start with the taverns. There’s a tourist shop up ahead. We can buy a map of the city there.”

We weaved through the crowds, Krosh’s hand on my back, not pushing, only there for support. Outside the shop, the sidewalk mosaic shifted through baubles available for sale in the store, many of them things I might find on Earth. Inside, the small building was packed full of tourists. Light streamed in through the high windows, glinting off the globes on the topmost shelves. Pedestals with rocks or other strange objects stood around the room, a placard on each. The one closest to the door held a wicked thing labeled, ‘Chelicera and fang from a juvenile Chythraul. Origin: The Swamp (North).’ Neutria hissed inside my head.
Stupid spider got caught. Good it’s dead.

She was so sympathetic … not. Farther on, another pedestal held a jar in which a ghastly form floated. ‘Body of an infant gruewen. Donated by Zephyrinia, Sky Captain.’ I peered into the jar and almost swallowed my tongue when the damned thing rushed the glass, mouth wide. Its teeth were …

Small and weak.

‘Thanks, Neutria.’ Heart pounding, I found Kroshtuka purchasing a city map for us. The woman behind the counter had a pen in her mouth that she was gnawing on as she counted back Krosh’s change.

I asked, “How many taverns in Bayladdy serve Whiskahol?”

Her expression told us we were stupid. “All of them.” She narrowed her eyes. “Do I know you?”

“Me?”

“You look familiar.”

I thought of the flyer Dad had, and the one on Marantha’s coffee table. “I get that a lot,” I said, pushing Krosh to the door. “I have one of those faces.”

“What’s wrong?” he asked, once we were out on the sidewalk again.

“The Anforsa is hunting me. She printed wanted posters with my picture on it and has been posting them everywhere, Dad said. Come on. We have to get out of the open.”

I analyzed everyone we passed. Did that man stare a little too hard at me? Did that woman’s expression change from boredom to recognition? I turned my head toward Krosh and held my hand over my face, pretending to scratch a never ending itch on my forehead.

“In here,” he said, and pulled me into the shadows of an alley. We opened the map and Krosh said, “Taverns.” In an instant, all of the places to buy Whiskahol lit up.

“So many,” I said, disappointed. I wanted it to be easy.

“Yes, but I’m guessing the tavern we want is near a residential area.” As he spoke, roughly half the lights winked out. “We can search them later if we don’t turn up anything else.”

“This is the coolest thing ever. Like a smartphone only you don’t have to pay for the data plan.” I touched a spot and swiped my fingers apart like I would with my phone and, sure enough, the map expanded for me. “Do you want to split up?” I didn’t want to, not really. If I found my daughter without him with me, who would keep Arsinua alive?