“Just you two.” He flicked a dismissive hand at me and Ward. “It’s a small room.”
“It is,” Maggie confirmed.
“You didn’t think to grab it when he showed it to you?” I hissed at her.
She held up her hands. “It’s Morganite. I definitely don’t need any more Divine Love in my life and it’s not like I understood it was the thing you were searching for.”
Of course she knew what kind of crystal it was. I bet she tried to read its signature, too. Ward dropped the soldier he still choked and put me behind him as we followed Brad down the hallway, down into the storage cellar and into a broom closet. I really hated this as a theme for our quest. Ward grew more uneasy the smaller the space got. I could finally sense the relic, but wrapped in that hazy buzzing.
“Here it is.” Brad gestured to the unreal, head-sized, glowing heart crystal sitting in a cradle of mechanics and yet more wires. “I recognize it’s sad.” He pointed at all the metal stuff. “But that's all that would come over with me. Don’t worry. I’ll build more.”
“You don’t seem particularly upset we’ve destroyed your plans,” Ward commented as we all squeezed into the room.
Brad shrugged. “Those are the expenses of a startup. I came through that Gate knowing there would be ups and downs to taming this place. You shifters were going to be great instruments of war, but you’re costly to control. I'll chalk this up to R&D costs and I got you out of it.” He gestured to Ward.
“He’s not any more controllable than the other shifters,” I told Brad.
The man just looked at me like I was the dumb one. “He is when I have you.” Brad held out a collar I guess I was supposed to put on. Ward reached for it and Brad snapped it back. “The bear will be the leader of my next army. I will pay you handsomely, of course. In return, your troublemaker will live with me since she seems so hard to kill.”
Ward snarled.
“I know enough about mates that I can’t have one without the other. The elves seemed pretty compliant when they ran up, practically tossing their King at me for all the experiments he could handle. Since you ruined my shifter army, we can try using them instead.”
I saw rage light up in Ward’s eyes. Brad would have been smarter to stay with his soldiers than confine himself in a room with us. Ward’s hand shot out and went to crush Brad’s throat, but when the bangle he wore lit up, a magical barrier came between them.
“Nice try, bear,” Brad sneered. The smile on his face was a flash of his malicious intent.
Ward squeezed harder, but nothing happened. He whispered a spell, but it cracked against the barrier.
“Okay, this is getting lame. Grab your prize, Evie. We’ll get back to your friends.”
We needed the last relic, so I couldn’t leave it there, but I didn’t trust Brad as far as Ward could throw him.
“Grab it,” Ward said.At least it will be in our possession.
I detached all the wires and mechania from the crystal. It pulsed its glow, the call now so strong I was falling.
Falling forward. Falling down. Stomach in my throat, much like the first time I turned into a snake. I closed my eyes against the vertigo and opened them to a vast ocean before me. Waves lapped gently onto a white, sugar sand beach. Warm breezes brought the scent of exotic fruit and alcohol. I sat in a long chair that propped up my legs and the woman next to me was sipping on all that juice and rum I smelled. Her bathing suit and sarong were on point, showing much more skin than I would ever dare.
“Oh… hello?”
Veretis turned to me, a soft smile on her face. “Hey there, Evie. I figured you might like this for your glamour.”
I recognized that voice all too well and my insides started quivering like jelly. I could look nonchalant and enjoy the brilliant sunset lighting up the sky. The sun didn’t seem to sink, so the colors stayed vivid and fantastic. I had never been to the ocean, but I always wanted to dig my feet in the sand. “Well, thanks! It’s really pretty.”
“You’re welcome. You deserve it for getting to the last of my relics. I thought you should enjoy mortal things for the last time.”
I was living my dream, digging my toes in the warm sand, but my head jerked up at that. “Am I going to need one of those?” I pointed to her drink.
“Sure! If it gives you something to hold.”
Veretis popped a drink into my hand, and my first sip was a revelation. Fruit I never knew existed danced across my tongue along with the warmth of the rum underneath.
“So, come again? Last time, mortal, what?”
A line came between her perfect brows. “No one told you what happens when you collect all the relics?”
“I think they all got lost somewhere in history, so it’s fuzzy for everyone.”Not like they’ve seen you in a while,I wanted to add, but I was talking to a Goddess. I needed to keep existing through the most terrifying part of this quest yet.
