“No.” Odette sighs. “I should know this by heart by now. Give me a second.”
She begins mumbling names, and I chuckle to myself. Ray won’t know what to do with himself when she’s back and able to fret over him again. At least she’ll have something to focus all that energy on besides reading.
The closer we get to the tavern, the more tensions rise. I really want to shadow hop ahead, but we agreed to wait until we’re close so there’s no reason to rest in between. We are all eager to see what’s happened, and I really want to know why Rapunzel hasn’t been speaking with us. Even if Ray’s battling depression over his brother, Rapunzel held strong and tried to communicate.
I hope the depression hasn’t found her, too. Tom’s ailing health was worrisome before the beanstalk adventure, and I get the feeling that nothing’s improved.
We’re a few minutes from the spot Ban and I discussed when an explosion rocks the ground. It shakes the earth, and I use my magic to keep my balance. The others behind me are able to stay on their feet, and I whirl around toward the noise.
The tavern.
“Ban! Bring them!” I don’t wait for his response, knowing he can move the three of them to the tavern on his own. It might be slightly slower, but if something dangerous has happened, I’d rather find out before all of us drop in.
And I need to know Rapunzel is okay. Everything else falls to the wayside as fear grips me, and I shadow hop at lightning speed toward the tavern.
Once I get there, travelers are fleeing, but not in the way I expect. People keep looking over their shoulders, but no one’s running for the hills. Half of them appear torn about going back.
The tavern itself seems to be fine, which doesn’t explain the noise or the rumble. Glancing at the beanstalk, everything seems to be in order there, so I move on to the tavern itself.
All my thoughts stop when Rapunzel stumbles out of the tavern, looking as though she’s in a daze. Her long hair blows in the breeze like a sheet of gold around her, her golden eyes blank as she steps barefoot into the dirt.
I’m by her side in an instant, gripping her shoulders. “Rapunzel?”
Her eyes move to meet mine, but the joy of seeing me again isn’t there. I want to drag her into my arms and hold on tight, but there’s a lifelessness in her gaze that leaves a hollow feeling in my stomach. “I tried.”
“I’m sure you’re doing great,” I say, frowning. The groups fleeing the tavern have lessened, and I don’t hear anything immediately concerning within. That’s almost worse. “Tell me what happened.”
Rapunzel’s eyes are unfocused when she looks at me, desperation leaking off her. “I tried. I tried to keep pushing the magic, but he wouldn’t take it anymore. His body wouldn’t accept the magic.” She looks down at her hands, like she doesn’t believe the words herself. “I tried to fix him. But I ran out of time.”
“Thomas,” I say, despair hitting me. We’ve reaped souls along the way here, and while Neve couldn’t see them, Odette did. The feeling was the same as before; we were fulfilling a duty.But here and now? There’s something lingering. It almost feels like a spirit, but it isn’t.
“Rapunzel,” Odette says, cutting in before I can say more. She steps up to us, grabs her hand, and frantically starts looking around. “What’s happened? Where’s Ray? Tom?”
Her gold eyes lift, still hollow. “Tom is gone. Ray is too.”
“What do you mean Ray is too?” I interrupt, giving her arm a gentle squeeze. “Rapunzel. Tell me what’s happened?”
She starts to shift her eyes, frantically looking between us. “He’s not himself. I don’t know what’s wrong with him.” She tears her arms away, wrapping them around her middle. “He blames me, and he's right, but he’s, he’s…”
Her voice trails off, and I don’t need her to explain what she means. In the next moment a devastated wail carries from within the new tavern, followed by more sobs.
Crying.I recognize the loudest to be Dahlia, even though I’ve never heard her cry before. Even when Jacob died. Her voice is distinct, carrying the pleas of hysteria with it.
Odette steps away, trying to work around her. “What’s happened to Ray? No, no matter. I’ll figure it out myself. Everything is going to be–”
A figure shoves open the door, nearly crashing into all of us. He’s without a cloak, his hair disheveled, and there are black shadows clinging to his body when he all but takes the three of us out on the doorstep.
I slide into the shadows, appearing on the other side of Rapunzel, blocking Odette, too, which is more of an afterthought than my intention. “Ray.”
He doesn’t act like Ray. In fact, minus the shadows, I don’t initially recognize him. There’s a wave of despair that rolls with him, and he’s barely looking at any of us, his head downcast as the magic swirls around him.
I’ve never seen the shadows react like that before. They don’t just circle around him; they cling to him, almost creating a second skin. He’s holding his head as he peers around, his eyes wide and–
Red.I rip my scythe out of the shadows when I see it, and a few paces away, I can sense Ban doing the same with his staff. “Raymundo!”
He barely acknowledges me. Grief overwhelms him. The red, unnatural eyes pulse with his magic, and he turns that manic gaze to Rapunzel behind me. “You let him die.”
His voice is all wrong; deeper, like he cried until his throat was raw, and has only just found his voice again.
