Dozens of little mammals scurried in earthen tunnels, hidden from my senses until they brushed against a root intersecting their underground highways. I watched from above as they went about their business, leery of disturbing them as they gathered food, mated, slept. Oblivious.
A slightly larger mammal hopped into my mind, paws brushing a plump vine as it chewed at the bark of a thin sapling. Tiny, fluttering heart. Ribs expanding several times a second with quick, short breaths. A herbivore. A rodent, perhaps. Startling at every sound, muscles tensed to flee.
Fascinated, I aimed the bulk of my attention there, focusing on the tiny creature. Was that—I pressed a single, delicate tendril of ki toward it—was that new life quickening in its womb? In spite of it all, a smile bloomed across my face. Pregnant. The little rodent was newly pregnant and eating for a litter of at least six.
Something made it flinch, its whole body pulsing with adrenaline an instant before it was airborne, separate from my senses until all four paws touched the earth once more. It continued to bounce through the forest with such speed that I almost couldn’t follow, zipping through the underbrush in an erratic pattern. When it came to a stop, tucked under a fruit-bearing bush, it stilled, hardly daring to breathe—and I with it.
Was she being pursued? Or had the soon-to-be mother found safety?
I turned blank eyes in her direction, blending more of myself with her—just as my link to the little mother went black in a single, blinding instant of pain. A scream tore free of my throat as the heels of my palms flew to my temples. Gone! Little Mother was gone! She was dead!
The Void yawned before me once more, beckoning me to fall into its limitless depths. I staggered to my feet, swimming against the flow with everything I had. And it was not enough! She was gone, and with the passing, oxygen starved seconds, her young went with her. Each new lost life pulled at me, until the weight of all seven, tiny still hearts was too heavy a burden to carry. They were dragging me into the Void. Even the ki of the forest was not enough. I was lost—
Elite strength washed through me, anchoring me to the correct side of this existence. Calling me back from the edge, he threw himself in front of the Void as I clawed my way back to the light.
That noble, selfish, parasiticbastard.
“Mila!” Belle’s pale face swam into view.
Blinking away the urge to fling myself into the nothingness, I seized the Glaith with shaking hands, but… allowed the captain to linger, even as the remaining strength left my body in a great rush. The forest would keep him back, but for now… I allowed the comfort of simply feeling him there.
“Goddess, Mila, what’s happened? Are you alright?”
A tremor shook me. “She’s-She’s—”
“Breathe, Mila. Breathe with me. That’s it,” Belle whispered, stroking my face. “What happened?”
“It-I was connected to her ki and—”
“What’s all the screamin’ now?”
My breath stilled in my chest, for there stood Josh, handsome in the evening light, a dead rabbit dangling from his left hand. Its fluffy brown fur was ruffled, sticking out at odd angles, and its neck… “No…”
“Everything all right, Miss Tannovic?” He whirled around, fists raised, flinging his macabre prize to and fro. “Is it the Caledonians? Are we under attack?”
“You-You—” I choked on a sob, trembling so hard my teeth rattled together inside my head. “She’s dead.”
“What!” Josh’s gaze flew around the sleepy camp, eyes flicking over the pale faces of the refugees. “Who’s dead?”
I pointed. “She was preg-pregnant, and you… youmurderedher!”
Bewildered, Josh raised the limp body in his hand. “Are you talkin’ about the wee cony, lass? Good gods, Mila, are you fuckin’ kidding? Why would you do that?” Pressing his free hand to his chest, Josh said, “I think I just had a heart attack.”
A terrible sound crackled from my throat, and without further evidence of my imminent breakdown, Belle draped her arm around my shoulders and ferried me away from the group. “That’s it. We’re okay. Come with me. That’s it.”
I dropped to my knees, shaking all over. “Dead… Goddess… they’re all dead…”
“Hush…” Belle’s hand brushed over my tangled mane as she wrapped her arms around me, pressing my cheek to her chest. “You’re okay, Mila. You’re okay.”
I wailed against her, clinging to her skirts as ugly, hiccupping sobs stuttered forth from the center of my being. So much death… I buried my face against her shoulder, dumping every spare ounce of ki I had into the High Priestess’ Glaith, pressing until it began to burn in my palm once again. Overtaxed. Too hot.
And in the distance, the captain watched with fingers wrapped around my pendant, sampling the flames of chaos licking at my edges, but doing little more. A silent observer of my deepest grief. A rock-steady shadow in my periphery I could not banish, for there, in the rays of early morning sun, was his mark. Perched on my right middle finger, sat the ghost ofhisring. A backward ‘AR’ seared into my twisted skin.
His initials.
Branding me, inside and out.
Belle squeezed me, running a soothing hand down my back. “Let it out, Mila. That’s it. It’s okay.”
