Ever After (The Hollows 11)

"An unbound gargoyle?" Ku'Sox said, the disgust in his voice obvious as he watched Etude. "What do you hope to accomplish there?"

"You kidnapped his son!" I said, then elbowed Quen in the ribs. The line had gone slippery. "Let go of the line, damn it," I muttered, then I filled my chi when he did. "We need to work on this sharing thing," I said, and he grimaced.

I dared a look at the line humming clean behind Ku'Sox. "Your sludge is out of the line," I said boldly. "It was your aura signature on the curse that broke it. Give me Bis and Trent, and I might not press charges."

Ku'Sox smiled, and I couldn't help my shiver. "In a moment," he said, smile fading as Etude paced between us. "It looks clean, and I don't sense any . . . trickery. What have you done, Rachel? You can't have fixed it. You moved it, but where? Curious."

I stiffened as he looked to the sky then took one sharply angled step sideways into my line like it was a river. "You lose!" I shouted, adrenaline pouring into me, and Quen caught my shoulder to keep me from striding forward. "I'm calling Dali. Your ass is mine, and you will admit you broke it!"

"I . . . don't think . . . so." Ku'Sox was in the line, tasting it, almost, making sure it was truly clean. It was. I could guarantee it.

"Your aura signature is at the bottom of that sludge line!" I asserted, and Ku'Sox laughed.

"Perhaps, but I don't see a sludge line."

"That's because I got rid of it!" I shouted, and then I fell back, my folly falling on me. I'd moved all the imbalance, yes, and his curse with it. Until I got all the imbalances where they belonged, no one would be able to see his curse. Damn it! Couldn't I catch a single Turn-blessed break?

"Tell me how you did it," Ku'Sox said, seeming to be genuinely curious. "You couldn't have destroyed it. You put it somewhere, holding it in your chi perhaps? Is that why you stole a pair of elven rings?" He simpered at Quen. "Needed some help holding that much slop?"

My head hurt, and I lifted my chin. I didn't think he knew which rings we had, or he would be more aggressive. That I hadn't proved he was responsible for the event horizon was infuriating, but if we couldn't prove we were stronger than him, it wouldn't matter. Cowards! Why am I helping them?

"I wonder," Ku'Sox said, standing in my line and soaking it in, bathing in energy. "Can you defend yourself while hiding all that imbalance?"

Etude's ears pricked in alarm, and I stiffened, imagining a circle around Quen and me. Ku'Sox shifted, and my eyes widened. I reached for the ley line, shouting "Rhombus!" only to fall to a knee, fumbling for the line running through my fingers like sand.

Quen pushed out, and I ducked as the sparkles of his thrown energy lit the dark. I could feel the line flowing through me, running into him. I was adding to Quen's defense, but I might as well have been a cat with the help I was being.

Etude roared, his hands grasping as he lunged at Ku'Sox. "No!" I cried out, but Ku'Sox shouted a satisfied-sounding word, and Etude was flung back, flipping head over tail, headed for . . . us.

"Rachel!" Quen cried, jerking me out of the way as Etude crashed into the retaining wall. Rocks and dirt sifted down over him. I shook off Quen's hand and ran to him, brushing the dirt from his huge, pushed-in face. The gargoyle was breathing, but out cold.

"Quen?" I stammered, looking up at him. His lips were pressed together hard, but his anger wasn't at me as he helped me up. I didn't think it was directed at Ku'Sox, either, who was advancing slowly. We were up shit creek, and I didn't even see the "if" that got us there. The rings were not working well. Quen was way outclassed.

"You're not holding the imbalance," Ku'Sox said, curious now. It was the only thing keeping him from hammering us into the ground. "Who is? Is it Newt?"

I am wearing a slave ring . . . echoed in my head, and I looked at my hand in horror. What have I done to myself?

"No, not Newt," Ku'Sox mocked, misunderstanding the look of terror I knew I was now wearing. "You're all alone at last, Rachel. It took me longer than I thought to get you isolated. Everyone likes you."

I am wearing a slave ring!

Ku'Sox threw something at us, and Quen knocked it away. I hid behind him, unable to think, to comprehend. I had to get this thing off!

"She's not alone," Quen said, and Ku'Sox laughed.

"You?" Ku'Sox stopped eight feet back, not trusting my fear, I think. "You don't count," he said lightly, looking at his nails. "They're letting us fight it out, even if they do like her best. Isn't that nice? They want the strongest parent possible for the next generation." He smoothed his clothes in satisfaction. "That would be me."

Letting us fight it out? Yeah, that sounded about right. We were making enough noise in the ley lines to pique the interest of the most sedentary demon, and the chicken squirts hadn't shown up yet. That didn't bother me as much as the fact that I couldn't get the ring off my pinkie. Scared, I leaned to Quen's ear. "I want the ring off."

"I know. You can't tap a line worth the salt in your veins. I'm sorry," he said, and then I cowered as I felt a huge tug on me and Quen's bubble flashed into existence, glittering a fabulous green before it faded. "If we take them off now, we will die. The only reason my circle is holding him is because it's made with both our strengths."

Crap on toast, he was right, and I stood beside him, not knowing what I could do to make this better. I knew the demons were watching. Why didn't they help us? "You're insane!" I shouted, knowing they were listening. Besides, Etude was stirring, and I didn't want him taken out before he recovered.

"My state of mind is not the issue here!" Ku'Sox shouted, his face red even in the faint light. "It is about strength!"

"It's about adaptability and resources, and all you are is psychotic! You can't fix psychotic!" I yelled back as Etude staggered to his feet, a low rumble of his anger flowing about me as his wings opened and funneled the sound forward. His growl resonated through me, and I swallowed hard.

With a crack of stone, Etude pulled a chunk of wall away and threw it over our heads. Ku'Sox swore, deflecting it to thud into the thick grass.

"Quen, take my ring off!" I exclaimed, tugging at Quen's coat as I felt a huge pull through me. It was Quen, prepping a spell, and I let it flow, knowing I could do nothing wearing this stupid band of silver.

Looking magnificent, Quen threw a ball of black-hazed energy at Ku'Sox. The harried demon deflected it within a breath of contact, and it went whizzing into the river, lighting the bottom of the trees in an eerie glow. Etude was tossing great clods of earth at Ku'Sox, darting from the ground to the air to make a difficult target.

"Quen!" I shouted as the man ran for Ku'Sox, his fist swollen with a green haze. "No!" I shouted as Etude and Quen descended upon Ku'Sox together. Etude's rock fell harmlessly to the side as Ku'Sox sidestepped it, but Quen's blow landed, the man's fist plowing into Ku'Sox's face to make the demon scream and fall back.

Teeth clenched, I lunged forward to pull Quen away before Ku'Sox could retaliate. Fire licked the soles of my feet as we ran, and we were both picked up and flung into the grass, the distance muting Ku'Sox's last curse. My face planted into the clover, and I sat up fast, spitting dirt. Nearby, Etude was shaking his head, a tear in one wing bleeding slowly. Beside me, Quen slowly sat up, his hand touching his lip. "Damn." Quen licked his bleeding lip, almost smiling as he looked back at Ku'Sox, lost under a thick black sheet of ever-after. "Think he gave up?"

"No! He's turning into a bird to eat us!" I shoved my hand into Quen's face. "Take the ring off. Take it off now!"

Quen's face was guilty. "I can't," he said flatly as he got up.

"The hell you can't!" I tugged him around to look at me. "I can't tap a line worth crap. You admitted it yourself. And I can't get the ring off!" Oh God. Had Al been right?

"I told you, the only reason we are doing so well is because of your strength and my skill. If I take it off, your strength won't keep us alive."

"Maybe you didn't notice," I said, pointing to the cocoon Ku'Sox was in, "but we're not doing so hot right now!"

Quen's jaw clenched. The misshapen form inside was growing larger, and like watching a chick develop, I saw Ku'Sox's legs thin and lengthen, his arms grow into wings, his head mutate until a wicked, long beak formed.

"Etude, go!" I shouted, waving him off as Ku'Sox punched through the shell of ever-after, screaming a harsh, ugly call that echoed against the trees. "He's going to eat you!" I exclaimed, heartsick when the gargoyle beat heavily into the air, his silhouette a darker blackness against the night sky. Ku'Sox was already his size and still growing.

"My God, Trent was right," Quen said in awe, and I rounded on him.

"Yeah, he's a big badass stork that eats people. Quen, we have a problem!"

Awestruck, Quen watched Ku'Sox flap his wings and croak, daring Etude to attack. "We can circle him. Now's our chance."

"Circle him? It won't stand," I started, and Quen's attention came back to me.

"It will if we work together."

I could not believe this. "We tried that," I said, hunching when the breeze from Ku'Sox's wings flattened my hair. "I want the ring off, and I want it off now!" I reached for his hand to take his ring and use it to take mine off, and Quen jerked away from me.

Shocked, I stared, three feet between us. No. Not Quen.

Above us, Etude and Ku'Sox met in a clash of talons and wings. Jerking, I watched as Etude tried to bite the back of Ku'Sox's neck, and they fell, wings beating madly. Descending slowly, they crashed into the trees at the far end of the clearing. They were down.

My heart was pounding as I looked at Quen, hand extended. "Give me your ring."

Taking my shoulders, he spun me around to the fight. "We can do this."

Distrust blossomed in me. Do this, and I give you your freedom. I'd seen that in the history books before. Ku'Sox screamed, his black shadow rising up from the trees. Etude was bellowing from the woods, so he was still alive. Ku'Sox was coming right for us, his wings making the air shake, and yet Quen still stood, a green haze about his closed fist.

"Get down!" I shouted, ducking to crouch next to the retaining wall as Ku'Sox swooped over us, his huge claws reaching. The memory of seeing pixies slip down his throat rose up, and I cowered, the wall pressing into me. Fire lanced my shoulder, and I screamed.

"Immuluate!" Quen shouted, and I choked as the line raced through me, making the new rip in my shoulder burn like lava.

And then Ku'Sox was gone, swinging around for another strike. Hand clasped to my shoulder, I stood, watching his dark shape against the sky. He was playing with us.

"Rachel! Are you okay?"

I looked at Quen sourly as his enthusiasm paled. It was all I could do to not yell at him that no, I was not okay. "Fine," I said, pushing at the edges of the cut and seeing very little blood.

"Maybe you're right," Quen said as we watched Ku'Sox turn and come back like a deadly pendulum. And then he brightened. "The line!" he said suddenly. "You can jump them. At least to the one in the garden. You can jump us both."

My eyebrows rose. "You want me to jump a line? Carrying you? That's what got us into this in the first place."

"Down!" Quen said, his hand on my shoulder, and we flattened as Ku'Sox buzzed us again. I think he was enjoying himself, but he wheeled sharply, landing twenty feet away, wings outstretched and bill snapping loudly.

"You can do it," Quen said. "If we're sharing mental space, you can carry me. You know the signature. You just dumped the imbalance there. Even if Ku'Sox follows us, the gargoyles will help."

Perhaps long enough for me to sit on him and make him take the slaver ring off. Beyond him, Ku'Sox snapped his beak and strode forward. I nodded-burning to death in the lines was better than being eaten.

"Keep him off us," I said as he took my hands and nodded. "And try not to hog the line!" I shouted, feeling it strengthen around me.

Ku'Sox hesitated, head cocked as I tapped the line and my hair started to float. Letting out a murderous caw, he began to run, guessing our intent.

"Now!" Quen shouted, and I bubbled us, shifting the hue and sound of it to that of the line ten feet away. I knew it by heart now, and it was easy.

I heard Ku'Sox scream in defeat as the beauty of the line took us, and the swirling warmth of the line washed the ugliness of the grove away. Everything went silver in my mind. Quen snapped a bubble around his thoughts, making me wonder how often he'd traveled the lines before.

Home, I thought, recalling the harsh jangle of the chaos I'd made of the line in the garden. It was a mass of orange, blue, black, and red, and though I could see it in my mind, I couldn't shift the resonance.

Home! I thought again, starting to panic. The damn slavery ring was interfering. Quen, help me tune the bubble to match my aura! I cried out, but he couldn't hear me, and I couldn't leave him there.

Quen! I tried again, and a cool/warm thought slid into mine with the bright sparkle of butterfly wings.

Got you! came Bis's cheerful thought, and with a shimmer, Quen's and my auras flashed to a strident purple.

I was real. Stumbling, I sucked in a huge gulp of air, shocked when my boots skittered across electric-light-lit tile, not the starlit red slab of cement I was aiming for. I looked up, hearing a groan as Quen hit the floor behind me a second later.

My face became cold, and Trent turned, his rolling chair making a clicking sound as he cocked his head at my battle-dirty clothes and tangled hair.

"This isn't my garden," I whispered, and Trent's smile chilled me to my core.