The Arcana Chronicles 5: The Dark Calling

I'd betrayed him with Aric. I should've believed Jack would somehow come for me. But then I wouldn't know what it was like to love Aric.

Of course, I also wouldn't be knocked up and stranded in the Ash.

What should I say? Damn this dizziness and shock! I couldn't concentrate, couldn't sort my chaotic thoughts.

"If the Reaper isn't here, I know he's on his way."

I shook my head.

In a voice that might have been just shy of hopeful, Jack said, "Dead?"

Joules sat on the other side of the fire. "I wish. That fecker tried to off her. Chased her right out of the castle."

Jack's jaw slackened. "Bebe?"

"It's complicated. He's been brainwashed. Lark and Gabriel too."

"Like the Hierophant did?"

"In the same vein." I wasn't ready to tell him that Aric might have succumbed to buried hatred, a murderous rage, and the inability to let go of the past.

Joules said, "Paul, their medic, was the inactivated Arcana, the Hanged Man. No one inside that big, warm, food-filled stronghold knew. So Paul poisoned Finn to activate his powers. Offed the Magician straight out of existence."

"Not Finn." Jack swore under his breath, his expression shaken. "I'm goan to gut this fils de pute." Jack had spent more time with the Magician than anyone still alive.

Joules tossed more wood on the fire. "The Hanged Man's got this yellow sphere that spread over Death's castle, surrounding the entire mountain. If an Arcana crosses the boundary, he gets brainwashed. When Gabe heard the Empress screaming, he flew off to save her. Then he got nabbed like the rest of 'em. No good deed . . ."

I said, "Paul convinced Aric, Gabriel, and Lark that I killed Finn. Her wolves had me and Joules surrounded. We'd be dead if the Chariot hadn't arrived." I waved toward Kentarch, standing off to the side.

Joules added, "He teleported us--or ghosted more like--through a giant grizzly. Then he materialized the truck and exploded that bear's arse."

Kentarch looked uncomfortable with this praise, but he did take a seat by the fire.

"Teleporting, huh? My sincere thanks." Jack gave him a nod, taking this new Arcana craziness in stride. Then he turned to me. "What happened to your grand-mere? Coo-yon told me she was at the castle."

"Paul killed her. She would've died of natural causes, but he accelerated it."

"He got her too? Condoleances, Evie." He brushed the backs of his busted-up knuckles across my cheek. "You guys got a plan to fight this Hanged Man?"

I nodded. "Circe, the Priestess Card, is a witch. She might be able to cast a spell to neutralize Paul's power. We've been trying to contact her in rivers and ponds on our way to the coast." As Jack seemed to let everything percolate, I said, "Where have you been all this time? Why didn't you return to the fort?"

"I got knocked unconscious in the floodwaters down in the mine. When I woke, I was in slaver chains."

I had so many questions. How had he escaped from them? Where had Matthew been going when they split up? But first . . . "I'm so sorry about your army."

That muscle in Jack's jaw ticked, his tell. Whenever I saw that, I knew he was barely keeping his emotions in check--the levee about to be overrun. "I'm goan to make Richter pay for that. Somehow, someway."

He sounded like Jack, looked like Jack. But he seemed changed. Older. Even more hardened. How could he not be?

"I've been saying the same thing. I thought he'd annihilated the army, Selena, and you." Another wave of lightheadedness hit me. "Where were you going just now?"

"I'll tell you all about it. But first, we have to get you some food. I'll head west and see if I can scare up something."

"You actually think I will let you out of my sight. Adorable."

Kentarch said, "We came from the west. There's nothing."

"Merde. For days, I haven't passed anyone to roll. I can sometimes bag a snake or a rat"--he patted the crossbow over his shoulder--"but I came up empty."

"So you earned your name of hunter?" Kentarch tilted his head. "I could teleport you to a place thick with game. More meat than we could possibly eat."

Huh?

"That so?" Jack asked suspiciously. "You look pretty handy. How come you haven't gone and . . . ?" He trailed off with a look of comprehension. "You're talking about the animals at Death's castle. Lark's creatures."

Kentarch nodded. "I can't go within that sphere."

"But a civvie could." Jack's eyes lit up. "Oh, hell yeah, Chariot."

"Oh, hell no, Chariot!" I clung to Jack's hand. "Did you not hear the part about the giant grizzly? It's too dangerous." I'd just gotten him back!

"You think I'm goan to let you starve when there's game to be had? Joules will stay with you, keep you company. Kentarch and I'll be right back."

"This isn't like poaching an alligator from a Louisiana state park. This is Death, Lark, and Gabriel. They won't let you just walk in there, fill up your shopping cart, and stroll out. She has thousands of creatures now, and under her influence, they're all killers."

Jack grinned. "Then she woan miss a measly pheasant or two."

"Lark's much stronger now than when you last saw her. She'll do anything to hurt me--which means hurting you."

He pried his hand from my weak grip. "It's the only way." He stood. When I reached for him, he seemed to force himself to back away. "You woan sway me in this."

Was he risking his life because he planned on a future with me? He didn't know everything. "There's something I need to tell you--"

"His mind's made up, Empress," Joules interrupted. "You'll have plenty of time to catch up later. But for now, you don't want anything to banjax his motivation or his focus. You don't want to get him killed, do you?"

I glared at the Tower. Selfish much? "This hunt is not happening. Jack, you're not leaving."

Holding his ground, he said, "I know this is tough, but I swear to you I'm coming back." He turned to Joules. "Anything happens to her . . ."

The Tower created a javelin. "I got this."

Jack squared his shoulders and faced Kentarch. "Come on, Chariot. Never teleported before, but by God, I'm ready to poach Dominija's lands."

"Do you require a rifle? Something more than a compact crossbow?"

"Goan in quiet, me. Slip in, bag some birds, slip out. They'll never know we were there."

If I could manage a vine, I'd tie Jack to me. "I can't lose you again." I raised my hand to use my powers, but nothing happened.

"Evie, I promise you I'll be back."

"No time to dawdle." Kentarch took his arm.

A spindly vine finally shot from my palm. It lashed only air. They'd already disappeared.

19

The Hunter

"Mere de Dieu," I muttered when we touched down in a new snowy landscape. I'd officially teleported. One thing I could say since meeting Evangeline: life was never dull.

When I'd first seen her face out on that road, everything inside me had lit up--the way I always felt around her. This time I hadn't nearly gone over my handlebars.

I told Kentarch, "You could've let me give her a proper good-bye, finessing that situation a touch more. Remember, I just came back from the dead." And now she'd had to watch me leave yet again.

The last time she'd lost me, it'd broken her. I couldn't imagine what she was going through back in that cave. It had taken sheer will to leave her.

A million other thoughts swirled in my overloaded brain.

Evie's hurting. Got to feed my girl. Not my girl--she's wearing Death's ring. God, the sight of that . . . like I been stabbed. What'd I expect, me? I left her with Dominija, left her to think I died. When she finds out the truth of that, she'll have my ass. Did I really just teleport?

One thought stood out: What will happen between me and Evie now? I'd have to confess that I'd decided to let her go. Because of Matthew, I'd abandoned her to a man who'd then tried to kill her.

Kentarch said, "Trust me when I tell you she has an acute need for food. We have no

time to spare."

He was right. I pictured her back there, looking so fragile. When I returned, Evie and I would have a long talk.

Tugging my ragged coat closer, I surveyed the snowscape. Kentarch had brought me to the top of a large hill. From this vantage, I could see a castle sprawled over the neighboring mountain. A frozen moat with huge shards of ice circled it. A dirty yellow haze cloaked the entire rise like a bell jar.

"That place is creepy as hell." And I'd thought Haven House had looked spooky?

On this side of the moat, a line of thornbushes as big as trees trailed over the countryside. Evie must've created that fortification.

"Creepy as it may be, that fortress is stocked for an extended nuclear winter."

Yeah, Dominija had told me about all the luxuries within. That was part of the reason I'd let Evie go.

I pulled binoculars from my bug-out bag to scope the building. Electric lights shone from windows, while torches lit the grounds. Smoke curled from three chimneys. I caught the scent of cooking meat, and my mouth watered. On one of the many eaves, Gabriel crouched like a gargoyle.

I could even make out Dominija pacing a room. He'd had everything. Everything. Did some part of him comprehend what he'd lost? What he'd done to the woman he loved? She must've been so confused.

I stowed my binoculars, and Kentarch and I started down the hill toward the dome. "I gotta get her back inside that castle."

"Will you kill the Reaper to do it?"

"I'll kill any threat to her. The rest is up to Dominija." I was conflicted. On the one hand, I hated him for what he'd done to her under the influence. But then I remembered when the Hierophant had brainwashed Evie right out of her head. Could Death be held responsible for his actions when he wasn't in his right mind?