Impervious (City of Eldrich Book 1) (24 page)

Chapter 42

I
t was just
before midnight and time to go through the gateway.

John went first. He asked them to give him a few minutes to check things out before following. No one argued with him. He was keeping his composure to a degree Meaghan doubted she could manage if she were in his place. But those first steps into Fahraya would be overwhelming and if he needed a moment to pull himself back together, Meaghan would see that he had it.

John stripped off his amulet and shrank to his Fahrayan size. Melanie gave him the tiny knife and spear she’d found and he dressed in the doll-sized trousers, tunic, and cloak that the witches had made for him. They’d even made shoes, gluing padded leather oblongs, roughly the shape of a foot, in the center of two scraps of chamois.

John wrapped his feet and lower legs in the chamois, then bound it in place with heavy black thread, cord sized in his small hands, to make crude boots. He wrapped the small strip Melanie cut from the treaty scroll around his waist like a belt.

Dressed and armed, John walked through the gateway.

Lynette placed a tracking charm on John similar to the one she had on Jamie. She stood with her eyes shut, as if listening and after a few seconds, motioned to Meaghan and Sid that it was safe to follow. Lynette had driven up in her son-in-law’s truck camper and was planning on monitoring the gateway until they returned.

Meaghan wore her usual jeans and T-shirt, and a gray fleece jacket wrapped around her waist. On her feet she wore the sturdy hiking boots in which she’d walked over half of Arizona. She carried a pack containing water, matches, a first aid kit, a rain poncho, and some food, mostly high-energy nutrition bars and Russ’s homemade jerky. She also carried the typed translation of the treaty scroll.

Sid wore his usual mélange of trendy children’s attire, all boys’ clothes this time with the exception of a pink Hello Kitty T-shirt. He also wore a fedora, a la Indiana Jones.

“Nice T-shirt,” Meaghan said, with a smile. “That should strike fear in their hearts.”

“Yeah, ha ha, Miss Thing. What’s that around your waist? A dead sheep? Fahrayans are terrified of house cats, in case you didn’t know.”

“Sid, nobody’s scared of Hello Kitty. Not even mice.”

Troon were like camels and Sid, despite his love of coffee, could go for several days without eating or drinking, so he carried nothing with him. He had his own amulet that would allow him and his clothing to enter Fahraya at an appropriate size.

Meaghan didn’t ask Sid if his amulet had the same explosive qualities as hers.

Natalie assured Meaghan that she wouldn’t feel a thing going through the gateway. It would be like stepping through a doorway. The magic of the gateway combined with the amulet would activate the spell and shrink the space around her. It wouldn’t affect her at all.

“Unless I take it off,” she reminded Natalie.

“Right. Unless you take it off,” Natalie confirmed. “And you’re the only one who can do that. It’s like the ruby slippers. Someone else tries and they’ll get zapped.”

“And if I take it off, I explode.”

“The space around you explodes.”

Meaghan glared at her.

Natalie looked away and said, “Not that it makes a big difference for you, I guess.”

Meaghan sighed. She was really starting to hate magic.

Russ stood next to her, his brow furrowed and deep lines etching his face. “Just don’t take the goddamn thing off, all right?”

He exhaled raggedly, his eyes shiny. Meaghan could see him struggling not to cry, trying to be brave. After a moment, he said, “Okay, Dorothy, off to Oz you go. But remember, there’s no place like home.”

Meaghan smiled back and took his hand. “I’ll leave a trail of breadcrumbs, Hansel.”

He tried to smile, failed, and instead threw his arms around Meaghan and hugged her so tightly she could barely breathe. “Be careful, Meg. Please. I just got you back. Don’t leave me again.”

She heard the tears in his voice. “Don’t cry,” she said in his ear, “or I’ll start again. We’ll be back before you know it. Does Dad know we’re going?”

Matthew had slept through most of the day, only awakening to eat lunch and wander around the house for a little while, confused by all the activity.

“Don’t know. He’s really been out of it today. I’ll try to explain it when I get home.”

Meaghan stepped back from Russ and pushed a strand of hair off his forehead. His eyes were red with tears and the circles under them stood out like bruises. “You look hammered. Go rest. You’ve been on your feet all day. Don’t worry. I’ll be back. With Jamie. You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

“Damn,” Russ said, with a forced smile. “And here I thought I was getting my quiet house back.”

Sid held out his small blue hand. “Ready, darling? Let’s go dazzle the savages.”

She took his hand. “Our amulets won’t meld or something if we go through at the same time and blow us up, will they?”

Sid looked perplexed. “Nat,” he called. “Any boom boom if go through together?”

“No. Quit worrying.” Natalie waved them on. “Just don’t take it off. That’s almost the only thing that will make it explode.”

“
Almost
?” Meaghan shouted. “What do you mean almost?”

With a laugh, Sid dragged her through the gateway into Fahraya.

Chapter 43

M
eag
han hadn’t been
sure what to expect. Flashing lights, the sensation of moving at high speed, something dramatic.

But, no, Natalie had been right. It was like walking into another room. It was kind of anticlimactic. It didn’t feel like another world. The sudden change in scenery might have been disconcerting, but it was so dark on the other side she couldn’t see a thing.

Meaghan stepped on Sid’s foot.

“Ow, watch it,” he said.

“Can you see anything?” she asked.

“Of course I can. Oh, wait. Right. Humans have totally crappy night vision. I forgot. Grab the back of my jacket.”

She reached down for his collar.

Sid chuckled. “My jacket, sweetie. Not my ass.”

Meaghan let go like she’d been stung. “Are you standing on something?”

Near her, to her left, she heard John’s voice. “No. Troon are bigger here. Sid is taller than me now.”

“And I suppose you can see everything too with the super night vision?”

“Yeah, like this I can. I forgot how good I can see at night.” John took a deep breath. There was the slightest tremor in his exhale. “Too good, I think for what there is to see.”

She heard Sid’s voice. “Hey, big guy, you okay?”

“Okay,” John said. “So far. But I never walked here much, mostly flew, so I need to think about how we should go.”

“C’mon, Dorothy,” Sid said, grabbing her hand. “Follow me. I’ll follow him. Can you see anything yet?”

“Not really, but it’s not quite as dark. There’s no moon. Where’s the light coming from?”

“The rocks are phosphorescent in spots. It’s not bright light, but it’s enough. Even for human eyes once your night vision fully kicks in. Honestly, you humans, you’re so high maintenance I don’t know how you’ve done so well. You can’t even see in the dark and the light at the same time.”

They moved slowly, Meaghan stumbling over the rocks. There was the faintest hint of a trail, but in the dark she was having a hard time following it even with Sid’s assistance.

“How far do we need to go?” Meaghan asked. Before Sid or John could answer, she stumbled over another rock and nearly fell. “God, I already hate this stupid place and I can’t even see it.”

“Doesn’t get much better,” Sid mumbled. “At least this way you can’t see the wildlife.”

“There’s wildlife?” Meaghan asked, her voice rising a few notes. “Those scorpion things?”

“No,” Sid said. “I’m just messing with you. If something does show up, I’m sure John can kill it with his spear, right, big guy?”

“It’s been a long time since I hunt.” John’s voice sounded distant even though he was standing only a few feet away. “Long time since I fly.”

“Uh oh,” Sid whispered. “We’re already starting to lose him.”

Meaghan picked her way carefully to where John stood. She slipped her hand into his. She could feel a faint tremor. “You okay? I can’t imagine how hard this must be for you, but we need you to stay strong. Jamie needs you.”

John sighed and squeezed her hand. “Zhara died over there.” He pointed at a dark gash to their left. “Where the ground falls. They dropped her. She made no sound. No scream. Only falling.”

Meaghan let go of his hand and slipped her arms around him. She had no idea what to say so she just held him close.

“They were waiting when I came through the gateway. They had Zhara and Jamie. She died first and didn’t have to see what they did to me.” His body stiffened and he pulled away. “It’s quick to fly but slow to walk. We must keep going.”

Without a sound he clambered up the rocks and within a moment disappeared in the gloom.

“Can you see him?” Meaghan asked Sid.

“Yeah. No problem. He’s out ahead of us a bit, but I’ve got even better night vision than he does. This is going to get harder on him the closer we get, you know.”

“Well, of course it is,” Meaghan said. “He lost his wife, his whole way of life. The memories must be overwhelming.”

“No. It’s not the memories,” Sid said. “It’s the shame.”

“But it wasn’t his fault,” Meaghan said.

“Try telling him that.”

“But he was trying to help his people. There’s no shame in that.”

Sid sighed. “That’s not the problem. It’s his wings. He let them take his wings.”

“He didn’t let them do it,” said Meaghan, indignant. “They did it to him. After torturing him for days. I saw the pictures.”

Sid shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. In his mind the fact that he’s still alive means he didn’t fight hard enough.”

“But that’s crazy. He had to stay alive for Jamie.”

“No. You’re looking at this like a human, not a Fahrayan. John doesn’t think he saved Jamie. He thinks he shamed him. Which is why he let your father raise him. In John’s mind, he wasn’t a man anymore. He had no right to be a father.”

“But what the hell was he supposed to do? They hurt him. On purpose. How does that shame anybody but V’hren?” Meaghan asked, furious. “John is better off human if this is how Fahrayans treat each other.”

“Right,” Sid said. “Because the same crap never happens in your world. John’s like the hundred-pound girl who gets slut-shamed for not being able to fight off her two-hundred-pound rapist. It wasn’t only his wings they took. They took his honor. They took his dignity. They took from him what made him a man. And he’s been punishing himself ever since even though there wasn’t any way he could have stopped them.” Sid paused a moment to catch his breath and scan the horizon for John.

“They took everything from him but his life,” Meaghan said, fighting back tears.

“Exactly,” Sid said. “I think that’s why V’hren was willing to let John go. If John had died, he’d be a martyr. Instead he’s a joke. The wingless king. Just the sight of him walking into their camp will be enough to bring down the derision of all.”

“Then he’s not walking in. We are,” Meaghan said. “You and me. John’s our guide, but he shouldn’t have to face V’hren. Once we get there, he can hang back and wait for us.”

“Yeah, good luck getting him to do that. Facing V’hren is why he came.” Sid scanned the horizon. “Dammit, where the hell is he? We’re getting closer to the camp. I can see the glow of the cook fires from here.” He pointed to the horizon. “See?”

“No,” she said. “I can’t see a damn thing. What the hell is he doing? He’s just handing himself to them.” She felt sick with fear. Even with all her doubts and the short time she’d known John, the thought of losing him was too painful to contemplate.

“Yes,” Sid, said, serious now. “That’s exactly what he’s doing. He’s offering himself in exchange for Jamie.”

“But he can’t,” she said. “They’ll kill him.”

“And Jamie too if you can’t convince V’hren to let him go. John chose this plan. It’s what he always intended to do.”

Her rising panic segued into fury. “Always intended?
Always intended?
He sure didn’t act like it when he was getting all cozy with me on the back porch. He talked like we had a future, that sonofabitch. He’s not dying here. I’m getting him home so I can kill him myself.” Part of her was aware that she was spilling all this stuff to gossipy Sid, but she was too enraged to care.

“Ten years. Ten freaking years of celibacy,” she ranted, “then his majesty slinks into my life with his sad blue eyes and his shy little smile, gets me all hot and bothered, and now he’s going to hand himself over to these shitheads? No way in hell will I let that happen.”

“Atta girl,” Sid said. “I knew you wouldn’t let John go without a fight. Even if it’s him you’re fighting. I always thought it was a stupid plan. So what’s the new plan?”

“Get them both back. Kick everybody’s ass. Do we have any element of surprise at this point?”

“Not if you keep hollering. My ears have almost stopped bleeding, thanks for asking.”

Meaghan took a deep breath. “Sorry. I’m . . . it’s . . . I’m upset.”

Sid put an arm around her shoulder. In her head, he was still much shorter. She imagined him standing on a rock and her stomach felt better.

“Of course you’re upset,” Sid said. “I’m sorry. I thought you knew.”

“Does everybody else know about John being a noble idiot?” She looked down to talk to Sid, then remembered she had to look up.

“No. Only me and Melanie. And now you. I sort of assumed John had talked to you.”

“So Russ doesn’t know,” Meaghan said.

“No. He would have stopped John too. He has the same heart you have. Humans always want to believe there’s another way.”

“That’s because a lot of times there is. I wish I could see something.” She scanned the horizon, but all she saw were more rocks giving off their dim light in the blackness. “How far away are we?”

Sid screamed as something attacked her from behind. She felt a piercing pain in her arm and then everything went black.