Impervious (City of Eldrich Book 1) (26 page)

Chapter 46

S
id had the
presence of mind to bring along Meaghan’s backpack and refused to go until she drank a bottle of water and ate some of the food Russ had packed for her.

The food and water grounded her further. The loopy effects of the hallucinogens were finally gone, but she could still see Matthew and feel Jhoro. He wasn’t far.

And she could feel stirrings of something else. Something wrong. She wanted to ask Matthew, but she could barely find the words to express it to herself. Meaghan finally dismissed it as anxiety. Even if her mind didn’t have the sense to be afraid, her body knew what lay ahead.

The Fahrayan encampment may have been close by air, but for Meaghan and Sid it was a slow, arduous hike over the rocky terrain. There was no trail, only a haphazard path formed by empty spaces between the rocks. After half an hour of frustration, they stopped trying to walk around the rocky outcrops and scrambled over them instead.

“How long has John been with them you think?” she asked Sid. “It couldn’t have been much faster going for him.”

“You were out for hours after he left. If he waited until dawn to enter the camp, they’ve had him a couple of hours at least. Long enough to beat the shit out of him.” Sid looked grim. “They only did half the job last time.”

“That’s not the feeling I’m getting. He’s not in physical pain, at not least not yet. It’s all mental. His plan to offer himself for Jamie didn’t work and now he’s torturing himself worse than they ever could. ”

“For the only non-magical person around, you’re sure getting creepy with the long-range sensor thing.” Sid tripped and would have fallen if Meaghan hadn’t grabbed his arm. “Can we stop a minute?”

“Sure. Want some water?

Sid shook his head. “I don’t need it. Save it for yourself. You’ll dehydrate long before I do. Got any other insights on John?”

Meaghan smiled at him. “I thought this psychic stuff was creepy.”

“It is but in a useful way.”

“What girl doesn’t love to hear that,” Meaghan said. “I’m creepy but useful.”

Sid found a large flat boulder and sat. “Turns out these boots weren’t make for walkin’,” he groaned. “Look at it this way. Better creepy and useful than creepy and superfluous.”

“I guess.” She rubbed her arm.

“You hurting?” Sid asked.

“A bit. Not terrible.”

“Hang in there,” Sid said. “We gotta be getting close. Is Matthew still along for the ride?”

“Yeah. He says he likes Fahraya a lot better now that he’s dead.”

“Well, that’s a comfort, I suppose. Maybe we’ll like it better dead too.”

Meaghan shook her head. “Sid, they have no fight with you. We may die, but you won’t. So quit worrying.”

“Yeah, no worries. Because there won’t be any ass kicking waiting for me at home if I let you guys die.” Sid stood up. “I’m in this to the end, same as you.”

They trudged on in silence until they could detect the aroma of smoke and hear the murmur of voices. They crouched low and crept closer.

They almost fell over Jhoro. He grabbed them each by the arm and pulled them flat to the ground, next to him. In the cave, he hadn’t been close enough for Meaghan to notice the stink. But here, lying next to him, she nearly choked from the physical assault on her sense of smell. Sweat, blood, and smoke all rolled together into a body odor that could peel paint off walls. Her eyes began to water.

“There you are,” Meaghan said, breathing through her mouth. “I knew you were around here somewhere. You’re going to help us.” It wasn’t a question. She could feel the resolve radiating from him. “Thank you.”

Jhoro looked at her blankly. Sid translated. Jhoro flashed her a dazzling smile, whispered something to Sid, and crawled away. Considering the grime and stench, she was surprised by how perfect and white his teeth were.

“He said to stay here and he’ll be right back.”

Meaghan shook her head. “We need to get down there now.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll be there soon enough.”

Jhoro slunk back, this time accompanied by a dark-haired Fahrayan. Another looker, Meaghan couldn’t help but notice.

Sid, Jhoro, and the other Fahrayan, who was called Finn, whispered back and forth for a while. Meaghan sensed a deep emotional bond between Jhoro and Finn. They’d been out here fighting together for years, Meaghan thought, so it made sense. There was something else between them, but before she could grasp it, Jamie’s pain exploded in her mind, drowning out everything else. Meaghan curled into a ball, gasping, as electric agony burned along her spine. She could feel his screams as well as hear them.

They were slashing at his wings, hacking them from his body.

We’re on our way, she told him as soon as she could think through the pain. Soon. I won’t leave you here. I’m taking you home. She felt him teeter on the brink of defeat, then something stirred in him. She felt him dig deeper inside himself for strength. “Dad,” she whispered.

“Right here,” Matthew said, suddenly at her side.

“Can Jamie hear me? Can he sense me like I sense him?”

Matthew shook his head. “Probably not. If he does, it won’t be anywhere near as strong and he won’t know where it’s coming from.”

She had just gotten her breath back when John’s shame knifed through her. Seeing his son suffer his fate was unhinging him, and driving him deeper into the abyss opening in his mind. She could feel his sanity slipping away. She was losing them both. She had to get down there.

She started to rise to her feet. Sid grabbed her and hissed something at Jhoro, who moved over to her. Meaghan simply stared at him. We don’t need words for this, she thought. I’m going and you can either get out my way or kill me. You won’t stop me any other way.

Jhoro scrutinized her with his deep blue eyes, so similar to John’s and Jamie’s.

After a long moment, he nodded and gestured for them both to go. He and Sid whispered back and forth for a minute, and then Jhoro crawled away.

Sid grabbed her arm. “We stay low until we’re on the other side of this outcrop so they have time to get under cover. Then we walk down into the camp. They’ll do what they can to help, but they won’t sacrifice themselves.”

Meaghan nodded. “Somebody needs to keep fighting. I get it. His obligation is to his men.”

They crawled to the other side of the outcrop. All they had to do was stand up and they’d be plainly visible to the Fahrayans below.

“Ready?” Meaghan whispered.

“No,” Sid hissed back.

“Too bad.” Meaghan stood and waved at the crowd of Fahrayans. “Here we go.”

Chapter 47

O
n her way
down the rocky slope, Meaghan had time to ponder her aversion to scorpions and wonder whether she was giving them a fair shake. The one that bit her did her a huge favor. Even with a head full of drugs, Meaghan felt anxiety bloom in her gut. Without the high, she would have been batshit crazy with fear.

There were hundreds of Fahrayans, men and women, all of them beautiful and terrifying, clustered below them. The women were only marginally less intimidating than the men. Tall, strong, and armed to the teeth, they looked like angry Olympic sprinters. Not a fairy prince or princess in the bunch.

Except for the wings.

Meaghan now understood how someone could confuse a Fahrayan with a fairy.

It was the wings.

Up until now, Meaghan had only seen Fahrayan wings in relatively bad office lighting, old photos, and in a poorly lit cave. Nothing prepared her for how they looked fully extended in sunlight— delicate, iridescent, and utterly impossible. Even angels were portrayed with more solid, practical wings.

Someone already predisposed to see fairies would be so dazzled by those wings, particularly when sprouting from a tiny man or woman, that the Fahrayans’ more unsavory characteristics—like the dirt and the smell and the razor-sharp stone weapons—could be easily overlooked.

You’re the giant here, Meaghan reminded herself. Even if they’re all taller than you right now. Don’t let them rattle you.

She could feel Sid’s terror rolling off him in waves. She took his hand. “I thought you were the Fahrayan expert.”

“I learned Fahrayan from Melanie. And Jamie,” he squeaked in a high strangled voice. “This is different.”

“You aren’t going to freeze up on me, are you?” Meaghan asked, already knowing his answer.

Sid puffed up a little, his vanity overcoming his fear. “I’m not going to freeze up. I’ve been in scarier places than this.”

“Good, because I haven’t. I’m counting on you and Dad to keep me on track. You’re as big as these guys right now, remember?”

“Yes, but inside I’m still small. I’m like a Great Dane who thinks he’s a Chihuahua.”

“Yeah, but they don’t know that.”

“Somehow I think they do,” Sid squeaked, his fear reasserting itself.

“Here’s a secret,” Meaghan said, squeezing his shaking hand. “They’re even more scared than we are.”

Terror swirled around her, monolithic and palpable. Within it, Meaghan could feel Jamie throbbing like an exposed nerve. He was close and aware that somebody was coming down the hill.

A Fahrayan woman stepped in front of Meaghan and buzzed something at her, scowling. The crowd closed in behind her.

“Keep moving,” Matthew said to her. “Stare her down. Don’t let her turn you back. You have to be the alpha dog here.”

Sid swallowed hard and stopped, but Meaghan kept going, pulling him behind her, until she stood in front of the Fahrayan woman.

Meaghan stared up at her. The woman was several inches taller, younger, and appreciably more fit. Meaghan’s only advantage was attitude. She knew backing down would be fatal. “Move,” Meaghan said. “You won’t turn me back. Don’t even try.”

The woman stood her ground and buzzed something back.

“She’s says they don’t want you here,” Sid breathed.

“Too bad.” Meaghan took a step closer, still staring. Eye contact was critical.

The Fahrayan woman fingered her stone knife, appraising Meaghan, who stared back.

Neither woman moved for a long moment.

Meaghan could feel the Fahrayan woman’s terror under her surface arrogance. The woman was using all her control to master her fear but was close to cracking. Meaghan’s intimidation evaporated. So much fear. Time for another approach.

“Let her save face,” Matthew whispered.

Meaghan’s glare softened. “My fight isn’t with you. Please. Let me help them.”

Taken aback, the woman stared a moment longer, then with a slight bow, stepped aside. Taking her cue, the crowd parted and provided Meaghan and Sid their first clear look at Jamie.