Would there ever be a time when one of us wasn't in peril? It would seem that was the way we lived our lives, whenever things began to go smoothly the universe had a funny habit of throwing a curve into the road and sending us back on the path to disaster. Happiness felt unreasonable, a request that offended whatever god had accepted us into their fold.
How dare we do more than survive?
I'm unfeeling as we run to the stables, the expansive courtyard still decorated from my wedding. The streamers, reds, whites, and golds, billow in the breeze as if they're declaring war on the universe. I'm practically in my underwear, just an undershirt, and some leggings, my bare feet complain from the gravel as we bound into the barn.
I raid the stable closet and manage to find a pair of older tall boots and a belt to hold my pants up. Not quite royalty but it will have to do. "Helen. If you are lying to me, with my dying breath, I will smite you." I tell her as I climb onto the back of a young black gelding, my heart nearly stops from the surprise as I hear the thunderous hooves of the white unicorn charging after us.
"Fergus, go home!" I snap at the lazy beast as he sniffs me for carrots. My horse dances nervously at the horned creature's presence but I notice, he's not checking me as he usually does. He stares directly at me as if he's looking into my soul. I bump him on the nose with my elbow, trying to avoid the large black eyes.
I don't need any more guilt, I don't need any more questions. I've had my fill of strange happenings without a unicorn adding in.
"What's his problem?" Helen asks, nervously clinging to her horse's reins. It leaps and hops from her stiff posture, and I grumble in frustration.
Amateurs. She must be related to Verando.
"Relax your legs and for god's sake, sit up!" My voice is harsh and short but I can't be bothered by mannerisms. She obeys, glancing away from me like a scolded child. "What is it, Fergus?"
"There ain't no coming back." The accent is strong and distant, almost disembodied. I hear Tomas whistle, Fergus cranes his neck and whinnies a response. I don't have time for this, I can't afford to worry about this.
"If they try and come after us, lead them away. Please."
"Does he understand you?" Helen's voice is small.
"He's a damn unicorn. Did you not hear him speak?"
"No." She watches us with wide eyes and when I look back to where the white creature stood only to find that he's gone. I swallow, the words playing on repeat in my head.
Don't let it distract you. This girl isn't from the future, she's a liar and Verando is fine.
I urge her to hurry up as we race towards the city, the sound of our horse's hooves on the cobblestones makes my adrenaline spike and I feel as though I'm racing my own heart. As long as it's beating, he's alive and there's a chance, that is if any of this is even true.
"What body of water?" Maybe these tours weren't for not, but I feel surprisingly at home. I've traveled to this city so many times, where I should feel like a stranger, even the massive amounts of people and carriages that crowd the streets don't lead me astray.
"La Seine."
I curse. No. "That's not in Paris, that's just outside the city. Time?"
"45 minutes!"
We're not going to make it.
I make a sharp turn as we shove our way into traffic, the carriages cluster together and I take the lead as we weave through the busy streets. Our horses slip and slide from the slick cobblestones, fresh with the night's rain. Everywhere I look, I see banners and announcements for the royal wedding. Paintings and banners of mine and Fillipa's likeness cover the streets and people clap and cheer when they see me.
Of all the times to be noticed, this is not one of them. I reach behind me and dig in the saddlebag, thanking the vengeful gods that there's a footman's cap. I pull it over my hair, it's too big and has a rather unfortunate smell but it'll have to do.
I notice Helen's eyes wandering as she takes in the city and her horse rams into mine as if we were jousting instead of running for my life. Rolling my eyes, I take advantage of her distraction and push my beast faster. Her surprised squeal brings me the slightest bit of joy considering the multiple screaming locals who curse our names and mothers for the haphazard riding.
"Should we worry about their legs?" She calls to me, pulling up alongside.
This is what you're concerned about?
"If I'm dead, their legs don't matter much to me, now do they?" The road breaks off into a long strip and the sound of the city begins to fade away as we head toward the outskirts. The voices and the rhythmic creaking of wooden carriage wheels become a distant hum and the only sound is the rapid breathing of our horses and their hooves.
The longer we ride, the more it feels like we aren't going anywhere. The scenery almost refuses to change as it seems to go on forever, a constant string of small houses, fences, and trees.
My mind begins to race, as one's does when you're told you might die and there's nothing you can do about it. The only deciding factor seems to be a clock, something humanity invented to give us a sense of urgency.
"Why did he do it?" I demand of her. She flinches, looking like she doesn't want to tell me. "If I'm going to die, I want to know why! Why did he kill Anuetta?"
"You're not going to die. We're going to make it." She doesn't sound certain. I don't take my eyes off of her, I can't be so easily fooled. "I don't know, the text doesn't say."
Of course.
"But. Uncle Tonic said Tomas told him after you died, Mother told him to do it?"
"Mother?" Why was he talking to Mother? I rack my memories, of the Strigoi army and their involvement in saving our lives.
I asked him but he wouldn't tell me. The color leaves my face and I feel sick, he was honoring another debt. I can only shake my head, when will this ever end? When will he stop making these deals that affect both of us now? If I weren't tied to him-
But I stop the thought, I could never do that. He did it for me, right? He did it because I was missing and he was desperate to find me. "More debt."
She nods, glancing at the device on her wrist.
"What is that?" I need a distraction. My training encourages me to be suspicious, will they know we're coming? Will we have to fight our way in? Would I be able to stop this in time? Every second that ticks by, I will my pulse to keep its tempo, I check for every hitch or pain and wonder if it will be my last.
Her light eyes glance towards me and she offers me a small smile, for a moment she looks so much like him it's haunting.
"It's a wristwatch. It tells the time just as a pocket watch does. But it's digital.. so the numbers are clear, not on the face of a clock. I'm sorry, I'm not explaining this well." I try out the word and make a face.
It seems like sorcery to me and yet, I'm a magic user. Is this how my abilities sound to normal people?
"We're going to do this."
For the first time since I met her, I decided to put my faith in Helen for I can see the towering lighthouse off in the distance. My voice catches in my throat and I can't speak, fate lies just beyond the trees and I don't know if I'm ready to die.
The cool breeze offers a gentle relief, blowing the lazy, fluffy clouds across a glorious expanse of blue sky. Maybe it's ok? Maybe it will be peaceful. I've been dead before, it wasn't that bad. That is if my father comes back this time. The black emptiness that I seemed to spend eternity with wasn't the most welcoming ending.
"Don't go up to the pier, we're going to follow the harbor to the water's edge."
I force myself to snap out of my trance, pulling my horse up to a slower gait as we leave the beaten path and enter the grassy forest.
"Why? He would be on the pier?" She shows me her watch. 3:38. I swallow hard. "We're not going to make it."
"We are. Stop saying that! I'm not going to fail at this, we're going to do this!"
As the trail smoothens out, we're running once more, my lathered creature making my reins slicks and I struggle to keep my purchase. My fingers tangle into the stiff mane and I'm holding on for dear life, my knuckles white and my fingers feel numb.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
An imaginary clock plays in my ear, mocking me, the seconds seem to get farther and farther apart. "There!" Helen shouts. The water's edge comes crashing against the shore and I leap off my horse, running to the water's edge to see there's a boat in the middle of the harbor.
"There!" I point but she touches my shoulder. The harbor is full of boats, full of piers. Which one? which one has him on it? It's a private trial, there would be no audience waiting to see the verdict. I fall to my knees in the shallows, letting the sand engulf my hands.
"We have three minutes, Nic." she pleads.
"Give up, Helen!" I spit through my teeth.
It's over, these horrible decisions have finally caught up with us. He's finally managed to do something that we couldn't walk away from. "How the fuck are we ever going to find him?! Look around us. We are on the edge of the harbor and there are more boats here than I can count. We don't even know if he's on the pier or if he's in one. No one fucking knows because it's a stupid private trial!"
I smack the water in anger. "You fucking idiot!" I shout into the open expanse, "Why do you do this?! Why do you lie to me?! Why do you make these stupid fucking decisions when you promised-"
My voice cracks and I sit in the chilly water, taking deep, shaky breaths. "You promised me you wouldn't lie to me anymore. If you told me the truth-" I sniffle. "I would know where you are."
She smacks me, hard, on the back of the head and I give her an enraged look. "That's for pushing me! Man the hell up!" She hesitates, clearing her throat. "Please." I can only laugh at her, shaking my head. "Do your damn job, you're the most powerful Solomonari in the world. I came back four hundred years to find you now do something! You saved the world from your sister. We have two minutes left. Get the fuck up and make them count!"
"How?"
"The wolf!" she says suddenly, touching her chin. "The wolf! The wolf! Call the wolf! He will answer you!"
"It doesn't work like that-"
"It does! You knocked him out, remember? Alpha came to you! We can't swim to him, you're the element of water. Get under the water and lift up the bottom of the lake so we can walk under!" I gape at her, staring at the harbor.
"That's insane! I can't do that! It'd kill him!"
"Nicolas we are dead anyways! Get up and do it! Lift up the bottom of this harbor, we will see him and the wolf will lead the way. A human can only survive a few minutes underwater, if the bottom of the harbor is lifted up, maybe we can buy some time?!"
I take a deep breath. It's worth a shot, it's better than doing nothing.
"Stay close to me." I lock my arm in hers and drag her into the water, "Take a deep breath." I'm pulling her with me, using the water around us to force us down and struggling to keep my eyes open in the salty water. I grip my hands, focusing as I struggle to comprehend the task ahead of me.
I can't do it, it's too heavy, it's like lifting the weight of the world. I yank her up to the surface, gasping for air as we tread water.
"Again!" She demands.
"I can't do it-" She splashes me in the face and I glare at her.
"Get pissed off Nic, hate me, yell at me, smack me, do whatever you need to do but get down there and do this! I've seen you do incredible things, and I've read about them, do this! Do this for Verando."
Verando. My eyes shut as I scrub my hand through my hair, this is insane. This isn't going to work! But it has to. It has to work.
"One minute."
I dive again, pulling her with me once more as our feet get sucked to the bottom of the harbor. I will the water to separate, will it to form a bubble around us. I chant through the depth of my chest, struggling to stay calm surrounded by the murk.
My air begins to run out and I choke, struggling to stay down here. Randy's dying. He's drowning and I can't do a damn thing to stop it. I grip my throat with my hand, I can't breathe. He can't breathe.
In a moment of desperation, I exhale and grab the air bubble, forcing it to expand and consume us.
We both fall to our knees, taking deep breaths as it pulls air from the water around us to fill the space. millions of tiny bubbles surround us and I note the murky water and the startled fish. It's too dark to see anything, to dark to figure out where we are in relation. "You did it!!" She says excitedly.
"I did-"The shooting pain hits my chest and I flinch. Her watch grunts a weak beep, warning us that our time is up.