“Maybe not. But he does hate it, and he’s dreading your reaction like nothing else. He’s terrified that you’re not going to forgive him.”
“As well he should,” I muttered.
“Shadow! After all you’ve been through together, you’re just going to write him off? You owe it to him if only for the fact that Xavier would have killed us both if not for him!”
Some of my anger abated. She was correct. Blackhole had played a vital role in Xavier’s defeat when he could have easily left us both to die.
“He’s also the reason you were able to talk to me telepathically,” Mercedes continued. “He’s done everything he can to help us without outright defying Tezcatlipoca. Is that what you want him to do? You yourself said you never wanted him to experience the consequences of defying—”
“All right!” I snapped. Softening my voice, I repeated, “All right. I will speak to him. I will hear what he has to say.”
Mercedes smiled. “I knew you would.”
We just had a long, heated argument, yet her faith in me had never wavered. I sighed, thinking for the thousandth time that I would never deserve her.
“Mercedes, you must do your best to gather information from that siren,” I said at last. “Knowledge is power, and the brothers—” I stopped, grimaced, and continued. “—you and I know we need as much power as we can get.”
She nodded and embraced me. “I’m so sorry, Shadow. I never wanted to tell you any of this.”
“In truth, I would rather have you tell me that anyone else,” I said. I buried my face in her dark, golden hair and allowed her scent and warmth to soothe the confusion and betrayal festering in my soul. “I feel so lost, my love. I do not know what to have faith in anymore.”
“Then have faith in me. In us,” she whispered. “And have faith that I’ll help you find whatever it is you’re looking for.”
I crushed her against me. “Yes, my love,” I breathed. “So long as I have you I will never be truly lost.”
As always when I held her, I felt her strength. But this time I also felt her fragility. She could be killed so easily.
“Mercedes, you must swear to me that you will not contact the dragon king.”
I did not tell her that I was holding onto the last thread of reason I possessed. If she refused, I would attempt to escape with her now, consequences be damned.
“Okay, I promise,” she said after a moment that seemed like an eternity. I nearly fell to my knees in relief. “But Shadow, if he wants to see me there’s nowhere I can hide from him. Not even Eulathrin would be able to protect me.”
Quelling a murderous desire toward the siren female, I said, “Then we must escape from here as quickly as we can.” I held Mercedes closer, wanting to kill something, anything. “You know what you must do.”
“I do.”
We held each other until the sirens came to take Mercedes away. It was everything I could do not to leap at them and rip their hearts out.
“I’ll come every evening to give you blood,” she assured me before she left.
More than blood, I thought.
When she was gone, the loneliness made my new wounds all the more painful and the anger all the more potent. I wanted to rage at them all: Quetzalcoatl, Tezcatlipoca, the elites, the Untouchables who had known the truth, the royal family.
The royal family.
They knew. Of course they knew. They took pride in flaunting our people’s Mesoamerican roots. But they kept Tezcatlipoca’s true identity a secret, and pretended there was a Lord Order.
No. There was a Lord Order. And his name had been Quetzalcoatl.
Was it mockery? Did they wish to mock us by having us continue to worship the deity we grew to hate so for abandoning us? Did he really abandon us? If not, where was he? Why did he permit us to suffer under the elites for so long? Who was the real enemy?
I clutched my head. So many questions. So many lies. What could save me from going mad?
Have faith in me. In us.
Yes. Mercedes and my relationship with her was the only thing I could have faith in. The only thing I trusted. The only thing I cared about. Meaning that anyone who threatened it was the enemy.
Meaning Tezcatlipoca was the enemy.
Meaning the royal family was the enemy.
Meaning the dragons were the enemy.
Meaning Blackhole was the enemy.
For Mercedes’ sake, I would allow him to say his piece. But so long as he obeyed Tezcatlipoca, he was still the enemy.
I smiled as I welcomed the new clarity in my mind.
***
Mercedes
When Eulathrin took me back to my room, I knew why it felt as though there was a dagger in my stomach. I had promised Shadow that I would not contact Tarasque, yet I knew I would end up breaking that promise.
I shouldn’t have made it, I thought miserably. I made it because it was what he wanted…needed to hear. I made it because I was weak. And I need to be strong.
“Is something wrong, Mercedes?” Eulathrin asked me.
“I did something I shouldn’t have,” I whispered before ruthlessly shoving down my despair. I could not take back a lie once it was told, but I could fulfill my other promise to Shadow. “Eulathrin, do you know a way Shadow and I could get home?”
The siren’s face was grim. “Your vampire mate wishes to escape with you.”
“Yes, and he needs to go home. I realize now he can be safer there. His people can protect him.”
“You mean his people’s army can protect him,” Eulathrin corrected.
My eyes widened. “You know about the vampire’s army of Evanescence?”
Despite her grimness, there was also a great pride in her expression. “Siren intelligence is second to none, young human.”
“I figured that,” I said. “Shadow needs to go home, but I need to stay here. At least long enough for me to warn Tarasque again.”
“That would be beyond foolish, Mercedes.”
“If you won’t warn him, then I have to. I could die, yes, but I would never be able to live with myself if I just stood by and did nothing while an entire race of people were damned.”
“I see a good deal of reproach in your eyes.” There was a very dangerous chill in Eulathrin’s voice. “You condemn the sirens for wishing to protect ourselves.”
“Of course not! But to completely write the dragons off—”
Eulathrin’s wings flared ominously “I will not be lectured by you, human child. My duty is to my people, and I will not involve them in a war that is not theirs.”
“And why are you so certain that it isn’t yours?” I asked quietly.
She glared at me. “What do you speak of?”
“You’re terrified of Tezcatlipoca. That’s understandable of course, but you never asked me any questions about him when I first mentioned his name. You can’t merely know of Tezcatlipoca, you know what he really is and what he’s capable of. Am I wrong?”
I could tell that she was struggling to remain composed. There was a definite tremor to her scaled hands and while her eyes were angry, they were also afraid.
“All you need to know is that we do not cross him,” she finally said. “The consequences would be unthinkable. It is also obvious to me that you are a tool in his plans. Am I wrong?”
“No,” I said and shuddered as I remembered hearing his voice. “He called me ‘little key.’”
“All the more deadly for you,” Eulathrin said. “If you value your well-being, then obey him and he may release you if he grows bored of you.”
She was patronizing me, but I didn’t care. “If you know what he’s capable of, then you know he won’t leave you alone even if you don’t interfere with his plans.”
“That is mere speculation.”
My eyes narrowed. “First they came for the communists and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a communist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist
. Then they came for the Jews and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for me and by that time, no one was left to speak up.”
Eulathrin blinked. “What?”
“Those were the words of a man by the name of Martin Neimoller,” I said and wasn’t at all abashed at how hard my voice was. “When the Nazis rose to power in Germany, he supported them. But they didn’t believe he supported them enough so he was persecuted along with the Jews, the communists, and the trade unionists. People he previously thought should be persecuted simply for being who they were.”
Maybe she didn’t understand exactly what I was talking about, but I hoped the underlying message was clear.
“I don’t know what it is, but I do know you have some kind of connection to Tezcatlipoca,” I continued. “Why else would Blackhole bring Shadow here of all places to be kept safe?” My voice grew pleading. “He will come after you next, Eulathrin, I know it. And when he does, who will speak up for you?”
For a moment, she looked like she was wavering. Then the line of her jaw hardened. “The sirens speak for themselves, and they fight for themselves. That is the way it has always been, and that is the way it always will be.”
“Eulathrin—”
She pointed her staff at me. The dark gem on the tip seemed to crackle with electricity.
“I said that is enough.”
No despair, I told myself. You tried.
“Okay,” I whispered holding up my hands.
She pulled her staff away. “I will take you to your vampire mate every evening so you can give him nourishment. But the both of you will stay here until Smoking Mirror says otherwise. There will be severe consequences for escape attempts. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” I said.
“And because you are a tool in Smoking Mirror’s plan, my people will ensure that no harm comes to you. By order of the queen, King Tarasque is forbidden from setting foot on siren land if his purpose is to come into contact with you.”
I blanched. “Won’t that be a violation of the treaty your people have with the dragons?”
Eulathrin smiled mirthlessly. “You and I both know that the treaty will not matter soon enough.”
***
Brandon
Three days after our home was invaded, three days after the vampires went underground for their lives, the royal family sent out a message deeming it safe for us to emerge. We did with understandable caution and with whatever weapons we possessed from rifles, to spears, to our fangs.
While several buildings were damaged, not a trace of the slaughter that had just taken place remained thanks to the Evanescence. If anyone lost friends or family, all they could do was wait and pray to the brothers that their loved ones escaped unharmed. Ironically, it was the Outcasts who had possessed the best chance at surviving. Ever since we had been ‘introduced’ to vampire society, our people had secretly built various underground passages should the royal family ever change their minds and order us wiped out. I did possess concern for a few of my friends, but nearly all of it was reserved for Shadow.
“Can you call him?” Morgan whispered behind me.
I hailed him on my comm. After ten minutes, I knew he wouldn’t or couldn’t answer.
“I still have the frequency on my wand,” I said, doing my best to keep my sorrow to myself. “We can deliver it to the royal family.”
Morgan put a hand on my arm and stared at me with sympathetic eyes. “I’m not very good at this, and for as long as I can remember I didn’t believe in it. But if we want to get through this, we need to have faith.”
“Did I just hear you say the word faith?” I asked incredulously.
“Don’t rub it in. It’s a one-time thing,” she warned.
“But I really must know. Whatever brought it about?” When she didn’t answer, I smiled. “It was the reward Mercedes asked from the royal family, correct?”
Morgan hissed at me, fangs bared. “If you tell her—”
“—calm down.” I held up my hands. “Your secret’s safe with me.”
“Good,” she huffed. “Now we need to decide what to do.”
I looked at my Chaos wand. “Perhaps we should check on the progress of our portal first.”
“Excellent idea. If it’s ready, we can escape through it if they decide to kill us.”
“That and if Shadow is dead, we must rescue Mercedes.”
“Won’t the royal family do that? She’s a blessed one after all.”
I looked at her. “My dear, can you imagine the life she would lead under the royal family? With Shadow gone, with no one to look out for her, even an Outcast, they could strip her of her old life. Perhaps they could even force her to turn.”
“You’re saying we should bring her with us if, the brothers forbid, we have to run?” Morgan was incredulous. “They’ll hunt us like dogs with a blessed one in tow!”
“I owe it to Shadow,” I said grimly. “And we both owe it to Mercedes. You know this, Morgan.”
She looked away, biting her lip.
“The royal family isn’t after us yet,” I said. “So how about we accomplish what we can before, if, they do come after us?”
“Fine, fine,” Morgan grumbled.
We made our way to the lab of Andre, one of the best vampire technicians in the history of our people. But only a select few were privy to that information. Like so many Outcasts, Andre used his treatment at the hands of the elites to hone his survival instincts and skills. One of which was learning how to hide his talents. As a result, many of his more brilliant inventions would never see the night. And that was perfectly fine with him.
“Come in, come in.” He ushered us inside when we arrived at his doorstep. “You made sure you weren’t seen, yes?”
“Andre, in case you didn’t notice, everyone’s a little bit distracted right now,” Morgan pointed out dryly.
“Really? I hadn’t noticed.” A sarcastic smirk shone through his grease-smeared, but striking face. “Follow me. I’ll show you what I’ve done so far.”
He led us into one of his more private labs and gestured toward a table on the far end. On it was a Chaos wand floating in a sphere of red light.
“You gave me a very complex frequency, kid,” Andre commented as Morgan and I examined his work. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s amazing and I’m grateful to serve the brothers. If you do have to use it, see if you can get some more for me. I’d love to tinker with them.”
“We’ll see,” I said. “How far are you along?”
“Well, like I said, it’s very complex and I don’t exactly have the best equipment. I’ll need at least another month before I can even think of testing it with one of our people.”
A month. That was a very depressing revelation.
“Brandon, we can’t wait a month,” Morgan said. “They’ll kill us for sure if we do!”
Andre frowned. “Why would they kill you? I thought you said they had the frequency also.”
“Shadow was supposed to deliver it, but we haven’t heard from him,” Morgan replied. “There’s a very good possibility that he’s dead.”
“If the royal family doesn’t have it and we do,” Andre said slowly. “Then that isn’t good. At all.”
“No. And we can’t wait a month to tell them. Apart from killing us, the dragons can use that time to assemble an army that could destroy us all, Evanescence or not.” I sighed, resigned. “We have no choice. We have to bring the frequency to the royal family.”
“Just leave my name out of it,” Andre cautioned. “I’ll continue working. Maybe I’ll be able to find some kind of haven for the Outcasts. You won’t die in vain.”
“That’s good to hear,” Morgan muttered.
“But we’re not dead yet,” I pointed out. “So let’s—”
A growling sound halted my words. Andre, Morgan and I bared our fangs and drew our weapons, but we all relaxed when an Evanescence emerged from the darkness. A very familiar Evanescence.
&nb
sp; “Blackhole?” I said incredulously.
He barked an affirmative and bounded up to me. I knelt and put a hand on his head, hoping I could create a quick bond strong enough to speak to him. Thankfully, he seemed eager to communicate with me in turn.
The royal family has the frequency. I gave it to them.
Hope rushed through me. “Does that mean Shadow’s alive?”
He’s alive.
“And Mercedes?”
She’s alive, too.
“Where are they?”
Blackhole backed away from me. I tried to reach out for him again, but he just moved out of my reach again.
I frowned. “Blackhole, what is it?” I got up and advanced on him. “Where are Shadow and Mercedes?”
With clear reluctance, he came up to me again.
Tell Andre to finish the portal. You’ll need it later.
Before I could answer, he ran off.
“Hey! Blackhole, wait!”
I chased him, but once I got to the entrance I knew I had no hope of catching him.
“Well?” Morgan demanded. “What the hell was that all about?”
“I’m not sure,” I said slowly before repeating what Blackhole told me.
“Oh, bless Lord Order,” Morgan breathed, practically sagging in relief. “We’re not going to die.”
“That remains to be seen.” Andre hung back behind us looking grim. “You sure that thing can be trusted?”
“That 'thing' is Shadow’s hunting partner and closest friend,” I said curtly. “He knows Shadow better than I ever could.”
“Maybe, but there’s a reason I never took an Evanescence as a slave,” Andre said. “I’ve always felt that there’s something about them. Something that isn’t right. I wouldn’t trust an Evanescence with anything.”
“Shadow trusts him,” I said. “That’s good enough for me.”
“Then why’d he run off on you like that? And how does he know that your friend and his mortal are safe? Thought they were taken to another dimension.”
I didn’t know. My ignorance fed my suspicions, but still…
“He wouldn’t do anything to hurt Shadow or Mercedes. I’m certain of it.”
“Regardless of what that thing said,” Andre turned around, “I’m gonna keep working on the portal. If I could find someplace the Outcasts can go where they wouldn’t have to see the ugly mug of an elite ever again, it’d all be worth it.”