Stilling, a bit of color drains from his face. “What are you talking about?”
Swallowing, I take a breath to steady myself. “For someone playing such a dangerous game, you’d think you’d be wise enough to remember the golden rule.” Lifting a hand, I release a sliver of energy I really can’t afford to waste, letting the smoky haze dance across my skin and blur my features with the darkness around us to make my point. “Always assume that someone’s watching.”
Letting it fade, I raise an eyebrow in challenge. “Moving under the cover of night isn’t safer because the humans are asleep, but because the peace we find in the darkness stems from the fact that we’re never really alone in it. You may fool the rest of them, but I see you for who you really are, Acheron. Exactly the sort of monster they accuse us of being.”
I hold my ground as he takes a calculated step closer, acutely aware that there’s no one else around for miles; all the more reason to ensure my voice remains completely steady. “I’m not sure why you hate humans so much you’d be willing to let countless demons die in the name of wiping them out, but if you refuse to leave me alone, at least do me the courtesy of not treating me as if I’m as willfully ignorant as the rest of them.”
Closing the distance between us, he stops directly in front of me, and by some miracle, I manage not to flinch away when his knuckles trace a path down my cheek. “It would seem thatI'mthe foolish one. Forgive me, you’re right. What sort of future would we have if it were built on lies?”
“I’m not sure how many times I have to say this before you understand, but I’m not going to marry you, Acheron. Not now, not ever. Enjoy your war games and manipulation schemes, but I want no part in either; go stalk someone else. There are plenty of men and women alike that would be happy to entertain your arrogant self, so leave me alone. I don’t have any desire to live with people who treat me like I'm delusional, and I certainly don’t needyou. You've all proven that I'm far better off alone.”
A slow smirk rises to his face. “My sweet little demon, you said it yourself. You’re the only one that truly sees me; how could I ever let you go?”
***
“Are you sure aboutthis, Lia?” Stone dismounts from his horse, stroking a soothing hand over her neck before setting her free to graze beside my ‘borrowed’ mare. Bright, silver hair offsets his multicolored irises and glowing runes beneath his skin, everything about the man giving him away asother. From his features to his temperament, he’s the embodiment of everything wholesome left in this world, and I love it as much as I secretly resent him for it.
Things are simple for them, the Elementals. Their emotions are in tune with their abilities, and they always treat things exactly as they appear. No worries of deception, no carrying the burdens of others like the Nightmares are cursed to. They exist, and they’re happy; content and confident in their place in the world.
It's why Acheron had such an easy time getting them onboard with creating the cave system beneath where our old village stood when the attacks increased; secretly bolstering his army with people that he doesn't even need to try to manipulate because theywantto help and offering refuge to others. Stone’s one of the few that break the mold, but it’s only because while he still wants to help, he couldn’t pass up the potential of saving thousands of lives. We might have stood a shot at winning over the other Elementals if the idea we came up with didn’t sound like we were chasing down a fairytale and calling it a plan.
With a sad smile, I nod at the only friend I have left. With a yawn, I do another slow inspection of the brightly lit clearing. It's horribly exposed, but doesn't offer so much as a large boulder to cast a shadow or anywhere for someone to be lurking.
"They're all so caught up in Acheron's bold claims and fear mongering they refuse to consider any other perspective, and it’s going to get all of us killed. I’m not saying this plan is without its faults, but what other choice do we have? They’re going to keep killing themselves fighting for someone that’s happy to use them as cannon fodder, and I for one don’t find the appeal in living to see everything I’m worried about come true if I’m the only one left to witness it. Something has to change, and they already hate me, so what do we have to lose that we aren’t on the verge of losing already?”
Stone fishes something out of his horse’s satchel, returning with a leather pouch cinched off with a tie at the top. Sitting beside me in the grass, he takes a deep breath before reluctantly setting it in my lap. "They don't hate you, they're just scared. Trying to take away the one security they have left in favor of a gamble isn't exactly reassuring, Lia. And so close to when another settlement was hit, this one only two days' ride from home?”
With a shake of his head, he gives me a pleading look. “The humans are out of control. If even Nightmares can't keep them in check any more, maybe they’re just... too broken. They destroy everything they touch, and maybe it’s time to consider that they really are beyond saving."
Tensing, I bite back the venom in my tone, knowing the sentiment is coming from a place of concern. “If I wanted to have popular rhetoric shoved down my throat, I’d have saved myself the trip. If not the people back home, Acheron’s always lurking somewhere nearby these days to prattle on about his righteous agenda until I’m a step away from drowning myself in the river.”
Losing the battle to keep my cool, the words pour out with a vengeance. “Why can’t anyone see that us keeping our distance is exactlywhythis is happening? None of the Nightmares are risking getting close enough to siphon from the humans anymore, and very few can do so from a distance like -surprise- the very man orchestrating his rise to power. It makes us weak and easier to kill, and leavesthemdrowning in their misery until lashing out is the only thing that makes them feel anything at all. It’s a vicious cycle that’s only going to continue to grow worse, and I don’t understand how nobody can fucking see it!”
He lifts his hands in surrender. "Easy, there, I wasn’t trying to pick a fight. Hell, I hate that bastard maybe even more than you do, or I wouldn't be here. I'm simply pointing out that I can see where he's coming from, even if he's using it as an excuse to justify his agenda. There’s so much damage done, I really don’t think there’s a way to come back from it at this point. But what you’re trying to pull off is peace born of sacrifice, and that’s the sort of person I’m willing to fight for and follow to the ends of the earth.”
Stomach flipping with his admission, I turn my attention away from his earnest gaze to open the pouch on my lap. A pile of coral colored, translucent shards are packed so tightly inside that I’m surprised they haven’t torn through the leather.
“How do I make them work?”
From his pocket, he withdraws a necklace with an intricately woven silver chain that must have cost him far too much to get his hands on. Hanging at the base is a circular pendant with a matching stone embedded, and when I can finally tear my gaze away from it, it’s to find him studying me with an indecipherable emotion. Draping it over my head, he carefully pulls my hair out from beneath the chain, not immediately pulling away.
“Think of it as if you were one of the Nightmares that can siphon without needing to touch someone. These fragments will act as a conduit, an extension of yourself." Brushing his fingertip over the stone embedded in the necklace, he whispers, “But it will store the energy in here until you’re ready to use it instead so that it won’t be overwhelming trying to contain so much yourself. All you need to do is slip one of these fragments on each of the people you want to draw from, then do what you normally would with the humans.”
Swallowing, I try to slow my rapidly beating heart. "Thank you. I can only imagine how much effort it took to make this work, but I knew if anyone could pull it off, it'd be you."
His gaze briefly darts down to my lips and back. "When you're ready, you'll tell me first, yes? No matter how much strength you wield, it'll never be enough to convince everyone to abandon their home, Lia. And if we're being honest-" he cups the side of my face, thumb tenderly stroking across my cheek "- I'm afraid this is too much for one person to take on themselves, and I’m going to regret letting you talk me into this. We’re working with theories at this point. I’m not sure how I’d live with myself if you got hurt and I had a hand in it."
Giving him a sad smile, I cover his hand with mine and gently squeeze once before pulling away. "I'll give the humans this much; they’ve proven time and time again that trusting someone is the first step to getting stabbed in the back. So do me a favor?” Getting to my feet, I finish hardening my heart so that I might actually stand a shot of it surviving what I need to do. “Never change; the world needs more people like you. You don’t actually believe that being broken is a reason to give up on anyone, and you know it. That’s when they need someone to fight for them most, one brave enough to wade through the jagged shards to the person trapped in the center.”
Tucking the pouch in my mare’s saddle bag, I hoist myself up. “You were meant to save people, Stone. I’m just not one of them.”
***
Despite the sun’s placein the center of the sky, it carries all of the tranquility of night. Add in the fact that the heat of summer has finally begun to subside, and I could argue that this may actually be the perfect moment in time that I’d stretch out forever if I had the ability.
Reaching beneath the collar of my shirt, I withdraw my necklace, staring at the bright stone dangling above my face under the illusion of security that my perch high on the cliff offers. Any of the humans in the village at the base could see a figure if they looked my way, but there’s too much distance to make out any of my features, let alone what’s in my hand. But while I need one of the shards actually on the individual demon that I want to discreetly steal energy from, the humans? If I hide it in the center of a populated space, I can siphon from whoever ventures close to it, so the payoff is well worth the risk involved.
There’s enough here to sustain me indefinitely already. I could take a handful of the shards back, walk away, and leave them all behind. Maybe creating a safe haven really is a stupid fantasy. Even if I managed to pull it off, then what? Do I really expect all of the demons to say thank you and go along with putting in the effort to sustain it?
