The Fallen Prince Part 21

Jason's shock slowly transforms into something far less pleasant. He lowers his sword and his skin mottles. The veins along his neck protrude. Throwing back his head, he lets loose an inhuman roar. Anger spills out of him in a hoa.r.s.e, bitter cry that scares the forest quiet. He stomps around like a mad bull and yells, "I'm not quitting, Dylan. I have all the advantages. You're history. It's my turn to be the hero."

"Cin," Leo whispers. "Can you get us out of here?"

"All of us at once? No."

It's good to know Leo's crazy girlfriend has limitations. I was beginning to wonder.

"Thanks for the save." I shrug out of Leo's grip. "Meet you back in town. I've still got to find Kera."

"I don't know...what about Mr. Bloodl.u.s.t over there?" Leo nods toward Jason. "Shouldn't we do something?"

"I don't think anyone has anything to worry about. I seem to be the only one he wants to kill." I slowly ease away.

"If he catches you off guard again, you're in for a serious fight."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence. Now that I know he's around, I can handle him." I study the girl hanging on to Leo's arm. Personally, I believe Leo is in more danger than either of us. "Keep him safe," I warn her.

She smiles that crazy-chick smile, the one that gives me the creeps, and sidles closer to Leo. The scent of bubble gum invades the s.p.a.ce as she slowly blows a bubble until it pops. The next second, they're gone.

Crazy chick.

Thanks to her, Jason now knows my general direction. I scurry out of there so quickly I scare a rabbit out of hiding. If Jason wants me, he'll have to find me, and I don't plan on making that easy for him.

I hear Jason thras.h.i.+ng the ground close behind me. He's got speed, but I have brains. I double back, find Bodog's trail, and start tracking him. Easy to do. He left a path of broken twigs and scuffed-up earth a blind man could follow. I do my best to cover his tracks, blowing leaves and debris over the area as I follow.

I feel jumpy in my skin. The first time I entered Teag-which seems like forever ago-a calmness engulfed me, like I'd finally found my home. I had a taste of it back at the village, but now, when I reach out with my senses, the air holds an uneasy vibe; tension warbles against my bones, almost as a warning. The perfection I'd admired has grown a few weeds. The magical brightness has definitely dulled.

The trail leads me to a thick copse of trees. I fight my way through the underbrush and find Bodog cowering into his clothes like a turtle retreating into its sh.e.l.l. I move deeper into the shadows, but he waves me still. "No room."

There's gobs of s.p.a.ce all around him. "Bodog, did you know Jason was alive?"

He nods, clinging to his stick like it's his lifeline.

"s.h.i.+t. Thanks for the heads-up, dude. This is bad. We gotta go." I squat and hold out my hand.

He turns away and mumbles, "Truth is truth. Fears must be faced. I will not abandon him. What next?"

I can't wait for Bodog to pull it together. I open my hand and urge him out of his shelter. "I'm serious. We need to join Leo and Lucinda. Now. I got a bad feeling we're going to need them."

Bodog lifts his head and shushes me. "Quiet. Can't hear."

"Hear what?"

"The others."

"What others?" I c.o.c.k my head and listen, but it's like listening for a feather dropping amid a flock of seagulls.

I slant a confused glance his way. Maybe he's cracking under the pressure. I know I am. Right now I need the old Bodog.

As he continues his one-sided conversation, I notice he appears less edgy. Maybe I'm overreacting. Maybe Jason being alive isn't as bad as I think. Sure, he's mad as h.e.l.l, but wouldn't I be, too, under the circ.u.mstances? I can't afford to let his p.i.s.sy mood distract me. I'm here for Kera.

Reaffirming my reason for being here calms me. I grip Bodog's shoulder and give it a little shake. "Come on. I need you to concentrate. Where's Kera? I know you know. You all but dragged me to Teag."

His googly eyes soften, like he pities me. Really? He's the one sitting in rags and cowering in a hole. Oh yeah, I forgot. I'm the one everyone's pressuring to save the freaking world.

Maybe he's right to pity me.

He grabs my hand, and a strange s.h.i.+ft happens. The edges to this world blur, and I see things no one but Bodog sees. Ghostly faces and half-bodies crowd the tiny burrow, blinking at me like I'm the oddity and whispering to one another. Crouching nearest Bodog is a ghostly creature, small, spiny-backed and humanlike, but not human. Its four pudgy fingers slip down Bodog's cheek in a caress that if real, would leave behind a trail of slime. It tilts its face toward me and where eyes should be are merely slits. Toad-like nostrils flare. Its mouth opens as if it's gulping air, displaying a full set of pointy-sharp teeth. Turning back, it gets so close to Bodog, it looks as if it's going to chew off the little man's ear instead of whispering something into it.

"Bodog." My call is soft but insistent. I want to know if what I'm seeing is real, but I can't find the words. All questions stop midway up my throat.

He somehow knows what I can't express. "Dead are never truly dead."

No kidding? Jason is proof of that. And while I was hospitalized and in a coma, though technically not dead, my spirit roamed between the realms in my quest to save Kera from Navar.

If dead isn't dead, then Navar and all his evil cohorts could still be walking around. How p.i.s.sed off would he be knowing I'm alive and using his power? Panic p.r.i.c.kles my skin. I jerk free, feeling exposed. The apparitions fade away, and I only see Bodog biting on his dirty nails like a failed guitarist.

I don't have time for a meltdown. The longer I wait for Bodog to get it together, the more I risk losing Kera. I thrust my head into the hidey-hole, refusing to think about the ghost I'm poking through. "Sorry. Time's up. You've got to come with me."

He squeals as I haul him out by the scruff of his neck. One hand pries at my grip while the other brings the stick down across my head and shoulders. A kick to my knee, and I lose it. I shake him like a pit bull does a chew toy. Can dwarves get shaken baby syndrome? I don't care. He's a grown...er...I don't know exactly what he is, and right now I don't care.

"Stop it," I hiss. "Do you want Jason and his new friends to find us?"

He snaps his jaws closed and hangs in my hands like a limp towel, his large eyes staring up at me like twin black holes.

I let him go but keep my hands on his thin shoulders, afraid he'll bolt. "You convinced me to come back here, and now you're fighting me at every turn and talking to dead things. What's going on? It feels like everyone's taken a left turn when they should've taken a right."

His attention darts back to the base of the tree as if seeking guidance from his dead friends. I give him another shake and bring his gaze back to me. "I'm talking to you."

"Things exist of which you know naught. Deadly things. Secrets. The way is dangerous."

"All I want is to find Kera. I don't care how dangerous it is."

"Darkness swallows her."

My mind flashes on the dark souls, how they surrounded me until I was in a lightless bubble. "Is it the dark souls who attacked the village? Do they have her?" I get a little queasy thinking about Kera being held against her will by those things.

"Danger lurks everywhere."

"What's new?" Bodog isn't exactly telling me what I need to know, but he's not saying the dark souls aren't involved. I try a different tack. "Do your..." I nod to where I last saw his invisible friends, "...your friends know where she is?"

He looks behind him, and then back at me. "Tunnels cannot reach what isn't there."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She couldn't have just disappeared. My frustration climbs, and I ma.s.sage the spot above my left temple.

"To cross is to accept death."

Is he trying to tell me Kera is dead? A chill climbs over my body. "That's not funny, dude."

"Kera went where the crack divides. Alive amid death."

Alive amid death? The pain in my head grows. Seriously, the guy is going to give me a brain aneurysm. "Just tell me where she is so I can go get her."

He blinks up at me, all innocent and sharp-edged.

"Bodog?" I prod.

He's serious. He doesn't know.

I'm losing my patience. "Ask your friends where she is."

"I cannot."

My fingers dig into his shoulder, meeting more bone than flesh. "I'm not messing around. You've got to ask them."

He shrinks from my anger and the sound of mewling slips from his mouth. It's then I know.

My throat dries up, and I rasp, "They're not here. You let them go, didn't you?"

"No keeping what can't be kept."

A hot ache pulses in my chest. I push Bodog away and back up. I'm so angry, I can't look at him. I know he doesn't mean to be difficult, but he's driving me crazy with his half answers. I feel manipulated. I had every right to believe he knew where she was. He led me to believe he did.

"Why did you do it, Bodog? Why did you bring me here if you don't know anything?"

"Help is needed. Only you can fix. Much power has changed hands."

I throw back my head and see the sky poking through the leaves. Overhead, it's an optimistic blue, but toward the edges of the horizon all around us, dark smoke curls, painting an ugly warning. I'd forgotten he wanted me here before Kera was taken. His goal isn't about saving Kera. It's about fixing what I put into motion. And why not? He helped me when I needed him the most. Why wouldn't he expect the heir to the throne to save him along with Teag?

He's tossed the burden of my unwanted birthright on my shoulders, and I can't shrug it off and do nothing without hurting him. He's been a friend and ally when I needed one the most. He deserves my help. I shouldn't be surprised that my problems have doubled. I can't go back, not until I find a way to save Kera and Bodog.

d.a.m.n it, and Jason.

I whip around and ask, "Kera's kidnapping and what's been going on in Teag are connected. I'm sure of it. Think. Why was she taken?"

"Bait."

"And I followed like they knew I would. But why do they want me?"

"They do not."

For a second I don't get it, and then it hits me. "Whoever it is wants me dead. Just like Jason wants me dead."

Bodog sniffs the air. The trees creak in the wind, twisting and swaying their limbs, pus.h.i.+ng the scent of pine, earth, and burning village toward us. Bodog's skin pulses between a dark brown and faded nutmeg color. He only does that when he's scared. He's not strong enough for what's about to happen, not like he was before.

A battle is brewing. It's already begun. The nature of it will destroy Bodog. Even though he's scared to death, he's stepping out there and putting his life on the line for me. It immediately becomes clear. I'm the one who tracked him down. I've got to let him go.

I step back. "Go underground where you're safe. I'll figure this out." I start toward the village, but the crunch of dried leaves has me turning around. Bodog stops, his face peeking out from the layers of fabric he's swimming in.

"What are you doing?"

"You go the wrong way."

A frown slips between my eyes. I know exactly where the village is. "I don't need a guide. You can go. No hard feelings, dude."

I move ahead, but I still hear his footsteps behind me, though he's making an effort to walk quietly. A second later, his hand clamps on to my arm and he tugs me in a different direction. I try to shake him off. "Stop. I don't need you."

"Bodog sees what is not there, knows places few will go. The one you need is not where you seek. Trust me."

Trust. It's something I have a difficult time doing. "And you know this because..."

"The dead never lie."

At the mention of dead things, I scrunch my eyes shut and try not to groan in frustration. Even though the path is clear to me, Bodog sees it differently. Why does he always see it differently?

He tugs harder. "Come."

I sigh and turn in the direction he's pulling. He knows Teag and its inhabitants better than I ever will. And I have to admit, once he decides to help, he gets the job done. I consider his earnest yet gaunt face and bony too-big-for-his-body hands, and a flash of guilt heats my cheeks. "You know it's going to get bad."

He nods. "People will die. What has been will no longer be."

"Well," I say, sarcasm oozing, "that's not at all ominous-sounding. Can't wait."

I lick my suddenly dry lips. Teag and its ever-present threat of death is starting to really annoy me.

Waiting For Trouble.

Pulling information out of Bodog isn't easy, but when I piece it all together, I know he's taking me to the tainted, a breed of firsts who have some portion of human blood. For some reason he thinks they know where Kera is. If they're the ones who were slaughtered in the fight to kill Navar, I wonder how willing they'll be to help us. If I were them, not very.

Getting to the tainted isn't easy. Bands of rogue firsts are everywhere. We manage to avoid them, and when we finally stop walking, I naturally think we've arrived.

I would be wrong.

For two long minutes Bodog stands, his arms hanging at his side, his head bowed.

I can't wait any longer and ask, "Are we there?"

"No."

"Are we lost?"

"No."