Demon's Cradle (Devany Miller Book 3) (14 page)

Kroshtuka lay on the bank, one foot still on the black sand. I ran for him, yelling his name as the worm rushed toward us. “Get up! Get up!” I poured on the speed, praying my jelly-legs wouldn’t give way before I reached him. Dust sprayed as I fell to a stop by him, tearing a nail to the quick and beyond, as I grabbed him, yanking him frantically away from danger.

The worm roared its rage at me, at us, just beyond its reach. Then the black turned to water again with an abrupt splash, and Krosh and I were alone.

He was choking.

Half-sobbing, half-angry, I swept his mouth with my finger, scooping out a glob of black slime. Then I moved around behind him, fisted my hands, and pumped at his diaphragm. I wasn’t even thinking anything anymore, just grimly determined I wouldn’t let him die. Not now. Not after all this.

He puked. It coated my arms, stained his shirt, then he coughed and puked some more. I eyed the water, wondering if it would be safe to scoop some for a drink, and thought against it. I reminded myself that it was a Dream. “Wake up. Come on, come with me.”

I transitioned out of the dream and found Krosh under the water, thrashing. I yanked him upright, pushing him over the side so I could get my arms around again to squeeze the water out of his lungs.

He puked, water this time. A warm, sour smelling liquid, pretty much only bile and water because he hadn’t eaten since the Rider took him. I held his hair out of the way and crooned soft nothings to him until his body stopped heaving. Then I helped him the rest of the way out of the pool. We stumbled to a spot not far away, and I settled him between my legs, his back against my belly, mine back against the cave wall.

He gasped, choked, coughed, again and again. When the coughing stopped, he still had a hitch in his breathing. But he said, “You came for me,” and I wrapped my arms around him, tight, fighting off the tears. He was back and alive and I wanted to shout with joy.

***

One of the Elders finally came to our calls. Caterpillar Eyebrows, of course. The sight of Kroshtuka awake and draped over me got the old guy moving. He fetched a few younger men from the village and between them, they got Krosh carried to his hut. A short, squat man came in soon after, a bag at his side bulging with herbs, powders, and other mysterious oilskin packages. His face was too round to have wrinkles, but I guessed he was as old as Fisli and Lizzie.

He hummed as he fussed over Krosh, mixing a blend of herbs in a small mortar, crushing them into a paste with his pestle. When finished, he scraped the contents into a cup of hot water and ordered Krosh to drink. It took him a few tries and a coughing fit before he could get the tea down his throat. Then Krosh lay back with a sigh that eased my fears. It also helped when his big hand found mine and squeezed gently.

“The bad magic is still inside you. It needs dried up, like a festering wound needs drained and cleaned.” The man turned to me. “You are from the human world.”

I nodded.

“Take him there. It will be the best thing for his internal injuries—the stain and corruption on his soul.” He gathered his belongings, leaving behind a small bowl holding what looked like maple leaves, only bright purple. “Go. Soon.”

My eyes cut to Kroshtuka as he struggled to sit up. When he wouldn’t stay prone, I gave up and helped him. “Yagani, I have been gone long enough from my people.”

“And they are still living.”

“I am the anchor.”

Yagani waggled a fat finger at Kroshtuka. “There are other anchors.” When Kroshtuka opened his mouth to protest, the healer amended, “Not as strong as you but still. They are here. And they can work together if need be. You won’t be anything if you don’t take care of yourself. You won’t get better with the corruption inside you. For all that she yanked you free, it left its mark.”

Kroshtuka didn’t argue. I wanted to ask what an anchor did—okay, I knew what an actual anchor did and could guess through symbolism—but I didn’t think it meant exactly what I thought it did. Yagani left us alone. I stretched out against him, the thick furs soft under us and tickling the back of my arm as I wriggled into him. “I’m not hurting you, am I?”

His answer was to pull me tighter to him. We lay like that for a long while, listening to each other breathe. I’d forgotten how relaxing it was to be with him in the Real. Which brought up the Yagani’s orders and a dilemma. One I wasn’t sure how to bring up, because even in my head, it made me sound like an ass.

I felt his laugh rumble through his body. “If you need to say something, go ahead.”

“What are you, a mind reader?”

“Never that, let’s hope. But I can read tension in the lines of your body. So tell me.”

Deep breath. Where to start? “My daughter can access magic. And Liam’s been Dreaming.”

His big hand, his fingers, didn’t stop moving along my back, rubbing, soothing, though he was the one who was weak and so recently rescued.

“I think it’s partly because they were brought to Midia by the Theleoni. Being here woke up the magic inside them. But it should have faded away by now and instead, it looks like it’s on a steady course.” Or growing, but I had no evidence for that, just suspicion.

“And the other part?”

“Being around me maintains their abilities. Feeds them.”

“Ah.”

Understanding filled that single word. I relaxed again. “So I could take you to Earth with me. In fact,” I said, swallowing around the sudden pounding of my heart, “I think I would like to take you with me. And introduce you to everyone. But being around me won’t be good for you, not if the magic needs to burn away.” And there it was, out in the open. Not so hard after all, yet I couldn’t figure out where he would stay or how long or any of the other logistics. I rose from beside him to pace, needing to move my body to tame the itch inside that was my nerves.

“You want to introduce me? Are you sure?”

No. “Yes.” I was sure I wanted him in my life. How I would talk to the kids about him I didn’t know. I didn’t want to hurt them. Their dad’s death was still a dark cloud over them and would be for a long time. And now the magic and Dreaming. Then Kroshtuka. “Yes.” I would hope that they could understand.

“Thank you.” He smiled. “You’re too far away to kiss.”

I chuckled. “I can’t sit when I’m worrying.” I slipped my hands into my pockets but didn’t go to him.

He didn’t ask again, or insist. I loved how calm he was. He asked, “What took me, Devany? What invaded our Dreams?”

“Something called a Rider. A parasite.” His face went grim. “It’s riding around in the head of someone who hates me. Dropped its potential in me, in you, in my son. We have until the next moon. Then the potential becomes another Rider. And so on.” Only now my potential was gone. Burned away by the goddess with the crazy pain in her eyes. “I don’t know if you still have potential inside you. I’m guessing if the Yagani sensed corruption, then you do. And being on Earth won’t fix that.”

“Anyone who Dreams is in danger.”

“I think so. If they are connected to me, at least. I think it has to work through those connections. I think it has to hate what its host hates.” I thought back to the epiphany I’d had while talking to Sephony.

“You thought of someone.”

“Yes.” The man who I suspected was molesting his little sister. The girl I’d failed to save. “I think it might be the leader of the Carnicus of Nightflowers.”

He sucked in a sharp breath. “That one is dangerous.”

“I know. And we have no idea where they might be.”

“In the Wilds they could be anywhere. But if he has a parasite in him, he’s being driven toward civilization. The Rider will want to spread far and wide.”

“I don’t know that many people here,” I said, not getting at what he was saying. If the Rider could only attach to people its host hated ...

His gaze was kind. “Do you think a man like that only has one enemy?”

NINE

I crawled back onto the furs with Krosh and we took a nap together. Last thing I remembered was his big hand stroking my hair. When I woke, he was asleep, color back in his cheeks. I pushed myself off the ground, and left him to hook back to Earth to see how much time had passed since I was gone. I wished I had a watch that would give me Earth time while I was in Midia and vice versa. It would make life a whole hell of a lot easier.

As it was, I arrived early morning, though I had a mini-panic attack until I found my phone to verify that it was Sunday. The kids would be home today, probably in the afternoon, knowing my father. I checked my messages but everything was quiet. Strange. The way my life went, I was surprised there wasn’t some disaster going on.

I took a quick shower before hooking back to the Dreaming Caves. The main cavern was empty but I could hear raised voices echoing throughout the chambers. It reminded me of the first time I’d met the coven of witches Arsinua belonged to. I’d been surprised that they were arguing, rather than chanting and dancing naked under the moon.

Real life wasn’t nearly as fun as the movies made it out to be.

I walked from the caves down to the village, nodding at people as I passed them. I slipped into Kroshtuka’s hut to find him still asleep. Of course. Did I think he’d be up, packing a bag or something? I stared down at him then yawned hard enough to cause my jaw to ache. I needed to sleep too and I knew better than to do it here. I’d lose tons of time. With a sigh of regret, I hooked away home and crawled into bed fully clothed, hoping nothing would happen but sleep. Sweet, blessed sleep.

I supposed peace was too much to hope for. The phone rang, waking me, and I fumbled for my cell. “Hello?”

“You are a hard lady to get a hold of.”

“Hey Naomi, what’s up?” I hoped she wasn’t about to ask me to have coffee with her. I didn’t have time, though maybe I needed to make an exception anyway.

“You haven’t heard?”

I gripped the phone. “Danni?”

“No. No, sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. No, I was calling because the husband of that client you helped on Friday somehow escaped from jail. His body was found outside of town. Mutilated.”

A memory swirled around in my head and was gone before I could pin it down. “Oh. Marco Rivera?”

“Yeah. No one knows how he got out and so far, the cops have no idea who killed him. His wife had an alibi, thank God, or you know they would have tried to pin it on her.”

We chatted for a little while and then, after making a lunch date for a couple weekends down the road, we hung up and I called Danni. When she answered, I said, “Are you okay?”

“Yes, why?”

I told her about my conversation with Naomi and felt her worry through the phone. “Do you think it’s a little too coincidental that he was freed from jail so soon after Harrison?”

“Yes.” There was that niggle of memory again, but I couldn’t catch hold of it. “But I don’t know what the connection would be, besides the fact that they both abused their wives.”

“Do you think the group that freed Harrison helped Marco?”

I just didn’t know and told her so. Maybe none of it was connected. My client had told me Marco sold drugs. He might have gotten on the wrong side of the wrong people. “Just stay extra alert.”

“If I get any more alert, I will have a heart attack,” she said.

“I wish they’d just catch him.” I wondered if Tytan had picked Harrison up yet. He knew where the bastard was; all he had to do was snatch him up and take him to the Slip. No more Harrison to worry Danni.

“Me too. Thanks for checking up on me.”

“Of course. And if you need a break, let me know. I can pop you to the other side of the world in a blink, you know.”

She laughed. “Maybe I need to visit the Riviera.”

We joked about the endless travel opportunities hooking presented, playing on the word until we were both teary eyed from laughter. Then we said our goodbyes and I tucked my hand under my pillow and tried very hard to go back to sleep.

***

When I woke, the house was quiet. I checked my phone and saw I’d missed a text from Dad.

‘At Chuck E. Cheese. Trying to win the bad ass remote control truck.’

I laughed and shook my head. Knowing my father, they would stay until he ran out of money or they won. I had a few more hours yet of alone time. I stretched and made those noises people make when no one is listening.

“Good morning, sleepyhead.”

I jerked upright. “What the hell? Get out, Ty.”

My kids’ kitten was sitting in the middle of his naked chest, purring loudly. “She likes me.”

“Yeah, well, she’s young and deluded. Why are you here?” I climbed out of my bed, wanting to have space between me and his six pack.

He smiled one of his, ‘I want to fuck you now,’ smiles and stroked the cat. “I missed you.”

“Uh huh. You saw me. Now go.” I didn’t say it with any heat because I knew he wouldn’t leave until he was damn good and ready.

“I have news about Amara.”

Now that was interesting. “What’s she up to?”