The Lightning-Struck Heart (43 page)

“How’s the situation with Ryan?”

And, of course, my smile faded. “Right for the heart. Good aim.”

“I find it’s easier than dancing around words.”

I glanced down the road to make sure the others were far enough away. Ryan’s head was rocked back, his mouth open as he laughed, undoubtedly at Gary’s story about my naked tree mermaid adventure. It was a good look on him.

Who was I kidding? All looks were good looks on him.

So I lied. “It’s fine. I’m handling it.”

But, of course, it was Morgan I was talking to. “Sam.”

“We danced,” I said suddenly. “In a tavern when the song was slow. He asked me to dance and I said yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I could. Because I wanted to. Because I wanted to know what it was like to have something that I’ll never actually have.”

“I wish,” he said and then stopped. He took a breath and let it out slowly. I could picture him, sitting in the labs, his face scrunched up in concentration. His forehead lined, eyes narrowed. The tip of his tongue sticking out between his teeth like he did when deep in thought. “I wish things could be different for you.”

I laughed. It wasn’t nearly as bitter as I thought it’d be. “I know. And that’s why I love you.”

“You’re almost done.”

“Am I?”

“With this part, yes. It’s all about the journey, Sam. One day you’ll get your ending, but until then, remember it’s about the journey. The things you’ve learned. The future you’ll have. I know it may not seem like it right now, and I know it might hurt, but you will be okay. You’re my apprentice. I expect nothing less of you.”

“I wish you were here,” I admitted to him. “It might get tough.”

“I wish I was too,” he said. “But I also know you’re stronger than anyone else I’ve ever met.”

And who knows what we might have said then. How long we might have sat there, spewing our feelings at each other until we were drowning in sunshine and rainbows and Gary’s cookie poop. When I have an abundance of feelings, I tend to go on for days. It’s a proven fact.

And I tried to work up the courage to tell him about the lightning. About how I’d been able to redirect it through my body and hold it around my heart. How the ceiling to my magic just seemed further and further away, and maybe for the first time, I felt an inkling of fear that there was no ceiling, that it could eventually consume me until I was nothing but a collection of energy with no conduit for release.

I opened my mouth to say something.
Anything
.

But it was ceremoniously cut short when I saw a stranger talking to Gary, Tiggy, and Ryan. My hand tensed around the crystal as green and gold flickered around the edges of my vision.

Tiggy and Ryan looked relaxed. Carefree.

Gary, though. Gary looked slightly off. He was holding himself stiffly.

“Hey,” I said to Morgan. “Gotta go. There’s someone on the road.”

“Okay. Just watch yourself. I don’t know much about Tarker Mills, and I don’t need you getting captured by Darks or fairies or mermaids or—”

“I get it,” I said, cutting him off. “And it doesn’t happen
that
often.”

“—or selkies or pissed off traveling merchants or that one guy who pledged a blood vendetta against you—”

“That was
not
my fault.” It was in my early days of learning to use magic and I’d accidentally set a guy’s hair on fire. I’d put it out before it had caused any damage, but Evil Carl (as he had so named himself) didn’t care. It was an affront to him and he swore vengeance against me and promised one day, I would rue the day I ever heard the name Evil Carl.

Naturally, unable to keep my mouth shut, I told him I was already ruing. That’s when the blood vendetta came into play, blah, blah, blah, and I’d never heard from him again. I rarely thought about it. It was just one of those things that happened to me.

“I get into shenanigans,” I told Morgan.

“So I’ve noticed. We still need to finish our conversation.” I couldn’t tell if that was a warning or a threat. “But it can wait. Find the keep and let me know what you see before you approach. Understood?”

“Yeah, love you, boo,” I said and broke the connection before he could squawk righteously at me as he was wont to do. I stowed the crystal in an inner pocket in my tunic and walked down the Old Road toward Tarker Mills.

Gary, Tiggy, and Ryan looked back at me upon my approach.

“And this is Sam of Wilds,” Gary said. His voice was even, but he still held himself stiffly. “The apprentice to the King’s Wizard.”

The stranger was an older woman. She wore a long flowing dress, green and orange and red. Her hair was gray and braided in a thick ponytail that rested over her shoulder and against her breast. There was a sash of sorts across her chest. No weapons that I could see. She looked sweet and kind, like a grandmother should. Tiggy and Ryan seemed charmed by her. Gary was not.

“It is an honor to meet you, Wizard,” she said, ignoring the
apprentice
that Gary muttered under his breath. Her voice was calm and serene. I felt myself relaxing just by the few words she spoke. “I am Eloise, the mayor of Tarker Mills. I understand you have traveled far.” She held out her hand and I took it briefly. Her skin was warm and smooth. She dropped my hand a moment later.

“Ma’am,” I said politely. “You’ve got a lot of corn.”

“That we do.” She sounded amused. “We’re the main supplier to the northern region of Verania. The mountains aren’t conducive to such a crop. Tarker Mills has fed many people over the centuries. We’re quite proud of what we do here.”

I was closer to her now. I could see the lines around her eyes and mouth. The pattern on her dress. The intricate design on the sash across her chest, angles and planes that curved into purposed design.

Near the top of the sash, at her shoulder, was the pattern of a dragon stitched in great detail. Black with mottled wings.

Huh.

How about that.

I averted my eyes quickly.

But she was sly, that Eloise.

She said, “Word has spread about your quest.”

“Has it? People tend to talk too much.”

She smiled. “They do. But it is an epic undertaking, is it not? To rescue a stolen prince.” She glanced over at Ryan. “My condolences for your loss.”

“I haven’t lost anything,” he said. “Just temporarily misplaced. We’ll get him back soon enough.”

“Will you?” she asked, and I knew now why Gary was uneasy. “That’s good to hear.” She looked back at me. Her eyes were big and blue. “I was telling your companions how honored we were to have you come to our little village. We don’t often get visitors of your caliber all the way out here. You must let us house you for the night before you continue on down the road.”

“Sounds good,” I said before anyone else could speak. “It will be nice to have a warm bed for a change.”

She nodded before her eyes flicked over my shoulder. I looked back and saw black smoke rising above the tree line. Fucking fire geckos.

And redirected lightning that I had no idea how I did. Aside from the fact that I somehow
willed
it so.

“Uh,” I said. “Yeah. About that. Fire geckos, man. Just… a bunch of fire geckos. Nothing else.”

“Yes,” she said, all calm and level and so fucking
tranquil
. “We do have a bit of a problem with them out here. Nasty creatures, those. I’ll have some people from the village watch the fire to make sure it doesn’t jump the road. It’s the absolute worst thing to have any sort of flame near the corn. Why, only a madman would think otherwise.”

“Ha,” Tiggy said. “Firework corn. Poor Sam. Ideas all broken and sad.”

I glared at him.

Eloise turned back toward Tarker Mills, and Ryan and Tiggy followed. Gary and I purposely fell behind.

“She’s weird, right?” he whispered to me. “Gave me the heebie-jeebies.”

“Maybe it’s just that she seems so nice,” I whispered back. “We don’t know many nice people. We don’t know
any
nice people.”

“I’m nice.”

“You’re bitchy.”

“Close enough.”

“Look, just keep your eyes open, okay? No separating. Keep any questions and answers as vague as possible. Don’t let anyone approach you from behind without you knowing it.”

“You should let Ryan approach you from behind.”

“
Gary
. Now is not the time.”

He snorted. It came out periwinkle and mint. “It’s always the time for you getting sexed up in the butt.”

“I’m going to feed you to Eloise because I bet they turn out to be cannibals.”

“Nah, they’ll be witches in disguise that need your fingernails for a potion.”

“Fuck.”

“Yeah. That sounds about right.”

T
ARKER
M
ILLS
was a small hamlet set against the backdrop of the Northern Mountains miles in distance. The buildings and house were built of wood and mud and brick. There were men and women in the fields working with the corn. People smiled at us as we entered the village, waving and saying hello and making us feel more welcome than any other place we’d been before.

It was all bullshit.

No
one could ever be that nice.

It was eerie and off-putting.

Vaguely, I wondered if maybe I was just too cynical, but I pushed that away because no, I had a healthy amount of cynicism and Tarker Mills was creepy.

So I gave them my own creepy smile back, wide and welcoming.

And they smiled wider. I almost expected them to burst into song, to sing about how wonderful the world was and how perfect people were, and love and rainbows and butterflies and puppies. And, of course, cheesy dicks and candlesticks.

They didn’t, but I’m sure it was close.

A feast
! they said.
A feast for the travelers
.

Eloise smiled and decreed it so.

As we were paraded around Tarker Mills, long wooden tables were brought out to the center of town, covered in blue and green tablecloths. We were handed mugs of mead and wine and ushered toward the tables.

Great plates of food were brought out. Cornbread. Corn tortillas. Corn soup. Corn on the cob. Corn casseroles. Cream corn. Corn salad.

“You guys really like your corn,” Ryan said.

“Oh, Knight Commander,” a man laughed. “You’re just being
corny
.”

Everyone laughed except for us. Because it wasn’t funny.

It was terrifying.

Sex puns I could understand.

Corn puns were beyond my realm of comprehension.

I smiled weakly and ate more corn.

Gary, Tiggy, and Ryan followed suit.

There were about fifty people altogether in Tarker Mills. There didn’t seem to be any children, which I thought was odd. Everyone appeared to be my age or older, and from what I could see, Eloise was the oldest person in the village.

“What brings you this far north?” Eloise asked from her spot at the head of the table.

I looked up and found all eyes on me. I put down my fork slowly and rested my hands on the table. “Our quest,” I said slowly. Because she’d been the one to bring it up first and now she was acting like she didn’t know.

Eloise arched an eyebrow. “Oh? How exciting.”

I smiled at her. “Very. That’s an interesting sash you’re wearing.”

She reached up and touched it briefly. “Thank you. It was handmade here in Tarker Mills.”

A clue! “The detail is very… detailed,” I said. Then I tried to hold back the wince because holy fuck, that was not subtle.

Gary groaned, but he was too far away for me to try and kick him.

“It’s all about the details, don’t you think?” Eloise asked.

“Usually,” I agreed. “Details are important.”

“What is important to you, Sam?”

“I’m not sure I understand your question.”

“You don’t? I thought it very simple.”

“Then why don’t you go first.”

“Unity,” she said promptly. “Being united under a common purpose.”

“Corn?” I asked.

She grinned. “Mostly.”

“There are rumors,” I said.

“Aren’t there always?”

“Of a keep.”

“A keep. How fascinating.”

“I haven’t even gotten to the most fascinating part yet,” I said.

“Do continue,” she said, leaning forward, elbows on the table. The rest of the town had stopped eating and listened intently.

“It’s supposed to be right near here,” I said. “In a valley near the mountains. We think the Prince is being held there.” I tilted my head forward and whispered loudly, “By a
dragon
.”

“Oooooh,” the people of Tarker Mills breathed as one.

“Girl, preach it,” Gary muttered through a mouthful of cornmeal.

“Pretty Gary,” Tiggy said, running a hand over Gary’s mane. “My face feel funny.” He laughed loudly and I couldn’t help but chuckle. I reached down and picked up the fork, scooping up more corn
something
and taking a huge bite. I was feeling a lot better about being here. I didn’t know what I was so worried about. I gave Ryan what I hoped was a saucy wink and he grinned at me, bright and beautiful, and I opened my mouth to tell him as much when—

“A dragon, you say?” Eloise asked. “That sounds frightening. Are you frightened, Sam?”

“No,” I said immediately. “Not about that.”

“Oh. What frightens you, then?”

I opened my mouth to tell her that I didn’t think this was the right time to discuss my fears (especially surrounded by strangers), but instead, I said, “Snakes. Failure. Not being able to live up to my potential. Letting my parents down. Letting Morgan down. Not being able to find Gary’s horn. Not rescuing the Prince in time and having to face the King. Randall telling me that there’s nothing he can do to help me. The extent of my magic. Ryan figuring out that he’s my—
holy god
,
why am I still talking
?”

“Because we’re all friends here,” Eloise said. “Don’t you want to be our friend?”

“No. Because I think you and this town are creepy as fuck and I’m highly suspicious of you because I think you’re hiding something.” I frowned. “And I didn’t meant to say that out loud.”