Lapidary

Devton walked me home, and on the way, we passed many merfolk. Some of them still wore shells for clothes, revealing a lot of skin. The bright seaweed hair of some stood out. They all looked miserable and stared at the ocean with longing. For once, I was too caught up with Devton to think about others. I was too busy focusing on his knife-sharp jaw to ask what Rhinsel was going to do about the serpent. I saw my reflection in Devton’s eyes and knew I looked nothing like the girl who had challenged him a few weeks ago.

We reached my cottage, and I expected Devton to come inside and rip my clothes off like an animal. But, instead, he gave me a kiss and left me, like a gentleman. I thought about his tattoo.

I am what I am.

He had accepted himself for what he was, but that didn’t mean others did. There would always be someone who judged him based on his daimonic nature. There would always be someone who thought him evil, just like he thought himself unlovable. Ridiculous! He was very easy to love.

At first, Dev had stayed by my side because he had wanted to use me to find the crystal. But I had turned out to be a dead end, yet he remained. Why?

There is a thin line between lust and love. That was what he had said. Yes, the lust between us was undeniable. But we both felt more. I could tell from the way his eyes lingered on me, the way he hugged me, so tightly, when he thought Volgrun might have hurt me. We cared deeply about each other. But was it love?

I went to bed alone that night, without any voices keeping me awake, or nightmares haunting me in my sleep. For the first time in a long while, I slept well, and I only woke because I was hungry. I took my time getting up and cooking breakfast before getting dressed and sticking the moon pearls into my pocket. I left the house and asked around for Neron, until someone pointed me to the north of Ocelos, close to Heaven’s Window. I found Neron there, talking to a group of mermaids. Once he saw me, he dismissed them, and they jumped into the water.

“Isn’t there a dangerous sea serpent on the loose?” I asked by way of greeting.

“It was seen swimming away – it must have gotten bored and moved on to better hunting grounds. This means it is safe for us to return home.”

“That’s good.” I stuck my hand into my pocket and pulled out the moon pearls. Neron’s eyes widened in amazement as I handed them to him.

“Thank you!”

“Consider it my way of saying thank you for stopping Artemis from ripping my head off,” I replied.

“How did you get them?” he asked.

I had told Devton about Ryker’s suicide, because we were friends, and I trusted him. I had told Ace, because he was Ryker’s best friend, and he deserved to know. Neron had told me that he and Ryker had been friends, and I believed him, so I told him the truth. “Bellevue gave me the pearls, and she told me that Ryker was high the night he jumped.”

Neron paled visibly and dropped his hand to his side. “What?”

My throat felt tight as I nodded. “They found Deluge in his system.”

Neron frowned. “It can’t be… He wouldn’t have… It can’t be…”

“It’s the only thing that makes sense,” I said.

“Ryker and I used to get high every now and then,” Neron admitted. “He never acted suicidal.”

I shrugged. “Drugs can turn even the most level-headed people into—”

“Morons,” Neron told me.

“Yeah,” I said, grateful that I hadn’t said the word. Saying it would have made me feel like I was somehow badmouthing and betraying Ryker. “Anyway, I thought you should know.”

“I appreciate you telling me,” Neron said.

I offered him a sad half-smile before I made to leave, but he stopped me.

“Natka, I know it’s none of my business, but could you possibly love Devton?”

I frowned.

“It’s just he is very fond of you – he talks to me about you more than he has ever talked about any woman. But Dev has…issues. He is convinced that no one would ever love him.”

“Because he is a daimon,” I realized.

Neron nodded.

I am what I am.

“What’s it to you?” I wondered.

“I’m just looking out for my friend,” Neron said.

I was sure I could love Devton, if I didn’t already, but everything was blurry. I still loved Ryker and hadn’t fully moved on or recovered. I opened my mouth to answer, but something in the sky caught my eye. “Is that a host of angels?”

Neron looked in the direction of Bareband. “Yes.”

A host of fifty or more angels flew toward The Boot, and something told me they brought trouble. Vesea belonged to the fae, and they had no right to just arrive, unless they had spoken to Rhinsel about it.

“What the fuck is going on?” I asked, but Neron couldn’t answer me.

I went to the nearest bridge, with Neron trailing me, and crossed Center Canal before I made my way past Reverie Stadium and stopped at the edge of Ocelos. I was on foot, which meant getting here took some time. The angels had landed, and smoke was rising into the air.

“Whatever it is, stay out of it,” Neron warned.

But the humans’ island was burning – the weak, fragile humans, who had been bullied and oppressed for many years. I couldn’t stay out of it.

I signaled a taxi and hopped on. “To Bareband,” I told the mermaid.

“I’m not allowed to take anyone there today – orders of Rhinsel Grosstreet,” she said.

I hopped off, signaled another taxi, but it was the same thing. I offered to pay her double for the ride, but she refused.

“I’ll take you there,” Neron said, “but just because I fear that if I don’t, you’ll try to swim there yourself and drown.”

Before I could reply, he jumped into the water and traded his legs for a tail. I didn’t see the change as it happened beneath the surface, but I glimpsed a slimy green tail when he swam upwards. I jumped in after him, and the water made me feel awake and ready. He slid a hand around my waist and began to swim toward Bareband. His tail propelled us with powerful strokes through the water, but I was slowing him down; we were taking as long as we did when we swam to Arameer.

My heart was racing the whole time, and I was kicking, but it did not increase our speed. I gripped Neron’s strong torso as if my life depended on it, and accidently swallowed a mouthful of saltwater. We reached the shallows of Bareband, and I could finally stand. I slowly waded until the water was lapping at my ankles. Neron stayed put.

The first person I saw was Rhinsel Grosstreet, standing close to the spot where the veil was thin, where the rift had opened. As always, he was dressed in fine clothes, and he was tapping his foot impatiently. He had known this would happen, and maybe he had even orchestrated it. I looked past him to the small houses that were being searched, some of them even being burnt. The humans were wailing as the angels mercilessly ransacked their houses and bodies. A shot was fired, and I pitied the fool who had tried to shoot an angel. My breath caught when I saw Ace exiting a house. His wings were tucked in tight, and he strode with purpose.

“Ace!” I cried. The color drained from his face, like the night when Ryker had died, as he turned to me. I stormed over to him. “What the fuck is happening?”

“We believe the humans have the White Crystal hidden somewhere, and we are searching for it,” he explained.

My stomach turned because I had kept him up to date with everything that had happened, and he, in return, must have told the other angels. I must remember that he would choose his own kind above all else. Now they had come to search for the White Crystal. I glanced at Rhinsel and realized he must have given them permission to search.

Barratiel was walking nearby and inspecting the destruction he had caused. He halted when he was next to Rhinsel and said something to him. I watched the humans cry and scream and hate the angels. Even if one human had the crystal, the rest were still innocent and didn’t deserve this.

“Don’t look so angry,” Ace said. “We need to find the crystal before another portal opens and people get hurt.”

“Don’t bullshit me,” I snapped. “You don’t care about people getting hurt; you only care about returning to Heaven.”

A brown-winged angel was dragging Robert Smith toward Barrattiel and Rhinsel. He was forced to his knees, and I turned away from Ace.

“Stay out of it!” Ace warned but I was already leaving his side.

As I approached Rhinsel, Barattiel, and Robert, I could hear what they were saying.

“Where the fuck is the White Crystal?” Barratiel asked.

“Fuck you,” Robert replied.

Barratiel lifted his hand, and Robert gagged. He gaped, but no sound came out, and he swayed on his knees. I only realized what was happening when water dripped from his mouth onto his chin. Barratiel had filled his lungs with holy water, drowning him. Like some powerful daimons had hell fire, powerful angels had holy water. Heavenly fire was something that has been lost since the archangel Hockmael died during The Shaking. This way of dying must be excruciating, and I couldn’t stand to watch.

“Please stop!” I cried, running closer. Rhinsel and Barratiel look at me, unable to hide the surprise on their faces. But Robert was still drowning. “You’re killing him!”

“Who are you?” Rhinsel must think I was crazy, or not human, to confront them like this.

“Natka Roqueze,” Barattiel said. “Former girlfriend of Ryker Featherswallow and possible holder of the White Crystal.”

I took a step backward as I realized that I was a suspect. Robert choked before collapsing into a heap. Dead.

“I don’t have it,” I blurted and then realized that was exactly what a guilty person would say.

“You were there each time a rift opened,” Barattiel said. Had he gained this information from Ace? “That can’t be a coincidence.”

Before I could reply, I could feel my lungs filling up with holy water, like a cup being filled with boiling water. I reached for my throat, but I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t speak. Barattiel was going to try to torture a confession out of me – but I had nothing to confess. I hoped that Ace would come to save me if – if he could. I didn’t want to die like this. I didn’t want to die at all.

“Let her go.” The voice didn’t belong to Ace.