Rest In Pieces

24

James

Travelling north also meant travelling up. They slept at angles, tents leaned against trees to prevent them tumbling down the hill. James stayed next to Xadya. If he truly was the answer, if his path was to save her from herself, that is what he would do.

She wouldn't hurt anyone else, not on his watch.

But he couldn't always watch her, could he? No. Not when she was with Malakhai, not when he was with Airo, and certainly not in the middle of the night when all he could hear was screaming.

He shot up, shaking Airo awake and forcing the coverlets off. Cold washed over them instantly, a rush of frostbitten air as he unzipped the tent.

Finley and Malakhai had done the same. Where was Xadya?

Malakhai held a finger to his lips. His eyes flooded, and he bolted into the night and toward that awful, awful sound.

Was it human? James didn't know.

He never should have left her side.

"What do we do?" Finley whispered. James shook his head absently.

"Okay," he said after a moment. "Stay here."

"Excuse me?" Airo demanded, yanking James back into the tent.

"I can stop her, Airo," James hissed. "Let me go."

"Gods, no."

James wrenched his hand from Airo's grip and kissed him hard, taking the other boy by surprise. And while his King was still bewildered, still feeling the effects of James' lips on his, James booked it out of their tent and followed the sounds of horror deeper into the forest.

Malakhai had gotten to her first. He was... helping.

Airo had been right. A combination of Venturan and Laszicslavi runaways had taken up residence in the magical forest and Xadya was tearing them apart one by one.

Was this the first time?

He couldn't fight off two Arcane. Well, one Arcane and one entropy. Not by himself. Airo and Finley barrelled toward him, though he had wished they would stay behind.

The three stood at the tree line together, watching.

Xadya's power rippled through her, through the snow, the atmosphere. James watched in horror as she put her corrupted hand to use and tore out the hearts of the villagers and ate and ate and ate, one by one she consumed them all, and when she got tired Malakhai began to feed them to her.

"I have to stop this," James muttered.

Airo caught his arm. "You're not going anywhere."

James' eyes flashed. Airo was not his keeper. Power dynamics meant nothing in these woods, away from home, away from everything they knew. James had to save Xadya.

No.

James had to stop Xadya.

The two held each other's gaze, and after an increasingly long moment, Airo let him go.

"Xadezhda!" James bellowed, sauntering down the hill toward her. She lifted her head, staring at him through black, soulless eyes. James stepped over bodies, tried not to gag at the smell, and he went to her.

Tauntingly, she lifted a bloody heart toward her lips and waited to make sure he was watching while she bit down.

"You don't scare me, little terror," he seethed, and she began to run. Chaos followed, blurring the edges of her movements, making her nearly impossible to track. It didn't matter. James squared his shoulders and awaited the collision.

The Arcane immobilized him in one swift motion, but the magic didn't stop. Malakhai gripped him tightly, pressing his throat in, fingers tapping over his chest.

"We have to stop her," James pleaded. Malakhai wrenched his head back, slammed a taloned finger into the antler hole in his shoulder.

It was impossible to speak.

Xadya looked curiously into his face, eyes an abyss. James looked back, silently begging her to stop. Her smile did not quite reach her eyes. She was taunting him. He had failed.

Malakhai forced him to watch as Xadya brutally slaughtered the rest of the villagers. He pained at the sight of her covered in blood, and wished for nothing other than to help her.

The gods wouldn't, though. And if they wouldn't, nothing would.

Xadya held the very last heart in her hands, returning to stand in front of James. She must have consumed hundreds already. How was she still hungry?

In a window of weakness, James caught her wrist. She faltered, only for a moment.

"Drop it," he commanded, forcing a stutter down. His arm throbbed.

Xadya's eyes began to clear. James wondered if the simple touch was enough.

"There was a monster, at first." Malakhai had let go. When James looked in his direction, the other Arcane was back to his anxious self, colourless eyes and fingernails picked too short. "She was saving them. But then it was too late."

Xadya looked stuck, between her human self and the terror James had witnessed in action. He breathed a sigh and folded her up in his arms and stroked her blood-soaked hair.

She began to sob.

"I'm s—sorry, Jamie."

He held her shaking body tighter, glaring at Malakhai. "Drop the heart, Xadezhda." His voice was soft. She opened her hand and let it fall.

James held her hand and took her back to their camp. Finley and Airo stared in horror but James tightened his jaw and carried on. He kept Xadya away from the others, from Malakhai. If James truly was Xadya's salvation, perhaps they should have come alone.