Page 54 of Grave Decisions
Alder is over by the concrete countertop, mixin’ up a couple of potions, using flowers and plants that bloom over his ear. I watch, completely transfixed, as he plucks them right out and adds them to a mortar and pestle. Sometimes he blows on them, and they crumble to a fine dust to be added to one bottle or another.
“Tell me again what he said about you and Delta?” Flint asks as he pulls a long dagger-like piece of glass from my hip.
I look down to see my tank top and cute leather skirt in tatters, and I take a moment of silence to mourn their loss. I’ll miss you, outfit. You were good to me.
“He said that the Ophidian is gonna get me one way or another. That Morax’s plans won’t be messed up by me or my bloodline, and that Delta and I will never be safe. He said there is nowhere we could hide that he couldn’t get to us,” I tell them for the second time.
They’ve been quiet and contemplative while I explain what happened, but I can feel the fury rollin’ off of both of them in waves.
Plink.
More glass comes out of my thigh as Flint works his way down, pluckin’ pieces of window and table from my body as he goes. A steady stream of dark red flows down the drain of the massive shower I’m standin’ in. I keep waitin’ for the pain to hit, but luckily, I only feel a small ache pulsin’ through me. I have no doubt that ache is about to get a lot more intense, because the dark film that was over my eyes while I was dealin’ with Mickey in the dinin’ room is recedin’, and with that, I know comes the pain.
“So, the Ophidian and this Morax demon are one and the same, and for whatever reason, he has a bone to pick with you and Delta,” Alder summarizes as he lifts a bottle of whatever it is that he’s makin’ to his eye and shakes it as he stares at the liquid inside. “You think he could have something to do with the Vestibule battle?” he asks Flint.
“He could.”
“Maybe Delta’s and my presence put a kink in somethin’ he was doin’,” I guess, and Flint nods in agreement.
A soft knock raps at the door, and Alder turns and answers it in three strides. He gives the bottle that’s in his hand to the imp that’s on the other side of the door.
“Deliver this to Medley’s parents at the safe house. Have them each drink a glass, and watch over them. Tell them we’ll call when we can. The code word ispurple wings.”
The imp nods, takes the bottle, and turns to leave.
“What was that?” I ask.
“It will help them sleep and feel calm. We set up a code word ahead of time with them in case there was an emergency, so they’ll know they can trust the imps. I shifted them to the safe house as soon as it was clear Mickey was compromised, so they’re okay,” he tells me once more, settlin’ my nerves about their wellbein’. “We’ll make sure they’re safe until we can resolve this,” Alder tells me.
Warmth moves through my body at his words and at the lengths that he and Flint have gone to ensure that my mama and daddy are okay.
Emotion squeezes at my throat, and I feel a prickle of tears in my eyes. “Thank you,” I tell both of them. The words are simple and not nearly enough, but they’re all I have right now.
“Of course,” Alder answers simply, like there’s no question that my parents are just as important to him and Flint as they are to me.
Plink.
“So, what now?” I ask.
“As soon as we’re all cleaned up, we’ll be going to visit the other Guardians to demand some answers,” Alder tells me.
“No more waiting for them to pull their heads out. Enough is enough,” Flint agrees with a hard edge to his voice. “They need to tell us what they know, because we’re clearly in the fucking dark.”
Alder grabs a light green mixture from the counter and hands it to me. “Here, drink this.”
“What is it?” I ask, starin’ at the sea green color of the liquid. I like the color in general, but I have a feelin’ this is gonna taste like mold. If I’m gonna drink mold, then I want to know exactly why I’m torturin’ myself.
A small smile lifts the corners of Alder’s mouth, but his features look weary, and his eyes are still banked with a bright but simmering anger. “It will help with the pain and with healing.”
“Okay, I guess down the hatch it goes,” I announce, tryin’ for plucky but landin’ somewhere closer to whiny.
Alder chuckles quietly and just watches me expectantly.
Plink.
I try not to cringe as I bring the elixir to my lips and tilt it up. My mouth fills with the taste of coffee. My eyes widen in surprise, and I tilt my head back to happily drink the entire beaker down.
“Mmmm,” I moan in approval as I hand the now empty beaker back to Alder. “I thought that was gonna taste way worse,” I admit.
