The man stared at me for a moment, silence stretching between us. I couldn’t read his flat expression.
“Are you thinking of her?” I asked. “If you are, then she hasn’t come. She might be across the Line, in which case I’ll need a memento of hers to call her back.”
“You are either an incredibly good actress, or wholly unprepared for the magical world,” he said.
“I…” I furrowed my brow, feeling like I was missing something. “Be that as it may, ahm…” I brushed the hair out of my face. “I can call her if you have something of hers.”
“I do.” The man turned, but before he could reach the dark area in the mountain, a petite figure in a limp, pale purple dress glided toward me, her expression filled with sorrow.
“I think she’s here,” I said, watching her flit around the rocks and fall in at his side.
He stopped and turned, not looking around for her spirit, as many would have. He was looking for the truth or lie in my face.
“Spirits are able to change their appearance,” I cautioned him, watching her stare up at his face with longing. “They often choose younger, better versions of themselves.” I described her appearance, including the nail polish that perfectly matched the sundress, which seemed dissonant on this cold mountaintop.
“Try again,” he barked.
“Well…I can’t, because that’s what she’s wearing. Hey, lady there. Chad, do me a favor and get her attention, would ya?”
Chad moved from his rock and waved his hand in front of her face. She blinked a few times before she finally glanced around her, seeing everyone as though for the first time.
“She’s been across the Line,” I said, stepping forward again to see her better. “That’s the look of someone at rest.” I narrowed my eyes at the man. “Bria, have you ever heard of a regular person capable of pulling someone from across the Line?”
“Yes. It’s very rare, but if the connection is strong enough, usually intense love, it can be done, usually by accident.”
The man continued to stare at me, but I could see the question in his eyes.
“First we’ll make sure that is her, and then we’ll talk about the situation at hand, yes?” I waved at the woman, attracting her gaze to me. “I can see you.”
She looked back, as if convinced I had to be talking to someone else. John nodded and pointed my way. “She can see us.”
“You can see me?” she asked, taking a longing step toward me. I grimaced.
“What?” the man asked, clearly unable to help himself.
“Oh, nothing,” I answered. “Don’t watch my expressions. I have a lot of bad habits. Usually when spirits realize I can see them, they are all over me. Then I feel obligated to help, and it’s a whole big thing. Anyway, lady, do you know this man?”
“You can hear me?” she asked.
“Yes, I can hear you. Do you know this man?”
“Of course I know him. Jerry Twindlebaumb. We were set to be married when…” Her face screwed up into a look of rage.
“Jerry Twindlebaumb?” I asked incredulously. “What kind of a giant’s name is Jerry Twindlebaumb?”
Donovan elbowed me.
“Sorry,” I said at the man’s glower.
“Anyone could find out my name and what she was wearing when she died,” he growled. “You’re not even good at the ruse, and now you will see what it is like to fly.”
The rumble deep beneath my feet was terrifying. His mask of cold rage was infinitely worse.
“Wait. Wait, my knight.” The woman stepped in front of Jerry, her hand out. “We must not haste today, for we’ll have nothing to occupy us tomorrow.”
Thane ripped off his shirt, his body enlarging, his breathing speeding up, his muscles popping out like on some exaggerated bodybuilder.
“Go,” he said, stepping forward to shield me. “Run. Now! I’ll keep him busy.”
“You’ll never get off this mountain,” I yelled as the lower rocks rolled free from their shelves.
Donovan flung up his hands, lifting the rocks into the air and shoving them toward the giant.
“At least Jack will have a friend to talk to besides you,” Thane said.
The rocks stopped in midair, hovering just before the giant as Jerry and Donovan waged a silent battle.
Bria ducked around me, then Thane, and flung a knife. It dug into Jerry’s shoulder. He didn’t even take a step back. If he felt it, it didn’t show through his emotionless mask.
Above the increasing roar of the mountain, and the thick grunting of Thane, I could hear the woman’s voice. Begging. Pleading.
“She says that you are so infinitely powerful, Jerry. She called you my love. But she urges you to take some time for reflection. For cool tranquility.” I readied my magic to grab his soul but lost focus when Red yanked me back, trying to get me moving.
“If I don’t talk him around, we all die,” I yelled, punching her in the spirit box to make her let go. “His woman is trying to get through to him. Keep the faith!” Red released her hand. “Jerry, earlier she told you to wait,” I yelled, trying to be heard above the noise. “She called you her knight. She said that we shouldn’t haste today because we’ll have nothing to occupy us tomorrow. Please, give me a chance. Let me ask her something—”
The rumble under my feet quieted. Jerry could turn his magic on and off at the drop of a hat.
Thane couldn’t.
A growl sliced through my body. Little spiders of fear skittered across my skin. The Berserker was coming, and his sole purpose had always been to destroy everything in his path, friends be damned.
“I’ll give you a chance,” Jerry said, but I was backing away.
His height now double mine, his body as wide as Death Alley, his muscles so enormous they were grotesque, Thane finished transitioning into his other form.
“A little late, Jerry.” Bria said his name like an accusation. “Thane is about to rip through your whole world.” She darted behind me. Donovan backed up, knowing that Thane in close quarters was no match for even him.
The rocks sailed back toward their respective shelves, Jerry’s peace offering. If only it hadn’t come too late. Thane reached up and slapped one at Jerry, sending him hurtling backward. The rocks that hadn’t yet made it back to the shelves fell, knocking into the sloping walls and starting to roll.
“Get out, get out, get out,” Donovan shouted, stepping in front of me.
Thane grabbed a rock in an enormous hand, palming it like a basketball. He threw it at the mouth of Death Alley with such force that it slammed into the top of the tunnel and made a large crater. Cracks spiderwebbed out. The rock exploded on impact.
“Damn it, Thane, calm down. He wants to talk,” I yelled, grabbing Thane’s spirit box.
Rocks fell into the canal, as Donovan had called it, bouncing as they hit the ground. Some hit off the others, propelling them in Thane’s direction.
He roared, the sound pinging within Death Alley, growing as it did so. The might of it slammed into me, nearly buckling my knees in fear. He kicked a rock, sending it careening at Jerry. He kicked another, sending it sailing into the side of the mountain, absolutely no aim. Others hit him, doing no damage.