A Ruin of Roses (Deliciously Dark Fairytales – B&tB Book 1)
A Ruin of Roses: Chapter 14

I was readying myself to strike again when something yanked on my middle, like someone plucking a bowstring. Power thrummed through me, caught and held by my animal.

Stay alive, she said. The alpha is coming.

Excitement and relief and hope boiled within me. I sucked in air and steadied myself. The pulse of fresh power blocked out some of my pain, so I transferred my knife to my stronger right hand. The balmy smell of pine and lilac with a hint of honeysuckle reached me, Nyfain treading silently closer. Aiming to surprise my attackers.

The creature on my right moved forward slowly, warily. I stood my ground. If I went to it, the one on the opposite side would close in. The other way, and the rest would tighten up.

Its progress slowed. Then slowed further. I sensed fast movement from behind and rushed forward to stab the one directly in front of me. I turned as the one on the right moved in. Its blackened fingertips elongated into claws at the last second, heading for my arm.

Nyfain’s massive beast exploded through the trees. He reduced down into a man while on the run, reaching me right as the fingers finished their swipe through the air. He grabbed me in his strong arms and turned, showing the creature his back. I heard his intake of breath, felt him tense, as the blow landed.

“No, Nyfain—!”

He bodily tossed me, throwing me up and over the tightening circle of creatures. I fell on my side and rolled, my wounds crying out and new bruises springing up all over my body. The creatures rushed in as he increased in size back to his beast. Another swipe scraped harmlessly across the scales of his mighty foot. He stomped on one, flattening it. Then another, all the creatures conveniently close together and easy for him to take out. They quickly figured that out, though, and increased their circumference.

He turned and knocked one with his tail. That creature slammed against a tree trunk and slid to the ground. He turned again and got two more before kicking out with his hind foot and raking his claws up the face of the last.

It was over in moments, all the creatures smooshed, knocked against trees, or missing faces and half their chests.

He reduced down and ran at me, falling to his knees at my side.

“Finley, are you okay? Oh goddess, Finley.” It sounded like he was begging.

He laid me out flat and ran his hands across my chest, looking for the source of the most blood.

“No, it’s fine.” I waved my good arm at him. “Just some scratches and bites. It’s fine. Hannon will patch me right up—”

“Their bite is poisonous. We have to get you—”

I flinched as he handled my arm. “It wasn’t from them. It was from some hellhound thing with a fin. But one of them scratched you. How poisonous?”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about me.” He ripped into my pants so he could see the scratches on my legs.

“How poisonous?” I demanded, pushing through the pain to sit up.

He glanced at me and then did a double take. His look conveyed all I needed to know.

“Hurry,” I said, shoving him away and struggling to stand.

He threaded one arm under my legs and another around my back then stood and cradled me against his chest. “I’ll walk you there as far as I can. When the poison takes hold, you’ll have to make it the rest of the way on your own. There is everlass and bandages—”

I yanked up my animal and owned the power she’d taken from Nyfain’s dragon. With every ounce of fear and urgency I possessed, all of my will, I said, “Take me to my village, now!”

His animal roared to the surface. Power rode his response, pushing back on someone telling him what to do. My animal was there to meet him, iron and fire and salt and stubbornness.

“Do it,” we said. “Now!”

His muscles popped as he fought it, and then he turned. I didn’t know who was in control, my animal or me, and I didn’t much care. I just needed him to get to safety.

“Let me walk. You don’t need to carry me,” I told him, tapping his shoulder.

“Don’t push it,” he growled.

Right. Pick my battles.

“Are there any more creatures to worry about?” I asked as he started to jog.

“No. The wood is mostly clear. I would’ve reached you sooner, but creatures kept crossing my path, as though they were purposely preventing me from getting to you.”

“Are there always this many?”

“There is a portal from the demon kingdom to ours, powered by the curse’s magic. On the first day after a full moon, when my power dips, they let in more creatures than normal. He is trying to kill me, of course. The consolation prize is my disfigurement. I collect scars as children collect stones. But finally…he might have managed it.”

“He didn’t manage anything. I can fix you. Did you know that in many kingdoms, children collect shells because they aren’t landlocked by wood like we are? Wouldn’t that be nice?”

“Instead of collecting nature’s bounty, they collect the houses of dead sea creatures?”

I blinked a few times. “Those houses are really pretty, though. And the sea creatures aren’t using them anymore, so…”

“Your distraction techniques need work.”

“So, if you’re not distracted, I might as well ask…how badly does it hurt?”

“Like a motherfucker, actually. But not as badly as it would hurt if it had been you.”

I was suddenly choked up, not knowing what to say. Not knowing why he would say that. Not knowing if it was true.

He stalled by the edge of the wood. “I need some power.”

“Sure, yeah, let me just…ask Saltier Finley…”

Need more power.

So it wasn’t technically a question.

“Do you still suppress her?” he asked as a wave of power washed through me and into him, carrying a bit of me and my animal with it. I sighed at the sensation of the stronger connection between us. A dangerous feeling to enjoy. Did I never learn my lesson?

“No, but…she handles the power supply because she seems to understand the mechanics of it, and I do not.”

He stepped through the barrier, and I felt him tense again. “It’s easier to cross with you.”

He continued at a quick pace, walking between the wood and the houses backing up to it. I noticed he took a roundabout path, clearly being careful not to pass the area where demons habitually strolled or lounged or got/gave blowjobs. The houses we passed belonged to humans who didn’t mess with demons on the regular, and most had dark windows. This path spoke of familiarity and practice.

“You were lying again,” I said as he wound closer, “about coming to check on me instead of waiting for me to go into the wood.”

“Omitting more than lying, but yes. Since you turned eighteen, I have visited from time to time, more often in the last few years.”

“How could I not know? How come I’ve never heard about a strange man stalking this village?”

“Because it was dark, and demons come and go. What would they care about another face they don’t know? I was careful not to be seen, though.”

“Why did you come?”

“Curiosity. I wondered about the everlass and then the conundrum of your village’s declining death rate, but I wasn’t smart enough to make the connection. It seemed impossible that someone could devise an elixir to help. I wondered if maybe your numbers had dwindled to a red line.”

“But if you’ve been around, how come my animal just recently pushed forward?”

“Shifters hit their max power at twenty-five. You are…twenty-three, correct? You’re still building.”

“How old are you?”

He finally reached my lane, sticking to the shadows as he worked his way up. “Time froze for me at twenty-five. All experiences but voyeurism and nightly ground-bound battles stopped. I’ve had no experiences of note, nothing new to learn, and no new society to invigorate me or help me mature. I’m a budding shifter adult trapped like a fly in honey.”

Something stirred inside of me, and I said, “I feel old and young at the same time. My childhood turned quickly to panic, disease, and strife. Danger forced me to mature too quickly. I feel like I’ve lived two lifetimes in just sixteen years.”

“It’s strange, the way it happened. Time stopping in the castle while it marches on in the villages.”

He stopped at the door to my family home, setting me down gently. His balance tipped, and he stumbled into the doorframe. He braced his hand against the wood and straightened up.

“I don’t think you’ll see me again, Finley,” he said, his eyes taking in my face. “You’re an incredible woman. You have a bright future. This curse prepared you for a life of survival.” He paused, swallowed, and then added, “The demon king loves beauty. He collects it, like trophies. With people, he likes them to loiter around his court and carry golden trays of food and wine for his guests. Make a deal and get your family out of here. Just hide that fierce determination. Hide your power and ability to lead. Hide everything that makes you great. It’s within your power.”

“Stop talking crazy.” I rapped on the door before grabbing his big shoulder and turning him. He leaned his forearm against the frame this time, bowing.

“Normally I wouldn’t let you see my back,” he murmured, slurring a bit.

“How long do I have?” There wasn’t enough light for me to see the wound clearly.

“I honestly don’t know. I’ve never felt their poison. We have some antiserum, but it is decades old. I doubt it still works. There’s nothing to cure me, Finley. Just let me go. Please, just let me finally go.”

I rapped on the door again before spinning him around. I slapped him across the face. His eyes sparked fire. Good. Anger was good.

“I will fix this, do you hear me? Our library has a book on poisons. Well, it’s mostly about trees, but it also talks about a bunch of natural poisons. There is this—”

The door swung open, the light from inside making me squint. Hannon stood there with wide, disbelieving eyes.

I stepped forward and slapped him across the face, too. Just so he knew I wasn’t a ghost.

“This guy got hurt saving my life. I need to work on him, and then you need to work on me.”

Hannon yanked me forward into a tight hug, shaking.

“We don’t have time, Hannon,” I wheezed.

He pushed me away before quickly assessing my wounds. “How bad?”

“Me? Not terrible. I can wait.”

He nodded and looked behind me. His eyes widened, and I followed his gaze. I sucked in a startled breath at the sight of Nyfain’s back. The claw marks were pure black, the skin around them torn and puffy, and black lines streaked from the wound.

My gaze shot to another injury—rough scars ran down each side, starting at his shoulder blades and running down to the middle of his back. These injuries were old, the skin almost waxy and lighter than his tanned back. Sixteen years old, I’d bet. They looked like the kind of scars one might get after their wings were shorn. That was clearly why he didn’t want to show me his back. He was embarrassed about what the curse had done to his animal. To him.

My heart constricted. Tears washed over my eyes. I barely knew my animal, and I would hate for her to be hurt like that. It would be like someone cutting off both of my arms.

One thing at a time, though. I couldn’t heal that. I could heal what was happening to him from the poison.

Hopefully.

“Hurry,” Hannon said, pushing me out of the way and reaching for Nyfain. “It’s going to be fine. Take it easy now.”

“Put him in my bed,” I told Hannon as we labored Nyfain down the hall. His movements were sluggish, and his shoulders stooped. “I need to break into the library and try to figure out what kind of poison that is—”

“The poison of a Fah Rahlen,” Nyfain said as Dash and Sable ran out of their rooms with wide eyes.

“Finley!” they said at the same time, rushing forward to hug me and, in so doing, hug Nyfain.

“It’s a creature the demon king creates from the souls of the twisted, and a special blend of his magic,” he said. “The poison is not well known.”

“You didn’t think anyone knew how to work with everlass, either. And yet…” We struggled with him through the door as coughing sounded from Father’s bedroom. “One thing at a time,” I told myself, remembering to breathe. “Help one person at a time.”

“Poor Finley,” Nyfain said, slurring. “The world on your shoulders.”

“I need to break into the library,” I repeated to Hannon as we settled Nyfain on his stomach.

“Hmm, it smells like you,” Nyfain murmured. “I’d know that smell anywhere.”

“Who is this guy, Finley?” Sable asked.

“Long story—”

“You’re looking for that book on trees that you had before the beast—” Hannon’s words cut off in a rush of emotion. I met his eyes over Nyfain. He shrugged. “I heard you talking outside. I needed to make sure it was you before I opened the door. We’ve been worried the beast might come for us.”

“Yes, of course. And yes, that book.”

He shrugged again. “I didn’t have the heart to take it back. I was hoping you’d show up and do that for me.”

I put my hand on his shoulder. “Bless you, Hannon. Where is it?”

“Where you left it. On the table by the door.”

I’d clearly missed it, not that I’d been looking.

“Here!” Dash ran into the room holding three thick volumes, struggling under the weight. “Hannon, Sable, and I have been researching. The other ones won’t help you, but these might. They’re about the different kingdoms, and there is one about the demon kingdom. Hannon didn’t see any blood, and he saw tracks of the beast, so we thought that maybe he was taking you back to the demon king. We were going to save you.”

Hannon gave me a helpless look. “We couldn’t not try to help in some way.”

“True grit,” Nyfain mumbled into my pillow.

“Yes, of course.” I scowled at Hannon. “Give me that, Dash. Let me refresh my memory. It’s been a while since I read it. And here. I have some everlass leaves. Can you go set them out? I’ll need them.”

I pulled out all the leaves and grabbed the volume with information about the demon kingdom, huddling near the candle to read. It took me no time at all to replace the section on demonic creatures. I remembered being mildly interested in those a few years ago. As I suspected, though, the book didn’t mention this particular breed of nasty.

“The type of poison…” I flipped through the tree book, knowing that the information on poisons was interspersed with facts about trees. The idea was to give the illusion that it was an innocuous book. I’d actually checked it out to read up on the birch, but whatever.

Returning to Nyfain’s sickbed, I sat near his head. Hannon was working on cleaning his back, and the kids, Dash fresh in from outside, looked on.

“Tell me about the poison,” I said as I refamiliarized myself with the contents of the book. If only I’d chosen to leaf through this one the night I was taken, and actually stayed awake long enough to learn something, I would have had a head start. “Every detail you can remember. I already have the color.”

Nyfain gave me what he could, but it wasn’t much. As he listed what he knew, his words became more and more slurred.

Hannon reached over and peeled his lids open. “Eyes are clear, not bloodshot.” He put the back of his hand to Nyfain’s forehead. “High fever. Dash, go outside and get some cold water from the bucket. Sable, get some bandages.”

Dash ran down the hall, his feet light as a feather. That kid would make an excellent spy. Or thief.

“He can’t die,” I said as I hurried through the pages of the tree-slash-poison book, already knowing I wouldn’t replace any answers. “Hannon, he cannot die.”

“You like him, then? Where’d you meet him? Where have you been?”

He applied cream to the claw marks. Nyfain jerked, his eyes snapping open and replaceing me immediately. After a moment, they closed again.

“I don’t like him. Or at least…it’s complicated. Just… He cannot die. Our future depends on it.”

Hannon studied me for a moment before going back to it. Dash showed up with the bucket, and Sable sat at Nyfain’s head. She dipped the cloth in and delicately applied it to his forehead.

“Your family is extremely competent, princess,” Nyfain mumbled.

“Is he mocking you?” Sable took the cloth away, scowling.

“Sable, when you are with a patient, it is not for you to judge him,” Hannon said in a level voice. “Only the goddess may do that.”

“Go ahead and judge me, Sable,” Nyfain said. “Your sister does.”

I blocked them out, poring over the poisons. Nothing perfectly matched the characteristics of the Fah Rahlen poison, though that wasn’t much of a surprise. The book chronicled natural poisons.

“Those creatures were created,” I said softly. “Sable, let Dash do that. Come over here and get ready to write things down.”

“What do you have?” Hannon asked.

“Those creatures were created. They are a mix of…evil and garbage, I don’t know. Their poison doesn’t come from nature. It’s not one thing, it is a collection of multiple things, and therefore I need to mix up various components to get the right antidote.” I waved my hand at Hannon. “It makes sense, I promise. I just need to start working it out. It’s risky…but if I get it wrong, he was going to die anyway.”

“That’s the spirit,” Nyfain murmured, running his hands up to clutch the pillow.

A crooked grin worked up Sable’s face. “I like him, Finley,” she whispered.

“You’re the only one,” he said. “It’s not burning. It feels like it is digging down into my back. Like it is sizzling against my spine.”

I nodded and got to work.

Fifteen minutes later, and with a few more details about Nyfain’s incredible pain, I was outside with Sable. She held the paper, ready to read off the ingredients for my makeshift healing potion, but I didn’t need the list. I felt what was needed.

I found the crowded everlass exactly as I had left it. I’d never actually used it before. I stared at it for a moment.

“But Finley—”

“I know, Dash. I know. It’s just that…”

I couldn’t explain it. I couldn’t put to words the rightness of this feeling. It was crazy, this idea. Risky. But something about it felt right.

This plant could act as a poison because it was so potent. It attacked the body. But what if that only happened when it didn’t have a strong enough ailment to fight? What would it do if introduced to the system of someone who’d been dosed with a poison that ate through flesh and blood?

Everlass’s main goal was to heal. Sometimes it wasn’t enough, so someone had figured out a way to make it more potent. The unfortunate side effects of using too much crowded everlass, or not using it on a big enough job, was…death.

This was as big of a job as they came.

“Goddess help me.” I closed my eyes and brushed my hands over the plant. “I need help here. He’s one of your own. How much do I use?”

I ran my fingertips across its leaves. Then under, by the stem. A soft feeling drifted through me. Peaceful, almost.

I remembered the song that Nyfain had sung.

Without a moment to spare, I ran into the house and crouched by his head. He was shaking and covered with perspiration. Hannon looked grim. That was a very bad sign.

“Nyfain.” I rested my hand on his bare shoulder, covered in scars.

He jolted. “Finley,” he breathed.

“I need you to sing that song. The everlass song, remember? When we were harvesting? I need you to sing that song for me.”

His lips barely moved. His voice came out wobbly at first, but it grew stronger as it rose and fell in that beautiful symphony.

“How bad?” I asked Hannon. “How close to death?”

He shook his head slowly. Hannon didn’t quite know, but it was not looking good.

“How aggressive is that poison?” I asked.

“Incredibly,” Nyfain mumbled. “It was made to kill quickly and gruesomely.”

I bent over him, getting right in front of his face. “Do you know how much of a crowded everlass plant to use with a gruesome and aggressive poison? Did your mother ever mention it?”

His lips stretched into a sublime smile, so full and soft. I remembered the feel of them. The rush of his kiss.

His voice rumbled even though it wasn’t much more than a whisper. I could feel it in my chest, as though it were tethered there. “You just figured that out on your own, didn’t you?”

“I’m right, then.” I blew out a breath. Then pointed at Sable. “Go sing that song to the crowded everlass plant.”

“You are such a clever girl, Finley,” Nyfain went on, reaching out his hand. I took it—too warm to the touch. His fever was raging. “I half suspected all this time that someone had been feeding you our family secrets on the sly. Preposterous notion, but all the same…”

“He’s headed into delirium with the fever,” Hannon warned. “If you are going to do something, do it now.”

“But here I am, watching you figure out the cure to save me. I wasn’t going to tell you. Mostly because I don’t actually know the details, but also because my mother passed the secret down to me, and I swore only to tell my family line if they were dragons. Unbelievable. You’ll do things with everlass the faeries have only dreamed of.”

I shook his hand. “How many leaves?”

“For this, probably two. But start with one in case you have a very pissy plant.”

I squeezed his hand and returned it, belatedly realizing that he hadn’t opened his eyes once through our whole exchange.

Back outside, Sable was singing to the plant in pitch-perfect soprano. She was unconsciously playing with the leaves as she did so, and I couldn’t help a grin at the thought that she was doing something Nyfain’s mother once had. I wished I could’ve known his mother. Or her people.

I’d think about the absurdity of knowing a queen another time.

“Thanks.” I ducked down beside her and then paused. I hadn’t asked whether they should be dried first. Then again, I didn’t have time to dry them anyway.

I plucked one of the healthier ones because I knew the withering leaves were even more unpredictable. If I didn’t use enough, I could always add more. Too much, and I’d need to reach for a shovel.

“Here goes nothing,” I said, working the everlass like I might for any ailment, only now adding dashes of other herbs. I worked outside in the fresh air, keeping focus.

“He’s bad, Finley,” Dash said, at the back door. I hadn’t heard his approach. “Hannon says you have very little time.”

“Cuntcicles,” I muttered. I’d been working over an open flame. This was going to be hot. I grabbed a tea mug and scooped up the contents.

Back in my room, Nyfain was groaning with his hands splayed off the sides of the bed, the backs of his fingers resting against the floor. The black of the poison had crawled nearly across his back and was working on his shoulders. His head felt like a furnace.

“Slap on some bandages; he needs to turn over onto his back and sit up.” I put the antidote (hopefully) on the table and hurried over to help Hannon with the bandages. Once we had Nyfain’s wounds covered up, I moved his legs to the ground and then pulled on the strength of my animal to help Hannon gently lift him.

“Since when are you so strong?” Hannon asked.

“There’ve been a lot of developments. Now is not the time. Also, did you know that people in the castle put on animal costumes and— Never mind. Now is definitely not the time.”

My arm ached and my legs burned, but I ignored the pain. We got Nyfain on his back, but he wouldn’t wake to sit up. His eyes fluttered, and he moaned.

“Okay, it’s going to be fine. Here we go.” I sat him up and then swung my leg over the bed behind him. I leaned against the headboard and had a startled Hannon help lean him back against me. I held out my hand, and Sable gave me the mug.

“It’s still too hot,” I murmured, then took a second to blow on it.

Nyfain groaned, and his hand came up toward my arm holding the mug.

“No, no. Someone grab his arm!”

Hannon reached over and took it, holding it down. Nyfain’s other hand came up, searching. Just barely, I heard, “Finley.”

“Okay, it’s been enough time.” I leaned closer to his ear. “You have to drink this, Nyfain.” I infused the command with the strength of my animal, who was doing the mental equivalent of wringing her hands. “Drink this, Nyfain.”

“His eyes are fluttering,” Sable said, sitting on her bed and leaning over to look.

His head lifted just a little. Hannon bent to make sure he had both hands captured. I peered around Nyfain’s face to line up the cup and tilt just a little.

“Dribble,” Hannon said. “Sable, wipe it up quickly.”

“Keep this mixture far away from your mouths,” I said, the power of my animal still threading my voice. All my siblings froze. “Sorry. I’ll explain later. Come on, Nyfain, you need more.”

I fed him the elixir little by little, making sure he got most of it down. Then I waited for a moment.

“Most antidotes are a small amount of fluid,” I said, going over what I knew and what I’d just read. “A vial’s worth. But this cure isn’t concentrated. I also might not have used enough.”

“If it has any hope of working at all, it’s bound to do something,” Hannon said. “The everlass elixir you make only takes hours to work on Dad.”

“I know, I know.” I heaved a sigh and brushed Nyfain’s hair back from his face. “I guess now we wait and see what our lives will become.”