The morning light was filtered through stormy clouds. Faith closed her eyes against it, even though she’d just opened them. The room hadn’t looked familiar. She forced herself to open her eyes again. This time the light wasn’t as bright, with more dark clouds moving across the sky. She was lying on her side on a bed, the window straight ahead.
A desk with one chair stood to the left of the window. Faith rolled onto her back and her neck stung. She recalled Altunei had broken the pendant. Faith looked at her shirt, but she didn’t see any sign of the blood that had been in the pendant. Had it gone into her? She knew it was likely. There was a short hall on the left of the room, likely leading to the door and bathroom. The room looked like a hotel room, with one bed and yellowed wallpaper.
Riley came out of the hall, maybe from the bathroom. The mark on his neck had spread. Now it looked like Hew’s. Riley pulled the chair out from the desk, turned it to face the bed, and sat. He didn’t say anything. Faith sat up slowly, feeling sore but otherwise fine.
“Where are we?” Faith asked.
“Holden,” Riley said. “The furthest hotel from the harbor.” He hesitated. “I don’t know what Altunei did to me. The mark from Ninivus spread.” He looked at Faith, worry in his eyes and dark circles under them. “He shattered the pendant. There wasn’t blood anywhere, other than from a few pieces of glass that were stuck in you.”
“Then the wyvern blood went into me,” Faith said.
“Probably.” Riley stared at the worn carpet for a moment. “We need to find Vallen.”
“Is there anything more we can do to stop Altunei?” Faith asked. “Can we put him back to sleep?”
“He’s strong.” Riley looked up from the carpet. “And he can leave the sea. I wasn’t expecting that.”
Ninivus hadn’t looked like he could leave the lake. Altunei wasn’t like Ninivus.
“Maybe Vallen is still at Sky and Sea,” Faith said.
Riley nodded. “Maybe. First, we need to go back to the house and get our clothes. We’ll stay here one more night, then leave for Eads in the morning. Sound good?”
“Sounds good,” Faith said. It was better than sitting there and waiting for Altunei to attack again, or the messengers.
“Can he wake the others?” Faith asked.
“He might be able to,” Riley said. “If anyone could, it would be him.” Again he hesitated. “I saw Suzie.”
“I saw her too, with Hew,” Faith said.
He stood. “We’ll get her back. And stop Altunei.”
He sounded like he was trying to convince himself as much as her. It was harder to hold on to that hope than before. Suzie hadn’t responded, had only followed Hew and Altunei. What had Quivis done to her? Faith and Riley left the hotel and got in his car. He drove through the maze of roads to the house. The door was closed but not locked. Riley opened the door. The two of them stood outside for a moment. There was no one there, at least not in the living room. The bedroom was empty too. Faith took the bag from the closet.
They got back in the car and went back to the hotel. It was raining, but not hard. What did the sea look like now that Altunei was awake and had left it? Was he still in Holden? She couldn’t see the sea from the window. It was hard to tell what time it was by looking outside, with all the dark clouds and rain. Faith glanced at the digital clock on the nightstand.
“We should eat,” Faith said.
It was still raining out. The two of them got back in the car but didn’t go to the usual cafe. They went to another sandwich place, not in sight of the harbor. They ate in the car. With Altunei awake, messengers could attack during the day. Back at the hotel, neither of them said anything. Riley stared out the window. Faith sat on the edge of the bed and did the same. There wasn’t much to see, just Holden and the sky.
It was still raining lightly. Faith thought she heard thunder in the distance. The sky was getting darker, and it wasn’t just the clouds. Night was coming. Faith tensed. Would messengers come? Altunei? Was Suzie still with Altunei? Riley turned away from the window and disappeared into the bathroom. Faith took her shoes off and moved further back on the bed. She might as well try to relax a little, especially if messengers were going to show up later.
She glanced at the nightstand and saw the knife sitting there, oddly reassuring. The sky got darker, and the rain came down harder, but the thunder and lightning had stopped. Faith closed the curtain. The one light on the nightstand didn’t seem like enough. She turned on the small lamp on the desk, then sat on the other side of the bed, closer to the knife. Riley still hadn’t come out of the bathroom.
Faith was starting to worry, but she didn’t want to bother him. Maybe his sandwich had been bad. Hers hadn’t been good, with limp lettuce and dry meat. Her stomach growled. She ignored it, watching all corners of the room. She couldn’t see into the hall, but if she sat at the desk, she wouldn’t see the corner behind her. Faith knew how paranoid that was, but at the moment it felt reasonable.
A muffled cry came from the bathroom. Faith stood quickly, grabbing the knife. The sound didn’t come again. She hesitated, but it could be a messenger. Faith looked around the corner of the hall to the door, the bathroom door on the left.
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“Riley? You alright?” Faith asked. She thought she heard hard breathing, but there was no answer. She knocked. “Riley?”
What if a messenger was in there, trying to drown him? A much louder cry cut the silence, from the other side of the door. Faith tried the knob, but the door was locked. A knock came from the front door. Faith didn’t move for a moment, not knowing what to do. Kick down the bathroom door? The knock on the front door came again. Whoever was out there would hear if she kicked down the door, but there might not be long if a messenger was trying to drown Riley. The knock came yet again.
Faith opened the front door. “What?” She said it rougher than she’d meant to.
“Nice way to answer the door.” Vallen’s voice was muffled by the black scarf covering his face, but she recognized his voice. His long tan coat was zipped as high as it could be, with the hood up. He also wore sunglasses and gloves.
“Riley’s in trouble,” Faith said.
Faith let Vallen in, then closed and locked the door. A quiet moan came from the bathroom. If he could make that sound, a messenger wasn’t drowning him.
“I thought it might be a messenger,” Faith said.
“The messengers won’t be coming for him tonight,” Vallen said. He went over to the desk and took off his scarf, sunglasses, and gloves. Then his coat.
Faith hesitated, then moved away from the bathroom door and set the knife back on the nightstand. “He didn’t answer when I asked if he was alright.”
“I’m sure what’s happening is quite painful,” Vallen said. He turned away from the desk. “Don’t worry, it should finish before long, then he’ll be fine.”
Vallen looked just how he had when she’d last seen him. Short black hair, dark eyes. Ragged pants and no shirt. There were dark red scales on his chest, hands, arms, and some of his neck and face. They weren’t small like Hew’s. The rest of him, as well as around his eyes, was covered in red feathers. Huge red feathered wings were pulled close behind him. He was wearing boots. That was new.
“What’s happening to him?” Faith asked.
“Altunei woke the mark,” Vallen said. “He claimed Riley as his, in the way Hew is his. I know this because I came across Altunei on the way here.”
“Then he is in Holden,” Faith said.
Vallen nodded. “I’d heard about the disturbances in Holden and knew he’d be awake soon. There are things you and Riley need to know. We’ll wait until Riley’s ready.”
Faith hesitated. “Before, you wanted us to give up.”
Vallen sighed. “I did. I know you won’t give up, and you and Riley may be the only ones who can stop Quivis from waking up, with my help.”
“Then we’ll have your help?” Faith asked.
“You will.” He frowned. “Where’s the pendant?”
“Altunei destroyed it last night,” Faith said.
Vallen looked away. “And the blood went into you?”
Faith hesitated. “Probably. I’m not sure.”
Vallen sat in the chair at the desk. “I suppose we’ll know soon if it did.”
Faith sat on the end of the bed. “What will happen?”
“I think you know,” he said.
She did, but not what that would mean.
“For now, you’ll still be able to put Altunei and the others to sleep, if you can get close enough to them,” Vallen said. “It will be harder without the pendant, but still possible.”
The bathroom door opened and Riley came into the room. He looked more exhausted than Faith had ever seen him. His hair was white, and he had the same blue scales as Hew. His eyes were bright blue, like Altunei’s. Riley sat at the end of the bed, sitting as far from Faith as he could. He frowned when he looked at Vallen, as though he’d just noticed him.
“It will pass,” Vallen said. “In the morning you’ll be how you were, on the outside.”
“What do you mean on the outside?” Riley asked.
“It means you will still be what you are now,” Vallen said. “When night comes, you will return to how you are. Fortunately for you, it also means it won’t hurt the next time.”
“And if Altunei is put to sleep?” Riley asked.
“Then the mark will go to sleep with him,” Vallen said.
“Is it possible to kill the beings? Not just put them to sleep?” Riley asked.
Vallen nodded slowly, as though deep in thought. He glanced at Faith. “I would need another like me to truly end the beings. If we ended them, the mark would be gone, along with Hew’s.” He frowned. “A more permanent end to Quivis would be best, but unlikely. And I’m hoping I can find a way to stop Faith from becoming like me. That is her best chance of undoing what the wyvern blood will do to her.”
Faith thought about this. “There might not be a way.”
“If there is, I will find it,” Vallen said.
“And ending Quivis?” Faith asked.
“Is it possible to do both?” Riley asked.
Vallen frowned. “I don’t know. Right now I don’t know how to undo this, only that for now she can put the beings to sleep. When she no longer can, then we might be able to fight them, but it could also mean it will be too late to bring her back. I don’t know.”
“Then for now we should do what we can to stop the beings,” Faith said.
Vallen looked worried. “Yes, and for now we can only put them to sleep.” He seemed to prepare himself. “There are things you should know, about Altunei.”