Chapter 26

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

ORION

S keletons crawled from the sand, their bones as white as the grains.

By the stars!

They were the ancient dead fae from a time before sunbathers, markets, and the grandeur of Majestic City. They didn't look real, almost dreamlike, too pristine. But those pink lights in their eye sockets told me all I needed to know.

This was real.

This was Dawn.

The first wave rushed the gates, the second attacking the fae on the beach. Three came at me, jaws snapping as if they were speedies.

Crap.

I darted for a discarded parasol on the ground a few feet away, cursing myself again for dropping my axe.

"Get away from me!" I bellowed, smashing the first skeleton apart with a mighty swing.

Reflexes on fire, I jumped back from the lunge of the second skeleton. The third circled me, leaping at my back. I sidestepped, striking this third assbug in the face with the pointy end of the parasol. Its skull fell to the sand, bony hands in a flappy panic.

Take that!

The second one hissed, coming at me, clawing at the air frantically.

I managed to knock it down, smashing it to pieces.

Phew.

I seized the moment to catch my breath.

The woman who'd questioned me got wrestled to the ground by two skeletons. They bit into her, blood spraying their bones. Almost instantly, the bones collapsed, black goo pooling beneath their remains.

But that didn't change the fact that they'd torn through the poor woman's neck, severing the carotid artery.

I prayed to the stars someone on that beach could heal a fatal injury.

More long-dead crawled from the sand, a riot of screams and chaos overwhelmed my senses, taking me back to the first days of Dawn on Earth. My heart lurched, my ears ringing. Memories flooded me, terror tensing every muscle.

Oh, stars. Faery… Faery was falling.

A skeleton grabbed my arm, snapping me out of it. Before it could bite me, I whacked it with the parasol's handle, and made for the gates.

The majority of the skeletons swamped the gates, eighty percent of them trying to avoid the guards, clearly vying for the lever.

Clever. If Dawn couldn't take over the living fae because of our blood, then it would use the bones of the dead. It always had dominion over the dead anyway.

Using the dead to open the gates.

To let a horde in.

Pixie balls!

I stopped to shatter another attacker. The guards were doing well to keep the skeletons back, with more of them charging from the marketplace to join their comrades. This area of Faery was always teeming with guards considering the proximity of the royal family.

Should I try a different gate? Where was the closest one? There were four in London, this being the north gate in Finsbury Park. Would the Shepherd's Bush gate be closest? Certainly not the east gate in Plaistow, and I'd have to sail out to Bluebell Island in order use the south gate for Burgess Park. All of them were at least two hours away, the east gate more. Time I didn't have to spare. Using this gate put me closer north—the direction of Dunstable. All well and good, but I still had to get out of the city, find Miko, and?—

A skeleton managed to climb up the structure beside the lever, throwing itself on it.

Oh. Stars.

The bony abomination's bottom half fell apart, leaving only the top half to bear down on the lever. No problem. Its weight was more than enough to get the job done.

The silver gate slid open, bodies immediately crashing through the gap.

Zombies.

Too many zombies.

The fae screamed and fled for their lives, the horde trampling all over my realm's sense of security.

I dropped the parasol, succumbing to my fear. Cemented to the path, not knowing what to do, unable to pass the horde, to do anything but watch the nightmare unfold.

It's over. It's over. It's over.

Too late. Too much time passed. Dawn was too powerful, too clever.

Adrenaline took the wheel out of nowhere. I turned and ran for the nearest motorbike, pushing my body hard, refusing to give up.

As terrified as I might be, I wasn't going down without a fight.

I didn't cower in a corner anymore. No shame in that, but after being plunged into the fires of violence and survival for two years, I'd rather die knowing I went out trying to make things better.

At the abandoned bikes, I found one with the keys still in it. I'd never ridden a Faery motorbike before. They scared me. Too fast, too much of a responsibility. Now I couldn't wait to get on and gun the throttle.

I threw my leg over the bike, pressing my backside into the blue leather seat. Faery bikes were always blue, running on fuel called Faery Juice. Sourced from underground, similar to Earth's fossil fuels, yet much cleaner and turquoise.

The fuel gauge told me there was plenty of juice in the bike.

Okay, now to ride it.

Hmmm. My confidence wobbled. This seemed like a good idea ten seconds ago.

"My bike," a gruff voice said from behind me.

"I need it," I answered the shirtless muscly fae with sand in his dark hair, scratch marks across the light beige skin of his chest.

He went to punch me in the face. I ducked and slipped off the bike to stomp on his sandal-covered foot. The assbug hopped up and down comically, firing expletives at me.

The zombies were almost upon us.

"We don't have time for this," I said. "Can you help me get out of here? I need to?—"

He attacked me again, landing his fist on my left shoulder. Ouch! All those gold rings on his fingers added to the painful impact.

I staggered back, the sack slipping down my arm.

"Get the fuck away from me!" he bellowed, swinging a leg over his bike.

Crap.

He revved it, flipped me his middle finger, and tore off across the sand, smashing through skeletons.

What a pleasant gentleman.

There were no more keys in the remaining motorbikes, and I didn't know how to hotwire a vehicle.

Stars!

The horde mowed down fae after fae, dangerously close to me now. There was no way to bypass them, no gap to dart through. They just kept on coming, skeletons still crawling from the sand to join them.

What about our blood? Would it resist them? Would it?—

"Get on."

I spun in panic to face a fae woman. She straddled a bike, her cropped white hair stained by blood, her rich, dark brown skin glistening with sweat.

"Get on," she repeated.

"What—"

She started the engine. "I'll take you to Earth. I know what you're carrying."

Wow. "You do? How?"

She rolled her eyes. "Do you want to be eaten? Get on!"

Her irritation spurred me on to the back of the bike.

"Thank you," I breathed, wrapping my arms around her waist.

She grunted and accelerated, the speed making my stomach lurch. I wanted to close my eyes, but they wouldn't obey and stayed wide open as if held by cocktail sticks.

Zombies ripped people apart, their dying screams a familiar song. The pristine white sands of Crystal Beach were now tainted by blood and death.

There was a pause, zombies frozen by the fae blood triggering memories of the humans' past.

"Did you put the bins out?" I heard someone say.

"Can you call your dad?" said another.

Mama. Papa. They were in the line of fire now. No longer safe.

They couldn't die. I wouldn't let them. I really wanted to see them again, introduce them to Miko despite my mama's resistance to my sexuality. All she had to do was meet my mate and she would fall in love, understand me better, see that?—

Ugh. An issue for another day, for a future where we were both alive.

The zombies continued with their destruction, some of them screaming with the voice of Dawn as the fae blood fought back. They collapsed, vomiting the black goo of rejection. But it wasn't enough, the horde too vast and intense.

Fire broke out in the market, quickly spreading, a body in flames running down the sand. I wasn't sure if they were fae or undead-human, and it didn't matter.

I held down bubbling vomit, the stench of death and burning flesh overwhelming. This biker woman knew her stuff, weaving in and out of the horde, expertly dodging speedie charges and grabby hands. I held my breath, my heart pounding like a parade of drums.

"Hold on!" the woman cried, suddenly making a hard left turn to avoid a wall of zombies.

I held on for dear life, now closing my eyes. I endured the bumps and the sharp turns as if I was a cocktail shaker in the hands of a vigorous barman.

"Brace yourself!" the woman bellowed.

Maybe I should have kept my eyes closed because, well, I'm not one for thrill rides. I hate fairgrounds, theme parks, anything with roller coasters and spinning crap. Like Pleasure Realm on the far eastern side of the Blonde Coast, boasting the biggest loop-the-loop ever built.

No. Thank. You.

The biker fae took us to a panel of wood resting on a market stall at a sharp angle. She revved the throttle, picking up speed, the engine letting off a massive full-throated roar as we went up.

I held on for dear life as the bike soared over the remainder of the smoldering market, pink eyes locked onto us, fingers reaching for our flesh.

Everything slowed like a scene from an action movie. All I could do was watch and pray she stuck the landing. I mean, why wouldn't she? Look at her skill in getting us this far. Still, potent dread cast doubt on the proceedings.

She landed like a true biking wizard, speeding off toward the gates just up ahead.

"Wow…" I rasped.

Continuing with her expertise, she got through a gap in the horde, crossing the border into Finsbury Park and the cooler, autumnal temperatures of Earth.

Unfortunately, success was short lived. The gap quickly closed, zombies encircling us.

Oh no.

The bike skidded to a stop, spraying rainwater from the heavy downpour.

"What—"

The woman lifted her right hand before I finished my question, a blue leather strap on her wrist.

Affinity with water.

"Water, hear my call."

The water-watch sucked rain from the air, immediately transforming it into a massive ring of water around us. It thundered like waves, spinning like an aggressive mid-air moat.

Wow.

Cold air rushed my face, water spraying me, contributing to my currently soaked state. I didn't care. I loved this.

The first zombie to collide with the water barrier got its face shredded, liquid ripping through its skull. Within seconds, there was no head left. The man fell forward, his upper torso meeting the same fate.

Yuck.

"Don't worry," the woman said over her shoulder. "We can get out of here before my watch takes a break."

"Okay. Thanks."

Stars, I missed my wind-watch. Its yellow strap was still on my wrist seeing as only King Damien could remove it, but an encounter with some iron chains broke it.

Sigh.

Zombie after zombie threw themselves into the ring of water, shredding like pulled pork. I kept my eyes off the gore, focusing on the sparkly piercing on the back of my savior's neck.

"Tilda." She reached around to shake my hand.

I shook it. "Orion."

"Nice to meet you. I had a vision about you."

I swallowed heavy surprise. "Sorry?"

"A weird vision about syrup and zombies. Only, I came to realize it wasn't syrup but honey. The replicating honey." She pointed at the orbs still safely in the sack on my arm. "That stuff."

My protective instincts kicked in. I reached in my pocket for Wendy, fingertips brushing her tiny body vibrating with slow, sleeping breaths.

"Don't look so worried, Orion. Being water-affiliated gives me small psychic powers. They don't always make sense or amount to anything, but this time was different." She turned and started the bike again, speeding through the horde, obliterating the undead.

"By the stars…"

"I know. I know."

"What is it about watery creatures?"

"It's said the power comes from a lost underwater realm or city destroyed by some ignorant fuckers. Those who didn't like the idea of, well, creatures like me spying on the bigger picture. At least, that's what I've come to understand. The details are hazy, coming in the odd dream. No one really knows."

Something was in the water, for sure. And I wondered if that human who'd told Miko about the oracle had a splash of watery magic inside him. Because he had been magically touched, apparently.

Wow. This was more of the universe's string pulling to help our journey, and maybe even the stars themselves had a hand in this.

I sent my thanks, keeping myself from spinning into overthinking.

Stay grateful.

Stay strong.

Clearing the last of the horde, Tilda zipped across the muddy green space of Finsbury Park, the wheels practically gliding across it.

"Where are we going?" she asked. "Haven't see any details on that, I'm afraid."

Should I tell her?

The answer was a resounding yes.

"Dunstable. Bedfordshire."

"On it. Mind if I take you?"

"Not at all. Thanks so much."

She turned into a street, navigating the overturned vehicles and slowies without a care in the world.

"Happy to help. I saw the king in my head this morning. Fragments of a plan to move Faery or something. I don't know. But I kept on seeing you, a voice whispering the plight of the fae and the queen of the replicating bees. Blew my mind. Made me want to help. I couldn't believe it when I saw you in the flesh."

It was incredible how the threads of destiny intertwined. You think you're heading in one direction and then you discover a new, unexpected strand. The good kind.

"A lot to handle, right?" Tilda said, turning into a small side street.

"It's fine. I'm lucky to have met you."

"Sweet of you. Now, then. Let's get out of this city."

"Do you know the way?"

"I lived on Earth with my ex human girlfriend for ten years. Her family lived in Houghton Regis."

"Where's that?"

After a dicey maneuver to avoid a pack of speedies, my stomach somersaulting, she answered with, "A town neighboring Dunstable."

"Oh."

"You're in good hands, Orion."

"Thanks."

We reached the M25 motorway in no time, which only made me more tense than before. Vehicles choked the road, cracks everywhere, weeds sprouting from those gouges in the asphalt. Overgrown fields lined the motorway, bodies and bones littering the spaces between the vehicles, rainwater sluicing past them.

Stars, what a downpour. I shivered in the cold, grateful for Tilda's body heat. The ring of water still held strong, destroying any obstacles in our path.

I wondered how many other watery creatures and folk had seen me in my dreams. Miko didn't have a water affinity but saw me because we were destined to be mates. A tweaking of the rules, you could say.

Just like our new mental connection.

I reached for him, picturing his handsome face, recalling the touch of his callused hands, drifting into a dreamy state, remembering all the fabulous things about him.

"Miko?" I said, my voice echoey.

I felt his heartbeat, a surge of panic.

"Orion? Oh my God!" he boomed in my skull.

My heart hiccupped. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

The connection fizzled, whatever he'd said now lost.

"Miko?"

Thump, thump.

Thump, thump.

"Miko? Please answer me…"