“Jade didn’t kill her, a higher god did—” I start to say.
“Because she was his child, that is what Jade thought. But I promise you, my daughter is out there somewhere, and she is not dead,” Emerald says, and I want to say she is feckin’ mad. That this is all in her head, but she doesn’t look crazy. Not one little bit.
“So you think they took your child and left a dead child here covered in magic to look like yours?” Storm asks, his gaze fixed on Emerald.
“Yes,” she says, wiping tears away and standing up. “I know you don’t believe me. No one does, no one, but Ruby is my daughter, and I know in my soul she is alive out there. She will be nine years old tomorrow, and I can’t think straight without her here. I count every day we’ve been apart.” I get up off my seat as she bursts into tears, and before I know it, I’m hugging her tightly as she cries into my shoulder.
“I believe you,” I tell her because, for some reason I can’t explain, I actually do believe her.
“Really?” she asks, looking up at me as I pull back and lower my hands.
“Yes, the higher gods are evil, and it wouldn’t shock me. Who was her father?” I ask her, needing to know the answer.
“Neritous Cyncus. It was a one night stand, and when I found out I was pregnant, I did my best to keep Ruby hidden from him. I knew he would find out one day...” she explains to me. The weight of the news shakes me to my core.
Ruby is my sister…my half-sister, but that minor distinction doesn’t matter one bit. Now it’s more than personal. Now it’s family. I have to find her and get her back.
“She is my sister,” I whisper in surprise. Storm comes to my side as Emerald stares at me in shock, running her eyes over me.
“That’s why you look familiar. Y-you look like Ruby in some ways,” she says, lifting her hand and placing it on my face. “Please, please, help me find your sister. Please.” I cover her hand with mine and shakily nod.
“I will find her,” I tell her.
“And I will help. My name is Storm,” Storm says, holding his hand out for Emerald to shake as she cries, and there is actually a smile on her lips. She shakes Storm’s hand.
“Thank you, both of you,” she says and then eyes me. “Now where is Jade? How can you know her when she is in prison?”
“Jade died in my arms. I was her friend, but I couldn’t save her,” I tell Emerald, who starts to cry as she walks to the window. “I can tell you she fell in love with a man called Coxen, and she saved two people’s lives. She was a true friend, and I loved her. She was brilliant.”
“Thank you for telling me. I already missed her, and part of me already knew,” she tells us through sobs. “When you are that close to someone, you know when their soul has left the world.”
I pull my leather jacket off, hanging it on the side of the chair as I look around, wiping my face from the tears that have fallen. When I get my sister back, she won’t want to see her mum struggling. Emerald looks thin, and there is no way I’m leaving until I’ve made sure she has eaten and this place is sorted. “I’m going to help you clean up and make you dinner. Storm, would you go and get some food from the market for dinner?” Storm nods, walking past me and drifting his fingers across my waist as he goes.
“Y-you don’t have to do that,” Emerald protests.
“I know when someone is having a hard time, and my family taught me you don’t walk away from someone who needs a little tender loving care,” I say, and she smiles at me. A real smile. “Now where are the black bags?”
Chapter 46
“I’m never going to get used to that,” I groan, watching as the tornado disappears into the sky, leaving me a bit wobbly on my feet as the heavy dark clouds that signalled its arrival dissipate. I watch in wonder as the sky goes from black to grey to azure in the span of a few seconds, leaving the world eerily quiet with no evidence of its existence other than one very shaken-up Karma goddess. I think I prefer Killian’s portals… but I have to give Storm points for showmanship, at the very least.
We are standing back in the courtyard, and the early evening sun is beaming down on us as wind rustles the leaves on the trees. I force myself to remove my shaky hands from Storm’s top, which I have bunched between my fingers in a death grip during our transport back to the island. My stomach is still spinning, threatening to make me hurl up the lunch Storm made us earlier.
We were gone for a long time, but the castle seems quiet for the moment. I was a little worried that Xur would grow impatient and send someone to retrieve us, but no one did - I guess he must be banking on me coming back because my family is here. He has us on a leash, and he knows it as well as I do.
We spent several hours helping Emerald clean up her apartment, eventually losing track of time completely in our attempts to make her living situation a bit more comfortable. What felt like dozens of trash bags later, we managed to get it back into a livable state, after which Storm made lunch for the three of us. He even went as far as to pick up a bunch of ready-made meals and put them in the fridge, so that Emerald will be able to have a good dinner later. By the time it was all said and done, Emerald looked more than a little worn out - not surprising, considering what she’d had to relive in front of us - and she had gone off to bed to sleep after thanking us profusely for our help. I don’t think she was expecting us to be so invested in her wellbeing. After so many months of being alone, with every authority in the magical world laughing in her face, it must have felt more than a bit odd to have two complete strangers show up and believe her. I can’t even begin to imagine the pain of what she’s had to endure ever since her daughter vanished.
Either way, I resolved to help find Ruby, and I intend to. It goes beyond just familial obligation at this point: Neritous has left so much grief in his wake, it’s time for us to pick up the pieces and see that justice is done, no matter what. I know all too well what it’s like to have loved ones snatched away by his malevolence; I’m not going to let Ruby’s be just another body on the pile.
“I’m sorry,” Storm says, crossing his arms and raising his eyebrows, “I didn’t realise you could make portals. It’s my way for now, unless you have a better way of jumping us halfway across the planet.” There’s a smugness about the way he says it, along with a hint of pride, and I have no doubt he actually likes travelling that way - no matter how insane it is. Then again, if I had been stuck in a prison for four hundred years, I would probably feel like flying, too.
“For all you know, maybe I can make portals,” I fire back teasingly.
A thoughtful look crosses Storm’s face. “Now that you mention it…”
My eyes go wide. “You think I could make portals?” I ask wonderingly. It would be so cool if I could. The first thing I would do is portal over to New York to get some pizza with peanut butter on it. Seriously. I’ve heard they sell it there, and I want in.
Storm’s brow furrows, and he shrugs his broad shoulders. “I don’t see why not,” he says. “If I remember right, Neritous used to call lightning into an X shape whenever he wanted to travel. A portal would burn in the middle of it and take him wherever he wanted to go,” he explains to me. “They say teleportation magic runs in families - like the justice gods, for example.” His expression goes stony at the mention of the twins, but he does a good job of hiding it, continuing, “Considering he was your father, I wouldn’t be surprised if you could do it, too… although that’s a discussion for a later date, I think.”
“You’re probably-” I begin, but I’m cut off by a sharp pain in my ankle, letting out a screech at the feeling of teeth digging into my skin. I shake my leg frantically as I stoop down and pick up the snappy little shite called Kit. He’s looking awfully pleased with himself, a defiant gleam in his eyes as he stares up at me. I swear, sometimes I think he just does it for the attention.
I glare down at the little goblin. “Just because I’m happy you helped Storm and the justice twins come to me doesn’t mean I agreed to be your feckin’ chew toy,” I snap at Kit, picking him up by the torso and setting him down in the middle of my other hand. He doesn’t look one bit apologetic as he looks expectantly from me to Storm, patting his stomach. I roll my eyes. “A whole apartment full of food and you still need me to dig something up for you,” I mutter. “I’m starting to think you just like being difficult.” Kit doesn’t reply, meeting my eyes as if daring me to provoke him into biting again. I let out a long sigh, looking to Storm for backup.
The god looks amused as he watches the little goblin. “I have food at my apartment,” he says at last, offering me a hand to take. “Want to come back with me? Maybe something there will suit his fancy.” Kit vigorously nods at the prospect of more food, and I can’t help but feeling a bit curious, myself, too. I’ve never even seen Storm’s apartment since we arrived here - he’s always come to ours. He’s a private enough person that I haven’t felt right asking him, but if he’s offering…
“That sounds good to me,” I say, sliding my hand into Storm’s and placing Kit on my shoulder. He nestles in at the base of my neck, hiding behind my hair. I shoot the goblin a warning look. “Don’t you dare bite my hair,” I warn him, “or you will be hunting for food yourself, Kit. It’s the only thing I have left at this point, and I’m not in the market for a haircut right now.” Realising how ungrateful that must sound, I glance over at Storm. The comment hasn’t gone unnoticed, and I feel his grip tighten around my hand - although whether intentionally or not, I can’t say. “Almost the only thing I have left,” I amend softly, returning his squeeze, and his expression softens a little as he peers around me at the goblin.
“You know,” Storm says, “I’ve heard that biting is actually a sign of affection for goblins.”
“Oh, is it?” I ask, rolling my eyes. “How unfortunate.”
Storm laughs. “I’m serious. They say that it’s a way of marking you as their person. It’s a territorial thing,” he explains to me. “I would guess he expects you to say thank you for the honour.”
“Oh, please,” I retort. “He can shove that thank you up his arse, and he knows it. He’s just hangry.”
Storm frowns. “What is hangry?” he asks. I feel my heart melt a little at that; for all his centuries of power and wisdom, there’s a naivety about him as a result of his imprisonment that makes itself known in the oddest of ways. I have to remind himself that he isn’t well-versed in modern slang, and make a mental note to help him bring his cultural knowledge into the twenty-first century. We can start with vocab, and then move on to memes.
