“I’m afraid that I can’t lend you any of my warriors, Caspian.” Hassha has brought me and Willow to her bungalow, where her girls are still sleeping. She talks in a hushed tone, seeing as their bedroom is just around the corner. “It was risk enough sending them to The Trench. I’m afraid I can’t go to Blackwater to help you either. If the commoners hear word that I’ve been around, it becomes a risk for Kessel. My duty is to protect my daughters and my tribe, no matter the circumstance.”
“Understood.” I rake my fingers through my hair and find that I’m still shaking. I don’t shake…not anymore. But he…he killed Della. She’s gone, and I couldn’t do a damn thing about it.
“Why would he kill Della?” Willow asks quietly, seated in a chair in the corner. She still can’t wrap her mind around it. I told her along the way, wanting what’d happened to be an awful nightmare, but I know it isn’t. He really killed her. That wasn’t a figment of my imagination. I feel that ache deep in my chest, knowing she’s gone.
Della was a good woman. She didn’t deserve what he did to her. It’s my fault she’s dead. I waited too long. I should’ve gone back to Blackwater as soon as I landed in Kessel.
“No, you shouldn’t have.” Willow rises from her chair, fixing her gaze on me.
“Get out of my head, Willow. Right now is not the time,” I mutter.
Hassha looks between us. “I can get you to Blackwater without a boat. It’ll require a lot of my energy, so we’ll have to do it in an open field.”
I cut my eyes at her. “Fine.”
It feels like an eternity for the weapons to be made. Hassha and Willow talk amongst themselves about that creature Decius sent, which I’ve come to learn is a Trenchmite. Hassha informs us that they’re creatures Decius creates from the bodies of wicked commoners who’ve died in The Trench. He brings them back to life and fills them with his dark energy, using them to venture to places that he can’t. According to Hassha, he’d sent several of them after her and Korah when Selah disappeared. Whatever that thing was, I hope to never see one again. Fortunately, she turned the one that attacked me to ash. She’s certain it snuck onto the boat on Decius’ orders and waited for its chance to find me.
“So, it was a zombie,” Willow says, brows dipped. “On Earth, they’re made-up things that rise from the dead and eat people’s flesh or brains.”
Hassha stares at Willow a moment. “Trenchmites do not feed on flesh or brains, but they can steal the life of someone good and use their body as their own.”
Willow shudders. “So what did Kessala mean?” she asks.
“It’s a Kessel warrior call,” Hassha explains. “Means to stand guard, prepare for an attack.”
“Oh.”
Finally, a knock sounds at the door, and Hassha opens it. Three women are on the other side with rattan baskets in hand. They enter the bungalow, dropping the baskets on the wooden table in the middle of the room.
In the baskets are weapons made from the wood of the Trench tree. After Hassha slices the center of her palm and drips blood into the basket, it emits a rapid blue light before going back to normal.
“Doused with Regal blood,” Hassha murmurs.
I draw out a knife and a sizable machete while Hassha turns for a shelf, taking down a white container. Lugging out my gun, she offers it to me, and I accept it immediately. Sure, they have their blessed weapons, but nothing beats a Blackwater gun. I’ve been trained most with guns. They’re a part of me and will be with me so long as I live and breathe.
Hassha faces one of the women standing next to the door, and the woman approaches, dropping something into her bloodied palm.
“I had wooden bullets made as well, compatible with your gun.” She takes my hand, and I open it so she can place twelve bloodstained bullets in my palm. “I want you to be aware that these weapons won’t kill him, but they will weaken him, especially if you aim for the heart. Once you have him down, you must keep a piece of the wood in his heart so he remains weak.”
“So he won’t die?”
“I’m afraid not.
I would prefer he’s dead,” I mumble.
“Yes, but without Selah, we simply will not be able to kill him. We can hurt him as much as we can, weaken him, take his energy, but he will still breathe. Selah is the only way and she…” Hassha’s words turn to a whisper. I know there isn’t more she’s telling me, but I don’t have time to wait around for an explanation. Take Decius down first, then figure out how to wake Selah up so she can kill him. That’s the goal and I have to be quick.
I accept the bullets and shove them into my pocket. I tuck the gun into my waistband, collect two daggers, then tell Hassha, “I’m ready to go.”
“I’m coming with you,” Willow says, snatching out her own dagger from the basket.
“No.” I leave the cabin before she can protest, following Hassha.
“I’m not staying here, Caz! I’m going!”
I shake my head, ignoring her. Hassha side-eyes me as she continues walking, pushing through a thicket that guides us to an open field. The grass is dark in the night, the blades swaying with the breeze.
“Caz!” Willow shouts when we stop.
I whirl around. “Willow! For once, would you please just listen to me?” I grip her by the shoulders, forcing her to look into my eyes. “I am not sending you into that fucking trap, okay? Your best bet is to stay here or go back to Earth! He can’t harm you in either of those places.”
Her eyes glisten, and her mouth turns downward. “And what happens when you walk into that trap and he kills you?” she demands. “You die, and I’ll be dead too. Or have you forgotten that?”
“Not if I stick to my bargain.”
“You and I both know it’s too late for that, Caz! He killed Della! He’ll kill everyone, just because he can!”
“Just stay here where it’s safe, Willow. I’ll try to tap in with you mentally when I’ve done what I need to do.”
Her head shakes defiantly. “No. I don’t care how you feel about it, I’m not letting you go into this fight alone, Caz. If you die, I die, remember? And if I’m going to die, I’d rather go out with you. Now shut up and get over it because I’m coming with you, and you can’t stop me.”
I snatch away from her, shifting my gaze to Hassha. “Is there any way you can keep her here?” I demand.
Hassha delivers a slow headshake. “I won’t deny her what she wants.”
I groan. “Love of fucking Vakeeli! You women and your stubbornness!”
Willow folds her arms, smirking. Hassha smiles at her and tosses a wink, as if proud.
“Fine,” I snap. “But if she dies, Hassha, her blood is on your hands.” I face Willow again. “If you go, you have to promise you’ll listen to me. Whatever I say, goes. Do you understand?”
Willow nods, a bit too eager for my liking, but I won’t win this fight, and I’m wasting time. If Hassha won’t stop her, how can I? She’s so much safer here. Why won’t she just stay?
“Hey.” Willow’s hand falls to my arm. “It’s you and me ’til the end, Caz. You won’t fight your battles alone. Not while I’m here.”
I hold her eyes, wanting to be angry and proud of her all at once. I think of the woman who landed in my forest not too long ago, how she’d have run the other way if faced with a situation like this, but now she’s willing to do the opposite. Now, she’s here, and I’m not normally one to thank the Regals like all the other crazed commoners, but I do. I thank them for giving me a mate and a partner riddled with compassion and determination. Someone who truly will go to the ends of the world for me, just as I would her.
I take Willow’s hand in mine, facing Hassha again.
“Very well. Send us to Blackwater.”
