Beautiful Darkness(101)

“That's right, Short Straw. We may not like each other, but we have common interests.” She turned toward Liv but spoke to me. “We love the same person, and she's in trouble. So I defected. Now let's get a move on before my uncle catches the three of you.”

Link stared at Ridley. “Man, I didn't see this comin’.”

“Don't make more of it than it is. I'll be back to my own bad self as soon as we get Lena to turn back.”

“You never know, Rid. Maybe the Wizard will give you a heart if we kill the Wicked Witch.”

Ridley turned away, digging the spikes of her sandals into the mud. “Like I'd want one.”





6.19





Consequences


We tried to keep up with Ridley, who was weaving in and out of the trees. Liv was behind her, consulting the map or her selenometer constantly. She didn't trust Ridley any more than the rest of us did.

There was something bothering me. A part of me believed her. Maybe she really cared about Lena. It was unlikely, but if there was a chance Ridley was telling the truth, I had to follow her. I owed Lena a debt I could never repay.

I didn't know if there was a future for us. If Lena would ever again be the girl I fell in love with. But it didn't matter.

The Arclight was heating up inside my pocket. I pulled it out, expecting to see a pool of iridescent color, but the surface was black. Now all I could see was my reflection. The Arclight seemed more than broken. It had become completely random.

Ridley's eyes widened when she saw it, and she stopped walking for the first time in a long while. “Where'd you get that, Short Straw?”

“Marian gave it to me.” I didn't want Ridley to know it had been my mother's, or who had given it to her.

“Well, that might even the odds a little. I don't think you can get my Uncle Hunting in there, but maybe one of the members of his pack.”

“I'm not exactly sure how to use it.” I almost didn't tell her, but it was true.

Ridley lifted an eyebrow. “Little Miss Know-It-All couldn't tell you?” Liv's cheeks flushed. Ridley took her time unwrapping a stick of pink gum and folded it into her mouth. “You have to touch him with it.” She stepped closer to me. “Which means you have to get close.”

“Whatever.” Link pushed past her. “There are two of us. We can swing it.”

Liv tucked her pencil behind her ear. She had been taking notes. “Link might be right. I wouldn't want to get near any of them. But if we had no choice, it would be worth a try.”

“Then you have to lay the Cast. You know, speak the incantation and all.” Ridley was leaning against a tree, smirking. She knew we didn't know the Cast. Lucille was sitting at Ridley's feet, studying her.

“I'm guessing you aren't going to tell us what it is.”

“How should I know? It's not like there are a lot of those things around.”

Liv spread the map out in her lap, carefully smoothing it. “We're going the right way. If we keep going east, this path should eventually lead to the shore.” She pointed to a dense cluster of trees.

“Where? That forest?” Link looked dubious.

“Don't be scared, Hot Rod. I'll take Hansel, you take Gretel.” Ridley winked at Link, like she still had power over him. Which she did, but it had nothing to do with her gifts as a Siren.

“I'll be all right on my own. Why don't you have another piece a gum?” Link pushed past her.

Maybe Ridley was like chicken pox; you could only catch it once.





“How long can it take to pee?” Ridley threw a rock in the direction of a clump of bushes, anxious to get going again.

“I can hear you.” Link's voice came from the bushes.

“Good to know at least some of your bodily functions are working.”

Liv looked at me and rolled her eyes. The longer we walked, the more Link and Ridley went at it.

“You're not makin’ it any easier.”

“You need me to come back there and help you?”

“You're all talk, Rid,” Link called from behind the bushes. She started to get up, and Liv looked shocked. Ridley smiled and sat down again, satisfied.

I studied the sphere in my hands as the color changed from black to an iridescent green. Nothing useful, just colors that seemed on perpetual overload. Maybe Link was right. Maybe I had broken it.

Ridley looked confused, or interested. It was hard to tell. “What's with the light?”

“It's like a compass. It lights up if we're going the right way.” At least, it used to.

“Hmm. I didn't know they did that.” She was bored again.

“I'm sure there are a lot of things you don't know.” Liv smiled innocently.

“Careful, or I might convince you to take a swim in the river.”

I watched the Arclight. There was something different about it. The light began to pulse with a brightness and speed I hadn't seen since we left Bonaventure Cemetery. I turned to show Liv. “L, look at this.”

Ridley's head whipped toward me, and I froze.

I had called Liv “L.”

There was only one L in my life. Even though Liv didn't notice, Ridley did. Her eyes were wild as she sucked on her lollipop. She was staring right at me, and I could feel my will slipping away. I dropped the Arclight, and it rolled across the mossy forest floor.