Chapter Thirty-Three – The Doorway Kiss

  After dinner, Gray winced both from the cost of the dumplings and his cracked rib. Even with healing, it was going to take a while for the pain subside. Rynn said that was normal, though Gray was a little surprised. Then again, none of the magic really worked like he thought it should.

  Even with the pain, Gray couldn’t stop smiling.

  Rynn looked baffled. “You’re in pain, but you’re still smiling. I don’t understand why.”

  “Because I’m getting exactly what I want in life.” Gray took her hand. His ribs weren’t the only problem. His core also felt very weak and empty. Holding her hand, he felt better.

  “And what do you want in life, Mr. No?”

  “To master myself. To control my desires. I don’t want to face Pinch and her squad every day, but what I want doesn’t matter. I will always want to avoid pain and seek pleasure. That’s not mastering the self. Mastering the self is being equal in victory and defeat. We are at First Field to train, to grow stronger, to become better fighters. There is literally no better way than facing a stronger opponent, day after day. As long she doesn’t kill us, we’ll get stronger. And she can’t kill us or Cinders will kill her. I’m fairly certain she’s better at murder than healing.”

  Rynn sighed. “You’re right about that. We might want to Excellent Inventory Unlimited to see if Softy and the Widow Stone can help with the pain. Some healers believe that’s important. Others see it as unnecessary. You can be in pain as long as you don’t die.”

  That made him laugh. “That should be First Field’s motto. I never thought I’d be talking about magical healing, but then, I never thought I’d spend my morning fighting a heartless fairy girl.”

  “Fae girl, Mr. No. The fae hate to be called fairies.”

  As it turned out, Softie didn’t recommend a healer. He sold them a little box filled with ten needles. Inserting the needle would be painful, but it was filled with healing magic taken from someone who had an Ambition Instinct resonance, since the mana touched by kindness worked the best.

  Back in her workshop, the Widow Stone showed them how the healing needles worked. She inserted the needle into Gray’s arm, and he felt the magic enter his body. He winced at the ache in his core, like a bad stomach ache. For a second, they were all worried that he might not have a normal reaction since his core was so strange, and he didn’t have a resonance. Slowly, though, he felt the pain in his ribs lesson. It was still there, but it was now much better. It felt like a miracle.

  They said goodbye to the cousins, Flip, Flop, Flap and Earl, and were soon heading back toward Third Barracks to gather up Rynn’s things.

  On the way, Gray protested that she’d paid too much for the needles. She said it was just a part of her rent money. Staying at Ruin Manor was worth any price.

  They made it past the Fieldkeepers at the made gate only to find Pinch and her squad had dragged chairs from somewhere and were sitting by the side of the path, obviously there to collect their protection money. It was bold, and Gray couldn’t quite believe it. Master Kreef wouldn’t have tolerated such blatant extortion.

  First Field, though, was a different kind of place. All was the Testing and all was the Test.

  Rynn marched forward with Gray trailing.

  The elf girl walked up to Pinch. “We paid this morning.”

  Pinch nodded, eyes like a viper. “For right now, we are even. But tomorrow is another day. I’ll look forward to taking your money then.”

  “Only if you beat me,” Rynn said. “You didn’t answer Gray’s questions. Did you grow soaked in blood? I doubt it. Gray did. And I have my own stories. You really don’t know what I’m capable of. And you have no idea what Gray and I can do together. But you’ll learn. It will be a bloody lesson.”

  Pinch didn’t flinch. “Good. Those are the only lessons that matter. See you tomorrow, Elf.”

  “Yes, you will, Fae.” Rynn walked away.

  Gray stayed.

  Pinch, obviously amused, gave Gray a long look. “Do you have anything to say?”

  He only smiled. “She said it all. You can’t win Pinch. If we beat you, we don’t have to pay. If you beat us, we’ll come back and learn from it, over and over, because say what you will about us nullies, we can take a beating.”

  “You look better,” the fae said.

  “We found healing magic. But a simple word of warning. If murder is your end goal, you better kill both of us because what First Field does or doesn’t do in the end is meaningless. Because we won’t stop until we’ve chopped your entire crew into meat small enough for Gorgonzola’s grinder.”

  Pinch’s expression never changed. “Why the grinder?”

  “It’s the only way to make fae meatballs. Or a nice red meat gravy on the roundy noodles. I think I prefer the roundy noodles to the flatty ones.”

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  “Both are very delicious, but I prefer—”

  Gray moved on, leaving the fae in mid-sentence. He really didn’t care about her or her dark-eyed sullen squad.

  He soon caught up to Rynn, who laughed. “Fighting her certainly will be interesting. Did you see her eyes? She hates us.”

  “Not hate,” Gray said softly. “It’s something else. Why else would she be so chatty?”

  The walk to their first night together at Ruin Manor felt so special. Yellow, again, was wildly excited to see them. It was like they’d been gone a month.

  They’d come with a full basket of supplies as well as Rynn’s trunk. Everyone had seen them carrying it away. If living in Third Barracks was some kind of test, they failed it, and Gray didn’t care. They’d win when it mattered.

  And he felt like he’d already won. He was with Rynn, alone in an entire house, with the best dog ever.

  They made some tea, talked, but both were so tired. Rynn was soon yawning, so tired she could hardly keep her eyes open. He walked her to her room, where she stood in the doorway, giving him both a smile and yawn. “You were right. The night has cooled off so much. Thank you, Gray, for including me in your crimes.”

  “Of course you’d agree, Miss Yes. And it is my pleasure. Let’s sleep well, and then, tomorrow, let’s hit Pinch and her crew with everything we’ve got. I think after a while, she won’t want our money because she’ll be the one paying us.”

  “In blood!” Rynn nodded. “We’ll make it too expensive to mess with us.”

  She wasn’t leaving, standing there in her doorway, and Gray didn’t want to leave either. He couldn’t offer her his bed, no, because he knew where that would lead. But would an eternal bond be that bad with this remarkable elf girl?

  He knew he wasn’t thinking clearly, and that it was only his lust. That he could take care of himself. He wondered if those with lust resonances ever needed to leave the house. Yes, they had this connection, but that could change. He wanted a bond with her and not her family, but he didn’t think he could have the one without the other. He was torn.

  And she was so pretty.

  They stood there, looking at each other, while Yellow sat, his eyes moving from Gray to Rynn and back. The dog seemed completely mystified by their presence.

  “I want to,” Rynn finally whispered. “You know. I really want to.”

  He didn’t need to ask what she was talking about. “I do too.”

  The elf girl winced, as if in pain. “But we shouldn’t.”

  “You look like you’re in pain. Should I get a needle?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Did the needle hurt? Maybe you shouldn’t tell me. I would imagine I’ll need one after our fight tomorrow morning.”

  “Yes, the needle hurt, but a little pain, over in a moment, is better than a month of my ribs hurting every time I laughed. And around you, Miss Yes, I laugh a lot.”

  She gave him a smile. “I do too. Can I…can I just kiss you? Just a kiss. And then I’ll go to bed, in my own room, in a house perched on the very edge of hell itself.”

  Then Gray had to roll his eyes. “We’re not on the very edge. We’re at least a few blocks away from the edge to hell itself. Together, we’re be safe. We have our swords.”

  “We have your mana,” Rynn corrected. “What of the kiss?”

  “I can’t say no.”

  The elf girl bit her lip. “But would you say no…If I want more.”

  “I would try,” he said.

  He went to take her into his arms, but she eased him back. “No, if you hold me too close, I don’t trust myself. Just the kiss. “

  He took her head, leaned down, and kissed her lips softly, sweetly. He lingered, but soon, she stepped away.

  She was breathing hard, and so was he.

  “Good night, Grayson Fade.”

  “Good night, Rynnanatha Sereph.”

  She closed the door. Gray stood in the hallway, unable to move.

  Yellow then surprised him by scratching on Rynn’s door.

  Gray grinned at the dog. “Oh, so, you like the pretty girl and not me? Well, I don’t blame you.” He knocked. “Miss Yes, would you mind a visitor? He’s handsome enough, but I have to warn you. He has a tail. He has promised me that he’d the perfect gentlemen.”

  “I get the dog! Yes, yes, yes! Send him in!”

  Gray crouched and petted the puppy’s head. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

  Opening the door, Yellow trotted inside. Gray closed it. Then we went through the house, to make sure the wards were set, and all was safe. A nice breeze blew through the house, given the fact that so many of the windows were broken and so much of it needed repairs.

  Gray finally went into his room, closing the door behind him. Getting in bed, he thought of the kiss, and then he thought of Rynn absorbing mana when she spoke with Cinders that morning, and then how she got more magic when she’d let Pinch know she wasn’t afraid of her.

  Then his thoughts returned to her body, her smile, her scent.

  How was he ever going to get to sleep?

  When she knocked, his heart leapt into his throat. She called him Mr. No, but he was pretty sure he wasn’t going to be able to say no to her.

  “Gray?”

  “Yes, Rynn.”

  “Can we sleep with our doors open? I feel so far away from you.”

  “Sure thing.”

  She opened the door, and he caught her face in the moonlight for an instance.

  She gave him a cheerful little wave and then went back to her room.

  Yes, having the door open was better. He wasn’t alone in the house, and he was glad. The house seemed happy as well, and Yellow, of course, couldn’t be more pleased.

  If all was right with the world, then why did he have the nightmare?

  He was back in the place of water and stars, standing on the rock near the shack, where there were the women laughing and talking. But then he noticed something in the water, something that glowed with that same yellow light he’d been seeing since he’d first awakened with a new heart and a new core.

  At first, the color was so beautiful, a green blue he’d never seen before, but then it started to change, turning from yellow to green to an aquamarine. Something about that greenish-blue water was so comfortable, warm and welcoming.

  Then he saw the cloud of red washing away the aquamarine light. In the bloody water, he saw the faces of the dead, filling the entire sea—all the Blood Races, elves, dragons, dwarves, beastkin, but also humans, and others. Demons with horns and fangs. Angels with hair like straw. If all the stars were souls, then all their bodies were in the water.

  Seeing the ocean filled with the dead woke him up. Sweating, he saw the light of a new day streaming through the window.

  He realized that Oma hadn’t spoken a single word to him.

  The dream was fitting. The day was going to be bloody, but Gray was choosing the blood.