Branches of Life

Artemis

15 minutes earlier in the bathroom...

Maybe I should cut my hair. I shifted my elbow-length waves around, wondering if I needed a change of pace. Sighing, I instantly vetoed the idea. Now wasn't the time to give myself a bathroom haircut. Especially when I didn't have scissors on me. If I did, now that would be a different story. I could try my luck with the dagger strapped under my shirt...

The loud whoosh of the toilet flushing broke me out of my contemplations. And possibly saving me from having lopsided and uneven hair. Harmony exited the stall, joining me at the row of sinks. "Do you trust those two?" She kept her voice at a hushed whisper as she washed her hands.

I cocked my head to the side, listening to the sounds outside. Not that I cared if either of those two were listening. If I’d heard either of them outside the door, I would've added some more colorful words. "I trust them not to backstab us. I don't trust them when it comes to telling us everything." If we weren’t careful it could end up being just as dangerous as being betrayed. We'd see.

"I'm afraid this mission will get us—"She cut herself off with a sharp yawn, swaying slightly.

Weariness almost instantly descended upon me as a yawn built in my throat. One I swallowed down, while I fought the fog trying to sink its claws into me. My spirit animal let more energy flow from her to me in a steady stream, helping me fight the fog. A hauntingly beautiful lullaby flowed through the cracks of the door, flooding the bathroom. A tingling awareness took root at the back of my mind. Low thuds accompanied the lullaby outside the bathroom, as well as glass shattering. Lightness filled my head as I swayed on my feet. Harmony blindly reached out, bracing herself on the sink. Shit.

My movements were uncoordinated as I lunged forward, and barely caught her before she went limp. Standing on weak and shaky legs on my own would've been difficult enough, but adding in her deadweight, I was unable to stop my legs from giving out. I rolled my body, making sure I was the one that took the brunt of the fall.

"Damn, you're heavier than you look," I grunted to a passed-out Harmony, gently rolling her off me. With great effort, I finally got myself to my feet, only swaying a little. Progress.

What in the fresh fuck just happened?

Outside the bathroom, the crashing noises ceased, but so had the talking and laughter. The only noise was the soothing lullaby, raising my suspicions. The entire time we'd been here, none of these drunken assholes could even sing the correct words, much less sound halfway decent. Then out of nowhere, a woman with a voice like this started singing a lullaby of all songs and nearly everyone passed out. I didn't believe in coincidences, she did this.

I splashed cold water on my face, using the cold shock to help keep my thoughts clear. Out of nowhere, the melodic singing abruptly stopped, and the heavy weight of sleep immediately faded.

The realization that Ander and Jade were out there with the singer, washed over me in an icy awareness, making my heart rate pick up. After checking on Harmony, I rushed to the door and attempted to shove it open. Only for it to move maybe an inch, refusing to move any further. Summoning strength and energy I tried again, but had the same results. I tried shoulder-checking and kicking it open to no avail. The wooden door remained the same, somehow withstanding my attempts. "Motherfucker!"

I kicked the door again, but all I accomplished was an ache in my toes."Dammit!"

Worry for their safety gnawed at me, but until that damn door opened, there was nothing I could do for them. All I could do for now, was try and wake up Harm. I started simple and tried shaking her. Nope. Calling out her name, while shaking her harder. Nada. Finally deciding to go big, I picked Harmony up and stuck her head under the faucet, blasting her with cold water. It only took a couple of seconds for her to jolt awake.

She spluttered, yanking her head away from the water, and stumbled back into the wall. "What the hell was that for?"

"It was either this or slap you awake," I said, shutting off the water with a shrug.

"Slap me awake? When did I fall asleep? The last thing I remember..." She paused, a look of confusion crossing her face. "The last thing I remember is walking out of the stall." She frowned back at the stall as if it held the answers. "What happened?"

I hopped onto the sink. "Someone used a lullaby, to sing everyone to sleep."

"A lullaby? I'm assuming you don't mean the ones sung to babies." Harmony's frown deepened when I shook my head. Shoving the wet strands of hair away from her face, she heaved a sigh. "Are you sure it was the song and not something else?"

Letting out a frustrated groan, I dropped my head back. Ander was right, we should've ditched when we had the chance. "She was still singing after everyone had fallen over—I'm assuming they're passed out and not dead."

"It's definitely not a Mythic. None of us have that kind of power. It's gotta be one of the necromancer's creatures." She tapped her chin, considering the options. "A siren? They're known to have alluring voices."

I shook my head, having already dismissed the possibility. "Sirens typically lure sailors to their deaths. They wouldn't do something so mundane. Putting humans to sleep on land isn't viscous enough for them. Besides, I'm pretty sure everyone would've noticed a bird lady right away." I pulled my hair back into a ponytail, shit was getting real.

Harmony stared at the floor lost in thought for a moment, until she jerked upright with a sharp gasp. "What about Ander and Jade? Are they alright?" She rushed to the door, and just like earlier, it barely moved an inch. "What the hell?" She gave the door several more forceful shoves.

"Can you use your elemental magic on the door?" I hopped off the sink and joined her by the door.

Harmony cocked her head to the side in consideration. "I should be able to." She released a slow exhale, pressing her palms against the door. Green light spread from her palms, sinking into the fibers of the wood. A few seconds later a loud crack echoed throughout the room, while a large crack appeared in the wood. More cracks branched off until finally, the door tumbled into large shards as they fell to the floor.

What I saw in the hallway was baffling. Nothing was blocking where the door once stood. I should've been able to easily open it, even with it locked. Hell, I should've been able to open the door with something blocking it. None of this made any sense.

I stepped out into the hall, catching the faintest traces of a scent, definitely not human. The trail didn't lead back toward the main part of the pub but to a door at the end of the hallway.

"Did you two forget how doors worked?" Ander's voice came from behind me and held traces of amusement.

"Some jackass locked us in," I griped, spinning around, feeling a rush of relief at seeing him uninjured. The tension that had been holding my body captive eased. "Where's Jade? Is she okay?" I leaned to the side, trying to see if she was behind him, and then looked back at him when she wasn't there.

The muscle ticked in his jaw, and I tensed all over again. "She's fine," he finally reassured, and I let out the breath I'd been holding. "She and Starling are out looking for Koa."

"Wait. Why are they looking for him?" Harmony asked, coming to stand beside me.

Ander sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Some creature somehow caused everyone to fall asleep."

"With the song, yeah, we already know about that. Get to the part about Koa." I impatiently waved my hand.

Ander's brows furrowed, his mouth opening and then snapping shut. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You didn't know?" I pursed my lips when he shook his head.

"That doesn't matter right now. Why are they looking for him?" Harmony huffed impatiently.

Ander shoved his hair back from his face. "The song knocked out Jade and me, but Koa and Starling's dragons helped them resist it. Koa followed that thing, while Starling woke us up."

My attention snagged on the fact that Starling and Koa weren't affected either. Relief zipped through me at the knowledge. Being special or the exception wasn't always a good thing and could end up being more trouble than it was worth.

For some reason, I didn't mention this new development to Ander or Harmony. I don't know why, I just couldn't. Of course, if either of them directly asked me whether or not I was knocked out, I'd have to tell them the truth or talk my way around it.

"He's a dragon summoner, he can care of himself," I said dismissively, waving away any concern over him being hurt

At the same time, Harmony muttered, "What a moron."

"Who's a moron?" I asked with a surprised laugh.

Harmony rolled her eyes, resting a hand on her hip. "Uh, Koa. What moron chases after something, when they have no clue what it is? Unless, they once again know something, and they're keeping it to themselves. I wouldn't put it past them."

Ander let out a long whistle, making eye contact with me. His look said, what in the seven hells has gotten into her today? I pursed my lips to keep from smiling, giving a subtle shrug.

Honestly? I've always thought it was funny when she got on her rampaging competitive streak. You never knew what she would do next. It was even better when that side reared its head around someone new. Watching shock take over their features as she acted in a way they weren't expecting was pure gold.

"Passing out makes you bitchy," I commented, leaning against the wall.

"I have every right to be bitchy. I'm honestly surprised you aren't too. Those damn wonder twins dragged us here, refusing to tell us anything, and then bam! Information overload—which I'm still struggling to get my head around. Not to mention, the fact that we just got attacked by some unknown creature. For reasons unknown!" Harmony's voice rose as she continued ranting. It was a good thing everyone in this place was knocked out.

"I don't think they're twins. There's no way they're blood-related," I corrected.

Harmony flung her hands up with a loud groan.

"Actually, we do know why," Ander said, stopping Harmony from ranting again.

"Come again?" Harmony asked, planting both hands on her hips and began tapping her foot

"Way to bury the fucking lead." I dropped my head back against the wall, wanting to groan and scream.

Ander grunted, raking his fingers through his hair. "It stole Starling's necklace, right off of her neck." I opened my mouth to ask how the hell she let that happen, but he cut me off. "The song didn't knock them out like the rest of us, but it still affected them enough that she didn't notice at first." Ander mirrored my position, leaning against the wall.

I raised my hand, patiently waiting until Ander huffed out a laugh and waved his hand at me. "Why the fuck would anyone want that ugly ass necklace?" I had glimpsed the necklace in question, and while there was something tantalizingly intriguing about it, I had the strangest urge to stay as far away from it as possible. Like I knew that it only brought trouble. I didn't voice these concerns. For some reason, I just couldn't.

Ander shut his eyes muttering, "Clueless summoners." I kicked out with my foot, but he easily dodged it.

"While I agree that the uncut crystal does look tacky, it's far from a simple rock. I've never seen anything like it before," Harmony murmured staring up at the ceiling.

"Not to mention, the dormant energy and the blood magic," Ander added, attempting to push his hair back from his face, again.

I was about to point out how Starling and Koa were beginning to be more trouble than they were worth when I remembered something. "Wait a minute, you said Starling and Jade are out there looking for Koa? Where he may or may not be fighting some unknown creature?" My stomach clenched as I waited for his response. Ander nodded gravely.

Before he or Harmony could move or speak, I took off down the hall and out the door, with Ander and Harmony at my heels. Pure icy fear pounded through my veins, numbing my body. Outside the pub, I summoned my spirit animal and inhaled the numerous scents, searching for Jade's. To my dismay, there were too many competing scents, preventing me from finding hers. With aggravated grunt, I stamped my foot unable to stem my frustration.

Ander twisted the silver-colored ring on his right forefinger, pressing down on the ruby. A thin needle sprang out of the center of the stone. All the blood mages wore rings like it, as it was more convenient than carrying around a knife all the time.

Ander held his opposite hand out to me, and I placed my hand in his without a word. We all worked in perfect sync with one another. Most of the time, we didn't even need words to understand each other, and right now was no exception. I didn't even need to ask him what he was doing. He was about to cast a locator sigil, which only worked if you used the blood of the person you were looking for or a blood relative.

A sharp jab stung the back of my wrist, from Ander dragging the needle against my skin, just hard enough to draw blood. He dipped his fingers into my blood and used it to draw sigils on his left forearm. Ander closed his eyes and the blood sank into his skin.

Ander's eyes snapped open and met mine. "She's bled."