Page 44 of Love, Nemesis
“I’m not even sure I know what this is. It all happened too quickly,” Ana replied as they made their way up the stairs and into the main room.
They purchased rooms, and two workers took care of their horses. After dropping their things off, they settled in for the night, sharing drinks as they speculated over the events at the circus. No discussion ended with any comforting resolutions.
“I’m going to try and get some sleep.” Ana finished her tea, the remnants cool by now. Her fingertips felt sore on the mug. She’d scrubbed them raw, her hands red as she’d worked tirelessly to get the oil off. A few minor cuts were a small price to pay for her peace of mind. She hated that dark, En Sanctan oil and was disappointed to find that scrubbing it off had done little to put her at ease. The events of the evening had disturbed her and irritated an already precarious situation.
Jasper stared into the fireplace, face tense as he shuffled a series of playing cards in his hand.
“Goodnight,” she said, and he glanced up as if just noticing that she’d stood.
“Good luck,” Jasper said with a huff.
Ana dropped her mug off by the bar and retired to her room. She lay in bed, listening to the town and festival grow quieter as the minutes passed. Before long, there was no sound but her breath and the crickets outside. Generally, she’d find the sound comforting. Tonight, it was intolerable.
Evira, a former Strike priestess, and Jackson, a former ROSE. She might as well be traveling with a poisonous snake and a hungry lion. Not to mention Jasper and Cal, both seemingly well meaning and optimistic, were bleating lambs by comparison. The later two had no concept of some of the things Evira and Jackson were capable of. She’d tried to get Jasper out from Hailey’s thumb to keep him safe. Now, it would likely be safer to push him off the nearby cliffs and hope he swims somewhere else.
She rubbed her forehead with a groan as she sat up. After changing into loose clothes and her utility belt, she started to leave the bullpen. All of the rooms were quiet and dark as she walked through the halls. The fire was nothing but coals.
Ana wandered out into the night, thinking through the discussion with Evira. As she walked, she noticed a light on in the circus tents. Wandering closer, she heard a low laugh and then a murmur from one of the smaller tents.
She stopped within earshot.
“I didn’t know you’d survived the Burning,” Evira said. “If the Strike could only see me now, feet away from the infamous Lethe Shepherd.”
Ana’s eyes widened. She crouched down near the back of the tent. Evira and Lethe? Alone. Together. Civil?
“You’re lucky they want you alive so badly,” Lethe muttered back.
“Like that’s of any real consequence to you,” Evira laughed.
“Maybe not…but you do know where Ivan Rowe is,” Lethe replied.
“You don’t need to hate us so much. You know, it’s been said a few times how similar the Strike were to the Riders of Saint East. You became what you defined as monsters to kill what you saw as monsters.”
Evira crossed the room, her shadow flashing across the tent. She didn’t speak for a moment. “It didn’t end well for anyone. The end of an era of exploration.”
“The end of a tyranny,” Lethe replied.
Ana marveled at the strangeness of their interaction. Why would Lethe stay and talk with Evira if he wanted to kill her? Why would Evira engage Lethe in such a relaxed way, knowing what he wanted?
Was she so comfortable with her power in the situation?
“You never saw the beauty in it,” Evira replied. “I once presented two souls to the Strike as an offering, you know. They were in two tubes of glass side by side. They would fight endlessly to connect, the energies writhing. It was beautiful to watch forces so powerful and infinite, split by the thinnest layer of glass. We finally had a chance to learn more about what we could become. We as humans had a chance to evolve. The Strike wanted to save us.”
A chill touched Ana’s skin. She knew she shouldn’t be here, but she couldn’t urge herself to move.
“I’m glad you enjoyed turning the essence of two human beings into a science project for someone’s bedside table.”
“It’s so much more than that,” she said with a deep breath, and Ana imagined her gazing off into something of great beauty. “Why, Lethe, it was love. The Strike were completely enamored with humans, you only had to meet one to understand.”
“Oh, I met my share. You—”
“No, no, not like that,” she interrupted. “You don’t understand because you were always so keen on killing them. I remember my first real introduction. I was seen. I was experienced. The words just don’t do it ju—” She groaned in frustration. Her speech became pressured. “I was completely experienced, like a glass of wine at the lips of its maker, a rose blooming into the sun, fire at its torch. The Strike were completely obsessed with us, you see. They wanted everything we were, everything we had to offer. We say we worshiped them, but the truth all along was that they worshiped us. Some people were just too blind to see it. The Strike strived to fill their senses with us. To become a Strike is to fall in love with being human. It is the fulfillment of who we are as people.”
The lines drifted into the night like poetry and demanded a moment of silence. The ice crackled in someone’s glass. Ana knelt in the grass in anticipation.
“Why are you so afraid?” Evira asked the words with such a gentle insight, Ana had to remind herself that Evira did not know she was there.
Evira kept talking as if catering to a child. “It’s not a bad experience, Lethe. In fact, I’d say little compares to feeling Madness rush into your blood. The power and the knowledge, suddenly nothing is beyond reach. It’s a high you never have to come down from. We served the Strike for years hoping that being near them might grant us such an honor.”
