Page 39 of The Arcane God

“The canyon—a tight waterway. It would take weeks to route around it and go back to where you were separated,” she said matter-of-factly. “There is no way they are anywhere near here.”

Ty felt his anger rise at her words, though truthfully, it was not at her. Just at the situation. “I don’t care if it takes months, I need to find them again.”

“Aren’t they trying to find my people too?” the woman asked, slightly condescendingly.

“Yes,” Ty said, his patience thinning for this woman’s attitude.

“And if they cannot find you, which they will not, what do you think they will do?”

Ty grew silent, seeing her point. If Ena and Turner couldn’t find him…fuck, he didn’t even want to think about how upset they would be. They didn’t even know he’d survived the water. But…they would continue on, right? He hoped they would. He knew Ena was strong. And Turner…he wouldn’t give up on a mission.

Ty sighed and closed his eyes. It went against his entire being to not run back in the direction he’d come from right now to find them, no matter how long it would take. But if he truly was that far…maybe it did make sense to continue on himself, and hope to Iblis that he found them with the rest of the Omnis worshippers.

Ty looked back up at the woman, who looked slightly smug. “So you see what I am saying,” she said.

Ty reached up with his uninjured side, rubbing his hand through his beard. He was grateful that the movement was coming back to his fingers once more, though he wondered if he would ever regain the feeling in his blackened fingertips. “I see,” he said reluctantly. “But if they are not there, with your people, I will need to go find them.”

“Understood,” she said simply, agreeing to his terms. “None of us will stop you.”

The ball of anxiety in Ty’s chest loosened slightly, hearing that, but did not dissolve completely. He needed to find Ena and make sure she was alright for that to happen.

Ty sighed again, resigned to his current course of action, before he realized something else.

“What’s your name?” he asked her. She had helped him after all. She didn’t seem a threat—although she was a bit annoying. He supposed they should travel as friendly acquaintances from here on out.

“Xena,” she said.

“Thank you,” Ty began stiltedly. “For your help.”

“Do not thank me,” she said dismissively. “Omnis works in mysterious ways, no?”

Ty wasn’t exactly sure what that meant, or what Omnis really was, but he nodded in agreement all the same.

Chapter Fifteen

Turner

Turner awoke in the quiet of the stryx shelter with Ena asleep on the sleeping platform beside him. It was dark outside now, but the small fire still burned, so it was cozy and warm inside the strange tent.

He didn’t usually wake up in the middle of the night, but he’d fallen asleep so early, his body exhausted from the stress of the day. His internal clock felt confused now, though, and he decided to go take a piss outside at least, then try to go back to sleep if he could.

The meeting with Kaya had been brutal—having to tell her about Ty. The thought of his friend still wrenched his heart every damn time. He still couldn’t believe they’d had to leave him behind, not knowing what had happened to him…if he was dead or alive. And it was strange meeting his mother without him—she looked like him, and it was like a knife to his heart to have to do all this without him.

So far, the stryx seemed decent enough, though, albeit a bit strange and combative at first, but he could understand that impulse.

But then there were the blood drops in the tea…what was that about? An acquired taste, maybe. They clearly just led a different way of life than he was used to, and not everyone liked the same foods he did, so he tried not to let himself be weirded out too much.

Turner threw on his coat and boots and emerged into the night air.

Fucking Iblis, it was cold here. Was it like this year-round? It was nearing spring back home and would be warming up again, but there was no sign of spring here—he could easily have mistaken it for the dead of winter.

Turner wandered off behind a tree, whipping out his appendage to the frigid conditions, steam wafting as he relieved himself, and thinking of what in the Underworld they should do now that they were finally here, when he heard voices in the distance—several of them.

They were muffled, but he could tell there were more than just a few—it was almost as if the entire stryx camp was meeting in the middle of the night.

What were so many of them doing awake this time of night?

He didn’t intend to eavesdrop, but he was curious about this new group of people. Besides, if so many were awake, maybe he’d introduce himself and join them in a midnight chat.