Ugly Girl Read online

  Lane looked between the two of them, trying as I was to decipher all the hidden meaning beneath what they were saying. “I’m sorry, Bastien. It’s my fault. I haven’t used magic in twenty-one years. I’m a little rusty.”

  “It’s fine. But if you need anything to do with magic, you come to me next time. Got it? Reyn shouldn’t be doing that. I only let him do it on the way in because I couldn’t fit both of you on my lap in the well.”

  Reyn was livid, which was a strange color to see on the genteel dude. “Bastien, jeez! Everything’s fine. I can provide for her well enough.” There was a clear undercurrent of manliness Reyn was defending, but it looked as though Bastien wasn’t having the same argument. His scarred eyebrows were furrowed with genuine concern for Reyn’s health.

  I tried to catch up with the social cues, confused that magic was something a man wanted to be seen as being able to provide. The fact that Reyn’s magic was less perhaps meant that he wasn’t a traditionally desirable catch in Avalon terms. I didn’t care about that, though. He was a nice guy who looked at Lane as if she was the most beautiful woman on the planet. Magic or not, Reyn enchanted us with his sweetness.

  Bastien disappeared out the back door with a pitcher in hand, and came back a moment later with it filled with water. He poured a cup for Reyn and shoved it in his face. “Here. Rest up before the army comes looking for us.”

  Reyn tilted the cup of the water to his mouth, and Dahu’s warning came screaming into my head. “Wait! Don’t drink that!”

  “Huh?” The cup stayed frozen on Reyn’s lips.

  “Dahu. The unicorn deer? He told me something’s wrong with the Mousseuse River. Their fawns are getting sick after they drink it. It’s a slow poison. A lot of their babies are dying, and the ones who live aren’t doing so hot. If you’re getting sick, your immune system might not be able to handle whatever poison’s in that water.”

  Bastien and Reyn both gaped at me in shock. “Are you serious?” Reyn balked.

  “Too serious. Dahu asked me to help him find a way to cross over from this territory into Province 2, so they can have fresh water to drink. But apparently there are some soldiers there blocking the way? They’re hunting the unicorn-deer for sport, not for meat. So they’ll need our help to get somewhere safe. It’s either all their babies are going to die, or they’ll all die at the soldiers’ hands trying to cross over to unpolluted water. I’m guessing for the hunting society you guys are, it would be a very bad thing to lose the unicorn-deer population.” I hiked Abraham Lincoln up and rubbed my cheek to his furry one. “Dahu said it’s already affecting the Fae children, but none of the Fae knows what’s making them all sick, so they keep drinking the water and the babies keep getting sicker. Job one’s gotta be spreading the word that the water is tainted. It was Province 3 who poisoned the water, if that helps. They’re pissed at Morgan for stealing their Jewel of Good Fortune. Job two needs to be helping the animals cross over into Province 2 or wherever if we can’t clean up the water.”

  Bastien shook his head slowly, rubbing his forehead, as if just me talking was giving him a headache. “You know, every time I think I understand what we got ourselves into bringing you here, you open up your mouth and a whole new batch of horrible crazy spills out.”

  I huffed, indignant. “Well, I didn’t poison your river. I’m just telling you how to fix your country’s problem.”

  “I had a drink from the river on our way in,” Reyn admitted. “Maybe that’s why my magic is draining so quickly.”

  Bastien looked at Reyn with a lost expression hollowing out the brash haughtiness in his eyes. “You’ve been so healthy when we were in Common.”

  “It’s because we didn’t have access to magic, so nothing was draining me.”

  “Maybe there’s something to the water thing. You look worse than you did before we left for Common last year.”

  Reyn put the cup down in the sink. “I’ll call a meeting of the Council. If they know to test the water, surely they can do something to fix the poison. If it’s Province 3, then Bayard can deal with it quickly. That’s easy enough to fix, once you know what you’re dealing with. Then the animals won’t have to leave, and people won’t get sick like that.” He scratched his head. “We’ve been in Common for nearly a year. Children are really dying?”

  I nodded. “That’s what Dahu told me. I’ve never had an animal lie to me, so I’d take that as solid truth and make a plan. Your Council can really fix a poisoned river?”

  Reyn nodded and then looked to Bastien, lost. “Twelve months, and this is what we come back to. I don’t know why I hoped for Avalon to work out its problems while we were away. Instead they’ve only created more.”

  “I can’t imagine an Avalon where there isn’t some kind of battle going on between the Provinces,” Bastien admitted. “But we know what we’re up against with this problem, at least. It’s fixable, brother.”

  Reyn offered Bastien half a smile at the familial term. “You’re right. Perhaps I’ve despaired too soon.”

  Lane cooed and sidled up beside me to change the temperament of the room, holding her hand out to show the bear she was safe before petting him. “Aw! Hi, Abraham Lincoln. I’m your Aunt Lane. You’re a precious little guy, aren’t you. What a love bug.” Her eyes flicked to me. “Can I hold him yet?”

  I loved Lane. She understood me through and through. She was used to me bringing home odd animals and making friends with them. She had a house rule they could only stay one month apiece, and then they had to be on their way. I had a feeling I could get my bear a permanent residence out of the deal, now that Bastien was in charge. For all his brash gusto, I saw the softy beneath the muscles. Plus, Lane was in doghouse mode after all her lying came to light. I wasn’t above cashing in on that guilt to get myself a brand new teddy bear.

  Lane sat down on the wooden floor in the middle of Bastien’s main room. His whole place seemed to be made of one bedroom off to the side, and everything else was in the big room we were congregated in. There was no paint on the walls, and no decorations in the kitchen area. The wooden walls were cemented together with black pitch. I saw a fireplace in the kitchen I guessed was used for cooking, and a chimney to complete the picturesque scene. It made me feel cozy, and a little like I wanted to curl up by the fireplace, kindle up a few flames and listen to a good audiobook. In my imagination, a rugged lumberjack would come stomping home, a basket full of vegetables from his garden in his beefy arms. I tried to keep the dream man’s face nebulous, but he had the flavor of Bastien to him, despite my best efforts at keeping things platonic.

  I lowered myself onto my knees next to Lane and tried to pry Abraham Lincoln off my midsection, but he was reluctant to jump ship just yet. My big baby clung to me, remaining on my lap until I finished talking him into giving Lane a try.

  “I don’t like this!” Reyn blurted out. He drew his knife with a shaking hand as I transferred Abraham Lincoln onto Lane’s lap.

  “Oh, put that thing away. You’ll scare him and hurt yourself. He’s a baby,” I scolded Reyn, as if he should’ve known better.

  “He’s a bear! Bastien?” Reyn turned to question his friend, arms akimbo. “You can’t honestly tell me you’re considering this.”

  “We’ve got more important things to worry about right now. We ran into Captain Burke while we were sneaking out. He grabbed Rosie, so I stabbed him.”

  Reyn was horrified, and then he ran to Bastien’s room, flung open the bedroom door and shouted to Bastien from inside. “I’ll pack you up. Take the girls and run!”

  “It’s fine. I killed him before anyone saw. But our names are on the list, so they might be stopping by here to investigate. I made sure I was seen in the market on the way back, so that should help. I also had Macon change our arrival time to this morning, so it’s not quite as suspect.”

  Reyn poked his head out, his brows furrowed. “Are you alright?”

  Bastien shrugged, but his jaw was stiff. “I’m always alright.
Didn’t think I’d have the guts to take the bastard down, but I guess I did. Rachelle’s avenged. I got him back for everything he put me through. It’s done.”

  Reyn crossed the room and gathered the larger man up in his arms, hugging Bastien even though it looked like Bastien wasn’t well-practiced in the ritual. Reyn wasn’t offended, squeezing Bastien tighter until Bastien exhaled in his arms, finally dealing with the monumental kill that had shaken him up. “Thank you, brother.”

  Bastien nodded, but didn’t look like he wanted to talk any more about it. He went to the kitchen area and pulled out a clear bottle with green liquid in it, and took several long gulps, closing his eyes in relief to get a taste of whatever his drink of preference was.

  “Bastien,” Reyn said in warning. Whatever was in that bottle made Reyn’s lips tighten in a protective way that Bastien’s had when Reyn had used his magic to the point of hurting himself.

  It was then I realized that whatever Bastien was drinking was the same thing – a way to hurt himself.

  When Reyn surrendered the bottle from Bastien after too many glugs, Bastien started washing his hands, pouring water from the pitcher into a basin and scrubbing with hard soap over and over. His hands, wrists, forearms and elbows took the brunt of his anxiety, and though they were beyond clean, he started all over again, lathering and punishing himself as he went.

  It was hard to watch. I stood, leaving Abraham Lincoln in Lane’s arms and crossing the blond-colored wood floor to stand next to Bastien, who refused to look at me. I took the towel that hung off a hook on the side of the hanging cabinets, silently encouraging him to finish his ritual of self-flagellation.

  Bastien was silent as he let me dry off his arms, not even pulling away when I ran the prickly cloth between his fingers. He’d killed Armand without a second thought. Silvain had shaken him up inside, but this kill looked like it haunted him. He stared at me without seeing my face. He was somewhere far away in his mind, and judging by his hollow expression and lifeless eyes, it didn’t look like a place he visited often, or that brought him any joy. Bastien didn’t speak as he watched me dry his hands. When I finished, he pulled away and took another drink from the green liquid, snatching it out of Reyn’s grip. His breath smelled like hard liquor and licorice, and I wondered just how strong that stuff must be.

  When Reyn wore a look of utter flabbergast on his face, Bastien didn’t hear the follow-up questions Reyn pelted at him to confirm the orange big bad baddy was, in fact, gone. “He’s really dead? Like, you saw him die?”

  I answered for Bastien, who looked beyond words as he drank a few gulps more, leaning his backside on the edge of the counter. “Yeah. That’s a good thing, right?”

  “Burke’s the captain of the Queen’s Army. He’s one of the men who ordered the others to scar up Bastien when he left his post and wanted out of the army. Burke’s part of the reason Bastien’s an Untouchable.”

  Bastien hissed. “You don’t have to go telling her all my business. It doesn’t concern her. Tell her your business, and stick to that.”

  Lane shook her head, disappointed at the aristocracy system she’d washed her hands of. “Morgan’s army is more like a military gang, Ro. You don’t just leave or retire. You fight your way out, and if you live, you can leave. So many tried to fight their way out, but it’s an entire army against one man.” She stood with Abraham Lincoln on her hip, and motioned to Bastien’s neck tattoo. “He’s an Untouchable. So Bastien can get away with lots of things now. Short of murdering a royal, there’s nothing he can be hanged for. And if anyone lays a hand on him, they face the gallows. He’s above the law. He doesn’t have to pay for things, either. Anything he wants is handed over without question.” She crossed over and tapped the hammer and lion tattoo on his wrist that matched the one on his neck. “Magic in Avalon goes on a trickle-down system. First the royals get their share, then Untouchables, then army commanders, then the rest.” She studied his face. “How strange that you don’t need to heal the magic in the land – I mean, you’ve got it on tap – yet you risked it all, lived as a Commoner in our world so that you could find us and set things right for Avalon. Some might call that heroic.”

  I nodded, grateful someone had explained all of his scars without me risking Bastien’s temper to ask. My mind was reeling at the messed-up system I’d stepped into.

  “I’ve never known anyone who fought their way out.” Lane placed her free hand on Bastien’s forearm, softening him with her sincerity. “You’re lucky to be alive. I had no idea it was even possible to survive leaving the army. That you did? Well, I can overlook your mouth, knowing how well my Rosie will be protected if you’re nearby.”

  Bastien mouthed, “thanks” and told her with his eyes just how bad the beatings actually were. He turned his back to us and drank some more, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt. I shuddered as I remembered how patchworked his torso was.

  Lane turned back to me and hiked Abraham Lincoln up into a tighter hug he seemed to perpetually need. “Morgan markets it as loyalty to the throne, but really it’s stay or die.” She looked up at Bastien with Abraham Lincoln in her arms and sincere regret shining in her eyes. “I’m sorry for what my sister’s army did to you.”

  Reyn crossed the room and wrapped his best friend in a tight hug that was strong enough to hold him together, should he let himself fall apart. “You don’t know. Burke and his lieutenant are like the fathers of the soldiers. The men love their commanders. Would die for them. Bastien was Burke’s right hand before he left. To have someone you think of as your father order the worst beating of your life? To have him watch while you’re inches from death and do nothing to save you? To have the man you risked everything to protect order your death?” He squeezed Bastien so tight, I worried he wouldn’t be able to breathe. “I should’ve gutted the bastard years ago. Both of them. All the military leaders should watch the shadows for daggers now. Tell me you made it slow and bloody, brother.”

  Bastien closed his eyes and rested his chin on Reyn’s shoulder before patting him twice on the back in a “thanks, but get off me” kind of way. “It’s fine. Burke’s dead. There’ll be lots who will be out for my head if I’m found out, but since I can’t be killed, they’ll go after anyone I’m close to. That’s you, Reyn. I’m not so untouchable that I can kill Burke with no retaliation. Judgment won’t fall on me; they’ll come for you.”

  Reyn nodded. “That’s fine. Tell them it was you, and that’s that. I won’t leave your side until we bring Roland home.”

  Bastien nodded, his eyes darting to mine to gauge my level of falling to pieces. I took a chance and moved into his body space, wrapping my arms around his middle to hold him through his moment of being reminded that he didn’t enjoy falling apart. “I’m sorry, Bastien. I’m so sorry.”

  I felt him bury his nose in the top of my head and inhale a deep drag, taking in the scent of my hair. Then he stiffened, and I could practically feel him slipping away, trading in the camaraderie for a scowl. “It’s my business, and shouldn’t be on display. I’m fine. Get off me with your hovering. All of you.” He straightened, exhaling whatever softening smelling my hair had done to him. His breath didn’t smell like cinnamon anymore, but stank of the sweet liquor that scorned my nose. I didn’t have to look up to see his gruff demeanor sliding back into place. He stepped back, shaking off my hug as if he was allergic to the touch he’d just been leaning into. “When the soldiers come to ask me questions, you two have to be out of sight.” He moved to the bedroom. “Well, get in here!” he barked.

  I could’ve put money on him turning sour on me. He’d been publicly vulnerable, and now he would make me pay for it. He stomped his foot on the wood plank near the far wall. There were no windows in his bedroom, and no bed, actually. There was a chest for clothes and weapons that he slammed shut when I glanced at it, and a sturdy wooden chair in the corner. The plank he indicated had a small notch on the corner that he bent down and used to lift up a sizeable square of
flooring. “Get inside. Man! Do I have to spell everything out for you? The army’s probably already on their way. I’ve got security set up around the place, but if they trip one of my alarms, it still only buys us a minute or two. We don’t have time for whatever whining you feel like doing.”

  I knew I could argue back or recoil from his bite, but neither option seemed like they would lead to anything productive. This was the bear I’d chosen to bunk with, so I shouldn’t be all that surprised when he turned on me. I spun on my heel to get Abraham Lincoln, but Lane was right behind me with my teddy bear. “I know you don’t think you’re yelling at my daughter like that.” Her head swiveled, and attitude the likes of which could rival any Miss Thang rolled off her in waves. “Apologize right now!”

  Bastien sneered down at Lane, his brute strength up against her royalty card – two mules breathing through their noses at each other. Hamish came in and shook his fist at Bastien, shouting at him to behave, or he’d make the big guy cower. Finally Bastien spoke in a deadly growl. “Fine. I’m sorry I saved her and brought her here. She clearly can’t handle our world.”

  “I can handle it, guys.” I pushed my way to the front and eyed the hole Bastien had revealed in the floor of his room, unable to see how deep down into the ground it went. “I’m getting in. Come on, Abraham Lincoln. In we go, Hamish.” Abraham Lincoln was a big scaredy cat, for all his animal strength. He asked me why Mama and Daddy were fighting as Reyn readied to lower me down into the ground. I shot Abraham Lincoln a we-can-do-this look. “He’s not your Daddy, baby. It’s okay. I’m still here.”

  22

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