The Other Side Read online

  I sat up and leaned away from him on my thin cot with my back against the wall. I pulled the blanket up and used it as one more thing to keep us separate. “I guess I do. I love Britta, Jamie, Jens, Nik, Tor, Alrik – the whole mess of you. But I’m with Jens. You shouldn’t watch me sleep. You shouldn’t kiss my shoulder like that. I’m not your real wife, and you don’t really love me. Stina just made you think you do.” I touched his chilly fingers, and he laced his through mine so he could place delicate kisses on my knuckles. “Cold hands. You’ll regret this when it wears off.”

  Foss took that to mean the cold made me uncomfortable, so he blew warm air onto my fingertips. He looked up at me through his lashes like a boy that wanted to be scolded and also a man who wanted to romance his woman. “I think you want me.”

  “I think you’re nine buckets of crazy. And you don’t want to do that,” I protested. The tension in the room was building the longer he blew on my fingers. When he lifted my ring finger and sucked it into his mouth as he had the night before, my jaw dropped open and my heart nearly exploded out of my chest. “Foss, n-no!” I said, but my protest was weakened by my obvious desire I could not control.

  He saw me waver. He sucked harder, making my eyes roll back and my bones feel like jelly. “You want this just as much as I do,” he said, taking a break from turning me into a pile of goo to tease me.

  I yanked my hand away and rolled off the cot, grabbing my overnight bag and locking myself in the bathroom. “I said no!” I shouted, but my voice quivered with uncertainty. “I’m with Jens!” Who wasn’t here. Who was never here anymore. Who I’d begged not to leave me alone with… my husband.

  Foss leaned on the bathroom door, just two inches of oak between our pounding hearts. “Lucy, come out. We can just talk, if that’s what you want.”

  “You just had my finger in your mouth!”

  “And you let me.”

  My cheeks burned. “When’s Jens coming back?”

  “He used to fool around with Stina. You know that, don’t you? He’s out with her now, and he’ll be back when he’s good and finished with her.”

  Tears pricked my eyes, but I tried to keep the dread at bay. “Okay. I’ll be in the shower until then. Let me know when you’re ready to calm down.”

  “Let me in, Lucy.”

  “Go back to sleep, Foss. Out of curiosity, how long do Huldra whistles typically last?”

  “A few days, give or take. It depends on how powerful the Huldra is, and how susceptible the subject is to him.”

  “You mean her. There’s no such thing as male Huldras,” I corrected him, recalling Alrik’s fairy tales with crystal accuracy.

  There was a pause before Foss answered. “Right. I meant her, not him.”

  When Foss started messing with the bathroom door’s handle, I turned stern. “Knock it off, Grimen. I mean it. You bust in here, it won’t turn out well for you. Go back to sleep. I’ll be out when I’m done.”

  I turned on the shower to stave off his protests, undressed and hopped inside, drowning out whines I never dreamed I’d hear from Foss. It might have been flattering if it wasn’t all forced and fake.

  It was the longest shower of my life, but I figured my lack of showers in the past… however long I was missing from my world, made up for the excessive water use a little. My skin was pink from the heat. I’d scrubbed myself from head to toe four times when I heard a fist pounding on the door.

  I tried to sound pleasant. “Not now, Foss. I told you, we can talk when I’m done.”

  The pounding stopped, so I relaxed. I decided to face the music and finally shut off the water. When I stepped out, I heard Jens’s voice. I shoved a clean set of clothing on, but by the time I’d run the brush through my hair, the two had devolved into yelling. I ran out in my jeans and black fitted t-shirt to referee.

  What I saw made me shriek and shut my eyes, retracting backwards. “Put some clothes on, Foss!”

  “This? This is what you’re up to while I’m out patrolling the area to keep you safe?” Jens motioned to a very specific area on Foss’s anatomy. “This is the thanks I get? Nice to know I can’t leave you alone with him for a second before you’re off doing whatever you want.” He threw up his hands before I could get a word in. “But it’s all my fault, right? I cheated in Bedra – accidentally, mind you. But I cheated, and now you can just do whatever you want with whoever you want until we’re even.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Well? Go ahead! He’s right here, Loos. Get even. I had sex with at least two of the Mares while I was high. Foss is a good start to level the playing field. Go on. I’ll sit here and watch while you rip my heart out!”

  I was shocked, and equally torn between shouting back and bursting into tears. Though the situation looked damning, it was clear there would be no room for explanations or benefit of the doubt.

  Instead of choosing either, I opted for flight. I waited for Foss to garner Jens’s attention again and stole my moment. With my bag hoisted over my shoulder, I kifed the keys from the nightstand Jens had thrown them on in his rage at being greeted by a very nude Foss and me in the shower. I really couldn’t blame the guy too much, I guess.

  But I also didn’t have to stay.

  I checked in on the bond, seeing that Jamie was still asleep. As loudly as I could, I screamed Wake up! in his brain. This gave him five seconds to rouse enough to hear my light knock on his door.

  He ambled to greet me, clothes rumpled and curly hair askew. “Morning, Lucy. What can I do for you?”

  I scrambled for a lie. “Breakfast. There’s a big breakfast once a month on the other end of town. It’s the only meal we’ll get all day, and if we want to eat at all today, we have to run now. Can you two shove everything into a bag and be ready in like, a minute?”

  “Only meal? That’s strange. What about all the food stores?”

  “Closed. One day a month. Weird, right? I know. I don’t get it either. Humans with their strange customs.” I forced a smile up at him. “Let’s go.” Stepping in, I called through the room. “Britt? We gotta jet if we want food at all today.” I started rudely shoving everything into their bags, knowing Jens would only be distracted by Foss for so long before he came after me.

  Britta was in her just awake haze and moved through the room like a zombie while I whipped through like a tornado. I had them all packed by the time Britta and Jamie had fresh clothes on. “Let’s go, campers!” I sang cheerily. “Jens is taking Foss and Stina, and they’re meeting us there. Out we go.” I kept my mental wall in place to ensure Jamie didn’t see my endgame.

  Jamie’s brow wrinkled. “Jens is okay with us taking you?”

  I waved the car keys in front of his face. “He gave me the keys, didn’t he? Of course he’s okay. It’s not far. Plus, I have the two of you to watch me tool around in my little old world. Nowhere safer.” I linked my arms through each of theirs and led them forward, my heart pounding. We made it into the elevator, and I began to exhale, but I wasn’t truly free until I jammed the key into the car’s ignition and peeled out of the parking lot.

  12

  Stealing Moments and Cars

  I drove for half an hour before the telltale “how long do you think the drive will be” started. Another hour passed before Jamie started poking around in my brain for answers. I blocked him by blasting a fantastic eighties hair band song on the only decent radio station I could find, singing to it at the top of my lungs. That bought me another ten minutes before Jamie figured out how to turn off the music so he could talk to me.

  “We’re not going to get breakfast, are we?” he asked, his voice annoyingly calm and big-brotherly.

  “Sure we are. It’s just a little farther than you’re used to. We’ll eat.”

  “Pull over,” Jamie commanded in his kind, but firm voice. “Lucy, what happened back there? Where’s Jens?”

  Britta had her head bowed and her face in her hands, and for a second, I felt guilty for taking her away from her brother.
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br />   “Jens is fine. He’s fighting with Foss, and he’s happy to do so. I don’t need a guard who yells at me for taking a shower. In fact, now that I’m in my world, I don’t need a guard at all. Wanted a boyfriend, but he’s not into it anymore.” Even the vague sum-up was painful to say, but I kept my chin up to prove how little I cared.

  “But what actually happened, Lucy?” Britta asked, her tone mournful. “What did Jens do this time?”

  I couldn’t tell who she was more exasperated with, me or her brother. “He didn’t believe me that Foss was bewitched by that Stina girl to fall in love with me. None of you did. He left in the middle of the night, like he’s done every time we could have slept next to each other. Foss told me Jens went out with Stina last night.”

  Britta hissed, and I echoed the sentiment.

  “Call me superstitious, but if he’s hanging around his ex in the middle of the night, I’m thinking they’re not having platonic chats about the weather.”

  “That’s why you split us up?” Jamie questioned.

  “No, Negative Nancy. I was going to let that go, just like I’ve let everything go. I’m the queen of shutting up about things that should be discussed.” I took a breath and accelerated to five miles over the speed limit, not wanting to get pulled over, but also not wanting Jens to find us. “Jens thinks I was getting it on with Foss.”

  There was a short pause, and then Jamie said in a quiet voice. “Well, were you?”

  “Jamie!” Britta scolded, her braids swishing from side to side.

  I almost punched him, but I knew that would only hurt me. “No! Of course not, you jerk!”

  “Okay! I’m sorry.”

  “You know what? You should be.” I gripped the steering wheel, ignoring the scenery of evergreens and bushes that whipped by us on the side of the four-lane highway. “Jens left, and Foss woke me up by kissing my shoulder and telling me he’s in love with me. I finally shook him off me and darted into the bathroom. When Jens came back from his fun time with Short Skirt Stina, I guess Foss was waiting for me… naked.” I flinched. “I had nothing to do with that, and no knowledge of it. Jens flew off the handle, accused me of every stupid thing you can guess, so I bolted.” I didn’t realize I’d been grinding my teeth, so I flexed my jaw. “I want a white picket fence, not Jerry Springer.” My voice hitched on the last bit, so I cleared my throat to cover over the indiscretion.

  Jamie sighed. “He’s out every night searching the area for Weres.”

  I scoffed. “Yeah. That story’s a little more believable without the memory of the Mares riding him in Bedra. Jens sneaks off and does what he wants. Now he’s free to do just that.” I glanced in the mirror at Britta. “I shouldn’t have taken you away from your brother, though. As soon as we can find someone to un-lapland us, you guys can go wherever you want. It’s a big world. Time we all had some space in it.”

  “Pull over,” Jamie ordered, his tone stern now. “You wished you’d stayed in one place growing up? No one’s forcing you to run now, but here you are. You lied to us to get yourself out of there.” He held up his hand to quiet my protest. “I know Jens has his problems, and I’m not defending him. But you can’t take Britta and I away from him just because you decide you’re finished. We’re all in this together.”

  A red glimmer overhead caught my eye. It was the small tracking light on the roof of the car blinking down at me. My heart sank. “How long has that been on?” I questioned, my tone sharp.

  “I don’t know. We don’t know how cars work, Lucy. Pull over.”

  I obeyed, but not for the reasons he wanted. “He found us. He’s tracking our car. We’ve got to switch.”

  “Switch what?”

  “Cars! We need a different car! When I find a new one, I need you two to help me put our stuff into the new one. Can you help with that?”

  When the response did not come, my grasp on the situation began to crumble. I pulled off the exit into a giant mall’s parking lot, where I pretty much had my pick of vehicles. I motored past one that had two hours of quarters in the meter and just enough trunk space for our stash. I pulled in next to the rusted green station wagon and set to work.

  It had been awhile since I’d broken into a car, but it turns out it’s like riding a bike. Once I was in, I pulled back the panel and tried to remember the song Linus taught me about which wire needed to be disconnected and which one connected to make the spark necessary to start the car. He’d set the instructions to the tune of Safety Dance so I wouldn’t forget.

  When I successfully started the station wagon, the rush of adrenaline was curbed only by the sight of the two passengers still sitting in the first vehicle, unwilling to move. “Come on, guys!”

  Jamie waved me back to the car and addressed me in a voice reserved for conversing with children or crazy people. “Sweetheart, Jens isn’t running around on you, but you’re right. He isn’t patrolling the perimeter, either.”

  “I don’t care what he does with his life anymore. It’s his. He and Foss and Stina can have each other for all I care.” It was a lie. A bad one, but Jamie was kind enough not to call me on it.

  “Come inside, Lucy. There’s something we need to talk to you about.”

  13

  The Circus

  “But we’re done with Pesta!” I argued inside the SUV. I’d fixed the wiring on the station wagon per Jamie’s request, but I knew I could redo the damage in a heartbeat, should I need the escape. “Sure, we’re running from her, but it’s a big world. She’ll never find us.”

  Britta could not look at me, for she’d been in on the lie. “That’s the thing. She’ll never stop looking for you. And let’s say you do escape her for years, even. Let’s say you and Jens make up, get married and have children together. Those children will also be targets. Pesta needs your family’s bones. Just because she hasn’t found them yet doesn’t mean she’ll stop. She took Mace’s bones because we were too distracted to put it together that he’s your family, and his bones are just as valuable.”

  My brain tripped over too much information. “Wait, what? Charles Mace? The guy from my cell with the head? We’re not blood related.”

  Britta pushed the answer at me quickly, like reciting the response from memory. “But Alrik adopted his ward, right? That means Alrik’s blood is in Charles now. And since Alrik put his arv on you, that put Alrik’s blood in you, too. Not a traditional relation, but enough for Pesta to make use of both your bones and his. She needs yours, so Jens can’t slow down. He can’t just run, either. He’s a fighter. You know that, Lucy. He wants you safe for good, not safe for now.”

  Jamie looked out the window, sizing up the gargantuan shopping mall in front of us. “He’s out every night trying to find the portal she’s assembling. Why do you think he’s been so specific about where we travel? Would it really matter if we were just running haphazardly?”

  The new information churned in my mind. “That’s a good plan, but I don’t want things to be like this. We don’t get to be together hardly at all, and he doesn’t listen to me anymore.”

  “He’s exhausted, Lucy!” Jamie pointed over his shoulder at Britta. “She’s been helping him, and that’s why she’s so tired all the time. I can’t hold that against her.”

  “Does she leave you in a room with Foss, and then accuse you of sleeping with him?”

  Jamie’s expression soured. “Of course not. Jens is an idiot. We all know that. But he’s a well-meaning fool. You have to be patient with him, especially when he’s so sleep-deprived.”

  “And Stina?”

  Jamie shifted in his chair, so Britta answered for him. “Make no mistake, you’re right about Stina. She’s one in a long line of women who want to be with my brother.” She tugged on her brown braid. “But he’s only ever wanted to be with you.”

  I shook my head. “But he’s not with me. He doesn’t know how to be with me unless our time together is coated in danger. That’s not a relationship. It’s an action movie, and I didn’t si
gn up for Vin Diesel.”

  Jamie reached out and placed his hand atop mine. “You’re overreacting.”

  I glared at him. “Really? Really? Should I have stuck around after everyone ignored me and just left me with a bewitched Foss? Should I have just up and let him kiss me? If Jens hadn’t come back, I would’ve finished getting dressed and come out to a naked Foss. Is that a mental image you want to savor?” I conjured up the memory of Foss I’d been subjected to that morning and thrust it forcefully into Jamie’s mind. I relished his blanch and shudder.

  “That was unnecessary,” he scolded me. Jamie whipped his head from left to right like a dog trying to rid himself of fleas. “Yes, we should’ve taken you more seriously, but you’re still overreacting on Jens. He loves you, and he’s doing the best he can on the little he’s got to work with.” Then Jamie had the nerve to scold me. “Be gracious, sweetheart.”

  I bristled and retracted from him. “It’s a good thing we’re laplanded, or I’d be running from you, too!”

  He shook his head at me, lowering his voice as a few pedestrians happened by the car. “You’ll never get your white picket fence if you run from everyone who challenges you.”

  I said nothing to this, lest he know he’d won a point there. “Fine. I’ll take us back. But I’m putting you in charge of keeping Foss away from me until the magic wears off.”

  “I’ll do my utmost.”

  I started up the car with a scowl. “I’m serious, Jamie. He was watching me sleep this morning. I woke up, and he was inches from my face. He wrote me a love song last night!”

  Jamie managed to keep his laugh to a few notes before he swallowed the rest of it. “I should like to have seen that. You know, Foss does care for you.”

  “I don’t want to hear it,” I snapped. Then I nearly jumped out of my skin when something loud and hard banged on my door.

  “Lucinda Stella Kincaid!” Jens shouted, banging his fist on the window, rattling the glass.