For Once, it Wasn't Them

“Everything that could've gone wrong went horribly wrong.”

“Well – I wouldn’t put it that drastically.”

Rhiannon glared at Razar, who laughed and turned away, shrugging.

“Just saying it like it is!”

Basil, wisely (for once, from what she knew of the kid), kept his head down.

Genevieve sighed quietly and shifted her weight, folding her arms. Just as well Asin wasn’t in the middle of this, but oh how she wanted to be back at home, with her girl and the cats.

Melri nudged at her shoulder, croaking as she clicked her beak.

Genevieve spared the hippogriff a smile as she smoothed back the feathers around her face.

Rhiannon sighed and rubbed her face. “So. What’s the plan from here?”

Razar shrugged. “Personally, I don’t think it’s completely unsalvageable.” He rubbed at his arm, tracking over curling words that no one else could read.

Rhiannon snorted, rolling her eyes. “Yes, because we didn’t just lose any advantage we had.”

“I think you’re over-exaggerating. Just a li’l bit.” Razar held up his hand, forefinger and thumb barely apart to demonstrate.

“Oh, yes, because the Tricksters still being loose isn’t a horrific event in and of itself.”

Genevieve shifted. “They will snap back to you. How long is left?”

“Three days.” Rhiannon tapped her staff against her leg, hollow tapping through the thickness of her skirt. “But they’ll fight it.”

“Wouldn’t you?” Basil muttered.

Rhiannon reached out and thumped him with her staff.

“And you can’t call them back before then.”

“A deal’s a deal.” Rhiannon twisted her empty hand, palm up.

Genevieve nodded. “So. Razar–”

“There’s no way in heck that I can keep ‘em contained,” he said, cutting her off.

“What are you, a child?” Basil laughed derisively.

Genevieve tilted her head away. Breathe. Calm. “Can you divert their attention?”

“Oh. Uh… yeah, probably.” Razar flexed his fingers, making slim fists of gentle hands.

Not gentle. Slim, delicate. Never gentle. Gentle was a… useless word in their line of work. For the most part.

“Do that. Basil–”

“Act as bait? Keep out of the way? Fetch drinks, set up the camp?” He slumped back against a tree, hitting the ground on his arse as he affected a pose of indolence. “What role am I playing today?”

By the horns, Genevieve could happily maim him and have no qualms.

Melri stepped a pace forward, wings shifting. She cracked open her beak, razor tipped hooves tapping forward at his boots.

Genevieve held out a hand to stop her, and stroked the hippogriff.

Basil shuffled backwards, giving her a wary look.

Genevieve tried not to smirk too much. “I hear you’re good at tracking down information.”

“And?”

“Hop to it. Find out more information.”

Basil slouched to his feet. “’Bout what?”

“Any end of days scenarios they have in folklore,” Rhiannon replied instead. “What kind of trickster spirits they speak of.”

“Are you – you’re kidding. Right?” He laughed. “There’s no way those spirits could cause–” He shut up as Genevieve turned her steely gaze on him.

Then he ducked his head and turned, all but running from the clearing.

Razar snorted. “Telt.”

“What do you and I do?” Rhiannon asked, watching Genevieve.

Genevieve reached to lift her crossbow from Melri’s back. “We go hunting.”

Rhiannon frowned, but didn’t argue. She didn’t, really. Knew when to keep her mouth shut, unlike the other two.

If she’d been allowed to choose her own crew, Rhiannon would’ve been on it. The other two wouldn’t be.

“You have a way to find them?”

Rhiannon nodded.

Genevieve gestured for her to make a start.

“I’ll… set up?” Razar shrugged and stretched, sleeves slipping back up to his shoulders, revealing more illegible words. “Let me know when you’ve found them.”

Genevieve jerked her head in assent and followed Rhiannon, gesturing for Melri to stay.

The hippogriff grunted and lay down.

Razar eyed her and then shrugged, rolling his wrists and reaching for the first bag.

Rhiannon and Genevieve didn’t talk much as they walked through the woods.

Rhiannon stumbled, once or twice, as she took less paths and more tracks and her prosthetic – as fancy and flexible as it was – caught on roots, or didn’t lift up enough.

Genevieve watched her back as she scanned their surroundings, ready to catch her or shoot anything that attacked.

“I’m sorry,” Rhiannon whispered, after a long time walking in silence. “I shouldn’t have made the deal with them.

Genevieve shrugged, still scanning the trees.

“It was so stupid, but I was scared and I didn’t know what to do. And now–” Rhiannon cut off.

“You still have a soul,” Genevieve replied, when Rhiannon didn’t continue. “You’re still human.”

“The Tricksters have been free for a year.” Rhiannon turned as they reached the edge of the forest, where the wind gusted up against them. “It’s been horrific.”

“It’s been a year like any other.”

“But I was selfish, I couldn’t – I could’ve bargained them down more, but I didn’t.” Rhiannon stepped away, up to the edge of the cliff.

Genevieve turned to look along the edge of the forest.

“And I’ve dragged Razar from his work, Basil from his – self loathing–”

“Can’t say that’s not a good thing,” Genevieve muttered.

Rhiannon laughed, painfully. “And – and you! You… you should be at home, with Asin, doing your own… what do you even do? I don’t know, I’ve never asked.”

“I hunt.” Genevieve rested the crossbow against her shoulder. “Cortez told me that this needed done, so I’m here.”

“But–”

Horns. “Rhiannon. We are the Guardians. This is what we do.”

“You know where Linus found me?”

Genevieve frowned. Where was this going?

“I’d helped to open a rift, I’d helped to almost destroy a world. Does that sound like what a Guardian should do?”

“The world still exists.” Genevieve turned over her free hand. “We all make mistakes.”

“You never destroyed a world, though.”

“Rhiannon–” Genevieve cursed, swung her crossbow up, and fired.

Rough cackling filled the air as Genevieve stepped up beside Rhiannon, pulling her away from the edge of the cliff.

“I didn’t – how didn’t I – that’s not… right.” Rhiannon shook her head.

The first of the Tricksters appeared before them, rolling over in the air and stretching luxuriously. “So close! So very, very close.”

“What are you doing?” Genevieve didn’t lower her crossbow.

The Trickster had her quarrel stuck in their shoulder. “Planning ahead.” It didn’t seem to be phased by it at all.

“Our contract forbids physical harm,” Rhiannon said, gripping at her staff in both hands.

“Ah, but if you’d walked off the cliff in search of us, that would hardly be my fault.” The Trickster grinned at them, upside down.

This was not how the plan was supposed to go. “Where are the other three?” Genevieve asked.

“Around. There’s something… interesting in the air.” The Trickster splayed their claws, tapping at nothing.

Rhiannon was scraping at the ground with her staff, gouging out some kind of pattern.

Oh. Clever.

“Don’t think you can stop us,” the Trickster hissed, twisting upright. “We still have time.” It turned over backwards and disappeared.

And that had been three days ago. Two. Two and a half. More than that. Nearing three days.

Melri clacked her beak and ruffled her wings, itching to fly.

Genevieve stroked the hippogriff, holding her crossbow.

Rhiannon stood out in front of them, glyphs ready on scrolls at her waist. Razar and Basil stood beside Genevieve, Razar only pretending not to pay attention and Basil actually not paying attention.

“How long?”

The sun was setting. Dramatic, of course. These Tricksters had a flair for that.

Oddly, though, nothing much had come of the three days they’d had.

“Not–” Rhiannon stumbled and steadied herself, then fell.

Beside Genevieve, Razar and Basil were reacted the same. Melri screeched and reared, wings stretched to their fullest extent.

Genevieve stepped back, swinging her crossbow up. “What–”

The aftershock hit then, rippling through the trees like a cold wind.

Genevieve felt that, the physical manifestation of a magical… whatever.

One by one, the Tricksters flickered into place around Rhiannon, who sat folded on the ground, staff rolling from her hand.

“What fun.”

“What have you done?” Rhiannon’s hand glowed silver as she clenched it, taking a shuddering breath.

“Nothing!”

“For once.”

“This was not us.”

“But it almost was.”

The four traded a smirking grin.

“Just think, if we had had a little longer–!”

“Be glad you didn’t,” Genevieve growled, and tightened her fingers on the crossbow as the land below themselves

Shattered.

Great cracks appeared, lava spewing up from the depths.

Roaring echoed in their bones, a chilling laughter of beasts – of gods – of monsters finally awake.

“Razar–”

“I swear, it isn’t me! On the tree that marks my bones, this isn’t my doing!”

“The world is ending,” Basil whispered, his voice somehow audible above it all. “The world is ending and we are going to die and none of this is fair because you ruined everything for me!” He screamed it at the sky, at the forest, at the horrific laughter. “You ruined it, the day you took her from me, the day you gave me–”

“Prioritise, Basil!” Genevieve snapped at him, finally stepping forward to help Rhiannon up. “Think. What can we do?”

“Ah – everyone, get over here!” Rhiannon grasped at Genevieve’s forearm, getting her feet back under her. “The glyphs should hold–”

Basil didn’t need any further urging to step inside, pressing close. Even Razar moved, devoid of his usual swagger.

Genevieve turned to coax Melri, and found the hippogriff snorting at her shoulder, pawing the ground. “Careful,” she murmured, catching at the halter. “Don’t mess the lines.”

Rhiannon laughed, shrill. “Bad idea, that.”

They huddled. The Tricksters, still at the four points around them, laughed.

“You see something new every day,” Razar said, staring out at the land as it tumbled over itself, forests collapsing into ravines, rivers pouring away into sink holes.

Being on top of a cliff suddenly didn’t seem like a good idea.

Genevieve gritted her teeth. They would get out of this. She would get out of this. Asin still expected her back. This wouldn’t be the end.

“What happened?” Rhiannon asked, still staring out. Inside her warding, the ground was steady.

Genevieve got the impression that even if everything else shook itself to dust, the warded area around them would remain.

“How did I end up standing on a cliff watching the whole world burn?” Rhiannon continued. “Again?”