‘Gabriel!’
‘Hold on, honey.’ He needed to help her down. She was alive. Thank God, she was alive.
Relief, cool and joyous, swept over the rage, and he clutched the railing to stop himself from sagging to the floor.
‘You were supposed to be for me,’ a tremulous voice said behind him, and he turned. Ramsey stood at the door, as did Ellie and Misty, all of them holding hands. Gabe held up a hand unobtrusively in a gesture of ‘stay’. He didn’t want anyone else hurt by this woman.
‘What?’ he said, glaring at the hooded figure.
‘You were supposed to be mine.’ The woman rubbed at her temple.
Lightning flashed and thunder roared, and for a brief moment he saw her face. His jaw slackened.
‘Renee?’ he forced the name past his disbelief. ‘What – what are you doing here?’ His former physiotherapist stepped closer, drawing the hood back from her face. Her blonde hair was matted and oily, as though she hadn’t washed it in days, although she reeked of perfume. Dark circles under her eyes suggested she hadn’t slept much, either. She was pale and gaunt, and she’d lost weight since he’d last seen her.
Tears filled her eyes. ‘I love you, Gabie,’ she said, reaching a hand out to him. He recoiled from both her touch and the endearment that had always grated on his nerves. ‘We were supposed to be together, you and I.’ The woman’s wild eyes darted toward the railing. ‘Not that bitch. Me.’
‘You tried to kill her,’ he said, bitter disappointment in his tone. What the hell? What was wrong with this woman?
‘No, I tried to save us,’ she corrected. ‘None of those others were good enough for you. Only I can look after you properly. Only I know what you really need.’
He stared at her, aghast, as realisation dawned. ‘You tampered with my bed.’
‘I only did it so that you would realise how much you needed me.’
‘And those things that went missing from the other physiotherapists? That was you?’
‘They don’t know you like I know you. They can’t look after you as well as I can. I made you that special drink so that I could look after you, and she ruined it.’
His blood chilled in his veins. ‘What did you put in the tea?’ God, no wonder it had tasted weird.
‘Elkshood. It’s a muscle inhibitor.’
Gabriel blinked. ‘A what?’ He thought he understood what she said, but it wasn’t logical, it was – it was evil.
‘You won’t get better until I make you better. Don’t you see? I was meant to look after you. You need me.’
‘You poisoned me?’ he bellowed. ‘Is that why I still can’t work? You fed me poison?’ He didn’t bother to hide his incredulity. Holy hell. The woman was twisted. No wonder his recovery was taking so long. He was damn lucky she hadn’t killed him.
‘It would have been fine if it weren’t for her,’ Renee snarled, jerking her chin to the railing and scratching at her temple with trembling fingers.
Gabriel glanced over again. Bella had finally managed to grasp the guttering and was trying to unhook her sodden gown. She screamed when the fabric tore a little, losing her grip on the gutter. His heart lurched as rain pelted into his face, obscuring his view.
‘Bella!’
‘I’m okay,’ she called back. The extra give in the fabric had allowed her feet to touch the roof of the first story. She was still held in place by her gown, but at least she had her feet planted on something solid. That roof was slippery, though. She raised her hand and gave him a thumbs up signal. Damn, she was amazing.
‘She was just doing her job,’ he snarled at the crazy woman next to him. ‘She didn’t do anything to you.’
‘That Jezebel stole you from me,’ Renee cried, stepping closer. ‘Don’t you see? I had to do something before she destroyed us.’
Gabriel lowered his head until they were seeing each other eye to eye. ‘There is no us,’ he stated emphatically. He’d tried to be polite before, had tried not to embarrass or humiliate her, but she hadn’t got the message. ‘There never was an us, there never will be an us.’
Renee blinked at him, confused. She shook her head as tears formed in her eyes. ‘No,’ she said, her voice wafer-thin. ‘No. Don’t say that.’ Her distress was obvious, her bottom lip wobbling as rain soaked her hair to her skull. ‘No.’
‘Renee, you’re sick,’ he said to her gently. ‘You need help.’
She shook her head. ‘No. We’re fine. We’re going to be just fine.’ She scratched at her temple.
‘Where did you get the Elkshood from?’ Ramsey asked. Renee didn’t bother to turn around, her attention centred on Gabriel, nor did she seem to take any notice of the others.
‘Where did you get the Elkshood from?’ Gabriel repeated the question. He had no idea what ‘Elkshood’ was, but Ramsey sounded like he had a clue.
‘From a friend,’ Renee said, a smile crossing her face. ‘My friend has been helping me.’ She scratched her temple, and Gabriel saw the blood there, mixing with the rain and running down the side of her face. She also had blood on her knuckles, streaming down her arm.
‘Well, you and your friend need some serious help, Renee,’ Gabriel told her. He looked over the railing. By now Bella had ripped her skirt, a jagged piece of wet yellow fabric hanging from the guttering like a depressed flag.
‘I’m coming down for you,’ he yelled, hoping she could hear him above the rain. ‘Hang on.’
‘No, no, you can’t.’ Renee stepped in front of him. ‘You can’t go to her. You’re mine.’
‘No, I’m not,’ he told her, trying to keep his voice calm and gentle.
‘Don’t leave me,’ she whispered, her face turning blotchy as tears filled her eyes.
‘She needs me, Renee. I’m going to help Bella.’ He tried to step around the distraught woman.
Renee’s face contorted with rage. ‘You’re mine,’ she screamed and ran at him. She raised her hand and lightening flashed, glinting off the knife she clutched in a white-knuckled grip.
‘Renee,’ he gasped, bellowing when she sliced downward. He jumped back, but not quite fast enough, and the blade caught the sleeve of his jacket. He threw up his arm to defend himself, and she tried to swipe again as thunder clapped above.
Renee hauled back and ran at him, her teeth bared in a snarl. Everything slowed down, as though he was watching the demented woman from outside his body. The spittle flecking her face, the wild look in her eyes, the maniacal scream as she hurled herself at him. He twisted, casting her away from him.
Renee flew over the railing, her scream turning from anger to fear as she plummeted to the ground. Gabriel closed his eyes as he heard her body hit the ground with a wet thunk.
‘Gabriel!’ Bella screamed from below. ‘Gabriel, are you all right?’
He opened his eyes and leaned over the railing. Bella clung to the roof, her face pale with fear, with worry.
‘I’m fine. Hang on, I’m coming to get you.’
He turned, and Ramsey, Ellie and Misty all now stood on the balcony, looking skyward. He followed their gaze.
The sky above the house was lit with unearthly green glow, and lightning sparked, illuminating roiling clouds that were swirling as though caught in a clothes dryer.
‘Get inside,’ Ramsey said, not taking his gaze from the spectacle above.
Gabriel started to move towards the door. A jagged green bolt of lightning arced down, blasting the area in front of the door. The smell of sulphur and burnt ozone, a shower of green sparks, and the balcony sheared away from the building.
***
Bella screamed as the landing broke away from the house. The four people standing on it tumbled along with it. Gabriel fell towards her, and she could see his expression, a combination of shock, startled fear and a grim determination as he flung his arms out. He cried out when his arm hit the second-storey roof, and he twisted, catching hold of some decorative wooden trim along the rim of the second floor roof.
Ellie fell
further, and Bella held her arm out. The woman reached for and grabbed hold of Bella’s forearm, and Bella cried out as her feet slid out from underneath her on the slippery slate-tiled roof. Ellie’s momentum was halted, and her head hit a wall, nearly jerking Bella’s arm out of the socket. Tears sprang to her eyes as she tried to hold on to the guttering and the now-dazed woman. They both dangled several feet above the ground.
Gabriel, where was Gabriel? And Ramsey and Misty? She looked up, sobbing as her shoulder started to burn, Ellie’s weight pulling at her arm. Rain fell into her eyes, and she had to blink several times before she caught sight of Gabriel one story above her.
Ramsey and Misty clutched the ridge where the balcony had once been. Thunder roared directly above them, and it looked as though the clouds were funnelling down to touch the house.
The black and green clouds morphed into some sort of winged creature that alighted onto the roof gracefully.
Bella gaped. What the hell is that? Ellie groaned, shifting.
‘Don’t move, Ellie. God, please don’t move.’ Bella called out. The guttering creaked and shuddered. Ellie looked down, and could see the twisted broken body of the crazy lady, her eyes staring sightlessly up at the sky.
Please hold. Please, please hold.
She kept her eyes on the creature that now threw its head back and cackled, its laughter sounding like stones in a washing machine. Long dark hair swayed and waved in the winds of the storm, and green eyes glowed out of a twisted, gaunt face.
‘Oh, now this is beautiful,’ the creature said, and lifted her hand, her fingers looking more like claws. ‘A fairy tale right on the precipice of failing. I love it.’ She bent over to look at Ramsey and cackled some more. ‘Why, hello there, old friend.’
***
Rump hung on to the ridge of broken wood, eyeing the green-eyed monster in front of him.
‘Malevia,’ he greeted the witch coolly.
She cackled. ‘Oh, you know me better than that. Call me Evie.’
Malevia straightened and gazed at the tableau before her. ‘I see you’ve brought that funky little fairy of yours, Esmerelda.’ Her green gaze turned to Misty, clinging to the ridge beside Rump.
‘Well, well, who do we have here?’ Her green eyes brightened eerily. ‘I don’t believe we’ve met.’
Misty frowned up at her. ‘You’re the Queen of the Dark Army,’ she said, and Rump turned his head to stare at the sprite. How had she known? Was she guessing? Misty let go of the ridge, putting one hand on her hip as she gazed up at the witch. She hung there, one-handed, as though it was the most comfortable position to be in. ‘You need to conserve your energy,’ she said blandly. ‘All this smoke and mirrors stuff is draining you.’
Malevia chuckled, lifting her hands to the sky, and lightning sparked from her fingertips into the atmosphere. ‘Oh, darling, I have plenty more where that came from.’ She cocked her head. ‘You interest me. You seem…familiar, but I know we’ve never met. I’d remember you,’ she said, pointing with her finger. Lightning zapped from her fingers toward Misty, and Rump threw a golden ball at it, exploding it into pale green slivers that rained down in glowing embers that faded as they fell.
Malevia’s glowing green eyes narrowed as she turned back to him. Rump met her gaze calmly.
‘You know, I heard a rumour you were dead, or at least close enough to it. How did you get out of Confinement?’
Rump grinned. ‘Why, Evie, I did what most imps do – I struck a deal.’ He swung himself against the building and kicked up, effortlessly back-flipping unto the roof so that he could face the witch at the same level.
Malevia smiled, and he tried not to cringe at the sight of her spikey teeth. The dark powers hadn’t treated her well.
The rain continued to fall, but at least the thunder and lightning had eased. He presumed she was keeping them in store for later.
‘Ah, see, that’s Matilda’s problem. She’s always eager to talk, talk, talk,’ the witch said, opening and closing her hands in mimicry of speech. Each time her hands closed over, green sparks flecked out. ‘She should be more intent to act, act, act.’
Rump kept his arms loosely at his side, and laughed casually, glancing over the side of the house. Esmerelda hung from Bella, and she was blinking into the falling rain, as though trying to clear a fog from her vision. He was worried, but he had to be wary. Malevia, Misty, Esmerelda – they weren’t as they presented themselves, and he didn’t trust any of them.
‘Tell me, Malevia, what brings you to this realm?’ No wonder he couldn’t find her in Fantasia.
‘Oh, I do like to dabble in misery, and this realm seems made for it.’ The witch’s smile was brittle.
Misty landed on the roof and dusted off her hands. ‘She needs the misery,’ she told Rump.
He frowned at her. ‘Who are you?’ She was like some kind of savant fairy.
She frowned right back at him. ‘Mistyweather.’
Malevia gasped. ‘Really? Mistyweather, you say.’ She crossed her arms and advanced on the young sprite.
Misty stared at her warily. ‘Yes, I say.’ Her nose wrinkled. ‘Sprinkles and stardust, you smell like you’ve been rolling around in troll dung,’ she said, pulling her head back in distaste. She held up a placatory hand. ‘No offence.’
Rump gaped at her. She’d just told the Queen of the Dark Army that she stank. ‘You didn’t pass your diplomacy course, did you?’
Misty shot a glance at him before looking back at Malevia. ‘I didn’t pass a lot of courses,’ she said out of the side of her mouth.
A figure launched out of the darkness and landed on the roof. Esmerelda, looking a little worse for wear – and angry.
‘Malevia, what do you want?’
Malevia smiled, and Misty grimaced, raising her hand, but Rump grabbed it. Fungus, was she going to actually point?
‘I want your tale.’
‘You can’t have it,’ Esmerelda snapped.
‘Oh, but I can,’ Malevia said. She lowered her hand, and they all glanced below. Bella hung for dear life onto creaking guttering, and Gabriel clung to wood trim even higher off the ground. ‘I just need one. You can have the other.’
‘No.’ Esmerelda squared her shoulders, glaring at the witch. Rump arched an eyebrow. Did she really think she could take on a witch? She risked too much to protect these humans.
‘What would you give us in return?’ he asked idly, and ignored Esmerelda’s outraged gasp, her indignant stare.
Malevia cackled. ‘Ah, I do love an imp.’ She tapped her chin, as though thinking something over. ‘I know, I can let you lot live.’
‘The answer is still no.’ Esmerelda’s voice was colder than the wind whipping about them.
‘Oh, come on, Esmerelda. These humans are hardly with your effort.’
‘If they’re not worth her effort, why are they worth all this?’ Rump said, gesturing to the natural display Malevia had created. He thought it was a little showy.
Malevia glared at him, and he smiled. Gotcha.
‘She needs the misery to feed her dark powers,’ Misty said, and again Rump was amazed. Maybe he should have tapped into Misty when he first came out of Confinement.
‘Let me show you,’ Malevia crooned, and pointed at the guttering that Bella clung to.
Bella screamed as lightning flashed and hit the corner gutter. The gutter glowed and she let go.
Gabriel yelled in protest and let go of the wood trim, sliding down the roof and diving toward Bella, reaching out for her hand. Her eyes wide open in fear, she caught his arm as he caught the corner of the house, and he howled as she pulled on his injured arm.
They dangled there, helpless, and Malevia closed her eyes in bliss. ‘Can you feel it?’ she rasped. ‘It’s so delicious.’ She licked her lips, and Misty staggered back, her eyes dark.
‘No,’ the sprite said hollowly. ‘It’s painful.’
Rump met Esmerelda’s eyes over the head of the young sprite. That was something new.
A sprite…empath? Did they even exist?
‘If she takes one, she takes the other,’ Misty said, her mouth drawn down. ‘If one dies, the other lives a lifetime of misery, and she has a continuous power source.’
Rump folded his arms. Another piece to his puzzle just fell into place. ‘Is that so?’
Malevia laughed, and wagged her claw-like finger. ‘Well, aren’t you full of surprises…’ She cocked her head to the side. ‘But I’m bored with this, and I’m hungry.’
She flung her hand out, and green lightning arced down toward Gabriel. Esmerelda screamed, and launched herself toward the green spark.
Rump roared, throwing a golden orb at the light, his heart in his mouth as Esmerelda bore the brunt of both attacks. She started to fall, jerking every now and then, but she hurt too much to stop her fall. He could either go after Essie, or go after the witch who could finally give him some answers.
Esmerelda continued to plummet, and Rump whirled on Malevia. ‘We’re not finished,’ he snarled, and then leapt after the falling fairy.
Chapter 14
Misty watched in dismay as Malevia blinked, then smiled, those gruesome teeth dripping in the rain. ‘Well, isn’t that interesting,’ the witch murmured.
Misty didn’t want to look down. Gabriel and Bella, and now Rump and Esmerelda – their pain, their terror, it was almost too much to bear, like a scalding bath of horror. How could the witch stand it? Malevia ran her teeth over her tongue, relishing the emotional fire she’d started in not only the humans, but now also the fey folk. How could she feast on this?
Malevia raised her hands, her claws clicking, her lips drawing tight in an evil little smile as she extended her arms toward the four figures below.
Rump tackled Esmerelda and spun, fighting the winds, fighting gravity, before he had them righted, landing with a soft thud on the ground. Misty sensed his relief, something green and light. She also sensed Esmerelda’s pain. She was hurt, physically and emotionally, the little sparks of anger tearing at Misty’s control.
Malevia laughed, and waggled her fingers, letting loose a series of sparks that zinged toward Gabriel. The horror, the pain – the witch was feeding off it, strengthening. Misty looked at the witch and acted instinctively. She threw her hands up, and white fire sprang from her fingertips, arcing down to extinguish the green lightning.
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