03] ES) Firestorm

by Shannon Mayer

  Dropping to my knees I leaned into the opening and then lay flat on my belly as I shimmied forward. “How far?”

  “Fifty feet.”

  “Wonderful,” I muttered, pushing myself in. There wasn’t a lot of room. It wasn’t like I could really build up speed, but I had to try. Frantic to get to Brand’s home ahead of Fiametta, I shoved myself along, my elbows and knees scraping in the dirt; my skin tearing open and filling with bits of rock. Sweat rolled down my face, and for the first time since I’d been in the Pit, it didn’t evaporate right away. Which meant it acted as a perfect fluid for all the dust I stirred up to stick to me.

  “Peta, she’s going to know,” I breathed into the shadowy darkness. Ahead of me there was a dim glow that had to be the way out.

  “Just keep going. If you’re in bed, she can’t accuse you of being out.”

  “I’m covered in sweat and dirt; she isn’t that blind.”

  “Dirt Girl, just go.” She swiped a claw at my bare foot and I did as she said and concentrated on the exit. I fell through—finally—and quite literally. The tunnel opened four feet above the ground and I tumbled out, landing in a heap.

  Peta leapt out after me and ran for the open door. She peered out and a low hiss escaped her. “Hurry, she is on the bridge.”

  Scrambling to my feet I lurched forward as I untangled my legs. Reaching the door, I took a quick look. Fiametta was at a distance, but no way would she miss me if making a run for it. If I could see her, she could most assuredly see me.

  Pressing my back against the rock, I slid out the door toward Brand’s home.

  “Run, Dirt Girl,” Peta snapped.

  “If I run, her eyes will be drawn to me,” I answered quietly. “You’re a predator, surely you know that.”

  She snorted and then pressed herself against the wall. “I don’t like when you’re right.”

  “I don’t like that you didn’t argue she wasn’t a predator.” My back scraped along the wall, my heart hammered and my mind raced. We passed the first two homes with no problem, but Brand’s home would be the clincher. I stood in the shadow of a low overhang between Brand’s home and the one beside it.

  “We need to distract her; find a way to get her to look behind her.”

  “Can you reach your earth powers?” Peta asked.

  “If I’m angry enough.” I looked across the cavern. With each moment that passed, the light grew and the shadow I hid in shrank.

  “If you can do anything at all, now would be the time,” Peta quipped. Damn it, she was right. I focused on Ash being locked away, on Fiametta and her games . . . but it didn’t work. “Peta, help me out here.”

  “Cactus slept with Maggie after he kissed you,” she said.

  And there it was. A fierce hurt arched through me and I grabbed hold of the anger that flowed with it.

  Behind Fiametta was the stone statue of the firewyrm that epitomized their family. I focused on it, thinking about how I’d broken down the sandstone doors in the Deep, and how shocked Requiem had been. Maybe that would work here too.

  Pressing my hands into the ground, I pushed my power through the earth toward the statue. A wave of the earth rippled out from me—“Shit, she’ll see where it came from,” I growled.

  Fiametta seemed oblivious to the wave until it hit the statue. The large obsidian fire lizard groaned as it rocked on its base. She turned and put her hands on her hips. The two Enders flanking her turned also; this was the moment I needed. I urged my power into the stone, finding the particles and pulling them apart bit by bit. Gritting my teeth, I focused.

  In an explosion that rocked the cavern, the statue burst apart the black stone, flinging out wide enough that a few pieces even landed at my feet. I scooped one up and tucked it into a pocket, not really knowing why, but trusting my instinct. Perhaps I would need it later. Fiametta’s back was to me, but I couldn’t help but stare. “Mother goddess.”

  “Run, Dirt Girl. You won’t get a second chance.” Peta urged me forward, butting her head against the back of my legs. I stumbled forward, around the close corner and into Brand’s home. I jogged to my room, stopping only to grab a cloth from the bathing room. Dipping it into a basin of water, I scrubbed at my face and arms. The mixture that flowed off me was a deep black, like coal dust. “There is no way—”

  “Just hurry,” Peta looked over her shoulder. “They are coming faster now. She already suspects you.”

  Great. I threw the wet cloth into the basin and bolted down the hall to my room. Peta slipped in as I shut the door. I stripped out of my vest and pants, dropping them onto the floor and then crawled into the bed. The silk sheets were cool on my skin and they covered the dirt on my legs, sticking to me where I was still wet. Peta curled up in the crook of my neck. “Until she commands you, do not open your eyes,” she said as I closed my eyes just as the door to my room slammed open.

  Even with Peta’s warning, it was a struggle to lay relaxed, breathing slowly with my eyes closed tight.

  “Terraling, awake,” Fiametta commanded and I slowly opened my eyes. Blinking up at her, it was no effort to yawn.

  “What’s going on?” I whispered, sitting up and clutching the sheet to my chest.

  Fiametta’s eyes narrowed as she took a step closer. Once more I thought for just a split second I saw a glimmer of pink at the edges of her eyes. But it was gone before I could say for sure.

  “How is it that your skin is damp?” Her words snapped me out of my musing.

  I frowned and then gave a slow shrug, thinking fast. “Sweating, I guess. It is far hotter here than I’m used to at the Rim.”

  I didn’t think her eyes could narrow more, but I was wrong. Her eyebrows dipped as her two Enders slipped into the room. I held up my hands, allowing the sheet to drop, baring my chest. “I am unarmed.”

  “I doubt that, as I doubt very much that you have been here all night. How did you keep awake when the bell tolled?” she said quietly, the tone of her voice anything but soft. Worm shit and green sticks, if she didn’t believe me, there was nothing I could say to sway her.

  Peta leapt to the floor, stretching. “My queen, the Dirt Girl has been here all night and I have slept beside her. What you are suggesting would imply that she has some sort of strength against our magic.”

  Fiametta’s eyes flicked between Peta and me. She bent and scooped the cat up and I stiffened, feeling like she was touching something of mine that I hadn’t given her permission to.

  The queen held Peta up to her face. “And why should I believe you, bad luck cat?”

  “Because my heart is here in the Pit, no matter where I am assigned by the mother goddess.” There was a deep sincerity in her words and for some strange reason a slice of pain cut through me.

  Fiametta sniffed. “We shall see.” She lowered Peta to the ground gently. “Terraling, come with us. It is time for you to see your friend for the last time.”

  I grabbed at the sheets to keep from leaping out of the bed and showing all the dirt on my legs. “You said three days, today is only the second day.”

  An arch of her eyebrow and the Enders shifted on their feet. “And if I chose to kill him now, I would be within my rights.”

  I swallowed hard. “Is that what you’ve decided?” What would I do if she said yes? Try and raze the Pit? Take Ash out by force?

  I would start a war between our families, a war the world could not afford; even I knew that much.

  “No.”

  That one word and I deflated. “Thank the mother goddess.”

  “Do not thank her yet.” Fiametta’s words bit at me. “Neither of you are safe. You may not be in the dungeon, you may have tried to save me from treachery, but I do not trust you. Nor will I. I feel you trying to worm your way into my good graces.”

  I couldn’t stop my eyes from widening as she spun and strode out of my room. Her Enders followed silently. I rolled out of bed and jerked my still warm clothes back on.

  What had Fiametta meant by that?
Worming my way into her good graces, how was I supposed to be doing that?

  Peta meowed at me and patted my knee with one paw. “Pick me up, Dirt Girl.”

  I bent and did as she asked and she curled onto my shoulder with a sigh that was one part relief and two parts pain.

  My feet stopped in the threshold of my room, shock rolling through me as I sensed the pain deep in Peta’s ribs. “Peta, did she hurt you?”

  “It is her way with familiars, to get them to be honest.” Her breathing was ragged and under my hands, several of her ribs felt lumpy, and out of place. The rage that lit along my nerve endings was sudden and sharp. That was the slice of pain I’d felt when Fiametta had picked up Peta. I strode out the door and through the house, fueled by anger.

  Fiametta stood waiting with her arms crossed and I didn’t slow. I all but slammed my face into hers, using my body to push her back. “If you touch my familiar again—ever—I will pull this mountain down on your head. Do you understand?”

  Peta let out a whimper and hid her face behind my neck, but I never took my eyes from Fiametta. The two Enders swept in as I spoke, but she lifted a hand, stopping them. Her eyes were carefully neutral.

  “She is a creature of the Pit and therefore mine to rule.”

  I pushed her back another step with my body, staring down at her. “She is a creation of the mother goddess gifted to me. She is mine, Fiametta. Do not forget that.”

  Around us the mountain rumbled and the red lines of power worked up Fiametta’s arms to her shoulders. “You wish to fight me, Terraling? You will lose.”

  “Do not be so sure,” I snapped, seeing for the first time the colors racing up my own arms. A deep vibrant green with hints of pink peeking through, boosting the darker color. “You may be queen, but you are blind. You have someone trying to take you down and you are so sure of yourself, you think you can stand against it on your own.”

  Her blue eyes widened. “I have killed the traitor.”

  I took a step back and shook my head. “You think he worked alone? He said he had a master other than you. And then there are the firewyrms. You would wipe them out as if they were nothing.”

  “What do you know of the firewyrms?” She leaned toward me.

  “I know they were being manipulated into attacking you. Making you believe they were the true threat.”

  Her eyes turned thoughtful. She raised her left hand and beckoned to the Ender on that side. “What say you?”

  He bowed his head. “No one here rivals you, my queen. You reign supreme and will for a thousand years.”

  A second wave of her hand and both Enders stepped back, far enough that they could no longer overhear us.

  The Ender’s words had a feeling of something he’d said before; something he did by rote with no real feeling behind them.

  Fiametta snorted. “That,” she pointed at her Ender, “is why I have not killed you, Larkspur. You do not back down from me and while you irritate my skin just looking at you . . .I cannot deny you speak your mind and with it a truth I have not heard in a long time. It is an interesting theory you have regarding the firewyrms. Interesting indeed.”

  She lifted a hand toward Peta and I shifted my weight so the shoulder my cat sat on was away from Fiametta. The queen dropped her hand. “Come, see your friend. We will speak after of things that should not be heard by mere Enders.”

  Spinning on her booted heel, she walked away. Her long red hair swayed against the black leathers she wore as she walked . . . but the boots caught my attention.

  Following slowly, I reached up and ran my hands carefully over Peta’s back. “Why is the queen wearing boots? Why would she be afraid of her feet touching the ground or the heat? Shouldn’t that be part of her connection to her element?”

  I could understand why the Enders wore boots, they were useful when kicking the crap out of someone, but not the queen.

  Peta gave a low shudder and she struggled to breathe around her words. “That is a good question.”

  I stopped and stared at her. “How badly are you hurt?”

  “I will heal.” Her eyes were at half-mast and her third eyelid dropped across her green irises. She struggled for breath as her tiny pink tongue hung out, and she wobbled on my shoulder.

  “Fiametta, we must stop at the healer’s first.”

  The queen never slowed for a beat. “I will not. You have a few moments before everyone in my kingdom will waken. This is your last chance to see your friend.”

  Peta panted in my ear. “She will not give you another opportunity.”

  Growling to myself, I stalked after Fiametta, wishing I could break a few of her ribs and see how she liked it.

  Peta laid her head on my shoulder and a pitiful purr rolled out of her, a raspy wet rumble that did not sound right. Jaw tight, I did my best not to jar or jostle her. Because maybe she wasn’t all that enamored with being my familiar, but she was mine to protect and care for as much as I was hers.

  CHAPTER 14

  he dungeons were not deep in the mountain as I expected, but to the side of the main throne room on the upper levels. The entrance was directly behind the gold and jewel encrusted throne.

  Before I could ask, Fiametta pointed at the plain doors. “It is best to keep your enemies close, Terraling. If you ever find yourself protecting a royal in the Rim, that is advice I suggest you heed.”

  “Is that why you slept with the traitor?” The words popped out before I could catch them and I swallowed hard. Peta let out a low groan as the queen slowly turned.

  Her blue eyes sparkled, and shocked, I realized she tried not to laugh. Her lips twitched and her shoulders tightened as she fought not to shake. Flicking her fingers at the two Enders, she turned and walked to the flat section of the wall that was the prison entrance. “Larkspur, you are bold like no one I have met in a long time. It is refreshing. I did not know he was a traitor. But if I had, I likely would have still bedded him. He had a very fine body.”

  I opened my mouth, but then closed it quickly as I thought better of my words. Fiametta turned and lifted an eyebrow.

  “What, now you would censor yourself?” she asked.

  “I believe if I cross a line you do not like, and I cannot see, you will use that as a reason to throw me into the dungeon beside Ash.” I folded my arms over my chest while I waited for her to either open the door or step out of my way.

  She shrugged. “Possibly, yes.”

  “Don’t do it, Dirt Girl,” Peta said at the same time as I spoke.

  “And Cassava? Did you know what she was doing or did you realize too late that she was trying to manipulate you?”

  Fiametta stared at me, her expression unreadable. “Cassava and I were friends once. Her machinations are what made me break ties with her. Basileus should have banished her when she killed his mistress. That one could have made your family great if she could have ousted Cassava.”

  Her words shocked me to the core. Fiametta spoke about my mother, Ulani. But Fiametta didn’t know I was the bastard child of the king and I wanted to keep it that way. Swallowing the words I truly wanted to say, I kept it simple, my tone casual.

  “So I hear.” I didn’t move from where I was. Anything I did now could be considered a threat. Fiametta walked toward me, circling me, her boot heels clicking against the smooth floor.

  “What else do you hear? Tell me the truth, Larkspur, and perhaps we can discuss your—and your friend’s—usefulness to me.”

  She was behind me and I struggled not to turn to her. I did not want the queen at my back and my shoulder blades itched as though she’d pressed a knife there. I chose my words carefully while still speaking the truth.

  “Cassava had a way of controlling people—it is why the king banished her.”

  Fiametta snorted as she came around my right side. “Your king has been under her spell for years. You think he’s broken free because she is gone?”

  Here it was, the stab in the dark. “Her ability to control people
is gone.”

  Her eyebrows shot up and she stopped in front of me. “Truly?”

  I nodded. “At least, her ability outside of her natural charms.”

  “Interesting.” She turned and walked toward the dungeon again. “Come, see your friend before I kill him.”

  “Wait, you said—”

  “You told me nothing I didn’t already know. Cassava came to me first after she was banished. I sent her away with ease which told me she could no longer manipulate me as she once had.”

  She flung the doors open and gestured. “You have five minutes. If you are not out in that time frame, I will shut the door and lock you in.”

  I strode through, not for a second doubting her words. “Peta, count for me. Give me a ten second warning.”

  “Done,” she said softly.

  The gloom of the dungeon hung like steam in the air, moist and hot. The poor air quality not only made it hard to breathe, but hard to see.

  “Ash?”

  “Lark.” His voice came from my left and I followed it unerringly. He was chained to the wall, his hands above his head and his legs spread wide. They’d stripped him down to nothing more than his small clothes. I stopped a couple feet from him.

  “Are you hurt?”

  “I’ve healed.”

  “Who did you fight with?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t even know. He was all dressed in black and I couldn’t get a good look at him. I assumed he was another prisoner. He attacked me, and I fought back. I don’t think he was expecting that.”

  The cloaked one. “He is no prisoner. He’s fighting everything I’m doing to get you out.”

  “You can’t get me out, Lark. They have a steel trap of a case. Brand should have had you out of here by now.”

  I leaned in and smacked him in the chest. “I’m not leaving without you. We’re a team, we survived the Deep together, and we will damn well survive this.”

  A breath eased out of him. “There is nothing you can do, Lark. They have to blame someone for the deaths.”