Arnemetia’s well was not only for healing. This was also a wishing well. All that was required for a wish to be granted was an offering of a treasured possession.
Fate knew exactly what she’d need to give up to have her deepest wish granted. Removing her helmet and gloves, she pulled at the ribbon round her neck and lifted the small pouch out from under her armor. Squeezing it, she breathed in the aroma of warm leather and the woodsy scent of Finn’s sacred tobacco. Tears came to her eyes as she fought against tossing the pouch into the well. How could she let go of the one thing she’d always used to feel connected to him? She highly doubted she would’ve made it this far if she hadn’t had this small but soothing object to keep her going.
But wasn’t it worth giving up this last piece of Finn if it meant he could be with her now?
Fate swallowed back the tears and removed the ribbon from her neck. She ran the silk through her fingers and rubbed her thumb over the soft leather. Which one should she offer the wishing well? The scents within the tobacco pouch offered the most comfort, but Finn had cherished his mother’s ribbon and he’d given it to Fate as if it had been a piece of his heart.
Decision made. She kept the ribbon and tied it round her wrist.
Closing her eyes, she dangled the tobacco pouch over the well, careful to word her wish silently before daring to say it aloud. She knew all too well the ramifications of careless words spoken in the form of a wish. At last, she opened her eyes and took in a deep, shaky breath. “I wish for Finn to appear before me now.” She let the pouch drop into the well, where it vanished in the chalky water.
Seconds ticked by excruciatingly slow as Fate waited for Finn to appear out of nowhere. Afraid impatience would get the best of her, she forced herself to stay rooted to the spot. Much to her relief, the water stirred as a head pushed through the opaque surface, followed by broad shoulders, strong arms and muscled torso.
Fate’s heart pounded out of control as she watched Finn’s familiar form rise in front of her, his head bent. At first he was completely covered in the milky substance and seemed made of the stuff. But then the liquid disappeared, soaking into his clothes and skin once he stepped free of the well.
He lifted his head, eyes wide as he stared at her through strands of bronzed blonde falling in careless waves over his rune-marked temple. “Fate? Is it really you?”
She was shaking from head to foot, barely able to breathe. All she could do was nod.
He closed the space between them in two steps, scooped her in his arms and whirled her around in circles. “I can’t believe you’re here!” His breath feathered against her skin as he nuzzled his face against her neck.
A euphoric thrill passed through her body. “Me either,” she whispered breathlessly. She pressed against him, inhaling the masculine scent of his skin.
He pulled back to look at her, his eyes roving over her face. A smile curved his mouth as he moved in for a kiss. Afraid she was dreaming, Fate stopped him by putting her hands on each side of his face, taking in every detail–the golden stubble shadowing the strong line of his jaw, the enticing curve of his mouth and the green of his irises flaming bright with excitement.
Finally convinced he was real, she coiled her fingers in his hair and pulled him close. The moment their lips met, Fate lost herself in the sweet taste of his mouth. Buried desire erupted to the surface like a raging fever. Trembling, she slid her hands along his back, kissing him with wild abandon. She pressed her body against his, but the armor she was wearing formed a wall between them.
“Wait, hold on.” She hastily unbuckled the shoulder pads and breastplate. Letting the pieces topple to the ground, she fumbled with the arm and leg bracers and tossed them aside. Crooking her finger with a playful smile, she invited Finn to pick up where they’d left off.
He gladly stepped forward, circling his arms round her waist as she wriggled close. The heat of his body soaked into her, tipping her into a dizzying fall of sweet oblivion.
If ever there was a more perfect place or time to surrender herself completely, it was here and now. Their past had been riddled with obstacles, but there was nothing in the way anymore. Finn was free of the darkness. They were free to be together without fear of being torn apart by anyone or anything.
Fate pulled him down into the field of flowers. Finn followed eagerly, leaning over her with a look of wonder on his face. She traced her finger over his mouth. “I love you, Finn.”
He kissed her fingers. The warmth of his lips sent delicious shivers along her arm. “And I love you.” His voice was hoarse with emotion. “I’ve always loved you, Fate, even before we met.”
Tears welled in her eyes. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“And I you.” He gently kissed away the tear escaping down her cheek.
She closed her eyes as his mouth trailed over the line of her jaw, down to the length of her neck and along her shoulder. Unable to contain the fire building inside, Fate arched against him. Finn responded in kind, his limbs interlocking with hers in a surge of unbridled desire.
A state of pure bliss pulsed through Fate’s veins. Her body hummed with joy as she opened her heart and soul. Nothing else mattered than this moment. Heaven could wait, if this wasn’t it.
Suddenly, Finn’s body went rigid in her arms and he lifted off her.
Fate’s eyes flew open. “What’s wrong?” she cried out. But he stared at her, mute with a stunned look of pain darkening his face. Her mind reeled as she tried to make sense of what was happening. That’s when she noticed the claw sticking out of his chest. She screamed as Finn’s body dissolved into liquid, splashing over her feet and pooling in a puddle of white water beside her.
Standing in the empty space above her, with clawed hand still extended, was a hideous creature with a fleshy bulbous head of writhing eels for hair. Sickening emanations of power radiated from its beady red eyes.
Gasping, Fate scrambled back on all fours. Unbearable grief edged with raw terror descended upon her like a vicious storm. What was this monster and what had it done to Finn?
The answer slid into her brain. She was in the presence of a Fomorian, a being whose mere presence distorted reality and fractured dimensions. She glanced past the branches and spotted the twin obelisks. She’d lost complete track of time and the vault had already passed into Fomorian territory without her realizing it. Her gaze darted to the utility belt holding the chromatic amplifier she needed to disrupt the Fomorian’s mind-bending effects.
Eel Head was standing on the belt and her holstered laser gun was tickling its blubbery toe.
Just then two more Formorians entered the oak grove. One trundled in at a slow pace, the bulk of its deformed body carried forward on long spindly arms with mangled knuckles for feet. The other being was more human in form, except for the thick quills radiating from its temples, skin as rough and wrinkled as an elephant’s hide and chilling, blood red eyes. When they joined Eel Head, some form of silent communication seemed to pass between them before they turned their full attention on Fate.
Immense power radiated from their presence, a grating energy that agitated the very air and scraped along the edge of Fate’s nerves. The Fomorians stared at her. The combined force of their attention crashed over her like a dark tide, sucking her into an undertow of despair. Fear stabbed her heart. She tried to remember what came before this wave of anguish, but all that existed was the pain of having Finn ripped from her arms and the dread that he might be dead.
Forgetting all else, she edged over to the puddle and cupped her hands in the milky water. “Finn, come back to me,” she begged as tears rushed freely. “Please, I need you.”
The water rippled in response before giving way to a head that formed from the creamy liquid and pushed out of the shallow pool. Fate’s sobs turned to hysterical laughter as the masculine, dripping, claylike form rose in front of her, before the chalky water dried back and revealed the man. But this was not Finn.
Fear locked the air in Fate’
s throat as she looked into the stone-faced expression of the sorcerer, Wodrid. He grabbed her by the neck and lifted her to eye level. Fate grabbed at his wrist, flailing her legs and struggling to breathe. “You!” he said, his voice a low scream. “You’re the one who stole the Rod of Aeternitis from me!”
Confusion caved in on Fate. Her memory of how she’d come into possession of the Rod had always been lost to her because she’d been under Brune’s spell at the time. But now the memory cracked wide open. She’d stolen the Rod from O’Deldar and it was his blood she’d been covered in when she’d returned after three forgotten days.
Wodrid threw her to the ground. “And you took my leg too!” He glowered as he swiped his red cloak aside to show his false leg. It was cast in silver and molded in the form of armor.
Fate scrambled to her feet. Dizzy, she shook her head, unable to see straight. The space between them seemed to buckle. Light guttered on and off, and nightmarish shapes crept along the edges of the trees. “I don’t know you. We’ve never met,” she lied, hoping he’d leave her alone.
Amusement smoothed the scowl from his fine, elfin features. If not for his contemptuous gaze, he was almost beautiful. “Hmm, come to think of it, you’re not the vicious warrior who sliced my limb clean out from under me. She was inhumanly fast and strong. You’re nothing but a weak, mewling coward.”
A sick squirming sensation in Fate’s stomach confirmed the truth. He was right. She’d left that fierce warrior behind in the Book of Fables and had since turned back into a wimp in need of saving. Her fall from supernatural to ordinary had left her more vulnerable than she’d been willing to admit until this moment.
Wodrid stepped forward with his hand outstretched. “I’ll be taking the Rod now. You have no right to what has always been mine.”
A familiar possessiveness surfaced from Fate’s hindbrain. She grabbed at the chain and gripped the Rod hard in her fist.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” He took another step toward her and stopped when she inched away. “Oh, is that how it’s going to be?”
Fate went very still as dark folds of power writhed around him. The overwhelming pressure sucked the air away as he raised his arm and flexed his hand. A storm brewed in his upturned palm, building into a churning black mist shot through with sparks of electricity.
He smiled, then flung the energy. Twisting tendrils of power curled around Fate, simmering her flesh until she screamed with the pain of being boiled alive. Falling to the ground, she thrashed at the creeping vines of scorching darkness covering her. Wodrid bent down, grabbed the chain and tore the Rod from her neck.
“No–” The suffocating swarm of heat and dark energy snatched away her cry. Fate gasped for air. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t breathe. The thick metallic tang of searing black magic filled her throat and lungs. She was choking to death. The weight of it dragged her down, down, down, where light ceased to exist.
26
Copious Amounts Of Chocolate
“ISH SHE DEAD? Oh man, I’ve never sheen a dead body before. It’sh uber creepy.”
“She’s not dead!”
“Are you sherious? Nobody alive ish that pale. That girl’sh takin’ a dirt nap.”
“Out of the way, you idiot. Fate, wake up.”
Pain sliced across Fate’s face. She grabbed her cheek and opened her eyes to Brune hovering over her. Raw misery flooded into Fate’s aching head. “What’s going on?” She rubbed her dry grainy eyes, trying to focus. Lincoln crowded in close to Brune, staring like a rubber-necker at a train wreck. But where was Jessie?
“You passed out.” Brune’s tone implied Fate had inconvenienced everyone.
“Where’s Jessie? Is she alright?”
“I’m here.” Jessie appeared over the top of Fate’s head and knelt down. “Can you sit up?”
Fate teared up at the sight of her friend. Too emotional to speak, she let Jessie help her rise to a sitting position.
Jessie cringed. “Looks like the Chimera got your leg pretty good.”
“It was just a scratch. It’s all better now. I drank from the well.”
Worry crossed Jessie’s face as Fate shakily rose to her feet, but as soon as she put weight on the leg, pain shot through her calf. “Ow, ow, ow!”
Jessie grabbed her by the arm to keep her from tipping over. “You drank that? No wonder you’re sick. You’ve got to be more careful. You could’ve died.”
Fate glanced over at the well water. It was murky and covered in pond scum. “I don’t get it. The well was…” She trailed off, her mind jumping to the sweet creamy water she’d enjoyed and her deepest wish come true, which had turned into the most terrifying nightmare.
“Not a watering hole for birdbrains,” Brune finished for her. “It’s a wishing well. No healing involved.”
“Uh…I, uh…” Fate stammered, now thoroughly confused. If her leg wasn’t healed, where did that leave Finn? Her chest tightened with grief. She refused to believe he’d been taken from her again.
Brune waved her off. “Don’t sweat it. The Fomorians messed with your head.”
“Oh my god, that’s right.” Fate looked around nervously for the monsters. “They were here. What happened? Where are they?” And where was Wodrid? Her hand flew to her neck. She was still wearing the necklace with the Rod. He hadn’t actually taken it. Had she hallucinated the entire thing?
“All gone.” Brune swung the chain holding the silver box containing the Eye of Balor. “Worked like a charm too.”
“Yeah, it was shick!” Lincoln added. “The Eye wush like a ninth-level shcorching ray with bonush to fire damage on each ray.”
“No way,” Jessie argued. She scooped a handful of silt piled next to her. “Did you not see how those freaks broke apart? That was ninth-level disintegration damage if anything.”
Fate sighed with exhaustion. “Does it really matter? This isn’t a video game.”
“No it’sh even better.” Lincoln grinned.
Fate made a face at the ridiculous direction they’d gone in. “You might want to ask Mason if he agrees with that. Has anyone heard from him or is our substandard equipment still on the fritz?”
“The gear’s fine,” Brune said. “The Fomorians scrambled the frequencies, even before we reached this quadrant.”
“Mason’s all right,” Jessie assured Fate. “He sounded pretty banged up, but he’s alive. His pack’s totaled, so we’ll have to pick him up on the way back.”
Fate nodded with relief. “What about the Chimera? Did you manage to lead it to the Fomorians before they paid me a visit?”
“Oh yeah, talk about epic!” Lincoln cut in. “That thing shtuck to Jeshie like white on rice. But you should’ve sheen her, she Shpideyed her way out of it and got the Chimera down into the colisheum.”
Fate stared at her friend in awe. “Wish I’d seen that.”
Jessie’s face lit up. “You wouldn’t have believed your eyes. The coliseum was filled with mutants, all squishing and crabbing around. Talk about gross.”
“The mind blower wush when the Chimera hit their air shpace,” Lincoln added. “It totally shpazzed. You should’ve sheen how the shnake went to town on the lion. It shank itsh fangsh in right up until it croaked.”
Fate grimaced. “Yeah, too bad I missed that.”
“All right, time to pack up and jet.” Brune had obviously grown bored with the conversation.
Fate limped over to her armor and started strapping on the leg bracers.
Jessie followed her over to the strewn pieces. “Why’d you take your armor off?”
Fate winced as she tightened the strap around her injured calf. “That’s a story best told over much pizza and copious amounts of chocolate. You in?”
Jessie glanced down at the Dragon Eye headgear, turning it over in her hands. She almost seemed to be thinking twice about her offer and Fate began to worry she might say no. Then Jessie looked at her. “Sure. I’m in.”
•
&n
bsp; “Enterprise replicator, this is not.” Fate swallowed the so-called popcorn the food simulator had produced. “Where’s the crunch? Salty yes, but spongy mystery curd is not what I ordered.”
A knock on the door of her bedchamber had her setting the bowl of sponge balls down and skipping across the room. “I hope you’re up to the challenge of describing popcorn in minute detail. Otherwise we’re in for a–” Fate stopped in mid sentence when she saw it wasn’t Jessie waiting behind the door, but Gerdie. “Oh, hey.”
“Heard about your run-in with the Chimera. How’s the leg?” Gerdie asked as she entered the room.
“Like it never happened.” Fate poked her head out and glanced down the empty hallway for Jessie. She closed the door, trying to ignore the twist of disappointment in her gut. “Didn’t Eustace tell you? He was hovering like any good, overly-worried parent when Farouk poured his sparkly, magic potion over my wound.”
Gerdie walked over to one of the over-stuffed chairs, which lowered slightly to allow her to climb on easily. The chair rose to its normal hovering height as she settled in with her feet dangling over the edge. “He did. Not that he’s takin’ any comfort in how fast you healed up. Poor man’s kickin’ himself for puttin’ his only daughter in harm’s way.”
“It wasn’t up to him. He needs to get it through his head I’m not a helpless little kid anymore.” Fate chewed on her bottom lip, not wanting to admit out loud how helpless she’d felt when the Chimera had cornered her. Not to mention the freaky fiasco she’d gotten herself into with the Fomorians.
“Doesn’t matter. He’s your father. He’ll always want to protect you,” Gerdie reminded her. “But that’s not why I’m here.” Her brown eyes widened with excitement as she kicked her small feet together. “Remember the good news I told you about?”
Fate sat down across from her. “Oh yeah, in all the almost getting charred and eaten earlier, I forgot about your news flash. Lay it on me.”
Fate's Keep (Fate's Journey Book 2) Page 19
