“From what you tell me, Finn sounds like a commendable young man. I know something of the Druids, and they honor life above all else. He must’ve had a terrible war of conscience within himself to take even the life of the monsters you encountered in the fables.”
“He did it for me, Dad. He didn’t want the darkness he’d become infected with to touch me. He knew if I’d had to do those horrible things I’d be changed by them.”
“Yet, he managed to remain honorable and true to who he was in the face of such intense resistence?” Fate detected a hint of doubt in his voice.
“I’ll be honest, there were times when he almost succumbed to the evil.”
Eustace’s grip on the arm of the chair tightened. “And how exactly did those moments manifest themselves?”
The image of Finn’s cruel smile and the ruthless black pools of his eyes flashed in Fate’s mind. As much as she wanted to forget, there was no erasing the painful memory. Mounting self-loathing mixed with his connection to the evil oak, at the time, had culminated in a distortion of his feelings toward her. In a moment of complete overwhelm, his anger and resentment had careened out of control, driving him to the very edge of doing the unthinkable between them. But in the end, he’d fought the sinister influence rampaging through his system by taking a blade to himself. The physical pain he’d caused himself had cleared his mind. She’d been frightened, but Finn had proved his love for her, not just then, but time and again.
“What did he do?” Eustace leaned forward with intense concern. “It’s all over your face. He did something to you, didn’t he?”
“No.” Fate faced her father straight on. “He protected me against everything. Even to his detriment.” Tears burned at the back of her eyes. “It cost him, Dad. It cost him his life.”
Eustace looked sorry for his harshness. “He’s dead?”
A tear escaped as Fate shook her head. “Worse.” Her voice trembling as she described Finn’s ultimate sacrifice to save her from the Green Man and his final internment within the giant oak.
Eustace was quiet a moment after he took it all in. “You’re telling me this because you want to go back and free him.” It was a statement more than a question.
“I do.”
“When are you planning on going?”
“Right after we deal with the scavenger.”
Eustace didn’t move. Fate waited anxiously, watching the internal battle going on behind her father’s carefully composed expression. “Have you figured out how you’ll free Finn from the oak?” he asked at last.
Fate stared at him wordlessly. She’d been so focused on getting back to Oldwilde, she hadn’t considered how she’d solve that particular part of the problem.
“I can help you with that,” he offered. “I’ll see what research I can dig up on the Green Man and elemental magic in general.”
“You’d do that for me?”
Eustace reached over and placed his hand on her knee. “You have no idea to what lengths a father will go through to ensure his child’s happiness, do you?”
The tears ran freely as Fate smiled at him. “I do, Dad. I really, really do.”
38
Welcome Back
FINN KNEW HE WAS in trouble. Pain knifed through his core and a building nausea spiked into his brain, but the overwhelming glacial chill was the worst. The intense heat of the desert did nothing to cut through the bitter cold. He craved warmth in his bones. He felt empty, as if the very fire of life had left him.
Wracked with violent shudders, he fell onto his side and curled in on himself. “Do the summoning, Sithias. Let’s get this done.”
“Are you sure?”
“Aye, we need to get the Djinn here before I worsen.”
“I don’t know…I think I should figure out how to stop this above anything else,” Sithias insisted.
“No!” Finn growled through chattering teeth. “The Lhiannan Shee is the only one who can fix this, and I won’t call her back. I’m not putting everything else at risk. She did this. I know it. She must think I squelched on our deal. If I call her now, she’ll have me selling my soul instead of a kiss.”
“Did you say the Lhiannan Shee? And a kiss? Oh my, you might as well have made a deal with the devil. But you did the right thing, sssir. I once read a story about a young poet who captured the world’s attention with his inspired poetry. He credited his works with a faery muse, who came to him each night to whisper lovely words into his ears. Her very presence filled him with the greatest joy. All she asked of him was his devotion and one kiss after he finished compiling enough poems to last a lifetime. When that day came, he kissed her with all his heart and soul. She left, quite satisfied, and never returned. He, on the other hand, grew terribly ill. The poor soul pined for her until he died. A young man, mind you.”
Finn grabbed at the edge of the blanket he was lying on and wrapped the corner over his shoulder. “But I didn’t kiss her. And she didn’t have my devotion. I loathe her. Let’s start!”
“She had to have inspired something in you or you wouldn’t be suffering her absence.”
Another wave of nausea had Finn grabbing his gut. “Why are you pressing me? Get on with the summoning.”
“I suggest we clear this matter up first. What if the Djinn sense your affiliation with the Lhiannan Shee?”
Finn ground his teeth together, scrambling for a good argument. He had none.
“I’ll take that as an approval to find a solution to this sticky situation.” Sithias brought out his pencil and wrote in his notebook. He spoke the words aloud quietly and conjured a large, leather bound book.
Finn rocked back and forth, fighting against the temptation to call the Lhiannan Shee and end his misery. “During my darkest moments, she used to appear to me as Fate,” he confessed. “It was so real. She moved like Fate. Smelled like her. I knew it wasn’t really her, but seeing Fate in front of me that way…it meant everything to me. It gave me strength.”
“Ah, I see.” Sithias set the book down on the blanket.
“I’m so ashamed.”
“Don’t be. I was there. I understand what you two went through better than anyone. You fought long and hard to be with Fate, only to have her torn from you all over again.”
Finn gave into the sorrow he’d suppressed. “I miss her, Sithias. I miss her so much it kills me.”
“That’s the part I hope to avoid.” Sithias opened the book. “I have here a handbook called The Discarded. It outlines bindings, clearings and banishing spells for every type of harmful spirit, faery and demon.” He flipped through the pages. “Here we go, How to Banish Entities with Succubi Traits.” He fell quiet as he read down through the page.
Finn waited in agony. Each minute felt like an hour.
“Hmm, it’s a simple spell. Although I fear your part in this will be the most challenging.” Sithias copied down a list of items, then muttered them aloud. A colorful pile of gemstones, a small silk pouch, candle and string appeared in front of him. He scooped up the stones and placed them in the pouch. “Here, hold onto this.”
Finn squeezed the bag of stones in his hand. Some of the dizziness subsided. “What is it?”
“Oh some semi-precious stones like black tourmaline, bloodstone, Labradorite, black onyx and jade, to name a few. Can you feel the effects?”
“A wee bit.”
“That’s good. The stones are beginning to create an anchor for your spirit. Apparently, your spirit’s left you to chase after the Lhiannan Shee. You’re suffering from a soul sickness. The longer this goes on, the more your body will decline.” Sithias lit the candle and handed Finn a piece of string. “Can you sit up enough to recite the banishment spell?”
Finn struggled to a sitting position.
“Hold the string above the flame and repeat after me.”
Finn’s hands shook uncontrollably as he gripped the string and held it taught above the candle.
Sithias read from the book. “I hold this string, a s
ymbol of my tie with you…”
Finn gulped down the bile rising in his throat and repeated the words.
“This tie of obsession, addiction, dependency, need, desire and lust, I hold to the cleansing fire to sever our agreement forever.”
A wave of darkness filled with grief crashed over Finn. He did his best to repeat the line, but dizziness rushed back in and he couldn’t remember what was said.
“Let’s try that again.” Sithias recited the line one word at a time, while Finn repeated after him.
“Good, now burn the middle part of the string,” Sithias instructed.
Despair gripped hold as Finn swayed in place, trying desperately to target the flame. He missed and fell over. “I can’t do it,” he panted.
“You can,” Sithias insisted. “This is the resistance the book mentions. Your dependency on the Lhiannan Shee for what little happiness she grants you is what’s holding you back. Now sit up and burn the string.”
Finn’s yearning to have the Lhiannan Shee with him became unbearable. Chills raced over his skin and he couldn’t move. The muscles in his body stiffened until he was bound with unbelievable pain.
He cried out for his muse.
Sithias clamped his hand over Finn’s mouth, cutting off the words that would summon her back. “She’s infected you, made you think you need her. Turn your thoughts to Fate. Remember the reason you allowed that vampire into your life. Free yourself. Think back to your most blissful time with Fate.”
Finn squeezed his eyes shut. Little by little, a memory emerged, like a pinprick of light piercing the darkest night. An image came to him, of Fate standing in the doorway of her bedchamber. They’d been at odds with each other at the ball and he’d come to mend the divide between them.
She’d been a vision beyond imagining that night, with the moonlight sifting through her thin nightgown, casting her curves in soft silhouette. Her hair had been a perfect, tousled mess after she’d torn the flowers from her hair. When she’d opened the door, the look of surprise on her flushed face, still wet with tears, had nearly stopped his heart. In that moment, he’d lifted a silken lock to his nose and inhaled the heady scent of gardenias lingering in her hair. She had stepped close, touched her lips to his and melted all barriers between them.
A sudden fever rose beneath Finn’s skin, spreading white-hot heat through him like a raging furnace, burning the chill from his bones. His mind cleared. He rose to a sitting position, his hands steady as he moved the string over the flame. Finn held it taut, welcoming the heat on both hands as the string caught fire. His only desire now was to be with Fate and cut his tie with the Lhiannan Shee once and for all.
The string broke and he let the burnt ends fall next to the candle.
“Welcome back,” Sithias said.
Finn closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. “It’s good to be whole again. I can’t believe I never realized how broken I was.”
“You were under her thrall.”
Finn reached over the candle and held Sithias by the shoulder. “Thank you, my friend. You saved me yet again.”
“Happy to be of service, sir.” Sithias lifted the candle and blew it out. “Shall we move onto the next order of business?”
“Aye, I’m ready.”
Sithias busied himself with the ceremonial items, carefully placing them in the cardinal directions, while reciting the incantation for summoning the jann.
Determination swelled in Finn’s chest. Renewed strength flowed through his body. He hadn’t felt this strong and vigorous since he’d last been with Fate. It bothered him to know he’d allowed the Lhiannan Shee to siphon off so much of his life force energy and will power. One moment of weakness had turned him into a complete and utter idiot.
“It’s done,” Sithias announced.
“Did it work? I don’t see anything happening.”
“There’s no way to know for sure. All we can do now is wait.”
And wait they did. The setting sun burnished the sky and endless sea of sand with tones of gold and scarlet shadows before they noticed a change within the seemingly changeless desert.
Sithias sat straight all of a sudden and pointed. “That’s odd, I do believe we’re in for a storm. I see thunderclouds brewing on the horizon. Does it rain in the desert?”
Finn stood. What looked to be clouds was actually the desert sand rising to swallow the sky. “That’s no rain cloud. It’s a sandstorm, and headed our way. Do you think it’s the jann you summoned? You said they appear as whirlwinds or camels.”
Sithias’s eyes grew wide with panic. “I’d hardly call that tsunami of sssand a whirlwind.” He pulled out his notebook with shaking hands. “I’ll write up some shelter.”
“Do it quick, it’s moving fast.” Finn grabbed one of the canteens, watered down some handkerchiefs and thrust one of them at Sithias. “Put this over your mouth. We need to protect against the dust. And conjure some goggles. I can already feel it in my eyes.”
Sithias did as he was told and produced the goggles.
Finn tied the handkerchief over his nose and mouth. Just as he reached down for the goggles, a flurry of sand swept Sithias’s notebook from his hands. With a squawk of fright, he scrambled after the book and vanished behind a dense veil of dust.
The sandstorm was upon them. The massive wave had blotted out the late evening sun, plummeting them into darkness.
39
That’s How We Do It
FATE AND JESSIE FLEW over a myriad of structures within Quadrant 537, searching for the hole the scavenger had made. They slowed when they spotted what was actually a crater. Shredded copper surrounded the opening of the pyramid the scavenger had chewed through.
They landed next to the gaping hole. Jessie leaned over the jagged edge, looking down into the deep black with a shake of her head. “I don’t like it. How are we supposed to know where the scavenger’s located from up here? We’re going in totally blind.”
Fate stepped in next to her and glanced down. Jessie wasn’t exaggerating. Farouk’s sensors had lost track of the scavenger after it dug below the subsurface. It could be hiding in the shadows and laying in wait at the very bottom. Hopefully it had tunneled its way in some other direction, which would give them the advantage of surprise. Either way, they were being forced to follow.
Jessie backed away from the hole. “Remind me why we’re supposed to leave our aeronaut packs here instead of flying down.”
“The scavenger can fly too.”
“Right, but only a little better than us. Which is why I still don’t see how us not being able to fly down there gives us any sort of advantage.”
Fate set her pack down. “I don’t like it anymore than you do, but Farouk said when Brune fought the scavenger, she was better off when her feet were on the ground than in the air.”
“Whatever.” Jessie shrugged her pack off.
“Just be ready for anything.” Fate slung the backpack with the Gorgon’s head over her shoulder. The horns dug against her back, hard and cold. She did her best not to shudder and cringe.
Jessie gave her a sour look. “That’s your pep talk? Lame.”
“Hey, it’s all I’ve got.”
Jessie spit down the hole and watched it disappear. “How about we yell at the top of our lungs and draw it out. I like our chances better up here, where we can blast it away from higher ground.”
Fate considered the alternative, until her gaze landed on a nearby iron griffin and a centaur armed with a bow and arrow. Not to mention the gold Poseidon, the bronze Minotaur and silver Hydra a little further away–any of which the scavenger could animate and use against them. “Have a look around. I’d rather go one-on-one with the scavenger than have to take on all these potential army recruits.”
Jessie glanced around. “Yeah, good point. Grapple guns out.”
They each removed their guns from their utility belts, shot the grapple hooks onto the edge and lowered themselves down on steel cables. With the other hand, Fate dug f
or a sun disc and clicked it on. The disc shot from her hand and hovered in space with its light aimed down into the darkness. On guard for any type of movement, they slowly descended.
“Can I just say, I feel like Batman right now,” Jessie whispered.
“Same here, except for the layer of terror smeared on top.”
“Yeah, that part’s a bit of a buzzkill, isn’t it?”
“Understatement of the century.”
They continued down, carefully avoiding being skewered on sharp edges of twisted metal, broken gears, steel rods and exposed cables. Every now and then they spotted spider bots in behind the shrapnel, their thin legs working on intricate circuit repairs or welding breaks.
Fate directed the sun disc with her remote control to aim its bright beam all along the bottom of the hole. “Looks like all’s clear so far.”
“Let’s hope.”
Fate planted her feet on moist concrete. The air was humid and the temperature had risen considerably. “Guess the scav couldn’t dig any further once it hit concrete. Looks like it tunneled through that way.” She pointed at a torn wall. “I say we Gorgon up from here. The scavenger could jump out at us at any minute, so goggles on.”
Jessie carefully placed her goggles on over the Dragon Eye gear she was already wearing. As soon as she’d adjusted her headgear, she grabbed Fate by the arm. “Whoa, head rush.”
“Yeah, the goggles take a little getting used to,” Fate agreed as she waited for the dizziness to subside.
“Uncomfortable, too.” Jessie tried to keep them from digging into her face.
“Don’t bother. They weren’t exactly ergonomically designed.” Fate removed the Gorgon’s head from the backpack.
Jessie grimaced. “Ew, warn a girl before you assault her senses with a face like that.”
Fate's Keep (Fate's Journey Book 2) Page 29
