Exile: Sídhí Summer Camp #3

by Jodie B. Cooper

Hearing his heart-spoken words her mind blurred into a thousand shards. “I guess the sword gave me away,” she said, grasping at something, anything to say.

  His lips tilted up, and she knew he was trying very hard not to laugh. “Actually, the sword gave you away several days ago when you responded to Miranda’s cry for help.”

  “Oh,” she said, not-so-brilliantly. Looking into his eyes, she saw what she had honestly never hoped to see. Complete, and absolute, acceptance of what she was. With a soft cry of delight, she hugged him tight, burying her face against his neck.

  Eerie, otherworld music burst through her brain, vibrating through the very core of her body. Jerking backward, she looked into Nick’s stunned face. His features reflected her shock.

  She didn’t have time to react before he cupped her face in his large hands. “Lady Sarah Trellick, aka Chi’Kehra, do me the greatest honor and become my bonded mate,” he said solemnly, an instant before he opened the tiny organ in the middle of his brain.

  The moment his lifeBud burst open, Sarah’s lifeBud cried-out in recognition. She didn’t know how it was possible, she had felt the agony of the little organ as it burned out, but she couldn’t deny the song of the Sídhí bursting through her blood.

  She didn’t hesitate, not for a single instant. She opened her lifeBud.

  Glowing through her mind and body, the two separate organs mentally surged toward each other. As the separate halves wrapped together, her entire body ran hot, scorching with intensity and healing wounds she never knew existed.

  Entwining together, the bond pulsed with power as a seamless union connected them, creating a mental lifeBond that could never be destroyed, creating a bond that she would destroy the entire world to protect.

  Hotter than the molten core of the sun, Nick’s love rushed through her. Pure and unwavering the passionate emotion embedded itself in her very soul. “Mia Cara,” he murmured, kissing her over, and over again.

  For some time, they simply held each. Neither of them ready to give-up the wondrous moment. Slowly, the song went silent. Nick’s purr took its place.

  She looked up at him and felt his love - his overwhelming joy - surge through her.

  He tightened his hold on her. “How?”

  Right, that was a very good question. She didn’t know the answer.

  As heartfelt relief, his and hers, pounded through her body, she gave a slight shrug. “Not a clue,” she paused. “Unless you stopped the Dyrst’Lye before he finished.”

  “You were still screaming when I attacked him,” he said roughly. A shaft of ragged pain rammed straight through her.

  Gasping, she touched his chest, trying to ease the pain of his memory. “Okay, definitely, none of that.”

  Softly, he growled, and the emotion became blunted. It didn’t go away, but the pain became manageable.

  “I didn’t bleed a lot. Maybe, he just tore at it and I healed.” A tight band of concern slipped around her chest. “With being Chi’Kehra, I heal extremely fast.”

  “Thank God,” he said fervently. Unbelievingly, his relief matched the joy he was feeling.

  “Sarah?” The confusion on his face said more than the single word. “From everything Jared has told me I know it’s going to take a while to get accustomed to your emotions, but what you just felt was… I don’t know. It felt like you were over-the-moon happy, but confused, or maybe it was shocked.”

  She continued rubbing his chest, enjoying the simple touch. “You’re vampire, a one-hundred percent, honor-bound vampire. Yet, even before we bonded, you knew I was Chi’Kehra. You’ll never know how much that means to me.”

  He chuckled softly. “Yes, I do, to the very depths of my soul, because I feel every emotion going through you.”

  Her lips curved into a smile. “Yeah, I guess you do at that.”

  He glanced toward the cell door. “As much as I hate to suggest it, we need to get a move on.”

  “Agreed,” she said reluctantly, letting her hand linger on his arm as long as possible. With a sigh, she stepped away from him and picked-up her abused sword. With a couple of skillful swings, she cut the silver chains off him.

  After that, they didn’t dillydally. His hand curled firmly around hers before leading her out of the cell. He set a swift pace down the tunnel.

  “What?” he questioned.

  She started to smother her chuckle, to hide her reaction, when she realized the most wonderful thing: she never had to conceal anything from him ever again. “How did you know I wanted to ask you something?”

  “A flicker of your emotions touched me, and kind of said, hey you,” he said with a wide grin. “Did that make any sense?”

  Laughing, she shook her head. “It shouldn’t have.” But his words had made sense, perfect sense.

  She sent a tentative tendril of thought toward him, a soft knock asking for entry.

  When he didn’t respond, she bit her lip and didn’t say anything. Not all lifeMates shared their thoughts, but she had really thought Nick would want too.

  The smooth walls of the prison changed to rugged rock. Everything was a moldy gray. “I’m so dense,” she said as a sudden thought dawned on her.

  “Right, leader of your own valley, in charge of who knows how many warriors, and you’re dense,” he said, snorting in amusement. Arrogance coated his feeling of amusement. He was proud of her.

  “Once a year, or so, it does happen,” she teased.

  “Or when I’m right and you are wrong.”

  She snorted in disbelief and said, “I mentally knocked and you ignored me.”

  “I did the same. I thought you wanted privacy,” he said with a frown.

  “No, I want you with no exceptions.” She squeezed his hand, silently acknowledging his offer. “Unfortunately, you’ve got me totally distracted. I should’ve remembered that when we are In Between nothing works right. I’ve only been here a few times, but I know most people can’t speak telepathically without a good amount of power behind the sending.”

  “I didn’t make the connection. When I was planning my escape from the umbra, I thought all the silver nullified my Sídhí abilities. I guess it wasn’t just the silver.” Grumbling, he held out a hand. “I can’t even make the tips of my claws appear.”

  “Could be worse,” she said quietly.

  “Really?”

  “I’ve heard of people getting lost here and never finding their way out.”

  ____________

  Tightening his back muscles, Mac tucked his wings closer to his body, trying to gain a little more speed as he ran after the escaping dragons. He could make his wings ‘disappear’ by pulling them into his body, but he wanted them instantly available if he needed to get airborne in a hurry; he didn’t want to waste a second while they unfurled.

  He shifted into the real world, leaving the gray, bleak world behind.

  Snarling his frustration into the empty corridor, he considered the people he hunted. They had a huge head start, one he was not happy with, not that their escape was his fault.

  He grunted, admitting it wasn’t Sarah’s fault either. He wanted his best friend to be happy, and Vampire Boy seemed to make her glow, but her attention was no longer focused on catching the bad guys; her mind was totally absorbed with her new boy toy.

  Whatever the reason, Mac hated letting the shifters gain such a head start. His instinct kept insisting the dragons could destroy everything.

  Jail cells lined the hallway. Most of them were empty, a few contained unmoving lumps that smelled of decomposing bodies. Turning a corner, he nearly smashed face first into a steel door. Not slowing, he slammed his hands outward and the door went flying off its hinges.

  A wall of jagged rock greeted him. The glow of the moon filled the steep ravine with shadows. Blinking, his eyes adjusted quickly to the night.

  Sucking in the scents of the rocky gorge, he turned to the right and followed the fresh trail of blood. His sense of smell wasn’t as good as a vampire’s was, but it was sti
ll ten times better than what a mundane human could smell.

  The ravine was too steep and narrow to unfurl his wings and fly, so he raced after the dragons on foot. In the distance, trolls howled into the night. Several minutes later, the gorge began to flatten out. As the deep rift widened, the height of the walls became manageable, turning his flight hindrance into a mere deep-cut stream. Ahead of him, a large, rugged wall of stone rose into the sky.

  Following the trail of blood, he rounded the familiar bulk of the destroyed castle. On the wind, he caught the faint shouts of Sarah’s men as they searched the area around the troll facility, hunting for additional clues that might destroy the Khr'Vurr.

  If the searchers had had a few more days, they might have found the second set of cells hidden deep under the bulk of the old castle.

  If the dragons reacted like most Sídhí, they would head straight toward the nearest gateway, hoping to put as much distance between themselves and their pursuers as possible. With a destination in mind, he unfurled his wings and shot into the air. Cool night air caressed his body, ruffling his hair.

  Thirty feet below him, the rocky landscape rushed past him. He knew if the dragons managed to get through the gateway, and had time to change the gateway’s exit point, he might not catch them without Sarah’s help.

  As he neared his destination, he saw several dozen men and women surrounding the gate. He’d been wrong. The shouts had not originated at the troll facility.

  The whisper-soft movement of his wings, swishing through the air, caught the attention of several people on the ground. From the angry look on their faces, his arrival was not welcome.

  Their shout of warning alerted others. The group of people confronted him, aiming swords and guns alike. The tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife.

  If he hadn’t recognized several of them, he would’ve simply blasted his way through. As it was, he had no choice but to stop and speak with them.

  Landing near the gate, he caught the smell of burnt flesh and understood the cause for their anger. Under his breath, he cursed softly. A single guard would have been no opposition for a dragon intent on escape.

  Folding his arms across his chest, he glared at them in irritation, knowing the answer to his question before he spoke. “I take it you didn’t catch them,” he demanded from the team sent to investigate the Khr'Vurr hideout.

  “Mac,” General Cory said, growling the greeting. Stepping toward him, the nearly seven-foot tall vampire pointed to a charred lump sprawled next to the gateway. “You know who the hell killed Lambert?”

  “It was probably Councilman Maynard. His mate, Guardian Clara, and another dragon kidnapped Lord Nicholas,” Mac said, walking toward the gate.

  “Lord Nicholas?” Cory asked.

  “Sarah’s mate,” Mac said, refusing to add anything more.

  Cory whistled. “I bet she is fuming. I’m surprised she didn’t come herself.”

  Mac glanced around, taking note of each face. He knew all of them, but not well enough to share everything.

  “She sent me to catch them,” he said, and mentally sent Cory a quick, private update on what had happened, while examining the ground near the gateway.

  “Has anyone gone through the gate?” Mac asked, motioning to the dark entryway.

  “It exits into a damn lake,” Cory said angrily.

  Mac grunted. “Maynard probably changed the exit point the minute they passed through.”

  “That’s what I figured, but I sent several men through anyway.”

  “Could you tell how many people went through?” Mac asked. His sense of smell wasn’t the best for tracking, but he only smelled Maynard and Clara. “The ground is too messed up, but I don’t think Eve came this way.”

  Another man, a vampire, stepped forward. “I was the first one here. If you’re talking fresh scents, there were only two beside our group that have used the gate.”

  “Excellent,” Mac said with a grim smile. It wasn’t a pretty thing, not when his eyes turned hard as ice. “Cory, I need a couple of trackers. We’re going to hunt us up a Dyrst’Lye dragon.”

  ____________

  It took several hours to retrace Nick’s steps. They talked the entire time. Sarah didn’t think her heart could be any fuller than what it was at that very moment.

  Once inside the ruins, they walked down a set of stairs and she saw liquid crystal filling the lower portion of the area. She slowed to a halt. She knew it would be impossible to touch the crystal that lay outside of the In Between, but she tried anyway. Nothing, not even a flicker of recognition ran through the energy that she could see but could not touch.

  “It is several inches deeper than it was.” Nick waved toward the liquid filling the tunnel. “When I first saw it, I knew that much energy flowing through something so old and powerful like the ruins seemed like a bad idea.”

  They started forward. “I think you’re right, nothing good can come from it.”

  He pointed to a spot several feet away. “The gateway is right through here. Be careful, the bottom of it hovers a good foot off the ground.”

  Feeling deaf and mute, she hated the In Between. “I’m guessing the umbra didn’t warn you about it the first time around?” she asked, stepping over the invisible barrier. Color returned to the world, and she uttered a sigh of relief.

  “Nope,” Nick said, snorting at the thought. “The umbra said the ruins of most valleys are connected.”

  Sarah jerked to a stop. “How? Oh, never mind, now that we are out of the In Between, I can feel the ebb-and-flow of the crystal. Earlier, when I was searching for Mac, something felt off, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.”

  “Can you stop it?”

  Considering his question, she tilted her head in thought. “I would need to trace it to its source.”

  “Time consuming?”

  “Very,” she agreed, pleased he seemed to know her answer before she spoke it. “If I knew the process they used for expansion, I might find it faster.”

  “How?” he asked, curiosity flickered through their bond.

  “Well, most people aren’t aware of it, but there are several ways to make crystal expand. And before you ask, no, I have no clue why they work. The simplest method is to put a bit of crystal in a vacuum sealed container. The liquid crystal simply grows until it fills the container. You can pour liquid crystal in a chasm or a deep cavern that goes down at least a thousand feet and has a heavy source of certain metals. Lastly, according to the Chi’Kehra’s journal, is activating part of the ruin. Each ruin has a centralized pit that is covered in the ancient language, symbols, and has circular grooves. Supposedly, there are several hoops of crystal that once placed in the grooves activates the crystal into expansion.”

  “You’re kidding, right?” he asked suspiciously. “That sounds like something out of an epic fantasy novel. You know, ‘…go find the crystal rings and save the princess from the evil dragon’.”

  Laughing at his mocking tone of doom, she said, “Honestly, it sounds as weird to me as it does to you.”

  “I can’t believe that in four thousand years someone didn’t try to create a crystal spring on Earth,” he said, pausing near the base of the second set of stairs.

  “Well, now that you mention it, they have,” she said, grinning at his utter look of horror.

  “Where? How?” he demanded, refusing to budge another inch.

  “A few thousand years ago, Haven Valley had a few rough years of political unrest with people wanting to explore Earth. From what we can piece together, a group found a hidden gateway. Once on Earth, they tried to replicate a synth spring.”

  “It worked?” he asked.

  “Only too well,” she said with a shake of her head and started up the stairs. “Let’s find the umbra, deal with him, and then I’ll tell you all about the little town in North America that should not be there.”

  “I’ll agree to that, but you want to tell me what’s wrong? I can feel your worr
y,” he said, briefly touching the center of his chest as if it was a physical ache he could sooth.

  She sighed and gazed into his eyes. She would’ve liked to ease him into the idea, but he’d already been kidnapped once and she wasn’t willing to take another chance at losing him. “I don’t want you to think I’m trying to be too possessive, but I’d like to insert a tiny piece of crystal in your body.” Before he could say yes or no, she stated why. “It’s like a built-in GPS chip that only I can access.”

  “Okay.”

  “Okay? Just like that? You don’t mind?” she asked with a slight frown. For the last ten minutes, she’d been preparing a speech to convince him.

  He chuckled and gently squeezed her fingers. “I like the fact you can track me. I just wish there was some way I could track you. If you ever disappear, I’d go insane trying to find you.”

  “Oh,” she said, absorbing the intense look in his eyes.

  “Go for it.”

  From her blood, she created a tiny sliver of crystal and pushed the shard through the skin at the base of his head. With a flicker of thought, she embedded the fragment into the bone of his skull.

  “Can you put another one in the fleshy part of my upper throat?” At her look of surprise, he added. “Anyone that finds out who you are, and realizes your method of tracking people, might find one, but not both pieces of crystal.”

  “Good thinking,” she agreed and did as he suggested.

  Finished, she touched his cheek. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. Now, I have a question for you,” he stopped speaking, and she felt a gentle nudge at her mind. They were no longer In Between, but the action was still so muted by the surrounding gateways, she would never have felt the touch if she hadn’t been his mate and Chi’Kehra. Easing a bit of power through her fingertips, she very carefully boosted his inner power.

  Opening her surface thoughts to her mate, she heard his inner monologue, “She trusts me. She is mine. I didn’t lose her. Her soul is more beautiful than her face, and her smile knocks me to my knees every time I look at her.”

  Random thoughts flowed through her upper mind, coasting beside her own thoughts, easy to listen to, and just as easy to shut out. When she realized his pleasure over the experience matched her own, she flashed him a rare grin of delight.