Exile: Sídhí Summer Camp #3

by Jodie B. Cooper

  Fury filled Sarah; she couldn’t tell if the emotion came from her or Nick.

  “The boy is dead,” Nick said in more of a statement than a question. A snarl carved a look of fury across his face.

  “Yes, ripped to pieces.”

  “How many of our people are left in the empire?” Sarah asked, as a tentative plan formed in her mind.

  There was no way she would let PuckinKnück get away with killing a child in such a hideous manner, much less allow the dhark lords get away with attacking her valley. Once again, she felt pulled between helping her people and teaching her enemies what it meant when they targeted her people.

  “Yeah, there are thousands of displaced people, including a bunch of children that need help, but from what Bea said she won’t have the rescue workers organized for several hours,” Nick said, rubbing her tense shoulders.

  “That’s true,” she agreed. “If I attack them, it’ll need to be a lightning quick strike that the empire will never forget. I won’t have time to do a thorough job, but they’ll know they have a much bigger monster by the tail than they ever dreamed possible.”

  Nick’s soft growl of approval warmed her aching soul.

  They made hasty plans, and she knew they’d be cutting the two-hour limit close.

  Nearly thirty minutes later, Sarah had identified and ported every known spy and ally out of the Dhark Empire. She could only port those with crystal ID shards, so she knew others remained, especially within TèVarrn prison, but entering the prison would require days of planning and that was time she didn’t currently have.

  “Ready,” Nick said softly as he walked up behind her.

  She’d been studying the map of the Dhark Empire, but she already knew it by heart. She knew exactly where she was going.

  “Where we are going,” Nick said, correcting her unspoken words.

  “Yes,” she readily agreed, “I meant, where are we going, not just me.”

  With a mixed honor guard including elves, vampire, and phoenix, Sarah ported them to their first stop within the Dhark Empire.

  The world exploded with gunfire aimed straight at them. The ammunition bounced off the near invisible surface several feet away. The attack was futile. No bullet could penetrate her shield.

  Behind her concealing mask, Sarah smiled. With the ultrathin membrane of synth crystal surrounding the group, the guards had been unnecessary. Her warriors served a different purpose. She knew her actions would be remembered; actually, since three of her people carried cameras sending streaming video to Sídhí’s version of U-Tube she had made certain the entire Sídhí world would remember her actions.

  Flagpoles surrounded the wide lawn. A unique flag represented each valley within the Dhark Empire. The normally peaceful park of marble statues and dark green grass encompassed the Dhark Plaza, the sprawling complex that housed the political offices of the Dhark Empire.

  The council met in a vast underground chamber built of gold and black marble, placed under the very heart of the Dhark Plaza Complex, directly under the arena.

  Though she wanted the meeting place of the dhark court destroyed, the arena was just as satisfying of target. The amphitheater, built to hold several thousand bystanders, had seen its share of horror each time an innocent person was thrown among werewolves or sasquatch and ripped to pieces for the enjoyment of the bloodthirsty crowd.

  “I won’t kill innocents, and many of the janitors and secretaries have no choice in serving the dhark lords,” she said quietly, almost as an affirmation of what her plans were, “but I will not let their attack go unpunished.”

  “Attention! All personnel within the Dhark Plaza Complex, you have exactly ten minutes to evacuate before it is destroyed,” she mentally shouted, pushing a growl into her words in hopes of keeping her identity secret for a while longer.

  Finished with her warning, she turned her attention to creating a large mass of synth crystal under the widespread complex. Exactly ten minutes later, she ordered the slow destruction of one of the empire’s most critical locations. Slowly, as if in slow motion, her weapon of choice broke through the underground chamber, creating crystal spikes through the chamber’s marble floor.

  “Love, your mind is going a thousand directions and I can’t keep up,” Nick said into her mind. “Why go so slow?”

  Before answering, she leaned her shoulder against his, savoring the moment. From the confusion, she felt coming from him, he wasn’t questioning her actions he was just trying to understand what her goal was.

  “I know they’ve killed thousands, but I just can’t do that. Death on the battlefield is one thing, but I can’t just destroy the place without giving everyone a chance to escape,” she said with a hint of embarrassment coloring her voice. She was supposed to be a hardcore killer, but when push came to shove, she couldn’t be an ice-cold killer.

  “I caught that thought, and you are wrong. When it is necessary, you are ice-cold. You don’t hesitate to kill your enemies, but you also have compassion. It’s very well hidden compassion, but your honor and kindheartedness is what separates you from the dhark lords,” he said, brushing his lips across her temple.

  Savoring his praise, she turned her attention to the massive four-story building. In the distance, she could just make-out spires of crystal. She focused on the remaining mass of crystal beneath the ground. Giving it a single order, she watched silently as spikes of crystal thrust through the building, exiting through windows and the roof.

  Ten minutes later, her assault on the Dhark Plaza was complete. Massive spikes of razor sharp crystal riddled the building and surrounding park.

  “I think we are done here. Let’s go visit Lord PhñDick’s estate,” Sarah said with a hard glint shining in her eyes.

  After visiting Lord PhñDick’s home, and turning it into a mirror image of the Dhark Plaza, they stopped at General PuckinKnück’s home and then Lord Trenton’s home and did the same. At each stop, she gave a ten-minute warning, and then ordered the crystal to do her bidding. Not having time to waste, she left before the crystal reached for the sky.

  Her campaign didn’t end there. Her group continued on to three known military locations, destroying offices and barracks. Of course, she also destroyed numerous warehouses filled with more modern weaponry such as guns, helicopters, and missile launchers.

  It took time, nearly two hours, but Sarah gave the Dhark Empire a blow they would not soon recover from. She’d gone a bit over the two hours Bea needed to coordinate groups of rescue workers, but it was time she didn’t regret.

  Porting her group back to the war room, she looked her dad in the eye and saw his approval. “It’ll be a while before they try attacking anyone else,” she said.

  “Good job,” he said with a grim smile, motioning to one of the monitors replaying her attack on the plaza. “News feeds in every valley have picked up the broadcasts.”

  “Thanks,” Sarah said, glancing at the large board showing Trellick Valley. “You know the situation. Do we need more warriors on the ground or can I start bringing in the rescue workers?”

  “At most of the gateways, the tide has turned in our favor.”

  “Then finding and helping the injured is at the top of the list,” she stated with grim determination.

  “The good news is the pincer movement is working at Gila Cliffs and Red Oak. The dhark armies literally fell apart when the phoenix showed up,” he nodded to an aide that updated the map as she lowered the number of dhark soldiers at a town bordering Hot Springs Castle. “We’ve got control of the area around Hot Springs Castle, but they destroyed the castle. It looks like they wired the place with C-4.”

  “That’s good news?” Nick asked incredulously.

  “We think it had already been evacuated,” he said with a touch of hope.

  Sarah’s eyes snapped to his, silently demanding details. She had known the death toll would be atrocious, but Aaron was family, a friend she could always count on. His death would create a hole in her soul
that might never heal.

  “Aaron is here. He was seriously injured, but he’s healing.”

  “Was there a girl with him?” Nick asked, glancing at her.

  She gave a small nod of understanding. She knew Nick loved her, but that didn’t stop his concern for an old friend, especially an ex-girlfriend.

  “A girl about seventeen or eighteen ported him here. Made sure he was being taken care of then disappeared.”

  Well, that wasn’t the best of news, not when Shelby knew who Sarah was. “What about my announcement to the world. Are there any hints of who Chi’Kehra is?”

  “No, not yet, and we are covering all the major channels on Earth and the valleys,” Timothy said from across the room.

  She snorted silently. Her tech guru was not subtle about eavesdropping.

  “I’d rather join one of the battles, but Bea is organizing rescue groups, and I’m the best one to transport them. I want someone in constant contact with Bea’s aide. Keep us updated where the hardest hit areas are and I’ll get rescue teams in ASAP.”

  “Be careful,” her dad kissed her forehead. Turning, he grabbed Nick around the back of his neck. “That goes for you too, young man. We’re glad to have you as part of the family and would like to keep you around for a while.”

  “Thank you, sir. I agree.” Nick touched Sarah’s arm, silently telling her to wait. “We don’t have time for details, but we found Miranda. She’s safe.”

  All the air hissed out of the large elf. “Thank God! Where is she?”

  “Long story,” Sarah said, porting them away from the war room.

  A moment later, they appeared at Kenai.

  Hugging her tight, Nick snorted, “Chicken.”

  “Absolutely, you don’t mess with my dad when he is protecting one of us kids,” Sarah said, searching the sprawling crowd for Bea’s distinctive wings.

  “There,” Nick said, nodding to the middle of the field amid a swirling mass of people and wings.

  “Bea,” Sarah called, “which groups go first?”

  Bea said something to the people in front of her before executing a vertical take-off. “The units on the north side of the field are prepped and ready. Timothy is texting Misha the locations where help is needed the most.”

  The phoenix gracefully dropped to the wooden platform. “She is telling each group where they will be going, and tagging them with chips.”

  “Chips?” Nick asked.

  “Crystal chips,” Bea said, holding out her hand, revealing a small coin-sized piece of crystal. “The mist Sarah used earlier was great, but everyone is so scattered now. I was also concerned that it might take too much power.”

  Sarah nodded, but didn’t comment. It was always better for people - even people she trusted - to underestimate her power than to reveal too much.

  “Let’s get moving,” Nick said, before Bea could press Sarah for an answer.

  Through the long hours that came, Nick never left her side. He couldn’t help with the porting, but he did help by answering questions and calming fears. Each time they ported to a new location, people hurried toward them with terror lurking in their eyes.

  While the people tended to hesitate in approaching her, they didn’t have any hesitation when it came to Nick. On more than one occasion, his strong arms held a crying child, comforting the youngling until one of the phoenix could take over. The gentle way he handled her people - whether that person was vampire, elf, fairy, or other race - was heart-warming.

  Each time it happened, she had to step back and swallow the fury that tried to choke her. So many were dead or injured, she had never seen so many tear-streaked faces in her entire life. Many adults appeared to be in shock, shaking like a leaf as they repeated over and again what happened. How the dhark soldiers and animals attacked without warning, invading malls and even schools.

  She struggled to retain her temper, because for every traumatized adult there was child in worse shape. Too many of the children had seen parents torn to pieces as they protected their little ones.

  Clenching her fist, a growl of pure fury slipped past her lips. Somehow, she would destroy the empire. She would never let them do this to another valley, not as long as she lived.

  Chapter - Ancient Ruins

  Hours later, Sarah stood outside Trellick castle. A half dozen lookout towers rose high above her home. The extensive fortress, cut into the side of a mountain, reminded her of Colin’s castle. Briefly, she wondered if her ancestors had modeled Trellick Castle around the elvish stronghold.

  On the walkway, at the base of one tower, Sarah nestled her back against Nick’s broad chest. There was so much more to do, but after working nonstop through the day, they both needed a short breather.

  She had checked with Cory, but the general had the widespread battle well in hand. After several thousand years of experience, he didn’t need her telling him how to conduct his troops.

  As they watched the setting sun inch toward the horizon, turning the evening sky into a dozen hues of red and gold, she snuggled deeper into Nick’s arms.

  His purr of contentment warmed her from the inside out.

  “I knew a single Sídhí bent on destruction could cause a huge amount of damage, but I never dreamed how much damage thousands of them could do,” she said softly, pain filled her as she thought of all the homeless and hurt people, the lost children and lost parents.

  “I know,” he said. His soft purr slowed and turned into a rumbling growl. The angry sound vibrated against her body. “There are thousands of rescue workers working nonstop, but even by morning they won’t have reached a third of all the people that need help.”

  “We’ll help them,” she said, but she wasn’t sure where the additional manpower would come from. She had just ported the last phoenix rescue group into a small mid-western town that had been hit by vampires porting in sasquatch.

  “We could call on the other valleys for help,” he said cautiously.

  “That’s always been an option of last resort, but I’m afraid you might be right,” she said in resignation. The security issue would be a nightmare.

  “If you’re all right with it, I’ll call my Uncle Warren,” he said, holding his body still, waiting for her answer.

  “Hmm, let me think… high-council, old, powerful, and a killer smile?” she asked sweetly. “Did I guess right?”

  Nick snorted. “Do you know my family as well as your own?”

  “Maybe,” she said, knowing it was the solid truth.

  Nick pulled her closer, gently nuzzling her cheek. “You’ve been going strong for nearly two days straight. If I have to bash you in the head, you need sleep.”

  Yeah, he was right. Physically, she was about to drop.

  Turning, she curled her arms around his waist. “There’s too much to be done, I can’t sleep.”

  “Yeah, I know, but I had to try.” He growled, but didn’t argue with her. Giving her one last hug, he kissed her temple. “Come on. Let’s go see what fire needs your gentle touch.”

  Along their lifeBond, she sent him a mental caress of thanks. Stepping away from him, she kept his hand in hers and ported them to a corner within the war room, near the servers but far enough away Timothy wouldn’t have a heart attack.

  She shouldn’t have worried about it. Nearly everyone in the room had their eyes glued to a single monitor.

  With a sigh of resignation, she moved nearer, wondering what horrible development had captured everyone’s rapt attention. What really surprised her was Timothy. He actually had the sound turned up on high. Since his team maintained watch over hundreds of monitors, her high tech-guru insisted the screens remain on the lowest setting unless absolutely necessary.

  The image showed the castle’s entrance hall. Actually, the monitors to either side also reflected the thirty by forty foot hall, simply at different angles. The cameras remained focused on the people scattered across the floor, leaving the second and third story balcony hidden. She wasn’t concerned with
unannounced visitors, not when she knew several of her archers hid within the shadows of the dark, upper stories.

  On one side of the hall, a young man with a mane of multi-hued brown and gold hair paced. For some reason the snarl on his face reminded her of a khatt.

  On the other side of the hall, a tall, dark-haired man leaned against a marble pillar, exuding dark appeal like a siren. She knew better. The man was no fairy. He was vampire.

  “What’s Uncle Warren doing here?” Nick muttered under his breath.

  No one paid him the slightest attention. How could they, especially with the theatrics going on.

  In the middle of the room stood a group of highborn elves, one was screaming at Sarah’s dad, telling him all the different ways she would destroy Trellick Valley if he didn’t turn Chi’Kehra over to her, immediately.

  Beside her Nick snorted, nearly choking on his burst of laughter. “Oh, wrong thing to say to Chi’Kehra’s daddy.”

  Sarah sighed. The heartfelt expression sounded like a groan crossed with a chuckle. “At least, they are trying to protect me instead of kill me.”

  “For the moment,” he growled in her ear.

  Sarah was more than happy to let her dad deal with the elvish delegation, so she ignored the elvish drama going on, and asked Nick, “Any idea as to why your uncle is here?”

  “He’s here because I asked him to come,” Shelby said from the doorway.

  “Shelby?” Nick snarled the question, stepping toward the white-faced girl. “So help me, friendship or not, if you’ve betrayed Sarah’s secret, I’ll kill you.”