Seduced by Magic

by Cheyenne McCray

  Hawk raised one brow. “All your wealth? Your stature?”

  “My responsibilities. My honor.” Tiernan pushed his fingers through his hair. “If Copper does not take me, then I will choose to live the warrior’s life with the rest of the D’Danann.”

  Tiernan was just about to ask Hawk how many D’Danann would be joining them when Urien came tearing through the gates, a Faerie riding on his shoulder. “Tiernan! This Faerie has news for you.”

  “Riona?” Tiernan’s belly churned when Urien reached him. For the Faerie queen to bring tidings herself, the news she carried would not be good. “What brings you this way?”

  The Fae cousin to the D’Danann used her tiny hand to push her black hair from her face. She looked as if she were winded from a long flight. Lavender Faerie dust sprinkled Urien’s shoulder with every movement her wings made.

  “Copper—” The Faerie sounded tired, which surprised Tiernan further. “Balor has blocked Elvin entries and exits from Copper’s world to Otherworld. Cassia, the other witches—no one was able to follow. Copper has gone alone to face Darkwolf and the Drow to save Silver. Her sister is in mortal peril.”

  Shock arrowed through Tiernan’s chest.

  “Speak, Faerie,” Hawk commanded, obviously impatient for news of his mate.

  The queen gave him a haughty look and flew straight from Urien’s shoulder to buzz in front of Hawk’s nose. “I will answer your questions only because Copper is friend to the Faeries and we fear greatly for her safety.”

  The other warriors arrived and the situation was quickly explained to them. “How shall we get to this place? Is it a long journey?” Tiernan asked.

  Riona nodded. “It is far, and it was only due to magical flight that I was able to arrive as quickly as I have.”

  “Then how shall we reach her?” Tiernan said between gritted teeth.

  The queen looked from Tiernan to Hawk. “You will need to go to the Elvin transference point and ask the aid of the Great Guardian.”

  Immediately shouts of agreement and disagreement broke out among the D’Danann warriors. Tiernan watched for a moment as Hawk started forward with no hesitation. His first wife, who had passed to Summerland, had been half-Elvin, and Hawk had maintained his ties to the Elves despite the animosity between Fae and Elves.

  “I will speak with the Great Guardian.” Hawk unfurled his wings and immediately began his journey through the forest.

  “You can count on me to aid you, as well,” Urien said, his gaze resting on Tiernan. “I owe you much.”

  Tiernan gave a quick nod. He and the other warriors took to the sky and followed Hawk as he made his way through the forest, away from the D’Danann village. Riona settled on Tiernan’s shoulder, looking queenly, though somewhat tired.

  “Godsdamn!” Tiernan could not contain the emotion raging through him. “I promised Copper I would be there for her. She cannot face this alone!”

  Riona crossed her legs at her knees and bounced her dainty foot. “You will be there for her. If you hurry now.”

  Fear for Copper raged through Tiernan’s mind, like nothing he had ever felt before. His heart pounded against his ribs, his skin felt hot, then cold. She had described her dreams to him vividly. What if they were true? Every last detail?

  Tree branches scraped his face, and even through the smells of rich earth and fresh flowers, he felt the air closing in on him, as if he were trapped in the bubble again.

  They eventually came to an ancient Elvin transference point and each D’Danann landed and folded away their wings. Elvin runes had long ago been carved around the circular platform made of a stone like gray marble, only far stronger, far more enduring. Beyond the platform was a small bridge and a stream tinkled merrily beneath it.

  “Veils can only be crossed by the Elves during special times throughout the year, such as the solstice or equinox,” Riona said. “However, Elves can also travel through doorways—over ancient bridges, or beneath great mounds of earth. Since there are such a great number of you, we will need the transference point along with the aid of the Great Guardian.”

  Some of the D’Danann grumbled. Prejudices ran deep between Fae and Elves.

  “Quiet!” Hawk bellowed, and complete silence from the warriors reigned instantly. “We will wait and see if the Great Guardian will bless us with her presence.”

  The sounds of birds chirping, the low music of Dryads singing, the whisper of wind through leaves, and the tinkling stream could be heard as they waited.

  For a long moment all warriors remained quiet, their eyes fixed on the bridge. The wind picked up and a sound like bells filled the air.

  Tiernan could barely contain himself, his need was so great to aid Copper. He could tell Hawk felt the same way about Silver just by the clenching of his jaw and his fists.

  An Elvin woman of incredible grace and beauty appeared on the footbridge.

  She was as tall as most of the D’Danann warriors. Her pointed ears peeked through strands of her white-blond hair that hung straight and silkily, all the way to her feet. Her hair and her skin were perfect. She appeared young, but with such incredible wisdom in her eyes.

  The sound of metal scraping against a scabbard was loud as Hawk removed his sword and laid it at the foot of the transference point. Tiernan followed suit, and they both knelt.

  “Rise and sheathe your weapons.” The Great Guardian’s voice could be called nothing less than musical. “You must hurry if you are to save the ones you love.”

  Tiernan and Hawk looked at one another and quickly obeyed the Guardian. They shrugged out of their coats and tossed them aside on the grass as one, both apparently needing to be free of anything that might hinder them.

  “I can allow two of you to cross at a time.” She gestured for Hawk and Tiernan to stand on the stone. “You must hurry through the Drow door and into the tunnels.” She focused on Tiernan. “Remember the encounter with the giant.”

  How she had known about the fight with the giant, Tiernan had no idea, but he was not about to question such an intelligent and wise being.

  “Battle well,” she said as Hawk and Tiernan stepped upon the stone, and Riona fluttered onto his shoulder.

  Tiernan braced himself for the transference. Again that feeling of suffocation, of his eyes bulging, of wanting to claw at his throat, nearly overcame him. But in mere moments they were free and stood within the meadow Tiernan knew only too well.

  Copper was tumbling through a hole. Again. She screamed, but it was lost in the rush of air whooshing by her cheeks. She couldn’t think past her fear.

  Her feet slammed onto hard ground. Pain screamed through her as her right ankle wrenched. She heard a popping and grinding sound, and she fell to her hands and knees.

  “Oh, goddess!” she shouted, unable to hold back another cry.

  The pain in her ankle was so excruciating that tears leaked from her eyes and sweat broke out on her brow. She scrubbed her face on her arm, wiping away the moisture before gently lowering herself so that she was sitting on her butt.

  No matter how carefully she moved, the pain in her ankle was so intense she could barely breathe. She held her knee up and her foot off the floor of wherever it was that she’d landed. She was afraid to put any pressure on her foot. The slightest touch would send her screaming, she was sure.

  She was gripping her damaged wand, but its light was out again, and it was pitch-black once more. “Dammit! Stupid ass thing.” Instead of slamming the wand onto the ground like she wanted to, she raised it and focused her magic on the shattered tip. A soft golden glow fractured from it, giving her barely enough light to see by.

  She moved it like a flashlight with dying batteries, shining it around the place she was now in, while trying to ignore the throbbing agony in her ankle. Once again—surprise, surprise—she was in a passageway. Only this one was much smaller, only tall enough for a Drow to walk without bending his head, and wide enough for two to walk side by side. No giant had made this tunnel.
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  Copper wondered if destiny had screwed up, or if Balor had been fucking with her dream-visions again. Here she was, things happening like in her visions, only in them she hadn’t broken her wand and hadn’t broken her ankle, too.

  “Crap, this is so not good.” Her voice sounded hoarse. “And, wasn’t that the understatement of the year?”

  Her head, back, and butt still ached from her first fall, her hands from the rope burns, but that was nothing compared to the all-consuming pain in her ankle. She swore she’d never felt anything so intensely painful in her life. It was the same foot that the Fomorii had scratched when she’d arrived in San Francisco, and even that wound seemed to flare up worse than before.

  Maybe a little witchcraft would help—at least a bit. She’d helped her sister witches before, why couldn’t she help herself? She pointed her broken wand at her swelling ankle, and said a small chant meant to help numb the pain. Sparks sputtered from the end of her wand, not the glittering glow she was accustomed to. She held her breath, hoping the charm would work and that her pain would ease.

  No such luck.

  If anything, it hurt worse.

  She clenched her wand tighter. “Fuck.”

  Goddess, how she wanted to hurl the wand through the tunnel. If she didn’t need what little light it offered, she would have ditched the stupid thing already.

  Bracing her hands on the floor first, then the walls, she eased herself to a standing position, putting all of her weight on her good foot. It didn’t help to keep more pain from shooting through her like an explosion in her ankle.

  She cringed and moaned and couldn’t help a few more tears.

  Yeah, this is just peachy.

  The tunnel only went in one direction. It sloped downward, just a slight decline. Gritting her teeth, Copper started hobbling, balancing herself by bracing one hand against the wall while she moved. It didn’t matter how careful she was, the pain just wouldn’t stop. She smelled fresh dirt, and the earth felt cool and rough beneath her palm as she steadied herself.

  “Where’s Zeph?” She paused in mid-hobble and looked over her shoulder. “Zephyr!” she called, panic edging her voice. Her stomach clenched. Had the giant squashed him? “Zephyr!”

  She waited a few heartbeats, but when he didn’t come to her, she saw no choice but to continue.

  She didn’t seem to have a whole lot of choice in anything.

  Copper made her way slowly down the tunnel and she was relieved when the pain in her ankle slowed to a dull, throbbing ache as if going numb from the injury. No doubt when she had to put pressure on it again, she was going to be in for some serious agony. She had a nagging headache from her first fall, and her back was killing her.

  “How am I going to do this?” Her voice sounded small and lost in the tunnel. “I need you, Zeph!”

  No comforting buzzing sound met her ears.

  Why had this all happened? Hadn’t she and her sister been through enough?

  No time for a freaking pity party, Copper. Get your ass in gear. There’s no choice but to go forward.

  The tunnel seemed to go on forever and ever. She was aching, filthy, she had a broken wand, and a broken ankle.

  And a broken heart. While she moved down the tunnel she had time to think of lots of things. The constant void the passing of her mother had created and the pain of her death that would never go away. Silver was now imprisoned with Darkwolf. Was she safe? What about the baby? How was Copper going to get her sister back?

  Or did Darkwolf plan to use Silver for some obscene ritual that had to do with the door?

  The thought made Copper shudder and she tried not to let her mind go there. She would get to her sister before anything happened to Silver. She would.

  She forced her thoughts away from her fears and found herself thinking about Tiernan. How could she have fallen in love with him? She wasn’t sure the pain of loving him, since he probably had to marry another woman, would ever go away.

  Time heals all wounds.

  Now wasn’t that a load of bullshit.

  Copper continued to limp-hop down the passageway until finally a red glow mingled with the dull light of her wand.

  The red light crept around a corner of the tunnel and grew as the passageway turned. Copper’s heart rate picked up. This was it. This was where everything would come to a head.

  Goddess, how she wished she had someone to help her. Her witch friends had been shut out, the Fae and Elves couldn’t help. And the D’Danann were on the other side with the witches in her world. They had to have someone with Elvin blood to take them across, so how could they get to her if no one else could?

  Copper took a deep breath. She hobbled forward until she reached the corner and peered around it.

  She didn’t need her wand light anymore. The horrible red creeping from a door across the cavern covered everything in a crimson glow. She stuck her wand in her back pocket and gripped the wall with both hands as she took a moment to take in her surroundings.

  Like her dream-visions, she had entered an immense cavern filled with stalactites and stalagmites. Like blood-red rubies, crystals sparkled throughout the cavern. The cavern had an eerie red glitter about it that made her feel sick to her stomach. Everything seemed bathed in blood.

  It was hot, so very hot, like the heat of a furnace.

  As far as she could tell, the chamber was empty. Where were the Drow? Darkwolf, the Fomorii, Silver?

  Copper took a deep breath as she clung to the corner of the tunnel that led into the cavern. Unlike in her dreams she didn’t smell that rotten fish stench, and she didn’t catch the scent of wolfsbane. The earthy, mossy scent of the Drow was there, although she didn’t see them.

  She did smell something she couldn’t quite identify. It was a sickly sweet odor that made her stomach churn. It smelled like—like burnt sugar.

  Over and over in Copper’s mind, she ran through the spell she’d been thinking of all day when she’d jogged the length of the park and back, and while she’d sat and watched the ocean for a while.

  With that spell, she would be prepared to keep that door closed, unlike her dream. She rubbed her back pocket where she’d stuck her wand. The only difference was that in her preparation for this spell, she’d been counting on her wand.

  Now she’d have to count on hand magic instead. At that thought she bit her lip. She’d always relied on her wand. She should have practiced hand magic rather than having to rely on a tool.

  Silver needed her. She would not fail.

  Shoring up her courage, Copper hobbled fully around the corner, and then beside the rocks that barricaded one side of the path that led down to the cavern. When she reached the cavern floor, she was surprised to find a path through the flat rock floor that was fairly smooth and worn, as if traveled upon by many feet over centuries.

  No longer having a wall of any kind to brace herself with, Copper had to skip-hop from stalagmite to stalagmite, pausing to catch her breath and ease the pain of her ankle. More sweat broke out on her forehead and her body felt even hotter. The pain in her ankle constantly made her want to vomit.

  The closer she came to the door, the harder her heart pounded. The crimson glow made it easy enough for her to see, but she couldn’t quite make out everything ahead of her.

  She hop-skipped a little closer. Closer. Closer. Until she was a good twenty feet from the door. She’d almost reached the last stalagmite, and would have nothing else to hold on to once she took another step forward.

  Copper came to an abrupt halt. The red glow from the door was bright enough that she had to blink to become accustomed to it. The smell of burnt sugar was much stronger now. She scanned the cavern and saw no one—no sign of the Drow, the Fomorii, or warlocks.

  She dropped her gaze. On the floor was the circle with the runes—

  At the center of that circle was her unconscious sister, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.

  The moment Copper saw her sister at the center of that cir
cle of runes, she couldn’t help the scream that tore from her throat: “Silver!” The word echoed throughout the cavern, bouncing from wall to wall, stalagmite to stalactite. “Ohmygoddess, ohmygoddess, ohmygoddess!”

  Her heart raced as it had never raced before. Adrenaline surged through her, giving her the strength to push herself away from the last stalagmite and hobble to Silver as fast as she could. Copper didn’t care about anything but getting to her sister. Silver was lying on her back spread-eagle. Her head was turned, facing Copper, her eyes closed, a dried trickle of blood coming from her bottom lip where she’d apparently bit it hard enough to draw blood—or where she’d been hit.

  Through her fear and the haze of her pain, she had the presence of mind to look about the cavern again. Where were Darkwolf, Junga, and the Drow? Other Fomorii or warlocks?

  When she reached Silver, Copper dropped to her knees, the pain in her swollen ankle bringing a rush of agony through her body that made her feel faint, yet she did her best to ignore it. She reached for Silver’s wrist and found that it was bound tight to a metal stake in a witch’s knot. With her fingers, Copper felt her sister’s pulse. It wasn’t as strong as it should be.

  And Silver was still. So unnaturally still.

  What was wrong with her? And was the baby all right?

  Tears squeezed from Copper’s eyes and splashed onto Silver’s arm. Copper’s sister’s silvery-blond hair was loose around her head like a halo. She was wearing the same black clothing she had been wearing the night she was taken.

  When Copper glanced at Silver’s other bound wrist, she saw it had been sliced open. From a small cut, blood slowly seeped from Silver and into the connected runes engraved into the stone. The blood wasn’t drying; it was creeping into the etchings and making its way through them, from one rune to the next.