They were alive. That was all I had time to confirm before I stood before the Sorcerer.
The Sorcerer unclasped his cloak, twirled it off, and handed it over. When I didn’t take it, his emerald gaze studied me. “If I was going to kill them, Kori, I would have done it before you woke up.”
I took his cloak and held it to my front. “Don’t ever come into this apartment. It’s a private space, always.”
“Isn’t this your place of employment?” He quirked an auburn brow. His expression was mocking, but there was a hint of malice in his green eyes as he glanced back toward the vampires. “Shouldn’t you be congratulated on a job well done?”
I moved between him and the bed. The man was so tall, I’m sure he could see right over my head, but I wanted as many barriers as possible between Ash and Ruin and this sorcerer. I had the distinct feeling that the Sorcerer wanted to kill the kings at this moment.
His gaze fell down to mine. “I wouldn’t have come if it wasn’t important, Kori. I’m here about your brother and sister--”
“Brendan and Genevieve?” My heart stampeded in my chest and vision blurred at the edges. “Where are they? Did you hurt them?”
He tilted his head and narrowed his eyelids over his green eyes. "I didn’t do anything except watch them leave. Afterward, I made you invisible and un-hearable so you can safely follow them out. I’m helping you.”
"You’re helping me?" My tone carried a heavy dose of doubt.
"Yes. I keep helping you, don’t you see that?" He lifted his cinnamon brows. “I can take you to where they’re heading—or, if you continue to be so ungrateful, I can leave you to deal with this alone.”
“You win. Take me to them, please.” I stepped toward him.
He offered me his hand, and I hesitated a moment before taking it. His warm fingers wrapped around mine, abrasive and strong. He tugged me behind him, immediately falling into a sprint and picking up his pace. A wall of wind slammed into my feet, scooping up my heels, and we ran at an incredible speed. My stomach flipped as we zoomed out of the open door and into the stairwell.
Soon we were running through the dome. The blue-lit streets raced by us in a shaky smear of color, and then we descended to the underground tunnels.
I gripped the Sorcerer’s hand tighter as metal gave way to cold and moist stone under us. We slowed, standing in the near darkness in a wide tunnel. “How did we get past the guard—”
“I told you, we’re invisible,” he snapped as he released me.
The Sorcerer raised his hand, and a ball of pale blue Ignis fire ignited in his palm. Heat rose in my chest and a noxious feeling churned in my stomach as I watched the ease with which the Sorcerer wielded his mage powers, and I busied myself with pulling the red cloak to cover more of my nakedness.
A faint but familiar voice echoed through the cave—Genevieve's soprano, and I spun around to look into the dark, dusty tunnel.
I rushed toward the echoing sound with the Sorcerer at my side. The flickering Ignis fire cast an eerie glow on the rough walls of the tunnel. Jagged rocks cut into the pads of my feet as we sprinted forward, and hot blood coated my skin. The cool, wet air reeked of sulfur. The deeper I went, the thicker the scent grew, until it burnt my nostrils and made my eyes water.
We turned the corner to see my sister standing in a narrow cavern in a white lace nightdress. The pale illumination of the Sorcerer’s flame glinted off a gun in Genevieve’s hand. She spun the semi-automatic with the trigger held around her finger. It was a blur of movement while she laughed.
“Vivie!” I yelled, and the name bounced around the cavern.
Genevieve continued to spin the gun, while giggling and looking at nothing.
“She can’t see or hear us,” the Sorcerer said.
“Wake up.” I rushed over to my sister. Grabbing her arm and shaking it. Her body didn’t move. Her skin felt wrong. It was solid, as if my hands were too insubstantial and weak to affect her.
Her attention was fixed forward at nothing. She twirled the gun again on her other hand. “Of course. I can shoot anything,” Genevieve said with a laugh that sent a chill down my spine. “You want me to prove it?”
I reached up and cupped her cheeks. Her skin felt soft and yet too dense to press my fingers into. “Genevieve!”
The Sorcerer stepped up beside me, lifting the flame right before her face. “I already tried to yank them out physically.” He pulled back his arm and punched Genevieve in the face so hard the impact boomed through the cave. Genevieve didn’t so much as flinch. When the Sorcerer pulled back and opened his hand, his pointer and middle finger bent in the wrong direction. He pushed them straight and fisted his hand before uncurling his fingers, healed. I had never seen the mage power of Corpus firsthand, and it sent a chill through my chest. Corpuses could kill just as easily as they could heal.
“You can’t hurt her, but she can definitely hurt you,” he said.
I glared at the Sorcerer. “You seem to know a lot about this.”
“This isn’t the first time I’ve seen them in the tunnels. It’s just the first time that I knew who to tell when I did.”
I spun on him, my breaths heaving. “Is this some sick, twisted game you’re playing to punish--”
“Kori,” he interrupted. “I’m not doing this with my power. I have nothing to do with what’s going on here.” His brow wrinkled, and he shook his head. “I thought you were supposed to be some kind of genius. No mage power on Earth can do this. Your sister is not here. She’s trapped in another reality, and someone or something is in there with her.”
“How do you know that?” I looked around the cavern, seeing no sign of anyone or anything but ash and darkness. Thoughts on how I should proceed were rattling around in my mind when my sister lifted her gun and pointed it straight at my chest.
"You want me to shoot where, Mira?" Genevieve asked with a laugh. She lifted her hand and pointed it squarely between my eyes. When I ducked out of the way, Genevieve’s gun tracked me. She giggled. “Oh, a challenge.”
“I know that someone’s in there with them because they try to kill me if I get near Genevieve or Brendan in here.” The Sorcerer reached up and grabbed the gun, pale flames erupted from his hands, and the gun turned white hot before melting in Genevieve’s fingers.
She dropped the warped metal and laughed again. “I’m sorry. I haven’t done that in years.”
“Ignis fire gets through?” I asked as I crouched down to inspect the gun. When I poked it, the weapon felt as immovable as a marble statue.
Wind slammed into our backs, gusting through the cavern, but not so much as a single hair moved on Genevieve’s head. “Yes, but no other power can.”
Going to the side of the cave, I dropped the Sorcerer’s cloak. I stepped toward my sister fully naked, my heart in my throat. “How much Ignis fire can you make?”
The Sorcerer stepped up beside me, lifted his hands, and fire sprung from his palms. Ignis fire hit my bare side, extinguishing once it made contact with my skin. The fire hit Genevieve, burning her nightdress.
“What?” She looked down.
“Make it bigger!” I yelled as I stepped fully into the path of his flames. My heart squeezed as another figure materialized beside my sister. I saw the consort of Portland every time I fell asleep, but unlike in my dreams, Mira looked as beautiful as she did before her death. Her bottle green eyes cut to mine and fixed there as I stood in the flames. Her familiar voice echoed in my ears, “You need to come back, Kori…”
“No!” I lunged through the Ignis fire that roiled through the cabin and wrapped my hands fully around Genevieve’s wrists. Then, I dragged her into the current of flame.
For the first time, her body responded to my touch. And as I yanked her, she fell forward into me.
Genevieve screamed, but I wrapped my arms around her and backed toward the Sorcerer. "It's me!"
"Kori?" She called into my ear, sounding bewildered.
The Ignis fire extinguis
hed, and dry air wafted through the cavern along with the scent of burnt fabric. The rotten egg scent remained cloying in the air.
Genevieve peered around the room, swaying where she stood.
"Vivie, we need to get away from that—thing—that’s impersonating the consort. Where's Brend?"
"He's right there." She gestured toward the cave beside her. Genevieve rubbed her arm. "We really didn't want to worry you, Kori. I just want a little more time with Mira—I’ve missed her so much…"
"Vivie. Snap out of it. Brend is not there, and you’re going on about spending alone time with a murderous ghost. Wake up," I yelled into her face.
My sister pulled her hands down, gently tugged her wrists from my grasp, and then took my hands in hers. "I know you and Mira had your problems, Kori, but she would never hurt us . . ." Genevieve paused to sigh, "Brend is just a little deeper in the tunnels."
"Vivie, we need to find Brendan right now," I demanded. My heart raced so fast I could barely gather enough air to speak. "If he's not in danger, prove it. Show me that he's safe."
Genevieve squeezed my hands. "Okay. Okay, Kori. Um . . ." she turned her head abruptly, as if she was looking and listening to someone. Something invisible indented both sides of Genevieve's smooth skin as if transparent fingers cupped her cheeks, and shadows and dust coalesced. The creature that appeared beside Genevieve didn’t look at all like Mira, the beautiful consort of Portland. It was tall and thin. Instead of having eyes and a nose, it had skeletal pits, and its pale, thin-lipped mouth was smiling. The creature whispered something in my sister’s ear before vanishing.
The Sorcerer stepped forward and held up a handful of fire. The blue flames lit his features in a pale light. “Tell me that I didn’t just imagine that.”
“We have to go,” I said, my voice thin and reedy. I pulled at my sister’s arm, but she wouldn’t budge. “Genevieve, where’s Brendan? We have to find Brendan.”
“Brendan is gone,” Genevieve said. “Mira says Brendan went back. She said that we need to go back, too.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
KORI
I had been afraid many times in my life, but the ice currently running down my spine and through every inch of my body was something beyond fear. The force we were dealing with was pure evil. I could feel it to my core. There was no puzzle to solve or enemy to stab. I had no idea how to fight the wraith that was pulling my siblings from this world.
I gripped my sister’s hand as tears dropped onto my cheeks. “Where did Mira say that Brend went back to, Vivie?"
Genevieve turned to a spot where no one stood. After a second, she said, "Mira says that you know where to go."
I tugged Genevieve’s wrist. “That thing is not Mira, Vivie. Something is tricking you. When was the last time you saw Brendan…?”
Brendan's joyous guffaw echoed through the tunnels. My heart leapt and hands shook. “That’s him. He’s still here.”
Genevieve spun halfway toward Brendan’s voice. "Yeah. That sounds like him. Where did that come from?"
“Come on." I yanked her hands, tugging her in the direction of the laughter. “He didn’t wander off. You’re not talking to Mira, Vivie. She’s gone.”
"I know. She’s visiting me from the other side--I just want a few more minutes with her,” Genevieve said as she tugged back. “You go find Brend, and I'll catch up to you in thirty seconds--I would never let you get lost, I promise. Please. I miss them all so much, and we never got to say goodbye."
I ignored her frantic ramblings and dragged my sister further into the maze of tunnels. The Sorcerer caught up to us a moment later, lifting a handful of Ignis fire. The air cooled and the silence grew so thick it was as if no living thing was around us for miles.
Just when I was sure that we were heading in the wrong direction, Brendan's voice rang out from probably fifty paces away.
"There he is," Genevieve said. "Do you see him?"
“Brend!" My voice echoed down the corridor, repeating again and again.
The Sorcerer turned, his vivid green eyes meeting mine. “He probably can’t hear you either, Kori. Genevieve, why don’t you yell for him?”
“Brend?” Genevieve called.
"Vivie?" His voice sounded as if it came from just below us.
"It’s me," Genevieve said back. "We must have separated, and Kori and the Sorcerer found me. Kori is really worried about you."
"Tell her that I’m fine. Only thing is that--I--I can't really see right now," he laughed through the words, sounding drunk.
I dove, taking Genevieve to the ground with me.
Breath whooshed out of me as her stomach collided with my back.
"Careful, Kori," she said through a groan.
"We need more light! Touch the ground here… do you feel that?" Between two mounds of stone, the ground opened up into a natural stairway. I hadn't seen it before because the rockfaces had blended together in the faint light. But as I felt around the cold, rough stone, I found a hole that led deeper into the Earth.
I swallowed hard. "He’s in this hole. Ask him if he can climb back up."
When Genevieve leaned in and relayed the message, Brendan called, "I'm not in a hole--look . . ." I heard the squeaking of his boots, "We’re only a few feet away from the tunnel entrance."
His voice was getting fainter.
"Tell him to stop moving, Genevieve.”
“Stay where you are, Brend," she called before leaning against the wall. She yawned. “I’m getting tired.”
I looked between my sister, the Sorcerer, and the hole, wondering what was more dangerous, dragging her down with me or leaving her alone.
"I'm sorry, Kori," Genevieve said as she settled beside me. "We had no idea that we were causing you so much stress--especially after the last few weeks. This is turning into a nightmare--"
A cry erupted from below.
"Brend?" Genevieve called. “Are you okay?”
“Come on.” I grabbed her wrist and yanked her down into the hole behind me. "Sorcerer, we need you," I yelled up as I clambered down into the darkness.
The stairway was little more than slick, jagged stone. My legs ached as I continuously missed steps. The stairwell evened out into a cavern, and a figure sprawled on the stone floor a few paces away. I recognized my brother's familiar curly hair and wide build.
"Are you hurt?" Genevieve asked.
He groaned and lifted his head, squinting up. "Vivie? I can't see a damn thing. Is that you?" He shifted his leg, moving it to hang over an uneven ledge.
“Wait,” the Sorcerer said as he stepped out into the cave. “Tell Brendan to stay very still, Genevieve.”
My heart dropped as I crossed deeper into the cavern to the edge. The stone floor ended in a stretch of darkness. The Sorcerer held his handful of Ignis fire up, and we peered down into nothing. It was a hole of rough stone that plunged down further than the light could illuminate.
I dropped to the floor as panic surged through me, but when I grabbed Brendan’s leg, he was as solid as Genevieve had been. Hot tears splashed on my cheeks, and I tried to even my breathing enough to speak. "Genevieve, grab him and pull him away from the hole."
“What hole? You don’t see that?” Genevieve squinted into the dark. “Honestly, Kori, all I can see is a big, bone white tree. It has branches reaching out through the cave. Do you see a hole?”
"Yeah, Kori is seeing things,” Brendan said with a laugh. “There’s a tree here. I just tripped over the branches, and my foot is caught on something or other."
His foot wasn't caught on anything, not from what I could tell, but when Genevieve grabbed his arms to help him up, he didn’t budge. With a slithering, crumbling sound, the ground under his legs began to slide, taking my brother with it. For just a moment, I saw hands, hundreds of hands, grasping at his legs and arms.
I reached back and smacked the Sorcerer’s leg. "Fire. We need fire. Burn it."
The sound of the sliding had escalated into a roar. The Sorc
erer raised his hand and flame flared out in the darkness. The fire sucked down into the hole like a mouth was drinking it through a straw.
Brendan climbed through the stream of fire and scrambled to his feet, sending ash raining down in all directions from his body. “What was that?” He said through a laugh. “And where did you come from?”
I grabbed both Brendan and Genevieve’s wrists and yanked them to the stone cave entrance. The Sorcerer stayed at the new ledge, looking down into the chasm below. His red hair danced in a draft that must have blown out of the hole. I turned back and pushed my brother and sister into the tunnel.
The Sorcerer illuminated our way with a handful of fire but kept his distance until we reached the entrance to the dome. He strolled up with hands deep in his pockets. “You won’t get very far in the city naked.” His auburn brows lifted. “You do know that you’re still naked, right? You abandoned my cloak back there, and away from me, you’re visible.”
With the chill in the air, it was impossible to forget that we were all buck-ass naked. The cold air sent pricks of pain into my lips and nipples.
“You can escort us back,” I said, my teeth chattering.
“Thanks,” he deadpanned, with a chuckle. We said nothing all the way to Portland Palace. Brendan and Genevieve were barely conscious by the time we returned them to their rooms. Both were swaying on their feet, and when I asked them questions, they only slurred nonsensical syllables. I closed them into their rooms and leaned against the door.
The Sorcerer stepped squarely before me in the hallway and crossed his arms. “You’re not going to thank me for saving your family?”
I rubbed down my face before glaring over at the man. “I’ll thank you when I’m sure you didn’t plan this whole thing. I can’t figure out how you could have done it, but it fits in too well with your plan to take over the rebel army.”
He flinched. The expression was only on his face for a fraction of a second before the smirk returned to his lips, but I saw it. “I see.” He shook his head. “Maybe I should let you walk up into your apartment like that? I’m sure the guards outside your door will have some questions.”
Ruin: A Reverse Harem Dark Fantasy Vampire Romance (Fire & Blood Book 1) Page 16
