The anger in her spiked and with it the block dissipated. So that truly was the key for her. I had hoped it wasn’t the case; anger could only take her so far.
The power within Lark rose to a crescendo pitch and she pushed it toward the door. With a grinding screech the door opened.
Cherry blossoms spilled through the doorway bringing with them their sweet scent and the heady taste of fresh air. But Lark was still sweating, hanging onto her power as if her life depended on it.
“Hurry, get them through!” Lark yelled. Putting my nose in her ear I spoke.
“What’s happening?”
The door groaned and creaked, inching closed. “Someone is pushing the doors closed as I’m holding them open.”
What Lark couldn’t see though was that the Salamanders hadn’t moved an inch. They didn’t trust her enough to step between the doorway.
“Let it go, Lark,” Ash said.
She let go and looked. I was ashamed of the elementals I’d once called my own. A sorrier group of fools I had never known. They wouldn’t even take her help to save themselves and their children because of their fear and pride. And I’d thought them the strongest of all the elementals? I had been a fool alongside them.
“What the hell is wrong with you? Why didn’t you go through?” she yelled at them; they looked away from her. All except one.
“How can we trust you?” Maggie said, pushing her face right against Lark’s. “You could have crumbled the archway on top us as we walked through.”
There was more than a murmuring of assent more like a roar of agreement.
“You all just signed your own death warrants,” she said softly. Grief flowed from her and into me. Their lives were already lost and she knew it. I closed my eyes thinking of the children who would die because their parents were so unwilling to see that a Terraling could help them.
Fiametta motioned for Lark to follow her. “Larkspur, I will beg if I must. I cannot stop the lava flows.”
“You could have made them go through the doorway. You could have been the first one through and shown them the way out and this would now not even be a discussion,” she snapped.
Fiametta’s face was carefully blank. “You are right.”
For the queen to admit she was wrong? Unheard of. Perhaps the times were changing, though it was too late for her people if she could not drive them to do what they had to do to survive.
Behind us came the cries of the Salamanders and the splashing of lava as it reached the back of the line. People pushed forward, screaming, crying, and begging.
We were jammed against the door along with Fiametta. They would take the doorway now . . . if Lark could open it.
Mother goddess let her be able to open it.
“Peta, help me,” she whispered. “I can’t reach the earth unless I’m angry.”
“Ash,” I called for the two men, “Cactus, get over here.”
They pushed through, climbing over people to get to her. Screams echoed up the tunnel as the lava kissed at the heels of those at the back.
Ash and Cactus crouched beside me. “What do you need us to do?”
I curled tighter around Lark’s neck. “Show her you trust her. That is the key to breaking through these final bonds she carries.”
Cactus didn’t hesitate, but wrapped his arms around her from his side, pressing his lips into her hair. “I trust you to save us, Lark. You can do this.”
From her right side, Ash placed his hands over hers. “Larkspur, you truly are the best of us, don’t doubt it.”
She shook as the anger began to build in her once more.
“No,” I said. “Let the anger go and hold to the trust and love. That is your way now, Lark. That is the only way.”
As the words fell from my lips, the truth of them cut through the wall of denial I’d built around my heart. For the first time since Talan, I let my own anger go. The hurt of being treated like an unwanted guest, of being used and abused by those who should have cared for me the most.
The pain of being seen as the reason those around me died slid from my shoulders, the weight of it, a living thing as it left me. I saw Lark’s heart for the first time and realized it truly beat in time with my own.
She was my heart mate.
And that knowledge opened a door within me I never even knew existed. Beyond it was an ability that was legendary amongst familiars. . .
The time will come when you need this, Nepeta. But not yet, my child. Not yet. Until you gave yourself to her, there would have been no seeing this possibility. Well done.
The mother goddess spoke softly and was gone before I could answer her, or better yet, ask her a question about the ability gifted to me.
The doors in front of us slid open, for both the block on Lark’s powers and the block on the exit. The Salamanders rushed forward around us, barely escaping the killing lava flows.
CHAPTER 9
he next few moments were some that do not bear repeating. From Blackbird’s arrival—and the abomination that he was—to the floor of the cavern dropping out from under us, to the young firewyrm Scar hauling us out of trouble.
The entire time, all I could think about was how much Lark reminded me of Talan, but yet in her own way she was so much more dangerous to her own self. She threw her body in harm’s way to save those she loved.
Even to save those she didn’t.
As we climbed down the wall that led into the dragon-like firewyrms’ domain, Lark’s focus shifted. Her eyes traveled over the two men, and her heart rate picked up.
She loved them both. But the distraction of that was poor in its timing. I flicked my tail over her face, drawing her eyes to me for a split second. “Pay attention to the wall you are climbing, not the men.”
After that reminder, she was much better, her eyes and mind back on the task at hand.
Scar sat on his haunches, waiting for us at the bottom. Cactus and Ash dropped in a few seconds later. The young firewyrm gave Cactus a sidelong glance. “You can only take your familiar with you. The others have to wait here.”
She put her hands on her hips. “Take her with me where? What are you talking about?”
Scar flicked his head over his shoulder, his tongue darting out and tasting the air. “This tunnel leads to the throne room where the cloaked ones are currently discussing how to wipe us out. They have the children deep in the dungeons.”
“Then why doesn’t your father get them?” she asked, stepping up beside him. I had to agree with her. The firewyrms were formidable advisories. Why weren’t they fighting the cloaked ones?
“Because whenever we get close to them we lose our memory of what we do. That is why we’ve been attacking the Salamanders. We didn’t want to, they were making us.” Scar shook his head. “You are the only one who can go in, Spirit Walker. The males must stay here if they are to be safe; they could be forced to hurt you too.”
“No, we aren’t leaving her.” Cactus shook his head.
Ash nodded his agreement though. “Understood.”
Cactus stared at him. “You would leave her to do this on her own?”
“She has to.” Ash gave Cactus a stony stare. “What if the other Spirit Walker takes control of you, makes you fight her? What is she supposed to do then?” He shook his head. “I know all too well how hard it is to fight the compulsion, and the only way to break it is to be touching Lark physically. How do we fight when we can’t let go of one another?”
Cactus was still not convinced. “Then how come Peta can go?”
What a fool. “I’m her familiar. I’m protected by Lark’s abilities, Prick.”
“No more arguing. The longer this takes the more chance we have of those two escaping,” Lark said.
As she walked away, I looked back in time to see Ash tackle Cactus to the floor. If I had my pick of the two men, I knew which it would be.
“Lark, don’t do this; they’ll kill you,” Cactus called out.
I swayed on her shoulder, and slowly shook m
y head. “How little faith he has.”
“No, I don’t think it’s a matter of faith,” she said as we followed the shimmering white scales of Scar’s back. “I think it’s a matter of love.”
Of that, I was not so certain. But I wasn’t going to argue with her, not then.
Scar led us through a tight tunnel to the throne room. The statue of Fiametta hid the secret exit well. I in all my years had never noticed it. Then again, by the way the edges of the tunnel looked it was perhaps more recent than I had first thought. The dirt was loose and the edges sharp and unworn.
Definitely new.
We approached the throne room doors.
“Peta, get the kids, lead them through the tunnel. Can you do that?” Lark asked, her voice pitched low.
“I can. But then you will go after her alone, won’t you?” I already knew the answer but I wanted her to say it. To tell me the truth. “Won’t you?”
“Yes, but I’ve stopped her before, I can do it again. Just hurry. Get those kids out.”
I had to trust her. No matter how much I wanted to protect her, I also had to know when to let her lead even if it scared me.
This was one of those moments, and I was terrified I was going to lose her.
In my leopard form, I slunk toward the dungeons, taking a less used entrance. The steam from the rooms rose in great wafting clouds of heat, sinking through my fur to pool against my skin with the high humidity. Keeping my belly to the ground, I worked my way forward carefully, fully expecting there to be a trap waiting.
But there was nothing. And at first I thought perhaps there weren’t even any children.
“Peta?”
Tinder . . . that was Tinder’s voice.
“Little lizard,” I swung my head toward his voice. He was hunched down against the wall farthest from me, a wall of steam between us that spit up in big gusts. His face was twisted. “The steam is too hot, we can’t get through.”
I approached slowly, my mind racing. Get them out, that was what I was to do. If the steam was burning them, it would burn me too.
But I could heal, and the only way they would be safe would be to get them out. Bunching the muscles in my back legs, I leapt forward, as high as I could and through the top of the steam. The searing heat scorched through my fur as if it were flames and not hot, humid air. I landed lightly, a grimace twisting up my lips. In front of me were close to thirty children.
“Three at a time on my back,” I said. Tinder helped the smaller children up first. The littlest one began to cry. “Hang onto her fur. Peta will get us out of here,” Tinder said.
His faith in me was enough. I turned carefully, and leapt up and through the steam. Back and forth I went ferrying the children across until they were all out from behind the wall of steam. My belly and legs were scorched clean of fur and my skin oozed with burn pustules.
Breathing hard, I struggled not to limp with the children at my side. Tinder noticed, turned and put a hand on my back. “Peta, you’re hurt bad.”
“Yes. But I will heal.”
Indeed you will. The mother goddess’s voice rolled over me and with it the burns on my body receded and fur replaced the pustules. A matter of seconds at most. Tinder nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world to see the mother goddess’s hand at work on a daily basis. “Let’s go.”
Urging them forward, Tinder and I herded the children out of the dungeon to the tunnel that led to the firewyrms’ cavern.
“Tinder, follow this passageway. Cactus and the Terraling man will be waiting for you,” I said, pushing them with my nose into the tunnel.
“Where are you going?” His eyes met mine and then his hand brushed along my head. “Aren’t you coming with us?”
“Lark needs me,” I said. “Be brave, little lizard, and look out for the others.”
As soon as the last of them disappeared into the tunnel I spun and ran for the throne room. Pushing the door open with my nose, I peered in. Lark stood in front of the black cloaked one.
Neither moved, and for a moment fear flashed through me that Lark had been hurt or transfixed.
She turned and saw me.
“It’s safe. She’s taken care of,” she said, motioning to the black cloaked one. “Actually, she’s playing some kind of game here. Won’t talk, won’t respond to anything I say.”
I sniffed the air, not liking the lack of scent around the woman. Perhaps it was what she wore that blocked her scent. “I still can’t smell her. Can you take that cloak off?”
Lark reached out and grabbed the cloak, only it dissolved as her hand passed through it, as if it never were.
“No, no it can’t be,” Lark whispered, horror flickering through her and into me—a lightning bolt of emotion.
The girl’s mouth was slack and her brown eyes were empty of emotion. Long tendrils of dark brown hair flowed around her face and her features had some similarities with Lark’s, though they were subtle. Somehow I didn’t think it was because they were both Terralings.
Breath seemed to be coming hard to Lark as she went to her knees. Tears streaked her cheeks and I moved to her side, giving her what comfort I could with my presence. “You used Spirit on her, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” she said, her voice wavering. “What have I done?”
How did I explain to her that what she’d done was exactly why the Spirit Elementals had been all but wiped out? Though they seemed like they were weak in many respects, they were the deadliest of any of the elements.
A sigh slipped out of me and I settled for a small piece of the truth. “My first charge, he learned to use Spirit, but it is tricky. A powerful tool. When you use it without really knowing, it can burn someone else out.”
“Burn them out?” She stared at the girl, her emotions and thoughts racing. “Can it be reversed?”
Hope flared in her and I hated to dash it, but there was no avoiding the truth.
“I don’t think so.” I pushed my head against her but she pulled away. I understood the need to be alone when a mistake was made. That was something we shared.
We didn’t speak as we pushed through the tunnel to the firewyrm’s home. There was no room for words.
When we emerged into the large cavern, the children were waiting for us. Tinder saw Lark first before anyone else. His eyes sparkled, the fear of being snatched from his family already fading. A Salamander trait: to live in the moment and forget the past with a speed that left others spinning. Waving wildly, he ran to greet us.
“Terraling, the bad luck cat saved us. I couldn’t believe it when I saw her, but she saved us.”
I leaned out and gave Tinder’s face a lick. “You’re welcome, little lizard.” At least that had gone right. In itself, it would be enough to win the queen over, of that I was sure.
As a group we worked our way to the entrance where the children were reunited with their families and the queen finally spoke the truth. But we were not done by a long shot.
CHAPTER 10
nce the lava flows returned to their natural place, the Salamanders got busy putting their world back as it should be.
We stood with the queen after Lark and Cactus created an oasis and Fiametta softened more than I’d ever seen her.
A soft cough made us all turn to see Jag walking toward us.
She looked away from him and Lark put a hand on her arm. “You should listen to him. The only reason I survived is because I took Peta’s advice. Your familiar . . . if he cares for you even half as much as Peta cares for me, you are in good hands.”
I had to fight the swell of emotion in me and ended up tucking my head against her neck to hide the pooling tears. “Larkspur, how can you know that?”
She didn’t answer me, and she didn’t have to; I felt it between us. Our bond was strong, our understanding of each other better than most familiars had after a lifetime of being with their charge. Because of one thing and one thing alone.
Trust.
She trusted me, and in
turn I trusted her with my heart and soul. The mother goddess could not have gifted me with a better charge than the half-breed Terraling; even though I knew she would push me to the edge of my abilities and then beyond.
From the Pit, we Traveled with Cactus and Ash to the Rim, the home of the Terralings. The smell of the forest was instant, diving into me and striking a chord deep within my bones.
I was home.
Then again, it could have been that I was with Lark. I had a feeling that wherever she was, that would always be home.
Clinging to Lark’s shoulders, I was with her as she entered the Spiral, the seat of her father’s power.
But it was her older sister, Belladonna who oversaw things in the absence of their father. That he was missing was bad. That he couldn’t be found? That was unheard of in the elemental world. Leaders didn’t go missing.
I watched as the two sisters spoke, as they clung to each other.
As Belladonna asked Lark to break rules that would have her punished at best, and banished at worst. My heart began to thump so loudly I was sure that Lark would hear it and know the fear that curled through me. To seek out a supernatural for help was a very bad idea, in particular when it was a Tracker. Trackers carried the same blood as Lark, and trouble was bound to double when they were together.
Though it seemed Lark could find enough trouble on her own, I knew it was possible that it could get worse.
She went to one knee and bowed her head. “It will be done.”
And with those words I knew I hadn’t seen the worst of what could come our way. The only thing I could do was cling to Lark and guide her.
Somehow, I had to believe we would come through this together, and in one piece.
Mother goddess let it be that way. I bowed my head and whispered to myself. “What I can do to save her . . . it will be done.”
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