"A girly girly. Yummy yummy.” The Jenny Greenteeth licked her lips as it took another step forward. Once it moved into the ring of light, it yowled and pulled its toe back. The aroma of burnt flesh and smoke touched Linnea's nose.
The witch smiled. She looked up and realized the light was not from a spotlight at all. It was magickal. Her confidence in her power surged forward. She was getting the hang of it. I hope. The thing before her snarled and circled her, poked its nails at the barrier of light and pulled them away as if its nails were being burnt. It screamed in frustration again, and Linnea knew whoever had sent this knew she was there. The theater was still plunged in darkness and standing in the light took its toll on her as well. Beads of sweat had broken out on her forehead. The fairy was showing off its pointed, flesh-stained teeth. It knew she was getting tired.
I'm an idiot for coming here alone. I should have waited for Tremain. Why did I leave? I need to get out of here. As she thought that, she felt the stone in her pocket from the necklace. It was cool to the touch, sending tingles down her spine. She wanted to get away from the fairy. When she turned around, she noticed a shimmering portal suspended in thin air, but just outside of the spotlight. Linnea saw the fairy eyeing it as well and made a move to intercept her. Taking a flying leap, she vaulted out of the ring and went through the portal. She half landed on the floor, but something had her foot. Looking around her, she saw black marble swirled through with green and the pale petite toes of a woman in an emerald dress standing before her. Before she had time to ask for some help or ponder where she was, she felt the Jenny Greenteeth begin to pull her back through. Searing pain entered her ankle as teeth sunk into the meat of her leg. She cried out trying to grab a hand hold on the slippery marble surface but found none. Grasping for air, she was being pulled backward when the woman before her clamped down on her arm and yanked her through, breaking the strong hold of the dark fairy.
Linnea felt relief wash over her as she somersaulted on the floor and was grateful to whoever had pulled her through the door. The witch took a moment to get her head straight and then looked at her surroundings. She was in a lavish bedroom with a four-poster bed swathed in black drapes and an emerald comforter. The posts were dark mahogany as was the rest of the furniture in the room. It looked like there were layers of dust on most of it except the bed. Linnea let her eyes travel from the room to the woman. For an instance, she thought she was looking at Maili's twin, but there was something more alluring about the woman than her friend. She gave off a soft, subtle glow emphasizing her features. Everything about her was delicate. Her nose, her lips, even the dark chocolate hair that haloed her cherub-like face. There was strength to her she carried very well. Suddenly the witch had a flash back to the time she first clutched the necklace and saw the woman, but in a very different light. Her once beautiful exterior was replaced with one that was haggard and looked like a wizened mummy's with no eyes. Small snakes wove through her hair and her teeth were all uneven points. And when she opened her mouth to speak an awful shriek came out that could have killed Linnea if she was on the receiving end of it. The witch blinked again and the image was gone. This was Maili's mother. The Queen of the Banshees. The one who had given Tremain all his orders. She swallowed and prayed she was not on her bad side anymore since she had sent the assassins after her. Fear played on her spine like a xylophone. It throbbed in time with her temples like a snare drum leading the orchestra of her heart. This woman was powerful, and she had to be careful about what she said or else there would be hell to pay.
Slowly, she stood and watched the Queen, wondering what she would do to her. She was the one who had wanted to kill her, and she hoped that was not the case any longer. She stood on her wounded leg and realized even though her jeans were torn, the bite did not hurt as bad as she thought it would. She looked down at her ankle and saw it was oozing red, but not so bad.
"You are the pet human my daughter always speaks so highly of."
Linnea turned. The queen no longer sat on the coverlet, but stood right beside her. She felt the lump of fear engorge her throat, but she swallowed it back and found her voice. “And you're the one who tried to have her assassins kill me."
The sea-blue eyes of the banshee swam in her vision as she felt the woman's power press on her thoughts. She gritted her teeth, envisioning a wall around her thoughts so thick not even an ant could find a breach in it. The Queen narrowed her eyes and tried with her all her might, but the witch was not going to let her get through. She clenched her fists, feeling her raggedy nails pressing into the meat of her palms. She was not going to give under the weight. She would prevail. After another excruciating moment, the queen's expression softened some.
"I can see why my daughter likes you, witch. You are loyal."
"Ahh—thanks. I think. Look, no disrespect or anything, but how in the world did I get here?"
"Do you have my daughter's necklace?"
Linnea nodded.
"Excellent. It is a key to open doorways between this world and yours. Since my daughter has the weight and substance of a human body and soul, she does not hold some of the powers which we possess. Even your Warrior can bend the shadows to his whim if he wishes. That is how he travels here. But Maili needs the key to come here. She wishes it and a doorway opens. I assume you wished to be here or you would not be."
The witch was interested in finding out how the necklace worked, but it made sense. First, she had desired to get Tremain to safety and even though she didn't get to the Old Cronies, the necklace had allowed her to slip the worlds and she ended up in the best possible position for Tremain. The other Warriors had saved him. Then she had wanted to get away from the fairy and the necklace had allowed her to move through a portal to here. She swallowed as she understood the importance of the necklace and what the hooded figure had said to Tremain before the warrior had killed him. They had ransacked the dressing room and her apartment for this. Whoever knew about its secrets could come and go within the other realms with no hindrance. It was a power tool. She extended her hand to the queen.
"I assume you want this back."
The queen twittered. “No, child. You have to use it to find Maili. It's your connection to her. I suspect you were looking for her when you came through here."
"Yes. She's somewhere in an underground room in the theater we both work at. I'm not sure where it is, but I know she's there."
The queen nodded. “Well then use it to go to her. I can't use it. I'm not human."
"If you're not human, then how come you look human? I thought you were all ghoulish looking."
The banshee opened her mouth and shrieked. As she did, Linnea clasped her hands to her ears to keep the deafening sound out. She understood where Maili got her voice from. The scream pierced her eardrums no matter how much she tried to block it out. Finally, it stopped, but the shrill echo reverberated in her mind. The witch watched as the woman in front of her grew haggard. Her skin lost the pearly sheen and grayed. It began to flake off like thin goldleaf. Her fingers dried up and became nothing more than bones. The queen's eyes lost their blue color, becoming white shrunken marbles in her head. Her lips pulled back into a perpetual sneer. Betha's clothing aged turning into moth eaten rags. Her breasts sagged, and her feet disappeared. Hair became white and silver, hanging in tangles and dreads almost touching the floor. The creature before her was a true ghoul she would expect to see in a horror movie or floating down her block on Halloween. It made her wonder how Maili had ever been born. There was such a difference between her human façade and the one hovering before her now.
"I am like this most of the time, but I have been worried about my daughter. I must feed on human blood like a lowly vampire to become as you saw me. I stayed in my human state to bear my child. You expected to see me as I am. It strikes fear in your heart. As it should, since you are from the old lineage of fairy and Druid. If your ancestors had stayed in their land, you would see my kind as washer women or women in gray comin
g to wail over their dead. Whatever human sees me in this guise will know soon they will meet their maker."
Linnea shuddered at the thought. “So I'm going to die."
The queen didn't say anything. “You have to find my daughter. That is the only mission you have to worry about right now. Please. Find her."
Linnea nodded. The queen lifted her skeletal fingers and brushed them lightly against her warm cheek. The witch felt the cold dry skin of death and tried not to think about what she had been told. She closed her eyes and thought about Maili and where she had seen her before in the hidden room in the theater. She felt the power and the connection inside of her and felt the slight shiver she had identified with the portal. Opening her eyes, the shimmering doorway was there. She kept her mind focused on her best friend and then stepped through, praying whatever she had done was right.
Chapter Eighteen
Tremain appeared on the corner of a bustling city street. After the old women had scryed for Linnea, they had found her through her connection to the circle and a crystal she had been carrying. It had taken him nothing to bend the shadows around himself and reappear intermingling with the people on the corner as if he were a pedestrian. The witches had taken a while to lock onto Linnea. While he paced the attic floor, he had gotten more anxious because the moon was rising. He only had a few hours left. Already he could feel this body tightening to return to its Raven form. I thought what Caleb said about finding a heartmate was true. I found her in Linnea, and yet, I am still going to be bound in Raven form. He must have been playing with me from the get go. If it truly is the case, then I would never have been able to make love to Linnea. Something has to be wrong. I know it just as I know she is the one for me. Now where are you?
He surveyed the people rushing through the streets to get home, but he didn't see her. He felt she was nearby, but was not sure where. He closed his eyes and let his heart guide him. Without opening his eyes, his feet carried him through Boston Common and down into the grass. What he saw behind his eyes was like a beacon drawing him forward. People skittered around him as he felt their presence, but he was still not completely in their realm. He was in between. Then again that was one of his specialties. When he opened his eyes, he saw the quartz crystal the witch had been holding. The one the old witches had homed in on it. He picked it up, caressed the clear point, and held it up to the light. In his mind, he saw Linnea standing on the corner of the streets where he had just been. He smiled as he thought of her basking in her power in all her beauty. She certainly was growing on him as much as she was growing into her abilities. Then she realized something was trying to get into her mind and threw away the crystal. Tremain pocketed the rock, but not before he got the destination she was headed.
The theater.
Quietly, he slipped between the cracks of the gold-and-glass doors as only a shadow can go where even paper cannot. He might have been substance, but everything around him was like a ghost as he walked in the Gray. It was cold there, but he was used to it from spending so much time being what he was. One day he hoped that would change. Maybe it would, and maybe it wouldn't. Either way, he had to find Maili. That was in his future, and hopefully he find Linnea as well. He could not think of anything happening to her. It would break his heart.
He smiled at the thought. He never used to believe he had one. It took a saucy witch to make him see he did. Moving down the aisles of the theater, he noticed everything was pitch black. It was cold, too. The whole theater seemed to be like a tomb. He breathed in the air and realized there was blood on it. His shoulders tensed. His power surrounded him as he unconsciously called upon his sword. The weight of it appeared in his hand, and he came real to the human world from the shadows. He raced down the aisle and jumped onto the stage. His grip tightened on the hilt of his sword as he saw the bloody remains of a human. Fear surrounded his heart. He prayed it was not Linnea. When he examined the remains closer, he saw it was male. Relief soared through him when he saw this. It was neither woman he had to worry about. As he looked at the torn apart remains he knew what could have done it. A Jenny!
He gritted his teeth knowing the evil fairy was still around. He heard a chatter echoing in the darkness, the treading and running of feet above him. The Druid looked up and saw large green feet on the catwalk. He needed light. They hated fire and bright light. Closing his eyes, he felt the fire burn him alive inside. He forced it outward. The remains sparked to life in a great blaze. The shadows shrieked. The pitter-patter of fairy feet above him had only been a distraction, but he was not a fledgling Raven who could so easily be turned. The fire was beginning to burn down, but there was enough light for him to discern movement in a curtain. He let his eyes travel over the spot as if he didn't see the Jenny hiding there, waiting for him to make a wrong move. He began to cross the stage to the steps that led downstairs. Tremain didn't worry about feeling the slimy aura of the fairy against his own. In the dark, they moved as easily as they moved in water, which was their natural habitat. It was close to him, hoping to have another meal. He gripped his sword slowly. Then without warning, he turned bringing his sword down in an arc and getting the fairy in the throat, beheading it in one swift and trained movement. He was grateful to Caleb, that their leader had trained them well in swordsmanship. His fearless leader had drilled all Ravens when he had the chance letting them understand that they had to be good with a sword because it was their only weapon besides their magick. He was good at both. Darius was better as brute force. Jet was better at swordsmanship than all of them and Caleb was better at magick. He was happy having a balance. He heard the hard thump of the head hitting the wooden stage. No matter what, at least that threat was out of the way.
He conjured a cloth and wiped off the blood from his sword. As soon as it hit the black cloth, it began to eat away at it. That was the problem with the blood of the Jenny Greenteeth. It was acid. Their bite was even worse. It poisoned the flesh slowly until it was too late to even notice. Then the fairy would track down the dead flesh and feast on it. He didn't know of any cure for it either.
Sighing, Tremain looked around the darkness which only his eyesight could penetrate and saw nothing in the theater. He felt Linnea was close, but he did not know where. He closed his eyes again and felt along the connection between him and Linnea. It was strong and close, but he could not pinpoint it. Frustration filled him. He let the feelings overwhelm him and instead of letting his mind guide him, he let his heart call him. As he did, he felt the cool power erupt inside. It feathered into all of his bones, and this time he welcomed it. The Gray Zone moved over him, and he became shadowlight.
When he took on substance, he found himself in the basement of the theater. He opened his eyes and found he was staring at a wall. The more he looked at it. he saw there was a hairline crack in the wall. He ran his fingers over it, looking for a switch for it to open. His fingers traced the bricks along the wall and mortar. The dust came off on his hands. He pressed his ear to the crack and heard something in the distance. His instincts told him that Linnea was behind the wall, and if that was the case, then so was Maili. He slid his sword between the wall and the crack. It barely fit, but his sword could cut through most anything. He had to congratulate the sword maker because the weapons were superb. He shook his head, and the sword found the latch. With a quick upward thrust, he broke the latch. The wall sprang open. He had to jump back to avoid being hit by it. Clutching the hilt of the sword, he waved his hands and his sword was suddenly a light with silver flame acting as a torch so he could see.
Stairs led downward. He walked down them swiftly and heard a scream in the distance. Linnea. He would know the sound echoing from her throat anywhere from the moans and the high notes he had brought her to ecstasy with. His heart thundered as he raced down the rest of the stairs and came to a large open room. Sitting in the middle of the room was Maili. She was bound to a chair and gagged. Her eyes told the story as she looked between Tremain and Linnea on the floor. She was gagged
so she could not utter a sound. One breath, one sound, and she could have summoned her mother and assassins. Whoever had taken her knew she was able to call upon her mother's people if she opened her mouth. The Warrior looked around and didn't see anything or anyone in the shadows, but that did not mean there was no one there. He knew how to bend the shadows around himself, just as other beings besides Ravens did. He bent down and checked Linnea's pulse. She was still alive. His gaze swept her body. He noticed the blood on her ankle and her torn jeans. A cold sweat broke out on him, and he prayed she had not been bitten by Jenny Greenteeth. Quickly, he used his sword and brought it close to the binding on Maili. The flame could not hurt her, but the ropes were suddenly burned away. She brought the gag away from her mouth, and she looked up at the Druid Warrior.
"Thank you, Tremain. How is Linnea? I can't believe she's here."
"She was going to go through me to try and find you. I didn't realize she came here. The other witches had to help me find her."
"Other witches? I didn't realize there were others."
Tremain nodded. “Do you know who took you? Who wants to get your mother?"
Maili stood up and stretched her legs. As she got up, he heard movement in the shadows. He looked over and saw Jason coming toward Maili. He clapped his hands. “Bravo. You're better than she said you were. I thought it would've taken you a lot longer to find her."
Tremain glanced over at the actor. The mischievous grin on his face matched the one on Maili's. He extended his sword between the actor and the princess. “What is the meaning of this?"
A Conspiracy of Ravens: A Raven Saga Book 1 Page 17
