She perked up. “I could go see.”
Before I could say anything, she was off like a shot, just a blur of light orange fur.
I kept my head down and slid my fingers across the many spines. Most were in reference to the history of the elementals. I ached to pull the books out and immerse myself in all the new knowledge to find answers to the questions that ticked along inside my head. How were the elementals different from supernaturals? Why did they stay hidden? Where had they come from? Some of those questions had been answered by Griffin when I’d pressed him, but honestly I knew there was more.
Like how come I had abilities like no other witches that were somehow tied to the elemental powers? Why was that? What did it make me?
I paused on one thin book, the spine barely big enough for the words.
Witchcraft and Elementals.
Damn it, I couldn’t resist. I slid the book from its spot and tucked it into my carry-all. Knowledge was not something I could pass up and this place was a true treasure trove I wasn’t sure I would ever be able to come back to. I shuddered at the thought of falling into the lava without the mother goddess protecting me. Yeah, that would have been a mess. I could only hope I didn’t have to do that again.
I kept moving, kept going through the books and then . . . there it was.
Breaking the Veil. The spine was middle sized and made of what looked like pressed paper. I yanked it from the shelf.
“Bloody brilliant.” I stared at the volume in my hands. This was it, we could go. As soon as Oka came back.
A scuffle of feet announced her return. The timing couldn’t have been better.
“What did you find?” I spoke before I turned around. “Because I hit the damn jackpot!”
The voice that answered me was not Oka’s.
“I found a kitty you let go, silly girl.”
CHAPTER 9
THE SILENCE IN the alcove after the queen’s words was absolute. The rock that edged the library seemed to absorb everything, narrowing my vision and sight into one thing. Slowly, I turned, books gone from view as I moved. The door of the library slid across my vision and then there was nothing but absolute horror for the final image in front of me.
The skeletal queen of the Pit held Oka by the scruff of her neck. Clawed hands dug into the pale orange fur, and the queen’s body swayed slightly side to side almost as if she was rocking the cat.
Oka’s pale blue eyes were stark, panic filling the wide orbs.
But I’d promised her I would protect her, and I always kept my promises.
I pulled the sword from my back as I dropped the book. “Put her down.”
The queen shivered and her bones clanked and I knew I was going to have nightmares about this. That it would haunt me. “Oh, was that supposed to scare me?” She wobbled side to side as she took a step toward me. “I don’t think you will be able to hurt me when I have your wee tiny familiar, will you?”
I lifted the sword so the point was level with the queen’s middle. “I said put her down, you twat waffle.”
“Oh, such a potty mouth on such a young girl.” She breathed. “I will enjoy swallowing your soul.”
She threw Oka at me, forcing me to catch the cat. The queen rushed me. She was damn fast for nothing more than skin and bones and clacking teeth. I took a wild swing at her with the sword, barely able to get it moving. The tip grazed her face, forcing her backward and buying us a few moments. A screech erupted from her as she clutched at her face.
No blood fell from the wound but she clutched at it as though she could still feel, as though I’d done her lasting damage. I wasn’t sure that was possible.
“Oka, what’s going on with her?”
“Her powers were stripped from her for what she did to her own people. I think . . . that this is her curse, to remain here and protect what is left of the Pit.” She climbed up to my neck and tucked herself into the hood that hung low on my back. Her shivering was palpable even through the layers of cloth.
I bent carefully and picked up the book and slid it into the carry-all on my side. I tucked it under my shirt, pinning it to my side under the waistband of the leather pants. “We have the book. We’re leaving.”
The queen whipped around, her head bobbling crazily on her partially visible spine. “No, you’re not. You can’t leave from here. It is protected.”
In desperation I tried to Ride Spirit out anyway, and felt nothing. My throat tightened as I tried to swallow around the fear. This was not good at all. The only way out was past the lava flows, of which I no longer had protection.
Deep shit did not even begin to cover the trouble we were in.
I held the sword out in front of me with one hand and held my palm up with the other, magic swirling in a mix of colors. I wasn’t sure just what I’d hit her with, maybe a combo of several things. I threw several spells, one after the other. She stumbled back, but none of them seemed to hurt her.
She arched an eyebrow . . . eyebrow? A lock of red hair flowed down from her scalp, growing back even as I watched.
A smile ghosted over her taut lips. She said nothing and a sneaking suspicion flowed over me. I dropped my hand and the magic with it. The disappointment on her face was the only confirmation I needed. She was somehow absorbing the magic I threw at her.
With a twist of my wrist, I rolled the sword, then took a step and thrust it at her. She stumbled back, away from the tip. At least I had that.
“Are you not strong enough to toss your magic at me?” She growled the words. I shook my head and sighed.
“I guess not. Just a weakling here. Going to have to go with the blade.” I took another swing at her, driving her backward.
“Little bitch,” she snarled and tried to get around the side of me. I let her and then drove her back with a careful parry that blocked her as she tried to move around me again. She was damn fast and I was sweating with nerves more than effort.
“Actually, little witch is more accurate.” I couldn’t help myself.
I backed up to the rubble we’d come through and held a hand backward, once more keeping my eyes only on the queen. If I could get through, we could block her in. Of course, I didn’t stop to wonder just how she’d gotten into the small antechamber if not through the same way I had. That was my mistake. I stared at the queen, keeping her in my sights.
Clawed hands grabbed me from behind, and pinned my arms to my sides. I was yanked to the ground so hard, my head bounced against the stone. Stars and lights burst in my vision, and I could see nothing but a swirl of charred limbs, and heard the scattering of voices.
“We need her to use her magic. It is the only way to gain our strength back. Then and only then I will devour her soul,” the queen snapped. Well, I’d been right about that then. Not that it did me any good at that moment. I kept still and from behind me, Oka pressed her nose against my ear.
“There are four others like her. Their attention is diverted; they think you are out cold. We could run.”
“Guide me,” I whispered back. The sword was still there, under my hand, and I tightened my grip on it as I scrambled first to my hands and knees and then to my feet.
“Straight!” Oka called out and I didn’t even look, I just ran. Behind me the queen screamed her fury and it echoed and bounced along the stone walls. I didn’t dare look back, and for the first time in a long time I was afraid for my life.
I could not use my magic, or I would strengthen them.
But maybe . . . I flung my hand backward, palm facing the floor. I called on the earth and rock and stone exploded in every direction.
Oka clung to me. “I think you slowed them down but—”
I slid to a stop. We stood at the edge of a cliff looking out over a pool of lava that was at least fifty feet below us. But from there, I could see the opening that would let us out of the Pit. If I could get through that opening, could I transport us out? There was only one way to find out.
“Mother goddess, protect us,” I
whispered as I leapt from the edge of the cliff. There was no way around it. We were in open space before I could think better of what I was doing. I’d swum in the lava once, and there was no way the queen and her skeletal cronies behind me would let me live. The mother goddess was our only hope.
I am yours. Those words reverberated through me. I’d spoken them truly. I only hoped the sentiment was returned still.
The air heated as we fell and Oka let out a moan as we plunged into the lava. So much for the nice new clothes. The heat was there, but like before, it did not burn.
We are with you, child. But our power wanes. You must hurry. The voice was as before, both comforting and loving. But now there was an urgency to it. I wasn’t about to argue.
I slid down through the depths of the lava until my feet found something solid. I pushed off the bottom of the pool and shot to the top. Spluttering and scrambling, I headed straight to the side of the lava and climbed out. Clothes intact . . . maybe because they were elemental clothes? I touched a hand to my side. My carry-all was still there, protected under the clothing. I stared down at the material as the flecks of lava slid off as though it were water. I pushed the question away. I could ask Oka later. When we were not running for our lives. I reached back and touched her head, feeling her tremble.
“You all right?”
“Yes, but we aren’t out of this yet,” she said.
I looked up as several of the bony cronies flew through the air. Apparently the lava didn’t bother them either. “What a bunch of fuck nuggets,” I spit out as I turned and bolted toward the vertical opening.
My adrenaline no longer buoyed me. If anything, each step felt like the weight of the world dragged me backward. I stumbled over rocks and bits of stone that were not large enough to trip me but I could hardly get my feet up enough to get past them.
“Here.” Oka breathed into my ear and suddenly energy shot through me like I’d swallowed a bag of espresso beans. My body felt rejuvenated and I bolted the last hundred yards to the opening. I flicked my hands at the walls and created steps in the soft earth, and ran up them. As each step was used, I dissolved it behind me. A continual process that kept my mind on what I was doing and not what was happening behind me. Or what was happening to Oka.
As we neared the top of the opening, the sun hit my face and the darkness of the Pit was left behind. I finally began to slow.
“Oka, we made it! Another few feet and we’ll be out.” I reached back to touch her head, but she had curled up deep inside my hood. “Oka?”
I jogged up the last stretch of earth and waved my hand at the steps, making the last few disappear with ease. I dropped to my knees on the hard black earth around the opening of the Pit and reached around to pull Oka out of my hood. She was sound asleep, her breathing slow, so slow, that for a moment, I thought . . . no, she was not dead. Just exhausted.
“Raven will know what is wrong.” The desire to get back to him surged through me. I might not trust him, but after this . . . at least, I knew he wouldn’t kill me outright.
I curled my arms around Oka and pulled on Spirit. We dissolved, and a few heartbeats later, I was crouched on the ground of moss and wet earth, the sounds of the forest a pleasure to my ears over the deathly silence of what was left of the Salamander’s home.
“Pamela, that was fast. Nice new clothes . . .” Raven slowed as he approached me. I glared at him, but then pushed the anger away. I had chosen to do this. Not his fault he was a shit pouch.
“What’s wrong with her?” I held Oka up to him. She was so small that curled in the tight ball around herself, she fit with very little overlap in my hands. He took her from me with a glance.
“What are you doing with an elemental’s familiar exactly?” He crouched beside me as he worked his fingers over her fur.
“She’s mine. The mother goddess gave her to me.”
I’d heard of people freezing before, of going so still you thought they were a block of ice. Or a statue. Raven went so quiet, his hands no longer moving over her fur; only his eyes gave him away. Those blue, blue eyes lifted to mine. “What?”
I repeated what I’d said. He blinked and then shook his head. “I had not expected that.”
“Is Oka hurt?”
His hands resumed their gentle movement over Oka’s body. “No, she gave you her energy. Were you in trouble?”
Now it was my turn to stare at him like he was out of his mind. “Trouble? Trouble!” The story of my trip to the Pit poured out of me in a wash of words I couldn’t hold back. Finding Oka and healing her, the Sylphs and what they’d done to Oka, how I’d had to kill them, falling into the lava, traversing through the darkness and dealing with the skeletal queen all while . . .
“How did you fall into the lava and survive?” Raven cut me off.
I hunched my shoulders, not sure I wanted to tell him. “I wrapped myself in a protective spell.”
His eyes narrowed. We both knew I was lying, but he didn’t push it.
I grabbed the book from my carry-all with trembling hands and held it out. “All to get this stupid book! It had better be worth it, the spell had better be the right one!” I was so angry, I could have spit. Not at Raven, but at the world. The world that made you work so damn hard for something and at what cost? I’d almost lost Oka, I’d almost died. What good would I have been to anyone then?
He handed me Oka and I curled her tightly in my arms. Raven took the book and stared at me. “I wasn’t sure you’d be able to get it.”
“Then why didn’t you come with me?”
He shrugged. “I told you, I am blocked from going there. The elementals have become wise to me in some ways and are making it impossible to get into their homes.”
“Why would they do that?”
He flashed a grin. “You mean you haven’t figured it out yet?”
“Figured out what?” Did I want to know this?
He laughed and shook his head. “Pamela, I’m the bad guy.”
CHAPTER 10
RAVEN WAS THE bad guy. His words—his confession given with a grin—echoed between us in the small clearing and I struggled not to back away from him. Damn it, I had to admit, at least to myself, that I had suspected. I mean, I was no idiot.
But shit, what was I supposed to say to that? We both knew I needed him to do what I wanted to do. And I needed him for whatever training he could give me. Then again, I had the book on Witchcraft and Elementals. Maybe there was something about training in there.
“Your face is like an open book when you do not have it in your mind to block me.” He waved Breaking the Veil at me. “Just because they see me as the villain, doesn’t mean I am one.”
I frowned. I hated that he had a point. I stayed where I was. “Fine. For now.”
My belly let out a grumble and fatigue washed over me. The let-down from all that adrenaline hit me like a train. I blinked several times. “I need to sleep and eat before I do anything else for you.”
“There aren’t many safe places left for that,” he said, but he was already flipping through the book I’d given him, distracted by the pages. I’ll admit I was a little hurt he wasn’t praising me for getting it. He hadn’t even said thank you. I shook it off. This was not the place for hurt feelings.
I needed a place to rest.
My mind blanked out for a moment. I’d had two real homes in my short life. Both had been with Rylee. Though we couldn’t go back to North Dakota, that didn’t mean we couldn’t go to the other.
“London. There is a place near London we can go. A mansion I stayed in and it belonged to our friends. It would be safe, I think.” I swallowed past the sudden lump in my throat. Friends that were gone.
Taken far too soon. So many I could bring back if I learned how from the man in front of me. He nodded. “Excellent. What is this place?”
“We called it Jack’s place.”
Two strides and he was at my side. “Keep it in your mind.” He hooked an arm through mine and just l
ike that we were gone from the forest. Another blink passed and we were standing on the back lawn of Jack’s mansion.
“Oh, this will work.” Raven walked ahead of me, and I wobbled a bit where I stood like I’d been partially frozen. He looked back, paused and then came back to my side. He hooked his arm through mine again and helped me walk. “I suspect you will want me to feed you, too?” He was teasing me again, but I took his words hard.
“I can take care of myself.” The words were meant to be tough and independent sounding, but even to my own ears they were just plain tired. Exhaustion stole over me, deep to the bones so far into me, I wasn’t sure even sleeping a full day would be enough to erase the fatigue.
The big doors were locked, but that didn’t slow Raven more than a moment’s pause. He put his hands against the wood and it melted away from his fingers like wax on a candle.
Inside the mansion, the air was dank and musty, and so silent. I felt it on my skin like tiny spiders. I tightened my arms around Oka and her softly breathing body. She had the right idea, it was time to sleep. “I’m going to lie down.”
“Wait,” Raven said, “is there a study?”
I blinked several times. My brain felt like mush and his words took time to sink in. “Yes.”
I led the way through the familiar, dark halls. This was my home as much as North Dakota and Rylee were. The urge to run my hands against the old wallpaper, to call out to Alex, to listen for Jack cursing up a blue streak . . . I shivered and wrapped my arms around myself and Oka as the swell of emotions caught me off guard. I pointed at the library as we approached and then hurried off on my own. I did not want Raven to see me cry and the tears had escaped my eyes even though I’d tried to stop them.
The exhaustion that dogged me, that was why I was crying. That was what I told myself, even though I knew it wasn’t the truth.
This place held so many memories, and not all of them bad. Some of them were amazing, some would stay with me until the day I took my last breath. Images and laughter, the touch of a hand, the feeling of being loved and belonging . . . they chased me as surely as any mob of hungry zombies.
Pamela (The Rylee Adamson Epilogues, Book 3) Page 8
