Binding Curse: Dark Fae Hollow 4 (Dark Fae Hollows)

by T. F. Walsh

  Axel cleared his throat and hugged himself against the cold. “I’m picturing a block prison covered in bars.”

  “Wow, that’s horrible. Would you want to live like that? They might as well be prisoners.” I stepped over a boulder, noting the absence of tiny animals, no birds. Just eerie silence.

  “But the leaders must be kept safe.” He cut me a sharp look.

  I nudged him, laughing. “Geez, lighten up.”

  “Yeah, I hope this is the place. Otherwise, we’re stuck out here until tomorrow. And I’m out of trail mix.” He offered me a smile, softening the edges of his eyes.

  “Then you’ll have to hunt down something for dinner. Wasn’t that what you were doing back in the woods near Sky Rock?”

  His gaze drifted north for a moment. “It feels as if that happened years ago.”

  “Tell me about it. I’ve had more action this past week than I had my whole time at the PPD.”

  Axel chuckled and snaked an arm around my waist, drawing me against his side. “If it’s action you’re after, I’m your man.” He winked.

  His laughter was contagious. We’d survived so much shit, grown closer than I’d ever imagined, and now we might help stop the vulsines. I had no more clues, no backup plans, no hiding houses. And considering the hell going down in Saint Petersburg, I wasn’t excited about returning to the city right away.

  The sun dipped below the mountaintops and long shadows spread across the land. Bitter cold licked at my face and crawled down my spine, spreading its icy fingers across my flesh. My teeth chattered.

  We halted at the mouth of a valley cradled by hills on either side, but I wasn’t sure what I was staring at. And that was the problem. The place was flat but without trees. Only tall grasses blanketed the great expanse of land. Everything was green and lush, and I couldn’t remember ever seeing such beauty. Wild lilac bellflowers flecked the grassland. A path speared through the meadow but seemed to lead nowhere.

  “Okay, no prison or castle in sight.” Axel scratched his head.

  I welcomed the soft indent of turf beneath my boots, the gentle caress of the greenery against my legs. An infusion of vanilla caressed my senses. Beautiful. “Something’s definitely here, otherwise how could a meadow grow when everything else is dry?” I traipsed through the field.

  The mountains were rugged and steep, impossible to climb. Axel stood amid the tall grasses on the other side of the track, his attention sweeping the location.

  Overhead, the shadows deepened from the sinking sun. Maybe the smart decision was to set up camp, find wood for a fire before we lost all light, and bunker down in the valley.

  I ambled toward Axel when a hawk screeched overhead at something in the meadow. I leaned sideways and caught the slightest movement in the field, about fifty feet from Axel’s position. I froze, unable to identify what I was seeing.

  A large form, orange in color with black stripes, hunched in the grass, haunches sticking out, ready to strike Axel. Fuck! I shuddered as shock hammered into my head. Couldn’t we catch a break?

  A Siberian tiger? But they went extinct.

  “Axel,” I whispered. “Over here. Fast!”

  Except his attention locked onto something over my shoulder.

  I jerked around and spotted two more tigers lying low in the grasses, watching their prey… us.

  The raspy sound of grating stone came from the end of the valley. A gap, the size of double doors, slid open at the base of the mountain.

  A fourth tiger ambled out, nose broad, eyes golden and dark-rimmed. Powerful muscles rolled beneath a shiny coat. Its elegant grace was captivating… if we weren’t on the menu.

  Axel reached my side, and his fingers dug into my arm. “Did you see that?” he asked.

  “Yeah, four fuckin’ tigers.”

  “No, the door.”

  I tightened my grip on the knives, well aware that even if I had both functioning arms, I had zero possibility of defeating the animals. My power might take out one or two. The tigers probably reached my chest in height. Their sharp teeth would tear our limbs off in seconds.

  “What do we do?” I whispered, pebbles grinding under my boots as we backed away, but I refused to take my gaze off the predators who climbed to their feet. Sniffing the air, their noses scrunched as they snarled. The flash of their pink tongues drew my attention to their incisors. Hot wisps floated from the corners of their mouths, their long fangs on display.

  My mind was on fire.

  “We target the open entrance,” Axel declared.

  “Are you insane? You want us to enter a tiger’s den? What if there are more inside?”

  “I have a plan,” he said.

  Nothing made sense, except the dread swallowing me, and the sweat dripping down my neck. And as I kept studying the four felines, I couldn’t help but notice their similarities. Every stripe, the way they growled, and even the tiny curl of their left ears. Like human fingerprints, no two tigers had the same striped pattern. But these appeared to be identical.

  “They’re clones,” I blurted, and while my mind fought between running, screaming, or fighting, I wondered if the council’s role included repopulating the world with extinct creatures?

  “On the bright side,” Axel said. “We must be at the correct place. Vulsines can’t take over animal forms, so the tigers could be protecting the compound.”

  “All great, but how do we get inside without dying? Are the council leaders watching us now, putting bets on which one of us will get mauled first?”

  The Siberian tigers paused halfway in the valley.

  “I’ll distract them.” Axel’s voice raced. “You run to the doorway. I’ll be behind you.”

  I stiffened. “What will you use? Your fists? Terrible plan. They aren’t chasing us, so I’d say we wait until they retreat—”

  “And if they don’t go away? They’re pussycats, right? And felines have always liked me, falling into a trance.”

  “Yeah, but these are big cats who want to eat you.”

  My confused thoughts swam with too many scenarios, and each ended with us torn apart. “I don’t agree with your plan. Just because tabby cats like you means shit! Or is there something else you haven’t told me?” Honestly, Axel was the lord of mysterious secrets and each time I discovered one, I almost died.

  He shrugged the black fur coat off his shoulders and let the garment fall behind him. “Luna, if we get out of this alive, I promise to tell you all my dirty secrets. Now, back away and run when they come after me.”

  Panic strangled me, and everything spun. I grabbed his arm. “No, there’s got—”

  Axel sprinted, ripping free from my hold. He darted in the opposite direction from the entrance. In unison, all four tigers pounced toward him, their movements identical, their snarls lifting the hairs on my arms.

  My gaze darted between Axel sacrificing himself and the doorway, but my feet remained glued to the ground. When my heart slammed into my sternum, I quivered. This wasn’t how our lives were supposed to end.

  Chapter 29

  My gaze swung from the entrance in the mountain to Axel. He headed for a collision course with four Siberian tigers. My lungs locked up, and breathing seemed impossible. My mission was to deliver him to the council leaders, not to the jaws of hungry felines.

  Gripping a knife, I ran after Axel, but the blade was inadequate. I needed my power. A spark of energy sizzled down my other arm, and electric bolts hopped between my fingers. This had to be the dumbest thing we’d done—taking on four tigers.

  A feline leaped for Axel, claws extended and fangs exposed.

  An involuntary yell fell from my mouth. I jutted my arm forward, and a zigzagging bolt crashed into the tiger’s ribs. It convulsed mid-leap, whimpering. It shouldn’t kill him but was designed to daze him enough for Axel to escape. The cat landed with a great thud, feet from Axel.

  The three other animals circling Axel snapped to face me.

  “Luna, stop!” Axel cried. “They�
��re protecting me. But they’ll tear you apart.”

  My brain clogged, confusion claiming me. When a cat clawed the air, grunting with fangs exposed, its body lowered into attack posture. Great. Instinct had me skidding and changing directions away from the danger, now targeting the opening.

  Fail, and I’d pay the price with my life. I couldn’t feel my body as I flew across the meadow. Each footfall pounded the ground. Faster. Every quickened beat of my heart reverberated through me.

  Three striped creatures chased after me, drool rolling off their tongues. My breathing grew erratic. I was quick, but hell… Their loping gait quickened.

  Forty feet away lay the gaping hole in the mountain. There had to be an inner escape door. No time to think beyond staying alive.

  Axel’s damned words careened in my mind about cats falling into a trance with him. Why hadn’t that registered with me? Because I’d never fucking heard of such a thing. And everything happened too quickly.

  I jumped over a rock and sprinted.

  This wasn’t how I wanted to die, mauled by freaking extinct cats.

  A mere few feet from the entry, the sudden piercing of daggers sliced flesh across my calf. I screamed and burst into the mountain, darkness swallowing me.

  Claws scratched stone. Growls echoed.

  Light at the end of the winding tunnel filled me with hope. I hurried, half wobbling, half running, limping from the shooting pain stabbing my leg.

  “Luna,” Axel’s voice sounded distant. But I didn’t dare look back, not when I was about to become cat food. I scrambled onward, following the slight curve when my worst nightmare hit. A dead end. “What the fuck?”

  A metal door.

  I throttled the handle. Locked. Of course.

  A tremendous roar reverberated. I snapped around, plastering myself against the stone wall. Fear leeched to my insides, strangling me.

  Two tigers crouched in an attack posture. The third one lingered deeper in the narrow passage, pacing back and forth, waiting for its chance to eat me.

  I raised my blade with a shaky hand, knowing too well I wasn’t winning this fight. I had always imagined that facing death would be easy. I had been ready to join my sister for years. Except, I was mistaken. In truth, I craved life and a future for myself in the Outlands. I had so much more to experience. Humans were dealt difficult lives and faced adversities to keep their families safe on a daily basis. I’d joined PPD to make a difference, not give up when it became too hard.

  Energy danced over my fingertips. After the attack outside, I had enough strength to stun one animal. Maybe two. That still left me with another one to battle.

  Axel charged onto the scene, gasping for air, holding his chest. “Hell, Luna, can’t you listen for once in your life.”

  I couldn’t take my eyes off the felines creeping closer.

  I flinched, cornering myself with no escape. “Not appropriate conversation right now. Feel free to jump in and help.”

  Axel closed in behind the cats and took turns to lay a hand on each of their backs. The tigers expelled a deep breath, and everything about them relaxed. Their muscles, creased noses, curled lips, frizzed fur. He patted all three, and they twirled toward him, their tails in the air and their purrs thrummed through the enclosure. I’d lost sight of him behind the orange and black masses.

  “Shit.” Stunned, I remained stuck to the wall, unable to believe my eyes. Seconds earlier these beasts had watched me as if I were a steak; now they rubbed themselves against Axel, pushing under his arms so he would keep scratching them. The cats at my place had done the same thing, and the strays in the tent town. But the sight in front of me was beyond belief. Some faes had affinities with animals, but nothing on this scale.

  As the tigers settled down, two of them closed their eyes, and Axel stepped toward me. He brushed the fur from his long-sleeved top with a few flicks of his hand.

  “Fuck.” I found no other words because I still shook.

  “All you had to do was run.” He smirked and pushed a strand of hair caught in my eyelashes. “You saw me with the house cats, and I told you outside I have some association with them.”

  “Yeah, but not like this, and you threw yourself at them, and… I almost died.” The scratch on my calf hit, the sting coiling my leg. I glanced down at the shredded pants and flesh, blood everywhere. “Crap.”

  “I wouldn’t have let them hurt you, but I had to first make sure they would react the same way around me as other cats did.”

  I straightened my posture. “So you were taking a risk? You could have died.” He was ready to risk death and didn’t even bother to see if there was another way out before going all gung-ho.

  Axel rolled his eyes. “You’re so dramatic. Must be a fae thing.”

  The groan of the door opening stole my words. I turned, unsure what to expect next. Exhaustion rattled through me, along with pain, and frustration. I’d had enough of being a punching bag, and fighting death at every corner.

  Two men emerged, sporting fae markings across their necks. Both wore doublet military uniforms, not too much different from my PPD jacket and pants, except these were deep red. No woven golden stars adorned their sleeves. Instead, twelve black rings and a silver circle graced the left-handed breast. The sign for Kutia Hollow. My chest swelled with a symphony of joy. They must be the guards for the council compound. We’d made it.

  I exchanged an excited glance with Axel.

  “Axel and Luna, please come with us,” a fae with a Taser on his belt said. Was my earlier suspicious right about someone watching us battle the tigers? Bastards… They could have helped.

  I hobbled forward, and a lightness swirled in my head. “Let’s do this.”

  Axel nodded and took my arm, bearing some of my weight as we entered another corridor where four additional guards waited. They guided us along an uphill tunnel with spotlights attached to stone walls lighting the way. Stale air blanketed the corridor.

  We were about to meet the leaders of Kutia Hollow. Was swooning permitted? In the PPD, they were portrayed as heroes, but I never craved their titles. Not when their decisions affected everyone and would always have consequences. Nothing was ever simple. Not in our messed-up world.

  Ten minutes later, a chill seeped into my bones from the frosty breeze rushing down the corridors, whistling past. Once we reached a platform made of smooth granite, we found three tunnels spiking outward. My attention settled on the tiny gaps in the wall, flooded with natural light.

  “This way.” They directed us toward the darkest shaft, while my attention kept returning to the opposite one with marble flooring.

  “I think the other corridor is meant for us,” I said.

  Cold hands nudged me to keep moving, but not before I stole a glance out of the thin slats lining the wall. Outside, the view was of the road where the truck had stopped. We’d been spotted the moment we had arrived. Must mean they watched everyone as a precaution, and perhaps, the tigers were a test to ensure we weren’t vulsines.

  Axel and I entered a chamber with four rooms dug into the stone, each enclosed by iron bars.

  My pulse spiked, and I recoiled, as did Axel. Fear collected in my brain. “There’s a mistake. We’re here to see the leaders.”

  Someone shoved hands into my back and pushed me inside an open cell. Axel stumbled in alongside me. The door slammed shut, locking us inside.

  I staggered back to the metal bars as the guards marched away. “We have important news about their binding partners.”

  Nothing.

  “Dickheads!”

  I faced the ten by ten room.

  Axel was pacing. “We need to break out. What if vulsines have taken over the leaders, and we’ve walked into a trap?” He arched a brow, and his chocolate hair stood on end in a messy style. I patted mine down.

  “I didn’t detect any deception from the guards, so wait and pray this is a precaution.”

  While my words made sense, I hadn’t felt safe from the moment
I’d first met Axel. But the guards had called our names as if expecting us. And if our leaders lived here, why would they leave us at the mercy of tigers? Unease curled deep in my gut. Something was fucking wrong with this picture.

  Chapter 30

  “Anyone there?” Axel yelled through the prison bars, his words bouncing off stone walls. “We didn’t come this far to sit our asses in a cell.” He rattled the iron door, the clanging ricocheting around us. “Fuck!”

  “You’re wasting your breath,” I said, my voice deflated.

  He turned to find me sitting against the back wall, my legs bent, and arms draped over knees. “We’ve been here for hours. This is bullshit,” he said. “We’re not prisoners, so why keep us here?”

  I couldn’t bring myself to voice my worst fears that the compound had been infiltrated. But then again, I hadn’t sensed deception from the guards.

  “It’s not uncommon to hold someone before talking to them. I’m sure there’s a reason for—”

  The ground trembled, and Axel stumbled sideways. He staggered to his feet, holding onto the wall. Dust rained down from the ceiling.

  “A tremor?” Three steps and I graced Axel’s side.

  He called out into the hallway, “Hey, let us out!”

  I faced him when another quake hit, shaking the foundations as if someone had drilled into the next cell.

  With panicked glances exchanged, we both shouted for help and tugged at the door. We’d end up buried alive if the place came down.

  When a short siren screeched overhead, I shuddered. Panic constricted my lungs, and the color of Axel’s cheeks dropped several shades.

  I throttled the bar with my good hand, while Axel ran his fingers along the hinges, probably searching for a weak point.

  But when someone rushed down a corridor, my attention snapped to the newcomer dressed in a velvet coat, tightened at the waist with a leather sash, and matching knee-length boots. Beneath, he sported a white, collared shirt and black pants. He held no fae markings.