‘Umm Suraya, I think we may have gone the wrong way. Shouldn’t we be on the motorway by now?’
‘I know a quicker way,’ she said brightly.
Unsure to how country roads could be quicker than the motorway, I settled back uneasily in my seat. There were no houses in sight and I was acutely aware that if something was to go wrong we were probably miles from help. I checked the phone and was dismayed to realise there wasn’t a signal.
‘I would feel more comfortable if we followed the route your father gave us.’ I smiled nervously in response to the change in atmosphere I could feel building in the car. Ignoring me, she stared at the road as she drove. Her face was set like rock, yet her eyes held the same look I had seen so many times before. ‘What’s going on?’ I asked weakly.
‘I am protecting my father.’ Her cold tone sent a sliver of ice along my spine.
‘How?’ I asked in barely a whisper.
‘By handing you over to the Fae.’
Bile rose in my throat as my stomach clenched with fear, the sharpness of it allowing me to see everything clearly. The trees as they became thicker with moss growing up the side, the road which was now little more than a track; the unevenness causing the car to rock as we travelled along it, even each individual ray of light piercing through the leaves of the trees as the sun set in the distance. But mostly I could see the hollowness of her apologetic words, the falseness of her tears, how she had used my love for her father and my wish for his happiness against me, causing me to believe her words of apology. More importantly, I could see how screwed I was. I checked the mobile again only to see that there was still no signal. I was all alone, with no way to get help.
I needed to do something, but what? Suraya slowed the car as it groaned against the unevenness of the track. If I was going to do something, it had to be now. I quickly released the clasp of the seat belt and grabbed for the door handle, desperate to be out of the moving vehicle, frantic to be anywhere that she wasn’t. A cry of frustration escaped me when it wouldn’t move.
‘You’re not going anywhere,’ she said stonily. ‘I fully intend to fulfil my end of the deal.’
The hatred that vibrated through me overshadowed any fear I had. Grabbing the steering wheel, I yanked it towards me, the suddenness of my actions causing her grip to slip. She pulled my hand off, but it was too late as the car was heading straight for the thick trunk of a tree with no curb to stop us. The tires squealed as she hit the brakes with force, causing the car to go into a skid. With no time to control it, we braced for impact.
Smoke rose from the tires, invading the car. The scent of burning rubber stung my nose and caused my eyes to water. I tried to push my legs in front of me as my seatbelt was off even though I wouldn’t make it in time, they were moving too slowly.
As the car impacted, I had time to see the engine buckle before I was thrown forwards, my head hitting the windscreen. Pain flashed through me as the glass shattered and greyness crept over my vision. I needed to fight it, but it couldn’t be beaten and I cried out with anger as I was unable to stop myself drifting away.
Chapter 22
Garbled shouts broke through my haze. Something was wrong; everything was red making it impossible to see properly. As I shifted to rub my eyes, sharp pain exploded in my head. My hands came away red, covered in blood. Everything flooded back to me, but too late. As I tried to move, I was grabbed from behind, the roots of my hair screaming in protest as Suraya dragged me from the car.
‘You stupid whore!’ The rage seethed from her as she shouted. ‘Now I’ll have to fix the car.’
She threw me face down onto the dirt road. I coughed from the dry dusty mud I accidently inhaled and tried to sit myself up. My head span and I tried to focus while taking deep even breaths.
As soon as the world stopped turning around me, I sprung unsteadily to my feet and ran as fast as I could into the trees. I only managed to travel a few metres before I was grabbed from behind. Wishing I had cut my hair short, I spun, ignoring the pain as the roots were ripped from my head.
There was enough time to see her eyes widen in surprise as she stood with my hair hanging limply in her hand, before I kicked her full force in the stomach. Silently thanking Adam for his ruthless teachings I ran, the air wheezing from my lungs. I made it further this time before the weight of her body hit me, forcing us both to the ground.
A blow from her fist caused my ears to ring, drowning out the angry words she screamed at me. When she lifted her weight off me I jumped up ready to fight, hoping that my training would give me the added advantage needed against her, thanking the adrenalin that coursed through me.
Through pure luck, I managed a couple of blows to her face, but she was so much faster than me and it was only moments before she knocked me to the ground once again. My fighting skills may well be good enough to help me against a human, or maybe even a single Fae or two, but Suraya had the speed of the Siis to her advantage. She lifted me and threw me against the nearest tree.
‘This would have been easier if you hadn’t stolen my father’s Shi,’ she seethed.
Even though I was trapped with no idea how to get free, and had the knowledge that she could heal herself, I still took a small measure of pleasure from the split eyes brow and swollen lip I had given her.
‘How could you do this to him?’ I forced the words between shuddering breaths as I glared at her. My lips curled in hate as I fought uselessly against her grip.
‘I am doing this for him!’ she screeched, the pitch vibrating around my injured head. ‘You bewitched him and brought the Fae down on him, and you are stealing his life force from him.’ Her chest heaved as she stood looking at me with a hate similar to the Fae.
‘You crazy bitch!’ I hissed. The ground was covered in dry, dead leaves and I wondered if somehow I could unbalance her. But then what? ‘What the hell do you hope to achieve by this?’ I continued in the hope of keeping her occupied long enough to formulate a plan.
‘I have made a deal to save my father. You for him.’ She released me with one hand and reached behind her. If she was going for a knife I would be royally screwed, if I wasn’t already. ‘The Fae will be here to collect you soon,’ she added.
Before she could do anything else, fear broke my paralysis. Using the tree for support, I thrust my legs out, snaked one foot around her ankle and kicked with everything I had at her knee. As she dropped screaming, I pushed myself away from the tree and kicked her full force in her side, while silently thanking God that although the Siis could deflect weapons easily, they still experienced the pain of any blow or wound from someone who has Siis energy within.
There was no time to pause and as she rolled over from the force of the kick, I bent down. Trembling, I drew on what felt like the last of my strength and gripped her arms, yanking them behind her. Her whimpers only fuelled my rage as I pulled her up and shuffled back until I was pressed against the tree, grimacing as her feet repeatedly found my legs.
I lent my weight against the trunk, trying to find my breath to speak. She started laughing. It was high pitched and hollow and reminded me of the haunted house rides I had been on as a kid.
‘You can’t beat me,’ she said. She gripped my wrists so hard I had no choice but to release her. I cried out, more in frustration and anger than pain, as she turned towards me once more.
It wasn’t a blade she had been reaching for, but handcuffs, about two inches thick and dark grey, with a thick bar joining them. My brain worked furiously as she forced one of the cuffs onto my left wrist. The hollow click as they closed sounded so final that I very nearly gave up. I didn’t though. Instead I randomly thought of a cartoon that I had once watched with my nieces. It was a strange thing to think of when in so much danger, though it gave me an idea.
I looked up over her shoulder and forced a surprised and grateful look onto my face. ‘Gabriel?’ I said.
Suraya turned to look over her shoulder. I couldn’t believe that my ruse had worked
and for a split second I was stunned by her stupidity. I quickly recovered and before she had a chance to realise what I was doing, I yanked the other cuff from her hand and slipped it on to her wrist. If it was made from normal metal known to humans I knew she would be free in seconds, but I had a suspicion that she had used Daku, the one that the Siis had no control over unless they were a priestess, which she wasn’t.
As soon as she realised what I had done, she screamed with rage and hit me once more over the head. I grunted as pains shot down my spine and my vision swam out of focus for a moment. Her rage showed I was right about the Daku, but where was the diminished strength Gabriel had spoken of?
‘You stupid bitch!’ she screamed, spraying spittle all over my face. She went to hit me again, and this time I managed to block her approaching fist. My free hand was restricted by hers, so I couldn’t hit back. I grunted in annoyance for my lack of movement, before consoling myself with the fact that she also had the same problem.
She pulled my wrist towards her and I could see that she had a small square of metal in her hand. It looked nothing like a key, yet I was sure that’s what it was. I still had hold of her free wrist and I twisted it, hissing with pain as I had to turn my own wrist to a painful angle to execute the move.
She dropped the metal square and I scooped it up before she had a chance to move, ignoring the blow that landed on the back of my neck, causing a painful springy sensation to travel up to my head, threatening to buckle my legs beneath me. I didn’t look at it as I gripped it tightly in my fist, though I could feel that it had groves along it.
‘There is nowhere to run,’ Suraya sneered. She looked off into the distance and a smile found her lips. ‘They are not far from here.’
My insides froze. There was no sense of the Fae as of yet, but her relaxed, spiteful smile left me with no doubt that she was speaking the truth.
‘Can you fix the car?’ I asked.
‘If you release me.’
My heart sank. I was under no illusion that she would flee as soon as she was free, leaving me to be killed by the Fae. I thought about running, but where to? We were in the middle of nowhere and I was sure that it would only be time before I was cornered.
‘Run,’ I said urgently anyway. I tried to pull on her, but she resisted with the relaxed grin still plastered on her face, obviously confident that the Fae would give her free passage.
Her calm attitude told me all I needed to know. She definitely wasn’t going to help me and by being cuffed together she was only a hindrance. Turning my back to her, I studied the small metal card in my hand. It was only about two inches by one and as I had thought, it had raised markings on one side. I studied the cuff tightly circling my arm until I determined that I had to place the card against it.
When I glanced at the sky, a knot formed in my throat. There was very little time until the sun was completely gone and I was left in darkness. I was taking too long.
Suraya struggled with me as I pressed the card against the cuff and I nearly dropped it a couple of times. I sighed with relief as I heard the click of it unlocking and I didn’t waste any time taking it off.
I kicked her forcefully before taking off with the key still gripped in my hand. There was no way I was allowing her to escape and regain her Siis powers. I already had enough to deal with. The chances were I wouldn’t escape the Fae, but I tried to hold out hope.
I ran while thanking God that I was less clumsy since I had started training, else I would have probably ended up on my face. I didn’t try to be quiet as I knew she could sense me. In the dim light I managed to see a potential weapon and I barely slowed as I reached for it on the way to the open road.
I tried to remember everything Adam had told me about the Fae one day while we had been sparring. He had said that they could change molecules only by touching them, though not anything containing Siis energy like me. They couldn’t heal themselves, so if they went down, they generally stayed there. Also, they were fast and strong, more so than a regular human.
I was beginning to lose some of my hope.
‘You cannot hide from me,’ Suraya shouted far too close for my liking. She was right. She could sense me more precisely than I could her.
I leant against a thick trunk with the sharpened branch clutched tightly to my chest, trying to still my erratic breathing. The shadows were deep and even though I could sense no Fae, small movements kept catching my eye, increasing the fear until I thought I might choke on it. I had to calm down and think. But every time I tried to focus on what to do, all I could see was the Fae coming for me, their sharp teeth catching the moonlight as they snarled.
‘Did you ever really think you had a chance against me?’ Suraya called.
She was closer, making it possible to sense her presence, but still far enough away that her exact location was undetectable.
‘The Fae know that you are the reason some of their own died. When I told them I could bring you to them, they agreed to leave my father alone.’
I wanted to shout, are you really that stupid? But I kept my mouth closed. Not because she could follow my voice; she already knew where I was, but because I needed to save to breath ready to run again. A cold breeze blew through the trees and I nearly screamed when something snagged on my arm before realising that it was only a branch.
The only hope was to go back the way we had travelled in the hope of out running the Fae, but first I had to deal with Suraya. The square key was still gripped in my hand. Without it Suraya would need the help of a priest to get herself free, something that would need an explanation on her part. I quickly crouched down and pushed the key into the mud, thankful that the dirt was loose, allowing me to push it in deep. If I was lucky, I would be there to see her try and explain it to Eris.
Something scurried over my foot and I let out a tight yelp before realising that it was some sort of animal, just going about its normal business. Every shadow became a potential attacker, every movement somebody coming to strike me. Even though it went against every instinct, I closed my eyes. The woods were filled with shadows, drawing my attention and fuelling my imagination. It was a distraction, one that could get me killed.
For a moment the area only became more daunting, and it took several slow breaths before I could calm myself enough to focus. Then I got it. Suraya was closer than I had hoped, only a couple of meters behind the tree. She was stronger than me, but from what I had seen so far, her skills in unarmed combat were no better than mine. Thank God Gabriel was protective over all the women in his life.
The question was, how far was I willing to go to stop her? Could I really kill someone? With an equal measure of dismay and relief, I realised that the answer to that was yes. But could I really kill the daughter of the man I loved?
Suraya was now directly behind the tree. I kept my eyes closed, focusing on her presence. She moved around to my left and I turned slightly, ready with the branch held high.
It was a strange sensation. There was no sense of the surrounding area, but I could see Suraya in my mind’s eye. Not her solid form, but the Shi that she was made up of. There was no sense of the tree that separated us, but her location in place to mine was clear, as if I was really looking at her.
She moved silently, yet she couldn’t hide. I opened my eyes, and swung the branch around, heading straight for her head. I didn’t want to kill Gabriel’s daughter, but I had no intention of dying by her hand either.
She didn’t expect me to attack with such force, so wasn’t prepared to defend herself. Unfortunately, my aim was awful and I only managed to glance off her shoulder before she moved. The light had nearly gone, leaving the woods filled with darkness, but I didn’t miss the item she had gripped in her hand. It was a dagger.
I sprang backwards and held the branch before me. It had been a mistake not to check her for weapons, one I hope I wasn’t going to die for. So many times I had practised this, but she wasn’t holding a rubber knife, she was gripping the sharpest weapon I k
new of, and if she managed to land a blow, it would most likely be a killing one. It just wasn’t fair.
‘I am really sick of your crap!’ I screamed. My hands shook with anger and I tried to steady my breathing in order to calm myself.
Suraya laughed as she took a step towards me, a sound that echoed out through the woods, stilling the woodland creatures that had begun their nightly hunt for food.
‘You think you can beat me with that?’ she laughed, taking another step.
I had to force myself to stay still. During training I had found it hard to remain motionless, but this was almost impossible. Every inch of me was screaming to run, but I knew that if I did, it would only be a matter of time before she caught me.
‘You are just a human,’ she continued with a sneer.
‘So you keep saying,’ I retorted. ‘Yet, since you have met me, you have treated me as a threat. You hate that I can have so much power over your father, especially when you have no idea why.’
‘He would soon have tired of you,’ she snarled, taking another step towards me. The distance between us was barely more than the length of the branched I gripped.
‘No Suraya, he wouldn’t have and you know that else you wouldn’t be doing this. You are no longer the only important person in his life and that leaves a bitter taste in the back of your throat, doesn’t it?’ She snarled once again, the sound more animal than human and tensed ready to pounce. ‘Just think Suraya,’ I continued. ‘A lowly human managed to steal Daddy’s affection. What does that say about you?’
The rage that sprung from her was intense, and exactly what I was hoping for. She jumped towards me with the dagger, not looking at the weapon I held, but at my face, boring her glare into my head, consumed with the need to kill me where I stood.
My rage was also great, but I didn’t focus it on one point. Even though I looked in the direction of her twisted face, I took in everything. Her left hand reached for me, heading straight for my throat. Her right hand held the blade down and out, ready to thrust up, into my side. Her left leg was bent, taking the force of her body. It was the action I had been waiting for.
Night of the Fae (Ana Martin series) Page 23
