Look for the joints, Adam had said. They are the weak point. I didn’t hesitate. I ducked down, avoiding the outreached hand, and swung the branch around to hit the back of her knee. My position was awkward and the blow wasn’t hard, but when it made contact Suraya collapsed down onto her side. She quickly rolled onto her stomach, trying to scramble onto her feet and I brought the branch up. Using both hands and all the force I could, I stabbed at her right shoulder.
The end didn’t pierce deep, but her scream was loud enough to warm my heart. Her grip on the blade loosened in response and I quickly pulled it from her grasp.
‘I will kill you,’ she screamed as I stumbled backwards, throwing the branch into the woods. I positioned the dagger in my hands so that the blade was pressed against my arm, ignoring the sharp sting as I cut straight through my clothes into the skin.
‘So you keep saying,’ I panted. ‘But so far, your words have been nothing more than empty threats.’
The situation was dire, but I couldn’t help but smile in victory. Some of my pleasure was robbed when she smiled back; I really wanted to see a look of defeat on her face. Suraya sat up, supporting her damaged arm against her chest. To my surprise, she closed her eyes and tilted her head slightly to the right.
The smile drained from my face. ‘What are you doing?’ I did not like the look one bit.
She opened her eyes and smiled. ‘Morton will be here soon.’
My heart sank. Gabriel had once told me that when two Siis were fully bonded, they shared thoughts and memories. She wasn’t working alone. As if she wasn’t enough to deal with, now I had another Siis to add into the equation. Even though I had the weapon and she was defenceless, she still wasn’t worried. If only she wasn’t Gabriel’s daughter. If only she wasn’t so confident that I wouldn’t kill her because of this.
The hairs on the back of my neck rose and my heart sank even further when I felt something more terrifying than the Siis sat before me. It was the Fae. There was no way to tell how close they were, or even which direction they were coming from, but the sense of them crawled at my skin and over my brain.
‘Damn it,’ I hissed.
Suraya grinned broadly. ‘You may have defended yourself against me.’ She laughed, a cruel sound filled with malice and pleasure. ‘But there are many Fae coming. Let’s see how well you manage against them.’
She had a point, and it wasn’t something I wanted to put to the test. I turned to run, and then thought better of it. Suraya was still a problem. The smile was still firmly in place and I swung my foot out. She didn’t see it coming and I caught her straight across the face. Her nose crunched and blood splayed out as she fell backwards. The blow had been hard enough that a springy sensation travelled up to my knee. She would be out for a while.
I ran. There was no way to tell in which direction I was running and I prayed it was the right way, if there was such a thing.
I finally emerged from the woods several metres up from where we had entered, what felt like hours before. Seeing the outline of the abandoned vehicle, I paused, looking for signs of the Fae as I could still feel their presence crawling at my skin, but was unable to detect their exact location.
I turned around with the blade gripped securely against my arm, wondering which way would be best to go. I thought about hiding in the car until I acknowledged how ridiculous the idea was. The car was useless and would be nothing more than a trap.
The Fae came into range and I nearly cried out in despair when I realised that they were all around me. It was only moments later that they came into sight. Their shadowed forms approached, their eyes shining brightly as if they were lanterns to ward off the darkness. There were so many. It was too late to escape.
They advanced, chuckling harshly with the knowledge of their victory. I stood firm. The panic that had been bubbling away inside of me calmed. There was just no way I would survive. I drew on my hate for the Fae and silently vowed to take as many down as I could before they overpowered me.
They came towards me, creeping low as if they were animals stalking their prey.
It was the strangest feeling as they approached, I did not feel like me, I had changed without realising. I was no longer Ana Martin, someone who couldn’t even watch the news as it upset her. I was somebody new, someone who was no longer the victim, but a fighter. Becoming part of Gabriel’s world had changed me and even though I was going to my death, I embraced the person I had become with no regrets.
They came slowly, crowing gleefully. I stood silently, awaiting their approach with the blade of the dagger pressed up against my forearm so that it was hidden.
‘If it isn’t the girl from the park.’ The song like, raspy voice was familiar.
As the small figure approached ahead of the rest, I recognised the male from the day I first met the Fae. He no longer held the bored expression he had portrayed then, his face now gleamed with excitement.
‘You killed Sheah. Did you think I would let that go?’
Realising that Sheah must have been the female Fae that attacked us, I stood firm and silent.
‘She was my mate,’ he hissed. ‘We will not tolerate one of our own being slaughtered.’ His voice spread out, clear and strong, and shouts erupted from the Fae as they brandished daggers before them. ‘We will avenge her death and in her honour, we will create more Fae.’
The air hummed with anticipation from the Fae surrounding me. By speaking aloud to them he was rallying them up to an attack, fuelling their anger. Not that they needed it. Even with the hidden dagger, I was defenceless against them.
As much as I wanted to delay the inevitable I was becoming tired of the games. Even with the increased adrenalin in my system, the weariness was present, as a barely noticeable cloud in the horizon, yet one that would catch up with me eventually.
‘She deserved nothing less.’ My teeth were clenched; the words barely audible, yet he had no trouble hearing them. His face contorted as his lips pulled back into a snarl, and he screamed a high pitched squeal that made every hair on my body stand up in protest. He crouched, ready to spring. I didn’t move. I was ready.
There was no way to kill them all, even a Siis such as Gabriel would have had trouble doing that, but even if I could take the Fae stood before me down, it would be something. I realised something else new about myself. I wasn’t afraid of dying.
As they came I didn’t pray, that time was gone. The Fae from the park reached me first. I didn’t think, or even plan, I briefly drew on a memory of Gabriel’s face before thrusting the weapon up towards him. His eyes widened in surprise as the blade sank into his chest with an ease I could never have anticipated. He had expected little resistance from me, believing that I was still the frightened girl he had once met, and as I pulled the blade from him, I took pleasure in his shock.
There was no time to relish the feeling of victory before the rest of the Fae reached me. They were quick. Each time I managed to knock one down, another took its place. They came with daggers and it wasn’t long before they started piercing my skin, the sharp pains barely noticeable in my focused lucidity.
I heard the snap before I felt the pain. As I collapsed to the ground, agony swept through my body. The bone protruded from my calf and I screamed. My hand was wet with the spilt blood and the dagger was easily pulled from my grasp. I was powerless, only able to hold up my hands in defence as a smaller Fae came towards me. The blows rained down. I was knifed, beaten and bitten, and after a time, my mind tried to escape.
My vision began fading and I welcomed it. The pain was beyond anything I had ever experienced before and I was willing to leave it all behind. I was no use in the fight anymore. At least I had been able to kill some of them. Hopefully now Adam would realise that I wasn’t completely useless, not that it mattered.
As my eyes finally closed, a scream echoed out into the night, high in pitch, yet deeper than the Fae’s. It was Suraya. Forcing my eyes open, I managed only a glimpse of the Fae surrounding her as
she lay on the ground. She had obviously come forward, still confident that they wouldn’t harm her. I took solace in the fact that she had been wrong as I drifted into unconsciousness.
Chapter 23
‘Shall we drain her first?’ Panic tried to force its way into my mind at the sound of the coarse words.
‘No, we will perform the ritual on the Siis first, she is more dangerous.’
The words fully broke through my unconsciousness, but with it came the agony from my injuries.
Unable to stop from screaming, I tried to move, but it only made everything worse and my thoughts started to cloud over again. I gritted my teeth and tried desperately to focus myself. An icy spear stabbed at my heart when I realised what they were talking about and I nearly cried; not for me, but for the children that would be changed by the Shi that they drained from me.
When I carefully peered around, I could see we were in some sort of wooden shack or small barn. There were a couple of old kerosene lamps hanging on hooks, offering enough light for me to view my surroundings. The stars were visible through the missing ceiling, only the walls still intact, though the wood looked rotten and unlikely to hold up to a strong storm. The floor consisted of dry dirt with weeds growing through, large enough to show that the place had been abandoned for a long time.
Although the door was closed, a cool breeze blew through, making me shiver, which caused me to cry out as fresh pain racked through my body. Blood splayed from my mouth and I choked on it before mercifully, darkness claimed me again.
Screaming brought me around again. Struggling to breathe as the air was thick, as if I was trying to breath in water, I opened my eyes. Four Fae had hold of Suraya, though she was putting up a fight. Even though her arms and legs were shackled she managed to break free, only to get a few steps before they overpowered her again. A slight glow kept coming from her as if she was trying to transform, yet it wasn’t working. It was as if she was a dead battery on a car, with enough power to rev, but not enough to actually start.
They threw her onto the ground next to me and locked the chain to a metal ring, bolted to one of the studier sections of the wall.
One of the male Fae laughed as he bent down to be at eye level with her.
‘This was not the deal,’ Suraya screamed, though there was a wilting edge to it as her strength failed. ‘He told me I just had to hand her over.’
I couldn’t find the strength to hate her any more than I already did, in fact I could barely find it to hate her at all. That was okay, I didn’t want to go to my death feeling such things.
‘Deals change,’ the Fae laughed.
Suraya’s head hung down in defeat, her once beautiful hair now matted with dirt and blood. Seeing her injured and broken I could almost forget that it was she who had betrayed me. Our fight in the woods was a distant memory as if it had happened weeks instead of hours before. I felt so alone with every inch of my body throbbing with sharp pain. We were both going to die. I tried to tap into Gabriel’s emotions, but my agony had overridden all sense of him.
Suraya’s narrow eyes locked with mine and she snarled. If she managed to break her bonds, she would make sure to kill me before escaping. I didn’t want to die with her looking at me in such a way.
I cried out as I managed to roll half onto my back, where I paused before I could lose consciousness again. The pain was like waves and each time it rolled over me it threatened to force me into a dark nothingness. Part of me wanted that, but first I wanted to turn away from her penetrating glare.
Fresh blood streamed across my vision. My nose was clogged with the scent in the air, the iron of the blood spilt, the fear and defeat that hung heavily; bitter like ammonia and old sweat, and the murderous lust of the Fae, filling the barn with a sickly aroma that clung like syrup. There was no need to see anything, it was evident I was in hell.
‘I hurt so much,’ Suraya choked.
To my dismay my lips curled with bitterness. Maybe I still had it in me to hate her after all, not something I wanted to consume my last thoughts. I wanted to die with the memory of my love for Gabriel, the times we had shared, not thoughts of the future that was now lost because of his hateful daughter.
The door opened and more Fae entered. I couldn’t tell how many and the will to care had gone. Pleading silently to God, I begged him to save me, not from death as that was inevitable, but from the pain that was surely to come first. Three of the Fae grabbed at Suraya and her screams filled the barn, deafening me as she grabbed at my extended hand which lay uselessly in the dirt. My screams joined hers as she pulled me forward with her, causing me unbearable pain. As she was pulled away a heavy blow hit my back. I was unable to hear it through the noise of her screams, but I felt something snap.
I thanked God as I lay helplessly on my back, all feeling in my lower body gone, not even a twinge, aware of the blood sliding down my throat, yet not caring. I couldn’t see Suraya and that was at least one small blessing. I was drifting, accompanied by the sound of her screaming. This time I didn’t think I would come back. I was ready. I tried to bring Gabriel’s face into my mind, but I couldn’t, there was only blackness and then nothing.
Chapter 24
‘Breath Ana, breath.’ The male voice tried to pull me away from the measure of relief I had found in the darkness. I didn’t want to go back to hell and I fought against the pull of the tide.
‘Adam, get her out.’ Another voice said. Once I recognised it, a measure of my peace was robbed from me. I could have sworn I had heard Eris. I clung to the receding darkness as it must have been a dream, something my mind had conjured up to make me fight some more. I’d had enough of fighting and now wanted to sleep.
Pain shot through my chest, forcing my eyes to open. Blood flew out of my mouth and my body instinctively drew in a painful breath.
‘Just keep breathing while I heal you.’
A cool breeze brushed against my face, the air fresh and clear. I had no idea how I had got outside, or how Adam was knelt looking down on me. There were such terrible screams coming from close by, but I couldn’t tell where.
He hissed a word I had heard before, but could never quite grasp, an obvious curse. Something was different, he felt different.
‘Am I dreaming?’ I garbled.
‘No,’ he said soothingly.
‘But I must be,’ I persisted.
‘Why do you think that?’
‘Because you’re worried for me,’ I whispered, my strength leaving me. ‘And I know that could never happen.’ The pain was receding and I decided to sleep again, maybe it would all make sense when I woke up. ‘It’s very strange,’ I murmured as I drifted off once more.
Voices roused me again.
‘Eris?’ My voice was barely a whisper, yet she came to my side.
‘You’re safe now, we are here.’ Although her words were reassuring, there was a frantic edge to her voice that I had never heard before.
‘Gabriel?’ Although Adam had finished healing my chest I could still only manage a whisper.
‘He came too, don’t worry.’ I tried to ask where he was, but she turned to Adam cutting me off. ‘Take her home when you’ve finished, I’ll make sure he is alright.’
Without taking his hands off me, Adam nodded in her direction, and she sprinted off into the woods.
With a sudden rush, the feeling came back into my legs. I only had a moment to marvel that my back was no longer broken, before I cried out as the pain of my injuries set in. With relief I realised that the broken bone was no longer protruding, though I could still feel and see the many stab wounds amongst the blood covering the whole of my body.
‘I apologise,’ Adam said softly. ‘I should have healed them first.’
I gritted my teeth and held as still as I could in order to allow him to finish healing the wounds. When he had finished, he helped me to sit up, leaning me against the fallen trunk of a large tree. The bark was dry and flaking and it must have fallen a long time ago. It was stra
nge that I noticed this.
Although he had healed my injuries there was another pain spreading through me, this one was different, it was as if a vacuum had taken up residence in my chest and was sucking my very essence into it. An agonising groan escaped my lips as I pulled my bloodied arms around my chest, trying to hold myself together as my heart shattered into a thousand pieces.
‘Oh my God,’ I cried, unable to do anything as I was drowning in the sea of emotions. ‘What is happening?’ There was no way that I could survive this. My very essence was being sucked away, leaving a sharp, twisted agony in its place.
‘You are feeling Gabriel’s anguish.’ He griped my shoulders and brought his face to mine. ‘Construct a wall in your mind Ana. Block him from you.’
I gasped as another wave coursed through my body. I tried to ask how it was possible to block the pain when it wasn’t just in my mind, but I didn’t have the clarity to form the words.
‘Block him,’ he urged again.
I gripped him with all the strength I could muster, twisting his top around my clawed hands, pulling him towards me as if he could somehow block the hole that my insides were falling into. I tried to form barriers against it, but any defence I had was crushed under it the ferociousness of the attack and whisked away into the thick, dark cloud that was now my body.
So many times I had blocked people’s emotions, but I couldn’t do that with Gabriel as he was now part of me. I needed a wall like Adam had, but when I tried to ask how he managed it, the words were snatched away, leaving me able to do little more than groan with despair. I reached out with my mind and found him, but it was weak, barely a shimmer I could see past the darkness that consumed me. I had to touch that wall. I had to draw off his strength.
I hauled myself up and grabbed at his shoulders. My head hurt, my body was no longer mine, rather a tool with only one purpose, to destroy me. The metal door in Adams mind became stronger and I reached out in body as well as mind. My head touched his and my mind connected. I clung to him, forcing my mind against his, drawing the strength I needed in order to survive.
Night of the Fae (Ana Martin series) Page 24
