Five: Out of the Pit (Five #2)

by Anderson, Holli

  Johnathan looked ready to pounce. “You’re like him? Like an Incubus?”

  “Johnny, man, I didn’t know I was doing it. Paige told me afterwards that I was emitting something similar to… to the Incubus. I don’t think it’s the same thing, though.”

  Johnathan looked at me. “Was it the same?”

  I touched Johnathan’s face. “Not exactly. The girl was already well on her way to succumbing to his natural charms, he just gave her a little magical push. And, I believe him when he says he didn’t realize he was doing it. The shock on his face when I told him was real.”

  Johnathan looked back and forth from Alec to me. “What kind of influence did it have on you?”

  I rolled my eyes. “None whatsoever. Eww. The spell was just familiar to me—I recognized it for what it was. Relax. Alec is the offspring of an Incubus. That doesn’t mean he’s like his progenitor.”

  Johnathan rolled his shoulders and relaxed his grip on my hand.

  “Yeah,” Alec said. “I’m not like my pro… what Paige said. I mean, I like girls and all… a lot. But I want them to like me for me, not because I coerced them. It did come in handy at the hospital, though.”

  “Just keep your special talent away from Paige,” Johnathan said, steel in his voice.

  Halli piped up, “Keep your voodoo charms away from me, too.”

  Everyone laughed and Alec threw a pillow at her, which she promptly karate chopped to the floor.

  “I’m pretty sure we’re immune to his charms, Hal,” I said, laughing.

  I slid off the dresser and pulled on Johnathan’s hand. “Let’s go walk some of that pizza off.”

  We grabbed our jackets and headed out into the clear, cold night.

  “Where do you want to go?” Johnathan asked, gripping my hand in his.

  “I don’t care. I just wanted to be alone with you for a little while. Let’s head toward the mountains and just see where we end up.”

  He smiled and kissed me on the lips before starting to walk. “This reminds me of our patrols in Seattle. I wanted to be alone with you so bad back then. I just didn’t know how to go about it. And, I didn’t know if you felt the same way about me.”

  “I’ve loved you since day one, Johnathan.”

  “Me too. From the first time I saw your beautiful blue eyes. You looked so scared and lost. All I wanted to do was take you in my arms and protect you forever. That’s still all I want to do. Especially the taking you in my arms part.”

  The streets of Provo were all but deserted as we made our way past the University campus. The air was crisp; we could see each puff of breath.

  “It reminds me of our patrols, too, except there aren’t a lot of alleys to hide in. And, it feels safer here.”

  “Don’t let that feeling fool you. I’m sure it is safer here, but there are bad people and bad things everywhere. Don’t ever let your guard down.”

  We walked until we reached the base of a mountain then we hiked up to where we found cover in a small grove of Quaking Aspen trees. We lay on the leaf strewn ground and looked up between the bare branches to the stars above.

  “There are so many stars here. I never realized how the lights of Seattle obscured the stars. It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” I asked.

  Johnathan pulled me tight against his side and I laid my head on his arm. “It is an amazing sight,” he said. “But I know something much more beautiful.”

  He rose up on his elbow and laid his other arm across my abdomen. He looked intently into my eyes. “I love you so much.” His mouth closed on mine and I lost myself in the kiss, in the feeling of his warm lips pressing into mine, his arm tightening around me, pulling me closer against him.

  The soft touch of Johnathan’s tongue as it traced first my upper lip and then moved slowly to the bottom one, brought waves of butterflies from my stomach all the way up into my throat.

  I felt a wisp of something fall against the side of my face. I raised a hand to swipe at it and pulled away from the kiss when my hand met a nearly invisible barrier.

  “What’s wrong?” Johnathan said, eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

  I tried to move again, only to finally see the spider-web thin net that completely covered both of us.

  “What the…?” Johnathan said as he noticed it, too. He tried to sit up but the edges of the net were pulled tight and he was forced back down next to me.

  A voice reminiscent of a Munchkin crossed with an angry alley cat cackled with giggling laughter. “Kissers! We got some Kissers.” This was followed by disgusting, wet, kissing noises. We were surrounded, as other voices joined in with mocking laughter.

  I conjured a star-bright in my hand bright enough to make out a couple of our captors. They were small, about the size of four or five year old kids. Their smashed noses—dripping with green slime—large misshapen ears, sunken eyes and hairy chins were all evidence that these were definitely not children. They were, in fact, full grown Goblins. The most mischievous of mischief makers in the magical world. And, they weren’t even trying to hide what they were from us—neither of us had our sight open.

  “Ooh! Magickers! We caught us some kissing magickers! Hehehe!” The Goblin who spoke did a little dance—wiggling his hips and kicking his short little legs—much like the celebratory dance of a cocky football player.

  “Yep. We’re magic all right,” Johnathan said, low and growling. “And you little thugs have no idea how much trouble you’ve just gotten yourselves into.”

  I took that as his signal to act. Neither of us bothered with the net, there would be time for that after we rid the Earth of the miniature gangsters surrounding us. I shot lightning bolts over Johnathan’s flank and he shot a spell from his hand that lay over my body. I struck the heckling, laughing Goblin first. He instantly vaporized into a pile of green ichor. I didn’t even pause as I picked off three more of them before they could so much as turn to run.

  The net loosened around us and I flipped over so my back was against Johnathan’s chest, blue sparks still shooting from my fingertips. He hadn’t left me anything to shoot at. I wasn’t sure what spell he used on them, but it was an effective one—the trees around us were splattered with steaming droplets of Goblin goo.

  I tilted my head back to make sure there weren’t any more behind us as Johnathan surveyed the area around our feet. We’d taken care of the lot of them in less than five seconds.

  I relaxed back against Johnathan and forced the thrumming bolts of electricity to subside from my fingertips. “Got ‘em all,” I said. “Now let’s get out of this net.”

  Before Johnathan could reply, musical laughter filled the air from high up in one of the surrounding trees. “Thou most certainly got them, didn’st thou?”

  Johnathan tensed. I attempted to sit up, but the net frustrated my efforts. Another tinkling laugh came from a new direction.

  As fast as a couple of hummingbirds darting between sweet blossoms, two Faeries alit on opposite sides of the net. They each reached a delicate hand down to touch it, and said a quick spell in Faerie-speak.

  I felt something change about the net. “What did you just do?” I asked, touching it warily with my fingers.

  Johnathan and I both attempted to lift the net. The spider web-like material stuck tighter against us and I could see where the edges were somehow pinned to the ground to the sides of us.

  The musical, tinkling laughter filled my ears again. “Thou shall find out what I did if thou usest thy magic. Go ahead, tryeth.”

  I wiggled around until I faced Johnathan again. “What do you think they did?”

  He shrugged. “Try a spell, just make it non-lethal.”

  The only spell I could think of on the spot was the sliming spell I’d used on Alec. “Oblimo.” I aimed the spell at the purple Faerie nearest me. The slime coalesced and flew toward her—until it reached the net and rebounded to cover Johnathan and me.

  The purple Faerie hugged herself and more tinkling laughter rolled from he
r mouth. “Magnificent, Young One!” She clapped her hands gleefully.

  Johnathan turned his head to spit slime from his mouth. “I guess that answers that question. Good thing you didn’t shoot your monstrous electricity bolts at her, we’d be fried.” He wiped a glob of slime off my face.

  “What do you want from us?” I asked.

  “Want? What doth we want, Lily?” The purple Faerie turned to the lime green one.

  “Well, Cindra, mayhap we can strike a bargain with these younglings. Their freedom will come at a great price, but greater will be their suff’ring if they decline to make a deal.”

  “Oh, and,” Cindra the purple Faerie added, “Before you e’en think about trying to cut or rip the net just know it is Elvin made and attempts to do so would be futile.”

  Lily laughed and fluttered her wings until she was suspended just above where we lay. “Loving, kissing, mages. What shouldst we bargain for?” She lay a tiny finger aside her chin and tapped.

  Cindra joined her, their eyes quickly glancing over me and lingering on Johnathan. Cindra said, dreamily, “I wouldst have this one. He is a handsome one. I wouldst have him as mine own bauble, to play with as I please.” She smiled at Johnathan, beautiful amethyst eyes sparkling.

  I turned my attention from the Faeries to Johnathan. His eyes were dilated and a trickle of drool hung at the corner of his mouth. He was under her spell. I growled and pinched him on the soft underside of his upper arm. He didn’t even blink. His lips formed into a stupid grin. I pinched harder and gave a little twist. That got his attention. He grimaced and pulled his arm away.

  “What was that for?”

  I glared at him. “You were falling under her spell, Johnathan. You should thank me for saving you. And I thought Alec was the one who had a thing for Faeries.”

  He frowned. “Really? What was I doing? I don’t remember.”

  “You were drooling. And I seriously thought your eyeballs were going to pop out of your head.”

  “I’m so sorry. You know it was just a Faerie charm, right? I had no control,” he pleaded.

  I decided to give him a break—if anyone knew what it was like to be charmed, I did.

  I turned my glare to Cindra. “No deal, Faerie.”

  Her mouth turned down in a pout. The Faeries spoke to each other in the impossibly fast language of the Fae.

  Lily flew closer to where we lay captive under their Elvin net. Her face floated just inches from mine and I could smell her sweet breath—like lilacs soaked in sugar. “Magic Girl, the bargain we hath agreed upon for your freedom is thus; we shall let ye free if one of ye remainest in love with the other—but, the other… we takest away the love. Ye may decide betwixt you, which will be the lover and which will be loved. This is our deal.”

  Too horrible to even consider, I turned my gaze to Johnathan as the bile rose in my throat. I swallowed the burning acid. “No.”

  Cindra placed her tiny hands on her hips and yelled in a high pitched, Faerie voice, “We’ve given ye two bargains to choose from. Pick one. Or don’t. Be it known that the result of refusing one of our generous options is death. And the boy goes first, while ye watch.”

  I shook my head, too horrified to speak.

  Johnathan said, “Will you give us a few minutes of privacy as we discuss our options, please.”

  Lily rolled her eyes. “Fine. A few minutes only. We’ll be up in the trees, watching.” They flew to the top of the trees above us.

  I turned hysteric eyes on Johnathan and shook my head. “We can’t…”

  He put a finger to my lips to shush me. “We don’t have to bargain with them. Let’s figure a way out of this net. Quick like. Any ideas?”

  I took a deep breath and forced my mind away from the horrible options the Faeries presented us with. “We can’t lift it off of us. They have it magically tacked down somehow. We can’t use magic, it’ll just rebound on us. I don’t know what would happen if we tried to portal out, but it doesn’t seem like a good idea. I can’t think straight. I’m sorry.”

  “I have an idea but we’ll have to move fast.” He looked up into the trees. “They’re still up there but they won’t be for long.”

  He whispered his plan in my ear. I agreed with it even though it sounded just a bit crazy.

  Johnathan concentrated on the sloping earth below our feet, right next to where the net touched the ground. Nothing appeared to be happening, though I could feel his powerful magic working below the surface. When the earth started to trickle down the slope, I performed my assignment and levitated the both of us.

  I felt the pressure of the rebounded levitation spell pushing down on us. The pressure lasted only a brief moment and then the ground shifted beneath the lower half of our bodies and a miniature landslide-slash-sinkhole appeared. Johnathan and I were whooshed under the net and down the hill faster than a toilet flush.

  I scrambled to my feet and looked up just in time as some pretty major Faerie magic descended like lightning. I tapped into my shield bracelet and threw up a shield just in time to block the attack. Johnathan made it to his feet and grabbed for his channeling rod—I was the only one of the Five that had near perfect aim without the use of a rod.

  The Faeries rocketed toward us, their faces masks of rage. With my free hand, I blasted the green Faerie with a binding spell and she dropped to the ground like a falling star. The purple one flew straight into my shield, pushing both Johnathan and I back a step with the force. He aimed his channeling rod at her, but she dodged the flare that erupted from the tip.

  Cindra landed next to the net and reached to lift the edge. Without thinking about which spell to cast, I threw magic at her. It turned out to be the same spell I’d sent flying at the Demon, Shalbriri, at our first meeting. A miniature tornado surrounded the Faerie, whipping her around at warp speed. Her wings were plastered flat against her body and her long, purple hair flew about her face like Medusa’s snakes on speed. The tornado continued for about thirty seconds and then came to an abrupt stop.

  Cindra’s wings were still wrapped around her like a blanket, and she dropped to the ground, moaning with dizziness. She attempted to stand, but just slumped to the side. I laughed while Johnathan sent a binding spell her way.

  I dropped the shield and looked at Johnathan. “Have I ever told you I hate Faeries?”

  He smiled. “Yeah, me too.”

  “And to think Tinkerbell used to be my favorite Disney character.”

  Not wanting to get too close to the world’s most obnoxious of tricksters, we each levitated one Faerie to an area away from the net, on semi-level ground, where we could draw a circle and send them back to their realm.

  he golden light of dawn was chasing away the darkness of night when we finally got back to the hotel. I let myself into my and Halli’s room as quietly as I could, but she still woke up.

  “Where have you been all night?” She shaded her eyes as I turned on the bedside lamp.

  “It’s a long story involving Goblins and Faeries. I’ll tell you after I shower and get some sleep.”

  “M’kay.” She rolled over and returned to sleep immediately.

  I was really glad Joe had paid for three nights in the hotel. I could sleep for most of the day without worrying about having to check out.

  After Johnathan and I woke up, we all went to lunch together and he and I regaled our friends with the tale of our exciting adventure.

  “And, what, exactly, were you two doing when the net dropped on you?” asked Alec with a knowing smirk.

  “Star gazing, what did you think we were doing?” Johnathan’s grin gave away the lie.

  Alec rolled his eyes. “Star gazing. Yeah. Right. Is that what the kids are calling it these days?”

  I threw a fry that connected with his head.

  Halli looked thoughtful for a moment before asking, “What did you do with the net?”

  “Brought it back with us. It’s made of such light, thin material that it folded up small enough to fi
t in my pocket. That reminds me”—Johnathan turned to look at Joe—“They said the net was made by Elves. I thought there were no Elves around anymore.”

  Joe perked up at that bit of news. “There aren’t. The net must be really old. The Elves all left this realm during the Dark Ages, when human kind became too unstable and uncaring for them to share realms with. Elves are long-lived creatures and find Humans to be far beneath them in the ladder of life.”

  “Well, they know how to make nets, that’s at least one thing they’re better at than Humans,” Johnathan said.

  Joe leaned forward. “Do you have it with you now?”

  “Yeah, it’s in my pocket. Do you want to see it?” He reached for his pocket.

  “Not here,” Joe held up a hand. “Let’s go somewhere a little more private.”

  When we got outside and away from any prying eyes, Johnathan pulled the folded net out of his pocket and handed it to Joe. Joe ran it through his hands and shook his head. He tugged on the spider web thick netting, then tugged a little harder. His face turned red and his hands shook as he put all his muscle into it. “The strength of this thing is unbelievable.”

  He refolded it and handed it back to Johnathan. “That could come in handy someday; you should find a spot for it in your gear belt.”

  “I plan to. I’d like to play with it a little though, see what charms I can lay on it and practice throwing it, too.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Joe agreed. “We’ll add it to our practice sessions.”

  None of us had brought a change of clothes, and since it looked like we’d be there for a few days, we were all in need of some. We could have just portalled back and got our spare sets, but Joe decided we could all use more clothes anyway. So, we found this awesome second hand store called Deseret Industries. Looking through the dozens of racks of used clothing was like a treasure hunt. Halli and I could have spent hours there, but the boys hurried us along.

  We were each able to buy two or three outfits for about five bucks a piece. Some of the items looked like they’d never been worn. I felt almost giddy—like I used to feel on Christmas morning. I looked down and smiled at the bags that contained the most clothes I’d owned since leaving home.