The moans and whimpers inside the cells drew his attention. There were six cells in total and all were filled. They’d opted to split them up to spread out the stink of overfilled and under emptied slop buckets used for waste in the corners of each cell.
Will moved along the outside of each cell, searching for the woman and child. Nobody moved away from where they huddled at the back of each cell in the filthy straw that doubled as their bedding.
The last cell held four of the eleven prisoners. The original family huddled on the floor, the man cradling the woman in his lap and whispering nonsense into her ear. She shivered and shook, and Will took a hasty step backwards as she coughed, the sound phlegm-filled and wet. In her arms a child of about three burrowed. He hoped the child was only sleeping.
The last prisoner was Thomas’ Tuttle’s brother, Todd. Snarling in rage, he rushed the bars, clawed hands curling around them and a bruised face pushing between the open space in the rails. His eyes glowed in the dark with a yellow glitter of rage.
“You bastard. Let us out. She’s dying. What kind of monster are you? He’s just a child.”
Will stared at him impassively. “In answer to your question Mr. Tuttle, I am the necessary kind. Do you think the humans had any mercy when they destroyed entire villages and left them to burn?”
And the forests of Salem, let’s not forget that. A massacre. How many escaped? What, fifteen; less? All out of fear. An entire race of dragon’s obliterated out of ignorance. I’m going to stop that. It’s time for the blinders to come off and the proper education to begin.”
Todd shot back, his voice hoarse from yelling too much and not enough water. “That makes you just like them then, doesn’t it? You’re no better than the worst of them. Do you think we don’t know what you really intend? What you call justice is just your bid for dominance and control of humanity. You’re insane!”
Will’s face darkened with anger. Nobody understood his genius. They didn’t realize how important his life’s work! His eyes slid to the small child, a dirty thumb in his mouth. Tiny eyelids flickered.
He turned to Gareth. “Blankets. I want another blanket for the woman and more food. And change the buckets. They still haven’t been emptied from the last time!” he roared.
Gareth’s face hovered in the shadows and his eyes gleamed the same shade as Todd’s, reminding Will they were cousins in a manner. But he nodded once, the movement sharp.
Will worried as he turned away. He worried that maybe his control wasn’t as absolute as he imagined.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Dawn was dusting the horizon when we angled down the trail away from Rule 9 and Bitterroot towards Bane Lake. We’d had a near miss when we entered, almost running into the guards that patrolled the perimeter of Drae Hallow twenty-four hours a day. We moved faster than we had before. Elise still appeared to be in good shape. I wondered just how long she’d last before the sip of what I’d given her wore out and she needed more. I hoped not to be around when that happened.
We moved into the opening that merged onto the front of the lake and moved along its edge. Bright sunlight glinted off Elise’s pearly complexion and seemed to shimmer like silver dust. Along with the truth about vampire’s, there’d been some myth’s. She didn’t look weak nor like she needed a nap. She didn’t burst into flames and turn to ash before my eyes. She blinked more often, like the brightness of the sun hurt her eyes. That was nothing unusual. Any Nocturnal animal would be unused to its brightness, preferring to sleep during the day and hunt at night. I stared at her slim straight back as we moved along. I wondered how she really felt about garlic.
We didn’t make it all the way to the overhang they called their temporary home. We all came to a screeching halt about a half mile out when Jorta and Ab’et, dragging Nick before them, stepped out onto the path in front of us. I immediately stepped up and grabbed hold of Elise, my knife out and held at an angle towards her side in obvious threat.
Nick gave me a desperate look, dark bruises standing out in sharp relief against the pallor of his cheeks.
“Where’s Thomas?” Was Sirris first panicked question, before I could say a word.
“He got away.” Nick started, voice ending on a groan as Ab’et shook him like a doll. Starving or no, they were still both crazy strong.
Elise hadn’t moved since I’d grabbed her. Despite the knife, I wondered just how much of a prisoner she really was. Healthy, she was a match for any of us, armed or not.
Jorta spoke up. “Elise, are you hurt, if you are...” The threat was obvious in the gleam of his glittery eyes. He frowned at her in confusion, taking in the vibrant, healthy glow and the plump cheeks.
“You look... good,” he allowed.
She smiled. “Much better. I had a... snack... that agreed with me.” She glanced in my direction and I watched the other two vampires straighten and turn to stare at me.
Uh oh. That couldn’t be good. “Listen, let’s not get crazy here. We each have something the other one wants and needs. You want to go home. We want our friends back alive and safe. Can we talk about this?”
Ab’et stepped forward, dragging Nick with him. “You presume to imagine we negotiate,” he growled.
I angled the knife closer to Elise’s side. “I think you have no choice here but to hear us out. We each have something the other one wants.”
Elise chose that moment to laugh, the sound deep and husky. She glanced my way with a friendly smile. “Oh, well, if that’s the issue. I can take care of that little problem.” Before I could comprehend the meaning behind what she’d even said, I felt a numbing jerk. She moved faster than I could blink and was just gone.
In a blur she stood beside Jorta. “See. That wasn’t difficult. No need to worry.”
On a snarl I drew my bow and crouched, ready. Sirris had her staff planted firmly in front of her.
“Listen, you need us.” I began.
Ab’et laughed. “We need you, Sadie Cross. We knew something about you was different. Something sweet.” He shook Nick, his grip tightening even further. I noticed what I hadn’t before. Nick’s staff was missing. Did he need it to call on his power?
“I think we should have this conversation in a better location.” Jorta motioned for the rest of us to follow. Nobody bothered to try to coral us. They knew we’d follow obediently as long as they held Nick hostage. I wondered where Thomas was. He was out there, I suspected, watching; maybe waiting.
Back beneath the overhang, Ab’et thrust Nick in front of him and made him sit on a low flat rock. He stood behind, his hand clawed over the meaty part of his shoulder and digging deep. Nick winced, his mouth in a flat line of pissed off.
“I don’t negotiate Sadie Cross. But I won’t forget that you helped our Elise. You stay, and the others are free to go.” Jorta allowed.
“No!” Nick growled, attempting to stand. Ab’et slammed him back down, clawed fingers drawing blood.
I didn’t want to stay any more than he wanted me to. I was well aware of where this was going? What was with everyone wanting my blood? I was surrounded by sickos.
“That’s the simple answer, isn’t it? It’s not the smart one. Just how long do you think I can keep all three of you alive. Isn’t your end plan to go back? To return to Wyndoor and, if possible, reclaim your home?”
Jorta spoke up. “That isn’t going to happen. Don’t you think we’ve gone over every bit of this valley and lake to find a way back. The portal we came through was one-way. There is no way back.”
“I think there is. But I don’t think it’s here in Drae Valley. I believe it’s on the other side, on Shephard’s mountain. If we can find it, you can go back and we can get to our friends.”
Elise snorted. “If, Sadie Cross. I was there, remember? You think you know where it’s at, but nobody is sure.”
I stared hard at her perfect features until she had the grace to look away. “And is this where you want your child to be born Elise, here in Drae Hallow, an entir
e dimension away from home?”
Jorta looked down at his mate, his hand moving to rest on the ripple of movement that slid over her belly. His eyes met hers. “I want to have us home, Elise, where we belong. But not living like animals in the forest. I want our castle wing back. I want to be in Wyndoor.” His eyes darkened to crimson and I was reminded that he was a predator and deadly, despite his human appearance.
She covered his hand with a small secretive smile. She turned to Ab’et with a sigh. “Father, I think we have to try. If we’re ever to return and be safe again.
Ab’et growled, his expression fierce. “Maybe is what that is. We don’t know and I sure don’t trust them. They’re Magicals, just like the bastard that sent us here and took that home you are so fond of. And say we do get back? What are we returning to? We have nothing left to go back to.”
Jorta looked at his father. “Are you frightened?” he asked, one brow raising in question.
Ab’et snarled and took a step in Jorta’s direction, his eyes ablaze and his teeth gleaming white in the near dark. “I’m afraid of nothing. But you forget Jorta. You don’t remember what it’s like to live like animals, dependent on prey that fights back and destroys our homes and families. We fought hard over the centuries to have peace. Now it’s gone,” he finished.
“Then I would think, father, that you would want to do anything to take it back?”
Ab’et’s eyes slid to Elise and her belly, large with child. “The risks—”
“—are worth it.” Elise finished.
She turned to look at me, her eyes hungry. “But first, I believe we should all have a snack. We still have the young Magical. I don’t see how she can refuse.”
All three took a step in our direction just as all hell broke loose.
Several things happened at once. I watched as Nick’s hands, partly hidden in the folds of his hoodie, sparked and warmed up to match the subtle glow in his eyes. Not so powerless, I realized. On my left, Sirris stepped forward with a shout and swung her staff sideways as she crouched and waited for them to come. In the space of that first second, I’d notched a bolt and held it ready at aim, square in the middle Ab’et’s forehead. I didn’t know if it would kill him, but I figured if I scrambled his brains enough, it would take him a minute to put them back together.
And then Fern and Thomas arrived, stepping free of the trees and into the open to stand beside us. Peeking out from beneath Fern’s chin was Kit, not bothering to hide. Her lips peeled back, showing several rows of needle-sharp teeth and bad intentions.
All I made out after that was a blur of movement. Elise was on Sirris at once, lips no longer lovely as they snarled in her direction, her hands on the staff, clutched between them. Before she could wrench it free, fire ripped along its length and Elise jumped back with a scream of rage. Thomas and Fern leapt into the fray, dealing with Jorta between the two of them.
I tried to track Ab’et with my bow as he moved in on me faster than my eyes could follow. He might be weak, but he was still more than a match for my Magical reflexes. Before I could comprehend what was happening, he wrenched my bow free and flung to the side. Instinct had me curving my body in and down rather than away to avoid his snapping teeth. We grappled in the dirt, rolling end over end over the stony ground. I’d somehow pulled my knife, and even as his hands reached for my wrists, I was twisting my knife in a cutting arc. He hissed as I made contact and I knew I’d drawn first blood. It barely slowed him down as he gained purchase, claiming both my wrists in a clawed vice and squeezing; trying to force me to drop my knife. It was working too. The pressure of that grip was agonizing and I opened my mouth to scream, holding on through the pain. My eyes lit on his own exposed throat and something feral moved through me.
My vision clouded and I tasted ash as I flashed in and sank my teeth deep. Smoke filled my nostrils and I pulled it in as unconsciousness threatened. The thrashing pulled me back and I let go, flinging him backwards with a scream of rage. He scrambled and backpedaled as fast as he could over the rough earth, his eyes wide with horror as his other hand gripped his smoking throat where I’d bit him.
I spat in vain, trying to get rid of the taste of blood and ashes. What was that? What had I just done?
There was no time to think on it. Sirris was in trouble.
Springing to my feet, I snatched up my bow and sheathed my knife on the run in her direction. I couldn’t bring myself to fire though. Somehow, Sirris had lost the advantage in her fight against Elise, who had her pinned to the ground. The staff was missing. I was almost there when Fern moved in, eyes a fierce black, fingers weaving and singing through the air. The surrounding ground was alive as tender shoots and slender vines crawled along Elise’s legs and up over her back and arms. She screamed and pulled at the offending greenery, but the more she ripped away, the more came back to replace it. The motion of Fern’s fingers changed to a coaxing motion. I slid to a halt as they pulled Elise, tumbling along the ground for several yards.
Kit leapt from her master’s shoulders and ran across the ground towards the trussed vampire, her slight image shuddering in and out of focus as she moved. Her tiny jaws were descending towards the slim throat of the immobile vamp when Fern hissed. “Shealbh`u.” Kit glared at her, nose twitching in agitation. But she remained where she was. Elise got the message and froze, her horrified gaze on the agitated Weis.
I was so intent on what was happening in front of me I hadn’t realized that the fighting had ceased. I looked up into the angry eyes of Marcus Tannon and froze. The Guard had arrived.
WE’D MADE IT EASY ON them. With Elise out of commission and Ab’et wounded and recovering from the severe burn I’d given him; the guard waltzed right in and took over. In the end, all they had to do was slip the Magical noose they’d brought with them over Elise’s head. Her capture had the same effect on the other vamps that Nick’s had had on us. They would do anything to keep her safe.
The noose itself was designed especially with vampires in mind. It was no myth that decapitation ended their existence. One slip of the soldier handling that rope and it was all over for her. Marcus held it tight in his fist to make sure nobody set it off by accident. All three were effectively under arrest and on their way back to Bitterroot, presumably to stand trial for their attacks on the citizens of Bitterroot. Unfortunately, so were we.
Part of our group was missing. Somehow, in the confusion of rounding up bitter vampire’s and shocked Magicals, Thomas and Fern, along with Kit, had made themselves scarce. Nick, Sirris and I were not as fortunate. Likewise, we were headed to lock-up again. If possible, I was even more depressed than the first time they’d thrown us there. Before we were looking at expulsion and losing our memories and maybe our powers. All heavy stuff, to be sure. But for me at least, the worst was realizing what would probably happen to Elise and her companions.
Unlike the human world, where capital punishment was a state-by-state decision based case by case, the Magical world was not as forgiving. They met capital crimes with Capital punishment in the Magical Community.
To discourage communication, they housed us separately from the vamps. They took them to a containment room several down from the main cells. I assumed it was a cell designed with the abilities of Magicals of their caliber in mind.
Sirris and I had been in the same cell mere days before. She entered ahead of me and never looked back at the guards who shut the door. Instead, she sat on the cot and leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes. I glanced at the crisp blankets and sheets. I wondered if they’d changed them while we’d been gone.
I stared at Nick. He was hardest hit by all this. He hadn’t said a word, but his eyes were dark with bitterness. I wondered who he directed it at most. Was it himself, for allowing his opinion to be swayed and acting against his better judgment. Or was it directed at me, Sadie Cross, who had landed him in this mess with my stubborn refusal to let history take its course. I had been the driving force behind it all that led to a leng
thy list of foolish decisions, landing us in our current predicament. It was up to me to get us out. But I hadn’t a clue how I was going to manage it.
My eyes slid away from Nick’s face. His expression didn’t invite comment and I wasn’t foolish enough to poke that bear. I moved to the end of the cell closest to the door and came to within inches of touching the bars. Even then I flirted with danger and a poke to my nose. I stared through the small window of the outer door. But there was nothing there.
THE LAST PERSON ANY of us expected to see walk through the door was Jerry Waverly. We’d finally found something that could pull his attention away from his lab. We wished we hadn’t. His tall frame was bent and his age showing in eyes rimmed red from lack of sleep and worry. He was aware that Nick and I were there, but his eyes were for his daughter, who refused to meet his.
“How are you faring, baby girl?” he whispered. She swallowed but didn’t answer.
“I love you Sirris. You know that, right? That hasn’t changed. Speak to me.” Her eyes rose to his as she got up and moved to within a foot of the bars, wary of the vicious charge in them. “I’ve disappointed you...” she began.
Jerry shook his head and interrupted. “That’s a lie. You could never disappoint me for following your heart and doing what you think is right. Worried? Yes, but never disappointed Sirris.”
Nick never moved from his place on the end of the cot.
I spoke up next to my best friend. “Besides, I think I own more than my share of the blame here. I got you into this mess. It was my idea.”
Fire Bound Dragon Page 16
