Tempest

by Karen Ann Hopkins

  Chapter 14

  …above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

  Ephesians 6:16

  Angus barked when we stepped through the loophole, leaving the burnt forest behind, only to be replaced with the glistening wet walls of Adria’s cave. Cricket’s head rose from the sea grass. She kicked out and cantered toward us. Horas jogged behind her, while Eae and Sawyer followed at a more reserved walk.

  They all stopped when Ormr ducked through the opening and took several steps backward when Chumana’s head appeared.

  “Don’ you know, you did it!” Adria exclaimed running forward. Ormr lowered his face to her and she clasped it, resting her cheek against his.

  Mother…Ormr purred. I have missed your touch.

  Horas came out of his trance. “They’re extraordinary,” he breathed, grasping Insepth’s hand briefly as he passed by.

  “Well, damn,” Sawyer said.

  Eae shook his head and frowned while Ivan sprinted over to Sawyer. They engaged in a quick guy-embrace. Lutz ambled to the lake and slipped in gracefully, leaving a swath of gray soot in the water behind him.

  My cheeks burned when Sawyer’s gaze met mine. He dipped his head and smiled. I smiled back, then looked at Adria. I heard the murmurings of their conversations as she spoke with the dragons, who were now through the opening and resting on the cavern floor. Insepth swept his hand upward and the doorway into Romania blinked out. There was still the faint smell of damp ashes in the air.

  “Do you hear them?” I turned to Eae.

  “I do, but it’s garbled. Like Angels, they have the gift of conversation with any being,” he answered, still frowning. “I didn’t think you’d succeed and yet here they are, two dragons before us.” His eyes narrowed. “Do you understand what this means?”

  I shrugged, glancing between Insepth and Sawyer.

  “The Angels will have to restore balance. They will come.” Eae lowered his voice.

  “Nonsense!” Adria faced us. “This place is warded against them—you only passed because your wings are gone.” She lifted her chin to the chamber’s ceiling.

  I squinted until I saw it—a giant outline of an Angel hex.

  “I also employ the same technique you earth Watchers use to hide your lands. No Angel, human—” she glanced at Sawyer “—or Demon can ever come here uninvited.”

  “We’ll see,” Eae said. He took several long strides to reach Chumana. Her nostrils flared and her lips curled back. I opened myself to fire, but Insepth’s hand on my shoulder stopped me. He shook his head.

  “Wait,” he instructed.

  My heart beat madly and I held my breath.

  “I am humbled to be in your presence. Not all Angels were against dragons. Some of us fought for you. Gabriel’s war was his own—God didn’t sanction it.”

  But He didn’t stop it either, Chumana hissed. Her long neck swiveled back to Adria. We must feed. We’ll be back soon.

  “Don’t leave my waters,” Adria called after the dragons as they walked away on all fours with the stiff, cumbersome movements of elephants. Their bodies hitting the water made a wave that swept over Lutz’s head. He hurried out of the lake and climbed up the bank, putting as much distance as he could between himself and the dragons.

  Ormr dove first. Chumana looked back. Someday this new world will know us, but not now. Her head dipped into the water and disappeared, her body leaving another wave that sloshed onto shore. They might be awkward on land, but they were as graceful in the water as they were lethal in the air.

  Adria’s mouth tightened and my water reached out to her. I caught a glimpse of fear before she blocked me from her emotions. A fake smile lit her face. “You must be starving.” She motioned to the table that was piled high with food once again. My stomach growled, but I ignored the empty feeling. My eyes drifted over the dolphin-men lined up on the far wall. The siren was nowhere to be seen. Adria saw me searching the chamber and said, “My pet had difficulty controlling herself with the handsome Demons. I had to send her away for a while.” She smirked and my head snapped in Sawyer’s direction.

  He shrugged, raising his brows. “Trust me. Horas and I behaved ourselves.”

  Something about his straight-backed, rigid stance put me on edge. He seemed distracted, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. I wanted to investigate further with my water, but hesitated. Whatever was going on with Sawyer would have to wait. There were more important matters to get to.

  “We had a deal, Adria. I fulfilled my end of it—you’re reunited with your dragons. Now it’s your turn.”

  “Aren’t you the bossy one.” She clucked. “Let me ask you first, are you sure you won’ to do it?”

  “Of course. That’s the entire reason we risked our lives to free your dragons, and let me tell you, it wasn’t easy. We were held captive by Watchers of the Light and I had to live inside my dog for a couple of days until an army of Growlers joined our fight. Chumana and Ormr weren’t very friendly when we first met either.” My voice rose right along with the heat coursing through my veins. I was tired, hungry and confused as to why Sawyer hadn’t run up and given me a bone-crushing hug.

  Adria made a tsk-tsk sound. “I am true to my word, but you’ll need to eat and rest if you want to survive the next phase of your journey.”

  I stared at Adria, but she didn’t blink or look away. “Journey? I thought you were going to use the dragons to go to Purgatory for the dark particles.”

  “I never said I’d be the one going. If I step foot in that place, Gabriel will know it and Vorago will be doomed. The Angel once told me if he caught me trying to rescue my lover, he’d kill him.” Her liquid eyes widened. “You must do it. It’s the only way.”

  Sawyer shook his head, but said nothing. Insepth wasn’t so subtle.

  “That’s absurd. Ember can’t go to Purgatory—none of us can.”

  “With my dragons, you can go anywhere,” she replied.

  Insepth ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t know about this. I have heard all manner of evil creatures reside in the place In Between. Even if we manage to get in there, we might never get out.”

  Adria shrugged. “Such is your plight.” She inclined her head to me. “Ila told you to change your horse, knowing there was only one way to do it. She’s also trapped in that place herself, is she not?”

  I nodded slowly.

  “That is a juxtaposition,” Horas said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

  I glanced at Eae, who was unusually quiet on the matter. His gaze held mine.

  “What you talk of is unprecedented. I don’t know if it’s even possible.” He turned to Insepth. “And you’re right, evil dwells there beyond your imagination.” His brow furrowed. “But I didn’t think you could release the dragons, either. Perhaps there is deep destiny at work here.”

  “You think we’re meant to go to Purgatory?” I asked.

  He didn’t respond and I took his silence for agreement.

  Adria was waiting when I turned back to her. “How are we going to know where to get the dark particles?”

  “You’ll sense the particles—you’ll know when the time is right to collect them.”

  My gut told me to trust her, but something else decided it for me. I’d get the particles and free Vorago, and Ila.

  “All right, we’ll eat and rest, then we leave.”

  Adria swallowed hard and a tear slipped from her eye. “Thank you.”

  I nodded, understanding. She wanted her lover back.

  Everyone seemed determined when they approached the table. Even Eae picked up a plate beside Ivan and piled it high with food. One was a seven foot tall Angel and the other, a much smaller Growler, and yet they were both my allies.

  “You’re relaxed.” Sawyer’s voice slither
ed up behind me. He handed me a plate of food and I noticed that he’d been careful to pick the few items on the buffet that were not seafood.

  “Thanks,” I mumbled.

  He motioned for me to join him, and after quick glances at Insepth and Horas, who were in deep conversation beside the table, and Lutz, who had changed into his human form to join dinner, I followed Sawyer across the cavern.

  Angus trotted up beside me with a meat covered bone in his mouth. He proudly showed it off and I smiled down at him, before he swerved away and plopped into the seagrass. He promptly began gnawing it.

  Sawyer led me into a tunnel, then turned into a small, rock-walled room. There was a large bed on one side and a wash basin filled with steaming water on a table on the opposite wall. I grunted in satisfaction and set the plate on the table. Sawyer sat on the bed and waited patiently while I scrubbed my face, brushed my hair and pulled it back into a ponytail. After I unzipped my pack, I turned away from him and brazenly pulled my bloody, smoke smudged shirt off and tossed it into the corner. I still had a bra on, so I wasn’t being outrageously flirty. Modesty just didn’t seem as important anymore. Sure, we hadn’t actually had sex, but we’d come close. Facing near-death experiences every day didn’t help either. I had a feeling that time was running out and that made me more daring.

  “You’re awfully quiet,” I ventured, picking up a piece of what looked like grilled chicken and popping it into my mouth. I sighed as I chewed, euphoric to be eating for the first time in over a day.

  When I glanced up, Sawyer was staring at the wall.

  “I should have been with you,” he said.

  “Horas and Eae didn’t go either,” I protested.

  He snorted. “I’m your guardian, tied to you by a blood oath. You might not have been pained by the separation, but I was.”

  I saw it on his face and felt it from our connection. He radiated sadness and I couldn’t stand it.

  I crossed the room and bent down, slipping my arms around him. He leaned into me, pressing his mouth to my neck. I tilted my head back and inhaled his woodsy scent. When I was in Sawyer’s arms, nothing else mattered.

  “I’m sorry. I should have argued with Adria, refused to go without you,” I murmured.

  He pulled back. “I guess it worked out the way it was meant to, but we have to be vigilant in the future. We can’t let anyone separate us—we need each other.”

  His words caused a lump to form in my throat when I remembered Ila’s warning. Sawyer must not travel here. Not him. When his mouth touched mine, I leaned into him, opening mine. I forgot all about hunger and exhaustion. His tongue probing mine sent a wave of tingling sensations coursing through my belly.

  I’m only alive when I’m in Sawyer’s arms. I was dizzy with the realization.

  One hand gripped my wet hair and the other pulled me in even closer. His muscular chest pressed against me and when he moved to cup one of my breasts in his hand, I didn’t stop him. He fondled and caressed and kissed me until my knees became weak. When I sagged in his arms, he mistook my body’s reaction, breaking off the kiss.

  “Adria’s right. You should eat and rest. If Ila wants that damn horse to be turned into a human, there must be a good reason for it.” Sawyer retrieved my plate from the table and handed it to me.

  I sat on the bed and nibbled on another piece of meat. For a few glorious minutes I was able to forget the quest and the urgency of it.

  “I don’t suppose you’d skip the trip to Purgatory if I told you Ila didn’t want you to go?”

  “Hell no. I’ll be at your side from here on out—unless you tell me to go or something else comes between us.”

  I shivered as a sense of dread settled over me.

  “I don’t want anything to come between us.” I stared at him, struck by the throbbing in my chest.

  He smiled back, but his eyes were sad.

  “Have you ever heard of a prey animal being a Growler?” Horas asked Insepth. My hand paused on Cricket’s neck to listen.

  “Never. The first Growlers were created for the army of a mad and powerful Watcher. He picked animals that were formidable and warlike—wolves, bears, giant cats, raptors and dolphins are the only ones created—at least that I know of.

  Horas’ voice lowered. “So what exactly will Cricket be—a Growler or something entirely different?”

  “An abomination,” Eae stated flatly.

  I rounded on him. “What makes you say that?”

  “God is the only one who creates and He uses the power of light to do so.”

  Deep down, I knew he was right, but still I argued to alleviate my own guilt. “I don’t think God makes mistakes. Watchers have abilities to do miraculous things. Whether they do them for good or evil is all about free will, just like it is for any other person.”

  “Well said,” Horas commended.

  The dragons rose out of the water and all heads turned their way. My heart raced with excitement the same way it had the first time I’d see them. They were awesome to behold and I wondered how they’d be received by humans. Would the governments of the world unite to destroy them, or would they protect them, treating dragons as an endangered species? It could go either way—but one thing was for sure, everyone would want to see them.

  Chumana shook and a spray of water flew off her, drenching Insepth and Horas, who tried to jump out of the way, but didn’t make it in time. When the red dragon eyed them, Horas laughed and after frowning deeply, Insepth joined in.

  Adria passed a line of her dolphin-men to stand with her dragons. I glanced around at our party. “If any of you don’t want to go, I understand. You’ve already done so much and I can’t guarantee we’ll get out of there alive. It might be even worse than our last adventure.”

  Sawyer’s face lacked emotion, but he took the lead, coming forward.

  Horas grinned. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world. A trip to Purgatory while still alive? That’s not an opportunity that comes along every day.” He winked. “Besides, I hadn’t realized how boring life had been until I met you.”

  Ivan jogged to my side, pulling his cap down tighter on his head. He didn’t need to say anything. I knew he’d follow me to Hell and back if that’s where I was going.

  Eae shook his head, but joined the group. “Where you are going, you will need me.”

  I took a breath of relief. The prickling sensation that we might run into Gabriel was more than enough reason to want Eae to come along.

  Lutz, in bear form, lumbered forward and Chumana’s voice rang out in my mind.

  Only six of you may go—three for each of our backs, she instructed.

  We’re riding on you? I couldn’t keep my jaw from dropping

  It’s not my choosing, but the only way you can pass the barrier. The bear, dog and horse must remain behind, which is to their benefit, as you will likely not survive the ordeal. Smoke puffed out her nostrils and her skin twitched.

  Angus licked my fingers. I was relieved. It would be bad enough worrying about Ivan. I didn’t want to have Angus’ safety on my mind too.

  I looked at Lutz. Please take care of Angus and Cricket if I don’t return. Take them back to the valley. You will have some peace there before the end comes. When his eyes darkened, I added. They’re more important to me than you can imagine. This is a great service.

  I will do this for you, but I expect you to return, Lutz said.

  Adria signaled for me, Ivan and Sawyer to mount Chumana, and I bent down to give Angus a hug. He whined and I entered his mind, using the water power to calm him. Cricket stomped her foot.

  “This is all for you, girl.” I pressed my face against her cheek. “Believe it or not, you have some unknown important part to play in the destiny of the world.”

  Climbing onto Chumana was easier than I thought it would be. Her skin was already dry and the botto
m of my tennis shoes gripped her leathery hide. I settled behind her shoulder blades, enjoying the warmth of her skin. Ivan sat behind me and Sawyer behind him. When our dragon rose from the hind end first, we lurched forward, and Sawyer grabbed onto me and Ivan to keep us from falling.

  Horas had somehow managed the front position on Ormr, with Insepth behind him and Eae taking up the rear. The green dragon came close and I saw the twinkle in Horas’ eyes. Insepth was much more reserved and Eae looked downright miserable.

  “I never thought I’d ride a dragon,” Ivan whispered into my ear.

  “I know.” I giggled.

  “Don’t go getting all dragon-awestruck on me. They have their agenda and we have ours,” Sawyer said.

  All creatures should be in awe of us, Chumana said, and a tremor rolled through my mind as if she was laughing. Are you ready little ones? This isn’t going to pleasant for you.

  I didn’t have a chance to respond. She reared her head back and then snapped it forward. The blue fire that exploded from her mouth blasted a hole in the air that was similar to a loophole, except for the fiery edges and the fact that I couldn’t see anything except blackness beyond the opening.

  A line of short spines ran from the top of the dragon’s head to the base of her neck. I grabbed hold of the last spine just in time. She gathered her muscles and leaped through the fire and into the void.

  Ivan wrapped his arms around me tighter and Sawyer clutched us both.

  And then we were flying.

  Chapter 15

  “Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”

  Revelation 12:12

  I worried about the others. Fire didn’t bother me or the dragons the way it did everyone else. Glowing sparks rained down on us and enormous flames licked up from the darkness, brushing the bottoms of our feet. We were moving faster than I would have imagined a dragon could fly. My eyes stung and watered from the wind, and it was difficult to catch my breath.