AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Grieve stared at me for a moment, reading my face. "You wanted me to come, too." Wincing, he gripped the side of the bed and let out a low moan. I moved toward him, but he held up his hand.
"No," he said, his voice ragged. "We can be together at night, but until I find out what's happening, I don't dare touch you during the day. You'd intoxicate me too much, I'd want to drink from you too deep and I might hurt you."
"Grieve . . . I love you. I love you," was all I could say, staring at him from across the divide that had suddenly sprung up, a gulf that threatened to sweep us away from each other.
He paused, a dark smile creeping across his face. "I could turn you. You could become one of us, now that you know you're part Cambyra Fae. We could be together and hunt through the night. You'd love the power that it brings. And you'd be with your aunt then."
Horrified, I turned to Chatter, who shook his head, cautioning me not to speak. "Grieve. Grieve? Where is Peyton?" he said, moving a step closer to my fallen lover.
"Peyton? The magic-born Were? Where do you think she is, you dolt? She's in the gaol. Idiot." Grieve's smile grew darker, more feral, and he reached out his hand. "Bring me my lover. I need her. Need to feed . . ."
"No--no. Grieve--come back to yourself. Grieve, can you hear me?" I jumped up. "Don't let this suck you down. Don't let it eat you up. Can you understand? You've been infected by some illness and it's hurting you. Fight it. Please, please fight it."
Grieve snorted, but then a moment of clarity passed across his face. "Cicely . . . get out of here. Please. I don't want you seeing me like this. I don't want you hearing the horrible things I say." He struggled to sit up again. "Listen to me. I love you, Cicely Waters. You're my one love. You've always been my love. Whatever happens, remember that. Chatter, help her to get Peyton out of here while you can. My guess is that the gaol isn't heavily guarded right now. Myst is probably up in arms--and sick herself. And Chatter--don't come back. It's too dangerous for you now."
With another cry, he twisted to the side, bringing his legs up to his chest. My wolf howled as a sharp pain lanced through my stomach and I fell to my knees with a scream. Chatter grabbed me up and tossed me over his shoulder, carrying me out of the room, dragging me toward the main chamber even as I beat on his back, trying to stop him.
"No--I have to help Grieve. Put me down!"
"You can't help him," he said, setting me down once we were out of the room and far enough away that I couldn't just run back in. "There's nothing you can do to help him. He has to work through this himself. Come. I'll help you with Peyton. Grieve's right--she probably won't be guarded too heavily at this point."
He led me back to the main chamber and I followed, unable to think. My wolf was begging me to return to Grieve's side, to give in, to let him do what he would so we could be together. But the torque around my neck began to vibrate, gently humming, soothing me, and a warmth spread through my chest from the Fae girl tattoo, down toward my wolf where it washed over the tattoo in a glow of moonlight, easing the pain. My head cleared enough for me to shake away the thought.
As we reentered the room, the others looked up.
"Come on. Chatter's going to help us find Peyton and get the fuck out of here." I headed toward the door.
"What about Grieve?" Rhiannon asked.
I slipped my gloves back on. "Forget it," I whispered. "We're leaving him here. It's for the best."
Chatter gave them a shake of the head and the look on his face said enough that, without another word, they stood and followed us out into the snow.
We had to climb up the hill next to the cave. Slipping and sliding, we worked our way through the undergrowth, holding on to branch and bough, pulling ourselves up some of the steeper inclines. Boots sliding on ice slicks, teeth gritting as we struggled through the heavy, wet snow, we managed to finally pull ourselves over the top of the slope. I rolled over on my back, staring into the frost-laced sky, letting the flakes kiss my face with their delicate touch.
"Gods, that was hard. I'm in shape, but damn, that was like slogging through mud." I pushed myself up to a sitting position, frozen through, my muscles aching like I'd just run a marathon. At this point, I just wanted to get through the rest of the day alive. Happy wasn't a factor now that I'd seen Grieve.
And carrying the secret that I'd been responsible for his illness--and for potentially making our battle with the Indigo Court worse--didn't help. Guilt ate at me, and even though I hadn't willingly participated in Lainule's plan, the fact was that I'd entered into the contract with the vampires and I'd agreed to obey Lainule.
"Hurry," Chatter said. "We don't have much time before dusk and who knows what the return of shadow will do for Myst and her people? With the way things are, this might have strengthened them."
With that lovely thought lingering in my mind, I let him pull me to my feet and we headed off again, one slogging step at a time. Thanks to the time in the cave, I wasn't as frozen, but the temperature was dropping and the snowflakes were growing smaller and more furious. This was sticking snow, biting snow that would pile up all night.
Kaylin slipped up beside me. "What went on back there with Grieve?" he asked in a low voice. I shook my head, not wanting to talk about it, but he wouldn't let up. "I know something happened. What was it?"
Turning my head to him, I kept my voice low. "He's being overtaken by his darker nature. And he says that this cure that Lannan and Lainule thought they found may just make the Indigo Court a lot fiercer and more dangerous to deal with. You should have seen him fighting both the pain and his urge to give in to his vampiric nature. Kaylin, it's all so fucked up."
He slipped an arm around me and helped me along, not saying another word. The look on his face was enough. He may not have approved of Grieve but he wasn't taking any delight in the unfolding events. As we trudged along behind Chatter, I leaned my head on Kaylin's shoulder and he tightened his grasp around my waist.
After another twenty minutes of slow, cold going, Chatter held up his hand. Kaylin let go of me as we all gathered around the Fae. We were on top of a ledge, overlooking another ravine. Down below, I could see three guards standing in front of what looked like the mouth to another cave.
"The gaol," Chatter mouthed.
The guards looked anything but attentive. One was bent over, puking his guts out near a huckleberry bush. Another was moaning and rocking back and forth. The third was managing to stand upright, but he leaned on a nearby tree stump and looked in danger of passing out. Finally, a piece of luck.
I sucked in a deep breath, planning out the approaching battle in my mind. They were weak, but even weakened, they were formidable foes. We'd have to get down there and kill them before they could raise an alarm.
It struck me that the thought of murdering three strangers didn't even make me flinch, and I looked up, shocked and numb. Kaylin met my gaze and gave me a small nod.
