AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He understands. He's been alive a long time, Cicely, and not all of his life was easy or painless or free of death and blood. Ulean's touch was gentle on my skin.
What am I becoming, that I can contemplate killing three people I've never met just because of who they are?
You're becoming the person you need to be. You're becoming the person you really are inside: a survivor. A warrior. A leader. A woman who will do what is necessary to rescue her friends and family. That's what it means to love, Cicely. That's what your mother could never teach you because she put herself first, always. You're growing into the woman who can proudly wear her wings and fly.
Ulean brushed around me. I thought of Peyton, and of Grieve. Of Heather and Elise, Leo's sister. I thought of Kaylin's best friend, and the nameless others who'd lost their lives to these creatures. And those who were next on the list.
Sucking in a deep breath, I checked my blades and pulled out my fan. The others silently readied their weapons. We were ready. If Myst wanted mayhem, then we were going to ram a boatload of it down her throat.
Without another thought, I went barreling down the slope at the three guards, waving my fan twice, driving the gale on before me.
Chapter 25
We brought down a minor avalanche with us, the snow cascading behind us in a wave of smoke. There was very little roar, since only a small slope of snow broke off, but as we surfed the frozen white, a lightning bolt split the sky and thunder rocked the air. Snow lightning--crap! We were getting full special effects for this.
I came to rest--on my feet, luckily--in front of the guard who had been doubled over, puking his guts out. He'd jumped back when the snow cascaded down the slope, and his gaze rose to meet mine, his eyes ringed with the same mad haze that I'd seen wash over Grieve's face. Before he could react, I flicked out my stiletto and lashed out, slicing his left arm across the bicep.
He let out a growl and spun around, his foot catching me across the stomach. In a daze of pain, I went flying back into the snow. As I struggled to my feet, I pulled out my fan.
To my left, Rhiannon and Leo had engaged the second guard. Leo planted his staff in the ground and used it to propel himself up and over the guard's head, catching the man's neck between his legs with a scissor kick. The man twisted, trying to free himself, and Leo flipped away from him, landing in a crouch. Unbalanced, the guard went down. As he struggled to regain his footing, Rhiannon held out her hands and a blistering flame shot forth, engulfing the Vampiric Fae.
To my right, Kaylin and the third guard were into it. From appearances, Kaylin was winning. There was blood all over the snow and none of it appeared to be coming from him.
Chatter was skirting the perimeter, looking for anybody, particularly other guards, who might be hiding out.
Ignoring the pain in my side, I quickly turned back to my own attacker and held out the fan. As I waved it twice, whispering, "Gale force," a gust of wind so strong it knocked me back off my feet raced past, directly aimed toward the guard. It hit him square in the chest, sliding him along the snow a good ten feet before slamming him against the face of a boulder. He went limp and I raced up, switchblade ready.
Before he could regain consciousness, I slid my blade along his throat, severing the skin from ear to ear. As blood fountained out, his head fell back, still attached to his neck by a sliver of flesh. With a final gurgle, his body relaxed and I knew he was dead.
Be cautious how much you use the fan. It has limitations that Lainule didn't remember to tell you about. And . . . repercussions. Ulean swirled around me, a twisting vortex as she helped lift me to my feet with her currents.
I turned to see how Rhiannon and Leo were doing. Leo was limping, and the guard's knife was bloody. Chatter was on the run toward them, but he was too far away. Kaylin and I converged on the Indigo Court Fae as he swung around and--like the creature we'd met earlier--his mouth began to distend as his body shifted.
"He's turning into one of those doglike creatures!" I couldn't use the fan, the others were too close, so I flipped out my switchblade and tried to jump him.
The Fae met me with an outstretched fist, managing to punch me directly in the shoulder. I clutched my arm with a groan. How the hell could he be so strong? As I struggled to get out of the way of his second blow, Kaylin leapt in with his nunchakus and went to work. Leo circled behind and brought his staff down across the man's head and, with a loud crack, he was down. Except the Fae was just stunned. He was already starting to regain consciousness and when he did, he'd begin his transformation again.
Rhiannon pushed to the front and held out her hands.
"No," I said softly. "Let me do it. Don't bloody your hands, Rhia."
She let out a harsh laugh. "They've been bloody for half my life." And with that, she let out a spray of fire that melted the snow around the Fae and caught him aflame. He shrieked once, then Kaylin threw one of his daggers with deadly accuracy and the Fae lay dead.
We stared at the carnage around us. Leo was limping, but the cut he'd received was superficial and Chatter bound it up with a strip of cloth cut from one of the guard's tunics. My ribs and shoulder felt bruised, but I'd live. Kaylin and Rhiannon were untouched.
We turned to the cave. Peyton was in there, somewhere. The question was . . . were other guards waiting for us? There was only one way to find out. I pushed to the front and stepped over the threshold.
The cavern was actually a tunnel illuminated by a trail of purplish sparkling lights. It led into the mountainside. I glanced around--nobody in sight. Yet. Motioning for the others to follow me, I headed down the passage, trying to be as silent as possible. Ulean was at my shoulder, I could feel her.
"Is this the prison?" I stopped, motioning to Chatter.
He slipped up beside me and nodded. "I've been inside a couple times, when they locked me up as punishment. The tunnel continues, with side passages--some are holding cells, others are guard quarters, I believe. I don't remember which is which."
The tunnel was made of granite, and at first I wondered if it had been an old mining tunnel, but looking closer it seemed too smooth. No miners' picks had chipped away at this passage. No, it looked almost like glass in its even surface. I stopped briefly and slid my fingers across the smooth wall, closing my eyes. A shiver ran up my back. The passage was magical, the energy flaring from within the very structure of the rock.
Sucking in a deep breath, we started down the hall again, Kaylin behind me, then Chatter, then Rhiannon and Leo. As we came to the end, I peeked around the corner. Several of the chambers Chatter had mentioned buttressed the main channel to the right, then another turn at the end. Slowly, cautiously, we moved to the first side entrance and stopped a few feet before it.
Can you see what's inside?
