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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?
I cannot tell for sure--this place is full of magical traps and wards--but Peyton is not there. That much I know. There is someone in there, however.
I nodded, then turned back and whispered what Ulean had told me to Kaylin, who passed it back to the others. They looked to me for a decision, though by the look on Leo's face, I could tell he was nursing a faint hope it might be his sister. Torn, I tried to decide what to do. If we tried to sneak past, whoever it was might raise an alarm, or take us from the back. No, we were going to have to face them, whether they were one of the enemy or a prisoner.
And there's no saying a prisoner won't also be your enemy.
Thanks, I needed that.
I swung in through the door, hoping to catch whoever it was off guard. The person whirled. Fuck, one of the Indigo Fae. A woman this time. She was lying on a bed and as she tried to sit up, blinking, pain filled her face.
I didn't wait. I lunged for her and landed on top of her, holding her down as I raised my switchblade high. Biting my lip, I brought the blade down right in her throat. She let out a hiss, and threw me off, sitting up. I went sprawling to the floor, ducking, as Kaylin flipped over me and landed a kick right in her stomach.
She landed back on the bed and reached for her throat, trying to staunch the bleeding, but the activity had just spurred on the flow and now she frantically tried to press her hands against her throat. Kaylin pulled out one of his daggers and within seconds it was over.
I stared at my hands, at the blood spatters that were covering me. What was I becoming?
Kaylin must have noticed my expression. He moved to put his arm around me. "We're doing what we have to do. If you want to save Peyton, we have no choice. These creatures--and they are creatures, mind you--would eat you alive and I am not joking. I think I've figured out what the book was talking about when it mentioned feeding frenzy. Can you imagine a group of the Vampiric Fae, turning into those creatures, attacking a woman? A child? They'd eat them to the bone, without bothering to administer a killing bite first. Feeding frenzy. Think about it."
Chatter sucked in a deep breath. "That's exactly what happens. I've seen it," he said. "Children, women, it matters not to them. They have no conscience, and they love the mayhem. They feed on the fear they cause, as well as the flesh." His mouth pursed, looking like he was going to cry, he shook his head. "They revel in the blood."
I looked up at him, and the image flashed through my mind. I could see it, all too vividly. Feeding frenzy. They were the piranha of the Fae world. I thought again of the people who'd disappeared. Of Heather and Peyton and Elise . . . oh gods . . . Elise. I turned to Leo, who was white as fresh-fallen snow.
"My sister. If she's not here, and they haven't turned her, then they ate her. Just like that . . . in a flurry of blood and bone."
Rhia pressed against him, taking his hand. "We don't know that," she said softly.
"Yeah, we do. Because if they didn't force her to turn, then that's what happened. I know my sister. She wouldn't voluntarily help them." He rubbed his hand over his eyes, looking sick. "I want them dead."
"We seem to be accomplishing that," I said, wiping my blade on my pants. My mind and hands were forever stained with blood so why not my jeans. "I guess this is what it means to be a warrior."
"That's about the size of it. You do what you have to do, Cicely. And what we have to do now is find Peyton. Chances are we'll be fighting more of them--and we have to take them down before they give a warning." Chatter looked stronger than I'd seen him since the old days. He was standing tall.
"What do you think will happen to Grieve?" I whispered.
He shook his head. "I don't know, but we don't have time to speculate right now. Let's move on."
We crept down the hall to the next chamber, which was empty. Then the third, before the bend in the tunnel. I peeked around the corner, cautiously. There, behind a set of iron bars, was Peyton. She was naked, huddled beneath a ragged blanket, but I could see her eyes. They were normal--she hadn't been turned. She glanced up and saw me, and bolted to a sitting position. I pressed my finger to my lips and she nodded.
"Can anybody pick locks?"
Kaylin pushed to the front. "Let me."
While he worked, Peyton searched her cell, finally setting for tying the threadbare blanket around her, toga style. I realized she didn't have any clothes and that would prove a problem for her on our way back home through the storm.
A moment later, Kaylin sprang the lock and the door opened with a faint squeak. Peyton hurried forward and fell into my arms. I held her close for a moment, whispering to her.
"Are you able to travel?" I didn't bother asking how she was. I figured that was opening a can of worms that was better left for when we were safe.
She nodded. "But they took my clothes and shoes. I have nothing to wear except this blanket." Her arms looked bruised and when I looked closer, so did the side of her face, though she wasn't sporting a black eye.
I turned back to the others. "How are we going to get her home? She can't spend two hours out in the cold wearing a blanket. And nothing the guards were wearing will fit her--she's far taller than most of the Indigo Court Fae."
"I have an idea," Leo said. "Peyton, can you turn into a cougar?"
