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"He'll live," she said grimly. "He's been trained to handle pain, but he's going to have some pretty nasty scars." There was a catch in her voice, and I suspected that she was reliving her own bout with torture. Some scars fade. Others never disappear, even if you can't see them. Menolly's—both her physical and emotional ones—were eternal.
Rhonda raced over to his side. "I'm a certified nurse's assistant. Let me have a look."
"Where did Camille and Morio go?" Menolly asked, looking around.
"I'm right here," Morio answered, now visible as he stepped out from one of two exits leading off to the left. "Camille and I split up to find out what was down these two passageways. There's a bunch of spiderwebs and egg sacs down this hallway. I think we should torch them," he added.
"So you just left us here with those maniacs?" I looked around, searching for any sign of Camille. I could smell her perfume, so she wasn't that far away.
"We figured you could take care of those goons by yourselves." He caught my gaze. "Delilah, where's Camille? Isn't she back yet?"
I shook my head. "No, and I'm starting to get worried." The sounds of fighting echoed from the main passageway. Apparently the boys had managed to start a full-scale skirmish. Among the shouts, one of the voices sounded like it belonged to Chase, and I prayed he was safe.
"Something's happened to her, I know it," Morio said.
"What about Venus?" Rhonda asked, frantic.
"We'll get him on the way back," Morio said. "Until then…" He leaned over the unconscious shaman and said a few words, then blew on his face. In another moment, it looked like Venus was a pile of rocks. "That illusion should hold till we get back." He ducked into the tunnel down which Camille had disappeared. With a glance back at the main hallway, the rest of us followed.
This tunnel was narrow and cramped, tall enough for Menolly to walk through unhampered, but I had to hunch down to make it without scraping the top of my head on the ceiling. We followed Morio and the faint scent of Camille's perfume, which was growing stronger, until the passage opened out into another chamber, this one half the size of the main room. Halfway across the room, the cave ended in a drop-off.
I peeked over the edge. Stone steps led down the cliff, cut into the side wall. Even with my heightened sight, I could barely see the bottom. There appeared to be an underground pond or river or creek down there.
I turned to Menolly. "Can you hear the sound of running water?"
She closed her eyes, and we kept as still as we could. After a moment, she nodded. "Sounds like a loud creek. I don't think it's big enough to be a river."
I sniffed the air. Yep, Camille had been here, but where was she now?
"Let's try down there," I started to say when a crash interrupted me. As we whirled around, three figures stood at the entryway. One of them was Geph von Spynne. The other was a Svartan, and he had his arm wrapped around Camille's waist, holding her so tight it looked like she was having trouble breathing. I'd thought Trillian looked dangerous, but this Svartan had a glint in his eye that made my blood run cold. Lianel.
Geph darted forward. "I know you," he said, waggling his finger at me. "I know you from somewhere!"
I raised my knife, but Lianel shook his head. "I wouldn't do that, not if you want to save your sister." He pressed his nose into her neck, and she struggled, but he tightened his grip, and she froze. "Oh, she's ripe, she's so ripe. I wish we were back in the temple at Svartalfheim. We'd have a high old time there, we would, my brothers and I." The longing in his voice oozed like the scent of a rose long decayed. Rotten through to the core.
Unsure what to do, I looked at Menolly for guidance.
She was fuming, so tense I could see the muscles in her neck tighten. "What do you want?"
Geph gave his companion a smug grin. "I believe they're ready to negotiate," he said. "Too bad they didn't try it first before launching this ridiculous attack on our nest."
Lianel was about to respond, but he had barely opened his mouth when Camille took advantage of his inattention. She launched herself backward, throwing him off balance and landing square on him as he toppled over. She was at the ready, thrusting her elbow hard into his stomach as she rolled off and came up crouching. Before he could move, she'd clasped her hands and brought her fists down square on his nose, putting a stop to his fighting for the moment. Geph leapt at her, a knife with a rusty blade at the ready.
"No!" Menolly shouted, but Rhonda was closer. She launched herself at him, and he whirled as she swung her wooden baton, connecting directly with his stomach. He doubled over with a loud groan.>I glanced at Camille. She shook her head. "Chase is right. You're the one who was here in the dream state. You're in charge."
Shit. I'd been hoping she'd volunteer to take over. Camille was good at being in control. Me—not so much. But one look at her face told me she meant business. I sucked in a deep breath and looked around.
"We can't all charge at once; that would put us all in danger in case they've developed some sort of large-scale weapon—"
"Like an AK-47?" Chase said.
I glared at him. "Like an area spell that might catch us all in its effect. Menolly, you can't fly right now, but you're silent and you don't let off any heat. Why don't you creep through the edge of the woods and see if there's anyone hiding outside the cave? There were plenty of them when I was here in my dream."
"And if I find any?"
I gave her a hard stare. "Take them out as silently as you can."
"Right," she said, and took off.
