Blood Of Fire (The Blood Burden Series) (24 page)

Without hesitation Luke pulled her into
his arms and crushed his lips against hers.  She pressed against him roughly at
first then as the seconds ticked by her anger melted into desire.  The tension
had been too much to bear for both of them.

Luke ended the kiss leaving her
breathless.  He leaned his head against her forehead, "I'm sorry I'm such
a fool but it's your fault."

Nicole's eyed him confused, "My
fault?"

He smiled her favorite one sided smirk,
"Loving you has made me this way."

Nicole giggled, "Maybe you should
find a good therapist."  She wrapped her arms around his neck as he hugged
her tight.

"Nope, all I need is you."  He
kissed her lips again but this time it was soft and tender.

Nicole's heart felt full to the point of
bursting while she was wrapped in Luke's strong arms.  She wanted to stay like
this forever but just as the thought drifted through her dreamy haze Luke's
muscles went stiff where her arms were wrapped around his neck.

"Nicole, can I talk to you?"

Nicole spun around to see Slade standing
at the edge of the field.  His face was hard and his forehead lined as he
glared past her to Luke, "Slade," She gasped in surprise as she
walked over to where he stood.  When his eyes met hers she could see genuine
worry in his features, "What's wrong?"

"Have you seen Sage?"

Nicole's heart sank, "Not since
before the ball, why?"

He ran a hand across the back of his
neck, "I heard that she was sent out on a mission but…" his voice
trailed off.

"But what?"

"I asked Moyer when she would be
returning and he didn't know she was gone."

Nicole's brows crumpled together,
"What does that mean?"

Luke walked up placing a hand on
Nicole's shoulder, "I wanted to tell you after today's training but it's
true, Moyer told me the same thing when I asked."

She shrugged off his hand and stepped
away from him, "You knew and didn't tell me?  Why would you do that?"

"You have enough on you already and
very little time to focus on your training, Nicole.  Plus it could be the truth
that the queen sent her on a mission."

Slade snorted, "I doubt that.  She
doesn't dirty her hands with things outside of this realm."  He turned to
Nicole, "Can you reach her mind?"

"No, I tried already."  Her
heart was pounding, "What does that mean?"

Slade shook his head, "Only two
things, either she's locked in the dungeon or
—
" his emotions choked off
his words.  He took a deep breath, "Let's just try to find her before we
let our minds jump to anything else."

"Where do we start," asked
Nicole.

"We go down to the dungeon of the
castle and have a look."

"It's not that simple," whispered
Luke as he looked back toward Harlo and Braden who had taken a seat under the
shade of a tree at the far end of the field.  "The dungeon is
guarded."

Slade started walking away with Nicole
on his heels, "You managed to help your dear ol' dad out of there once so
I'm sure that getting us inside should be easy for you."

Nicole turned back in time to see Luke's
concerned scowl turn into a pained grimace thanks to Slade's reminder that he
had set Loch loose from that same prison years ago.  He had suffered both
mental and physical torment due to that one mislead act of family loyalty. 
Nicole thought about the jagged scars that covered Luke's back.  He had been
whipped continuously for days in an attempt to lure Loch back but it turned out
that Loch wasn't as loyal to his son as Luke had been to him.  He didn't return
and if Queen Titania hadn't come out from hiding when she did he would have
been killed.

Nicole shook the heartbreaking thoughts
from her mind then reached for Luke's hand, "Please, Luke.  Do it for
Sage."

He pulled her fingers to his lips and
kissed her knuckles, "I'll do it for you."

**~***~**

The group entered through the kitchen of
the castle.  The modern day stainless steel appliances and bustling staff of
cooks seemed out of place to Nicole compared to the ancient and magical world
portrayed by the outward appearance of the fairy realm.  She wondered if the
need for technology was due to the thinning powers of the race or if it was
just to fill a want for the queen.

Nicole followed Luke and Slade through
the large, busy kitchen without much more than a glance being passed between
them and the cooks preparing lunch.  They took a right when they emerged into
the hallway and tried to walk casually down the passage.

A knot was forming in Nicole's stomach
with each step deeper into the castle.  A mixture of anxiety from not knowing
what would be waiting for them when they made it to the dungeon and guilt for
not trying to find Sage sooner was eating away at her, "What's the
plan?"

Luke placed his hand on the small of her
back urging her to keep moving, "We keep acting like nothing is up
—
after all, we do
belong in this place, then we talk to the guard."

"Wow, you just made that sound
really simple. Why didn't I think of this plan," Nicole rolled her eyes
but kept her pace with Luke. "But how do we get past the guard?"

"For once would you please trust
me?"

A strength and confidence radiated from
him in a way that Nicole hadn't seen since the night they were fighting to save
Kat's life at the airfield.  Sometimes she let herself forget that he lived for
moments like this.  Now she understood why her great grandmother had chosen
Luke to guard her bloodline.  He was unwavering and unfazed in the face of
danger in the way that true warrior should be.

Nicole nodded then fell in behind him as
the hallway started to descend down a staircase.  The walls were the original
cold stone on this level and there weren't any touches of remodeling that
Nicole could see outside of the long, florescent light fixtures that were
dotted along the ceiling.  She could feel the growing pin dot in her head that
told her a warrior was not far ahead.

Luke held out a hand signaling Slade and
Nicole to stop, "I need a minute.  Wait here until I call."

"But--" Nicole started to protest
but Slade took her hand so she stopped where she was.

Slade gave her hand a gentle squeeze,
"Let him go.  He knows what he's doing."

Luke glanced back at Slade and Nicole's
intertwined fingers then gave Slade a nod, "Keep her close."

When Luke disappeared around the corner
Nicole leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes.  Her heart felt as
though it had taken up residence in her throat causing her to swallow hard. 
Her anxiety was tripled by the fact that she was left hand in hand with Slade who
had tried to kiss her the last time they were left alone.

"Nicole," Slade whispered.

She could feel the heat of his breath on
her neck but she kept her eyes closed, "What?"

"You're breaking my fingers,"
he chuckled.

"Oh," she let him pull his
hand away and watched as he rubbed along each finger to ease the pain.
"Sorry."

"Don't forget," he pulled out
the large silver medallion from inside his shirt, "with this thing on I'm
only as strong as a human.  Even my immortality is forfeited if I was to be
severally wounded."  His words were soft but serious.

"It must be hard on you to not have
your power while you're here.  I know it almost drove me insane when you held
mine away from me."

A small regretful smile touched his
face, "I should have never done that to you but I hope you understand it
was only for my undercover persona, not because I truly wanted to hurt you.”

Nicole took a deep breath and let it
out.  She found herself wondering who was the real Slade but his apology had
lifted a small amount of the weight from her shoulders.  She gave him a warm
smile then leaned her head back to listen for Luke.  She let her mind stretch
out to the pull that was uniquely his in her mind.  He was still and she could
hear his mind spinning ideas of what to implant in the warrior's head as he got
closer to his destination.

"So that's his plan," she
laughed.

"Hey, Luke's fine but us on the
other hand," Slade looked back down the hall in the direction they had
just come.  "Why don't you scan the castle and see if anyone is onto
us."

Nicole closed her eyes again and began
to urge her power farther out.  With each growing wave she picked up more and
more minds.  Thoughts of working staff reached her loudly.  One was worried
about dusting the massive chandelier in the throne room while another was half
thinking about the bed she was making while she dreamed of a young man who
lived next to her family.

She ran along some warriors as she
pulsed outward, most were focused on making their rounds along the perimeter
walls of the castle while a few where thinking normal guy stuff like projects
around the house and getting home to his family.  The thoughts made her shake
her head.  For a magical kingdom, it seem very much normal, almost like home. 
It was filled with people just like her small Alabama town was, all trying to
carve out a living for themselves and their families.

The thought of family had a sudden plan
come to her mind.  She needed to get Kat and James away from this realm right
now.  Everything felt wrong.  As if the kingdom wasn't safe for her let alone
her dad and best friend.  She pressed out searching for the mind of Rhys
because she knew he wouldn't hesitate to protect them.  After a moment his mind
became clear as he was consumed with a thought about how beautiful Kat was.

For the first time Nicole actually felt
herself blushing from hearing the private thoughts of someone.  She noticed
Slade was watching her curiously, "Ummm, I've got a plan to get Dad and
Kat out of here.  Give me a second." She waved him off and stepped back
down the hall a few feet so she could concentrate. 
Rhys, can you hear me,
she
called out inside her own mind.

Ey, I can princess,
His old Irish
accent was thick even in the voice of his thoughts.

I need you to sneak Kat and Dad out of
this realm.  It's not safe for them here.   

What do I tell ye father?

Tell him…I love him. 
That was all she
could think to say.  There were no guaranties that she would be coming home, no
promise of a reunion in a few days nor was there another way.  They had to
leave without her. 
I'm depending on you to keep them safe, Rhys.  Don't
fail me.

 Ey, princess.

With that, she closed the connection
between them just in time to hear Luke,
It's clear.  Come on.

"Let's go," She fell in behind
Slade as they made their way down the musky, dim corridor.  When she made the
turn she stopped gaping at the guard laying in the floor, "What did you do
to him?"

Luke was blocking a door open with a
metal folding chair, "I needed the chair so I told him to take a nap on
the floor."

"Okay," she stared down at the
man snoring on the floor then back at Luke.  "Is Sage in there?"

"Yes but the dungeon is charmed
just like Slade's necklace so powers are useless inside there."

Nicole started past the door without a
second thought.  Sage was inside and that's all that mattered, powers or not,
she was getting her out.

"Hey," Luke stopped her,
"One of us needs to stand guard."

"I'll do it," said Slade.

"No offense, but you're already
powerless so it has to be me."  Luke kissed Nicole's cheek, "Be fast,
no matter what kind of shape she's in, you have to be fast."

Chills danced up Nicole's spine.  The
sense of urgency was clear in Luke's words.  She could tell there was something
he wasn't saying but there wasn't time to talk now.

"In and out, gotcha." She
walked past the threshold of the doorway and immediately felt her powers drain
away like her very soul was being pulled from her body but she pressed on down
the small set of stairs that ended on a dirt covered floor.

The room was dimly lit by small rays of
sunlight creeping through one long, narrow window near the ceiling.  The stench
of the room assaulted Nicole's nose with a smell that intensified with each
disturbed grain of dirt beneath her shoes.  A few steps in and her eyes fell on
a heap under dangling chains.

"Sage," she whispered as her
feet froze and refused to move forward.  Slade rushed past Nicole and dropped
to his knees by his sister's side.  He attentively brushed strands of her black
hair off her forehead.  Nicole could hear him whispering his sister's name
again and again building in desperation with each attempt to rouse her from
slumber.  He didn't have to say the words for Nicole to understand.  Sage was
dead.