Cassandra's Dilemma (14 page)

Seconds ticked away. Cassie tried the backlight on her watch, but no amount of pressing the button lit the watch up. She checked it periodically while she sat, waiting for the snuffling in the darkness to find her. She wanted to stand up, but her legs shook with fatigue, her chest hurt, and her fingers stung.

Dampness slid down her cheek. Cassie resisted the urge to wipe it away. Her hands were filthy, and she’d probably just irritate her eyes or worse. Tilting her head back against the stone, she looked up.

A pinprick of light glimmered overhead.

Blinking hard, Cassie looked down at her watch’s nonexistent backlight and then up once more. The pinprick of light remained.

Above.

Scraping her back on the wall, Cassie stood. Cassie strained her neck looking back the way she came, only turning her gaze upward. That faint, but very real, twinkle of light seemed evident along the entirety of the path she must have traveled.

“No one ever looks up,” Cassie muttered.

“No, sadly they don’t.”

The voice, spoken into her left ear, sent her heart rate careening at high speed. Cassie screamed, jerking backward and bouncing against the hard stone. She brought her arms up to protect her head, bracing for a blow that never came.

Light flared in the darkness, and a warm, gentle hand closed on her arm. “You damaged your eyes.”

The hand gripped her more firmly when she tried to pull away. Yanking harder, she cracked her head against the wall and winced as a new, sharp pain added itself to her growing catalogue of complaints. “Gently, my lady, gently.”

Cassie flailed, desperate to get away. Her hands curled into fists and struck out, hitting solid flesh. The gentle voice bit off a more colorful oath. Suddenly, arms like steel bands wrapped around her. It cut off her breath, and a hot cheek pressed against hers, warm breath feathering along her ear. “Stop, my lady—stop before you hurt yourself.”

“You’re trying to kill me!”

She slammed her head forward, a shaft of blinding pain ripping open her skull followed by the sound of bone crunching. Her captor released her as hot dampness spattered her cheek. The coppery odor of blood became very strong indeed.

She forgot to grab the wall as she bolted, racing hopefully back the way she came. She tripped and sprawled into the dust and dirt. Her hands screamed as rocks pierced her palms when she tried to catch herself.

“Cassie!”

“Agent Book?” She wanted to weep. He sounded so wonderful and so close. Cassie stuck her hand out blindly and shrieked when hands seized her.

“Cassie, stop, stop. It’s me.” Book’s beautiful voice. Cassie grabbed at him, quivering all over. Hands rubbed her arms soothingly. “Shhh, I’m here. It’s okay. What the hell happened to you?”

“I—”

“Sh’brok’m’node,” the first man complained in a congested voice. “Shtupi’bint wouldn’t listen.”

Book’s bark of laughter sent Cassie’s pulse leaping. She jumped, only to be soothed by his soft shushing and gentle hands. “Sorry, Cassie. Let me see your eyes…”

“How can you see anything? It’s so dark.” Cassie hated the trembling note and hint of a wail in her voice. She was no shrinking violet. She was a tough and resourceful woman. It was some nightmarish-alternate-reality version of her clinging to Book’s hard body in the utter blackness that seemed bent on crushing her soul.

“It’s not dark, Cassie. You’ve been hit with a blindness spell.” He sounded so absolutely reasonable.

“I’m blind?” Cassie squeaked this time, but Book seemed prepared for her to leap away. He held her firmly, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

“It’s not permanent…”

“Y’hope,” the broken-nose voice muttered. “Ow!” He broke off as Book jerked next to her. Cassie hoped he kicked him.

“Agent Book?” Begging tainted her voice.

“Cassie, I need you to relax. I need to see this so I can tell what kind of spell it is…”

“Can you remove it?”

“I don’t know.” Reluctance filtered through his words. “But I can try. Most blinding spells are short-term.”

“Most?”

“Most. It’s a crippling spell. It makes you easier to capture, easier to contain…”

“And the ones that aren’t temporary?”

“Then it would be a curse. We’d have to have whoever did this to you lift it.” Despite the note of doubt, he maintained a confident calm. When she stopped jerking away from him, his hands cupped her face. She could feel the warmth of him just inches away, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t see him looking into her eyes.

“What if they won’t lift it?” she asked in a small voice.

“Then we kill them.” Helcyon’s very matter-of-fact voice lilted charmingly behind her. Cassie sagged with relief.

Both of
her
men were there, bracketing her. Warm arms wrapped around her middle, fingers splaying over her abdomen. Helcyon’s scent was sharper, more pungent. The orchids, cinnamon, and spices replaced grit and blood.

The Elf’s strength at her back and the Wizard’s confident hands on her cheeks finally quieted the quivering. She relaxed between them, wishing she could look into their faces, see what they weren’t telling her.

“How did you find me?”

“The Feth Felen pulled you Underhill. Once I crossed over, we could track you easily. But he brought you to one of the farthest reaches. I am sorry it took us so long to get here. I sent help ahead.”

“Sh’brok’m’nod,” the voice complained sulkily.

“I’m sorry,” Cassie whispered. Reason replaced stark terror. His distorted voice sounded oddly familiar. “But you scared the crap out of me.”

She wanted to feel some remorse for injuring the stranger, but she couldn’t resist the shudder of fear that reminded her of his seizing her in the darkness.

“Don’t apologize to him,” Book snapped. “Stupid is as stupid does. Cassie, ignore him.”

“What aren’t you two telling me?” Cassie asked into the volume-filled silence that pervaded between the two men.

“It’s a temporary spell.” Book let out a relieved breath. “It’s a very good one, very tight. But it will pass.” He sounded as relieved as she felt. Cassie sagged again and nearly wept when Book’s forehead pressed to hers. Helcyon made soothing noises from behind.

They plunged through air thick with the smell of brine together, and Cassie blinked at the sudden return of her vision. The water was there, but at the same time it wasn’t. She could feel it pulling at her, surrounding her, washing away the aches and pains, but her body and clothes remained dry. She looked around as she began treading the water. Two bodies drifted up against hers. She found Helcyon and Book holding onto her firmly.

“Cassie,” Book said softly. “I need you to do what I say.”

“But I can see.”

“I know,” he soothed. “But you have to stop shifting us through Underhill. I need you to focus on going back to where we were.”

“Where I couldn’t see?” Her mind rejected the very idea.

“M’lady.” Helcyon’s lips pressed to her ear. She could feel his hands, flattened against her belly, keeping her against him as the waters eddied around them. “This is important. Focus on where we were, take us back there.”

The twin amounts of seriousness in their expressions convinced her. Cassie glanced up at the wild spiraling of stars overhead and then closed her eyes. The scent of ocean brine vanished, the image of the water evaporated, and she could smell the hints of rock, grime, and blood once more. Her body remained cool from the water, and when she tried to open her eyes, she found only blackness once more.

“I want to know what the hell is going on,” Cassie said softly, firmly. Defeat rimmed her tone, but she refused to give into it completely.

“I’ll explain as much as I can,” Helcyon promised.

“I’ll tell you the rest,” Book agreed.

“She’s dangerous.” Broken nose seemed repaired. The lilt to his accent reminded her of Helcyon. He was a Fae.

“Back off.” Book’s touch left her abruptly. His voice sounded like he was speaking away from her. The temperature dropped abruptly. The hair on her arms stood up. The air crackled with intensity. “I’ll do more than break your nose.”

“The Danae should not have taken this to
her
kind.”

“If you disagree with the Danae, then speak to her, but I advise you obey the Wizard, Echyo.”

“You’re just going to stand there and let a Wizard threaten me?” Echyo’s tone was all incredulity. Cassie recalled him. He had been paired with Helcyon during one of the Danae’s visits. The Elves could be twins.

“Yes.” Helcyon’s tone, so utterly matter-of-fact, made her giggle. “What is funny?” he murmured against Cassie’s hair when she tittered.

“I am just trying to imagine what the two of you agreeing looks like.”

“It would appear to look like you, my lady,” Echyo replied from a farther distance. He was backing off. “It is good to know where your loyalty lies, Helcyon.”

“Go gently, Echyo.”

“Yeah, broken-record boy—go gently before I make you go painfully.” Book’s implacable tone chilled further.

Chapter Nine

Silence blanketed their trio as they stepped out from Underhill. Cassie’s stomach lurched to the left, leaving her stumbling. She pressed a bloodied hand to her mouth to keep the bile from rising. The sound of nearby traffic was a poor comfort to the blankness that met her gaze.

Helcyon caught and held her hand but released it when Jacob wrapped an arm around her. They guided her, walking longer than Cassie remembered it taking to get into the park. The familiar toot of the horn reminded her of the normal way to travel.

“SUV?” Cassie asked when she heard the door open. Jacob took a firmer grip on her elbow, steadying her as she climbed inside.

“Yes, Explorer. ’98.”

“A classic.” The sarcasm helped. She didn’t want to think about her blindness.
Blindness.
Panic seized her insides, and she clutched at Jacob’s arm, her nails digging in.

“It’s okay, Cassie.” The huskiness in Jacob’s voice softened, and he covered her clutching hands with his own. “I promise you it will be okay.”

“I’m sorry.” She hated the helplessness flooding through her. She hated the fact that she was peeling her hands away from his arm. She barely knew the Homeland Security agent, but she was clutching him like some woman in a novel who would faint if he let go.

“Don’t be sorry.” His voice was so close that his breath whispered across her ear. He settled her hands into her lap, squeezing them gently. The scrapes and cuts stung, but she didn’t care. She clasped her hands together to keep from grabbing him again. “Cassie, it really will be okay. It’s okay to be scared. But I’m—we’re not going to let anything happen to you.”

He gave her hands another gentle squeeze, releasing them only to pull the seat belt across her. An involuntary shiver went up her spine when the back of his hand brushed her breast while he pulled the seat belt across and snapped her safely in.

“Thank you.” She steeled herself for his absence as the door next to her closed. The door behind her opened, and Helcyon’s warm scent embraced her from the backseat. His hands were on her shoulders. His touch brought comfort and questions. Peace, vital and pervasive, spread through her, radiating out from wherever his skin made contact with hers. Muscle fatigue, soreness, and scrapes hurt less while she touched him. Could she be more fickle? Seconds before she didn’t want Jacob to let her go, and now she wanted Helcyon to keep touching her.