Elemental Flame (19 page)

T
he secret passage
started out as a ridiculously small hole on the side of the grotto. Now the grotto itself, looking at it from the outside, resembled what I'd consider a Faerie hill would look like. It was a mound of dirt and rock, and the outside of it was trimmed in all kinds of growth. I was pretty sure if we looked at it from the air or a distance, we'd see an oasis in the middle of a desert.

We were gonna have to go in on our stomachs and elbows. Cordelia was first in, easily sliding along the damp, circular walls. I wanted to go in last but Bastien insisted he bring up the rear in case we were attacked. I figured he wanted the back so he could look at my butt.

But I had to give him credit. He never said a word.

The trek through the tunnel proved to be uneventful. At first I didn't worry about the darkness since I could still see Cordelia ahead of me. But the further in we went, the darker it became.

"Wait a sec," I said, stopping and planning to summon my Salamander for light.

Only…the tunnel became lighter. I looked behind me and could make out the contours of Bastien's face and then I looked at Cordelia. She had turned around and faced me. "Where is the light coming from?"

"The Earth," Cordelia said as she put her tiny elephant-like hands on the sides of the walls. "Your voice. It's reacting to your power."

"My power?"

"Elemental," she nodded, and then turned and started moving further down the tunnel.

"Don't worry about it,
chérie
," Bastien said and his voice sounded a bit strained. "Let's move quickly,
s'il te plait
."

I seconded Bastien's plea to be free of the claustrophobic tunnels. I could only imagine how uncomfortable it was for him…but didn't wolves make dens underground?

Sweat trickled down my forehead and into my eyes. I paused a few times to wipe it away with the back of my hand. The air was getting thicker and I was getting really, really tired as an ache and a cramp started between my shoulder blades and worked their way down to the small of my back.

Abruptly, the tunnel grew a little wider so we didn't have to scrunch up so much. I could actually go forward on my hands and knees, which added to a whole new level of pain.

I sensed, rather than heard, a distant rumble. A second before Cordelia stopped moving, I felt the vibration and stopped as well. "What is that?"

"The soldiers," Cordelia said in a hushed voice. The rumbling had stopped. "We're near the palace, under the warlands." She looked up at the ceiling. The Boggart didn't look very happy. "Cordelia doesn't understand…"

"Understand what?" Bastien came up behind me. He was breathing heavy.

"They are above us. Lots of them," she looked at me then looked up. "Follow Cordelia."

I followed her as she continued…and the rumbling followed us. She stopped. We stopped. So did the rumbling. She motioned for Bastien to back up, and he swore under his breath in a very eloquent Acadian dialect as we went backwards.

The rumbling started again.

"What's going on?" I looked at Cordelia.

"They're following us."

I did
not
need to hear that! "How?"

"Cordelia doesn't know! We must run!"

Run? On our hands and knees? Sweet Lady! Cordelia was already a good couple of feet in front of me before I started moving as fast as I could. And I noticed the rumbling didn't start until I moved—

Was it me? I stopped. So did the noise and vibration.

I started toward Cordelia who was far ahead of us now. The rumbling started again.

"
Chérie
, what are you doing?"

"It's me, Bastien. They're following me!"

And because my life has always been a never-ending adventure through trap doors, something struck the ground above us hard. Bits and pieces of the hollowed ground rained down on us. Chunks of dead roots, sand and sharp things I couldn't identify.

"Come!" Cordelia called out in the tunnel.

Another strike but this time something came through the ceiling and skewered the space between Bastien and I. More dirt collapsed on top of him.

"Bastien!"

He was going to be buried alive if I couldn't get to him, but the shaft of something hard and metallic was in my way. I summoned my Gnome and pushed my hands against the failing tunnel. I sensed she was there but not in physical form, in the form of something akin to a cousin to the Earth around us. The rumbling stopped as huge, thick worms twisted in the light from the walls. I took a closer look and realized they were the roots of something, writhing as they looped themselves into knots to brace the ceiling.

I touched the metal, and it instantly shattered into ash as Arcane surged forward. Bastien was struggling to get to me so I folded myself up, grabbed his arm and pulled him with me. I asked my Elemental to give him a shove—and she did. He came flying at me as I tumbled back.

With no time to stop and see what was happening, we moved fast on our hands and knees as we stayed just head of blades as they shot down from the ceiling. If those were soldiers over us, they figured out we were in the tunnel and they were trying to stab us.

"This way!" Cordelia said and I turned to see her disappear to the right. As I neared the right, there was a dark side branch and I hesitated.

"Move!" Bastien said and shoved my butt forward into that darkness.

Just a few feet in and the ground gave from under me. I reached out for Bastien and I could just see him as light shined down from above and we were falling. I was pretty sure they'd opened up the tunnel and we'd found some bottomless cavern under a weaker part of the tunnel. And now I was certain we were headed to our deaths.

Instead, we splashed into the coldest water I've ever landed in. Every nerve ending lit on fire when I went under, and I hadn't taken a breath of air. I struggled to find which way was up as the cold slowed my reflexes as well as my thinking. I inhaled water and it burned my throat and lungs as something grabbed me under my arms and yanked me up.

I was in the air again before landing on my stomach. I coughed, choked and spit water out as I flailed on something soft and slippery.

Sam, if I had known you couldn't swim, I would never have forced you into the pond that day.

I started laughing, coughing and choking all at the same time as I pushed myself up on my knees and pulled my now wet and heavy hair away from my face. I smiled at the tall, black, glossy featureless figure that stood before me. "Hob."

It is good to see you. You have met Cordelia.

"Yes we have…and this is Bastien LeBlanc. He's a…Lycan." I turned in time to see Bastien pulling himself—his wolf self—out of the water. He looked like a pitiful, wet dog as he shook himself, and then did that full body shake that drenched me and everything around us.

A few seconds later, he shifted back and I faced a naked man on his knees. "Why did you do that?" I asked.

"I swim better as a wolf."

"Uh huh. Did you pack spare clothing?"

The look on his face was priceless. "No."

"Then I suggest you stick to wolf in public." Man it was hard not to look. So as I stood up, I looked at our new surroundings.

We were in a cavern, right out of some Jules Verne novel. An arched ceiling with thousands of stalactites pointing down gave it a cathedral look. We were standing on the beach side of a grotto very much like Hob's home. There were flowering trees and plants, grass and a beach. And to my right—

I jumped back when I saw a gigantic Undine. She was sitting on a rock just out of the water; nude from the waist up and from the waist down, she had a long, iridescent green tail. Her hair curled down her shoulders and was the same green color as her tail, as were her eyes. I stared at her and thought I heard a soft note. Just a single note that touched the center of my forehead and blanketed me with overwhelming peace.

But what caught my eye was Bastien as he moved toward her, naked and completely enthralled by that note—just as I'd been a second ago. I realized a beat later what she was and marched over to them. Putting myself between them, I faced Bastien and slapped him hard across the face.

He blinked. Looked around. And then looked at me. "
Chérie
?"

I turned and held out my hand as my own Undine appeared. She did a little pirouette over my palm and the imposter on the rock hissed. Abruptly, the spheres of her body reversed and I beheld the legs of a female and the upper half of a fish.

Siren.

Stop that behavior! These are my friends! Go!

Hob's shout made me smile as my Undine took a seat on my shoulder and I guided my bewildered wolf back to where Hob was standing.

This is their home, their grotto.

"You can get to the dungeon from here?" I pulled my backpack off and checked the items inside. Book, check. Wooden knife, check. Water…come to mama. I pulled out a bottle, unscrewed it and downed half of it before I gave it to Bastien. He finished the rest and put the empty bottle back in my pack.

Yes. So many are thrown into the Queen's dungeons. They find their way here, the Sirens lure them to their deaths and they are forgotten. The dungeon has become their source of food.

Oh no. I looked back at the water. "Hob, is there a new guy in the dungeon? Young? Dark hair, dressed like us? A Witch?"

Yes. He is over there
. Hob pointed toward a back wall I hadn't seen before. A black wall made of obsidian.

I moved toward it as I hefted the backpack on my shoulders. I saw a door in the side of the black wall and stepped inside. Instantly, the atmosphere changed, became oppressive and smelled of urine, mold and damp earth and it was cold. The floor was made of worn stone, veined with lichens and moss. The walls matched the floor and a door braced by iron bars looked like the only way out.

On a cot to the side lay Ivan. He was curled up in a fetal position, his arms tucked into his chest and his knees bent. He wasn't wearing shoes or one of his regular hoodies. In fact, he was dressed only in a torn wet t-shirt and equally messed up jeans.

I ran to him and put my fingers to his neck. I found a pulse, but it was weak. Kneeling down beside him, I pulled his hair from his face and got a really good look at a lot of serious bruises that jived with Cordelia's report he was dragged across the warlands. I pulled at his shirt and examined his arms, his chest and his back. "These are lash marks. Who beat him?"

Hob glided into the cell and stood beside me. I noticed the place we came through didn't look out on the grotto. Instead, it looked like another wall. And to prove my point, Bastien stepped through that illusion and joined us.

"You found him," Bastien said.

I looked at Hob in askance.

He was brought to the Queen. She gave orders that all humans entering through the Cairns be given to her. I don't know what she did to him, but he was brought to this cell in worse shape than you see him. I found a bit of Spyderwick web and used it, but there isn't much of it left.

What the hell did she do to him? I leaned in close. "Ivan. You told me to come get you. I'm here, honey. And Dharma's waiting for you."

His eyes fluttered. When he opened them I drew back in horror.

"Sam?"

His eyes were completely white. No pupils. No irises. Ivan was blind.

M
y hand shook
as I caressed Ivan's cheek. Tears welled up along the lower rim of his eyes, and then fell over his cheeks. "Sam…I'm so, so sorry," he placed his hand over mine.

Why? It was the only word in my mind as I wrapped my arms around Ivan and hugged him tight. Why would she do this? For what reason?

"Because she's afraid of you."

I thought for an instant Bastien had said that. But the voice was decidedly feminine. And then Bastien growled to my left. I released Ivan and turned to see Tzariene standing beside Hob.

Of the three Queens of Faerie I had met, Tzariene always struck me as the most regal. She didn't appear as bright as she had through the looking glass. I wasn't talking about intelligence, but the internal light I associated with Faeries looked dim. Her gown, which I assumed had once been bright white, looked dingy and soiled in the sullen light of the dungeon. Her horns still stood proud upon her head and her hair was still as silky as I remembered. Long, graceful pointed ears poked through that hair, finishing her Other Worldly appearance.

Her face—well, even I thought it was divine. She looked like a doll, fashioned from the most expensive porcelain.

I stood back next to Bastien and did a sort of bow that made me feel stupid. "Tzariene."

"Samantha." She glided to me and opened her arms. I tried to think fast; was there anything I didn't know about hugging Faerie queens? If I did would she take something from me? Would I owe her something?

My hesitation was lengthy enough that her expression saddened and she lowered her arms. "It's fine. I understand your…reluctance. I'm afraid our worlds haven't really coexisted as well as they should."

"Truth is, your Majesty, they shouldn't coexist at all."

I thought for a second I'd angered her, but her expression remained the same and she actually nodded. "Again, I understand," she turned to look at Ivan as he lay on the cot. "Brendi has worked herself into somewhat of a paranoid state thanks to a priest who has worked his way to her side. He convinced her you will come and take her prize from her. So when she realized she had one of your coven and he refused to tell her what she wanted to know," the Queen looked back at me. "She punished him."

"What did she want to know?" Bastien said.

Tzariene seemed to see him for the first time, and I swear she blushed. When I looked at him, I realized he was still naked. One thing about Lycans—no inhibitions. None. Nada.

I stepped in front of him, successfully hiding his man parts. "This is Bastien. He's the Alpha of a Lycan pack."

"Yes he is." Tzariene's dark brows arched high and her lips puckered in amusement. When she smiled, I could just see the hint of her sharp teeth. "To answer your question, only the human can say. But his pain was great enough that Hob and I dulled his wit."

"Dulled his wit?" I looked between the two of them. It was quite a contrast. The solid black featureless mannequin and the exotic Faerie queen. "You lessened his I.Q.?"

No. We simply made the pain less. And the Spyderwick webbing helped in healing the other injuries. But the eyes…I can't heal those.

I put my hands to the sides of my head and pushed my fingers into my still damp hair. How would this affect his magic? Would he still be able to manipulate the web?

Either way, I couldn't look for Crwys knowing Ivan was here in the dungeon, and under the whim of Brendi. I lowered my backpack to the ground and retrieved the wooden knife. "Hob, is the door still open in your grotto?"

No. It was closed when I was brought here. The cave remains, but the Cairn is gone.

Lady Darksome
… "Then I'll have to just send Bastien back with Ivan." I held up the knife and looked at Bastien. "Will you do that? This should send you right back to the barn. All you have to do is get him to a hospital."

Bastien shook his head. "No,
chérie
. Then you will be trapped here. Doesn't the staff move with the traveler?"

I swallowed and took in a deep breath before I answered. "Yes. But I'll find some way back. I can't carry Ivan around looking for Crwys and neither can you."

"I'm not leaving you here alone."

"What
is
that?" Tzariene said in a sharp tone that reminded me a lot of Medbh. She pointed at the knife in my hand, and I wondered if she could see something about it I couldn't.

"It's a staff of rowan."

"Let me see it," Tzariene held out her hand.

Again, I hesitated. I really, really wanted to trust her but damn it, she was a freak'n Faerie! And you should never trust them!

"I will not take it, Samantha Hawthorne. I need to touch it."

I looked at Hob. When he nodded, I felt a little better.

A little.

I stood and held the knife out to her handle first. Not that there was any danger of cutting the Faerie. The thing didn't have any real sharpness to it to begin with. It was made of wood, after all. Which was why I was shocked when it flashed an angry red at her touch.

And apparently, so was she. Tzariene pulled back and held her hand to her chest and I thought I saw and smelled smoke. Uh oh. I made a Faerie queen mad now!

The rowan wood is dangerous to Faeries. Tzariene knew this.

"Then why did she touch it?" I blurted out.

"Because…" she said as she held out her hand and I saw her blackened, charred fingers. "I…had to know if it was also…a weapon. Something that could be used in battle."

Lord and Lady! I pulled the knife away and held it behind my back. "Tzariene, I'm so, so sorry."

"It will heal, once I regain my power."

"She took your power?" This amazed me. Brendi had come that far in her transformation into a Faerie? How did she do that?

"Yes, while I was confined within these iron bars. I can't move past them. So I spend my time in this lovely grotto, toying with the Sirens," she nodded to the knife. "You can't use that here, in this place, Samantha."

"It won't work?"

"It will work, but its use will also alert everyone that you're here. Brendi will be able to pinpoint your exact location and find you."

My shoulders slumped as I looked at the knife. "What am I going to do? I can't leave Ivan here. What if I have to use this in a hurry? We have to be together in order to make this work. And he can't follow us, not like this."

Bastien put his hand on mine and I looked up into his golden eyes. He looked sad and very tired. Dark circles hung under his eyes. I could feel through the link, though it was just he and I sharing that link, that Bastien LeBlanc wanted to do more.

Then he looked away from me. "
M'selle
, is there nothing that can be done for the young man's eyes?"

"What are you asking me?" Tzariene's tone strengthened and her voice lilted just a bit too…much. I looked from her to Bastien.

"I am not asking. I sense there is more you could do, but you are…waiting for something." He gave her a light bow.

Waiting for something? I refocused on Tzariene. "What is he talking about?"

Now, the Tzariene I was accustomed to seeing reared her ugly little deal-making self as her lips tilted to one side in a smirk. "You still have one thing to ask of me."

Of
course
. Tzariene wanted to dispense with her payment. As long as she did that, I would be required to fulfill my bargain. To slay the Dragon. The Summer Queen was no fool, even as a captive—if that's what she really was.

I had split that payment into two. I asked for information, which she had given me. I had one request left to make. "If I ask for his sight to be returned, you will grant it."

"I have no such power, but there is something in the palace that can return his sight. It will also exact its own price eventually, but it will grant your wish."

"And you wouldn't just want to tell me what that is out of the goodness of your icy heart, would you?"

She smiled.

Yeah, I didn't think so.

<
Chérie
, you can't ask this,
> Bastien said through the pack link. <
You have to guarantee the Dragon's safety out of
Alfheim
. If you use this request on Ivan—
>

<
I don't have a choice, Bastien. I don't think I can restore his sight—and if I tried, I'd have to use Arcane. And—to be honest—I'm afraid of it. I can't always control it
.>

I've noticed. His life is precious to you, no?
>

<
Ivan's? Yes
.>

"
M'selle
," Bastien said again. "Can I ask this of you?"

My own eyes widened when I realized what kind of door he was opening. "Bastien, no!"

But he held up his hand. "You're right,
ma petite
. Your Arcane can't be trusted with something as delicate as this. You'll need that second request to heal your heart."

Tzariene stepped forward and moved her hand in front of me. I felt compelled to step aside and expose the very naked Lycan to the Faerie queen. "And what will
you
give me in return?"

"Bastien—"

And that's when he did it. He used something on me he'd never done before.

His will.

I felt it through the link, a pressure artfully asserted against all of my five senses. And for an instant I couldn't see or hear, smell or touch, or even feel. I staggered forward and warm hands caught my arms.

"
Chérie
," Bastien said and his body pressed against mine as my sight slowly returned. "Forgive me?"

I shoved away from him, hard, and stumbled again, but this time I righted myself.

Samantha?

"It's fine, Hob." I blinked a few times as the light came back and I saw Bastien wore white pants now, tight and well fitted. A slight sparkle around them confirmed they were glamoured pants, most likely a gift from Tzariene. He lifted Ivan off the cot. "What are you doing?"

"Taking him to where he can heal. Pick up the staff and follow us."

Us? I retrieved the wooden knife, though I didn't remember dropping it. Hob and Tzariene stood together off to the side and watched. "You two not coming?"

"No," Tzariene said. "But I'll be able to hear your request when you make it."

"What did you ask from him?" I took a step toward her. I didn't think I seemed menacing, so I was a little taken aback when she actually moved away.

"He offered freely, Samantha Hawthorne. Just as you did. Now go. You don't have a lot of time."

"We don't?" That's when I remembered Cordelia's declaration. "The Boggart said Brendi intends on marrying the Dragon. Is this possible?"

"It's not really a marriage. It's a binding. Something she intends on doing by using his blood. It's…an ancient spell she claims she took from the oldest Grimoire. The spell is said to forever bind the Dragon to do her bidding."

"She…" My heart flip-flopped in my chest as I dropped my backpack. "She can't really do that, can she? Make him love her?"

"Love has nothing to do with it," Tzariene said, and then she narrowed her eyes. "You and the Lycan are
not
mates."

Okay whoa. What? I sneered like Billy Idol. "Oh Goddess no. Why would you think that?"

"There is a link…a connection between the two of you. He obviously has feelings for you," she held out her hands and inched forward. "Samantha…look at me."

"Why? Are you going to do something nasty?"

"No…just, let me see your eyes."

I felt childish at that moment because the green-eyed monster was alive and well. I was jealous. And angry. And ready to kill that kid if she dared make my Dragon love her. Or follow her. Or worship her—whatever the seven souls this spell is supposed to do.

So in that childish, hissy-fit moment I glared at her.

Her eyes narrowed and then widened as she put her delicate, charred fingers to her lips. "You…you love him."

"Not the wolf."

"No…the Destroyer. You…are in
love
…with the Dragon."

I gave a short sigh before I lowered my shoulders. "Yes. If everyone has to know and it's a bad thing, I do. I love him. That's why I have to find him. I can't slay him, Tzariene. I want to bring him home, with me."

"Knowing what he did?"

"I don't
know
what he did. And if he did something really, really terrible," I held out my hands, aware that Bastien was waiting on me with Ivan in his arms. "Then he has to tell me himself. Come clean. Tell me every terrible detail. And you know what? I'll listen to him. And I'll withhold any judgments until I know all the facts. For Goddesses' sake, just move
on
. The man I love, the Dragon, whatever he is, works as a detective in my world. He fights for the victims, he punishes the bad guy, he doesn't use his power for personal gain—he's grown, moved on, changed, but apparently you people haven't!"

My heart thundered against my chest and I was breathing fast. I waited few seconds and when she didn't answer, I grabbed my backpack and turned toward Bastien. "Let's go."

"Samantha—"

I stopped and then pivoted to look at her. Her light was back, her gown pristine and her hands…well they still looked a little toasted. But the image I remembered had returned. And I didn't know why. "Tzariene?"

"Do as Bastien tells you to do, understand? If what I sense is the truth, and he feels the same, the spell Brendi hopes to wrap him in will not work." She came to me and to my surprise, took my hand in hers. "There is one thing, one concept, one emotion that cannot be defeated by magic.
Any
magic. Do you know what that is?"

I felt sarcastic and a bit put on the spot. "Love?"

"Yes."

I got it right.

"Remember, do as Bastien says to do and be prepared to show that love. It's the only way I can help you get him out of here alive and whole."

"Wait—what? I haven't asked you to do that."

"No. This one is for me, because there is nothing more satisfying to me than the idea of seeing Brendi's face when her prize no longer fuels her need for destruction and domination. Slaying him wouldn't have nearly the same devastating effect as him escaping would have."

I swear I expected her to giggle like a schoolgirl. "Oh—okay. If you say so."