Silver Hollow (30 page)

“What happened here?”

His fingers tightened over hers.
“Wenderdowne is the key to many things, Jessamiene. Long ago the Elders made a shield to protect them from human sickness. Those not chosen to join the Underground were left to run wild in your world, barred forever from their homes. The Vale was the only safe haven left after what the humans did.” He spoke indifferently, like a historian droning on about facts
which
did not affect him.

“So let me get this straight. This House leads to what, some other world?” Amie frowned as they turned a corner and came to a fallen
-
in staircase sinking down into an abyss. Emrys half carried, half led her down a safer route.

He laughed at her naivety and said, “Not another world, Jessamiene,
the
world as it was first intended. Your people are the ones hell bent on destroying it.”

“And I guess you’d know all about destruction, wouldn’t you?”
s
he baited, held her breath when he said nothing. “You’re one of the ones who’ve been out there in it, right, outside?” She wanted to push his buttons like he had pushed hers, wanted to push him so he would leave her alone. No sooner had the words left her mouth than his hand released hers and her foot crashed through the weak wood. She screamed in fear and pain. Her candle fell and clattered down the rest of the way
,
leaving nothing but half her waist caught in the stairs. Ashes lifted a cloud and caught in her lungs. Coughs interrupted her screams, until a pair of hands lifted her by the arms, jerked her out of the woodwork and drew her into his chest. Her leg ached, burned beneath her torn skirts. She could already feel the blood surfacing. Shock kept her from interrupting him when he whispered in her ear.

“Do nay forget your
u
ncle put your life in my hands.”

Yeah, and he forgot to mention you were a psycho!

Gasping for clean air and drinking in his scent instead, she anchored her forearms to his shoulders and growled back, “You don’t have to remind me.”

He held her closer long after his point was made, until she was forced to sink into his frame and feel. “Jessamiene
,
” he said, “it does not have to be like this. Fighting me is pointless because I will always win.”

“Want to bet?”
s
he was angry enough to add. He only wrapped his arms firmly round her waist.

“I will always tell you what ye want to know
,
Jessamiene. I could drabble on the horrors of war and the consequences of lusting after power for days.” His lips against her ear made her shiver, disgusted and thrilled her at once.
When he b
reath
ed
her in
,
she felt his chest expand and collapse
and
heard the inhuman beat of his heart
.
S
he was surprised by his sudden tenderness and recalled his kisses.

Supporting her with one arm
,
he brought the other to push her fallen curls from her face. His thumb traced her jaw and brushed her lower lip. “If I could spare ye all the brutality I have seen and given by my own hand…” His voice broke and her heart stuttered.

“What is Uncle Henry so afraid of?”

Emrys sighed against her lips, laughter trailing the end. “Iudicael fears what he cannot control. He knows they are coming to deliver his timely end, knows he cannot fight the others without your help. He fears for your safety but mostly his because he has always been selfish. He lives with his guilt and avoids all pleasures because of it. Morcant is incapable of stopping forces she created. He feared an alliance with her would destroy everything he has preserved. Now he might have no choice in the matter.”

“But he never did anything about it either, did he?” she said. Her heart broke with her own admission but she knew it was true.

“He lacked the courage. You cannot fault a Sidhe that. They are self-preserving by nature
,
ye know, akin to humans.”

Amie felt trapped, here in the ashen ruins, on stairs
which
could collapse at any second, surrounded in a double layer of darkness. She couldn’t help but feel she was missing something, that there was more to Emrys than the absence of light. “What are you?”
s
he asked between the slow lingering draw of his lips to hers.

He laughed. “I am the Merlin, bane of the Vale, terror of the four lands. I am chaos and shadows, the last of my people.” She felt the bleeding skin of her thigh stitch back together while she saw a rapid flash of images to accompany his words. She saw battlefields littered with ruined armies an age gone. She felt his vengeance and unending supply of hatred until he nearly forgot what it was he was so angry about. She saw her face from his eyes, a green
-
eyed, dark
-
haired beauty, and suddenly everything clicked.

“I am undone because of you
, can’t ye see
,
Nimue?” Pulling away only long enough to breathe
,
he kissed her and she let him. This time the meshing of their inner
nixies
was effortless and even more powerful, shooting off sparks to lighten the expanse.

Digging his hand into her hair until it came loose of its ribbon, Emrys tilted her head back to look up at him. His expression was cherishing, tearing her heart to pieces because she knew he would break her.

Stepping, Emrys
stepped back, but kept their hands linked. His
lips thinned and his eyes flashed
when he finally spoke again
. “I want you to make your own light. We have met the enemy but ye must be better acquainted with it before we return.”

“And I’m making this…how?”

“You really have to ask?”
he said while s
etting her to her feet
.

S
he could feel the brush of his inner nixy to hers and violet sparks shot from the tips of her fingers.

Of course, it’s as simple as that. Just make some static electricity and let the fire rip.

After a few moments of concentration Amie was staring at the light sphere rotating in her hand, bright silver as her blood. It illuminated the great hall around them, revealed the pride in Emrys’ black orbs
,
and with a gasp Amie felt the energy flee from her. The ball exploded into a cluster of smaller orbs
which
danced and settled on forgotten candle wicks and torches.

“It seeks the memory of heat
,
”
Emrys
said
and Amie rolled her eyes. With a quirk of his brow he flashed a grin and continued their descent. “Come. Follow my steps and ye shall be safe.”

She would never admit it but this place was eerie. Death and terror la
id
claim over this part of the house. Amie’s imagination went into overdrive as she took in the dome high above the staircase, pa
ne
s of clear glass blackened from smoke. Some panes had exploded so the stars
shone brightly above and glass crunched beneath Amie’s occasional step. What had this part of the castle been?

As if he heard her thoughts,
Emrys said,
“During the reign of Oberon’s son Nioginuog, wizards from all the lands came here to learn and teach.”

“It was a school?” Amie squinted at the blackened shelves, trinkets and books hanging off their ends, some amazingly intact.
A maniacal grin lit his eyes as he looked at her over his shoulder
.

“Of a kind
,
” he
admitted
. “Wenderdowne was called a fortress for many reasons. When human sickness claimed the land
,
the wisest and best of them came to share and learn both our worlds. What they took back with them was not accepted.” He kicked his boot at the rubble at their feet.

Amie stared at the round room, broken
-
down desks, charts, and inventions to rival Leonardo da Vinci
, which had
only left skeletons of their presence. There were no unseeing eyes here, nothing lurking in the shadows, waiting for her…
waiting
. Here, there was only the sad remnant of greatness. Tears filled her eyes.

Emrys stood in front of one of her many silvery lights, ran his hand to hover not even an inch over it in a caress. Amie felt the gooseflesh rise on her arm, as if he were touching her. He eyed her with a smug grin.

Don’t forget yourself again
,
Wenderdowne, no matter how good of a kisser he may be! He’s still a devil!

Crossing her arms over her chest, she addressed her question to the empty tower. “Who started the fire?”

Emrys’ delay made her turn back to him. He stared into the light as it pulsed violet rays, dancing over his face. “The telling of this tale is not my place. I can tell ye this, however. The night ye were attacked, a bond was made betwixt us. Irrevocable it is. You should know the mending of souls changes people. You and I will never be capable of seeing the other without the pull of it.”

She froze when he caressed the light again, felt the echo of
his
touch from her shoulder to her neck. Evidence of what he said was plain to see. If she hadn’t been psyching out constantly the last couple of days over Henry’s absence she might have thought of it a lot sooner. Sadly
enough, as much as this made her resent him all the more, she felt sorry for Emrys. It made her words soft. “Why make a bond with someone you don’t even know? Why did you save my life?”

He grinned, showing all of his white, slightly pointed teeth. “I brought you here to show you the enemy ye have not met. This is what they will do to you, Jessamiene.” He spread his hands wide to the ruins.

Facts lay before her now she could better understand. The pull Emrys had on her was magical, sort of. He healed her, had to do some little bonding ceremony to seal the deal and let her inside his head in the process. It explained the strange attraction and why whenever they touched she was almost willing to allow him anything.

But why risk so much without any kind of payment in return?

She was certain Uncle Henry didn’t know about their bond or he wouldn’t have let Emrys be this close to her. She was torn now, with half a mind to avoid him just to keep her head clear or to play his game until he told her everything.

Chapter 28

Dastardly Villainess

Amie was forced to endure dinner with Morcant Hogswillow, gold
-
digger and black widow extraordinaire. In light of Emrys’ latest lesson, she was more wary than ever of strangers in their midst. Hadn’t
Underhill
, Slaine and Emrys all hinted
that
Morcant was tied to the ones who wanted her dead? Henry had revealed little, but Amie
had
already made up her mind about a few things.

Morcant was powerful and therefore must have friends in high and low places, enough influence that Henry couldn’t ignore her invitation without consequences. These friends of hers obviously wanted to add Wenderdowne to their monopoly and Amie was somehow the missing piece of the puzzle.

If she’s expecting a naïve American, you better play the part, girlfriend.

Rallying her best Texan accent and not even bothering to change out of Dearg’s borrowed gift, she flounced into the rarely used Dining Hall. Henry turned at her entrance, pausing in mid-laughter and leaning away from
her
. Clicking her black
-
nailed fingers together, Morcant shrieked and bounced up and down in her seat as Amie approached them.

“Jessamiene!” Uncle Henry was the first to address her, motioning for Underhill to pour them more
gooseberry
juice. “
’
Bout time you arrived, my dear. Morcant was just reminding me of our childhood summers spent in the Vale.”

“Ooh dear, Henry, let’s not bore the poor lass with such woebegone days. Do join us, Jessamiene! Cook has made a delightful dish of chopped venison and
brimplerose
leaves.”

As Amie took her seat at Henry’s other side she realized she would be forced to face their guest the rest of the evening. Therefore, any foul feelings she felt for the wench n
eeded to be kept hidden behind her
fake smile.

Underhill
leaned over to pour more juice in Morcant’s goblet, fury hidden in
her
sweet round face. Amie couldn’t hide her grin
.
Yet Henry’s eyes held her from her mockery.

He actually wants this to work? What happened to avoiding her? She’s been his stalker all these years.

Morcant Hogswillow was the most beautiful creature Amie had ever seen. Her brown eyes burned yellow as candlelight, her voluminous curls were the luster of chestnuts and piled high on her head in their sapphire net. Between dainty bites, she told Amie, “Oh
,
you simply are as darling a creature as Henry described! I had no idea of your being so grown up! Henry, she is positively
frazzleging
!”