by Quinn Loftis
“We must continue,” Decebel finally spoke up. “I mourn the death of our little healer, but there are the others who still need us and we must find the strength to go on.”
“I can’t leave her,” Costin’s voice was hoarse and he sounded completely defeated.
“She won’t be alone,” Jacque spoke up, “I will stay with her.”
“Jacquelyn,” Fane began, but was cut off when she pushed away from him whipping around at the same time to face him.
“I’m staying Fane. I won’t leave her here in this forsaken place alone. You all go on and finish this and kill that bastard who took from me what is mine! Then you come back for us.” Jacque’s jaw was set and it was obvious that it would take an army to get her away from Sally. She walked over to Costin and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Costin, I’ve got her, honey. I’ll watch her. You go and do what you know she would want you to.” She waited silently for him to respond to her.
He nodded his head and kissed Sally one more time. Jacque sat down and opened her arms for him to lay Sally’s head in her lap. He did so gently and then looked into Jacque’s eyes with his glowing ones. “Thank you,” he told her simply. Jacque bit the inside of her cheek to keep from sobbing. She gave him a short nod. As he stepped away Fane replaced him and knelt down in front of her.
“I love you,” he told her, “you have no idea how hard it is for me to leave you here.”
“Yes I do,” she said, “but part of loving each other is letting go when we have to. I’ll be here waiting for you. I love you, Fane Lupei.”
He leaned forward and kissed her being careful of Sally’s still form, and then stood. Jacque watched as they began to move back into the forest. Peri was still standing there after everyone else had already moved on. Jacque looked up at the fae and saw that Peri had tears running down her cheeks. She didn’t know if she could remember a time Peri had ever cried, at least not in front of her.
“She shouldn’t have done it,” Peri said. “Not for me.”
“You know her well enough to know that she wouldn’t let a fly die for her, not if she could stop it,” Jacque said.
“I should have been able to stop him. I should have been able to stop this.”
“Peri,” Jacque nearly growled, “you are not all powerful. You can’t prevent the death of every person you love, no matter how badly you want to.”
“Perhaps not, but I can sure as hell die trying.”
She was gone before Jacque could reply.
“Houston, we have a problem,” Jen said breathlessly.
Cynthia stood up from where she had been sitting at the entrance to the cave. She walked back to where Jen was pacing. “What’s wrong?” she asked while taking in Jen’s flushed skin and rapid breathing. “Crap, you’re in labor,” she answered her own question.
“What gave it away? The, I’m in terrible pain, look, or the, I’m scared as hell and don’t think I’m ready for this, look?” Jen asked dryly as she tried to breathe through the next contraction. She gritted her teeth and braced herself on the cave wall as her stomach cramped down. She swore that her child was trying to claw her way out instead of going the traditional route. “I guess we don’t have to worry about that C-section, huh doc?” Jen growled.
“How far apart are the contractions?” Cynthia asked as she went over to the box that contained the blankets. She began making a pallet for Jen to lie on.
“Not freaking far enough,” Jen growled.
Cynthia watched her for a little while as she helped her walk slowly around the cave with Jen cussing her all the while. She determined that the contractions were around six to seven minutes apart; so they still had some time.
“Well, look on the bright side,” Jen said after a particularly difficult contraction, “at least you don’t have to filet me.”
Cynthia didn’t smile. “We aren’t out of the woods yet.”
“Pun intended?” Jen tried to smile but it came out more of a grimace.
“I’d like to say that I’m feeling that clever right now, but honestly Jen, I’m just hoping I remember everything I need to about delivering a baby. I haven’t done it since med school.”
“Uh, doc, you aren’t inspiring a whole lot of confidence here.”
“I’m going for honesty.”
Jen let out a huff of laughter. “Of all the times, you go for honesty. Remind me to teach you when it’s appropriate to lie which is in nearly all stressful situations, by the way.”
“I’ll remember you said that.”
“Tombstone,” Jen grinned at the doctor.
“Is there any movie you haven’t seen?” Cynthia asked.
“Doc, we’re from Coldspring, TX,” Jen said just as another contraction began.
“Point made.”
Chapter 23
“Have we been foolish to believe that we could win? Have we been so vain to think that we were powerful enough to defeat evil and walk away with no casualties? We have been fools. We have walked into the lions’ den. Instead of respecting the danger the beast possessed, we believed ourselves to be invincible.” ~Peri
“Do you remember the first time we shaved our legs?” Jacque asked Sally, though she knew she wouldn’t, couldn’t answer. “We were eleven and Jen had told us that she refused to be seen with hairy beasts and if we wanted to remain her friends then we would have to become Schic chicks. You had asked her what the crap a Schic chick was and she had tossed a pack of disposable razors at us and then refused to let us out of the bathroom until we had shaved. I don’t think I had ever seen you that mad. You were as pissed as a wet cat.” Jacque laughed out loud. “Jen had asked you what the big deal was and you had told her that it should be your decision when you were ready to shave your legs and then Jen had told you that anything related to beauty was always to be deferred to her. I swear I thought she was going to shave your legs for you.” She ran her fingers through Sally’s brown hair as she looked out into the dark forest. Her mind wandered back to happier times.
Jacque felt the tears as they slowly slipped down her cheeks. She wondered if she would ever be able to smile again, and if so, how? She thought about the other girls and about her mom. Oh crap, my mom. Please don’t let my mom die, she told the Great Luna. Please, I don’t think I can handle losing her. Jacque squeezed her eyes closed and leaned her head down until her forehead touched Sally’s. She was still warm, though not as warm as someone whose heart still beat, but warm enough to know that her life had only just been taken.
“I’m so sorry, Sal. I’m so sorry this happened to you,” she wept. She wept for her friend; she wept for Alina and for Vasile and Costin. She wept for Jen who didn’t know about the deaths. And she wept for the loss she knew was yet to come. She wondered if it was possible to die of pain, to die from too much loss, and as the sobs wracked her body, she decided that it just might be a possibility.
“So we know that Reyaz has rigged this so that one of the females will sacrifice themselves for us,” Sorin growled, “and there isn’t a damn thing we can do to stop it.”
The group paused as the wolves took in deep breaths, trying to catch the scent of any of the four females still hidden.
“There has to be a way to stop him. There has to be a way to protect ourselves so the females don’t feel they have to make the sacrifice,” Adam spoke up as he pulled Crina close to his side. She had tears glistening in her eyes and he rubbed circles on her back, attempting to comfort her.
Peri flashed to where they had stopped and pulled the fae stones from her pocket. “We might have a way to do just that.”
Alston stepped next to her. “They show up now? Why not two deaths ago,” he nearly yelled. Peri saw that it hurt him nearly as much as it hurt her to lose those under their protection.
“You know I don’t know the answer to that,” she snapped back, “and asking questions like that isn’t going to bring them back.”
“Elle and Lilly are that way,” Sorin said and his eyes narrowed in th
e direction he pointed. Part of him wanted to take off in a dead sprint, to get to his mate as quickly as possible, but a part of him was terrified of getting too close and having her put in a position where she felt she had to sacrifice herself for him or anyone else.
“Thank goodness one of you has come to his senses and isn’t running off after his mate without a freaking thought in the world,” Peri grumbled as she handed out the fae stones; one to Cyn, one to Alston, one to Adam, one for herself and the fifth she gave to Thalion. She would have preferred to have a healer to give it to, but Vasile hadn’t wanted Rachel to come, and well, the other healer wasn’t available either, but she didn’t want to think about that.
“Okay, so here’s the plan. We’re going to cast a protection spell with the stones, one that causes us to be invisible. Even Elle and Lilly won’t be able to see us. So once we see them, well, we’ll figure that part out once we get there. Everyone with a stone get in a circle and everyone else get inside of the circle. We have to move as one.” Peri looked at Sorin and then at Cypher. “You two Neanderthals do not go charging in after you women. I swear I will zap your asses if you do.”
Once everyone was in position, Peri looked at Alston and gave a slight nod. They both began chanting softly until the stones began glowing. Eventually, they shimmered and their outlines grew fuzzy, though they could still see each other.
“Okay, we’re good. No one else should be able to see us. Sorin, point the way,” Peri told him.
They moved quickly and silently through the heavily wooded area. Soon they saw the two women when they were half a mile away. They also saw the cliff that they precariously stood on.
“What the hell?” Cypher said with wide eyes. “How is there a cliff in the middle of a forest that has been well-nigh without a hill?”
Peri narrowed her eyes and sought out the truth of the forest, the truth of what she knew. There had never been a cliff in the dark forest. There wasn’t so much as a mole hill. When she believed that with everything inside of her, she saw the truth. Lilly and Elle weren’t on a cliff at all; they were just on the forest ground with trees around them, just as the group was.
“It’s an illusion,” she told them. “You have to believe, really believe that it’s an illusion.”
“We all have to,” Alston said. “It’s not enough for a few of us to realize that it’s fake. In order for them to no longer appear to be on a cliff’s edge then we must all see the truth that they are indeed just standing in the forest.”
They all stared silently at the women and the cliff that wasn’t there, all attempting to get their brains to reject what their eyes saw. It was easier said than done.
As Peri stood staring at the girls, she saw Lorelle appear beside them. Her eyes narrowed as she watched her sister talk to them and then point in their direction. That piece of crap she called a sister was telling Lilly and Elle that they were here, hiding under the protection spell. Both of them looked in the direction Lorelle pointed and she could tell they were trying to see the invisible figures. She didn’t know what Lorelle was up to, but she knew without a doubt it wouldn’t end well for them.
“They have a protection spell over them,” Lorelle told Lilly and Elle.
“How do we know you aren’t just screwing with us?” Lilly asked.
“No, she’s right, I can see them,” Elle said. Once Lorelle had pointed them out, Elle was able to see past the fae magic. She saw all of them and it wasn’t a pretty sight. Peri looked like she was going to murder someone. Costin and Vasile both looked utterly defeated. Crina was silently crying and Fane seemed distracted. Sorin has staring at her with narrowed eyes and a look of determination. She knew for certain that he knew of the sacrifice. He knew that Reyaz had planned it so that both she and Lilly could not survive. One of them would have to die.
“You can see them?” Lilly asked Elle anxiously.
Elle nodded and her jaw tightened when she realized that Jacque was not with them, nor was Alina, or Sally.
“Is Jacque there?” Lilly asked, “Or Sally, or Jen?”
Elle didn’t want to answer her, she knew what Lilly would do if she did. When she looked at her, she knew that her face had not hidden the truth. Tears welled up in Lilly’s eyes.
“What about Fane and Costin, or Decebel?”
Elle nodded and Lilly broke. She covered her face as the tears fell. She knew that if Jacque was still alive Fane would either be with her, or Jacque would be there with him. The same was true of Costin and Sally and Decebel and Jen. When Reyaz had told them of the hunt, the rules, and how each of them would have to make the ultimate choice, she had immediately thought of Jacque and the other two girls, and she knew that any of them would give their lives for those they love. Lilly’s shoulders shook with the force of her tears. She took in huge gulps of air as she tried to get herself under control and tried to think clearly, but her mind just kept going back to the thought that her daughter just might be gone.
“Lilly we don’t know anything for sure,” Elle told her gently, then she looked at Lorelle. “Do you know?” she snarled at the fae.
Lorelle shrugged. “Maybe.”
“If you aren’t going to do anything but stand there and taunt us then get out of here before I rip your cold heart from your chest.”
Lorelle clucked her tongue at Elle. “Being the mate of a wolf has made you bloodthirsty, Elle. That’s not like our kind.”
“And being a selfish bitch has made you a moron, Lorelle, and I would say that makes you even less like our kind.” Elle took a menacing step towards her. “Why are you doing this? All because you hate your sister? Can’t you see that you will have nothing. You are nothing whether Peri lives or dies? You have brought that on yourself. You had everything, Lorelle. You had a sister who loved you, a council who respected you, and a species that looked up to you and you threw it all away because of pride.”
“You don’t know anything about me and I suggest you worry about the lives of your friends, of your mate, and not about me.” Lorelle gave them a wave with her finger and then was gone.
Elle looked back at Lilly who was standing there staring at the edge of the cliff. Tears still ran down her cheeks and she had the appearance of someone who had lost everything.
“Lilly, please step away from the edge.”
“If my daughter is gone...” her words were cut off by a sob and she brought her hand up to cover her mouth. She shook her head and seemed to gather herself. “A child should not go before the parent, Elle. That is not the way it should work; it isn’t right.”
“You dying isn’t going to make it right,” Elle argued.
“But it will save the others,” Lilly pointed out. “It will protect you and your mate. I can’t imagine a world without Jacque in it, and I know you may not understand, but there is no greater love than that of a parent’s love for their child. I couldn’t save Jacque, but I can save someone.” She started to move closer to the edge and Elle ran forward.
“PERI!” Cypher bellowed, “Lift the protection now!” He watched as Lilly wept and moved closer to the edge. He knew, just like the others she was willing to give her life, but he didn’t know why. There was no one dying. There wasn’t an immediate threat that she knew of; so why was she standing on the edge of cliff ready to throw herself off?
“LILLY STOP!” he yelled as loud as he could and knew Peri had lifted the spell when Lilly turned at the sound of his voice. Her eyes widened and she turned and took a step in his direction. Her eyes left his then as she searched the group and when they landed back on him he could see utter grief. He realized then that she was looking for her daughter and by the tears welling up in her eyes anew, she believed the worse.
“SHE’S ALIVE!” he told her and then started moving towards her. He didn’t run, but instead moved quickly but cautiously attempting to ready himself for the assault he was sure would come. “Jacque is alive, Lilly,” he told her again as he got closer to her.
“Where is she
?” she asked when he was ten feet away.
“She’s with Sally,” Fane answered.
Lilly looked at Fane and then her eyes landed on Costin. She took in the broken look on his face and Cypher could tell she knew.
“She’s gone,” she said. Her eyes filled with tears again and he wanted to wrap her in his arms and keep her safe forever. He wanted to take her pain and tell her everything would be okay, but that would be a lie. Nothing was ever okay once someone you loved was taken from you, especially if it was before their time and it was so very far before Sally’s time.
“I’m sorry, Lilly,” he said softly as he took another step towards her. He took another step and another and was nearly to her when Elle yelled out. “STOP!”
Elle held out her hand to Sorin telling him with both her words and motion not to come any closer. She looked over at Lilly. “You can’t let him touch you,” she reminded her. She saw the panic in Lilly’s eyes as she turned to Cypher.
“You can’t touch me,” Lilly told him.
“Why?” Cypher asked.
“Elle,” Sorin’s deep voice rumbled as he took another step toward his mate.
“Sorin,” Elle nearly snarled, “I said stop, please.”
“Tell me why and then maybe I will, but you cannot expect me to see you after so long, after having the bond broken between us, and not want to wrap you in my arms.”
“Reyaz has set a trap. If any of you touch us, this cliff is going down, with all of us on it,” she told him and pleaded with her eyes for him to listen to her.
“The cliff is not real,” Sorin told her.
“Does everyone believe that? To the extent that they can see past the glamour of it for at least a second?” she asked and looked around the group. “Can Costin and, from the looks of it, Vasile as well, see past their grief right now?” she was answered with silence. “That’s what I thought. So until all of you, every single one of you, believes that this cliff isn’t real, you cannot touch us.”