The Brotherhood of the Snake (Return of the Ancients Book 2)

by Carmen Caine

  The fourth time we stopped in front of a window, I caught Rafael staring at my reflection and not his. I still couldn’t fathom the expression on his face, but I was becoming too mentally exhausted to even try.

  He began walking faster after that. I had to struggle to keep up and had to break out into small periodic bouts of running to prevent myself from being left behind.

  Above my head, a beautiful crystal tree at the top of the tower rapidly grew closer. We seemed to be heading there, threading our way through growing numbers of white-dressed Fae who, thankfully, were too preoccupied with their reflections to notice that Rafael was walking freely among them.

  I found that perversely amusing.

  Several blue butterfly-winged dragons with six-seat saddles swooped over our heads to land next to the tree. I wondered if we were going to ride them, and the thought filled me with both fear and excitement.

  We reached the tree without incident, and as one dragon lifted off, another one landed. The next moment, we were standing right next to one and Rafael was practically throwing me into a saddle.

  Startled, I sank back into the soft cushioned seat as several strands of shimmery material slid over my shoulders to wrap me in a kind of cocoon. I didn’t have much time to wonder what we were doing before Rafael and Jareth vaulted behind me, and the dragon crouched, stretched its gossamer wings, and launched itself into the sky.

  At first I was too scared to look and instinctively closed my eyes, but as the cool air blew softly on my cheek, I began to feel safe and cautiously opened an eye.

  We were gliding low above the City of the Queens, floating over crystal towers, magnificent waterfalls, and groves of what looked like tree-sized purple stalks of celery. In the distance, I could see harsh jagged mountain peaks rising in every direction, extraordinarily tall mountains, many times higher than anything on Earth.

  The dragon dove down, skimming low over an orange lake surrounded by stone pillars the size of skyscrapers. The water was as smooth as glass, and so clear that I could see miles below into an incredibly complex coral reef system covered with massive schools of brightly colored and odd, cube-shaped fish.

  Ahead, a tall stalk protruded from the water, shooting out clumps of white string that oddly reminded me of the party string that comes in cans, and as a lemony scent pervaded the air, we began a sudden, sharp ascent, rapidly changing course to head for a dense cluster of massive stone pillars.

  As we wound through them, the pillars began to vibrate and make sounds like loud wind chimes. Silver streams of rope began popping out of the tops, falling and bouncing back like bungee cords. They sparkled, reaching for us, but the dragon avoided them easily enough.

  It was all so new and beautiful that I couldn’t help but laugh out loud in astonishment as a startled flock of bright yellow birds rose from the ground below, chirping cheerfully, and my eyes filled with wonder.

  But only a moment later, my pleasure turned into outright horror.

  The silver cords began springing up from the pillars and zeroing in on the yellow birds, began to suck them up like peas in a straw. One of the silver cords snapped above our heads, and it was then that I saw the rows of teeth.

  I felt sick.

  I couldn’t see the beauty of the wild landscape after that, and I just wanted to get off of the dragon as fast as I could.

  Shortly after, we were diving again, the land below us rising sharply, revealing a long, low, white building standing in the shadows of the stone pillars high above us. Far away, I could still see the silver cords springing from the tops.

  We circled the building several times before finally landing in a grassy meadow in front of it, and I closed my eyes, expelling a breath of relief.

  A bit later, Rafael’s strong and steady hands lifted me down from the saddle to swing me easily to his side. I wanted to ask him about those tooth-lined bungee cords, but didn’t have a chance as Jareth dismounted, and the dragon blasted back into the sky.

  “This way,” Jareth said without preamble, nodding towards the house as he lifted Galahad from his shoulder with an indulgent smile. Caressing the bird’s head a moment, he tossed him into the air with a laugh. “Be careful of the Crill, Galahad. I’m not in the mood to rescue you again.”

  “Crill?” I asked, pointing up at the silver cords in an open question.

  “Fairly mindless creatures.” Jareth shrugged, moving towards the white building.

  “And quite dangerous when they come down from the pillars at night,” Rafael added with a frown of disapproval. “Why would you live here, Jareth?”

  Jareth stopped mid-step and turning, sent him an incredulous look accompanied by a macabre laugh. “Why else, Rafael? Because no one else does! I rarely worry about unwanted visitors.”

  “The Queens should forbid your residence here.” Rafael deepened his frown. “You are far too valuable as a Fate Tracker to risk becoming Crill bait at night.”

  I shuddered, eyeing the silver cords high above me. I’d thought they no longer posed a threat. “They come down here at night?” I asked. My voice squeaked a little.

  “They won’t harm anyone.” Jareth didn’t appear the least bit concerned as he kicked open the front door. Pausing on the threshold, he bowed with a flourish. “Welcome to my humble abode.”

  Cautiously, I followed Rafael into a large room that appeared to be the size of the entire building.

  Dimly, I heard Jareth’s sharp intake of breath, and Rafael stopped so abruptly that I bumped right into him.

  “Sorry,” I mumbled, stepping around him.

  I froze.

  The room was virtually empty, save for a row of guitars lined up against one wall and a black leather sofa in the center. But on that sofa, holding in each hand what looked like a piece of fishing line with a pebble tied to its end, sat Marquis.

  No one moved.

  Marquis lifted his hands, and his voice rumbled low. “Looking for these tethers, are you?”

  Chapter Ten - Marquis

  No one moved.

  Marquis swung the tethers in slow, lazy circles and gave a sinister laugh. “Well, well, Sydney, you’ve opened yet another door that should have remained closed.”

  I held my breath.

  Stepping protectively in front of me, Rafael asked in a quiet voice, “Who are you?”

  Marquis’ eyes flashed a startling bright yellow as his pupils narrowed into razor-thin vertical slits. With his voice vibrating into an even lower bass, he asked, “What’s this? Can’t recognize your own father?” At that, his mouth broke into a wide grin, and he gave his own knee a humorous slap, clearly amused at his own wit.

  “What have you done to my father?” Rafael’s voice was still quiet but took on a menacing tone.

  “Nothing,” Marquis replied, giving the tethers a playful swing as he began walking towards us. “Your father’s here. He invited us to inhabit him years ago, shortly after your birth.” His amused gaze swept Rafael from head-to-toe. “In fact, we are all you’ve ever known, Rafael. Nothing’s changed. You may still call us ‘father’.”

  Rafael looked like he was going to be sick.

  But Marquis didn’t seem to care. His attention shifted to Jareth, and his lizard-looking eyes lit with intense interest. “But tell us, Jareth, why haven’t we heard your voice before?”

  “You’ve heard my voice for years, Marquis,” Jareth replied with a rough laugh. “And you’ve never liked what it’s said.”

  Marquis’ head snapped back as his lips curled in the semblance of a smile. “Ah, you don’t want them to know, but it’s too late for secrets now.”

  “I have no secrets,” Jareth retorted with a dark scowl.

  At that Marquis laughed, and dropping the fake smile, his voice rumbled lower, impossibly low. It was so low that I felt it vibrate through my bones rather than heard it with my ears.

  “You think to mislead us?” he growled. “The Brotherhood do not give birth, neither do they die. Yet there you stand as one o
f us. You hear our voices. We hear yours. Our minds connect as only the members of the Brotherhood of the Snake can.”

  Jareth’s face became expressionless all at once.

  Marquis had almost reached us now, his reptilian gaze still locked on Jareth. “Yet you have never existed in our world, Jareth. You are not with us on the cliffs, linking through the tree. You stand as one of the Brotherhood, yet in the world of the Fae only. How?”

  “Since this is your hallucination and not mine, you tell me!” Jareth gave a grating laugh.

  All at once, Marquis’ thin veneer of civility was gone. “Dare you play games with us?” he hissed viciously. “We can easily crush you, Fae trickster!”

  He must have shifted, because he was suddenly at Jareth’s side, seizing his arm in a death-grip.

  Jareth grimaced in pain as an expression of revulsion crossed his face, and he began clawing desperately at Marquis’ hand.

  It was then that I saw it.

  Under Marquis’ fingers, Jareth’s skin had transformed. Scales rippled up his arm, black gleaming scales, spreading out and creeping up towards his neck.

  But we weren’t the only ones shocked.

  Marquis’ lips parted in astonishment as Rafael’s voice whispered through the room, so soft I could hardly hear it.

  “Marquis,” was all he said.

  Instantaneously, Marquis’ eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

  We all stood there, gaping at Jareth’s arm in horror. But almost immediately, the scales began to fade, morphing back into tan flesh as if they had never been there in the first place until after only a few moments, they were completely gone.

  Taking a long, shaking breath, Jareth flexed his arm.

  I didn’t know how to react. I wasn’t even exactly sure what I’d just witnessed.

  Jareth was the first to recover.

  Prodding Marquis’ unconscious form with his booted toe, he turned a dark, accusing scowl on Rafael. “And just how did you do that without a trion, Rafael? That’s impossible!”

  “Apparently it isn’t.” Rafael pulled his lips in a flat line. “But let’s concentrate on you first, shall we? Care to explain what this is all about?”

  Jareth’s lip lifted in a savage smile. “Even if I knew, why would I tell you when there’s little trust between us? Where did you learn to track through my past when mirrors were never present? And where did you learn this?” He nudged Marquis’ with his foot again. “How’s it even possible to fragment someone’s light without a trion? He’s completely unconscious. His light is completely severed from his body! It’ll be at least a day before he can reconnect.”

  “I find your sudden ability to produce scales without obviously shape-shifting, more fascinating than someone’s ability to duplicate what even the smallest Fae childling can do with their trion,” Rafael replied with a cool, speculative shake of his head. “He spoke of hearing your voice? Just what have you been saying to your ‘Brotherhood’ as you prefer to call them?”

  They stood there, jaws locked, voices rife with anger.

  They both looked dangerous. Jareth in his wicked black leather outfit, studded collar, and wild dark hair. And Rafael with his mysteriously dramatic mask of makeup, bold stance, and cunning gray eyes.

  “Enough!” I said.

  They looked at me, startled.

  I was startled myself. I hadn’t known until that moment that I’d just tipped past the boiling point.

  “What’s wrong with you two?” I asked, fed up with their constant bickering. “You’re worse than preschoolers! Aren’t counterparts supposed to be like the ultimate teammates?”

  Jareth responded with a poisonous laugh. “Something went dreadfully wrong in our case, Sydney.”

  “Oh, then Fate makes mistakes?” I snorted.

  I’d meant to be sarcastic, but after I said the words, I paused. The thought was a disquieting one. And by their expressions, I wasn’t the only one who found the concept unsettling.

  There was a long silence.

  Finally, Jareth knelt to remove the tethers from Marquis’ slack fingers and broke the silence with a question. “What do we do with Marquis?”

  Rafael noticeably hesitated before replying, “We’ll leave him here. We have no choice. We must learn how the lizard people have gained so much control and just whom else they’re controlling,” Drawing his brows into a frown, he added, “And Jareth, if you know anything that will help us, speak now.”

  Jareth gave an incredulous laugh. “It works both ways, Rafael, but I’ve already told you what I know.” Glancing down at his arm, he scowled. “And I’ve no explanation for what just happened.”

  It was clear that Rafael didn’t believe him. Twisting his lips in a grim line, he muttered, “Then it’s to the Hall of Mirrors with great haste. Clearly, the minds of the lizard people are linked. By now, they all must know what’s transpired. We must hurry before they send more …” His voice trailed away as he eyed his father still sprawled at his feet.

  “And it’s only because of the impending arrival of new Mesmers that I’ll let you think you’ve successfully diverted my attention away from your secret abilities, Rafael,” Jareth growled, shoving the tethers into his pocket as he stepped over Marquis’ inert form. “But have no fear. There will be few secrets between us soon. Follow.”

  We followed him across the massive room to the row of guitars lined against the wall. As we approached, the wall opened, revealing a shelf holding a glass cookie jar filled with pearls and a shoebox with “Nike” printed on the sides.

  Picking up the shoebox, Jareth tossed it flamboyantly over his shoulder to Rafael. “Your trion, though it’s apparent you really don’t need it now.”

  Easily catching the shoebox in mid-air, Rafael flipped it open and withdrew the silver pen-like device, raising a querying brow in Jareth’s direction. “I find it most curious why you didn’t give it to the Queens as is procedure.”

  With an indifferent toss of his head, Jareth stalked to the guitars, picked one up and allowed his fingers to absently stray over the strings a moment before putting it back down. “What does it matter now? It’s time to leave. The dragon will be here soon. We’ve just enough time to equip ourselves.”

  Returning to the cookie jar, he picked it up saying, “You first, Sydney, take a bunch.” Grasping my hand, he shoved it into the jar.

  The pearls were slippery, sliding through my fingers, but I managed to snag a handful. “What are they?” I asked, inspecting them closely. They appeared to be glowing.

  “My wardrobe, my furniture, or anything else I need. You’ve seen them in action before,” Jareth replied with an exaggerated yawn.

  I remembered then and stared at the pearls in wonder, recalling how just one of them had turned into enough purple goo to furnish Rafael’s house with furniture, guitars, and even an elephant. “Programmable atoms,” I murmured, a little awed.

  Holding the jar out to Rafael, Jareth’s voice adopted a sarcastic edge. “Unlike you, I don’t collect vintage clothing and maintain physical items. You’ll have to make do with programmable atoms for now.”

  With an expression of distaste, Rafael selected a few of the pearls and tucked them away.

  “How do they work?” I asked curiously. “What do I do?”

  Selecting a handful himself, Jareth replaced the jar back on the shelf and watched the wall swallow it up before turning to me with a slight sneer. “You might find them impossible to use, Sydney. It requires imprinting what you desire on the atoms before activating them. The imprinting requires complete focus, a highly involved form of concentration, and judging by your school grades, I’m not sure—‘”

  “She’s a dreamer, Jareth,” Rafael interrupted, coming to my defense. “She’ll be a natural.”

  Jareth raised a skeptical brow.

  Stinging a little from his snide comment about my grades, I shot him a nasty look.

  He didn’t even notice. Taking t
he tethers out of his pocket, he pressed one into my hand. “This will get you home. You just need to make a loop and slip it around your wrist, ankle …” His eyes lit with dark humor as he added, “Or even your neck.”

  Even up close, the tether looked like a bit of fishing line with a stone bead tied to the end. “But there’s three of us and only two tethers,” I noted with a slight frown.

  “We only need one. Whatever you’re touching will make the trip with you.” Jareth crammed the remaining tether back into his pocket. “At the first sign of trouble, thread one end of the string through the bead at the other end to form a loop, and then slip your wrist through it like a bracelet. It’ll activate instantly, and you’ll be yanked back to Earth.”

  It seemed easy enough. I nodded and carefully tucked it into my pocket with the programmable atoms. It felt good to know I could go home any time I wanted to, providing it actually worked, and for the first time since being stuck in this bizarre situation, I felt like I’d gained a small measure of control over my destiny.

  “And now, Rafael…” Jareth’s voice took on a hint of challenge. “I’ve delivered the tethers. It’s time you shared just exactly how you’re going to get us anywhere near the Hall of Mirrors undetected. It’s not like we can just knock on the door and ask if they’ll let us in.”

  “Have no doubt that I can take you there.” Rafael drew himself up taller. “You forget who I am, Jareth.”

  Jareth’s dark eyes narrowed as he muttered, “I only wish I could.” Pivoting on his heel, he waved his hand in a broad gesture at the door. “Then let’s go, as the dragon has arrived. We’ll just have to put Rafael’s arrogance directly to the test.”

  Setting off across the room, he stepped over Marquis and flung the front door wide open.

  Over his shoulder, I could see it was growing dark outside. Rafael had mentioned that the crill came down from the pillars at night. I wondered if they’d already done so. I didn’t want to be accidentally chomped on by a tooth-edged bungee cord.