by Kristie Cook
“Looks like your girlfriend has been keeping secrets from you,” Brian jeers. “Do you still think she is worth it?”
“Jacoby,” I reach for him. “Please, let’s just go. Okay? Please.”
“What is he talking about?” His voice is stoic, but there is a pleading look in his otherwise angry eyes and it is because of this vulnerability that I don’t think about the consequences of my actions.
I just act.
I grab Jacoby and Hannah and transport us to Á lfheimr.
Chapter Twenty-One
“What the hell just happened?”
“Lark, what was he talking about?”
“Who were those guys?”
“What was Brian talking about?”
“Where are we?”
Hannah and Jacoby are speaking over each other so rapidly that it is making my head spin. Of course, it could also be the adrenaline rush that is still in full swing causing my heart to palpitate so fast that I feel as though it will beat right out of my chest. I think I need to sit down before I pass out. I collapse on one of the Queen Anne chairs, bending over until my head is almost resting on my knees, burying my head into my hands.
“Mia. Look at me.” Jacoby rarely calls me Mia anymore. “Talk to me.”
I look into his alluring green eyes and realize just how hard it is to deny him anything.
But I am a coward and choose to answer Hannah first.
“I am not sure how much I’m allowed to tell you, but since I totally just broke normal protocol by even bringing you here in the first place, I guess I better fill you in.” I see Jacoby’s eyes tighten in frustration, but I ignore him.
“That would be nice, because I’m sorta freaking out over here.” Hannah’s squeaky voice is shaking and it reminds me of a cartoon mouse.
“We are in Á lfheimr. Er...um...the home of the Light Elves. I, uh, sorta transported us here.” I am definitely not as eloquent as Grey was when he was first explaining this same thing to me not too long ago.
As I expected, Hannah looks at me like I just grew a third head.
“Elves? Did you say Light Elves? As in little people who make shoes?”
“Yeah,” I laugh nervously. “I mean, yes I said elves, but no they are not little people. They are actually normal size. You’ve even met one already.”
“Come again? Is this some sort of joke? Did you get those guys to stage that attack on us? You know April Fool’s is not for another couple of months, right?”
I’m kind of offended that she would even think I would play such a mean joke on her. Those scary guys at the movie theater were not even remotely funny.
“No. I am not playing a joke on you. I’m being serious. A lot has happened since Christmas break. I sorta found out that Grey is a Light Elf and my father is the King. This is his castle actually...”
“That’s crazy. Elves? Like with pointy ears? What have you been smokin’? Wait, did you say your father is an elf? You can’t honestly expect me to fall for this. You can’t be serious?”
“As a heart attack, I’m afraid,” Jacoby pipes in, clearly growing impatient with me.
Just then, Freya and Grey enter my room. Freya curtsies as she curiously glances between me, Jacoby and Hannah.
“We heard voices coming from your room and weren’t expecting you,” Freya explains, looking slightly embarrassed for just barging in my room unannounced.
“What’s going on?” Grey asks me, his face growing serious. “What is Hannah doing here?”
“Hey, Mr. Intensity, never thought I’d be happy to see you. Could you help us out? Show Hannah your ears already so we can move on.”
“Pardon me?” Grey looks completely baffled.
“We were attacked tonight. I had to bring Hannah with me. I couldn’t leave her there,” I try to explain.
Out of nowhere, Hannah, quite impressively, leaps at Grey throwing his hair behind his ear. She jerks her hand back and yelps.
“No freaking way.” She turns to me, wide eyed in shock.
“I told you—” But I don’t even finish my sentence before Hannah collapses to the floor in an unconscious heap.
“Mind helping me with her?” I ask Grey since he is closest. He lifts Hannah up easily from my arms and carries her over to the bed.
“My turn,” Jacoby says as he turns to me.
I just stand there, staring at him, nervously twirling my hair, waiting for him to ask me again because I have no idea where to begin.
“Tell me,” he demands, not unkindly.
“I can’t. I promised,” I admit.
“What is he talking about Mia?” Grey interferes.
“Tonight. At the theater. Brian said something about my parents dying for no reason, but he wouldn’t explain further. He seems to think Mia knows something about it though,” Jacoby says with an accusatory look at me. “He said to ask her, but she won’t tell me.”
“I am sure she has good reason,” Grey tries to defend me.
“Lark, please. If you know something, please tell me.”
His eyes are so beseeching that I can’t keep it from him any longer.
“Freya?” I turn to the meek little elf. “Could you please go get Isobel?”
She curtsies and leaves the room, shutting the door quietly behind her.
“Let’s wait for Isobel,” I plead.
“No. I want to hear it from you.” He is so close to me I can smell his comforting rustic scent and it weakens my resolve. I squeeze my eyes shut thinking that maybe it will make what I am about to say easier if I don’t have to see his reaction.
“Dugan didn’t just stumble across you and your parents that night. He was hunting you.” My words are barely louder than a whisper.
“Why?”
“Because of who your mother was. Because of what a Half-blood child was destined to do.” I slowly open my eyes and look up at him meaningfully.
“No.”
“Yes. Cordelia,” his eyes widen at the mention of his mother’s name, “was next in line for the throne. You could very well be the Half-blood in the prophecy. We assumed it was me because of my father. But it could just as easily be applied to you.”
“How do you know this?”
“Isobel figured it out. Cordelia was her sister.”
Jacoby’s face blanches.
“How could you not tell me?”
“I promised. We didn’t know how to tell you,” I try to explain, but he holds up his hands to stop me.
“Don’t. Just don’t. I can’t—just not right now. I gotta get out of here.” He takes several retreating steps away from me.
“What? Why? Where are you going?”
“I just need to think,” he says breathlessly. “I gotta go.”
“Please,” I implore. “Please, just wait. Wait to talk to Isobel.”
He rushes out the door but before I can follow him, Grey stops me.
“Just give him some space. What you just told him...just give him some space. Give him time to take it all in.”
“Oh, Grey. I really freaking messed up tonight.”
“Hey, come here.” He pulls me into his arms and rubs my back. “Shh, it’s okay. He’ll be fine. Just give him some time.”
For a moment I am comforted in his arms, inhaling his intoxicating smell. But then I realize the only reason he is acting like he cares is because we are alone and as soon as anyone else enters the room, he’ll go right back to acting completely apathetic towards me. It makes my stomach flip, and not in a good happy way but more in an I-am-about-to puke-all-over-you sorta way. I pull away as Isobel enters my room.
“What happened?” Her sea-green eyes widen with confusion.
“He knows.”
“Oh my God. How? Why?” Isobel frantically asks.
“They were attacked tonight.” Grey is quick to answer for me. “One of the DÖkkÁ lfar spies told him. Mia just filled in the blanks.”
“Where is he?”
“I am not sure. He left to
go process everything on his own,” Grey answers again as I can’t seem to manage to speak.
“I’ll go to him.” Her royal blue dress flares out dramatically behind her as she leaves.
After a few moments of silence, I go to sit on the bed next to Hannah.
“How much trouble am I going to be in for telling her? For bringing her here?” I ask Grey.
“Alberico will understand the circumstances. In fact, I should probably go brief him on everything that has happened.”
“I’ll stay here with Hannah if you don’t mind.”
“As you wish,” he nods. “I shall return shortly.”
I lay down next to my best friend, letting everything wash over me. I wish she would hurry and wake up so I could talk to her about it. But I also wonder if maybe it would be better to transport her to her house and let her think it was all some crazy dream. That would probably be the kinder option. As much as I wish I could talk to my best friend about everything that is going on, I am not sure I want to put that on her. Do I really want her to be scared and worried about me all the time? Would knowledge of the Light Elves and Dark Elves put her at risk too? I am not willing to chance it. I have almost decided to go ahead and take her home when Isobel, out of breath and scattered, stumbles into my room.
“He’s gone!” she sobs. “I saw him leave. He transported! I couldn’t get to him in time to stop him!”
I don’t need to ask her where he went.
I already know.
“I’m going after him.”
“You can’t! Not without help. Alberico is planning the attack for next Saturday,” she reasons. “Maybe we can move up the date?”
“I’m not waiting long enough to find out. I can’t,” I tell her. “I know what Dugan is capable of. There is no way I am leaving Jacoby to face him alone. I’ve got to go.”
“Then I’m coming with you,” she proclaims.
“No. I need you to stay here. I need you to take Hannah back to her home and I don’t know, do some of that elfish memory replacement stuff. Get her to believe it was all a dream. Please, Isobel? I’ll get Jacoby. I swear. But I need you to do this for me,” I plead.
“Okay. But please, please bring me back my nephew.” She grasps both of my hands in her own.
“I will. I swear it.” I grab a piece of paper and quickly jot down Hannah’s address then thrust it into Isobel’s hand. “I promise. I’ll bring him back.”
“I can’t let you do that,” says Grey, startling me. I don’t know how long he has been standing in the doorway, but even if he just got there moments ago, I am sure with his elfish hearing, he could have heard us from down the hall. We weren’t exactly whispering.
“Grey, I have to. This is my fault. I have to get to him before Dugan tortures, or worse, kills him.”
His expression is pained, but determined.
“Then I’m going with you.”
I am speechless. Grey has never been shy about his disdain for Jacoby but here he is offering to help me save him.
“I’m not doing this for him.” He must have read my expression accurately. “I’m doing this for Alberico. I won’t let him lose you.”
For a second there I thought he was going to say he was doing this for me, but I should know better by now.
“Okay, what are we going to do?”
“First, we need to decide where exactly in the Underworld we will be transporting to.”
It’s hard to focus on the Underworld without the fear creeping in and overtaking my thoughts. There has to be some place that we can transport to that won’t attract a lot of attention. I think of the room I first arrived in. I see it clearly, but that probably wouldn’t be a very good place for us to just appear. The only other rooms I remember are the cells and the torture chambers. Chills run up and down my spine as I remember the acrid smell of blood and earth mixed together, and worst of all, the screams of the prisoners being tortured. I take a deep breath and try to block it all out so I can concentrate.
“This may be kind of crazy, but I think we should transport into the cell they kept me in.” I eye him reluctantly. The idea isn’t really all that appealing to me, but what choice do we have?
“Are you thinking that maybe they will be so preoccupied with Jacoby that they won’t notice the two of us just popping in out of nowhere?” He doesn’t seem to buy it.
“No, well, yes. I am guessing he won’t be in the cell. I am guessing he will be in the torture chambers, and yes, knowing the Dark Elves, I am guessing they will be a little distracted.” The thought sickens me.
“Well, then, let’s give it a go.”
I hold out my hand and when he takes it he gives me a quick squeeze of encouragement. I take a deep breath, trying to prepare myself for my return to the one place I swore I would never go back to. At least this time, it’s on my terms.
The world spins in typical transporting fashion, only this time I seem to recover much quicker than I have ever before. Maybe I have finally mastered the skill.
We hit the floor as soon as we appear, hoping no one notices our arrival. I quickly scan our surroundings and sure enough, no one is on this side of the dungeon. I hear hoots and cheering coming from around the corner where the torture chambers are located and I immediately scramble up to head in that direction, but Grey stops me.
“We need a plan.”
“Really? Because I was planning on just walking right up to Dugan and kicking his ass.”
“Mia.”
“Fine. What do you want to do?”
“First, let’s see if we can sneak over there and get a feel for what we are facing here.”
Always the voice of reason.
“I already know what we are facing. The devil himself,” I hiss, but I follow his lead.
We make our way down the dungeon tunnel towards the direction of a rather large crowd of DÖkkÁ lfar gathered around one of the torture rooms. The torches lining the stone walls have been lit and they create an eerie glow as we sneak down the hall towards where I know I will find Jacoby.
I hear him cry out in pain before I can see him.
“You will bring her to me,” Dugan’s evil voice demands.
“I’ll never let you get her,” Jacoby declares before he screams again.
“Do you think you, a pathetic little Half-blood, will be able to stop me? I will just continue to overpower your weak mind until you bend to my will. To think, I actually thought you were the prophesied one. But you are weak. Just like your parents. They were easy kills. It’s hardly any fun when the victims don’t put up a fight. I thought you might be worthy, but obviously you are nothing. You are completely worthless to me. A waste of years of my time and resources.”
I hear the crack of a whip and I strain for a closer look, but the cheering DÖkkÁ lfar are making it extremely difficult. How can they derive so much entertainment from watching someone suffer so horribly? Finally I break through, and the sight before my eyes brings bile to my throat.
Jacoby is tied up in chains and dangles from the ceiling like some kind of animal. Violent red gashes lacerate his chest where he has been whipped repeatedly with a cat’o’nine tails. But that is not even the most disturbing part. No, the mangled condition of his body is nothing less than alarming, but it’s nothing compared to the sight of his beautiful face distorted in so much tormented pain. Grey must have sensed what I’m about to do because I feel his hand on my arm trying to pull me back, but it doesn’t stop me.
“Stop!” I shout, causing several Dark Elves to jump up in surprise. “Leave him alone!”
“Mia, no! What are you doing? Get out of here!” Jacoby’s weak voice cries out.
I rush over to him and try to reach him, but he is much too high for me to pull down.
“Well, well, isn’t this an unexpected surprise. How are you this evening, my dear?” Dugan’s pleasant tone contrasts sharply with his malicious intent. “Did you finally change your mind?”
“Yes,” I say making a l
ast minute decision to wing it.
“Lark, what are you doing?” I am alarmed at how weak Jacoby sounds even when he is speaking inside my mind.
“Saving your ass, what does it look like I am doing?” I retort a lot more confidently than I feel. I hope that Grey is taking advantage of Dugan’s preoccupation with me and is doing something useful.
I guess we really should have planned better.
“This is unexpected.” Dugan sounds surprised, but I can tell from the look in his eyes that he is suspicious.
“I’ll help you. I know how now. But you have to let Jacoby go first,” I demand.
“Unfortunately, I just don’t think that will be possible my dear,” he says much to the delight of the DÖkkÁ lfar. “You see, we are having way too much fun teaching this traitor a lesson. Who am I to deny my people their entertainment? I may not to be able to inflict pain on his mind like I am accustomed to with my usual victims, but this may be an even more entertaining method.”
He cracks his whip again. Jacoby screams in agony and then goes limp. The hall erupts in cheers and applause and it makes me sick. I see Brian’s face in the crowd and I feel the anger start to boil deep inside me. I have to do something.
Don’t be a victim, I chant to myself. Be a hero.
“Free him and I’ll break the curse, but if you don’t, well, I guess you better just forget about ever seeing the light of day again,” I threaten, knowing that if I show the slightest sign of weakness, he will pounce. “That’s the deal. Take it or leave it.”
“That is where you are wrong my dear,” he says as he folds his hands together. “You see, you will break the curse for me. I am afraid you don’t have a choice.”
“There is always a choice,” I say as I brace myself for the attack.
Then all hell breaks loose.
The earthen walls suddenly begin to crumble, collapsing onto the crowd of Dark Elves with a tremendous, ground-shaking crash. Before I can even grasp what is happening, blazing balls of fire appear, whizzing furiously around the dungeon, and I gasp in shock as I see powerful gusts of wind blast the Dark Elves down left and right, sucking the very air from their lungs. Terrified, I look around to try to see what is happening. At first I think it’s an uprising among the DÖkkÁ lfar, and for a moment I think that maybe not all of them were evil after all. That’s when I notice that Alberico, Isobel, and about twenty other Light Elves have suddenly appeared by my side.