Malaki Mayhem

by Malaki Mayhem

  Ara said, “I know. Bash isn’t the heartless villain everyone thinks he is, though. He genuinely wants to help with this. I trust him.”

  Phoenix nodded then kissed her forehead. “I do, too.”

  Phoenix stepped away and wandered over to the pond.

  Ara followed and stood beside him, looking into the water at the colorful resident fish.

  Phoenix said, “We’ll have to see if Nerina knows where he is. He didn’t tell me where he was going, just that he’d be back in a few days. Though I suppose, if needed, we can use the scrying mirror to find him.”

  He sat on the rock edge and dipped his hand into the cool, clear water. He hummed softly to himself.

  Ara watched as a few fish came up and nibbled on his hand, which, she knew from experience, tickled. He chuckled and let them keep at it for a few moments.

  When he finally pulled his hand from the pond, he grinned and flicked the excess water at her.

  She smiled sweetly...then shoved him into the pond.

  He laughed and grabbed her arm as he went in, pulling her in with him.

  The sudden cold was shocking, but after a few moments both emerged laughing and splashing each other.

  They played around in the water for a short while before Phoenix pulled her over to the waterfall. He guided her near it and tilted her head back under its flow, massaging her scalp as the water cleansed her hair; when he finished washing her hair, she returned the favor.

  Phoenix groaned and praised her fingertips the entire time. She kept massaging his scalp for a few minutes longer than necessary because he enjoyed it so much. His skin seemed more sensitive after being renewed.

  When she finally finished, he pulled her close and gave her a tender kiss.

  He smiled and said, “We’ll continue this later. Now, let’s change and find Bash so we can strategize.”

  Ara nodded.

  Phoenix grinned. “Bet I can beat you.”

  They scrambled out of the pond and left a water trail behind them all the way to their bedroom as they raced.

  They tied.

  Chapter 18

  As luck would have it, they didn’t have to look far for Bash.

  When Ara and Phoenix arrived downstairs, with dry clothes and dried hair, he stood by a window in the dining hall, drinking something steaming from a mug and staring out the window toward town, its lights burning brightly in the night.

  He turned when he heard them approach and nodded an acknowledgment without saying anything. He touched a finger to his lips to indicate silence, pointed upstairs toward their offices, and walked in that direction. Ara and Phoenix exchanged a puzzled look, but followed him up the stairs, into Phoenix’s office.

  When the door shut behind them, Bash asked, “Is this room secure?” His voice was rough again, as though he hadn’t talked the entire time he’d been away. He took a sip from the hot liquid in his mug and leveled his golden eyes on Phoenix.

  Phoenix nodded. “It’s the most secure room in the villa. No one outside these walls can anything said in here. I guarantee it.”

  “Good.” Bash gave a single nod. “I don’t want her to suspect anything yet.”

  “Who?” Ara asked.

  “Sienna.” He took another sip from his drink. “That traitorous bitch is going to get what’s coming to her, and I want her to be surprised.”

  Phoenix and Ara stared at Bash for a moment while they processed those words.

  Ara and Phoenix spoke at the same time, talking over each other. “What?” Phoenix asked, and “I don’t follow,” Ara said.

  Bash said, “The whole thing about someone tipping off the council right before we got there didn’t sit right with me. Who has that kind of allegiance? What’d be the motivation? It didn’t make any sense. I did some investigating. Turns out, yes, ‘Sienna’ is technically a shapeshifter, but that’s the only truth she’s spoken. Her name isn’t Sienna; her husband isn’t an owl shifter; and he definitely was not captured by Malaki. He is Malaki. And so is she. Through the ‘purity’ of her Malaki blood, shapeshifting is one of her abilities. ‘Sienna’ is the equivalent of Malaki ‘royalty.’”

  Cold anger washed through Ara’s veins. No wonder the “shifter” knew so much about the Malaki goals; she was one of them! She’d mixed enough truth with her lies to make them believe her. Not only had she interfered with Ara’s kingdom and marriage, her actions literally got Phoenix killed.

  Ara vowed to herself that she would make Sienna pay.

  Phoenix’s face turned redder than Ara had ever seen it. He clenched his fists, visibly struggling to keep his temper contained; he lost the struggle and whirled to punch the wall. The impact shattered the stone. Blood ran down his arms as he repeatedly pounded the hard surface.

  Phoenix never lost his temper so Ara knew this news hit him hard; he’d tried to give Sienna the benefit of the doubt, but she’d lied to his face...again.

  After he’d released some of his anger--and devastated the wall--he dropped his head against the wall, sighed, and paused a moment to reign himself in. He drew a few deep, calming breaths, then began healing the damage.

  His hands glowed gold as his blood reversed back up his arms into his hands and his skin knit itself together.

  He then pressed his palm to the wall; a steady gold glow flowed over the surface and mended the broken stone.

  When the glow faded, you couldn’t tell any damage had occurred to the wall or to his hands.

  He turned to face them. He still looked angry, but resolved.

  Bash sipped from his mug again and watched the royal couple patiently.

  Ara eyed the cambion curiously. “How are you keeping your anger in check, Bash? No offense, but your temper is notorious. I thought you’d be more upset.”

  A hint of a smile touched Bash’s mouth. “Copious doses of magic.” He gestured to his mug. “A witch made this elixir for me. I’ve basically been drinking it non-stop for two days. I’ll continue to do so until I can let my temper loose on these Malaki. They’ll have no idea what hit them.” Bash grinned, chuckled, and took another sip. “I can’t wait. It’ll be a blast.”

  Ara blinked. That elixir must be powerful stuff.

  “Anyway,” Bash continued. “Sienna is actually Rayna, wife of Malaki bossman Kenzo. They are essentially the ‘purest’ Malaki and are like royalty. He’s a nasty fucker with a mean temper and a gnarly scar down his face. Word is, our innocent little Rayna gave him that scar; she’s got quite the temper herself. I’m actually astonished she had the patience to pull this scheme off. But I guess when she sets her mind to something, she’s capable of anything.”

  Rayna and Kenzo... Ara recognized the names; in fact, those names initially came to mind when Bash revealed the Malaki involvement. Both Malaki were well-known for their destructive antics; they’d devastated entire towns before, but they’d never shown their faces in Quarrin. If Bash believed they’d been building their main base--the one the team just raided--for centuries, that absence must have been by design. Which made things even worse, because it meant the Malaki plotted this for centuries.

  Malaki didn’t rule by traditional monarchy--with a king--or even by co-regency, as Phoenix and Ara ruled Quarrin--two rulers side-by-side; the Malaki utilized a council approach instead. Kenzo and Rayna must be key leaders of the current council. Though they no longer had an official kingdom to rule, it appeared the council still governed the Malaki fairies themselves.

  “Kenzo must be the Malaki we just scryed at Troll’s Peak. I don’t get it, though,” Phoenix said. “Leaving Ara alive seems like a major screw-up. Sienn--damn it, Rayna--gave us a sob story about leaving Ara in Tarakin Forest so Ara would find safety and wouldn’t be captured by Malaki. Keeping Ara captive or even, gods forbid, killing her would have worked out better for them.”

  “She couldn’t kill me, Phoenix,” Ara said. “You would’ve known. When you were resurrecting, your heartbeat was gone, and your ring dimmed. We didn’t know about the heartb
eats before, but we’ve always known about the rings. If I died, both connections would disappear entirely. The rings are no secret... I’m sure they knew. They needed you to think she was me. Alive and well.”

  Bash said, “You woke up early, Majesty. I overheard a conversation about that. They planned to take you captive. They couldn’t just run around Quarrin, though, because it would’ve been obvious that they were up to something. They had Rayna transport you far enough out that they wouldn’t be noticed. But Rayna could only transport you so far before Phoenix wondered where ‘you’ went, and she had to be back before he noticed.

  “She took you, in elixir-induced sleep, to the clearing and left you; Kenzo and his pals were supposed to arrive that night to pick you up and hold you captive in their base. You woke earlier than expected and disappeared. Your natural magic is strong; you probably overpowered the sleeping portion of the elixir faster than anticipated. Luckily, they had no idea the woodland fairies found you or they probably would’ve recaptured you.” Bash took a drink and sighed as the steaming liquid cleared his throat.

  “How do you know all this?” Ara asked.

  “The circles I frequent are different than your circles, Majesty; the occasional Malaki isn’t unusual. I just found one and followed him home. What others discuss when they believe themselves alone would astound you.”

  “We used the scrying mirror earlier and found Kenzo at Troll’s Peak. Is that where you’ve been?” Phoenix asked.

  “No. Never been there before. There’s a smaller base near Amonrila. One council member, Cedric, is there with several non-council Malaki. Maybe Kenzo is holed up at Troll’s Peak to split the ranks so we can’t take them in one swoop like we did last time.”

  Phoenix said, “I’m sure Rayna shared the travel spheres with Kenzo. He’ll come and go between bases as he pleases.”

  Phoenix sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

  After a moment, he continued, “According to the Malaki we interrogated, three council leaders evaded capture. Currently, the Malakis’ star pupil is in our guestroom; her husband Kenzo is hiding out at Troll’s Peak; and the wildcard we’ve never heard of, Cedric, is stowed away near Amonrila. I’d venture a guess that those are the three missing leaders. Now, what should we do about them?”

  “Clean sweep?” Bash suggested. “Just pop into each location, dust the leaders, and pop back here? They’re separate and vulnerable right now.”

  “That’s not a bad idea,” Phoenix said. “Three of us; three of them. Bash, you could transport to Amonrila; I could transport to Troll’s Peak; Ara, you could take Rayna here at the villa. Maddox won’t be back until tomorrow, but I think we should move now while we know where everyone is rather than waiting for reinforcements.

  “Just taking the leaders leaves an unknown number of Malaki out there, but without their council, they shouldn’t be a further threat.” Phoenix nodded, then smiled. “This could work.”

  They worked out a plan quickly and set it in motion.

  To avoid going in blind, Phoenix dropped Bash close to Troll’s Peak so Bash could scout it quickly and report back the situation.

  While he was gone, Ara picked up travel spheres and sleeping dust from the witches’ workshop.

  Bash returned within fifteen minutes.

  Kenzo was alone in the room they’d scryed earlier. Two guards stood outside the door, and a few other Malaki scattered the residence. Since Kenzo was alone, it should be easy enough for Phoenix to transport in, dust Kenzo, and transport out without the guards noticing.

  Likewise, Bash seemed confident he could nab Cedric without issue.

  Though Rayna was in the villa, Ara still planned to transport into Rayna’s room and take her by surprise so she didn’t have time to escape.

  When it was time to move, Phoenix kissed Ara and stroked his thumb over her cheek with a smile. “See you in a few minutes, love.”

  She smiled back as he fell into position.

  The three dropped their travel spheres simultaneously.

  Ara arrived just inside the doorway of Rayna’s room and glanced around. Rayna was...nowhere to be found.

  Ara swore internally.

  She quietly crossed the room to the closet and peeked inside. No one in there.

  As she turned back, a small mouse scurried across the floor. Before she could react, the mouse shot a large, bright fireball at her. Though she tried to defend it, there wasn’t enough time; the force knocked Ara backward, and her head struck the wall. She blacked out from the impact.

  Chapter 19

  Ara’s head abruptly snapped sideways, forcing her back to consciousness. She squinted and blinked, trying to focus her vision. Everything looked blurry. Her cheek burned as though something had struck her, and the back of her head throbbed fiercely. She could feel warmth trailing down the back of her neck; she must be bleeding... On top of that, the room felt almost unbearably hot.

  As she tried to remember exactly what happened, something struck her face again. A forceful slap this time.

  She groaned and flexed her jaw; blood trickled down her chin from both her nose and a split lip. She tried to raise her hand to wipe the blood away, which made her realize her arms were bound behind her back and she was strapped to an uncomfortable chair.

  “What are you doing with my husband?” an unfamiliar voice demanded.

  “Who?” Ara asked, her eyes finally focusing.

  She was in a dark, scorching hot room, undoubtedly underground somewhere.

  An angry Malaki with flickering skin and fiery red hair stood in front of Ara, snarling. The only light in the room came from the Malaki’s skin. Oddly, Ara’s focus homed in on the purple-painted fingernails and held there.

  “My husband! Tell me your plan! What are you doing with him?” the Malaki demanded.

  She suspected Rayna had finally appeared in front of her in true form. She wanted to play dumb for as long as possible.

  Ara’s throat was rough and she could taste blood, but she managed to croak out, “I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

  She tried to pulse healing magic through her body, but nothing happened. She could feel the magic inside her, but something prevented her from using it...her restraints must be magic-restrictive...

  “Kenzo! Tell me what you plan to do with Kenzo!” Rayna demanded.

  “Who is Kenzo? Who are you? Where am I? I think there’s been a mistake,” Ara rasped.

  Rayna explosively punched her, and Ara cried out.

  Blood ran down her throat from her sinuses. She swallowed, the metallic taste nauseating her.

  The back of her head pounded painfully; she suspected a large laceration and possibly a lump from when her head struck the wall. She could still feel the blood trickling down her neck and just hoped the bleeding would slow, because she knew from experience that head wounds bleed a lot.

  Additionally, her right eye throbbed from the blow and would probably swell shut soon. She closed it and tried to focus her good eye on Rayna.

  “The only mistake was letting you live instead of killing you from the start,” Rayna hissed, leaning close to Ara’s face. She was so close, Ara could feel the heat radiating from both her skin and her breath against Ara’s face.

  Ara clearly saw the malice and evil lurking in those flickering orange eyes, and her heart skipped a beat... Rayna might actually kill her here and now. She’d faced danger many times before, but for the first time she felt like death-itself stared her in the face. Fear froze her body.

  Rayna sighed in disgust and moved back a few steps. “Unfortunately, I can’t kill you until I get Kenzo back. Right now, you’re worth more to me alive than dead.

  “But don’t get me wrong, your highness. I will kill you the second I get the chance. I wasted a year of my life with that sickeningly affectionate husband of yours when I should’ve just killed you both from the start. He’s too weak to be a king.

  “Now, my husband--who should be king--is captive somewhere in
side that awful villa of yours, and I’m magically banned from entering! Who knows what deplorable things your husband is doing to him right now! But I will get him back. Then, you’re done. Both of you.”

  The witches must have put a protection spell over the villa to keep anyone with ill intentions from entering.

  Ara remained silent and squeezed both eyes shut. She started to sweat from the pain and the heat. She wished Rayna would just leave.

  “Play dumb all you want. I’ll find out what I need to know anyway. You’ll regret crossing me.”

  Rayna spit in Ara’s direction and turned to leave the room.

  Relief flooded Ara. She might survive this, after all.

  Dim light came in momentarily as a giant stone rolled away from the exit, but it quickly grew dark again when Rayna shoved the stone back into place. The room was now pitch black. From what Ara could tell, she was in a cave with a large rock sealing the door. The light outside the door appeared to be torchlight instead of daylight. Combined with the uncomfortable amount of heat in the air, odds were she was sealed deep in one of the bases.

  She closed her eyes and took inventory. Breathing through the pain, she tried to focus on her surroundings. She felt exhausted...losing too much blood. And the unbearable heat made her want to just lie down and sleep. With her eyes closed, she could almost pretend she was wrapped in Phoenix’s warmth...

  No. She opened her eyes and tried to focus. She couldn’t just give up.

  Phoenix would eventually find her. It would be difficult because she was in a sealed, dark room so he couldn’t discern her location visually with the mirror... It could take him some time to find her, but he would.

  At worst, she just needed to survive until he could find her; at best, maybe she could free herself and escape.

  She snapped her fingers several times and listened to the echoes. From what she could tell, she sat in the center of the cave. The only exit seemed to be the one Rayna used.

  She tested the restraints binding her wrists; they didn’t budge at all. Restraints also extended around her shoulders and chest, effectively holding her torso in place. Likewise, her calves and ankles were bound to the chair legs. She brushed her fingers against the back of the chair...wood. Maybe she could break it...