Elder

by Raine Thomas

  “What in the world?” Tate said, glancing wildly from one side to the other. “This is some kind of maze!”

  “A maze?” Ariana repeated. “Like a puzzle?”

  “I guess. Crap.” Tate put her right hand on the wall and started running. “I sure hope this maze isn’t full of fun surprises.”

  “Why are you touching the wall?” Ariana asked as they reached the next bend.

  “It’s one possible way to solve a maze. My Aunt Olivia taught us about it. You hold your right or left hand against the wall and don’t lift it. Eventually, you’ll either reach the other end or you’ll end up back at the beginning.”

  “Tate, this is not the time for jests.”

  “Unfortunately, I’m not joking. But we’ve got to try something. Sparky thinks he’s close. As soon as they land, I’ll draw on our connection and lead us out.”

  “Okay, okay.”

  They ran for a couple of minutes. The noise from the cottage grew fainter, which relieved Ariana.

  She should have known better.

  When they rounded the next bend, they came face-to-chest with several enormous clay figures. They looked like sculpted male Estilorians. The only thing that gave them away as something other than inanimate was their very lifelike red eyes, which glowed bright enough to light the area.

  “Clay golems,” Ariana gasped, backing up a step and holding up her pick. “They’re incredibly strong. Our weapons won’t have any effect on them.”

  She was suddenly grabbed from behind by a pair of clay arms and squeezed so hard she couldn’t even scream. Her foot flew up as she left the ground, catching Tate’s shoulder and sending her into the grip of one of the other golems.

  “I don’t think so,” Tate said as her arm was wrenched behind her. Holding her palm out toward the four golems reaching for her, she produced a large ball of water. Then she used it to dissolve the fingers of the golem holding her.

  Of course. Ariana used her power to produce buckets full of warm water. They started pouring of their own accord, dumping water onto the heads of all of the creatures. She slid from the grasp of the dissolving golem holding her, only to have another golem grip her ankle and drag her along the ground. She saw Tate slipping from one muddy grasp to the next as the water continued to damage her attackers.

  Another hand grabbed Ariana by the hair, pulling her back to her feet. She gasped from the pain in her scalp and quickly generated more buckets. Within a few seconds, there were at least thirty buckets over their heads.

  When she managed to escape the hold of the golems trying to stop her, she lurched closer to Tate. The Kynzesti was covered head to toe in mud. Figuring she looked much the same, she met Tate in the middle of the group and stood back-to-back with her. Tate continued to toss water as quick as she could produce it and Ariana filled the buckets again and again. The effort had her swaying with exhaustion.

  A couple of minutes later, they stood in a large puddle of mud.

  “Holy light,” Tate said as they stepped through the mess to hurry on their way. “That was the creepiest thing I’ve ever seen. They didn’t make a sound!”

  Ariana couldn’t argue.

  “The stupid things have us looking like we bathed in mud,” Tate added with a huff. “Sparky’s never going to let me near him like this.”

  “I’ll clean you—”

  “You’ll do no such thing,” Tate interrupted as they edged around another corner. “You’re seriously drained. You should take it easy. Well, outside of hauling your backside out of here.”

  Appreciating Tate’s concern over her well-being, Ariana just nodded. When they reached the next bend, they both sniffed the air.

  “Oh, no. Please tell me that’s just me I’m smelling,” Tate said in a whisper.

  Bringing her hand to her nose, Ariana shook her head. “That is definitely not you.”

  “Damn.”

  That was when they heard the growling.

  Metis pressed a cloth against her head as she stumbled out of her destroyed laboratory and hurried after Cephalus and the two females. Her head was a solid ball of pain, but she couldn’t take the time to feel sorry for herself. She had to find the blasted females and save them from themselves.

  What a mess this had turned into.

  “Cephalus!” she shouted, hoping he was within earshot. “Do not harm the females!”

  When she reached her cottage, she hurried through the open doorway. Seeing the swath of destruction, she came to a stop and gaped. Her voice was trapped in her throat. If it hadn’t been, she would have screamed in fury.

  “You damned brute of a giant!”

  He was nowhere she could see. Wondering how long she had been dazed, she debated teleporting to somewhere within the maze in hopes of intercepting the females. But there was no way to predict where they’d end up. She had no choice but to do her best to follow their trail and pray that if Cephalus found them before she did that he was smart enough to keep them alive.

  Her eyes on the ground, she headed right. Cephalus had practically obliterated the tracks of the females, but that only made it easier for her to follow them. When she reached the turn leading to the clay golems, she frowned. If the golems fulfilled their purpose, the females would be held captive until she arrived to give the command for their release. That meant they would be sitting targets for Cephalus when he reached them.

  So she was once again surprised to the point of coming to a halt when she found nothing but a huge puddle of mud where her golems should be.

  Issuing curses under her breath, she edged around the mud to avoid getting filthy and then started running. The obstacles facing the females now that they had defeated the golems were only more fearsome.

  More deadly.

  She heard thrashing ahead and eased to a more cautious pace. There were guardians of the maze with the ability to roam freely. Even she wasn’t sure where they were at the moment.

  “I am near you, females,” growled Cephalus.

  Relieved, Metis again hurried around the corner and spotted the giant. His club dragged on the ground, leaving a clear trail.

  “And I scent something else, too,” he continued as his feet thudded on the dirt path. “Something that will rend the flesh from your bones before I can accomplish it.”

  Her eyebrows lifting as she also caught the scent, Metis fought back a surge of anxiety. If the females had encountered Tethys’ most precious creation, she was sure they were already dead.

  Chapter 10

  Alexius had been right. Within five minutes, Clara Kate saw the outlines of the wings of her family and friends at the edge of the horizon.

  “We should be to Tate and Ariana’s location soon, if Zachariah’s gauge is correct,” he said.

  “Good,” she replied, giving him a smile. “Thanks.”

  He winked at her, an action that made her do a double-take. She’d never seen him wink at anyone. What did that signify?

  Hoping she was giving the wink more import than he’d intended, she returned her gaze to the wings in the distance and focused on flying. She felt bad having such thoughts. Alexius was a wonderful being. But she was nowhere near a point where she could even consider entertaining the attentions of a male.

  She was going to have a baby.

  The thought kept spinning through her head, despite her efforts to try and push it back. She’d just witnessed her mother delivering her baby brother, Jack. Now she was going to deliver a baby of her own?

  Shaking her head, she forced herself to think about one crisis at a time. Her gaze settled on the only set of silver wings among the group now less than one hundred yards ahead of them. Somehow, she had to tell Ini-herit that he was going to be a father. Just as importantly, she had to endure the fact that the news would be of absolutely no interest to him.

  Oh, she was sure he’d be responsible in his own way. He’d stick with her through the pregnancy and possibly invite her to move in with him. He might even be willing to relocate to a
spot within the Kynzesti homeland. Because her father was likely to insist on it, he’d probably ask her to marry him. That would be the most he could offer her, considering an avowing required love.

  She didn’t want any of those things. She just wanted her Harry back.

  He turned and caught her gaze when they approached. For the briefest moment, she thought she caught a glimpse of something cross his face. Relief? Concern? Some combination of each?

  Surely not.

  “Hey, C.K.,” Tiege said, flying closer. “Are you okay?”

  “Fine and dandy,” she lied. “Quincy gave me a supplement and my energy is right back where it should be.”

  “Good.”

  “How are Tate and Ariana?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. Zachariah is focused on whatever they’re doing. He hasn’t spoken since they got away from the clay golems.”

  “Weird. I hope they’re okay.”

  Her attention shifted as murmuring flowed from the front of the group and back to them. Moving to the outer edges of their flight pattern, she looked ahead to see what had captured everyone’s interest.

  At first, it looked like a very large, squared-off expanse of greenery. She would have mistaken it for a forest if the top of the green square wasn’t so uniform in height. As they got closer, she realized that it wasn’t just solid green. There was an unusual pattern etched into the square.

  “Is that the maze?” she asked Tiege. “It sure looks like one.”

  “It has to be,” he said. “I’ve never seen one like this, but Zachariah is leading us down there.”

  She nodded. Then a strange feeling washed over her…a sense that they shouldn’t proceed.

  “Stop,” Uriel said, just as the word made its way to the tip of her tongue.

  They all hovered and looked at the Waresti elder. He glanced at Ini-herit, the only other elder to have made the journey with the speed-enhancing potion.

  “Do you sense that?”

  Ini-herit nodded. “We cannot proceed in the air. We must land.”

  Clara Kate didn’t hesitate to lower herself to the ground. She saw Zachariah wanting to argue, but he either knew better than to dispute the elders or he realized that agreeing was quicker. She guessed the latter, since he wasn’t opposed to disagreeing with anyone.

  “Draw your weapons,” Zachariah said as he led them at a run to the exit of the maze. “I’m not sure what awaits us on this end, but judging by what Tate has conveyed, we’ll need all the protection we can get.”

  Ariana hadn’t ever heard of a creature like the one she and Tate faced after the golems. She guessed it was some kind of cursed, deformed canine. Saliva dripped from its long, black maw, sizzling when it hit the ground. Its eyes glowed like coals. Cracks in its scaly-looking black hide revealed more of the molten substance. Heat and stench radiated from it.

  Standing almost as wide as the gap between the walls, it blocked their escape on either side. Leaves started smoking as it inhaled and its expanded ribcage came into contact with the shrubbery. So far, it was just sitting there growling at them, probably assessing the threat they posed. Neither of them dared to move. From somewhere not very far away, they heard the giant pounding his way closer.

  “Well, this sucks,” Tate said in a thin voice.

  “Yeah,” Ariana managed.

  “What do you suppose the odds are that I could boost you up to the top of one of the walls?”

  Giving a quick glance up, she answered, “Not good.”

  “Crap.”

  As the creature took a step closer, Ariana asked, “Do you think it eats meat?”

  “Um…I hope not?”

  “No, let’s hope so.”

  She used her Lekwuesti abilities to generate a goat carcass. The moment it appeared in front of the creature, it leaped. Its powerful jaws opened. It sank its pointed teeth into the goat’s flesh, ripping it and flinging pieces in their direction. Both females stepped back and emitted high-pitched squeals.

  “Ohmygod,” Tate said in one breath. “I didn’t know you could create animals!”

  “Not live ones.”

  “I don’t care. Get me at least one more of those things so we can distract the beast and I’ll be indebted to you for the rest of my existence.”

  “Not a problem.”

  Although it drained her energy to a dangerous level after the work with the golems, Ariana pulled forth her power and produced three more dead goats. The creature made a terrifying noise and pounced on them.

  “Run,” Tate said. “Jump over the thing if you have to. Go!”

  Not pausing to think, Ariana grabbed her gown with her free hand and ran to the creature’s left side. It had shifted enough to allow her to pass through. Even turning sideways and sucking in her breath, her back brushed against its side. Heat seared along her spine, but she couldn’t worry about that. When she got past the beast and turned, she watched Tate spring up and over it, using its back as a launching pad.

  “Don’t stop!” Tate shouted.

  Ariana ran. After a moment of blindly making turns, she vaguely realized that she was getting wet from behind. She dared to glance over her shoulder and saw Tate bringing forth water and throwing it at her.

  “You were on fire,” she explained as they stumbled to a stop.

  “I was?” Ariana gasped. She tried to look over her shoulder to see what damage had been done.

  “I saved your hair, but the gown is a loss.” Tate reached out and patted her shoulder. “The good thing is that only the bottom was burned.”

  “Oh.” Unable to stop herself from running her hand along her hair to make sure it was intact, Ariana said, “Consider us even, then.”

  Tate managed a small smile. “Sure.”

  Behind them, the sounds of vicious ravaging from the creature combined with loud shouting and pounding from the giant had them hurrying on.

  “I think we’ve lost our bearings,” Ariana said as they reached another bend.

  “Yeah. But Sparky and the others are landing outside the maze. I can follow the pull to get us to them.”

  Ariana nodded and moved forward with Tate, her weapon at the ready. She wanted to feel relieved, but after what they’d already seen and endured in this maze, she couldn’t help but worry about what else lay ahead.

  “Does it feel colder to you?” Tate asked as they rounded another bend.

  “Yes.”

  “Geez.” Tate lifted her weapon. “We just can’t catch a break.”

  They were prompted to advance as noise clamored behind them. Ariana even thought she heard Deimos’ voice, something that made the hair stand up on the back of her neck. She fought the urge to whimper as she joined Tate in facing their next challenge.

  As they made a left down the next turn of the maze, the cold grew more invasive. They could see their breath.

  “What the—?” Tate began.

  She stopped speaking and walking when they saw her. A tall, beautiful woman with black hair and blue lips. She was so pale that she almost appeared transparent. The cold oozed from her.

  Ariana lifted her weapon with a hand that trembled from cold as well as fear, but Tate reached out and grabbed her.

  “No. Drop your weapon.”

  Recent training had Ariana wanting to defend, but she obeyed. Both she and Tate tossed their weapons to the ground. When Tate lowered to her knees and bowed low in submission, Ariana did the same.

  “Sparky’s telling me that this is a spirit called a Yuki-onna,” Tate whispered. “There isn’t much known about them. They were originally thought to be evil, but he thinks she has empathy toward humans.”

  Trying not to focus on the fact that Tate was the only one of them with human blood, Ariana stayed in a bowed and submissive position. The spirit remained still, but didn’t dissipate.

  “Come on, Sparky,” Tate murmured.

  The temperature dropped at a sharp rate. Ariana started shaking in earnest as her body temperature lowered. Crystals for
med on her hair and eyelashes. Her wet clothes froze to her skin. When she dared to glance up for a quick look, she realized the spirit hovered directly over them. Its vacant dark eyes shifted between her and Tate. It was then that Ariana noticed the bundle in her arms.

  A child.

  No wonder she had empathy for humans, Ariana thought. The spirit had surely been one if she could bear children. Why was she on this plane rather than the human one?

  Sounds reached them from both directions, distracting her. Fierce growling, loud pounding and the drum of a male voice emerged from behind them. The noise of battle approached from the front. Ariana’s limbs were numb. Not knowing what else to do, she remained bowed beside Tate and simply prayed.

  “Any t-time n-now,” Tate stuttered through chattering teeth. Her breath came out in white wisps.

  Less than a minute later, Zachariah, Tiege and the others sprinted out from behind a wall. The spirit turned to face the new threat, causing the group to stagger to a halt. When Tate tried to move, probably wanting to protect her avowed and her brother, Ariana managed to touch her shoulder to stop her. She knew there was more human blood on the other side of the spirit than on theirs.

  Ice formed on everyone’s skin. They all lowered their weapons. Tiege, Sophia and Clara Kate rushed forth, likely having been coached to do so by Zachariah because they shared the only human blood in their group.

  The spirit looked at Tiege, then Sophia. The cold continued building to a point that Ariana couldn’t feel her body. Her vision blurred in and out of focus.

  Then the ephemeral woman turned her attention to Clara Kate.

  Hovering, it gazed intently at the eldest Kynzesti. Clara Kate didn’t bow, but looked the spirit in the eyes. Its dark gaze moved from her face to her waist and remained focused there for several seconds.

  Then, without any other warning, the Yuki-onna issued a tormented scream and vanished.

  Chapter 11