by Emma Hamm
Jasper’s heart clenched. This woman was meant to be giving, meant to be kind. Her species had saved countless souls over thousands of years, and now she was reduced to this? Fire was meant to banish evil. Not exude it.
A few of the prisoners stomped on the snakes, but they lived on. Each time one was cut in half, two more took its place. It was impossible to control the creatures she had created.
She stood in the center of all that darkness, a beacon of rage. Her face a cold, unreadable mask. She held her fists clenched at her side while flames licked her cheeks. Even her hair lifted into the air as though it were made entirely of fire.
“Enough,” he told her. “Now you’re just frightening them.”
Her emotionless gaze fell on Jasper. “Good. Perhaps they understand now.”
“Understand what?”
“Who they should really be afraid of.”
He watched her swallow hard and then the flames disappeared. All of them. Instantly. The power she wielded was immense.
Part of him hoped she had been hurt. At least then there would be an explanation for her oddities. Another part wondered if she was just a twisted version of what she should have been, magical creatures weren’t always capable of changing the personality of the person they shared a body with.
She would have to be truly terrible to corrupt a Phoenix.
Ella pressed a hand against his spine. “Jasper, we’re wasting time.”
The muscles of his back flexed under her touch. The pain of his wings escalated, spiking down his spine and into his knees. Standing became infinitely difficult.
He had to remain strong. He had to keep going. Because Bluebell was whimpering in his mind, and he had never failed her before.
“Let’s go. Mercy, lead the way.”
“Don’t order me around,” she snapped at him. “I don’t like it.”
“You’ll do what I say, so you don’t get all of us killed.”
Her jaw clenched. “Step carefully, or you’ll have to use Fairy Dust on me again. Oh, I’m sorry.” She pressed a hand against her mouth. “You’re broken. You can’t do that anymore.”
The only thing that stopped him from lunging at Mercy was Ella’s hand still firm against his back. “Jasper, don’t encourage her. She’s looking for a fight.”
Mercy shook her head and muttered something about men. Her footsteps echoed loudly in the darkness as she stalked towards the door that led to freedom. The echoing sounds sent fear rushing through Jasper’s veins. She would alert the guards before they even reached that door.
“Quiet!” he exclaimed.
“It doesn’t matter. They know we’re out.”
“They don’t.”
“You think Malachi isn’t watching us all the time? You’re an idiot.”
She stooped down and peered through the keyhole of the door.
His body tensed as she prepared to open the door on her own. He wanted to protect her, but he also wanted to shake her for being so foolish. She was endangering herself needlessly. Why would anyone put themselves in harm’s way with no sense of self preservation? Was she so confident in her own power that she didn’t take precautions?
Mercy looked at Jasper and Ella. “When I say so, you need to run. Straight to the end, to the right, and then to the left.”
“What about you?” Ella asked.
“Don’t worry about me. There are very few creatures capable of withstanding my kind of justice.”
Jasper’s hands clenched. “We let you out of the cell to bring you with us.”
“And I told you to listen to me. You run, and you won’t get hurt.”
Jasper decided there was no way she fulfilled the prophecy. Not as she was now. Perhaps she might have, before she had been corrupted. But now? No. He chose not to believe it.
“We’ll run.”
“Then run fast.”
Mercy flung the doors open, and all Jasper saw was a wall of flame. Her hands raised, her hair whipped around her face in a wind he could not feel. At her beck and call, death waited.
Jasper wasted no time staring at the beast she had become. He grabbed Ella’s hand and charged forward. He tried not to think of the other prisoners, or of what might befall them. He would return for them. If he could.
They sprinted past lines of surprised guards. Each time a guard rushed forward with outstretched hands, a wave of flame would repel them. It was Jasper’s only sign that Mercy followed them.
They reached the end of the hall faster than he anticipated. He turned right and ran as fast as he could. Despite her short legs, Ella kept up. Together, they skidded to the left, and he saw the front door.
Unfortunately, he underestimated how quickly they were moving. He slid too far, slamming his body against the wall. His twisted wing crunched beneath his weight.
Jasper had never heard himself make the agonized sound that erupted from his chest. A new level of agony raced down his spine and brought him to his knees. He gasped and tried to stand, but his knees buckled.
Mercy was coming. He could feel the blast of her fires against the soles of his feet. She was too late. Guards were blocking the door, Minotaurs. They were strong and ruthless, unafraid of fire or death. They created a unified mass even her flames would have difficulty repelling. Malachi had chosen his elite warriors well.
“Ella, go!” he shouted.
“I’m not making it out of here.” She crouched beside him. “None of us are. You know this.”
“You have to try.”
“It was nice to have hope for a little while.”
He couldn’t stand to see the pitying expression on her face. They had tried and they had failed. Now, he didn’t know what was going to happen to them.
The Minotaurs advanced. Their boots stomped upon the floor as though they still had hooves. The sound echoed the loud beating of his heart.
Mercy’s flames formed a ring around Jasper and Ella as she reached them.
“Why are we waiting?” she rasped.
“We’re not going to make it through them,” Jasper replied.
“I’ll burn them to a crisp. We’ll walk through their ashes to our freedom.”
“Do you think you can kill all of them before they reach us?” His voice echoed pain as he stared up at her. She was an avenging spirit who had taken the lives of many. But he knew fire took a while to turn something to ash. The Minotaurs would not stop if they were in pain. They would not stop until their bodies shut down.
She looked down at Jasper with empty eyes before she knelt beside them. “Then can you teleport us?”
“No, I’m in too much pain.”
The Minotaurs were close now. He could feel the floor shake.
Ella leaned forward and took his hand. “Jasper, you have been very kind to me. I appreciate you bringing light into the last moments of my life.” Before he could respond, she reached for Mercy. “You take care of him.”
The women’s eyes locked.
“What?” Mercy sounded surprised.
“Take care of him, and be the person he needs. You have it in you. I’m certain of it.”
He watched a smile spread across her lips. Her eyes bathed them in blue light as the Unicorn inside her took control over her body.
“Take this with the knowledge that I want you to succeed.”
She reached up and took hold of her horn. With a great yank, she snapped it off of her skull. Blood oozed from the wound immediately, but no blood remained on the horn she handed to him. Pristine and without a speck of red, it glimmered with a film of magic. Jasper reached for her with his other hand.
A Minotaur’s hand grabbed her and dragged her through the fires. Jasper desperately tried to catch hold of her, but she slipped from his fingers. All that remained was a small scrap of fabric in Jasper’s fist and the sparkling horn clenched in his other.
Mercy screamed in anger, and the flames grew white hot. Jasper could hear the Minotaurs begin to scream in pain.
“Teleport u
s!” Mercy yelled.
“I cannot!”
He heard her let loose another frustrated shout and she knelt. Tears streaked through the smudged ashes dirtying her face. For the first time since meeting her, there was true emotion in her eyes.
She had been affected by Ella. He did not know why or how, but the sacrifice had broken down this Amazon.
Her lips twisted. She swiped the tears from her cheeks and growled, “How about now?”
Pain blinded him as her palms slapped down on his wounded wings. His spine arched. He threw his head back in silence, incapable of making any sound to express the shattering shock of his wings being forcefully manipulated.
And then the pain was gone, as if it had never existed.
Her fingers traced the delicate membranes now stretching strong from his back. She stared into his eyes and shifted her fingers, dancing the pads of her fingers where his wings met warm skin. He lost his breath.
“Mercy?” The voice didn’t sound like his. It was strange, hoarse. Perhaps from the smoke.
“Teleport us, Fairy,” she commanded. “Get us out of this hell.”
Who was he to tell this goddess of fire no?
He allowed her to hold onto his wings and teleported them away.
8
Mercy clutched Jasper’s wings, wondering how she gotten herself tangled in this mess, as the forest materialized around them.
She looked up to make certain no one else was around and froze when she saw the tree before her. She remembered that burn in the tree, but it hadn’t looked like that the last time she had seen it.
Memories filtered through her mind as she watched the past play out before her. The tree had been new, its bark tough and leaves just budding with early spring. As they dragged her body through the forest, she had reached out in panic and burned through its trunk. Charred wood had scraped her hands and left black streaks behind.
Mercy was glad to see it had healed well.
Standing wasn’t easy. The memories of her imprisonment made it difficult to breathe, let alone stand. She inhaled shakily and tried to clear her tumultuous mind.
“You took me here?” she finally snarled. “Are you locking me away again?”
She spun on her heel and glared at the Fairy, who was still on his knees at her feet. He wasn’t looking at her or reacting to her words. His gaze was fixed on his open palm and the Unicorn horn gleaming in the dappled light.
Mercy wanted to roll her eyes. It was a horn. Nothing more, nothing less. Well, perhaps a little bit more. It was capable of saving their lives, but a gift should never be looked upon with such horror.
She knelt down in front of him and dropped her gaze to the horn.
“That was nice of her,” she said.
“Nice? This was a sacrifice that never should have happened.”
His gravelly voice sent a shiver dancing down her spine. Ridiculous, really. There was no reason for a voice to make her react that way. But it did. Oh, how it did.
“You shouldn’t waste it, then,” she told him. “Sacrifices are rarely made when they are not necessary.”
“Don’t be so cold about it. This was attached to someone. She was a good person.”
“A good person who got herself locked up.” Mercy’s tone was bitter as she rose. “In my experience, those are rarely good people.”
“You were locked up.”
He stared up at her as though she were the devil. Mercy supposed she could be, if he wanted that. There wasn’t much good left in her. Her mind was a rat’s nest of monster and human twining together. She wasn’t certain which side of her was worse.
“Precisely,” she told him. “I’m speaking from experience. Come on, we have to go.”
“We’re safe here.”
“No, we aren’t.”
He scoffed and stood up. She had forgotten how large he was. He stood a head taller than her with a grim expression and bulging biceps.
Biceps? Mercy wanted to knock herself over the head. She wasn’t going to pay attention to his arms, his eyes, or other body parts. Not when he made her want to plunge a burning fist into his chest cavity to feel his beating heart against her palm every time he opened his mouth.
“We’re leaving as fast as we can,” she added.
“Do you have no mercy at all?” Jasper asked.
“Ironically, no. You can follow me if you want. I’m going.”
She spun on her heel and stormed away. He could fend for himself, this forest was no place for someone who didn’t know the rules. Hell, it wasn’t even a place for her, and she had lain dormant here for over two centuries.
Heat spread along her spine and neck. Ignes. He was always there when she needed him. He was much more than a brother or a guiding spirit, but a part of her soul. Unfortunately, he was also very young, which meant they fought just as much as they enjoyed each other’s company.
“Mercy!” Jasper called, his voice carrying through the forest. “Wait!”
She wasn’t going to slow down. He could hurry and catch up, or she would leave him. They had a long way to go with intelligent men hunting them. Time was not on their side.
The forest was dense here. Trees grew without any human interference and, as such, had made themselves formidable. Mercy brushed a branch away from her face. She smirked when she heard an answering grunt as it snapped back and struck Jasper.
“Ouch,” he growled. “Why are you in such a hurry to get away?”
“Because Malachi has Trackers. I saw them. And they’ll know exactly where you teleported us to.”
Jasper swore. So much so that she wondered how far his vocabulary stretched.
His feet crunched through forest debris as he hurried to catch up. “I didn’t think they’d be so quick.”
“You don’t think much at all do you?” she asked. “I’m not convinced you’ve used that giant head of yours even once since I met you.”
“Hey!” Bluebell shouted. “We found her!”
Jasper wholeheartedly agreed. “I was using it when I found you in the center of the maze.”
She snorted loudly. “Right. That was your giant head, not the forest allowing you to find me.”
Twigs snapped underneath her bare feet. Every time she stepped on something other than dirt or moss, she flinched. Mercy had thought this would be an easy journey, it would have been in her youth, but she was weaker than she had imagined. By the time she reached her destination, her feet would be bloodied.
It was a small price to pay, she decided. Freedom was not handed out to people like her. She had to take the chance when it was offered.
Jasper stumbled along behind her like a child learning how to walk. Mercy began to knowingly walk them through stinging nettle patches. Her own pain was well worth his continued grunts and groans.
She smiled. An honest smile that wasn’t with anger or pain. A smile that came from true humor.
Who’d have thought it would be a Fairy to make her smile?
“Hey, can I ask you a question?” Jasper asked as they crossed through a small clearing.
“No.”
“I’m going to anyways. What did you mean by the maze assisted me?”
She blew a strand of hair out of her face. “The maze doesn’t open to just anyone. It wanted you to find me.”
“But why?”
“Beats me,” she paused for a moment to search the area. The clearing was slightly more confusing when she wasn’t watching the images Ignes showed her in the Dream World. She had thought she knew where they were. She was wrong. “Something about you made it like you.”
“Ah.”
He stopped next to her, breathing hard. For such a muscular man, he didn’t seem to have much endurance. His breath sawed in and out of his chest, Mercy’s did too. She had set a brutal pace, and hadn’t considered she had been comatose for two hundred years.
He planted his hands on his hips and watched the edge of the forest. “So where are we going?”
“Some
where safe.”
“Which is where?”
“Giant territory.”
Jasper burst into laughter. Great, heaving laughs curled his body inward until he was holding his sides. Mercy waited for him to finish, an impatient expression on her face.
He finally wiped tears from his eyes. “That was a good one! Giant territory.”
“Yes, Giant territory. Be wary and on your guard.”
“Giants aren’t all that intimidating. Hell, I’ve met a few who were only a couple inches taller than me. Not to mention they don’t have a territory.”
“You know so little about this world.” She shook her head. “City boy.”
“I know plenty about this world!”
His cheeks reddened into a pleasant ruddy color. His hands started clenching into fists and releasing. Maybe he wanted to wrap them around her throat and squeeze. Good. The feeling was mutual.
Instead of giving into her baser instincts, Mercy rolled her eyes dramatically. “I’m not arguing with you. If you want to know more, then you can follow me. Otherwise, make your own way.”
She hadn’t quite caught her breath yet, but she was going to continue walking if it killed her. Better than death at the hands of Malachi’s Trackers.
Ignes curled at the nape of her neck, keeping her warm. She needed to maintain a higher body temperature than most people, or the fires that fueled her magic would wane. Mercy and Ignes would both die if that happened. Neither wanted that fate.
Mercy could hear Jasper’s clomping footsteps from a mile away. He was following her. Damn it, she had hoped that he wouldn’t.
“Giant territory?” he asked.
“There are creatures who do not fit into your perfect little city,” she told him. “Those of us who are more…progressed than others tend to stay away from cement and walls. They are too enclosing. And your people like to make spectacles of us.”
She waited as silence weighed heavy between them. His questions were almost palpable. Curious man.
“How do you know all of this? How do you know where we are going?”
“I told you. Ignes is unusual. He can travel on his own.”
“He can what?” Jasper hurried forward, his long legs eating up the distance between them. “You can send him away from you? For how long? For how far?”