Winter stopped in front of a drift of snow twelve feet high. He lowered his light to shine on an oval stone that had steam coming off it. I squatted to examine the runes engraved on it. He placed his palm on the stone. His flesh sizzled and burned on the hot rock. A hissing breeze swirled around us, blowing the front of the drift clean away to reveal the dark mouth of a cave.
We followed Winter’s light into the dark tunnel. The warm vapor spell vanished before we were twenty feet into the cave. The cold quickly chilled my bones.
The cave was wider than I expected, and its walls were unnaturally dry and smooth. Further in, the clear ground was covered with rope carpets.
At the back of the cave, rectangular bricks formed a circle.
Winter walked over to the circle and held his hand above it. Blue flames sparkled inside the brick pit like monster tongues, brightening our new home.
Heat reached me in waves and felt as soothing as warm bath water.
I exhaled, relieved. A shelter and a hearth can be intoxicating.
I noticed there was no smoke emanating from the fire. It wasn't oxygen burning, it was magic happening. That made it feel even more like home.
“I thought ice was your thing,” I said with a grateful grin.
He took off his jacket and gloves. “The magic in this area is so potent even a basic could start a fire.”
“Not really?”
“No, not a basic, but you get the idea.”
He sat against the wall and waved me over. I sat next to him, keeping my coat zipped. I still had some thawing out to do. I felt like a popsicle.
“Get some sleep,” he said.
“What about you?”
He shook his head. “No need. I’d rather be awake.”
“We need you to be at your best,” I insisted.
He took my gloved hand in his. “I have to warn you, Luna. If Emmet is there, we’ll have to fight and kill to even get near him. You can stay here. I can go to the Sacred Vault alone. This is your last chance. Once we approach that place there is no time to run. If you do not kill them, they will try to kill you and when you do not die, the whole bloody Immortal network will be informed.”
I felt sick. “Is it necessary?”
“More than necessary,” he said. “We can’t leave any witnesses.”
My stomach contracted. I swallowed down the urge to vomit.
He rubbed my back. “It’s the only way.”
“Tell me they’re all evil at least,” I said. “We’re just going to kill everyone?”
“If they don’t capture us first. Luna, stay here. I’ll get him.”
Was Emmet’s life more important than all those guards, or any single guard for that matter? Was mine? Was Winter’s?
“They are on the wrong side of history,” he said.
“They are just following orders.”
“Some of those orders include abduction and torture.”
I knew that if I survived it all, I would never be the same, but I would not abandon a friend to be carved up in a house of horrors.
“I’m going,” I said. “I came here to get Emmet.”
“That’s good,” he said, “because I could use the help.”
I punched his chest. “You idiot.”
The big goon smiled. I rested my head on his shoulder. “I’m not sure I ever thanked you for helping. Without you, I wouldn’t have had a chance and Emmet would be lost.”
“Thank me when the wolf is free.”
I felt sleepy and oddly content. “Tell me about my real family.”
He pursed his lips and stared at the fire. I saw a twitch in his jaw and his gaze drop to the ground. “You’re better off not knowing”
Of course, he said that. “Maybe that’s for me to decide.”
His eyes hardened. “Maybe, but you’ll never hear it from me. It would put you at danger and not just you, those who love you. Let it be, Luna.”
“You’re not the only one who knows, are you?”
He turned and put his warm hand on my cold cheek. When he lifted his eyes to mine, they were fathomless. It was like being seen from thousands of years at once. “I learned long ago, we are not our families. We build ourselves one day at a time, one decision at a time. I watched you grow up. You already have a family and you have defined yourself.”
“That’s cute,” I said, getting sleepy. “Sounds like a fortune cookie.”
I rested my head on his shoulder again. I liked it.
“I take that as a compliment,” he said. “In my earliest centuries, I spent many springs of the Chou dynasty chatting with Sun Tzu.”
“Dynasties are from a long time ago,” I said, falling asleep.
CHAPTER 19
____________________________________
When my eyes opened, something soft was tucked under my head. Winter’s parka jacket. I looked around the cave. He wasn't there. He must have gone outside, plotting our next move.
I tried to sit up as gently as possible. The blue fire was still burning but not as bright. I had no idea what time it was. I pulled my backpack onto my lap and took the flip phone out.
It was ten fifteen in the morning. There was no service, but the number 8 flashed on the screen—eight messages that must have arrived sometime last night before we got on the ley line express. I probably was too anxious to hear the faint buzzing of the old phone.
The first message was a coupon from Panera Bread. Faion and I ordered food from the restaurant on New Year’s Day.
The remaining seven were all from Lily.
Where r u? Police called here 2x
U gave them Lucia’s number
Want u to call ASAP
witness came 4ward
Cop was cute!
Witness had Jonas at your place
On day of vandals!!!
Uncle Viking circled your home,
then entered!!
Confirming footage from traffic light cam!
CYA, Sophie!! HMB ASAP
I stared at my phone. It made no sense. Cameras weren’t supposed to work around him, and he could easily block the function of all electronic devices. He would never be so careless. He left nothing to chance. No way.
And yet, there was a witness and footage.
Had he deceived me again? Would I ever stop being his pawn?
What did make sense, and it shouldn’t really surprise me, was that he would stop at nothing to pull me back inside his orbit. He had invested way too much time in grooming a mist rider to do his bidding. Maybe he thought I was his ticket to finally beating Chaos at his own game. I didn’t know. All I knew was that his enthusiasm at the prospect of having me under his thumb again could have made him sloppy.
I had to tread lightly. Maybe some part of me wanted him to be guilty. Maybe I needed to express some lingering hostility and his guilt allowed that.
Right on cue, he walked in, lugging a bucket of snow. “Good, you’re awake,” he said with a smile. “How long have you been up?”
I glanced at the phone. “Long enough to see through your deception.”
He set the bucket down and rubbed his neck. “What now?”
“You tell me. Have you been feeding me lies again?”
“What kind of lies?”
“Ah, you have different kinds,” I snapped. “Well, let’s see. The San Diego Police can place you outside my apartment right before it was trashed.”
His eyes narrowed. “No, they can’t,” he said, emphatically. “Did you have a nightmare?”
“Don’t even start. Look for yourself.”
I handed him the phone so he could see the texts.
He didn’t miss a beat. “It’s fake. What reason would I have?”
“I don’t know, here we are, you and me alone in a cave at the end of the world like some superhero crime fighting duo. Your wish realized. And the best part is, when this was all over, I’d be forever in your debt.”
He flared his nostrils. “Except I didn’t kidnap the wolf, no
r did I trash your place. And I know you know that.”
“I don’t know that. The police have the evidence.”
He leaned forward, irritation sparking his irises. “Believe what you want. I’ll give you a few minutes to collect yourself. When I return, we’ll go over the plan one last time and leave for the vault.”
He took off. Every nerve in me tightened.
“Don’t you dare walk out on me.”
He slowed before the mouth of the cave for a moment, then walked out without looking back.
My hand twitched. Something fierce stirred in my blood. The energy blast left my hand almost of its own accord. Maybe it was the dense web of magic of that damned vault or the powerful ley line residual energy or my mist rider core. I didn’t know and I didn’t care. There was no force on Earth able to halt the mega upsurge of power that escaped my body.
The energy field hit Winter just as he had stepped out into the mid-morning Alaskan twilight. It enveloped him like a simmering dome made of transparent, crisscrossing electromagnetic forces, trapping him and dragging him back inside the cave.
He spun inside the halo of finely threaded energy I had crafted. He glared at me with a predatory certainty that promised great violence.
He became curious, reaching out to touch the halo. His hands smoked and blistered on the spot. He’d burn himself into a crispy skeleton if he tried to escape my magic.
He bent over, burying his face in both hands. When he stood tall again, his aggression had vanished. He stepped back carefully to give himself room, then stretched his healed hands out in front of him. His body vibrated wildly from head to toe as coils of energy rolled about the dome, splitting it open.
My energy collapsed with a roaring thud. Searing pain cut through my skull, so sharp it momentarily blinded me.
Too late did I realize Winter had worked up a shield already. He looked smug and pleased with himself, and maybe a little tired, too.
Fucking A-hole.
I pulled myself together. “I can break it,” I declared, defying him.
He flashed his white teeth. “Bring it on, little witch.”
For a second, I hesitated. A voice inside my head told me I was no match for Winter. Not yet. Then the magic buildup crested again, and I let all my might rise within me. My electric field encircled Winter’s shield, creating a sizzling circuit. Elemental energy pulsated out of my cells, gnawing at the threads of his translucent shield.
He watched me from within the shield, his eyes shining.
I kept my assault as steady as possible, gradually increasing intensity.
Nothing. I accomplished nothing. Not a single superficial crack. I had expended an enormous amount of my resources without gaining an inch.
I remembered my lesson. His shields were impermeable. I knew it. He knew it. Assaulting them head on was a terrible idea. I was driven by pure anger and anger was a temporary boost that left you with nothing.
I searched within my core for a connection to the closest ley line. I found an open path and locked onto it. I drew the ley line energy slowly towards the cave like a cat sneaking up on its tiptoes.
The ground under Winter’s feet quaked. He took a step backwards as the floor cracked, chunks of it sinking. The electromagnetic force of the ley line shot upwards and exploded inside his shield.
He was swept up into the air, smashed his head against the cave’s roof, then dropped to the ground with a thud.
When, he climbed to his feet, he laughed.
Huh?
My energy deflated like a balloon. The connection to the ley line was cut. The instant I tried to restart the connection, I slammed against a barrier of forbidding magic. Winter had now taken full control of the ley line.
Uh oh.
His eyes flashed purple. The color of anger.
The back of my neck bristled. The look on his face was murderous. He charged at me. I panicked, putting up a flimsy shield that he punched back instantly. He grabbed my wrist and spun me to the ground. Before I knew it, he was on top of me, straddling me.
He took my face in his hands. “I did not kidnap the wolf shifter. I’m here because you asked me to help.”
I kneed his groin, causing strain in his features. He pinned my hands above my head. “For the last time, I am not the enemy.”
He turned his head slightly to the left. The skin on his neck was warm and smelled like fresh air and peppermint. Something took over and I sank my teeth in, biting into him like a vampire. He grunted and let go of my hands. I pushed him off me, but it was like pushing a dead bear.
“What are you kinky kids up to?”
Winter rolled to the side. I sat up. Chaos was leaning against the cave entrance, hands in his pockets, the hilt of his sword peeking over his shoulder.
We looked at him with daggers.
“A lovers’ spat perhaps?” he went on.
“You’re in on it, too, aren’t you?” I said.
He crunched his face. “In on it? The English language is phonetically unrefined.”
Chaos stepped around mounds of tundra and exploded rocks to glance down at the gaping hole in the Earth.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” he said. “Someone had a dangerous bit of fun.”
Winter pounced on Chaos from behind, running him into the wall. Chaos spun around, but Winter kept his hand around his throat. With his free hand, Winter pointed two fingers directly into Chaos’s eyes.
“Oh, good gracious, no, he wants to draw my essence out,” Chaos said, amused though choking. “Help, Luna, I’m so scared.”
Winter squeezed Chaos’s throat harder. His aura began to vibrate and deepened to a blinding purple.
Chaos coughed. “Tell me little dove, what am I supposed to be in on?”
“Kidnapping Emmet, obviously, so you two old perverts can pull me back into your sadomasochistic rivalry. You probably made a bet who could win my favor because you’re bored after living so long.”
Chaos’s brows crept up. “You think Mr. Warmth here had something to do with the Emmet Groshek kidnapping? As tempting as it would be to egg you on, no, it’s not him. This one does not value complexity and his obsession with you makes him painfully predictable.”
“Is this your confession?” I asked.
Steam sprang forth and took Chaos. When he reappeared, he was standing by the fire pit, flashing his pearly whites.
“You wonder how I did that,” he said. “Your noble magistrate let me do it, sugar muffin. He likes that I’ve come to his defense.”
Winter stood by the entrance. Chaos lingered in the back. I felt more than a little contained. Alone in an arctic cave with two deranged shadows may not be the ideal space on Earth for a mist rider to occupy.
“Whatever you think you know, you don’t,” Chaos said in a sing-song voice as if singing a lullaby. “The culprit will always cover her tracks.”
“Her tracks?” I said, intrigued. “You think a woman is the kidnapper? Where did you come by your information?”
He raised his hands in surrender. “I’m just being politically correct, honey bunch. You newborn souls nowadays get your knickers in a bundle over gender pronouns and the lot.”
What bullshit.
“Nice try, but you two putting your sick heads together makes more sense. That would explain why you jump to each other’s defense so quickly even though you supposedly disagree on everything else.”
Chaos chuckled. “A disagreement? That’s what you’ve come up with? That the esteemed magistrate and I disagree? We’ve had a frightful tiff? Did you hear that, Winter, perhaps we’ve shown bad form at a dinner party?”
I turned to Winter. “You’re quiet. Are you enjoying this?”
“He is,” Chaos said. “Saw him smirking at the bit about the dinner party.”
Now I glared at Winter, who still wasn’t speaking.
“Trying to cool down,” he said.
“I didn’t think cold-hearted bastards needed to cool down,” I said. “Forget this Immortal�
��s rambling. I need you to explain yourself.”
Winter exhaled hard through his nostrils. “I monitored your apartment when you were gone. That happened. I anticipated the location might become a target and that it should be monitored.”
Chaos sneered. “Do you ever listen to yourself talk, mate? I love to hear you talk, no, really. I’ve missed you. It’s been, what? Five centuries?”
Winter ignored him. “I was not there during the attack, but I now see that the attack was a catalyst not only for the kidnapping but to create suspicions between us. The same plan brought us here.”
Chaos nodded. “Major, major clusterfuck.”
“Here, you can feel my truth,” Winter said.
He clutched my hand and slid it under his shirt, my palm against his breastbone. I felt his strong heartbeat and something wilder, like an explosion of ice particles deep inside his chest. An electric current shocked my hand and now I saw something, a kind of vision. Winter’s mind opened to me like a lotus flower, crystalized images sliding before my eyes like a kaleidoscope. Every pulse of his conscience screamed innocence.
“Is this a Me, too moment?” Chaos quipped under his breath.
Winter let go of my hand. It fell to my side, lifeless. I knew he was telling the truth. For an instant, he let a connective path link us and I absorbed his most intimate feelings. The experience was unnerving and felt unreal, but in my gut, I knew absolutely it was true.
We faced each other. I wanted to apologize but not with Chaos there.
“Don’t stop on my account,” Chaos said. “I was going to snap a photo.”
I gave him the stink eye. “Why are you even here? I distinctly remember you refusing to help.”
“Well, I’m here as a neutral observer, butter biscuit, and to be honest, there was exactly shit on the Telly. Hoarders is my show. I might have been the world’s first hoarder, you know. Had to give it up. No room to walk.”
He laughed like a madman before he vanished, this time for good.
What a total jackweasel!
Winter (Mist Riders Book 2) Page 14