Exile: Sídhí Summer Camp #3

by Jodie B. Cooper

  She pulled Bowie, her synth crystal, thirteen-inch bowie knife, from the leather sheath hidden under her t-shirt. Swinging right, she decapitated the first olitiau. Swiveling the hunting knife, she took the outstretched legs of a second beast.

  She heard the roar of a khatt as Beth shifted into her second shape. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched the young woman rip two bats apart before launching her lethal body against a third.

  Growls and roars of the vampires mingled with the giant bats.

  Thick, black claws appeared to her left. As the razor-sharp talons sliced toward her face, she ducked. Jabbing upward, she gutted the furry body.

  Turning, she swept the area with a quick glance. Blood covered the teens, but no one seemed seriously injured. Jared had a long scratch up one thigh. Clarisse and Harry, who were hiding behind Katie, faired the best without a bump or bruise on them.

  She sucked-up her nerve and turned around, searching for Nick. He had planted himself immediately behind her, protecting her back. Dead bats covered the ground near his feet. She clenched her jaw, refusing to see anything more in his actions than his desire to protect his honor. Of course, the honorable thing would be to protect his mate.

  Blood dripped down the side of his face. Air froze in her chest as she realized how close the razor claws had come to blinding him.

  “Are you okay?” he asked quietly, reaching for her.

  Stiffening, she straightened out of his reach. His hand fell to his side.

  “Sarah, talk to me.”

  “No, there is no point in talking. I tried that route. It didn’t work,” she said softly, low enough only Nick could hear her. Curling her lip in a tight snarl, she hammered her decision home with as much force as she could. “You made your opinion about me quite clear. Within a few days, a Dyrst’Lye will burn my lifeBud out. At that time, the synth in your blood will re-set and will start searching for a new, more compatible mate.”

  “I don’t want anyone else,” he snarled. Moving swiftly, he stopped inches from her face.

  She snorted. “Right, of course you don’t. That’s your automatic response anytime you think you’ve lost me, or rather lost the chance at a bonded mate. By morning, your answer will change. It always does,” she said without a hint of doubt in her voice.

  Turning on her heel, she stalked away from the blood-soaked clearing. Behind her, she heard Jared’s urgent voice, “Nick, are you nuts? She looks madder than a wet hen. Do you want her to kill you? Give her time to cool off.”

  “Do not get between me and my mate,” Nick said amid a growl.

  Jared’s answering growl rumbled through the trees.

  Not surprisingly, Emily jumped into the argument. “Sarah might be stomping mad, but she still looks like she’s dancing across the ground. How does she do that? Did you see her using that knife she calls Bowie? Wow, just, wow. She’s fast! Do you think she’d teach me?” Emily rattled on, going a mile-a-minute. When her questions met silence, she gave a short, nervous laugh. “Come on, I want a hot shower.”

  Sarah shook her head. As always, the little peace keeper was trying to defuse the situation.

  Chapter - Ruined

  Sunshine streamed into the room, casting a glow around Clarabelle as she reclined on a sleek leather sofa. The cozy group of furniture she sat in was one of many conversation areas within her mate’s private study. She loved the sun. She could soak up the heated rays all day and still yearn for more.

  As she watched the recorded drama play out on a large flat screen TV, a small smile curved her lips. Every moment of Guardian Alexander and Sarah’s illegal entrance into TèVarrn Prison had been captured on tape. Their activities were quite entertaining. Sarah’s final demand made it even better.

  Guardian Alexander’s harsh words echoed in the stone cell as he agreed to Sarah’s crazy demand. Suddenly, the scene replayed a second time.

  Clarabelle’s mate slammed his fist against the oak table sitting a few feet in front of her. A resounded crack filled the air as the thick top splintered. Picking up a wooden leg, he threw it against the far wall, destroying a thousand-year old painting worth several million. “Bloody, freakin’ hell!” he bellowed in fury. “If that wretched guardian provides Chi’Kehra with a dragon from the Dyrst’Lye clan all our plans to force her into helping us will be ruined.”

  “Hmm, I disagree,” Clarabelle said gloatingly. She loved it when he lost his temper. The volatile emotion gave her a thrill of excitement as his bloodthirsty anger flowed through her brain.

  “Explain,” he said gratingly, dropping beside her, “because if our benefactors realize we’ve let Chi’Kehra slip through our fingers, they will not hesitate to destroy us.”

  “We are in charge of this part of the plan, not them,” she sniffed disdainfully.

  His growl rumbled through the air. “Watch what you say. They could be anywhere. You need to remember, we are not the ones in charge.”

  “We are too!” she shouted in anger. Her eyes flared, hating the people that made her mate doubt her.

  For a moment, he appeared concerned. His emotions spiked, and an uneasy sense of alarm flitted through her chest. His words, when he finally spoke, seemed nearly defeated. “Why do you think Chi’Kehra is still ours for the taking?”

  Pushing his silly worries to the back of her mind, she chuckled. Leaning closer, she rubbed her hand up the tense muscles of his arm. "In this you will trust me to take care of everything."

  “I trust you, but just how are you going to take care of everything if she has her lifeBud burned out?” he asked through gritted teeth. “They will not be mates. We need him for leverage. If her lifeBud is burned out, she won't care what happens to him.”

  She chuckled again, cruel and deep. The sound disappeared within the depths of the study. "What someone asks for, and what they receive, is not always the same thing."

  He stopped gritting his teeth. His emotions turned from fury to curiosity.

  She gave him a delighted smile, tinged with evil. “Do you remember me speaking of a childhood friend named, Eve from the Dyrst’Lye clan? Over the years, there have been many ways she has learned to torture her captives. Experimenting with their lifeBud was one of her earlier tests. Let’s just say, Lady Sarah Trellick aka Chi’Kehra will no longer care what happens to Nick.”

  “But they’ll still be mates? She’ll keep her lifeBud?” he asked anxiously.

  “Oh, Eve is brilliant. Trust me, when she is finished, Sarah will believe Nick is no longer her mate.”

  “And she’ll be wrong?” he asked.

  “What do you think?” Clarabelle asked in a burst of uncontrollable laughter.

  Chapter - Dyrst’Lye

  Sarah’s eyes snapped open. Sunshine appeared beyond the cabin’s window. A gentle morning breeze, smelling of mint, filled the girl’s dorm room. The music of birds sweetened the air.

  She glanced around the room. Everyone, except Katie, remained dead to the world. It had been a rough week, and if Alexander came through with a Dyrst’Lye, it would become even worse. At least, it would for her.

  As if she had an anvil sitting on top of her ribcage the thought of losing Nick forever made breathing difficult.

  Beyond the closed door, Sarah heard the front door open. A few minutes later, Katie entered the dorm room. The blonde halfling caught Sarah’s gaze.

  Sarah frowned at the worried look on the girl’s face. What more could go wrong?

  “There’s someone to see you,” Katie said in a hushed voice.

  “Tell them I’ll be out in a minute.” Shoving her feet into a pair of flip-flops, she headed toward the bathroom.

  A few minutes later, Sarah exited the room dressed in shorts and a t-shirt. The clock on the opposite wall said she had missed her guess. It wasn’t morning. It was a few minutes before noon.

  Perched on the edge of a chair, a young man bounced to his feet. Nervously, he pressed down perfectly smooth hair with a trembling hand. Big, brown eyes looked at her
from under thick eyelashes. Dressed in dark gray slacks and a pale yellow polo shirt, the young dragon shifter looked extremely out of place. He swallowed nervously, and his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.

  “Lady Sarah?” he asked. Fear flickered through his eyes. He reminded Sarah of college graduate on his first job interview.

  “Yes,” she said coolly, refusing to lower her guard. Anyone looking for her could easily be an assassin in disguise.

  “I’m, uh, well, my name is Lawrence Dyrst’Lye. Guardian Alexander... well, I, mean, he said, uh, I mean, he ordered...”

  Sarah held up her hand, stopping his rambling words. She watched him clench his hands and glance nervously toward the front door. It was obvious Alexander had told the boy who she was. The poor kid was petrified of her.

  Katie grabbed her arm. “Sarah, don’t do this,” Katie begged. Tears filled her eyes.

  Across the room, the door to the boy’s dorm room slammed open. Clothed in a pair of plaid boxer shorts, Jared snarled as he searched for his upset mate.

  “Where is he?” Sarah asked without much hope. It was morning, and she knew Nick would have changed his mind after a good night’s sleep.

  “Back deck,” Kate said quickly, ignoring Jared as he watched them through narrowed eyes.

  Struggling not to get her hopes up, Sarah briefly closed her eyes. Should she go talk to him and try to reach him at least one last time? She just didn’t know.

  “Don’t do anything,” Katie urged. “I’ll be right back.”

  Sarah gave a short nod. The rhythm of her heart pounded in her ears, sounding like a boom box set on maximum.

  Katie shot toward the back door with Jared hot on her heels.

  The screen door banged shut a split-instance before Katie spoke. “Nick? Sarah’s up and she...”

  “Go away,” he said harshly.

  “Nick, you’ve got to listen to me. I know you love her, but the Dyrst’Lye will destroy everything!” Katie yelled heatedly.

  The frantic sound mirrored Sarah’s panicked heartbeat. Nick’s next words destroyed her.

  “Katie, go away. I’m not in the mood,” he said darkly.

  “Mood? She’s getting her lifeBud burned-out and you aren’t in the mood?” she demanded shrilly.

  It was over, Sarah’s hopes, her dreams, everything. He didn’t want her. Empty and cold, eternity yawned before her. She would live her life alone, without Nick, without her other half. Her very soul clenched, screaming in agony as she turned toward the nervous Dyrst’Lye.

  Ignoring Katie’s continued cries of accusation. She felt the last emotion drain from her. What good was emotion without a mate to receive it?

  Face impassive as stone, she turned to the Dyrst’Lye. “Do it.”

  Giving her a jerky nod, perspiration dripped off his forehead. He concentrated a moment then frowned. “You need to drop your shields,” he gulped, “and I need physical contact.”

  For a moment, she glared at him. Without another option, she raised her hand up.

  The moment he touched her skin with an outstretched finger, she dropped her shields. A split-second later her world shattered. Fire blistered through her mind. She screamed in agony. Distantly, she heard a wordless roar, a sound filled with desperation. She crashed to the floor in a boneless heap as blood streamed from her ears and nose.

  It was finished. There was no going back. The desolate thought flickered through her mind before the world turned black and she fainted.

  The floor shuddered beneath her. The smell of blood, her blood, filled the air with iron touched by power. Her heart thundered in her ears and she couldn’t hear anything but the deafening sound. At the touch of a warm, wet cloth sliding across her skin in gentle strokes, her eyes fluttered open.

  Her head hurt. It felt like a werewolf was trying to rip through her skull. Her thoughts steadied. The sensation was only pain. Physical pain she could tolerate. It was the other kind of pain, the emotional agony, she feared as it smashed through her weakened defenses.

  She searched her mind, her body, but she felt no different. She didn’t suddenly hate Nick. That would have been a blessing, but just the opposite was true. Her chest constricted as her love for him continued pulsing through every fiber of her being.

  What had she expected? Her lifeBud had been burned out, not her heart or soul. Every time she saw him, she felt alive. She knew, without a shadow of doubt, she would love Nick with her entire being for all eternity.

  Something hit the outside wall and the room shuddered under the heavy impact.

  She moved to sit up, but a firm hand held her down. “Sarah, don’t move,” Katie said. Her voice sounded husky, as if she had been crying. “The bleeding has stopped, but if you get up too quickly it might start again. As soon as those idiots stop fighting, I’ll send one of them for a healer.”

  “Fighting?” she asked numbly. Taking the wet, terry washcloth from Katie she wiped the remaining blood from her neck and face. She wouldn’t need a healer, not when the pain was already fading. Dropping the bloody rag on the floor, she turned toward the door.

  “Nick attacked the dragon and then...”

  Emily ran through the front door and slid to a halt. Eyes wild, midnight hair swinging around her hips, she caught Sarah’s gaze. “You’ve got to stop them! They’re going to kill him!”

  The frantic vampire darted out of the cabin. The ever-calm girl screamed, sounding outraged. Emily’s scream turned quickly into the furious roar of a ticked-off vampire.

  It was then Sarah realized the roaring wasn’t coming from inside her head.

  “What’s going on,” she asked as she climbed unsteadily to her feet.

  From Emily’s reaction, it sounded like it might be time to put a stop to whatever got Miss Peace Maker in a tizzy.

  “When Nick heard you scream, he attacked the Dyrst’Lye,” Katie said, offering Sarah an arm to steady her.

  She didn’t bother to smother a snort. Surprise, surprise... whether he wanted her or not, anytime she was hurt his honor demanded he protect her.

  Strength returned quickly and she refused Katie’s offer. Walking slowly toward the front of the cabin, she took in the damage. The large picture window, to the left of the door, had been shattered and the thick, wooden door hung by a single hinge.

  “Nick took one look at you and slammed into the boy, sending them both crashing through the window. Jared and Mitch charged after Nick. Beth jumped into the fight when it was obvious Mitch was in the thick of things and wasn’t winning.”

  Sarah reached the doorway and froze. The scene in front of the cabin looked like an action movie in a repetitive cycle, a really bad one with lots of violence and no story.

  She heard flesh hit flesh, and Mitch went flying across the path, crashing into a thick swath of furble saplings and mint bushes.

  Mac stood in the center of the small clearing. Anticipation glowed in his flashing eyes as he waited for the next attack. His soot colored wings spread wide, soaking up the brilliant noon sunshine. In contrast, the dusting of gold and wine along his dark wings seemed to shimmer. All he needed was a flaming sword, and he’d look like a dark avenging angel.

  Jared charged him.

  Mac backhanded the vampire, knocking him twenty feet away.

  The phoenix was no angel.

  Mitch stumbled to his feet and charged the winged fairy. He didn’t land a single punch before Mac hit him, smashing him to the ground with a bone-jarring thump.

  A furious yowl filled the air, and a brown khatt with golden streaks shot forward. Beth faired a bit better than either guy had. A swipe of her paw and she scored a set of claw marks across his hip.

  Mac blasted her with a pulse of white-fire. The shimmering bolt of burning power hit her chest, knocking her head-over-heels. Her smoking, feline body smashed into Mitch and they tumbled backward into the forest.

  Jared darted forward only to have Emily jump on his back, screaming in his ear like a banshee. Fangs flashed and she
bit her brother’s shoulder.

  Sarah glared at Mac. A menacing growl started deep in her chest. Clenching her hand in a fist, she choked back the urge to kill one of her best friends. It wasn’t easy, not when his hand wrapped around Nick’s throat, holding him a foot off the ground.

  “I thought they were fighting the Dyrst’Lye?” she demanded through clenched teeth.

  “Yeah, well, the winged guy showed up nearly immediately and flung a ball of white-fire at the dragon. The dragon took off with its wings on fire but the winged man didn’t follow him.”

  “Phoenix,” Sarah said quietly, watching Mac single-handed - literally, single-handedly - beat the crap out of her cabin mates.

  “Phoenix?” Katie asked.

  “The winged man is a phoenix, a fairy within the military caste,” Sarah said, trying to calm her growing anger before she did something she might regret. “The white-fire is actually a mixture of fire and lightning, very unique to the phoenix race.”

  Head held high, she started forward, ignoring the teens around her. “Mackenzie!” she snapped, stopping in front of him. Nick dangled bare inches from her.

  “Liege,” Mac greeted her, striking his free fist to his chest in an age-old show of loyalty.

  “What the hell do you think you are doing?” she snarled so quietly, with such menace, that the other teens halted their attack.

  “He has destroyed you. So, I will destroy him,” Mac said matter-of-factly. The icy expression on the normally cheerful face sent a shiver of warning down her back.

  “Do I look damaged?”

  A muscle twitched in his jaw. “Not yet, but you will. As head of your guard, it is my right to be the one to kill him.”

  “No,” she said softly, yet emphatically. She refused to show him the terror gripping her throat. A single slip in his concentration and Mac could kill Nick with a burst of lightning laced fire. More than once, she’d seen accidents happen; a singed body part during training sessions was nothing new.