"Then why else are you doing this? Why do you need the Wardens?"
I DON'T NEED YOU. I JUST DON'T WANT YOU TO FULFILL YOUR PURPOSE. SO NOW THAT I HAVE YOU HERE, YOU'RE LIKE ANY OTHER OF MY PRISONERS. I'M GOING TO ENJOY PLAYING WITH YOU THOUGH, YOU HAVE SPIRIT. AND IF YOU'RE STILL AS BRAVE IN THE END, I WILL EAT YOUR SOUL WITH DELIGHT.
"Eat my soul? How is that even possible?"
YOU WILL SEE. SOON. NOW, LET'S HAVE SOME FUN.
There were sounds in the distance. A woman shouting something. Through the thick mist, two people approached. One was the same guard who had brought Macey here, and the other... a young woman around Macey's age, maybe a bit younger. She looked almost too thin to stand and her eyes had a crazed look, even from a distance. She had a bronze collar around her neck, but she wasn't being dragged by the guard. No, she was walking passively by his side.
Macey had a sinking feeling about who the girl might be. And she didn't like that thought one bit.
TWO WARDENS UNDER MY CONTROL. YOU STAND NO CHANCE NOW, LITTLE KELPIE.
The other girl’s head whipped up, and her eyes widened, panic filling them.
“You,” she blurted, half seeming afraid, half relieved. It was almost like she knew who Macey was. Which was impossible, surely?
“Me?”
One of the guards kicked her in the shin, and she hissed, but didn’t cry out. She had bigger things to worry about. Like what would happen if the Voice decided to make Amber attack her. For she had no doubt this was the woman she needed to find.
Lightning and water didn’t really mix. It almost sounded kind of deadly, and Macey wasn’t completely keen on finding out how so.
“You’ve finally come to kill me then?” Amber met Macey’s eyes with a strange mix of resignation and determination in her gaze. As broken as she looked on the inside, this girl was still standing, and still fighting. Just not in the most obvious of ways.
“Why would I want to kill you?” Macey frowned, genuinely confused about what she could mean. She’d never really wanted to kill anyone. Not until the Voice anyway. She’d quite happily carve his heart out with a rusty spoon if she got the chance. If he had one. A heart that was. She was sure finding a rusty spoon would be reasonably straightforward.
“My dre-”
ENOUGH!
Amber flinched alongside Macey. Interesting. The Voice was talking to them both then. That was particularly interesting given their stays here.
The echo of his words faded away, but Amber continued to flinch. He must still be talking to her then. Poor girl.
“No… don’t make me… no… please… no.” She started clawing at her face, as if to get the Voice out. Macey wondered if that was what she looked like when the Voice was in her head. If so, it made sense why her men were always so worried after she’d come around.
A pang of loss shot through her heart. She wanted them with her so badly. Not because she’d need them to escape, but just because they made her feel more complete.
ENJOY, LITTLE KELPIE, the Voice taunted.
Macey braced herself as best she could, wishing her wrists weren’t still shackled. She wasn’t quite sure what the Voice had in mind, but given everything she’d heard and witnessed so far, likelihood was that it wasn’t going to be pleasant.
She wouldn’t scream though. She had to keep that promise. Giving him the satisfaction would be the worst possible torture.
“No, no, no, no, no.” Amber glanced down at her hands with an expression of horror on her face.
Macey looked down too and gulped. The girl’s hands were covered in sparks of electricity. She guessed she really was about to find out what happened when electricity and water mixed. She was scared. Actually, no. That was an understatement. She was petrified. But still determined not to let the Voice see that. He’d be far too satisfied, and she’d love to wipe the smug expression out of his tone.
“I’m sorry,” Amber whispered, meeting Macey’s eyes again.
“I know,” Macey replied, trying to tell her it was alright. And failing badly. They were just two young women in the courtyard of an unknown place, and in the grasp of a sadistic… something. How did she still not know what the Voice was? How was she going to defeat a mystery?
The electricity began to build, and storm clouds rolled overhead. What the hell was Amber? Or was it even her causing this?
“Please forgive me,” the redhead begged.
“Always,” Macey responded, before lightning crashed down from the sky, landing just feet away from where she stood. Despite herself, Macey flinched away.
“No,” Amber tried again, tears beginning to stream down her face, and her mouth set into a determined line.
If Macey had to guess, she’d have said that the Voice had the other woman in her grip, and the fact the lightning had missed her at all, was simply testament to Amber’s sense of control. Most likely due to being locked up for so long.
Macey had to admire that. If they both got out of here alive, then she was going to have to ask. Maybe. Or maybe not. She was already looking forward to forgetting her own time here after all.
In front of her, Amber dropped to her knees, screaming in anguish. This was it then, the moment she lost control. Macey closed her eyes, thinking that not seeing it coming would make the pain easier to bear.
It didn’t. The waiting was almost worse than the pain.
The crackle of lightning coming had her on edge, and she could almost feel it approaching. Thinking of Flint, Jared and Cam as hard as she could, Macey managed to distract herself.
But only for a moment.
The electricity hit her skin, and a singed hair smell surrounded her. But oddly, not as much pain as she expected. Hardly any at all in fact. It was as if the lightning was one with her, though she couldn’t quite wield it.
She opened her eyes, meeting Amber’s surprised face, before smiling slightly. The other girl picked up on what was happening quickly, or she had if the echoing smile was anything to go by. Even so, she stayed on her knees. Hopefully the Voice either couldn’t tell what was happening or couldn’t do anything about it.
Macey felt another surge of electricity as the lightning strike grew stronger. She was even more impressed with Amber now. Even though the Voice had managed to make her use her powers, she’d still managed to hold some back. That must take a lot of mental fortitude.
Twin prickles around her wrists, followed by two loud cracks, had Macey smiling maniacally. The copper restraints were gone, fallen to the floor in pieces, and allowing a surge of her own magic to join Amber’s.
NO!
The Voice seemed to have figured out what was happening. Too bad it was too little, too late. Macey directed their combined powers around them, knocking the Voice’s men to the ground with the combined lethality of water and electricity.
They probably didn’t survive, but she also didn’t really care. She’d heard and seen enough, both in person, and from what Luch had said.
It wasn’t until the surge of magic began to fade, that she noticed the slight stinging sensation on her lower back. This time, she didn’t wonder what it was about. It was more painful than the marks she’d received from sex, but she was hardly complaining. Izban hadn’t seemed like the sharing type anyway.
Her clothes were wet and the courtyard ground had turned into one giant puddle. She hadn't even noticed she'd summoned that much water.
Now what? Her shackles had gone and she was free to run, but where to? There were two doors leading away from the courtyard: one was the door her jailor had brought her, the other straight opposite. It looked more inviting. Wherever it led, at least it wasn't to the dungeons.
Macey began to run towards the door, expecting Amber to follow - but when she reached it, there was no sign of the redhead behind her. She looked back and saw Amber standing still in the same spot, tiny bolts of lightning flashing around her wrists. She was wavering, reaching for something in front of her that wasn't there.
Then sh
e collapsed.
Macey ran back, cursing herself for not checking on Amber first. The girl had been in captivity for far longer than herself; of course she wasn't well. The exhaustion of using so much magic at once must have been too much for her frail body.
Luckily, Amber hadn't passed out completely. She was lying on her side, her eyes open, but obviously too weak to stand.
"I'm sorry," she whispered faintly, but Macey shushed her.
"Do you know the way out of here?"
"I think so." Amber groaned. "But it's hard to know what was real and what wasn't."
"It's better than randomly running around this place. Imagine running as fast as you can, how long would it take?"
"The main gate isn't far from here. Maybe two minutes? But I can't walk, let alone run."
Macey ignored that last statement. "Do you think you'll be able to hold onto me?"
Amber frowned in confusion. "You don't look strong enough to carry me. Better leave me here and get out while you still can. I'm sure the Voice will be back soon."
Macey chuckled. "Believe me, I'm strong enough. But don't tell anyone. And be quick, I can only hold my breath for so long."
Amber looked even more confused now, but Macey didn't have time to explain. Instead, she showed her. She shifted.
Shifting outside of the loch was hard, but there was enough water on her clothes and the ground for her to manage. It was painful, though, but she couldn't think of any other way of getting Amber out of here.
When she had fully shifted into her kelpie form, she knelt down beside Amber, nudging the girl to climb onto her back. This was the first time anyone who wasn't a kelpie was going to ride on her. It was a shameful thing to do; kelpies were incredibly proud creatures. But this was an emergency and if she was lucky, nobody in her family would ever find out.
That's when she remembered her brothers. If the two men in the dungeons even were her brothers, but it was too much of a coincidence.
She huffed. Get Amber out first, that was the priority. Then go back and get her brothers. Somehow. A problem for a later time. Right now, her problem was that she was having to hold her breath and already felt a slight sting in her lungs. Kelpies weren't made to be out of water for long. That's why the legends of kelpies pulling humans underwater to eat them were bollocks. Kelpies couldn't keep their heads out of water for long enough to first find and then attack a human. Besides that, they were vegetarians.
Amber climbed onto Macey's broad back and clung to her mane. As gentle as she could, the kelpie got to her feet and began to move towards the door. When she was sure Amber had a good grip on her, she broke into a run, following the girl's whispered directions.
From the courtyard they entered a long, dim corridor that led into another, even dimmer one. On and on they ran, around corners, through doors. There were no people to be seen anywhere. Macey found that very strange, but she didn't have time to ponder on that, nor on the fact that the Voice wasn't talking to them anymore or trying to keep them in his grasp.
No, she was focused on not breathing.
Her kelpie lungs were better than her human ones, but by now she was quickly running out of oxygen. Finally, they exited the building they were in and entered another drawn out courtyard. At the end was a gate.
It was closed.
Nonetheless, Macey continued to gallop towards it. Freedom was so close.
Suddenly, two guards stepped out of a small door beside the gate. They held out their hands, intent on stopping the girls escape.
Mages.
Oh waves, what was she going to do?
"I can break down the gate, but I'll pass out after that," Amber whispered.
That meant the guards were Macey's responsibility. She whinnied in response to show her rider she agreed with her plan.
Her lungs were burning, she knew she had less than a minute left before she'd have to shift back. Summoning her water magic, she threw two balls of water at the guards without warning. One of them deflected his, but the other was hit hard and slammed against the wall behind him. He sank to the ground, unconscious.
Only one to go. Macey readied another water ball, but the guard was now on the offensive. He threw a fire lance at her and she just about managed to jump to the side to evade it. However, it gave her the opening to thrust her own watery missile and hit the mage before he could create another lance. Just like his fellow guard, he slumped to the ground.
Lightning tore from the sky and into the metal gate. Electricity fizzled through the air and the gate's doors sprung open.
Using the last of her energy, Macey ran through the open gate and along the drawbridge that was leading away from the castle.
Beithir
Chapter 3
"Do you really think prodding her is a good idea?" a male voice asked.
Macey wondered what that was even about until a sharp prod came at her shoulder. She groaned. No, prodding her was not a good idea. And if she could just summon the strength, the person on the other end of that finger would regret it.
"Do you have any better ideas?" the prodder responded.
"No. But go tend to your own girlfriend."
The people around her, and she was sure there were a few, lapsed into silence.
"She's not my girlfriend," the prodder protested.
"Besides, I'm fine," a weak Amber replied.
Wait...if Amber was the girlfriend, then that must have meant the prodder was Izban. And if Izban was here...
Macey's head began to clear, and she shakily pushed her arms underneath her. She turned as she rose and was greeted by three worried sets of eyes. And Izban's, but he just looked more exasperated than anything else.
"You're okay!" Flint fell to his knees and pulled her into his arms, peppering her face with kisses. "We were so worried."
"Alright, let the rest of us in," Jared grumbled, but it was impossible to miss the relief in his tone.
Flint let her go, and Macey slowly got herself to her feet. She could sense all three of them fretting already, but appreciated that they were leaving her to it. At least they knew her well enough to realise interfering wasn't in their best interests.
The moment she was steady again, she found herself pulled into a bear hug from Jared, and on the receiving end of the doting smile from Cam.
"I knew you could do it," he said softly. She smiled at him. While she was glad they were here, she was also more than a little smug that she was the one who'd saved herself. And Amber for that matter.
"Thanks," she said, twisting out of Jared's arms, and going up on her toes to kiss him. He responded in kind, keeping the pressure light, and the attention on her in a far more loving way than her men usually showed. Normally they were in the more taking-her frame of mind. They must have been really scared for her safety...
Warmth flowed through Macey at the thought, and her heart swelled to three times its normal size. Though maybe that was just the lack of oxygen. That could do funny things to kelpies.
"Here," Amber said, handing her a bottle of water. "You must be running low."
"Thanks." Macey unscrewed the cap after taking it, and chugged down the water, surprised by just how much she actually needed it. She was a water being, she shouldn't have let herself get so low. "How did you find us?" she asked her men after the bottle was empty.
"We didn't," Flint replied, shuffling his feet slightly, as if uncomfortable.
"You can't tell me you're here just by chance," she said.
"Of course not," Cam butted in. "But it was actually Izban casting a searching spell for Amber that led us here.”
Macey exchanged glances with the red-headed girl, who shrugged.
"Must be possible."
"You don't know what he's capable of?" Macey replied, raising an eyebrow.
"We only met a little before I was kidnapped," Amber said, a blush staining her cheeks as she tried not to look at the Ice Warden. Interesting.
Macey counted herself lucky that she already
had the Lightning mark on her back. Hopefully, she'd be able to add the Ice mark in a similar fashion. That way she wouldn't have to get between what was clearly a blossoming relationship.
It was also a small relief. Three men was proving difficult enough at the moment, particularly with their protective streaks. She didn't want to add another man and woman into the equation. She wouldn't even have known where to start if she'd needed to have a relationship with Amber.
"Alright then. Next steps," Macey announced, ignoring the fact she was naked from bursting through her clothes while shifted.
Cam shrugged off his jacket and handed it to her, and she took it gratefully, wrapping it around herself and enjoying his scent as it wafted to her nose.
"We need to get out of here and make a plan," Jared said.
"No," three voices responded all at once. Macey frowned. She knew why she was saying no to him. But why were Amber and Izban?
"Who wants to go first?" Flint asked, amusement dancing in his eyes.
"I think my brothers are in there," Macey said.
"I'm not having Amber in danger again," Izban spoke over the top of her, glaring at her men.
"Now hang on a minute," Amber said, putting her hands on her hips. "You're not the boss of me, Izban. I'm not sitting back and letting the Voice get away with this."
Despite having been in captivity for who knows how long, the other woman looked surprisingly strong, and Macey wouldn't mess with her if she didn't have to.
"You've been in there for weeks, Amber, no one can expect you to go back there," Izban countered, his voice softening with unspent emotions.
"That hardly matters. Do you think the bastard is going to wait for me to recover his strength? Besides, you let me fly during that storm. You can't complain that this is any more or less dangerous." She crossed her arms and fixed him with a look.
But all Macey wanted to know about was her use of the word fly. What was the red-head? Up until that moment, Macey had just assumed she was some kind of storm mage, but it sounded like that wasn't the case.
"That was before you were kidnapped. You look half-starved, Amber..."
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