Home in Your Arms

by Sarah Bale

  Carter noticed and said, “That right there is why Sully is a true tin man. His weapons have minds of their own and know what to do.”

  “He’s inside the palace somewhere, as well as a man named Brian. We must try to rescue them too.”

  “Four men? You have high hopes, my lady.”

  She smiled up at Carter. “And faith in the men who are leading me into the lion’s den.”

  Her meaning was clear. She trusted him with her life but she knew he was honored. And it had been a very long time since he had done anything of honor. A horn sounded in the distance and Carter motioned her to follow.

  “It’s time.” He paused and then said, “If I don’t make it, I want you to know how thankful I am that you saved me. I can die knowing I was free.”

  She blinked her tears away. “You won’t die, Carter.”

  “May your words be true, my lady.”

  He grabbed her hand and kissed it before letting it go. She waited a moment and then followed him. Though it was morning, the sun did not shine. She wondered if it was because of a spell the Witches had cast. They seemed to fear things that gave people hope.

  The men got into their marching formation and she slid into a place behind Carter. One of the other men was hiding in his tent so that the numbers would not be off when they switched places with the guards inside the palace. She worried that he would be harmed if he was caught but as he had told her, it was his risk to take.

  Carter yelled out and they began marching. Luckily, the men surrounded Lexi or else the others would surely be able to tell she didn’t belong. With each step they took, Lexi could sense the pain and agony coming from the palace.

  Some of the feelings were coming from the guards heading their way. Their skin had fresh marks from where the Witches had beaten them. One of their thoughts drifted her way and she had to bite back a smile. Andrew had not gone down without a fight. She was also able to tell that he was still alive.

  As they got closer to the other guards, Carter called out to them and they replied. She knew this was her sign to lower her eyes. She looked at the feet of the man in front of her.

  They were almost past the other group when someone yelled out, “Halt.”

  Lexi kept her head low as the leader of the other group came up and said, “Something isn’t right. Carter, did you really think you could get away with it and no one would notice?”

  “Notice what?” Carter questioned, ice dripping from each word.

  In his tone alone, it was clear why he led the Witches’ guard.

  The other man smirked, “We know you had a woman in camp last night. She was spotted entering but was not reported leaving. Thought you could slip her past us without sharing, didn’t you.”

  Carter laughed but it held no humor. “Yes, I fucked a woman last night before handing her off to most of my men. What of it?”

  Lexi’s face flamed. It sounded horrible when put like that but she wasn’t about to voice her thoughts on the matter. Besides, he spoke the truth. Colleen had slept with all the men in camp.

  “Where is she now?”

  Carter shrugged. “I don’t know nor do I care. She’s probably dead after being pounded all night long.”

  There was a rowdy round of laughter from the other guards and Lexi could feel her own men getting angry. She pushed a calming thought out to them and it seemed to work, which surprised her. One man near her even sighed as she shared a thought of strolling barefoot in the sand. It was one of her best memories.

  She then pushed a thought toward Carter, which caused him to cough as he tried to cover a laugh. It was of the other man wearing women’s clothing and makeup. He would make a hideous female.

  “See you later, asshole,” he said as he began to march.

  Lexi lowered her head as they passed the other group and was thankful when they weren’t stopped again. She was also glad no one had noticed the change in most of the men’s eye color.

  As they marched, the ground became harder to tolerate. Carter had warned her that the terrain would become very rough before they reached the palace and to make sure she didn’t trip. Each of the guards was trained to walk the ground barefooted so they knew every inch of the earth they protected.

  The jagged rocks dug into the soles of her boots but she kept marching with the others. The tunes that some of the men hummed help her keep in step with them, which she was thankful for. Finally, a loud horn blew as they reached the gates of the palace.

  A crow cawed as they entered and she was surprised to see that the bird had green eyes as the men once had. What was inside the Witches that caused everything they touched to take on a green hue? Was it a sign of possession?

  She didn’t have time to ponder it anymore because Carter called out for his men to follow him. The other men marched to their posts where they kept watch over the palace. Lexi kept her head lowered as her group made their way toward the palace.

  The guards weren’t allowed to enter the palace through the main doors. Instead, they took a staircase located near the moat to reach the dungeons. Carter assured her that once inside they would be able to use the stairs within the palace to find the men she was looking for.

  The moat bubbled and seemed to have a mind of its own as they grew near. Dead fish and human remains floated on the water until the bubbles swallowed them up. Lexi wanted to gag at the scent but knew better than to draw attention to herself. Carter had warned that one form of punishment was to drink the water from the moat. Most didn’t survive.

  They reached the stone stairs and began to make their way down. Fresh blood made the stairway slick and Lexi prayed it wasn’t from Andrew.

  “The other captain would have told me,” Carter said under his breath.

  She hadn’t realized she had pushed her thought toward him.

  “When we reach the bottom my men will go to the left and we’ll go to the right. If your friends are alive, they’ll be in the dungeon cells that are enchanted. Be prepared to fight.”

  Lexi nodded as they reached the end of the stairs. The men sent positive thoughts her way as they went to interrogate a new prisoner. She knew they didn’t want to hurt anyone but they had to until they were free.

  Carter went to the right and she followed. With each step they took, the light seemed to dim until it was nearly impossible to see. She held her breath as someone ahead screamed followed by a woman’s cackle.

  “Poor little baby. As if this is the first time you’ve had something put up there.”

  Lexi shuddered. She didn’t want to know what was happening but had a pretty good idea.

  The hallway ended and she could see several cells, each glowing green with the magic that protected them. The cell at the end of the row was open but she knew that was where the Witch was also torturing the man.

  “On my count,” Carter said.

  He held up three fingers and had just put the first one down when a voice said, “Well, isn’t this interesting. Why in the world is the head of my guard escorting the one person I told him to kill into my dungeons?”

  A woman stepped from the shadows and Lexi gasped. She was so beautiful that it hurt to look at her. She was also very familiar looking. Her skin stood out against the black silk gown she wore and her long hair was swept up in an elegant bun. Lexi could see how easy it would be to give into this woman. What would the harm be, really?

  “Yes,” the Witch purred. “Give in to me.”

  Lexi felt herself taking a step forward when Andrew’s thoughts slammed into her mind, causing her to gasp in pain. She had almost fallen for the Witch’s trick. If she had, she would have ended up in the cell next to him before she died. Thank God Andrew had known what was happening and had warned her.

  “Stupid boy. You never did know when to stay out of someone’s business,” the Witch said as Andrew cried out in pain from his cell.

  Lexi wished she could see him to see what was wrong. She couldn’t save him unless she knew the severity of his injuries,
though.

  “Let my friend go.”

  The Witch smiled, showing off her fang-like teeth. “My pretty, if you want your friend, then you’ll have to go through me.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Lexi’s mind raced as she thought through her limited options. There was no way she could take the Witch on in hand-to-hand combat. The Witch would never fight fair and there was no telling what she might do.

  “You know, my sister would love to learn that you are here. Normally she isn’t this distracted when it comes to who’s in the palace but she has her hands full.”

  One word drifted her way and Lexi fought in vain to keep her face neutral. Ian.

  “They’ve been going at it for hours. Seems the Enchanted Fields did a number on him. It’s disgusting, really.”

  An image of a Witch nearly identical to the one in front of her crossed Lexi’s mind, only this one was riding Ian with the most euphoric look Lexi had ever seen on someone’s face. The thing that killed her even more was the look on Ian’s face. He wanted the Witch so much that he would do anything to have her.

  “I hate to be the one to tell you this but you will never be enough for him now. The fields have ruined him and, well, no one fucks like my sister.”

  Lexi shook her head. “You’re wrong.”

  “Do you really think he’ll want you even if you make it to the tower? If he has the choice to stay or to leave, he will stay. Let me make this easy for you. Just come over here and let me show you your future.”

  Carter, who had remained silent until this point said, “Lexi, don’t do it.”

  The Witch stared at him and said, “I’ll deal with you later, you naughty boy.”

  Her threat struck home and Carter’s mouth snapped shut. Fear radiated from his body until it made Lexi’s skin crawl.

  “You aren’t what I expected, Lexi. I will tell you that much. Now come and give me your hand. Let me show you a life you never dreamed of having.”

  Her feet began to move again on their own accord. As she got closer to the Witch, her head began to swim with Brian’s warning. Think outside the box.

  “Where’s Sully?”

  The Witch snorted. “Sully? Why he’s in the cell behind me.”

  “And Brian?”

  “He’s being kept near my other sister. She still thinks she can get some use out of him.”

  “Let me see Sully. I don’t believe you.”

  The Witch narrowed her eyes and spoke something under her breath. Another cell door opened. Sully hobbled up to it so badly burned that he was barely recognizable. How he was able to walk was beyond her. Okay, so she knew where everyone she was trying to save was located. Now all she had to do was get rid of the Witch.

  “And your precious Andrew is in the very last cell on the right but I doubt he will be able to get to the door. Walking kind of hurts him right now, if you know what I mean.”

  Lexi took another step forward and asked, “Why didn’t you capture me when you had the chance?”

  “Because we knew you’d find a way to get inside our palace. Granted we didn’t foresee you using our own guards to do so. That was tricky of you.”

  Lexi nodded in agreement and then asked, “What’s your real name?”

  The Witch flinched for a moment before lifting her lips into a smile. “Why does it matter?”

  “You know my name. I should know yours.”

  “No, you don’t need to know it.”

  This was what she had been waiting for so she casually said, “I bet I can guess it.”

  “Try me.”

  The Witch’s thoughts hadn’t been easy to pick up on but the one thought that Lexi had seen several times was her anger toward her sister for letting Ian use their real names. Those names reminded her that they had once been humans and could be hurt. Now all Lexi had to do was pick the right name. It was a one in three shot.

  One name seemed to stick out when she thought about it so she took in a deep breath before answering.

  “Ricki.”

  Thunder shook the palace and she knew she had guessed correctly.

  “I’m right, aren’t I? You are Ricki.”

  “Who told you that name? Who?” Ricki screamed.

  Lexi smiled and took another step toward her.

  “Such a pretty name too. Why I bet your mother loved you most of all.”

  “No.” howled Ricki. “She loved me least of all. I was so glad the day she died. If Miki had never discovered the spell book then we wouldn’t have known that our power lay within that hag.”

  Her anger caused secrets to bubble up from within her soul. There was only so much that magic could hide and she was losing her control over it. She didn’t even know she had just helped Lexi, either.

  “I bet your mother would have been so disappointed in you.”

  Ricki began pacing and screamed, “She wouldn’t have even noticed. She didn’t love my sisters or me. She only loved our older sister. Well, we took care of her, didn’t we? Took care of both of them.”

  Her words didn’t make sense. Who was the oldest sister? Miki?

  “Your mother loves Miki more?”

  “No. There were four of us and…” She paused, then continued, “And it doesn’t matter.”

  Lexi reached behind her back and felt the cold metal of Sully’s weapon against her hand. This was it. Ricki was distracted and wouldn’t know what was happening until it was too late. She pulled the gun out and fired a single shot.

  The bullet whizzed through the air in slow motion. Ricki had just turned and saw it coming for her but it was too late. As it struck her in the chest, she screamed and fell to the floor. Blood oozed everywhere and Lexi began to feel lightheaded.

  She dropped the gun and fell to the floor too. Her eyes met Ricki’s green ones and she realized what was happening. The Witch’s powers were transferring to her. Pain. She had never felt a pain like this. Her lungs burned but she couldn’t catch her breath. What had she done?

  Ricki took in a shallow breath and said, “They were wrong about you.”

  Lexi cried out as the last of Ricki’s powers entered her body. She felt alive and dead at the same time. Pure fire flowed through her veins before cooling to ice. It was easy to see how the Witches had turned to the dark side so easily when every fiber in her body was screaming for her to just give in. All she had to do was stop breathing. No.

  She inhaled and everything began to shift as precious oxygen filled her lungs. She was going to be able to help the realm out in more ways than she thought possible. With one breath, she could save those who had been hurt by Ricki. She closed her eyes and spoke the words to help the victims. Sully fell to his knees and she watched as his wounds began to heal before her eyes.

  Someone reached out to touch her and she found Andrew standing above her with a look of awe on his face.

  “You’ve done it. You killed one of the Witches.”

  His excitement floated through the air like tiny bubbles that looked so real she wondered if they would pop if she touched them.

  Sully came from his cell and pulled her to her feet.

  “We don’t have much time. We’re going to need Brian if we are to save Ian. Come. I know where he is.”

  He ran up the stairs and she followed him in a daze. How did he know where they were going?

  “You aren’t the only one who has inherited powers,” Sully said as he looked over his shoulder. “Come. We may be too late as it is.”

  They reached the first floor of the palace. Several different stairways spiraled up into the air, each leading to a different place. She wondered how they would know which was the right one to take, when one began to glow blue. It had to be that one.

  She pushed past Sully and took the stairs two at a time. The farther she went, the more the others seemed to disappear. They were enchanted, she realized. If someone happened to make it inside the palace, it was the Witches’ way of trapping them.

  They reached the end of the stairs an
d she ran as fast as she could. Brian was so close to death that she could feel his life slipping away. She burst through one of the closed doors to find the second Witch, Vicki, standing over Brian, cackling as he struggled for breath. Water. She was trying to drown him.

  Lexi envisioned the water being thrown across the room at the same time the Witch realized she had entered the chamber.

  “How dare you!”

  Lexi held up her hand, silencing the Witch.

  “Brian, are you okay?”

  Brian stood as if he were in shock. “You did it. I never dreamed you’d be able do it so quickly.”

  Carter and Sully ran into the room and stopped in disbelief.

  “How are you doing that, Lexi?” Sully questioned.

  She followed his gaze to the Witch. Vicki was hovering in the air, as if she were frozen in time, though she could still move her head. The water that had been drowning Sully was now inches from Vicki’s face.

  “Please. Not that. I’ll do anything. I’ll…I’ll tell you about the woman who raised you in Oklahoma.”

  Lexi moved closer to Vicki. She wasn’t lying and it wasn’t a trick. What could she know about her mother?

  “I can see it in your eyes. You want to know what I know. What if I told you that I knew her before she left Sinoda? Would you spare me then?”

  “I think if you’re smart, you’ll tell me what you know before I get tired of holding this water.”

  Vicki shook her head. “Not until you release the water.”

  Brian said in a low tone, “Don’t do it. She can’t hurt you while the liquid is between you. See how she fears it?”

  “He’s lying. I fear nothing.”

  “No, he’s not. Now tell me what you know.”

  The Witch eyed her a moment before nodding.

  “Fine,” she hissed. “I’ll tell you. Haven’t you noticed how familiar my sister and I look to you? Has it made you wonder? Oh I can see it in your eyes. You have wondered.”

  She had, there was no use hiding it. Seeing Ricki had been punch to the stomach. She looked so much like her mom that it hurt. And Vicki? It was her eyes, which were a light shade of green so familiar that it made Lexi’s chest burn.