Wilde's Army

by Krystal Wade

  I have no sword. What was I thinking leaving it with Cadman? The fire rages inside me. Arland and Brit turn their heads in my direction. Their eyes widen when the serpent follows their gaze.

  I need you, magic. Fill this cave and burn that daemon.

  Sprites peel themselves from the ceiling, from the dirt floor, and from pools of water around my feet. At first, they maintain their natural shape—like rocks, dirt, and beads of liquid—but when they see the serpent, they turn into balls of blue flames then swirl around him. He spits, hisses, then snaps at them as they drive through his body.

  Using the distraction caused by the sprites, I run along the path leading to the wall where Brit and Arland are bound. There are so many bands wrapped around their bodies, I’m afraid to touch them.

  I need more. Help us. Cut these bindings and free Arland and Brit.

  Flames break off me then burn through the daemon’s bands; they writhe and slink away.

  Arland slumps to the cave floor.

  Brit falls to her hands and knees.

  Neither speaks.

  Blood covers their bodies. Their top layer of skin is dissolved.

  They’re dying.

  My hands fill with painful nerves; my heart can’t decide if it wants to stop or beat at a million miles per hour. “Arland? Brit? Please … say something.”

  Neither responds.

  I cannot touch them, cannot move from where I stand.

  The battle between the serpent and sprites continues behind me. It needs to end. I need all the help with my love and my sister I can get. Anger boils in the pit of my stomach. Turning from them, I march toward the serpent. He lunges, but magic forms a blue wall in front of me.

  Kill him! I command.

  Flames stretch from my body and engulf the hissing creature. My strength grows weak, but I do not back down. He bares his fangs; poison drips from them, landing near my feet. Taking two steps back to avoid the deadly fluid, I push even more fire from my soul. Blue flames swirl around then drive inside the serpent. He wails and sways but remains standing.

  The daemon lowers his head and hisses right in front of my face, blowing my hair from my shoulders. His hot, rank breath moistens my skin, fuels my anger. I’m certain death would come rapidly if any of the yellow substance leaking from his fangs touches me. I take two more steps away; I’m standing between two motionless bodies. Arland and Brit.

  Throwing my head back, I look up toward the heavens—even though all I see is our stone tomb. Griandor, please help me.

  I raise my hands over my head. “Fill me. Use me. Kill him.”

  From every direction, bright, yellow light rushes into the cavernous space and into my upraised arms. A power flows in my veins and nearly knocks me off my feet, but I push through it and stand my ground. The serpent spits then lashes out toward me. I jump forward and thrust my hands and magic in front of my body. Light pours out of me and directly into his open mouth.

  The creature collapses to the ground, but he continues to spit, hiss, and snap. Putting my hand on his neck, I focus all the Light into it. The magic severs his head from his body.

  His black, beady eyes go blank.

  I look up into the vast openness of the cave and at all the sprites flying around. The stone walls reflect the color of the sun in the sky from the Light on my body. I return to Arland and Brit.

  “Now heal them!” I lay my hands on their shoulders, transferring power from my body into theirs.

  In an instant, old magic covers their skin. I watch and wait as their wounds close, their skin regains color, and their arms and legs wiggle.

  The sprites disappear, but Griandor’s Light still shines through me.

  Arland and Brit stand and appear to be in perfect condition.

  My legs weaken, and my head spins. “Arland? Brit?”

  Their forms twist and fade before my eyes.

  Arland manages to get his arms around me just as I lose control and black out.

  Chapter Six

  “Kate?” Arland’s voice bounces inside my head like a broken record.

  Splitting pain radiates from the base of my neck to my temples. What happened to me? My body aches like I’ve been hit by a tractor trailer, but I don’t remember being touched by anything.

  I moan.

  “Brit, I think she is coming around.” Relief floods his soft words.

  “Kate? Oh God, Kate, are you okay?” Brit’s voice is piercing and cuts through me like a knife.

  My brain hurts so badly. I wish she would just be quiet, but hearing her speak calms the tension inside me—she’s alive.

  Fabric rips. “Take this. Get it wet with water from one of the pools,” Arland says.

  “I’ll be right back.” Brit might as well be speaking into a microphone. Her fast-paced footsteps echo around the cavernous room.

  Arland puts one hand under my head, and the other caresses my cheek. “I know you are awake, and I am almost positive you are in a good deal of pain. What you did with the magic was incredible, Kate, but I understand now what your mother said about rest—you have not had enough of it.”

  My fingers come to life, and I take hold of his hand over my face. “My head hurts.”

  He chuckles under his breath. “You slipped out of my arms before I had a good grip on you. You hit your head pretty hard. Can you open your eyes, or does it hurt too much?”

  I have to see Arland and Brit’s faces for myself, make sure they’re healed—make sure I’m not dreaming. My eyes flutter open, but everything around me spins, and I shut them again. “I think I’m going to puke.”

  “Just keep your eyes closed. I will carry you out,” he whispers.

  “You can’t. The passages are too narrow.” Too much talking. My stomach rises in my throat. I roll to my side … just in case.

  “Here,” Brit yells.

  Water drops on my face, cold and shocking.

  “Thank you, Brit. Kate is okay; she is worn from using the magic, and her head hurts,” he whispers so quietly I strain to hear him.

  Arland dabs the wet cloth across my cheek.

  “Oh. I’m sorry, Kate. I’ll be quieter.” She mimics Arland’s tone. “What are we going to do, Arland? We can’t stay in here. W-what if another one of those s-s-snakes comes in?”

  Ever since a snake bit Brit at our favorite swimming hole, she’s hated the legless reptiles. Being in here is probably freaking her out more than I can even imagine.

  Grabbing onto Arland’s forearm, I sit up. The effort is great, but I don’t make it far. I fall into his lap. Pushing aside the overwhelming nausea, I open my eyes again, focus on his face, and take slow, deep breaths to keep from throwing up. His clenched jaw and the crease in his forehead make me wonder if I’m the one who was trapped by shifters a few minutes ago.

  “You are going to have to help me up.”

  He pushes my hair behind my ear, leaving tingling trails where his skin touches mine. “I believe you should rest.” Arland’s voice has the power to soothe every worry I’ve ever had, and right now is no different.

  I fight an urge to go to sleep on him and grab onto his arms again. “There’s no time, Arland. Brit’s right; we cannot stay here. Other serpents can come in, there are two shifters in the cave we still have to take care of, and we have to rescue Perth.”

  Arland holds my arms and slowly lifts me upright, but I’m too weak to support myself. I lean my head into his chest. Black spots appear in my vision, and blood thrums in my ears.

  “Rescue Perth?” he asks, rubbing my back.

  I press my hand to my mouth as if that will hold back yesterday’s lunch. “Yes. If it wasn’t for him, I would never have found or been able to save you guys.”

  Arland holds me out then narrows his eyes. “Kate, please tell me he does not know who you are! Tell me you did not show him what you are capable of!”

  The sudden jerk in my stomach does me in. Salty fluids fill my mouth, gurgles from the furthest reaches of my gut rumble—I lea
n over and throw up.

  “I am sorry; I did not mean to make you ill,” Arland says.

  Brit hands me a wet cloth. “Here. I ripped some off my shirt in case you needed more.”

  Sitting up on my own, I take the bit of fabric and wipe my mouth. “Thanks.”

  “Kate?” Arland’s eyebrows pull together so tight, I’m afraid to tell him anything.

  Swallowing hard, I decide it’s better to speak, to share everything. “Arland, P-Perth knows. He always has, but he’s not bad. Perth doesn’t agree with what his people do. He wants peace between our kinds, but he’s scared to go against his father. Perth led me here; he even put his own life on the line so I could rescue everyone. The daemons followed him from the cave. He’s heading north along the river toward Willow Falls. I promised to come for him.”

  I stand slowly, but have to hurry to turn my head from Arland. I throw up again. After I’m finished, he wraps his arm around me for support. Brit does the same on my right side.

  “Can you walk?” he asks.

  Even though I nod, Brit and Arland don’t move from my sides. Together, we start toward the small hole I crawled through to get here.

  “I do not trust Perth, Kate.” Arland keeps his eyes focused ahead of him.

  “He gives me the creeps, too,” Brit chimes in.

  “I know, Arland. Your father doesn’t trust him either.” I sigh. “When I spoke to him, he said all Ground Dwellers are bad, but I have advice from Griandor to trust those around me. And since Perth was the only one around me … . “

  Arland stops then turns to face me, clenching his jaw and breathing heavily through his nose. I rest my hands on his shoulders for support. What is he more upset about: Perth or Griandor?

  Arland arches his eyebrow. “You spoke with Griandor?”

  The white-haired god it is. “Yes, and I had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting his brother Dughbal. I know what this war is about, and I know how to end it. The first step is getting to Willow Falls to form an army.”

  Arland shakes his head. “We have an army.”

  “That’s the same thing your father said, but Arland, I need an army.”

  He smiles. “And what did my father say when you told him the army was for you?”

  “He said he’d see what he can do.” I laugh. “Griandor said it would be hard because your father, Dufaigh, and someone named Murchadha are afraid for any more lives to be lost, but I would have to find a way to unite both sides and have them fight for me.”

  Pulling me closer, Arland’s fingers tense on my back. His intensity burns right into me. “Did he say how you would have to unite our two kinds?”

  I don’t like how nervous he’s become. My heart rate picks up. “No, just that I need to do whatever it takes … .” As I’m speaking, it becomes clear what could unite our two kinds: a willing marriage to Perth. Arland realized it the instant he heard what Griandor wants me to do. If I had realized it sooner, I might have had something to say to the sun god.

  “Arland, I won’t. I can’t. That’s not what I want for my life. You know that. You know what I want.” I hold his gaze—he needs to know how serious I am, how much he means to me and how much my life will remain in my control.

  “I’m confused. What exactly is going on?” Brit asks.

  “The only way to unite our people with the Ground Dwellers is for Kate to marry Perth,” Arland says, without taking his eyes off me.

  “No, Kate, you can’t! That’s not fair! Why would you fight in this war for anyone when in the end the life you get isn’t what you want? Screw this! We’ll find another way.” Brit’s angry voice torments the ache in my head.

  I’m glad she’s supportive, but I cannot look at her … only Arland.

  I press my fingers to my temple, trying to hold back the throbbing. “I won’t do it, Arland. Griandor’s sister Gramhara didn’t give me her power of love for nothing. There has to be another way, and I will search for one. Your father told me to keep my distance from you when we arrive at Willow Falls, so my guess is your prophecy said something will happen there. Something big.”

  “If you feel we can trust Perth, we are going to have to come up with a plan involving him. We need to get to the others and find him, but first … .”

  Arland leans his head forward. I try to move away—I’ve just thrown up—but he pulls me closer, closes his eyes, and meets my lips.

  Warmth floods me. Strength. This is why I will fight: for love, for a life with Arland—no matter how short. The touch of his fingers along my back, his smooth, soft lips on mine … wrapping my arms around his neck, I give into him.

  “I’m going to go. You two obviously need alone time,” Brit says with a hint of disgust, turning away, but going nowhere—she doesn’t know the way out.

  Arland steps away first. “I love you, Kate.”

  The room fills with golden light radiating from our bodies. The kiss has restored my energy. I wonder if this is what Griandor meant when he said Arland protects me in many ways. A few moments ago I couldn’t even open my eyes, and now my heart swells with happiness.

  “I love you, too.”

  From the corner of my eye, I see Brit staring at something on the cave wall as though she’s looking at the most fascinating thing in the world.

  I laugh and nudge her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Brit. We can go now.”

  She turns around with a half-smile. “Kate, you have no idea how happy I am to see you like this, but if you are supposed to keep your distance from Arland at Willow Falls, you are going to have to learn to hide your feelings better.”

  She waves her hand at us.

  “The Light?”

  “And your face. Your face lights up like a beacon when you see him.”

  Heat fills my cheeks.

  Arland snickers.

  She wags a finger. “You, too, Arland. Those eyes of yours plaster themselves to her as soon as she steps into a room. I’ve got years of experience hiding things from people. I’ll do my best to help.”

  Now Arland’s cheeks turn red.

  “What do you mean?” The only thing I know Brit hid from me was an old bottle of rum in the woods, but the way she talks, I think she has a lot more secrets than she’s let on.

  “Not down here. I’ll tell you anything you need to know, up there.” Brit points above her head.

  “You’re right. We need to get out of here, but I want you to tell me everything after Perth is safe. Now, follow me.” I lead them toward the exit.

  The tunnels seem even smaller on the way back up to the surface. The impenetrable stone on all sides could crush us if there was an earthquake, entombing us forever. I crouch on my forearms, the walls brush my elbows, and Brit keeps bumping into the back of me. Finding our way out is easy, though; the now visible bands of the shifters guide us. I wonder if the magic killed them, if I killed them, or if freeing Brit and Arland only wounded the daemons.

  We crawl into a vast open area, stand, then stretch our legs.

  I point to a narrow passage. “It’s going to get slippery, but we have to climb that.”

  Brit heads over and takes to the rocks. “Thank God Gary signed us up for those climbing classes,” she says, looking over her shoulder.

  “Somehow I don’t think it was his idea.”

  Brit doesn’t respond; she’s already halfway up the incline. My mom must have carefully chosen every activity we ever participated in, knowing we’d wind up in Encardia, a land so far behind on modernization.

  Arland gently pushes my back. “We better get up there, or she is going be out in the open without protection.”

  I take a few tentative steps up the rocks, and pick up the pace when I realize it’s not a difficult climb. So much easier than coming down. “Cadman and Flanna are out there. She’ll be fine.”

  A loud scream reverberates around us.

  “Oh my God, Arland, that was Brit!”

  “Go!”

  Without devising any sort of plan, I climb as fa
st as possible in this small space. My head bumps into the ceiling, my shoulders into the walls. My knees ache from the hard stone, but I keep going.

  The exit appears about ten feet before we reach it. I cannot see any movement outside. Even if an entire army sat out there waiting for us, I wouldn’t know because of how dark it is.

  I stop so fast Arland runs into my butt.

  “Why have you stopped?” he asks.

  “Should we just go out? What if it’s a trap?”

  “Kate!” Flanna’s frantic whisper echoes, hiding the location of its origin.

  I glance around. “Flanna? Where are you?”

  “We are outside with Brit. Hurry up, but be quiet; her scream might have already drawn attention—and make sure you are not burning.”

  Arland listens to every word she speaks as though searching for hidden clues, then presses me to go forward. “I do not believe this is a trap.”

  Crawling through the opening, I find Flanna, Cadman and Brit all on their hands and knees as close to the rocks as they can get. “Why did you scream?” I ask, maintaining a quiet tone.

  Brit rests her trembling hand on mine. “D-daemons.” She stares up the cliff.

  Arland exits after me, and the calm, cool demeanor of his Leader self oozes from him. He straightens his back then looks around in all directions before acknowledging Cadman and Flanna. “How many?”

  Arland didn’t even question if. He already knows.

  “All of them, sir,” Cadman says. “We watched them enter, but I do not believe they saw us.”

  All of them. That means there are at least thirty. What does that mean for—”Perth … . ” The name escapes my mouth and hangs in the cool, dark air like the threat of death we continue to face.

  “They have that little traitor,” Flanna says, nose turned up.

  “Traitor?” Brit asks, glancing at my fiery friend.

  Flanna puts her hands on her hips, her red hair pale next to the anger coloring her cheeks. “He has to have something to do with this.”

  How can she make that assumption about Perth? I look between Arland and Flanna.

  He doesn’t take his eyes off the hill of rocks between us and an exit—or death. “Flanna is angry because she holds out hope for you and me, Kate … amongst other things. And she knows nothing of what you told me about Griandor and trust.”