We now stared at her instead of the stone pinnacles.
“Yes. All quite fascinating, Ms. Johnson, but scientists will never accept the truth. We helped create this land.” Lars strode up, slipping on his sunglasses. His meaning of “we” was “Fae.” So I was right. This land was filled with magic. It was unearthly in its beauty and intrigue. You could feel it all around. I had only been here a few hours, and already I could sense this place burrowing itself in my skin. The history of the town whispered in my ear to come explore, to uncover its secrets. It was as if a siren sang her song to trance me into loving the white-washed stone and red-tiled roofs. I yielded to the desire without question. Even the shops around the square held stories from long ago about the folks coming in and out daily, their happy times and tragedies. The people and their pasts were embedded in the cobble streets under my feet.
The sight of a boy carrying bags of bread, meats, cheeses, and other items brought me back to the present. The local lad obediently placed the items at Lars’ feet. Lars handed the boy a wad of money. “Thank you, sir. Anything else you need, you come to me. I will take care of you,” he responded in English, then ran off elatedly with his roll of bills.
Lars watched him leave before turning to us. He had changed into cargo pants and an army green T-shirt that fit him perfectly. Even dressed down, Lars projected staggering authority. “I hope you have all rested. We will be hiking and mountain climbing through some especially rough terrain in very hot weather. I have army-issued packs ready for us at our pick-up location.”
“Oh, yeah, the fifty-five minutes we had were so refreshing after a fourteen hour flight,” I griped, rubbing sunscreen on my arms. I wore khakis and a black tank with my hair up in a ponytail. Most of us looked like we were about to enter the Amazon jungle or trek across the Sahara. We were dressed in shades of green or tan pants, a tank or t-shirt, and hiking boots, which were a gift left by Lars in each of our rooms. I had to admit he was very organized and prepared. This must have been what he had been doing on the flight here, getting everything ready for us.
“Well, maybe if you spent the time resting, it would have been more beneficial. Remember my room was next to yours.” Cooper looked at me with annoyance and then turned to Lars. “This town better be full of single, horny women.”
Eli snickered. “When did the need for them to be single ever stop you?”
“True. They only need to be horny.”
“Enough!” Lars’ voice ripped through the banter. “You are all like prepubescent water fairies. Control yourselves, please.”
Lily scoffed. “What’s wrong, Lars? Did you forget when you behaved the same? It has been long ago for you, huh?”
Lars’ eyes narrowed on my mother. “Hardly. I could put these children to shame, but it does not control my every thought.” He gave each of us a pointed look. “I am surprised you are okay with this Lily since it is your daughter who is one of the most active participants in this.”
Mom looked pointedly at Lars. “You’re right. I’m not, but the more I tell her something is a mistake and will only hurt her in the end, the more she runs head first into it.”
That was true. Still pissed me off she knew me so well.
“She does take after her mother, then.”
“Lars...” Mom’s tone was lethal, and her glare could melt stone. I was glad not to be on the receiving end of those looks.
“As I said earlier, we will not be returning to town. If you didn’t prepare yourself properly for the trip ahead, it is not my problem.” Lars eyes shifted from Mom to the group. “I have a helicopter taking us up to the first monastery. From there we will trek on foot to our other destinations. We will camp from here on out, mostly in places where it is not allowed.”
Illegal for ordinary humans he meant. Not for an Unseelie King.
“I have narrowed the area we will be exploring to a forty miles radius. We will start north of Ypapantis and circle slowly southwest to the town of Kastraki. There are many caves and places where the sword could be hidden. It is a lot of ground to cover, so we need to get started.”
The helicopter soared above the monasteries built on peaks, giving the illusion the structures were floating in the clouds. I leaned further out towards the open door on the side.
“This is so freaking amazing.”
Helicopters were a lot louder than I imagined. The headphones helped cut most of the engine sounds from piercing our eardrums while allowing the captain to speak to us. Cal and Simmons were a tad too small, so we stuffed cotton balls in their ears. Simmons mouthed something to me and nodded. He and Cal were strapped to my armrest so they wouldn’t be pulled out by the wind.
“Oh, yeah... great.” Eli groaned into his speaker, his complexion turning pale. This, of course, made me smile. To finally know one of his weakness felt like I won the lottery.
“Oh, are you getting air sick, again?” I teased. No compassion here.
His jaw clenched tighter when the chopper swerved right. Lars’ “connections” with the military had us in a large, Blackhawk-type helicopters. One that thirteen people and two pixies could fit in. All the Dark Dwellers, Kennedy, and my mom clasped their seats, white knuckled. I could tell Kennedy wanted to look, but her fear of heights had her pressing back firmly into the seat. Josh, Thara, Torin, Lars, the pixies, and I were content with being high in the air.
Looking below I could see tourists swarming the monasteries like an ant hill. Thousands of black dots descended from buses or hiked paths, circling the entrances of the more popular hermitages. The sun pounded down on the earth, cupping it into a cocoon of heat. But up here wind gushed through my hair and top, cooling my scalp and body. It was heaven.
Most people either hiked or took a bus up to the monasteries. Since Lars wanted to avoid human contact as much as possible, he chose a helicopter. He was starting us at the farthest one, so we could move slowly toward town.
After a while, the chopper settled lower, heading for one of the hermitages. This one was unlike most others built on the peaks of the rocks. Ypapanti was constructed inside a large cavity of rock. Despite its beauty and brightly painted frescoes, it remained uninhabited and closed to the public. Exactly what Lars sought out.
“Are we landing there?” I pointed, looking at Lars.
He nodded. Normally no one would be allowed to land a huge helicopter beside an ancient monastery. With Lars, rules did not apply.
“Holy crap!” I was giddy with the need to explore the priory. I had wanted to come to this part of Greece since I could remember. By the time we landed, I almost fell out the door, eager to look around and explore.
“This is not a vacation, Ember,” Lars pronounced as he exited the aircraft. “We are not here to sightsee.”
My lip lowered in a pout.
“However, we will see things no tourist has ever been allowed to, and we will be venturing deep into ruins and learning history kept hidden from the outside world.”
My pout turned up into a huge grin.
“Grab your pack. Let us head out,” Lars yelled over the sound of the whirling blades. Before we had taken off, Lars instructed us to stuff our travel packs with whatever clothes or personal items we wanted; they were huge. Because Kennedy was so small, she had to lean far forward so she didn’t end up on her rear.
The thirteen of us fitted our bags to us and organized who carried the two-people tents and who carted the food. Lars was the only one who had his own tent. Not a shocker there.
The hired helicopter took off, lashing my ponytail painfully against my neck and face. The pixies were zipped into my bag so they wouldn’t blow away. We quickly moved toward the empty monastery ready to get started on our journey.
This hermitage was small compared to the others because they built it into the side of the rock. This protected it from weather and being infiltrated from all sides except the main entrance. It wasn’t as captivating as the ones built on top of the rocks, but it was more secure.
&n
bsp; I stretched out my feelers. Magic hung thickly around this whole area. You couldn’t get away from the feeling this place was not completely “natural.” Magic was part of this land, making it hard to distinguish it from the enchantments hiding an ancient Fae icon. It wasn’t something tangible that you could see but something you felt inside, the tingling of your skin, the prickling of your scalp or gut. It made the area a perfect place to conceal things, but a pain for us to find anything.
Before we started to explore, Lars let us eat lunch of warm bread, meat and cheeses along with some local wine. With my tummy full and happy, I was in an optimistic mood to find the sword.
It was not the monasteries Lars wanted to investigate but the small crevices he considered caves. They were usually in the middle of the mountain, high above the earth. I had taken a few rock climbing classes, and once or twice I had completed easy levels of bouldering. This was anything but. This type of climbing was for the expert who could scale sheer cliffs to reach a small opening in the middle of a stone pillar. I knew there were people who did this all the time, but it was frightening for me. To put all your weight on one pin, which kept you from plunging to the ground.
Lars wanted Kennedy to go, but her fear of heights caused her to take root far above us, away from the ledge. While most stayed back and watched our belongings, I descended with Lars. He hoped I would feel something because of my connection to the sword. And where I went, so did Eli.
“Hey, this kind of reminds me of that time in the castle when you were climbing those crate boxes,” Cal said when I finally made it the lip of the cave. “You took forever then, too.” He looked bored as he leaned against the cave wall.
“Cal?” Sweat poured down my forehead.
“Yes?”
“Bite me.”
The hot sun on my back, lack of sleep, and strained muscles made my legs shake after my second climb. I wanted to keel over. We had already hiked for miles in between the previous climb and this one. The terrain was getting steeper and more strenuous, but it was the heat that really sucked our strength. It was relentless and stripped you of all energy.
“All right, we will stop for today and set up camp here,” Lars declared as I lay flat on my back. Getting any kind of movement from me would take a crane. The group began to move around, setting up our campsite.
“The tent isn’t going to build itself.” Eli stood over me.
“You really don’t want me to help you because I might find another place to insert that tent pole,” I grumbled, my muscles simulating wet noodles.
One of his eyebrows went up. “I love when you talk dirty.”
I grumbled. “If I actually had the energy to roll over, I would tell you to kiss my ass.”
“Then I guess I’ll have to start with the front.” He leaned down and reached for my hands.
My cheeks reddened as he pulled me up. Funny how I suddenly had more energy.
“You know how I like to eat out.” His lip hitched up.
My mouth fell open.
“I meant outside, in the fresh air.” He winked as he backed up, pulling me with him. “What were you thinking, Brycin?”
Damn him.
TWENTY-ONE
Since Lars had his own tent, he left the rest of us to figure out the uncomfortable sleeping arrangements. I think Mom hoped I’d come with her, but I made it clear Eli and me would be sharing. Kennedy was becoming less shy by the day. She was the one to tell Jared to get their tent set up. I couldn’t help but laugh and think how Ryan would react to this. He might be at a loss for words seeing our sweet, little Kennedy sleeping with a younger man. Thara and Mom ended up roomies, and so did Cole and Owen. Torin and Josh would use the same tent, which seemed strange at first, but they actually had something, or someone, in common—the Queen. They had survived the same trauma and now shared a bond. Cooper decided to sleep outside, so Gabby ended up with a tent to herself. The pixies slept up in the tree near my tent.
With dinner over and a fire roaring in the middle of our campsite, we all sat around looking at the stars and talking. It was the closest we had been to acting as if we actually got along and liked each other. I knew I was the glue holding all these different groups precariously together, and I felt a certain pride in that. It may have been by a thread, but still, when do you get Dark Fae and Light Fae, Demons and Fairies, Dark Dwellers and humans all in the same place without a war? Okay, a war was the reason we were here, but this time we stood on the same side.
I took a sip of my tea and sat back looking at the stars. They felt so close you could bring them down and wrap yourself in their shimmery glow. High up on the cliffs the night turned the air nippy and refreshing from the hot day.
Lars stood and walked deeper into the night away from the campfire and us. He had been in an odd mood all day. Not that anyone else would notice, but I had spent enough time with him to know something was up.
I followed him and sidled next to him as he stared at the bright moon floating like a golden disco ball in the night sky.
He didn’t look at me, his eyes locked on the sky. “I grew up here, you know. The town no longer exists, but it was near here.”
I stayed silent. Getting Lars to speak about personal things was rare. Telling me about his childhood was like getting a unicorn for Christmas. Wait... did they exist in the Otherworld? Maybe instead of ponies, children got unicorns there?
Mental note: must find out if I can get a unicorn for Christmas.
Returning to the present, I tried to picture Lars as a little boy running around these hills under the baking Grecian sun. His jet black hair and dark olive skin fit perfectly here.
“My brother and I knew every inch of these mountains, and we ran around terrorizing and wreaking havoc. I don’t know how our mother put up with us.”
Lars had a mother? I had a grandma? I hadn’t thought about that. It seemed strange. I knew he had to come from somewhere, but thinking of him as a baby or a little boy with a mother and father took a mindset I didn’t have yet.
“Devlin and I were exceptionally close growing up. We felt it was us against the world, and together there was nothing we couldn’t do.” Lars’ expression grew distant. “Twin Demon terrors. We had some good times through the centuries.”
“What happened? What made you guys grow apart?” I turned to look at him.
Lars massaged the back of his neck. “It was several things, but the main reason was a woman.” He shifted his weight. “We both fell in love with the same one.”
“And she chose him?”
“No. She chose me.” His words became rigid. “And I chose power.” With that he walked deeper into the night, leaving me standing there stunned by his admission.
Days went by, and the excitement and optimism we had felt was dwindling. With every different monastery we searched, the climbing got harder, the terrain trickier, and the sun hotter. Disappointment was bleeding into our moods. I knew it wasn’t my fault, but I felt responsible for the lack of progress. Somehow I thought I should be able feel it, to know where it was. I had no clue. Kennedy seemed to be just as frustrated with herself. She had barely learned she was a Druid, and now she was expected to do levels of magic that took others centuries to master.
Even though we had the drawing of the map, Lars insisted Kennedy pull it from me each day in case we had missed some tiny clue. Lars put a lot of pressure on Kennedy, especially training her to sense and break spells. Both Kennedy and I were drained at the end of each day. I spent most of the evenings sprawled on the earth to replenish my strength. Kennedy was connected to the earth and everything around her, but her powers didn’t get restored like mine. She would collapse next to me when our torture was over. My energy would be restored and I would feel better, but she’d usually conk out after dinner.
Mom came out to join us under the trees one evening after a particularly hard day. Her hands clenched three coffee cups and something tucked under her arm. “You girls all right?”
“
Coffee is not going to help right now.” Words fell from my lips, but my body stayed inert.
“It’s not coffee; its homemade Greek wine.” She sat next to me, placing the cups on the ground. She pulled the bottle out and set it next to the mugs. I saw Kennedy’s head pop up.
A chuckle worked its way to the surface. “Oh, suddenly she’s alert.” I sat up slowly and scooted over so Kennedy could sit next to me. “Where did you get this?”
“I stole it from Lars’ bag.” Mom gave us a conspiratorial wink. “Thought we could relax and have some girl time.”
Mom and I hadn’t spoken much after I learned the truth about my father and Lars. I was still having a hard time coping with it and not being mad at her. I didn’t meet her eyes as she handed me the wine.
“Thanks.”
Kennedy’s smile grew wider as she accepted her cup. “This smells good. Like baked grapes roasting in the scorching sun.”
I snorted. “You sound like a travel brochure.”
“A toast.” Mom held up her drink. “To the two girls who have become the most amazing, remarkable, and strongest women I have ever known. I am so proud of both of you.”
Tears instantly stung the back of my eyes as we clinked mugs and took a sip. Not only because of what she said, but it was exactly how I felt about them. My mom had always been my idol. Having her fall off the pedestal and become a real person was a hard adjustment. She still was one of the most astonishing women I knew with all she went through and all she sacrificed. She made mistakes, but she did it out of love. For me.
A figure moved behind a tree, causing my body to tighten. I sniffed the air, immediately relaxing.
“Come out here and join us.” I spoke to the patch of trees.
Gabby stepped out, her arms crossed, looking bored. “I wasn’t spying.”
“I didn’t say you were.” I waved her over.
Dwellers of Darkness (Darkness Series #3) Page 24