by Tara West
Dianna was almost upon them when an enormous hole opened up in the earth. With an ear-shattering scream, she was sucked down into the mountain.
“Dianna!” Alec and Simeon simultaneously hollered, running over, but the hole had sealed shut. Rocks and dirt rolled back into place, leaving no trace of her. Alec fell to his knees, pawing at the dirt, but ’twas no use. His sister was lost, and he knew without a doubt the sea witch had her.
Chapter Nineteen
Dianna gagged on a mouthful of dirt while falling through the crude tunnel that collapsed above her, pushing her farther into the bowels of Eris’s mountain. She landed with a splash, wading waist deep in a murky pit. She pushed through the sludge toward a wall made of several large stones, each the breadth and height of at least two men, that rose high above her. Blue flames lined the top of the wall, their embers rising into the darkness. She spun in a slow circle, noticing how the flaming wall encompassed her. Its seven distinct points glowing because of massive torches. A seven-pointed flame wall.
“Sindri, Neriphene,” she whispered. “Where am I?”
You are in a heptacircle, came Sindri’s reply, a seven-pointed magic circle.
Her knees weakened at the thought. The Seven had created this to trap her magic. Had she unwittingly fallen into Eris’s snare? She licked her dry lips. The cracks between the stones were wide enough for her to see a watery cavern on the other side.
“Like the one The Seven created?”
No, Neriphene answered. This one is far stronger.
Siren’s teeth! Dianna had to get out of there. Lydra was injured and needed her help. She summoned her magic. Arcs of flame flew off her fingers but bounced back when hitting the firewall above the stones. She still had magic, but it was restricted to the circle. What good did that do? She couldn’t escape if her magic couldn’t penetrate her prison walls.
“How do I break the circle?” she asked the stones.
You don’t, Syndri said solemnly.
“What do you mean, I don’t?” Dianna threw up her hands, kicking something hard in the sludge. A human skull floated to the surface of the muck, bobbing in smelly seaweed.
“Does she intend on killing me down here?” she hissed.
Those bones belong to one of Eris’s Elementals. Neriphene said. This was where they perished.
“Oh, heavenly Elements!” She quailed at the thought of suffering a slow death inside Eris’s prison, the same prison where Eris had murdered her children. She leaned against the wall for support. “This could be my fate then.”
Let us hope Eris isn’t that lucky, Sindri answered, but she didn’t sound reassuring.
* * *
Time slowed to a crawl as Lydra and Tan’yi’na frantically dug holes in the mountain. Alec and Simeon had to keep moving away as the dragons threw mounds of black dirt large enough to bury them. The sun had dipped low behind the horizon, leaving behind only a few rays of light. Soon it would be too dark to see anything. After several interminable heartbeats, the dragons finally uncovered two narrow tunnels lined with stones and blackened moss, one a few paces above the other.
Tan’yi’na arched a scaled brow at Alec. Which one did she fall into?
He examined the holes, all while trying not to be intimidated by the magnificent winged beast whose breath rivaled the sulfuric smell cascading from the top of Eris’s volcano. “I don’t know.”
“The top one,” Simeon said, “if she was running down the hill.”
Are you sure? Tan’yi’na asked.
Simeon scratched his head. “No.”
Alec heaved a groan, knowing he was ten times a fool for going back into Eris’s volcano, but what choice did he have? His sister was in trouble. “Only one way to find out. I’ll go in the top hole,” he said to Simeon. “You go in the bottom.”
Simeon frowned. “I’d rather go in the top hole.”
“Of course, so you can be alone with Dianna,” Alec snapped.
He already suspected something between Simeon and his sister, just by the way Simeon had been looking at her like a love-struck pup.
Simeon’s eyes went cold. “All I care about is saving your sister.”
You’re wasting time. Both of you go in the top hole, Tan’yi’na grumbled. The dwarf can explore the bottom. Lydra, Gorpat, and I will find another way into the mountain.
Grim blanched as he stared into the blackened tunnel. He turned to his daughter, who was leaning against the side of the mountain, her feet submerged in the flood. “Stay with the dragons, my pearl, and let them do the fighting.”
The giant eagerly nodded. “Yah, Dada.” They exchanged heartfelt goodbyes.
Grim looked up at Alec with a tear-stained face. “Elements save you, lad.”
They hugged. “And you as well, my friend.”
Grim crawled into the tunnel, cursing as he squeezed his broad shoulders through the narrow opening. Alec and Simeon pressed against Grim’s backside until he finally slid down with a pop.
Simeon peered into the top tunnel and let out a low whistle, his dark skin turning pale olive. “You first.”
“Coward,” Alec grumbled, though he somehow felt compelled to obey. After all, his sister needed him. He jumped into the hole, refusing to give his actions a second thought. When a jagged rock stuck to his tattered breeches, he had no choice but to pull them free with a violent rip. He slowly eased into the hole, then the wind was sucked from his lungs when he suddenly dropped through the tunnel as if he had fallen into a deep well. Too terrified to scream, he flailed in the blackness as he fell down, down, down into the abyss. He yelped when he hit something smooth and unyielding, causing his head to spin. His eyes rolled into the back of his head. Then silence.
* * *
One of Alec’s earliest memories of him and his father was when Alec was a tot, and they had gone fishing at the Danae River. This was back before Madhea had put the curse on Rowlen’s heart, making him hate Alec. He vaguely remembered Mother picking herbs along the riverside while Father helped Alec haul in their catch. Alec was weak and sickly even then, but his father had loved him so, patting his head and affectionately holding his hand while teaching him how to put a worm on a hook.
“The key is to lure them out with this worm,” Father had said. “Then snatch up the hook and pull in your line.”
Father wasn’t fishing now. He was sitting on the riverbank, a backdrop of thick pines behind him, gazing into the water. A small wooden raft floated nearby, carried downstream by the current. The raft reminded him of Gorpat’s barge, and the black soot of the riverbank was eerily similar to the sides of Eris’s volcano.
Rowlen poked the dirt with a stick, revealing hundreds of tiny mite tunnels. “Your sister is trapped in a seven-pointed star.”
Alec looked at him, then at the tunnels. Dirt fell away beneath them, revealing a network of mazes. In the center of that maze was a flaming circle with seven points. A solitary pebble was in the middle of the circle. The pebble symbolized his sister.
“What does that mean?” Alec asked.
Rowlen flicked the rock with his stick, but it did not budge. “It means she will not be able to escape unless a witch from the outside frees her.”
Great goddess! How was he supposed to save Dianna? “Where do I find such a witch?”
“You must free the spirit.”
Mari? But Eris had imprisoned her spirit and was going to banish her to the Elements.
“But how?” Alec asked, unable to mask the panic in his voice.
Rowlen pointed to another room in the maze with two solitary pebbles. “Seek Simeon’s help.” Then he pointed to another room farther down. “After you free Dianna, you will find the ice dweller and the dwarf there.”
Ryne and Grim were trapped in the same cell! Alec hoped he freed them before Eris killed them, or worse, before they killed each other.
Rowlen squeezed Alec’s shoulder harder, so hard, Alec flinched. “You must wake before you drown.”
* * *
Alec awoke with a gasp, swallowing a mouthful of thick, warm water. He sprung to his feet, coughing up sludge as a shadowy figure approached him.
“Alec, is that you?”
“Aye.” Alec coughed, more sludge dripping out of his nose. “Is that you, Simeon?”
“Yes,” he grumbled. “I can’t see a damned thing.”
Alec found a pinprick of light in the darkness. “Over there!” He pointed, then realized Simeon probably couldn’t see him. He grabbed Simeon’s arm. “Follow me.”
They trudged through waist-deep water and muck, bumping into boulders until they reached a solitary sconce hanging on a stone wall covered in black algae.
Simeon smoothed a hand down his face. “Why did we think this was a good idea?”
“We didn’t.” Alec frowned. “It was the only idea.” He scanned the shallow watery cave. The jagged ceiling was so low, it almost scraped the top of his head. He cupped his hands around his mouth. “Dianna!”
“Hush!” Simeon snapped, grabbing his arm. “Do you want Eris to hear you?”
Alec noted how Simeon’s hand trembled. He shook Simeon off with a growl. “I’m not letting your fears prevent me from finding my sister.”
“I want to find her, too,” Simeon snapped. “I just don’t want anything else to find us first.”
Alec froze when he heard feminine laughter, followed by a splash. He and Simeon simultaneously backed up, climbing onto a boulder and pressing against the cave wall.
Alec swallowed a lump of panic when he saw a dark form attached to a long fish tail swimming beneath him. “Siren,” he hissed. “They eat people.” He frantically searched for a weapon and picked up a jagged stone, squeezing it so tight, blood pooled in his palm.
A pretty female head popped out of the water, so close to Alec, she could have bitten off his toes. She looked much like Eris, with tapered eyes and long, black hair. Alec knew her exterior beauty was a façade. When she smiled, she revealed razor-sharp fangs.
“Hello, mortals.” She hissed like a snake, nostrils flaring. “You smell so delicious.”
Alec lifted his primitive weapon. “I can assure you, we are not delicious, and we’re plagued with disease.”
She bit her bottom lip. “I do not smell disease, do you?”
Another pretty female popped above the water. “No. Just two ripe, delicious men.”
“Very delicious men.” A third voice echoed behind them.
Oh, holy Elements! How would they fight them all?
“I found them.” The first siren turned to the others, baring her fangs. “I get pick of the choicest cuts.”
“Now hear me, sirens!” Simeon boomed, his golden eyes glowing. “None of you are going to eat us. Do you understand?”
A strange feeling washed over Alec, and he felt compelled to obey Simeon as well.
The sirens stared blankly at Simeon. “Yes.”
Simeon folded his arms, looking down at them as if they were wayward children. “You are going to help us escape this cave.”
“Yes,” they answered again.
What was happening? How was Simeon able to make them do as he asked? Were these sirens going to help them escape? If so, where would they take them? Memories from Alec’s dream came racing back. Dianna inside a seven-pointed flaming circle, and Mari was the only one who could save her.
Alec nudged Simeon. “They need to take us to the spirit.” When Simeon eyed Alec through narrow slits, Alec clutched his rock tightly in both hands. “My father’s ghost speaks to me. He said Mari is the way to save Dianna.”
Simeon looked down on the Sirens, his command slicing through the room like a blade through butter. “Take us to the spirit.”
The sirens shared quizzical looks. “We don’t know of a spirit.”
Alec leaned forward, hoping they wouldn’t rip open his throat. “The one Eris is using for her ritual.”
“You wish to go to Eris’s chamber?” the first siren asked.
“Yes,” Simeon said. “Take us there.” Then he turned to Alec. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
So do I, Alec wanted to add, but then a siren let out an ear-splitting screech and clawed at Alec’s legs with sharp nails, dragging him down into the water and pulling him through the muck with a strong arm around his throat.
Elements save him! The siren was taking him to Eris’s chamber or pulling him to a watery grave. Either way, he feared the outcome.
Chapter Twenty
Eris glared at the pale ice witch through a crack in the wall. She was sitting on a stone slab, crying and cradling an Elemental skull in her hands. No doubt the tears were a ruse. She would never cry over Eris’s murdered children. Or perhaps she realized she’d soon share the same fate.
Eris swam to another crack in the stones, smiling as she got a clearer view of Madhea’s backside. No sign of her wings at all. How had she done it? Surely she’d used dark magic to rid herself of them.
Eris flexed her tail and pulled back her shoulders, clearing her throat. “I see you’ve become reacquainted with my children.”
“Yes, I have.” Madhea set down the skull, her back going rigid. “Such a tragic way for children to die, murdered by their own mother.”
“Yes, indeed. Such tragic deaths, trapped in a heptacircle, unable to use magic to break free.” Eris forced a laugh, repressing that uncomfortable ache in her heart when she thought about her dead daughters. If only they’d been loyal to her and hadn’t created a truce behind her back, she wouldn’t have had to kill them. What choice had she had? The only way to break the truce, sealed by a blood bond, was to kill the Elementals. They should never have put their mother in such a position. “No matter. I will have new children once I get my human legs.”
Madhea turned, glaring at her between the cracks. “You’re lacking the motherly instincts required to birth more children.”
“Motherly instincts?” Eris jerked back as if scalded. “I’ve been feeding and taking care of a mortal child since she was a tot.”
The ice goddess slowly rose, pointing at Eris with an accusatory finger. “You’ve been keeping her body warm so you could steal it.”
Eris shrugged. “This child’s father murdered my beloved broot whale, and my motherly instincts demanded retribution.”
“Then he should be dealt with.” Madhea threw up her hands, sloshing through the water toward her. “Leave his daughter out of this.”
Eris couldn’t help but laugh at Madhea’s mock concern. “Oh, look who’s suddenly turned compassionate. Is that why you decided to flood my island?”
Madhea clucked her tongue. “You can blame your earth speaker Thorne for flooding your island. I had nothing to do with it.”
Fury overcame Eris. She should have killed Thorne long ago, as she’d done with all the other witches given to her in sacrifice. What a fool she’d been to trust the earth speaker after he’d pledged his heart to her. She’d given him the sole task of ensuring the spirit was delivered to her, and he’d taken it upon himself to wreak destruction on her home. How many broots had he killed with his foolish display? Fortunately, her ritual chamber was on higher ground, or else all would have been lost in the flood. If the spirit had been swept away, Thorne would have suffered greatly, though Eris would still ensure he was punished for his rogue behavior.
“Why did you come here, if not to destroy me?” She still didn’t entirely believe her sister, though Madhea wasn’t to be trusted anyway, and rightfully so after what she’d done to Kyan and her daughters.
Madhea walked up to the stone, resting a pale hand between the cracks. “I came here to stop you from taking an innocent life.”
Madhea had to have gone mad. “And why would you care about an insignificant witch’s life?”
Madhea let out a slow, long exhale. “Because her life is not yours to take.”
“It is the only way I can rid myself of this hideous tail.”
“Hideous? The Elements made you that way for a reason
.”
Eris had had enough of her sister’s duplicity. No doubt she’d come to Kyan the same way, pretending to care for the fate of humanity and then striking down her sister when she least expected it.
“Says the hypocritical witch who’s shed her wings!” Eris’s tail slapped the water erratically. “Do you honestly think I’d believe any of your sentimental drivel? You knew I was using dark magic to perform the ritual, and you thought to turn me to stone as you did our sister!”
“No,” Madhea cried, looking far too innocent. “I promise I do not wish to battle you, so long as you agree to respect innocent lives.”
Ha! What good was a promise from Madhea? “As if I’d believe your promises. Well, sister, our visit has been fun. If you’ll excuse me, I have a ritual to perform.”
“Wait, please!” Desperation punctured Madhea’s words. “You can’t just leave me here.”
“If I can trap my daughters in the heptacircle to slowly starve to death, surely I can do the same to my two-faced sister. Oh, and don’t bother trying to douse the flames.” Eris laughed, remembering how her children had tried to splash the circle’s magical fires with their tails, only making the flame rise higher. “I have placed enchantments over the entire circle.”
“Wait! Wait!” she screamed. “I’m not Madhea!”
“I’ve grown tired of your lies. Goodbye.” She swam away from her sister for the last time.
Now that her sister was trapped, Eris thought perhaps she’d wait until the next full moon to take her mortal body. Then she thought of that intriguing blue man waiting for her in a cell. The sooner she received her human legs, the sooner she could visit her new prisoner. She was itching to feel his shimmering hair. She imagined the translucent strands cascading through her fingers like water while he lovingly looked up at her with those mesmerizing gray eyes. Yes, she would complete the ritual tonight and claim her new body. With Madhea safely locked away, there was no one to stop her.