Fairy World M.D., Boxed Set Two (4-6.5)

by Tamara Grantham

  “Like what?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Is the wraith following us?”

  He shook his head as if to clear his mind. “I wish I knew.”

  I tapped my fingers on the knife concealed under my jacket, feeling uncomfortable that we hadn’t seen the wraith since we began our journey. If he was following us, he was doing a good job of it. Hopefully he’d died from his injuries and we would never have to confront him again, but I doubted it. The most likely explanation was that he’d used magic to conceal his whereabouts. He could be right behind us and we’d never know until he slaughtered us both and stole the crystal.

  The rushing wind and sea spray made the air uncomfortably cool, and I rubbed my arms together for warmth. Our boat’s lantern cast a beam of light over the dark water, and in the distance, I spotted rolling hills in front of a backdrop of stars. The roaring engine echoed through the harbor until we finally made it away from the small port, leaving the shelter of the cliffs, and continued out to the open ocean.

  After a short time, Maveryck slowed the boat as he studied a map he’d pulled from his pack. Small waves lapped against the boat’s hull as we waited. Soon, Maveryck rolled the paper and continued forward.

  Hours passed with nothing but the biting cold as our constant companion. The wind picked up with a shrill howl when we finally spotted the island. The jagged landmass seemed to cut through the sky.

  Maveryck circled the island several times before finding a place to dock the boat.

  “You’re sure this is the right place?” I asked as we stepped off the boat and onto the sand.

  “Yes. There aren’t any other islands out here except this one.”

  I stared across the beach—at the swaying palm trees, the rocky cliffs, and at the moon reflecting over the ocean. “How will we find the portal?”

  “Naturally occurring portals usually form in water or in caves. The map shows the entrance to a cave in this horseshoe-shaped cove. Let’s hope we find it.” He glanced around the beach, his newly acquired nervous gesture that bothered me to no end, and then he switched on an Earth lantern and walked toward the cliffs. Except for our footsteps shifting in the sand, there was no sound—no night birds or boat engines, no lights at all except for our own.

  Eventually, we walked into a grassy field. Up ahead, the dark shapes of cliffs loomed. Sharp grass cut my legs as we walked, making me wish I’d worn my leather pants. This was why Maveryck had no sense. When going on a quest, never let your companion wear a flimsy dress.

  We reached the bottom of the cliff face. The crumbling rock and large boulders spread across the ground, as if half the mountain had recently collapsed. I picked my way over the stones, my feet crunching stray pebbles, until Maveryck stopped and shone his light at an opening.

  It was too dark to see inside the cave, but even from this distance, I felt a chill emanating from it.

  “Is this it?” I asked.

  “Let’s hope so.” We climbed a small hill, and then we entered the cave. The mountain soon blocked out the moonlight, leaving us in darkness except for the lantern.

  “Do the Earthlanders know about this cave?” I asked.

  “It’s possible, but even if they did, most Earthlanders avoid places where Faythander magic bleeds through. Faythander and Earth magic don’t cooperate well, and in an area like this, where the two are connected, the combination usually makes for a pretty unstable place. I’d bet there have been plenty of tremors and rockslides in this area.”

  Up ahead, a faint blue light glowed. We followed the source of the light until we entered a domed chamber with a large pool of glowing water at its center.

  “Is this the portal?” I asked.

  Maveryck knelt over the pool and held his hand above the water. “There’s magic in the water, but it feels distant.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I think the portal is somewhere else. There might be a river underground, but I can’t be sure unless I dive under there and look.”

  I paced along the edge of the shore. White sand covered the ground, and the water was so clear I could see all the way to the bottom, except the pool was so deep, it was hard to make out exactly where the bottom was from this angle. I found a ledge near the water’s edge and climbed on top. As I stood over the water, I saw something odd at the bottom of the pool. It glinted gold and had a round shape, about the size of a shield, but I couldn’t decipher anything else about it.

  “What’s that?” I pointed toward the object.

  Maveryck climbed up the ledge and stood beside me. “No idea. But it’s impossible to tell from here.” He turned to me. “Are you a good swimmer?”

  “You want me to go in there?”

  “One of us has to.”

  “Why does it have to be me?”

  “Because one of us will have to stand watch.”

  I crossed my arms. He always came up with the worst plans. “In that case, I should be the one to stand watch. You’re useless in combat. Plus, if something magical is at the pool’s bottom, I’ll have no idea how to handle it.”

  “So you’re suggesting I should go into the pool?”

  Wasn’t he an intellectual? “Yes, I am.”

  He studied the pool with apprehension. “Very well,” he said finally, and then he leapt off the ledge and walked toward the water’s edge. He removed his shoes and coat, and then unbuttoned his shirt. I dutifully kept watch over him, just as he’d asked. His chiseled chest and muscular arms certainly didn’t lend credence to my theory that he wasn’t a warrior. Although he lacked the bulk of most fighters I knew in Danegeld, his lean and toned muscles meant he must have physical skills of some sort, and I wasn’t sure if dancing around with a flimsy dueling sword counted.

  He stood by the water’s edge wearing only his pants. The light from the water reflected off his bare skin, and I reminded myself to breathe. He’d clearly bewitched me. I’d have to demand he remove the spell. Some other time. Later. Of course not now.

  He waded into the water, first to his knees and then to his thighs.

  “Is it cold?” I called.

  “No. Magic must be warming it. I’m going to dive to the bottom to see what’s down there. Make sure nothing tries to kill me.”

  He took a deep breath and then submerged underwater. The rippling water distorted the shape of his body, but I still watched as he swam deeper.

  A scraping sound came from behind me. I had my knife out before giving it a second thought, holding it in a firm grip. Its handle conformed to my hands like I’d used it a hundred times before.

  I backed toward the cave’s only exit. The pool’s light didn’t reach the pathway, so making anything out in the darkness was impossible. The only chance I had of discovering an intruder was to watch for movement, but even then, they’d have to be fairly close for me to find them.

  As I studied the dark opening, the ground rumbled beneath my feet. A small tremor shook the pebbles on the cavern’s floor. The rumbling stopped a few seconds later.

  Behind me, water splashed. I rounded to find Maveryck swimming to shore, breathing heavily.

  “What’s down there?” I asked.

  “A spellcasted disc of some sort. It’s keeping the portal from functioning. I tried to remove it, but it’s too heavy for me to lift. You’ll have to come help me.”

  I glanced back toward the path. If I went into the water, we would be completely vulnerable to an attack. But if I didn’t, we’d have no way of restoring the portal and no way of getting home.

  “Fine,” I grumbled, and then I walked to the water’s edge and removed my shoes. The knife holster around my waist would have to come off as well, so I unbuckled it and laid it aside, leaving my knife on the shore. Brushing my fingers over the dagger’s hilt, I still wasn’t sure if I had the nerve to use it, but if we were attacked, I’d have no other choice. I backed away from the knife and turned toward the water.

  After removing everything decently possible
, I stepped into the pool. The water was warmer than I expected—almost uncomfortably so. There must have been a great deal of magic interacting with the liquid.

  “It’s easier to swim without your clothing,” Maveryck said.

  “Ha! And give you the opportunity to seduce me once again. No thank you.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “I’m only trying to be helpful.”

  “You’ve been helpful enough already,” I said, eying his bare torso and well-defined shoulders. Water dripped from his dark hair and ran in rivulets down his chest. The bluish glow of the water only served to make his eyes a more shocking shade of lavender. I wanted to know what his lips tasted like again.

  He drew closer toward me and then outstretched his hand. “Are you coming?” he asked. I looked down at his hand. Maveryck made me feel things I hadn’t experienced in a long time. Excitement tingled through my body at the expectation of his touch even though I knew what getting close to him would do to me. Yet I couldn’t seem to control my movements as I reached out and placed my hand atop his.

  He pulled me toward him, and the lingering scent of his cologne wafted toward me. My heart pounded and my skin tingled with pure excitement. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Magic or not, he seemed to hold a power over me that I didn’t know how to fight.

  “Heidel,” he said my name softly, “I think I’m falling in love with you.”

  “What?” I pulled back, surprised. “What did you say?”

  He came closer, so close I could feel the warmth of his breath as it brushed over my bare neck and shoulders. He lightly trailed his finger down my arm, making a tremor run through my body.

  What was he doing? Weren’t we supposed to be restoring the portal? But then he pulled me closer, and my coherent thoughts seemed to evaporate. All I could focus on was the feeling of his hand in mine, the warmth of his skin, the sensual curve of his lips.

  Without thinking, I reached up and traced my fingers over his lips. “Who are you really?” I asked him.

  “I’m whoever you want me to be.”

  “What does that mean?”

  A ghost of a smile crossed his face. He leaned toward my ear. “May I kiss you?” he whispered.

  I didn’t let him wait for my answer. My lips found his, and everything except us seemed to disappear. His lips were softer than I remembered, and I couldn’t seem to get enough of him. Kissing him only made me more impatient. Running my fingers along his chest, I felt the hard ridges of his muscles. He was more intoxicating than I imagined.

  Too soon, he pulled away, our breathing heavy. He pushed a strand of hair away from my eyes.

  “My apologies,” he said.

  “Apologies?”

  “I hadn’t intended on kissing you.”

  “Then what had you intended?”

  “I honestly need your help removing the disc.”

  I studied his face, wondering if he’d really meant what he’d said about falling in love with me, but it seemed his timing was horrible. We were about to return to Faythander and lose all our memories of each other. I wanted to be angry with him, but all I could think about was the way his lips felt on mine.

  “Very well,” I said. “Shall we get this over with?”

  “Yes, are you ready?”

  I nodded. We both took several deep breaths, and then we dove underwater. The world transformed as water surrounded me. As sounds drifted in fluid, muffled tones, I focused on the gleaming, golden disc at the pool’s bottom and swam toward it. Maveryck reached it first, and I drew closer, I noticed the shape of a dragon had been etched into the gold.

  Maveryck grabbed one edge of the disc and I grabbed the other. Straining, we lifted it off the pool’s floor, but its weight was more than expected, and I almost dropped it. We were only able to bring it to the surface by dragging and pushing it up to shallow ground.

  As we emerged from the water, we pushed the disc up the shore, and then finally out of the pool. The moment the disc touched dry land, the light in the room darkened. We stood by the pool’s edge, watching as the water grew agitated, slowly churning into a whirlpool. Flashes of lightning burst from the water and thunder boomed so loudly it shook the floor, making tremors fill the room.

  “What’s happening?” I called over the noise.

  “We’ve unleashed the magic! That disc must have been placed there to absorb the pool’s power, but now, the cave is no longer protected.”

  The room shook so badly I feared it would tear apart. Clattering noise filled my ears, so loud I worried I might go deaf. We watched the water spiral upward, creating a spout, and then reformed to make a perfect circle. No longer did we stand over a pool of water. Instead, we stared into a shimmering blue portal. Magic burst with electrical intensity around the portal’s edges.

  The air quieted, filled only by an occasional spark of energy from the portal.

  “Was that supposed to happen?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. I’ve never seen a portal form like this.”

  “Do you trust it?”

  “I’m not sure. If it’s unstable, it could tear us apart as we try to cross worlds.”

  Wonderful.

  He clutched the crystal around his neck. “I’m going to see if the portal is stable. Wait here.”

  He walked down the slope of the now-dry lakebed. I grabbed my knife and then glanced back at the empty hallway, adopting Maveryck’s nervous tick as I began feeling increasingly anxious. When he reached the portal, he stopped in front of it and outstretched his hand. A zap of electric energy shot out, lancing his fingers. He cursed and stepped back.

  “It’s as I expected,” he called back to me. “We can’t go through it as it is. I’ll have to use the crystal’s magic to open the portal to Faythander.”

  As he removed his necklace, a gray mist formed silently behind him. The wraith appeared and glided forward.

  “Maveryck, behind you,” I shouted as I grabbed my knife and sprinted toward the portal. Time seemed to slow, and all I could do was watch as the wraith lashed out, preternaturally fast, and slit Maveryck’s throat.

  The world stopped.

  Maveryck glanced at me, his eyes wide and pleading. He tried to speak, but the cut was too deep and had likely severed his life’s vein. He clutched his neck. Blood seeped between his fingers as he fell to his knees and collapsed. If I could get to him in time and take him through the portal, he might still have a chance.

  I ran toward Maveryck when the wraith blocked my path, a wicked, curved knife clutched in his hands, Maveryck’s blood staining the blade.

  I lashed out. Intent on killing the beast, I aimed my knife at the monster’s heart, but he disappeared and then reappeared behind me. I spun around as he tried to slit my throat the same way he had done to Maveryck.

  Dodging his attack, I rounded and plunged my blade in the beast’s ribcage. It wasn’t a killing blow, but it would slow him down. I ripped my blade from the beast’s body, making him cry out. His pupils dilated and his eyes simmered with rage. The creature lunged for me, but I feinted backward, using the time to search for his weaknesses.

  It was then I noticed he held the magical staff in one hand and a knife in the other, throwing off his balance. The beast was most likely not accustomed to fighting with the staff. The wraith swung it out, trying to knock me down, but I ducked and then grabbed the wood and jerked it from the beast’s hands. I saw my opportunity as he lost his footing and stumbled, so I planted my knife an inch to the left from his heart—a killing blow.

  The monster screamed and fell backward, his voice an unnatural wail that echoed through the cavern. He yanked the knife from his chest, but it would do him no good now. He fell to the ground, his breathing harsh and rattling. Moments later, his breathing stopped, his eyes staring blankly at the cavern’s ceiling.

  I turned away from the monster and stumbled toward Maveryck.

  Kneeling beside him, I inspected the cut in his neck, and my fears were confirmed. His life’s vein had been
severed. He would die soon. Truthfully, I was surprised he hadn’t died already, so maybe we still had time.

  I took his hand, attempting a smile. “I’m going to get you through the portal. You’ll be fine, I promise.”

  He grabbed my arm, struggling to speak. “Heidel,” he gasped. “It won’t work. The portal… won’t heal me. Naturally made portals don’t… heal.”

  “What?” His words stunned me. If the portal couldn’t heal him, then what chance did I have of saving him? “Shouldn’t I at least try?”

  He shook his head. “It’s no use.”

  “But I can’t just watch you die. I have to do something.” I grabbed him under the arms and pulled him toward the portal, but he cried out and I stopped. He coughed, choking on his own blood. I knelt beside him, and he took my hand, pressing the crystal into my palm, the blood on his fingers still warm.

  “Take the staff and use the crystal… to escape this world.”

  I eyed the portal. “No. You’re coming with me. Besides, I don’t know how to use magic.”

  “You don’t… need to know how.” He gave me a slight smile, and then he closed his eyes. His face paled, now almost gray, as blood drained from his body.

  “Maveryck,” I whispered.

  He didn’t respond.

  How could this be happening? He’d been fine only a moment ago. I found my knife and cut strips of fabric from my hemline, ripping the embroidered blue flowers in half, and then I pressed the material to the wound in his neck. It wouldn’t stop the bleeding and I knew it, but sitting here and watching him die was not an option. I had to do something.

  “Maveryck, you’re going to be okay,” I told him. “You’ll get through this.”

  “Yes, you’re right.” He gave me a weak smile. “I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat. We were both talented liars. It was only now that I realized how much I had in common with him. We were both stubborn, both proud, yet he brought out the best in me. He’d taught me that I didn’t need to hide behind my armor—that I could be myself without it—now I was losing him. I refused to lose him. There had to be some way to save him.

  His breathing grew shallower.