Terra licked her cracked lips, eyes darting from Maya to Morgana to Kari. “I…I pledge myself to Morgana Le Fey, my queen, and master for all time to serve her every command or… or… or…”
Wind whistled through the darkened pipes at the end of the cell, making them moan and creak in protest. Tiny bits of debris shot from the ends like projectiles and whipped at Terra’s exposed skin, making her cry out, and cling to Morgana’s arm.
“Or die!” she screamed, and broke down in tears at Morgana’s feet, while the woman slowly stroked her matted hair.
“Continue please,” Morgana said.
And through her whimpers, Terra began again. “My life is for my queen. I bind myself to her. My queen’s needs are my priority. My power is her gift, and I am but a shadow in her presence.”
Morgana beamed down at her and tilted the goblet to Terra’s lips. The girl drank deeply until she could no longer stop from choking. And when Morgana pulled the cup away, Terra fell, hands splayed on the floor in front of her, body racked with coughs and scarlet droplets spraying Morgana’s feet.
Morgana seemed completely non-plussed. Kari averted her eyes, but Maya found herself unable to do it, filled with a morbid curiosity as Morgana squatted beside her. “Accept it. If you do, I promise you will find peace.”
“She’s lying,” Maya said. She didn’t know why. She had no idea what that even meant. But Morgana’s head snapped up like a lion sensing prey, and Kari sent a gust of dirt and pebbles at Maya, who tucked her head as far into her arm as she could for protection. A thousand tiny stings pummeled her, ripping at her clothes and skin.
Terra stopped coughing and accepted Morgana’s hand to get to her feet. She was steady, red glistened along the inside of her lips. But Maya thought she looked scared.
Morgana wrinkled her nose and patted her head. “Kari, take your sister upstairs and get her cleaned up. When she is ready, bring her back to me. And send Sergey down here immediately.”
Kari’s eyes caught Maya’s for the briefest moment before she ushered the trembling girl out of the cell. Neither seemed willing to touch the other as they kept a healthy distance between them.
Maya’s thoughts about the Elementals vanished when Morgana’s face appeared in hers. She had barely a chance to prepare herself before Morgana wound her fingers through her hair and yanked her head back hard into the wall.
“Where did they take him?” Morgana breathed.
“I don’t know. Away from you.” Maya hated that her voice shook.
Morgana’s hand smacked her across the face before she backed up. “There is so much I want to do to you,” she purred. “But I must wait for Aedan to return to me first. And return he will because like it or not, he is part of me. He belongs with his family.”
“If Sergey’s your family, you bring a whole new meaning to the word dysfunctional. Well, speak of the devil.”
Sergey entered the room, and Maya noted with some pride that he maintained the same limp she’d left him with from their little tango in the living room. She grinned, and he narrowed his vivid blue eyes.
“Sergey, I’d like you to babysit our little friend. Do not kill her, and keep her conscious.” Morgana cupped a hand to his cheek like he were a child and sauntered from the room.
Chapter Sixty-Three
Maya
The Circle trained Operatives from the moment they could stand. Operatives learned everything from weapons to all forms of martial arts, to meditation techniques used to conserve oxygen. One class Maya had always considered a waste of time was Coping Strategies. Why bother learning to cope with torture and pain when by the time you’d reached that point you’d already lost? No, Maya preferred battle strategies because that’s where she saw herself.
She was glad her mother had forced her to take the class.
One of the strategies the Circle taught was Mental Distance. Pretty simple concept actually, just pick another time in your life, a time when you were happy, and go there. Retreat inside of yourself.
So as Sergey cut away her pant legs and shirt with the dagger she’d thrown at him upstairs, she focused on the one moment she’d ever felt perfectly content. And as he used her throwing stars to trace a pattern of puncture wounds across her stomach, she focused on her brother’s face as they ran squealing into the warm surf behind their house. A wave knocked her down, but Corey’s strong arms scooped her up and spun her around. And they both giggled.
But that memory led, as it always did, to the next. To a sleepy eyed four-year-old Maya who surprised her brother as he snuck toward the front door in the middle of the night.
“Where are you going, Corey?”
“Shh!” He’d hushed, then checked the shadows for signs of movement. Satisfied no one else was up, he knelt to face her, setting down the black satchel he carried and smoothing the flyaway hair from her face with one gloved hand. Then he smiled. “You can’t tell them, May. I have to do this. I’m doing it for you. You deserve to just be a kid. It isn’t fair for this thing to get a childhood in exchange for yours.”
“I don’t understand,” Maya said, pouting. “I don’t want you to go.” She stamped her foot.
“I know. But I’ll be back. I promise. It won’t take long. It won’t even be hard.” And he said it as he looked somewhere over her shoulder. Somewhere far off.
Maya turned to see what he was looking at, but all she saw was the dark hall of her house. “Father said you shouldn’t go. I heard.”
“Sometimes Father doesn’t know what’s right. Sometimes you have to trust yourself, May.” And then Corey pulled her into a hug so tight, she thought she might suffocate.
“If you don’t come back I’ll hate you forever,” she said into his auburn waves.
“I promised, didn’t I? And do I ever break my promises?”
“Not to me.” Maya relaxed a little.
Corey’s emerald eyes were filled with love the last time she saw him.
Sergey paused to smear a streak of blood across Maya’s shoulder with his thumb. He grinned at the tear sliding down her cheek and flicked a finger so that the tiny drop floated through the air to his tongue. He closed his eyes savoring it like a fine wine.
He didn’t know the tear had nothing to do with the pain he was inflicting.
He dropped the star at his feet, and ran his hands along her sides and over the remains of her bra.
“You are a sick bastard, aren’t you?” she said.
“You have no idea,” he whispered and pinched her hard.
She winced. “You better hope I don’t bleed out or your queen will string you up. Again.”
“You talk too much,” Sergey said and punched her across the jaw. “I don’t like it. But feel free to scream or beg.”
Maya straightened her head and spit at him. Her chains jangled as she fought to reach any part of him to strike back. The hate swelled inside of her until it was unbearable, and she snarled like an animal as he danced out of reach and laughed.
“Your boyfriend may not want to rescue you anymore when he sees what you look like now.” Sergey’s hand found her throat, his fingers digging into her tender jaw. “To be honest I’m not sure I’m interested anymore either. Maybe I ought to clean you up first, eh my little Igrushka?”
“There’s no water.” Maya’s mouth barely opened enough to make sense of the words.
“Ah but there is. Next cell over there are pipes filled with water meant for your boyfriend.” As Sergey spoke the rush of water filled the background of the dungeon.
Sergey calmly stepped aside as a torrent rained down on Maya’s body again and again until she gasped for air. And when it fell away, she flipped the hair from her face and coughed painfully. Sergey raised his hands and a small round pool of water formed between his fingers, smooth and still as glass. He held it up so that she could see her reflection, and Maya turned away.
It was silly to be vain. But the girl in the mirror was nearly unrecognizable. Her face was bruised and swollen, h
er skin blanketed in scrapes and cuts. Sergey let the mirror fall away, and stepped into her personal space again.
“Tell me you want me,” Sergey said with a grin.
“You can’t be serious,” Maya croaked through her now nearly locked up mouth.
“Tell me you will pledge yourself as my servant and I will let you down.”
“I’m not one of you.”
“Everyone is one of us. Everyone has a limit.” Sergey pulled out the dagger again. “I can perform the ritual too. Then you’d be my toy. My Igrushka.”
Aren’t I already? Maya thought, but she’d never say it out loud. She’d never give him the satisfaction.
“If you join us, then Aedan will join us too. But how delicious it would be to have you belong to me instead.”
“Ain’t gonna happen.”
Sergey plunged the blade into her shoulder and she heard herself scream. “Finally,” Sergey said and slipped his other hand between her legs.
Chapter Sixty-Four
Aedan
Toby’s face swam into view, the rush of the ocean so loud, Aedan was sure he was drowning.
“It’s okay,” Toby said as he panicked and sprang to a sitting position.
Aedan searched the scene with wide eyes. Palmer Sloan lay motionless in the sand feet away, and though he couldn’t see everything, Aedan saw no signs of scorched parts. Toby squatted near him and grinned.
“You did it. You melted his weapons. His hands were burned, but not too badly beneath his gloves. You gave me enough time to recover, and I managed to knock him out and save your ass from drowning in four feet of water.”
“Um, thanks.” Aedan pushed to his feet and brushed the sand from his body. “We have to get to Maya. God knows what they’re doing to her.”
“Listen, I have a plan. It’s got a lot of holes, but at least it’s something.”
Aedan nodded. It was difficult not to rush the house. But that was just plain stupid.
“What we need to do is get you inside without getting you chained to a wall.”
“Ideally, yeah.” Aedan pushed at Palmer with his foot, but the man didn’t budge.
“We need the element of surprise. And based on my dear friend here, I estimate the rest of the Circle will be here within the hour, which is both good and bad.”
“It’s good! Are you kidding me? They’ll get her out.” Aedan glanced at the house. It looked so normal, pleasant even. But that was very wrong.
“Yeah, and they’ll kill you on the way, removing any reason Morgana has for keeping her alive.”
Aedan pressed his eyes closed and beat back the fire. “So what do we do?”
“You bring back a prisoner.”
“Morgana!” Aedan shouted, bursting through the front door. “I bring a gift.”
Kari appeared in the hallway with another girl trailing behind. For one glorious moment, Aedan thought it may be Maya unharmed. But the moment she came into the light, he knew it wasn’t the case. She had long almond colored hair, and large, dark eyes. She was petite, but had a dancer’s lithe body, and moved in an almost hypnotic way.
“Sparks! What’s all the fuss about?” Kari asked, drawing his attention away from the stranger.
“This.” Aedan threw Toby’s body on the floor in front of him.
Kari’s eyes grew huge. “That’s the boy who wouldn’t die.”
“Merlin,” Aedan said. “Where’s Morgana?”
“I am here.”
Aedan turned to find Morgana very close. He swallowed. “Please don’t put me back there.”
“It will not be necessary I think,” Morgana said, and she ran her fingers along his arm. “You’ve come back.”
“Yes. He took me.” Aedan looked down at Toby with distaste. “He thought I would be on his side. But I’m tired of fighting it. I am who I am. This is where I belong. With you.”
Morgana stared down at Toby’s unmoving form and pushed him with her foot. Aedan held his breath. This had to work.
“He is not dead,” Morgana said.
“No. He isn’t. I thought maybe you’d want to see me do it this time. There usually isn’t much left over to bring back.” Please don’t ask me to do it right now. Bring me to Maya first. Toby had assured him she wouldn’t want him dead.
A smile curled the corners of Morgana’s mouth. “You’ve done well. Merlin and I have much to discuss. Girls, take him to my room and secure his hands, legs, and mouth. He can be rather tricky.”
Kari scooped Toby from beneath his arms while the other girl grabbed his legs. Aedan watched with a growing sense of unease as they carted him off toward Morgana’s private room. They were supposed to bring him to wherever Maya was. Already the plan was going awry.
“Come, Aedan. I have something for you as well.”
Aedan followed Morgana to a door he presumed led to the horrible basement. He tensed and drew a deep breath, preparing himself. Though he doubted reality could be worse than his imagination. But Morgana hesitated with a hand on the doorknob.
“Aedan, when I open this door it will be time for your final test of loyalty. What you find will no doubt anger you, even hurt you, and I want you to use those feelings instead of holding them in.”
“Sergey is down there,” Aedan said with sudden certainty, and every muscle in his body seemed to clench tight. He had to restrain himself from pushing Morgana aside and rushing the stairs.
“Yes. Feel free to take your frustrations out on him.”
“What if I kill him?” Aedan asked, wanting desperately to try.
Morgana smiled, and this time it reached her eyes. “Then do. I can create another water Elemental.”
“What?” Every fiber in his body wanted through that door, but his brain had gone on high alert.
“He has pledged himself to me. His power is mine. It will return to me when he dies, now that I have a body again. Then I will do what I did the first time. No need to wait another two-hundred years.” She laughed. “Of course I’d prefer to keep you all intact as it costs us precious time. But it’s more important for me to see you embrace your nature, so you have my permission.”
Aedan’s stomach twisted and it wasn’t the fire. But he remained stonefaced and nodded. Just open the goddamn door.
As though he’d willed it, she turned the knob and thrust the door open. A scream of agony burst through to meet them.
It was definitely male.
Morgana’s eyes grew huge, and she took off down the steps seeming to forget about Aedan, who flew close at her heels.
“Sergey! What happened?” Morgana demanded as they reached the cell Terra had been trapped in when Aedan was being tortured.
“The bitch broke my hand!”
“How? She’s bound, Sergey!”
Inside the cell, Sergey knelt clutching his hand, which hung at an odd angle on his wrist. The tendons in his neck stood at attention, and his face was bright red. But it was Maya that made the world tilt. She was chained to the wall, nearly naked, beaten and bruised so that he almost couldn’t recognize her face. Their eyes met, and Aedan’s pulse rushed in his ears drowning any other sound.
Fuck the plan.
Aedan turned toward Morgana, now completely engrossed in berating Sergey for his ineptitude, and he bashed her head into the stone wall, releasing the fire at the same time. Sergey lit like a match. His red face almost made him look like one as he rushed from the cell, waving his arms like a maniac.
“Aedan!” Maya’s voice was something foreign.
Aedan cringed, seeing how she could barely move her swollen jaw to speak. “Shh! Don’t speak,” he said. But in her face, he saw fear as he approached. She was afraid of him? “I won’t hurt you. I’d never hurt you!” He focused on her bonds and melted the chains that attached her to the wall, leaving the part around her wrists and ankles alone so as not to burn any bit of her delicate skin.
She tumbled into his arms, and he lifted her easily, cradling her to his body like a child, and burying hi
s face in her hair. “We have to go,” he said. But as he stepped into the hall, he saw Sergey blocking the only remaining exit. The stairs. His face and arms were blistered with angry red burns, and Aedan couldn’t suppress a smile. If anyone deserved it…
Sergey raised his arms and Aedan heard the familiar sound of water rushing through the pipes. Maya moaned and the fire in his belly leaped. A bubble of fire erupted around them, far enough away not to hurt Maya. Still, he couldn’t risk using it too long.
The water crashed into Aedan’s shield within seconds of its creation, but his anger kept it strong. He’d never felt rage like this, rage that tinted his vision with red. Maya shook in his arms, and he realized it was he that was trembling.
The desire to kill, to destroy this house, these horrible people, consumed him, and the flames reached outward as he stepped forward. The circle of flames moved with him as he moved up the steps. Behind him, Sergey screamed in agony and as Aedan’s excitement mounted, the heat around them intensified. Visions of Morgana burning into ash danced in Aedan’s mind. And as he stepped into the house, he sent a boost of energy to the flames now destroying the stairs to the basement.
Maya’s head rolled into his chest, and he looked down at her. Sweat coated her skin and her face looked flushed. She coughed into his shirt, and all sense returned.
The bubble of fire dissolved, and Aedan found himself facing Maya’s parents.
Chapter Sixty-Five
Aedan
For a moment no one moved. Maya broke the spell when her head flopped away from Aedan’s chest. Her parents both gazed horrified at their beaten and bloodied daughter. In Aedan’s arms. While fire burned behind and beneath them.
Aedan’s mouth opened then closed. He shook his head in silent horror.
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