by J. L. Madore
With my sights on Naith across the camp I strode over and fastened my backpack. It wasn't that I didn't believe his sincerity—it oozed from his every pore. I was just tired of the high-maintenance-Highborne roller-coaster and was getting off the ride. Galan wasn't my concern. He was my assignment. In a week's time, I would be back at the Academy and he would be back buttering his sixty-year-old sister's toast.
Naith's head lifted and turned to the stand of trees beyond. When his ears went back, the hair on the nape of my neck stood on end. I scanned the area. Rainforest trees were so stupidly massive an entire raid party could hide behind one of them. Abaddon's seer probably knew about the spellbook by now. If so, the Scourge would intercept. I drew a long breath, filtering for the rotting stench of skunk and decay. Nothing. I strained to hear anything out of place. All I got was the screeeeee of cicadas thanking the heavens for another sweltering day to come.
We needed to keep moving.
My sense of unease persisted through the day and so did Galan's overtures: a perfect feather, a handful of colorful fruits, a bouquet of tropical orchids. I needed to focus, but with Galan around, my emotions vacillated between a rock and a crazy place. He was the most annoying, exhausting man I'd ever met, yet I was drawn to him.
Inexplicably. Undeniably.
My body had never responded to anyone and now, all at once, I was throwing heat and humming like a kettle about to boil. I wished Galan would go back to being obnoxious and self-important. I had no defenses when he was being sweet.
"You gotta give him points for effort," Lexi whispered as we dismounted at the clearing below Dragon's Peak.
"I don't need him to make things up to me." I pulled out my phone and sent Reign a text with our position. "I accepted his apology."
"Your mouth said the words, though it's crystal your heart didn't get the memo." Lexi pouted, looking oh-so-disgruntled.
"Since when do you side with the guy?"
"You are priority one, always—" Lexi waved to Reign. "They're here. You gather yourself and I'll be right back."
Staring at the profile of the dormant volcano, I fortified myself for what was to come: climb to the mouth of Dragon's Peak and, if all went as planned, we'd find the entrance, search the tomb, retrieve the lost spellbook and offer it to Castian. Easy peasy.
The tough part was going to be working with Galan and Samuel in close quarters, together . . . both of them . . . at the same time. They had each stomped on my heart and if I was being honest, blown a bazooka-sized hole through my pride. That, however, had nothing to do with the task at hand, did it? We had a quest to complete. When it was done I would walk away and get back to my life. Whatever that meant.
This task is part of your destiny, Mir. I have seen it. What did Castian mean by that? My destiny was avenging my parents. I had to keep it together. I had to find my answers and make sense of their deaths. I just had to.
"All right?" Lexi tugged one of my curls straight and let it spring back into place.
"Sure. Fine."
"Reign is bringing in Rue and Cowboy as sentries, and, uh, Samuel's here."
The strange tone of Lexi's voice had me studying her. It was there, in her eyes, too. "What? We knew Samuel was coming. He's the best wizard we've got."
Lexi shrugged and tilted her head toward Reign and Samuel standing with their backs to us. "You'll see."
Cryptic. Reign had introduced Samuel to the Highbornes and was making small-talk when I joined them. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The two of them wore the usual black leather battle gear, an assortment of sheathed weapons, tinted wraparounds—
"No!" I reached for Samuel's sunglasses. He looked even worse than Galan did. I whirled on my father. "Oh. My. Gods. What did you do, Reign? I told you—"
"Stop the hissy, missy." Reign pointed to the bruised mess on Samuel's face. "Not my handiwork."
I searched his eyes until I was certain. "Then who?"
"Forget it." Samuel snatched the glasses from my hand and hid the nasty purple mound swelling over his left eye. When he stomped off I followed, reaching for his shoulder. At the touch of my fingers he shrank away and hissed. "Dammit, Jade. Dinna touch me."
He was holding his side. Had he been limping? A wave of understanding flopped like a cold fish in my belly. Ignoring his protests, I pulled open his battle-vest and lifted his muscle shirt. His washboard looked more like someone ran over him with a tanker, then backed up and ran him over again, then did it once more just for kicks.
"What the hell?" I ran a feather touch over purple and yellow splotches in different stages of healing. "This is because of me?"
"No." He shook his head, scrubbing his fingers through his hair. "No. It's on me. I was a dick at the bar, aye?" His chestnut eyes held a glimpse of the guy I'd been crazy about. There was still plenty of pain and regret there, but I couldn't help hoping. "Using your parents against ye crossed the line."
"It did, but I should've gotten to beat you for it." Samuel's dark eyes met mine and after a minute we both smiled.
Reaching out, he laid a heavy arm across my shoulder and drew me in. "Gods, it feels good to not fight with you." He smelled the same, a mixture of cologne, magic and something that was just him. It felt like a million years since we'd been like this. I hugged him tighter until he gasped and grabbed his side.
"Shit. I forgot, sorry." I pushed up his shirt.
Knowing better than to argue with me, he stood still while I fanned my hands over his ribs and summoned my gift. Huh? It didn't come. Refocusing my attention, I moved my hands and tried again. Nothing. "What's wrong? Why can't I heal this?"
Samuel's lips pinched in a tight line. "Um . . . Reign dinna do this." After a long silence, he released his breath. "Castian did. He's pissed. And when the God of gods breaks ass on ye, it's no good." He picked up my hand, stepped closer and held it against his chest. "I was a bastard. I am truly sorry, luv."
"Maybe I could speak to him?"
He lifted my knuckles and rubbed his lips against them the way he'd done a thousand times before. "No. After what I said about your parents, this punishment is on me."
"Wrap up the sloppy shit." Reign growled. "Not like we're on a fucking mission here."
Samuel killed his smile but winked when Reign turned back the group.
"Fine." I scanned the outline of the peaks above. "Where to from here?"
Galan sidled in behind me and pointed over my shoulder toward a jagged rock face up and to the right. It really did look like the silhouette of a dragon. "The account of the Highborne journey begins like this," he said, his breath tickling my neck.
Into the valley the exiled came,
With naught but their lives and selves to blame,
Through a dragon's mouth that held no bite,
The aubergine sky sank into night.
He wrapped a muscled arm around my waist and turned me to face the slope. "The setting sun would have been there when they emerged from the cave," he whispered, his voice deep and smooth, "and so, the mouth of the dragon would be up this way."
Samuel cursed under his breath and unsheathed his wand.
I sidestepped Galan and stepped over to Reign. "Right, then let's get this party started."
As we began our ascent, Faolan chased a weird looking brown rodent out of a stump. It ran over the patches of summer moss and bracken, and through the leaves. It looked a lot like a groundhog and hopped like a rabbit. It bounced from trunk to trunk, table-topping and scrambling until it scaled a neighbouring palm. Safe and out of reach it chattered and squawked. Whatever the message, Aust's wolf ignored it and bounded through the trees to continue her fun.
Aust shrugged and the two of us walked in companionable silence.
Our group reached what we figured was the mouth of the dragon just as the sun blazed directly overhead. The rainforest was thick to the south and west, a solid, weathered rock face rose up to the north and a sheer drop to the south.
"It is near." Aust hesitated, arms
out, drawing closer to the rocks. Even though there was no sign of an opening the Elves didn't seem to doubt him. Aust had an intuition about nature that they respected. In every aspect of life he was reserved, in the forest Aust was king.
A soupy breeze stirred my hair. "What do you feel exactly?"
He tilted his head, squinting in concentration. "I am not certain I can describe it."
"May I help you focus?" He wet his lips and after a moment gave a slow nod. Sidling in behind him, I lifted the hem of his vest. With one hand on each of his hips, skin to skin, I faced him toward the cliff face. "Now, relax. Let my energy flow through you. It will help you see."
No one could be still like the Highbornes. He closed his eyes and became as immobile as the rock face before us. "Breathe, Aust. It's all good. You're good." His chest was too tight. His tension blocked our connection. A shock of energy jolted back at me. "Relax," I whispered. "Trust me and your vision will come."
I hummed a quiet ballad until his breathing quieted and his shoulders eased. We moved with deliberate steps along the cliff face, searching, listening and feeling the sheets of solid rock in front of him.
"Here." He spread his fingers against the cliff face. "The entrance is here, sealed behind this wall." It appeared to be a solid sheet of gray stone, from the mossy ground at our boots to far beyond the swaying treetops. There was no indication of an entrance or even a crack in the face.
"How do we get in?" Tham asked. "It could be as thick as a tree trunk."
"It is not." Aust closed his eyes and ran his hand ran along the surface of the rock. A faint smile tugged at his mouth.
"Samuel, you're up. How long?" I stepped out of his way as he waggled his brow.
Palms out, he began to assess the rock face, mumbling to himself. "Twenty?"
Aust scratched his fingers in Faolan's ruff then looked up. His ocean blue eyes glittered with excitement. "Did you feel it, Jade?"
"Mhmm, your connection to nature is very impressive."
Aust's ears blushed pink and then a strange puzzlement crept into his expression. With his head cocked to the side his quizzical look changed into outright alarm. He spun toward the trees, his gaze piercing the heart of the forest. "Everyone, take to the trees. Now!"
CHAPTER TEN
Tham grabbed Lexi, dragging her with him. Galan moved toward me, but Samuel had my arm and after a moment's hesitation the two of us heeded Aust's command and climbed. My jaw dropped slack when Reign followed the order. I'd never seen such a show of compliance from him in all our years together. Aust stood on the forest floor with his arms stretched open and tense concentration covering on his face.
"What is it, Aust?"
"Mahogany Bears. Stay in the trees." He pointed to where Naith was pacing and snarling and Puff was eating the discards from a fruit tree. "Faolan, enough. Go." Faolan snarled and bared her teeth. Aust's head spun at the sound, his eyes wild and wide. Instantly Faolan dropped her head and her ears pinned back. Growling long and low, she stalked to the other animals, her fur standing straight up at the hackles.
"Ironic." Galan said from the tree across from us. "A fortnight past, this was what you were hoping for, Aust."
He didn't look sure now. What if these bears didn't hear his voice? I wished Bruin was there. My brother could handle this.
"I can put down of a couple of bears." Samuel said, offended. "We didna need to be shimmied up a tree like frightened squirrels."
Aust raised a menacing glare. "Touch these creatures of Shalana and I will slit your throat and set my animal brothers to pick at your carcass while you drain."
"You and what army, Highborne?" Samuel snapped.
"This one, wizard." The tip of Galan's arrow gleamed in the afternoon sun, trained on Samuel. His Highborne blue eyes glittered with rash excitement.
Shit. I looked to Tham for help. His arrow was nocked as well. Isn't this going well?
"Animals of the wild are sacred to our people," Galan hissed. "Senseless violence against them will not be tolerated."
"Enough," Reign barked. "Lock your shit down and—"
Snapping brush and a low harump rose from the eastern slope. The noise was deep in the trees, about a hundred feet behind our position. Aust breathed deep and slow, opening and closing his hands as the sound grew nearer.
The lumbering ursine gait of the massive beasts made my pulse race. "Aust, maybe you shouldn't be down there."
"Fash not, neelan. Remain where you are."
The colossal lead bear was male, followed by half a dozen smaller—but in no way small—females. They were larger than any species of bear I'd ever seen, including Weres. Their legs were long and muscular on the front and short and thick at the back, giving them an angled, hyena-like stance. As they neared, the male's round head eclipsed the view of Aust's chest. Matted with clumps of shaggy, mahogany fur he galumphed closer, shifting twelve-inch paws. They thudded heavy onto the damp growth as he plodded through the forest brush.
Reaching Aust, he twitched and waggled his long, ebony nose in the air, sniffing the breeze. Morning light glinted off the curved ivory canines extending from his jaw, up the side of his muzzle. Lowering his head, he huffed, pawing the dirt while his females paced behind him.
Aust's far off look of concentration reminded me of a child working on a brainteaser. What was he saying to the beasts glaring down at him? The colossal bear tilted his head to the side as if considering his words. For a moment, I thought it might be as easy as Aust's past encounters with wildlife.
Not this time.
A wild base growl vibrated through the trees as the male shook its head from side to side. Thrusting itself forward he caught Aust in the gut with his head, flipping him into the air like a worn rag doll. A deranged roar filled the clearing as the Elf came crashing down into the brush. Brittle snaps popped and cracked. I couldn't tell if it was bones or branches.
"Aust!" Galan cried, starting a frantic descent.
"Stay," Aust gasped. The bear's massive claws scooped him out of the dirt and threw him across the clearing. Aust landed in a tangled thud, then lifted his head and continued to stare at the male. Why didn't he defend himself?
Faolan and Naith were wild, snarling and snapping empty air. They made no advance, obviously under the same orders as we were, and hunched and paced in frenzy. Aust coughed, grabbing his side. Scarlet spittle spackled the forest floor and stained his lips.
Galan looked to Tham. "What say you?"
They held their position.
The bear galloped as Aust he staggered to his feet. The beast swiped his paw through the air, thumping him heavily back to the ground. Aust's bloody body was a twig in a hurricane, crumpling as the massive predator straddled and pinned him to the forest floor, enveloped him under the matted brown pelt.
The bear flipped his head up and down, its roar echoing in the trees around us. On a whimper, Faolan fell silent and laid flat to the ground. The bear reared onto its hind legs and dropped its weight onto Aust's crumpled frame. The snap which followed couldn't be mistaken.
Aust's bones were breaking.
Galan started down the tree with Tham right behind him. They were ten feet from the forest floor when the females charged. Reared on hind legs, they clawed up the trees and bared a mass of discolored teeth.
"Aust?" Galan cried, ascending a few feet beyond their reach.
"I-I am . . . well." The weak cough came from somewhere under the bear.
After what seemed an eternity, the male waddled backwards and settled on his haunches. Aust rolled to one side and struggled to right himself. Retaining eye contact, he watched his attacker until, to my utter amazement, a crooked smirk covered his blood smeared face. The male barked a few short grunts and then the females holding Galan and Tham at bay, lowered onto all fours and lumbered over to squat behind their male.
Aust staggered to his feet. Even so, the bear reached the underside of his chin.
Lexi squealed when Aust scrubbed a shaky hand against th
e male's jowl, the Elf's smirk spreading to a glowing smile. "Verily, all is well. You may join me."
Galan exhaled, scrubbing his fingers through his hair. I couldn't decide if he was furious or in awe. "You astound me, brother mine."
"How bad are you?" Reign asked.
"I am well." Aust coughed, wrapping his arm across his chest. Fresh blood stained his lips as he spoke. "He never wished to hurt me . . . simply stubborn. All is resolved. Honestly, the interface was incredible." He teetered as Faolan pushed through the group to brush against his leg. Her low growl was constant, her fur still bristled.
I bit my tongue, vacillating between the knowledge of how deeply Highbornes hated magic and how badly his injuries required it. This might bite me in the ass, but— "Aust, would you allow me to heal you?"
A wincing smile spread across his marred face as he bowed his head. "I would be honored. Gratitude, neelan." When he listed to the side Galan caught him before he fell headlong into the trunk of the rosewood he was aimed for. Aust's eyes rolled closed and he leaned his head against Galan's chest. After a couple shallow breaths, he broke out with the stupidest grin I'd ever seen. Men.
"Tham lay your cloaks down on that patch of grass. Galan, lay him down." Kneeling over Aust, I paused. "Before we get started I need to tell you that when I connect with patients, memories shimmer in my mind. Some are personal, some are random. I never share them, though, in the past, it has made some people uncomfortable with my touch."
Aust looked surprised, but not unnerved. Taking my hand, he pressed it flat against his chest and closed his eyes again. "I trust you, Jade."
The moment I palpated his side his eyes rolled back and he was out. Four broken ribs, lacerations to his hip and back, deep bruising in the shoulder . . . I shook my head, wiping a gob of muddy blood from his face. "Incredible my ass."
He was unconscious long enough to get most of the healing done. I was still mumbling about men and their idiotic ideas of what was fun when I sensed he was waking.
"Worth it," he choked, his eyes still closed.
"You enjoyed being molested by a wild bear?" I said, taking considerable effort to be gentle. "Well, don't do it again. From where I was, it was terrifying."