by Raine Thomas
“Stay away from him!” she commanded, and flung out her holy light.
Now Eloy screamed. He wheeled backwards and into the far corner of the cell.
She panted. The release of the holy light so soon after transporting had her feeling weak. Once again, her head spun. Her only clear thought was that she had to get Quincy out of there. She turned and bent over him to see if he was awake. She would need his help for the transport to work.
Don’t turn your back on him!
Caleb’s urgent warning sounded in her head in time to avoid taking a dagger in the back. Even as relief flooded through her over the established connection with her family, she whirled and used the momentum of the turn to deflect Eloy’s down-thrust using both of her hands on his forearm. The blade scraped harmlessly on the stone floor. A few sparks flew at the contact.
Before he could recover from the failed attack, she flung more holy light. He didn’t scream this time, but he hissed and backed away. She saw smoke rising from his skin and scented burning flesh.
Amber, can you heal Quincy? she sent out, placing one of her hands on Quincy’s. In answer to her question, she felt healing energy cycling through her. She focused on pushing as much of Amber’s energy as she could into Quincy. It wouldn’t be unfiltered enough to fully heal him, but it would certainly go a long way toward getting him in the condition to help her get him out of there.
Her eyes remained on Eloy even as the healing energy cycled. He was eying her with equal suspicion, breathing heavily as he fought the pain she had caused him. She realized he was moving slowly and with some purpose toward the corner of the cell to her right.
Even as she debated using some of her much-needed energy to create a ball of light so she could figure out what he was doing, Eloy reached out and grabbed something from the darkness.
“No!”
She heard Quincy’s shout. Saw Eloy’s hand move. And then something was suddenly caught around her throat, cutting off her ability to breathe.
Caleb didn’t move for at least ten interminable seconds after Skye disappeared from their rooms.
He heard himself cry out her name as though it was expressed by someone else. Felt the insane fear rushing through him. Then stood, completely paralyzed, when he realized she had truly left him.
He knew exactly where she had gone.
In his training, he had learned how to protect himself against crazed, demonic Mercesti. He could wield and defend against nearly any kind of weapon ever conceived. He was fully prepared to use himself as a shield to protect a being to whom he was paired.
But he had never had to learn how to protect his heart after it had been yanked from his chest and transplanted somewhere, vulnerable, that he couldn’t be himself.
“We have to figure out how to connect with her,” Olivia said urgently. She was the first to come to her senses. “Come on. Let’s join hands.”
Caleb felt Gabriel grasp his hand and pull him into the circle with his family. When he had Gabriel’s wrist in one hand and Olivia’s in the other, he finally got past his shock. There would be time later for him to deal with his emotions. He would make damn sure of it.
They all closed their eyes and focused. But Skye’s essence felt nebulous. Caleb could just barely sense her, as though she was in his peripheral vision, but when he looked directly, she disappeared.
“It’s not enough,” he said suddenly. “The barriers around Central were put into place by all of the elders. We need them.”
Breaking the circle, they all ran from the room. They didn’t have to go far. Gabriel had, of course, sent out the message earlier regarding Quincy, and the other elders were already on their way to see him. They all met up with each other not far from the rooms.
“Skye teleported to Quincy,” Gabriel said. “We need to create a circle of power that will allow our minds through so we can connect with her.”
“You are talking about reversing the effects of what we have put in place for protection,” Jabari said. He looked just as surprised as the other elders over the news that Skye had teleported, and very concerned over what Gabriel had just proposed.
“Temporarily,” Gabriel insisted. “Just long enough to get her and Quincy to safety.”
The other elders exchanged glances. Caleb thought he just might start shouting at them as he thought of Skye alone and unprotected. How could they hesitate for even a second? But he somehow managed to hold onto his temper and his patience.
“Very well,” Jabari said at last.
Caleb stepped into the center of the circle with Amber, Olivia, James and Gabriel. And as the elders joined together outside them, he immediately knew it had been the right thing to do.
It took only an instant for them to enter Skye’s consciousness. Unlike with Olivia, who had needed to focus on allowing them to experience everything she was experiencing when she had been taken by the Mercesti, with Skye it was immediate. They closed their own eyes and were suddenly seeing from hers, feeling everything she was feeling.
He felt the outrage flood her as they entered her awareness and she shouted, “Stay away from him!”
The sensation that rushed through them as she generated the holy light was unbelievable. How could she possibly command such power?
Then he saw her about to make a fatal mistake as the Mercesti staggered away.
Don’t turn your back on him!
She had done very well then, perfectly executing the defensive maneuver against the dagger. And then, like Skye, he kept his gaze on the blond Mercesti in the cell with her as Amber did what she could to heal Quincy. He sensed Skye poising for action when the Mercesti began to move toward the corner. But he couldn’t see anything in the blasted shadows.
That was when the Mercesti’s hand lashed out and he heard the sound of the whip. He felt the weapon curl around Skye’s neck several times until the wicked barbed tip on the end sank into the flesh of her neck to keep it in place.
It burned where it touched her skin and not her hair. No, it didn’t burn. It blazed like the fires of Hell. He knew she would have screamed if she could have gotten a sound past her throat. He was screaming in his mind. Fury and shared pain over the injuries to her made him want to charge like an animal and rip out the Mercesti’s throat. He sensed her clawing at the object choking her, felt it burning her hands as the Mercesti used it to drag her closer. Skye almost lost her footing, but her years of dancing and innate grace allowed her to right her balance with barely a thought.
Twirl, he thought quickly. To your left, as fast as you can. The barb at the end is going to hurt like a bitch when it comes out.
She did, exactly as he told her. The whip unwound as she spun. And when the barb ripped from her neck, she cried out in agony and gasped for breath. But she impressed all of them when she had the wherewithal to reach up as she spun and grab the whip even as it tugged free of her neck. With every bit of strength she had, she yanked the weapon from the Mercesti’s hand.
She had to fling it to the far side of the cell because it burned her hands, but it was out of the Mercesti’s range.
“Tut, tut,” he said in his even tone.
But Caleb saw his red eyes glitter with renewed interest. Those eyes moved to her neck, where blood dripped from her wounds. Amber’s energy healed her sister as much as she was able, and the Mercesti saw it.
“How fascinating,” he said. His lack of inflection was in direct contrast to his words.
The vicious burning around her neck abated only slightly after the healing, telling them the curse on the whip was quite strong.
“I would like to see just what injuries to yourself you can heal,” the Mercesti said. He started moving again. “The Corgloresti seems to have recovered his energy. He appears quite concerned about you. I believe we should have him watch what I will do to you.”
I can’t recover my energy enough to transport Quincy out of here with Eloy coming after me every two seconds, she thought as she watched the Mercesti, prepared
to defend herself. I have to get him out of here before someone else comes down here to see what’s going on. I’ll be totally screwed then.
They all knew she was right. Caleb had been carefully assessing her situation from the moment he entered her consciousness. He already knew there was only one possibility.
She was going to have to defeat the Mercesti.
Chapter Twenty-One
Skye did what she could to keep the unspeakable pain in her neck from filtering through to her family, but she knew they would still feel at least some of it. It felt as though her skin was being slowly eaten by bubbling acid from the inside out. As Quincy was covered in similar wounds, she couldn’t imagine how he was still conscious.
She felt his eyes on her as she took a couple of cautious steps opposite Eloy, preparing for the Mercesti’s inevitable attack. Her mind raced as she considered how she could possibly get them out of this mess.
“I imagine you do not have a bottomless well of that energy you insist on flinging at me,” Eloy said.
He feinted with his dagger. She moved exactly as she had been trained to do to evade the attack. He nodded once. She realized he was testing her defensive skills, looking for a weakness. Alarm coursed through her.
“Strange you would come here dressed like that,” he said then. “Wearing a hampering skirt rather than pants or armor. Not even a sturdy pair of boots for kicking.”
She smiled then, quick and knowing. She had very rarely worn pants or combat boots when she trained. And this was the very reason why. She had argued with Caleb quite intently about it when they first began training. He had wanted her to dress just like Eloy described. She had argued that she should learn to defend herself dressed like she usually did, since the odds were much higher she would have to defend herself against attack in her usual garb.
Okay. You were right, she heard in the back of her mind. For some reason, Caleb’s grumbling thought helped ease her escalating fear.
Eloy made another attempt with the dagger. She saw he was again trying to get her to move away from Quincy so that he could get to the Corgloresti. Since Quincy was still on the ground, probably too weak to stand, she pulled back instead of to the side. The dagger sliced through the top layer of skin along her waist, but otherwise did no damage. As he followed through with the strike, she lashed out with her forearm and caught him on the back of the neck. He stumbled under the force of the blow, but quickly regained his position facing her.
This could continue all day. She didn’t have all day.
She started doing what she could to build a store of energy, thinking she would fling everything she could at him. Hopefully it would at least knock him unconscious.
He continued to circle. She planted herself in front of Quincy, tired of trying to anticipate the Mercesti’s next move. She just wanted him to get on with it.
“You are rather brave, I will give you that,” he said. “Foolish, though.”
She registered the flick of his hand this time and threw herself to the floor even as her family’s warnings sounded in her head. The handful of metal discs he had pulled from his belt zipped toward her. Several of them clanked into the stone where her head had been. Another one sliced along her left shoulder blade and the bare skin of her back. The resulting blaze of pain made her cry out. She again tried to buffer as much of it as she could from her family even as she commanded her limbs to move.
But before she could get to her feet, Eloy had her by the hair, pulling her across the room and away from Quincy.
“Let her go!” she heard Quincy yell angrily, his chains rattling.
The pain in her scalp was mild compared to the fire in her neck and back, but she wasn’t worried about the pain. She was worried about how hindered she was. She fought to get some kind of balance as Eloy pulled her across the floor. She couldn’t help but remember Caleb’s cautionary words about her hair being used as a weapon against her. He always insisted she wear it up when they trained. It appeared he had been right.
Desperate, she flung out the holy light she had stored.
Eloy shouted at the pain, but didn’t let go of her. “You know, I think I am beginning to enjoy that,” he said. “You are so very pure, are you not?”
Then he tugged viciously again, causing her to lose the stability she had gained. As she again sprawled on the ground, she felt him gather more of her hair around his fist. She sensed Caleb’s thoughts and knew he was afraid the Mercesti would yank her head back and cut her throat. Her arms flailed ineffectively as she tried to brace herself against attack.
Quincy continued to shout, doing what he could to try and draw Eloy’s attention. She scrambled to get her legs underneath her so she could yank herself from the Mercesti’s grasp. But he shoved her to the ground on her stomach, planting his boot on her back to hold her down, knocking the air from her lungs.
“Really a shame,” he said emotionlessly. “Such beautiful hair.”
And then he used his dagger to slice right through it.
Caleb froze in numb disbelief.
He had cut her hair.
The stream of dark and fluent curses that flashed through his mind then would have made ears bleed if he had uttered them out loud. He felt the equal shock and fury of his family roll through him as they absorbed what had just happened. Olivia was crying.
Get up! Caleb ordered Skye, the cold fury rushing through him finally pushing through his debilitating fear for her. His hands are full. Get up!
She obeyed him. She rolled to her right, toward Quincy and out from under Eloy’s boot.
Cast a light. Find the discs he threw.
Again, she did exactly as he said. He felt her holding tightly onto her composure as she tossed a ball of bright light toward the ceiling. He also felt how the action cost her precious energy. Because Eloy was forced to shield his eyes, she hurried toward the edges of the cell where she had heard the discs strike the ground. Trusting Quincy would warn her if she was in immediate danger, she slid her hand along the ground and very quickly found three of the weapons. The light gleamed dully on the black discs as she scooped them up.
“Skye!”
She rolled again upon hearing Quincy’s warning, this time rolling more than once in an attempt to get some distance from Eloy. The Mercesti stepped on her skirt to stop her progress.
Your comb, Caleb thought quickly.
She reached up, pulled the silver comb from what was left of her hair, and jammed it with all of her strength into Eloy’s thigh.
He screeched with pain and retreated.
She got quickly to her feet. Eloy stood between her and Quincy now, but he was facing her. She just had to keep his focus on her and off the Corgloresti, Caleb thought.
The discs aren’t sharp after connecting with the wall, she thought. He sensed her panic. They’re not going to kill him.
Don’t worry, he thought back with absolute certainty. Just get him to the ground.
Trusting him and following her own instincts, she sent forth another small burst of light. Eloy took a protective step back. Then he lifted his hand and waved a taunting finger back and forth. She saw he still had her hair in his hand. The sight enraged her.
Motivated by righteous anger, she lifted the discs and flung them with undeniable skill. Only one of them hit Eloy, but then, she hadn’t been trying to hit him. She had been trying to get him to duck.
Duck he did. He fell to the ground much as she had to avoid the flying weapons. He was fairly successful.
Unfortunately for him, he hadn’t considered his proximity to Quincy.
The Corgloresti quite calmly reached out, grabbed Eloy by his head and broke his neck.
Skye fought the pain and exhaustion that threatened to overtake her. The sound of Eloy’s neck breaking had been rather grotesque. But she somehow couldn’t stop the feeling of relief and even joy she experienced as the Mercesti’s dead body sprawled on the floor.
She caught Quincy’s silver gaze. “Well done,” she said.
He just continued to stare at her. Deciding he was probably still in a great deal of pain, if her own unabated agony was any indication, she limped across the cell, then plopped down right beside him. She considered kicking Eloy’s corpse for good measure, but decided to take the high road.
“You came for me,” Quincy said when she was settled beside him.
“Sure.”
He remained silent for another long moment. Then he caught her gaze. “I can never begin to repay you.”
She waved a hand dismissively as another wave of pain shot through her. She barely refrained from grimacing. “Don’t be silly, Quincy. Friends don’t have to repay friends. It’s kind of a rule.”
“You lost your hair.”
She felt different pain slice through her at the reminder, but pushed it aside. “So did you. It’ll grow back, right? For now, I’m more concerned about having the ability to get us both out of here.”
“You need my assistance?”
She nodded. “I’m sure we Corgloresti can handle this. Transitioning is what we do. I don’t think I can manage to get us both through the protections around Central this way, but we can get out of here, at least.”
They sat quietly for another couple of minutes. She closed her eyes and focused. It was incredibly challenging with the truly absurd amount of pain radiating through her neck and back. Fortunately, her energy recycled itself rather quickly, especially with her family pushing what they could toward her. She sensed when it was time.
Nodding again, she reached over and took Quincy’s hands. “We’re going to the meadow now. Exactly where I was standing when you first saw me in the dream. It’ll be dark…night.”
“I understand.”
Amber, she thought as she centered herself. You saw the discs?
Yes.
Okay. I’ll see you soon right?
We’re already on the way.
Skye took a deep breath, forcing herself into a calm, meditative state. She held Quincy’s gaze. She felt her power build. Then she closed her eyes for a moment and released it.