by Amy C. Blake
“It could be where Deceptor is waiting for Miss Nydia to bring Sara.” Monica’s voice trembled.
“Then we’d better get her now.” Trevor started to rise.
“Hold on.” Levi pulled him back down and turned to Lucien. “What should we do? Is Deceptor watching for us? Should we get Sara now?”
“I do not know.” Lucien’s smile twisted. “I told you I am not all-knowing. I am merely here to lend you a comforting presence from the Almighty. You must choose your own course of action.” He leaned closer to Levi, the smile vanishing. “Think. What ought you to do?”
Levi scowled. What good was an angel sent to lend a comforting presence? They needed real help.
His eyes shot to the clearing as Miss Nydia gave Sara a vicious yank toward the dark hole. Sobbing through her gag, Sara stumbled. Rage bubbled in Levi’s stomach. He couldn’t wait any longer. He couldn’t let Miss Nydia drag Sara into that black hole.
Sword high, he shoved through the trees. “Stop!”
Both females turned at his bellow. Sara let out a muffled yelp. Nydia snarled like an angry cat.
“What are you doing here, boy?” Nydia drew a long knife from her belt. “You should’ve stayed at camp.”
Levi sensed movement on either side and knew his friends had joined him. He didn’t look away from his opponent though, even when it was clear from Miss Nydia’s startled, upraised eyes that Lucien stood behind him.
“Why are you doing this, Miss Nydia?” Monica pleaded from Levi’s right. “We trusted you. Sara trusted you. How can you betray her?”
The elf’s eyes shifted to Monica. “You don’t understand. I have no choice.”
“But, why?” Trevor’s harsh voice cut in from Levi’s left. “Think about your parents. You’re shaming them.” The elf shot Trevor a stricken look, at least until he continued. “What about Sara’s parents? They’ll be crushed if something happens to her.”
At the mention of the Dominics, Miss Nydia’s jaw jutted. “I hope they are. He deserves the pain, and I hope it kills her!”
Sara’s head shot up.
“How can you say that?” Levi demanded. “They treated you like family.” The insanity in Miss Nydia’s eyes made his skin clammy.
Miss Nydia released a cold laugh. “Family? I was supposed to marry Tobias, not her. He loved me and she stole him. But now . . .” She glanced over her shoulder at the yawning cave. “Now I will get the desires of my heart, desires I’ve been denied for over a century.”
Panic rippled through Levi’s veins, but he kept his voice rational. “If you’re mad at Sara’s parents, how can you take it out on her?” He darted glances around the area. He had to keep the crazy woman talking, buy some time. He inched nearer Sara, eased between her and the cave.
“Oh, but Sara won’t be hurt. He promised.” Nydia patted the weeping girl’s head. “I know she’ll be sad over her mother’s death for a time, but soon she’ll get over her grief.” The elf’s smile turned sappy. “She’ll have her father and me, after all. We’ll be the family we always should’ve been.”
Levi drew back a step. This woman was a nutcase—one who was again pulling Sara toward that black hole. “Wait a minute,” he said, fighting panic. “Let’s talk about this.”
“Enough talk! Get out of my way.” Nydia shoved past him.
Sara dug in her heels, straining the rope taut.
Levi leapt forward and slashed the rope. He snatched Sara’s arm and flung her behind him, hoping Trevor or Monica would catch her.
Whirling, Miss Nydia raised her arm. The cut rope dangled. Rabid fury blazed through her eyes. Though someone moved behind him, Levi didn’t dare look away from the elf.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” she purred even as her nostrils flared. She raised her knife and advanced slowly on him.
Levi spread his legs and raised his sword. Why did his first real battle have to be against a girl?
Miss Nydia flung herself at him, her knife leveled at his chest. He swiped wildly with his sword, deflecting at the last second. As the ring of metal filled his ears, Levi whirled and steadied himself. She was stronger than she looked. When she came at him again, this time swinging for his head, his attempt to parry failed. If her aim had been better, she’d have slit his throat.
Rage burned away his last bit of hesitancy. Who cared if she was a woman? She was trying to kill him. He swung at her.
Miss Nydia easily blocked Levi’s strike. “You irritating boy. Always interfering—just like your namesake.”
Distracted by her words, he faltered.
But she didn’t attack. Her feral eyes moved to something beyond his left shoulder. “Never try to outwit Deceptor or his servants.” A slow smile spread across Miss Nydia’s face, a smile that made cold sweat dribble down Levi’s back. “Because it never works.”
Scalp prickling, Levi glanced back. What he saw felt like a physical blow.
Eyes glittering with malice, Lucien squeezed Sara in a grip so tight it made her eyes bulge. When she finally stopped struggling, he stroked her cheek with a single white forefinger. One of her tears coursed down his finger and dropped to the ground where Trevor and Monica lay face-down, bound and gagged.
“Lucien?” Levi’s sword drooped. “What’re you doing? You told us you were an angel sent to help us. You’re . . . you’re . . .”
A cold smile lit upon Lucien’s lips. “Deceptor?” He shrugged a massive shoulder, amusement in his icy gaze. “I lied to you. That’s what I do.”
A deranged giggle whirled Levi around. He’d forgotten the elf. Her knife sliced into his left shoulder.
Levi gasped as numbness trickled down his arm. A sharp stinging soon replaced the numbness. He managed to hang on to his sword with his right hand, but he wasn’t sure he could fight. He bit his tongue against the pain. His eyes darted between Miss Nydia and Deceptor.
He couldn’t think of a single move that would get them out of this alive.
Chapter 44
Weakness
“We have them, master,” Miss Nydia said in an oily tone. “Now we can take Sara to the castle and trade her for her mother. Then I can take my rightful place as its mistress.”
Deceptor sneered. “No, elf, now I can kill her and her friends, and when the Dominics come looking for their child, I’ll kill them and take my rightful place as Prince of Terracaelum.”
Levi’s heart froze. How could he have ever believed a schoolyard bully like Hunter was this . . . monster? His friends and Mr. Dominic had tried to tell him. Why hadn’t he listened? Why had he led his friends straight into a trap, thinking he, a stupid, undersized kid, could rescue Sara? Now they were all going to die, and it was all his fault.
“You promised!” Miss Nydia’s eyes bugged. A nerve twitched in her right lid. “You said if I helped you, you’d give me what I want.”
“You’ll be grateful if I let you live.” Deceptor’s lip curled. “Now deal with the boy.” He turned and set Sara on the ground with the others.
God, please, I’m an idiot. I don’t deserve it, but please help!
The elf closed in on Levi. Before she reached him, an idea rose in his mind.
“He lied to you, Miss Nydia,” Levi breathed.
She hesitated, eyes flitting to his, and his heart skittered. “Now he’s going to destroy Sara,” he whispered. “You know you love her more than anything else.” He glanced at Deceptor, who was binding Sara’s ankles. He had maybe a few seconds. His eyes flicked back to Miss Nydia. “He plans to kill Mr. Dominic. Probably you too.”
Miss Nydia speared Deceptor with a look of pure hatred. Hope surged through Levi. Maybe this would work. But then the elf pressed her lips into a hard line and reached for Levi’s sword. “Shut up, boy.”
His hopes crashed.
No, he couldn’t give up. “If you both survive,” Levi breathed, talking fast, “you know Sara’s dad will never forgive you. It won’t matter that you did all of this out of love for him. He’ll despise you.”
Tears flooded her eyes, and her hand drifted back to her side. Without his sword. She again turned hard eyes on Deceptor.
“Why haven’t you killed him, elf?” Deceptor’s words stabbed like icicles.
The ring of metal warned Levi the sorcerer had drawn his sword from its scabbard. He whirled around. Deceptor lunged, his blade a blinding flash of silver. At the last possible second, Levi feinted left and swiped with his sword. It clanged against Deceptor’s blade, jarring Levi’s arm so hard he thought his shoulder might be dislocated.
With a desperate prayer, Levi twirled right and struck again. This time Deceptor’s laughter rang out louder than the clank of his blocked strike. Both arms shaking from the pressure of blade on blade, Levi stared into the laughing face above him. A drop of sweat trickled into one eye. He didn’t dare blink.
He’d thought fighting Hunter was horrible. This was David and Goliath for real. Except this time Mr. Dominic wasn’t around to rescue Levi from the giant. Levi’s left arm burned in agony. His right arm trembled. With the utmost casualness, Deceptor pressed Levi’s blade backward inch by inch, making it clear he could crush him with ease whenever he chose.
He should just give up and die. He deserved it. He was such a weak fool. I’m sorry, God.
A muffled moan from one of his friends brought tears to his eyes. God, they’ll die too. Forgive me! Help us!
The tiniest breeze touched his face. My strength is made perfect in weakness echoed through his mind.
With all of his might, Levi pressed his sword against Deceptor’s. But it was like trying to push the entire island. His last vestiges of strength drained away. I’m weak, God. I can’t beat Deceptor. Please . . .
Just as his trembling arms gave way, something shoved him from the side. His sword separated from the shape-shifter’s with a clank. As he fell, Levi watched Miss Nydia run full-force into Deceptor, burying her knife to the hilt in his exposed belly. Deceptor’s laughter ended in a shriek. He doubled over but didn’t fall.
“You will not harm my Sara.” Nydia’s face shone with the fierceness of an eagle protecting her eaglets.
“Fool.” Deceptor rose to full height and sliced his blade across Nydia’s throat. She crumpled to the dirt.
Levi scrambled between his friends and Deceptor, shoved himself upright on wobbly legs. He could barely raise his sword. Deceptor hobbled toward Sara with a hungry look in his eyes. A silvery substance oozed from his wound.
“You can’t have her!” Levi surprised himself with his forceful bellow. No way could he defeat Deceptor, even with the wound. “God, please, you have to stop him.”
Deceptor lifted hate-filled eyes. “I am lord of Terracaelum.” His sword quivered, poised for attack.
A fierce wind blasted the forest, leaving a perfect circle of calm around Levi and his friends. Trees swayed as if battered by a hurricane. Deceptor sank to his knees under the blast. He tried to rise, tried to lurch toward Levi with sword raised. But the wind flung him to the dirt and pressed him flat. In slow motion, Deceptor crawled toward the cave on his belly like a half-frozen snake.
With a final, high-pitched howl, the demon disappeared into the black pit.
The wind died instantly.
My strength is made perfect in weakness hung in the silent air.
Chapter 45
Journey’s End
For a second, Levi stood there blinking. Had that really just happened?
As his astonishment faded, his gaze roved the clearing. What should he do now? Follow Deceptor into that terrifying cave and try to finish him off? He sure didn’t want to, but was it the right thing to do? Someone whimpered in the huddle of bodies on the ground, and he let out a relieved breath. He couldn’t go after Deceptor. His friends needed him.
He bent and cut their bonds. While they removed their gags, he hurried to the fallen elf, yanking off his shirt as he went. Maybe it wasn’t too late to stop her bleeding and save her life.
When Levi knelt beside her, he saw she was dead. His throat closed and tears pricked his eyes. Even though Miss Nydia had tricked them, she’d been tricked as well—first, apparently, by Sara’s parents, then by her own mind, and finally by Deceptor.
A soft thump pulled his eyes from the elf. Beside him, Sara huddled over Miss Nydia, weeping in silence. He put his arm around her shoulders and felt her tremble. Her skin was so cold. Why hadn’t he brought along a jacket?
A sense of failure weighed on him. How could anything he might say console Sara in this horrible situation? He finally murmured the only thing he could come up with. “She died protecting you, Sara.”
Trevor stood rigid near Miss Nydia’s head, fists jammed into his hips, face livid. “Yeah, after she dragged Sara out here in the first place! It’s her fault Sara—and all of us—almost died.”
Levi sighed. He was too tired to feel angry. “I think she regretted it in the end.”
Trevor made a sound in his throat, almost a growl. Was he going to kick her dead body?
Levi met Trevor’s eyes. “We should forgive her. She paid with her life.”
Monica came up on Sara’s other side and hugged her, gently rocking and quietly shushing. The act reminded Levi so much of his mom that his stomach ached. With a sigh, he pulled his shirt back over his head.
His gaze drifted toward the cave where Deceptor had disappeared. He shook his head, blinked, squinted. “The cave’s gone.” Hefting his sword, he moved cautiously to the spot he’d last seen it.
Trevor followed. “It was there a minute ago. I saw that foul creature go inside.”
“Yeah, me too.” He shook his head. “It’s definitely gone. Did you see—” He wanted to ask Trevor if he’d seen the whole windstorm thing, but Trevor had already started back to the girls.
“We have to get them back to the castle,” he said to Levi over his shoulder. “Everybody’s probably going crazy trying to find us.”
Levi nodded. He’d think about the windstorm later. For now he was simply thankful they’d all survived. Well, almost all. He cocked his chin toward Miss Nydia’s body. “We have to figure out a way to get her back.”
“Why bother?” Trevor’s voice turned brittle. “Let the animals have her.”
Levi frowned. He understood Trevor’s anger to a degree, but how could they just leave her? Her parents deserved a chance to say goodbye. “No. We’ll take her home.”
Though clearly not happy, Trevor carried Miss Nydia’s upper body while Levi carried her feet. Monica led the way, helping Sara while trying to follow their trail from earlier. Before long, Levi felt sure they were walking in circles. Every tree looked the same, every bit of underbrush dark and shadowy. Miss Nydia, although light, weighed heavier and heavier as the night passed. Levi’s body ached. The congealed cut on his left shoulder ripped open and seeped hot blood. Still, he didn’t complain. Monica was doing her best.
As dawn poked tiny holes in the darkness, he heard voices calling their names.
“Here!” His voice came out a croak.
The sound of tramping feet neared, and a lump formed in Levi’s gut. He stared down at the small ankles he clasped, ankles now cold and stiff, and thought of how devastated his parents would’ve been if the dead body had been his. What if the person approaching was one of the Sylvesters? Would he have to watch Miss Nydia’s mom or dad cry over her?
The mere idea made him want to hide.
But it wouldn’t be right to let Sara and Monica face whoever it was first. What if Deceptor had somehow healed himself and was even now tricking them? Not likely, but . . .
“Trevor.” Levi jutted his chin toward the girls, who’d paused ahead of them on the trail. “We need to get in front.”
Trevor nodded. The two moved up the trail, and the girls stepped back into the shadows. As the bushes in front of him quivered, Levi angled his body to better hide the elf’s. He’d break the news gently, the way he’d want someone to do for his own parents.
When Mr. Dominic appeared betwe
en the branches, Levi blew out a relieved breath. As the director strode into the clearing, a scabbard strapped to his back, his eyes locked on Levi’s. Levi watched the man’s gaze flick to the body. The blood drained from the director’s face, and he pushed past Levi. Only then did Levi realize Mr. Dominic thought he and Trevor carried Sara. As Mr. Dominic caught sight of Miss Nydia’s face, his fearful expression shifted to one of relief, then to deep sorrow.
The undergrowth rustled as Dr. Baldwin joined them. “Who is it?” The doctor’s voice quavered as he stopped beside Levi.
“Nydia Sylvester,” Levi said hoarsely. Now that adults had arrived to take the burden, exhaustion threatened to press him into the ground.
“Daddy?” Sara’s quiet voice came from the shadows.
“Sara!” Face crumpling, Mr. Dominic rushed over and scooped her into his arms. “My baby girl, are you all right?”
“It was Miss Nydia, Daddy.” Sara pulled back and looked into his eyes. “She tricked me.” Tears streaked her dirty face. “How could she do that?”
Mr. Dominic’s face was gray as he patted her back. He squeezed his eyes shut tight. A moment later, he opened them. “I should’ve realized.”
“She saved us in the end though, sir.” Somehow this fact was crucial to Levi. Bad as Miss Nydia’s actions had been, he didn’t want anyone to think the worst of her. “She stabbed Deceptor to help us escape.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “Then he killed her.”
Dr. Baldwin squeezed Levi’s shoulder.
Mr. Dominic scrubbed a hand over his face. “We should get back to the castle and signal that you’re found.” He kissed Sara’s brow. “Your mother’s frantic for you, little one. Let’s get you home to her so she can fuss over you.”
Sara gave him a tiny smile. He set her on her feet and turned to Levi and Trevor. Drawing in a pained breath, Mr. Dominic took the elf’s body. Levi felt strange without the burden, relieved to have it lifted, but guilty too, as if he should take it back and carry it to the castle himself.