“Why not invite us all?” I wondered.
“Because the Valley needs what Fern is. We need the witch.”
Fern glanced away and swallowed, looking troubled.
Neither one of them looked like they wanted to say more on the subject, though. I remembered what Sirris had said before they’d arrived and cut her off.
It wasn’t easy to concentrate, what with the swirling water shoving my body in Nick’s direction, brushing my arm against his. My fingers were like claws beneath the water, holding my traitorous body in place.
“What were you saying earlier, Sirris? What news?”
A niggling sense of dread filled me. Sirris, usually the happy, effervescent one of the bunch, was anything but. I looked closer at the fine lines of worry that bracketed her mouth and furrowed her brow. Sirris was nervous.
“I’ve been called home,” she murmured.
We stared at her? “Jerry wants to see you?” I asked in confusion.
She sighed and her lashes fell forward to conceal her expression. “No, my grandfather wants to see me. On my mother’s side? I have to go home to Deep Lake.”
I still wasn’t sure I understood what she was getting at. Sirris had a remarkably close relationship with her father, but she never talked about her mother or her maternal side of the family. I’d wondered why, but I hadn’t pushed her for an explanation. I knew it was something she didn’t like to talk about.
Beside her, Thomas was stirring uncomfortably and suddenly looking anything but angry. Instead, for the first time in as long as I could remember, Thomas Tuttle looked scared.
Did he fear she wouldn’t come back? Or that they wouldn’t let her?
“Is that unusual? For them to do that, I mean?”
Sirris nodded. “My grandfather is King there. When he passes, the throne would have abdicated to my mother, but she died years ago. That leaves my sisters and I as the surviving line to the throne. I’m the oldest. They haven’t said why they want me back, exactly. I guess I’ll find out.” She tried to smile as she finished, but it came out more as a grimace.
Thomas reached over and snagged her hand, holding it tight enough to make her wince at his grip.
“How long will you be gone?”
She answered us all, but her eyes were intent on Thomas when she spoke. “I don’t know. My home is here, with all of you and my father. But the Mermaid world holds to its own set of rules. I’ll be back as soon as they let me leave.”
“I’d feel better if I was with you.” Thomas admitted, frowning.
Sirris snorted, some of her humor returning as she gave a twist of her tail, slapping the water and drenching us all amid shouts and curses.
She waggled her tail, the iridescent scales catching every bit of light and sparkling in the dim cave. “Mermaid, remember? None of you can come with me for this, not unless you have a mind to sprout fins and a tail. Nope, this one is all me.”
“Doesn’t mean I have to like it.” Thomas growled flatly.
“None of us do.” I added.
Sirris sat quietly biting her lip and said nothing more.
CHAPTER FOUR
Elise pulled her mount to a halt along the ridge, the animal’s breath frosting the air as it snorted and pawed the earth, sides lathered and heaving. Emerald pull in beside. They’d ridden them as hard as they dared, the horror of the night before pulling at Elise, threatening to shut her down. She turned to her daughter beside her. That was what kept her moving, maintained her sanity. Emerald mattered now. They had to get somewhere safe and regroup. There had to be something they could do, some way to reverse the madness that had overtaken Wyndoor Castle.
She’d only known of one place they could go, and still they had resisted. She wasn’t exactly on good terms with her grandfather. He was and always had been old school. Too harsh and exacting for the free spirit that his granddaughter, and later great granddaughter exhibited.
Emerald stared down into the small valley of caves and wooded crevices that bisected the craggy wasteland below them. Seemed like nothing more than a welcome refuge for Juggat Dragons to her.
“Why here? I see nothing of use mother,” she noted in a whisper. She struggled to put the last view of her father, mad with insanity and rage as he leaned over the balcony and watched them flee, out of her mind. She’d prayed her premonition was wrong, that things would unfold differently than they had.
Elise sighed, and found the nearly invisible trail that led down and ahead, walking the shuddering bay. “It’s here. Grandfather is clever. He likes to hide in plain sight,” she added dryly.
Emerald reached along the wet hide of her buckskin gelding. She’d finally run all the sass out of him. She gave him a good scratch, crooning in his ear.
As they neared the bottom, more trails and signs of habitation, though slight, made themselves known in the trampled greenery and the scuffed prints that marred the dusty earth if one looked close.
Elise pulled to a halt and dismounted, tying her mount to a low bush. Emerald followed suit.
Elise knew their presence was already being observed. She’d felt the weight of eyes on her person long before they’d crested the ridge. Her grandfather’s sentries were good at their job.
Her destination was the yawning hole in the side of the earth that from anywhere but directly on was nearly invisible. But as they grew closer, the entrance to the cave grew wider. Together they crossed the thresh-hold from the light of mid-morning to the gloom of thick shadows that moved along the slick wet walls of the cavern. Without pausing, they moved deeper.
“They are watching us,” Emerald observed, her senses open and aware.
“Yes, they are trying to decide whether we are worth killing.”
Instead of scaring her, Emerald gave a short laugh. “Please, bedtime stories and I am not a child,” she protested.
Elise slanted a quizzical look in her daughter’s direction. Well, in fact, that was exactly what she was. But Emerald didn’t act like one, on that they both agreed.
Louder, she spoke to the dark corners. “You can come out you know; I can smell you from here.” She taunted.
After a brief pause, several sentries fell away from their hiding places and fell in step without another word behind them. The closest spoke without smiling. “What do you want from Morei?” he asked.
She returned his look. “That is not any of your business. My conversation is with my grandfather, not you Arret.” His eyes slid behind her, falling on Emerald, who at nine, barely reached Elise’s shoulder.
“How old is she, anyway? She was born, what, less than a year ago? I’d heard that birthlings grew fast…” He implied.
Emerald gave him a frosty glance of her own. “She is nearing ten. Good enough to deal with the likes of you.”
Elise nodded, a small smile tipping the corner of her mouth for what seemed like the first time in days. “That’s true; their attitude keeps up.”
He nodded with a small smile of his own, glancing at the stiff youngster next to him, “Obviously.”
The next corner opened up into a massive space, impossible to imagine if you weren’t standing in the middle of it. The limestone ceiling rose several stories into the air, and the cavern itself was easily the size of a canyon.
Taking up center stage was a small castle, a miniature version of her home, but more suitable for a fraction of the numbers housed in hers. Elise had heard about its construction, following the fiasco that was Will Bennett and the Demon wolves in the past year. Morei had discovered the immense cave system while hiding and trying to keep his people alive. After, he’d stayed, stating he needed something more secluded.
Taking in the dark contours of the massive stone structure in the middle of the earth, she imagined he’d gotten his wish.
“Well, now that’s just outstanding.” Emerald breathed in childlike wonder.
She moved forward, moving onto the narrow stone bridge that spanned the space between the edge of the canyon and the s
mall castle perched atop a massive stone abutment in the middle. A deep abyss surrounded it on three sides.
Others joined them on the bridge and by the time they had reached the enormous doors, they were part of a sizable entourage.
The doors swung open at their approach. Morei himself stood in the small courtyard and awaited their arrival.
“Well now granddaughter, to what do I owe the honor of your presence?” His words were addressed to Elise, but his eyes never left his great granddaughter. It was the first time he’d seen her.
Elise ground her teeth; the sound audible in the vast chamber of echoes. “You know very well why I am here. Don’t presume to play dumb with me. I know your spies have kept you well informed.”
His eyes burned red for a second as his mouth tightened in disapproval. He acknowledged her response with a brief tip of his head, pivoting on his heel and striding down the cobblestoned sidewalk to the front door of the inner castle. “That is true. Still, last I knew you were safe with that husband of yours in your apartment…”
“His name is Jorta. And whatever has afflicted the rest of the castle’s vampires has now attacked him and Ab’et as well. We are here… we had nowhere else to go.”
Other than a small hitch in his stride, it was as if he hadn’t heard her at all. He continued on.
“I see. Well, that is… unfortunate.” His voice said otherwise. Morei had never considered Jorta to be good enough for her.
Elise swallowed the panic that threatened. But Jorta had been everything to her. She moved past the crippling pain of his loss.
Beside her, Emerald walked. Tears tracked her cheeks, her only outward sign of emotion.
“You are welcome to stay here, of course. Are the two of you hungry?” he continued.
“Not for blood, we ate before we left. Besides, Emerald needs AB negative. Me too, ever since her birth. I doubt you have anyone donating that, voluntary or otherwise,” she taunted.
He scoffed, waiving his hand idly in the air. “All voluntary anymore. I’m getting soft. As for the other. Not a lot, but I have some if you need it.” Morei glanced back at her as they entered the castle foyer and moved down the hall towards the library, where he spent most of his time.
Sentries closed the doors behind them and stood guard stoically, one to each side. Exhausted, Emerald and Elise took a seat on the couch. Morei moved to the small bar, lifting a decanter of well-aged bourbon and pouring a stiff shot for Elise and himself.
Elise took the proffered drink and took a sip, relishing the burn. Emerald drank deep from the tumbler of water he handed her.
“I’m not giving up. It’s not in my nature. There has to be something we can do, some way to reverse whatever’s doing this.”
“What if there isn’t?” he countered, downing the first drink and pouring a second. He wouldn’t get drunk, no matter how much he drank. A perk of being centuries old. He considered the amber liquid. Or a downfall.
“How easy you give up when it’s not important to you grandfather.” Elise shot back.
He sighed, “No, I’m simply practical. You are safe here and both of you are welcome to stay as long as you need.”
Elise nodded, tucking her daughter in close as she closed her eyes. At her age, midmorning came with a long nap and she was missing hers. “For a spell, yes. Until we figure out what we are going to do. But I wouldn’t count on being as protected here as you think. What’s happened at the castle… it’s out of control and spreading. Who knows how far it will go.
“I’m not worried. I’ve lived through worse. Any idea what might be behind it? What’s causing it?”
Elise thought back to what she knew. “Not sure. I thought the wine maybe, at first. Easy to poison, and everyone drinking it. Only… I got to thinking. The last thing Ab’et drank wasn’t from the wine cellars. Jorta too. Right before things went to hell, Marta brought us dinner. Jorta hadn’t eaten in over a week, and he partook of a glass.” Elise frowned. “But we drank ours too, and so far I feel fine. Emerald too.”
“So, we aren’t sure what’s causing it then,” he mused, taking her empty glass and setting them both down.
“It must be something with the blood supply, but I don’t see how,” Elise whispered, closing her eyes as weariness moved through her. She didn’t remember daytime affecting her so, but then she found that grief could be exhausting.
#
Two days later Elise made the announcement over supper. “We need to talk to the scientist. We need to go to Bitterroot, cross over into the other dimension. He can figure this out..”
Morei’s fork hit the table with a clatter of cutlery on fine china, the table shuddering as his fist followed.
“That’s insane! I forbid it!” he roared. “Crossing the plains with a child alone is suicide. What; do you think if the Juggat’s eat you, you won’t die because you are vampire? You are next in line to inherit the throne and you have a child to think about,” he finished.
Emerald looked up from her second plate of fresh vegetables. “No, it’s the right move. I think we’ll be fine.”
Morei stared at Elise’s daughter like she’d sprouted two heads. “What? And you know this how?”
Emerald shrugged, “I see things is all. Not sure how it works. Can you pass the butter, oh, and the decanter of water?”
Brows nearly meeting in the middle, he nodded to the young attendant who complied.
He stared at Elise. “You’ll never make it. Say you somehow get past those bastards, they sealed the portal, or have you forgotten that detail? I don’t see how you could have, you watched them do it from the other side—we all did.
Emerald poured a drizzle of butter over her steamed produce and took a huge bite. She waited until she swallowed to answer, pulling her great grandfather’s attention. “There’s another one. I saw it… well, sorta. But it’s there. I think I can find it.”
Morei’s mouth opened and then closed. He shook his head. “Maybe there is such a thing as too old. I’m not even going to ask.” He turned to Elise once more with a put-upon sigh.
“I can get you to the border, maybe. I’ll send a small detail with you. Once there? You’re on your own. I hope Emerald’s right and she can find a way to cross. And what then? Don’t forget the bounty on your head, literally. You barely escaped the first time.”
Elise swallowed the fear. “I know. But it’s the only thing I can think of to do.”
“Then let me give you something else to think on. Go see this Jerry, the scientist. Tell him what you know and maybe he’ll have insight into what has happened. But Jerry won’t know how to fight it. For that you’ll need someone else with experience dealing with hungry vampires—and Juggat Dragons. You need to go see Sadie Cross and whoever else of that group she hangs with you might find. If she hesitates, remind her she owes me big time. See if that sways her stubborn self.
“And one more thing. Do me a huge favor and don’t get yourselves killed; can you do that?”
Elise gave her grandfather the briefest of smiles. “I can try.”
“We need to hurry.” Emerald stated flatly, mounting her buckskin Daisy and pulling the reins around when he threatened to bolt beneath her.
Elise looked at her daughter sharply. Morei stood in the yard watching them prepare to leave. Dusk had fallen but was not yet complete.
Five others mounted with them; sentries Morei was sending along as added muscle as far as the border and the portal that Emerald insisted was there.
“Something coming, daughter?” Elise asked.
Emerald frowned at her mother as she swung into the saddle, “Don’t know. Maybe… we need to be away from here. That’s right.” Emerald stared down at her great grandfather. “I’m glad I could meet you. I wish I’d had more time to get to know you better.”
Morei nodded at his great granddaughter. “We will. There’s time.”
Emerald didn’t answer, her mount dancing sideways as she turned to follow the rest of the group, pick
ing up the pace. They were at a gallop by the time they cleared the gate and entered the long bridge leading out. Perhaps their mounts sensed the urgency as well. They moved left to make room for three incoming sentries that passed them in an equal hurry coming in. A whisper of unease brushed Emerald’s mind as they passed by.
We need to go faster.
#
In a grove of angle berry trees, they stopped for a brief break to spare the horses and water them at the small creek that passed through the short straggly trees. They had already crossed the first open area without incident. They’d been lucky.
The sentries kept careful watch, not letting down their guard. Vampire or no, none of them were any match for a Juggat Dragon, or a marauding pack of Weis cats. Either could ruin their day.
Elise watched Emerald as she wandered off a piece to do her business, the reins of her horse dangling off her fingers. She frowned when Emerald emerged from the bushes and paused, staring up and to her left. Her lips curved in a slight smile as she talked… to herself? Elise watched as she continued to carry on a complete conversation, seemingly to thin air. There was nothing there. A niggling worry brushed over her. Was Emerald losing it? She’d been through a lot, the attacks, losing her father… the crazy bid for freedom that had brought them to this point.
At her approach, Elise couldn’t resist. “Did he answer back?” she teased.
Emerald shot her a startled look. “What?”
“Whoever you were talking to? Daisy perhaps? Did he answer back?”
A secretive grin tilted the corners of her lips. “Um, sure. He always answers me.”
Elise stared after her daughter as she led her thirsty mount to take a final drink. How come she had the distinct impression that she’d missed something vital?
“Time to mount up.” Arret announced, reining his own mount around and pointing him down the path towards the next and last open area they would need to cross.
The others followed suit, looking to Arret. He gave a nod and urged his mount forward.
Rule 9 Academy Series Boxset: Books 3-5 Young Adult Paranormal Fantasy (Rule 9 Academy Box Sets (3 Book Series) 2) Page 29