“No.” Her skin chilled at the very thought of him going in alone. “You aren’t here to confront him. We’re doing as much scouting as we can without being caught, and then we’re heading back to Moranaia to report.”
He was quiet for so long she wasn’t certain he was going to answer. “But we could find out a lot if I pretend to join him.”
“I said no. And I have seniority.” Inona reached out and poked him with her finger, but he only smirked at her again. She sighed. “Think. Allafon might have used you for your talents. What if Kien’s goal is the same? He must have chosen to approach you for some reason.”
That erased Delbin’s smug look. “Good point.”
“We’re getting close, I think.” Inona tugged at his wrist until he stopped. “We need to switch places. I’m trained to navigate the forest without a trail, so I’ll do better in the lead. You cast about us for signs of life. Unless scouting is another skill of yours?”
He gestured at the woods. “Lead away, my lady.”
Inona rolled her eyes at him as she passed, but she couldn’t hold back a smile. His good humor was contagious. But he’d had opportunity enough to cultivate it, considering all he’d been through from such a young age. Sixteen. She shook her head as she ducked between the trees. Criminally young.
The moonlight barely trickled through the thick trees overhead, but it was enough. Inona led them steadily through the underbrush, heading ever closer to the source of the pulsing magic. Each throb was more erratic than the last, a heart struggling to control its blood. It was far from normal. Earth in particular had steady, reliable magic, if much less than that of Moranaia and most of the fae dimensions.
This fractured energy was no coincidence.
Inona stopped abruptly at the sight of a small clearing that ended in the wall of a short ridge. Flickering light caught her eye, and she peered at the stone wall. A slit about half again her height glowed softly—an entrance. Although caves were common in this area, the sickly energy emanating from the opening was not. She crouched low and gestured for Delbin to duck behind a tree. Carefully, she scanned the area. No people in sight.
“Do you sense anything?” she sent to Delbin. Telepaths were among the best at detecting others, since thoughts were tied so closely to the energy of life.
“There are three inside,” he answered immediately. “Poor shielding on two of them. They’re arguing.”
Inona squinted at the small entrance. The glow was faint, and from the positioning, she was fairly certain that a long tunnel curved away from the opening. Otherwise, they’d be able to see the people within. What should they do? If something was damaging the very energy of Earth, Lord Lyr would want to know of it at once.
“Can you tell their distance?”
A pause, and then Delbin answered. “Several feet to the left and deeper back. I think.”
Inona scrunched her brows, considering. “We should stay and watch. See if they leave.”
“They aren’t going to leave,” Delbin answered. “One of them is trying to hold together some kind of spell. The other two are arguing about what they’re going to do about Kien.”
“What do you mean?”
“He left a few days ago after something happened to the spell.” Delbin shifted closer until his shoulder brushed hers. Then he let out a soft curse. “We need to stop them. Now. They’re poisoning Earth’s energy field. That’s why it has felt off. If they gain control of that spell again, they’ll stand a better chance of succeeding.”
“The mage has been holding this together for days?” She bit her lip. “That doesn’t make sense. Really, I don’t see how they could affect the entire Earth from here.”
Delbin fell silent for a moment before connecting with her again. “Sorry. I delved deeper. They placed nodes all over the place, all connected. A different node was destroyed, but all that energy had to go somewhere. It backlashed along the connection. Now this one is about to blow, too.”
Her breath caught. “Why would they do that? Energy is life.”
“Domination,” Delbin answered immediately. “Get rid of other magic users with the poison and then unleash your own powers on the unsuspecting humans. There’d be no one left to stop you.”
Clechtan. Did Lord Lyr know about this? If Delbin was correct, they didn’t have time to find out. Inona scanned the clearing, expanding her senses in a sweep. She didn’t detect anyone outside the cave. But then, the assassins sent after Lyr had been able to slip through shielding.
“Any idea if there are more?” she asked.
In the light of the moon spilling through the thinning trees, she watched as his eyes lost focus. After a moment, he shook his head and fixed his attention on her face once more. “None in their thoughts. But I planted an idea. When one of them comes out, let him take me.”
Inona scowled. “Didn’t we discuss this?”
“In sight of them, I can take control of their minds.”
“What?” Her mouth fell open, and she forced it shut with a snap. “I’ve heard of Prince Ralan doing such a thing. And a few others. But you’re not formally trained. How can you be certain?”
A hard, sad glint entered his eyes. “You learn much as a teenager in a strange world, Inona.”
An ache settled in her chest at the hint of pain pinching his face. What had he been forced to do? Earth wasn’t a terrible place, but it wasn’t necessarily safe, either, especially for those who were different. Laws varied so wildly, and exiles had to not only hide their true natures but recreate their lives on a regular basis.
She’d believed only the worst of their people ended up in such a situation. She’d even wondered about her own prince after he’d chosen to live on Earth. How many exiles were not what they seemed? For the first time, she found herself wanting to know their stories more than how strictly they followed the rules.
“Something needs to be done,” Inona said. “There could be others who—”
“He’s coming out now,” Delbin interrupted. “I’ll try to get in and out quickly. If things go wrong, you can rescue me.”
“But—”
Delbin cut off their link and ducked around the tree as a red-haired man stepped out of the cave. “Ah, I’ve found you,” Delbin called in a jovial tone, and the man froze, his hand shifting to a weapon at his side. “Prince Kien said there would be friends here.”
The man’s expression went slack, and his hands dropped to his sides. Without a word, he led Delbin into the cave. Just like that, they were gone.
This wasn’t going to be as easy as Delbin had led Inona to believe. He had taken control of minds before, but only for a brief time when under duress. In his early days on Earth, he’d used his magic to defend himself, but quick mental blasts or suggestions were more effective than control. He’d only done it a handful of times.
He was almost certainly going to be captured within minutes of entering. But a few moments were all he needed. If he could coerce the person holding the spell to release it, the spell would break. From what Delbin had read in their minds, they wouldn’t be able to recreate it quickly.
Delbin followed the one named Patrick through the growing golden light of the tunnel. It was longer than he’d thought. Had his mental range grown? It hadn’t been so easy to find others’ minds when he was younger. His time in the dunk tank must have given him steady practice. But his heartbeat still pounded in his ears as they entered a large cavern. Stalagmites and stalactites speared like teeth around them, water pooling like saliva in puddles on the floor.
His nose crinkled at that mental image. Yeah, no.
In the center, one of the men stood in front of a column of rock. His body blocked sight of the spell’s focal point, and he didn’t turn when the third let out an exclamation and rushed forward. “What are you doing, Patrick?”
“Kien invited him,” Patrick answered, his voice a little hollow under Delbin’s control.
As the man eyed him uncertainly, Delbin took a deep breat
h. Then with a quick jab of power, he forced his mind past the other’s shielding and tried to assert control. This one fought against him, trying to shove him away so forcefully that Delbin’s head began to ache. By the time he finally succeeded, sweat beaded his brow and dampened his palms.
Unlike Patrick, this one—Victor—was difficult to contain. Wiping his memory would be a much harder task.
The only sounds in the cavern now were the steady drips of water sliding from countless stalactites and the harsh, panting breaths of the third man. Despite his companions’ sudden silence, he hadn’t moved. Delbin frowned. Would controlling his mind be the best way to distract him? He was already trembling with the effort of holding the other two, and this one was stronger. But the guy hadn’t twitched a muscle even when his companions went silent. Controlling the spell?
Delbin crept around the edge of the cavern as he angled for a better view. His gaze narrowed on a glint of light in the middle of the column. No, not a column. In the spot where a stalagmite and stalactite almost joined, a crystal the size of a child’s fist hovered. Eyes closed, the third man held his hands around it as it pulsed with a murky, gray light.
Tentatively, Delbin extended his power, searching for the extent of the mage’s shielding. Almost at once, he drew back. Yeah, that wasn’t going to be easy to crack, and he would lose control of the other two in the attempt. But the mage seemed so intent on holding the spell together that he wasn’t paying attention to the rest of the room.
If Delbin had learned anything, it was that magic didn’t solve everything.
He glanced around the cavern floor until he found a piece of some hapless stalagmite that had broken. He bent down and grasped it. Then he paused again as Patrick shifted, fighting against Delbin’s control. Better speed this up. He grasped the worn hunk of minerals, drew back his arm, and let it fly.
It hit squarely against the mage’s left wrist, shoving his hand against the pulsing crystal. The man’s eyes snapped open, and he screamed as the sickly light flared brightly. Delbin ducked behind a wide stone column, releasing his mental hold on the others to reinforce his own shielding. He barely had time to wipe Patrick’s memory before all hell broke loose.
“Which one of you fools did that?” the mage shouted against a growing hum emanating from the crystal. “What have you done?”
“There was another one,” Victor answered.
“What other one?”
Delbin didn’t even try to follow the argument. Couldn’t they feel the danger? He shoved his hands against his ears as pressure began to build, but it was more magical than physical. Then the light exploded, filling the cavern until Delbin had to close his eyes against it. A sharp crack sounded, loud enough to hear despite his covered ears.
The mage yelled a curse, but any further words were drowned by a loud crackle and one final, grinding snap. As the light cut off abruptly, the ground began to shake. Delbin’s arms shifted to cover his head as bits of stalactites rained down. But the energy that had released from the crystal was beautiful. Healthy.
Moranaian.
“So help me, Patrick—”
“I didn’t do anything,” Patrick interrupted. “I was just standing here.”
“Where’d your new friend go, then?” Victor asked.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Dammit, this was the last node standing after the Moranaians used their counter spell. We’re going to have to redo the whole thing. Years wasted because—”
“Silence!”
As another voice rang through the dark cavern, Delbin flinched and scrambled to reinforce his mental shielding. Kien. He forced his breaths to slow, though panic gnawed at his insides. Had the prince found Inona on his way in? He sent out a quick mental search and slumped in relief to find her alive and well.
But Delbin probably wouldn’t fare so well. Trapped in a cavern with the dark prince and his minions?
Yeah, he was screwed.
Chapter 5
Rough bark bit into Inona’s back as she pressed herself hard against the tree. She’d almost been caught. She wasn’t certain why she hadn’t been caught. Kien had appeared out of nowhere, his steps silent even though he moved with the slow, shuffling gait of the recently injured. But he’d barely glanced around the forest before he’d stumbled into the narrow cave opening.
What was she going to do? She was not going to leave Delbin in there alone.
Suddenly, the energy around her gave an odd lurch, shifting like a wayward strand in the Veil. For one long moment, the ground trembled. Inona covered her head and hoped that the earthquakes here weren’t like the ones on the plains back home. Those were sometimes fierce enough to level cities, at least near fault lines.
Thankfully, this tremor was over in moments. Inona peered around her tree at the cave once the earth had calmed. No movement. Gods, she hoped Delbin hadn’t been injured. Had Kien unleashed some dark magic? She sent her senses out, and she gasped to find…Moranaian energy? The sick oddness was gone.
At the edge of her consciousness, she detected Delbin’s presence. Just a quick brush, probably to see if she was well, but Inona latched on before he drew away. “What happened? Did they catch you?”
“No.” There was a long pause, and she could feel his worry like her own. “I disrupted what the mage was doing, and the spell just kind of exploded. Now Kien’s here.”
“Can you get out?”
“I don’t know. I’m barely hiding myself.” Their connection wavered. “I’m going to try something. I’ll let you know.”
Just like that, the mental link was gone. Inona glared at the cave as though Delbin could actually see her. He’d been too long on his own if he could dismiss her orders so easily. By all the gods of Arneen, he wasn’t even formally trained. What was he thinking? Scowling, she slipped a knife from her pocket and sneaked to the next tree. Then the next.
Chances were good she was going to have to save him.
Delbin’s heart pounded as he sent his mind ever so slowly back into Patrick’s, the youngest and weakest of the bunch. But he didn’t try to assert control. What he really needed was to see, so he eased himself into a connection just strong enough to get hazy images of what was going on. The stalagmite hid him from sight, but it also blocked his view. No way he wanted to move around and risk being seen.
“What have you idiots done?” Kien yelled, his voice an odd echo through both Patrick’s and Delbin’s ears.
Victor took a tentative step forward. “Wasn’t me. Pat here brought some newcomer. I think. I blanked out until after the spell exploded.”
Delbin felt Patrick’s fear like his own as Kien turned his attention on him. “You brought a stranger here?”
“I don’t know what he’s talking about,” Patrick forced out.
“There has to be some reason that Tom is unconscious and the spell ruined,” Kien said, his tone smooth but his eyes spitting fury. “I don’t suppose you have an explanation?”
“Milord, I swear—”
“Oh, shut up.” Kien’s expression went hard. “Describe this stranger, Victor.”
Victor shifted uncertainly at the prince’s attention. “It was a man. Had short blond hair. Patrick said you invited him. Then everything went dark.”
Delbin bit back a curse. Too bad he hadn’t been able to erase Victor’s memory. Through Patrick, he watched a considering glint enter Kien’s eyes before his lips lifted into a wicked smile. That couldn’t be good.
“I see.” Kien tapped a finger against his chin. “I did invite a young mind mage I stumbled upon, but perhaps he did not arrive with good intent. Patrick, check on Tom. Victor, you search the cavern.”
Yep. Screwed.
Releasing Patrick’s mind once more, Delbin scanned the edges of the cavern for some way out. His eyes narrowed. Was that a tunnel between those two stalagmites a few feet away? The caves here branched out and connected all over the place, but it was risky to navigate them without experi
ence or equipment. Was the possibility of death-by-cave better than whatever Kien might dish out?
Based on the look of dark fury on the prince’s face, definitely better.
He just had to hustle before Victor made it to Delbin’s area of the cavern. Giving a quick glance to either side, Delbin slipped to the next stalagmite. Then a spiraling column. He winced as his foot slid into a shallow pool, but there was nothing he could do about the water that leaked into his boot. At least it hadn’t made a splash.
Delbin stepped onto a broad stone ledge near the mouth of the small tunnel and ducked between a pair of fang-like stalactites. As the damp sole of his shoe lost traction against the rock, he stifled a cry. Slipping, he threw out his hand for balance and connected with one of the stalactites.
He let out a relieved breath as he regained his footing. But then the fragile rock broke under his weight. Pieces tumbled down, splashing into another shallow pool, and he heard a shout. Dammit. He crouched low, trying to dart into the tunnel before he was seen, but a hand wrapped around his arm, jerking him to a stop.
“Gotcha!”
Gathering power from the world around him, Delbin let himself be spun around. A mental blast would incapacitate the man, and Delbin might be able to use the distraction to escape. Energy pooled in his body, like a buzzing in the blood. He looked into Victor’s eyes and prepared to release it.
Then a shock slammed into Delbin like lightning, and his power drained away with every pain-filled heartbeat. He reached for his head. A vain attempt to stem the agony. His vision shifted to red.
Then black.
Now that the energy was cleaner, Inona pulled power into herself with abandon as she crept down the tunnel. She might not be a mage, but like most sonal, she could cloak herself from sight at least somewhat. Too bad she couldn’t blast Kien with a battle spell. She’d just have to rely on stealth and her knife.
Exiled: A Return of the Elves Novella (The Return of the Elves Book 3) Page 4