by Idella Breen
“Why can’t you deal with this yourself?” Beck asked.
“I’m sure your mistress could answer that question if she’s not completely brain dead.”
Snow’s frown deepened. “Politics, I assume. Those plans are probably a secret and if you were to use your own power it might lead back to you and reflect badly on your character. You want to keep this out of the public's eyes.”
“Ah, and she has a brain after all.”
“Is that all you need from us?” Cait asked, gripping Snow’s shoulder a little tighter.
Grangor waved her hand. “Find that tooth and bring it to me and I’ll be done with you.”
“How will we find you?”
“As this is a time sensitive operation, I need the plans before my meeting tomorrow, I will be here tomorrow morning. If you’re late I’ll be filing a formal complaint through the council to your mother.”
Snow sneered, “We won’t be.”
“See that you’re not.”
“We’ll be going now, Grangor.” Cait pulled Snow away from the goblin and out of the bar.
They had walked past a few buildings when Snow finally exploded. “I hate her.”
“As do most, I hear.”
“How dare she treat me like that!”
“How dare she,” both Cait and Beck agreed.
“I’m not stupid!”
“Nope,” the two agreed again as they drew Snow along towards the east side of the town.
“I mean, how dare she talk to me like I’m an idiot.”
“Mean woman,” Beck added.
“Terrible woman,” Cait added.
Snow whirled around. “Are you two mocking me?”
“Not at all, babe. But, you really shouldn’t get so worked up. She was testing you. And, I’m sorry to say but you didn’t do so well.”
Snow deflated. “Testing me?”
The werewolf nodded. “Yep. In her way.”
“What kind of test?”
Cait tapped her chin before turning to Beck. “Politic?”
He nodded. “I agree.”
The redhead turned back to her wife. “She wanted to see how you would react to being provoked. She must know that we haven’t eaten or slept very much as we are on a time limit. I assume Grangor wanted to know how you would react under stress.”
“Why?” Snow threw her hands up in exasperation.
“Well, I don’t know for sure, but to my understanding, being on the council means dealing with all kinds of personalities as well as egos. Sort of like poker, right?”
“Poker?”
“Yeah. People will bluff you but the difference is that they can back up that bluff in the worst way possible if you don’t handle it well. You know what I mean?”
After a moment, Snow nodded. “I think so. I didn’t do well, then?”
Cait shook her head. “Not too well but also not too bad. I’d say you might get a chance to redeem yourself. Just watch your temper and remember that when dealing with powerful people, nothing is truly as it seems.”
Snow nodded and gripped her wife’s hand tighter allowing herself to be pulled along through the crowded stone streets.
“To look underneath the underneath,” she mumbled resolutely.
Chapter 12
“I suggest that we should split up,” Beck said as they stood outside of a cluster of bars and clubs. The smell of cigarette smoke hung heavily in the air around them making it hard to breathe without wanting to cough. Snow had a hand over her nose as she nodded her agreement.
“It will be easier to search for one of Taz’s men if we split up,” Snow agreed.
Cait shook her head. “Fine, but Snow and I will search together.”
Beck nodded. “I think that would be best.”
“Why?”
“Babe, do you even know how to question someone without alerting them to what exactly you want from them?”
“I can try!”
“My point exactly. You’d be as subtle as a bull in a china shop and might get yourself killed in the process.”
“Fine! You don’t trust me.”
“No babe, I know you. There’s a difference.” Cait slipped her arm around Snow’s shoulder and hugged her close.
Snow was frowning but nodded. “Then, let's meet back here in an hour and share what we found.”
Beck nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
Cait released her wife and gripped her hand instead while leading her over towards one of the clubs. Bass thumped like a heartbeat as they got closer and when Cait lifted the cloth door they were greeted with a scene of goblins bumping and grinding in the middle of the stone floor. Floral smoke wisped around them as Cait dragged her wife over to an empty table and yelled, “Wait here. I’ll get you something to drink.”
Snow nodded and watched the werewolf leave before glancing around. The club was made of stone like all the building in the town. Goblins of different heights danced out on the floor while others sipped their cocktails in stone booths. All in all, it wasn’t much different from the clubs she had gone to in college. Glancing to the bar, Snow noticed that her wife was conversing with someone while waiting for their drinks, and she absently realized that the mission had already begun and she had already been put to the sidelines, left to just watch.
Sighing, she folded her hands on the table and rested her chin on them. Honestly, she was exhausted beyond belief and for some reason, the deep bass of the music was making her want to close her eyes and go to sleep. Someone tapped her shoulder making her jerk up and realize that she had almost drifted off. She looked up expecting her wife but instead was met with the haggard face of a tall goblin. He motioned over to the back door and patted his coat. Snow frowned not understanding what he was trying to convey without words. Sleepily, she stood and followed him towards the back door which was actually just a curtain. He pushed it out of the way to let her outside.
The cool air that seemed to be a constant within the cave surrounded her clearing some of the sleep from her mind just in time for the goblin to spin her around.
“You’re kind is causing trouble, I hear.”
“What?”
“You and your dog. Asking strange questions. We don’t like it.”
“What are you talking about?”
The goblin frowned. “Playing stupid won’t change nothing. You’re coming with me. The big man wants a word with you.”
He reached out for her arm but she pulled back. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
He shrugged. “Have it your way, half-blood.”
She frowned and turned to walk away when pain exploded in the back of her head and everything went black.
* * *
Snow woke with a throbbing headache the likes of which she had never felt before. It out throbbed even her worst hangover. “What hit me?”
She wasn’t expecting the answer nor the pleasantness of the voice. “Probably a club. Goblins tend to favor that weapon.”
Snow opened her eyes and waited a moment as they adjusted to the low lighting. She quickly realized that she was in a stone cell of some sort with iron bars keeping her trapped inside. “Where am I?”
The female voice that seemed to sing with her accent responded in kind, “This is Taz’s dungeon. Once one goes in there’s only one way out.”
“And what’s that?”
The woman giggled. “In a stone coffin, I imagine.”
Frowning, Snow moved slowly until she was able to stand albeit on shaky legs. Slowly, she made her way over to the metal bars and looked out into the dimly lit dungeon. Across from her was another cell but it was empty. She tried to look to the cell next to her but wasn’t able to see into it as the walls of her cell were made of cold stone and the only exit or entrance was through the metal bars that looked to open with a key of some sort. “Who are you?”
“I’m Aria.”
“Aria?”
“Aria Stormwind, at your service.” A pale hand waved from the cell next
to Snow confirming that it was where the other person was held captive.
“We are in Taz’s dungeon?”
“That’s right Miss.”
Snow chuckled but stopped immediately when it only made her head throb more. “My name is Snow Bennett.”
“You wouldn’t happen to be related to the late Lidia Bennett would you by any chance?”
“I’m her granddaughter.”
“Ah, what are the odds of meeting you here I wonder? Truly a strange world we live in.”
Snow frowned at the whimsical tone of the other captive. “How long have you been trapped her, Aria?”
“Oh, I suppose…” She trailed off. “Well, I’m not quite sure as there is no sun or moon in this horrible town. I’m not trapped though. I’m waiting.”
“Waiting? For what?”
Aria giggled. “Three things. But I have been here for quite some time, I suppose. Taz refers to me as his prized possession and I can’t seem to remember when I first arrived in this place but I know many have been in your cell and all have left in coffins.” Aria giggled at the end making Snow shiver at the slightly manic sound of it.
“Oh.”
“No need to worry, my friend. Taz will soon tell you why you have been captured and then you can make decisions as to what you wish to do.”
“What do you mean.”
“Well, some starve themselves, while others do the deed rather quickly with a weapon they have on hand, Taz lets us keep our weapons so long as it can’t break the bars, and lastly some simply wait for Taz to tire of them and do the deed for them. You have so many choices!”
“I see,” Snow said slowly as she moved away from the bars suddenly grateful that Aria wasn’t in the cell across from her. She wasn’t sure the woman had her head on straight and suspected she had been held captive for longer than her sanity could cope with. Luckily, Snow knew Cait would come for her. Or, at least she hoped her wife tracked her down, and soon too.
Aria went silent and Snow eventually fell asleep again only to be woken by a boot poking her in the side. She grunted and curled into herself at the abuse.
“Get up half-blood. The big man want’s to see you.”
Snow stood thankful that her headache seemed to be gone but she could still feel the knot on the back of her head from where she had been hit. The goblin clicked two metal chains around her wrists but paused when he noticed the leather bracelet around one of her wrists.
“What’s that?”
“Jewelry?” Snow answered in a question and the goblin simply shrugged and placed the metal chain below it. Snow suspected that had her bracelet been gold he would have surely taken it. The goblin pushed her forward and past Aria’s cell. The woman was hidden by shadows at the back of the jail but called out to them as they reached the door. “Remember my friend, you have many choices!” she sang and Snow shuddered as the dungeon door slammed shut.
* * *
“What did Grangor want with ya?” a scraggly looking goblin asked from behind a gaudy desk in his office.
Snow had been taken up to the second story of the stone building that she suspected was somewhere on the east side if the thumping music she heard coming from outside was any indication. The goblin in front of her had a long braid of dark hair hanging from his chin and a slicked back ponytail on his head. He probably came up to her shoulder when standing but as he was currently sitting he was hardly daunting.
“I don’t have to answer you.”
Taz grinned and pulled out a jar much like the ones she had seen in the alleyway vendor’s shops. She frowned when she felt it pulling at her powers much like it had back then.
“Girly, you don’t have much of a choice as far as I’m concerned. I got questions and you are my prisoner. You either answer or I’ll just have to use more persuasive means if you catch my drift.”
Frowning, Snow called her powers to her hands only to pause when nothing happened. She glanced down eliciting a laugh from Taz.
“Do you understand your position a bit better now?”
“What did you do?”
Taz pat the jar on his desk. “Enchanted stones. They work especially well on elementals as you can see. They call you the ice princess, I hear. These stones nullify ice. I’m a smart guy. I do my research before casting my nets you know.”
Snow sneered. “I’m sure you’re as sharp as a tack.”
He frowned. “Now, answer my questions. What are you doing for Grangor?”
She debated for a minute as to whether or not to answer him but when the goblin next to her moved forward she decided to try and exercise her political background. “She asked for a favor.”
Taz nodded and the other goblin moved back to his position against the wall.
“Go on.”
“Grangor wanted me to acquire something for her.”
“What?”
“A golden item.”
“What golden item?”
She shrugged. “A golden heirloom.”
Taz slammed his fist on his desk. “What heirloom! Was it the tooth?”
She frowned. “What tooth?”
“The tooth that I stole from her! That’s what. I stole it now she wants it back, right? Don’t mess with me girly! This tooth!” He suddenly reached into his shirt and pulled out the golden tooth. It hung loosely on a simple gold chain around his neck.
Snow shook her head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was sent to find an heirloom. A golden ring if I’m correct.”
“What ring? Never heard of such a thing!” He slammed his hand down again.
Snow shrugged. “I’m just doing what my mother requested of me.”
“Your mother?”
“Oh, you don’t know who she is?”
“Who the hell is she? Probably some harlot.”
“I take it that means you don’t know who I am either. Yet, you know of my abilities.”
“Your name is Snow. One of the guards mentioned you threatening him with freezing the whole town in an eternal winter. I used my noggin and added it all up. You’re an ice elemental. I don’t need names to figure all that out.”
“I suppose you wouldn’t.” She could see why Grangor didn’t entertain this guy for more than to scratch an itch. He wouldn’t be able to keep up with a woman like her. Snow could hardly keep up with her.
“So, what’s your name then? Tell me so I can know who I’m burying this time.” He waved his hand impatiently.
“I’m Snow Bennett of the Bennett family. Granddaughter of Lidia Bennett.”
Taz stopped waving his hand and dropped it heavily on his desk. “Lidia the Benevolent?” he asked quietly.
Snow simply nodded. His face seemed to pale from his already ashen complexion. “Granddaughter?”
She nodded again. Suddenly, he spun around on the goblin behind him and gripped his shirt. “What have you done?”
“I did as you asked sir!”
“You idiot! What have you done?” he screamed.
Snow frowned and slowly took a step back. She needed to get away from these crazy goblins before one of the decided she was too much trouble to deal with and tried to do something really stupid.
Taz interrupted her musings and wagged his finger at her. “Take her back to the dungeon! Don’t whisper a word of this, you hear! Not one word!”
“Yes sir.” The goblin hurried and grabbed Snow by her chains and dragged her out of the room. She felt her powers still being tugged on and looked down at the goblin only to see that he had the jar of magic stones hanging from his belt. Well, it seemed that Taz wasn’t a total idiot.
The goblin threw open the cell door after unlocking it and shoved Snow into it. He did remember to take off her chains though as well as hang the jar outside of her cell.
“No funny business. Or, you’ll be in trouble.”
She rubbed her wrists and said, “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
He frowned. “You wouldn’t?”
A giggled from the nex
t cell over was his answer and he frowned as he slammed the cell door shut and locked it before leaving the dungeon.
“You’re a smart lady, Snow Bennett.”
Snow sighed. From one crazy to another. She hadn’t even been here for a whole day, at least she didn’t think she had, and she was already starting to feel her own marbles roll. “What do you mean, Aria?” Snow asked as she settled on the stone slab that acted as a bed.
When Aria didn’t answer immediately, Snow opened her eyes only to shudder. The dungeon had been chilly to begin with, but an icy breeze seemed to have flooded the jail. Usually, the cold never bothered her. Actually, she hardly ever felt it as most winter days were like autumn days to her. The only time she could remember having felt such a cold breeze was when—
The lights suddenly flickered then went out blanketing the dungeon in darkness. “Aria?” she whispered into the darkness but there was no response.
“This isn’t funny, Aria.”
“Kaaaaa!” The haunting screech thrummed in her ears and her heart pounded in her chest.
No! This couldn’t be happening. Not here! Snow moved into the corner of the cell while holding her hands over her ears to try and block out that terrible screeching.
“No!” She screamed back only to feel a coarse material brush up against her naked legs.
Her breath caught in her throat and she froze in absolute terror. Darkness blotted out everything and she knew, she just knew, that she was within the night reapers sphere again but this time Cait wasn’t here to help her.
A phrase repeated softly over and over in her mind and slowly built in volume against the screeching of the monster and she was finally able to make out what the haunting phrase was. In a soft masculine voice, it said, “Toll for your soul, soul for my master. Give me your soul and I’ll go away faster.”
“No!” she screamed and she looked up to see the hooded figure as it reached out for her. She tried to scoot further away but was cornered against the stone wall. The clothed bony hand reached out and finally touched her wrist only for a blinding white light to burst forth. The screeching suddenly stopped and Snow watched as the night reaper folded in on itself and the sphere disappeared.