Corbbmacc was kneeling over her, pinning her arms to the stone floor. Around them, the others were awake. Most were looking away, but a few were watching with dull curiosity. Daniel was among these, terror shining out of his small, pale face.
“What the hell are you doing?” Corbbmacc asked, breathing hard. She felt the trickle of something wet on her arm and realized with sick fascination that it was blood. From the corner of her eye, she could see it running in a thin trickle from long red gouges in his forearm. Jesus…had she done that? Had she really?
The fury was gone. In its place was only a hot shame that burned in her cheeks, adding fuel to the fever that already raged there. Tears pricked her eyes as she looked up at him, and she blinked them away.
“I don’t know…I’m…I’m sorry,” she said. Her throat hurt, and her voice sounded muffled and strange in her own ears. It was someone else’s voice; it spoke a stranger’s words.
Corbbmacc stared down at her, his face a mask that betrayed nothing of what he was feeling. She couldn’t look at him.
“What in Christ’s name just happened there?” he asked, lowering his voice. Behind him, Daniel came forward to stand beside them. His eyes were wide and frightened, but she saw concern there too. The shame inside her grew, bringing tears that stung her eyes and blurred her vision. She wanted to wipe them away, but Corbbmacc was still pinning her arms to the cold, stone floor. She felt naked and vulnerable, unable to hide her pain from those around her.
“I don’t know,” she said, hating the way her voice quavered.
Her tone, more than the words, seemed to settle Corbbmacc, and he let go of her, moving to sit beside her on the floor. Daniel mirrored him, sitting on her other side. The two boys stared down at her. Their faces were twin masks of worry and fear.
It was a lie. She thought she did know what was wrong. Derek had warned her, hadn’t he?
“The crystal affects us in ways it doesn’t other people. If you are near too much of it for too long, it will make you do things…terrible things.”
And with the memory of Derek’s deep, soothing voice, images from the nightmare that had tormented her crashed over her like a river breaking through a dam.
She saw her own hands, clutching one of those tiny hand picks. She was gouging out one of Corbbmacc’s beautiful blue eyes with it as he screamed and clawed at his face.
She saw a sword in her hand, blood dripping from the blade as Daniel’s severed head rolled across the floor, away from her. His horns thumped dully again and again each time they hit the stone.
She saw Michael’s limp form at her feet. His eyes were half open, showing only the whites beneath his lashes. In her hand was a chunk of crystal the size of a fist. Blood and hair clung to it, and as she stared at it in horror, she realized it wasn’t her hand she was looking at. A man’s hand, strong and callused, held the stone.
She covered her eyes, trying to blot out the images, but they went on tormenting her. She began to shake; she began to cry.
“It will make you do things…terrible things…”
As if they were of a single mind, she felt Corbbmacc’s and Daniel’s hands touch her arms at the same time. She reached out desperately for them, clasping their hands in her own and holding on for all she was worth. She closed her eyes and waited for the tears to subside.
In time, they did, and when she looked up again, she found both boys watching her with expressions of profound concern. She squeezed their hands—Corbbmacc’s large and warm, and Daniel’s small and fragile.
“We have to get out of here,” she whispered, meeting Corbbmacc’s eyes through the film of tears.
Corbbmacc nodded curtly. “We’ll figure out a way.”
She felt her eyelids sliding shut, and she fought to keep them open.
“I know the way,” she whispered. “Just have to…distract the guards…somehow…”
She let her eyes close, exhaustion overwhelming her.
“She’s sick,” she heard Daniel say to Corbbmacc, and then she was drifting away.
* * *
…Clink…clink…clink…clink…
The steady disjointed rhythm of metal on stone surrounded her, seemingly driven on by the pounding in her head. It filled the world, reminding her of primitive Native American dances with illusory beats that slipped from her grasp every time she thought she had latched onto them.
Shadows in the crystal she was slowly drawing forth from the rock danced to the music, and it seemed she could almost see the shapes of figures in their depths. Sometimes she thought they were mermaids with shimmering tails that reflected the torchlight like priceless gems. Sometimes she thought they were chess pieces. Once, she distinctly saw the image of a sword being thrust toward the sky, but when she’d blinked, it had gone.
Now and then, from the corner of her eye, she caught glimpses of Corbbmacc casting looks back at the guards. They’d both been watching, looking for any pattern in their captors’ behavior that they could use to their advantage. So far, though, she’d seen nothing useful, and judging by the grim lines that etched Corbbmacc’s face, neither had he.
…Clink…clink…clink…clink…clink…
She knelt and gathered up the tiny broken fragments of crystal that had piled up at her feet and tried to ignore the way her muscles ached. She carried them, glittering from their smooth edges, to the cart and threw them in with the rest.
A small hand touched her arm, and she glanced down into Daniel’s dirty face. His jaw was set, and he seemed to be steeling himself for something. He glanced past her at the guards, then returned his gaze to her face.
“You’re sick,” he said softly. “It’s the crystal that’s doing it, isn’t it?”
Emily started. She hadn’t told anyone, not even Corbbmacc, about the vision of Derek and Michael, let alone what it had told her about being in the mines. She’d tried to keep it to herself, and she was afraid what would happen if any of the other prisoners overheard, or worse, the guards. Besides, it sounded crazy—probably was crazy.
She glanced around them. No one was paying them any attention whatsoever. She swallowed, wincing as fresh pain ran the length of her throat, and nodded.
“I think so.”
Daniel nodded, as if she had merely confirmed his assessment that it looked like rain today. He straightened, squaring his shoulders and motioning for her to bend down toward him. She did as he asked, placing her hands on her knees. Her legs trembled for a moment, and she willed them to be still.
He leaned toward her until the breath of his words caressed her ear as he whispered.
“I think I can get all the guards away.”
“How?” she asked, studying him doubtfully.
He seemed to debate, then inclined his head at the cart beside them.
“I can hide in the cart, under all the crystal. They take it from here to chambers that the deaders are working, and the deaders fill it up with the crystal they’ve mined. They’ve got stuff in there that we don’t have in here…stuff that lets them dig faster. I’m sure I can use some of it to make a racket in there and hopefully get the guards to all come and do something about it…”
He broke off, watching with dismay as Emily was already stepping away from him and shaking her head.
“No way, Daniel. That sounds like all kinds of ways to get yourself killed.”
“I’d be fine,” he protested, pulling on her arm. “I’m so small no one ever notices me anyway. Besides, I want to help you…and the pretty one.”
“The pretty one?”
“Yeah, she was the one you were walking with when you got off the boat. Corbbmacc says she’s sick too.”
Emily shot an irritated look at Corbbmacc, but his back was to them. He hadn’t been so damn chatty when there were things she had wanted to know.
“No,” she said again. “Look, Daniel, I appreciate it. It’s sweet, but I can’t let you do that.”
He scowled at her, and she scowled right back.
“Corbbmacc and I will find another way,” she assured him, wishing she believed that herself. “Come on. Let’s get back to work before the guards get suspicious.”
She started to turn away, but he clutched at her arm urgently and she looked back.
“If you do get out,” he said, not quite meeting her gaze, “will you come back for me?”
She looked at him standing there, trying to be so brave. He was such a boy—such a wonderful, brave boy. How had she ever been repulsed by him? She couldn’t remember now.
His eyes sought hers, and the hope in them drove a dagger into her heart. How could she say no? Just how the hell could she say no?
“Of course I will,” she told him.
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
He let her go, and she went back to her section of rock between Corbbmacc and Maddy, wondering if it was a promise she’d be able to keep.
Chapter Thirty
She stands with her hands on an ornate railing, looking down into a huge banquet hall. A fire blazes in an enormous hearth set into the stone wall across from her, and people in all kinds of colorful garb are seated at a large round table of varnished oak.
A tapestry hanging on the wall to her left draws the eye like a magnet. It seems almost otherworldly in its craftsmanship and detail, a marvel of wondrous artistry. The image of a great dragon is embroidered upon it in all its crimson glory. Tiny gems are woven into the fabric, making the beast’s scales gleam in the light of the fire.
The Dragon’s Brood, she thinks. But even as the thought comes, she knows that it is not right—not yet.
There is singing, laughter, and the loud boisterous voices that are the mark of drunken merriment. Servants come and go, carrying trays laden with food and goblets of wine and ale.
Directly below her, a man and woman sit together, a little apart from the other revelers. He is deeply involved in a spirited discussion with another man, but the woman is anxiously scanning the crowd, clearly looking for someone.
Emily’s pulse quickens. Looking for me, she thinks.
To the man’s right, a chair stands empty—the only unoccupied spot in the entire hall. There is an air of expectancy surrounding it. Guests cast furtive glances toward it from time to time, as though they would will its intended occupant to appear.
She should be there, she thinks. It is her chair that stands vacant.
The sweet aromas of delicious foods waft up to her, and her mouth begins to water. It has been so long since she has eaten anything that tasted half as good as this feast smells.
But no, that is not right.
Her thoughts split apart, and she has that same sense of hurtling along two separate tracks. Part of her is here, but another part of her is in a huge chamber beneath the mountain, chipping away at broken crystals.
I shouldn’t be here, her thoughts scream within the confines of her mind, but she can’t uncouple herself from this waking dream.
This is now.
This is then.
This is always.
She knows what will happen. She wants to turn away before it does, but she cannot, because it has already happened.
The woman looks up, her long golden hair falling back from her face, and recognition blooms along one track of Emily’s divided mind. It is the woman she’d seen bathing in the stream. Relief fills the woman’s beautiful face, and she raises her hand to Emily, beckoning her to come and join them at the table.
Emily feels herself frowning, but the feeling seems strangely disconnected from her. Unease begins to blossom in the pit of her stomach, and a thought careens down the second track inside her head. The ring, the one with the black stone that the woman had been wearing as she bathed, is gone, and that is not how it should be. Where is the ring?
* * *
“Emily?”
Corbbmacc’s voice brought her back from the vision with shocking suddenness. She seemed to slam back into her own body, as if her consciousness was a physical thing, and the hand pick with which she had absently continued chipping away at the stone slipped from her fingers. It clattered to the floor between her feet with a sharp metallic ping. The sound was like a dash of cold water to her face.
She turned, finding herself nose to nose with him, and her blood began to burn. Shadows danced at his shoulders, but she ignored them.
Not real…not real…
She reached out, clutching for him through the haze of crimson that clouded her eyes. He tried to step aside, but she knew his actions before he did himself. With shocking speed, her hands flashed out, and her fingers closed around his throat. She squeezed.
Show you, she thought viciously. I needed to figure out why the ring was gone, and you stopped…
With a lunge forward, Corbbmacc broke her concentration, kicking her legs out from under her. She let go of him, and he caught her before she hit the floor.
“Snap out of it! Jesus!” he bellowed directly into her face. His words reverberated through the chamber, and she heard the babble of conversation drop off for a moment as she stared up at him. She was weak. Her muscles shook, and for a moment, even the dim torchlight seemed far too bright in her eyes. She was losing all sense of control—all sense of herself.
Tiny stars exploded in her field of vision, swirling and dancing before her eyes. They formed patterns and shapes, glimmering with every color of the rainbow. Beyond them, she could see their light reflected in the crystal that marbled the stone.
A few of the guards glanced their way at Corbbmacc’s shout, but only seeing him setting Emily back on her feet, returned to grappling with the cart full of crystal. The other prisoners pointedly looked away, and conversations resumed. It’s just like back home, she thought distractedly. You get on with your own business and let your neighbors get on with theirs.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, pulling away. She stood unsteadily on her feet and looked everywhere but at Corbbmacc. The stars were gone. Only dim, flickering torchlight illuminated the faces around her.
Maddy was watching them, a line creasing her brow, and Emily smiled weakly at her. It must not have been convincing though, because the girl’s scowl only deepened, and she turned to Corbbmacc.
“She’s sick,” she said to him. “Go easy on her.”
It was the first truly friendly thing Maddy had said to or about either of them since they’d arrived four days ago, and Emily was grateful.
She swayed a little on her feet and reached out to steady herself against the wall. Sharp stone and crystal bit into her palm, and she closed her eyes, willing the wave of dizziness to pass.
When she opened them again, her gaze fell on the cart of crystal and the guards wheeling it away.
Damn, she thought, we dug out a lot of that shit today. And then, on the heels of that: Back home you’d get busted for making crystal…here, when you get busted, they force you to make it.
The thought made her giggle wildly, and the unexpected mirth sent another wave of dizziness crashing over her. Maddy caught hold of her arm and steadied her.
“I’m sorry,” Emily repeated, this time to Maddy. She laughed again. She knew she was dangerously close to hysteria, and she wasn’t sure what to do about it.
“You want your supper, get moving,” a guard told them, and they were herded across the chamber toward the tunnels beyond.
Maddy kept a firm grip on Emily’s arm, and Corbbmacc fell into step beside them at the back of the group. He looked wan and tired. Faint bruises stood out on his neck, and all the mirth drained out of Emily as she watched him rubbing them absently as they made their way to the tunnel the guards ironically referred to as the dining hall.
“I didn’t mean to,” she told him. She felt heat rising in her cheeks again. What was happening to her?
“I know.”
They followed the guards through the labyrinth of twisting passages, and as they did, Emily began to feel a little better. The dizziness had receded, and her headache eased. It was always that way whe
n they ended work for the day. The symptoms never went away, but sometimes they backed off for a while.
She glanced around them at the other prisoners and frowned.
“Where’s Daniel?” she asked, looking over her shoulder at the empty tunnel that stretched back the way they’d come.
The girl’s dark face tightened, but she didn’t respond.
Emily stopped moving, bringing Maddy, who was still holding on to her arm, to a halt as well.
“Maddy, where is he?” she demanded, panic rising up inside her.
“Keep moving, goddammit,” Maddy hissed, and she yanked Emily forward. “Don’t make them suspicious. You’ll get him into trouble.”
“What’s going on?” she insisted, allowing Maddy to drag her forward.
Maddy reached under her tunic and pulled something out. She held it hidden in the palm of her hand and scanned the people ahead of them.
When she was satisfied no one was watching, she slapped the object into Emily’s hand.
“Danny wanted you to have this.”
Emily looked down at the same jagged piece of crystal that Maddy had excised from the rock a few days ago—the one that had triggered her vision of Derek.
“Put it away, you idiot,” Maddy said, folding Emily’s fingers around it and looking nervously up toward the guards.
Emily dropped it into the pocket of her jerkin. Its weight pulled the soft leather out of shape, and she tugged at her collar, trying to disguise its bulk. Maddy slapped her hands away and began pulling on the ties, doing her best to compensate for the bulge. She frowned down at Emily’s chest.
“Not great, but it’ll do. Only need them not to notice for a few minutes,” she said.
“What is going on?” Emily asked again. “Where is he?”
“Danny’s doing what he wants, because that’s what Danny does. Always was. It’s the first time he’s been set on anything since they brought us here, and I think it is good for him.”
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