I breathed in. One thing I found out early on was that Key didn’t lock the door. The only thing keeping me in there was my own will. I walked over to the door and touched the knob. At this point, I had to trust my instincts. Key had too much riding on me to just activate the poison in Sixx’s body and kill her. If he did that, he wouldn’t have leverage over me.
Now that I knew Erebus and Sixx were so close, the desire to sneak away and find them was overwhelming. I thought back to the spell I used what felt like a lifetime ago to check on Sixx. The spell was complicated and had too many ingredients for me to remember offhand, and trying to do it without directions didn’t seem like a good idea.
I needed to be bold again and stop being such a coward.
Flinging open the door, I stepped out of the room and started down the hall in what I quickly realized was a strangely built house. No, it wasn’t a house. This place was a fortress. At the end of the hall was a door. Checking behind me to make sure no one was sneaking up on me, I approached the door and put my hand on the ornate knob, twisting it and stepping through the doorway.
The room was round with a domed ceiling, the walls comprised of thick, heavy blocks that gave off a chill, while the ceiling was all glass. Some panels were stained glass, and others were just plain glass. With no other windows in the room, it was the only natural light, though several magic lights floated throughout the space, emitting a dim glow.
A mezzanine balcony circled the room above me. Clear glass acted as the railing to the mezzanine, allowing me to see more doors rounding the upper level. I itched to see what was behind them, but there were no stairs that led to the second balcony. On the first floor, there was an opening that led to a kitchen and dining area that I remembered from when Key deposited me into my room. Every other bit of wall space was taken up by a vast array of different-sized doors.
I steadily walked to each one, jiggling the doorknobs, but none of the doors I tried led outside. A couple of doors opened to a brick wall. Each door had a different symbol emblazoned on the front, but so far, I couldn’t tell what the symbols meant.
Most of the doors were made of polished, sleek wood, but I passed several that were made of metal with steel bolts around the edges. They were securely locked, but when I pressed my ear against one, I could hear scratching and low, rumbling growls on the other side.
“Hello?” I asked, my voice echoing around the domed room. No one responded though I didn’t expect anyone to. Rolling my eyes, I strolled around the room, trailing my fingers along the colossal gray stone pillars that held the ceiling aloft. Breathing in a slow breath, I noticed a familiar scent that tickled my nose.
Hmm…
I ticked my chin up an inch and pulled in the scent again. Fresh air. Closing my eyes, I followed it. Aunt Lola taught me how to hone my sense of smell by closing off my other senses. I was only six years old at the time, but the lesson stuck.
“Where do you lead?” I asked the room, cracking an eye open.
I saw a light wooden door that was a slightly different shade from the rest, ornamented with a Celtic-looking knot engraved in the panel. I approached warily, narrowing my eyes and focusing my vision. The door wasn’t open, but it wasn’t all of the way shut. Less than a centimeter separated the door from its jamb.
My heart pounded with excitement. This is it! I rushed toward the door, my ears perked, listening for anything. But no one popped their head out to scream Gotcha! So with as much decorum as I could muster, I pulled the door open.
Because entering a room uninvited behind enemy lines … why not?
A gust of stale air hit me, reminiscent of faded fumes, people, and the city. I reveled in it for a moment before really taking in my surroundings, surprised to see a dark forest with black and crystalline leaves twinkling against each other, creating an eerie vibe.
Nestled between a thick tree trunk that definitely didn’t belong in the human realm and a thicket of gnarled thorns was something that looked like a tear between the worlds—jagged around the edges and showing a picture of something that shouldn’t exist in this realm. A city, a human city, complete with car horns blaring in streets and alleyways. As I heard the distant wail of sirens, I felt a stab of homesickness.
I stepped forward, drawn to the idea of going home, but immediately regretted it. Even more when I realized the first face to pop into my head wasn’t my adorkable best friend but rather the dark male who haunted my dreams. Erebus and I had shared multiple nights together in my dreams, but in reality, it had been a long time since I’d actually spoken to him.
Shaking my head, I ignored my feeling of trepidation, reminding myself that I was fighting so I could be reunited with my strange little family. Impulsively, I stepped through the gate. Magic crackled against my skin, making it itch. The hairs on my arms stood on end as my instincts whispered Danger.
I breathed in the city air. Was this home? The buildings surrounding me didn’t look familiar, but I’d stepped into a dingy alleyway, and the sky was dark. The streetlights flickered on and off.
How much time had passed since we first entered the other side of the Veil? Did it even matter at this point? I turned around, panicked to see that the small gateway I’d slipped through was gone. Then relief swept over me as I noticed a tiny glimmer that marked the gateway.
“Close call. Who knows what the psycho would do if he thought I was gone?” I muttered, staring through the tear to see the door that led back into the forest.
“What psycho is that?” a smoother-than-silk voice asked.
A shiver went down my spine as I looked over to find the owner of the voice staring at me. I saw a pale face with dark, almost black veins flickering through his skin; cold, black eyes peering at me with unusual interest; and coal-black hair slicked away from his face. A pulse of magic flared from him, but the magic was very different from the kind to which I’d become accustomed.
“Fuck.”
“Hello, tasty little morsel. Wherever did you come from?” the dark mage asked, looking me up and down with barely restrained hunger.
He was on the human side of the tear, which meant I could just jump back through and escape if I needed to. My memories of the last encounter I had with dark mages lingered. Dark mages syphoned magic from other beings because they couldn’t harness magic on their own. One night, a group of them caught me off guard, stealing my magic before beating the hell out of me.
Had he sensed the magic pulsing from the tear and come to investigate? Weighing my options, I decided it would be best to try to convince the mage to go someplace else. What kind of mischief could they wreak if one of their kind got into the Veil?
I took a step back, reflecting the fear that began to trickle through my veins. To my dismay, the dark mage chuckled. He looked me up and down and relaxed his posture. The muscles near my eyes twitched as my senses tingled with awareness. The atmosphere spiked with a charge in the air; this mage was up to something but what? Most of my experiences with dark mages had been of them rushing forward like savage beasts, determined to suck every bit of magic from me. I didn’t like the intelligence or cunning in this one’s eyes.
“Boss said you were a little spitfire. I see what he means.”
Annoyed he saw through my ruse so quickly, I straightened my back and tipped my chin. “You seem to think you know who you’re dealing with. Who’s your boss?”
“Just someone who promised me an unlimited supply of magic.”
I placed my hand on my hip and popped it forward, raising my brow to give him an intimidating look.
“Impressive,” he said with a dark smile.
“You bet your sweet ass I am.”
“Don’t want your ass, but I am intrigued to know what he wants with you.”
I smirked. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
“I think you know more than you let on, Lost Princess.”
A moment of silence lingered between us, and the corner of his mouth ticked up into a satisfied smirk. I r
efused to flinch under his watchful gaze. A dark aura pulsed around him as he took a step forward.
“Are you scared, Princess?”
“Why would I be?” I snapped, my muscles twitching. The closer he got to me, the closer he would get to the tear, and I couldn’t allow that to happen.
“Oh, I don’t know … Maybe me entering through that little hole in the worlds, slipping in, sucking your precious world dry, then coming back and destroying our world? I see all the ideas running rampant through your mind.”
“It sounds like you’re giving me a laundry list of reasons why I should kick your ass and leave you for the Sentinel.”
“As if I would be so foolish to let you out of my sight.”
Launching forward, I decided to stop this silly banter. It wasn’t getting us anywhere, and I needed answers. I assumed another dark mage, one more powerful than him, had found the tear and wanted to explore it, but at the same time, they wanted to keep it guarded against others stumbling upon it.
What were the odds that I’d managed to emerge from a doorway that was left slightly ajar, that opened to a forest, that had a tear sitting right there? No, this male worked for Key, and for some reason, Key was offering dark mages a dangerous gift to keep it guarded.
My magic felt muted here, and I was unable to grasp the depth of magic I’d harnessed within the Veil. The best I could spark up was a crackle over my forearms. The dark mage looked down at them, but the hungry gaze I expected wasn’t there.
“What the hell are you?” I hissed as I threw back my arm to land a punch in his gut. He dodged easily and jumped backward.
“I could ask you the same thing.”
“You know what I am,” I snapped as my power grew. I managed to conjure an electric whip by drawing on my training with Kallan. It was strange how differently my power manifested across the two realms. After having an almost limitless taste of that power, I had to work harder to maintain my magic here.
“There is something intriguing about you,” he said.
A second before his spell hit, I felt it brewing. I just barely dodged it, but in doing so, I slammed my back against the brick wall. “Fuck,” I groaned. “Nothing special, I can assure you. Besides, I’m half-human, half-fae, but apparently, you already know my parentage.”
“Hmm, I might be able to use you in the future. Remember, halfling … not all is what it seems.” He took a step back a second before I felt the slithering presence of his spell working up my body. “My Lord.” The dark mage bowed deeply, looking past me, and I knew I’d been busted. I closed my eyes, pissed that I’d been caught but mostly worried about what he would do.
“Thank you for distracting her until I returned. You will be rewarded,” Key said. His body pressed against my arm. “I see you’ve been exploring the rooms. Did you find what you were looking for, Anastasia?”
“Oh, you know, only a dark mage and a portal into a city in the human realm. Nothing much.” I tried to act nonchalant, but fear thrummed through me. Was he about to tell me he would activate the poison in Sixx’s system for my disobedience?
“Take them in, Alastor. I will follow you momentarily,” Key instructed.
I turned to watch as a line of five empty-eyed humans walked into the portal while Alastor waited with a greedy look in his eye. That fae was seriously deranged. But what bothered me most was how subdued the humans were, just like the ones I’d seen in the cells.
“What did you do to them?” I asked.
“The next level of Dreamscape.”
Chapter 8
Pain sliced through my foot, traveling up my leg and flaring to the receptors in my brain. “Ah, fudge! That’s way worse than stepping on a Lego!” I shrieked, lifting my foot off the sharp pebble. I hopped away from the portal.
Timur shook his head at me, his lips twitching upward into a smile. “You humans are the strangest beings. You were stabbed in a mortally dangerous spot and didn’t scream or even curse when you woke, yet this makes you scream?”
“You don’t understand the pain,” I said very dramatically as I danced around, cradling my foot in my hand.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a slender, shapely leg appear out of thin air. I dropped my foot, followed by my jaw. Leaning forward, I squinted to gaze through where I thought the tear should be just as one shapely leg was followed by another. It was odd, but the surrounding area only contained the tall oaks and trees that belonged to the human realm. Not even the crisp scent of the air in the Veil fluttered through. My fixation on the disembodied limbs paused when the cold air hit me like a million icicles. Shivering, my teeth clacked together.
“Fudge,” I hissed, wrapping my arms over my breasts and hopping in place, trying to get warm.
A gorgeous body flowed out of where the tear should be, floating above the frosted grass before her feet gracefully touched the ground. I blinked rapidly, unable to believe what I was seeing. Tess’s skin shone in the moonlight like deep ebony. She was all silky-smooth skin across miles of generous curves with all of the splendor of a fertility goddess. Her hair was made of thick dreadlocks that looked both sturdy and impossibly delicate. While the druid had blacked-out eyes in the Veil, here they were rounded and the same shade as the night sky. Her human glamour was magnificent.
Also… very naked.
Suddenly, I realized I’d never seen her wear the fashions the fae favored. Or in any clothing, for that matter.
“Stop staring, pchelka. It is rude.”
I yelped in surprise as the last member of our group joined us. Turning, I ran my hands up and down Olezka’s chest, searching for injuries. All I found were the scars that he’d gained during his time spent in the fighting ring. We took too long to get him back to the Veil, and some of the wounds had set.
I pressed my forehead against his warm chest. Somehow, I’d forgotten how cold I was while staring transfixed at Tess, but now my discomfort made its presence known once again. I pressed my arms between us, stealing more of his warmth.
“You are very cold, my priyatel.” There was a chord of curious concern in his tone.
“It’s freezing out here,” I muttered, turning my cheek between his pecs.
I glanced over at Tess, who nakedly wandered through the frosted trees without a care in the world. We stood next to a paved road that curved around a bend a mile away. I heard the echoes of a town behind us where lights flickered and smoke pumped from random houses. How the hell were we going to explain how we showed up with two half-naked males and one very naked female?
“Um, Tess?”
She cocked her head at me in a very inhuman fashion. She had been glancing around the world, looking at everything, but seemed to buzz with energy.
“Do you normally wear clothes?”
She looked down at her body and shrugged.
“The guards are waiting for a command from the King before they follow us,” Timur said, his gaze nervously flicking back to where we’d emerged.
I stepped forward, trying to locate the tear, but still couldn’t see it. “Can you guys see into the tear?” I asked, a lead knot forming in my gut. Ana had placed a spell on me forever ago to enable me to see through glamours, which was why I was more than a little freaked out that I couldn’t see the thing I’d just stepped through. What if there were more of them? What if I stumbled into one without warning? What if the fae were just waiting on the other side, waiting to snag a human out of thin air, never to be seen again? Is that what happened to all of those humans I saw in the Light Fae’s village?
“You cannot?” Tess asked, her words breaking the silence.
“No?” I replied nervously.
“You two have completed your bond, have you not?” Tess asked.
The way she met Olezka’s stare unflinchingly, she seemed a little more fearless in this world. She had a hard time even saying his name when I first met her. Or maybe over time, she’d realized he wasn’t just the rabid right hand of the Dark Fae King who was poised to kill at th
e slightest command.
I peeked up at Olezka. The muscle in his jaw twitched.
He finally answered, “We will get to the bottom of that after we put distance between the guards and us.”
“The Light King would not use the tear. He respects the old laws,” Tess said, looking pointedly at Timur. He dropped his chin in a subtle nod.
What did they know? My gaze flickered up to Olezka. What was he keeping from me?
“It would be best if we started moving. I smell humans in both directions, but the closest is that way,” Timur said, glancing toward the town.
I was still worried about the fact that half our party wasn’t wearing enough clothing, and, well, I was in a dress that didn’t exactly scream winter wear. Besides that, we had no idea where we were.
“We aren’t really in the position to get a hotel room,” I pointed out.
Timur and Olezka looked each other over. Then both glanced at Tess, who had lost interest in our conversation and was reaching up, touching the leaves on the nearest tree. She was so, so naked. I elbowed my mate.
“Oof.” He rubbed his stomach.
“Stop staring. It’s rude,” I muttered under my breath, repeating his earlier admonition.
“Come. We will discuss our plan on our walk to the town,” Timur said, reaching to press his hand against the small of the druid’s back. She allowed him to urge her forward, still glancing around the area.
“Is this your first time in the human realm, Tess?”
Instead of answering, she blinked slowly and stared up at the night sky. Millions of stars twinkled, accented by the fullness of the moon casting its light among them. I shook my head and started following Timur.
Sixx Saves the World: The Sidekick Chronicles Page 5