“Fuckin’ drop it, Wy’.”
“But I was just—”
She turned on him suddenly. “I said fuckin’ drop it. Let’s just do what we gotta do to get Maia back.”
“Okay. Sorry.”
They returned to walking in silence, side by side, but Wyatt felt further from her than before. Just one more thing he would need to fix.
Just leave her, he thought for the second time. He grunted and shook his head. He hadn’t meant to think it, but it just kept repeating in his head. Just leave them all. His chest burned with a desire he didn’t know how to fulfill. He grabbed at it, willing the strange thoughts to stop.
“That’s some freaky shit,” Athena said, severing the string of thoughts, nodding at Wyatt’s bare chest. “Like it’s growing into you.”
Wyatt looked at her, confused, and nodded. “Yeah…”
“But if it can make walls disappear like at the temple, then I guess it’s not so bad. Thanks, by the way. And be careful…”
“I’ve never done that before…”
“Done what? Make a wall dissolve like sand?” She was smiling now. After such an abrupt change in mood, the expression startled Wyatt. But he didn’t dare press her.
I could never leave her, he reminded himself. “Yeah…usually I…uh, like, grow stuff.”
“Growth and decay,” Athena said.
Wyatt looked at her, further perplexed. She laughed and continued. “Hey, I pay attention. ‘Sides, Maia knows a lot of shit and what else were we supposed to do chained up while you were off god-knows-where?”
“So, I did vanish,” he said. “I was beginning to wonder if I had really even gone back, since I came back in the same place.”
“Uh huh,” Athena said, though it was clear she was distracted by something else.
Wyatt looked at the faraway look in her eyes and the tight line of her clenched jaw. He found he had to work to loosen his own jaw to say, “You like her, don’t you?”
Athena scowled and didn’t answer, instead saying, “She’s worried ‘bout you, you know?”
“Worried?” He thought back to when the spriteling had grabbed him atop the border between realms. He shook his head. “She doesn’t know me.”
“She knows more than you think…things you don’t even know ‘bout yourself.”
Wyatt felt himself frown. He thought about Maia and felt an intense animosity that startled even himself.
Chapter Twenty-Two
THE POND LAY still and silent, like glass, against the base of a high cliff. The pines grew nearly to the edge of the water, creating an odd oasis pinned between timber and stone. Wyatt looked skyward, but could see neither the apex of the cliff nor the pines.
“Is this the border?” he wondered aloud.
“Gotta be,” Athena said. “Shit, that was a long way down.”
The elven guides remained silent and pointed across the lake, their claws drawing imaginary lines to the cliff side. The pond was nearly as wide as the raging Torrents that ran beneath Métra. A sick feeling knotted his stomach. Gareck, Mareck, Rozen…
“You expect us to go in there?” Athena said, gesturing at the dark mouth of a cave at the cliff base.
Wyatt hadn’t seen the cave opening at first, but now found he couldn’t look away. Something called him there. Life. There was life within the shadows and he could sense it. The whisper coursing through his skull intensified and a hunger built within his gut. I want it…his hand went to the pulsing stone in his chest, nestled within its wooden hand and his own flesh. He wanted it and he now had the power to take it.
The elves pointed once more, then let their arms fall, and clasped their hands in front of themselves, looking every bit the reverent monks Wyatt knew they weren’t.
“Shit,” Athena said. “What’s the plan, Wy’?”
“Pretty obvious, isn’t it?”
“Uh, no, it’s not. You got a boat? Or flashlights? Or weapons? Shit, we don’t know what’s in there. I just want to get Maia back. I don’t care about elves or any of this.”
Wyatt shrugged and walked to the water’s edge. “We know what’s in there. Fae and the elf’s treasure, or whatever it is he wants us to get. And I can get us weapons.”
He knelt and pressed his hand into the soft mud. His mind found the voice within the soil. He focused on it, but found he couldn’t speak to it. Or more accurately, he didn’t want to. The desire that coursed through his mind was not to give life, but to take it. Without meaning to, he grabbed at the whisper and drew it in. The ground shifted. Water spit and sizzled into steam and small sinkhole opened around Wyatt, dropping him a foot. The sudden movement startled him and he reared from the mud, stumbled over the edge of the hole and fell backward with a wet slap.
Athena stared down at him and sighed, holding out a hand. He took it, wincing at the pain along his back as she yanked him upright. He looked to where he had knelt. What happened? Something about it frightened him, but a strange energy pulsed electric within his mind and body. He felt alive. He felt invincible. He felt…mighty.
“Well?” Athena said.
Wyatt looked to the distant cave entrance again. The yearning within his mind grew, whispering of the life within. “Maybe we can swim it,” he said, turning to face Athena.
She scoffed. “I ain’t swimmin’ shit. That’s way too far away.” She turned to the elves. “You bitches got any bright ideas? You want us to get your boss’s…whatever…then you should be helpin’ us.”
They remained motionless, standing as statues between them and the pine forest. Athena grunted her disapproval and turned back to Wyatt.
He walked back to the water’s edge and stuck a fur covered foot into the water. It took a moment for it to soak through, but when it did Wyatt smiled. “Ooh,” he said. “It’s warm.”
“And that helps us how?”
He shrugged and stepped further into the water. It crept up his shins, still and warm.
“What are you doin’?” Athena said. “You can’t swim that far.”
He ignored her and kept walking. Fifty feet from the bank, he stopped and turned back to the shore. The water encircled his knees. “I don’t think it’s that deep,” he called. “Maybe we can just walk across.”
He could hear Athena groan, but she carefully descended into the pond and slowly joined Wyatt. Her face betrayed her displeasure.
“You want to rescue her, don’t you?”
She frowned and splashed ahead. “Well, come on, Wy’, let’s go then.”
Near the middle of the pond the water rose to Wyatt’s armpits, but quickly dropped again as they approached the vertical face of gray stone. The cave opening was far larger than it had looked from the far shore and the cliff side was littered with smaller openings that continued higher than Wyatt could see. It looked like a stone honeycomb.
“Well, I guess we won’t be needin’ light after all,” Athena said as they stepped into the opening.
Torches began twenty feet in and were spaced at regular intervals along the rough wall. The light flickered orange, creating a kaleidoscope of dancing shadows. Water lapped at their ankles, but terminated after a few more yards. Wyatt dragged his sodden feet from the water and bent to untie the thick fur. The air had warmed considerably and the ground was smooth stone and hard packed dirt.
“So, what’s a Fae?” Athena said, as she waited for Wyatt to free his feet.
“I think it’s short for faerie.”
“Elves and faeries? Seriously?”
Wyatt tossed the wet fur and twine aside and splayed his toes against the warm stone. He shrugged. “Faeries can’t be that bad. They’re probably kind of like Maia.”
“Then why did the elves send us to deal with them?”
Wyatt shrugged again.
“Do you ever think about what you’re doin’?”
“No,” he said flatly.
Athena sighed and ran a hand through her knotted hair. She winced and drew her hand back, revealing a glisteni
ng spot of blood. She wiped it on the worn robe she wore as a shirt. “All right, well, let’s get this over with. I hope you know what you’re doin’ because I’m not letting those bastards hurt Maia.”
“Hey, I’m a Druid. You don’t have to worry,” he boasted, following her down the ever-narrowing tunnel. And I’m growing stronger.
“Yeah, because that’s really helped us so far.”
“You wanted a bit of adventure, didn’t you?” he said.
Athena sighed dramatically, but didn’t answer.
After a few minutes of walking, the tunnel spilled into a large cavern. The arching ceiling rose a hundred feet above them, littered with stalactites, just visible in the glow of the torches that spiraled along the perimeter, slowly rising well above their heads. Innumerable holes ran the expanse as well, traveling to meet the stalactites. The ground of the cavern was bare, save a lone figure chained in the center.
“Holy shit, it’s an elf.”
“I guess we know what we’re supposed to get back for the Coven,” Wyatt said.
The elf was seated, thick chains running from both wrists and ankles, each buried into the stone floor. As they approached, Wyatt could see the elf was a young male. His hair was long and knotted, but contained only a pair of white feathers and his oversized ears weren’t pierced. He looked up with pale gray eyes as Wyatt and Athena walked toward him. They went wide at the sight and his thin mustache twitched as he hastily whispered, “Who are you? Did my father send you?”
Athena knelt before the elf and examined his bonds. “If your father is a freaky elf with a ton of feathers and—”
“You must speak softly,” the elf interrupted, eyes darting around the cavern. “You must not wake the Fae or it will be the death of you.”
“Relax,” Wyatt whispered, kneeling at Athena’s side. “I’m a Druid. I’m not afraid of a couple faeries.” He pulled aside his torn shirt so the elf could witness the pulsing seed.
The elf’s eyes widened even further. “Oh, curse D’orca. A Druid.”
“Is D’orca your father?” Athena said.
The elf nodded. “D’orca the Wise.” He spat the word wise. “And I am D’ynda.”
“Nice to meet you, D’ynda,” Wyatt said with a smile. “We’re here to get you out and bring you back to your father.”
“Not that we want to,” Athena added. “But your wise father has our friend.”
D’ynda shook his head. “No, you mustn’t. Leave me. And tell my foolish father that I am ending his war.”
Athena grabbed the chain around his right wrist and gave it a yank. The links clattered loudly against each other and D’ynda lurched forward. “We’re bringin’ you back and getting our friend and getting the hell outta this fuckin’ forest, whether you like it or not. I will drag you.”
D’ynda pulled back and looked frantically about the cavern. “No. D’orca does not wish for peace. His foolish vendetta will be the death of the Coven. I seek to save it. Now, quickly, you must leave me or all with be—”
A loud buzzing noise cut off the elf’s words. It quickly intensified, drifting out of the plethora of holes in the cavern walls. Wyatt glanced about and at once the air burst to life with a swarm of dark shapes. They spilled forth from the cavern walls like a wave. The torches sputtered under the gust of wings, some flickering out completely.
“Oh fuck,” Athena said as the cloud descended upon them.
The Fae hit the ground in unison, covering a majority of the cavern floor. Double sets of wings flexed and shimmered behind the creatures as they folded against muscled backs.
“This was not my doing,” D’ynda shouted, straining against his chains. “They are my father’s deception. I still wish for peace. Trust my words!”
A faerie stepped forward, gliding on lean, sinewy limbs. She appeared female, her features soft and delicate despite the line of bony spikes that sprouted along both forearms and poked through her long, black hair. She wore simple garb, wide strips of fabric that wrapped around her chest and a scant piece of leather that shaded her waist, covering no more than a pair of panties. Her skin was rough and scaly, dark green with blotches of pale yellow and muddy brown.
“D’ynda,” she said, her voice soft and graceful. “What is this treachery? You seek to flee from your bonds?”
Her hands held only three fingers and a thumb, and she brushed her hair behind a pointed ear. Two pointed tails swished quietly behind her, brushing over the smooth stone floor.
“No, Fae’Herot, Your Grace,” D’ynda pleaded. “This only proves what I have told you. D’orca seeks only war and it will destroy both our peoples. Please, you must listen. I have made no request to flee. I have proven myself.”
Fae’Herot shifted, casting her gaze on Wyatt and Athena. Wyatt forced himself to stand tall. Athena stepped forward, her eyes full of malice and her hands clenched into fists.
“Hey,” she shouted. “I don’t give a flying fuck what you and those damned elves are fightin’ about. All I need is this bastard,” she said, pointing at D’ynda, “to trade for my friend that his asshole father is holding captive. So back the hell off and we’ll be outta your hair.”
D’ynda gasped and shrank against the ground. Fae’Herot stood unmoved by the teen’s outburst. She stared back in silence a moment, grunted, and turned back to D’ynda.
“This is unfortunate as I thought us close to a resolution,” she said. “But perhaps all is not lost.”
D’ynda lifted his gaze and clasped his manacled hands together. “Oh, please, yes. Whatever you say, Your Grace. I want only peace for the Coven and your brood. You need only ask.”
Fae’Herot nodded and turned to the crowd at her back. “Unchain him,” she said.
Two faeries moved in, producing wrought iron keys and unlocked the thick chain, letting it fall noisily to the stone. D’ynda stood up, rubbing his wrists and frowning.
“I don’t understand…”
“You seek to prove yourself separate from the desires of D’orca the Wise. You will prove it now. Kill the humans.”
Fae’Herot nodded to the crowd of faeries and a gleaming longsword clattered against the stone, sliding to a rest at the elf’s feet. He stared at it wide-eyed as the Fae moved away, creating a solid wall of scaly skin around the elf and humans.
“But Your Grace, I, uh,” D’ynda stammered. “The male…he’s a, uh…he’s a Druid.”
Fae’Herot glanced at Wyatt for the first time and folded her arms across her chest. “So, he is.”
“So, I, uh…”
A new faerie pushed through the crowd and appeared on the edge of the pit, opposite Fae’Herot. She was slighter, the bony ridges across her skin less pronounced, her hair a silvery white, and her eyes gleaming a soft red.
“D’ynda,” she called.
The elf whirled at the voice, his eyes still peeled wide. “Fae’Nula, what are you doing here?”
Fae’Herot spoke up before the small elf could. “I thought it fitting that she should see you for what you are—a conniving gremlin of the forest.”
“This is true?” Fae’Nula said, her voice trembling slightly. “You meant to escape?”
D’ynda shook his head vigorously. “No, I didn’t. It was D’orca that sent these humans to sabotage what we’re building here. Peace.”
Fae’Herot scoffed. “Peace. The wishes of a fool. Pick up the blade and prove yourself, foul elf.”
D’ynda turned from the sorrowful Fae’Nula and looked first to the sword and then to Fae’Herot. “I cannot. I came for peace. I will not fight.”
Fae’Herot’s face twisted with rage and she looked to say something, but Athena interrupted, walking toward D’ynda. “Fuck this,” she bellowed. “Stupid elf, you’re coming back with us and I’m getting Maia back. It’s that simple.”
D’ynda turned to face her, but had no time to react before Athena’s fist flashed through the air and caught the elf in the nose. He floundered against the air and fell to the ground, blood
quickly soaking into his mustache. He brought a hand to his face and looked at the blood, horrified.
A bitter laugh burst from Fae’Herot and rippled through the Fae. “Human, your fire is admirable.”
Athena whirled on the Fae leader, her eyes lit like braziers. “I’ll fight a hundred dumb elves if I have to.”
“They have taken your friend, yes?”
Athena nodded and jabbed a finger back at D’ynda, who still sat stunned, examining his own blood, as if he’d never seen it before. “I need the elf to trade for her.”
Fae’Herot nodded and a wicked smile crept across her face. She walked past Athena and picked up the long sword. It looked weightless in her hand. “D’ynda,” she said. “You are a greater fool than your father if you thought I would allow you and Fae’Nula to…” Her words trailed off as her face twisted into a snarl and the long sword rose high into the air. “There was never to be peace. You were just a toy. This was always your end.”
D’ynda sat motionless as the polished blade arced through the air, cutting it as neatly as it cut through the elf’s neck. A single feminine gasp marred the silence, quickly followed by wretched sobs.
Wyatt stared dumbly as D’ynda’s body slumped slowly to the side, spewing blood across the stone floor. He glanced at Athena and saw her wide-eyed, her previous malice replaced by terror.
Fae’Herot dropped the sword and grabbed the head by the hair, offering it to Athena. “Here is your elf. Take this back to D’orca, free your friend, and flee this place, for by dusk the pines will run red with the Coven’s blood.”
Athena took a step back and held up her hands. She looked fit to be sick. The faerie laughed, turned, and tossed the head into the swarm of Fae. It returned a moment later, tied within a burlap sack. Athena grabbed the knotted end reluctantly and held it away from her body as far as her arms would allow.
Wyatt stepped to her side, hoping to lend some support. She looked uneasily at him and handed off the sack. It wasn’t what he had in mind, but he took the head and held it casually at his side. He let his mind wander to it for a moment, but the voice was gone. There was no life to be found within.
The Druid's Guise: The Complete Trilogy (The Druid's Guise Trilogy) Page 45