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He covered my hand with his for a moment, then nodded. “As you wish. We will discuss it when you are ready. And I will do everything in my power to make sure you’re never hurt again. ”
Uh-oh. That sounded a little too ivory-towerish for me, but I knew he needed to say it—needed to feel he could keep some control of the situation. Nodding, I motioned to Trillian and Delilah, who were waiting up ahead.
“Let’s go get Chase. ” I sucked in a deep breath, wondering when life would ever return to normal. If that were even possible.
We approached the portal, and I turned to them. “I have to go first, but we form a chain. Once we’re inside, we head toward the mushroom ring. Now that Smoky’s with us, we can go through it and still get out of wherever we end up. And once we go through, I think from there, we head to the astral. That’s where Chase managed to jump over. ”
They nodded. Delilah tossed me a bag, and I opened it up. “My iron! You brought me my handcuffs and flail!” For the first time since Hyto had caught me, I felt a smile truly break over my face.
She handed me a pair of gloves. “You’ll need these, too. Now let’s go get our detective. ”
We formed a line, with me in the front. Smoky insisted on being second, and neither Delilah nor Trillian countered him. Delilah went third, Trillian last. As we took aim toward the portal, I took a deep breath and led them through. The crackling energy was like a recharging burst of ocean air, and I sucked it in, holding it within my breath, within my very cells. I needed the charge. The surge of power felt like a glass of long, cold water to my parched body.
Through the portal and we were once again standing in the jungle of frosty foliage. Smoky and Trillian went on instant alert, Trillian drawing his serrated blade. Delilah and I glanced around. Neither Tra nor Herne was anywhere in sight, and I slowly let out my breath.
Now if we could just keep Yannie Fin Diver at bay, we might get through it without too much of a battle. But I didn’t have my unicorn horn with me, so that should take care of the latter. He’d been after the horn, not so much me. With a little luck, if we hurried past the bog, he might not notice we were here.
I pulled my capelet closer around my shoulders and started forward, pushing past the guys. With Smoky at my side, I headed forward toward the other side of the frosted lea, in the direction of the rock-faced ravine leading into the glen. Trillian fell in beside Delilah.
Nothing stirred, save for a few crows watching us from the branches of the overhanging oaks. Silently, we passed through the magical realm, and with every step, the sense of heavy, old magic surrounded me. Something had been through here recently.
As we entered the ravine, I could feel the call of the rocks. There was quartz in the cliff face; that I’d bet my magic on. Quartz crystals sang to me, and ever since I’d been Earthside, I’d started noticing it more and more. For some reason, my connection to the mineral was more prominent over here, and I used it for the wards around the land.
Beside me, Smoky was keeping a close eye on the sides of the ravine, his gaze darting from side to side. We passed silently through the short passage and came to the thick foliage that separated the ravine from the bog.
“Be careful. Yannie Fin Diver is in that bog. At least we know the Bog Eater isn’t around. Although the fact that he’s prowling Tangleroot Park isn’t any comfort, either. But Yannie is dangerous, and now he has a grudge against me because he couldn’t get hold of the unicorn horn. ”
I pushed through to the open swath of ground that divided the forest from the peat bog. The sour tang rang in my nose, and as we passed by, I kept close watch for any sign of activity out on the surface. I didn’t want to have to go into combat against one of the Elder Fae, but with Smoky, it would be a hell of a lot easier to take care of than with just Delilah and me. We crept along and had almost reached the area where we could cut into the bushes when a ripple on the surface of the marsh caught my eye.
Hell. Yannie Fin Diver rose out of the water. He spotted us and, a feral gleam in his eye, rose with a triumphant howl.
“It’s him! Watch out!” I headed on a dead run for the woods, Delilah right after me.
Barely a beat later, Smoky turned into his dragon self. As he transformed, his long, snakelike body shimmering into sight, Smoky towered over the Elder Fae. He rose into the air, his front claws long and dangerously sharp, his wings whipping up a storm. The ripples on the bog water caused by Yannie’s appearance turned into a flurry of waves, cresting against the path.
“Oh shit,” Delilah said, turning to me. And then she flailed, her back heel sliding. Even as I tried to figure out what was going on, she fell backward into a quivering mass of sand and water and began to sink. Her head disappeared and I screamed, but then her head reappeared.
“Don’t struggle—try to float on the surface as much as you can. Struggling will only drag you down quicker. ” Turning to find Trillian, who was watching the brewing confrontation between Smoky and Yannie, I yelled at him.
“Help me. ”
Trillian’s gaze snapped to me, and when he realized what was going on, he raced over.
Yannie Fin Diver glanced up at the opalescent dragon and began to backpedal. Interesting; so even the Elder Fae could be cowed by dragons. I had been wondering if it came down to it, who would kick whose ass. But even though he was backtracking, Smoky didn’t stop, but headed right for him.
I tore my attention away from them and fell flat on the ground, my walking stick out in front of me. I tried to push it across the sinkhole that was swallowing Delilah, so that she’d have something to grab on to.
Trillian leaped over the shifting quagmire in which Delilah was caught, barely landing on solid ground. He wavered, flailing his arms for a second, then regained his balance and immediately went down on his stomach like me, bracing the other end of my walking stick. We held it steady over Delilah, who was by now chest deep in the mire.
She grabbed the lifeline, dragging herself out of the sucking sand. As she clung to the staff, Trillian and I slowly edged it over the side of the sinkhole and she struggled to clamber out. I slipped one hand under her left arm, as Trillian reached across and slipped his hand under her right, and we pried her out as she scrambled onto the ground, covered in the wet slimy sand. She leaned her head on her knees, her short spiky haircut matted down by the gunk.
“Damn, that’s more bog than quicksand. I hate that stuff. It’s scary hard to get out of,” she gasped, spitting out bits of sand that had gotten into her mouth.
A huge roar filled the air, and we all jerked around to see Smoky engage Yannie. The Elder Fae had grown terribly large, big enough to fight back. Crap. Maybe he wasn’t so vulnerable after all. He raised his huge arms, and the kelp boas that flowed around his shoulders rose like stinging snakes and launched themselves at Smoky, catching him around the neck.
Smoky let out a loud rumble, blasting him with flame and smoke. I gasped, but the Fae managed to jump aside, merely singed. Smoky turned in midair, strafing at Yannie with his dragon fire, as the Elder Fae kept growing, reaching a good fifteen feet in the air.
He swiped at Smoky, hitting my dragon on the butt and knocking him off balance. Smoky caught himself and dove for Yannie, barely missing the top of his head with his talons. His wings gave one major shove and managed to beat up enough turbulence that Yannie went cartwheeling back into the bog.
Like a hawk diving after a fish, wings back, talons at the ready, Smoky barreled down toward the Elder Fae, who took one last look at his incoming opponent and splashed beneath the waters, churning a wake behind him as he headed out toward the marshy wastes. Smoky pulled up, skimming the surface of the water, chased him for a bit, then headed back to shore.
He transformed even as he settled to the ground, his hair whipping around him in a frenzy. I froze, staring at it, remembering what Hyto had done to me with his long locks, then slowly let out my breath, re
minding myself that—at least for the present—I was safe from the freak.
Smoky wasn’t even panting. And, as usual, clean as a whistle. I really had to find out how he did that, but so far, he wasn’t telling anybody.
“He disappeared before I could kill him, but I doubt if he’ll bother us now. ” He turned to Delilah. “Are you all right?” He sounded abrupt, but I knew that he cared about my sisters—even when he pretended not to.
“Yeah,” she said, pushing herself up and wiping off what she could of the gunk that clung to her clothing. “I’m cold and wet, but I’ll be all right. ” She shivered and Trillian offered her his duster, but she shook her head. “I move better without a long coat. I’ll be fine for a bit. ”
I considered trying to dry her off with a spell, but the better part of wisdom prevailed, and I refrained.
“You cannot travel while chilled. Take off your clothes and lay them down on the ground. ” At her look, he shook his head. “Just do it. ”
Delilah obeyed as Smoky moved to the edge of the bog and, without another word, was in his dragon shape again. He swung his long neck toward her clothes and let out a great belch. Instead of fire, smoke came out, and soot. Even from where I was standing I could feel the intense heat behind the gust of air, and after two or three more puffs, he turned to her and blew a gentler gust over her.
“Thank you, Smoky. ” She grinned at him, and headed over to her clothes, which were dry, if still dirty. As she pulled on the stiff material, she caught my gaze and shook her head, trying not to laugh. I repressed a smile as Smoky shifted back and—looking pleased with himself—motioned for us to move on.
As we headed inland, toward the mushroom ring, my only regret was that Smoky hadn’t managed to kill Yannie Fin Diver. Right now, I wasn’t feeling very merciful toward my enemies.
We came to the mushroom ring before long, and once again a surge of trickster energy blasted out from it. Trillian blinked, shaking his head.
“Damn, whatever sort of gateway it is, it’s strong. And cunning. ”
“Cunning is right. Remember—Chase was captured by what sounds like a spider-related Fae. Cunning and webweavers go hand in hand. Spider creatures are smart. ” I pointed toward the edge of the ring. “I put my arm through there and it was kind of freaky. Okay, we ready for this?”
Smoky grunted and started to take the lead, but Trillian motioned him back. “This is Fae territory, dude. This is more my speed than yours. You stick close to Camille and Delilah. ” He stepped forward, and, reluctantly, Smoky moved back, a skeptical look on his face.
We tied up—portals like this weren’t safe to travel through without having some connection to one another. Otherwise, who knew if we’d end up in the same place? Then, without another word, Trillian stepped through, me following, then Smoky and Delilah.
Most portals are disorienting; this was a freak show. The moment I passed through, a spiral of colors began to run around me as reality melted into a swirl of color and sound. I was still tied to Trillian, but the only thing I could see were brilliant blues and greens, rotating in on themselves, like the spiral on the old Outer Limits program.
My body felt like it was melting, it was so hot. Sweat trickled down my forehead, slowly forming rivulets along my cheeks. Droplets trickled down my nose, onto my tongue as I reached out to catch one. Salty. Sweet. I wanted to rip my clothes off—the heat was stifling. As I considered undoing my capelet, something in the back of my mind whispered, Don’t—it’s the portal. It will pass. Don’t fall for it.
Keeping my wrap on, I shifted beneath it, the pain fading from my thighs, from my heart, from my back and bones. All I could feel was the heat—the mind-numbing heat, the heat rising in my body, spreading through my stomach, making me ache for someone strong to come along, to push me down on the ground and fill me full. I struggled not to strip bare at the thought that Trillian might be close enough to touch.
Music swept up—panpipes and drums, a tambourine, a lute—the dance called me in. To dance, to spin, to whirl under the stars, to leap into the great cosmic orgasm of the universe and never stop dancing . . . the swell of desire rose within my heart and I began to wander away from the path, but the rope around my waist stopped me.
Confused, I stared at the nylon coil wrapped around me, wondering how to get rid of it, when someone on the other end tugged—hard. Unprepared, I went sailing forward, stumbling through the swirls of color until the heat suddenly lessened and I tripped, finding myself lying prone in a snow-covered meadow, with Trillian waiting anxiously. Oddly, the snow didn’t feel all that cold.
He knelt by me and took me by the shoulders. “Camille, are you all right?”
I looked around, perplexed. Smoky and Delilah were there already, but I’d been second. “How . . . what happened?”
“You got lost in there. The energy is magnetic and glom-med onto you. We were trying our best to pull you out, but you were resisting. What was it?” My love searched my face, the dark gleaming skin of his hands stark against my skin. I kissed his fingers, reveling in the feel of them against my face. The seducing energy still held me in its grasp.
“I . . . I wanted to strip naked and run . . . to screw my brains out with somebody. ” I inhaled deeply and slowly let it out. After a moment, my head began to clear. “Whoever opened that portal is powerful and has a yen for magical energy. It’s not quite the same as the portal through which we initially came, but there was the same seductive pull—the same sort of siren song. ”
“Hmm . . . perhaps a creature who feeds on magical energy?” Smoky extended his hand and I placed my left in it, my right in Trillian’s, and allowed them to lift me to my feet.
“It wouldn’t be the first we’ve met like that. Come on, let’s see where we’re at. ” As we began to look around, I realized that although we were in a frosty meadow, everything had an artificial look to it—as if it were two-dimensional. It was almost as though we were on a movie set.