Tempests fury, p.16
Tempest's Fury, page 16
“A beauty queen I am not,” she said with a shrug. “What do you want with me?”
“It’s not what I want with you,” he replied. “My queen demands an audience with you. You will come quietly, or I will be forced to do you bodily harm.”
“Yeah, I’ll pass on the coming quietly thing. Not my style.”
He sighed. “Very well, you leave me little recourse.”
Gretchen had never moved so fast in her life. It was as if the entire thing happened in slow motion, and her senses went on high alert.
His hand whipped out toward her, seeking to grasp her throat in a choking maneuver. She threw her hands out in front of her, using a strong current of air to propel herself away from him. Her chair slid backward, and the table shoved forward, hitting him in his gut and throwing him across the room.
Shoving the desk aside, he growled with rage and disappeared into thin air.
Leaping to her feet, Gretchen sparked two blue lightning bolts, one in each hand. Turning in circles, she watched the empty space around her. The only sound was her breathing, racing noisily in and out of her lungs. She swallowed past the lump in her throat, the surface of her skin tingling in awareness.
With a growl, he reappeared right in front of her, hurtling through the air, glowing red eyes burning like hot coals.
Gretchen screamed and let one of the bolts fly. It struck the Faerie in the chest, bringing him to his knees. Determined not to let him back up, she threw the second, propelling him to his back as he convulsed and writhed, groaning in agony.
Grinning, she ran toward him, ready to deliver a swift kick to his middle. Before her foot could make contact, he disappeared in a puff of smoke. In a split second, he had materialized behind her, wrapping one arm around her neck and the other around her waist.
Her feet left the floor and she struggled for air as his hold around her neck tightened. Using a powerful burst of wind, she propelled them both back into the wall, hoping to knock the wind from him. No such luck. He had the stamina of three horses, and she’d hardly fazed him.
Just then, the door flew open. She barely registered Titus’ face before he melted away, and a massive, white wolf stood in his place, fur standing on end and teeth bared. He growled, springing into the room with Phaedra and Arrian on his heels.
Her captor clouted her over the head with something hard, and she pitched forward. The world spun, and she couldn’t breathe, but she maintained her hold on consciousness. Phaedra ran to her side as the Werewolf rushed forward to meet the Faerie. She knelt, helping her into a seated position.
“Are you okay?”
Gretchen shook her pounding head and blinked. Two of the blond Fae fought off both Arrian and Titus now.
“I’m not sure,” she murmured. “I think I’m seeing double.”
Phaedra frowned. “You’re not seeing double. It’s one of their tricks. One of them is an illusion—an illusion that acts, looks, and feels like the real thing … and can hurt you just the same.”
Just then, a third apparition appeared behind Phaedra. It gripped a handful of her hair and yanked, throwing her to her back. Dragging her backward, he twisted cruelly, causing Phaedra’s eyes to water.
“Hasn’t anyone ever told you not to mess with a black girl’s hair?” she growled.
Extending one of her hands, she reached toward the open classroom door. A few seconds later, the rushing of water sounded, and like a tidal wave, it entered the room.
Where it had come from, she didn’t know, but Gretchen only watched in awe as the large wave plowed into the Faerie, throwing him across the room.
“I’ve got it,” Arrian declared, seeming to snatch control of the water from Phaedra, who stood and gave her fauxhawk a pat.
Moving his hands as if forming a ball, Arrian kept his eyes fixated on the water, which seemed to answer his command. It converged into one large mass, like a bubble floating on the air. Spreading his fingers, he turned one bubble into three, then sent them each hurtling at the apparitions of the Dark Faerie.
Suspended in the water, the three images kicked and flailed, roaring and trying to swim free. Yet, no matter which way they swam, the bubble followed, keeping them trapped.
With a growl, Titus transformed back to his human form.
“Neat trick,” he said. “Now what? We don’t know which is which.”
Gretchen glanced down at her hand and the blue lines of electricity racing between her fingers.
“I wonder …” she murmured.
Arrian frowned, keeping his attention on suspending his watery bubbles in the air. “You have an idea?”
She stepped forward, ignoring her pounding head.
“Yeah. Stand back,” she warned Phaedra and Titus.
They obeyed, falling back as she held up one glowing lightning bolt. Quick as actual lightning, she sent three flashes in rapid succession to the three water bubbles. Each one glowed blue and the forms inside of them jolted and jerked. The bubbles broke, leaving giant wet spots on the floor. Two of the images had faded, and one remained. Lying in a puddle of water, he had been rendered unconscious.
Phaedra gazed from the Dark Fae to Gretchen with wide eyes. “That was cool.”
“Electricity plus water, equals bad news,” she replied, shrugging. “There’s your guy. What are we going to do with him?”
“I’ve got that covered.”
Titus came forward, kneeling beside the Eendi’s prone form. He produced a bottle from his back pocket and quickly unscrewed the cap.
“What is that?” Arrian asked, watching Titus tilt his head back and pour the liquid down his throat.
“A liquid iron supplement for people with anemia,” he replied.
Gretchen raised her eyebrows. “So, we’re going to dope the guy up with vitamins?”
“The Fae have one weakness,” he retorted. “Iron. It’ll keep him down so we can get him back to the apartment for questioning.”
“How are we going to do that, anyway?” Phaedra asked. “Once he wakes up, there’s no way we can hold him.”
“You leave that to me,” Titus declared. “Gretchen needs to go back to class.”
“Are you kidding me?” she groaned, rubbing the back of her head.
A goose egg had begun to form beneath her hair where that jerk had struck her.
“I can barely think straight! No way am I going to make it through two more classes.”
“I’m afraid you don’t have a choice,” Arrian chimed in. “If Eranna has other spies here, they’ll get suspicious if you leave early. Or, they could follow you back to the apartment and discover our prisoner. Remaining here will buy Rothatin some time to question him.”
“I’ve got some migraine medicine in my locker,” Phaedra offered. “We’ll get through the rest of the day.”
“Whatever it takes. Let’s do this.”
Titus lifted the limp body. “See you guys later.”
He disappeared through the classroom door leaving them alone.
Gretchen smoothed her rumpled clothes and reached for her backpack. When she straightened, she found Phaedra and Arrian staring at each other from opposite sides of the room. His jaw was tight, his chest swelling as if he held his breath. She resembled a deer in the headlights, both afraid and enraptured.
Seriously, they should just get a room already.
Gretchen didn’t know what was going on with them, but the awkward silence and staring contest just made her uncomfortable. She cleared her throat to remind them that they had company.
Arrian blinked, and breathed for the first time in at least a minute.
“Are you all right?” he asked, his gaze never leaving Phaedra.
“Of course.”
He nodded as if satisfied and left the room without a look back.
She raised her eyebrows at Phaedra. “Someday you’re going to have to explain all that to me,” she said. “But for now I’ll settle for those headache pills.”
Chapter Fourteen
Selena peered over En’im’s shoulder, searching for Rothatin in the melee below them. Perched on the back of the Faerie’s hawk, they were surrounded by about ten other Undays’e. More would be called to them once the horn had summoned them to this place.
“There!” En’im exclaimed, pointing.
From this distance, she couldn’t see him among the hundreds of bodies clogging the street—not to mention vehicles—but she trusted the eyesight of a Faerie.
“Blow the horn,” she said, lifting her golden staff. It had been balanced across her thighs through the flight, but she lifted it now, creating a current of air that lifted her into the air. “Let’s get down there.”
“Your Highness,” En’im said, eyeing her swollen belly with concern. “Are you certain this is wise? More than enough Fae will come, helping us win this battle. It might be best—”
“Please, En’im,” Selena said, cutting her off, “don’t come at me with the chauvinist crap about how I should be sitting down somewhere with my feet up. I would hope of all people, a female soldier would understand my need to be here. This is my fight, too.”
En’im lowered her gaze, but argued no more. “Yes, Princess.”
“Let’s do this.”
As the horn was blown, Selena turned and hurtled downward, keeping a sharp eye for Rothatin in the fray. She located him, still swamped by the Dark Fae. Three piles of silver dust had accumulated around him—three Eendi he’d killed himself. Seven more remained, all coming at him from different angles.
He fought with relentless intent, sweat plastering his hair to his face as he swung his double-edged spear so swift the weapon became no more than a silver blur around him. She dropped right in the middle of the fight, clocking one of the Eendi on the head from behind, rendering him unconscious. Taking up the iron blade he’d dropped, she jammed it into a notch on the end of her staff, making her own makeshift spear. She wasted no time stabbing the unconscious Faerie in the back, running him through to the heart and turning him to silver dust on the street.
“What in the name of the gods are you doing?” Rothatin bellowed, fighting back two Dark Fae at one time.
“Bringing the cavalry,” Selena panted between short breaths, using her spear to ward off an axe-attack.
All around them, Fae Warriors dropped from the sky, weapons coming unsheathed in a chorus of metal scraping metal. Silver armor gleaming in the sunlight, they made a beautiful sight as they came around Selena and Rothatin in a protective circle. The remaining Eendi were quickly taken care of, leaving them surrounded by a mob of chaotic humans.
Fires burned here and there, in trash cans and even in a few hollowed-out cars. Broken glass littered the streets, and many of the shops lining the street stood open as the looters came and went, taking all in the name of their queen. Anyone who stood in their way went down, assaulted by ravenous groups of four or five with glowing, red eyes.
The NYPD had sent for reinforcements, and now officers in riot gear holding up shields converged on them.
Rothatin shouldered his way to the front of the group just as an officer shakily raised his gun. He’d undoubtedly seen enough to make him afraid of the general.
“Freeze!” he bellowed, leveling his pistol between Rothatin’s eyes.
He held his hands up in a gesture of surrender.
“Listen to me,” he said, taking a step toward the officer.
The gunshot rang out, loud even in the midst of the chaos. Selena clapped her hand over her mouth, muffling a scream when he went down, a bullet embedded between his eyebrows. En’im dropped to her knees beside him, taking his face in her hands and studying him for signs of life.
“General!”
Before the officer could raise his gun again, Selena ran forward and stood between him and her friends.
“Stop! Look, I’m just a girl, okay?” She pulled her shirt tight against her body and turned sideways. “A very pregnant girl.”
“Selena, don’t!” En’im cried, standing and trying to force Selena behind her.
She shook the woman off and took another step toward the line of officers. “We need your help.”
“Lower your weapons, damn it!” the officer bellowed to the others. “I’m not going to be responsible for killing a pregnant girl.” Turning to her, he frowned. “What are you doing out here? It’s not safe.”
She nodded. “I know. I get that this looks bad, but we’re here to help. These people are under compulsion—mind control. They don’t know what they’re doing.”
The officer raised an eyebrow at her, then inclined his head toward a group of red-eyed humans running from a department store, their arms overflowing with expensive clothing. The bank was nothing more than an empty hole, having been gutted of all valuables. The number of red-eyed humans on the street seemed to have doubled since Selena had left to go for help.
“Sure looks like they know what they’re doing to me,” the officer said.
“Look at their eyes, man,” she replied. “What person do you know has glowing, red eyes?”
The officer didn’t respond, but he did seem to think about what she’d said.
“I know these people are dangerous right now, and I’m sure something can be done to fix them. In the meantime, they need to be rounded up and locked away. If we can do it without violence, that would be great. I think we can all agree enough of that has gone on today.”
“I’ll second that.”
The cop’s eyes widened, and his mouth fell open so far his chewing gum fell out and onto the sidewalk.
Rothatin had stood, and now reached up to pluck the bullet from between his eyes. Grimacing at it, he dropped it to the pavement while the hole in his head healed.
The cop looked as if he would be sick. He seemed torn between believing what his eyes could see, and doubting that something like this could ever happen.
“Sorry for shooting you, man.”
The general shrugged. “No apology necessary. You were afraid. Now, shall we try to restore a little order around here?”
The cop nodded. “Let’s do it.”
Working alongside the police, they swept the street, attempting to round up all of the red-eyed troublemakers. With the use of tear gas and zip ties, the street was soon lined with about a hundred incapacitated minions. They thrashed and struggled against their bonds, but even they weren’t strong enough to break those annoying, plastic zip ties.
She had just joined En’im and the others in sweeping the area for any stragglers, when her mate appeared, his jaw jutting out and his eyes glittering—he wore his ‘mad face’.
She opened her mouth to say something, but he cut her off before she could.
“Don’t,” he growled, narrowing his eyes at her. If looks could kill, she’d have gone up in smoke by now. “Are you kidding me, Selena? What the hell are you doing?”
“Can’t we just skip the part where you act all mad and get to the part where you kiss me and ask me about my day?”
“No,” he snapped. “We’re not skipping anything. How many times have I asked you not to put your life, or the baby’s life, in danger?”
“More times than I can count but—agh!”
She doubled, over clutching her stomach with one hand. A twinge of pain shot through her, and a tightening sensation stole her ability to breathe.
Titus was on her in a second. Hands on her shoulders, he searched her for signs of injury.
“Selena! What is it? AH!” He gritted his teeth as her pain became his. “That hurts.”
She glared at him. “Tell me about it.”
Rothatin approached, brow furrowed with concerned. “Is something wrong?”
“I don’t know,” Titus replied, his breathing growing heavy. “She’s in pain.”
“I’m fine,” she insisted, shaking her head when the pain dissipated. “I think it’s over— agh!”
“Okay, you are not fine,” Titus declared, bending to lift her in his arms. He turned to Rothatin. “Get us to a hospital. Now.”
The general didn’t miss a beat. He turned to En’im and directed her to finish up with the police. Then, he grasped Titus’ shoulder and teleported them from the scene.
They arrived at the Emergency Room entrance of a hospital, though Selena didn’t bother to ask which one. She only knew that fear had taken up residence in her chest, causing her heart to pound.
Perhaps, for once, she should have listened to her mate.
Jocylene lay back on her palette, happy to be free of freezing cold Mollac. They’d journeyed all day before making camp safe in Fallada’s forest. She felt at home here, surrounded by grass, trees, and earth. The scent of fresh soil soothed her, and even seemed therapeutic for her wound. They’d eaten a hasty dinner before bedding down for the night, planning to awaken at first light and continue on to Goldun.
“How are you, my love?” Eli asked, crouching and pulling the neckline of her tunic aside to examine her wound.
She gave him a smile, even though all she wanted to do was close her eyes and fall asleep.
“Fine,” she replied. “There’s still pain, but it’s tolerable.”
Lying on his side on the ground beside her, he draped one arm across her waist. He kissed her temple, nuzzling the loose strands of hair affectionately.
“I’m glad to hear it.”
I think I made headway with Desdemona today, she said, keeping this part of their conversation private. They lay not far from where everyone else had bedded down for the night.
I heard your conversation. I hope you are right. We need her. This war cannot be won without her.
Don’t worry, I won’t give up until I’ve won her over.
Hmmm, he rumbled, giving her a light squeeze, sounds like the tactic I used in convincing you to fall in love with me.
She laughed aloud. Something like that.
Go to sleep, Joss. You need rest.
She obeyed his command and closed her eyes, drifting off within seconds.
When she came awake suddenly, she was unsure of how long it had been. Her shoulder had grown stiff from being immobile, and her mouth had gone dry. It took a moment for the fog of drowsiness to lift, and for her to realize that chaos had exploded in their little camp.
