Darkness Arisen (20 page)

"No. Not right." He walked over to her. She stiffened, and he saw the wariness in her eyes as she pulled her shoulders back. For a moment, neither of them spoke, and Ian reached out with his mind, gently probing hers. She immediately slammed up her mental barriers, but not before he sensed the cold chill of deception. Ah, the conveniences of the
sheva
bond. It might not work as well as it should, but it was good enough for him to find out what he needed from her. "I don't believe you," he said. "I think you want to make sure she never leaves that island alive."

She stared at him, aghast. "What are you talking about?"

It was a guess, only a guess, but he threw it out there anyway, just to test her reaction, to push her to the edge so he could force some truth out of her. He'd been a warrior long enough to know the importance of having full and accurate information when going into battle. "I think, sweetheart, that you want me to kill Catherine Taylor when we find her. Not save her. Kill her."

Ian was a little shocked by the revealing look of horror on her face, confirming that his wild stab in the dark designed to goad her into revealing more, was actually dead right.

His sweet little angel of life was actually a bloodthirsty murderer? No. That was impossible. It had to be something else, something he hadn't figured out, something he didn't know. "Why? Tell me why, Alice. Tell me what's really going on."

But before he could take it further, the room filled with a turquoise glow.

Jada had arrived.

* * *

Alice whirled around at the intrusion, her mind still whirring from Ian's question. Why had he asked that? How had he known? What would he do? What—

"Oh, shit." Ian lowered his mace. "Jada isn't even going to have the decency of a polite conversation before making her decision? It's just rude to try to drown someone without even discussing it first."

"Drown us?" Alice's feet felt cold, and she looked down. The floor of the room was being flooded with ocean water. It was already up to her ankles, and filling fast. She immediately started backing up, then caught herself. Like retreating would do any good. "I'm thinking that in about two seconds, we're going to discover we can't breathe underwater anymore."

"I agree." Ian sloshed across the room through water that was already up to his thighs. The room was filling so fast that there was foam churning across the surface of the water. "I can breathe for you. We'll do it like last time."

Alice hurried over to him, not even hesitating. "How long can you breathe under water?" The seawater was already up to her ribs, and she started to shiver. "It's really cold."

"I know." Ian wrapped his arms around her, infusing her with his warmth. "I can sustain us for a while, but no, I'm not a fish. I can't do it forever."

"So, then, maybe this isn't going to really solve our problem, is it?" Even as she protested, she wrapped her arms around his neck, tucking herself against him. As before, the raw strength of his body seemed to infuse her with power. It felt amazing, and eased some of her fear. It was getting less scary to turn herself over to him, but at the same time, the fact she was getting used to it wasn't a good sign. How far off her assigned path was he leading her? And at what point would the payment be a fast trip to become Jada's underling? Unless, of course, she finally died for good before then, which was looking increasingly likely.

"Yeah, good point. Much as I love the fact that breathing for you means I get to suck face with you indefinitely, I'm thinking we need a more long-term solution. Tread water," Ian said. "Breathe for yourself as long as you can." His eyes were darting around the room. "I need to figure out where the water is coming from. There has to be an opening somewhere, a portal that she opened to let the ocean filter in."

Alice twisted in his arms, and looked down into the water. "It has to be coming from the floor," She said. "I didn't hear it dripping down from the walls, and the walls and ceiling are dry above the water line."

"Then let's check the floor." He released her and readied himself to dive. "We can't stay here forever. We need to get out."

Alice took a deep breath, then nodded, trying to quell the panic. "Okay."

"Search for any kind of opening," Ian instructed. "It'll be a weak point, and maybe I can break through the rest of the way. Go!" He dove, disappearing under the water instantly.

After taking one last look at the ceiling, which was now far too close, Alice sucked in her breath and followed him. The aqua glow still filled the room, casting everything into a strange tint not unlike the color the moon had been when she'd tried to break into the Mageaan stronghold earlier.

She kicked down to the floor and began running her fingers over the surface. It was smooth and hard, like an oyster shell. She couldn't find even a tiny hole. She could hold her breath longer than an average human, but eventually her lungs began to burn, and she looked over at Ian. He was moving quickly along the seam between the floor and the walls, running his palms over the seam, apparently not yet affected by the lack of air.

Alice quickly swam upward, reaching the top of the water just as her lungs felt like they were going to burst. She sucked in air, watching the ceiling get closer and closer, even in the brief moments she was at the surface. It was only two feet away now. Two feet left of air, and they were hundreds of feet below the surface of the ocean. A cold chill began to gnaw at her bones, and she shivered, her lungs getting heavier and heavier as panic tried to set in.

You okay?
Ian's voice was in her mind, a warm breath of reassurance. She wasn't alone.

Yeah. For a few more minutes.
She knew she couldn't waste time. They had to find a way out, something they had to have missed last night when they'd been looking, something that Jada had opened. She prayed urgency would give them answers they hadn't found before. With mounting trepidation, she took another breath from the shrinking airspace and forced herself to dive again. She went for the far corner opposite Ian, and frantically began probing the floor.

She could feel the current of water, but she couldn't find where it was coming from.
Come on!
Frantic now, her lungs burning, she kept searching, but she couldn't find the opening the water was flowing through.

A loud clank echoed through the water, and she spun around to see Ian raise his mace over his head, as if he'd just punched the floor with it.
Did you find something?

Not sure. There's a stronger current here. I'm checking.
He slammed his weapon into the floor again, his muscles straining with the force of his blow. A chunk of floor exploded into the room, and Ian let out a roar of triumph. He swung back and hit it again, and another piece flew out.

Hurry!
Her lungs began to hurt. Alice quickly kicked herself back toward the surface. She popped out of the water, and yelped when her forehead smashed into the ceiling. The rebound dumped her back under the water, and she accidentally sucked in water instead of air. She shoved her head back out of the water just as a violent cough caught her, and her nose bumped the ceiling as the spasms wracked her body. Less than an inch of air left.

Her throat ached. Her lungs were spasming as they tried to expel the water she'd sucked in. Frantic, she fumbled for purchase on the smooth ceiling, desperate to hold onto something as coughs wracked her body. Her chin dipped below the surface just as she coughed, and she sucked more water into her lungs.
Ian!

Coming!

Alice coughed again, her lungs contracting as they tried to expel the water. She couldn't stop coughing, and the space for air got smaller. Frantic, she pressed her face against the ceiling, smashing her nose and chin against the hard shell as the coughs wracked her body. She couldn't stop coughing long enough to hold her breath, and she knew if she went under again, she'd be in real trouble.
Ian!

Shit!

Shit? What did 'shit' mean? This wasn't the right time for him to run into trouble! The water was over the edges of her mouth now. "Ian!" she screamed, smashing her face against the ceiling as another cough assailed her. "Where are you?"

Trapped.

Oh,
no.

Chapter Ten

The floor had come alive, and it had trapped him.

Ian slammed his mace down on the vine that had snaked around his ankle, fighting desperately against the slimy green tentacle that was winding its way up his calf. Who the hell has seaweed growing out of the floor? Seriously.

Above him, he could hear Alice coughing, and her terror was like cold ripples in the water.
Shit!
He slammed his mace down again, and the tip of a second seaweed appendage poked out of the hole he'd made in the floor. He swung at it, but it grabbed his mace and yanked it out of his hand.

He swore and called his weapon back as a third vine shot out and gripped his other leg. So, yeah, the good news was that he'd figured out how to break out of the room. The bad news was the appearance of killer kelp that could manhandle Calydon weapons.

"Ian!" Alice screamed. "Help!"

"I'm coming!" Desperate terror tore through him. Ian spun around, lunging for Alice. Her feet were kicking frantically only a few yards from him, but he couldn't reach her. He stretched as far as he could, but she was just beyond his range. "Swim down here!"

"I can't—" Another violent cough wracked her body, and he knew she'd drown before he could get to her if she went under.

Swearing, he threw his mace in her direction. It slammed into the ceiling next to her jaw. "Grab it!" he yelled.

She lunged for it, and he called his mace back with all the strength he could summon. It tore out of the ceiling and streaked back to him so quickly it left a trail of bubbles. Alice's fingers were locked around it, her eyes wide with terror as it yanked her toward him.
Alice.
Just as he reached for her, a vine shot out and yanked the weapon out of her hands, and her momentum stopped.

Swim the rest of the way,
Ian ordered, stretching as far as he could to reach her. Not enough! He needed another six inches!

Then her eyes widened, and he saw her muscles contract. Another cough was coming, and she was completely underwater.
No!
If he could reach her, he could breathe for her through their kiss, but he was helpless if he couldn't reach her.
Come on!
He strained for her just as another cough wracked her body. She sucked in the ocean water, and he screamed with rage as her pain flooded him. He could feel the weight of the water filling her lungs, and he bellowed with fury and frustration at his impotence.
Alice!

"You have two choices, warrior." Behind Alice, Jada appeared in a flash of turquoise light. She was a misty blue-green, and her face was pinched and drawn.

Ian swore, rage filling him at the sight of her standing there so smugly while Alice was drowning. "Let me save her," he shouted as he called back his mace from the vines. "She killed Esmeralda in self-defense, and you know it!" He hurled the mace toward Alice.
Grab it!

But as the mace went past her, Alice's arms went limp, and she began to drift. Horror filled him.
Jesus, no.
He went into a panicked overdrive, fighting his seaweed shackles as he tried to reach her. He could save her if he got to her within a few seconds, if he could breathe for her before her brain died, if he could clear the water from her lungs fast enough.
Alice!

"Go find Warwick, and retrieve from him a spell to save Chloe's life," Jada said calmly, as if Alice wasn't dying right in front of her. "You will return here within three days. If you do not save her, you will be killed. Do you agree to these terms for both you and Alice?"

"Yes, fuck, yes!" He shouted his agreement, even as the curse began to shout in his head, taunting him, screaming at him that Alice was dying. Despair surged over him, and his body bowed under the agony, as his will was shredded.

"So be it." There was a flash of turquoise light, and the vines released him. Ian lunged toward Alice, catching her in his arms. His head was spinning, the curse piercing and shrill, but the moment he held her, he willed his focus onto her, sending all his life force into Alice as he hauled her against him and kissed her, sharing his oxygen and life with his
sheva.

She didn't respond, and he swore, kissing her more deeply, more frantically as the curse grew in power, screaming at him that he was wasting his time. That she was already dead. That his life was worth nothing.
No! Leave me the fuck alone! She's not dead!

There was a flash of light, and then he was suddenly on his knees on the floor. The water had been drained from the room as quickly as it had come. He threw Alice onto the bed, her skin ash-white, her lips blue, her eyelids closed. "Come on, Alice! This is not the fucking time to shut me out!"

He had to tighten their connection, and there was only one way to do it, one way for him to get close enough to pull her back from the brink of death. The blood bond between a Calydon and his mate. Frantic, he grabbed his mace and raked it over the tips of his fingers, not even noticing the pain as he sliced his skin.

His mind blurring from the impact of the curse, he blindly grabbed Alice's arm, willing himself to go on despite the noise in his head. Only six hundred years of training gave him the discipline to keep going with what he had to do, even though he could barely think, was barely aware of what he was doing because the curse was screaming at him so relentlessly to kill himself.

Ian jerked the blade across her wrist, his agony doubling when she didn't even flinch at the pain. Was she dead already? "No!" He howled his protest as he pulled her into his arms, thrusting his fingers past her lips, giving her his lifeblood. "Swallow, babe, as God is my witness, swallow for me."

She didn't move, and he swore as his body began to tremble violently, as the shakes began to set in.
Come on, Alice!
He stroked her hair, and showered kisses over her forehead while he whispered to her.
Just swallow, sweetheart. One time. Let me save you. You're not done here. Catherine needs you to kill or save her or whatever you need to do for her—