Elder (6 page)

Chapter 8

“They have escaped the cage,” Zachariah announced.

Ini-herit listened to the murmurs around him and imagined everyone was excited by this news. He nodded in acknowledgement, but his attention was elsewhere.

What was wrong with Clara Kate?

“Bloody hell. The damn door is locked.”

This time, the responses around Ini-herit had a distinctly negative sound.

Uriel asked, “Do they see a key or other method of opening the door?”

“They’re looking.”

Ini-herit’s thoughts again turned inward. Clara Kate really had looked pale. He’d noticed it a few miles before Quincy finally insisted that she land with him. He had been wondering how he could possibly convince her to let him touch her so that he could assess her condition and heal her. After seeing how she reacted when Quincy almost suggested the same thing, he knew she never would have agreed.

Her behavior made no sense to him. If she was unwell, she should allow him to heal her. She was visibly exhausted. His abilities would have renewed her energy and adjusted any imbalances she suffered.

Then she would still be with them.

Instead, she was somewhere else with only three other beings for protection. Eirik and his followers wouldn’t hesitate to capture any of the Kynzesti, especially the daughter of
archigos
Gabriel and
kyria
Amber. Her stubbornness had placed her in danger.

Blinking, he realized he was obsessing…something he’d never done before.

“Get down!”

Zachariah’s warning had all of them starting. Ini-herit realized the Mercesti was reacting to something he witnessed through his connection to Tate.

“The door is no longer an obstacle,” Zachariah said. He looked at Tiege. “But we’d better hurry. Judging by the size of the six-armed giant Metis just teleported to their location, they don’t have much time.”

Metis was a dead being.

Eirik stood in the meadow with Friedrich and the five males he had selected to accompany him back to the laboratory. It hadn’t taken him long to realize he had been double-crossed. Now, as the sky lightened for sunrise, he had to decide what to do.

“Perhaps she is merely late,” Friedrich suggested.

“No,” Eirik said, his rage carefully held in check. “She is going to attempt to recover the third scroll piece. I am certain of it.”

“Should we just fly to the location where the females are being kept?”

Now, some of Eirik’s anger seeped into his response. “I have no idea where it is.”

He wanted to kill someone. Instead, he clenched his hands into fists hard enough to crack his knuckles. Looking toward the library, he weighed his options.

Even if Metis somehow managed to get the two females to cooperate with her to recover the third piece of the scroll, she would need the two other pieces to make it work. She’d have to seek him out. He realized she could conceivably kill a being he considered trustworthy and assume his form so she could get close enough to try and get the scroll pieces from him. He would have to be even more on guard.

“I may not know where the laboratory is,” he said at last, “but the moment the Kynzesti awakens, she will connect with her avowed.”

“Her avowed?”

Waving off the question, Eirik continued, “We must fly to the library and take care to avoid detection by the Waresti. When they take flight after the females, we will follow them from a distance.”

Without waiting for a response, he extended his wings and took flight. He cleared the tops of the trees and easily spotted the library to the east. The sun was just starting to rise when he realized that the Estilorians who were trying to rescue the two females had already taken flight. Their luminescent wings glowed like daylight stars a number of miles away.

“We must follow them,” he ordered.

“We will never catch them,” Friedrich responded. “They will acquire the females, who will surely lead them to the item you seek.”

“I will worry about that later.” Frowning, Eirik asked, “Why are there red wings among all of the orange? Did the Waresti take prisoners?”

“No, sir. Did you not know that Derian and his followers fought against us in the battle yesterday?”

Eirik hadn’t known. He had gone into the library with Metis, Deimos and the two females before the battle had really gotten underway. Now that he thought back to his experience in the library, however, he realized there had been more than one pair of red wings heading toward them in the library just before Metis teleported them out.

“Do you know those among Derian’s followers?” he asked Friedrich.

“Not all of them.”

Why had the Marked Ones, as Derian and his tattooed followers were known among the other Mercesti, joined with the Estilorians trying to free the females? Derian wasn’t an ambitious male. He had been content to bow to Kanika’s pathetic leadership. His vendetta to rescue Mercesti with strong or unique abilities who had been forced to convert by Grolkinei’s commanders was just as pathetic. The only time Derian entered into a confrontation was in those rescue efforts. Since Grolkinei and his commanders had been defeated nearly two decades ago, the Marked Ones hadn’t been seen much around the mainland.

He must have teamed up with Zachariah out of a foolish sense of loyalty. They were both former Gloresti, after all.

“Well, at least the tattoos most of them wear will help us identify them,” he said at last. “Just one more challenge for us to overcome to achieve our goal.”

“A challenge that may be less difficult than you expect,” Friedrich replied. When Eirik looked at him, he added, “I happen to know that at least one of Derian’s followers is less committed to his cause than he believes. I am certain if we make the right approach, we will have a way to infiltrate them.”

Clara Kate didn’t allow herself to weep for very long. She had made her bed—quite literally—and now she had to lie in it.

Not offering any explanations to Sophia or Alexius, who appeared shortly after Sophia did, she wiped her face dry, took the supplements that Quincy handed to her and then extended her wings.

“Please let me tell him when the time is right,” she asked Quincy.

“Of course,” he said. He reached out and gave her hand a squeeze. “We’ll get through this, C.K.”

She didn’t reply. Lifting into the air, she waited for Alexius to take the lead, following mental instructions from his elder. Then they started flying as quickly as they could to make up the precious minutes they had lost.

We’ll get through this.

Quincy’s comment circled in her mind as her shock began to ease. He hadn’t said, “Congratulations, C.K.” or “I’m thrilled for you, C.K.” None of the things beings said to her mother and aunts when they conceived. Why would he? She was eighteen, unwed, unavowed, and the baby’s father had no idea he had even slept with her.

Her father was going to absolutely kill her.

“Tate and Ariana managed to escape the cage,” Alexius related, turning her attention. “But the door to the room where they are being held is also locked.”

Clara Kate focused on increasing her speed. When she drew parallel to Alexius, he realized what she was doing. Nodding, he also flew faster. Behind them, Quincy and Sophia sped up to stay close.

“Are you all right, Clara Kate?” Alexius asked.

Surprised, she responded with an automatic, “Sure.”

His burnt orange gaze held hers for a long moment. Then he said, “It’s just that I haven’t seen that level of emotion from you since you were a child. I know I’m not the best at expressing such things, but I want you to know that I care about you. Seeing you so upset…it bothered me.”

Well, wasn’t this just the day for grand revelations?

Clara Kate almost lost her composure again over the concern shown for her by one of the least expected beings. Alexius had been a part of her life ever since she was born, traveling frequently to her homeland to help her and her cousins and siblings train. She’d never suspected that he felt this way.

“Thanks, Alexius,” she said, giving him a small smile. “I’ve got a lot to work through right now. My head’s a little all over the place.”

“Will you let me know if there is anything I can do to help?”

“I will,” she said, and she meant it.

“All right.” This time, he smiled. It was such a rare expression for him that it made her do a double-take. His features went from almost fierce to charming. “I’ll hold you to that.”

Before she could reply, his gaze once again grew serious. “Apparently, something urgent is happening with Tate and Ariana. Something about Metis and a giant.”

“How far are we from the others?” she asked.

“Less than ten minutes. If we press ourselves, we can probably catch up with them in five.”

“Then let’s go.”

Chapter 9

“What did you throw into that giant’s eyes?” Tate asked as she ran up the steps in the empty chamber outside the laboratory door.

Lifting her skirts to keep up, Ariana panted, “A combination of hot chili oil and pepper. He’ll be blind for at least a few minutes.”

“Awesome.”

Fortunately, the door at the top of the steps was unlocked. They found themselves in the dining room of a rather normal looking cottage. Metis enjoyed fine things, judging by the china lining the shelves of a display cabinet and the beautiful, glossy wood of her furniture. Ariana wondered how she acquired such items, then decided she was better off not knowing.

Their feet made no sound on the thick rugs covering the wood floors as they left that room and entered the living area. Tate dodged a coffee table as Ariana jumped over a footstool. They ran to another door. Opening it slowly, Tate eased her head outside and glanced around.

Ariana’s heart thundered in her ears. Her breath left her in painful draws. Sweat dripped along her hairline and dampened her gown. She looked over her shoulder, expecting the roaring giant to pound his way through to them any second. His booming shouts and loud clatter as he fought to regain his vision echoed through the small cottage.

“What is this?” Tate asked, easing the door all of the way open and stepping outside.

Not wanting to be in the dwelling anymore, Ariana rushed outside with Tate and shoved the door closed behind her. As she clutched her weapon in one hand, she stared at the high wall of greenery standing before them. If they took three steps, they would hit the wall. There was a solid border to their right. They ran along the wall of greenery to where it opened up on the left. When they looked around the corner, they saw another hall-like stretch of two ivy-covered walls on either side.

Above them, the sky was lightening as the sun rose. Ariana tried to extend her wings so she could fly above the walls.

Tate glanced at her. “I can’t extend my wings. Can you?”

“No. There must be some kind of enchantment in place prohibiting flight.”

A loud boom sounded from just inside the cottage. Not having any other choice, they ran down the new hall of greenery. At the end of the long path, they reached a section where they could go either left or right.

“What in the world?” Tate said, glancing wildly from one side to the other. “This is some kind of maze!”

“A maze?” Ariana repeated. “Like a puzzle?”

“I guess. Crap.” Tate put her right hand on the wall and started running. “I sure hope this maze isn’t full of fun surprises.”

“Why are you touching the wall?” Ariana asked as they reached the next bend.

“It’s one possible way to solve a maze. My Aunt Olivia taught us about it. You hold your right or left hand against the wall and don’t lift it. Eventually, you’ll either reach the other end or you’ll end up back at the beginning.”

“Tate, this is not the time for jests.”

“Unfortunately, I’m not joking. But we’ve got to try something. Sparky thinks he’s close. As soon as they land, I’ll draw on our connection and lead us out.”

“Okay, okay.”

They ran for a couple of minutes. The noise from the cottage grew fainter, which relieved Ariana.

She should have known better.

When they rounded the next bend, they came face-to-chest with several enormous clay figures. They looked like sculpted male Estilorians. The only thing that gave them away as something other than inanimate was their very lifelike red eyes, which glowed bright enough to light the area.

“Clay golems,” Ariana gasped, backing up a step and holding up her pick. “They’re incredibly strong. Our weapons won’t have any effect on them.”

She was suddenly grabbed from behind by a pair of clay arms and squeezed so hard she couldn’t even scream. Her foot flew up as she left the ground, catching Tate’s shoulder and sending her into the grip of one of the other golems.

“I don’t think so,” Tate said as her arm was wrenched behind her. Holding her palm out toward the four golems reaching for her, she produced a large ball of water. Then she used it to dissolve the fingers of the golem holding her.

Of course
. Ariana used her power to produce buckets full of warm water. They started pouring of their own accord, dumping water onto the heads of all of the creatures. She slid from the grasp of the dissolving golem holding her, only to have another golem grip her ankle and drag her along the ground. She saw Tate slipping from one muddy grasp to the next as the water continued to damage her attackers.

Another hand grabbed Ariana by the hair, pulling her back to her feet. She gasped from the pain in her scalp and quickly generated more buckets. Within a few seconds, there were at least thirty buckets over their heads.

When she managed to escape the hold of the golems trying to stop her, she lurched closer to Tate. The Kynzesti was covered head to toe in mud. Figuring she looked much the same, she met Tate in the middle of the group and stood back-to-back with her. Tate continued to toss water as quick as she could produce it and Ariana filled the buckets again and again. The effort had her swaying with exhaustion.

A couple of minutes later, they stood in a large puddle of mud.

“Holy light,” Tate said as they stepped through the mess to hurry on their way. “That was the creepiest thing I’ve ever seen. They didn’t make a sound!”

Ariana couldn’t argue.

“The stupid things have us looking like we bathed in mud,” Tate added with a huff. “Sparky’s never going to let me near him like this.”

“I’ll clean you—”

“You’ll do no such thing,” Tate interrupted as they edged around another corner. “You’re seriously drained. You should take it easy. Well, outside of hauling your backside out of here.”

Appreciating Tate’s concern over her well-being, Ariana just nodded. When they reached the next bend, they both sniffed the air.

“Oh, no. Please tell me that’s just me I’m smelling,” Tate said in a whisper.

Bringing her hand to her nose, Ariana shook her head. “That is definitely not you.”

“Damn.”

That was when they heard the growling.

Metis pressed a cloth against her head as she stumbled out of her destroyed laboratory and hurried after Cephalus and the two females. Her head was a solid ball of pain, but she couldn’t take the time to feel sorry for herself. She had to find the blasted females and save them from themselves.

What a mess this had turned into.

“Cephalus!” she shouted, hoping he was within earshot. “Do not harm the females!”

When she reached her cottage, she hurried through the open doorway. Seeing the swath of destruction, she came to a stop and gaped. Her voice was trapped in her throat. If it hadn’t been, she would have screamed in fury.

“You damned brute of a giant!”

He was nowhere she could see. Wondering how long she had been dazed, she debated teleporting to somewhere within the maze in hopes of intercepting the females. But there was no way to predict where they’d end up. She had no choice but to do her best to follow their trail and pray that if Cephalus found them before she did that he was smart enough to keep them alive.

Her eyes on the ground, she headed right. Cephalus had practically obliterated the tracks of the females, but that only made it easier for her to follow them. When she reached the turn leading to the clay golems, she frowned. If the golems fulfilled their purpose, the females would be held captive until she arrived to give the command for their release. That meant they would be sitting targets for Cephalus when he reached them.

So she was once again surprised to the point of coming to a halt when she found nothing but a huge puddle of mud where her golems should be.

Issuing curses under her breath, she edged around the mud to avoid getting filthy and then started running. The obstacles facing the females now that they had defeated the golems were only more fearsome.

More deadly.

She heard thrashing ahead and eased to a more cautious pace. There were guardians of the maze with the ability to roam freely. Even she wasn’t sure where they were at the moment.

“I am near you, females,” growled Cephalus.

Relieved, Metis again hurried around the corner and spotted the giant. His club dragged on the ground, leaving a clear trail.

“And I scent something else, too,” he continued as his feet thudded on the dirt path. “Something that will rend the flesh from your bones before I can accomplish it.”

Her eyebrows lifting as she also caught the scent, Metis fought back a surge of anxiety. If the females had encountered Tethys’ most precious creation, she was sure they were already dead.