Ethon (The Other Worlds Series Book 2) (23 page)

“It doesn’t really matter how long she sleeps for if we don’t come up with some sort of rescue plan for Legann,” Zedgry muttered.

“And the others?” Will raised an eyebrow and the Lantz rolled his eyes.

“Yes, the plan will include the Nagreth too.”

“Hey, Will?”

Hillary’s voice pulled his head around. She’d said it so softly he’d almost not heard her. “Yes?”

“I think I could find them for you.”

Zedgry spun around to face her. “How?”

She smiled slightly. “As a typical modern-day corporation, DS puts everything into a computer.”

“And you can talk to it,” Will finished for her.

If Hillary could locate the Other Worlders, then it would make this rescue much faster. There was the risk of Hillary being caught though. DS knew her gift. Will frowned. “Won’t DS detect you in their system?”

“It is a possibility,” she admitted, “but highly unlikely considering the fact DS doesn’t know I can do it.”

“But doesn’t DS know-”

“DS knows
some
of my gifts,” Hillary said, cutting Will off. “If they knew I could communicate with electronics then they’d figure out that their Bead doesn’t work anymore.”

“Fascinating gift, my dear.” Trenton smiled brightly. “What will you need in order to find young Legann?”

Hillary’s eyes darted between Will and Trenton. “A laptop with an internet connection would do.”

14

------------------

It was time – before Talik’s wench returned for her work with the boy. Even though Dagon had rested for the past couple hours since the boy had arrived, he was still too weak to escape Talik’s castle, where he assumed he was. He personally had never been to Zeedyr before. His messengers had always summoned Talik to the Vrenyx. If he were not actually in Zeedyr, then it would certainly complicate matters.

Dagon opened his eyes to the same odd ceiling and white curtains. The surrounding corridor was silent except for the noise from one of the boxes by his bed. Taking a deep breath, Dagon slowly began pushing himself up. The world momentarily spun as a wave of dizziness crashed over him. Dagon paused, waiting for it to pass, and then edged himself to the side of the bed. Gritting his teeth over the amount of effort it required, Dagon first swung one leg onto the floor and then the other.

By now he was panting and beginning to sweat. He decided to rest for a moment to calm his racing heart. Grasping onto the side of the bed for support, Dagon glanced down at himself for the first time. He was startled to find himself all in white and barefoot.

He wore a pair of loose trousers, tied with a drawstring at his waist, and a short-sleeved tunic tucked into them. It irritated him to see his left sleeve empty. His niece, the Key’s heir, and Sazx would one day account for the arm they stole.

The rustling of sheets pulled Dagon’s head up again. The noise came from just beyond his curtains. There had been no approaching footsteps, so it must have been the boy awakening in his bed. The noise reminded Dagon of his resolve to escape. After another deep breath, Dagon gingerly released his weight onto his feet for the first time since receiving the injury to his thigh. He wobbled, but his grip on the bed steadied him. When his stance was sure, he pulled back the curtains, revealing a bland room.

The walls, like the ceiling and floor, were white. Across from him was the boy’s bed, encircled by the same white curtains around Dagon’s. No other furniture appeared to be in the room – just the two beds. Strange sporadic rectangles of light, protruding from the ceiling, were the only means of illumination. Dagon would have liked to inspect them further, but he had other priorities.

Even though the ropes from his arm to the boxes were still in tact, a quick glance told him that his leash would extend enough for him to reach the boy’s bed. Once again moving slowly, Dagon took his first step away from his bed. He continued across the short distance, pausing to rest with each stride. The ropes were nearly taunt by the time he slid open the boy’s curtains.

A young, fair face with honey brown eyes peered up at Dagon groggily. A Wend’s eyes. What was a Wend doing in Zeedyr? Up until this point, Dagon had thought his niece and nephew to be the last of the Wends. He’d destroyed so many of them in Caprith, sentencing them to the Dark. To find a Wend here was highly implausible. Excluding, his niece and nephew, Wends were supposedly an extinct breed.

The boy wasn’t really a boy, after all. He was either on the verge of adulthood or he had just entered it. His short, light brown hair clung to his forehead, damp with perspiration. “Who’re you?” The boy slurred in Saerdian.

Dagon noticed he was bound both ankle and wrist by thick black straps. Unsure if the Wend could speak Eveon, since he had chosen to use Saerdian, Dagon answered him in kind. “I am a prisoner here, same as you. What’s your name?”

“A prisoner?” His brow furrowed. “That doesn’t make sense. I thought we’re in a hospital.”

Dagon had not heard of a hospital before. The Wend could still be delirious, but Dagon did not have time to wait for him to regain his wits. Releasing a sigh, Dagon inspected the Wend’s bonds. He had to admit that he had never seen its likeness.

“It’s Velcro,” the Wend told him. “Just pull at the strap, and it’ll come apart.”

Perhaps he wasn’t as delusional as Dagon had thought. He did as instructed and the Wend’s wrist was set free. His leash only permitted him enough rope for the one wrist though. Before Dagon needed to ask the Wend to finish the work he’d started, the Wend was already unfastening his other wrist, followed by his feet.

Next, the Wend turned his attention to the cords in his left arm, identical to Dagon’s. He first yanked off the clasp around his middle finger. The rope in his forearm took a little longer to remove and seemed to cause the Wend pain. He grimaced as he released himself.

“I’m sure whoever it is that’s got us here is monitoring my vitals closely,” he told Dagon. “We’ve got about a minute before they come to find out what’s going on. Want me to take out your IV, too?”

Dagon assumed the Wend was referring to the ropes and extended his arm. “Please.”

He felt the skin on his arm pull as the Wend dealt with the IV, and understood why he’d flinched earlier. The discomfort was brief, though. Once the boy was done, he jumped to the floor beside Dagon.

“Do you know the way out of here?” He asked.

“I do not,” Dagon admitted.

“Then I guess we’ll start with the door.” The Wend stepped around his bed.

Dagon followed but did not get far. He came up short behind the Wend. Just past the bed was an open doorway. However, it was filled with four large men, reminding Dagon of the thick thugs the Kendren brothers would keep as their personal guards.

“What I’d give for a bow right now,” the Wend muttered in Eveon. Dagon glanced over in surprise. So he could speak the tongue of the Eves. His accent held a hint of a Saerd who had learned the language later on in life. The indication was so slight though that Dagon doubted a native Eve would even notice.

“Nobody move until the boss gets here,” a gruff voice barked out in Saerdian. Dagon recognized the voice from earlier. Now he was able to match the face of the stocky figure in front of the other men to it. He held some sort of black contraption in his hand, pointed at Dagon and the Wend. A Velvitor weapon perhaps?

“Wend, what are your gifts?” Dagon asked in Eveon, his voice low. If his gifts were beneficial then now would be the time to use them.

He whirled, clearly stunned. “You can speak Eveon?” He paused, his mind gnawing over some internal struggle. “How did you know I’m a Wend?”

Dagon frowned, wondering why he would be so surprised. Eveon was not that uncommon and the brown eyes were the sign of a Wend. Dagon decided there was not sufficient time to press the topic further. “Do you have any gifts that could be advantageous in our escape?”

“Our escape,” he repeated to himself. “Just one. My sister taught it to me.”

An odd reference, but Dagon only nodded once. He was beginning to feel light-headed again. He would need to lean on the Wend soon. “What gift is it?”

“You don’t look so good,” the Wend said in Saerdian, startling Dagon by the observation.

Dagon replied in Saerdian, “I have seen better days.”

“Maybe you should sit.”

Without removing his eyes from Dagon, the Wend extended his right hand toward the door. A loud screech filled the area beyond the door. The four men spun around.

:  :  :  :  :

Will rubbed at his eyes with his hands. He was on the couch beside Olinia, who had yet to wake up. Her feet were resting on his lap.

This was not even close to the scenario he’d planned to find when he returned to Ethon for Olinia and her brother. He felt like a fool for imagining the Other Worlders safe in Ethon. The Ethon he’d been raised in seemed to be an alternate reality than the one he’d returned to – it looked unbelievably different now.

Gifted Ethons
. If he were to omit the months abroad in the Other Worlds from his life, the idea of discovering super-powered teenagers and college students, led by half-animal Velvitors, was staggering. What had happened to his simple world? Ethon was supposed to be made up of people with normal human abilities, not with multiple breeds like the Other Worlds. In Will’s mind, to keep himself sane, he’d always thought of Ethon as a realm of reality and the Other Worlds as that of fantasy. Now what was he to think? The two realms were starting to resemble each other more and more.

“You look distressed.”

Will glanced up as his great-grandfather took a seat in the family room’s only stuffed chair. “Do I?”

Trenton Alridge nodded his head toward the kitchen table where Hillary and Zedgry sat in front of Olinia’s MacBook. Will turned. Hillary had her hands over the keyboard, but she wasn’t typing or really looking at the black screen. By appearance alone, Hillary appeared to be in a complete daze with Zedgry staring intensely at her face. Will wondered if Zedgry was trying to get into Hillary’s mind.

“I’m sure Legann’s friend will find him,” Trenton said. “There’s no need to worry.”

“That’s not really what I was thinking about.” Will reverted his gaze to his great-grandfather. “It’s interesting that Hillary is even helping us. She and Legann fought publicly at their school just a few days ago. They hardly know each other.”

“Do you think she may be in league with DS?” Trenton asked. “Perhaps she was sent to gain your trust before leading you to your doom.”

Will smiled slightly. “You’re mocking me, aren’t you?”

“Not at all.” He leaned back in his chair. “I’m simply suggesting a possible outcome.”

“I don’t think she wants to betray us.”

“Neither do I,” his great-grandfather replied in his crisp accent. “I believe she feels a little guilty for Legann’s capture, and a part of her may fancy the boy.”

“I think so, too.” Will watched Olinia breathe for a moment.

“You’ve got yourself quite a faery, lad.”

Will grunted. “She’s not mine yet. She’s still hurt over the year and a half I left her here in Ethon. She doesn’t trust me anymore.”

Trenton Alridge offered a bright smile. “Don’t worry, lad. You’ll win her over again.”

“How did you win over Tyra from Dagon?” Will asked. “Maybe I can use your technique.”

The smile faded and his eyes took on a distant look. Will almost thought he wouldn’t answer, but then he said, “Through persistence. Astounding things can come from not giving up easily.”

Will placed a hand on Olinia’s ankle and brushed his thumb over the smooth skin under her jeans, feeling once again the tingling sensation he was slowly becoming used to. He remembered the first time he’d kissed her, that day was so long ago for her but only a couple of weeks for him. The night with the fireflies he’d tasted her lips for the second time, but her Globing had robbed him of the full experience he’d wanted. Since his return, he’d told her he loved her, but she had yet to admit she loved him. He knew she did. She couldn’t hide her emotions from him, no matter how hard she tried.

He regretted not kissing her sooner. Back in the Other Worlds, he never should have told her he didn’t want to have any attachments. At the time, he hadn’t wanted to hurt her or himself when it came time for him to return to his realm.

He grimaced, wondering if Trenton had had a similar situation. “Grandpa, when you first met Tyra, did you push her away because you knew you eventually had to come back to Ethon?”

The old man blinked. “I never intended on returning to Ethon.”

“I’ve found them,” Hillary called out.

“You have?” Will peered over his shoulder to her and Zedgry.

She nodded, the distant look still on her face. “Tiara is en route to the California labs, and Legann is being detained here in Virginia.” She lifted her hands from the keyboard and placed them in her lap. “What now?”

“When you say ‘en route’ do you mean by car, plane, or train?” Will asked.

“Plane,” she answered. “DS has a private jet.”

“What time did it depart?”

“A little over an hour ago.”

Will ran a hand through his hair. “So, we’ve got a few hours before we can do anything about Tiara.” He glanced at Zedgry. “I say we go for your brother tonight.”

Zedgry grinned out the side of his mouth. “I think a little action will do me some good.”

“Lad,” Trenton’s voice pulled Will’s head around, “I think I’ll return home tonight.”

That surprised him. “Why? Grandpa, you don’t ha-”

His great-grandfather held up his hand, cutting him off. “I know my woods contain some sort of portal. I wouldn’t want to leave Milly alone with another Other Worlder new to this world, should one arrive. I think she’s already too suspicious as it is.”

This decision didn’t make Will happy. There were still some questions he had about Tyra that he wanted answered. He frowned. “When did you decide to leave?”

“Oh, I had the return flight scheduled before I even left London,” he replied. “I only came as an escort to Zedgry.”

Will nodded once, dropping his gaze to Olinia for a moment before returning his attention to her twin. “So, how do we go about getting Legann?”

Zedgry blinked. “Since when did I become in charge of this?”

“You’re High Royalty,” Will reminded him. “Don’t you outrank me?”

“Aren’t we in Ethon though?” Zedgry grunted. “Last I’d heard, I hold no jurisdiction over an Ethon.”

Hillary’s eyes shifted between the two of them. She appeared to be thoroughly confused again. Will’s retort died on his tongue. He lowered his eyebrows. “What’s wrong, Hillary?”