Fairy Prey (10 page)

Whisper grinned. “I’ll
spank you for that distraction later.”

 
“It looks like we’re in an alcove. I stood up
before and saw trees and some hills.”

“We must have come
ashore right near their new lair.”

“Talk about luck,”
Morrigan mumbled. “What do you think they’re going to do to us?” She wasn’t
going to die just when she found a man as irresistible as Whisper.

“I have been collared
before.” He ground his teeth and leaned back against the rock wall. “Only once,
when I was fighting in the games.”

Now why did that sound
like a very bad thing? “Games as in Parcheesi?”

“I do not know that
word.” Whisper gazed at her. “The games are much like your human gladiator
games.”

Oh,
fuck.
All those TV shows and movies flashed before her eyes. Sweaty men with swords
and tridents hacking each other to pieces as a crowd roared for blood. “But
you’ve won before, right? In those games.”

The look he gave her was
part frightening but encouraging. “I’ve never lost.”

****

Morrigan was stiff, her
body sore from sitting on the hard ground. She didn’t know how long she’d been
there, glancing at Whisper who knelt as still as a statue watching the guards.
Eventually the guards came closer and orders were yelled from down the tunnel.
She couldn’t make out what they said, but she stood as the trolls approached.

“It’s time,” Whisper
said, low and deep.

The troll smelled like a
corpse had rolled in shit and then rotted for a week in the sun. She nearly
hurled as he unchained her from the wall and herded her toward the opening of
the cave. Morrigan tamped down the panic. Why weren’t they taking Whisper?
Where were they bringing her? She steeled her nerves, balled her fists, and
tried to take in as much of their surroundings as possible. Maybe she’d see
something or overhear a particular piece of information. Anything at all might
help. They left the collar on but tied her wrists behind her back with rope.

She stumbled down a
dimly lit tunnel and craned her neck as far as it would go to stare back at
Whisper. He was growling, struggling against his restraints like an animal. His
fangs and his bulging muscles were damned intimidating. She was glad he was on
her side. Still, that wouldn’t mean shit if she had to fight while he was
chained. The cave entrance opened up, and to her surprise, she saw the ocean.
The very shore they washed up on was before her. They really had stumbled right
to the trolls’ door. Didn’t that just figure?

“Down,” the troll
ordered.

Morrigan looked back at
him, taking in the hideous scaly skin and the long protruding fangs. “I’ll get
on my knees when you take a fucking bath!”

Whisper’s laughter
echoed through the tunnel.

The troll hissed at her
and shoved her to the ground. Morrigan rolled to her back, searching the ground
for anything, and she nearly yelled triumphantly when she found a sharp-edged
rock. Well, dull-edged but hell, at this point, she’d take what she could get. Morrigan
concealed it in her hand and glared up at the troll. The creature sneered at
her and kicked her right in the hip. It stung like a son of a bitch and, being
bound, she couldn’t stop herself from rolling. She spun a few times down a hill
and landed in a dirty heap at the bottom of a...

Morrigan looked around.

It was a fighting pit, a
big hole with dirt walls. There was dried blood sprayed over the dirt, and she
didn’t even want to guess what that blob was over in the left corner. The walls
were nearly eight feet high, so she wasn’t getting over that easily. She kept
her back to the dirt and began jamming the rock into the rope around her
wrists. She forced the edge into the thin rope over and over, trying to look
angry and not sneaky.

Trolls began to gather
around the edge of the pit. Not just one or two either. There had to be at
least two dozen trolls. Her stomach protested the stench. There was a forest
way back beyond the cave. She saw treetops over the hills and a few ocean
breezes gave her nose much needed relief. There was mud under her feet, and she
adjusted so her sneaker would stop sinking in.

Now what?

She wasn’t sure what to
do or what to expect. Morrigan waited quietly, rubbing at the rope and finally
feeling it begin to fray.

One of the trolls let
out a howl and tumbled down the dirt wall to land on his feet. Morrigan watched
him closely. He puffed his chest out and threw his sword up at his friends who
cheered him on. Great, now he was curling his meaty hands into fists and slowly
walking toward her. What the fuck was she supposed to do with her hands tied
behind her back? Morrigan shoved the rock into the dirt and tugged at the rope
around her wrist. She walked backward. Talk about cowardly bastards. They
wouldn’t even give a girl a fair chance.

There was a commotion
over the troll’s shoulder, and Morrigan took a brief peek toward it. She gasped
and looked again. Was that what she thought it was? It looked like the top of
fairy wings. She couldn’t see much as the trolls blocked her view. Damn it,
that could be their traitor. She hopped up, trying to get the color of the
wings, but the damn fairy was hidden in shadow. Morrigan growled out her
frustration, and then the troll charged.

She jerked to her left.
The troll missed her and slammed his head into the dirt. There were laughs and
cheers from the crowd around them. She yanked harder on the rope, stepping
backwards as the troll turned and spit out dirt. He swung his fist wide, and
Morrigan jumped backward. She took two quick steps and started making her way
to the edge of the pit. The creature followed. He slammed his fist into her
stomach, and she couldn’t shift fast enough to avoid the hit. Morrigan felt the
impact like a freight train. It took the breath from her lungs, and her eyes watered.
She used her heel to jam against his shin. He cried out, collapsing to one
knee. Morrigan kicked high and landed a blow to his ugly face. He jerked
forward, slamming his bulky body into her leg. She fell back, her eyes widening
as they landed hard. Morrigan tried to gather air into her lungs as she rolled
away from the troll. He was standing now, coming toward her, and she maneuvered
to her knees. He swung and she dove. Another two rolls and she used her feet to
propel to a stand. Facing the troll made her realize two things.

Now she was fucking
pissed.

And the rope finally
broke.

Chapter Eight

Morrigan pulled her
hands free, throwing the rope to the ground. “You are fucked!” she said, and he
growled at her. He swung and this time she knew she had the advantage. Morrigan
blocked him with her forearm. She slugged him in the gut, used her elbow to
slam into his chin, and kicked him right between the legs. The troll was down
in the dirt, writhing and thrashing on the ground like the fucking coward he
was. Morrigan was triumphant and really freaking angry. She jerked her head up
and tried desperately to find the traitorous fairy in the crowd.

Where was the fairy?

She scanned, heard
cheers from the crowd as the troll got to his knees, and then he fell back to
the dirt.

There!
There!

Morrigan watched as the
shadows shifted and she could make out the outline of wings. It was definitely
a man. He was tall, with longish hair and muscular. Damn it, that described
every single fairy in the kingdom. Then Morrigan heard his voice.

“This was not part of
the plan! You disobey me, your king, by bringing them here. They could identify
me!”

Morrigan parted her lips
and screamed out his name. The traitor. The fairy that murdered Carrick. The
man whose heart she would see parted from his chest. “Mord!”

The fairy spun quickly
on his heels, and his angelic face came into view. His eyes were wide, and his
mouth pulled into a shocked O. “Kill them. Now!”

Well, she didn’t plan on
that turn of events. Two trolls rushed down into the pit with swords. She
backed away. A deafening, horrific roar echoed throughout the cave. It made her
skin crawl, and she jerked her head toward to entrance.

The darkness from inside
the cave parted, and a shirtless Whisper flew out. The chains rattled behind
him where he ripped them right from the wall. His fangs were bared, his hands
curled into fists, and his black wings spread. He looked like an angel of death
as he swooped into the pit.

Whisper went right for
the trolls before her. He plunged down, grabbed hold of one troll’s head, and
twisted. There was a satisfying pop, the body fell, and Whisper grabbed a
sword. He looked crazed with wide eyes and chains dragging behind him. Morrigan
was momentarily stunned by the sight as he sliced the other troll and seized
his sword. He then looked up over the crowd, and he let out this awful, angry
war cry. Whisper pointed the tip of the sword at Mord who looked paler than he
did a moment ago.

Whisper threw her the
other sword, and the moment the hilt touched her hand, the crowd of trolls
descended into the pit toward them. Morrigan watched Whisper take out the first
three that landed in the pit. There was a commotion behind her. She turned in
time to see the sword swinging for her back. She crashed into the dirt,
flipping to her back and blocking the blade as it came down. Morrigan kicked
the troll’s leg. The sword eased up, and she spun out of the way. Whisper leapt
over her spinning form, and he engaged the troll as she stood. Morrigan really
wished she had taken those sword lessons right about then.

She blocked another
attempt on her life. Her eyes scanned the crowd, but she only saw one fairy,
hers. That bastard Mord must have run off. The sick, twisted fuck wanted them
dead, so he could keep under the radar. She blocked two more sword swings. The
next second Whisper was beside her. He took over, leaving her to protect their
back. She wasn’t really doing too much damage, but Morrigan was happy keeping
some trolls occupied while Whisper sliced them to pieces.

She began tripping over
troll corpses, blocking swords, and kicking in shins or balls. When her arms
tired, Whisper finished off the trolls before him and came to her aid. Morrigan
spun as he took control of the current fight. The pit was empty. Well, with the
exception of dead trolls and her dark fairy. She turned toward him, catching a
glimpse as he ran the last troll through with his sword. The chains still
rattled from his wrists, and Morrigan’s collar was beginning to cut at her
skin.

“Is that it?” she asked
quietly. Did they actually make it out of this shit?

Whisper held out his
hand, dug his feet into the sand, and helped her up the hill. The top of the
pit seemed a lot higher when her muscles were so sore from the fight. Still,
they made it up. Morrigan noticed his wings were still damp. They hung lower
than normal and sand stuck to the delicate edges. She landed on her knees at
the top of the pit, overjoyed to make it out of that stinking hole. Morrigan
was even happy to announce that the fight had stirred her zeal. She wanted
Whisper with an ever-growing passion. She loved watching him fight. The way his
muscles bunched and flexed was magnificent. She grinned at him as she stood on
wobbly legs. After they caught that bastard Mord, she was going to tear
Whisper’s clothes off and eat him alive.

Morrigan looked at his
handsome face. Her infatuation faded at the way his lips tightened into a line
and his head lowered. She stared at the forest before them. Her hand tightened
on the hilt of her unstained sword. More trolls. A lot more. With a quick
glance left to right, she counted at least two dozen.

This was about to get
bloody.

“Where is my blue
freak?” A deep male voice held a hint of danger.

Morrigan looked up.
She’d never been so happy to see the blue sky and the rainbow of colored wings
coming to their rescue. Thame was flapping his golden wings, diving down to
land at Morrigan’s side.

“There he is,” Thame
said with a grin. “We missed you.”

Keyn was beside Whisper.
His red wings held him just above the ground.

Whisper smiled at her,
showing his fangs. The next moment he was running toward the trolls with a roar
of outrage. Morrigan held her ground as Thame and Keyn attacked. She wasn’t
exactly skilled with the sword. Instead, she watched all three men. When their
backs were compromised, she’d dart into the battle, wield her sword a few times
to give them some help, and then dash back to the edge of the pit. It seemed to
work as the trolls were littering the ground, and the fairies were kicking some
serious ass.

A loud deep horn
sounded. Some trolls began to run. They scurried into the forest, and the
fairies were quickly alone on the battlefield. “We must return to the kingdom!”
Whisper urged. He ran to Morrigan and wrapped his arms around her.

“What’s your hurry?
They’re on the run. We can pick them off.” Thame flew as high as the treetops
but was stopped by Morrigan’s words.

“We know who the fairy
traitor is.”