FEARLESS: The King Series, Book One (27 page)

Nell’s fingers brushed the back of my head, and I shrieked in pained protest. She jerked her hand away, then chuckled.

“Sorry. I forgot that your head must hurt pretty badly. Don’t worry, it won’t bother you much longer.” She giggled again, but this time she gripped me by the shoulders. “Look, I’ll swing you around so you can lean against this tree.”

She shoved me up, and I moaned again as my head banged against the tree. Moving had tightened the bindings on my feet, and I felt as though I were being stretched.

Nell sprinted back to the fire and returned to me quickly, this time holding two stone bowls. “These are the vessels. We’ll need to tie your hands, I’m afraid, so that you don’t accidentally knock anything over.” From the folds of her robe, she pulled a length of rope that matched that at my feet.

“Give me your hands.” When I merely stared at her, she sighed in exasperation. “Tasmyn, there’s no way out now. Let me have your hands. It’s for your own good. Delaying this, fighting it, will only make things more painful for you.”

Tas, be still. Let her tie your hands. I’m right here, watching. I’m waiting for her to put down the knife. I can’t risk her going for you. But don’t worry, I won’t let her hurt you. Just play along a little while longer. Try to get her to put down the knife. I’m with you.

I swallowed convulsively. Michael was right. Charging at Nell while the athame was still in her hand would be far too dangerous. If she was tying my hands, she couldn’t be holding the knife, could she? Hesitantly, I held them out, shaking.

“That’s better.” Somehow still holding the athame, she threw the rope over my wrists and rapidly tightened it around my hands. Her strength and dexterity both astounded and frightened me. Would Michael be able to overpower her, even if she did put down the knife?

“Now, it’s time.” Nell’s eyes sparkled with excited anticipation. She sat back on her heels, the cloak spread around her, and flipped the hood over her head again. Closing her eyes, she began to speak the chant that I had been hearing in her mind all this time. It was nearly hypnotic, and I resisted the urge to give in to its rhythm.

I wondered if Michael could see Nell. Depending on his vantage point, he might not be able to tell that her eyes were closed. This one-way communication was so frustrating.

Abruptly Nell stopped chanting. She raised the athame above her head and said something else in the same language—Romanian, I guessed. I watched in a combination of fascination and horror as she slowly lowered the knife and brought it to my neck.

“Don’t be alarmed,” she whispered to me. “They will be only shallow cuts. We don’t want gushes of blood. It must flow slowly, into the vessels. Here—” I felt a sudden pain below my chin, “—and here—” another slice on the other side of my neck, “—and here.” She moved the knife to my arms.

“NO!!!” The bellow of rage rose from the trees directly across the clearing from where Nell crouched over me. “Get away from her!” Michael charged directly at Nell, as she spun around to face him, knife still in her hand.

“Michael!” I screamed. “She has the knife—stay away!”

Nell looked wildly from Michael to me, and I could hear her mentally vacillating between attacking Michael or coming back to complete what she’d begun with me. Still facing Michael, she backed up toward me, the athame, stained with my blood, raised in her hand.

Slowly she lowered the knife back to my neck. “Go ahead,” she hissed, her eyes on Michael’s face. “Try it. I know where to cut. She’ll bleed out in a matter of minutes. Even if you get to her, it’ll be too late.”

“Michael!” I kept my voice steady even in its intensity. “Go. Get help. Don’t let her hurt you, too—”

“I’m not leaving you!” His anguish was nearly palpable. “Nell, leave her alone. You stop now, we can get you help. You’re not thinking right. If you hurt her—more, there won’t be anything we can do—”

Her wild laughter cut through his words. “I don’t want your help, you weak, stupid
man
. My power is greater than you can imagine, and it’s about to be increased a hundred-fold. Why don’t you stay for the show?”

And before either of us could react, Nell had leaped across the clearing and tackled Michael. Caught off guard, he staggered under her weight and fell backward. She sat astride him and held the knife to his throat as she alternately cackled and crooned.

“Now who’s going to help
you
? If you so much as glance at her, I’m going to slice you right here, and she can watch you bleed away your worthless life. Of course, maybe it would be better for you to simply end it now. Obviously I can’t let you walk away either, but perhaps after the ritual is over you’d be more open to my suggestions.” She ran the flat side of the knife over Michael’s face.

Tas, I’m going to fight her off. You’ve got to try to get free…

“Michael, I can’t,” I was sobbing openly now. “I can’t move.” Blood was dripping down my neck, my hands were immobilized, and both my legs and my head were screaming in pain.

“Why, how rude of you,” Nell reproved us. “It’s very impolite to hold a private conversation when there are other people around. I think someone needs a lesson in manners.” She flipped the athame in her hand and with lightening speed, drew it across Michael’s face.

My scream filled the woods. I felt Michael’s pain as though it were my own skin that had been sliced, and more tears ran down my face to mingle with the blood. I struggled anew to free my feet and hands. Nell only laughed and raised the knife again.

A shout rose beyond the wall of trees. We all three froze, listening, and I heard the welcomed jumble of thoughts—many people’s minds, all talking at once and approaching us quickly.

Before Nell could react, Amber appeared next to me, and then Cara was there, along with a tall man I didn’t recognize. They all three took in the scene before them with varying degrees of horror and disbelief. Cara’s mouth dropped open, but it was Amber who moved first.

“Get away!”  she yelled, running headlong into Nell and knocking her off Michael. The athame flew out of Nell’s hand and through the air, landing near the fire. Nell screeched and fought back against Amber, grabbing her hair and reaching for her eyes.

“You idiot!”  she shrieked. “You’ve ruined it all again. I’ll kill you, I swear I will. I’ll never rest—”

The man standing next to Cara moved with admirable speed, considering the shock that was still running through his mind. He reached into the melee of arms and legs that was Nell and Amber and pulled Nell away.

“Enough!” he commanded her firmly. “Stop it.” Nell glowered at him, but she stopped talking. He held her by the arms, much as Michael had done the night we’d saved Amber. He nodded toward Cara. “Get the phone out of my pocket and call the police.”

Cara obeyed without hesitation, and I realized, hearing her mind as clearly as I was, that this man was her father. I had no idea how he had come to be here, but I was so grateful that I began to sob all over again.

Michael was by my side in an instant. He lifted my hands and began undoing the rope. “Tell them we need an ambulance, too—she cut Tasmyn. Let me see,” he said to me gently. “No, move your hands. I need to see.”

“She cut you, too. Are you all right?” As soon as my hands were free, I flung my arms around his neck and pressed my face to his chest, holding him so tightly that I could feel the beating of his heart against my cheek.

“I’m fine,” he murmured in my ear, pressing kisses along the side of my face. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry I didn’t get here sooner. I let her hurt you—”

I shook my head against him and noted vaguely that it was still hurting badly. “You saved me. If you hadn’t come, I’d be lying here bleeding into her stupid vessels—oh, she’s crazy, Michael. If you could have heard some of the things she was saying, or worse, that she was thinking…”

He pressed me more tightly to him and bent his head to whisper to me. “Shhh. It’s all right now.” More softly, he added, “Cara and her father are here.” I realized that he was still protecting my secret, even in the middle of the chaos.

“Tasmyn?” I heard the hesitation in Amber’s voice, and I pulled away slightly from Michael to look at her.

“Amber, I don’t know how you did it, but I can never thank you—you saved us both.”

Tears filled her eyes as she knelt beside us. “Then we’re almost even,” she said quietly. “But she cut you. The blood—you’re covered—”

“They’re not deep cuts,” I assured her. “I think they look worse than they are. But if someone could untie my feet, I’d really appreciate it.”

Amber scrambled down to wrestle with the ropes, as Michael pulled me close to him again.

“Ow,” I moaned.

“Where? Where else do you hurt?” he demanded, leaning back to look me over.

“My head. She knocked me out with the handle of athame. I think I’ve got a pretty good knot back there. And I’m kind of dizzy.”

“Concussion,” both Michael and Amber pronounced together. We heard sirens in the distance, and I felt Michael’s profound relief.

Near the dying fire, Cara was still speaking rapidly into her father’s cell phone. Reverend Pryce was holding Nell firmly, but she was muttering still, casting baleful glances of hate and spite toward the rest of us.

I could now hear the minds of the approaching police and EMT’s, and a few moments later their footsteps and voices were audible to all. Suddenly the adrenaline that had kept me upright was gone, and the world began to spin. Once again I surrendered to the dark of nothingness. But this time, I wasn’t alone. This time, strong arms circled m
e
.

When I opened my eyes again, the world was white. Replacing the filtered light of the forest was a harsh glare of institutional lamps. Someone was holding my wrist with cool fingers.

I blinked and moaned softly as the pain that had been held at bay rolled back over me. My head was pounding.

A warm and compassionate face filled my line of vision. She was dressed in pink hospital scrubs, and she was smiling.

“Hi, there,” she murmured, just loud enough for me to hear her without hurting my head any more than it was. “Welcome back. Are you in pain?”

I opened my mouth to speak but found my throat was so dry I could only rasp. “Yes, a little.”

“Well, let’s get you some water, okay, and maybe something nice for that head. No need for anyone to suffer.” She was cheerful without being obnoxious. I heard the clink of ice and then she was holding a cup to my lips. “Can you get this down?”

I gulped the water awkwardly, feeling the relief of it spill over my lips and down my throat. She took the cup away, and then I saw her inject something into a clear tube above my head. I realized that the tube must be attached to me. I moved my hand and could feel the discomfort of the intravenous line.

“There.” There was a squeak of something being opened, then the sound of metal upon metal, and I assumed that she had discarded the syringe. “That should help a lot.”

I could speak a little more clearly now. “Where am I?”

“Lake County Memorial Hospital. Do you remember how you got here?”

I frowned, and a vague pain moved through me again. It was softened now somehow; the medicine was doing its job.

“You had quite the adventure, I understand. Lots of rumors flying around about what happened out there in the woods by Lake Rosu.”

It came back to me in full force then. I tried to sit up, looking about wildly. “Michael?”

“Is that your boyfriend? Well, don’t worry. He’s fine. He was here all night. We just now convinced him to have that cut on his face seen by our plastic surgery resident. It’s not an emergency, but since it’s on his face…” Her words trailed off as tears began to flow down my cheeks. “Now, sweetie, none of that. It’s okay. Everyone is fine. I know you’ve been through a terrible time, but it’s over now.”

She bustled around my bed a few minutes more in silence. I drew a shuddering breath.

“You said—all night? What time is it? How long was I out?”

“It’s nearly noon. Thursday. You started to come around in the ER, but you were kind of out of control—yelling about all sorts of things, thrashing around—so they knocked you out again. Safer for you that way, and you missed the worst of getting stitched up and so on.”

I raised my hand to my neck to feel the bandages. “No, don’t touch those. They’re going to be tender for a bit. But you’re fine. You can relax. It’s going to be all right.”

I closed my eyes. I could hear similar comforting thoughts in her mind, so I knew she wasn’t lying to me.

“Nell?” I asked, with my eyes still shut.

There was a surge of conflicted emotion in this woman’s mind. “Nell… is somewhere safe. A place where she can’t hurt herself or others. She’s fine.” There was indecision, then resolution. “You shouldn’t think… well, Nell is a sick person. Her mother was a sick person. What they did… that’s not what all witches are about.”

I sucked in air and opened my eyes wide. She was looking out the window thoughtfully, fingering a charm that hung from her neck.

“It’s all about elemental magic. White magic. Doing good. The vow is that it must hurt none. What Nell did—it was as far away from that as it could be.” Her attention seemed to snap back suddenly. “I just thought you should know that. You shouldn’t be frightened.”

I wasn’t. This woman—I assumed she was a nurse—was as comforting as my own mother.

And that made me wonder where my parents were. “Are my mom and dad here?” I croaked, still trying to find my voice.

“Your dad was here all night, too, and he just left a little while ago to collect your mother at the airport. They’ll be back shortly.” She smoothed the sheet at the foot of the bed. “That medicine should be kicking in by now. Why don’t you rest until your family arrives?”

“I don’t want to be unconscious again—I want to see them…” I protested weakly.

“What I gave you was only a mild pain med. It won’t knock you out; it will just let you sleep naturally. You need that now.” She stroked my foot softly. “Go to sleep…”

My mother’s voice awakened me next. It wasn’t her spoken words; it was the soft hysteria of her thoughts.

My baby, so vulnerable lying there in that bed… oh, her poor neck…  shouldn’t have gone away. It wouldn’t have happened…

I pulled myself up out of the bliss of sleep and opened my eyes. “Mom?”

“Tasmyn!” Gentle hands touched my cheeks, and I could hear the tears in her voice.

“Mom, it’s okay. I’m all right. And it’s not your fault. Don’t think that.”

She laughed through her sniffles. “Someone’s cheating.”

I blinked. “Sorry. S’hard to block when my head doesn’t feel like my own.”

“That’s fine. I was just teasing you.”

I could focus on both of them now. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you worry. I’m sorry I got hurt. And that you had to cut your trip short, Mom.”

She ran her hand up and down my arm in comfort. “Don’t worry about that now. We’ll talk when you’re feeling better. Just rest for now.”

I gazed around the room, searching. “Where’s Michael? The nurse said he was okay—that he was here.”

My father answered this time. “He is—both fine and here. He’s down the hall with his parents. They very thoughtfully gave us some time alone with you, but I imagine that Michael is anxious to get back in here. Should I step out and call him?”

I didn’t want to hurt my parents’ feelings, but my need to see Michael was overpowering. I nodded carefully, and my father moved through the door.

“Don’t be alarmed when you see Michael’s face—he’s got stitches, but it looks worse than it is,” my mother assured me.

But nothing could have prepared me for the flood of feeling when Michael walked into my room. His face was the least of my concerns. Instead I focused on his eyes, and at last I felt whole again.

He moved to the side of my bed and took my hand. “Hi,” he breathed.
Oh my God, Tasmyn, I didn’t know… I thought… I was so scared. You were so still and so white… I have never been so frightened in my life…

I smiled up at him. “I’m here,” I said. “You don’t have to be scared anymore.”

My parents exchanged knowing looks and slipped from the room. Michael heaved a huge sigh and dropped onto the bed next to me, still clutching my hand.

“I can’t even begin to tell you… I thought, when you went limp on me there in the woods… I thought you were gone. I’ve never seen anyone just… slip away like that.”

“Sorry,” I whispered. I tried to say more, but my throat was dry again. “Water, please?”

“Oh, sure.” He jumped up and found the cup of water the nurse had poured earlier. “Here you go.”

I drank deeply, appreciating the liquid, and then tested my voice again. “Thanks. That’s much better.”

“Yeah, they had you on oxygen for a while, so you’re probably pretty dried out.”

I nodded. “Are you really all right?” I brushed careful fingers over the taped line on his cheek.

“Perfectly fine. The plastic surgeon gave me some cream that should minimize scarring, but I’m not really worried about that. It’ll only add to my manliness, don’t you think?” Michael winked at me.

I wasn’t ready to joke yet. “I’m sorry,” I murmured, tears filling my eyes again. “If I hadn’t been so stupid… so gullible…”

“Hey.” He gripped my hand again, pulling it up to his lips. “None of that. You were so brave. I’m very proud of you.” He leaned down to brush his lips against my forehead. “But if you ever put yourself in danger again, I am going to be really, really angry.”

“Tell me what happened. How did you find me? How did Cara and Amber get there? And what about Cara’s dad?”

“It was pretty wild,” Michael admitted. “I got the whole story from Amber and Cara after we got here and the doctors got you stabilized. Your dad and I were sitting here with you, and between both of them—oh, and Reverend Pryce—trying to tell us their parts, and then your dad getting phone calls every five minutes from your mom, who was hysterical at the airport in New York, trying to get a flight out… well, let’s just say it took me a while to piece it all together.”

I groaned. “Oh, that must have been… interesting.”

“I was considering swiping some of your pain meds.”

“So, share it. I’ll bet you can be much more succinct.”

“I’ll try. Let’s see. I left school right after English. I knew my mom and dad were working at a house on my way home, so I stopped there for a few minutes, just to see if they needed any help. And then I went right out to the nursery. I guess I had been there about half an hour when Belinda found me. She said that you’d called and you sounded odd. She said you told her I was in trouble, and something about a girl and a clearing.

“I might not be quickest mind around, but that one I could figure out. I bolted right back to the car and broke every speed limit getting to Lake Rosu. I tried to call my parents, but I only got their voice mail.”

I closed my eyes. “I feel like an idiot. I was just so frightened when I heard what Nell was thinking.”

Michael stroked my face gently. “You can explain all that to me later. I know you acted on the best information you had. That’s all you could do.”

I still felt stupid. “And you got to me, and you saved me.”

Michael laughed without much mirth. “I don’t think I saved anyone. I ended up at the wrong end of Nell’s knife, too, remember?”

I frowned, remembering. “So how did Amber and Cara get out there? Did Amber find my note?”

“Yeah. Amber told me that part. She said she looked for you after school and when you didn’t show, she figured something had come up. And then she went to her locker and found your note. That was good thinking on your part.”

“At least I did something half-way right,” I muttered.  Michael ignored me and went on.

“Amber panicked, and she looked for anyone who could help her. She just happened to run into Ms. Lacusta, and Amber figured out that if Ms. L was still at the school, she couldn’t be helping Nell out at the clearing. And then get this—our quiet little Amber stopped Ms. Lacusta and demanded to know where Nell was. Ms. Lacusta claimed that she had no idea, and Amber said that you and Michael were in danger. She told her that Nell had tried to kill her—Amber, that is.”

My eyes widened. “Oh,” I breathed. “What did Ms. Lacusta say?”

“Amber said that at first she thought Ms. Lacusta was stunned, but then again, maybe… not so much. Her sense was that she was surprised about some of it, but not about Nell’s intent. She wanted to know details, but Amber told her there wasn’t time. She still needed to find help for us. So she ran out to the parking lot, and she saw Cara, whose father was picking her up.”

Now things were coming together. “Amber figured Cara was someone who could help.”

“Yes. She said she wasn’t sure it was all right to trust Cara, but there was no one else—and since Cara’s dad was there, this time they’d have someone as a witness if something bad truly was going down.”

“Thank God she did trust her. If she hadn’t…” I shuddered, thinking of the possibilities.

“I know. She told Cara you needed help. Cara’s dad told her to get in the car, and I guess Amber filled them in as they drove. She directed them to the lake. And when they saw your mom’s car there—and the Mustang—Amber knew she’d figured right.”

“And meanwhile, you’d already come to rescue me.” I touched his face again. “Thank you.”

“When I got to the lake, I saw your car. And then—there was blood on the door. I almost—Tas, you don’t know. I thought I was too late. I just started running into the woods. I tried to think encouragement to you, because I had to believe you were still alive.

“Then I got closer to the clearing, and I could hear Nell talking, and I heard your voice—I can’t tell you how relieved I was. I watched her, but when I saw the knife, I knew I had to be careful. She had her back to me, though, and I couldn’t see if she had put it down. I moved to a different angle, and that’s when I saw her cut you.” He dropped his head into his hands and was silent.

Reaching up, I ran my hand over his hair. “It’s okay. It turned out all right, remember?”

“But it was too close. I couldn’t see her… then when I did, I didn’t stop to think. I just reacted.”

“You reacted just right. If you hadn’t, she would’ve cut my arms, too. You saved me.”

Michael lifted his eyes to mine. The pain and guilt I saw there, combined with the anguish in his mind, broke my heart. He leaned in to lay his cheek next to mine.

“I could’ve been too late,” he whispered, his voice muffled next to my ear. “If I hadn’t gotten there in time…”

“But you did. Of course you did. You’re my guardian archangel. Michael the Avenger.”

I felt a reluctant smile touch his mouth then, and then he raised his head so that his face was very close to mine. “I’m never letting you get messed up in something like this again. The idea of losing you—I can’t deal with it.” His lips met mine in a soft whisper of a kiss.