Feel the Burn (42 page)

The three couples and Gredel climbed the steps to the tower, pausing when the doors swung open and after a wary glance around, they entered the building.

*~*~*

Chapter Thirty Four

The maelstrom cleared the staircase of all shadow creatures, and the elgrid waiting at the top of the stairs for me. I threw the stairwell door open, feeling more and more pissed off at the sadistic, egotistical, show and tell I’d endured. It gave inspiring thoughts as to what to do with her, but really, right now I just wanted her dead and this revolting castle incinerated. So it felt like a bit of a let down when I charged in, energy blazing, only to realize I stood in a library of sorts. Tense and waiting to be attacked I twisted this way and that, seeing nothing but a comfortable room lined with books and a large round table at the center surrounded by chairs. I stopped twisting and just stood there, listening, still waiting. Minutes ticked by and nothing happened.

‘Fuck this,’ I growled and walked straight across the room, aiming for the mirrored door on the other side that should lead to the stairwell. I reached for the door handle then jumped back with a gasp when the reflective surface shimmered.

‘So eager to donate your gift, Princess?’ The shimmer smoothed out, revealing Jenviet, smiling with teeth as white as her eyes and lips a garish pink. It worked perfectly with the Barbie doll blond hair that curled around her face and shoulders.

‘Don’t you want to wait for your friends?’

The image shimmered and I stiffened at the sight of Sabyn and Loi while they walked down the corridor with the enchanted frames. It changed again, showing each of the others while they stalked cautiously along, and I saw the wondering glances they cast at the ceiling, knowing those awful tanks caught their attention. The sudden vivid image of the girls, floating dead in this castle made my spine stiffen.

‘Why wait,’ I rasped out in a rough, angry voice, trying to mask the fear I felt for my friends.

I heard a delighted girlish laugh and Jenviet reappeared, clapping her hands demurely, the motion as patronizing as her tone.

‘Oooh, sweet little Catherine. I have no intention of seeing you without them. Don’t you think you’d be more comfortable waiting here?’ Jenviet inclined her head to the side, miming concern, her lips twitching with amusement. ‘Then you can all climb the stairs and meet me together! Won’t that be nice?’

She smiled then, a flash of teeth, and her upper lip curled in a sneer. ‘And you can watch as I slowly tear each of those charming men you brought along limb from limb. Watch as they scream in pain and slowly die, right before your eyes!’

That horrendous girlish tone deepened to a full voice, and that voice triggered the deep archaic energy within my veins. I slammed a fist into the mirror, splintering the surface.

‘Like hell you will,’ I hissed in a voice only partially mine, the flames beginning to claim me.

The image in the splintered glass gave a tinkling laugh, Jenviet tipping the back of a hand to her mouth while she giggled.

‘But darling girl, that’s how I got you to your full abilities! So I have to do the same for the others, it wouldn’t be fair otherwise.’

The flames and fury vanished and I gaped, white faced at her. She nodded encouragingly, that bright delighted smile firmly in place.

‘That’s right, little Princess! I know full well of your abilities. Do come upstairs if you like, try and find me if you so desire. It’ll kill time until the others arrive.’ She smirked at me. ‘I am so excited about meeting you all again! It’s only been three millennia or so. Welcome back my Fire Elemental, you’ll make a lovely addition to the second floor.’

The surface shimmered then returned to normal. I stood there, breathing in short despairing gasps while her words sunk in. Exhaustion hit, making my legs wobble, and I slumped to the floor staring blankly at the shattered mirror, my head throbbing.

She’s going to kill them, one by one, make the girls watch…

I started to shake, shock creeping into my tired limbs and I grappled with the voices within, seeing Alek’s fate for all of them, hands pressed to my mouth in horror.

‘Cat?!’

‘Loushka? Oh god, she’s going to kill them. Make the girls watch. Oh god, Loushka, I don’t know what to do!’

Tears flowed and I shook with sobs, fighting hysteria. Loushka hit me hard with a barrage of images; of men fighting and dying for us. Of Alek. The fury in her thoughts ripped through my fear as she roared at me.

‘The others have reached the second floor, GET ON YOUR FEET! Kill that evil woman! Don’t you dare betray Alek like this! ANNIHILATE THIS PLACE!’

I’d never heard her so loud before. I gulped the tears back and shook my head, snarling at myself for the moment’s cowardice. Squeezing my hands into fists, I stood and glared at the door.

‘Do it or die trying,’ I muttered. Not giving it another thought I wrenched the door open, making it smack against the shelves, pieces of mirror falling to the floor while I started up the final staircase.

The dead shadow creatures made Ignatius smile grimly, their charred corpses a sure sign Cat passed this way, and he opened the door, alert for any sign of movement. The brightness of the stone walls and floor made him blink a moment, and he almost missed the warning buzz, feeling something brush past his head as he threw himself to the side. The giant scorpion lashed out again, and again. Ignatius lunged and scrambled to keep out the way, the smooth stone floor proving a hindrance as his boots slid over it. Making a desperate snatch for the bola, he hurled it out and the chained stones wrapped around the creature’s tail. It weighted the tail enough that the scorpion couldn’t lift it. Ignatius stood, sword in hand and dealt a fatal blow to the creature’s head. Retrieving the bola he jogged down the corridor, eyes searching for the door to the next staircase. The gruesome sights in each alcove didn’t surprise him and the different species made him shake his head at the witch’s audacity. Ignoring the squat bonecrushers that waddled about the floor, he kept jogging then stopped short, genuinely shocked at the display in the furthest alcove.

Northerners hung from pulleys, arms tied behind their backs and bent backward, obviously broken, with massive rocks tied to their feet. All of them looked similar to Leseach, the long blond braids and shaved sides. Fascinated, Ignatius stepped closer to study them and realized they must be the rest of the troop originally meant to create the shields. With a bemused ‘humph’ he turned his back on the corpses and grinned when he spotted the door, a dead elgrid wedging it open, revealing the stairs within.

Excellent, he thought, I’ll be with you shortly, Cat.

Nothing challenged me on this staircase and I didn’t pause at the top, flinging the door open and charged in, my shield bright. Different again, this floor had dark, slate-like stone floors and walls. They gleamed under the subtle lights tucked into wall sconces. I paused and turned slowly around, examining the corridor I stood in. With the tacky colors she favored I had expected something garish. Taking my time I stared hard at the walls while I walked along the corridor, eyes peeled for the slightest variation. This floor, like the others, obviously had concealed rooms and I knew she sat waiting in one. I just had to find it. Pulling my sword from its sheath I dragged the tip along one wall while I watched the other, ears tense for a telltale sign. The corridor went some way then turned and I walked into a large room, lit only with the embers of two fires, one on either wall parallel to each other. Breathing heavily through the nose I gritted my teeth in annoyance, staring into the darkness, hoping to see a glimpse of light from somewhere. I could see absolutely nothing.

‘Fuck it!’

I slammed the sword against the stone feeling utter frustration while I fought at keeping the despair at bay.

I had to find her, the others would reach this room within an hour. I HAD to find her, to kill her before she got to them. I could feel my hands start to shake and I went to put the sword away when a whisper of a noise made me freeze.

Shifting into a defensive pose I started to creep into the room, keeping close to a wall. It happened again, a tiny metallic noise coming from the head of the room and a vicious smile spread on my face while I crept closer. With my sword now firm in one hand I reached the other hand out to the wall, fingers moving smoothly over the polished stone surface, and I strained to listen for other noises, my heartbeat insanely loud and knees feeling like jelly while I forced myself forward. The fireplace posed a problem and I froze at the start of it. With a grimace and silent prayer, I pulled away from the wall and moved closer to the middle of the room to avoid the light the embers gave off. A strange vibration near one foot made me stop, my whole body wired, ready to explode and I barely dared to breathe, not wanting to give away my position. Crouching, I winced when one of my knees cracked and inwardly swore, letting the silly voice in my head scream while I waited to be exposed.

Allowing what felt like the longest minute of my life to tick by, I bent a little closer to the strange vibration. For an instant it felt like a shimmering energy field ran from floor to ceiling, right beside me.

That’s not right, I thought in confusion when I felt my energy react, veins humming. Why am I not glowing? Looking around I could still see very little, the walls of the room barely discernable in the dull light. Straightening to standing, I flared my energy out.

Nothing happened.

My mouth dropped in a silent gasp of horror when I felt a strange energy somehow prevent mine from leaving my body.

Oh fuck.

I tried something else,
‘Loushka, can you hear me?’

Instead of the open communication I usually felt when communing with the griffon, it felt dead, like hitting a brick wall. I tried to reach the girls but couldn’t, the link non-existent in this room, and I stood there gaping like an idiot while the seriousness of the situation hit.

Dead, I thought, stunned and horrified. We really are dead.

Before I completely went to pieces that noise happened again, sounding like metal chinking against metal. The flight instinct vanished—too late for that now. One way or another I was dead, and somewhere deep within I felt my own fury rise, not that of my element. A determination, an utter refusal to simply roll over and die, grew.

Fuck this. I might be dead, but I’m not going down without a fight.

Gripping my sword firmly I pulled a dagger from the sheath on my thigh and straightened my shoulders, walking forward, not bothering to disguise my steps. My eyes began to adjust to the dim light the further I walked into the room and it didn’t seem so dark now. I could just glimpse a shape at the end wall and heard the metallic sound as the shape moved.

I blinked, feeling like I moved through deep water while I stared at the shape, my brain bewildered as it tried to make sense of what I approached. Blood roared in my ears and the weapons slid from my hands. I sucked in a harsh gasp of a breath and lunged forward, tackling the figure that sat manacled to the wall, and burst into tears.

‘Oh my god, Alek!’

*~*~*

Chapter Thirty Five

The blue goo smelled foul, a sickly sweet you could almost taste, with an underlying tang of acid and decomposition.

‘Phew,’ Sian exclaimed, blocking her nose when they crept past the mess leftover from the empty tanks. ‘I understand why Cat smashed them, but she could have thought of us behind her.’

No one else said a word and Daron, his face tense, kept a tight hold on her hand. The gruesome display of the previous Elementals chilled them all, and then to find the plaques on the bases of the shattered tanks; Sian shuddered.

Not happening, she thought, we don’t belong in that psychopath’s private collection.

Rumal made a quiet sound and Daron dragged Sian over there, Sabyn and Loi right behind them. Kassie pointed at the open door through which they could see a stairwell, covered with the charred bodies of strange pale creatures. Sian stared at the talons and weirdly oversized jaws of the otherwise fine boned creatures and gingerly stepped over another, climbing the stairs behind Daron. At the top of the staircase Rumal stopped and bent over another corpse. Daron pulled Sian closer, refusing to let go of her hand when he moved in to examine it. This creature wasn’t burned like the others, it had been killed with a blade.

‘Ignatius or Belsesus,’ murmured Daron when Sabyn peered past.

‘Good,’ Loi whispered with a look of relief. ‘Maybe Cat isn’t doing this alone.’

Hope not,
Kassie’s thought came through.

Me too,
thought Sian.
I just wish we could get some sense of her, it’s like she’s vanished.

We know she’s alive,
Loi thought.
We’d feel it otherwise.

An exclamation from Rumal on the other side of the door stopped the conversation and Daron let go of Sian’s hand then, lunging after Rumal. The door jerked shut before any of them could move. They heard a heavy pounding and both men cursing before it fell silent. Nervously, Sian reached for the door handle but Gredel stepped in front, easing the door open then beckoned them out. They stopped in the doorway and stared at Daron and Rumal who stood panting over the bodies of the largest scorpions she’d ever seen, easily the size of a mastiff.

‘C’mon,’ Daron reached for Sian while Sabyn urged them forward. ‘Keep close. This isn’t a nice floor.’

The smell hit her just after his words and she shot him a look of revulsion. Daron nodded and pulled her closer while they started down the light stone corridor, keeping his sword ready.

My hands shook, tears streaming down and I reached to cup his face, wincing at the bruises and cuts I felt. He was so thin, cheekbones and jaw line jutting into my hands while I gently touched him, my mind still disbelieving. I heard the chink of metal again and felt his hand cup mine, long fingers slowly winding between mine and I pulled back a little so not to rest my weight on him, the tears refusing to stop.

‘Shhhh,’ he whispered and the rough, abused voice tore at my insides. I didn’t know how to touch him without hurting him; I could see that every breath hurt.

‘I’m so sorry,’ I whispered in a voice thick with tears. ‘Oh god, Al, I thought you were dead.’

A slight breeze blew down the chimneys and he shivered. I realized then he wore nothing but a pair of shredded shorts.

‘Here,’ I moved closer, hoping to provide some body heat.

He shied back and in an angry tone snapped, ‘Don’t!’

‘What? Don’t be silly,’ I reached for him and he shoved at me.

‘Don’t, Cat! You have to go. You have to leave now. Before it’s too late.’

The sound of despair and sorrow when he breathed out that haggard command made my throat swell to the point I couldn’t speak and I dropped my head, more tears falling. Taking it as acquiescence he reached out, fingers brushing my forehead, and continued speaking in that rough voice I barely recognized.

‘You have to, love. She’s too strong. Leave. Come back and win another day. Please, kitten,’ his voice broke on my pet name, only making me weep harder. ‘Please do this for me.’

It was quiet then.

I sat and focused on calming myself while listening to him breathe. When the lump in my throat finally abated I shook my head and crawled closer, a hand on each of his icy thin thighs, trying to warm them. I attempted a light voice but couldn’t speak, so let out a slow breath before trying again and whispered apologetically, ‘It’s already too late.’

In the darkness I couldn’t see his eyes but knew he stared at me, and I felt the shivers he tried to suppress. My energy chimed within, being so close to him, and I had an inkling this might work but didn’t want to say so. Instead, I reached out to brush his hair back, repressing a shudder of revulsion at the lacerations I felt on his forehead. Alive yes, but he’d been tortured to the point that every inch of him seemed damaged. My stomach churned, making me feel nauseous while I traced my way down his arm to his hand, fingers catching over broken and swollen skin. His head dropped and shoulders slumped but his hand held mine. He gave a shuddering sigh.

‘This isn’t what I wanted for you. I can’t protect you.’

He whispered it out like a shameful confession, barely discernible. I shook my head again and brought the hand that held mine to my lips.

‘Not your fault. And not your job.’

Feeling his eyes still on me I took the chance and tried, releasing his hand so to cup his face, feeling the frozen ears beneath my fingers before I ever so gently touched my lips to his.

Please let this work.

In the spot behind my heart my energy glowed blindingly bright and in my minds eye I saw it flowing up, through my lips into his. The instant it did I felt his energy, currently dull and nearly depleted, swell within his body and it built to that brilliant gold light I knew so well. Not done yet, I focused. Knowing what I wanted and hoping this would work, I searched for his life flame, following the flow of energy into his body, using my energy to seek it out. Not being able to utilize my energy like normal felt like the times Elena challenged us to do something new and I focused inward, willing it to work.

An irresistible warmth spread throughout his chest and torso, then flowed into his limbs. Alek groaned when he felt the energy, not his or hers but a merge of the two, surge throughout his veins. The contrast from the deep ache of cold in his bones to this intense, vibrant warmth made his heart beat erratically and head spin, his limbs buzzing within and jerking involuntary. With no way to release the energy, it built stronger and though not exactly painful, it wasn’t pleasant either. The fractured bones, lacerations, bruises, and burns healed and in a blinding flash behind his closed eyes he felt the energy snap out in a wave that couldn’t escape. It rippled out until just below the top layer of skin then snapped back, flowing to his center. With a gulped gasp he jerked back, unable to see or hear anything, body and mind singing with that blinding gold light.

Cat’s panicky voice broke through the hum.

‘Al? Are you okay?’

Her hands rested on his thighs again, but it didn’t hurt. He could feel the band of his shorts digging slightly into his hips, while only moments ago they were loose. The dull fog that had taken over his mind when the lack of food and water took their toll, vanished. Now it felt sharp, clear. Shaking his head, he exhaled in surprise when the heavy thumping pain didn’t occur.

‘Al?’ Cat whispered again, squeezing his legs lightly and he could feel the muscles where moments ago they’d been wasted. Before it hurt to sit, his thin body in constant pain; now nothing ached and the room didn’t feel cold, it felt pleasant. For the first time in weeks a tiny thread of hope fluttered through him. Reaching down he placed his hands over hers and gently tugged, drawing her closer. The manacles didn’t allow too much movement, his hands chained together with about half a meter between them and then a chain connecting them to the floor, preventing him standing.

Cat shuffled onto her knees and tucked her head against his neck, the chainmail hood she wore pleasantly cool against his still heated skin.

‘How’d you do that?’ he whispered, lips against her forehead. ‘That wasn’t the energy I remember you having.’

‘You did it,’ she whispered back, surprising him.

‘What?’

‘When she took you. The torture, I felt it. And then when Elena severed our link it pushed me into the change. I have my full abilities now.’

She stiffened then and sat up, fingers tracing the chains that held him.

‘We have to get you loose; the others will be here soon. If I don’t kill her she’ll kill the guys to force the girls into their full abilities, before she kills us all.’

Silently thanking Ignatius for loading me up with so many weapons, I groped around my armor, hunting for the thin blade of elendite I knew he’d stashed somewhere.

‘Aha!’ I whispered in triumph, slipping the blade out from under the rapthna plating on my lower back. ‘Will this be strong enough?’

‘Should be,’ Alek breathed the words, his fingers exploring the blade. ‘You don’t usually carry this?’

‘Thank Iggy,’ I whispered, then pushed him back. ‘Sit straight, I’d hate to slip.’

I felt for the base, following the chain down and gave a tiny laugh of delight when I felt the padlock.

‘What?’

‘Padlock. I’m not likely to get zapped am I?’

‘No. This room has crystals that block energy. You have to wear one to be able to use your gift.’

I nodded and slipped the blade through the arm of the padlock, inwardly thanking the caretaker at my high school who’d shown me this trick with a screwdriver when I lost my locker key.

‘Pull the chain tight,’ I instructed. It was as easy as it had been at school that time; bracing the blade against the lock I put my weight on the section of blade threaded through the arm and felt it give. Dropping the blade I fumbled with the lock and with a grunt of effort worked the arm around and slipped the chain off.

‘One part down,’ I whispered in a sing song, delighted it had been so easy.

Alek didn’t hesitate and pushed to standing. I jumped up, seizing his arm when he wobbled then staggered and banged into the wall.

‘Whoa, take it slow.’

He shook his head.

‘No time, they’ll be here shortly. Can you do the same for these?’

I grabbed the offered wrist, unintentionally pulling the other arm closer and examined it, running my fingers over the thick metal band and inset lock with my eyes shut while I worked out how it attached.

Fuck.

‘I don’t think so, these would need to be picked and I’ve never done that.’

‘Okay, lets just break the chain; it’ll give me full use.’

I crouched and spread my hands over the stone floor, groping for the blade on the ground when it suddenly got light—all the torches on the three walls flaring bright. Alek grabbed me and I snatched the blade. He hauled me back but I refused to stand behind him, bracing myself in front. Directly opposite where we stood a section of wall shimmered then vanished, revealing a room beyond and my jaw dropped.