Kindling Flames: Stolen Fire (The Ancient Fire Series Book 4) (17 page)

“Well, once you get food, I would suggest that you get some sleep.” Elliot laced his fingers together over his stomach and leaned back in his chair, studying Darien and the hellhound. “I’ll stay to ensure you and yours are safe.”

Darien let his head rock over and blinked his tired eyes. “I can’t ask you to do that.” He protested weakly. “I’m sure you have other things to do. Zak and I can take care of things here.”

Zak gurgled softly at Darien.

“I’m sure you can.” Elliot reached out to play with one of Zak’s feelers that had reached over to wrap around the vampire’s knee. “But, it would ease my mind to know that you were safe.”

Zak squeezed, drawing Elliot’s eye to his. The little fay shot him a look of gratitude.

Elliot patted him reassuringly. When no answer came for Darien, Elliot looked up to find his friend had nodded off in his chair. Snickering, he stood up and patted the sleeping man on the upper arm to wake him. “Darien.”

Darien’s eyes popped open, and he looked around, startled from his sleep.

“Let’s head out to the living room to wait for food,” Elliot suggested.

Zak slipped from Darien’s lap and Elliot pulled him up.

Darien nodded his agreement, not quite awake. He followed as Elliot guided him out to the soft couches in the living room where he could rest more comfortably until food got there.

Vicky looked out into the leafless trees of Sharon Woods. Since her first visit to the fay, she would never be able to look at this forest the same again. Just knowing that it held something magical changed it.

Zak wiggled up into her lap and licked her with his little, pink tongue, breaking her out of her thoughts.

“Silly mutt.” Ruffling him, she opened the door of Darien’s SUV. The Range Rover was almost too big for the tiny parking lot closest to the entrance to Fairy. She touched the silver medallion Darien had insisted she wear. It was the same medallion that had failed to protect her properly the first time they had entered the realm of the fay. This time, Darien had assured her that it would work. Zak had even helped when he invoked the spell. She looked over to where Darien was locking up the car.

“Did you think about protection for yourself?” she asked.

Darien shook his head. “If I can’t convince Lady Aine to help us, nothing I can do will save me.” His voice held a note of despair.

Zak scampered over to him in his dog form and rubbed up against his leg reassuringly.

A smile worked to gain ground on Darien’s face as he reached down to pick up the little fay. He let Zak lick him a few time before joining Vicky at the entranceway to the path. “At least we have someone on our side.”

Zak barked his agreement and jumped down from Darien’s arms.

“Maybe we shouldn’t do this.” Vicky swallowed her anxiety as Zak started up the trail. She took Darien’s hand and let him pull her along.

“We’ve got to do this.” Darien sighed. “I have to find out what the fay have done and how I can stop it.” He set a determined look on his face. “Just remember what we talked about.”

“Don’t turn you loose. Don’t accept anything from anyone. Don’t eat anything.” Vicky ran over the list of warnings he had given her before they left.

“And whatever happens, do not react to anything Lady Aine does or says,” Darien warned.

Zak barked his agreement.

“Just the slightest insult, intentional or not, could cause major problems.”

“I do know how to behave,” Vicky huffed, insulted that he would warn her about her manners.

Darien lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it lovingly. “I have no doubt that you can,” he soothed her. “But the fay love to play games. They will push us both as hard as they dare. If we don’t follow their rules, we lose. We can’t afford that.”

“What are the rules?” Vicky asked. The more information she had, the better prepared she would be to face the games the fay would play.

“That’s the problem.” Darien said. “The rules change at the whim of the Queen.”

“Then how are we supposed to follow them?” Vicky asked crossly.

Darien let out an exasperated chuckle. “It’s something we have to figure out as we go.” He paused, remembering the conversation from last night. “Elliot was right to make me wait until morning to do this. We would have been eaten alive if I had tried this last night.”

Vicky looked at him with shock-filled eyes. “Seriously?”

“Oh, I am sure they wouldn’t have
eaten
us,” Darien reassured her, but the gurgled warning from Zak said differently. “Well, not much,” Darien added.

“I don’t think I will ever be ready to face the fay.” Vicky sighed as they made their way down the increasingly wild trail.

Darien moved her hand to the crook of his arm and patted it. “Don’t worry,” he comforted her. “We have Zak to help us through today.”

Zak gurgled his agreement and came back to rub against her leg before leading them onward.

Vicky let her mind drift, preparing it for the fantastical things she expected to find in Fairy.

The clearing that led to Fairy opened up in front of them. Zak shook out of his dog form and wobbled around the edge of the trees, looking for the entrance. He warbled out to Darien and Vicky, calling them to him.

“Are you ready?” Darien asked as he repositioned Vicky’s hand in his and laced their fingers together. He led her across the small, open area to the waiting fay.

Zak writhed, growing in size as he waited for them.

Vicky’s eyes widened as the small fay tripled in size. “I guess,” she answered, not seeing any way out of this trip. Since the enchantment had been set on her, she was needed. Plus, she was not about to let Darien walk into Fairy alone without his powers. Even with Zak as his guide, she had a feeling that he would never come back out without her.

Darien took a deep breath, calming his nerves. “Then lead on.” He called to Zak.

The fay slipped his bulk between them and wrapped tentacles up around their joined hands. Binding them tightly together, he pulled them across the stone marking the entrance to the fay’s realm.

Vicky closed her eyes as the familiar feel of cobwebs whispered across her skin. Once free of the barrier, she opened her eyes to the long, dark tunnel. They walked on in silence as the light from the outside world faded.

“It’s so weird not to be able to see in here.” Darien’s voice split the darkness.

Vicky could just make out his outline, a darker silhouette in the blackness of the long hall.

He lifted his hand up to wave it, unseen, in front of his face. “I guess I took for granted how much being a vampire changed me.”

“It’s not that dark in here.” Vicky reached over with her free hand and grasped the hand Darien had raised to his face.

He gasped at the contact and clutched at her fingers. “I couldn’t see that at all,” Darien admitted as he turned his face, looking for her in the dark.

Vicky looked at him wide-eyed for a moment before releasing his hand. “You’re all darkness and shadows,” she admitted.

Laughing, he turned his attention back to the front.

“So, our tables are reversed this time.” He squeezed the hand he still held.

Vicky turned this over in her mind as they made their way down the rest of the hall. Soon, the light from the Fairy realm seeped in to push back the darkness.

Zak led them from the narrow hall into the large, open area beyond.

Vicky remembered this room from the first time she had visited. The long banquet tables were empty except for a few fay clearing away spent dishes.

“Looks like we missed the meal.” Darien glanced around the room.

Vicky took in the scene, too. “Where are the lesser fay?” The small, winged creatures had flocked around them the first time they had come. Their absence was suspicious.

Darien let out a joyless laugh. “They know we’re here.” The smile that split his face held the promise of pain for someone.

Zak rumbled a warning, and giggles could be heard from the edges of the room. Tightening his hold on their hands, the hellhound led them across the long hall and through the second set of trees leading to Lady Aine’s main hall.

This time, Vicky’s eyes picked up every creature hidden in the dark recesses of the hall. She stood straighter and bolstered her courage. With Zak’s touch and Darien by her side, she could face the monstrous things waiting here.

The fay watched as Zak pulled those he protected between the tall columns of stone to the hearth where Lady Aine and Lord Dakine waited for them. They stopped just short of the woman sitting on her low, carved stool. Today, her dress was a deep plum with bronze accents around the neckline and sleeves. Lord Dakine’s flowing robes were of a deep maroon. The pair looked regal together in front of the crackling fire. A hint of surprise shone in Lady Aine’s eyes as Darien dropped her a respectful bow. Vicky followed his lead and curtsied.

“Kian; Cailín,” Lady Aine greeted her guests. Her voice rang out through the room, carrying a note of curiosity. “And what brings you to my warren so unexpectedly?”

Darien stood up, bring Vicky with him. “Please forgive our intrusion.” He nodded his apology to her. “We are in need of your wisdom.”

Surprise filled Lady Aine’s face. She looked up to Lord Dakine, who nodded, confirming her suspicions. Turning delighted eyes back to the pair in front of her, she laughed.

Vicky did not like the joy the woman took in Darien’s plight.

“This is rich!” The Queen stood up and closed the space between her and Darien. “Oh, the times I have dreamed of you mortal, Kian Dubhlainn.” She reached out and touched his chest over his heart.

Darien squeezed Vicky’s hand in warning but held still as the Queen petted him.

“Years I have studied ways to steal your powers from you—to have you at my mercy—and here you are.” She placed her other hand on his chest and stepped in against him. “Too bad you are bound to another and protected by something older than I.” Stepping back, she ruffled a few of Zak’s feelers. She circled the trio, studying them. “So tell me Dubhlainn, what have you done to yourself?” The queen trailed her fingers across his back as she passed. Her fingers ran down his arm and up Vicky’s. “I see you still haven’t released cailín from my grasp.”

Vicky shuddered as the Queen touched the sensitive spot on her back where the outline of the wings remained.

Lady Aine stepped up and wrapped her arms around Vicky, pressing herself into Vicky’s back. “Or do you just need my help to unravel this spell?”

“I believe we’ll be able to handle that on our own,” Darien said, politely refusing her assistance with that matter.

Lady Aine sighed and released Vicky. She came back around to look at them from the front. “As you wish.” Moving back to her chair, she sat down. “But you must tell me, how did you make yourself mortal?”

“That’s why I’ve come to you.” He tilted his head at her. “I believe this is the work of your little ones.”

“Of course it’s the little ones.” Lady Aine grumbled. “It’s always the little ones.” She looked up at Lord Dakine. “I assume you know about this?”

The elf lord nodded. “I knew of Kian’s issue, but I don’t see how the lesser fay could have stolen his powers away.” Dakine came over and touched Darien on the chest. “They would have left some enchantment on him, but I feel none.” He dropped his hand away and studied Darien. “And how would they get pass the protection you have already been given?”

“The spell isn’t set on me.” Darien raised an eyebrow at his friend. “I believe they set this enchantment on Victoria.”

Dakine’s eyes darted to Darien’s companion. “Cailín?” He moved around Zak to look at the woman. Reaching out, he touched her gently on the chest. “I feel her enchantments, but it’s hard to tell what they are.”

Vicky felt warmth radiate out from where the elf touched her.

“It’s there,” Darien assured him. “I had a Vodou priestess identify it for me.”

Lady Aine clicked her tongue at him, annoyed. “Are you still dealing with those ghosts?”

Darien shrugged. “Only on occasion.” He slipped his hand into his pocket to touch the gris-gris hidden within. It was another of the precautions that he had asked Vicky to carry into this meeting. Maria wouldn’t have made them if there weren’t a need for them.

“I’ll have to take a closer look at you.” Dakine reached for Vicky’s hand to pull her closer to him.

Zak gurgled a warning as Darien’s squeezed her hand in his.

Dakine raised an eyebrow at them. “I promise she will come to no harm in my hands.”

“Thank you,” Darien nodded his head to him, “but Zak’s mark and Victoria’s touch are the only things keeping me safe.”