Lark (17 page)

             
I look at him skeptically and shake my head from side to side.

             
“He is afraid you will stand in his way to the throne,” he says as though it should be quite obvious. I guess that would explain his coldness towards me, but surely he has to realize I would never want this. I never once even imagined sitting on that throne. I’ll leave the ruling of kingdoms to the people far more qualified than myself.

             
We walk the rest of the way to my room in silence, though every once in a while I feel certain that Grey is on the verge of saying something. Alas, he remains silent.

             
I open the door to my room and before I step in, I turn around to face him. “Good night.”

             
He reaches out and brushes his hand along my cheek, down to the bottom of my chin, and ever so gently tilts my face upward so I am looking into the depths of those indigo eyes I love so much. His eyes look pained, then determined like there is some sort of internal war going on in his head. I don’t want to get my hopes up but I am almost certain that I recognize the look in his eyes as resolve.

             
“Good night,” he whispers as he leans in closer. 

             
I feel the air being sucked from my lungs. I close my eyes and then...

             
My cell phone rings, successfully ruining the moment.

Chapter 11

              “Um, I guess I better answer that,” I say as I regretfully pull away. I walk over and grab my phone from the end table beside my bed. I answer it on the next ring.

             
“Hello?”

             
“Oh, Mia! I've been trying to reach you for hours!” It's my mom, and she sounds frantic.

             
“Sorry, Mom. We were, uh, hitting the slopes?” I hope she doesn't hear the question in my response. I never could lie.

             
She doesn't seem to notice though, and for good reason because what she says next completely shatters my world.

             
“Maddie’s in the hospital.”

             
“She’s in the hospital? What's wrong with her? Are you and Paul okay?” I just left a week ago, so my first instinct is that she has been in some sort of accident. Grey has entered my room now and closes the door behind him quietly.

             
“She got sick over the weekend and it has progressively gotten worse. She has pneumonia.” I can barely hear her now. It's as if she is afraid saying the words too loud will make them more real.

             
Over the weekend.

             
Maddie got sick the weekend I left. The night she woke up in the middle of the night for the first time since she was a newborn. I knew something was off. I feel sick to my stomach. I want to rush home and make her feel better.

             
Then I realize: I can.

             
“Mom, I'm heading home right now. Everything will be fine, okay? I promise. I’ll make everything okay. I love you. I'll see you soon.” I hang up quickly without waiting for her to respond and turn to Grey.

             
“Grey, I--”

             
“I know. Let's go.” He reaches out for my hand and the next second we are standing in the airport parking lot where Greyson parked my car a week ago.

             
As I am fumbling around for my car keys, I realize that I never changed out of my gown. Crap. I am supposed to be skiing.

             
“I should probably change, huh?” My eyes well up with tears as I try to focus on my next step.

             
“Yes, that would be a good idea,” he agrees as he hands me a handkerchief. “We have time, Mia. It's okay. Don't cry. Everything will be fine.”

             
A part of me believes that. I do. But I am just so overwhelmed.  Finally the tears begin streaming uncontrollably down my face. Grey pulls me into his arms and caresses my hair. He whispers something I don't quite hear. I lean in and inhale his sweet, crisp apple and sandalwood scent, and for a moment I feel all will be okay in the world if I could just stay in his arms forever...

             
What is wrong with me? My baby sister is in the hospital and I am cuddling with a boy in a parking lot. I shake my head and get a hold of myself.

             
“We gotta go.” I get into my car.

             
He doesn't say anything as he gets in and sits back with his eyes centered on the road ahead. We drive in silence until I pull into the driveway of my house.

             
“I'll wait right here while you change,” he says quietly, his voice flat and monotone. He doesn't even look at me. I brush it off and just try to focus. I have to get to Maddie, and soon before she gets any worse.

             
As I suspected, Mom and Paul are still at the hospital, so I don't have to worry about sneaking in. I run up the stairs to my room, and my stomach drops to the floor as I turn on my bedroom light.

             
“Hey, Mia.”

             
It's Brian.

             
Sleazy, smelly, creepy Brian.

             
He’s sitting on my bed with a deceitful grin plastered to his face. I look around and notice that he is accompanied by someone else. A tall, copper-haired boy I’ve never seen before.  He’s wearing jeans and an untucked flannel shirt but he appears clean, unlike Brian who looks just as greasy as ever. His wavy locks fall in that slightly disheveled, messy but on purpose way, right above his ear. His perfectly normal human looking ear. I think it is safe to assume he’s not an elf. Plus, this guy has a five o'clock shadow. One of the many “elfisms” I learned this past week in Álfheimr is that they never grow facial hair. It explains how Grey always manages to look so smooth and clean-shaven; he never has to actually shave.

             
“What are you doing here?” I demand defiantly, trying to hide my fear. I’m afraid I’ve just walked into a trap.

             
“I never thanked you for saving my life, now did I?” he says nonchalantly, as if it’s perfectly acceptable to sneak into a teenage girl's bedroom in the middle of the night to express his gratitude.

             
I have an urge to punch him in his face.

             
“Brian, let's just get on with it,” the copper-haired boy says from the corner over by the window. “There is a Light Elf in her car. He’s bound to grow suspicious if she doesn't come down soon.”

             
God I hope so. I am desperately praying that Greyson will rush in and save me. Unfortunately, I have a sneaking suspicion that just isn't going to happen. I’m just not that lucky.

             
“What are you doing here?” I ask Brian again.

             
He casually gets up from my bed and walks over to me. As he gets closer, I noticed he is wearing the same amethyst pendant that I always found odd. The pieces snap together and I realize Grey's suspicions about how Brian managed to disappear so quickly that day are confirmed. Brian follows my gaze and a slow smile creeps across his face.

             
“Yes, it is what you think it is. A gift from King Dugan,” he says proudly.

             
This was not going to be good. I knew the Dark Elves would be looking for me. Why did I not insist that Grey come in the house with me? Heck,
he
should have insisted.

             
“Brian. Having a Light one so close is dangerous. If we must take her, we need to get on with it.” The copper-haired boy looks bored and mildly annoyed. If not for the scowl on his face, he would be quite handsome.

             
Whereas Brian seems to enjoy teasing me, the other one acts as though he would rather be anywhere but here right now and seems completely indifferent to my ineluctable peril.

             
“Fine, Jacoby.” So the copper-haired boy has a name. “Let's go.”

             
Before I have time to react, Brian pounces. As soon as he grabs my arm, immediately overpowering me, we transport out of my bedroom. A second later we are no longer in my bedroom, and all hopes of saving Maddie Rose die in that moment. A piece of me dies too. How unfair is it to discover I have the ability to heal, only to be powerless to heal the one person in the world I care the most about? I am so wrapped up in my sorrow that I don't immediately notice that we have arrived at our destination. Brian still has a firm grip on my arm, but it is completely unnecessary because I don’t even attempt to pull away as I take in my new surroundings. It takes my eyes a moment to adjust, but when they do I find myself even more frightened than before. Two torches hanging on opposite walls in this dimly lit room offer barely enough light to see my own hand in front of my face. I swear I can hear screaming echoing out of the darkness. I’m so terrified that I don’t realize I’m gripping Brian’s arm now as though it is my lifeline. Suddenly the room lights up and I find myself face to face with, quite frankly, the scariest looking creature I could ever have imagined.

             
“Mia Carrington. My lovely niece. I am so happy you have come to visit your old uncle at last.”

             
My uncle? Oh God. I am standing before Dugan, the Dark Elf King.

             
He’s a few inches taller than me, and almost as skinny, with stringy black hair that hangs down almost to his waist. His skin is the ashen-gray color of someone who hasn’t seen the light of day in a long, long time. If not for the sickly color of his skin, he could almost pass as a human. Except no human being would ever have eyes so black and full of evil. 

             
He saunters over to me and chills run down my spine as he casually drags a two inch long fingernail across my jawline. I jerk back and it makes him cackle.

             
“Aren't you jumpy?” he sneers. “We are family you know. You can relax. I'm not going to hurt you.”

             
For some reason I just can't bring myself to believe him.  He did just send his evil spies to kidnap me in the middle of the night, after all. I seriously doubt that Dugan ever plans to return me safe and sound to my bedroom.

             
“What do you want?” I demand much more confidently than I actually feel.

             
“Oh I think you know exactly what I want from you. I am sure my dear brother has told you all about the prophecy.”

             
“He might have mentioned it,” I respond with my chin arrogantly in the air. In fact, Alberico doesn't even know that I know about the prophecy, but for some reason I don't divulge that tidbit of information. There is no way I’m going to let him see how terrified I am. If I’m going to go down anyway, I’m going to put up a fight. I catch a glimpse of the copper-haired boy named Jacoby, and he is staring at me with what I think may be amusement. Which sucks. Amusing is definitely not what I’m going for here.

             
“Good. I was afraid Alberico would try to be noble and keep the information from you. That was always his way. Sit back and watch. Try to protect. Ridiculous. If you want something, you go out and get it. Take you, for example. As soon as I heard of the prophecy, I sent my spies all over to scout for possible Half-bloods. I was quite intrigued to learn that my very own brother had been paying special attention to a mere human and her daughter. I sent Brian to watch you carefully. Alberico must have been interested in you for a reason. Imagine my delight when I discovered that my honorable brother may have fathered the one foretold to break this wretched curse? Ironic, wouldn't you say?”

             
I just stare silently at him, desperately trying not to throw up all over myself.

             
“You seem like a smart girl. You know exactly what you need to do, don't you?” He looks at me expectantly.

             
Except I don't.

             
“I haven't the foggiest idea how to break this curse. And even if I did, there is absolutely no way you could ever make me do it.”

             
The Dark Elves look uncomfortable, but Dugan just laughs.

             
“I have ways to break you, Mia. Why don't you think long and hard before denying me?”

             
He snaps and two Dark Elves step forward, each grabbing one of my arms and leading me deeper into the Underworld. I want to scream and kick and make this as difficult for them as possible, but instead, I maintain my dignity and walk willingly.

             
As they lead me down into what I assume is the dungeon, I hear screaming, and the air is pungent with a distinct odor that can only be a combination of dirt, sweat, and the metallic scent of blood. We pass several rooms, some with doors open exposing walls adorned with chains, and even more with the thick wooden doors closed tight. The screams originate from behind these, accompanied by evil laughter. I feel sick to my stomach as I remember what I read about these Dark Elves.