Lark (22 page)

             
“Who are you?” I struggle to do as she asks and after a few seconds my eyes finally adjust to the light.

             
“I am here to help.”

             
“How?” I ask uncertainly.

             
“You are my Chosen One. The power is within you. But you must first believe in yourself.”

             
I hear soft moaning coming from behind me. Reluctantly, I turn away from the golden lady and see Grey. He is standing before me, blood pouring out of every orifice. I cannot see his golden skin. I can't see anything but red and the indigo blue of his eyes. Unlike the others, Grey speaks to me.

             
“Help me,” he pleads weakly.

             
“This isn’t real!” I scream at Grey and the glowing lady.

             
“Mia, please! You have to help me.” He makes a gurgling sound and spits blood on to the ground in front of me.

             
“I can’t! This isn’t real! You can’t be here!”

             
“
The power is within you,”
she whispers to me before she vanishes and leaving me alone with Grey.

             
We are not alone for long.  Suddenly, I am surrounded by everyone I love.

             
Mom. Paul. Alberico. Hannah.

             
Maddie.

             
Everyone that I have ever cared deeply for is, before my very eyes, dying and needing my help.

             
The tingling gets stronger and stronger until my fingertips are actually glowing.

             
“Please, Mia. You have to. Please,” Grey pleads.

             
An explosion of yellowish-light brighter than the sun erupts from my hands. I feel the power surging through me until the last of my strength is gone. I vaguely remember someone screaming, “
No Mia, don't!”
before I am swallowed up by the darkness once again.

Chapter 15

             
“Has she opened her eyes yet?” I hear a familiar voice ask worriedly.

I’m disoriented and smell the familiar scent of fresh honeysuckle and cinnamon. For one brief moment I think I may be back in Álfheimr and I don’t want to open my eyes only to discover I am still locked away in the dungeon.

“Not yet,” says a velvet voice that reminds me of Grey. But he can’t be here, can he? It’s all in my head. It was always all in my head.

             
I run my fingers across a plush, soft, expensive feeling downy blanket, and realize that I am definitely not on the rock hard cot with the dirty, flimsy sheet any longer. My eyes pop open and I immediately sit up, only to nearly collapse again from the pain that shoots through my head.

             
“Easy, Mia. Easy,” says the warm voice that I now recognize as Alberico. “You've had a rough couple of days. Just lie down and try to relax.”

             
“Alberico?” I croak out. I clear my throat and try again, but I’m still barely able to produce an audible whisper. Luckily, everyone in this room is blessed with elfish super-hearing powers. “What happened?”

             
“How are you feeling?” Alberico asks me, placing the back of his hand to my forehead as though checking to see if I have a fever.

             
“What happened?” I ask again, my voice a little stronger this time.

             
“After you didn't come down from your room, I went up searching for you,” Grey explains. “I am so sorry, Mia. I never should have let you out of my sight. If I would have just insisted on going with you, this whole thing never would have happened.” He looks sad, and my heart aches seeing him in pain.

             
“I don't blame you. It’s fine.” I rub my temples trying to relieve some of the pressure in my skull radiating from the killer headache. “How long have I been out for?”

“Just a few hours.
It’s just after midnight.”             

              Then I remember what made me rush out of Álfheimr in the first place and a panic sets in. “Where is Maddie? Is she...?” I can't even finish the question. A part of me doesn't want to know the answer.

             
“She is fine,” Alberico answers me, and grasps my hands in his own. “She pulled through and her stats are looking much better. It appears you inherited your mother's over-dramatic flair. If you would have just been patient, you would have realized that modern medicine is a wonderful thing. You can't just go around healing anybody and everybody, my sweet girl. Not only will it wear you out, but most of the time it is completely unnecessary.” Alberico's smile is warm and indulgent.

             
“Maddie is okay?” I ask one more time for reassurance.

             
“She is fine. I went and visited her myself yesterday,” Grey interjects.

             
“You went to see my sister? Why?”

             
He looks almost embarrassed at first, like he doesn't want to tell me.

             
“Well, after you disappeared, I had to do a bit of damage control until we found you.” His indigo eyes beg me to understand. And I do. My mom would have been expecting me after my frantic reaction over the phone. When I didn't show up, she would have been worried about me when she should have been focusing on Maddie. I am immensely grateful to Greyson and his obsessive need to tie up loose ends.

             
“But how did I, I mean, we...how did I escape?”

“What do you remember?”
Alberico asks.

“I remember…” I start to say, but I stop. I remember everything, but the words are hard to spit out. I remember being taken by Brian and Jacoby. I remember being thrown into a cell and tortured. I remember Jacoby telling me his story. I remember Dugan torturing my mind. I remember Jacoby promising he was going to help me escape.

“Jacoby! Where is he? Is he still here?”

“Yes, he is still here. He is locked in the dungeon awaiting his sentencing,”
Alberico informs me.

“Awaiting his sentencing for what?”

“For kidnapping the princess of course,” Grey interjects.

             
“But you can’t punish him! He helped me escape!” I am on my feet now.

             
“He is the one who kidnapped you, Mia. How can you expect me not to punish the person who kidnapped my daughter?”

             
“No, it wasn’t like that. He helped me. You have to set him free,” I beg Alberico.

             
“He can’t be trusted.” Grey’s eyebrows are furrowed in frustration.

             
“Alberico, please. You have to believe me. He isn’t a danger to us. He doesn’t want to be like that. He’s good. He’s not evil like the Dark Elves. I know he isn’t.”

             
“What was his role?” Alberico asks me kindly.

             
“Yes, he was there. But Brian is the one who grabbed me and transported me to the Underworld.”

             
“And Jacoby did nothing to stop him,” Grey points out.

             
“Yes, but he didn’t have a choice,” I argue. “Dugan tortures anybody who goes against him. Jacoby risked a lot when he helped me. We have to grant him amnesty or something. Dugan will hunt him down and kill him for helping me.”

             
Alberico is watching me closely as though trying to decide whether to trust my instinct.

             
“Are you certain we can trust him?”

             
“Absolutely. I know he is good. Please, Dad? I know I’m right. I’ve never asked you for anything, but I am asking you now. Please release him. Please do this for me?”

             
Alberico sighs heavily. “I’ll have to call a council meeting and inform everyone of the new developments. Jacoby will need to give a formal testimony as to what occurred as well.”

             
“Thank you!” I sigh in relief. “Can I go see him now?”

             
He eyes me warily.

“Please?” I plead.

“I think you need to rest, my dear. You are incredibly weak right now. Using that much magic all at once is extremely draining. I really should insist that you rest first,” he sighs heavily. “But I suspect you will sneak down there the moment you are alone anyway.”

“Probably,” I admit, causing him to chuckle at my stubbornness.

“Grey, please escort Mia down to the dungeon to see Jacoby. Keep her safe. I’m going to go call on the council. I will join you down there shortly. I am so thankful you are here safe and sound,” he says as he kisses the top of my head.

             
As soon as Alberico leaves my room, Grey shuts the door and turns to face me.

             
“I don’t understand why you would want anything to do with the jerk who kidnapped you. This is one time I will not follow orders. I’m not taking you down there.”

             
“Yes you are! If you don’t, I’ll go by myself! And I guarantee my father would not be very happy with you about that.”

“He is the enemy. Why would you want to see him?”

“You don’t even know him. He was just doing what he was ordered to do. He never hurt me!” I stomp past him, but he holds out his arm, blocking me from the door.

“Let me pass.”

              “This is ridiculous.”

             
“I’m serious Grey. Let. Me. Pass.”

             
He stares at me trying to break my resolve and when it doesn’t work he sighs in defeat.

             
“I don’t like this.”

             
“You don’t have to.”

             
He leads me through the east wing and down a flight of stone stairs to the dungeon. There is only one cell down here and it’s nothing like the dark, scary looking dungeon I just spent the last few days in. Besides one wall being constructed of steel bars, it resembles any other room in the castle, just a lot less extravagant. Jacoby is sitting on the bed with his head in his hands looking down at the ground between his feet.

             
“Jacoby?” I say tentatively as I approach the cell.

             
“Hey Lark,” he greets me. While his voice is nonchalant, his eyes reveal relief at seeing me. He stands and walks over to the bars and places his hands on top of my own. His familiar touch sends an electrical jolt through my hand and straight to my heart.

             
“I’m so sorry,” I whisper earnestly.

             
“I’m fine, the accommodations are quite lovely here. Much nicer than the one we provided for you anyway.”

             
“I told Alberico that you helped me. He agreed to grant you amnesty. He’s calling a meeting with his council right now. He’ll be down here soon. You’ll have to give a testimony about everything that happened but then you should be good.”

             
He squeezes my hands and offers me a smile. “How are you feeling?”

             
“I’m tired. And I have an awful headache. So what happened? I remember some of it but most of its still fuzzy.”

             
“I transported us to your bedroom. A Light Elf was keeping watch nearby and sensed when we arrived. He brought us both here. I was arrested on the spot and brought here to this lovely room,” he gestures around and smiles lightly.

             
“But what happened…you know…before that?”

             
“Well, Lark, you sorta turned into the sun, and you know how the Dark Elves feel about the sun,” Jacoby smirks, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. I know he is trying to make a joke but he’s hiding something important from me. He presses his forehead to the cool cell bars and shuts his eyes tightly, as if trying to fight back some sort of emotion before looking at me again “I’ve been begging for any information on your condition, but nobody would tell me anything. I can’t tell you how relieved I am to see you in one piece, Lark.”

             
“Why are you calling her that?” Grey asks from the entrance.

             
“Who are you?” Jacoby asks, noticing him for the first time.

             
“A friend of Mia’s,” Grey answers.

             
“Well, ‘friend of Mia’s’, if you’ve ever heard her sing you would know why I call her Lark.”

             
“Mia doesn’t sing.”

             
“Aha, but she does. Perhaps I know her better than you do?” Jacoby instigates.