Soul of Smoke (17 page)

“Are you still here?” she spat, not turning around.

Ancients, she was fun to bait. When he didn’t respond, she glared at him.

“I noticed these in your way.” He slid around her and picked up the sack of beans. She smelled like chamomile, soothing and surprisingly alluring for such a gentle herb. He couldn’t stop himself from inhaling again, from wondering if she might be interested in a different way to relieve stress. “Allow me to move them for you.”

She bared her teeth. “Thank you,” she hissed. She stalked toward the tunnel that led to the hoard.

A smile stretched his mouth, and he felt a vague disappointment that she’d left so quickly. She slinked like a cat when she was angry. Keeping his voice soft he said, “If I hadn’t let Ffion bring you here, you’d still think your friend dead.”

She paused for an instant then put her chin in the air and yanked aside the curtain, not bothering to pull it back as she marched out of sight.

He watched her go, hips swaying hypnotically. It had been a long time—He stopped the thought dead.

Thoughts of Cadoc and Rhys closed over him again, bringing a blacker despair than before. Ancients, what had he been doing before? There was something he was forgetting. He shook his head. Whatever it was could wait. He needed to contact Eryri, and...something else. Sunder it, he would remember later.

First, he needed to stop thinking of Juliet King. He had more important things on his mind than scratching an itch.

* * *

Juli stomped into the library, her hair practically standing on end. She slammed her bowl down on the table hard enough that Kai thought it might break.

Kai furrowed her brows, bemused. “What’s wrong? Where’s the extra food?”

“That
man
!” Juli growled.

Kai bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. Almost no one could get Juli flustered, and she looked
very
flustered. She wasn’t talking about Rhys or Griffith. “His name is Ashem.”

“I don’t care what his name is!”

“Okay...” Kai drawled. “Is he why there’s no extra food?”

Juli glared at her, and Kai raised her hands in a placating gesture.

“I
politely
suggested he apologize for kidnapping me, and he
laughed
!”

Kai had to suck on her upper lip so she didn’t burst into laughter herself. Nothing pissed Juli off faster than being laughed at. “You told Ashem to apologize?”

“Yes!”

Kai looked at the ceiling, unable to help herself. “Maybe it would help if you stopped ogling his sexy body and golden eyes.”

“Of all the—I can’t—clearly, you have no idea what you’re talking about!” Juli spluttered, swelling with anger again.

“Stuff it.” Kai rubbed her hands together, testing her calluses. She needed to start climbing again, or she’d lose them. “I can tell when you want to rip a guy’s clothes off.”

Juli sniffed. “Let’s wait another hour to make sure they’re all asleep, and then we’ll get what we need from the ‘hoard.’ Why on earth would you call it that, anyway?”

Kai sighed. “There’s a lot of stuff. A hoard of it. You’ll see.”

Juli tapped her fingers against her lips. “So we’ll get the supplies and go.”

Kai nodded, ignoring a twinge of guilt and something deeper.
Rhys.
Could she really leave him alone and in pain? Did she want to leave him at all?

She was too afraid to give herself an honest answer.

Juli yawned. “I’m going to sleep for a little while. Are you?”

“No.” Kai ran her fingers along the base of her throat, only half-listening to Juli. For the hundredth time that day, she mentally replayed the moment Rhys had pulled her back from the edge of the cliff. She’d been terrified, but more of her own stupidity than of him.

Even when he’d become heartsworn, there had been space between their bodies. It was the first time he’d held her like that: full against him, concern clear on his face. Damn, that face was compelling. She shivered at the memory. Strong, solid, mesmerizing. Cadoc had been comfort; Rhys was salvation.

“Wake me up in an hour.” Juli flopped onto their mattress and was asleep in seconds.

“Okay.” Kai rubbed her eyes, coming back to the present. She had always envied Juli’s ability to fall asleep like that.

Salvation.
The thought was so idiotic she groaned. She didn’t even
know
him. And it wasn’t like he wanted her because he wanted her. It was just the dumb magic. Of course she had to leave.

Kai eased herself off the mattress, grateful there were no springs to squeak. She had to pee.

She was washing her hands in the bathroom sink—which was very much like the sink in the kitchen—when she heard someone come in behind her. Kai froze. She didn’t want to see Rhys. Especially not in here. Slowly, she raised her gaze to the mirror. Ffion’s drawn face reflected back at her.

“Oh! Hello, Kai.” Ffion had one hand on her stomach, the other on her mouth.

“Hey.” Kai kept her eyes glued to her dripping hands. She wasn’t sure how to react to Ffion. She’d brought Juli here, which made Kai equal parts angry and grateful. All in all, the emotions involved were complicated, and Kai didn’t want to deal with them. “Sorry. I was just leaving.” She found a fraying towel, dried her hands, and turned to leave.

“Okay. Goodnight!” Ffion gasped. She sprinted for the toilet, which was in its own little alcove. A retching sound filled the bathroom.

The wish for avoidance was replaced with sympathy and concern. “Ffion? Are you okay?”

Only vomit noises answered. Kai gagged a little, trying not to throw up herself. This was why she could never go into healthcare. Still, she should make sure Ffion was all right.

Ffion reappeared. She moved gingerly to the sink and rinsed out her mouth, dark half-moons under her eyes standing out like bruises on her bone-white face. She looked like she was about to pass out.

Kai moved forward instinctively. “Are you sick? Can I get you anything? Do you need me to get Griffith or Ashem?”

“No,” Ffion waved her off. “I mean, yes. It’s just something I ate, and no, I’m fine. I can manage.”

Kai put a finger through a carabiner. She was sure Ffion was lying, but not certain about what. “Thanks for bringing Juli. Really. I was angry, but I think this will be for the best.”

Ffion nodded, obviously eager to get back in her bed. “I thought so, too. Goodnight, Kai.”

“Goodbye,” Kai murmured. She went back to the library. Moving as lightly as possible, she checked Juli’s watch. Still forty minutes to go.

Shrugging, she sat down and tried to write. She started several letters, but none of them felt right. What was she supposed to say?

Dear Mom and Dad
,
I’ve been abducted by dragons and they want me for their virgin sacrifice.

No.

Dear Mom and Dad
,
you raised me to be helpful.
Well
,
guess what?

No.

Dear Mom and Dad
,
please don’t make me move home.
I
promise never to be kidnapped by giant flying reptiles again.

No.

Dear Rhys
,
I’m sorry.

She propped her forehead on her fist, staring at the blank piece of paper thinking again of that moment on the ledge. There had been no fear in him, only confidence. He was absolutely certain he could catch her, and he had.

She wished he was just a normal guy who had walked into the gym one day and asked for her number. Her mouth curved. That would be a change from the scruffy full-time climbers who usually flirted with her—not that they were bad guys, but it would be nice to go out with someone who didn’t live out of his Subaru. Still smiling, Kai closed her eyes, helpless.

She wanted him.

That didn’t mean she could stay.

When forty minutes were up, she lobbed a crumpled piece of paper at Juli from across the room. People who shook Juli awake got slapped.

“What?” Juli flailed.

“Time to go.” Kai put all her doubts in a dark corner of her mind. Time to go back and face a century of house arrest and passive-aggressive comments about what she could have had if only she’d stuck with gymnastics. Unless she and Juli died of exposure, starvation and/or mauling by wild animals first.

Exciting.

Juli yawned, stretched and threw off her blankets. “Let’s do it.”

Chapter Eighteen

Over the Edge

“This is going to be uncomfortable.” Kai sawed through the length of tubular webbing with her pocketknife, cutting it into two equal lengths. She let one drop and tied the ends of the other together, yanking hard.

Juli frowned. “Not as uncomfortable as being kept prisoner in a cave for the rest of your life. Seriously, Kai, are they some kind of bizarre cult or something?” Her voice was as unconcerned as if they were discussing Charlotte’s obsession with designer clothes.

Kai shrugged. Leave it to Juli to be completely unafraid of a death-defying midnight escape.

Deftly, Kai pulled together the sides of the loop around Juli’s hips, and then pulled up the part that hung behind her legs so the whole thing looked like a woefully inadequate diaper. Kai took one of her carabiners and threaded it through each of the three points she’d made with the webbing.

“How safe is this?” For the first time, Kai heard nerves in Juli’s voice. They’d gone rappelling before, but they’d had real harnesses and belay devices and anchoring equipment. Kai didn’t respond, her mouth twisting into something that didn’t quite become a reassuring smile.

Real equipment would have made her less nervous, too. She pictured the bottom of the cliff two hundred feet below. The climb would be dangerous, but the danger wasn’t enough to keep her here. At least most of the snow had melted.

In any case, Kai had chosen not to think about it. “We can stay,” Kai kept her voice light. “Maybe they’ll change their minds.”

Juli snorted. “I doubt it. They probably brought you here to marry their leader and make little golden-eyed, cult-following babies.”

Juli hit so close to the mark that Kai started to laugh, except the tightness in her throat turned it into a choking sound. “I don’t think Ashem is interested.”

“You never know,” Juli grumbled, glaring around as if Ashem were in the room. But he wasn’t. To Kai’s surprise, no one had been on watch, which had saved them from having to attempt the elaborate distraction Juli had planned. Kai supposed the insanity of the past few days had thrown everything off.

Kai secured her own makeshift harness with a second carabiner, twirling the metal between her fingers until it locked. She stepped out into the freezing air, pulling close the thick, old coat she’d found in the hoard. Her debt to Cadoc kept adding up. Without the things they’d found in the hoard, they never would have been able to make the descent.

She picked up the heavier pack and threaded one end of the longest rope through the strap, wrapping it several times around her wrist. The dragon rope was longer, lighter and stronger than anything she’d used. She knew climbers who would kill for rope like this. “You’re sure we’ve got everything?”

Juli nodded, and Kai shoved the pack over the edge, letting the rope slide through her gloved hand. The bag disappeared into the darkness, bouncing a little as it hit protruding parts of the cliff. A few minutes later, the rope stopped sliding. She threw the loose end down the cliff, and then hauled the whole thing up. Then she repeated the process with the second pack. This one stuck for a minute, but with some maneuvering Kai managed to shake it loose. Finally both packs were on the ground. The tricky rappel would be easier without extra weight on their backs.

“Come check this,” Juli called in a carrying whisper.

Kai hauled the rope up again and walked over to the anchoring ropes. Juli had tied them about ten feet apart, each around the base of its own boulder. Kai knelt, examining Juli’s knots. They were perfect, of course. When Juli did something, she did it flawlessly. Kai tugged. They felt firm.

She walked back over to the ledge where Juli stood, a foot back, leaning over to gaze down into the icy darkness. At least it wasn’t windy.

“Let’s do it.”

Juli jumped at the sound of Kai’s voice. Her face pale, she nodded.

Kai picked up Juli’s rope and tied a knot around the carabiner hooked to her harness, going over and over it in her mind to make sure she’d gotten it right. If she messed up and Juli fell, Kai would never forgive herself.

Another thing not to think about.

She tied another knot. “Lock it.”

Juli dutifully turned the metal until it was screwed in tight.

“Remember, this angle will brake,” Kai demonstrated, pulling the rope close to her hip, then lifted it. “This will let you slide. It’s going to kill your arm by the time we get to the bottom.
Do not let go.
”

Kai had expected a flippant show of bravery, but Juli only nodded, her lips pressed together. Kai didn’t blame her. They’d both been climbing and rappelling, but it was Kai’s thing. Juli only did it because they were friends. The same reason Kai helped keep their apartment so ridiculously clean and went swimming so much in the summer.

The thought brought a worried smile to her lips. What kind of state would the apartment be in when they got back, with Charlotte and Pan there on their own? Normal life, school, work...it all suddenly sounded unappealing, except for seeing her family.

The thought surprised her, but it was true. No matter how many restrictions her parents put on her, the thought of going with Rhys and never seeing them again filled her with a dull, bitter ache.

At the same time, she saw Rhys’s face—jaw set, eyes intense in the dim light of the fire—asking her to become his heartsworn.

Though she thought she’d made her decision, she wavered, torn for an eternal instant between home and the cave. Real life, or dragons.

No. Rhys would get over it. Even if he didn’t, a hundred years wasn’t that long for a dragon. When she died, he’d probably be free.

She pulled off her gloves and retrieved the lantern from the floor, tying it securely to one of her belt loops. Giving one last, sharp tug on her anchor, Kai decided they were ready. She trusted Juli to be meticulous. Maybe if she had time to build that same level of trust with Rhys—

Except she wasn’t thinking about Rhys.

Kai met Juli’s gaze, fearful but unwavering. They nodded at each other. At the same time, they stepped backward over the edge.

The hardest thing about rappelling was getting around the ninety degree angle made by the edge of the cliff. Kai managed smoothly then ignored the webbing digging into her thighs and butt while she waited for Juli to get situated.

“You were right,” Juli said through clenched teeth. “This is uncomfortable.”

“Are you okay?”

Juli gave a tight nod, and Kai shifted the rope, allowing it to slide a little through her glove as she pushed off from the cliff face. Juli’s descent was jerky, going from too-fast drops to abrupt halts, but she was doing pretty well, considering.

The dark air swirled with the cold scent of as-yet unfallen snow. The stone beneath her feet was uneven and unyielding. Kai fell into a trancelike state:
release
,
jump
,
brake
,
release
,
jump
,
brake.
She didn’t think about badly tied knots, unsteady anchors or what would happen if her numb hands slipped. She let herself fall, keeping one eye on Juli. Foot after foot, they descended through the sky.

Sooner than she’d expected, Kai hit the ground. Only then did she feel the burn of her muscles, feel the weakness in her right arm, and hear the harshness of her own breath. For a long moment, Kai stood, looking up at how far they’d come. A slow grin broke over her face.

Juli collapsed against the rock, her heavy breathing uneven, then sat hard on the ground.

“Jules, we did it.” Kai started to laugh. She danced around at the bottom of the cliff.

She could fly. She was invincible. She could do anything.

If they could get down the cliff, getting home wouldn’t be a problem at all.

“Ugh. Stop.” Juli looked like she was about to throw up. “Save your insanity for when we find people. We need to put as much distance between us and them as we can before they wake up.” Juli picked up one of the packs and slung it over her back.

Still grinning, Kai let her harness fall from her hips. She picked it up, along with Juli’s, and stuffed them into her pack with the long rope. They both pulled on their gloves, blowing into hands.

Juli frowned at the swath of visible sky. They’d landed in a clear spot at the base of the cliff, but now they’d be heading into a forest of dark pine and spindly aspen. “The river is west, straight ahead. We follow it south. Do your best not to leave a trail.”

Kai opened her mouth to say a trail wouldn’t matter and then closed it again, a little sad. Outside the cave, the real world settled around her. To speak of dragons seemed suddenly ridiculous. She untied the lantern and handed it to Juli then looked up at the top of the cliff, twisting the carabiners once again clipped to her belt.

This is it for Rhys.
He’ll never be able to be with anyone but you.

No. He wouldn’t come after her when he realized how far she’d go to get home.

They walked for hours, the only sound the crunch of their shoes over dead pine needles and thin soil. Kai’s legs burned from the steep downhill angle, and her right arm was stiff and achy from controlling the rope during the rappel. At least she didn’t need to worry about falling asleep on her feet; the freezing air wouldn’t let her.

Kai was about to ask Juli if they’d gotten off-course when the sound of running water reached her ears. They stepped out of the trees and onto the bank of a river, its water gleaming dark in the light of the lantern.

Juli let her pack drop and stretched her arms, grimacing. “If we keep following the river it will take us to a city eventually.”

“Eventually, as in, ‘it could just go to the ocean.’” Kai said, staying beneath the overhanging branches of the trees. The forest around them was turning from black to gray as the first signs of dawn filtered between the mountains.

Juli snorted. “Then we’ll walk down the coast until we find someone.”

“If we don’t get caught.”

Juli’s confidence was unshakeable. “We won’t. We have several hours head start and both know how to move around the forest without leaving a trail. Do they have dogs I don’t know about?”

Kai shook her head. “No, but—”

“Then they would have to be animals themselves to track us.”

“Actually—”

“Get your head in the game, Kai. You were practically raised in the mountains when you weren’t flipping around on a balance beam. Clearly, we have the advantage.” Her face, always intense, went stormy. “I won’t
let
them take you again.”

Kai sighed. “Then we’d better keep going.”

They followed the rushing water, staying as close to the bank as they could. By the time the sun was fully up, Kai was stumbling.

Juli came to a halt next to a jumble of boulders. One had come to rest on top of the others in a way that formed a hollow just large enough for two people. “Let’s stop. We need to rest.”

Kai was so tired her vision blurred, but she shook her head. They couldn’t have gone more than fifteen miles. A dragon could fly that in minutes. “It’s not far enough.”

“I say rest.” Juli took off her pack and threw it into the little cave between the stones.

“Seriously, Juli.”

“Seriously shut up and get in.”

Too tired to argue further, Kai did as she was told. They squeezed inside and Juli pulled blankets from the hoard out of her pack, as well as the space blanket from Kai’s pack, which Ashem had retrieved from the meadow.

“Just an hour,” Kai said. “We won’t be safe until we’re back with people.”

She had a vision of Rhys striding up to their apartment and pounding on the door. A brief smile flitted across her face. Charlotte would faint.

Frustrated with herself, Kai swore quietly then shot a glance at Juli, who thought swearing was for people who weren’t clever enough to think of something better.

She would not think of Rhys.

Exhausted and cold, she drifted to sleep.