Surrender, Book 3 The Elfin Series (13 page)

“Understood.” Tamsin disconnected the call and slipped the phone into his back pocket.

“So?” Lisa asked, her eyebrows raising as she met his gaze.

“Trik said that Elora is headed to the bayou, where they are. Cush and Oakley are on their way as well.”

“Trik talked to her?”

Tamsin glanced at his Chosen who raised a single brow at him. He rubbed the back of his neck as he let out a sigh. “He didn’t say that exactly. He just said, ‘She was headed to them.’ ”

“He also said, ‘He wants you to keep your happy little butt with us,’ ” Syndra added. When Lisa’s brow furrowed at her, Syndra pointed to her ear. “Elfish hearing.”

“If Cush is going to be with her soon, then I’m fine with staying with you two. Someone has to keep you both out of trouble anyway.” Lisa seemed to relax a little now that she’d heard something about her daughter.

“There’s nothing wrong with a little trouble,” Syndra quipped.

Lisa clucked her tongue. “It’s all fun and games until someone wakes up the next morning lying next to a dark elf.”

“Not everyone is so easily lured by a pretty face.” Syndra held up her hands. “Just sayin.”

“Really? Because you’re mated to that.” Lisa pointed to Tamsin.

“I said not everyone. I didn’t say not me.”

“Are you two done?” Tamsin asked eyeing both of them.

Syndra held up a finger. “Almost.” She looked back at Lisa and Tamsin saw the wicked gleam in his Chosen’s eye. “Speaking of trouble and lying and next mornings, we are going to be in a dark elf club. That means there will be many male dark elves with, no doubt, pretty faces and alluring voices. Please refrain from jumping onto that train again. You’ve already ridden it once and look where it got you. So do me a favor and abstain.”

Lisa frowned. “You make me sound like some sort of dark elf groupie. I was with a dark elf because I happened to be his soul mate, not because he had a pretty face and an alluring voice.”

Syndra narrowed her eyes on Lisa and pursed her lips.

Lisa rolled her eyes. “Okay, so it might have started because he had a pretty face and an alluring voice. But just because I was with Steal doesn’t mean I want to jump every dark elf male I see.”

“Lisa, dear, you haven’t had any action in a very, very long time. It is not unreasonable for me to be concerned about how you might react to the attention of a dark elf male. It’s just good to be prepared. Admitting you have a weakness is half of the battle to beating an addiction.”

Lisa smacked her forehead as she let out a long groan. “I am
not
addicted to dark elf males. And despite my lack of
action
,” she said dragging out the word, “I assure you I can control myself. Somehow, someway, I will manage to keep my hands off the dark elf populace.”

Tamsin grabbed his mate’s hand and gave Lisa an apologetic smile. He started to pull Syndra with him and Lisa walked to his other side, probably hoping that if she was out of Syndra’s line of sight then she might be forgotten. Tamsin chuckled under his breath when Syndra leaned around him to look at Lisa.

“Just to be on the safe side keep your hands in your pockets.”

“Give me a break,” Lisa muttered as she shot Syndra a murderous glare.

“Oh,” Syndra added. “And walk with your legs crossed.”

Chapter 8

“I can feel the distance between us growing. A darkness, bleak and empty, is beginning to fill me as I struggle with the pain that is spreading from the inside out. If I’m not careful, it will debilitate me until I can only dream of finding her. That’s the double sided coin of our mated pairs. We need each other and are essential to the other. It is one of our greatest strengths but it is also one of our biggest weaknesses.” ~Cush

C
ush tried not to break his teeth under the pressure of his clenched jaw as he sat in the cramped plane. He wanted to use the portals, but Trik had been against it, and though it was strange to be taking orders from a new king, he
was
the king, and it had been engrained in him a long time ago not to defy the king.

The humans around him shifted restlessly. Some shot him looks from the corners of their eyes. They weren’t fools. They knew there was a predator in their vicinity and, like most prey, their instinct was to run and hide. He had no problem with humans, but in that moment there was only one half human that he wanted to see, and she was out of his reach. He didn’t understand why she’d left or what her motivation was for going to New Orleans. Cush felt angry at her blatant disregard for his feelings, but at the same time he knew something had to be wrong for her to have done something like that. He wondered if she was beginning to hurt the way he was. Did her heartache to be near him? Did her skin burn for the need of his touch? Was her soul screaming at her to run back to him just as his was screaming at him to get to her?

Cush felt a nudge on his elbow and looked over at Oakley. He’d been quiet since they had started their journey to the airport, only speaking when he had a specific question. Cush knew he had to be worried about his sister, but he had no fake words to placate him with.

“I don’t think that armrest can take much more before it cracks,” he said motioning to the armrest in question.

Cush looked down to find his hand clenched around the plastic so tight that his knuckles had turned white. He quickly released it and flexed his fingers several times. “Thanks.”

Oakley nodded. “Whatever her reason for doing this, it means something has to be wrong. Elora doesn’t abandon those she cares for.”

Cush closed his eyes briefly, picturing her face in his mind. It only made his gut clench tighter. “I know and I’m not sure if that reassures me or scares the hell out of me.”

They were both quiet the rest of the flight. Cush was lost in his thoughts imagining a life without the woman he’d fallen in love with. He kept telling himself that he would die before he let that happen, but then he wouldn’t force her to be with him if that was what she truly wanted. His eyes drifted closed and he attempted to get some rest, knowing it was going to be a long night and day. Cush was sure that whatever was waiting for them in New Orleans, it wasn’t his Chosen with open arms and a smile. No, it was a battle and one he was not sure he could win.

E
lora climbed off the bus and stepped to the side to get out of the way of the other disembarking passengers. Her body felt tight, wound up like spring just waiting to be released. She stretched her arms over her head and looked around the bus station. A large sign attached to the old brick wall in front of her announced their arrival to New Orleans and welcomed them to the historic city. Elora felt as though there was a tear beginning to rip inside of her as her soul reached in one direction and her mind in the other. She wanted to be there, was relieved she’d finally made it, and yet at the same time she wanted to turn and run in the other direction to―. She paused as she tried to grasp on to that feeling. What did she want to run to? What was it that she was missing or, rather,
who
was it that she was missing? A physical pain was beginning to build inside of her. Her heart seemed to have to work harder just to keep beating, and her muscles were fighting against her every move. She put one foot in front of the other and made her way to the other side of the bus station where she could see taxis waiting to take people to their appointed destinations.

The image of a dilapidated motel on the edge of a swamp entered her mind as though answering an unasked question. She explained what she was looking for to one of the men leaning casually up against a yellow cab.

“Sounds like you’re looking for one of the witch doctors,” he said in a thick French accent. “That’s the only reason folks go that direction.”

“I have friends staying at the motel,” Elora explained.

He waved her off. “It’s not my business. I’ll drive you there as long as you got the fare.”

“Do you take debit cards?”

The cabbie nodded and opened the back door for her. Elora slid in and tried to still her trembling hands as the car pulled out onto the street and headed toward a destination that didn’t make any sense to her, and yet it was a destination she could not deny.

Priestess Chamani walked through her swamp, a land where she’d lived for the past eighty years and the land where her ancestors before her had lived. Her people had been born, lived, and died in that swamp for as long as anyone could remember. It was rich with the blood of her people, and it spoke to her in a way that it did no others. The trees were her friends and the moss a cloak around her like a comforting blanket. She welcomed the land to her and it, in turn, welcomed her.

The bayou was an unforgiving land, full of dangers and traps waiting for the unsuspecting. Like a coiled serpent waiting for the mouse to unwittingly walk into its strike zone so was the swamp. Not only were their hidden perils such as quicksand like pits and vines that could entangle your limbs dragging you down to the marshy land but there were predators that constantly watched for the weak or stupid.

Gators, snakes, and poisonous insects were only a few of the animals that called the swamplands home. But even these creatures had accepted Chamani as one of their own. Just as they were a part of the bayou, she too was counted among the predators. Rarely did one of them attempt to make her prey, and if they did, she simply reminded them of why her family had survived so long in the land when others had died or given up and ran.

Her feet walked unerringly on the spongy ground, but she left no prints in the soft mud. Her own magic cloaked her from the presence of other humans as she made her way to where Cassandra and her mate were currently attempting to traverse the terrain. She’d known they would come, but she would be wary of the elf king. He hadn’t been deemed one of the greatest spies and assassins in the supernatural world for nothing. No, she wouldn’t let her guard down, but she would hope that he would keep his word because the balance was teetering on a breaking point, and if Lorsan and Tarron were to gain control of the human realm, things were going to get bad, very, very quickly.

The trees rustled around her and the wind whispered through the leaves telling her of the intruders. She stopped and raised her arms in the air, calming the restless spirits that resided there. As she lowered her arms Chamani heard their voices. They were less than thirty feet from her and just as she saw them Trik froze and his head snapped in her direction. She felt his magic and power immediately and was shocked at the force of it. The Forest Lords had greatly blessed him and it was obvious that their protection surrounded him. She hoped she hadn’t underestimated her opponent, but then even if she had it was too late to turn back.

Triktapic, Elf King, Assassin, Spy, I so name you.
Chamani reached for his mind. She couldn’t control him, he was much too powerful for that, but she was able to speak to him silently. He didn’t seem surprised.

“Speak out loud, witch.” His voice boomed through the trees bouncing off of the large trunks and reverberated through the air.

“Careful, King,” she warned. “This not be your land. It will not be tolerating disrespect.”

“Then I would ask that you not disrespect my Queen or my people by using mind tricks. We came based on your offer.”

“No,” she cut him off. “You be here because Cassandra’s parents are in the clutches of evil. Speak truth or don’t be speaking at all.” The spell surged from her without thought, and to her surprise Trik’s hand flew out in front of him and light pulsed from it. Her spell bounced off of the light uselessly.

“Do we need to establish who is stronger? Is this posturing really necessary?” Cassandra spoke up.

Chamani’s eyebrows rose as she took in the human who was still very young compared to the supernaturals around her. She was bold; she would make a good queen and it was obvious by the way Triktapic kept his body halfway in front of hers that he was very protective of her. That was a very good thing because she was also very vulnerable.

“Is that not what predators be doing?” she asked the queen. “Do not all alpha creatures establish who be the greatest among them? It is necessary to know who be leading and who be following.”

“Or, perhaps, we could not act like animals and instead deal with the matter at hand.” Cassandra raised her chin slightly in the air. She would make a fierce leader one day. She still had much growing to do, but she was definitely a good match for Triktapic.

“You be remembering the dream chile?” the priestess asked her.

Cassandra nodded.

“Then you be knowing the price.”

“What about Elora?”

“Her fate is not certain. I not be seeing where she will end up and that’s not the goddess’s concern. Triktapic must be staying on the throne. It not be just the elves who will pay the price if the dark elf be taking over.”

“So I’m just supposed to just toss my friend to the side?” Cassandra’s eyes narrowed.

Chamani shrugged. “We all be making tough decisions in da hours ahead. Your parents be important to you, as is your mate. It not be fair, fo sure, but then…that not be my concern.”

“We want to see her parents before any deals are struck,” Triktapic spoke up.

The old woman nodded. “We must be waiting first. Elora, daughter of Steele, is getting closer and she must be here. Tarron is not being a fool, but her presence will distract him once he sees her.”

Cassandra did not appear happy about that, but then Chamani was not concerned with anyone’s happiness save her goddess.

“We wait here,” she told them, making eye contact briefly with the other human who was standing behind them. He was a young male though no longer an adolescent. There was no fear in his posture, only curiosity and courage. Triktapic was surrounding himself with comrades that he was going to need. Though Chamani wasn’t sure if it was going to bode well for her, she knew it would be necessary in order for the elf king to succeed.