Windburn (The Elemental Series #4) (20 page)

Peta spun in my lap and put her front feet on my chest so we were nose to nose. “What is this fear I feel? What have you thought of?”

I reached back and pulled Cactus closer to me. “The mother goddess is using me, Peta. I have been instrumental in the Deep, Pit, and Rim in changing the structure of who rules, or how they rule. I have no doubt we are being funneled to the Eyrie for the same reason.”

Cactus sucked in a sharp breath. “Holy—”

“Do not use her name,” I snapped, anger filling me. Anger and disappointment. “She has been using me from the beginning.”

Peta’s green eyes softened. “You are her chosen one, Lark. There must be a reason.”

“Why would she let me go in blind? How much easier would it have been if I’d known what she would ask of me?”

Shazer flipped his head. “Perhaps because she knew you would fight her if she laid the harness on too tightly.”

His words struck a chord. “Damn, you’re right.”

“Of course I am.” He blew out a breath that sent a spattering of spit back at us.

I wiped my face and Peta fluffed up her back. “Stupid horse.”

He rolled to the left, making her scramble to cling to me. “Shazer, enough!”

A horsey laugh rippled out of him. “For now.”

If I’d known what the mother goddess was going to ask of me, I would have fought her. I’d have thought I couldn’t do it, especially facing down Cassava. Or going into the Deep. Or the Pit, for that matter. Damn, I didn’t want to be okay with this.

Especially now that I knew what was coming in the Eyrie. Another coup? Some sort of trial by fire like the Pit?

I tucked my chin to my chest, wrapped my arms around Peta and closed my eyes. There was nothing I could do until we got there, and maybe, maybe I was wrong.

Our direction never shifted as we flew. Sometime in the early hours of the night we began our descent and I opened my eyes.

The Wretched Peaks surrounded us. My heart climbed into my throat as we dropped. Damn, being right had never felt so horrible.

Ophelia landed first. Shazer dropped to her left with a bounce that turned into a buck. Cactus went flying over our heads and hit the ground hard, landing flat on his back. The dragon tipped her head back and let out a long laugh.

Shazer pranced where he was. “Names have power. What does mine mean?”

I blushed. “Twisting, or intertwining.”

“Perhaps you should have gone with something more docile.” Cactus snorted.

I swatted Shazer’s neck before I slid from his back. “You don’t have to wait with us here. Go home to your forest.” I took a few steps before the energy between Peta and me spiked, verging on panic. I reached up and laid a hand on her back as I twisted to look her in the eye. “What’s wrong?”

“That is not my energy you are feeling, Lark,” Peta said. Her left ear flicked once and I followed the direction she indicated.

Shazer stood with his hooves planted in the ground as if he were frozen in the thin dusting of snow, while his whole body twitched and quivered.

“Oh, no,” I whispered. “Let him go. He has done his part.”

Child, you need him. And perhaps more than that, he needs you. Would you turn away a gift from me?

The mother goddess spoke to my mind, and so I could not hide my thoughts from her. Of course I wouldn’t turn him away. “Shazer. You are bound to me. Do you feel it?”

His dark eyes swiveled to mine and he let out a snort, but said nothing. The anger in his eyes spoke volumes that needed no words. He did not wish to be tied to me.

I steeled myself. I’d won over Peta; I had to believe I could win over him too. I touched his side. “I will not lay the harness on you, my friend. Whatever help I need will be temporary, I’m sure.”

The emotions in him softened a few degrees. “I will hold you to that.”

“Elle,” I turned as she approached me, “any final directions?”

She pointed up at the peak that seemed to hover over our heads. “He’s up there, but how the fuck he’s alive is beyond me. We circled but could see nothing.”

“It’s okay. I can take it from here.” I held my hand out to Cactus. He offered me his hand and I frowned. “My spear, Cactus.”

“Right.” He tossed it to me and I twisted the two pieces together. “Thank you, both of you.”

“The job isn’t done until I return him to you.” Elle stepped in front of me, most effectively blocking me from moving forward.

I put a hand on her shoulder and pushed her ever so slightly. “I said I can handle it from here. I will even give you that bonus. I will give you a favor, Tracker. One to be called in at any time.”

Her eyes widened. “Why would you do that?”

Spirit flowed through me and out my mouth. “You will need me before your life is called to the other side of the Veil. You will give me what you hold closest to your heart.”

The words were out of my mouth, but they were not my own. Chills rippled through me and Elle’s body shook under my hand.

“I fucking well doubt it.” She jerked away from me, but the fear in her eyes was loud and clear.

“Do not follow us, no matter what happens.” I dropped my hand and walked away. Toward the mountain’s base.

“We can’t stay, Lark,” Elle said.

I glanced over my shoulder. “Then don’t.”

“We can’t pull your ass out of this.”

“I don’t expect you to.”

She threw her hands in the air. “Bram, time to go. We have things to do.”

I watched as they mounted Ophelia. Her big eyes zeroed in on me and for a second I thought she might say something. Her head snapped away as she launched, her wings sending them straight into the air. I lifted a hand, and Elle raised one in return.

A funny twist began in my gut. Whatever part Elle had left in this, she and I weren’t done yet.

They ghosted through the clouds for a few minutes, glimmers of red scales, and then they were gone.

Shazer snorted. “What about me?”

I looked him over. “Will you wait for me? I cannot know what we are walking into, but a backup escape plan is always a good thing to have in my world.”

His dark eyes narrowed. “Call for me. I will hear you.”

I touched him on the nose, the velvet of his muzzle softer than dandelion fluff. I turned and walked away, only then noticing where we’d landed. A small valley at the juncture of three mountains, the peaks towering over us so much, the sun struggled to peer through even though it was midday. Snow crunched under my boots; I had an urge to slip them off and feel it on my bare feet. In the redwoods, we didn’t get snow, not like this. The icy crystals covered everything, giving the world a glittering white, ethereal feel. Cactus caught up to me with ease.

“So now what? We know your father is here, but you aren’t going to accuse the queen of lying, are you?”

“I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

Peta jumped from my shoulder to the ground in front of us. Her body shimmered and she shifted into her snow leopard form, perfect for the environment. “Peta, what do you know of the queen of the Eyrie?”

“I have not been to the Eyrie in many years. But the queen has been on the throne a long time. Longer even than your father.” She trotted ahead of us, her big paws leaving imprints in the snow making it easy to follow.

“Yes, I know that much. What else, though? I have not kept up on the political side of things.”

“Queen Aria is—from what I understand—very sweet. Kind, merciful. It’s why her Enders get bored.” Peta bounded up the slope ahead of us, turned and looked back. “This is going to be a hard climb. Why do we not use The Bast—Shazer?”

“Because I have no desire to drop in on the Eyrie. We do not know if we are welcome. At least on the ground, we have a chance at defending ourselves if we need to.”

Cactus grunted. “You think it will come to that?”

I stared hard at him. “Are you serious? Have you not been listening to me? The mother goddess is sending me in there to deal with whatever political issues are going on. That is not going to make us popular with at least a few people, and most likely Queen Aria is going to take exception to our presence.”

“Well, that’s a slope covered in slippery shit, isn’t it?” he muttered. I agreed, but said nothing more.

Peta was right about the climb. It was a true test of our abilities, both physical and in our connection to the earth. Snow was a covering on earth; it was water, not earth. So in order to mold handholds, Cactus had to melt the snow, then I made the holds. More than once, we triggered avalanches that sent waves of snow crashing down the slope.

Then there was the fact that we climbed while the night still held tightly to the world. The darkness only added to the degree of difficulty. We had to rely on Peta to find our path.

Without her, I was sure we would not have made the climb. “Almost there,” she called down to us, her eyes glowing in the dark.

I kept moving, my legs and back aching from the cold and the fatigue. The night had taken its toll. I could only hope Queen Aria was as Peta had said: kind and merciful.

We pulled ourselves up a ledge, side by side. Cactus’s hair was stiff, slicked back from his face. Our sweat froze in droplets as we climbed. “I can check this off my list of things to do before I die.”

I stared at him, then laughed. “Only you, Cactus, would think this was a challenge you needed to face.”

He grinned. “What can I say? A challenge only makes me want it more. Tells me it’s worth the fight.”

His words, of course, had nothing to do with the mountain.

My grin slipped and I pulled myself over the ledge, resting on my knees. We’d made it to the gates of the Eyrie.

We were on a flat plain cut deep into the mountain, wide and open. Across the far edge were a pair of tall gates with walls stretching to either side.

Peta sat on her haunches, her ears flicking back and forth. “Lark, the welcoming committee is on its way.”

I made myself stand though my legs trembled and my arms felt like boulders. Toward us, the greeter flew. I blinked, surprised at who the queen would send as her emissary.

“First time for everything,” I said as the fairy reached me, his sword drawn and pointed at my eye.

First time indeed.

“
ey, you can’t damn well be here, you damn stinking dirt brat!” the fairy screamed at me, his face bright red. I raised my eyebrows but didn’t move for fear he’d accidently puncture my eye with his miniscule blade.

“Why not?”

“All Terralings are forbidden to enter the Eyrie until further notice,” he screeched.

“Do I look like a Terraling?” I asked. That seemed to slow him down. “Does my companion look like a Terraling with his red hair? Would a cat be bound as a familiar to a Terraling?” With each question I asked, he deflated a little more until the sword dropped.

“Well, shit stickers. I never thought of that. Name’s Tom.” He floated back from my face, giving me breathing room.

“I’m Larkspur, and this is Cactus, and Peta.” I pointed to the others as I named them. “Tom, we’d like to speak with Queen Aria. Where do we petition?”

His sword whipped back up, slicing into my cheek as the scent of berry wine wafted over me. Great. A drunken fairy on a power trip. Just what we needed.