Deadlands (The Healer Series, #2) (11 page)

“Dec, I need you,” Willow breathed out. “I need you.” The words sent Declan on an obsessive frenzy. He fisted her hair in both his hands and pulled as he brought his head back to her lips and kissed her hard and long. Willow melted before him. 

“CHASE!” a voice screamed out and Willow snapped her eyes open, totally forgetting that she and Declan weren’t alone. Across the room, in the same act of passion as they were in, Willow’s eyes popped open in shock to see Elirana and Chase kissing hardcore. Elirana had her pale legs wrapped around Chase’s body pressed against the wall like she was. Chase’s body covered Elirana’s, but there was no mistaking their moans of passion.

She saw Elirana push Chase’s body off hers and then she slapped him across the face. “You left me!
I wanted to be with you, but you turned your back on me and left me at the palace by myself, Chase! You hurt me! You’re a selfish, arrogant Werewolf and I knew it all along! We could never be together!” What was she talking about?

“I didn’t leave you, Eli! I was there watching you suck face with the Captain! You’re the one who hurt me! The one time I make the right decision and come for you, you were in the arms of another. And now, when I want you back, you don’t even remember me?”

“Oh, I remember you Chase,” Elirana’s voice took on a dangerous tone. “Every little detail of your pathetic life! You
made
me remember, and all I want to do is forget!” She yelled and pushed off the wall storming to the other side where Willow and Declan were still wrapped in each other’s arms watching them in rapt interest. Willow was starting to come down from her high as she watched the Elf’s explosive display of emotion.

Elirana crossed her arms
, which made her chest press together. Willow wondered if Elirana meant to do that, as it attracted more attention in that area than she was probably wanting at the moment. Chase turned slowly and approached them, his eyes going wide at seeing Willow. “Whoa, you’re…” Chase started to say, but then Declan quickly spun in her arms and blocked Willow’s half naked body with his. There was a deep cut on Chase’s head that was still dripping blood. It was
really
deep.

“You’re what?” Declan asked fisting his hands.

Chase cleared his throat. “Um…nothing. Let’s get these girls dressed shall we?” Quickly looking around the room, Chase spotted the small wardrobe in the corner. He walked over to it. “Bingo,” he said and rummaged quickly through the clothes. He pulled out Willow’s jeans and t-shirt and Elirana’s dress. Willow snatched her clothes quickly even though they were stained with dried mud. She was suddenly embarrassed to be seen in her underwear. Whereas before, she felt sexy and hot for Declan, her cheeks were now heated from humiliation. Elirana dressed just as quickly and smoothed out her tussled blonde hair. At least Willow wasn’t the only one frazzled and embarrassed by acting like love starved sirens.

“Elirana, are you alri
ght?” Willow asked cautiously. “When you said you remember everything…”

Elirana’
s eyes shot dangerously to hers. “To answer your question, I am fine. Never better, in fact. For the second observation, I do not wish to talk about it.”

“But…you remember your past? I heard you say it…”

“Just stop Healer!” Elirana yelled at her making her jump. “Let’s just get out of here, okay? Stop bothering me!”

“Hey don’t yell at her
like that!” Declan stepped up to defend her. “Chase and I just saved your asses! Show a little respect!”

“How did you find us, Dec?
” Willow asked taking hold of his hand. He seemed shocked by the gesture and looked at her, eyes going wide.

“I saw your light in the dark,
” he responded. “I landed hard on the ground and was knocked out for a while until I heard your voice screaming for me. I saw your glow go out and I panicked. Of course, I found Chase easily. He breathes so heavily. Trying to get him up was hard, he hit his head on something but then we were hunting for you. Chase’s senses really helped navigate in the dark.”

“Well, thank you for
finally acknowledging I’m such a badass,” Chase said approvingly.

“It was
your fault the Incubus went as far as he did with them,” Declan retorted. “He was about to rape them! We would’ve gotten here before the Incubus could get his slimy hands on them if you were halfway coherent!”

“Hey! I landed on a rock and cut my head open!” Chase argued back. “You’re lucky I don’t have a concussion. Just admit that you needed my help and move on!”

“Okay, I’ll admit it,” Declan said, “I’ll admit that you’re extremely clumsy for a Werewolf. You know, I always thought that when dogs fell, they landed on their feet.”

Chase’s face c
rinkled in anger. Willow snickered beside him. “Those are cats, Declan. Cats always land on their feet.” She left him and walked up to Chase, “Now let’s do something about that cut of yours, shall we?” Chase leaned his head down so Willow could heal him. When the wound closed, she kissed his cheek and whispered, “Thanks for using your awesome Werewolf skills to find us.”

She walked back to Declan and left Chase beaming brightly.
She was happy she could be the mediator when it came to arguments between the boys and stop the situation from getting worse. “Can we go, now?” a very irritated, upset she Elf said crossing her arms. Something happened to her. In the time it took for the Incubus to capture them, and then Chase devouring her like a full course meal (it was only a matter of time before
that
happened), Elirana had changed. Willow knew without a doubt her memories were back, and she knew that Chase was the one who healed her mind, but now, it seemed the Elf was highly pissed off at receiving those memories back, memories she wanted to suppress in the darkest recesses of her mind. She had been hurt in the past and it showed on her face and in her mannerisms.

“Lead the way,” Willow nodded as the
y left the Incubus lair still holding Declan’s hand. As Willow’s relationship with Declan was slowly healing, Chase and Elirana’s relationship was falling apart, and Willow felt helpless knowing she couldn’t be the one who mended it.

“Can I ask you something?” Declan asked Willow as they continued to walk through the tunnels. Both Declan and Willow were now using their magic to create light. With two magic casters, their light could stretch further. They should’ve thought about that before, but nevertheless, it was helping them navigate much better now. Elirana gave short, curt responses from behind to dictate the direction to walk, but other than that, she was silent as a grave. Not even her footsteps could be heard!

“I know what you’re
wondering. The answer is yes.” Willow said glancing briefly at him. She really didn’t want to talk about this right now, especially since she had an audience and they were still walking through the dark mountain halls, but Declan was set on getting it out of her. She didn’t expect anything less coming from him, though. After her display in the Incubus lair, she was surprised it took this long for him to say anything.

“Yes doesn’t explain
why you attacked me in nothing but your sexy lingerie,” Declan said smiling. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining, but don’t even tell me it was the Incubus’s charms, because we beheaded him…and that was before you ravished me.” Willow turned five shades of red as Declan talked about showing her love to Declan. She was grateful they were in the dark, so her face was hidden. “You know exactly what I want you to say, so say it.”

“I need you Declan, okay?” Willow said
, hoping that would suffice. It didn’t.

“What was that? A little louder please…” he taunted.

“I NEED YOU DECLAN!” Willow said her voice reverberated off the mountain walls.

“Shh!!” Elirana hissed sharply behind them.

“Sorry,” Willow
whispered then looked at Declan shyly. “That’s my confession, Dec. I have denied it, tried to move on, but I just…can’t. I can’t let you go.”

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“What do you think I’m saying?” she teased back. Two can play at that game.

“Let me give you a hint. It’s a short
4-letter word that starts with an L and ends in an ove.”

“Hmmm, well…I’m not a dictionary, Dec. I don’t really understand what word you’re trying to get me to say.”

“Oh please!” Chase whined behind them. “Just tell him Healer and spare me from listening to this!”

Willow blew out a
shaky breath. She couldn’t even laugh at Chase’s irritation. Nerves fluttered in her stomach. “Declan Aldridge, I love you.”

Declan leaned down and kissed her briefly. “I love you too, baby. I know you wanted to get rid of me, but here’s the thing: you don’t get to make that decision.”

“But--”

“Let me finish. You gave your heart to me in the Fey Kingdom. I gave mine to you. Once that happens, once you give your love to someone
like that, you can’t just stop loving them. We chose each other. The decision to give your heart away was scary, I know, but you made it. You were trying to go against nature, the powerful connection we have to each other, and it only made it worse. We were made for each other. You’re my light, now. And I hope I’m yours.”

“You are,” she said. “Declan, you think you
’re full of darkness but you’re not. You make me feel loved, cherished, and you take away all my worries and fears. Not even magic can do that to me. I feel like the luckiest Witch on the planet to have you.”

Chase clapped his hand
s loudly. “Great, now that we’ve got that settled I just want to say that PDA is off limits while I’m around. That includes any form of lip smacking, baby noises, or declarations of love.”

“Chase….” Willow complained.

“Don’t Chase me, Healer. If you even try to dump this loser again, I have every right to knock the sense back into you so I don’t have to deal with this again. Am I clear?”

“Crystal,”
she said and then gasped when a small light appeared down the tunnel’s hole. The way out! Willow’s heart leapt with joy. She hated dark places and luckily, they didn’t encounter any other dark creature in the mountain pass, although once or twice she heard the scurrying sound of some kind of animal nearby.

They emerged on the other side
and the land was yellow and red. The sun was still lighting the Deadlands. Even though it was still really hot, anything was better than being in those black tunnels. It was such a relief to see land again. Passed the mountains was rocky terrain. The ground was gray colored with thick cracks in it. There were several bushes and boulders at this level of the Deadlands. Something hissed to her left and she turned to see a flowing lava river. Smoke was rising from the lava and was winding and melting anything in its path. It came from the mountains and expanded across the land.   

Elirana stepped in front of Willow and Declan and searched the Deadlands
with her Elf vision. “The lava drops off a cliff face nearly three miles from here. The heart of the Deadlands is near.”

“It is?” Willow asked, somewhat joyed at this revelation.

“The heart is deep in the ground. It was made of fire and molten lava. Seeing the lava tells me we’re near, if not but a day or two’s journey at best.”

“Okay, we can do this,” Willow said with renewed hope. So far, she thought they had been really lucky with encountering creatures of the Deadlands. It was
nothing they couldn’t handle. She felt her strength in magic was increasing at every obstacle she faced. Her talisman charged her magic too easily, now. She wouldn’t go as far as saying she was undefeatable, but she certainly held her own against some creatures, (the Incubus situation aside).

Elirana took the lead once again and they continued walking. Chase spoke up what everyone was thinking. “Healer, can you conjure water to form? I’ve had a little taste of it in the tunnels, but I’m really really thirsty right now. And this heat just isn’t doing it for me.”

She glanced sideways at Declan. S
o maybe she was a little too cocky to say she was becoming a powerful Witch, because she realized that she couldn’t produce simple water from nothing. Willow could conjure many things, light, fire, blood, but water, (as well as clothing) was one of the harder spells to master. She’d think it would be easy to produce water, but there was something about the consistency of the water’s bonds that made it more challenging to manipulate. “Um…” she said. “No.”

“These plants must get water from somewhere,” Chase complained trailing slowly behind the group.

Elirana made it to the first large tree in the area. Touching the tree, she “zoned out” as Chase dubbed it. A small crack formed in the tree and to everyone’s surprise, water trickled out of it. Quickly pulling off a leaf, Elirana formed a makeshift cup to collect the water and took a sip. She looked at the others gaping at her. “Well? Are you just going to stand there staring at me or drink? It won’t last long.”

“
Thank you, Elirana!” Willow exclaimed rushing up to the tree to collect the water. It was fresh and warm, but it coated her parched tongue and soothed her thirst. She didn’t feel as dehydrated as the others since her body was a walking healing machine, but water in any form was still refreshing and better than nothing.

“I keep forgetting you
r magic beckons elements,” Chase mumbled taking a big gulp of the water.

“I am an Elf,” she said simply.

“And I am a Werewolf,” Chase mocked her formality by holding up a finger and changing his voice to sound sophisticated. “Who cares?”

“Ugh,” Elirana huffed. “You’re so…so…”

“Elirana, just stop!” Chase yelled suddenly. Elirana’s jaw dropped open at Chase’s demand. He took a deep sip of water and then looked Elirana up and down with his pretty blue eyes. “Sorry, baby. I just get a little cranky when I’m thirsty. Thank you for meeting my need for water.” Elirana just stood there stunned. First, Chase was being a smartass, and the next, he was sweetly thanking her. How would Elirana respond to that? Would she argue with him again, or simply say you’re welcome? Willow watched as Elirana didn’t say anything at all, but took a sip of her leaf. Her teal eyes never left the Werewolf’s face, but burned into him with silent anger. They were having a heated stare down with each other, neither one yielding, of course.

Willow rolled her eyes.
Talk about Declan and her having relationship problems? A Werewolf and an Elf, races that couldn’t have been any different from each other, made for a complicated couple. Maybe that was the reason they were no longer together. She was dying to find out, though.

As they were drinking, Willow was
aware of a soft squawking sound coming from the bushes near her. Ignoring everyone, she walked to the bushes and crouched down, parting them timidly. There was a large raven stuck in the brambles! The poor bird’s leg was bleeding profusely as it tried to untangle itself from the vines, but it was actually getting more and more twisted by moving around.

“
Here, birdy, I’ll help you,” Willow said thinking it was a harmless bird. What would a raven be doing in the Deadlands? They weren’t dangerous! When the raven saw her, he stopped struggling instantly and cocked his head watching her with large black pupils. It was almost as if he was memorizing her face, trying to assess if she was a danger or not. The raven had sharp talons and each individual feather on his wings looked like shiny knives. There was also a strange red spot on his crooked beak.

Willow reached her hand through
the bush to unhook the raven’s foot, while touching it at the same time to heal it. As soon as the raven was loose he flapped his wings and took off. Willow whipped her hand out of the bush crying out in alarm. The raven slashed her forearm!

“OUCH!” she wailed and watched as the bird soared
high in the air, his wings creating a distinct sound.
Wakwak, wakwak, wakwak
. The bird’s wings beat against the wind as it gained distance from her. Willow scurried to her feet and watched the bird flying away, still in shock from being cut by him.

Declan rushed up to her and held her hand looking at
the wound. The skin was already closed. “Are you alright? What happened?” He asked worriedly.

“That freaking raven cut me! I was helping him out o
f the bush and his wings were sharp! It scared me more than anything…I’m not hurt.”

“That’s not just a raven, Willow,” Declan said
watching the retreating form of the black bird. “That’s a Wakwak bird!” He took her hand and pulled her along. “We need to reach shelter now.”

“Shelter? What shelter? There’s nothing around, Dec! Why
are you freaking out? The bird is gone.”

“
Wakwak birds travel in packs. They’re sent by a master to hunt and kill prey!”

“What master?”

“It could be anything from a dark Witch to a Vampire or Fey. Who knows what in the Deadlands! They’re easily trained to carry out their master’s bidding, so we need to get out of the open now.”

“I don’t know why you’re—” Willow cut off
when Chase and Elirana sped passed her at supernatural speeds. Where the hell were they going?

“RUN!” Declan yelled and pulled Willow along. They took off run
ning in the opposite direction from where they wanted to go and Willow looked behind her to find the source of their distress. Thousands of Wakwak birds were heading straight towards them! The smoke-like silhouette they created was moving fast against the wind. It shifted every now and then. When the birds moved, they moved in sync. The birds’ screeching and flapping of wings sounded like booming thunder in the sky.

Elirana and Chase were running back to the mountain pass, but they had already walke
d a good distance away from the mountains earlier that they’d never make it in time! At least, her and Declan wouldn’t! She turned her head again and screamed. The birds were now flying directly above their heads! The flapping
Wakwak
noise their wings made stopped. It was like when the birds were far away, the sound was louder. It must be a stealth mechanism. Wakwak birds were silent in the presence of their prey in order to sneak up on them. Well, it worked like a charm! The birds that she thought were far away were now flying dangerously close to them.

The birds started flying
swiftly in circles around the group, reaching lower and lower until they were trapped in a vortex of flying black birds. Everyone but Willow drew their weapons. She didn’t get one in Grungetown like everyone else! She was defenseless! Declan pushed Willow in the center of the circle they made around her, with their fronts facing the birds, so she was somewhat protected. Little good that did when at the top of the tornado, a Wakwak bird dove down on them.

Chase and Declan both swiped
their swords at it, and the bird went down dead. But another one took its place and came at them from the side. Soon Declan, Chase, and Elirana were flinging their swords taking out bird after bird. Willow ducked as a raven dove straight for her head, but it missed her and gripped her shoulder with its talons, ripping her shirt and sharply cutting into her flesh. Declan spun and thrust his sword through its abdomen. Piles and piles of dead birds fell at their feet, but there were thousands swarming them and they weren’t giving up!