Eternal Fire (18 page)

She held out her chest. “These babies have never failed me—not once. Men are very easily persuaded.”

I smiled weakly, amazed and a little jealous at how calm she was. I was terrified of walking into Ethano’s lair. I knew he wasn’t there, but the thought of entering gave me the creeps.
What if one of his men recognizes me? What if they throw me in a dungeon until Ethano returns?
The negative thoughts weren’t helping me one bit, so I took a deep, cleansing breath and tried to still my shaking hands. “I guess we can turn the rings around so the ruby can’t be seen.” I took another deep breath, “but I’m wearing the necklace Helena gave me.”

“
Then we simply compel them not to touch our jewelry.” She playfully punched me in the shoulder. “Your husband is alive and in this castle, waiting for us to break him out, and so is my Charles.” She smiled. “Come on. It’ll be easy. These soldiers won’t know what hit them. We’ll use our womanly wiles and compel the hell out of them.”

“
I like it,” I said.

Liz shook her head as she inspected me. “You don’t look anything like a peasant.”

“
What? I slept on ferns and dirt last night.”

“
We can’t have you looking all beautiful and regal now, can we?” She unloosened my braid, ran a hand through my hair, and smudged mud on my face.

I laughed. “Well, what about now? Do I pass?”

She ripped my dress, exposing my cleavage, and smeared dirt all over my dress. “That’ll do.”

I grinned and turned my ring around. Knowing glittering gold would attract attention, I smeared mud on the band, and then more mud on my crystal necklace.

With Immortal speed, we ran through the vegetation and easily caught up with the others. I glanced through the towering ferns as I tried to come up with a game plan.

Liz glanced at me. “Ready?”

“
Shouldn’t we devise a plan?” I whispered.

“
How hard is it to get caught?” she retorted, then pushed up her boobs. “Especially with these babies falling out!”

I knew she had a point, so I took a deep breath and tried to calm down, pushing up my own chest in the process.

“
Ready?” she asked again.

Sucking in a deep breath, I nodded.

Liz raced out of the vegetation and pulled on the arm of one of the girls. “Sanya? I can’t believe they got you, but don’t worry. I’m here to rescue you. Come on!”

Sanya looked at her like she was crazy, but she seemed to love the idea of an escape.

“
C’mon!” I said, pulling another girl’s hand.

A soldier grabbed me from behind and held a dagger to my neck, and in that moment, I knew that our plan was working perfectly.

“
Did you come to rescue your friends?” the soldier hissed. “What a shame, for now you will be joining them.”

“
No!” I yelled. “Please no! Please don’t hurt me.” I tried to muster as much fear as I could to deliver an Oscar-worthy performance.

He put the blade down, and I slowly turned around meeting his big, brown eyes. It was the bearded man, and he towered over me with bulging muscles, but that didn’t matter. He was human, and I knew I could easily take him down in the blink of an eye. He rolled his lustful eyes over my sister, from head to toe, then did the same to me. A sickening, hungry look came over his face, and he asked, “Are you related? Always wanted me a couple a sisters,” he said, licking his crusty lips.

I swallowed hard, flinching at his uncomfortable gaze. “Yes, sisters.”

He tore his eyes away from my cleavage and reached for his whip.

“
Please don’t hurt us,” Liz begged sweetly, huddling next to me.

My heart raced; I’d never contemplated being beaten. “We’ll do whatever you want. There’s no need to pull out that whip.”

A sharp sting exploded across my cheek as my words were silenced by a loud slap. I wanted to throw him into next week, but I knew getting inside the castle was the only way to save Victor.

“
Do not speak unless I tell you to!” he roared.

I nodded, wiping the blood from my lip. Playing humble slave was not in my blood, but I had to stick to my role for the time being.

“
Get in line!” he demanded.

I looked into his eyes and vowed, “You will never touch me again. Once we’re inside, I command you to punch yourself with your fist…hard!”

Liz hurried over and grabbed my arm, leading me into the long line of women. “Don’t give us away just yet, sis,” she whispered. “You’re Immortal, for goodness sake. You can take a little slap now, can’t you?”

“
Well he pissed me off!” I wanted to grab the whip that was now coiled on his waist and strangle him with it.

“
Save the compelling for when we really need it,” Liz said.

Inside the castle, we were led down a whitewashed stone corridor that was dimly lit with torches. I could tell how scared the women were, and my heart went out to them. We would get out of the situation, but they’d be stuck. I wasn’t sure how, but I really wanted to help them escape and get back to their loved ones.

We were herded into a large room, accompanied by the
snap
of a whip. There were no windows and no furniture, just a few blazing torches hanging on the wall.

“
Wait here. You be inspected and cleaned one by one,” a soldier said. “Anyone who refuses will be punished merciless.” He snapped a whip, and it echoed loudly, making all the women jump and gasp.

“
You will do as you are told.” The man pointed to Liz and me. “Take the twins first.”

A nursemaid in a simple brown dress and with a long braid approach. “Come with me, ladies.”

I followed her through the candlelit corridor and then through some double-doors. A sweet fragrance filled the air all around me. I darted my eyes around and saw sweet-smelling herbs: lavender, rose petals, daisies, fennel, and chamomile. They were placed all around the room to cover up the horrible stench from the bathroom and lackluster plumbing, but it only helped a little.

Hundreds of colorful gowns, from velvet and silk to satin to chiffon were draped over dark wood tables. My heart jumped when I realized there was no way we were going to be scrubbing floors in those fancy dresses. I sucked in a deep breath as realization struck.
They’re bringing in prostitutes, not slaves!
The thought sickened me as my skin crept, and I was suddenly horrified that we’d put our cleavage on display.

“
Strip down so I can inspect you,” the woman said.

“
No way!” Liz said.

The woman frowned, then continued. “Once you’ve passed inspection, you may choose a gown. We have all sizes,” she said, glancing at Liz’s ample chest.

I looked at her, still disgusted by the fact that Ethano would kidnap innocent women and use them in such a horrible way, to entertain himself and his men. “We passed inspection. Now leave.”

Her pupils dilated as I gave her the command. “I-I will leave you alone now,” she stuttered, exiting the room.

Liz laughed, and I smiled mischievously.

“
What? You said to compel the hell out of them.” I grabbed one of the silk gowns. “Look at this.”

Her eyes narrowed. “That’s definitely not your color.”

“
Liz, be serious for a minute. Do you know what this means?” I pointed at the dresses.

“
That I’m gonna be one hot concubine.”

“
Liz!”

“
We’re Immortal,” she said. “No one is gonna lay a filthy finger on us. Do you think I’d be cracking jokes if I thought somebody was going to have his way with me?” She touched the half-barrel to the right. “Are we taking baths or what?”

“
Unless you just want to fake it and wet your hair.”

“
Nah, I already picked the cutest gown. I may as well smell nice for Charles.”

I rolled my eyes, wishing I could be as calm as she was. “This is a rescue mission, not a beauty pageant.”

“
Meh, we have to fit the part,” she said, stripping off her dirt-stained dress. She jumped into the water and squealed.

I smirked. “Is it freezing?”

“
Not for long!” She pointed a finger, and a beam of red energy hit the water. Bubbles swirled around.

I was sure she was going to get us in trouble. “Hey! You got on my case for compelling, and here you are making your own private Jacuzzi!”

She laid her head back. “It’s hot and perfect, just the way I like it.” She then sent the red beam over into my barrel, and I watched as bubbles and mist swirled around.

“
You might as well warm up all the barrels so those poor girls don’t freeze to death.”

She grinned and did just that, then glanced over at me. “I’ve got a romantic horror story for you, if you wanna hear it.”

I placed my hands on my hips, humoring her. “Oh yeah? Go on.”

“
A queen finds her lost king, who she thought was dead. They hug and kiss, and then he faints from the stench.”

I rushed over and splashed her as she giggled. “I get it,” I said.

“
Then what are you waiting for?” she retorted.

I slid my dress off and hopped into the barrel next to Liz. The warm water felt good on my skin, and I closed my eyes for one minute. “Ah…”

“
You’re welcome,” Liz said.

“
Thanks, Liz. It feels wonderful.”

“
Did you ever think our lives would ever turn out like this?” Liz asked.

I glanced over. “How did the Larker sisters take a left turn into Crazy Town?”

“
And now we’re undercover on some dangerous mission.”

“
Just admit it. You love the danger and excitement.”

She smiled, knowing how on target I was. Liz had always been that way, a risk-taker, ever since we were kids. That was why she’d been exploring Sabrino Cave, on the day she when disappeared out of my life.

“
You’re an adrenaline junkie,” I said, sprawling out my arms on the edge of the barrel.

“
Maybe, but we’re really doing this for love. Isn’t love grand?”

I smiled. “I never thought it’d happen to me.”

“
Nobody deserves it more than you, and Victor is perfect for you. Who’da thunk it?”

“
I dated a lot of men before I found him. I can’t even begin to tell you about all the bite marks on my heart.”

She splashed in the water and laid her head back again. “Yeah, I hear the dating world’s like that. Men will rip and tear your heart apart.”

“
You’re lucky you found true love on your first try,” I said.

“
I’m truly blessed.”

I sighed. “It’s such a romantic story.”

“
It truly is. I was living an ordinary life, and then love struck and gave me a real live fairytale all my own—happily ever after and all that jazz.”

“
It’s amazing. I’ve learned that when it comes to love, anything is possible.”

She glanced over at me. “I know you felt guilty for leaving me when I walked through the portal, but you shouldn’t. It was the best thing that ever happened to me, even if I didn’t realize it at first. I was in this strange land, all alone and scared, and the next thing I knew, I was being accused of being a witch because of my clothes and flashlight.”

“
I forgot about the flashlight.”

She laughed. “Even I wouldn’t go into a cave without one. Charles happened to be in town and saved me like a real Prince Charming. The point is, I’d do it all over again to meet Charles. I don’t ever regret walking through that portal, not one tiny bit.”