Exile: Sídhí Summer Camp #3 (33 page)

On one side of the hall, a young man with a
mane of multi-hued brown and gold hair paced. For some reason the
snarl on his face reminded her of a khatt.

On the other side of the hall, a tall,
dark-haired man leaned against a marble pillar, exuding dark appeal
like a siren. She knew better. The man was no fairy. He was
vampire.

“What’s Uncle Warren doing here?” Nick
muttered under his breath.

No one paid him the slightest attention. How
could they, especially with the theatrics going on.

In the middle of the room stood a group of
highborn elves, one was screaming at Sarah’s dad, telling him all
the different ways she would destroy Trellick Valley if he didn’t
turn Chi’Kehra over to her, immediately.

Beside her Nick snorted, nearly choking on
his burst of laughter. “Oh, wrong thing to say to Chi’Kehra’s
daddy.”

Sarah sighed. The heartfelt expression
sounded like a groan crossed with a chuckle. “At least, they are
trying to protect me instead of kill me.”

“For the moment,” he growled in her ear.

Sarah was more than happy to let her dad deal
with the elvish delegation, so she ignored the elvish drama going
on, and asked Nick, “Any idea as to why your uncle is here?”

“He’s here because I asked him to come,”
Shelby said from the doorway.

“Shelby?” Nick snarled the question, stepping
toward the white-faced girl. “So help me, friendship or not, if
you’ve betrayed Sarah’s secret, I’ll kill you.”

Shelby didn’t cower, but she did have a death
grip on the doorframe. From the look in her eyes, the physical
anchor might be the only thing keeping her from running. The girl
swallowed once. Stiffening her back, she walked toward Sarah and
Nick.

“I didn’t tell him who Chi’Kehra was. I just
told him I had met Chi’Kehra and that her mate was vampire and
she’d never attack Clan Valley,” the girl paused, gulping for air,
after her rapid explanation. “I had to do something. I had to bring
help. The dhark army was swarming around Aaron’s home. They hurt
him.”

“You gave your word, but you left,” a harsh
voice rasped. Aaron stood in the center of the doorway, swaying on
unsteady feet. His face and neck reflected a maze of healing slash
marks.

“I came back,” she whispered. Gritting her
teeth, pain filled her eyes.

“Yes, you did,” Sarah said, stopping the
budding argument.

“Why exactly is my uncle here?” Nick
demanded.

“He’s here to offer help. Dhark Empire news
channels have been running streaming video. I know they wanted to
frighten people, but it’s had the opposite effect. They attacked
schools, children! People are screaming for their heads. They want
to help.”

“All right, that makes sense, but why did you
go to Warren Andrews?” Sarah asked pointedly.

“I met him when Nick and I were dating. My
great-grandfather is on the lower council, but I knew it would take
too much time if I went through him. Mr. Andrews is on the high
council. He was the only one that I thought might listen to me,”
Shelby said. Twisting her hands together, she didn’t glance to see
Nick’s reaction. Instead, she looked toward Aaron.

Sarah wanted details, but time was her enemy.
Turning a cold gaze on Shelby, she asked, “Your silver collar is
missing. Can I trust you to get Aaron to his room and stay with
him?”

“Yes,” the girl whispered, nodding her
head.

“I don’t need a babysitter,” Aaron growled,
weaving a bit more with each moment that passed.

“Don’t argue,” Sarah snapped.

Without pausing, she turned to Timothy. “Send
an escort for Warren. Put him in the green receiving room.”

“You’re going to tell him?” Nick questioned,
crossing his arms.

From his rigid stance, she might’ve thought
he didn’t like the idea, even though he had suggested it in the
first place. His emotions told another story. He was concerned.

She raised a single eyebrow in question. It
was all the prodding he needed.

“He’s my uncle, and I love him, but if he
freaks-out and attacks you, I’ll defend you.” Roughly, he ran a
hand through his hair. “When you called him powerful, you hit the
nail smack on the head. He has some wicked-strong powers that most
vampires can never even dream of having. I don’t know if I can stop
him. And before you say it, yes, I know you can stop him, but
having that kind of fight here would probably topple part of the
castle.”

“I would never kill a member of your family,
not unless they gave me no other choice,” she said softly, touching
his jaw.

His snarl took her by surprise. “If he tries
to hurt you, don’t hesitate to kill him. I may love my family, but
you are everything to me.”

The constant pulse of his love somehow
increased, underscoring his words. She knew how much his family
meant to him, and it made his words all the sweeter.

“I just want you to be extremely cautious.
His coming here, simply because Shelby approached him, doesn’t make
much sense,” he said, glancing toward the doorway where Shelby and
Aaron stood quietly arguing.

“I have a contact in Clan Valley that might
know a bit more about his reasoning. Give me a moment and I’ll ask
Jessica what she knows about it all.” Her friend should never have
left Trellick Valley. Would the girl listen? Of course, she didn’t
listen. Jessica insisted on joining Trellick Valley’s military, an
area of the armed forces that relied on intelligence and not
strength.

“You mean a spy?” Nick asked with a grin.

“I prefer to think of Jessica as part of our
network of eyes-and-ears,” she said, trying not to return his
growing smile. “She’s one of the few nymphs in Clan Valley.”

“You know a nymph named Jessica, and she is
in Clan Valley? That’s just too much of a coincidence. Does she
have hip-length blonde hair?” Shelby asked, interrupting the
private conversation. Her questions met silence, stone-cold
silence.

Sarah glowered at the girl. If Shelby thought
she could bargain her way out of her fix by threatening one of
Sarah’s best friends, the girl was sorely mistaken.

“
Protectiveness or unnecessary
jealousy?”
Nick asked gently.

Her teeth clicked together, and she exhaled a
hiss of annoyance before answering him.
“Okay, so I’m not
perfect. I might, just might, be looking for a reason to hate her.
I am so thankful you only had a handful of girlfriends. I don’t
think I could handle a bevy of old flames popping up
everywhere.”

Nick coughed, nearly choking on the chuckle
he tried to swallow.

“Um,” Shelby said uncomfortably, she appeared
to be well aware they were silently speaking to each other. “Well,
the reason I ask, is when I was at Warren’s house he caught a young
nymph, a woman named Jessica, sneaking around his property. It just
seemed like an unusual coincidence.”

Sighing, Sarah turned to Shelby who, by that
time, had managed to maneuver Aaron away from the door and into the
hall. The tall elf didn’t look pleased.

“Her hair tends to move by itself, and her
eyes are purple,” Sarah said softly, hoping her description
wouldn’t meet with agreement.

Shelby nodded her head yes, agreeing with
Sarah’s description. “And she has a really thick Texas accent.”

From across the room, Timothy groaned.
“That’s our Jessica.”

The scream of an angry khatt sounded through
the speakers, and everyone jumped.

Glancing toward the monitor, Sarah wasn’t
surprised to see an angry khatt standing over a dead elf.

“
Dad, time to stop playing nice with the
elves,”
she said.

“
The teen elf came with the royal elves,
but she is a member of the ruling house of Praesidium Valley. She
is offering elvish warriors to support Chi’Kehra and rescue
workers,”
he answered.
“The remaining royal elves aren’t
offering anything, except threats and hot air. I didn’t have time
to discuss anything with the boy from Haven Valley before he turned
khatt and killed one of the elves. The final member of this weird
collection is Councilman Andrews from Clan Valley. He is also
offering assistance.”

“
I don’t like bringing in so many people,
but right now I don’t believe we have a choice. We need help.
Refuse the warriors and accept whatever rescue help we can get, but
assign them babysitters. I’ll take out the trash,”
Sarah
said.

“Who is in charge of the upper gallery?” she
asked, referring to the hidden area above the main hall.

“Charles is down there,” Timothy said.

“Tell him to dart the elves - except the
female teenager - with crystal.”

Watching the monitors, she watched as the
elves slapped a shoulder or neck as if swatting a mosquito.

Reaching out, she mentally touched the bits
of crystal embedded in their skin and ported each elf away from
Trellick Valley, dumping them inside Royal Valley on the very
northern edge. Too bad the edge of their territory was an area
called Barrier Bay or Hudson Bay in the mundane world. The elves
would have a long and very cold swim ahead of them. Unless, of
course, the water was still frozen then they might get a little
chilly.

Nick started laughing. “Teach the arrogant
race a lesson for arguing with your dad.”

“True,” she said, splitting her attention
between the monitor and contacting Jessica.

“
Hey girl, you need help?”
Sarah asked
gently.

“
Nope, I’ve got it covered,”
Jessica
said, her thick accent coloring her mental voice, emphasizing the
fact she had spent the first twelve years of her life in the heart
of Texas.

“
Tied up?”

“
Uh, no, why would you ask?”
she
asked, sounding nervous.

“
A little bird told me you had been
captured. How about I…”

“
No! Don’t!”
her friend shouted then
sighed, offering a quick apology.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to shout.
Do you remember the problem nymphs have when we find our
mate?”

Sarah growled under her breath. How could she
forget? The memory had given her nightmares. Well, crap, Sarah
thought.
“You found your mate?”

“
Yeah, Warren Andrews is my mate, and I’m
finally in his house.”

“
Tied up?”
Sarah demanded with a
growl.

“
No, just cuffed with silver. I can handle
it. Honest.”

“
He’s at the castle and offering
assistance,”
Sarah said in more of a question than a
comment.

“
I think it’s an honest offer of help. I
overheard that much. He, ah, caught me before I could hear anything
else.”

“
Sarah?”
Nick asked. No doubt, he was
shaking his head over their screwy conversation.

“
No, I’m not,”
he denied.
“I’m just
a bit curious about the variety of friends you have. Going from a
powerful phoenix to a near powerless nymph is quite the
stretch.”

“
Yeah, a variety of friends that drives me
nuts,”
she said with a slight huff.
“I won’t leave her
there, but I might have a solution.”
She gazed at the screen
that held her dad and Warren. The teenage elf and shapeshifter were
gone. A pair of guards appeared on camera, ready to take Nick’s
uncle to the green room.

“You do realize when you smile like that the
hair on the back of my neck stands up in warning,” he said,
squeezing her waist.

“Good, a little caution in a relationship is
a wonderful thing,” she said, barely holding back a snort of
laughter as his eyes widened, and a look of shock flashed across
his face.

A moment later, he must’ve realized she was
yanking his chain because she felt a surge of humor, one laced with
a feeling of payback.

A flicker of thought and Sarah touched the
crystal embedded in Jessica’s skull and ported the girl from Clan
Valley to the Main Hall, dropping the golden-haired nymph
immediately in front of Warren.

“
Dad, I’m making Jessica the official
liaison for Clan Valley. Make sure Warren understands three things:
Jessica is his new shadow. As long as Clan Valley has rescue people
here, he must be present at all times. And lastly, if anything
happens to her, the vampire boogieman will rip his head through
his…”

“
I get the picture,”
her dad said
dryly.

The ground trembled.

A monitor crashed to the floor.

Timothy shrieked like a little girl and
darted toward the multiple shelves holding high-powered servers,
trying to hold as many steady as possible.

Weaving in place, as the floor swayed beneath
her, Sarah spun a web of crystal around the delicate hardware,
anchoring servers and monitors in place. When she finished, the
room looked like a swarm of mythical crystal spiders had gone crazy
spinning webs everywhere.

The tremor intensified, and the entire room
bucked like a wild horse. Crashes sounded through the open
doorway.

When the ground stopped shaking, silence
lasted a short two seconds before chaos erupted.

“Sarah,” Nick said urgently, cupping her
elbow, “what part of Trellick Valley are we in? Was that
normal?”

“No, not normal,” she said softly. She knew
his thoughts mirrored her own. The manipulation of the valley’s
crystal must have caused the earthquake, either she did something
wrong when she closed the gateways…

“That’s not what I thought,” he said with a
growl. “I’m more concerned about Trellick Valley’s ruins.”

“I’ll check them,” she said, looking with her
mental eye toward the network of ruins. She sucked in a hissing
breath, and her blood ran cold.

When the ruins were empty, they appeared
inert, nearly impossible to detect. Oh, she could see a massive
area of crystal, but like Earth’s oil and gas fields, most valleys
had massive crystal reserves scattered everywhere. Seeing the
difference between a crystal ruin and a crystal reserve, one that
lay several hundred feet below the surface, was nearly impossible.
Now, that she knew what to look for, the seething mass of twisted
power lines stood out from the crystal springs like a supernova
against the darkest of space.