Fire in the Darkness (25 page)

“Torin? Torin, where are you?” I yelled the moment my lids lifted. We were back in the forest where he usually pulled me. His favorite spot.

“I am here,” he murmured behind me.

I hopped up, turning to face him. “They have my friends, Torin. Samantha killed Ian. Are they okay? You didn’t answer me. I tried to contact you.”

“Calm down,” he soothed. “I know what has transpired. I was there with Her Majesty when your friends were brought in so I had to ignore your calls.”

“My friends, Torin . . .” Emotion took charge of my mouth, words spilling out, spouting out the horrible truth again. “Lorcan took them. . . Samantha killed Ian . . . She killed him . . . .”

His arms wrapped around me, pulling me into his warm, strong body. “I know. I am so sorry,” he mumbled, kissing the top of my head.

I tucked farther into him, seeking his solid, protective form. “I’ve lost everything. My friends, my family, my home. I can’t . . . Ian’s dead. Ken, Josh, Ryan, my dad . . .”

“I know.” He held me tight.

“I have to get them out. I can’t sit here. I have to get them out. They shouldn’t be there. I will trade myself.”

“No.” Torin pulled away, his hands gripped tightly to my arms. “Ember, you cannot let her have you. She will only use you to kill more innocent people. She wants Earth back and will not stop until all humans are either dead or enslaved. If you give yourself over, you will not only destroy those people you love so much, but all those innocent human lives as well.” His deep blue eyes focused intently on mine. “Do you understand? You cannot give her what she wants. It will be even worse for your family. They will be the first she kills.
You staying
away is their only protection. Do you hear me?”

My head fell forward, agony and defeat weighed heavily on my shoulders. I was so ready for people to stop using logic on me. Plus my deal with Lars kept me from acting on a foolish whim. Feeling helpless, I tucked my head back under his chin, seeking comfort.

“Tell me you understand
,” he pleaded.

“I understand.”

Torin pulled me into another tight hug, his lips like feathers against the top of my head. “Do not scare me like that. You cannot afford to act irrationally. When it is time, I will help you. Okay?”

I nodded against him. “Why didn’t you tell me who Lars was?”

“I can only tell you what her bonds allow. The Queen has exceedingly tight rein on me.”

Something in his statement made me sad. His life was not his own; his freedom was not his own. He pushed and bent the rules as far as he could for me. There was a connection between us I could not deny and it scared me.

“Why would you choose this life? You're almost a slave.”

He exhaled. “It is an honor. My father was her father, the King's, First Knight.”

My eyebrows hit my hairline.

“No, Ember, it's not what you're thinking. That is something the Queen turned it into.” He looked away with guarded embarrassment. He was a sex slave. He had no control over his own body and how it was used. I shuddered. I had no doubt she probably brought her authority and sick need for dominance in the bedroom as well. “I was destined to be First Knight, but I worked hard at it for you.”

“For me?” Surprised widened my eyes.

“I knew being her knight would come with ‘consequences,’ but it also came with opportunities—the skill and ability to find you.” Words took the wrong way back down my throat. I was speechless. “I do not really want to discuss this topic with you.” He had moved away from me, more guarded.

“Do you love her?”

Torin stopped, his face becoming a stone fortress. He spun away, his back facing me. Many tense seconds passed. With a huff of air, he lowered his head and his voice. “I did. Once. A long time ago.”

Jealousy gnawed at me. But then how dare I ask that? His answer was going to upset both of us in some way. Would I rather him be sleeping with someone he hated? Did I secretly hope he would be pining for me the entire time instead of living his life?

“I’m sorry. It's none of my business.” I fidgeted with the end of my ponytail.

“That was the past. Now I have found you, and you are my present.” He faced me again.

Panic constricted my chest. Barely seconds ago I felt upset he hadn’t been yearning for me the whole time and now I wanted to bolt for the door.

I was so messed up.

“I need to know my friends and dad are all right.”

“I promise I will watch over them and will not let anything happen.”

Warmness
grew in my chest. “Thank you.”

He bowed his head in recognition.

“I want so badly to see them. To see for myself they’re okay,” I said, twirling my hair tighter around my finger.

“You can do that.” Torin stepped up to me, brushing a
strand
of hair behind my ear. “Your abilities go further than simply dreamscaping. Your mother had an extraordinary gift of being able to dreamwalk. I have no doubt you have the same gift.”

“Dreamwalking?”

“You can turn your dreamscape location to where they are. Dreamwalking is different from dreamscaping. It takes a great deal more energy since it happens in a real place
and time
. I came to be in poor health the first several times I did it.” He rubbed his stomach.

“In poor health?” I asked, and then laughed when I realized what he meant. “You mean you threw up?”

“Yes.” He rolled his eyes at me. “Now, let’s focus. Dreamwalking is also different since you cannot interact with anyone. You will be a ghost to them. They will not be able to see or hear you.”

All the times I wished to see Mark, I could have? “Why didn’t you tell me I could do this before?”

“My apologies. It wasn’t something that crossed my mind.”

The Dark Dwellers had the same response. All of them had grown up in the Fae world with knowledge of this stuff. They didn’t understand what it was like to be me and not to know.

“Can you do this, too?” I asked.

“It was not a gift I was born with, but the Queen has bestowed some of her abilities on me. They allow me to bring her in so she can see what I am seeing without physically having to be there. Her Majesty finds this quite useful in her dealings.”

“You mean she could be watching us right now?” I scrambled back from him.

“No. I can feel when she is there. She has a heavy presence and I can always feel her when she is trying to get in. Do not worry. She is not aware of our meetings.”

“O-kay.” I felt uneasy. “So how does this work?”

“I will control this first dreamwalk, thus you can see how to do it. It can be a little disconcerting I warn you.” His hands came up to my face, brushing over my lids. “Close your eyes. Otherwise you will get dizzy.”

“And throw up all over you?” I smiled. He only cocked his head in exasperation. I closed my eyes.

“Now focus on their faces. You can choose any one of your friends since they are all together, or Mark.”

Mark was my first stop. My thoughts zeroed in on him, remembering his smile and laugh, the way he had teased me in the morning or had called me Sunny D. A few seconds later a strange wooziness came over me, and it did take everything I had not to be sick.

“Okay, you can open them,” Torin’s voice spoke gently in my ear. My lashes flew up.

The sleek, dark wooden floors and stone walls glimmered under the floating fire-bulbs and flickering fireplace. The room was large, but void of furniture or anything personal besides a bed, table, and one chair. The chair was scooted close to the fireplace and occupied by a familiar form.

“Mark,” I cried, rushing towards him. He did not look up or react.

“Ember, he cannot see or hear you,” Torin responded.

Right. My mouth clicked shut. No point in calling out to him again, but I couldn’t stop myself from going to him. With a relieved cry, I crouched in front of him, taking him in. He looked similar to when I had last seen him. Even though it had been
a month and a half
, there were still bruises and cuts healing on his face.

“Has he been hit recently?” My fingers went to touch his face, disappearing as they touched him. Okay, creepy.

“No. I promise you he has been treated well enough since he has been here. She will only hurt him when it benefits her. And, as you see, she has put him in one of the vacant castle rooms. He is not in the dungeon.”

“If he hasn’t been touched, why is he covered with cuts and bruises?” I longed to be able to touch him, to feel his arms around me in a bear hug. He was dressed in the same clothes, dried blood coating his collar. My gaze skimmed over him from head to toe. His body looked healthy enough so at least he wasn’t being starved.

“Those are the wounds he obtained on the mountain that night.” Torin remained along the wall, keeping to the shadows. “Remember time works differently here in the Otherworld. Not much time has passed compared to what you have experienced in the Earth realm.”

The time thing was hard to really
wrap
my brain around. It had been almost two months for me and, to look at him, it seemed like it had only been two hours.

“Oh, Mark.” My eyes started to water. “I am so sorry.”

Mark stared at the fire; his eyes watched every lick and curl of the flames. Sorrow sunk deep in his eyes. He may have been physically healthy but not mentally. His agony tortured me.

“I will not rest until I get you out of here. I promise. I love you.” Wiping the tears from my cheek I stood up, my resolve strengthened. “Let’s go. I want to see my friends, too.”

Torin held onto me. Closing my eyes, I pictured my friends vividly in my head. Another whooshing, a feeling of extreme nausea, and we were in a room similar to Mark’s. My four friends were here, along with four beds, four chairs, and one table.

“Why didn’t she tell us?” Josh exclaimed. He sat in the windowsill. Gaping metal bars lined the window, wide enough for someone to slip through. They were probably more for looks as the tips of the trees outside the window indicated they were several stories up.

“What would she have told us? Would any of us have believed her anyway?” Kennedy sat on the bed, her legs folded under her.

Jared sprawled out on another bed, looking around the room. hasn't known for long. She found out less than two months ago, right before the ES. Not that she would have told you. Humans aren’t supposed to know about us. I shouldn’t even be telling you this stuff, but it seems a little pointless now.”

“I don’t care. She’s supposed to be our best friend, Ken. She should have told us the truth. Didn’t she trust us?” Ryan piped up from the chair. “Ian’s dead because he was helping us hang flyers, to find our missing friend. If we had only known . . .” Ryan started sobbing, his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking.

My guilt and anger began to suffocate me, spreading out to include Lorcan and the Queen. There was no forgiveness for what had happened to Ian. He shouldn’t have been there. He should have been involved in my world.

Kennedy rose from the bed and knelt down in front of Ryan, pulling him into a hug. “I know you are hurting, but Ian’s death was not Ember’s fault.”

Ryan continued to sob on her shoulder. “Really, Ken? Where was she for the last month? Where was she when we were so scared and worried over her disappearance? Then the ES hit. I thought she was dead—gone forever. But, no we find her with the Riders of Darkness, living this whole time with Eli Dragen.”

“Hey, guys.” Jared sat up. “Ember wasn’t shacking up with us on some vacation. She was practically being held a prisoner there. After she caused the ES, she was on the run in Seattle, being hunted daily . . . so give her a break.” I had felt that Jared and I bonded over the days we spent together at the compound,
and
this only confirmed he had my back. He had grown into someone I really cared about. Like family.

That warm fuzzy quickly got squashed. “She WHAT?” The entire room bellowed.

“She was the one who caused the Electrical Storm? Are you serious?” Josh shot up, wide-eyed, from his relaxed position.

Jared's flustered expression made me burst out laughing. Good luck with that one, I thought.

“Oh yeah, right . . . you guys didn’t know.” He then gave them a quick rundown of what he knew. I kept interjecting with what “really happened” much to Torin's amusement. Knowing they couldn’t hear me didn’t stop my trying. They would have kept drilling Jared, but after a while he put up his hand. “Guys, that’s all I know. You’ll have to hound her later.”

The bitter memory of that night rotted a hole in my soul. It was the turning point of my life—and thousands of others. With the help of a young fae boy, who was the equivalent of jumper cables, the Seelie Queen harnessed my powers and destroyed Seattle. All to pick a fight with the Unseelie King—Lars.

“Damn . . . this is all so insane.” Josh shook his mop of blond hair. “The girl I was building garden frames with a month and a half ago can level cities. She’s like a walking superhero from a comic book.”