Fire in the Darkness (31 page)

Sweeping into the room, her fashionably-cut dress brushed the floor. Jared and Kennedy stood on ceremony, but Ryan and Josh stayed seated. Ryan still looked more unconscious than alive, while Josh stared at her open-mouthed and boggled-eyed.

No matter how many times you saw her, the response was always the same—bedazzled bewilderment. Her unearthly beauty and presence
were
awe-inspiring. She had flawless alabaster skin. This set off her fiery red hair, which fell in silky waves down her back. She stood tall and proud. Confident. When she looked at you, her eyes were an intriguing blue-violet color that drew you in. She was exquisite, captivating, and sensual. This made her even more dangerous.

Her gaze flittered over the room, touching lightly on the fireplace and window. Her face clouded with a far-away expression. “I used to play in this room as a child. My sister and I would hide from our mother and nannies in here.” With a tightening of her jaw, her emotion flipped to anger. “Now it’s being used to hold the abomination's little, human friends. I’m sure there is irony in there somewhere.”

Jared stepped closer to Kennedy.

“Well, some human friends.” She closed in on the pair. Her hand reached out to touch Kennedy. I felt as if hot lava were being poured down my throat. Searing heat gripped me, making tremors run over my skin. Oh God, did she know about Kennedy? Without thinking I darted for Kennedy, ready to intervene. No matter how many times Torin had stressed to me it was heedless, I still couldn’t stop myself from reacting. I grabbed Kennedy’s arm, trying to pull her out of the way. Kennedy’s flesh rippled with goose bumps where I had touched her. Her gaze locked on Aneira. She shivered, but didn’t move. Had I caused that? Could she feel me? She had complained, along with Jared of a chill when I had first arrived. Were they sensitive to my manifestation? If they could feel me, could the Queen? This concern had me stepping back out of the Queen’s reach.

“Well, aren’t you a pretty, little thing.” Her form towered over Kennedy’s tiny frame,
and
her fingers clasped Kennedy’s chin with a firm grip. “Is this why the little half-breed here is getting all protective of you?” Her eyes stayed locked on Kennedy’s face, but her disgusted tone was directed at Jared. “Protect the precious humans against the Seelie Queen. Yet, we are the ones in hiding.”

She ripped her fingers away from Kennedy’s face, which snapped to the side like Kennedy had been slapped. Jared stiffened. The Queen’s guards took a protective step towards the Queen who waved them back. “Don’t worry. This baby Dark Dweller will do nothing. He is all fluff with no bark or bite. I did promise Lorcan I would not hurt you, but I didn’t promise I wouldn’t show you into manhood.” She roughly patted his cheek, leaning close to him. “You will probably enjoy it.” Kennedy sucked in breath with a hiss. “Awww, your girlfriend is getting all jealous. Isn’t it sweet?” The Queen’s tone was light but full of venom. Her gaze went over the room, landing on Ryan. “Why is he lying there? He should stand in my presence.”

The guard who first entered the room moved forward. “He is ill, my lady.”

“Oh, is he now?” She stared disapprovingly at the lump lying incoherent on the bed. “I guess I still have enough enticement for Ember if he dies.” Aneira turned away from him and took notice of the boy who now stood by the window. “And what about you?”

“You are gorgeous,” Josh muttered, watching her with complete fascination.

A superior smile pressed on Aneira’s lips. “Flattery my boy? Smart.”

“You are like those hot character chicks in the World of Warcraft,” he said. Josh’s expression held reverence and worship. I wanted to smack him to wake him up. She was not some anime in his video game. She was cold and cruel and could kill him with a snap of her fingers. Reality was not hitting him the way it should.

“I am sure that is compliment?” She swayed closer to Josh, captivating his attention on her body and face.

“Yes . . . oh yeah . . . totally,” he babbled.

The Queen cringed at his words, but forced the fake smile to stay enticingly on her mouth. “You are tall for a human. Young, but strong for your age. You could almost pass for one of my soldiers.”

Warning wiggled in my chest as I watched her. What was she doing? Aneira was shrewd. She could work people to get what she wanted. Flattery and compliments would not work on Jared or Kennedy, but they would work on Josh. And by Josh’s expression, she understood that. Probably
from
the moment she stepped into the room,
she had known everyone’s weakness. She had assessed them as soon as they had been brought to her. What was her game plan? I knew her end game was getting me, but what was she going to do with them to achieve that?

I didn’t have to wait long for the answer.

Aneira turned back to the room, demanding all eyes on her. “Since you have been utterly useless in helping me find your friend, I may have to entice her to come out and play. At the end of this week,
any
one of you will give me the information I seek, or she will have one less friend.” The Queen swooped back down on Kennedy. “Starting with you. I sense something special about you. When Ember hears your dead body has been delivered back to your family, I believe she will come out of the woodwork.” Aneira’s voice was seductive and alluring.

Without another word,
she departed the room with the same sweeping superiority as
when
she entered. Her three minions followed suit. Only the young guard stayed, his head bowed as she exited.

Everyone stood silent until Kennedy sobbed, tears plummeting down her cheeks. Jared immediately pulled Kennedy into his arms. “Shhhh . . . it’s okay. Everything will be all right.”

“H-how? How will it be all right?”

“She’s trying to scare us into talking.” Jared pushed her hair away, cupping his hands around her face to look at her. His fingers brushed away the train of tears rolling down.

“How can you be sure?” Ken whispered.

“I won’t let anything happen to you,” Jared declared. “I promise.”

Jared sounded sure, but I was not. Going crazy in my spirit form, my arms and legs were frantic with movement.

“There will be nothing you can do,” the guard across the room stated.

Jared frowned. “We’ll escape. Jump out of the window if we have to.”

“You think the window isn't charmed? You might be able to slip through the bars and you could probably manage the fall, but the moment you slide through them, the entire castle will be alerted.”

The fact they were talking so openly with the guard about escaping stopped my hysterical tantrum, taking more notice of him.

“The charm will not stop you from escaping. It only sets off a warning alarm, which unfortunately will go off right away. But I can see how someone might still be able to run into the forest and through a door to Earth before they are caught.” It almost seemed like he was encouraging them to take this route. What the hell was going on? Was this guard on their side?

“Otherwise, I hope you are all comfortable.”

“Yeah. Awesome. Cold stone is so comfortable.” Jared’s tone was full of sarcasm.

The guard nodded. “It could be worse. The dungeons are most unpleasant. They stink like rat piss.” There was slight amusement to his words. I think deep down this boy actually had a sense of humor.

“Seriously, dungeons?” Josh said. It was the first time he had spoken since the Queen’s departure. “This only continues to get better. It’s like in the movies and video games. Do you guys hunt and kill trolls?” Josh hopped up, pantomimed a stabbing gesture.

“Kill trolls?” the guard repeated. “No. They are rude, dreadful creatures, but we do not hunt them. They stay away from us, and we do the same.”

“So what do you kill? Goblins?” The guard stared at Josh with an incredulous expression. “What? Come on, you have to hunt down and destroy some kind of evil monsters,” Josh said.

“Yes. Humans.” The guard turned away from Josh, but I could see Kennedy and Jared biting back their laughter. Yep, there was a sense of humor in there. The guard focused on Ryan. “How is he doing?”

Jared shook off his laughter, becoming serious. “Not well, but what do you expect?” There was a protective quality in the way Jared spoke about Ryan. He was trying to keep them secure and safe.

“I am sorry. I will try to get you more substantial human food and maybe have the medic look at him.”

“Thank you, Castien.” Kennedy nodded at him as a soft moan came from Ryan.

“What did he say?” Castien asked, worry across his face.

Kennedy's face reflected her pain. “He said, ‘Ian.’ I think he keeps replaying Ian’s death in his head. What he could have done to save him.”

Gut-wrenching guilt and sadness washed over me. I had to go, to run from the pain I had caused. Focusing back on myself, the whooshing sensation came over me.

When I awoke, fresh tears were trailing down my cheeks. I scrambled out of bed and headed down the long corridor to the other side of the house, pounding on Lars’ door.

“Em?” Rez’s voice was sleepy as she opened the door.

“I need to talk to him. Now,” I demanded. Without hesitation, Rez backed into the room as another form filled the doorway.

“What is it, Ember? I had just fallen asleep.” He wrapped his robe around him tighter. It was not unusual for him to go to bed after three in the morning. He would have preferred to be completely nocturnal, but his business didn’t allow only night hours.

“I need to get my friends. Aneira is going to kill them.”

He briefly shut his eyes. “Meet me in my office.”

Five minutes later I sat across from Lars, giving him the rundown of the night.

“You never told me you have been dreamwalking,” he growled. “Do you know how dangerous it is? What if she sensed you?”

“But she didn’t. And that’s not the point now. I need to get them out of there. My father, too.”

Lars sat forward in his chair. “Like hell it is ‘not the point.’ You were lucky. Aneira is so self-absorbed and narcissistic she has stopped seeing what is in front of her face. But you will NOT do it again. She has extraordinary powers and could have followed you back through the dreamwalk if she had been aware.”

I pressed into the chair with disbelief. Had Torin known she could do this? He had never mentioned she could follow me back or even be aware of my presence. Was this an oversight or something he didn’t know? Had he known and kept it from me? How well did I know him and why did I trust him so explicitly? Could this all be an act?

“So what exactly did she say?”

Closing my eyes I tried to recall her exact words
. “At the end of this week, either one of you will give me the information I seek or she will have one less friend,”
I repeated the Queen’s words.