Fire in the Darkness (36 page)

He gave a cry of strangled frustration and rubbed his forehead. “Ember . . . .”

“Please, Torin. I won’t be able to do this without you. I have to get them out. Don't you understand that? My family needs me and I’m not going to leave them there any longer.”

He groaned again
and
lapsed into silence. Eventually a deep sigh came from him. “All right, I will help you. But, we are going to do this my way. You will do everything I tell you.” I nodded vigorously. “I mean it, Ember. If I tell you to get out, you get out. Understand?”

With plans set during the dreamscape, I woke up with my face planted in the dirt. Dawn ignited the trees with a twinge of deep pink. Reality felt harsh in the stark presence of day. The soreness between my legs would not let me pretend last night had all been a dream. More like a nightmare.

“Ugh.” I spit out the loose dirt, which had made its way into my mouth. Brushing my face and body off, I stood up, calling out to Torin, “Okay, I’m ready.”

Nothing.

“Hello?” I belted out, twisting around in a circle. The only way into the Otherworld was through one of those doors to their realm. “I need your help, Torin. I don’t know how to get in. Where the hell are the door thingys?”

I listened for a few seconds when the fluttering of bird wings caught my attention, sending my gaze up into the trees.

“Hello? Torin?”

Nothing.

Another small bird zipped in, dodging close to my head, making me duck down. “Hey!”

The soft sound of a giggle made me pause. Did that bird laugh at me? Turning to locate it, another one dive-bombed me. Bending, I tried to get out of its path. Too late. Tiny feet dragged across my head as it tried to land on me. Its legs tangled in my hair, skidding across my head pulling some of my hair out as it plummeted to the ground.

“Ouch!” I shouted at the same time a strangled cry came from the small bird as it collided with the earth, its legs entwined in strands of my hair.

“Dammit!” It struggled against the binds. Standing in shock, I looked down at the creature. A familiar glow of glamour hummed around the bird. The sound of cackling laughter snapped my head up. The other bird-creature landed softly on a branch near me. This time the glamour stripped away. In the bird's stead was a tiny man, all of six inches high, with wings.

Oh my God . . . a pixie.
Many hours of studying Fae mythology allowed me to easily identify them. But coming face to face with Otherworld creatures still bemused me.

“Nice landing, Simmons.” One of the tiny men chuckled. I followed his attention back to the other tiny guy who lay crumpled at my feet.

“Hey, my legs got tangled in the mop up there. It wasn’t my fault.”

“Riiiight. Neither was the time you crashed into the berry bush, or the time your head goosed the leprechaun . . . or the time you nosedived—”

“All right. I get it.”

“Or the time you collided with the bunny, or the time you side-swiped the Oak tree, or—”

“Stop.” I put up my hands. My neck was getting whiplash from looking back and forth between those two. “Who are you? What the hell is going on?”

They looked up suddenly as if they’d only just noticed I was there.

The one on the branch whistled, “Yo-ho. Looky here, Simmons. Sir Knight Uptight told us she would be a lovely lady. Too bad she’s already been paid for.”

“I don’t think she’s a harlot, Cal,” Simmons replied. His tiny fingers pulled at the hair twisted around his ankles.

“I can’t imagine how else he would get her.”

“He didn’t pay for her, Cal.”

“No? You think she came willingly? Then she’s a stupid harlot.”

“She’s not a harlot, Cal.” Simmons yelled back. Finally breaking free of my locks, he joined Cal up on the branch.

“Whoo-ey. She is a pretty thing. I like ’em tall. Strange eyes and hair but I can overlook that. How much?” Cal directed his question to me, crossing his arms over his pirate-like jacket. Underneath the jacket was a Woody Woodpecker t-shirt and a pair of jeans. His feet were bare.

“Juniper crackers, Cal. She’s not a harlot,” Simmons sighed. He was dressed in a 1960s fighter pilot outfit. I once had actually owned the Ken doll that had come with that uniform. Both must have raided a little girl's doll collection. “I am Simmons of the Blue Guardians, but most call me Captain Simmons because I am the best flyer in the kingdom.” He puffed up his chest proudly as he introduced himself to me.

“Ha. You can’t even fly to the next limb, let alone the next tree, without crashing.” Cal laughed.

“That is false and a great insult.” Simmons puffed up even more. “And I was talking to the lady, not you.” He turned back to me.

“I-I’m Ember.”

“And I am Calvin, Calvin of Smokey Wood Forest.” He gave me a stiff formal bow.

I couldn’t stop the smile curling my lips. “Nice to meet you both.”

“Well, Ember, we have been appointed to lead you safely into the Otherworld,” Simmons said with pride.

“Yeah, Tordo said you were an escort.”

“In
NEED
of an escort, Cal, not
IS
one.” Simmons shook his head in exasperation.

“Tordo?” I looked questioningly at the two pixies.

“He means Sir Knight Torin, my lady,” Simmons replied.

“Torin sent you?”

“Sent us? Like he could order us to do anything. Huh! We were obliging enough to listen to his request and accept.” Cal flounced about. “And I only did because I thought there would be a harlot waiting . . . and she would be so grateful for my help and so overtaken with my charm and handsome looks . . .”

“We were ordered, my lady, by Sir Knight Torin. I am honored to do my duty.” Simmons stood up tall and saluted.

“Oh, please. You came for the girl, too.”

“That part didn’t hurt, my lady. I will be honest,” Simmons responded, still in salute position.

“Well, I thank you both for whatever reasons you came.” I bit back the giggle popping around in my mouth. I sensed that Simmons might be sensitive if I didn’t take him seriously. “Show me the way to the Otherworld.”

TWENTY-FIVE

I must have been through a similar type of door once before. There was no other way Torin could have gotten me on the mountain above Seattle so quickly—right after I leveled it. But I had been so out of it, I scarcely recalled the event. What I did remember was that it was like walking through a thin layer of invisible gelatin. You couldn’t see it, but you could feel the barrier between Earth and the Otherworld push and rub against your skin as you broke through it. Torin told me once you had to know what you were looking for to see the openings between the two worlds. I would have to take him at his word because I didn’t see anything different when Cal stopped and pointed towards a gap between two trees.

“Am I missing something?” I looked at him and then to the air in front of me.

“How can you miss it? The door is right there.” Cal pointed at the empty spot again. When I gave him a slight shake of my head and shrug, he sighed heavily. “You are still looking through your human vision. Somewhere inside, my lady, you don’t believe stuff like this really exists.”

A need to argue came immediately to my mind, but I swallowed it back. I thought I gave up on using logic to figure out my new world, but deep down I clung to the fear if I really let go, I could never go back.

I nodded and closed my eyes, letting my anxiety dissipate around me. When I reopened my lids, there was a glimmering space in front of me. I had seen Torin come out of one and my friends being taken through one, but I hadn’t seen it like this before—vibrant and dynamic. The air rippled and danced in shimmering waves, glowing and glinting under the sun rays. It was beautiful.

“Wow,” I muttered.

“See, my lady? You merely had to let go of who you think you should be and be who you are.” Simmons' words felt like ice in my veins. Someone else had once said that to me.
Eli
. It was a punch to the gut. I swallowed back the pain.

“Now, step through.” Cal motioned for me to venture ahead. I nodded but stayed rooted in place.

“Would you like me to go first, my lady?” Simmons offered, noticing my lack of movement.

“Please.”

Simmons flew in front of me and disappeared. Biting my lip, I took a giant step. A slight pressure slipped across my skin as I stepped across the threshold. With that step, a force came down on me. The same powerful weight I had felt in Lars’ office hit me tenfold. I fell to the ground crushed under the gravity. Severing contracts with the Unseelie King was discouraged. It felt as though something sharp chewed at me from the inside out while a million ton weight pressed down on me. The blinding pain my body and mind felt was the consequence of breaking the transaction. Dealing with the ramifications of my disobedience with him later would be a whole other problem, but right then pain was the only thing I felt or thought about. Twisting in agony, crying out, I wished for death to come, to be swift and take me from the excruciating pain.

“My lady! My lady!” Cal and Simons buzzed around my ear as I continued to wail and flay around in torture.

Then as fast as it had come on, it snapped off. Breathing heavily I lay on the ground, trying to pull my thoughts back into my brain.

“My lady, are you all right?” Simmons flew around me.

“Not when I meet up with the Unseelie King,” I said sitting up.

“Excuse me, my lady?”

“Nothing. I'm fine now. Sorry about that.” I blinked. I blinked again. Taking in the scenery around me, my mouth fell open. The basic terrain was similar to what I had left, but everything else about it was different. It reminded me of when you first put up a Christmas tree. It’s bare and simple, pretty in its own way. But as soon as you put on the lights and ornaments, the tree is breathtaking, shimmering, and magical. That was the difference between the Earth realm and the Otherworld.

“Oh my . . .” I uttered in amazement, standing up. My dreams didn’t do this place justice. Colors were so vibrant and unreal I had to shield my eyes until they adjusted to the brilliant glow. The grass on the rolling hills was a lush, vivid green. The trees swayed under the light breeze; the flowers on their branches bounced and bobbed under the sparkling sunlight. Butterflies as large as birds fluttered around me. I jumped back when a bunny the size of dog hopped across my path. Various birds, all different colors, shapes, and sizes, glided through the forest. A deer that didn’t stand any taller than a house cat nibbled on a plant. Its eyes watched every move I made. It was a bewitching fairyland. I could feel the life brimming around me, in the earth and trees. Everything was moving and breathing and was aware of me. I could sense the trees and animals taking me in, connecting with a part of my soul.