Have No Mercy (18 page)

There was no bill to pay when we
left just like the first time I’d been here. Tristrom began to explain why
without prompting, which was unlike him. The place was an outpost where Fey
convinced lost humans to venture into Fairy. That much I knew. Their job was to
ease humans into the idea after a meal of their choosing. And good will was
given when they were told the by their Fey lure, that the meal cost was taken
care of. He furthered explained that the Fey would most likely be watching us
as we left. They would expect him to clarify my choice before we left for
Fairy.

“This is why I picked here to go
instead of anywhere else. If I’d taken you to eat in the human world, we would
have been required to make a cash payment for food sold to us. I have some cash
but not on me because of our hasty escape.”

I was reminded me of my phone,
which was back in Fairy.

When we were deep enough in the
tangled forest, he took a great deal of time watching and listening before he
raised his palm. He answered my questioning gaze. "No one here knows of my
gift. If they did, they would try to use me or figure out a way to stop me so I
couldn't ever leave on my own. So I ask that you keep it a secret."

I frowned, and he said,
"Even from Flynn."

He didn't have to explain why. If
Flynn had started eating the food, who knew if he could be totally trusted,
even against his own will. It pained me to think I had to keep something from
him. I shrugged it off. There were many things I’d already kept from him
because of his choice to stay.

Crossing through the orb of light
was just as disorienting as it was the first go around.  And through that
light, we were back in darkness, not literary. But I could feel my skin crawl
once back in the lion's den.

Footsteps were approaching, and
Tristrom had the peace of mind to duck us into a room. When I thought we might
just hide there until the coast was clear, he cleared his throat and waved me
over to a hidden panel in the wall. Light on my feet, I scampered over and into
the true dark.

I couldn't be sure where we were
in the castle. Each hall looked like the last in the labyrinth that had become
my self-imposed prison. It was possible if I had enough time, I might have
figured out where we were. We walked briskly but came to an abrupt halt.

The voices were muffled voices
ahead.

I peered into the peepholes and
got an eye full of Flynn. His shirt was untucked from the crazy short pants
medieval men wore. I had no idea if he was getting in or out of his clothes.
Thankfully, Morgana was fully dressed in the same gown from earlier. At least
time hadn’t jumped centuries in our short time out of the Fey realm.

“What do you mean she’s gone?”

Morgana came close and reached
her hands up, but he caught them. “What do you mean?”

She sighed. “I hid her away from
my brother as promised but she’d no longer there.”

“She wouldn’t have left without
saying goodbye.” His back was once again to me, so I couldn’t see his
expression.

Morgana, on the other hand, was
clear as a bell, and her eyes began to lose some of their softness. “Why do you
care so much if you’ve chosen me?”

He dropped her hand and turned
away from her. Many of the buttons on his shirt were undone, and I got a good
view of the smoothness that lay beyond.

“She’s a friend. And I made a
promise to keep her safe.”

Morgana pretty features turned
into something ugly as he faced away from her. She sneered her next words.
“She’s safer where ever she is as long as she’s not here. My brother claims she
owes him a debt and he will not rest until she pays with interest.”

He spun around. “What debt?”

The lines on her face had smooth
before he caught sight of her. She shrugged prettily. “I’m not sure.” Somehow
she was telling a lie. Maybe the Fey could do so after all. “I just know she
made a bargain and didn’t keep up her end of it.”

“Well, I have a bargain too. He
better not so much as touch a piece of lint on her shoulder or I will kill
him.”

“Mother wouldn’t allow it,” she
quickly replied.

“You mother is queen. So I assume
her bargain trumps his.”

“Fine, I’ll go talk to her. You
just remember you have to make good on yours too.”

She turned and nearly stomped out
of the room. Flynn sighed as he continued to get dressed.

“Mercy what did you do? What
trouble have you gotten yourself into now?” he asked to know one because he
thought he was alone. When I opened my mouth to answer, Tristrom covered it
with his hand.

I let a glare spear him. He shook
his head and led me to down the corridor. We entered a room that wasn’t
occupied and didn’t look like it had been. Everything was in white from the
furniture to the paint on the walls, to the rugs on the floor. Tristrom did the
lookout thing before we stepped in the hall, and he led me to my room.

“You should be fine for now,” he
said after a moment.

I nodded and watched him walk
away. We’d made no plans and I needed to talk him into leaving. I still had two
things to do before I left.

The walk to Flynn’s door wasn’t
that long at all, the crumbled bag still in my hand. I had a pretty good guess
after seeing it through the peephole moments before. I held up my fist and took
a second to gather myself before I knocked.

Footsteps preceded Flynn
answering the door. His eyes widened, and his hands cupped my cheeks. Only he
didn’t kiss me. Tightly, I closed my eyes, so I didn’t close the distance and
initiate contact.

“You’re okay.”

I shook my head unable to look in
his eyes. When his hands dropped from my face, I did open my eyes wondering
what changed.

His jaw worked as he held himself
back from speaking. He shoved his hands in pockets.

“I’m glad you’re okay. I thought
maybe you left.” He searched my face and swallowed thickly. “You wouldn’t leave
without at least telling me goodbye.”

“No,” I said in a tiny voice
hoping he wouldn’t hear the emotion it held. I wouldn’t keep forcing his hand
with my own need. Isn’t that what he’d said? I kept wrapping him in my web.

“I brought you some food. I
figured you might be hungry.”

I held the brown bag up, and the
delicious smells wafted between us.

He didn’t take it. “You didn’t
have to do that.”

I glanced to the floor and tried
to keep my voice matter of fact. “Yeah, I heard. But I thought you might miss
the real thing.”

“Mercy.”

“No, Flynn, it’s okay. I’ll be
leaving soon, and I don’t want to come between you and Morgana.”

I’d seen first-hand her fury and
the thought that he might still be interested in me. I was once again becoming a
thorn in his side.

He took the bag and tossed it on
the bed. “Thank you.” He paused, then licked his lips. “We’re still friends
right?”

“Yep, friends.” I searched the
ground again. “I should go. I’ll be leaving soon.”

“Hug for old-time sake?”

I stepped into his open arms. I
breathed deep never wanting to forget the scent that made him who he was. A
little sweet and a lot spicy. That’s what I would dream of. I stepped back when
I felt myself begin to cling to him.

His smirk appeared, and I
mentally capture that picture in my head as his dimple appeared. “Don’t tell me
you went out like that?”

I glanced down to realize I was
still in the nightgown. I shrugged. “It all the rage in Fairy.” But my quip was
said with a sad laugh. “I guess I should go and get dressed before Madeline
comes up with a new punishment for not being probably dressed.

His eyes questioned, but I’d half
turned and caught Morgana standing less than ten feet away. Flynn caught sight
of her too.

“Thanks, Morgana, for clearing
things up with Madeline.”

I watched her fake a smile. “I’ll
leave you too.”

On rapid feet, I made it down the
hall to my room. Before I opened the door, I saw Morgana disappear into Flynn’s
room. I the stab of jealous wasn’t unexpected. I tossed it away as I got
dressed in my own clothes in the first time in days.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Before I had finished tugging on
my shirt, there was a knock at my door.

It was Morgana, no less, in her
perfect dress, looking perfect, with an innocence that fooled no one, but
herself if she thought for one second I believe it.

“I know you don’t like me and
granted I’m jealous of you.” Was she? “I think we should talk.”

“For what?”

“Come on Mercy. I helped you
twice today.”

“Oh, helping, that’s what you
call it. You put me in a room hoping I’d stay there forever.”

Her eyes widened as she realized
I knew the truth.

“You made it out just fine. I
thought you might want to see your boyfriend again and live the life you
dreamed of. Despite what you think, I still have hope for us being friends.”

Had that been my dream?
Apparently my subconscious was just as confused as my consciousness. I still
couldn’t choose between Flynn or Luke.

“Whatever, and I’m not interested
in talking to you.”

“You might want to. Flynn is not
safe. And I know how you can help him.”

She knew exactly the right thing
to say. Hadn’t Madeline warned me that Flynn had bargained for my wellbeing and
not his own?

I let her lead me to the garden
maze knowing I shouldn't trust her. Cherry lips widened in an infectious smile
peered over her shoulder at me. I didn’t want to grin, but I did. We were
running through the hedges paths like children whose lives still felt like
freedom.

As I ran, my thoughts turned
inward. Maggie. I remember running like this with Maggie. We ran like there was
nothing to lose in this world. So much had changed since then. How I wished
that I could go back and totally enjoy that moment and hang onto one more time?

Maggie wasn't there. And I was
shoulder to shoulder with a girl who wanted Flynn and wanted me to still like
her despite that. I felt the impact against the top of my foot, but there was
no stopping my tumble forward. I whipped my hands up before I fell into the
face shedding rose. A body pressed into me, and my nose made contact. I threw
my head and pushed off the prickly bush as the white rose turned blood red. I
stumbled into a body nearly tripping us both in the hedge behind us.

Morgana moved forward and yanked
me back to balance me. "Wow, that was close." Her smile was a little
too big to be truthful.

"I can't imagine what I
tripped on," I said sarcastically as the illusion of happiness drained
from me.

A slender finger pointed behind
me, and I turned to see a stone protruding from the ground guilty.

"You can't believe I
would..." She frowned like she was hurt by my accusation.

I had thought her guilty and felt
stupid for accusing her only to be proven wrong.

She smoothed her frown out and
held out a hand after giving her head a little shake. "It's okay. Let's
go, I have something I want to show you."

Gullible, I took her hand as I
was forced to see her innocence. We transcended into the maze like it was our
personal playground. The icy wind in our hair cooled the heat from our skin as
we continued to run.

When we came to a stumbling stop
in the outdoor hall of ice sculptures, I swallowed heaving mouthfuls of frigid
air feeling all of sudden vulnerable. Had she brought me here to turn me into a
piece of frozen art much like her brother had tried to do?

“Larrison,” Morgana called.

I wasn’t unprepared for this
encounter. I knew she was up to something.

“Sister.” The word sounded more
like the slithering tongue of a snake than a word.

Morgana stepped in front of me as
if she were shielding me.

“Larrison wait?”

He stopped and eyed her coolly.

“I brought you both here to work
this out. There doesn’t have to be a war between you.”

She glanced back at me.

“I didn’t ask for your help in
this matter,” I sneered.

“No, but if you don’t correct it,
Flynn may pay for your mistakes. And I can’t let that happen. I don’t think you
want that either.”

She was right. I didn’t.

“I believe the girl doth owe me a
kiss.”

I felt sick, but it was a kiss.
And I wasn’t alone with him, even though Morgana didn’t actually count as an
ally. She’d played me, but I’d expected it. I could do this. And if he tried
anything more, I kill him or die trying.

“Fine, let’s get this over with.”
I stood not making a move towards him.

He gave me a once over before he
stepped to me and cupped my head. His lips pressed to mine as he tried to take
it deeper. Then something changed. It tasted like peppermint as it cooled me.
But the power surge made me feel alive.

I opened my eyes, which I’d
closed so that I would vomit on him when he kissed me. And I saw his face
covered in spider webs of black veins that crept further down.

I pushed him back wondering how
it happened. He stumbled then he breathed in the frosty air. Whatever he did
made the veins disappear slowly but surely.

“What are you?” he asked.

I was a demon in Fairy. How could
that be? Why didn’t McKalya respond to me?

I turned around wondering how
Morgana was responding. But she was gone and the way we’d come blocked.

Larrison decided not to wait to
find out. Words as soft as the breeze murmured from his lips. It sounded
something like kill her. I wasn't sure if I imagined it, but then the ice
figures began to move.

I heard the air move and instinct
had me ducking. A frozen sword landed a fraction away at my side. Power flowed
over my skin, and I twisted because another song of the wind warned me of an
attack from behind. I moved forward and underneath my frontal pursuers legs as
my quarry was larger than life.

Shards of ice hit me hard in the
back as my attacker accidently hit the one I'd just ducked under. I was far
from out of the woods. I could feel my blood trickled down the back of my
shirt. I turned in time lucky to miss strikes one after another from in front
of me.

The sculptures were not average
human height. They were the size of giants compared to me.

I dodged and moved behind
assailants forcing the enemy to inadvertently take care of each other. The wiz
of the slice of the wind was my only helper. Unfortunately with all the ice
hailing down as the sculptures broke apart in the fight, I didn’t come out
totally unscathed.

Cornered, I was forced to take a
running leap up the back of a fallen soldier while contorting my body in ways I
didn't think I was capable of to avoid strikes and create chaos. One by one, my
attackers slayed themselves leaving me in the end with only one as I stood on
the head of a fallen enemy.

"Come on, you ugly
bastard!" I raised a fist to pump with adrenaline. The one thing I had
going for me was that this fight happened on a day when I decided to wear my
own clothes. I would have lost easily in one of Madeline’s dress she had made
for me.

My final attacker turned his
murderous gaze on me. It lifted its sword so high, it bent backward. I couldn’t
imagine how it thought that smart. But it was an ice thing and not a real
person, at least not anymore.

I used the time at my advantage.
I ran towards it, throwing it off. It paused still bent inadvertently giving me
the opportunity to leap and land on his chest to take two quick steps to jump
off on his nose. I jumped again to land on his forehead hard enough to drive
him back. It teetered. I went for broke and took a flying leap to land hard on
his arm. I raced for the hand forcing his arms to bend to the breaking point.
It's balance lost, it fell back towards the earth with the two head sword
beneath him. The sword to lance through his back and dismantled him. But when
he went down, and I went with him landing so hard darkness took over.

Somewhere out of the darkness, I
heard a voice I clung to trying to resurface.

"What are you doing?"

Flynn. He sounded so angry.

"What nothing? Why are you
here?" a female voice said.

"You asked me to meet you
here." Flynn sounded closer.

"What happened?"

Then strong arms were under me.

"I don't know. She acted
strangely before she passed out."

I tried to open my lids, but it
felt like they were forced closed.

"I've got her."

Flynn again.

"I can help."

"I can take care of
her." In a softer voice he muttered, "I've been doing a lot longer
than you."

I blinked against the invading
light as my eyes tried to focus.

"Hey." His voice was
indulgent.

"Hey, yourself," I said
feeling extremely tired and remembering the last time I was cradled in his
arms. "You're making a bad habit of holding me. Will you kiss me this
time?" I giggled feeling drunk. Something wasn't right. I hadn't had
anything to drink.

"I think you hit your head
pretty hard."

That comment also sounded
familiar. I wanted to argue, but my mind rebelled and thoughts of Flynn and
Morgana together invaded my mind. Question like... Do you think she's prettier
than me?

"No one is pretty than
you."

"What I said that
aloud?"

He didn't answer. Only movement
as I felt our forward. Was I dreaming? I hoped so before I started to tell him
how much I loved him and how Luke would hate me.

"Luke would never hate you,
me maybe, but not you."

I felt my cheeks burst in flame
before I fell back into darkness.