Chapter Five
Um, what?
He could not be serious. Stay here? Think about the trouble she’d caused?
Blow me.
As soon as Ciara shook off the shock of Jakob locking her in his treasure trove, she started looking for a way out. The space-aged doors seemed locked up pretty damn tight, but there had to be a release mechanism from the inside.
She found a keypad set into the rock wall next to the metal doors, but there weren’t any numbers or letters to enter a password. Not that she’d have any idea what the code could be.
Probably asshat69, or ImSexyAF.
Waving her arms around, pounding on the door, and trying to pry it open with her fingernails didn’t work. Kicking it only hurt her bare big toe.
Finally, the blaring alarms quit and she could hear herself think again.
This place was huge. There had to be a backdoor.
She climbed over a pile of gold coins feeling a whole lot like Scrooge McDuck. How cliché was he to keep mountains of jewels and gold bars laying around? If she didn’t want to get away from him so badly, she’d take a little something just to irritate the hoarder.
Behind a shelf filled with framed paintings of women in various states of undress, all by artists long dead, a small two-seat café table and chairs sat. It wasn’t an antique or anything, and sitting smack dab in the middle was a tiered tray with finger sandwiches, scones, petit fors, and jammy thumbprint cookies. There were even two teacup and saucers.
Who in the hells bells was having a tea party in the middle of a dragon’s lair?
Mrs. Bohacek appeared from the opposite direction wearing a beautiful flowing white dress and carrying a tray with a steaming pot of something spicy and fragrant, a small creamer jug, and tiny ramekins of sliced lemons and sugar cubes.
“The tea is a cinnamon rooibos. Would you like cream or lemon in yours?” she said and set the tray on the table.
Aha. So, there was another entrance to the cavern.
“Thanks, but no thanks. If you’ll just point me in the direction of the exit, I’d like to get the heck out of here and back to my life.”
“Yes, yes.” She waved Ciara to the other seat at the table and sat down. She poured them both a cup of the delicious smelling tea. “But, first let’s have a little snack to fortify ourselves. Magic is taxing work, you know.”
No, she didn’t know. She wasn’t going to have high tea either. Dammit.
A flash of anger she couldn’t suppress bubbled up and out before she even recognized she’d lost control of her emotions. Mrs. Bohacek pulled the cup she’d been sipping on from her lips and tipped it upside down. Nothing came out. She gave it a shake and a large round tea-colored ice cube fell to the table.
“Better ice than fire, I guess. I warned you about trying to quash those emotions of yours. But, I appreciate that you didn’t boil my tea and burn my mouth.”
Ciara glared at the mess on the table. “I didn’t do that.”
Mrs. Bohacek smiled up at her in that I-know-something-you-don’t-know way. “Of course you did.”
Ciara grumbled and crossed her arms. This woman didn’t want her to hide her emotions. Fine. That anger inside simmered up again and the ice block on the table melted and then evaporated, leaving a reddish-brown stain on the tablecloth.
More smiles from the witch. “Ready to learn to use those emotions you’re quelling to your advantage?”
“No.” She felt like sticking out her tongue and having a tantrum, something she’d never done in her entire life, not even as a child. The tablecloth sparked and lit on fire.
Mrs. Bohacek sat back and smiled, letting the fire spread.
There wasn’t a fire extinguisher in site, only piles of shiny expensive things. “Ack. Quick, throw the tea on it to put it out.”
If this is what her emotions did, then poo on them. Ciara lunged for the tea pot, but a gust of wind blew across the table and lifted the pot into the air and out of her reach. It also fanned the flames. It hovered above the table and landed gently in Mrs. Bohacek’s lap.
Fine, she’d smother the fire in scones. Again, the breeze took her plan and whisked it away into the waiting arms of the other woman.
She glared at the woman. “Stop that.”
A spark jumped from the table and onto the rack of paintings sitting right next to them. An oil cloth covering the nearest work of art ignited.
Mrs. Bohacek raised both eyebrows, but then shrugged. “Uh-oh, I think that DaVinci is one of Jakob’s favorites. Too bad.”
Now Ciara was starting to lose her cool. She never, ever lost it. “Knock it off.”
“Okay.” Mrs. Bohacek waved her hand and the painting fell off the rack and into a pile of bundled stacks of hundred Euro notes.
Who the hell kept literal piles of money just laying around?
The closest stack sizzled and smoked, then caught fire like a log. Shit. If they kept this up, Jakob’s entire treasure hoard would go up in flames and she’d either die in the fire or he would kill her when he found out she’d done nothing to stop it.
Ciara clenched her fists and took several deep breaths. That only fanned the flames as a breeze blew from her mouth.
“What do you want from me?” she shouted. More paintings lit along with her words.
Mrs. Bohacek stood up and patted Ciara on the back. “You poor thing. Your emotions are all messed up. Usually anger begets fire or ice depending on the emotion behind it in a new magic user. Your mind can’t decide what it wants to do.”
“I know I’m broken, okay. Tell me how to put out the fire.”
“Kiddo, you aren’t broken. Maybe a little chipped, but nothing that can’t be filled in with some good loving. I ought to know. Now, do as I say and close your eyes.”
Ciara frowned at her.
“Go on. If you want to save the rest of those paintings, you’ll do it.” She tipped her head toward the tower of fire.
“Fine.” Ciara closed her eyes and saw swirls of red and blue behind her eyelids. She didn’t like it one bit.
“Imagine a beautiful vegetable garden.” Mrs. Bohacek drew out the syllables, all sing-songy and fairy godmother-like.
Ciara had never had a garden. Unless you counted Farmville. Then she remembered the area around the haystack Jakob had dropped her into. There had been fresh dirt and lots of growing things there.
“Good, now remember a time when you felt loved and focus your emotions, concentrate on pushing them under the dirt and bubbling it up from the ground.”
Love and dirt didn’t go together. Dirt wasn’t helpful. It got under one’s nails, and got one’s hands smacked at the dinner table for not washing her hands.
Something crackled and crashed next to them. “Hmm, no that’s not working. Try again. Search your memories again, find that underlying emotion inside of you.”
Ciara peeked out of one eye and saw the flames jumping several feet into the air. Eek. She slammed that eye back shut. What had she been thinking a minute ago?
Oh, right. When Jakob had dropped her in the haystack. And when he’d pulled her out.
The way she’d accidentally straddled him. God, he was so fricking sexy, all hot and hard between her legs.
“That’s it. Focus that emotion right there and it will do the work for you. Whatever you’re thinking of right now, amp that up.”
It’s not like she had to try hard to do that. Her mind went straight from that scene to the sizzling kiss. A tingle crackled across her skin from the inside out. Why had she stopped him from doing more?
“Look, you’ve built up a pile of dirt. Now, ask that earth to help you.”
Ciara turned her face away and slowly pried one eye open just in case the flames were doing the dance she’d set them on. Instead she saw dark, loamy earth gurgling up all around her feet.
Mrs. Bohacek nodded. “You’ve got a natural ability with the earth, but your censorship of your passions have been hiding that. We all favor one element in the beginning. I thought maybe you’d be stronger with fire or ice, since you manifested those elements first, but not so much.”
She indicated the pile of dirt that continued to grow and overtake the flames, dousing them as they covered each painting.
“You’re saying I did that? That the dirt is under my control?”
Ciara shook her head while the witch in white nodded.
The dirt continued to pile up until the whole rack of paintings were buried. “Make it stop.”
“It’s doing your bidding, not mine. You make it stop.”
Ciara rubbed at her face. This couldn’t be real.
“Sooner, rather than later would be good, unless you’re ready to ride that earth out of here.”
The dirt towered to the ceiling of the cavern, enveloping all the treasure around them. Shit.
She sighed and closed her eyes. She thought of the way Jakob’s lips had brushed across hers when he first kissed her. The tingle under her skin resurged and she focused her feelings, asking the dirt to go back into the earth with her mind.
When she peeked to see if anything was happening, the dirt whooshed past her and into the ground at her feet.
“Fantastic. You’re well on your way to making nice with the elements. Tea?” The teapot, cups, and snack tray floated back to the table.
She was kind of thirsty. “Are you using wind to move those?”
They sat and Mrs. Bohacek poured new cups for them both. “Very astute.”
“What emotion controls the wind?” Had she really just asked that? She had. She could hardly believe it, but she was buying into this emotion and magic mumbo Dumbo. If elephants can fly, why couldn’t she?
Because she wasn’t an elephant. She was a chubby wedding planner with no life, no boyfriend, and obviously losing her mental stability.
She wasn’t kidding anyone. Her weeks were spent planning happy ever afters for other people, Wes was probably only being nice to her because she made them both money, and the tight reign she’d learned to have on her emotions at a very young age was the one thing she’d been able to control in her life.
Not so much anymore.
The complete disappointment in herself and her life clawed at her insides and threatened to overwhelm her. She’d gotten great at pretending that nothing mattered, nothing got to her when she made her feelings her bitch.
Now, that they were bubbling up, like that pile of dirt, she couldn’t pick and choose which ones she felt. The lust and excitement she’d felt with Jakob came out just as strong as the underlying fear that no one would ever love her, and the weird mix of guilt and anger her mother invoked.
Ciara covered all those thoughts up with a pile of dirt inside of her head. Then planted pretty flowers on top.
Mrs. Bohacek poured the tea but looked sideways at Ciara while doing it. “It’s different for every witch.” Her words were soft, like she was testing to see Ciara’s reaction to them. “I find the wind element with joy and excitement.”
“Ha.” See? See! She’d never disdainfully laughed at anyone in her life. But, seriously? Joy? “Ha. I don’t even know what that word means.”
Whoa. Had she said that out loud? It just popped out from nowhere. As did the wind.
It whipped through the cavern, knocking over the paintings she’d just saved, dammit, and making dust devils filled with gold coins.
Dirt and rocks sprinkled down from the ceiling which startled Mrs. Bohacek. She glanced around the caverns and Ciara got the distinct feeling the woman was feeling more than she was seeing.
She folded her arms and spoke, her words cutting through the wind. “Anger works too, but you won’t be able to work with the element quite as long when you use a dark emotion. It’s extremely taxing.”
As if on cue, exhaustion hit Ciara like a Mac truck, filled with bricks, sliding down an icy Alaskan glacier. She stumbled back and plopped down into a soft pile of earth that formed around her butt. It snuggled her like a warm blanket. Her vision tunneled and it was really hard to keep her eyes open, or even sit upright.
“I…I didn’t ask the dirt to help me. Was that you?”
The witch knelt beside Ciara and stroked her hair. Something had changed about her. She suddenly didn’t look as old, her hair was darker, and she glowed with a white aura all around her.
“No, kiddo. That was Jakob’s magic. The connection between the two of you is already strong and he’s come into his powers now that he has you.”
Ciara’s words felt heavy in her mouth, like lead marbles. “He doesn’t have me. He kidnapped me.”
“Yes, I know. It was the best way to get you two together.”
What? “You—” Ciara couldn’t get any more words out. Darkness was taking her down.
“You’re tired now and you will be for a few minutes while we make our getaway. I had hoped to have more time with you.”
We? Was Mrs. Bohacek going to help her get out of here or kidnap her too? Ciara had never felt weak like this. It had to more than getting angry and whipping the wind around.
“Let the earth rejuvenate you. It won’t take long to absorb my spell, if you let it. Then use what I’ve taught you to get out of here. Jakob is going to need you. Until he claims you, and gives over his soul, he’s very vulnerable.”
“Where…are…you…” She had to force the words out.
“Just remember to harness the good feelings and the elements will do whatever you ask.”
“…going?”
Ciara couldn’t keep her eyes open another millisecond.
The voices around her faded to muffled whispers. Wait. Voices?
“Come, my love. Jakob is battling those fucking Galla dragons right now. I damn sure hope this plan of yours works.” A deep rumbling voice filtered through the darkness surrounding her. “If they get his soul shard—”
“They won’t. Jakob is strong, stronger now.”
At least she recognized Mrs. Bohacek’s voice. Or rather the voice of the beautiful goddess-like woman Mrs. Bohacek had transformed into.
“Yeah. Good thing I decided to let him come into his power on sight of this pretty mate you found for him. He should have claimed her right then and there.”
But, who was this other person? A man, but who, and where had he come from?
“How was he supposed to know that?”
Ooh. Mrs. B was getting snippy with Mr. Man.
“Instinct. I knew with you.”
His words weren’t sharp and argumentative as Ciara expected, but soft and placating.
It worked.
“Yes, lover, you did. And I fought you every inch after that.”
He chuckled. “Those were the good old days.”
Ciara felt like she was a voyeur to a very intimate moment. Not like she could do anything about it.
“Come now. Jakob is on the right path now. Off to your other sons. I have just the woman in mind for —”
The energy in the room popped and the voices were gone. The blackness around Ciara receded and she pried her eyes open. She didn’t sit up for a few minutes. The warm earth around her did feel nice. She stayed putThe pretty green dress she’d been given was probably ruined though.
She sat up and stretched. Mrs. Bohacek was gone. So was whoever was with her. Her lover. Ciara had a feeling he was a very powerful being. Maybe a dragon like Jakob.
Well, screw both of them for leaving her.
Now to get the hell out of here.
If any of this day was real, and for the moment she was going to with that it was, she had some badass powers that could help her escape any cage. Even a golden lined one like Jakob’s lair.
Ciara stood and dusted herself off. She looked around the caverns until she found exactly what she was looking for. A crack in the rock wall.
It was too high up for her to reach, even on her tippy toes. There were several old wooden chests nearby and if she stood on them, she could be face to face with her escape route.
The chest looked really heavy. No time like the present to see if the new magical skills she’d acquired were real or all a weird dream. She closed her eyes and envisioned the garden near the haystack again. “Okay, dirt. Let’s play nice. Lift me up.”
The ground underneath her went soft and she had to crouch to keep her balance, but it piled up beneath her feet, lifting her into the air.
“Damn skippy.” She came eye to eye with the crack in the wall. Yes, behind that hole in the rock was dirt, exactly like what she stood on. Perfect.
Ciara pressed her fingers into the crack and felt ridiculous, but she asked the what she wanted it to do. “Hi, dirt. Could you please spread out a bit and create a space for me to crawl through? I need to get to the surface.”
Nothing.
Oh, right. She had to use her happy thoughts too. She was pretty mad at Jakob for leaving her down here, and Mrs. Bohacek could ride her witchy broom to hell. There was only one other person in her life who gave her the warm fuzzies.
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and thought of Wes. His perfect smile, his perfect clothes, that wink that gave her nervous flutters.
Little bits of dirt and rock moved under her fingers and the crack spread, but nowhere near enough for her and her big butt and boobs to fit into.
“God dammit all to hell. Fuck a god damn duck.”
A zip of tingles raced across her skin, a physical manifestation of her frustration. She smacked the wall and growled. “Why don't you just open? Would I have to do, say open Sesame?”
The earth split in front of her and she was propelled forward into the crevice, sure she was about to crash to her death. A tunnel opened up in front of her and the tower of dirt beneath her feet pushed her into the ground like she was a gopher on crack. Chunks of dirt and who knows what else fell into her hair and eyes.
She flailed her arms out, dragging her hands, trying to slow her progress, but got only scrapes and scratches for her effort.
Mrs. Bohacek did say her negative emotions were very powerful, but this was ridiculous. She didn't even know where she was going or which direction was up.
She went careening forward trying her best to focus on an upward momentum. She could feel her energy flagging again. “Please let me make it to the surface. I don't want to die down here buried where no one will find me.”
That little bit of fear took hold. She slammed sideways into the rocks.
The dirt beneath her feet continue to bubble up but the rock in front of her no longer opened up a way for her to get out.
She very purposefully slowed her breathing and pushed the panic back down. Everything stilled around her.
The little rabbit hole she'd created around herself gave her only a few inches to move in any direction. She scratched at the wall in front of her and watched the dirt trickle sideways past her face. That meant up was to her right. Thanks, gravity.
She twisted until she was on her hands and knees. There was no way of knowing how far away from the surface she was, but she had to figure out a way to keep going.
Somewhere, possibly only a few feet above her, she heard movement. Scratching on the ground, a thud, and a tussle.
No, it was more than that. Someone was fighting. She strained to hear more. Yes, she couldn't make out the voices, but there were definitely growls and screeches happening not far away.
That had to be where Jakob had hurried off to. She kind of thought, maybe even hoped a little, that the alarm and his leaving her was a ruse. A way to get her to reveal the relic Jakob had such a hard on for.
A crash, and God, was that a fire bomb she just heard, sounded above her and rattled her dirt cocoon. Who or what was Jakob fighting up there, a Panzer division?
Ciara gulped, trying to push a whole new fear down. The necklace she wore lit up, illuminating the space around her. She covered it with her hand, not wanting to see any creepy crawlies that might fall into her hair. The ground shook again and a roar that was only barely muffled by the thickness of the soil went straight to Ciara's bones.
She needed to get out of here, now.
She dug her fingers into the dirt in front of her and clawed until chunks began falling away. She imagined the great green Dragon fighting against knights in not so shining armor. “Please, move a little more.”
The ground didn't open up like it had before, but each handful she grabbed and pushed away came out easier. The tiny amount of space she had around her quickly filled with clumps of dirt. Thank goodness for the light from the necklace or she'd be feeling awfully claustrophobic. Wait, up ahead, yes, a pinprick of moonlight shined through the ground. She wiggled her butt and legs, inching herself up. Her arm must look like one of Michael Jackson's Thriller zombies coming out of the ground. One more boost and her head and shoulders surfaced too.
The grass around her was stained with black, burnt smudges. Ew. She didn't want to touch or smell whatever it was that used to be.
She glanced around, looking for both the danger and Jakob. She heard his deep growl before she saw him. There, directly behind her, a hundred yards into the field next to the villa. The same green Dragon who had swept her away was rearing up and slashing at very scary looking black lizard-like creatures.
Only they weren't anyone's pet lizards. They were only half Jakob's size, but there were so many.
The Dragon whipped its tail around, and huge spikes at the end caught one of the lizard people in the face. It disintegrated leaving only that same ashy stain on the ground where it had been.
Holy crap balls, Batman. There were at least two dozen of those black marks all over the ground between her and Jakob. He'd killed so many, and yet there were still at least ten more attacking him.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and all the saints. She was getting the hell out of here.
Ciara climbed the rest of the way out of the ground, and the hole instantly filled in behind her. The only trace was the lack of grass. She turned and fled as fast as her bare feet would carry her away from the melee. She had no idea where she was going, but there had to be another house, or a town, or something nearby. Right? Right.
She was no runner, and she got a stitch in her side before she even broke a sweat. She didn't want to slow down, but what if one of those things came after her?
A dirt road wound around the edge of the area in front of the Villa. Maybe if she stuck to it a car, or maybe a wagon by the antiquated look of the road, would come by.
Ciara ignored the pricks and pains her feet were enduring on the walk – jog – walk she was pushing herself to do. As soon as she got home, she was getting a pedicure. And a security system, and some mace, and maybe a Taser. Oh, and therapy.
Although, if she told anyone the truth about what had happened to her in the past twenty-four hours they would lock her up in a loony bin. Because that's what her story would be, Looney Tunes.
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