Chapter Eight
Maeve tugged her cloak out of the grip of a tree, not caring that the fabric tore. Brennan wasn’t listening to her—not that she could talk. But he was taking full advantage of that fact.
His back was stiff and unyielding, his shoulders bunched in that way she knew meant he was prepared for anything and everything. The cloak that covered her from head to toe was worn by people with a terrible skin disease, but no one would believe that a group of men would be near someone like that. One man, yes, it would work, but not three. Especially not five.
Not that Stephano and Garret had returned. I won’t think on that. Stephano is safe, and no doubt arrogantly dressing poor Garret down for making him ride back for him. It’s us I need to worry about, these men, with me I need to protect.
One of Brennan’s biggest fears was that she would be found, or rumors would spread and she would be found. Evie’s wasn’t only a safe haven from being discovered—Evie had hidden what she was—from everyone. If these men had trailed them, if they knew she was a Siren, then no amount of hiding her under a cloak would stop them. Worse, if whoever was after them was stupid enough to be found, then they weren’t the ones that were their main concern.
She and Brennan had learned early on that stupid people talked. Especially slavers. They bragged about the money they would have from her sale. That meant others would find out about her, and if others knew…those others usually weren’t stupid. They were dangerous. Brennan’s back had the scars to prove it.
She shivered. The wind picked up, carrying with it the heavy scent of warm, wet earth. Rain. She hoped for it. Rain would mask their trail and leave their enemies behind. Better, the trackers she feared might be after them would lose their scent.
If they were using trackers. I can’t let Brennan be hurt. I can’t watch such a thing again.
She rode closer to Brennan and attempted to gain his attention. He shook her off with a stern look. Hurt and even more distressed, she let a tree separate them so she could calm down. She had to get him to listen, but if she broke her silence, she might create more trouble.
Undecided and even more worried, she glanced behind them, hoping to see the tall form of Stephano. For some reason when he’d been close by, she’d felt calmer, safer. As if he would not only protect her, but her brother and everyone else from harm. Instead of him, there was only the dry creek bed sprinkled with sparse trees and brambles running along the narrow trail. No dark hair, no wide grin at catching her worrying over him, no eagle eyes pinned on her.
Why is it taking him so long?
A shift in the breeze was the only warning. It brought with it the unmistakable scent of honeysuckle and the sea. Dark Faye.
She shoved the cloth back from her face, ready to cry a warning when she was knocked off her horse, falling hard into a pile of brambles. The breath left her. Her head hit the ground with a painful crack. She rolled to the side, getting stabbed by sharp thorns as she struggled to breath.
“Maeve!”
Fighting erupted all around. She knew it, knew she had to get up and help her brother, but the knowledge was distant. Her orientation felt odd, as if someone had shaken the ground she’d been standing on. Horses screamed near her, men shouted and cursed. The loud clash of metal hitting metal filled the forest, but her vision grew dim. She fought to draw in a breath. Then another. Each small inhale was a battle that became harder and harder.
No, it can’t end like this. Brennan! I have find Brennan. She gulped in a breath, then another. Half-crying, half-sobbing, she crawled. Thorns dug at her arms and legs but with each breath she managed, her vision cleared.
Near her left, Alrick cried a warning to Darren. She thought Brennan shouted her name again, but she couldn’t be sure over the cursing as they shouted to one another. Then someone did call her name. Ajax!
She crawled through the bushes. A break in the heavy foliage gave her an inch-wide view of horses’ legs, mixed with men wrestling among them, barely avoiding being trampled. She tried to find Ajax or Brennan in the melee. It was impossible. There were too many men, too many savage attacks and quicker counters for her to distinguish who was who.
No matter how hard she struggled to reach them she couldn’t. The brambles caught at her. Ripping her clothes, hair and exposed skin. She tried to break branches so the hole was bigger. Thorns dug into her palm. She jerked her hand back, hissing in pain.
Something heavy crashed through the bushes. She held her breath to keep in a scream as a warrior smashed to the ground beside her. His hand flopped down inches from her face. His long fingers were pale next to the bright red blood. Dressed in the dark green and black leather common among the Dark Faye, the man’s face was deathly beautiful. He lay still, but she watched and waited, holding her breath until she was certain he was truly gone from this world.
A Dark Faye. His bright gaze was missing the trace of evil and cruelty, but his hawk-like features were lashed with black diagonal lines common to the darkest of their numbers.
If they had one such as this… She tried to crawl away, but the way was too dense. Instead, she tried to go backward and found some success. She pushed and shoved, not bothering with the thorns and brambles that tore at her hair. Brennan needs me now. If they are here… If they’ve found us again… Already her breathing was erratic and her throat burned. A thorn ripped at her face, leaving a burning sensation behind. She ignored it.
Any second she needed to be free. They needed her now. She knew it. She found the way back was easier and scooted roughly along the ground. Her gown snagged and she had to rip it free. Her cloak got caught. She left it. Thorns tore at her hair and body, but she could feel a cooler breeze on her face. The end of this thing has to be close! With each frantic second, the fighting continued, sounding more and more violent. If I can stand, if I can use my voice…
Horse hooves coming closer made her freeze. All at once she could see it, the dark legs prancing near her spot. It reared up, screaming and stomped down hard. Fearing its feet would crush her, she used all her strength to move away. Too late she realized why the bushes had stopped.
The edge of one of the cliffs.
She tried to stop her downward slide with her hands and feet, but nothing helped. Rocks pummeled her, vines and roots felt as if they beat at her.
Suddenly, she was falling faster. A blur of brown, red and sparse greenery flew by. Her elbow connected with a painful crack. She slowed and there it was. One of the tangled trees. She reached out and caught a root. Got it! Her arm jerked painfully at the socket. Breathless and scared, she didn’t dare look. The way up seemed impossible. The way down a scary sensation she feared. Go! Go up!
She kicked her feet up and managed to push against the rocks but slipped and ended up dangling. Biting her lip, she tried again, kicking out and aiming for a small ledge. A terrible shifting sound of rock against rock filled the air. Her grip slipped, the sweat on her hands burning the cuts on her palms.
All at once, the root began to crumble free from the rocky outcrop. Please. No! Terrified, she watched as her only support broke free. Unable to snatch anything else, she fell straight backward, still holding the useless root.
With a suddenness that punched the wind out of her, she hit the ground. Her head cracked hard again. Black dots filled her vison, growing bigger as she fought to catch her breath. No. Air. Can’t breathe. Calm. Must calm down. Very faintly, she could detect the shouts and cries of battle.
“Brennan,” she whispered her brother’s name, unable to produce more of a sound. She couldn’t catch her breath. Couldn’t get her lungs to work. Fear had her throat in a stranglehold.
They won’t leave me. They won’t leave me. I know Brennan. He won’t die. He won’t leave me. She concentrated on each desperate breath as the words repeated in her mind. The world narrowed and tunnel vision had her head spinning, but after several frightening minutes her airways cleared and she took a shuddering breath then another.
She always battled hyperventilating when frightened. It terrified her more, making it impossible to fight back. Knowing that and stopping it from happening warred within her. She grew desperate, but finally she got in enough oxygen to blink her vision into focus.
At first, all she could see was her own hands, gripping what looked like moss. She clenched her fingers in the softness of it and shuddered out another breath before she gathered the courage to try and stand. At first, rising to her knees was hard enough. She was so weak she simply knelt there, staring in awe as more of her surroundings became clear.
Green was the first thing she could make out, then the browns, reds, and blacks of the rocky cliffs reaching far, far above her head. I survived that fall? It seemed impossible. The aches and bruises she had made it seem a little more possible as she shifted to stand and they protested.
Nearer to her, an ancient stone spiral covered in heavy green vines, stabbed into the sky. A tower? By it was a pale archway, also covered in green. More eerie structures made themselves known as she scanned the area.
Ruins.
Careful of her head, she tentatively touched the back of it as she stared around, amazed to find herself on top of what looked like a rooftop covered by a thick layer of green moss. She’d heard tell of abandoned cities, but on their travels back and forth to the gate, she’d never witnessed the beauty of such a place. It was as if the forest had reclaimed a mighty city, or else changed it to merge the two. Everywhere were white buildings carved with beautiful details, but all of them were held in nature’s embrace.
A shout from above her made her freeze. She listened, hoping for more, but only the distant call of birds reached her. Was that Ajax? Brennan? No other yell followed. No sounds, in fact, nothing manmade reached her. Does that mean Brennan is…gone? She shut off that line of thought. When they traveled, they always had a plan in case they were separated. She touched the pendant at her throat, feeling the weight of it warm her. He’s alive. She knew it. I have to reach him.
Across from her a tall, rectangular building rose, its double row of windows reminded her of eyes. She thought she spotted something moving, but it was gone before she could be certain. A curtain perhaps, tattered and moving with the breeze. Only there wasn’t a breeze down here.
Chilled, she shivered and tried to hear something. Surely they are not…gone. Slavers wouldn’t kill them, but she couldn’t imagine anyone overpowering Brennan…or any of them.
She shielded her eyes and stared up at where she’d fallen. The overhang made it difficult to see clearly. It also made it impossible for her to climb. She let her eyes travel over the heavy vegetation clinging to the cliff. There wasn’t a chance she could climb that.
Another shout reached her. The language wasn’t her own, nor what the men spoke, but she knew it. Goosebumps rose on her arms. If the Dark Faye have my brother, I will have to go after them and save him. But how? Her cloak was missing. She wore only her ripped and ragged, now dirty, gown. The sun was going to set soon, and she was alone. How can I find them, let alone save them?
She took a deep breath, feeling each ache and painful stab from where her body had connected with rocks and vegetation on her way down. If they were captured, they would be taken to Skye. It was the closest settlement of Dark Faye.
The arena. I’ll find them there, and once I do, I’ll free them. There has to be a way. There always has to be a way.
She bit her lip and calmed herself. Dark Faye attacked us, but that doesn’t mean they have my brother, or the men. They are all fierce warriors. They could be free, looking for me right now. Calmer, she scanned her surroundings again and tried to think. If Brennan didn’t make for the outpost, then they were captured. They can’t be dead. They can’t be.
But she knew, deep down, that they could be. Loved ones could be taken away in the blink of an eye. Worse, she knew, the Dark Faye loved to cause pain. What would be more painful than having such brave, strong men, turned to nothing more than cold, empty husks, dead and left behind on the forest floor for her to discover. But even as she thought it, she knew there was one thing, one act of cruelty they savored like the richest, darkest wine.
Making loved ones harm each other.