A Midsummer Night's Scream (The Dulcie O'Neil Series Book 7) (15 page)

Or not.

Since it was a question I couldn’t answer, I decided to ignore it for the time being. Instead, I itemized the facts I did know in order to come up with another viable plan. The only danger at this point was in reaching the road and getting up close and personal with Jax again.

Calculating my present location, I conjectured the road at probably a good six miles away. Meaning, by the time I reached it, Jax should have already been way ahead of me, especially if he were driving. Or so I could only hope. Well, again, that depended on which direction he’d taken once he reached the road. I prayed he’d taken a left instead of a right.

But, if Jax was driving that car, he was traveling eastward,
I thought.
So maybe it’s better if I hang a left on the road?

But what if Jax took a right and he’s walking?
I fired back at myself.
Then you’d probably run right into him since you’d be further east than he is.

There’s no way you’re going to know which way he went, much less if he’s walking or driving,
I argued.
The best thing to do is make a choice and hope for the best.

I eventually opted to take a right. Once I hit the road and headed northeast, it didn’t matter if Jax also decided to head in that direction. I wouldn’t risk walking right into him. And if he’d gone left and headed west, all the better for me because he’d be long gone by the time I reached the road.

Luckily I wouldn’t have to rely on my magical powers for the next step in my plan. Instead, I glanced down at my wristwatch, which also served as a compass, with the click of a button. Pressing it, I found that if I continued walking straight ahead, I’d be heading northeast.

“Sounds good to me,” I whispered before starting on my way again.

An image of Knight suddenly unfolded before my eyes as I wondered what he was doing at this very moment; and if Sam had managed to reach him and inform him about my disappearance. Then again, for all Sam knew, I could be dead. Actually, that was probably exactly what she would have thought since the last time she’d seen me, I was getting sucked down into a black pit.

The urge to reach out to Sam and Knight, just to let them know that I was still alive, suddenly overcame me. I ached to tell them I was lost in a forest somewhere, but still very much alive. But then I realized how completely impossible that was, since I had no phone. Unfortunately for me, my cell phone had met its maker when the wormhole sucked my pants right off me and with them, my mobile phone. Even if I managed to find another phone, in whatever town I might stumble upon, it wasn’t like I could just call the Netherworld. Nope. The only way to make contact with the Netherworld was through special, ANC-provided telephones.

And Sam might not be alive anymore, Dulcie,
that small voice in my head suddenly piped up. It was a thought I had to instantly banish. There was no way I would allow myself to ponder whether or not Sam was wounded, or dead. No, I had to maintain my unflagging hope. Without hope, there would be no reason to push harder. Hope was the only thing I had worth fighting for.

But the reality of what could have been happening in Splendor weighed very heavily on me, all the same. If what Jax had said was true and Crossbones intended to lay siege to Splendor Headquarters, or if they were already in the midst of it, the safety of my friends was definitely at stake. I couldn’t imagine the potions rings giving a flying crap about Sam’s life, or Elsie’s, or anyone else’s, for that matter.

The plan devised by Crossbones et al. to attack every portal connecting the Netherworld to Earth was a very good one, I had to admit. The ANC was too powerful a force in the Netherworld, and no one dared to come up against it, especially now, when all the heavyweights (aka Knight, Dia, and Quill, just to name a few) were residing there. Entering the back way was really the only hope in hell that Crossbones had to overtake the ANC.

And, yes, it wouldn’t be an easy feat for Crossbones to take control of all thirteen portals, which were located inside ANC Headquarters here on Earth, but it also wasn’t a monumental task. Especially now that Crossbones was reaping the benefit of strength in numbers.

I suddenly regretted the fact that every ANC Headquarters located on the Earthly plane also acted as a portal to the Netherworld. It hadn’t always been that way. In the past, the only means of traveling to the Netherworld from Earth was pretty complicated. First, you had to ask permission from the Netherworld ANC. If they approved your visit, and it was VERY difficult to receive their approval, the ANC would send you a strata-hopping dimensional portal in order for you to reach your destination.

As a rule, no direct routes to the Netherworld from Earth existed. There wasn’t an airport where you could conveniently board a rocket which would allow you to hop dimensions. The few times I’d traveled to the Netherworld were simply via a “portal ripping” device which Bram had given me. The device created a portal wherever I wanted one, simply by the ripping through the air. The other times I’d visited the Netherworld were with Bram, who had his own set of tricks up his sleeve, Netherworld travel just one of them.

Any migrations between Earth and the Netherworld were controlled by strict policies. Why? In order to maintain the balance. Otherwise, the numerous and various Netherworld creatures could overpower humans on Earth, which the human government wasn’t exactly thrilled about.

Ever since we’d deposed my father in the Netherworld, the new world order had to be set up. And the powers that be decided to install permanent ports in all the ANC Headquarters so that the critical contributors, like Dia and Knight, could travel back and forth more easily. Naturally, every port was protected by ANC guards, and strictly enforced. However, if the potions rings outnumbered us, there was very little a handful of guards could do to maintain the safety of the ports.

“Dammit,” I whispered after failing to notice an exposed tree root and consequently tripping over it. I was far too lost in my thoughts; I needed to pay attention to the here and now. I checked my compass watch and realized I’d veered off track slightly. Now, I was traveling more eastward than northeasterly, which was a problem.

Come on, Dulce, you’ve gotta stay focused,
I reminded myself.
You can’t help anyone, or do any good, if you can’t get out of this freaking forest!

And that was the truth. Feeling like I was reunited with my most immediate goal, I hurried my steps, skipping over the uneven terrain on the forest floor as quickly as I could. I was very careful to check my compass more regularly to make sure I stayed in the right direction.

To my huge relief, the rain let up after another few minutes. My progress was still relatively slow, and definitely sloppy, considering how the ground was either flooded or muddy. But I knew I would see the road at some point within the next six or so miles, and that alone reassured me.

Dulcie.

It was Knight’s voice and I could hear it as clearly as I could hear the birds calling to one another in the trees. I immediately stopped walking and looked around, whirling in a circle to make sure I was alone. It appeared I was.

Knight?
I asked in thought, even as I wondered if maybe I was losing touch with my sanity.

Are you all right?
came his response.

I could feel a beaming smile suddenly gripping my mouth and not letting go.
Yes! I’m okay, Knight,
I thought back.
Are you okay? And Sam? Is Sam all right?

When he responded, his voice started to break up, sounding like I was talking to him on my cell phone while traveling through an area with a bad signal.

Knight?
I repeated, my voice starting to sound panicked.
Can you hear me?

Yes,
his voice broke through the static in my head.
But you’re coming in and out. Are you okay, Dulcie? Are you hurt?

No, I’m fine,
I responded.

Did you say you’re okay?
he asked again
. Your voice is breaking up.

Yes, I’m okay,
I answered, and then added after a lengthy pause.
Did you hear me?

Yes,
he responded, his tone of voice sounding hurried but concerned.
You need to tell me where you are, Dulcie!

I glanced around myself and started shaking my head as I realized I had no clue where I was.
I don’t know where I am!

Are you with Jax?
he asked.

Yes, well no,
I thought back.
I mean, I was but I escaped. I’m by myself now.

Tell me everything you know before we get cut off.

I nodded, even as I realized he couldn’t see me, and tried to organize my thoughts, tried to find a good starting point to explain the whole mess of a situation.
It was a wormhole which allowed Jax to escape from Headquarters,
I started.
It sucked me down with it too. And the whole thing was planned by Jax and his boss. So his whole thing about turning himself in to get out of the lifestyle was bullshit. And I still don’t know who he’s working for.

None of that matters right now, Dulce
, Knight interrupted.
Stick to the facts that will help me find you!

Okay.
After I got sucked down the wormhole, I ended up here in this forest. And I have no idea where I am
,
I responded as I glanced around myself again, wishing I could come across a sign or something that might give me a better idea of just where I was.

A forest?
Knight repeated
. What sort of trees are in this forest?

Pine trees,
I immediately responded
. Very tall ones.

Describe the forest for me, with as much detail as you can.

Um, okay, the trees are so dense, it’s hard to see beyond them, but I do know there’s a road and I’m heading for it. I saw a car’s headlights on it just a few minutes ago. The road looked like it was a really winding one. Oh, and it’s raining and cold.

Do you think you’re still on Earth or in the Netherworld?
Knight asked.

I’m pretty sure I’m still on the Earthly plane because I was able to use my magic to escape from Jax.

Good. How far do you think you are from the road?

Maybe a few miles. I’m not really sure,
I answered with hesitation.

I want you to,
he started, but then his voice cut out again
.

Knight, I can’t hear what you just said,
I called out to him in my head. I didn’t hear a response which caused my heartrate to increase.
Knight, are you there?

Yes,
he answered
. I said I wanted you to get to the road and then …

But his voice cut out again. I was so frustrated, I suddenly wanted to cry.
Knight!
I called out to him but there was no response.
Knight!
I yelled again.
Are you there still? Can you hear me?
But there was still no response.

Knight,
I called out his name in my thoughts.
Can you hear me?

“Ah!”

I heard myself wail out as something rammed into me. The force of whatever that something was was so intense that I felt myself being pushed sideways and then down. My feet flew out from underneath me and I was airborne for the space of two heartbeats or so.

I hit the ground so hard, I couldn’t move. I couldn’t even blink or form a thought. I couldn’t even breathe. It felt like my chest was suddenly caving in on itself, constricting my ability to draw a breath or force one out.

“Apologies,” Jax said, tightlipped, as he stood up and dusted the pine needles off his arms and shirt. It was a silly thing to do because he was also covered with mud. “And, thanks, by the way,” he continued. “Your little conversation with your boyfriend led me right to you.”

Dulcie!
Knight screamed inside my head. Tears swelled behind my eyes as I tried to form a thought to respond to him, but found I couldn’t. My mind was blank.

I tried to respond but I couldn’t. I was still completely out of breath. At the same time, though, there was a fire that was burning inside me. I started to recognize it as intense anger—anger for being thrown off my feet and into the ground. But the anger was also reserved for the death of any hope that had previously existed inside me.

NINE

“So you were able to eavesdrop on my conversation with Knight?” I asked Jax after I managed to sit up and catch my breath. But even though my breathing began to regulate, my chest still ached like an SOB, and my head ran a close second. I pushed myself up against a nearby tree and leaned the back of my head on the bark. Closing my eyes, I attempted to avoid the dizziness that threatened to disable me.

“I’m a Loki so it goes without saying that whatever your man can do, I can do,” he replied, and I opened my eyes to see one of his eyebrows arched in obvious irritation. “So, yes, I was able to eavesdrop on both of your telepathic waves.”

“I should have thought of that,” I grumbled, angry with myself that I hadn’t.

I slowly breathed in for a count of four, and then exhaled for another count of four, closing my eyes and trying very hard to remain alert. Yes, I could have magicked the pain right out of my head, but I had an inkling that if I even tried to shake my fist, Jax would be on me like a werewolf on prime rib.

“Regardless, the point is you’re caught,” he continued.

Vexed by his cocky comment, I opened my eyes just to glare at him. When I did, I found him standing in front of me, with his arm stretched toward me and his hand only a few inches from my eyes. He was offering to help me get back on my feet. Help that I wanted no part of. After a few seconds, during which time I just studied him, he waved his hand, as if impatient for me to take it.

“You look like you could use some assistance in standing,” he explained.

Although he was probably right, I didn’t want to give him the gratification of admitting as much. Taking another few moments to deliberate while inhaling deeply and then exhaling, I decided I actually needed to accept the small olive branch he was offering. I doubted I could successfully get back onto my feet alone. I sighed in obvious aggravation and accepted his proffered hand. As soon as my skin touched his, he hoisted me onto my feet and studied me with narrowed eyes.

“I wouldn’t recommend attempting to escape again.”

“I wasn’t planning on it,” I barked back at him as I rubbed what felt like whiplash from my neck. Still feeling slightly off balance, especially now that I was standing, I had to use the tree behind me for support. “I doubt I could survive another one of your body slams anyway,” I added with a frown because my stomach was still upset from the fall I’d taken. “And while I’m on that topic, you could have gone a little easier on me. I am barely a third your size, you know?”

“I did go easy on you,” he answered with a shrug as he leaned against the tree right next to me and considered me casually. “Not my fault you fell so hard.”

“Really?” I asked in obvious anger but then just shook my head at his expression of amusement, because I found this situation anything but. “So what now?” It was better to change the subject since this one only kept pissing me off.

Even though Jax was standing way too close to me, and scarcely five inches separated us, I couldn’t step away from him. My head was still too foggy and I half-wondered if I might pass out or throw up. Yep, I’d definitely hit the ground way too hard; I only hoped I didn’t have a concussion.

“Now we get back to the original plan,” he replied before walking a few paces away from the tree. I stood up straight and gradually released the tree, testing the waters to see if I felt steady enough to stand alone.

Knight
,
I’m with Jax again,
I thought the words, hoping I could make contact with Knight again, even if Jax could overhear us. I just needed to give Knight any information that might help him locate me.

“It’s useless trying to reach out to him,” Jax announced after a purposeful yawn. Then he shook his head. “I’m blocking the connection between you both.”

“Were you the reason we kept cutting out on each other?” I asked, frowning at him all the while.

“Yep, that was me.” Then he shrugged, as if he didn’t care that I was giving him the death stare. “I had to allow you enough rope to hang yourself, yet not let it kill you.”

“What does that even mean?”

“Apparently you don’t have much of an imagination,” he started, his expression one of disappointment. I chose not to respond, so he continued. “I let you reach out to him just enough to where I could pick up on your trail, but I didn’t want you to give him too much information, so I made sure I muddled up the rest.”

“Really thoughtful of you,” I grumbled, and then rubbed my forehead when I started to feel a dull ache in between my eyes. I took another few steps forward, tuned to my body to make sure any damage Jax might have inflicted on me wasn’t permanent.

“You skipped a step.”

“What?” I demanded with a frown. Although I wasn’t as dizzy, which I figured was a good thing, my stomach was still sour.

“Crawling before walking, remember?”

“Really funny,” I growled. Narrowing my eyes, I exhaled a breath of complete frustration. “You’re lucky I’m not armed,” I finished.

“Ah, come now, Dulcie, even if you were, you wouldn’t shoot an unarmed man!” he laughed with a smirk while holding his hands up to show he was unarmed. “That’s not the ANC Regulator way!”

“What happens in the forest, stays in the forest,” I responded glumly as he broke into a hearty chortle. Feeling slightly better, I ventured another couple of steps away from the tree. As soon as I did, it felt like someone started repeatedly stabbing me in the knee cap. I immediately crouched down, cradling my knee until the searing pain morphed into more of a dull ache.

“Told you to crawl first.”

“Thanks, but I could really do without your peanut gallery comments,” I spat out before trying to stand up again. Once I was erect, I took a tentative step forward, more than pleased when the stabbing pain didn’t return. The dull ache, though, was becoming more of a moderate one.

“You tweak your knee, or your ankle?” he asked, approaching me with sincere concern in his eyes.

“Knee, I think.” I limped a few more steps away from him.

“Let me see,” he said before reaching for my leg.

“Don’t touch me! You’re the reason I’m limping in the first place.”

“Well, if you want to study cause and effect, you wouldn’t be limping if you hadn’t tried to escape
in the first place
,” he remarked testily. Crossing his arms over his chest, he regarded me with ill humor. “So as far as naming the original wrongdoer, I would have to say only
you
fit that bill.”

I took another tentative step, noticing with chagrin that every step hurt worse than the preceding one. “If you want to play that game, I wasn’t the one who orchestrated the worm hole
in the first place
,” I snapped, wincing all the while.

He cocked his head to the side and smiled at me. “Yes, you do have a good point there. I can’t argue with you on that.”

“I rest my case.”

He heaved out a healthy sigh and shrugged, but continued to grin at me like the whole thing was one big joke. If only it were that easy … “Guilty as charged, I suppose.”

I didn’t respond as I waddled forward, favoring my injured leg.

“At this pace, we won’t reach our destination for another year or so,” Jax grumbled as he came up behind me.

“Sorry I’m not exactly in a rush to get to my unpredictable future,” I retorted before another shooting pain in my knee made my breath hitch. I sought out the closest tree and hobbled over to it, leaning on it to take all the weight off my bad leg. “And getting back to our destination,” I continued, eyeing Jax as I started to massage the back of my knee, hoping I was just suffering from a pulled muscle and not something worse. “Where exactly would that destination be?”

“At this point, the only destination I’m interested in is the road,” he answered as he glanced up at the sky and then back at me again. “And if my calculations prove correct, which they always are, we should reach it very soon.”

“Okay, so once we reach the road, what happens next?”

He shrugged. “Then we’ll have a long drive ahead of us.” He started to smile again, and his teeth glowed very white in the moonlight. “Plenty of time for us both to get more … acquainted with each other.”

“A long drive where?” I insisted, opting to ignore his last comment.

“All you need to know is that you’ll be meeting my boss, the kingpin,” Jax finished. His expression told me he refused to discuss any more specifics. Or maybe he was just sore that I hadn’t acknowledged the whole “getting more acquainted” bit. Either way, I couldn’t say I cared.

“What business does he have with me?” I demanded, nervous to be walking into a situation that I was in no way prepared for.

“I don’t know the nature of the business he wishes to discuss with you,” Jax admitted as he shrugged and smiled at me again. “That, I’m afraid, is strictly between you and him but if I had to guess,” he started, before his voice trailed away and he just looked me up and down.

“What does that even mean?” I demanded.

“That’s one of those silent comments,” he informed me.

“You’re stupid.”

He immediately started chuckling to which I just frowned at him and shook my head. The last thing I wanted to do was encourage him.

“It was supposed to mean that if my boss doesn’t already have plans to nail you, he will once he sees you.”

“I’m dreading asking this, but could this day get any worse?” I grumbled before taking a deep breath and trying to walk again. Not that I was successful …

“You’re limping,” Jax continued, eyeing my injured leg with what appeared to be distaste. He was, no doubt, realizing my debilitation was only slowing us down.

“And you’re an asshole, but you don’t see me pointing out the obvious,” I flared back at him. My eyebrows knitted together as drops of rain started to fall from the sky again, bathing my forehead, cheeks and chin in their cold wetness. Angry and indignant plumes began firing up within me as I berated my luck which appeared to have just gone from bad to worse.

“You’re a fairy; so why don’t you fix yourself?” Jax asked as he continued to assess my bad leg. Refusing to accept the pain in my knee as a legitimate concern, I continued to hobble forward. I took each step as gingerly as I could, but I couldn’t deny the pain was getting worse. And it really didn’t help to see the forest floor was covered in woodland debris, making it much harder to navigate without stumbling.

“You mean, I should use my magic and give you another excuse to attack me again?” I murmured as I continued to limp alongside him while he looked at me like he was afraid I was going to keel over any second. “No thanks.”

“If you promise to use your magic for good, I won’t attack you,” Jax answered with a wide grin that was instantly lost on me.

“If I were to use it for good, I’d magick one of those flying monsters from the Netherworld and then I’d order it to swoop down and eat you. That or I’d magick a giant sinkhole to open up as soon as you took your next step and swallow you whole.”

“So you do have an imagination after all?” he asked with a smile.

“Apparently I have a fantastic imagination where getting rid of you is concerned.”

“Such a shame,” he said as he sighed and shook his head.

“What’s a shame?”

“I don’t imagine your death at all, in fact,” he started.

“Spare me the details; I’m already in enough pain as it is.”

He dropped the smile and eyed me with what appeared to be real sincerity. “You need to heal yourself. You have my word that I won’t try anything untoward.”

“No offense, but your word doesn’t count for very much,” I rasped back. I was barely able to speak when the pain in my knee began to radiate up my leg and expand throughout my entire body. Irritated with his pedantic expression, I faced forward and with my jaw set tight, plodded on, albeit slowly.

“Well, regardless,” Jax started in a bored tone of voice, “I have a schedule to keep; and you aren’t helping me keep it.”

“If you’re looking for sympathy, I have none to give you.”

“I’m not looking for sympathy,” he quickly answered. “What I am looking for is a way to get this show on the road. And given your current breakneck snail pace, I’m going to give you two options.”

“Two options?” I repeated in annoyance, without bothering to look at him. Truth be told, I preferred looking at the mud I was currently schlepping through. At least the mud wasn’t a lying sack of …

“Yes,” he answered with no amount of apology. “Option one is you heal yourself so we can hurry the hell up. Or option two: I throw you over my shoulders and carry you the rest of the way.” He took a few quick steps until he was standing in front of me. “Option two is my preference because your ass will be in perfect spanking reach, which, as you can probably imagine, suits me to a tee.”

“You never give up,” I said, amazed that such was the case. “I can’t even start to understand how you have the energy,” I started.

But he interrupted me as he faced me squarely, and dropping his grin, his new expression warned me not to continue arguing with him. He stopped walking and clasped my upper arms, forcing me to face him. “I’m not a patient man by nature, so which one is it?”