Bittersweet (26 page)

 

 

We'd been here before, too many times to count. Not in this physical location of course, but in this situation. In just as much danger, surrounded by just as many impossible obstacles. This realm was teeming with them. It seemed part of my cruel destiny to be tested time and time again, until either I broke, or I rose to the challenge. I couldn't help but wonder how many times I could fall and not remain one of the fallen.

Zanthiel leapt effortlessly onto a rock as we scaled the face of the mountain. A crude path had been marked, but it was narrow and precarious, and full of pitfalls. He glanced back at me.

I hoisted myself up onto the next level, and dusted the hot dirt onto my skirts.

“Battles are emotionally and physically exhaustive,” he spoke as though responding to my torrent of unasked questions. “I do not seek them needlessly, but when there is no other choice. Kill or be killed. I am willing to do one to avoid the other. Are you? Because it is the only way you will survive in this realm. Fey queen or no. Your life will be in peril, for there will always be those who seek to take it from you.” Zanthiel pursed his lips, but sensing my reaction, he continued. “They want what you have, and believe the only way to get it is for you to die. So do not let the wizard's plan lull you into false security. There will never come a time when you are truly safe from harm.”

That was uplifting. If he was trying to put my fear to rest, he failed miserably. “Anyone tell you that you suck at pep talks?” I sighed, and pushed myself up to the next ledge on the mountain. My hair was matted to my scalp, and my clothing, though light and strong, felt heavy and damp, slick with sweat and grime. My hands blistered from the heat of the rock. Slowly, the tiny red sores faded, and healed. I blinked, almost afraid to believe what I'd seen. “My hands healed,” I called to him. “Do you think it means my healing powers have… healed?” The timing couldn't have been better.

He glanced back at me. “Titania warned it could happen, once you'd returned to your full power. Keep climbing.” He'd already gained two levels on me.

His reminder dampened my excitement. There'd been more to what Titania said. She'd also said my ability to heal would continue to degenerate the more I accessed and used dark magic… which was the only magic I
could
use to any effect and the one thing I was forced to use over and over to stay alive. How much was too much? I'd fought against it for so long, but what if the darkness won? I pushed the worry aside. Of all the options before me, that was one I didn't want to consider, especially right now.

The untraveled path we took climbed more and more steeply, but Zanthiel didn't seem to notice. Too bad my newly strengthened powers didn't grant me supernatural energy in the deal. I was huffing and puffing already while he leapt lithely over crevices, from rock to rock.

Zanthiel paused to glance back at me with an impatient look before leaping off to the next.

I climbed to the next ledge, and my foot slipped. I fought to regain it, as an avalanche of rocks tumbled underfoot. Before I could blink, his hand was wrapped around mine, pulling me to safety.

“Thanks.” My heart refused to slow down.

“Our approach will only work if the creature does not hear us coming. Stealthy approach must be part of your task.”

My eyes stretched wide. “Wait. What do you mean
my task
?” I half whispered.

Zanthiel responded with a grunt of exasperation. “Your part-human scent will throw off the dragon. It has likely never encountered a being such as yourself.” He looked back at me. “We will use that to our advantage as well.”

“Okay, but why do I have to be the one to wait outside? Maybe I should go in and get the crown.” The words sounded crazy even to me, but I didn't want to be the damsel in distress while everyone else endured all the risk.

“The magic Titania used to secure her crown in the mountain will not yield to one of half-witch blood. Only a full-blooded faerie can retrieve the crown. It was her insurance that no one other than a full faerie could be her usurper.”

“You mean her successor.” I hated to think of myself as overthrowing the monarchs of Faery.

He rolled his eyes. “If you prefer. All you need to remember is that this dragon will use telemetry to sense your plan of attack. I can block his attempts, but you will be far more enticing to him, once he catches wind of your scent. Do not let the fog enter your mind. Keep it clear and free from thoughts and worries. I will return to the mountainside with the crown. We want to gain access by stealth, for we may not win through strength of arms. Your only task it to stay here, at the mouth of the cave and hold his attention. Can you do that?” He searched my face.

“Do I have a choice?”

“Always.”

“Yes. I can do that.” My heart pounded. I was a bundle of nerves and terror. “Is there anything else I need to know?”

Zanthiel withdrew his canteen of water and handed it to me. “Don't bleed. They are attracted to it.”

“Wonderful. Anything else? Never mind, don't tell me. Don't want to know.” At least I had magic to fall back on. There was some consolation in that. I swallowed several gulps, letting it splash down my neck and chest.

“Darkness will bleed from your soul should you turn to it too often, Lorelei. You need to live a life without reliance on your dark magic. If not, in time it will consume you.”

Frowning, I handed back the canteen. “You used to encourage that.”

“I no longer do,” he said in earnest. “I couldn't bear to watch you become something you are not. Something you were never meant to be.”

“Picked a great time to grow morals. Right now I don't have any other choice, do I?”

“You use that excuse far too often. You always have choices. It is when you claim not to have any that they are taken from you.”

Of course I had choices, but they were never between good and bad, or right and wrong. They were between horrifying and catastrophic.

His expression shifted from warrior to protector. “You hold too much beauty for this world. Too much goodness resides within your heart. I see it daily, and it pains me to watch it diminish as you fight to save those you love. It's why I agreed to the madness of this plan. If you are no longer being hunted, then the need for you to use dark magic to protect yourself diminishes too, at least somewhat. Then, you will allow me to protect you. At least, that is my hope.”

I nodded. “I don't want dark magic to change who I am. Not in that way.” I didn't know how else to respond. His raw honesty always caught me off guard. “Let's just get through this, okay?”

He gave a single nod, his inner warrior firmly back in the lead. “First the beast will use the smog to read the mind of its opponent, gaining a sense of their intentions. Should that tactic fail, and it must, it will resort to fire. An even greater threat when the beast becomes airborne.”

This was daunting. I paced a few steps, pressing my fingers to my temples, refusing to picture what was sure to be our end.

“Dragons have one weak spot,” he continued. “The throat, just under its chin. If I can pierce it, it will kill it.”

My pacing stopped. “Okay. This isn't a goblin or even a wyvern we're talking about. It's a
dragon
. It's like a million times bigger than those other two, and they're hard enough to kill. You'll never succeed.”

“Your lack of faith in me grows tiresome.” He pulled out faerie armor from his pack. The silver leaves embedded on it were impossibly strong and impervious to fire.

“I mean it. How are you going to stroll up to a fire-breathing monster and just stab it in the neck?”

“I won't. You will be outside of the cave, drawing its attention. I will retrieve the crown. Only if needed will I slay the beast.”

“Distract him?” I nearly laughed out loud. “Distract a
dragon
? With what exactly, a puppet show?” I shook my head. “And if I can't hold its attention, and it doesn't barbecue me on the spot… how will you get close enough to stab it?”

He reached over his shoulder, withdrew an arrow from his quiver and handed it to me. The head of it ignited with a yellow flame.

“A flaming arrow. Much better plan.” I passed the arrow back.

“Remember all I've told you. It cannot see you clearly. It can only find you through your fear and its sense of smell. It can detect motion, so move slowly. You will have an opportunity to use all of what I've taught you, combined with all that you already know.” He strapped armored lapels to me, yanking the belt tight to secure them.

I lifted my arms above my head as he wrapped more armor around my midriff. “Okay, see, the thing is I really don't know all that much.” I frowned. This plan grew more terrifying by the moment.

His hands lingered on my waist as his gaze held mine. “You know enough. I'm trusting that you do. You must trust it too. Otherwise we are both dead. From what you've told me, that isn't something you want.”

I shook my head slowly, but didn't respond.
Distract the dragon
. I'd successfully called upon and used my powers and now I had the added benefit of knowing how to block mental and physical assaults from opponents. But I honestly thought I'd have the chance to test it out on a goblin or a troll before attempting it on something like this.

The climbing continued for an unbearable length of time. He led the way, and I bumbled along behind him, trying desperately not to fall to my death.

“How much further?” I grunted, bending over to catch my breath. We'd been climbing for at least an hour.

“Not much further, for you,” he replied.

I frowned. What did that mean?

Before I could ask, he was off to the next level, his boot tapping impatiently against the rock. I hoisted myself up to join him and was immediately struck by a wall of heat. The mouth of the mountain lay just ahead of us, massive and wide with sharp stalactite and stalagmite teeth, mimicking those of the beast within it. I blinked away tears from the waves of heat rippling the air around the cave.

I swallowed. “We made it.” Not sure if I was relieved or not.

“Shhh.” He held a finger to his icy lips.

I stared at the mouth of the cave glowing a dark red. Waves of heat rippled the air. For the first time in a long time I remembered what it felt like to feel warmth from the inside.

“Stay here,” he instructed. “And stay focused. The fog will try to invade your mind. Do not let it. Stay strong.”

“Stay here. Stay focused. Stay strong,” I repeated to myself.

He turned to head in a different direction.

“
Wait
. Where are you going?” I half-cried, half-whispered.

“I have to use another passage if I'm to locate the crown. You will be fine, Lorelei. You can do this. Just keep it occupied and busy trying to read you. I will return with Titania's crown.”

And with that, he was gone. And I was alone facing literally the biggest threat of my life.

Zanthiel had been right, the dragon must have smelled or sensed me, because before long it was there, a massive beast of green and gold scales, layered over glowing red flesh. Its eyes were closed as the dragon's snout pushed outside its cave. Instinctively I backed away. I don't care if it was half-blind, I wasn't taking any chances by getting too close. I pressed my back against the mountainside, my chest heaving rapidly.

Keep it here at the entrance to the cave. Keep it distracted.
I still didn't know how to do that. Dragons didn't have to fight or even ignite you with fire. Not when they could read your thoughts and anticipate your every move. And if Zanthiel's had access to my thoughts, what if it could sense my mind through him? It would be a two-for-one deal.

Unless I put everything he'd taught me into practice. Now.

Pushing away from the wall I willed myself to face the dragon, staying just out of its reach. I held my breath as the smog crept into me like tiny fingers, prying, searching, looking for information. I was determined they'd come up empty. Then with a long exhale, I shielded my thoughts, blocking them while pushing back the smog as I'd done with Zanthiel.

Stick with the plan.
I held its attention while Zanthiel hopefully had made it through the other passage. The dragon opened a massive flame-rimmed eye, fixed directly on me. I only had a tiny amount of air left in my lungs, but I used it to blow, willing the cloud of smoke to blow away from me and dissipate.

The creature opened its other eye.

Okay. Now what? I chewed my lip. How much longer was it going to take? I stifled a cough and ducked down as the dragon's head turned in my direction. It sniffed the air, then snorted a puff of black smoke through its nostrils.

Fear coated my stomach, sickening me. But I kept moving forward, an inch at a time, holding the dragon's eye on me. One swing of its head and an ill-timed exhale and I'd be burnt toast. Cindered to ash.

We couldn't take on a dragon and win. And I knew my powers were not honed enough for something like that. If it should strike I'd be a goner. Just like that. Snuffed out in a flash. I couldn't let that happen. I continued to replace our true strategy with false images and pictures. To keep him off guard and in the dark of our true intentions.

Suddenly a boulder crashed to the ground behind me. I jumped, taking my attention from my task for just a moment. It was a moment too long.

The beast rose on his legs to its full skyscraper height, then it stepped toward me. I nearly dropped from fright.
Crap
. I stepped back several paces. Putting more distance between myself and the beast. Far enough to keep from being stepped on. But not far enough to keep from being roasted should he exhale a breath of fire. The creature opened his mouth. I felt my power rise, like an uncontrollable swell of the ocean. As a blast of flame came toward me, I countered it with a wall of ice. A waterfall fell between us, cascading down the mountainside until it formed a river between us.