Courting Darkness (25 page)

She smiled softly, then knelt by my side. “You are a caring woman. I hope I can call you my friend.” Then, after a pause, she added, “Yes, I will come with you. Warn me of things I need to be aware of. I’ve heard that Earthside has wonders unheard of in the Northlands and in Otherworld, but I will miss my home.”

I pressed her hand against my lips and kissed it gently. “It does, my friend. And terrible troubles, as well.” Forcing myself to stand, I turned to Shade. “We need to leave. I would not put Howl and Kitää’s people in any further danger. How are we going to manage this? Can you carry two of us?”

He glanced over at Rozurial. “Let me take Vanzir. My travel is better suited toward those not of mortal stock. You . . . do you think you can take two of them at once?”

Rozurial bit his lip. “I don’t know . . .”

Kitää stepped up. “I will go with you and carry one of the women. I can also travel through the Ionyc Seas. I will make the portal jumps with you to Elqaneve, where you can all travel through the portal back to Earthside. My husband, do you mind?” She turned to Howl, who nodded gruffly.

“Aye, woman, go ahead, but do not tarry on the way home, and be cautious. Dragons are wily, and dangerous, and too clever for their own good. Meanwhile, I will send a runner to the Dragon Reaches in search of Iampaatar, and bid him head homeward to his woman.”

They found some clean clothes for Hanna and me and, with Kitää’s and Hanna’s help, I dressed. Then, after Hanna had changed into a clean outfit, we gathered in the main council chamber.

Shade slid his arm around Vanzir, Rozurial took me, and Kitää gathered Hanna to her. Without another word, we slid into the Ionyc Seas.

I was going home.

 

At the portal to the Northlands, we quickly jumped to Dahnsburg, then to Elqaneve. I was so dizzy from the change in altitude that I leaned against Roz most of the way. At the Elqaneve portal, I turned to Kitää.

“Bless you and your people, for giving us shelter. May the Moon Mother shine down on you in all her glory with all her blessings. I will not forget the debt I owe you.”

She smiled gently. “You owe us no favor, save for to do your best to destroy the monster on the mountain. We knew a dragon had taken hold up there but weren’t sure just who. That it is Iampaatar’s father is a deathly knell. He is truly mad. And Camille—be cautious. If he catches you again, I dread to think what he’ll do.”

“I know what he’s capable of,” I whispered. “In the long run, I think I got off easy . . . but it wouldn’t have been long before the real pain would have begun. I don’t think I could withstand it.”

“Just be careful, please. Remember the wolf people when you next go hunting with the Moon Mother.” Then, before we could say another word, she ducked back inside the portal and vanished.

I turned to Roz. “Home. Let’s get home. It will take Hyto some time to follow the signature in my collar, but we need to get it off as soon as we can.”

And so we entered the portal, ignoring the stares of the elves filing in and out, and jumped back home, Earthside.

Grandmother Coyote was waiting for us. One of the Hags of Fate, she watched over the worlds, as immortal as the Elemental Lords and the Harvestmen. I began to kneel before her, but my aching joints wouldn’t allow it, so I opted for bowing slow and deep.

“Camille, you live. I thought you might when your threads began to untangle from those of the white dragon.” She gazed at me, long and deep, from within the folds of her hooded gray cloak. Grandmother Coyote’s face was lined with more rivers and valleys than a topographical map, and her eyes were a streaming flow of whirling clouds and stars. When she smiled, her teeth gleamed—sharp steel. She was truly one of the ancients.

I thought about asking her help—there was always a steep price to pay, but she leaned forward and took my hand, upending it in her palm. She slowly shook out one finger bone from the bag in her other hand, to land on my palm.

“Free advice, so listen well.” She gazed at the bone in my hand. “Do not stay in your home. Go instead to your husband’s abode—the barrow. It will be safer. The dragon’s fire is seeking you out. He is not done with you yet, but you can live through this if you are smart. As long as you wear his mark, he will find you—and you cannot undo it until his death.”

She removed the bone from my hand and dropped it back in the bag.

“We have to kill a dragon . . . How can we do that? Only Smoky stands a chance . . .” Feeling hopeless, I stared at the old crone, wishing for all the world she might for once intervene. But the Hags of Fate seldom took sides in the way of the world, letting events flow around them as they watched and listened.

“There is another . . . there is help where you least expect it.” And then she turned to Vanzir. “Young demon, fret not. You are not at the heart of this. And the gods can regift where they’ve taken away . . . hold hope in your heart.”

I turned to look at Vanzir. He shifted his gaze, but not before I’d caught the distress in his eyes—which spiraled like a vortex. I suddenly understood. He blamed himself for my condition. Any lingering anger I had toward him vanished and I moved forward, tears flooding my eyes.

“This wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t Smoky’s fault. Or mine. The only one to blame here is Hyto. He’s the one who hurt me.”

“But if I hadn’t . . . if . . . Smoky hadn’t chased you out of the house, you wouldn’t have been captured.” The words came streaming out of his mouth, and for once I heard his voice crack with emotion.

“No . . . no . . . sometimes life just happens. Sometimes the universe plays horrid practical jokes on us. And sometimes, the world just sucks. Events snowball . . . shit happens, Vanzir. I don’t blame you.” And even as I said the words, I felt something within myself lighten and fly away, a secret resentment I’d been carrying around since that night in the tunnels.

Vanzir sucked in a deep breath and met my gaze. “You don’t?”

“No, I don’t.”

Rozurial glanced around nervously. “I’m glad you two are all buddy-buddy, but we’d better get out to Smoky’s barrow. I’ll take you there through the Ionyc Seas, then come back for Hanna—”

“No.” Vanzir’s voice was so loud it sounded like a thunderclap. “We don’t dare leave Camille alone out there. I’ll bring Hanna in the car. You and Shade head out there with her. I’ll stop at the house and let them know—Delilah and Menolly are probably at home.”

“Menolly would have to be—we’re into morning now.” I shivered. The snow-covered wood was starting to get to me, and I was losing it fast. The next time I faltered, I’d probably pass out.

Roz and Shade agreed, and so, sheltered once again in Roz’s arms, we leaped into the Ionyc Seas, and the maelstrom of traveling between worlds raged around me as I leaned into his shoulder.

 

I opened my eyes to find myself in a huge rock chamber, where Hyto loomed over me, a steel whip in his hand, holding me around the waist with that damned hair of his. I began to scream as he raised the whip high.

“How did you find me? Just kill me now . . . please, just kill me.” I couldn’t go through any more. I wasn’t a rock, wasn’t as strong as everybody thought. “I’m weak, I’m so weak. I can’t be the anchor anymore. I can’t hold up everybody’s burdens . . . just let me slide into the darkness. Please.”

“Oh, the darkness will swallow you deep and never let you go, girl.
When I’m done with you.
But we’ve just started, Camille. You and I have a long, dark road to walk together.”

He laughed and the blows began to fall, one after another after another, white hot and searing into my flesh. As the skin began to peel back from muscle and bone, I cried out for Smoky, for Trillian, for Morio . . . for my sisters . . . not wanting to die alone at the hands of a madman.

 

The voice cut through the pain, and I woke, screaming, to find myself in the mountainous four-poster bed that Smoky had in his bedroom, dressed in a filmy nightgown that floated away from my injuries. Slowly, groggy and feeling hungover, I pushed myself to a sitting position, wincing as I did so, trying to figure out what the hell was happening.

A blur of movement startled me, and I scrambled back against the pillows, dragging the comforter up to cover me. My heart raced and for a moment I couldn’t focus, but then I saw that it was Vanzir who had woken me up. And Hanna was asleep in the rocking chair.

I tried to calm my breath and leaned forward into his arms as he wrapped them around me and held me quietly until the tears stopped flowing. He pushed me back then and offered me a handkerchief.

“I still have nightmares of my time with Karvanak,” he said softly. “I never tell anybody—after all, I’m a demon; I’ve done worse to others. But his treatment . . . he was a sadist through and through.”

“Like Hyto,” I whispered, staring at the covers. The pale blue-on-blue pattern was delicate, almost lacy. An odd choice, but Smoky had his elegant side that I’d always loved dearly.

“Like Hyto. I’m not sure all he did to you, but Camille . . . you’re going to need some help to get through this, I think.” Vanzir looked around, then picked up a bathrobe and wrapped it around my shoulders. “Can you walk? You should eat something.”

I stopped him. “I’m glad Smoky called truce with you. I didn’t want to tell him, but . . .”

“But you are married to him—and to Morio and Trillian, and they deserved to know. And you love them and wouldn’t hurt them by letting them find out accidentally. I know. I get it. Believe me. Come, let me get you food.”

I tugged at the collar. “I hate this. I hate this with a passion. And he can track me through it. I want it off; it feels like it’s choking me.”

“That was what the soul binder felt like, but that I went into voluntarily. This . . . you should never have had to wear this. I’m so sorry.” And once again, his voice cracked. He shook his head, the spiked blond shag barely moving.

“Vanzir . . . what happened, happened. I forgive you. And I forgive myself. And that’s all anybody will ever have to know. I won’t let Smoky hurt you.” As I stumbled out of bed, Hanna shifted. “Why isn’t she in a bed of her own? She can’t just sleep in the chair.”

“She insisted on sleeping near you, to keep watch. I spiked her drink with a sleeping aid. The woman was worn out.” He gazed down at her. “She’s comely enough, but looks harsh . . .”

“She spent five years locked up with Hyto, doing his bidding, watching her son descend into madness because of the dragon. She has a right to be harsh.” I motioned for Vanzir to gather her out of the rocking chair and put her in the bed. He did so, covering her gently with the blankets. Then, as I wrapped the bathrobe around my aching body, we headed out into the main living chamber.

The smell of my love was everywhere—dragon musk, but this was a soothing musk, a gentle, loving scent. Smoky could raze a town if he wanted, but he was my love and my heart. Hyto was a madman. As I sought to unentangle the two in my mind—Smoky took after his father in looks—I glanced around the barrow for the wind-up clock. Here, time slowed, and electronics ceased to work.

Smoky’s barrow was located out near Mount Rainier, in a faerie mound—a barrow he’d co-opted from Titania for his own. Toward the back of the area he used for a living room, a dropoff led to a huge underground tunnel, through which he could fly in dragon form. To the right was the bedroom and bath, and to the left, a kitchen-dining area.

The furnishings were old, heavy wood, expensive antiques, and the scent of cigar smoke filled the air—Smoky was big on brandy and cigars in his own digs, though he abstained from smoking when around me because the smoke bothered both Delilah and me so much.

The scent of cigar was cut with the smell of sizzling sausage, and my stomach lurched. I realized I was famished. How I could be hungry after what I’d been through escaped me, but the fact was, my body craved food. As I achingly made my way toward the kitchen door, it opened and out came Delilah and Trillian.

“Camille!” Trillian dropped the plates he was carrying, and they shattered on the floor as he raced over to grab me up and spin me around. When I let out a shriek of pain, he immediately put me down. “Oh crap, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. My beloved, forgive me.” The look on his face was one I’d never before seen—a mixture of terror and joy.

Holding my sore ribs, I let him lead me over to the sofa and gently pull me down on his lap. “No . . . it’s just . . . I hurt everywhere.” And then, even as Delilah was rushing over, food in hand, I fell into his arms and kissed him deeply, trying to wash the memory of Hyto’s touch out of my mind with Trillian’s eager, loving embrace.

As I finally came up for air, he slid me off his lap and put a pillow behind my back. “Morio would be here if he could. Shade’s at home, watching over him now, along with Rozurial.”

I nodded, biting my lip. “Is Smoky back yet?”