Emma (Dark Fire) (15 page)

In the mirror-lined room, she found her clothes neatly arranged on a long table by the absent faerie. Next to her shorts and top, lay a second set of clothes.

She couldn’t help the surreal feeling of being treated like a princess. With a grin, she checked out the second set of Tuathan made clothes, which included pants, a blouse, underclothes, ankle high boots, and sash.

She wasn’t normally a clotheshorse, but the soft black material of the pants reminded her of a cross between silk and high spun cotton. The sleeveless blouse was a dark shade of gray, an exact match for the charcoal ankle boots. She didn’t know how Mitzi got her sizes correct, but everything, including the heeled boots fit perfectly.

She hesitated over the sash. It was beautiful; the loosely braided black fabric had a band of white satin woven through it. She didn’t normally wear belts. They were too restrictive. She shrugged and left the braided sash on the table.

She spent half an hour on the balcony, watching dragons, furies, and gryphon swoop through the sky. She noticed more furies than the day before. Their distinctive wings were breathtaking. She wondered what people were saying about the winged race. No doubt, there were whispers of the second coming of Christ. What else could thousands of angels appearing on Earth mean? She snorted cynically and hoped people wouldn’t try to worship them.

From her vantage point, she could see for miles. Not a cloud in sight meant another hot day. With new clothes and a full stomach, her outlook on the day was as bright as the blue sky above.

She blinked and looked closer at the sky. Laughing, she wondered if anyone else had noticed the sky’s light purple haze. The color was so faint she’d nearly missed it.

Hearing a soft tap on the bedroom door, she hurried through the glass doors, entering the room just as Uncle Keith and Lydia walked in.

“Morning, kitten, how was your night?” Uncle Keith asked; arms spread wide waiting for his morning hug. His skin was black and blue, looking as if a baseball bat had connected to his face, repeatedly.

Grinning, she carefully wrapped her arms around him, feeling the security of a father’s love. “Long, but it made me really appreciate the awesome breakfast.”

Lydia laughed. “You seem as surprised as Keith did. I nearly had to force him to try the eggs.”

Glancing down at his laughing companion, he grinned. “Yeah, well if I hadn’t been starving from missing dinner while we met with Aaron and the general, I wouldn’t have tried them then.”

Emma nodded her head in quick agreement. “Yep, missing dinner helped me too. When faced with a growling stomach or green eggs, I pick the food every time.”

“You missed dinner?” he questioned, latching onto her comment.

She realized her mistake and groaned. “No big deal.” She shrugged carelessly. “Aaron? Isn’t he the leader of the dragons? Did you tell them about bombs and stuff?”

“Yes, he goes by the official title of Black Wér-Dragon,” he said gruffly. “I would never have left you if I thought you weren’t being taken care of.”

Emma squirmed under his fierce gaze.

“Now, explain why that boy didn’t feed you last night.” His face darkening as his temper surfaced.

She groaned to herself. If he freaked out over her missing dinner, he’d go ballistic if she mentioned the conversation she had overheard. She would love his viewpoint, but knowing him, he’d insist she never see Tyler again.

That was not happening. Beyond all rational thinking, she wanted Tyler, and the only way to get the stubborn dragon to like her in return was by spending time together. The afternoon had promise. She wasn’t going to mess the day up by getting her overprotective uncle involved.

“It was no big deal.” Knowing she was a horrible liar, she glanced at her boots, keeping her eyes hidden. “I didn’t feel well and went to bed early.”

At Lydia’s soft growl, Emma’s head snapped up.

The dragon eyed her thoughtfully, as if she knew Emma was lying. “Emma, as Keith’s mate, you are my family. If something is going on and you need help, you can trust me.”

“Okay, sure, but everything is fine,” Emma said, desperate to change the subject. “It’s a heck of a lot better than if I was at my mom’s house.”

Lydia bared her teeth, growling openly. “He’s already told me about the situation with your mom. Even if Tyler isn’t your mate, we won’t let her take you back, even for a few days.”

Emma loved the idea, but she knew arguing with her mom, and the court system that was on her mom’s side, was pointless. Whether she liked it or not, she had to spend time at her mom’s house.

“Aaron called a council meeting. He wants me to explain everything to the council members. From what Lydia has said, it’ll probably take all day, but if you need me...” he stopped and glanced at Lydia, seeking her input.

“If you need us,” Lydia said, emphasizing the plural word, “go to one of the enforcers in the main room and tell them you need to see me.”

Chapter - Foul Play

The morning dragged on, moving in sync with dripping molasses. She hated cooling her heels for what seemed like forever, but hopefully the end-result would be worth it. She was really looking forward to seeing Tyler. The brief contact she had with him in the tub had only ignited her imagination. She might as well give up all pretension and admit she really wanted to get to know him on a long-term basis, maybe not sixty years, but definitely longer than a few days.

She circled through her rooms, too hyped-up to sit still. Reaching the balcony, she glanced at the sun and groaned. It was still several hours until noon.

She had to get out of her room or she was going to go insane from boredom. Stopping by a mirror, she attached the two-way in her hair.

Nervously clenching her hands, she headed through the receiving room and into the large gathering room. Nothing had changed from the day before. Stern faced guards dotted the walls. She glanced around and then purposely walked toward one of the larger arched entryways. Holding her breath, she hoped she’d picked the correct way out.

Several hours later, she sat on the floor in front of a drape-covered wall and admitted a simple fact. After traveling through dozens of hallways and even more rooms, she was lost, totally and completely (without a clue how to find her way out of the maze) lost. During her exploration, she had taken several staircases so she wasn’t even on the same level as she started out on. She hadn’t seen another living soul in more than an hour.

Once she realized she was lost, she began shutting the doors behind her. It seemed the perfect way to mark her passage or so she thought. For whatever weird reason, the doors creaked back open the moment she walked away. Creepy didn’t begin to cover it.

She finally gave up. The room she sat in was bare of all furniture and uniquely shaped with five sides. She grunted in pure disgust. She had seen the room before, at least twice before. She was going in circles.

She had read books where people got lost in old mansions, but those books were always so unbelievable. How could anyone get lost in a house? Ha! Now she knew. Fortress was larger than any building she’d ever been inside, including several malls. Its maze of halls and rooms would make the perfect setting for a Halloween party. People would be lost for hours.

She turned the two-way on, and every once in while said something out-loud, but Tyler hadn’t answered her.

His promise to show her around was her only consolation. Surely, he would find her before long. She didn’t have a watch on, but guessed it was an hour or more past noon. As time slipped by, she began to worry he might have forgotten her. Again.

She rubbed the warmth of her palm, but felt nothing. On and off, for most of the morning, she detected his frustration. She also began to feel moments of anticipation. That made her optimistic.

A muffled thump sounded in the distance. Jumping up, she teetered on her new boots, and grabbed for the drape-covered wall. The curtain moved, but she didn’t hit the wall. Her hand hit empty space. With a soft cry, she tumbled through the thick curtains and down a short incline, landing in sprawl behind the curtains.

Bemused, she shook her head over the dragons and their multitude of odd behaviors.

She couldn’t see a thing in the inky darkness. She waved her hand in front of her, trying to touch the curtains, but the heavy damask material hung beyond her reach. She finally gave up and stayed put, sitting on the floor, patiently waiting for her eyes to adjust in the darkness. She certainly didn’t want to stumble into a table and knock-off a high-dollar knickknack.

Her eyes slowly grew accustomed to the darkness. Scrunching up her eyes, she tried to focus them in the dim light, and saw several tables and a doorway. It looked like she had found a servant’s hidden entrance.

A whisper of sound caught her attention. Tilting her head, she strained her ears, hoping the sound repeated itself. A few seconds later, the soft murmur returned, quickly clearing into spoken words.

Glad her misadventure through the big castle was nearly over she perked up. Opening her mouth to shout a greeting, she hesitated. It’d be her luck to have stumbled into in a restricted area of the maze-riddled fortress. She could just image the visage of a stern-faced enforcer demanding to know what she was doing.

Not trusting her new boots in the dark, she crawled up the ramp and reached for the curtain.

“I know I heard her. Anyway, I can smell her stench. She’s been through here several times,” Lily snapped in irritation.

Emma’s hand froze.

“Find her, and when you do, make sure she
accidentally
gets too near an open window. I’m sure as a mortal she’s terrified of having a dragon as a mate.” The sound of her growl echoed in the empty room. “Make sure she doesn’t speak to anyone before you kill her.”

“Yes, love,” a male voice softly acknowledged.

“My dear brother will owe me big time. Don’t you agree?” Lily’s sharp laughter covered any answer she received.

Emma dropped her trembling hand. Bloody, wretched dragons thought they could simply get rid of her. Determination filled her. She might be mortal, but she wasn’t a pushover. Refusing to give-up without a fight, she slowly slid down the ramp, moving toward the unknown doorway.

Standing, she took a step forward, cautiously waving her hand in front of her, she inched forward another half step. All she needed was to bump into something. With the dragon’s great hearing, they’d hear the slightest sound. It was a miracle they hadn’t heard her heart racing.

Trembling, she leaned against the edge of the table and reached for the doorframe.

Her fingers encountered a warm body instead.

A hot, firm hand covered her mouth, stifling her yelp of fear. Jerking her body around, he pinned Emma’s arms to her sides. Back ramrod straight, she stood trapped against the shadowy figure, listening to Lily give additional orders. Her voice grew muffled as they moved into the next room.

After what felt like hours, but had to be only minutes, the man shifted his head closer to hers. “Don’t scream,” a deep voice ordered in a whisper. Seeming as an afterthought he added, “I won’t hurt you.”

She knew that voice. His name was Zach. He had been in Tyler’s room the night before, trying to reason with Tyler. Once again, she cursed the fact she’d run like a scared twit. She needed to know if Tyler’s friends had agreed or disagreed with Lily’s plan.

She didn’t have much choice but to accept his demand. She nodded her agreement.

He eased his hand away from her mouth, when she didn’t scream he removed his restraining arm. Slipping around her, he parted the curtains before she could stop him. A heartbeat later, she watched the curtain drop as he moved into the next room.

Muffled words drifted to her, sounding like a friendly greeting. A deep feeling of dread surrounded her.

Well, crap and cuss words, he was talking to Lily’s hit man. Out of the pan and dropped smack in the middle of the fire.

She sucked in a shiver of fear. There was only one person she could trust. She had to find Uncle Keith. She certainly wasn’t looking for Tyler, not after hearing Lily’s plans put into action. The thought of Tyler wanting her dead was devastating, especially after the kiss, but she didn’t know if she could trust him or not.

Not wasting any more time, she turned and grasped the edge of the doorframe. Slipping through, she quietly shut it. Looking down the long hall, she watched tiny lights bloom to life, edging the top of the baseboard. The light cut through the darkness, but the dim glow wasn’t enough to see clearly.

Running her hands down the wooden door, she searched for a lock. Her fingers touched metal. Exhaling a sigh of relief, she slipped the bolt in place. Suddenly, the dim hallway seemed even darker, if that was possible. She shivered against the murky stillness and stiffened her resolve. No bunch of dragons would get the best of her.

With one hand on the wall and one waving in front of her, she kept her eyes on the floor’s dime-sized lights and hurried down the passageway. Reaching a corner, she turned down the second hallway.

In the deathly stillness, sound carried much further than it normally did. Behind her, the locked door rattled. She held perfectly still, hoping he would give up. When the door rattled harder and abruptly smashed inward, she gave up on being careful.

Heart in her throat, she ran headlong down the corridor. Unable to see much of anything, she quickly smacked into a chunky piece of furniture. She didn’t have long to wonder why anyone would clutter up the middle of a hallway, not when she bounced off the hard surface, and stumbled backward against the opposite wall.

That’s when her luck ran dry. The back of her knees smacked against a hard edge. Her knees buckled and she fell backward through an open doorway.

She knew, in that instant, running half-blind in shadowy darkness was the stupidest thing she’d ever done. Her back hit the floor with thump, and she skated across the slick surface, sliding farther than she normally would have due to the slanted, wet floor.

Water trickled around her in a steady, smooth flow. She rolled to her knees, grabbing for anything to hold onto. Her hands encountered empty space. Terror welled in her throat as she sensed the immense space yawning in front of her. She fell forward and her shriek of fear echoed across the darkness.