Sacrifice (Gryphon Series) (26 page)

Out of options, I
opened the channel between us. I felt his swirling vortex of empty pain and anguish. Hopeless rejection courtesy of me. Quickly, I broke the link. Rowan was doing this because he felt he had nothing left. As red-rage, teeth gnashing ticked as I was, I didn’t want this for him. We had been friends—kind of—and he was about to destroy that. However, I had the advantage of
knowing
he still cared for me and that gave me something to build on.

“Rowan,” I
concentrated on keeping my tone soft, calm, and controlled. “It’s not too late. Please, let me go. Undo whatever this is.”

Behind me wood
swooshed
over wood, like a pocket door slid open. I turned my head as far as possible, but the table blocked my view.

“Oh, I’m afraid we’re way past that point,
my dear.”

Recognition of that voice caused icy terror to seep through my veins.
“
Bernard
.”

CHAPTER
THIRTY

Relying heavily on his cane Bernard
shuffled-thumped
into my line of sight. Yet the sound didn’t stop when he halted in front of me. Instead it intensified, growing to a loud drumming chorus that filled the room.
Shuffle-thump, shuffle-thump, shuffle-thump, shuffle-thump, shuffle-thump, shuffle-thump, shuffle-thump, shuffle-thump, shuffle-thump, shuffle-thump.

I choked on
my scream. If someone ripped my worst nightmare directly from my head and showed it to me, this would be it. Before me stood a gaggle of roughly a hundred gnomes.

“Rowan,” I gasped
in a high-pitched ‘I’m-about-to-have-the-mother-of-all-freak-outs’ wheeze. “Here’s a little known fact about me. This … ” chains rattled as I waved a shackled hand at the gnomes, “ … is quite literally one of my biggest phobias come to life.”

Some
gnomes exchanged confused looks, others puffed up their wee little chests in acts of cocky bravado. Rowan gave a slightly bewildered snort of amusement.

My eyebrows nearly rocketed off my face
. “Oh, I’m not kidding. I’m seconds away from a freak out that will forever change the way you look at me.
Seriously
. I am begging you—flat out
begging
you. Get me out of here.
Please
.”

Flaxen brows drew together as the intensity of my plea
registered with the pirate. He glanced around at the plethora of tiny folk that should’ve been guarding flowerbeds across the lands instead of whatever bout of nastiness they had planned. Yet before he could lift one finger to help, Bernard took preventative measures to stop just that.

“
Rowan will do no such thing. We had a deal, sir.” Bernard hobbled over to him, dug into the satchel thrown across his chest, and pulled out a rolled scroll with wooden handles at each end. With great flourish, he unrolled it to reveal a detailed map. Rowan sucked in air through pursed lips. With a smug nod Bernard handed it over. “As you can see this is your payment in full.”

I yanked against my chains as hard as my super strength would allow. “A map?
You sold me out for a map? Is it directions on how to crawl up your own butt and die? Because it
really
should be.”

Deep
yearning darkened Rowan’s topaz eyes as he gazed at the worn parchment. Earlier tonight he’d looked at me that same way. Now I was strapped to a table. I couldn’t help but wonder if the map would fare better. “This will help me find my dear Marie Ann. The one girl that never let me down but was viciously stolen from me.”

Marie Ann? Why did that sound familiar?
Then it hit me. My eyes narrowed with contempt and outrage. “Your tattoo. Marie Ann is a friggin’
boat
!”

Rowan rolled the map up tight.
A smug smile spread across his annoyingly handsome face. “A ship, dearie. I told ya I’d get back to the sea someday.”

“Stop talking,
” I huffed. “Every word you utter is making me hate you more.”

With
a suit-yourself shrug he shifted his gaze to Bernard. “Promise me she won’t be hurt.”

“Oh,
now
you care about my well-being?” I scoffed and shook my head. “We need to look into getting you a cute little cartoon cricket for a conscience, because I think what you have now is a decomposing parrot.”

“We plan to suck the power from her, boy.” Bernard
ignored me and raised his berry-stained hand in the air palm up. “There’s a high likelihood that’ll smart.”

“Aye.
Right and fair, but you won’t be killin’ her?”

Bernard’s
peach-sized head turned my way. “As long as she doesn’t do anything stupid we won’t hurt her. But, let’s be honest, it’s Celeste. She’s bound to do something stupid.”

“
I get my hands on your cane and I’ll show you stupid, you little beady-eyed twerp!” I lunged for him, but was stopped by the chains nearly dislocating my shoulders.

F
our gnomes flanked me, two on each side. They folded their arms over their chests and peered up at me from under furrowed white-caterpillar eyebrows. I couldn’t have stifled that cringe or prevented my impromptu whimper if I wanted to. This was too much creepy at way too intimate a proximity.

“I
want your word you won’t kill her,” Rowan demanded.

“And I’ll give
ya no such thing!” Bernard slammed his cane against the floor to punctuate his declaration. “You named your price, and it’s been met. If the girl’s safety was an issue it should’ve been established when we discussed your payment.”

Rowan rocked
back on his heels and rolled the map between his hands. “You’re absolutely right, mate. A deal’s a deal. I handed her over and you kept up your end of the deal. Our business here is through, wouldn’t you say?”

Bernard waved his hand as if to
swat the words away. “Yes, yes, pirate guidelines and all that. Our deal is complete and you’re free to go.”

“Then
go I shall.” Rowan tucked the map into the back waistband of his pants and shot me a wink. “Best of luck, poppet.”

“
Don’t you dare leave me here!
Help
me
!” I hollered loud enough to strain my vocal cords. But it was too late. I was shouting at a black cloud of smoke.

“I should prob
ably tell you this now, Celeste.” Bernard’s voice dripped with condescension. “You can scream all you want, no one outside of these walls will hear you. And even if they did, none can enter. The spell I had Rowan cast ensured that.”

I was distracted from
Bernard’s pompous gnome drivel by Rowan’s black cloud that had yet to vanish. Instead it swirled around the room in a mini-cyclone. Some gnomes held on to their hats. Other’s scurried after theirs when they went airborne. White, bushy beards blew into gnome faces and left them sputtering to breathe through their own hair. I turned my face away from the powerful gusts as the cloud blew my way. The winds caused my skirt to creep up my thighs and twisted my hair into unruly knots.

In the midst of it a ghost
-hand brushed my cheek and a disembodied voice murmured in my ear, “Break the bowl,
Mo Chroi
. The room will no longer be bound.”

With that t
he wind stopped and he was gone.  

My gaze locked on the bowl. It’d be easy enough to break it. One telekinetic shove should do the trick. But then what? I’d still be shackled to a table surrounded by what would then be a
herd of seriously peeved gnomes. That horrifying image made me pause and hope that a better opportunity would present itself—
quickly
.

Bernard shoved a handful of berries in his mouth
, clapped his hands together, and peered at me with glee. Deep wine-colored juice dribbled from his lips and stained his white beard pink. “Let’s get to work, fellas!”

All around me tiny men sprang
into action. Metal screeched as the table I was on lowered back. Gnomes busily buzzed around. What they were doing I could only imagine. My view was restricted to the occasional glimpse of pointy red, blue, and yellow hats that bobbed past the table.

“So what’s the plan here, Bernie?”
My voice cracked with fear and I struggled to steady it. “Wanna drain my powers and take my place as the Conduit, do ya? Seems there would be an easier way to get a promotion like that.”

“You think I have the desire to be nothing more than a receptacle to borrowed powers?” Bernard’s voice seemed more sinister now that it was nothing but a faceless echo
. “Hardly. I will harness your power and then hand it over to my true Master. Then she will finally be able to seek the vengeance she longs for against the Gryphon.”

“The Countess,” I muttered to the ceiling.

Around me all motion halted. Fifty voices dreamily crooned, “The Countess.”

“
Figures,” I grumbled in disgust.

If Rowan knew
that Bernard was connected to the Countess I would take great joy in killing him—if I ever got out of this room. But honestly, I should’ve known. The second she gave me a “tip” about Caleb and the Titans I should’ve guessed it all tied together in a way that served
her
greater good. She had to get Caleb out of the way so her boy Bernard could encourage Rowan to move in. That was one chick that was begging to get her teeth kicked in.

“Any chance her royal
sluttiness is going to be making a personal appearance tonight?”

A collective hiss filled the room from shocked and appalled gnomes.

“You are not worthy to lay eyes on her!” Bernard boomed.

I snorted a humorless laugh and le
t my head fall against the table. “Aaannnd she can’t step foot on the property because of the spell the Council cast. For a diabolical villain your boss is kind of an asshat.”

“Do not
speak ill of her magnificence!” Bernard pointed his cane and sent electricity rocketing through my body.

My
head rose up as the electricity tensed my neck muscles. When the current stopped my noggin smacked against the table hard enough to bounce. My thrashing had been forceful enough to draw blood against the metal cuffs. The small wounds should’ve healed instantly, but whatever the cuffs were made of hindered that as well.

“The bl
ood! We must catch the blood!” a soft, squeaky voice declared. Feet scurried across the floor and the bronze bowl appeared at the edge of the table to catch the small stream of blood that trickled from my wrist.

Bernard’s voice bubbled with j
ubilance. “It has begun! Nicholi, Astor, retrieve the pearl handled knife. A shallow cut to each of her arms and legs. Catch every drop of blood that falls. Bring me the bronze knife so I may add my own blood to the mix. Hurry now!”

F
oggy headed from the jolt I stared up at the crystal chandelier that hung over head and tried to regain focus. The crystals were teardrop shaped. That seemed oddly fitting for what was about to unfold here.

“So she gets all this power and revenge. Where does that leave you, Bernard?” I croaked, my throat painfully dry and parched. “An outcast to the Coun
cil you swore to serve and protect?”

A silver blade poked up over the edge of the table
, seemingly floating thanks to the limited reach of the tiny hand that wielded it. It came down in a smooth, quick motion that sliced into my left leg just above my ankle. I gritted my teeth through the pain. These little jerks wouldn’t get the satisfaction of hearing me scream.

“With the
Gryphon defeated the Council will soon follow.” Bernard’s voice was tight with pain. He must’ve started his portion of the blood ritual. “They will pledge their allegiance to her Most Radiance or they will die horribly. We will be by her side until the very end, to see her claim her victory and begin her reign.”

A
second slash sliced my opposite ankle, then a third to my wrist. I grimaced and fought for freedom against my restraints. “Minions for all eternity? Way to shoot for the bottom of the food chain.”

“Say what you w
ill, girl,” Bernard chuckled, “soon you will be nothing more than a useless mortal. If our Royal Beauty feels generous when her reign begins she may have you enslaved for the remainder of your days. If not, you’ll be killed. Being a minion doesn’t sound so bad compared to that, now does it?”  

The knife sliced through my flesh for a
fourth time. Any witty comments I had were squelched by my need to stifle an involuntary yelp that threatened to escape.

Bernard snapped his fingers
. “The scepter. Now.”

An opalescent blue globe mounted to a
decorative golden rod bobbed by the table. The marionette show of odd floating items may’ve been downright comical if the circumstances weren’t so bleak and dire.