“No, Kate, you can’t! That’s not fair! Why would you fight in this war for anyone when in the end the life you get isn’t what you want? Screw this! We’ll find another way.” Brit’s angry voice torments the ache in my head.
I’m glad she’s supportive, but I cannot look at her … only Arland.
I press my fingers to my temple, trying to hold back the throbbing. “I won’t do it, Arland. Griandor’s sister Gramhara didn’t give me her power of love for nothing. There has to be another way, and I will search for one. Your father told me to keep my distance from you when we arrive at Willow Falls, so my guess is your prophecy said something will happen there. Something big.”
“If you feel we can trust Perth, we are going to have to come up with a plan involving him. We need to get to the others and find him, but first … .”
Arland leans his head forward. I try to move away—I’ve just thrown up—but he pulls me closer, closes his eyes, and meets my lips.
Warmth floods me. Strength. This is why I will fight: for love, for a life with Arland—no matter how short. The touch of his fingers along my back, his smooth, soft lips on mine … wrapping my arms around his neck, I give into him.
“I’m going to go. You two obviously need alone time,” Brit says with a hint of disgust, turning away, but going nowhere—she doesn’t know the way out.
Arland steps away first. “I love you, Kate.”
The room fills with golden light radiating from our bodies. The kiss has restored my energy. I wonder if this is what Griandor meant when he said Arland protects me in many ways. A few moments ago I couldn’t even open my eyes, and now my heart swells with happiness.
“I love you, too.”
From the corner of my eye, I see Brit staring at something on the cave wall as though she’s looking at the most fascinating thing in the world.
I laugh and nudge her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Brit. We can go now.”
She turns around with a half-smile. “Kate, you have no idea how happy I am to see you like this, but if you are supposed to keep your distance from Arland at Willow Falls, you are going to have to learn to hide your feelings better.”
She waves her hand at us.
“The Light?”
“And your face. Your face lights up like a beacon when you see him.”
Heat fills my cheeks.
Arland snickers.
She wags a finger. “You, too, Arland. Those eyes of yours plaster themselves to her as soon as she steps into a room. I’ve got years of experience hiding things from people. I’ll do my best to help.”
Now Arland’s cheeks turn red.
“What do you mean?” The only thing I know Brit hid from me was an old bottle of rum in the woods, but the way she talks, I think she has a lot more secrets than she’s let on.
“Not down here. I’ll tell you anything you need to know, up there.” Brit points above her head.
“You’re right. We need to get out of here, but I want you to tell me everything
after
Perth is safe. Now, follow me.” I lead them toward the exit.
The tunnels seem even smaller on the way back up to the surface. The impenetrable stone on all sides could crush us if there was an earthquake, entombing us forever. I crouch on my forearms, the walls brush my elbows, and Brit keeps bumping into the back of me. Finding our way out is easy, though; the now visible bands of the shifters guide us. I wonder if the magic killed them, if
I
killed them, or if freeing Brit and Arland only wounded the daemons.
We crawl into a vast open area, stand, then stretch our legs.
I point to a narrow passage. “It’s going to get slippery, but we have to climb that.”
Brit heads over and takes to the rocks. “Thank God Gary signed us up for those climbing classes,” she says, looking over her shoulder.
“Somehow I don’t think it was his idea.”
Brit doesn’t respond; she’s already halfway up the incline. My mom must have carefully chosen every activity we ever participated in, knowing we’d wind up in Encardia, a land so far behind on modernization.
Arland gently pushes my back. “We better get up there, or she is going be out in the open without protection.”
I take a few tentative steps up the rocks, and pick up the pace when I realize it’s not a difficult climb. So much easier than coming down. “Cadman and Flanna are out there. She’ll be fine.”
A loud scream reverberates around us.
“Oh my God, Arland, that was Brit!”
“Go!”
Without devising any sort of plan, I climb as fast as possible in this small space. My head bumps into the ceiling, my shoulders into the walls. My knees ache from the hard stone, but I keep going.
The exit appears about ten feet before we reach it. I cannot see any movement outside. Even if an entire army sat out there waiting for us, I wouldn’t know because of how dark it is.
I stop so fast Arland runs into my butt.
“Why have you stopped?” he asks.
“Should we just go out? What if it’s a trap?”
“Kate!” Flanna’s frantic whisper echoes, hiding the location of its origin.
I glance around. “Flanna? Where are you?”
“We are outside with Brit. Hurry up, but be quiet; her
scream
might have already drawn attention—and make sure you are not burning.”
Arland listens to every word she speaks as though searching for hidden clues, then presses me to go forward. “I do not believe this is a trap.”
Crawling through the opening, I find Flanna, Cadman and Brit all on their hands and knees as close to the rocks as they can get. “Why did you scream?” I ask, maintaining a quiet tone.
Brit rests her trembling hand on mine. “D-daemons.” She stares up the cliff.
Arland exits after me, and the calm, cool demeanor of his Leader self oozes from him. He straightens his back then looks around in all directions before acknowledging Cadman and Flanna. “How many?”
Arland didn’t even question
if
. He already knows.
“All of them, sir,” Cadman says. “We watched them enter, but I do not believe they saw us.”
All of them
. That means there are at least thirty. What does that mean for—”
Perth
… . ” The name escapes my mouth and hangs in the cool, dark air like the threat of death we continue to face.
“They have that little traitor,” Flanna says, nose turned up.
“Traitor?” Brit asks, glancing at my fiery friend.
Flanna puts her hands on her hips, her red hair pale next to the anger coloring her cheeks. “He has to have something to do with this.”
How can she make that assumption about Perth? I look between Arland and Flanna.
He doesn’t take his eyes off the hill of rocks between us and an exit—or death. “Flanna is angry because she holds out hope for you and me, Kate … amongst other things.
And
she knows nothing of what you told me about Griandor and trust.”
Flanna tears her gaze from my sister then turns to me. “Trust? Do not tell me you trust him? I am sure that little weasel had a hand in setting us up.” She’s angry, but her voice never goes above a whisper.
“I didn’t trust him at first, but I do now—and I don’t think he had anything to do with our set-up. There were two working against us. Lann was one. Do you guys have any idea who the other was … other than Perth?”
Flanna scowls then returns to face the cliff.
“Lann did not have anything to do with it, ma’am,” Cadman says.
“I saw with my own eyes … well, through Brit’s mind.”
Brit shakes her head. “I was wrong, Kate. I’m so sorry. That wasn’t Lann—he shifted into something else soon after you left my mind, and I forgot to say anything when you came back. Somehow they knew about our connection. They tricked me. Just like when the daemon threatened me with his blood. As soon as the connection faded, we could hear your screams from here. That’s when they brought Arland and me down to that s-snake thing.”
Information swims inside my head. Every time I feel like I know something, everything changes. “So Lann isn’t a spy?”
Arland grits his teeth. “No, a shifter in the form of Lann was the spy. He is the one who allowed the daemons to enter the base while we were sleeping. When I came out to see what was going on, I saw his true form.”
“But you said they only shifted into animals. How come we couldn’t tell?”
“I do not know the answer.” Arland shakes his head. “It certainly explains so many of our own turning against us.”
“Does this mean the real Lann may be out there somewhere, and we still have no idea who the other spy was?”
“Are you sure there were two?” he asks.
“I’m not sure of anything, but a certain someone said he had two daemons working against us.” I’m keeping details about my meeting with Griandor secret from as many people as possible. Knowledge is power, just like Arland’s father always told him, and what I know, others will want to as well.
“Well, if there were two”—Flanna rolls her eyes—”I have a pretty good idea one of them was Perth.”
She’s getting under my skin. “Are the other soldiers still up there, or did they leave before the tairbs and coscarthas got here?” I ask, pointing up the cliff.
“Where would they have gone? You were taking care of Arland and Brit. None of the soldiers had weapons; there was nowhere
to
go.” Flanna’s tone borders on hostile.
I know she loves her people, but she acts as if I should have left Arland and Brit to die. No matter how hard I try, I cannot protect everyone.
Arland towers over his cousin. “Control yourself.”
Her expression softens, and she covers her face with her hands. “I am sorry, Kate. We have never had anything like this occur. I love Lann and cannot imagine anything happening to him.”
“You
love
Lann? I wouldn’t have known,” I say, trying to calm my frustration. Love certainly explains her current behavior, and maybe even some of her others.
Brit gives me a pointed look. “See what I mean about hiding things?”
Flanna drops her hands; her face blanches, making her blue eyes blaze in the Darkness. “Kate, I have been sharing a room with a daemon for … I do not even know how long.”
I wrap my arms around her, and she sobs into my shoulder.
“We can discuss our love lives later. Right now we need to come up with a plan—one that does not involve us standing here waiting to get caught,” Arland says.
Flanna backs away and scowls at him.
Cadman casts a weary glance in the direction of the cave. “Is there another way out?”
“There must be, but we have no reason to run and hide.” Arland tips his head in my direction, and for a moment, I get an urge to turn and run the other direction. But this isn’t just my life in danger; it’s everyone in the world.
Cadman holds up the claymore. “Other than this sword,
we
have no weapons, sir.”
“Kate, how do you feel?” Arland asks, rubbing my arms. “Do you think you can handle what is up there, or would you prefer to go back into this cave?”
So many dreams I’ve had of us dying in a cave, or rather just outside of one. I’d like to get as far away from the rocks … and, well, daemons in general as possible, but I don’t want to hide. Both stowing away in this cave and fighting in the one above hold consequences I’m not sure I’m ready to face; however, with Arland beside me, I don’t feel weak. “I say we fight.”
A grin spreads across his face. “Are you sure? Once we start we cannot stop.”
“We can’t leave everyone up there in the hands of daemons. They’ll kill them when they find four captives missing. Besides, we need to get to Willow Falls and work on that other thing.” That
other
thing being my army.
Arland takes my hand in his. “Cadman, give me the sword. Would the three of you feel safer waiting here or coming with us?”
Cadman hands the sword over as if he’s giving up an arm or a leg. “I would prefer to fight, sir. I just wonder what use I will be without a weapon.”
“When Kate’s fire burns, think of the things you love. Connect your mind to those things then command the magic to do your will. It will be the only weapon you need, but we must work fast. The magic drains her. She has not had enough rest, but if we all work together, it should make her job easier.”
My mouth hangs open as I stare at Arland. “How do you know all of this, Arland?”
Glancing sideways, he smiles. “What do you think I was thinking about in every battle we have endured so far?”
Flanna groans. “Love lives later, right Arland?”
I hate how upset she is. I know it’s not my relationship with Arland bothering her; Flanna did her best to push us together, but I can’t worry about her right now. My sister is trembling.
“Brit, are
you
going to be okay with this?” I ask.
She wraps her arms around herself. “I-I d-don’t know how to use the m-magic or a sword. The only thing I do know how to use is a b-bow, and I don’t have one.”
Freeing my hand from Arland, I embrace Brit and rub her back, trying to ease her nerves. “Stay behind me and Arland. Do you understand? Not in front, not to the side, but behind me—within inches.”
Teeth chattering, face pale—she nods.
I lace my fingers with Arland’s again then lock eyes with him. “Let’s go.”
He leads us along a path running about a quarter mile around the left side of the ledge. The daemons are quiet, and so are we. We creep up the hill, and the only things I hear are our footsteps.
“Wait until we reach the top to release the magic,” Arland says.
An eerie silence blankets the cliff, making it difficult to keep the magic inside, but I do. I have no choice. With our backs to the rock formation, we slink along toward the mouth of the cave.
Hooves clop on the stone. Muffled voices rise in a panicked state. Groans echo into the night.
Arland leans next to my ear. “Now would be a good time to release the magic, Kate. When you do, step out where they can see you, and do not let go of me.”
Closing my eyes, I send my mind searching through every part of my body for strength, for love, for all the things I think of when I need control. I see the horses, my sister, my mom, my friendship with Brad, but most of all I see Arland, and I
feel
Arland. Grasping onto those images, I will them over my heart and push out the Light. I take a step into the open with Arland by my side, Brit, Cadman, and Flanna all behind me.