Blood and Snow 7: Seal of Gabriel (3 page)

I never did understand the need for clothing. They were binding, uncomfortable. The humans wore them, as did many others. I couldn’t be bothered. I had my fur.

A squeal resonated through my mind.

She’s excited, I thought, and then caught myself. Who was this
she
? Maybe my mind was going. Shaking my head, I cleared my throat.

“I am Veb,” one of the guards in black said. He came forward as he spoke, placing a fisted hand to his chest.

“Good to know you, Veb. Now, if you please, I’m in a hurry.” I waved my hand toward the dark forest, motioning for him to lead us in. I didn’t want to be impolite, but he seemed leery of us, especially Gabriel. I didn’t have the time for his internal debate.

Veb shuffled his feet, a frown on his feminine face. “Silindra, I can take you and the pixilette to Crystal City, but I’ve been given strict instructions that I must never, under any circumstances, allow one of his kind in.” He bowed low, but kept his steely gaze fixed on Gabriel. “Again, apologies.”

My insides burned with anger. “Listen, Veb. I don’t care what you were told. This Hunter is with me, and I am the Queen—”

Gabriel placed a hand on my shoulder, and spoke in my ear. “Can I have a minute?”

“Excuse us,” I said, and stomped away, following Gabriel. When we were a ways off, I said, “Gabriel, if you think I’m going to cow to these elves, you can think again.”

Gabriel smiled. “The thought never crossed my mind.” He discreetly kissed my cheek. “Your sister has called me to her side. I’m sorry, but I must go. We can’t let her know we are together.”

A sickness formed in my stomach. I didn’t want him to leave. Having him near brought me contentment. But I knew he was right. “Go,” I said, and turned away.

“It’s better this way. We don’t want word to get back to Sharra that the two of you were on the Isle of Rhue together. That would raise too many questions.”

Ryden was right, of course. I just didn’t like that the elves questioned my authority.

When I turned back, the guards were all smiles.

“Follow us.”

Two guards walked ahead, and two brought up the rear. The other two disappeared into the trees. As we walked I couldn’t help but wonder about the arbitrary groaning, like a sigh of relief and a cry of agony combined. The noises seemed to be coming from the trees, but when I looked I didn’t see anything.

“Are the stories about the phantoms real?” I asked, curious.

“Yes, they are,” Veb said.

I waited for him to continue, give me a more thorough explanation, but he didn’t. Had we been at the castle, he would’ve been flogged for his insubordination, or drank dry. No, definitely flogged. The idea of drinking elven blood was off putting. Their blood tasted like moldy tree sap.

Ugh, I thought with a shudder.

A voice inside my head shuddered as well.  

Grounding my teeth in frustration, I asked, “Can the phantoms do any harm?”

He glanced back, and then said, “To the body, no. But the mind…” He let his words trail off. “They are excellent at getting inside here.” He pointed at his head. “They spin tales you can’t help but believe. Until it’s too late.”

“What do you mean?” I asked. We were
walking
, and the more I knew the better. Though I knew the phantoms couldn’t bother me, I whispered to Ryden, “Plug your ears.”

“On it.”

Veb said, “Three full moons ago, a couple of humans stumbled into the forest by accident. They had a measure of magic, though they didn’t know it, but it was enough that the trees within our forest opened to them. Within moments of entering, their minds were altered. The phantoms twisted the thoughts of the humans, made them believe they were on a boat, stranded at sea. For days they rowed, until the female died.”

“Why didn’t you meet them as they entered, the way you did with us?” Had they wanted the humans to suffer? Some of the magical creatures believed humans to be less than the animals.

“They had magic, but it wasn’t enough to alert us. The magic you and the others possess is much stronger, so we keep the phantoms at bay. We sensed you way before you crossed into our domain.”

I huffed internally. If what they said was true, then Ryden should be okay. Still, I hoped she kept her ears plugged. Pushing down a retort, I asked, “What happened to the man? Did he escape?”

“We found the male, about to expire, and asked what his business within the forest was. He said he didn’t know. Asked me if I was an angel come to take him to Heaven.

‘No,’ I replied.

‘Then how do you walk on the water?’ he asked with weary shock.

‘There is no water. Is that what you see?’

‘Yes. It’s very deep. Sirens circle the boat, whispering that I should jump. Telling me to join them at the bottom of the sea. But I can’t. My wife, I can’t leave her.’

We calmed him and took him to the Healers, but he died anyway.” Veb shrugged.

The story saddened me. It could have been Gabriel, before he became a vampire, who stumbled into the forest.

“There are other stories if you’d like to hear them,” Veb continued.

“No thank you. Perhaps silence is better.” I searched the forest for any sign of a phantom. The only movement was an occasional falling pinecone. “Can’t we go any faster?” I asked, frustrated the elves couldn’t fly or move at incredible speeds the way vampires could.

Chapter 5

“Almost there,” Veb said, stepping off the worn dirt path. He and his fellow guard wound us through ferns toward what I thought was an arbitrary tree. Its trunk was wider than I was tall. Veb touched the tree slightly, and whispered something. I watched, curious. The bark on the tree folded in on itself, revealing an entrance.

Ryden and I inhaled simultaneously.

“Right this way.” Veb presented the opening to us, his hand beckoning. I hesitated, but could sense no danger. The other guard wearing black entered the tree trunk. A large orb of light seemed to swallow him, and he disappeared.

I’d heard elves travelled on light. Since I never spent any time, other than occasionally at the Council Meeting, with elves, I doubted the whisperings were true. Now I could see it was a fact.

“Please, this passage will take us directly to Crystal City.”

Not wanting the elves to know I was nervous, I moved to the opening. “Is there anything I need to do? I’m not an elf,” I said glaring, making myself appear confident.

“Travelling by light will not harm you, Silindra.”

I nodded, hoping they didn’t hear me gulp.

“Might as well get it over with,” Ryden whispered.

I stepped into the trees’ trunk. Several things happened at once. A whoosh sounded in my ears, as though I were travelling at an extremely rapid rate. There was a pulling. The scent of daffodils filled my nose, and a tingling sensation started at the tip of my head, ran down my back, along my wings and through my toes and fingers. I became the light. Pulsing. Vibrating. Throbbing.

Time and space seemed to stand still and rush by in one blinding flash. Images of a human girl with dark hair, and bright blue eyes raced along my mind. She was bitten by a Hunter, drank the blood of humans, became numb with pain, and then she was…

I screamed. 

The light was gone, and I was at the top of a grassy hill, looking down on the most glorious sight I’d ever seen.

“Welcome to Crystal City, Silindra.”

My insides raged with fear, but I forced the feeling away. I didn’t understand the images, the girl in my mind.

Somewhere in the city was Devoran, the ruler of the elves. I needed to ask him for his eternal sight.

“Let’s go,” I growled, rushing down the hill.

“Did you feel that? It was like I was torn apart and put back together again at the same time. Are you alright?” Ryden asked timidly.

I grunted my answer. She’d described what I’d felt exactly. But I doubted she saw any human girls in her mind.

“The city looks like the end of a rainbow,” Ryden added.

I nodded, expanding my wings, making sure they were still in one piece. When I was satisfied they were, I relaxed a little.

“Keep your wits about you, Ryden, my friend.” I whispered.

“I will.”

Opulent grass gave way to crystal-paved streets and buildings. They ranged in color from light red to sunny yellow, sapphire blue to the palest purple. The structures correlated with the roads. Sunny yellow streets contained businesses, homes, and gardens swathed in yellow. The purple streets correlated with purple buildings. Blue with blue. Green with green, and so on. Elves were everywhere, busily bustling about their lives.

After several minutes I realized the elves wore clothing associated with street colors. Where all of the colors appeared overwhelming at first, their meaning quickly became clear.

It was a pecking order.

Fascinating, I thought, but kept my mouth shut.

Elves gawked excitedly. Some of the young ones followed, giggling behind their hands, until we reached the end of their street. Then they would abruptly stop, as though crossing into another color would produce severe consequences.

The closer we got to the middle of the city, the more exquisite the buildings, the roads, and the clothing. Everything in the center glistened like diamonds—clear and faceted. The elves’ clothing was a blinding white. They adorned themselves in luxurious furs, jewels, and fancy hats. None of the elves on these streets seemed excited to see me. In fact they looked down their long, skinny noses at me.

A rumble grew in my throat.

Ryden patted my neck. “Don’t mind them. Their haughtiness will be their downfall.”

I calmed down, swallowing my desire to tear into them with my fangs so that I could get their snooty blue blood all over their pretty white clothes.

At the thought, I laughed.

Veb scowled, wariness pressed into his thin lips. And I closed my mouth.

He held open a door, and I walked through.

The decorations inside the building were scarce. Like everything had been swallowed by light. Resisting the urge to raise my hand and block the blinding brightness, I followed Veb up a circular corridor.

… “Where are you off to, Gabe?”

“Several of the Chosen are dead. Holden thinks those responsible are renegade chayot working with other magical creatures, including the Hunter, Christopher, and even the witches. Holden wants me to take my father’s place as leader. I’m going to destroy Christopher—make him pay for what he’s done to Snow. Besides, there’s nothing I can do here.”

“Oh, son. I know it’s hard, but we’ve got to—”

“Don’t bother. I’ve got work to do.”

“What about Snow? Did you want to say good-bye?”

“I’ve already said my good-byes. Now I’ll avenge her.”

“Why are you treating her like she’s dead? Her heart still beats. Her chest still rises and falls.”

“Don’t wait up.” …

Chapter 6

The sound of roaring water came from somewhere within the building, and grew louder the higher we went. When the guards, Ryden and I reached the top I understood the noise. A large waterfall raged, causing mist to churn and swirl. It clung to my fur, and slicked off my wings. A chill saturated the air.

Directly in front of us was a rounded landing dangling by six silver chords. Veb climbed on, and beckoned me to follow. I stifled a sigh, knowing if the bottom fell out from under me I could use my wings to escape. Still, I held the slick crystal rail encircling the landing, hoping to steady my nerves.

Slowly, like molting lava, the landing moved, pulling us closer and closer to the waterfall. When it looked like the raging would soak us, a circular piece of ceiling, just larger than the landing appeared, diverting the water around us.

At once we were swallowed in darkness. I was thankful my eyes easily adjusted to the dark, but I knew Ryden wasn’t as lucky. Her tiny fingers clung tighter to my neck.

“So dark. It’s like we’ve been buried,” she whispered.

After several moments, I was about to say something.

Veb must’ve sensed my uncertainty. “We will arrive innnnnn—”

The landing clanged softy, and the water parted like a curtain.

“Now.”

We stepped into a wonderland. I was too shocked to say anything. Clear blue sky shone so perfectly, I wondered if it was real. Trees bearing the most beautiful, luscious-looking fruit, in different colors, abounded. Their fragrance had my mouth watering. Surprised, I took a step toward the nearest tree, clasping a lime colored fruit in my fingers. Its texture was soft and smelled like blood, my favorite blood. That of my Hunter’s—Gabriel.

How was that possible?

Overwhelmed, my eyes tore through the sumptuous garden, searching for an answer. Birds sang from dense branches. Their feathers all the shades of the rainbow, their tails nearly touching the ground. Animals great and small—the unicorn and the gremlin, the lion and the lamb, the eagle and the mouse—frolicked together.

“Where are we?” I asked, unable to help myself.

“This is my home.”

I swung in the direction of his voice. Devoran walked toward me, his hands spread out on either side of him in welcome. He wore a crisp white shirt with embroidered white buttons, and matching white pants. Silk, white slippers adorned his feet. His long silver hair was pulled back and secured, with long pointy sticks, in a bun. He appeared relaxed, his features kind. He smiled. His almond-shaped eyes, the color of a cloudy sky, crinkled in mirth.