Casually Cursed (26 page)

“You should not be here,” I said.

She looked up, her green eyes flashing despite the darkness around her. “I heard that you were glad I didn’t come with you into the Never. I heard that you told her I was dead,” Kis said.

“I want you to get away and be safe,” I whispered.

“Who are you talking to?” Ghislaine asked.

I blinked, realizing I’d been staring at the wall.

“The selkie’s right. There’s a way out of the room. Look up, Tammy. Look up,” she whispered in my head. “But don’t turn your back on the queen.”

I glanced around. Zach had disappeared back into the bathroom. I frowned, stepping away from Ghislaine.

The pounding on the door grew urgent. Knights shouted that if the queen didn’t advise them not to, they would break the door down and enter.

The queen smiled, saying nothing.

I looked up. Metalwork and gold leaf decorated the border between ceiling and wall. I followed the pattern around until I spotted the ladder, which was camouflaged as part of the elaborate design.

“Bryn,” I said. “Get a chair. I found the ladder.” I dragged the ottoman to the wall, and he brought a chair. We climbed and had to stretch to reach it. “It’s hanging from small hooks. See them? On the count of three, lift.”

“Ready,” he said.

I counted, but just as I said
three
, I felt the air behind me shift, apples and honey on my tongue.

Don’t turn your back!

I let go of my end of the ladder and twisted on the chair. The dagger grazed my side. I fell sideways, but caught myself on the wall. One end of the ladder crashed to the floor.

Ghislaine drew her arm back and thrust again as I leapt. My knee caught her chin, as I intended, and she fell backward. I’d jumped so high I caught the light fixture and swung from it, landing on the bed in a crouch. I jerked around, ready.

“Holy hell,” Kismet’s voice said in my head.

“Tamara!” Bryn said.

“You witch!” Ghislaine yelled, rolling onto her side and springing to her feet, the thin blade stained with my blood.

My gaze darted around the room. Where had her weapon come from? Was there another for me to use? I waited for her to attack, but she stood where she was, rubbing her chin, which had begun to swell.

“Bryn, hang the ladder from the balcony. We have to go soon,” I said, hearing something heavy thud against the door. The knights were coming, and I had no doubt the queen would tell them to fill me with arrows the second they entered the room.

I rose and walked backward on the bed.

“There’s nowhere for you to go,” she said. “Your selkie may escape for now, but I won’t allow you to leave.”

“I’m not asking for your permission,” I said, lifting the corner of the bedding.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“See, how a fight works is your opponent doesn’t tell you what she’s going to do next,” I said.

She grabbed the end of the spread that was at the foot of the bed, but it didn’t matter. I stepped onto the part of the mattress that was free of the bedspread and then ran forward. I jumped, she slashed, and the bedspread dropped onto her. I landed, turned, and body-slammed her.

She fell, thrashing, but I rolled her up in the puffy silk comforter like a giant faery burrito.

I pulled hard on the fabric, pressing down on the lump where her arm and hand were trying to rise. I rolled her over and over, pulling the fabric and tucking it tight until she was cocooned inside. I yanked the cord she’d pulled earlier from the ceiling and tied it around her.

Looking over his shoulder, Bryn’s brows rose.

“A queen-sized burrito,” I said, calmly pushing the hair out of my face. “I am from Texas.”

Bryn hooked the ladder on the metal safety grate at the front of the balcony. “Let’s go.”

“You start down. I’ll be right behind you,” I said.

“I’ll wait.”

“No, get moving. We don’t want a traffic jam on the ladder.” I stalked into the bathroom.

Zach was lying back in the huge tub, suds cresting over the milky water.

“Care for a swim?” Zach asked, taking a swig from a mug of ale. “Or a beer? She’s got an ice chest,” he said, nodding.

I strode forward and grabbed the mug. I dumped the beer over his head and dropped the tankard. He caught it before it hit the water, blinking through beer-drenched eyelashes. Zach may be only a country boy from a small town, but he’s got reflexes that rival those of any supernatural creature.

“There are fae knights about to bust their way in here. If they catch me, they’ll kill me, so I’ve gotta go.”

“Go on then,” he said. “I didn’t tell you to stay.”

I grabbed a handful of his damp curls and stared into his eyes. “Get your wet butt out of that tub, unless you plan to be a faery woman’s boy toy for good.”

He scowled. “I’m—”

I set my foot on the edge of the tub and ran a hand through my blood. She’d gotten me on the side and the calf. I pressed a bloody handprint onto his chest.

“She’s not playing. Get your butt moving. Right. Now.” My voice wasn’t my own. It was cold, almost devoid of anything familiar, even my accent. Across the Never, I felt my sister jogging with cool calculation. There was no fear. She would let nothing stop her until she reached her goal or was dead.

I strode out of the bathroom and grabbed Zach’s amulet. He followed me.

“Listen, Tammy Jo, I’ve got things to do here,” he said.

“Yeah, I saw. Bubble baths and beer drinking,” I said, striding to where he dripped onto the woven silk rug.

I grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him down. I wiped the queen’s gloss from his lips, slapped him, and then pressed a hard kiss on his mouth.

He sucked in a startled breath, and I dropped the amulet over his head. It thumped against his chest as the shimmer of pixie dust faded.

The sound of the bedroom door splintering reached us instantly.

“Time to go,” I said, running across the room to the balcony.

“THANKS FOR THE
smack and the smacker,” Zach said, coming over the railing. I was a dozen rungs down. “By her reputation, she’s hard to resist, and I should’ve been more careful. I figured I was still too distracted by us to be really interested.”

“If she hadn’t used a magical Mickey Finn, you might have been able to resist.”

“I’ll be damned,” Zach said.

I looked up and followed his gaze to the forest and the sea beyond. Mist covered most of the treetops, but four trees rose above it.

“What?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Nothing.”

“Look out,” I yelled, spotting a pair of knights leaning over the rail from above. I pulled the edges of my shirt out and used it to grip the ladder and then kicked my legs back from the rungs. I dropped at least thirty feet in a couple seconds, my stomach lurching into my throat.

I landed in a mossy clump of dirt, staring up at the sky and Zach’s feet as he jumped.

He landed in the pile of dirt and rolled several feet. The knights’ arrows struck the ground, having missed us on our rapid and unexpected descent.

I rolled over, catching my breath, and leapt to my feet.

“This way!” Bryn yelled.

Zach and I both ran toward the cover of the trees and the sound of Bryn’s voice. Arrows dogged our steps, and one struck my calf. I hissed in pain as I dived past the trunk of an oak tree.

I spit out a mouthful of fern fronds and turned. I took a deep breath and clenched my teeth as I pulled out the arrow. I yelled in pain and fell backward, lying on my back for a moment. The wound throbbed, but I got hold of myself and calmed down. I examined the arrow. Not painted with poison. Well, at least that was something. I got up and limped on the leg. It wasn’t too bad.

“I spotted Mercutio,” Bryn said. “He’s headed toward the water.”

“Which way?” I demanded. “Hey,” I said, grabbing Zach’s arm, since he hadn’t waited to hear about Merc. He was already striding away.

“You don’t need me to find your cat. I’ve got something to do myself,” Zach said, shrugging off my grip.

“What? What’s going on?” I snapped.

“Mercutio went that way, too,” Bryn said, nodding.

“Fine,” I said, glancing back over my shoulder. “Kismet’s inside the Never and on her way to the castle, but I don’t suppose we can wait on her.”

“I don’t suppose we can, considering that the queen’s knights aren’t likely to give up pursuing us just because we’re in the woods,” Bryn said.

“Water’s your best bet, Lyons. Take her out offshore, where she’ll be out of reach. If I see the cat, I’ll send him your way,” Zach said, and then sprinted away from us.

We followed. In addition to being an avid swimmer, Bryn’s a runner. Usually I can’t keep up with him. But through the magical forest of the Never, I ran with extra energy, propelling myself forward like I had springs in my legs.

We overtook Zach and kept pace with him.

“Don’t come with me. Go your own way,” Zach said, panting for breath as we all ran full-out, weaving between trees.

I ignored him. There were things pulling me forward. Mercutio, I thought, and through Bryn, the sea. Galloping horses were heard in the distance, but they didn’t drive us to run faster, because nothing could have. We ran as fast as humanly possible and more.

And then we reached a clearing, and Zach and I stopped. He landed on his knees on the ornamental grass. I bent over, sucking air, and held a tree for support. Bryn had run past us, but paused, jogging in place.

I checked my calf. The wound hurt, but was already smaller. The arrowhead had not been iron. They’d have to bring stronger ammunition next time. And probably would if the queen had given the order to kill me.

“Come on, Tamara. We’re almost there.”

“No,” I said, spotting Mercutio circling a giant redwood that looked to be more than three hundred feet tall. At the sides of the clearing there were two other redwoods, each a couple hundred feet tall. And finally at the bottom of the group, the smallest of the giants. It was maybe sixty feet. There was something familiar about the arrangement of the trees. Fanning out from the edges of the clearing were flowering bushes.

“We stopped here for a reason. What’s the reason, Zach?” I asked.

Zach ignored my question, but straightened and began to walk around the area, looking at the ground.

The horses were getting closer.

“Come on, Sutton! You’re holding us up!” Bryn said.

“Where did her cat go?” Zach asked, circling the tallest tree. Bryn and I followed.

“It’s the sunburst pattern,” I murmured. “From the castle door and the elevator at WAM headquarters.” It was also the diamond. Biggest gem or, in this case, tree at the top of the formation. Two of equal size at the sides. Smallest at the bottom.

Bryn looked over, studying the arrangement of the trees and plants.

Twenty feet from the clearing, Mercutio climbed over uneven terrain and thick foliage.

“There’s Merc,” I said.

Zach raced into the forest, and we followed.

Mercutio disappeared under the petrified roots of a fallen tree that were blackened and covered on the undersurface with a fine sheen of diamond dust—or so it seemed. Bryn rubbed a finger over the whitened bark and then brought it to his tongue. He tasted it.

“Sea salt,” he said.

Zach shoved him aside and climbed down under the roots.

“What are we doing?” Bryn demanded, but I beckoned him to come.

We crawled after Zach and Merc through a tight space. I tasted salt and earth. The musty air under the roots was thick with moisture until we reached the edge of a muddy slope and slid down.

My breath caught at the sudden drop. I landed on the ground in the dark. There was no scent at all and no light. The vibrant world of the Never seemed to have evaporated . . . like we were in a tomb.

“Tamara, where are you?”

I reached back until I found Bryn. We linked hands.

“Zach?”

Zach didn’t answer, but I heard him breathing and followed the sound. The passageway narrowed again to a tunnel we had to pass through on our knees.

“What are we doing?” Bryn asked again.

“I don’t know.”

Eventually a bit of light cracked through the dense darkness.

“I see something,” I whispered triumphantly.

When we reached the end of the tunnel it opened into a cave that was lit by five glowing crystals.

The cave’s walls were crusted with clumps of salt. Five alabaster pillars stood in a pentagonal shape in the center. On the top of three pillars, under globes of clear glass, were pieces of amber. Two of the pedestals were empty.

“What is this place?” Bryn asked.

Mercutio stood near the tallest of the five pedestals and yowled at Zach.

“If you touch that glass, Cowboy, I’ll run an arrow clean through your heart.”

I spun around and found Kismet standing just in front of the opening of the black tunnel. Her bow was raised and pointed at Zach’s back.

“What’s going on?” I asked. “Don’t point that at him.”

“Step back, Cowboy. I wouldn’t like to kill you here. It would be a lot of trouble to drag your body out. A real nuisance,” she added in her lilting voice.

Zach had not moved, but neither did he comply with her directive to back away.

Bryn walked to the closest pedestal. “Don’t touch, wizard. I’ll kill even you if need be.”

“I won’t touch them,” Bryn said, holding out his arms to show that he planned only to look. He peered through the glass.

I didn’t look at the ambers. I looked at my sister.

“Where are we?” I asked.

“The salt hollow,” Kismet said. “Just a cave where she hid our treasure from outsiders. She’ll have to move them now that your men have been here. Go ahead out, sister.”

Zach lifted his amulet off and held it out with his right hand as if to drop it.

Kismet narrowed her eyes.

“Zach, wait!” I shouted as he lunged. He knocked the glass globe off the pedestal with his left hand and brought the amulet down with a slamming force. If Mercutio hadn’t leapt through the air and knocked the amber off the pedestal, Zach would certainly have smashed it.

An arrow skewered him in the back, and Zach fell forward.

I screamed and darted to where he lay prostate on the cave floor. “Oh, my God! Kismet, what have you done?”

“Good boy,” Kismet said, stroking Mercutio’s head as she retrieved the fallen chunk of amber.

Bryn’s hand rubbed his chest. “What the hell is this place?” he whispered. “My heart stopped for several seconds when that thing hit the ground.”

I realized I’d felt the same horrible deadly sensation, but I’d thought it was fear at seeing Zach fall. He hadn’t moved since going down. I pressed my fingers against his neck, relieved to feel his pulse throbbing steadily.

“It’s just a cave. A salty hollowed-out hole in the earth. The key is not where we are. It’s what this shell contains. The source of all magic is contained in five pieces of amber. Three are here. Two were stolen and are kept humanside.” She looked at me. “I thought your ex-husband was on a mission for the witches to steal our ambers. But he has a far darker purpose in mind.” She scowled, and then glared at Zach. “He came to destroy them. He wants to snuff out all the world’s magic.”

Bryn took a step back from the pedestal, shaking his head.

“How could Zach have planned to do that?” I snapped. “How could he have known about this place if Bryn who’s studied magic his whole life didn’t know about it?”

“I’ll take Sutton back through the tunnel,” Bryn said to Kismet. “But we’ll need a rope to drag him up the incline.”

I tested the arrow in Zach’s back. The tip seemed to be stuck in his right shoulder blade. I remembered what she’d told us about her arrows, though; they were painted with poison. I grabbed the shaft and yanked. The arrowhead tore a hole in his flesh the size of a silver dollar on the way out, but I didn’t care. I tossed it aside, stanching the blood with the palm of my hand.

“Drag him out, wizard. When you’ve gone, I’ll secure the cave and then follow.”

“You said there are five ambers. It’s one of the stolen ones that WAM wants in exchange for Aunt Edie and Andre then? And WAM won’t destroy the ambers, right? They’ll protect them. So we could give them one of these,” I said.

“No. These three must stay in the Never. Go on now.”

“But—” I said.

“I don’t have time to explain. Go!” she snapped.

Bryn had grabbed Zach’s legs and pulled him toward the tunnel.

“Bryn—”

“No, Tamara. I think we should trust your sister and leave them here.”

Zach twisted as he woke. He kicked Bryn’s hands away, and then dragged himself to his feet.

Kismet pointed an arrow at the left side of Zach’s chest. “If you destroyed them all, you’d kill her, you know. Tammy Jo is a hundred percent magic.”

“I don’t have to destroy them all. I’d imagine taking out four of the five should do the trick,” Zach said. “There wouldn’t be enough magic left in the world to cause trouble.”

Bryn looked like he could’ve happily murdered Zach for saying that, but he didn’t need to try, because Kismet stood between Zach and the globes that covered the remaining two ambers on the pedestals, her bow still trained on his heart.

“You can leave of your own power, or your dead body can be dragged out. You have thirty seconds to decide,” she said.

Zach held his arms out. “I’m going.”

I exhaled.

“He’ll try to wait for you in the dark. To ambush you. Don’t come until I’ve called to you that he’s all the way out and back in the forest,” Bryn said.

“Aren’t you an apple darling?” Kismet said, flashing Bryn a smile. “But no need to worry. If he waits to ambush me, I’ll just kill him where he stands.” She shrugged. “It’s only that I don’t want a body left here. Out there’s no trouble.”

Bryn nodded and held up a hand to wave farewell. “Once out of here, I’ll take her to the sea. There are exits out there, I think.”

“Oh, aye. Safe travels,” she said, tilting her head. I noted the red dot of dried blood on her left earlobe. She’d taken out the emerald earrings. Anticipating a fight? I wondered.

“Will I see you again?” I asked.

“If I live to see the outside again you will.”

I hugged her. “Sorry about bringing Zach in here. And sorry I didn’t check to see if you were okay before helping a Conclave witch.”

“You should be sorry. Don’t do either of those again.”

“It was just a mistake, though; you know that, right? And forgive me?”

“I suppose,” she said, the corners of her mouth quirking up.

“Okay, be careful,” I said, hugging her. I gave her a kiss and then let go. “I love you,” I whispered. “Even if it doesn’t always seem like it.”

I waved and hurried to the tunnel. I held my breath and bit my lip, praying she wouldn’t realize what I’d done and shoot me in the back for being more treacherous than a Conclave operative.

I was my momma’s daughter. Thanks to a sleight of hand, I had what everyone in the world of magic wanted: one of the almighty ambers.