Deadlands (The Healer Series, #2) (20 page)

Six V
ampire guards walking in sync came from the largest doors behind them. Elirana and Chase shuffled over to Willow and Declan as the guards surrounded them.

“What do we do?” Willow panicked. “We can’t break through those ranks outside waiting for us!”

Three Vampires stood on either side of the group and started walking them to the doors. As soon as they were free, Willow knew the Vampires would pounce on them, or put them in a trance so they didn’t get a head start. Declan was on the outside near the Vampires, keeping Willow safe. He walked so close to her they were practically one person. His arm hung on her shoulder drawing her into him tightly.

Elirana narrowed her eyes. “Leave them to me. I have an idea.
” 

Willow glanced behind her one last time to find Carme
la looking very solemn. When she caught Willow’s eye, she winked. Did she just imagine that? Willow frowned in confusion and then turned around suddenly when the huge castle doors opened to the boiling lava and the mass of Deadland creatures beyond.

The creatures parted slowly on the large bridge that led back up the mountainous slopes out of the heart of the Deadlands. It was obvious it took them great effort to allow them to pass as they stared at the quartet with hunger, malice, and rage contorting their faces. Many goblins were mounted upon the green Cù-Sìths’ backs. The Cù-Sìths growled, snapped, and snarled at them, showing their razor sharp teeth that were like individual daggers that could pierce even the toughest of flesh. Their mouths were so big, Willow could fit her whole head inside and still they would have room for more. Willow’s heart pounded in her chest. These creatures were full of the desire to slaughter and kill anything in their path. It was an army bred from hate and ready for revenge. Streams of light, oranges, reds, and yellows from the bubbling lava lit the area with an incandescent glow. The path ahead was long and straight and the more Willow looked ahead, the longer the path seemed to grow.

“How much of a head start are we talking about?” Chase asked beside her.
Surprisingly, he was no longer wearing the dress covering Elirana gave him earlier, but a pair of shorts. He must’ve received them here in the castle.

“Let’s not stick around to find out,” Elirana said
with a tremor in her voice. To hear fear in the voice of the Elf was rare and not taken lightly, and immediately Willow’s terror magnified tenfold.

W
ith incredible speed, Elirana took off in a run not looking behind her. She was running so fast that she created her own wind and the tattered strips of cloth from the remaining of her dress billowed out behind her.

“Come on, Willow! Come on!” Declan encouraged
Willow as he grabbed her hand and took off at an incredible pace after Chase and Elirana. Surprisingly, the Vampires let them pass as well and soon, they were sprinting down the path. Declan’s legs were so long, Willow had to double time her steps just to keep up! The air was stifling, but the goblin creatures beside her urged her forward. They screamed and shouted at them when they passed and it was so horrifying, Willow didn’t even think about slowing her pace for a second. She was trapped in a hell full of demons waiting to devour her, and if she stopped or slowed down, it would be the end.

“Don’t stop, Willow Tree!” Declan called behind him and pulled her faster. “Almost there!”

The end of the bridge was in sight. Boiling hot lava churned and erupted around them in a spray of heat, gas, and wind. The lava falls were to her left and they fell to the lava pool in a loud, roaring, rushing flood, corrupting the land. Nothing would survive if that magma touched it. They made it to the end and started to run up the slopes that spiraled to the top of the Deadlands. She didn’t realize how deep the pitted crater was since the Wawak birds had flown her down, but it was a long way up.

They were halfway around
the crater when a loud roar erupted from below them. Dozens of creatures moved like rippling water as they pursued their prey with raging fury. Time was up. The head start they were given wasn’t much and the creatures below them howled with excitement. The chase was on. Willow’s heart sunk. She couldn’t outrun Cù-Sìth hunters!

“Everybody h
old on!” Elirana screamed at them and she raised her arms calling upon the wind. Elirana dropped back so she was behind them, but Willow and Declan kept running as Elirana increased the wind speed. The wind pushed at their backs helping them to run and then suddenly, Willow was lifted off her feet as the wind carried her upwards! The wind was so powerful that it whistled and blew them around like a violent tornado aiding them, gliding them higher and higher. The wind wrapped around her, blowing her hair everywhere as she clung onto Declan’s body watching the scenes below her. There was nothing stable to hold on to. No broom to sit on and fly. It was purely the strength of the wind.

Metal helmets bobbed up and down
like rippling waves as the army raced to try and catch them, but they were already skywards as Elirana’s magic swirled around them and the creatures below them grew further and further away. Elirana forced the wind to take them to the edge of the giant crater. They made it! Willow looked down in the pit momentarily and saw the towers of the black fortress standing strong enough to withstand the extreme temperatures of the lava. It was a place of fear, death, and torture and she never wanted to see it again. She willed the volcano to erupt and cover everything with its molten lava, drowning the castle. Somehow, she thought even that wouldn’t be enough to annihilate the fortress of death.

“What now? What do we do?” Chase asked hysterically. He looked down upon the army that was advancing on them. They didn’t have time to stand around, but there was no way to get out! It took them days just to mak
e it to the heart of the Deadlands. They didn’t have that kind of time to get back to the surface of the world. They were trapped! The Deadland King must’ve known this when he set them free.

“We go through the portal,” Elirana said. “Follow me!” She took off running again and Willow didn’t even have time to catch her breath before she had to exert her energy and run again.
She tried running. She tried so hard to will her wobbly legs and terror stricken body to move faster, but it was no use. She couldn’t keep up with the magical races of the Elf and Werewolf. She needed her broom. Declan was falling behind as well. Willow hated to feel helpless, and hated it even more that Declan was slowing his pace for her. Declan was fit and could keep up with Chase in his human form easily. Even though Willow was slender, it didn’t mean she was in great shape, and right now, it showed.

“I can’t keep up,” she cried breathlessly
to Declan. “I can’t run anymore!”

“Hop
on my back!” Declan said and bolted in front of her.

“What?” she asked unbelievably. “No!” 

He turned around. “Just do it, Willow! I can carry you!”

“I’ll slow you down!” she protested
and tried speeding up again, but it was no use. She had one pace and that was slow. She wasn’t fit like Declan or Elirana. She didn’t have supernatural speed. She never had to work her muscles so hard in her entire life!

“Stop being stubborn and jump!” Declan screamed at her.
Giving up the fight, as even now her body was starting to break down from fatigue, Willow sped up and jumped onto Declan’s back. He caught her legs and continued running, catching up to Chase quickly. They were speeding along the tar covered terrain with no end in sight. Willow didn’t hear the sounds of them being pursued, which meant they had gotten further ahead of the army, compliments of Elirana’s wind trick.

“Where are we going?” Willow asked in Declan’s ear.

“No clue,” Declan said and amazingly didn’t sound out of breath. Willow was bobbing up and down on Declan’s back like she was riding a horse, and even though it was awkward, a strange sense of love enveloped her. She kept realizing more and more how much Declan meant to her. Even the smallest things, such as carrying her now, meant the world to her. He was hers, and he would protect her at all costs. She could’ve lost him forever, but miraculously, he was okay. Turning her head, Willow kissed his cheek and tightened her legs around Declan’s waist. “Keep doing that and I’ll make you run again,” he growled.

“What?” Willow asked innocently. “I didn’t do anything.
” Willow gasped when Declan slapped her butt from behind. He let out a laugh at her reaction and continued to press forward.

“I have three letters
for you two!” Chase screamed beside them. “P. D. A!”

“
And I have two words for you, Wolf-boy!” Willow said, but before she could tell him a swarm of Wakwak birds cawed and screeched loudly overhead. Willow looked up in fear. They were fast! They caught up to them! They dislocated her shoulders last time! “Run, Dec! Run!” She cried in his ear. “Please!”

“We’re close!” Elirana said. She pointed to a small mountain range
that seemed to form out of nowhere. They were gaining ground but the Wakwak birds started diving on them and Willow screamed. They couldn’t escape the fierceness of the winged birds. They impacted her and Declan and she went flying out of his arms tumbling harshly to the ground. She hit the ground hard and rolled. She was up on her feet in an instant as the birds recuperated and circled above them again, ready to dive at any moment.

“GO WILLOW!” Declan called behind her and sh
e saw him running towards her. A giant Wakwak bird was flying dangerously close behind him. Willow screamed and instinctively raised her arm. A fire ball shot out of her hands and towards the bird just as Declan reached her and grabbed her arm, pulling her again to follow Chase and Elirana. They made it to the base of the mountains and Elirana stopped at the first one and raised her hands.

Closing her eyes, she murmured in her native tongue. The mountains began moving and suddenly, they became
like the consistency of Jell-O, wiggling and moving as a flag would in the wind. It was an illusion! An invisible barrier!

“Follow me!” Elirana said and stepped through the threshold, disappearing from sight. Chase burst through seconds later and Willow and Declan
were right behind him. As Willow stepped into the mountain, the chaos around her immediately died as well as the noises and fierce cawing of the birds. Elirana muttered another spell and there was a loud crashing noise as she sealed the mountain pass.

“What is this? Wh
ere are we?” Willow asked looking around in bewilderment. They were in a large room inside the mountain. It was a cave-like atmosphere with nothing but gray and brown rock surrounding them. But the mountain was hollow! How was this possible? A winding set of stairs led upwards and were carved out of the side of the rock. Small lanterns were hanging from pegs and lit the circular room, giving it an ominous appearance. It was not inviting.

“The passage to the portal
lies just up these stairs,” Elirana stated looking up.

“The portal leading where exactly?” Chase asked
skeptically stepping up to Elirana.

“The Elven realm of course,
” Elirana stated.

“How did you know it was
here?” Willow asked just as curious as Chase. Something seemed off.

Elirana looked around before addressing Willow’s question. “When my people created the Deadlands,
they made sure to create a second escape besides the entrance of Mount Eyja that would allow us easy access in case there was ever a break out and we had to come back to contain them. To ensure the creatures will never escape into the world. There’s a portal when we reach the stairs that will allow us to travel to the Elven realm. We are safe here. Nothing can penetrate through those walls. Well, no creature of the Deadlands can I should say.”

“And you
’re just telling us now?” Willow put her hands on her hips. “It’s so close to the heart of the Deadlands! Why haven’t you spoken of this before? We could’ve hid here instead of letting the Wakwak birds take us!”

“I did not remember until Carmela recalled my memories in the prison at the black castle, Healer,” Elirana snapped back angrily. “Even with my memories intact, the secrets of the Deadlands are only known to some!”

“Carmela?” Willow spat. “
She saw you in the black castle? I can’t believe this! Carmela can’t be trusted! She is a traitor! You saw her with the Deadland King! She’s joined forces with them!”

“
Did she?” Elirana pondered quietly and averted her gaze to Willow’s neck. “She has found a way to give you the key. She has made the impossible possible. We have what we came for, and now we can go to the safety of my people in my realm to figure things out.”

“Are
you kidding me?” Willow threw her hands up. “She betrayed us! We have the key, sure, but there’s no way I can free my sisters now!” She choked on her words. “She’s a Witch! A Witch whose sisters are Hekate and the Deadland King, better known as Selene, the most foulest Witch of them all! How can you say she helped us? She didn’t!”

“Willow,” Declan said coming up to her. “There’s something you need to know. While I was in my prison, Carmela visited me
too.”

Willow c
rossed her arms and said sarcastically, “Well that’s just wonderful! It looks like she paid us all a little visit before sending us to our death sentence! How about you, Chase? Did she visit you as well?”

Chase scratched his mess of black hair and ruffled it some. “Well….yeah she did.
Brought me these shorts, actually. And she gave me some advice. Carmela’s very intelligent.” he looked to Elirana quickly and back to Willow. “Didn’t she come to you?”

“She did,” Willow
admitted feeling deflated. “I just…I can’t believe she would side with Selene.”

“
I don’t think that’s entirely true,” Declan said. Willow looked at him. “She’s planning something, changing our fate, somehow. She told me…” he came up closer to Willow and lowered his voice, trying not to let the others hear. “She told me there’s something in the Elven realm I need to find that will be a way to overcome Hekate. And look where we are, Willow, at a portal that would take us to the Elven realm. What are the chances of that? What are the chances that Carmela led us me to the place I need to go to find the item needed to defeat Hekate?”