Dwellers of Darkness (32 page)

“Yes. Yes, I’m fine,” I yelled, switching on my headlamp and pointing the light back on the sword. It was beautiful, but the metal no longer called to me. It hadn’t been the sword drawing me near; it had been the spell that enchanted it. I could still perceive its daunting power, but it no longer cared if I held or possessed it. It was neutral to me.

My fingers wrapped around the handle, bearing the weight as I picked it up. The thing was heavy. My hand slid up the metal, caressing the engraved features. It was not iron or any other metal I felt before. It was something that did not belong to Earth.

“Em, what is going on?” Cole bellowed.

Begrudgingly, I stood and gripped the sword tightly against my body. I had come to accept the prophecy and what part I played in it. I felt possessive. It was my destiny, and I was going to
fulfill it. “Okay, I got it. I am ready to come back up.”

They gradually lifted me to the top. Arms grasped me as I neared the surface. Eli grabbed the weight from my hands, lightening Cole’s and Cooper’s load. They lifted me and placed my feet on the ground.

“Let me see it.” Lars demanded Eli. Eli held it out in his palms while everyone quickly surrounded the sword, ogling it.

Kennedy stepped closer. “Wow, I can feel it. It is alive.”

Many things in the Otherworld tended to be alive, like books and weapons. They held history and the life they had experienced. If you are quiet and patient enough, they might tell you their story.

Her finger stretched to touch it. The moment she did, she hit the ground.

“Ken!” I dived after her. She blinked and shook her head. “Are you okay?” I helped her sit.

“Yes. I don’t know what happened. I felt like it tried to talk to me. It was too much.”

My attention turned back to the sword in Eli’s hand. “Eli, do you feel anything?”

He shook his head. “No.”

I frowned. I was the prophesized one, the one who should have the connection to it. Why didn’t it try to communicate with me?

Everyone took turns placing their hands on the blade. Nothing.

“Kennedy, if our theory is right about who you are, the Druid who put the curse on it is from your family line,” Cole said. “That’s why it is interacting with you and no one else.” None of us could refute his reasoning.

Lars turned back to Eli. “Let me have it. I will carry it.”

I cringed. I knew what the reaction would be to this. Protests bombarded Lars’ declaration.

“You think we’d be stupid enough to let you have it?”

“I don’t think so.”

“There’s no way in hell you are going to hold it.”

“Everyone shut it,” I screamed, silencing the combating voices. “It is my burden to bear, and I will carry it.” My proclamation was not ready for the reality. I swiped the sword out of Eli’s hand and went face first into the dirt.

Damn. That’s embarrassing.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m feeling better about this.” Eli sounded way too amused for his own good. “Glad you’re handling this, Brycin.”

“Shut up,” I mumbled into the ground. He came to my side, helping me roll over.

If you ever want to see me naked again, you will zip those lips right now.
I glowered at him.

He smiled and motioned sealing his mouth, the glint in his eyes bright with humor.

“I really do hate you,” I muttered as he pulled me to my feet.

I glanced down at the sword. Most of me wanted to kick it, but with my luck I would break my toes in the process. “It’ll be fine. I wasn’t ready for how heavy it is.”

“How about I carry it on my back?” Eli held up his hand stopping the coming rejections to this idea. “I will only carry it until we get out of here. Then Brycin will take it. Believe me, I have no desire to obtain this sword. Plus, if I did anything, Brycin here would kick my ass.”

Also I really want to see you naked again.
His eyes met mine.
Wearing only the sword.

I blushed and looked away. No matter how familiar we became, he could still make me tremble. When I looked up, I noticed Lars backing away from the group. His body rigid. A look of urgency twitched his features as he looked around. Something was wrong.

“What?” I took a step toward him. Everyone near me was distracted by the sword, oblivious to Lars. His eyes turned so bright yellow they were almost neon. In that instant he whipped around and ran for the cavern exit.

“Lars,” I called after him. Where was he going? My feet began to follow him out of the heart of the cave and down the tunnel. The light from my flashlight bobbled on the walls and floor of the cave as I picked up speed.

“Lars!” I yelled desperately. Why did he leave us like that? He was gone. Not a sound of footsteps or trace he had been there remained. He was as stealthy and sneaky as the Dark Dwellers.

“Let him go.” Mom came up behind me.

“Let him go? But he brought us here. Why would he run off?” I looked back at her, her headlamp blinding me. I shielded my eyes.

“He disappears usually when you need him the most or when he needs to save his own skin. He’s a Demon, Ember. He only thinks of himself. He always has.”

I shook my head against her words.

“I don’t understand, though. We just got the sword. This is exactly what he wanted. Why would he disappear now?”

“I don’t know why Lars does anything. There are many reasons I kept you from him, but right now I am most worried about you getting hurt. I don’t want you to believe he is more than what he is.” There was more she wasn’t telling me. This was about the past, not the present. Their connection, like her relationship to Eli, was shrouded in mystery. A secret I would eventually learn, but not at this moment.

Abruptly, I felt a prickling across my skin. A warning. Something was coming.

“Do you feel that?” I took a few steps back, grabbing Mom’s arm.

“Yes. The smell is awful. What is it?” She strode back with me toward the group.

I took a deep breath. She was right. A rancid, rotting-corpse stench wafted to us. “I-I don’t know.” I couldn’t place it, but it triggered a deep-seated fear in my gut. We both started to run to the core of the cave.

Something bad was coming for us. Was this why Lars had taken off? His powers would have smelled or sensed this sooner than the rest of us. Was this thing so bad he knew to get out before it reached us? My heart wanted to believe he wouldn’t leave us.

Even if he didn’t care what happened to me, he would care about the sword. He wouldn’t simply leave it, right?

My thoughts did not have time to focus on him. It didn’t matter. He was no longer here to help fight what was coming.

I raced back into the room. “Guys, something is approaching.” Everyone stopped and turned to face me. Eli had secured the sword to his back. Even though I hadn’t said no to his plan, instinct made me want to grab it away from him and guard it myself. It was mine. My destiny.

Before anyone could react, a voice came into the tunnel. “How many of you
does
it take to screw in a light bulb?” The tone sounded smooth and confident. “I mean there are fifteen of you, counting two pixies, to retrieve a single sword, and yet it took you several days. What does it say about you as a collective intelligence?”

Shit!
I knew that voice all too well.

Lorcan stood at the entrance
to the cavern, the light catching his green eyes. His usual leather jacket and dark jeans were replaced with dark green camo-pants and a fitted, black shirt. The death stench had covered up his smell so he was able to sneak up on us undetected.

His hand rubbed his shaved head. Dax stood next to him, dressed similarly. The rest of them were in Dark Dweller form and created protection around the two men. I knew right away which was which. My connection to them let me feel their auras and know them even in their beast form.

“With so many of you, it wasn’t hard to track you. Might as well have sent me a postcard from Greece saying, ‘Wish you were here.’”

Samantha’s beast form stepped closer to me. My eyes narrowed on her. I growled at her in warning.

“Easy there, Emmy,” Lorcan derided. I hated the belittling way he said my name, and he knew it. It was all a game. A game of power.

Eli and Cole both stepped closer to me, walling me in. Seeing this, Samantha’s lip curled into a sneer.

“Why don’t you tell your little kitty to pull back her claws?” I seethed.

Samantha snarled, but with one look from Lorcan, she stopped.

“Oh, look, she’s housebroken now.” I nodded toward the Dark Dweller. Samantha growled and paced forward.

“Samantha,” Lorcan yelled. She continued to growl softly but moved back. “I wouldn’t antagonize her again, Ember. I won’t stop her next time.”

Funny none of us asked how or why he was there. By now we had learned with Lorcan if there was a way, he had the will.

“You are outnumbered, Lorcan,” Cole spoke up.

“Outnumbered?” Lorcan laughed, cutting off Cole. “I spotted half your group scrambling out of the river two miles back. I thought you finally got wise and attempted to get rid of the Light, but seeing Owen, Jared, and Gabby climb out had me reconsider.”

Relief filled me. They were all right.

A small sigh came from Cole before he turned a stony expression back on Lorcan. “You are still outnumbered here, and I know you are much shrewder than to come to a fight you can’t possibly win. So why don’t you get to the reason why you are here.”

“Oh, this will definitely be a fight I win,” Lorcan responded. “But, you’re right, let me get to the point. I came for one last appeal to get you to change your mind. I will get what I want one way or another. I hoped you would come to see how much better it would be working together, against Aneira. We have Ember, the Druid, and now the sword. Everything is in our corner.”

As much as I hated to admit it, there was a small part of me that agreed with him. All of us together would be stronger, but I could never work with him or align with Samantha or Lorcan. They had killed my friend, kidnapped me, and traded me to the Queen. I would kill both of them first.

“Let me guess. You want the sword for your own.” Eli tilted his head, edging closer to me.

“What can I say, brother? I follow the trend. I want what everyone else desires.” He held out his arms. “Now, give me what I want.”

Eli smirked. “I don’t think so.”

“You’re not getting anywhere near it.” Cole moved next to Eli with Cooper and my mom following.

Had he really thought we would agree to work with him? His narcissism was beyond belief.

Lorcan sighed, looking down at the ground. “I did ask nicely. I came to you, tried to form a deal, but once again you have disregarded my offer. Now, I will do what I should have done in the beginning. Take what I want. This teaches me to try and play nice.”

He held up his hand and snapped his fingers. For one brief moment nothing happened, but the anticipation kept me on edge. Abruptly, the quiet ended when a high-pitched war cry sounded behind him, and bodies flooded the tunnel of the cave, running toward us.

My lungs stopped pulling in air when I realized what I was looking at. Fear tugged at every nerve in my body.

We are going to die.

Waves of red-eyed Strighoul plunged into the opening, wailing, with their needle-like teeth bared and ready to fight. None had weapons, but they didn’t need them. They were their own means of combat. A shiver cut into my bones as I recalled Vek tearing into my throat the last time I had come across the Strighoul. Just their blood-thirsty gazes had me wanting to cower in the corner. Each was a tall, skinny creature with pasty, white skin. Veins and scars lined their bald, patchy, scalps. Sharp, pointy ears protruded from their heads. Dressed in Goodwill rejects, they flew at us.

I widened my step, swinging a weapon out from the holster on my back.

All our Dark Dwellers, except Eli, shifted into their forms. Eli had the Sword of Light strapped to his back, and if he shifted, it would rip off. We couldn’t lose it now.

I knew Mom could handle herself. But Kennedy stood there completely frozen in fear. Cooper jumped in front of her, blocking the Strighoul. Her powers were too new and unsure. Fear kept her from assisting in the fight. She could do one mean revealing spell, but that wouldn’t really help us now.

Besides Kennedy, Josh had been the other one who worried me. He had not trained with the rest of us making him an easy target. But when I looked over at him, he held his sword like a pro. He screeched his own battle cry as he dived into the swarm of Strighoul. Swinging down, he sliced into the head of a Strighoul, splitting it in half like a melon.

Holy shit! When did Josh learn to fight like that?
When we had trained together, he had been pretty good, but this was different. He possessed instincts that I didn’t think he’d have. These only came from hardcore training, or maybe all those hours on his video games did help.

Not having time to think about it, I went into my own battle stance. Four Strighoul ran at me. My blade met with the first one’s stomach. I pulled it out, twisting in a full circle, giving the sword momentum to slice the next one in half. Blood and matter splattered my face and body. I whirled back around, carving into another Strighoul. In the small cave, no one dared to pull out a gun since bullets could ricochet.

Lorcan’s Dark Dwellers did not join the fight against us. As my weapon plunged into another screaming creature, I noticed Lorcan moving closer to Kennedy. Cooper was too busy fighting the Strighoul to notice their infringement.

I thought Lorcan would go for the ultimate prize, the sword. He wasn’t. Instead of going for Eli, who had the sword, Lorcan headed for the
Druid. Then it hit me: this was all a set up. Lorcan was using the Strighoul to distract us from what he really wanted.

Kennedy.

Cooper must have finally sensed the evasion because he moved in closer to Kennedy. Backing her up against the wall, he guarded her body with his.

I also needed to protect Kennedy. I would not let them take her. I could feel my body fatigued as it tried hard to fight the iron around me as well as the Strighoul, but they just kept coming. I would only get one step forward when more came at me, pushing me two steps back.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed the Strighoul begin to head for Cooper. While Cooper was busy fighting them, Lorcan slithered up and grabbed Kennedy. She struggled against Lorcan, but he easily dragged her toward the opening.

“Kennedy!” I screamed across the cave. I hurtled toward them, pushing through the bodies fighting around me. I couldn’t hear anything, but I saw Kennedy’s mouth open, arms reaching toward me. Dax pulled out a gun. My stomach sank.
Oh, please, don’t hurt her
. He pistol-whipped her across the back of the head, and her body drooped in Lorcan’s arms. He turned toward Dax, and I could see him shouting something at him. Lorcan’s eyes flared red. Dax shrugged as Lorcan picked Kennedy up, throwing her over his shoulder.

“Eli,” I wailed, looking around for him. He was in the midst of fighting two Strighoul. Still he found contact with my eyes.
“Lorcan!”
I pointed. Eli threw off one of the Strighoul and looked to where my finger indicated. When I followed his gaze, the spot was empty. All Lorcan’s team was gone. Like the night, they could slink in and out almost without detection.

Nooooo
!
I didn’t have time to react as three more Strighoul came at me.

“She’s mine boys,” a nasally voice shouted and hands clamped on my arms. I recognized the voice—
Drauk. The Strighoul coming for me stopped, listening to their leader. Distracted by Kennedy’s capture, I had let my enemy sneak behind me. Alki would be ashamed. The first lesson I learned: never let your guard down.

“Brycin.” Eli’s voice rang in my ears. My gaze lifted, meeting his.

I am so sorry.
He ripped apart several Strighoul trying to reach me.

“I wouldn’t take another step,
Elighan.” Drauk’s hand wrapped tightly around my throat. I twisted and saw his mouth open, baring hundreds of daggered teeth. Eli stopped. The fighting within the cave continued, but the three of us were in our own little bubble.

“
Vek got a tasty hit off you last time. I think it’s only right I have the same.” Drauk clutched me closer to his body, his lips nearing the vulnerable area where the shoulder and neck meet. His breath was moist on my bare skin.

“Don’t touch her.” Eli unsheathed the sword from his back and swung it over his head. Eli could get to
Drauk, but not before Drauk’s teeth sunk into me first. He hesitated, gripping the sword tighter.

“
Dragen, you know the world of Dark Fae. All is fair. And I think it is only right I get a taste of her.” Without hesitation Drauk bit down, tearing into my flesh. A scream vibrated off the walls of the cave. Pain crippled my legs, rendering them useless. The sound of metal hitting the stone floor echoed in my ears. Spots dotted my vision as a fully-shifted Dark Dweller dived over my head. Its sickle claws burrowed deep in Drauk’s chest. Both of them collided with the ground, knocking me flat on my back. My headlamp flew off and rolled into the dark corner of the cavern. I lay dizzy and disoriented, with the sounds of the fight far away and dreamlike. The sharp smell kept me from allowing myself to pass out. It reeked of blood and iron. Death and fear.

A roar came from Eli as
Drauk chomped into his side. Eli sliced Drauk across the face with his claws. Bits of skin and tissue stayed in Eli’s nails. A ragged cry broke from Drauk’s lips. He huffed, and my blood and skin dripped off his lip. A deep chuckle came from his throat. “Keep trying, Dragen, but I can feel the Dae’s flesh digesting in my system. Even a little of her powers will make it easy for me to defeat you.” Drauk hurdled back at Eli.

As they continued to fight, I tried not to throw up. Lars’ magic was wearing off, and pain pulsated through me. The muscle and veins
Drauk had torn throbbed with agony. The desire to shut my eyes and fall asleep was almost too much. But my family was battling, maybe dying for me. I could not let them down. If I were to die here, it would be after I got the sword to safety.

Ember, get up. Don’t die now. You’ve come too far
. I mentally nudged myself to sit. Acid coated my tongue, and vomit rose to the back of my throat.

The sword
lay at my feet. Everyone around me was too busy fighting to see the most powerful thing in the world was there for the taking. With my good arm, I tugged it to me while blood bubbled from my shoulder.

A strangled cry came from
Drauk. He pulled away from Eli, bending over in pain. “What is happening?” He gripped at his stomach and fell to the ground. Eli growled but stepped back. Even in Dark Dweller form, Eli’s face showed his confusion. Whatever was happening to Drauk was not something Eli had done.

I immediately understood. It was me. When
Drauk bit me, he had taken in a small amount of my powers. But my powers came with a price—something he hadn’t thought of. Picking myself up, I clutched the sword in my left hand and dragged myself to him.

“This is what you get for biting a Fay in an iron-laced cave.” I sneered at him. “Iron poisoning.” He looked at me, with real fear flittering through his expression. Like any Fay’s first contact with this metal, it was debilitating. You could not move, making you vulnerable.

Fighting through the pain, I gripped the handle of the sword with both hands, swinging it up. I made a throttled cry and dropped the sword with everything I had. The blade cut through his neck like a cucumber. His head popped off and rolled across the room. Spinal fluid and blood trailed behind. Adrenaline pumped through me, giving me a dazed high. I stood there stunned.