Fervor (The Fervor Chronicles Book 1) (22 page)

Popping open his eyes, he felt bolts of lightning flow from his palms, his skin, even his eyes. The power took over and for once he embraced it, no longer needing control. Caprice was gone, and this power, this lightning that sang through his veins, was the way he would get her back.

But it was hard to focus his thought. One minute he was crystal clear in purpose, the next muddled and confused. The voltage racing through him mixed with the sleeping potion, made him wild, out of control. Determined to get to her, to
find her,
he flexed his muscles and released a portion of the power above him. The ceiling crumbled around him, but the energy acted as a barrier, protecting him from broken rock. As the dust cleared, he blinked, realizing through the red haze of fury that he’d watched the ceiling crumble.

I can see!

A grim smile touched his lips. No one could stop him now. He raised a hand and blasted the door off its hinge. Racing forward, almost skimming the ground, he launched up the hallway, whizzing past a group of startled women.

Scenting the air, he pinpointed Caprice. As warriors approached, be batted them back with a swat, sending an electric push, knocking them to the ground. The only thing saving them was the fact that they didn’t have Caprice there in front of them. He knew who took her, and they would pay.

It only took him minutes to find the courtyard, to find
her
. She stood against the far wall, perched on a stone slab, women surrounding her, touching her,
hurting
her. The energy swelled and he released it into the surrounding trees. The giant oaks absorbed the blow, but they smoked from the attack. Red-orange lights fluttered and winked as small birds flew from the branches, trying to flee with nowhere to go.

The women spotted him, crying out, some of them climbing the tress to assess the damage, others calling to the birds, but most ran at him in attack.

The current of power swelled. He aimed for the ground and sent an arch running through the earth, creating a wall of dirt, knocking them off their feet and burying them in soil. They no longer blocked his view of Caprice.

He could see her again. She was flanked by the one they called The First and the mouthy redhead. His palms itched to fry them to the spot, but they stood too close. Caprice had survived the blast when they’d made love, but she might not survive a direct hit. “Move away from her now!” His voice boomed, somehow amplified by the energy.

Women attacked, perfectly blending into the scenery, but the minute they neared, he pulsed white light from his skin, singeing them wherever they touched. A line of warriors against the back wall raised wooden sticks in union. He heard Caprice yell, “No!”

Again they try to stop me, try to keep her from me
.

Lightning arched from his palm and incinerated the wood in their hands.

The leader strode forward, swinging her arms and a wall of water formed to his left. Energy pulsed through him. He readied for the attack. She moved her hands, yet the wall of water remained. It hadn’t moved.

Caprice strode forward with her hands raised in the air, looking as if she might drop at any second. She looked strained, as if fighting an internal battle. Or external? Was she somehow stemming the tide of water?

She spoke quietly to the one in charge, and eventually The First dropped her hands, the water mimicking her actions, fading back into the lake. Arun advanced, and the warriors dropped away as he neared.

Caprice stumbled toward him, unsteady on her feet with a smile on her face—
a
smile!
“Arun, it’s all right. I have worked everything out. I—”

Her words faded as thoughts flew through his mind, whirling as frantically as the energy that flowed through him. Smiling?
Why
? Had she made a deal with these women? Were they going to help her leave him?

I
will not allow it.

Storming forward, he grabbed Caprice’s arm, pulling her against his chest. The
fervor
inside ignited; his vision was gone then popped back into place.

Her smile started to fade. “Oh dear gods,” she whispered. “He’s losing control. Get back, get back!”

“No worries, I’ll take care of this.” Cameo ran her hands against her body, touching herself, gliding greedy palms against her lower stomach.

Arun raised a hand, readying to blast her out of the room. He remembered that voice, that terrible voice that made him do things…

“No! Don’t. Don’t hurt her!” Caprice flung herself on him, her hands tight around his neck and her feet dangling from the high perch. “Cameo, stop! I told you I’d take care of this. Do you blame him for being upset after what you did to him? He doesn’t understand. Arun, look at me.”

With the use of his name, he shook his head and tried to focus. Something was wrong, the drugs were affecting his mind. He couldn’t focus, just needed to
get out.

“They are my family. They won’t hurt me.”

The volume of the redhead’s voice increased, muffling Caprice’s words. She hadn’t stopped singing. His other palm flew up.
Have to get Caprice out!

Caprice sprung around, reached one hand toward the lake, closed her fist and then flung her arm toward the singing woman. A ball of water launched forward and flew inside Cameo’s mouth. She choked, gagging as she coughed out the water, doubling over from the effort.

With a hand against her throat, Cameo wheezed, “Stop doing that! You are really starting to make me mad. I haven’t even used my really deadly voice yet, but if you keep it up,” she pointed a soggy finger toward Arun, “he’s going to get it.”

Warbled sounds hurt his ears, the energy started to turn within without an outlet, scorching and burning his organs, muscle bone.

The First spoke. “Caprice, I ask that you stay. This is your home now. You need only say the word.” Her eyes raked over him and Arun lifted his lip in a snarl.

He didn’t let her answer, couldn’t bear to hear the words,
I want to stay.
No! Grabbing her around the waist, he hoisted Caprice over his shoulder and ran. The power cushioned his feet, protecting him, giving him valuable energy to make it out the exit.

Never slowing, he threw back a hand and lightning arched from his palm. The power rested and flowed, getting stronger and stronger. With one burst he’d crumbled one side of the courtyard. A giant tree rumbled and started to fall, the weight of the crash reverberating through the jungle.
Not enough
.
I will make them pay!
Take the whole place down.
He came to an abrupt stop. He readjusted Caprice to ready for a powerful blow. With palms raised, he watched the spikes of white lightning gather and launch forward.

“Arun! Look at me. Don’t do this. You will destroy an ancient place. You will never forgive yourself if…”

Her words faded, his only focus was protecting Caprice. Just as he readied to destroy the courtyard, unable to stop, Caprice bit his back. Hard. Her teeth sinking deep. He arched in pain, and it sent the deadly current high into the sky, miles away from the warrior women.

“What are you doing?” Caprice pounded on his back.

He didn’t answer; he was lost to the rush of power.

Caprice reached back and rubbed her fingers through his hair. He relished the feel of her touch, needing an anchor, but he still let loose with bolt after bolt of electricity. But still the bolts missed their mark. Her fingers closed and yanked, nearly pulling the hair from his head. When he didn’t slow, she did it again. “What is the matter with you? You’re out of control!”

Fury rode him hard. Must escape, now.
Can’t live without her need her.
Feeling his way down her body while keeping his gaze on the courtyard, Arun ripped a layer from her dress and bound her hands in front of her. She didn’t fight him.
No time must save must save… who? Caprice? Mother Cay? Who is—
He had to clear his mind!
Focus. Focus on what’s in front of you
. Caprice.

“Arun, please. You don’t have to do this.” Tears tracked down her face.

War cries rang out just behind him.
Damn these women to all nine hells
. He picked up Caprice and raced for the Bicullis. The sun was just now rising in the sky, the familiar swirls at the edge of the glistening lake. “You will not stay here. You belong to me!”

Caprice went still, now only dead weight in his arms. The back of his neck tingled, he felt the warriors behind him, gaining ground. He pounded through the jungle, the Bicullis so close. With a roar, he jumped through the shimmering portal, thinking of home, the hot sun, the vivid sky that stretched as far as the eye could see. As he entered, pain exploded in his back. He knew that pain—the women had launched a dart and this time he didn’t think it was meant to put him to sleep.

‡

H
ot, hot, hot!
The heat enveloped her, searing her skin. The pain of hitting the rocky ground was nothing compared to the blare of this, this…
place.
Which circle of hell had the Bicullis sent them to? Mobs of men, women and children paced, crying out, some keening softly, many bent on their knees, praying. They were cordoned off far from the Bicullis, a long expanse of rock between them and the portal. She saw nothing but brown and an occasional green plant pushing through the dirt. Nothing but mountain, rocks and, heat.

Arun
. Crazed Arun. She had to tell him, help him snap out of the fog of fury. Rising on one elbow at an awkward angle, she spun around and saw him, face down in the ground. Knocked out, again. “Arun! Oh gods, wake up,
please.”
She reached for him and stopped midway when a creeping shadow inched over her, blissfully blocking her from the full power of the sun.

Three hulking men, all bare-chested and in different shades of bronze, loomed over her. All were as handsome as Arun, one leaner than the other, and the third was a little shorter, but looked twice as wide. Despite their differences, they shared one glaring trait: varying shades of brown eyes that sat below jet-black eyebrows.

Oh dear gods. Now I have to deal with
three
of them?

“Hello, gorgeous! I have to say I’ve wanted to knock my brother out many a time, but I never quite succeeded. How did you manage it?” the tall blond drawled.

Which one was he?
Too soon to tell. “I didn’t.”

The thinner of the two was still a huge man, with long, lean muscle defining his chest. His stomach was so defined she could play chess on it. He shot his brother a dirty look and said. “Stop flirting. We have no time.” Then piercing her with eyes that were lighter than Arun’s, more like amber, he said, “Tell us where you came from.”

Caprice gasped when she glanced above him and saw the dark gray and black clouds dominating the sky. Not one bit of blue was visible, yet it still remained suffocatingly hot.

“He dead?” The wide one who was a wall of muscle asked, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

The appeared impassive, but his eyes jumped with a dark fire. Not one hint of brown speckled the midnight black of his eyes.

“He’s fine, Ives. His chest is moving up and down. We have to find out if it’s safe to travel back through the Bicullis. From my calculation, we only have a few minutes left, before it closes for another twelve hours. We may not have that long.” The thin one said, running a hand through soft brown hair.

The ground shook, as if on cue, and a massive stream of light-gray ash spewed into the air.

“They knocked him out again, damn them! Why does no one listen to me?” Caprice muttered to herself. Feeling around his neck, she felt the dart lodged in the back of his neck and pulled it free. Sighing, she prayed they’d only put him to sleep.

“They? They who?” The blond asked.

War cries lilted through the air as women flooded the portal, appearing then blending perfectly into their surroundings, becoming tan, brown and gray to adapt to their environment. Again, they were virtually invisible, only ghostly shadows, impossible to track as they moved.
“They,
them. They are… They are my family, but they’re upset with Arun right now. If I could just get everyone to calm themselves and listen to me, I could resolve this issue.”

Arun’s eyes popped open, and white coated his eyes. His skinned glowed an eerie, egg-white, nothing like the golden glow from the cell.
White eyes. He’s blind again
. Electricity sparked as he clenched his hands. “The energy… So much power… Fighting the poison… Don’t want to release it… Might hurt… people,” he muttered.

Fury rode Caprice hard, anger toward the Hamazakaran, her father, the prince,
Arun,
everyone in her life who claimed they cared for her. But despite the anger, she’d never been so grateful to see her giant’s stubborn eyes open, even if they lacked the brown color she craved.

“Are my brothers here?”

The three brothers grabbed swords half the length of their bodies, and crowded around Caprice and Arun. “We are here, My King.”

“Fisk, take Caprice.
Keep her safe
. Don’t… let her… go. They come to take what’s mine. They are… the deadliest,
dirtiest
fighters you’ll ever meet. Cover your ears.” Arun spat out and lumbered to his feet, the glow increasing. His breathing was erratic, and he didn’t seem to hear the anarchy around him. He looked to be centering himself, fighting an internal battle. “I will not succumb!”