Foretold (Daughters of Saraqael Book Three) (33 page)

The first wave of Estilorians reached the coordinates provided by Caoilinn two and half hours after the sisters had been abducted. Gabriel, James and Caleb rode on a platform with Aurora and Titan, Uriel, Ini-herit and Quincy. Several other platforms contained the class commanders and lieutenants. Over the next several hours, all of the remaining Estilorians would join them. They would all remain in communication through their mental connections.

Caleb watched the shoreline approach as their platform flew across the water. Had Skye been awake and aware, experiencing this same approach?

Their platform stopped right next to the one that had been used to transport the sisters. Before heading to the shore, they all transferred to the second platform to investigate. He was relieved to see there wasn’t any blood on it.

“I believe these vials contained the antidote Alastair mentioned,” Quincy said, having sniffed the empty tubes. “Because they are empty and there doesn’t appear to have been any trauma, I think the sisters were given the antidote in time.”

Caleb exchanged relieved glances with his brothers. Ini-herit found a few fragments of the cord that had evidently been used to bind the girls. It was a special material created by the Lekwuesti that was found only on the Estilorian plane. It was impervious to metal, meaning it couldn’t be cut by a knife or similar tool.

Not finding anything else helpful on the platform, they waded through the water toward shore. The cats leaped into the water behind them and swam. James sent a thought to the animals to remain in the shallow water to avoid contaminating any possible evidence left behind on shore.

The three spots of blood stood out like beacons as they neared the shore. So did the pink and green material that Caleb knew had been at least part of Skye’s gown.

Despite this distressing evidence, they pushed the obvious clues to the background and focused on everything else. There could easily have been a contingent of Mercesti waiting for them in the trees surrounding the shoreline. After careful scans by all of them, however, they determined that they were alone.

When they neared it, Uriel bent to study the area surrounding the blood. His burnt orange gaze swept across the sand. “There were hundreds of them here and waiting. Jean-Marc must have gotten the coordinates well ahead of time from Caoilinn and communicated those to the Mercesti.”

“How could he have sent thoughts to the Mercesti from Central?” James asked.

“That is a question for Knorbis and Malukali to answer,” Uriel said levelly. “What I can tell you is the sisters were brought to shore and were made to kneel. They were then cut so they bled. I believe the Mercesti are making a statement. The sisters are at their mercy, and first blood was drawn by them.” He paused and looked again at the sand. “I would guess this was Skye’s position, as it appears the sister kneeling here wore a skirt. You have said Amber and Olivia wore pants today.”

The brothers nodded. They each squatted near the blood. Caleb knew immediately that the blood near the spot Uriel indicated was Skye’s. His Gloresti senses picked it up like it was emitting a signal with her name on it.

“Judging by these lines in the sand between each of the sisters’ positions, they were bound together by the cord,” Uriel continued. “They would have had to have been separated before flight.”

Gabriel turned and nodded at James, who then sent out a thought to the cats. They came forward and scented the blood, moving from one pool to the next. Then they both turned and loped into the surrounding trees.

“The cuts would have been fairly deep to generate this much blood,” Quincy said. “I am assuming they are not going to allow the sisters to heal themselves, so their wounds will likely bleed enough to shed evidence for the cats to follow.”

Caleb supposed there was something positive to be had in that. It didn’t make him feel any less lethal toward Jean-Marc and Tristan, but at least they could be assured they were making progress toward finding their wives as they followed the obvious trail.

He wasn’t feeling as optimistic about it by the time they reached the third pools of blood. They had received reports from the Waresti following the cats on foot that there was a nearly constant trail of blood leading from the beach. Whenever the cats came upon one of the places containing an excess of blood, all of them landed to investigate.

“Doesn’t this seem like a lot of blood loss?” Gabriel asked Quincy as they stood over the latest collection.

“It’s quite hard to tell,” Quincy answered, looking closely at the blood pools. “Most of these areas are sandy, and sand absorbs blood. With the blood falling from the sky, being dispersed by the wind…it’s hard to tell.”

Caleb sensed Quincy’s concern, though. Although he didn’t know much about the physical differences between humans and Estilorians, even Caleb understood that this much blood loss was significant.

The blood on the ground so enraged him that he had to walk away from it. His avowed was out there somewhere in need of him, and he could do nothing but follow evidence of her slow torture.

As if his thoughts willed her into existence, Skye suddenly stood only ten feet away. He froze. He realized he could see through her, as though it was merely an image of her. Her eyes were closed and her chin tilted down.

Does everyone else see her?
he thought numbly.

Heads turned. Eyes widened. He saw they were also focused in her direction, so he wasn’t just imagining things. As he moved toward her, his gaze swept over her bandaged arms and legs, noting the blood seeping through the poorly wrapped dressings and down her limbs. He also registered the shredded hem of her greatly shortened skirt, her bare feet and the paleness of her skin. But how, he wondered, could he see her if she was under Jean-Marc’s power?

“Skye?” he said when his thoughts toward the image went unanswered.

She opened her eyes and blinked slowly. Then she looked around. Her pupils were much larger than usual.

“Oh, crap,” she said.

It was about the last thing in the world he had expected to hear. For some reason, the words made her seem all the more real.

“Guess I passed out, after all,” she said as she looked down at herself.

Her speech sounded slurred. She muttered something about hoping someone kept his hands to himself. He realized then as he felt the blood drain from his face that the reason he could see her was because her essence was no longer fully connected to her body.

“Skye,” he managed to say, moving on legs that felt like jelly to within a couple feet of the image. He was worried he would make her disappear if he got too close. “Where are you?”

She pointed up. Her forearm was crimson. “Flying. Well, being carried.”

“Who has you?” Gabriel asked. He looked deeply worried as he absorbed her appearance.

“Groping Grolkinei,” she said, then giggled. “Sorry. Light-headed.” She shook her head as if to clear it. “He has me. Angius has Amber and some Mercesti named Baldemar has Olivia. They keep cutting us.” She lifted her arms helplessly and let them fall. “Wish they’d stop.”

Caleb gripped his hands into fists so hard his knuckles popped.

“She’s in shock,” Quincy said, standing close to Skye’s image and looking into her eyes. “Hemorrhagic shock due to the knife wounds. She needs immediate medical attention.”

“Sound so official, Quincy,” she slurred.

“What was the last geographic marker you noticed?” James asked.

“Red blood on white snow. We’re headed to the mountains.” She looked down at herself again. “Not dressed for it. Probably freeze to death.”

“Don’t say that,” Caleb said, the words feeling like shards of glass in his throat. He wondered how he could stand the pain of seeing her and hearing her and not being able to touch her.

Not being able to protect her.

She looked at him and her gaze cleared for a moment. “Oh, Caleb…I’m sorry. So very sorry you have to see me like this. I love you so much.”

“I know. I—”

And then she was gone. He never got to finish what he wanted to tell her.

The sense of loss that accompanied her disappearance was crippling. He didn’t say a word when Gabriel and James led him into the surrounding trees and away from everyone else. He figured it was just as well that he had some sense of privacy as he reconciled himself to the fact that the horrifying image he had just seen was very possibly the last he would ever see of his wife.

Skye again opened her eyes. Her head felt thick and she thought her dress was frozen to her body, she was so cold, but she no longer radiated pain.

And she was conscious. Had she just dreamed about Caleb?

Amber knelt over her. She still wore her gag. Someone quickly dragged her away. Skye realized as her senses slowly returned that it was Angius who pulled Amber back. She also registered fading green light from Olivia and understood her middle sister had been conscious enough to heal herself. As Amber allowed herself to be bound again, she glowed gold. Her injuries also healed.

Skye understood then that they had stopped flying so that Amber could heal her. She also belatedly realized that the damper had been lifted, though only temporarily. She guessed that Amber’s compliance had been controlled by the daggers currently being held to her and Olivia’s throats.

Grolkinei waited until Jean-Marc’s eyes glowed dark green before he pulled the dagger tip from Skye’s artery. He lifted her to her feet and caught her gaze.

“You nearly died,” he said.

She thought he sounded accusatory. That puzzled her, as she figured her death was surely his goal. Did it really matter if it happened here and now or elsewhere at a future time? Maybe he was concerned because it would cause Jean-Marc and Tristan to convert before he wanted them to. Since she was still wearing a gag and wouldn’t have had a reasonable response to his comment even if that wasn’t the case, she just stared at him.

Another wave of cold hit her. She trembled violently. They were standing on a flat expanse of rock, but there were patches of snow and ice on the outer edges of the area. Her feet were numb and her hands weren’t faring much better. Zayna may have made her more resistant to cold, but she was still half-human.

Grolkinei frowned as he carefully assessed her condition. Then he waved his hand and her bloody bandages disappeared in a flash of red light. He waved again and produced boots and a long, black velvet cloak. She realized with some surprise that her ankles had been unbound, and figured that had happened when he released her from the carrying device and laid her on the ground so that Amber could heal her.

“Step into the boots,” he told her.

Deciding not to question his sudden charity, she stepped forward and tried to put the boots on without the use of her hands, which were still tied. It was an awkward process. When she wobbled and nearly fell, he reached out to steady her. Again, she wondered over his actions, which bordered on considerate. What was up? He cut her to ribbons without batting an eye, and now this?

He bent down and lifted the cloak from the ground, twirling it around her shoulders and tying it into place. He caught her gaze as he tied it, but she found his expression unreadable.

Before long, he once again had her secured in front of him and they were airborne. She had to admit that the boots and the cloak helped. Both Amber and Olivia had pants and boots on, so their legs wouldn’t be too cold. But they each wore tank tops. Skye worried they would freeze.

Then she noticed Angius and Baldemar wrapping their arms around her sisters, much as Grolkinei did with her. She realized they were sharing their body heat.

Were they just trying to keep their prisoners alive and in relatively good condition for their future enjoyment? It actually made her more nervous than their mistreatment of them.

She couldn’t help but wonder when the other shoe would drop.

Skye would have been quite surprised to learn that even Grolkinei couldn’t explain his actions. He was puzzling over them himself.

He couldn’t remember ever feeling the way he did when she lost consciousness. At first, he thought she was pretending. He figured she had thought of a supposedly clever scheme to try and escape. It almost amused him.

Then he had tipped her head and taken a good look at her face. Her skin was pale and clammy and her breathing wasn’t normal. And when he felt for her pulse, he knew she wasn’t pretending.

He had signaled for an immediate landing. He barely remembered unlatching the harness to release her because he was moving so quickly. A wave of his hand had a Mercesti with medical knowledge hurrying forward.

“She is in shock,” the soldier had said after his exam. “She will die without treatment.”

That simply hadn’t been an option. Grolkinei couldn’t explain the rage that coursed through him over the dire prediction. He had shoved the soldier out of his way and approached Angius. More specifically, he had approached the sister Angius carried. She had responded calmly to his torrent of threats with a single nod.

And now Skye was fine. She was awake and looking around them with the look of wide-eyed innocence and curiosity that had pulled at him from the first time he saw her in his dreams.

He still dreamed about her.

Was this the odd compulsion that had overtaken Angius after his first battle with Amber, and Ryce after his first encounter with Olivia? Although he had now met all of the sisters, Grolkinei hadn’t been particularly affected by the older two.

So what was it about Skye that had him feeling this way…inexplicably relieved that she was still alive when it was his ultimate plan that she and her sisters die?

They finally reached their destination about two hours later. By then, the sun was starting to set and Skye was back to trembling with cold. She knew her sisters were feeling it, too. If she hadn’t had a gag stuffed in her mouth, her teeth would have been chattering mercilessly.

And then, of course, there was the thirst, hunger and full bladder. But those needs were currently taking a back seat to the miserable cold.

By the time they neared the mountain face and she saw the small, dark opening that appeared to be the entrance to the Mercesti lair, she thought she might have given one of her kidneys for a minute of warmth.

When they ultimately entered the darkness, she couldn’t see a thing. Then a few of the Mercesti cast some balls of light. The light was tinged with red, but at least she could see. Grolkinei flew with her through a series of tunnels with everyone else following close behind. She tried to track the twists and turns, but simply couldn’t focus enough to do it. She hoped Amber or Olivia had more success.

Finally, they entered a vast cavern. Her eyes widened as Grolkinei landed. She looked around the space as the Mercesti who followed them threw a few more balls of light toward the high ceiling. There were Mercesti as far and high as she could see. Thousands and thousands of them. They moved in the shadows in spine-tingling silence. Most of their eyes gleamed.

She decided then that all of her shivers were definitely not a result of the cold.

When everyone landed, Grolkinei unfastened the harness and set Skye on her feet. She locked her knees the moment he released her because she couldn’t feel her legs and it was the only way she could stay upright. Amber and Olivia were deposited next her. They were close enough that she could feel their bodies shaking. For some reason, that actually comforted her.

She took another look around the cavern as the Mercesti who had escorted them from the beach moved and flew around them. She realized there were hundreds of openings lining the walls from the floor to the ceiling, probably all of them leading into other tunnels. Each cave had a carved platform in front of it, explaining the many levels of Mercesti watching them just then. At the base level there didn’t appear to be as many Mercesti as she had at first thought. There were probably only a hundred or two compared to the thousands above and around them. It left the wide floor relatively open.

Grolkinei walked into the middle of the cavern. There was a collection of light above him. No other Mercesti were within ten feet of him. She looked around and determined there were at least thirty Mercesti around her and her sisters. They were all still on the outer edges of the cavern.

It felt almost as cold where they were standing as it had outside. Her shivers had intensified. Her entire body ached and she realized that despite the fact that she hadn’t actually flown, she was utterly exhausted.

“Our mission was a success,” Grolkinei said then. His voice carried easily throughout the cavern. She figured he was projecting it with his power. “We have acquired all three of Saraqael’s daughters.”

The resounding cheer was deafening. Much to Skye’s mortification, her eyes suddenly filled with tears. She struggled to fight them back. How could so many beings rejoice over the capture of her and her sisters? What had they done to deserve such treatment?

Grolkinei turned toward them. “Come here,” he demanded.

Despite her efforts to control herself, she felt a tear escape and trail down her cheek. She wondered as the obnoxious cheers continued how she could possibly make her feet move. Her legs were almost entirely numb.

Amber and Olivia each took tentative steps forward. They were nearly three steps into their approach to the center of the cavern before Skye managed even a slight movement.

“My lord said to
move
,” growled a Mercesti behind her.

And because she couldn’t respond to explain her condition, she was abruptly shoved from behind. It sent her right to the ground. Someone tried to grab her as she fell, but the cloak slipped over her head and didn’t slow her fall in the least. She supposed it was a mixed blessing that the cold made the pain of her chin splitting open a little more manageable.

Now, someone else picked her up by the ropes that wound around her waist and all but carried her forward. Soon, she and her sisters were standing near Grolkinei.

“I am pleased to present to you,” he said, turning to wave his hand in their direction, “Amber, Olivia and Skye.”

Raucous cheering once again filled the cavern. It made the hairs on the back of Skye’s neck stand up. She tried not to look around, doing her best to look as impassive as her sisters. The moisture clinging to her eyelashes and blurring her vision pretty much ruined her efforts, though. After a moment, she realized Grolkinei was staring at her.

Then he looked at the Mercesti around her. “Why is she bleeding?” His voice was no longer amplified.

No one responded. She stood with wide-eyed surprise as he walked to her and untied her gag. He removed it and pulled the cloth of out her mouth, using the fabric to wipe some of the blood from her sliced chin.

“Answer me,” he said in a hard voice.

Although she could barely make her lips work after nearly half a day with the gag in her mouth and no water to slake her thirst, she stammered, “I f-fell.”

“You did not fall,” he said firmly. “You are too graceful. Someone pushed you.”

She didn’t know what to say. She had to admit that she was surprised by his insight, but even if she had wanted to, she couldn’t have told him who had pushed her. Instead, she stood without comment, praying no more tears would fall to further embarrass her.

His eyes moved again to the Mercesti behind her. She felt more than saw them all shirking from his dark, searching gaze. Eventually, he focused on one spot and stilled. After a nod, he removed the cloth from her chin. He must have decided the blood flow had slowed enough because he flicked his wrist and the cloth disappeared.

“Saraqael’s daughters are now our prisoners,” he said loud enough for everyone to hear. “And they are also a means to an end. They are here until I say their time has reached that end.”

His words, even more than the draft in the cavern, made her shiver. She felt another tear fall.

“Until that time,” he continued, “they will be treated as I deem appropriate.”

“Aye, my lord,” the crowd said.

He nodded. “Return to your training. We will feast tonight.”

Another cheer went up. Then there was a mass exodus as all of the Mercesti exited through the tunnels. Eventually, only about half the Mercesti on the ground level remained. Grolkinei turned and walked toward a tunnel to the right. When the Mercesti surrounding them started walking after him, Skye, Amber and Olivia moved with them. It was either that or get mauled.

Feeling slowly returned to Skye’s legs. It wasn’t any warmer, but the movement helped. She looked around as they walked. The tunnels all looked the same. Despair flooded through her when she realized just how impossible they were going to be to find by anyone trying to rescue them.

After a few minutes, they reached a chamber with two massive wooden doors. Because the doors stood open, they simply walked inside. She spotted Kanika standing in one corner of the room. The former Orculesti barely spared her or her sisters a glance.

It was a meeting room of some sort. There was a long table surrounded by chairs in the center of it. To the right was a series of niches carved into the rock wall. Inside the niches were weapons displayed from floor to ceiling. An unusual red haze covered the wall, making Skye suspect the weapons were safeguarded by some kind of powerful energy. Another set of doors, these closed, occupied the rear wall.

When she looked to her left, she felt the shock register on her face. The entire wall was dedicated to her and her sisters.

In the center of the wall were full-size images of each of them. The images looked like a combination of holograms and paintings. She had never seen anything like them. Her hair was long in the rendering and she was wearing a ridiculously revealing red dress. Her sisters’ images were both similarly garbed. Beside the images were detailed lists of information about each of them: their strengths, their weaknesses, their typical routines. She even saw the names of her human family members.

Looking over her shoulder, she glared at Jean-Marc and Tristan. She knew exactly where all of the information on the wall had come from.

Cowards
, she thought with a great deal of heat.

Jean-Marc stiffened and glared back, but otherwise didn’t respond. Tristan raised an eyebrow and looked between the two of them, unable to hear her thoughts.

“You may remove their gags,” Grolkinei said as he strolled to the far side of the table.

Angius and Baldemar obediently stepped behind Amber and Olivia and untied their gags. Many of the Mercesti who had followed them from the large cavern moved into the room and took seats around the table. Even as she watched, glasses appeared. A few of the Mercesti started walking around the table and filling the glasses with a light gold liquid. She guessed from the bubbles that it was champagne.

She and her sisters were herded by their Mercesti guards over to the left-hand wall, near their images. Then their guards left them there so they could join their companions in the toast. Skye looked beside her and caught Amber’s eye roll.

Grolkinei remained standing behind his chair and lifted his glass. He looked at Kanika.

“To victory,” he said.

“We have found their lair,” Uriel announced.

Gabriel, James and Caleb looked over at him. “Are we close?” Gabriel asked.

“Yes. We should be there within the hour.”

The other elders gathered close to hear what Uriel had to say. Caleb wanted to feel some kind of relief over the news. They had been traveling without rest for hours and were all exhausted with worry. This brief pause had occurred only to allow the groups of Estilorians following them time to catch up. He had been consulting a map with his brothers before Uriel’s announcement, and he couldn’t deny the surge of hope that he had experienced when he saw the Waresti elder approach after conversing with his scouts.

But he recognized the look on Uriel’s face. And he knew the rest of the news wasn’t going to be good.

“The Mercesti have built their lair into a series of connected tunnels within the mountainside.” Pointing to the map, he said, “We have identified camouflaged entrance points throughout these areas here, here and here, and will continue to find others, I am certain. We have never crossed these tunnels in all these centuries. At least, we have not done so and lived to tell of it. This makes me suspect they were created using strong power. From what we have now determined, there are hundreds of tunnels inside the mountain, all of them guarded by Mercesti.”

Gabriel frowned. “Surely we can take some of the tunnels and find a way in.”

“Without any doubt,” Uriel agreed. “However, finding our way through the tunnels will take time. We will risk losing soldiers who become disoriented or are taken unaware by the Mercesti who know the tunnels much better than we possibly can. And there is no way to know exactly where the sisters are being held. There are miles of tunnels.”

Malukali offered, “I can track thoughts to find them if you can get me into the tunnels. I can isolate those thoughts about the sisters and lead you right to them.”

“Not if they have Mercesti capable of dampening near them,” Uriel said, “which they most certainly do. Jean-Marc and Layla will not be their only soldiers skilled in this. That is in all likelihood how Grolkinei anticipates defeating us.”

Malukali frowned and nodded.

“The cats can track them,” James said.

“That will help,” Uriel agreed. “There will certainly be archers guarding from a high vantage point. Sebastian, were you able to design armor for the animals?”

The Lekwuesti elder nodded. “Lucas assisted me in creating armor that I believe will suit them. It should prevent either of them from taking a fatal shot.” He looked at James. “I will need your assistance putting the armor on them, however.”

“Of course.”

“I do not like the idea of battling within the tunnels,” Ini-herit said, shaking his head. “We cannot possibly cover all of the exits. Grolkinei will simply wait to receive word from his soldiers of our approach and move the sisters out of our reach.”

“Grolkinei wanted us to follow him here, though,” Gabriel argued. “He wants this battle. I don’t think he’s going to run.”

“Why not?” Ini-herit returned. “If he can use his soldiers to thin our ranks and kill some of us in the process, would he not do so while incurring the least risk to himself? That would allow him to keep the sisters for his own purposes.”

“We elders will not fall to just his soldiers,” Uriel said with calm assurance. “He will have to also use his power against us if he is to have any chance of success.”

Everyone exchanged looks as they weighed both arguments. Then Gabriel looked at Knorbis. “What do you think he’ll do?”

Caleb hadn’t noticed the obvious strain on the Wymzesti elder’s face until just then. He had been too caught up in his own fear and uncertainty during their travels to pay attention to those around him. But he now saw that Knorbis’ purple eyes were shadowed, his skin pale. He had obviously been plying his power toward figuring out what they should do…what Grolkinei would do. And from the look he gave Gabriel, he didn’t particularly care for the results.

“You all know that my predictions are based on many variables. Nothing I say is certain.”

They merely nodded. Knorbis sighed. “I agree that the battle cannot occur within the mountain. There is too much uncertainty on either side. Grolkinei cannot monitor every one of the hundreds of hidden entrances, and thus cannot assure himself of complete safety within them. He knows that he places himself at risk of being trapped within the tunnels by drawing the fight there.”

Now, he looked at the brothers. “Therefore, I believe he will bring the battle to a location that he identified ahead of time as being to his advantage. And once there, when we have followed him to that site, he will provoke the battle.”