Rapture (Elfin Series) (15 page)

She rolled her eyes and waved him off. “Whateve. So where are we?”

“We’ve been driving for about three hours, which, according to the GPS means we still have about three more to go,” her brother spoke up from the back seat.

“Do we have
a plan for when we get there?” she asked Cush.

“Humans stay in the car while the elves burn down the place.”

“What?” she snapped. “You expect me to just sit back and watch while you get to go all Fourth of July on the dark-elf king?” She shook her head and folded her arms across her chest. “Nope, not gonna happen. This chick plays with matches.”

“She can’t blame that one o
n her dark side,” Lisa spoke up. “She totally gets that from me.”

Exactly two pee breaks, a snack break, several arguments
, and three and a half hours later, Cush pulled onto the long dirt road that would supposedly lead them to the fields where the Almare plants were being grown. Having been at one time a famous vineyard, finding the farm hadn’t been too difficult.

He pulled over to the side of the road and turned the engine off. The tension inside the vehicle was palpable. None of the humans wanted to be left behind
, and although Cush only cared what happened to Elora, he knew he had to protect the others because she cared for them.

“So, what’s it going to be
, GI Joe?” Elora asked. “You gonna knock us out, tie us up, super glue our hands to the vehicle?”

Cush bared his teeth at her in frustration. Truth be told
, he didn’t want her out of his sight. As long as he could see her, he could protect her. But if she knew he felt that way, she would use it to her advantage.

“Cush,” Lisa’s soft gentle tone floated up to the front of the cab. “I know that you are worried about her, believe me, as her mom I get that. But I also know that if you cage her, she will resent you. You have to let her come with you, you have to let her be where she belongs, and that is by your side.”

Cush knew she was right. He could feel the truth of her words all the way to his soul but the man in him wanted his woman as far from danger as possible. He felt a warm touch to his face and turned to face Elora. She had reached up and put her small hand on his cheek and seemed to be imploring him with her big, purple eyes.

“The truth
, Cush?”

He nodded.

“The idea of not being able to see you is making me sick. The idea of not knowing if you are okay or if you need help is enough to drive me insane, and I have never felt this way about anyone. I’m totally out of my element with all of these touchy, feely, emotions and honestly, it’s making me want to hurt something. Please don’t leave me here. Don’t go where I can’t be with you.”

He nearly groaned at her heart
felt confession as he unsnapped her seat belt and hauled her across the console and onto his lap.

“This again? Come on
, you two, seriously?” Cush heard Oakley’s words but ignored him, instead focusing on his Chosen.

“You’re killing me,” he told her. “All I want to do is keep you safe. All I want to do is make sure that at the end of the day you are alive and well
, and you are asking me to drag you into a place that will threaten that outcome.”

“Consider it a character building exercise,” she teased.

Cush pressed his lips to hers quickly but firmly. “Stay with me. Do not leave my side.”

She smiled t
riumphantly up at him. “I won’t; I’ll be right beside you the whole time.”

“Where you belong,” he murmured to her.

“Right where I belong,” she agreed.

“I’ll take lead,” Cush said as the small group stood twenty feet from where they had exited the vehicle. “Rin, you pull up the rear. Oakley and Tony, you flank the women.”

“Flank the women?” Elora asked dryly. “It sounds like some freaky punishment.”

“Don’t tempt me,” Cush told her with a tight smile. “Our goal is not to engage the enemy. We want to get to the crops and set them ablaze. Hopefully that will draw out anyone inside. Then we will go in and see if there is a way to destroy the already created Rapture.”

They moved into the formation Cush had ordered and followed him. Elora had to trot to keep up with his long strides. He moved with such stealth that she felt like a bull in a China shop as she followed behind. The others behind her sound
ed just as loud, except for Tony and Rin. When she looked back over her shoulder at them, she saw that they were moving with nearly the same grace and silence that Cush did.

They moved off the road and headed into a field that had obviously been a vineyard at one
time. The tall plants were overgrown and unruly. They twisted and climbed over each other and seemed to have taken on a life of their own without the guidance of a vinedresser. Cush pushed away branches and Elora was careful to hold them until her mom behind her was able to grab the branch to keep it from whacking her in the face. The ground began to slope and Cush stopped and looked back at them. “It’s going to get a little steep so tread carefully.”

When they began moving again
, Elora found herself leaning back to keep from rolling forward and doing a head dive down the hill. After what seemed like forever, the land leveled out again. The sun was getting higher as the morning grew later. Elora hadn’t previously considered how large the vineyard probably was. She figured at this rate that it might be early evening before they reached the first Almare crop.

“Bingo,” she heard Cush whisper.

All of a sudden she looked up and saw a very different looking plant than the ones they had been traipsing through for the past half hour. Before her stood rows and rows of tall leafy plants, each laden with small red fruits, about the size of a cherry, only brighter.
Okay so not early evening then,
she thought to herself somewhat relieved.

“What now?” s
he whispered to him.

“When I say run, you follow me and you run. No standing and staring or ooing and ahhing, okay?”

Elora nodded, not having a clue what he was talking about but guessing that it would be better for her to just agree with him than to ask questions.

Suddenly Rin and Cush both reached out their hands and bolts of light shot out. The field
before them that had been overflowing with a lush vine–like plant was suddenly burning in a blue-white blaze. Elora felt her mouth forming into an
O
just as she heard Cush’s voice over the crackle of the flames. “RUN!”

She felt her arm being pulled and finally
tore her gaze from the incredible sight before her. She turned and took off after Cush, pumping her arms in time with her legs. She glanced back quickly to make sure Lisa was with her and, sure enough, her mom was right behind. Though surprising because of the roaring fire, Elora could hear voices traveling over the fields. The sounds only made her want to run faster. They came upon another field and once again Rin and Cush did their flame throwing act and they ran again. Elora was convinced that somehow her body was feeding itself mega doses of adrenaline because she couldn’t believe she was still sprinting. Field after field they burned and then ran until finally they were brought up short by a large building.

“We’re not in Kansas anymore,” she said bre
athlessly as she hunched over her knees attempting to catch her breath. She looked over at Cush who looked annoyingly un-winded and unruffled.
Butthead
, she thought as he flashed her a rueful smile.

“Halfway done,” Rin said, just as calm and collected as Cush was.

Elora waved them on. “You guys go on ahead,” she said still attempting to catch her breath. “Really, we’ll be the look out, if we see any dark elves we’ll totally yell for you.”

Cush laughed. “Babe you can’t even talk
; how on earth are you going to yell?”

“Technicality,” she wheezed out.

He walked over and took her hand, tugging her behind him. “Let’s go, tough girl,” he teased. “Keep breathing like that and you might just scare away anyone headed our way.”

“Ha, ha,” she retorted. “You are freaking hilarious.”

The others followed behind Cush as he led them to a side door. His head tilted to the side as if he was listening, though Elora couldn’t imagine what he could possibly hear over the blaze they had set and the screaming dark elves out in the fields trying to deal with the chaos. After several minutes, he put his hand on the door handle and pulled it effortlessly open.

“Was that unlocked?” Elora whisper shouted.

“If I tell you no, will you think I’m awesome?” he asked her with a spark of mischief. It was then that Elora realized that he was enjoying himself.

“You like this sort of thing
, don’t you?”

He ushered her inside and let Oakley take over holding the door. “It’s what I’m trained to do. So I guess you could say that
yes
I enjoy doing what I have been trained to do.”

She followed him into a long, clinical looking hallway. Lights lined the ceiling and the florescent bulbs shining on the stark white walls were annoyingly bright.  Elora watched Cush as he moved, his body poised and ready to attack. His words echoed in her mind,
it’s what I’m trained to do, yes I enjoy doing what I’ve been trained to do.
For the first time since he had told her he didn’t want a Chosen, she finally got it. Cush was a warrior. It was who he was and what he did. Not only that, but he truly loved it. And she—well—she was a worry and a distraction. He hadn’t wanted to bring her in with him because he was worried she would get hurt. He probably didn’t even fully realize it, but Cush wouldn’t be able to enjoy himself doing what he loved because he would be too busy worrying about her. As she stared after his incredible form, she couldn’t help but wonder how long it would take until he would begin to resent her. If she was what kept him from doing what he truly enjoyed doing, how long until when he looked at her his light blue eyes no longer held the tenderness she saw in them now.

Cush stopped suddenly and reached for her. Elora had never tried to block her thoughts from him
, but she didn’t want him to know how she was feeling in that moment so she pictured the thickest, highest wall imaginable and mentally put it between them. As soon as his fingers intertwined with hers, she knew she had been successful based on the frown he gave her. She returned his look with a shrug.

“We will talk about this once we’re done with this mess,” he told her sternly.

Damn straight we will,
she thought to herself safely behind her wall,
and between now and then I’ll figure out how to let you go.

“I’m a selfish human being. I’ve never denied that, nor have I ever attempted to claim otherwise. But now I suddenly find myself wanting to do the right thing and frankly the right thing sucks. No, I take that back, the right thing absolutely blows chunks of the
sickest kind, and really all I want to do is stomp my foot and scream that I don’t want to and you can’t make me.” ~Elora

Cush was momentarily shocked as he tugged Elora
along behind him, her hand still clutched in his. When he had taken her hand in his, Cush felt his soul reach for her. But to his surprise and frustration, the minute his hand had wrapped around hers, all he got was a stone cold wall of nothingness. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at her.
What are you hiding, Little Raven,
he asked, even knowing she wouldn’t hear him. All she gave him was a shrug in response to his glare, the little vixen. He didn’t have the time to question her further about it, not when they were in the middle of enemy territory, and that only frustrated him more.

He found a door with a biohazard symbol slapped across the front of it and decided to take his chances. He had hoped that by setting the crops on fire it would draw out most of the dark elves that might be working there, giving them better access to the drugs that had already been created. As he pushed the door open he listened for any movement. He didn’t bother with looking behind, he trusted Rin to handle things on his end.

He
caught site of several huge silver vats lining the walls. Cush walked over to the closest and turned a spout located at the bottom of the tank. Dark red liquid began spilling onto the floor.

“Jackpot,” breathed Elora.

Once they were all in the room, Cush motioned for them to back up against the wall where the door was located.

“Why do I have a feeling this is about to get very messy?” Lisa asked.

“That’s why you should always wear black, Lisa,” Elora explained as she pressed her back against the wall. “Nothing stains black.”

“Hey!” A sudden shout grabbed their attention.

Cush whipped around at the deep voice. Immediately he located the owner of the voice and judged his proximity to Elora. A tall dark elf stood just inside the doorway, only a few feet from his Chosen. The dark elf noticed immediately who was easy prey and started for the humans, but Rin and Cush were already moving.

Rin barreled into the dark elf like a pro lineman and drove him into the back wall. They hit it with su
ch force that it shook the building around them. Cush turned back to face the room and he closed his eyes and called on the energy of the wind. His people were close to nature. They had a communion with it that most did not, and so they were able to draw on its power. Nature was a force to be reckoned with. The wind whipped through the room, toppling the vats over; red liquid spilled out onto the floor as an ocean of Rapture drenched everything in its path.

Cush turned back to see Rin still struggling with the dark elf. He started towards him to help but Rin yelled, “GO!” Cush paused
, but then realized that his comrade had assessed the situation correctly. They needed to get out quickly before more dark elves returned. He grabbed Elora’s hand once again and motioned for the others to follow.

“What about Rin?” Lisa yelled as they ran back down the long corridor.

“He can handle himself,” Cush called back over his shoulder, believing his words fully, knowing that Rin was a talented warrior.

They made it back outside where the fires
continued to rage. Cush fought back a smile as the dark elves heaped water onto the supernatural flames, unknowingly making it worse. They ran, following the direction they’d come, but giving a much wider berth than the first time. Cush knew that the humans needed to rest but he couldn’t stop; he wanted Elora as far from that place as possible, as far as possible from the dark elves that would kill her without second thought.

By the time they made it back to the vehicle
, Lisa, Oakley, Tony, and Elora looked like worn-out horses that had been run for days. Their hair was windblown and plastered to their heads with sweat, their eyes wide with fear and shock, and their clothes a jumbled mess from the branches that had slapped at them as they ran. Their shoes were all soaked with red fluid and now covered in dirt as well. All four of them fell or leaned or knelt on the ground, attempting to catch their breaths. Moments after their return, Rin leapt through the overgrown field and landed beside Cush. He looked every bit as un-flustered as Cush did, not even the least bit out of breath.

“Did you eliminate him?” Cush asked.

Rin gave a solemn nod.

“Right, we need
to go,” Cush told them as he walked over to Elora and pulled her to her feet. He cupped his hands on her face and looked down into her wide eyes. “You okay?”

She nodded. “Just a normal day in the life of my warrior boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend?” His lips twitched with the hint of a smile.

“Wha
t do you want me to call you?” she asked as she brushed off her dirty pants.

“Just so long as you call me yours,” he whispered into her ear. Cush
didn’t know why he felt the need to remind her, but for some reason the possessive side that had reared its ugly head the minute she had walked into his life was snarling to be heard. He turned to lead her to the vehicle just as Rin hollered at him.

“CUSH
, WAIT!”

He froze and then turned to look at his friend. Rin was listening to something. Cush attempted to tune out everything around him and tried to listen to what nature was saying to them.

“Bomb,” Rin finally broke the silence.

“In the car?” Oakley asked and backed away from the vehicle that he was nearly touching.

Rin nodded. “Do you hear it?” he asked Cush.

Cush did hear it. The wind was crying out to them, telling them
that there was something wrong with the vehicle. Elora looked up at him in question.

“I’ll explain when there isn’t a bomb waiting to go off.”

“Good point,” she added.

“I take it this means we’re going to have to run again?” Tony asked.

Cush didn’t answer but instead hoisted Elora up into his arms. He looked at Rin and then to Lisa and Rin understood what he was asking him to do. Once an arguing Lisa was in Rin’s arms they started off at a decent jog heading away from the valley and towards the last town they had come across. It was going to be a long run.

“He’s captured them
, my liege.” The words grated on Lorsan’s last nerve and it took everything in him not to strike the messenger down. But what good would that do? What purpose would it serve to kill one of his own just because he was irritated with Triktapic. The assassin’s—no wait, the
king’s—
very name made his blood boil and his heart pound. He wanted his head on a spike to decorate his garden. He wanted his glory shredded and his might and power stripped from him until he was as naked as the day he was born. And he would have it. Trik wasn’t a coward; he wouldn’t hide behind the walls of the light elves forever. He would attack soon and when he did he would finally see just why Lorsan was the dark-elf king. Trik would finally see that there remained a power that was greater than all others, Forrest Lords or not. There were some things that couldn’t be destroyed.

“Come on
, Trik, I’m waiting for you. Come see you’re old king,” Lorsan muttered into the empty throne room.

Cassie opened the door at the sound of the soft knock. Syndra stood just outside looking as regal as ever.

“I came to see how you are,” she told her.

Cassie smiled. “Did Trik send you?”

Syndra laughed. “Oh child, haven’t you learned yet? I don’t do anything anyone
tells
me to do, king or no king.” She stepped into her quarters and shut the door behind her as Cassie took a step back. “No, I’ve come of my own accord. Being attacked in your bed while you’re sleeping, and not by your mate, well that can be a little taxing.”

Cassie didn’t try to stifle the near hysterical laughter that boiled up. Only Syndra could have put something that had been so terrifying into terms that sounded so blasé. “Taxing,” she repeated the she-elf’s words.

Syndra nodded and moved towards the large couch. She sat down and made herself comfortable and then motioned for Cassie to take a seat as well. Cassie knew there was no dissuading Syndra so better to just go along with her.

“Is he going to kill them?” Cassie blurted out suddenly.

Syndra’s eyes widened slightly and her brow rose. “Do you think he should kill them?”

Cassie huffed and threw herself back into the chair. “I hate it when you answer me with a question. It reminds me of my mom. She’s a lawyer
, you know. She’s so good at getting a person to argue in circles, and by the time she’s through with you, all you can do is nod your head and say yes ma’am.”

Syndra didn’t respond. She simply stared at her and waited.

Finally Cassie answered. “I’m worried that if he does kill them that he will allow that side of himself to rule. I mean, let’s just face the facts, Syndra. Trik was a bad dude for a very long time. Those, um, those,” she stumbled as she tried to come up with the right word. “Those impulses don’t just go away. He told me once that it was in his nature to be evil, that it was a part of him.”

Syndra rolled her eyes. “Leave it to Trik to be melodramatic. Look,” she said
, grabbing Cassie’s eyes with her own. “I’m not saying that Trik didn’t do some pretty awful things in his past. I mean as closets go his is overflowing with skeletons, and I mean that literally,”

“Not helping
, Syndra,” Cassie said dryly.

Syndra just kept right on talking. “What I am saying is that we all have evil in us. We all have the capacity to be cruel, to do harm, to turn a bli
nd eye when we should speak up—all of us—not just dark elves.” She smiled then as her face filled with something Cassie recognized as hope. “But just like we all have the capacity for evil, we are also all capable of good. You need to have more faith in him, Cassandra. Do I think it is wise of you to question him? Yes, he needs you to say those things to him so that he will think before he acts. But after you have made him think, you need to support him and remind him that you know he is capable of being a man of honor.”

Cassie sat spee
chless as she watched the light-elf queen stand and walk gracefully from the room closing the door quietly behind her. She frowned at the now closed door. “So was that a, no he shouldn’t kill them?” she called out, knowing Syndra would hear her and no doubt ignore her.