Wicked Path (The Daath Chronicles Book 2) (21 page)

No owls out tonight, or wolves, or coyotes… nothing.
Just like the forest near the temple.

I never thought I’d make it to the other side of the mountain,” Raven said. “I’ve always wondered what it was like.”

“We’re not there yet,” I reminded her.

Daath was beautiful, but Lakewood had a different kind of beauty, a familiar beauty. If Raven loved the lake in Daath, she would love the one in Lakewood, and I would take her there. I’d take her to the rope swing, put my hands around her hips, kiss her neck, then push her out over the water and watch her fly.

Keeping Raven in my head made me forget the fear of the drop below. I pictured her in the lake, swimming, her clothes sticking to her body, showing off curves she always tried to hide. I smiled. One day, we’d be together, getting fat and lazy. No more fighting or running.

Crack.

I glanced up to Raven. Her feet were both set on the rock, secured. The rope tied around her waist. Without a pack, the only items she carried were a water canteen and her long dagger, both hooked onto her belt.

Where did that crack come from
?

Cael was too far away to see clearly, but he seemed fine. I checked the area for footholds. Everything looked sturdy. I climbed down another two feet, making sure I didn’t get too far below Raven.

Wind blew the cold air around my head, freezing my ears while the rest of my body sweat with each movement.

Keep going.

My muscles were strained, but not fatigued, at least not yet. I wondered how Raven was.

“How you holding up?” I called out to her.

She moved her feet down again, grabbing a piece of rock. “A little tired, but I’m okay.”

I turned my head, peering below into the dark. “We should be close. Only a little more.”

She nodded and continued descending.

There were no clouds tonight, and from this angle, every star appeared larger. There were thousands. Little pin pricks of light filled the open and endless sky, and I wondered where in that ink of blue The Creator resided.

Crack.

Was the ice cracking? I looked at the frozen waterfall, but didn’t see anything. No black lines, no cracks to indicate the mountain was falling apart, just that eerie noise.

“Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Raven’s words came out in between ragged breaths.

“That noise. It sounded like the ice is breaking.”

“I didn’t hear anything. Must be the wind.”

I definitely heard something
.

The wind wrapped around me again, fierce and cold. I held my place, waiting for the gust to slow, but it didn’t. With nothing left to do, I descended, down and down. Every few feet I’d hear
crack
, then the wind, and my body would go numb.

The muscles in my arms twitched and my throat desperately needed water. I positioned my belt and made sure my feet were stationed well, then took out the canteen. The cold water soothed my dry throat.

“Ahh, that’s good.”

I cracked my neck and rolled out my shoulders, getting ready to descend again. A yellow light hovered around the slope, far to the right. Fireflies?

The light turned into two. Two almond shaped spheres that came closer to me. I put the canteen away in my pack just as the two lights turned into two yellow eyes. Before I had time to yell out a warning, a black face hissed and jumped at me.

“Cael!” I swatted the bat-like creature.

“What’s wrong?” Raven yelled. “Avikar!”

Another creature came. It resembled a big bat crawling on the ice, its mouth open, hissing, large teeth dripping with saliva.

“What’s going on?” Cael yelled, but he was still out of sight.

“There’s bats crawling around and coming after me!”

“Ice bats. Hit them in the face.”

Another bat came from my left and Raven screamed above me.

“Raven!”

She kicked at a bat, sending it into the rock.

I held onto the rope and punched out with my right hand. “Stupid bats! Shoo, shoo!”

The ice bats scrambled away from me, then one bit my neck. I dislodged it, losing my footing in the process. Both my legs dangled, and I reached for a gap in the mountain, but missed, falling, yanking Raven with me. Raven reached for the rock, but she couldn’t hold me.

“Hold on!” Cael yelled, the strain of holding us both echoed through his words. “Try to grab onto something.”

The rope swung and Raven latched onto the mountain, but I was weighing her down.

“Swing me,” I said to her.

She grabbed the rope and tried. Her face strained and I moved, but not enough. I swung back and forth trying to gain momentum.

Back and forth I went each time a little closer, but there was nothing for me to grab.

The rope stopped moving. Raven breathed heavily, trying to swing the rope again. If she used all her energy saving me, she wouldn’t make the rest of the descent.

She took another deep breath, swinging the rope again, grunting. The slope near me was smooth and I couldn’t find anything to grab. I was going to take them both down with me.

I swore I wouldn’t let anything else happen to her. “I love you.”

“Why are you saying that?”

Blue light from the glowworms highlighted her face. Her perfect lips drew into a frown.

If I didn’t do it now, I’d never be able to.

I had to make a choice.

And I chose her.

I slid my dagger out, met Raven’s gaze, and in one swift movement cut the rope connecting us.

y days with Jeslyn had been painfully uninformative. She’d said little about her grandfather’s voyage, and if I wanted to take her away without complications, I had to act now. Today, I would give her a proposal, and if that didn’t work, I would wait until tomorrow when Harold left and take her by force.

The shop was empty when I entered, neither Jeslyn nor Harold were in sight. “Hello?”

“Is that you Edward?” Jeslyn called from somewhere in the back.

“Yes.”

“Oh, great, I need help. Could you come to the storage room? This new display case Grandfather ordered is much heavier than I expected.”

“Of course.” I walked to the back of the shop. “Where are you?”

“In here.”

I followed her voice through the swinging door and walked into the storage room. “Jeslyn?”

“Here.” I turned around and Jeslyn stepped out of the shadows.

“What do—”

She pressed a dagger to my throat. “You won’t fool me twice, Lucino.”

Impossible.
Never once did I use my captivation spell or give her any reason to suspect me.

“Who? Are you feeling all right?”

“Lie to me… and I’ll kill you now.” She gripped the dagger tighter, pressing harder, nicking the skin.

“Very well. What gave me away?” I held up my palms, showing my surrender.

She pressed the blade deeper against my throat, fire burning in her eyes. “You’re the only person I’ve met who hates butterflies.”

“An insect gave me away?” I laughed, meeting her glaring expression. “Are you not afraid then?”

“No.”

“You should be.” In one swift movement, I came from under the blade, pushing her hand up and away from my face, then twisted her wrist until she dropped the dagger. She yelled as it fell to the floor with a clank, then kneed me in the groin.

“Why do you women always insist on hitting
there
?” I gritted my teeth.

Jeslyn stood ready, another dagger in her hand.

“Where do you keep all those things?”

Her cheeks flushed, and if her body wasn’t rigid and angry, I would’ve thought she was blushing.

“Really, Jeslyn. Is this necessary?”

“What are you doing here? How are you even alive?”

I straightened, adjusted my shirt, and shifted back into the other human form. Shaking my head, the brown hair morphed into blond and grew longer. My height returned to its normal stature, my arms and legs lengthened. The dirty complexion left, replaced with smooth, cream skin.

Her eyes widened and her arms lowered.

“Much better.” I stepped closer and she stepped back, raising the dagger with both hands, pointing it at me.

“I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Then what do you want?”

“I’ve come to make peace.”

“Peace? You tried to kill my brother.”

“Yes, that was unfortunate, but he did interrupt our wedding.” I took both her hands in mine, the dagger still between them. “Or have you forgotten we were to be wed?”

She glared, and I found the action riveting.

“You mean nothing to me,” she spat. Her body stiffened as I held her in place.

“Oh?” I took the dagger out of her grasp and used the metal tip of it to pull out the locket hidden beneath her dress.

“You still desire me.” I sniffed the air near her neck. “I can smell it on you.”

Her eyes narrowed, and I laughed.

“But I’m not here to seduce you, my lady. I have a proposition for you.”

“And why would I listen to anything you have to say?”

I bent lower so we were eye to eye. “Because the life of every human depends on it.”

“Jeslyn?”

“I’m here!”

“You have to go.” She pushed me toward the door and snatched her other dagger off the floor.

“Is this how you treat all your patrons?” I shifted back into Edward.

Her brow creased and her pout was strangely attractive.

“Very well,” I said, “but I’ll be back tomorrow. We’re not finished.”

She gave me one last icy glare before turning her back to me.

Excusing myself, I left the store before Harold asked me yet another map question.

Jeslyn’s reaction was unexpected. I thought she would be more frightened, instead, she wanted to slit my throat. I smiled as I replayed her daring move. How she coerced me to the back room and asked for my help. She was not the simple girl I remembered. No, she had matured into quite the woman. Persuading her off would be a bit more complicated, but I did love a challenge. She would agree. I would see to that. I just had to monitor her until then.