“What’s going on?” Rand demanded.
I turned to find anxiety written in his wide eyes and tight lips. The little man who’d met me this morning had led Rand into the amphitheatre.
I started toward him. “It was the only way, Rand.”
“What was the only way?” He grabbed my shoulders, shaking me as if trying to get the words out faster than I could say them. “What the hell have you done?”
“She’s agreed ta defend herself against my best fairy,” Odran said.
Rand glanced up at him, fire spitting from his eyes. “No, your fairy will kill her.”
A surge of anger spiraled through me. Why did everyone doubt me? I wasn’t sure if my own sense of bravado was misplaced or stupid, but either way, it hurt to be constantly reminded that I wasn’t powerful enough merely to defend myself.
Odran nodded glumly. “Aye, Ah’ve told the Lass boot she is determined.”
Rand faced me again. “Jolie, you will die, do you understand?”
“I just have to defend myself,” I repeated what I’d been telling myself over two hundred times already.
Rand shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. His strongest fairy could kill you without even trying.” He faced Odran again. “Call this off, Odran, Jolie won’t fight your fairy.”
Odran shook his head. “I cannae call it ooff, it tis doone.”
“Goddamit!” Rand yelled and then immediately fell silent, his eyes pensive. His jaw was so tight, it twitched. “Let me take her place.”
“Rand, no.” This was my fight. “I have to do this.”
Odran shook his head again. “I grow tired ah this argument. Either step aside or I’ll ‘ave ye restrained.”
Rand’s eyes were wild. “Jolie, run. Run as fast as you can.”
No sooner did he say it, then two fairies grabbed his arms, pulling him away from me. Rand’s face was an angry mask, outrage etching his lips and eyes. He broadsided one fairy with a burst of magic but as soon as he did so, another four surrounded him, all of them livid. Tears blossomed in my eyes as I watched him struggle to free himself.
What in the hell had I gotten myself into?
“Run, Jolie,” he yelled, still flailing against his captors.
“Remove him,” Odran ordered and then faced me. “Doona attempt runnin’, lass. Ye have made yer bed.”
And now I would lie in it. I said nothing but nodded, resigning myself to my fate. I watched the fairies drag Rand from the pit and disappear with him around the wall of the amphitheatre. It was just as well. It would be easier for me to focus with him absent.
“Where’s Christa?”
“I didna think it right fer her ta be here, Lass.”
“Thank you,” I said, thinking at least he’d done me a good turn there. I couldn’t handle the possibility of Christa watching something bad happen to me. Suddenly it occurred to me that I really hadn’t thought this one through. Defending myself didn’t sound like death. Why hadn’t I listened when Odran had said I could be killed? Goddamit, I’d thought he’d been exaggerating.
I was a freaking idiot.
Half of me wanted to beg him to change his mind, to let me go. But then I’d sealed my fate when I’d demanded he stand by his word. And now? Now I could even end up dead. Or, as everyone else seemed to think, I would end up dead.
I didn’t know what was happening when two fairies took me by both arms and walked me into the center of the pit. Coming from the other side was a man, a fairy man. He was tall though not as tall as Odran. His hair was a dark red and fell to his knees. Muscles littered the landscape of his body like afterthoughts. But, it wasn’t his muscular build that really got me. It was the tattoos. They looked Celtic in design and ran the length of both arms and legs in a band of black criss-crosses. The largest one, in the shape of a cross, occupied the majority of the fairy’s chest, the black standing out against the otherwise white of his skin.
“I am Dougal,” the fairy said in a deep voice.
“I’m Jolie.” I was surprised I could find my voice.
“Dougal,” Odran called from the sidelines. He motioned Dougal forward with his index finger. When Dougal reached him, Odran whispered something in his ear and the man nodded. God, hopefully it wasn’t strategy.
I was dead, a goner.
Jolie, just focus on protecting yourself. Focus on nothing else, do you understand? Rand’s voice broke through my thoughts.
At the sound of his voice, tears sprung to my eyes. I’m sorry, Rand. I didn’t realize what I was getting into.
That doesn’t matter now, just focus on protecting yourself.
Okay, I will.
I don’t know what he plans on doing, but don’t be frightened; don’t let anything take your focus away from your own protection. Whatever he does, you must ignore it.
I lifted my gaze and noticed Dougal had finished his silent communion with the King and was returning to his side of the pit.
“Begin,” Odran commanded.
I did nothing as Dougal approached me, his eyes fixed on mine, his stride purposeful and intimidating. He didn’t wear a smile, but neither did he frown. He waved his hand in the air, starting near his shoulder and bringing it down to his leg. As soon as he did so, the sleeve of my dress ripped itself from me.
Jolie, protect yourself, dammit, I thought.
I pictured a blue glowing orb circling me and as soon as the thought left my mind, I could see the perimeter of my haven. The fairy just laughed and opened his hands, launching what looked like a glowing ball of energy toward me. Luckily, it burst into a fizz of nothing upon encountering my circle.
Dougal frowned and strode to me, placing his hand on the transparent blue sphere. His fingers sunk through it and with a balled fist, he shredded my cocoon like it was as delicate as the skin of a grape. I backed away, bile thick in my throat and cried out when he grabbed hold of my dress, yanking me toward him. My blue sphere disappeared, taking with it my protection.
He lifted me by my neckline and with a flick of his wrist, sent me flying through the air. I yelped and hit the ground a good fifty feet from him, my back and elbows absorbing my fall. I stared up at the sky, willing the air to return to my lungs. The sting coming from my elbows bore evidence to the fact that they were bleeding. I inhaled deeply and forced myself up, knowing time was a luxury I didn’t have. The air burned as it filled my lungs, and tears caught at the corners of my eyes. Crawling onto my hands and knees, I stood and braced myself for Dougal’s next attack.
He held his hands shoulder-width apart and what looked like a current of electricity emanated between them. With a malicious smile, he pulled one arm back as if to launch the bolt of electricity. I immediately pictured a stone wall before me. A buzzing sounded from the other side of the wall as the electricity erupted against it.
The stone suddenly crumpled and I swallowed a cry of alarm. Dougal faced me with a sinister smile and holding his palms heavenward, fire burst within both of them, the flames long and blue. He tilted his head to the sky and cried something I couldn’t make out, something guttural and foreign. The sky, seemingly in response, grumbled a great and rumbling sound as dark clouds eclipsed the blue sky. The clouds grew and swirled together. A drop of cold rain splashed against my head. Then another, and another until it beat down on me, as if the blue sky were crying over its demise.
Dougal neared me, the rain glancing off him like he was carrying an invisible umbrella. He held his hands up to the heavens again as lightning struck the ground beside him. His tattoos glowed and he closed his eyes, as if inhaling the residue of the lightning.
The sky thundered and a bolt of lightning graced the ground in a dance of electricity. Dougal dropped to his knees, face heavenward as another bolt hit him right in the center of his chest tattoo. He shook violently. I felt a scream tear from my lips and stared at him in incredulity as smoke whispered from his tattoos. As soon as the smoke appeared, flames of blue engulfed Dougal, swirling around him and reflecting agai
nst the crazed look in his eyes. I half-wondered if maybe his magic had gone wrong but no, he’d planned to be aflame.
His skin began to buckle with what looked like scales. And his fingers arched, his nails elongating into talons accompanied with the sound of snapping, like someone stepping on dried twigs. His spine seemed to grow underneath his skin, the bones breaking and reinventing themselves anew. His neck was now maybe five times longer and his face… I couldn’t handle the fear coursing through me as his teeth became razor sharp incisors that were as long as my hands. I had to look away.
I shielded my eyes, too afraid to bear witness to whatever horrid creature Dougal was becoming. I knew without a doubt, whatever creature it was, its sole purpose was to kill me. Now very much aware of the fate awaiting me, I shook with my own fear. I raised my head when I heard a round of applause from the bleachers and beheld a dragon directly before me, a dragon glowing in blue flame, immune to the rain.
I screamed and the creature brought its head right down to me, staring at me with the eyes of a lizard. Its massive snout was the size of a small car and its forked tongue lashed out of its mouth, tasting the air.
Shivers seized me and tears mingled with the rain as they coursed down my face. No matter how I tried, I couldn’t force my attention from the beast. Its body was covered in dark yellow scales, the tail maybe thirty feet long. It didn’t have any wings but had long claws on all its four paws. It waddled toward me, its tongue continuing to sniff me on the air.
I pushed the wet clumps of hair from my face and imagined a wall of protective energy. The dragon flicked it with his claws, but the wall refused to budge, seemingly standing against the incredible beast with its chest puffed out in pride.
The dragon released a shrill cry and the wall shook like it was as frightened as I was. I dropped to my knees, shielding my head with my arms and closed my eyes. I needed all my focus and energy on my protection, not on the dragon. At the sound of the dragon breaking down my defensive wall, I opened my eyes. The dragon was a few inches from me, wearing a definite smile in its hideous eyes.
I screamed, nearly drowning in the onslaught of rain.
The dragon reared up above me and took a great intake of air, its chest billowing out. Then it threw its head toward me and breathed a river of fire from its mouth. I huddled in on myself and imagined my glowing orb of protection. The fire bounced off the orb, and the dragon took another breath. He sprayed fire down on me again, and I could feel the potency of my shelter waning. I covered my eyes with my hand and continued to visualize the defensive barricade of my orb, picturing the walls to be as strong as steel and as thick as the trunk of a huge tree.
“Dougal, dinnae kill her!” Odran screamed from the bleachers.
I glanced at the dragon and realized there was nothing capable of reasoning within it. The man was gone; all that remained was the beast.
I was as good as dead.
I felt the heat of fire again as the dragon breathed down on me. My defenses were steadily growing weaker, exhaustion starting to claim me. I scrunched my eyes tighter and imagined my orb glowing with a brighter light as it reinforced itself. Another blow of fire rained down on it and the heat was fierce against my back. Before I had the chance to envision strengthening the orb, the dragon breathed another blast against me. This time the heat was more potent, singing my back as if a giant were putting out a cigarette on me.
My heart throbbed in my chest as I forced myself to concentrate. I imagined my orb again and focused all my attention on it, feeling the energy surround me. The next blow of fire wasn’t as hot. But the blow after was. I didn’t have time to regroup before another fire onslaught caught me off guard—the heat so intense, I could smell my hair burning. I ran frantic hands over my head but found it wasn’t aflame. It was just in my imagination.
The magic wasn’t real.
Another blow of fire pelted down on me and my skin singed, the pain like the stab of thousands of knives. I focused on my orb, trying to strengthen it, but another blow of fire disabled me. Now I could smell my skin burning.
It’s all in your head, Jolie, I told myself. It’s all in your damned head.
Another blow and I shuddered against the pain.
I was dying. I could feel it. The shouts of the audience were a soft droning, like the buzz of flies and my eyelids felt increasingly heavy. My energy was dissipating, and I didn’t have the wherewithal to focus on my own protection. I couldn’t last much longer, and the truth of it was that I just wanted to give in—anything to end the pain.
Another river of fire danced over me and I dropped my head to the ground, no longer able to hold it up. The dirt was rough against my cheek. My whole body was aflame now. I didn’t need to open my eyes to know it was true. I was going to burn to death, whether it was real or not didn’t matter. It felt real and either way, it was going to kill me.
Do not give up.
I didn’t recognize the voice in my head. It was a woman’s voice, strong and sure.
You can beat this. You have the strength within yourself.
I shook my head, feeling another flame of fire lapping at my skin, burning through me. Killing me slowly.
Believe in yourself, Jolie, you have more ability than you know.
And like a wave of calm, the pain within me completely dissolved into nothing. I opened my eyes and found my cheek against the rough earth. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the dragon breathing more fire down on me, but I couldn’t feel it. My eyes found Odran who was focusing on his lap, shielding his face from the spectators who were silently watching the dragon.
I pushed up to my knees and felt the blow of fire on my back but couldn’t feel the pain. There was something within me, something strong and something angry. I stood and wavered a bit before I found my balance. I faced the dragon just as it blew another fire stream. The flames merely danced over me, entertaining more than threatening.
I took a step nearer the beast and when it blew fire again, I held my hand up and the fire merely crystallized into drops of ice as soon as it met my palm. If it was possible for a dragon to look dumbfounded, that’s exactly how it looked. I continued walking toward it, something driving me forward.
The fire meant nothing to me.
The dragon inhaled until its chest looked like it might explode and breathed a torrential downpour of liquid fire atop me. The heat of the fire momentarily stopped me, but I had to continue forward. Tiny pinpricks of heat and pain coursed over me, but I ignored them. Only a few steps separated me from the dragon.
The dragon, apparently realizing I was immune to the fire, threw its face down at me, its mouth open and teeth shining. It wrapped its jaws around my upper shoulder and bit down. I screamed against what I imagined would be hideous pain but opened my eyes when I found I could feel nothing.
The dragon tossed its head this way and that as if tearing my shoulder apart, and I clamped my eyes shut, imagining Dougal as nothing more than a fairy, denying him his dragon appearance. I felt myself collapse to the ground. When I opened my eyes, Dougal lay before me unconscious…or dead.
The sounds of silence from the bleachers was telling. I knew what it meant. I’d defended myself. Now the men who sat around me would be going to war, that is, if Odran kept his word. I moved like I was in slow motion as I faced Odran who stared at me open-mouthed.
I felt myself go down again, and braced my arms against the ground. I inhaled great gulps of air as tears coursed from my eyes. How did I manage to defeat a dragon? The question rang through me and I had to push it aside, knowing I’d never find the answer. Either way, I’d won. I might be half-dead, but I’d won. We actually had a chance to defeat Bella now.
I’d never been prouder of myself.
“Lass.” It was Odran. He reached down and pulled me into him, cradling me against his massive chest. “Ye did it.”
“Is…is he dead?” I asked, my voice still sounding distant and odd.
“Nay, Lass, nay.”
/> I nodded and my eyes fell to the opening of the amphitheatre as some people left and others remained. Then my eyes found the familiar face of Rand as he made his way toward us, pushing aside anyone unlucky enough to get in his way. He reached me in seconds, his eyes never straying from mine.
“Odran, get the hell away from her,” he said as I collapsed into his arms.
“Wait,” I said, lifting my eyes to Odran as he started to walk away. “Odran, wait.”
He turned to face me and his eyes were angry. “Lass?”
“I defeated your fairy.”
He was silent before he nodded, his eyes furious. “Aye, Lass, we will join ye.” Then he turned on his heel and strode away, reminding me of a great lion. A great lion retreating.
“Rand, did you hear that?” I said, facing him again.
“Yes,” he whispered with a grin. “You did it.”
His arms tightened around me as I collapsed into him, sobs tearing through my throat.
I did it.
I didn’t know how and I had no idea whose voice I’d heard in my head or if I’d invented it or what. But all that remained was the fact that I’d done the impossible. And I never could have done it without Rand.
His fight was my fight. We were in this together from here on out. And I couldn’t say that bothered me. Even with Bella’s army looming above, I believed in us…I knew we could win.
I looked into Rand’s eyes again and they glistened with unshed tears. His lips were tight. There was something in those eyes—a warmth. Love. I could see it as clearly as the moors of Pelham Manor after a cool rain.
He and I would have our day—I didn’t know when and I didn’t know how but someday, Rand and I would find what we both wanted. I didn’t just believe it; I knew it was true.
Rand had changed my life—in some ways for the better and in some ways for the worse. I guess nothing is ever one hundred percent black or white. But, either way, he had been my ever-fixed pillar of strength. He’d taught me to accept my abilities and he’d taught me how to use them. Without Rand, I’d still be sitting in my shop in Los Angeles thinking my cat was the best kind of company.