And then there was the conversation he forced himself to have with James and Caleb about human females—especially young human females—and some of the thoughts and emotions they were bound to experience. Because he wasn’t sure just how soon this topic might become an issue, he felt it best to just get the conversation out of the way. He talked briefly about the human penchant for privacy and modesty, which most Estilorians disregarded but the girls would want to be respected. And he talked, in very general terms, about some of the physiological things the girls would likely experience as a result of their human mother.
“So, if they menstruate, can they conceive a child with an Estilorian?” James asked curiously.
Struggling with his intense discomfort over the topic, Gabriel shrugged. “I have no idea. But, well, our females don’t experience this monthly reproductive cycle. We don’t even have the, um, feminine products for it on this plane that they’re used to on the human plane.” Good Lord, Amber’s sisters owed him big time for this. “Just know that they’ll likely be embarrassed when this ultimately comes up. And even more emotional and irritable.”
“I hardly see how that is possible,” Caleb said dryly.
Gabriel struggled not to laugh. It was going to be very interesting watching the sardonic and abrupt Gloresti interact with the exuberant Skye. “Another tip: don’t let them hear you say something like that.”
Suddenly, James tilted his head as though he was listening to something. “Did you hear…?” He turned and looked behind them toward the tunnel a short distance away. “Where is Aurora?”
Curiosity had Gabriel walking toward the tunnel. In truth, he wasn’t overly concerned because he figured Amber would have sent a thought his way if something was up. Maybe Aurora had gone into the tunnels to investigate something she heard.
Amber?
His thought echoed back to him. That was when he started running. James and Caleb matched his stride, picking up on his alarm and confusion. He realized that the tunnel was now dark where it had been lit a short while ago. Then they heard Aurora’s cry from somewhere in the tunnels, confirming something was terribly wrong. But why wasn’t he experiencing the rush of Gloresti energy that he should have felt if Amber was in danger?
Realizing as they entered it that the inside of the tunnel was too narrow for them to use their wings, Gabriel fought back a curse. Beside him, James put his hands together and created one of the balls of light that floated freely on the Estilorian plane. They didn’t break stride as they plunged into the tunnel.
Gradually, the sounds of shouting reached them, though the words were indistinct and the directionality was thrown off due to the echoes. Gabriel couldn’t determine whether it was one of the girls or someone else entirely making the noise. When they reached a branch in the tunnels, he hesitated, uncertain which way to go. He didn’t want to give away the element of surprise by shouting.
And then the amber stone in his ring shone with a brightness that rivaled the ball of light floating above his head. He knew they had to hurry.
Chapter Thirty
When Olivia charged in after Kanika, she had intended to try and halt the obviously crazed Orculesti. What she would do then, she had no idea. But she knew from the sounds coming from the chamber that Amber and Skye had their hands full, and Kanika would only serve to hinder them further. So in she went.
And promptly found herself roughly grabbed from behind, her bow and quiver ripped away and tossed uselessly to the side. She could do no more than gasp at the fierce pain in her ribs as arms vised around her. Something snapped audibly. Even as a wave of nausea threatened her, she was dragged to a dark corner of the vast chamber, a knife pressed to her throat.
“Well, now, what have we here, eh?” asked a deep, raspy voice in a whisper against her neck.
Olivia struggled for terrified and agonized gasps of breath. She listened to Kanika shriek maniacally at Amber and felt the sharp edge of the knife cutting into the delicate skin of the underside of her chin as she swallowed hard.
“You and me, we are going on a little trip, chickadee. The second that blasted light eases, consider us out of here.”
Deciding she would never overpower the muscular male holding her so tightly against him, she risked accidentally cutting her throat and used the only weapon available to her: her mind. “You may think so, but I believe you’ll choose differently in another moment.” Blood trickled down her chin, the pain that roiled through her bringing tears to her eyes.
Suddenly, Kanika let out a distressed scream. Light flashed through the chamber, causing the male who had attacked Amber and the one now holding Olivia to also cry out with its intensity. The knife dug deeper as her captor flinched.
Amber did something then that made a gruesome crunching noise as she connected with Kanika’s face. The Orculesti fell to the ground, obviously unconscious. Even as Olivia watched, Amber rolled, picked up her sword in her left hand and hurried to face the large, bald male who was already advancing toward her. Olivia saw blood running down Amber’s side and right arm. It dripped onto the ground as she moved.
“Hurry up, you idiots!” a female voice called out impatiently from what Olivia realized was another entrance to the chamber. Amber fended off a strike of her aggressor’s sword, using her smaller size and better mobility to evade rather than attack. “My energy is flagging. I cannot keep their connection to their Gloresti dampened forever. Just grab one of them and come on!”
Amber and Olivia both flicked glances toward Skye. Their younger sister moved quickly in the direction of the entrance still hidden by shadows. The strain of using her power for so long without any training was evident on her face, but she also looked determined. When the bald Mercesti moved to try and stop her, Amber launched herself between them, feinting with her sword to keep him off balance. She actually managed to score a hit on the Mercesti’s sword arm.
“Was that what you thought would change my mind about taking you, chickadee?” Olivia’s captor grated against her ear as she watched the scene playing out before her. “A little bit of pain from some puny light? I know a great deal about handling pain. And administering it.” He squeezed her tighter and she bit back a cry.
Another scream came, this one from the tunnel leading out of the chamber. Skye must have found the unidentified female. The light inside the chamber dimmed as Skye moved further away. And suddenly, Olivia once again felt Aurora’s presence in her mind.
Deliberately digging her nails as hard as she could into her captor’s bare forearm where it pressed against her chest, she smiled despite her pain and the knife he twisted quite brutally against her neck. “No,” she responded as she drew shallow breaths.
Just then, Aurora leaped into the room with a growl fierce enough to have even the intimidating bald man starting visibly, allowing Amber to get in another strike. “I mean her.”
Aurora’s growl increased, her glowing green eyes focusing on Olivia.
“What the hell?” her attacker asked, his voice louder and higher than before.
“I can control her with my mind,” Olivia explained, moving her jaw as little as possible. She watched Aurora get closer so he could see her vicious fangs and razor-sharp claws. “So, you have a choice. You can release me…or I’ll release her.”
Skye had been debating what she could possibly do to help Amber or Olivia that wouldn’t disrupt her energy and cost them light. Then she heard the female voice coming from the unseen tunnel. Somehow, she felt her sisters silently compelling her toward the female’s voice, and she quickly understood why. That female was disrupting their connection with their Gloresti, and Skye had to do something to reestablish the connection.
Although she felt exhausted enough to collapse onto the floor and sleep for a week, she hurried closer to the tunnel. As she neared the entrance, she hesitated slightly, making sure she wasn’t walking into a trap. After seeing the terrifying shadows part to grab Olivia and snatch her away, Skye knew better than to go in blindly.
Closing her eyes, she clenched her fists and pulled from whatever reserves she had to bring forth more light. Then she “threw” it into the tunnel.
The resulting scream was rather satisfying. Emboldened, she edged further into the tunnel. She heard Aurora behind her and realized that reinforcements had arrived. She suddenly saw a flash of bright red light a short distance ahead of her, and she realized the female had called forth her wings and was preparing to flee. This tunnel was obviously wider than the other one leading into the chamber.
Gathering her resolve, Skye took a deep breath and held her hands together. The building ball of light wasn’t as bright as the one before it, but she wanted it to last longer. When she sensed it was stable enough, she lobbed it toward the ceiling in the large chamber above her sisters, where it hung, casting a soft blue light over the center of the chamber.
She turned and thought, I need to fly after her and stop her. And her light blue wings unfurled. She soared ahead, hardly able to appreciate the exhilaration of suddenly flying, she was so intent on stopping the Mercesti who had endangered her and caused bloodshed for her sisters.
Blood-red wings grew visible as she rounded a corner. She gave another push to her already strained power and flung a pellet of light ahead of her toward the retreating figure.
There was a sharp, panicked gasp. Then, the female shouted, “Sleep!”
Skye found herself unable to resist the dark and powerful command. She never even felt it when she crashed to the ground and slammed into the stone wall.
When Gabriel hesitated in front of the split tunnels, James pointed out Aurora’s prints. They quickly followed them. Not long after that, Gabriel was suddenly flooded with Gloresti energy and Amber’s thoughts and feelings. He hissed as searing pain shot through his right forearm and the side of his waist, but he didn’t stop running. Thoughts ran through his mind faster than he could process them. Silent cursing. Violence. Fear. Anger. Protectiveness.
Amber! he thought desperately.
Oh, thank God! Gabriel. There are at least three Mercesti—
“Mercesti,” he panted to Caleb and James as they paused to evaluate a set of Aurora’s prints that seemed to circle back and forth. Then Amber’s thoughts grew more jumbled and rapid-fire.
Down. He’s—slash. Parry. Aurora. Gotcha!
They were getting closer, he could sense it.
Kanika led us in here. I knocked her out when she tried to grab my ring. Hope I broke her nose.
He turned another corner. Who’s Kanika?
If thoughts could laugh, hers would have. The ironic humor she was feeling flooded through him. The Orculesti who prepared me after the transition. She thought she was the love of your freakin’ life.
It suddenly fell into place. He still couldn’t remember this particular Orculesti, but it was easy enough to understand how the girls had been taken off-guard and lured into their current location.
They had been betrayed. And the Mercesti had added to their ranks by one.
Amber smiled humorlessly as Aurora neared Olivia and her thoughts with Gabriel flew back and forth, bringing him ever closer. She never moved her gaze from the brute in front of her. He was now circling her, seeking a way to get around her frequent movements to evade.
Blood still flowed steadily from her injuries. That and the insane amount of pain radiating through her indicated they weren’t shallow scratches. The blood loss would weaken her over time, but as unbelievable as it seemed, it had actually only been a matter of a few minutes since Kanika shoved her into this blasted chamber. She had enough energy left to protect herself.
She hoped.
When the male who had grabbed Olivia gave up, throwing Olivia bodily toward Aurora, Amber relaxed a bit more. He was an angry-looking, dark-haired male dressed identically to her opponent in all black. Without a glance in Amber’s direction, he took the unconscious Orculesti with him as he fled. She noticed he was limping. She felt little more than relief, never considering trying to stop him.
“Guess that leaves you and me, big guy,” she said with a glance at the remaining Mercesti, her voice more confident than she actually felt.
Amber!
The thought was a warning. She returned, Well, hurry UP then!
For some reason, his utter exasperation made her want to laugh. Maybe the pain and blood loss were affecting her more than she thought. And when her head swam unsteadily, she knew that was exactly what was happening.
The bald man shifted his gaze to Aurora as the panther approached, fangs bared.
Her thoughts growing muddled, Amber foolishly lowered her guard when his attention was diverted, and he slashed out viciously in response, catching her along the left thigh. She bit back a cry of pain and staggered back, barely stopping herself from falling.
“A little something more to remember me by, my love,” he said with a wicked grin. And he turned to fly out of the chamber with a dark laugh trailing behind him.
Gabriel ran in as the Mercesti’s crude farewell echoed through the chamber and he disappeared down the escape tunnel with a flare of red wings. He saw Amber struggling to keep her balance and realized what must have happened.
Stark rage coursed through him. Without a thought, he unsheathed the dagger he was wearing in his right boot even as he ran toward the tunnel. Then he threw the weapon unerringly after the Mercesti. From the vicious curse that erupted, he knew he had hit him. That sound was enough to release Gabriel from the most violent part of the fury that threatened to overwhelm him.
“A little something to remember me by,” he called into the tunnel. The name he tacked onto the end of his rebuke was far less flattering than “my love.”
Amber swayed, but remained on her feet. “Go after Skye. She went into the tunnel,” she said. “I’ll be okay for a few more minutes.”
Caleb didn’t even slow, having determined that Skye wasn’t in the chamber. He was already into the tunnel and flying.
James knelt beside Olivia. Now that the Mercesti had fled, the floating lights all spilled in, flooding the room. It showed in rather gruesome detail just how injured both sisters were.
“Who did this?” he demanded as he gently lifted Olivia’s chin to assess the damage to her neck.
Blood flowed freely from her injuries and he knew she wouldn’t—possibly couldn’t—speak. Her breath came in shallow, bubbling gasps and she clutched desperately at his arm. Aurora made a keening noise in the back of her throat. Glancing behind him, he said, “Olivia is severely hurt. It appears an artery has been severed. She will need healing quickly to repair the damage done.”
Gabriel had just reached out to steady Amber, whose eyes were shining a bit too brightly, her pupils huge. James frowned when he realized that she was covered in even more blood than Olivia. But Gabriel’s golden-eyed warrior pulled out of her avowed’s hold to take a couple of steps closer to her sister. She dropped her bloodied sword and fell quite ungracefully next to James.
“Amber, you can’t,” Gabriel said, obviously torn as he looked from one girl to the other. “You’re losing a lot of blood yourself.”
Waving that aside, Amber said simply, “She’s my sister.” She leaned over Olivia. “Just look at us,” she said as she replaced James’ hands on Olivia’s neck. “Not even three full days in these lovely new bodies and we’re both sliced and diced. Isn’t that always the way?”
Olivia gave her a small smile and then closed her eyes tightly when Amber’s gaze started glowing gold. James couldn’t help but be awed by the wash of gold light that appeared around Olivia’s throat where Amber touched. Even as he watched, the blood stopped pulsing from Olivia’s knife wounds. Then the cuts themselves began to heal. He was absolutely certain that there wouldn’t be so much as a scar left once Amber was done. It was more powerful than anything he had ever seen.
“Ah, what a bastard,” Amber murmured, her eyes closed. Her hands moved deftly from Olivia’s neck to just beneath her breasts. “I’m sorry, L
iv. Two of your ribs are broken.”
When they healed, it was with the grotesque noise of bone rubbing against bone. Olivia sobbed and arched her back, tears streaming down her face. James felt inexplicable pain in his palms and glanced down with puzzlement. His hands were in tight fists, his knuckles white. When he opened his fingers, he realized with amazement that his nails had dug deep enough to draw blood.
After another full minute, Amber pulled her hands away. Olivia appeared to be sleeping, her breathing calm and even. James leaned forward and confirmed he had been correct. Not one scar.
“Amazing,” he breathed.
Beside him, Amber sat back heavily onto her backside. “Gabriel?” she said, her voice barely audible.
“Yes?” he responded, worry in his tone as he squatted beside her and reached out to touch her shoulder.
“Don’t say I told you so,” she ordered. Just before she fainted.
Chapter Thirty-One
Caleb soared swiftly and silently through the tunnel, not far behind the red wings of the Mercesti who had been fighting Amber. Gloresti energy surged through him, something he had not experienced in all of his ninety-three years. It was extremely powerful and instinctive, and led him right to where Skye lay crumpled on the ground, her back to him.
Of course, she was rather hard to miss. The shimmering outline of her spirit guardian stood over her. Caleb realized the strange holy being had kept the Mercesti from taking Skye along with them as they fled.