Embrace the Mystery

  While holding her enthrallment steady, she turned in Quinlan’s arms. Something’s going on up ahead.

  The trail’s incline rose sharply. They’d reached the mountain and would soon begin a series of switchbacks.

  Can you hold your enthrallment?

  The funny thing was, now she knew she could.

  Yes. But the troll part of me seems to think things are going to get messy.

  Chapter Eight

  Quinlan stuck to the path, his gaze searching every shimmer and twitch of the golden-leafed trees. He didn’t know what to expect and even he could see that Batya’s enthrallment shield held, but he had his battle frequency on full bore searching for the enemy.

  He slowed as the first switchback came into view, a real hairpin curve, and as steep as the rocky banks were, the golden trees swayed in the constant breeze.

  On he sped, Batya a warmth in his arms as he levitated and flew three feet above the ground, chin lowered

  It’s beautiful here. Her voice in his head eased him.

  I think it’s more than just a forest.

  I do, too. But what?

  Quinlan felt Batya’s consternation, a soft vibration through his skin. There was another mystery, that he could feel her emotions, that she seemed to be communicating with him all the time, just not always verbally.

  Right now, she seemed really intent on understanding her surroundings, which was not a bad thing.

  He broke his telepathic link to her, then contacted Henry. How we doin’ back there?

  We haven’t been hit in several minutes and I’m not seeing the enemy. Speed helps, but it’ll be rough going up this mountain.

  I know. And we’re fifteen miles out.

  Any orders?

  Quinlan grimaced at the undercurrent in Henry’s words. The whole brigade could come under attack at any moment, and all they could do was keep flying as fast as they could toward the Snowfields of Rayne.

  How odd, though, that he could sense the snowfields now, the image of Batya’s painting etched in his mind like a beacon.

  The miles wore on, one after the other, through the mountains. He would need blood soon to sustain this pace, to keep the brigade moving.

  And just like that, her words were in his head. Need a tap while we fly?

  Did you just read my mind?

  She didn’t speak for a long moment. Instead, she grew very quiet, almost vampire still which also freaked him out.

  Finally, her voice rang through his mind. Quinlan, I’m not sure how I know what I know but I felt your hunger like a bell ringing within my head, or maybe my chest.

  If he hadn’t been in motion, he would have scratched his head over this one. I don’t get it. How did you know? Why do you have a bell? Is it a fae thing? Or maybe a troll gift?

  I haven’t got a clue except that things are changing within me and I am experiencing this vibration that looks forward, not into the future, not like a vision, but as though I can see or feel well up the trail.

  So what do you see ahead of us?

  She didn’t speak, instead, she turned into him, slid her left arm more tightly around his neck, drawing herself higher up within the cradle of his arm, and lifted her wrist to his mouth. Feed first.

  Quinlan wasn’t stupid, so he didn’t argue. Besides, his fangs had already emerged and using his free hand to hold her wrist steady, he struck then once more took her blood into his mouth.

  The flavor, full of her scent, almost made him trip midair. But he adjusted, making a swift correction, and took in what tasted power-laden now. Maybe the new vibration she’d just mentioned had changed the quality of her blood, but whatever it was, he loved it.

  As he drank, he felt nothing but gratitude that, while being pursued, she’d take care of his blood needs.

  When he finished, he released her wrist, then readjusted his hold on her. Thank you.

  You’re welcome. There’s only one problem now. I felt it a couple of minutes ago, but I thought I’d wait until you were done feeding.

  What is it?

  Something big. Not far now. I’m feeling dizzy.

  Did I take too much blood? He couldn’t have. He’d just barely topped off, taking only what he needed to sustain his power levels.

  No, that’s not it. I think… No, I’m sure it’s Margetta. She’s not far now. She’s waiting for us.

  As Quinlan rounded the next bend, the dizziness Batya had complained about hit him suddenly and his battle frequency kicked into high gear. He pathed to Henry, letting him know something was up, then slowed his speed. The trail curved.

  We’re coming up on an open stretch, a shallow valley. I can see it in my mind’s eye.

  She’s waiting there?

  Batya took a deep breath. I believe she is. He felt her tremble in his arms.

  The dizziness became oppressive as he rounded a wide bend in the trail. The mountain gave way to a meadow, angling off to the northeast.

  The grassy land had patches of snow but seemed to be a small valley in the middle of the range.

  The trail climbed a small hill, then dropped down to a beautiful expanse that began to glow brighter and brighter.

  He felt Margetta now and the distant spread of gold, glowing light, the same one that had been at Batya’s gallery, almost blinded his vampire vision. Beyond the glow, he could see a large force of Invictus wraith-pairs hovering in the air, waiting.

  Can she see us through the shield?

  I don’t think so.

  And how did she find this part of the Dead Forest?

  I think we cleared the entire Dead Forest from the enthrallment on the maps.

  How far do you think we are from Ferrenden Peace?

  Another hundred miles across the snowfields.

  Oh, Quinlan, how are we going to cover so many miles?

  Don’t worry about that right now. This is the only battle we need to fight.

  She was silent for a moment, then pathed, You’re right. Of course.

  Even though Batya’s enthrallment shield held, Margetta blocked the path in a huge radius of light, at least sixty feet up, past the tree-top line, and twice that width, which spanned the narrow meadow.

  He slowed to a stop, pathing to Henry at the same time, then dropped to the ground.

  Batya released him to stand on her own. “What do we do?”

  He didn’t have time to answer, since Lorelei let out a piercing scream.

  Turning in her direction, Quinlan saw Lorelei floating in the air, higher and higher and completely against her will. He left Batya, flying up into the air to catch Lorelei before she disappeared through the upper edges of Batya’s enthrallment shield.

  He could feel Margetta’s hold on her. Still in her fae form, Lorelei wrapped her arms tightly around him, but Quinlan could barely hold his position in the air with her. The ancient fae increased her power over Lorelei. The frequency vibrated heavily so that he shook while holding Lorelei.

  “Don’t let me go, Quinlan, please. Kill me first. I can’t fall into her hands. All of the Nine Realms will be in danger if she gets her hands on my blood and my power.”

  “I’ve got you.”

  “But we’re still rising.”

  “Just hold on.”

  He needed to figure this out, but the situation was unfamiliar to him. If this had been a regular battle, he’d be issuing orders left and right to Henry and his brigade. He would have already set up a battle shield that would have protected the women from assault and capture.

  But how was he supposed to battle a fae of incalculable power, who could operate an unknown frequency through Batya’s enthrallment shield? The only thing he had going for him was that apparently there were limits to Margetta’s power because right now, Quinlan kept Lorelei in a safe position within the shield. He just didn’t know how long this would last or if the damn woman had something else up her sleeve.

  * * * * * * * * *

  Batya trembled, but not from fear. A terrible jealousy pierced her b
ody and mind so that she could hardly move. She stared up at Quinlan, holding Lorelei in his arms, and inwardly screamed at him to let her go. Part of her knew he had to do this, had to hold her because it was the only way to keep her out of Margetta’s hands. But the other part of her demanded action now. If she had flight capability, she would have levitated straight up into the air, ripped Lorelei out of Quinlan’s arms, and beat her to a pulp for daring to touch him.

  At the same time, thank the Goddess, her battle frequency had assessed the situation and given her enough self-control to think.

  Quinlan needed help, as in now.

  She’d helped him before and not just with the enthrallment shield, or her blood, or her healing power, but with her battling frequency.

  She called to Henry who flew straight to her. “Can you get me up there? I need to support Quinlan.”

  “You got it.” He called two of his strongest trolls and the next thing she knew, the men caught her beneath her arms and flew her to Quinlan.

  As soon as she reached him she planted a hand on his shoulder and let her battle power strike home.

  Instantly, he began to descend still keeping Lorelei tight in his arms.

  Just as he reached the ground however, Batya felt Margetta’s power flood the space. Batya flew backward and would have fallen hard except that the trolls, extremely well-trained, went after her and scooped her up setting her on her feet to give her a soft landing.

  Once more, Quinlan battled high in the air against Margetta’s hold just a few feet from the enthrallment shield. Whatever power Margetta utilized, would soon take Lorelei out of the safety-zone.

  Several fires erupted again in the forest all around them but the width of the meadow kept the brigade safe, at least for now.

  Batya didn’t know what to do. She stared up at Lorelei, who had started shouting, maybe at Margetta, she couldn’t tell.

  She turned in Margetta’s direction. She could see the beautiful ancient fae, her face twisted with effort, her arms outstretched, her energy aimed at her daughter and Quinlan.

  The past two days once more shot through her mind, that Quinlan’s desire had brought him to Lebanon, to her gallery. Surely, sex couldn’t have been the only force. Surely there had to be more to this equation, something very realm, and no, she didn’t want to explore it. She wanted to stay detached from this life, but right now she didn’t have that option, not if she was to help save Lorelei, and whatever other ramifications her capture might have on the Nine Realms.

  She was therefore going to have to do the most difficult thing of all, and she really didn’t want to.

  Henry had alluded to it earlier, some new kind of power that she possessed.

  She focused inward, on her various frequencies, especially on her faeness. She picked up her most powerful vibrations that related to her fae ancestry, but nothing came to her as different, special, or even particularly powerful.

  Quinlan inched toward the top of her shield, barely three feet away now.

  Batya’s heart hammered in chest.

  Once more, she explored what lay inside her, the visionary power, so typical of the fae, but which had translated to her paintings, her healing power, her battle frequency, but nothing surged even a little to show her the way.

  Her father’s words came to mind, his parting thoughts about exploring her attraction to Quinlan as well as her heritage.

  Henry flew high in the air, along with a force of four powerful trolls. They created a kind of flotilla above Quinlan and Lorelei, trapping them beneath the upper layer of the shield.

  They’d stopped the upward rise, at least for a moment. But once again, Margetta’s power rolled through, passing beyond the shield in the form of a great wind, and the trolls blew toward the south, like dry fall leaves.

  Nothing seemed to be working.

  She closed her eyes, setting her attention on her heritage, the entire breadth of it, all the years that Davido had raised her, cared for her, given her his troll wisdom.

  Davido had been a rock in her life, troll that he was, so different from her faeness.

  Yet she was part troll.

  Her eyes popped wide. She might be essentially and genetically fae, but every species passed along recessive qualities here and there, like bright rocks forcing a stream to flow around them.

  She turned inside once more, only this time, she planted her thoughts on Davido, on the mysteries that had surrounded this strange time with Quinlan, on the arrival of Margetta who had been stunned to find Quinlan in the gallery.

  Quinlan was the true anomaly in this situation. Margetta would have known to expect Batya at her own gallery, but somehow, in all her preparations, she hadn’t predicted Quinlan’s presence.

  Her mind began to work in a way that resembled her father, with a kind of instinctive troll-like precision that flowed from one thought to the next easily. Her faeness was all swirls, magic, and light, but this more rational part of her emerged with a kind of numerical precision.

  She let the frequency flow, of instincts and calculation.

  She stared up at Quinlan and stretched her vision to see him more clearly. He was only a foot away from the top of the shield. Sweat poured down his face and Lorelei wept.

  Quinlan, she pathed to him.

  Got any ideas?

  One. You have the power to do this.

  Not that I’ve noticed.

  * * * * * * * * *

  Quinlan felt something new emanating from Batya, something unexpected. At first, he didn’t recognize what it was, then he realized her words carried the feel of her father, of Davido.

  He kept up his pressure on holding Lorelei away from Batya’s shield, now inches away, but at the same time he focused on Batya, on the new vibration flowing into him. What should I do?

  I don’t know, Quinlan, except that it’s important right now that you think creatively, outside-the-box.

  He almost laughed. He’d never been a creative type. He liked maps where everything was laid out for him. He made war, organized scouting forays, ruled a realm. He even managed the politicking of the various town and city mayors fairly well. But what he didn’t do was conjure up new and intriguing methods of doing anything.

  So what could he possibly contribute to this situation other than his brute strength, which had failed him at Batya’s gallery and which was failing him now?

  He cursed beneath his breath, but Batya’s trollish stream flowed stronger now, as though gaining substance as each second passed. Quinlan, think opposites. If your strength can’t beat Margetta, maybe something else can, something you’ve kept hidden from yourself in the same way I didn’t know I had my father’s instincts.

  Quinlan opened himself up to Batya’s frequency. Tell me more.

  There’s a mystery here. How can Margetta reach Lorelei through my enthrallment shield? Except for the wind she can employ, why doesn’t she just attack you? Maybe Lorelei needs to be a different kind of focus.

  He had no idea what she meant, but he heard Lorelei gasping for air. With only half a foot separating them from the top shield, he was squeezing the life out of the woman he was trying to protect.

  “Sorry, Lorelei.” He eased up on his hold and for some reason, Margetta lost her grip and he and Lorelei dropped three feet in the air.

  But the moment he began fighting Margetta’s hold on Lorelei, he lost his advantage and started rising toward the shield once more.

  Batya’s voice once more entered his mind. Tell me what happened.

  Quinlan didn’t hesitate, but relayed the sequence of events.

  The focus must involve Lorelei somehow.

  A new strategy emerged like lightning and he knew what to do, maybe because Batya streamed her new energy toward him, or maybe he’d finally had a new thought. Batya, train all your attention on Lorelei and I’ll do the same. Use this new trollness on her.

  You got it.

  Her quick affirmative response stunned him because it was very un-Batya-like.
>
  When he felt her attention shift to Lorelei, almost at the same moment, Margetta’s hold began to release. And as soon as he let go of his physical battling of the situation, and even loosened his grip on Lorelei, the descent began.

  “What’s happening?” Lorelei’s doe eyes had a startled appearance.

  “Change of strategy, and damn the elf-lords, but it seems to be working.”

  Lorelei glanced up. “It is. We’re fifteen feet away from the shield now, at least. Thank the Goddess.”

  He’d been a warrior long enough to understand that he couldn’t let up right now, that he had to keep his attention on Lorelei herself and not drift back into fighting mode again. Apparently, in that state, Margetta could easily overpower him, but not if he was simply looking at Lorelei and helping her to float back to earth.

  The moment, she touched back down, Margetta’s power broke completely.

  Batya slid her arm around Lorelei’s waist. “We have you.”

  Quinlan released Lorelei as well.

  Henry flew in close. “She’s up to something new. Do you feel that?”

  “Oh, God,” Batya murmured. “She’s revving up her battle frequency.”

  Henry glanced around. “She’ll fry us all.”

  Quinlan met Batya’s wide eyes. Any more ideas, Cha?

  She shook her head. “Haven’t got a clue.”

  Quinlan was about to ask Henry for his take on things, but Lorelei turned to Batya. “Let the forest speak to you. I’ve been thinking about the effect the forest had on you and I have a feeling it was trying to communicate. Haven’t you felt it as well, that the Dead Forest isn’t really dead at all?”

  * * * * * * * * *

  Batya turn in the direction of the ancient fae. She only had seconds to change what was about to happen.

  Glancing up at the sky, she let go of her fears then glanced at Quinlan. “Get me up there.”

  “You’ve got it.”

  “But bring Lorelei as well.”

  He gathered up Batya in his right arm and Lorelei in his left, then headed skyward at top speed.

  Batya closed her eyes against the sudden rush of wind, but as soon as Quinlan breached the tops of the trees, the maddening cacophony began, like a thousand voices all at once, shouting over each other, all trying to talk to her.