We stared at the carnage around us. Leo was limping, but the cut he'd received was superficial and Chatter bound it up with a strip of cloth cut from one of the guard's tunics. My ribs and shoulder felt bruised, but I'd live. Kaylin and Rhiannon were untouched.
We turned to the cave. Peyton was in there, somewhere. The question was . . . were other guards waiting for us? There was only one way to find out. I pushed to the front and stepped over the threshold.
The cavern was actually a tunnel illuminated by a trail of purplish sparkling lights. It led into the mountainside. I glanced around--nobody in sight. Yet. Motioning for the others to follow me, I headed down the passage, trying to be as silent as possible. Ulean was at my shoulder, I could feel her.
"Is this the prison?" I stopped, motioning to Chatter.
He slipped up beside me and nodded. "I've been inside a couple times, when they locked me up as punishment. The tunnel continues, with side passages--some are holding cells, others are guard quarters, I believe. I don't remember which is which."
The tunnel was made of granite, and at first I wondered if it had been an old mining tunnel, but looking closer it seemed too smooth. No miners' picks had chipped away at this passage. No, it looked almost like glass in its even surface. I stopped briefly and slid my fingers across the smooth wall, closing my eyes. A shiver ran up my back. The passage was magical, the energy flaring from within the very structure of the rock.
Sucking in a deep breath, we started down the hall again, Kaylin behind me, then Chatter, then Rhiannon and Leo. As we came to the end, I peeked around the corner. Several of the chambers Chatter had mentioned buttressed the main channel to the right, then another turn at the end. Slowly, cautiously, we moved to the first side entrance and stopped a few feet before it.
Can you see what's inside?
I cannot tell for sure--this place is full of magical traps and wards--but Peyton is not there. That much I know. There is someone in there, however.
I nodded, then turned back and whispered what Ulean had told me to Kaylin, who passed it back to the others. They looked to me for a decision, though by the look on Leo's face, I could tell he was nursing a faint hope it might be his sister. Torn, I tried to decide what to do. If we tried to sneak past, whoever it was might raise an alarm, or take us from the back. No, we were going to have to face them, whether they were one of the enemy or a prisoner.
And there's no saying a prisoner won't also be your enemy.
Thanks, I needed that.
I swung in through the door, hoping to catch whoever it was off guard. The person whirled. Fuck, one of the Indigo Fae. A woman this time. She was lying on a bed and as she tried to sit up, blinking, pain filled her face.
I didn't wait. I lunged for her and landed on top of her, holding her down as I raised my switchblade high. Biting my lip, I brought the blade down right in her throat. She let out a hiss, and threw me off, sitting up. I went sprawling to the floor, ducking, as Kaylin flipped over me and landed a kick right in her stomach.
She landed back on the bed and reached for her throat, trying to staunch the bleeding, but the activity had just spurred on the flow and now she frantically tried to press her hands against her throat. Kaylin pulled out one of his daggers and within seconds it was over.
I stared at my hands, at the blood spatters that were covering me. What was I becoming?
Kaylin must have noticed my expression. He moved to put his arm around me. "We're doing what we have to do. If you want to save Peyton, we have no choice. These creatures--and they are creatures, mind you--would eat you alive and I am not joking. I think I've figured out what the book was talking about when it mentioned feeding frenzy. Can you imagine a group of the Vampiric Fae, turning into those creatures, attacking a woman? A child? They'd eat them to the bone, without bothering to administer a killing bite first. Feeding frenzy. Think about it."
Chatter sucked in a deep breath. "That's exactly what happens. I've seen it," he said. "Children, women, it matters not to them. They have no conscience, and they love the mayhem. They feed on the fear they cause, as well as the flesh." His mouth pursed, looking like he was going to cry, he shook his head. "They revel in the blood."
I looked up at him, and the image flashed through my mind. I could see it, all too vividly. Feeding frenzy. They were the piranha of the Fae world. I thought again of the people who'd disappeared. Of Heather and Peyton and Elise . . . oh gods . . . Elise. I turned to Leo, who was white as fresh-fallen snow.
"My sister. If she's not here, and they haven't turned her, then they ate her. Just like that . . . in a flurry of blood and bone."
Rhia pressed against him, taking his hand. "We don't know that," she said softly.
"Yeah, we do. Because if they didn't force her to turn, then that's what happened. I know my sister. She wouldn't voluntarily help them." He rubbed his hand over his eyes, looking sick. "I want them dead."
"We seem to be accomplishing that," I said, wiping my blade on my pants. My mind and hands were forever stained with blood so why not my jeans. "I guess this is what it means to be a warrior."
"That's about the size of it. You do what you have to do, Cicely. And what we have to do now is find Peyton. Chances are we'll be fighting more of them--and we have to take them down before they give a warning." Chatter looked stronger than I'd seen him since the old days. He was standing tall.
"What do you think will happen to Grieve?" I whispered.
He shook his head. "I don't know, but we don't have time to speculate right now. Let's move on."
We crept down the hall to the next chamber, which was empty. Then the third, before the bend in the tunnel. I peeked around the corner, cautiously. There, behind a set of iron bars, was Peyton. She was naked, huddled beneath a ragged blanket, but I could see her eyes. They were normal--she hadn't been turned. She glanced up and saw me, and bolted to a sitting position. I pressed my finger to my lips and she nodded.
"Can anybody pick locks?"
Kaylin pushed to the front. "Let me."
While he worked, Peyton searched her cell, finally setting for tying the threadbare blanket around her, toga style. I realized she didn't have any clothes and that would prove a problem for her on our way back home through the storm.
A moment later, Kaylin sprang the lock and the door opened with a faint squeak. Peyton hurried forward and fell into my arms. I held her close for a moment, whispering to her.
"Are you able to travel?" I didn't bother asking how she was. I figured that was opening a can of worms that was better left for when we were safe.
She nodded. "But they took my clothes and shoes. I have nothing to wear except this blanket." Her arms looked bruised and when I looked closer, so did the side of her face, though she wasn't sporting a black eye.
I turned back to the others. "How are we going to get her home? She can't spend two hours out in the cold wearing a blanket. And nothing the guards were wearing will fit her--she's far taller than most of the Indigo Court Fae."
"I have an idea," Leo said. "Peyton, can you turn into a cougar?"
"I thought she was a werepuma," I said.
"Same thing--cougar, mountain lion, puma . . . they're all different names for the same cat. I know, I've studied that side of my family history," Peyton said. "And yes, I can but not in here. There's some magical barrier that's preventing me from shifting in the cell."
I glanced down the tunnel. What if Elise was here? What if others were here? "Should we . . ."
Leo touched my arm. "Not now. We came to save Peyton, Chatter, and Grieve. We can't take Grieve with us, but we have Peyton and Chatter. If my sister's here," he whispered, "she's on their side. And if not, she's dead. Let's cut our losses and go."
He's right. You need to leave. The afternoon is wearing away and you must be home before dark because the Indigo Fae will be back to full strength then, and worse. They are changing. Whatever Lannan and Lainule infected them with, it backfired more than you think.
I nodded, Ulean's urgency spurring me on. Motioning to the others, we headed back the way we'd come. We managed to make it out of the cave, back into the waning afternoon. The snow was still falling and so thick that it was hard to see more than ten yards ahead. The minute we left the cave, Peyton began to shiver. She stepped to the side.
"Peyton, listen to me. If we find ourselves in a fight, take off. Head for the house. Anadey's working on a stronger warding for us and she might have it ready by now. For the moment, we should be safe over the boundaries, but I don't know how long that will last." I had a nasty feeling we weren't out of the frying pan yet. And who knew what lay waiting in the fire.
"I understand. Thank you, all of you . . ." she said, drawing her hand in front of her eyes. Tears sparkled behind her snow-kissed lashes, and then without another word, she shifted quickly, and a gorgeous tawny cougar stood there.
I motioned to the side of the hill, and then stopped, looking around. The bodies of the guards we'd taken down were missing.
"Hell, someone's been here. Get a move on."
"We could take you back. I can take one of you through the shadows and Chatter can run--" Kaylin started, but I shook my head.
"There are three of us, one would be left behind and I won't do that. Hurry up." I struggled through the fresh snow over to the slope and began to make my way up. The others followed suit, Ulean assisting us by gusting at our backs to give us a shove.
We managed to make it to the top and head back through the path, led by Chatter. He stopped, though, a few minutes later. "They might be waiting along the path, and they won't take chances. They'll send more than we can handle. I know another way, but it's dangerous."
Mutely, I glanced at Leo and Rhiannon. They nodded. So did Kaylin. Peyton let out a soft huff. Turning back to Chatter, I let out a long sigh. "Let's go. Lead on."
He silently turned to the right and plunged us through the undergrowth. We were fighting snow a good eighteen inches deep by now, and undergrowth so thick that we had to push our way through. I thought about our footsteps, but with the rate at which the snow was falling and the coming dusk, they'd be covered soon. Especially if we walked in single file.
The afternoon wore on, and by my watch, we had a little over an hour till the sun officially set. The only good thing about sunset was that the vampires would be up and maybe, just maybe, we could hope for some help from them. But then again, they had no clue as to what we were doing. There was no cavalry to rescue us, no gods in the machine.
We silently plunged forward, Peyton huffing gently. She was probably warmer than the rest of us. In her Were form, she'd be used to the cold and snow. Chatter stopped every so often to give us a chance to catch up and make certain we were still altogether. I was beginning to wonder what the danger part was when we came to the edge of the ravine. But there was no easy descent here--the edge was sheer, and boulders covered the slope and bottom of the great ditch.
An alluvial deposit--common in Washington State, from when the great glaciers had moved across the land. In their retreat, they'd left vast swathes of rocks and boulders--a blanket of stone to cover parts of the land. An avalanche here meant a rockslide, a danger itself.
The snow atop the stones only increased the danger of turning an ankle, twisting wrong, getting a foot caught in between rocks. I stared down at the wash of stone, my stomach plunging. It would take us a good two hours to make it to the bottom, and the climb on the other side, once we crossed the frozen stream, would be exhausting.
Chatter stopped, kneeling to examine the snow at the edge. "This won't be easy going. But . . . I can take you down, one by one. I can get you to the bottom, but I'm afraid I won't have the reserves to help you up to the other side."
"But can you do so without hurting yourself? That's one hell of a steep climb." I stared down the slope, uneasy. If we were caught down there, we'd be trapped.
"I don't know, to be honest. But I'm willing to try." He looked up at me, his eyes soft and luminous. "Cicely, Grieve would want me to do everything I could to help you. Please, let me help you."
I nodded, then. But before we could move, Peyton brushed against my hand and let out a soft huff. She padded to the edge and easily slipped over the side. For her, the going was far easier. One less person for Chatter to have to carry. Another thought struck me.
"I can fly down, if you take my clothes so I can change again, after."
"Are you sure?" Rhiannon gave me a long look. "You've only flown the one time."
"I flew all night." And then I heard it--the soft screech from the tree overhead. I glanced up. The great horned owl. He swept down and circled me. "I'm taking that as a sign."
Immediately, I began to strip as fast as I could. I handed my clothes to Chatter. "Take Leo and my clothes down first, then Rhia, then Kaylin. I'll meet you at the bottom."
As soon as I was naked, with the others staring at me like I'd lost my mind, I swung up into the branches of the nearest tree. I kept the fan Lainule had given me, the handle looped around my wrist. I climbed higher, trying not to slip on the snow, my body shivering with each branch. The owl landed on a branch nearby and I clambered over to crouch beside it. My pendant hung around my neck, softly glowing, and the owls on my arms began to tingle. I stared at the owl. It swept out of the tree, and I sucked in a deep breath and dove with it.
The ground hurtled up, but my body shifted faster. I had no clear thought on how it did so, but within seconds, I pulled up, gliding with the great horned owl. We spiraled around one another, and I sensed an odd familiarity. The last time, I'd been so focused on actually flying that I hadn't fully noticed, but now I sensed a kinship with the owl. Was it one of the Uwilahsidhe?