Chapter 41
Teleportation wasn’t at all what Elodie expected. She didn’t feel herself moving from one place to another. And yet, she did. Everywhere. Her body buzzed as if every nerve ending were vibrating from the magic.
She didn’t have long to think about that as freezing air blasted her.
Rhona had warned her, but experiencing it was altogether different.
A rush of wind sucked Elodie’s breath away.
She clung to Elias, who had a hold of her hand as the wind battered her.
No matter how many times she’d begged him to remain at the cottage, he had blatantly refused.
He had nearly been killed earlier, and the thought of losing him was too much.
“I go where you go,” Elias had stated calmly.
Elodie blinked against the force of the wind that was doing its best to knock her on her arse. It would’ve succeeded if her brother and Filip hadn’t been keeping her upright. Her mind traveled back to the conversation from before they’d arrived at the Red Hills.
“It’s a trap. You all understand that, right?” Eilish stated.
Filip nodded once. “We do.”
“Only a few know of the prison,” Rhona said, her mouth tight.
Ulrik raised a black brow. “How many?”
“My five deputies,” Rhona answered.
Balladyn crossed his arms over his chest. “And Kerry.”
“Should we be concerned about her?” Broc asked.
Rhona said, “No.”
At the same time, Balladyn replied, “Aye.”
“Maybe,” Rhona amended with a sigh.
“I can see her using this place against us,” Balladyn said.
Rhona wrinkled her nose. “She was terrified here.”
Filip ran a hand through his hair. “Perhaps we should be cautious about her.”
“Agreed,” Sonya said.
“And talk to her later,” Eilish added.
Rhona nodded in agreement. “We definitely will.”
Elodie felt Balladyn’s gaze on her. She looked at the Reaper as his unusual, red-ringed silver eyes observed her.
“Are you ready for this?” he asked.
She knew what he meant. She was the bait.
The last thing she wanted to do was go into some mountain to be pitted against an unknown enemy, but she would do it.
Because Scott wouldn’t hesitate to march himself there for her.
Despite the betrayal she felt, she cared deeply for him—more than she had believed possible. It might even be love. “Yes.”
“You willna be alone,” Elias told her.
Ulrik’s lips flattened. “I think she has to go in alone.”
“What? No,” Filip answered as he shook his head.
Elodie’s stomach dropped to her feet. Alone? They couldn’t be serious.
“He’s right.” Rhona’s green gaze held Elodie’s. “We need them to think you’re by yourself.”
Balladyn gave her a single nod. “I’ll be veiled with you so they can’t see me.”
That made Elodie feel a little better. Then something occurred to her. “They’ll expect that.” Her gut twisted as she realized the truth of her words. “They know you’re the Warden. A Reaper. They’ll plan on you and Rhona helping me.”
“Bloody hell,” Broc mumbled. “She’s right.”
Eilish threw up her hands. “Someone needs to be in there with Elodie.”
“No,” Elodie said firmly as she realized just what she had to do. “I have to go alone. If I get into trouble, I’ll call for Balladyn. But…we all know I’m a killer.”
Elias shook his head. “You did what had to be done, sis. That was different.”
It wasn’t, but she wouldn’t get into another debate about it. “If they want me, then they’ll get me.” If she said it convincingly enough, would it be true? She had to do something to help Scott.
Now, she stood outside in the bitter cold, the wind whipping furiously.
Her blood ran like ice in her veins. She was numb.
From the freezing temperatures, trepidation, and the ghastly situation.
How had she found herself here? More importantly, was there a way for her and Scott to get out alive?
She wasn’t so sure. She would do everything possible to make sure Scott was freed and remained unharmed.
As for her? If someone went to such trouble to bring her here, Elodie didn’t think that what they’d planned would be a warm and cozy welcome.
The thought of taking another life made her sick to her stomach, but if she were defending herself or someone she cared about, she would do it without hesitation.
She wished with all her might that she wouldn’t find herself in that predicament, though.
Even as she sent up the silent prayer, she knew it was useless.
Facts were facts, and there was no getting around them.
Elias squeezed her hand. Words were useless in the gusting wind.
Besides, they didn’t want to alert anyone to their presence.
Elodie had never been brave. Not really.
Edie had often teased that she ran headlong into anything, but that wasn’t true.
Elodie was all about self-preservation. Except this time, she had to ignore her brain shouting at her to flee.
Fight or flight. She’d been in that kind of situation once before and had chosen fight.
This time, she wished she had the option.
Unfortunately, Scott’s life was on the line.
He had stood with her against the thunderstorm and the mist without a second’s thought for his safety. He deserved the same from her.
Elodie nodded at her brother before squaring her shoulders.
She pulled her hand from Elias’s and squeezed both into fists, hoping to draw some heat into her palms. The gloves didn’t seem to be doing anything to keep her fingers warm.
She felt everyone’s gaze on her. She stepped through the few inches of snow.
Her feet were like blocks of ice, which matched her insides.
Life didn’t teach you how to manage having someone’s life in your hands.
There was no manual instructing you how to talk or act.
You were simply thrown into the lion’s den and expected to come out the victor.
Nothing in Elodie’s past could have prepared her for this moment.
No revelations. Nothing but her lack of knowledge.
And Scott’s very life rested on her.
She started toward the narrow entrance that Rhona had pointed out. It felt like an eternity before Elodie reached it. She wanted to turn around and look at the group, but she was afraid she’d lose her nerve if she did. So, she stepped into the mountain.
Her ears rang from the wind. She could still hear it howling outside, but it wasn’t nearly as thunderous inside. She strove to hear anyone in the mountain, but the ringing didn’t give her a chance. Rhona had warned her that the tunnel to the cells was long.
Cells. Elodie shouldn’t be surprised that someone had erected a place to put out-of-control Druids.
They were still human, only they had magic.
That didn’t make them saints. They still did cruel and wicked things.
Still harmed others. It’d never dawned on Elodie that they had a place like this, though.
She hadn’t really thought about what happened to those who broke the law.
And not just human laws but also Druid laws.
The mountain swallowed her from her first step inside.
The darkness was so great that it gave Elodie pause.
It was marginally warmer inside the mountain than outside, but not enough to make a real difference.
She shivered and stuffed her hands into her pockets.
She needed to be able to feel her hands if she were to do any magic.
Just thinking about her magic sent a rush through her as if it wanted to let her know it was there and waiting.
With the return of her memories and power, it felt as if a curtain had been lifted.
As if she could see the world clearly again.
No wonder she had walked around in a fog all those years.
Her true self had been bound, restricted. But no longer.
She removed her hands from her pockets and let the magic pool in her palms. It wasn’t as if she could be too careful.
She was in a tunnel leading to prison cells, where someone had taken Scott.
This person was her enemy—however many there were.
They had killed Druids. They had tried to kill her brother.
There was no other way to look at them than as adversaries—not that she would tell them that, of course.
Elodie walked a few paces, only to pause because it was pitch-black.
She took out her mobile and turned on the flashlight.
She could use magic, but she was waiting.
It had been a long time since she’d used her power, and she didn’t want to waste it on a light when she had another option.
She blew out a breath and continued onward.
She wondered what the others outside were doing.
Did they question her ability to free Scott?
They should, because she certainly did. She really hoped Scott’s organization was involved in his kidnapping, because at least then she knew they wanted her to help them.
She could use that. That could also explain why they had taken Scott instead of killing him.
On the other hand, whoever this wanker was, they knew that she and Scott had gotten close. Anyone with a brain would’ve realized they could use him as bait when they couldn’t get to her in the cottage.
Elodie was leaning toward the latter option.
If it were the Others in Edinburgh, they wouldn’t have used mist to kill the Druids on Skye.
They were trying to stop the deaths. So, yeah.
She would soon come face-to-face with a murderer.
If she got out of this alive, she would mention to Rhona that the Druids should be taught how to handle such situations.
Maybe even put together a manual because could there really ever be too much information for these circumstances?
The tunnel suddenly widened. Elodie paused, her thoughts skidding to a halt.
She leaned to the right and peered around the side of the wall.
It was the cavern Rhona had described. A large, blackened area where fires burned when someone was imprisoned sat in the middle.
It wasn’t lit now, though. Beyond that, she saw five individual sets of bars for the cells. Scott wasn’t in any of them.
Her heart thudded against her ribs so violently that she expected it to launch from her chest at any moment.
Fight or flight. She shoved aside the voice screaming in her head to run.
She thought about Scott, of how he had always been there for her.
She thought about the way he had held her, of how he had felt inside her.
Elodie walked slowly from the tunnel, her gaze moving from one area to another as she scanned her light to see. There were so many shadows and crevices where someone could be hiding. She half expected someone to jump out at her—but no one did.
Rhona had warned that there was only one way in and out. That meant if anyone was in there, they had to get past her to leave. And then run into the very formidable group waiting outside. One way or another, whoever had abducted Scott would soon be stopped.
That thought didn’t calm Elodie as she hoped it would. Her mind raced with things she could possibly say to get Scott released, which meant nothing because she didn’t know what they wanted her for.
“Leave. Now!” Scott shouted.
Her head jerked toward the sound of his voice. She tried to see inside the middle cell. “Scott?”
“Elodie, goddamn it. Run!”
She ignored him and rushed to the bars. “Are you hurt? Let me see you.”
The words were barely out before he shouted her name.
She felt something behind her. Elodie spun to see mist coalescing into a giant ball as it dropped menacingly from the ceiling.
Her mobile slipped from her fingers, diminishing the light before extinguishing entirely as it landed screen-up against the floor before the impact flipped it again. The beam shone right on the mist.
Terror gripped Elodie. Her stomach dropped to her feet as the mist twisted and formed a huge hand that reached for her.
Elodie threw up her arms and hoped her magic answered.
She wanted to shout with joy when her movements cut the mist in two.
But her elation didn’t last long as it reformed in an instant.
She called to her magic, and it pooled in her hands. She felt the power and the intensity of it. Elodie let out a yell as she released it, imagining it enveloping the mist. She watched in awe as it did just that.
In the next second, a second bundle of mist slammed her against the bars.
It seemed to have come out of nowhere. It pushed her so viciously that she almost felt her bones shuddering.
For just a moment, she had thought she could take on the mist and free Scott.
She hadn’t expected there to be more. But villains never fought fair—another lesson Druids should be taught.
“Elodie,” Scott called, his voice sounding far away.
She tried to answer him. She couldn’t see her flashlight anymore.
The mist had enveloped her. She felt it trying to enter her nose.
Elodie blew out some air, but she would have to take a breath eventually.
It didn’t take her long to realize that she should’ve called for her friends as soon as she entered the cavern. She hoped it wasn’t too late now.
“Balladyn!” she yelled.
She didn’t get to finish the word as the mist flew into her mouth, choking her.