WORKING TOGETHER
16
- MALAKAI -
W ell, well, well.
Here I am, minding my business in the Celestial Caves, when none other than Kailu walks into my domain. I could smell the two humans the second they started down the steep slope. I waited in the room to the right, trying to figure out just who was utilizing these caves.
Only fools use the magic in these caves.
I keep my gaze trained on the dark-haired human. She is flawless. If it weren’t for her smell and her rounded ears, I would assume she was Fae. Her face is delicate, with strong cheekbones speckled in freckles. Her lips are plump and pink, and I would love to bite them.
I can hear her pulse beating rapidly, like a war drum. Is she scared, or is it something else? I sniff the air and smirk.
Something else, then.
No wonder Kailu is so stiff; I can smell him all over the human. I bet he’s real pissed she’s physically attracted to me.
I take in her figure. She’s of average height, but nothing else about her body is average. She is toned in all the right places. Her skinny waist leads to her wider hips and perfectly shaped ass, more than enough to grab onto…or slap.
Internally I groan, my thoughts effectively sidetracked.
“Malakai, what are you doing here?” Kailu asks, ripping me out of my very spicy daydream about his human companion.
I reluctantly drag my eyes from her. “If you must know, I’m investigating.”
“Investigating what?” she asks, moving a wayward strand of hair from her face.
Dear Gods, her voice is like sex, soft but deep.
“Well, aren’t you the inquisitive one? If you all must know my business, I’m investigating the ghoul and Witch attacks.”
The little firecracker steps around Kailu and I can hear the low rumble in his chest showing his displeasure.
“And this so-called investigation led you here?”
I take a deep breath. She smells of something fruity, a hint of mint, and salt, like when a breeze blows off the ocean. It’s an intoxicating, heady scent. “It sounds as if you don’t believe me, Firecracker. I’m wounded.” I place a hand to my chest for dramatics.
I take a step forward to stand directly in front of her. Kailu matches my step with one of his own so he is now pressed firmly against her back.
“Well, isn’t this a cozy little Fae and human sandwich,” I muse. “Wouldn’t mind taking a bite out of it myself.”
Kailu’s anger is visible. I’m not too worried; I always was faster than him. All the same, I take a step back.
“I truly am investigating. Attacks are becoming more common; the threat is now considered to be the highest level. The king was becoming worried about our missing citizens as well. He was even more concerned after receiving a letter from Siveral about the soldiers.”
“How long have you been here?” the human asks, assessing me with a shrewd gaze.
I shrug. “Not long, about a day or two. I was dealing with some…issues in Vrolstead, and then investigating the surrounding forests, so I was close. The people I came across spoke of weird happenings in the cave.” I look around, “Well, weirder than usual, I suppose.”
“Did you happen to find anything?”
I chuckle. “Maybe I’ll tell you, if you tell me why you are all down in this cave.”
Kailu steps in front of the human again. “For the missing soldiers. One is her brother.”
My eyebrows raise. “Well, it seems we may be able to help each other. You tell me what you’ve found and I’ll tell you what I know. We might be able to work together, as long as Kailu is all right with it.” I flash him a saccharine smile.
Kailu tenses and then looks around. Everyone else seems to be all right with this turn of events, if not a little eager to pretend we’re not having this little stand-off right in front of them. Perhaps the group may need some help. He reluctantly turns to me, relaying what they have seen and found since starting their journey.
To say I am shocked would be an understatement. Why would someone be so determined to hunt this human? Alanis is absolutely delightful, but what about her is important enough for all this fanfare?
It’s the male Elf who speaks. “There’s something else.”
Kailu jerks his head to the Elf, making me smirk. What is the holier-than-thou Kailu hiding?
The male Elf informs us of what he and his companion came across when examining the human. It’s an interesting and somewhat troubling turn of events, one that makes me take a closer look at the woman in front of me. By her expression, she had no idea about any of this. I watch her face change—from shock, to betrayal, and finally to anger.
She whirls to face Kailu, leaving her back exposed to me. Very dangerous decision.
“You hid this from me?” She sounds hurt, and he almost looks sad. Maybe this human means more to him than just a convenient lay.
“You had been through a lot. I was planning on telling you.”
“ When ?” she snaps.
As much as I love their arguing, we have shit to do and I really don’t want to spend unnecessary time in this Gods-forsaken cave. I’m just about to interrupt their little face-off when a ripple in the water behind them catches my attention.
I can’t get a word out before a group of ghouls pours from the damn black pond like spiders. Everyone pulls their weapons.
Kailu fights off the two in front of him, the Elves and the other human also holding their own. That leaves me and the firecracker. We fight side by side, and the entire time I can’t help but notice how in sync we are to each other.
It’s quite alarming.
I slash out, black blood spurting from the ghoul’s neck. Alanis has one pinned to the floor, stabbing its jugular. The thing chokes and gurgles, the black sludge oozing onto the cold floor.
One knocks my sword from my hand, and Alanis throws me her dagger and dances just out of the oncoming ghoul’s reach—sending the thing directly into my blade. Alanis grabs my sword before backing towards me. We now stand back-to-back as we face the oncoming ambush.
The ghouls continue backing us toward the wall so we have no escape. The movement has her bumping into me, causing an immediate jolt to course through my body.
What. The. Hell.
The ghouls aren’t just attacking. They’re herding us into a corner.
The ghoul lunges and its sharp claws slice through her arm.
A sharp pain in my own arm makes my steps falter. I look down to see blood blooming. The same spot where she was cut. The skin split, even though it was never touched.
Footsteps pound down the slope, more soldiers storming in. The rest of their group, I presume.
No matter how many ghouls we kill, more just keep coming. There has to be some type of portal in this damned cave for them to be pouring through like this. I’m just about to order a retreat when all the ghouls pause as one.
It’s the strangest thing I’ve ever seen.
They stop so abruptly that everyone is caught off-guard, swings coming up short, steps faltering. Then they turn and slip back into the pond and through the portal. We stand staring into the glassy black water, deathly still, like the Hell God’s creatures didn’t just rise from its depths.
I look down at my arm and notice the skin unharmed, almost like I imagined the entire thing. I turn to look at the firecracker and feel a sense of dread sink into my gut. Her face is pale, abnormally so, and her arm still drips blood in time with each rapid beat of her heart. Her glassy eyes meet mine.
I’m moving before my brain even processes what is happening, almost as if my body is pulled to her.
She starts to collapse, but I manage to catch her in my arms before she hits the hard ground. Kailu curses somewhere behind me and comes running towards us.
“Give her to me,” he rasps.
I brush the hair out of her face. Her eyes flutter open, such a light blue that they’re almost white. Her breath is raspy, and she winces as if each inhale causes her pain.
My jaw clenches and my body revolts at the thought of letting her go. I pull her tighter against me, earning a glare from Kailu. I bare my teeth, curling my lips back over my teeth. My mind tells me he isn’t a threat, but my body disagrees.
For once he stays silent, not fighting me. It’s been a while since I’ve seen my friend. Safe to say we didn’t part on the best of terms.
“We need to keep her still,” I snap, panic starting to slither up my spine. Her eyes are heavy, heartbeat slowing.
“What’s wrong with her?” Kailu’s voice breaks with an emotion I can’t decipher.
I look to her arm, noticing the cut. The edges of it turn black.
Shit.
“Poison.”
- ELION -
I wake with a pounding headache. I can’t remember the last time I had a decent meal. I actually don’t even know how long I’ve been in this damn cell.
The door opens, everyone around me jolting awake. The ghoul wearing the skin of one of our soldiers strides towards me. He unhooks me from the wall and practically drags me out, not giving me a chance to get my feet under me. He takes me down two flights of stairs into a smaller stone room that has one chair bolted to the floor.
He throws me into the chair and chains my hands and feet. Without a word, he leaves me there.
I must doze off because I’m awoken when a key turns in the lock. I’m expecting a ghoul to walk in, but instead I’m greeted by a male wearing a black cloak, his face completely hidden in the darkness its hood casts. All I can see are sharp white teeth that gleam in the small piece of light from the wall sconce.
I shudder involuntarily.
He chuckles and it sends goosebumps up my arms. “We are going to have so much fun.”
Something about his voice seems strange, each word without inflection or emotion. He pulls a dagger from his cloak. Coming closer, he twirls the blade in his fingers. As he draws near, I realize the hilt is made of bone, and likely from a Fae by the size of it.
He takes a deep breath, as if he is inhaling my fear. His smile grows. A knock on the door distracts him. A woman in all white walks in and my blood freezes.
A Banshee.
He turns to her. “Is it done?”
She nods. “Yes, master.”
The cloaked male smiles and, without looking, stabs the knife into my thigh. Even as I curl forward in agony, I bite back a scream, unwilling to let him hear my pain.
“By the time your sister makes it here to save you,” the male says, “you’ll be nothing but bones.”