Heart of Fire (42 page)

Jessalyne shook her head to clear
the lingering fog of bitterlace. Whoever it was sounded exactly
like Salena.

“Oh and another thing. I’m supposed
to tell you not to try your magic while you’re in the circle.
Mistress Sryka says you’ll just burn yourself up and that wouldn’t
do anyone any good.”

“Salena?”

“That’s right, you pasty-faced
wretch. Don’t worry, you’ll still get to marry a prince. But not
that bastard creature the old man claims is his son. You’re going
to marry the real prince, Prince Erebus. Of course, when Mistress
Sryka is done with you, you won’t remember a thing and I’ll be the
one warming his bed every night.” Salena laughed as she left,
locking the door behind her.

Jessalyne’s hip was numb from lying
on the cold stone. She struggled to move, trying to bring some
circulation back. As her eyes readjusted to the lack of light, she
stretched out her legs, reaching one foot toward the circle of
crystals. Too far away to touch.

Although her hands were chained, she
managed to conjure a small ball of cold fire. The cell holding her
was more like a stone cave with a barred front. In a desperate
move, she flung the ball of flames toward the crystals. The fire
flattened against an invisible wall and washed back over her.
Salena had told the truth.

Jessalyne lay in the dark, searching
her brain for a solution. Before she thought of anything, more
footsteps and the familiar thump of Sryka’s staff announced the old
mage. Her lantern shone through the bars. Sryka entered slowly, her
discomfort obvious. Holding another lantern, Prince Erebus strode
past Sryka to leer at Jessalyne.

“Your magic won’t save you now,
wench.” He circled her, his lecherous grin widening. With a glance
back at Sryka, he set his lantern down and stepped into the crystal
circle. He yanked Jessalyne to a sitting position and caught her
chin in his hand. He rested his free hand on her bare ankle, his
fingers caressing her skin. The fear growing in her belly blossomed
into anger. He leaned closer, his breath hot on her face. “So
soft…so smooth…such a shame to waste such pretty flesh on that
half-blood animal.” His hand slid further up her leg and he leaned
closer still.

Too late, Jessalyne realized he
meant to kiss her.

Kneading her thigh, he smashed his
fleshy mouth against hers. The anger smoldering in her gut flared
and a bolt of white-hot rage shot through her as she twisted her
head away. With no reason to hide her powers any longer, every inch
of her came aglow as though she’d been doused in flames.

Erebus yowled. The stone chamber
amplified the sound. His head snapped back, shock in his eyes. He
held his hands in the light of the lantern. Blisters covered him
wherever his skin had touched hers. He gingerly ran his fingers
over his lips, feeling the blisters there, too.

“Witch! What have you done to
me?”

Jessalyne glared at him through pale
wisps of hair, defiantly lifting her chin. “Touch me again and I’ll
fill your boots with ashes.”

Erebus backhanded her across the
mouth. She pitched, her shoulder slamming into the stone. The
coppery tang of blood filled her mouth and she spat it out, keeping
her eyes on Erebus.

She lunged forward, hissing at
Erebus like a cat. The chains snapped her back, but still he
recoiled, tripping over his feet to get back outside the crystal
circle.

Chest heaving, he glowered at Sryka.
“You told me her powers were useless in the circle.”

“To those outside it. You chose to
step inside.” Sryka smirked at him.

Erebus scowled. “Call me when you
are prepared to give her the Oath, then bind her powers. I want
this marriage sealed and consummated before sun up.”

He snatched his lantern, yelping as
the handle bit into his scorched skin. Cursing, he stormed out,
kicking the metal door shut. With the clang of metal ringing in her
ears, Jessalyne barely heard the laughter coming out of
Sryka.

* * *

Fynna crested the ridge first,
followed by Valduuk and Ertemis.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,”
she murmured.

“I’d hoped never to see it again.”
Valduuk shook his head.

Ertemis glanced at the dagger’s
softly pulsing lunestone. “Aye. One venture into Scythe is one more
than a person needs in their lifetime.”

Rusted pinnacles of iron ore
punctured a glowering sky and billows of yellow steam leaked from
fissures in the ground. The occasional waft of vapor brought the
stench of sulfur.

“This is Scythe?” Fynna came to rest
at Valduuk’s feet. She sat, staring out over the hellish landscape
before them.

“Aye. Hael on earth and home of the
Akuza.” Ertemis dismounted. “We must be close. Erebus is too
cowardly to travel far beyond Shaldar’s borders.”

Valduuk shrugged. “Unless he’s made
an arrangement with the Akuza.”

“They would spit him and roast him
for dinner before that happened.”

“That is a likely
possibility.”

“Do they eat pixies?” Fynna stared
at her male companions.

“They eat just about anything they
can get their hands on. The Akuza aren’t fussy.” Ertemis pulled a
linen handkerchief from his pack and tied it around the lower half
of his face.

“I don’t suppose we’re allies with
them?”

“The Akuza have no
allies.”

Shivering, Fynna moved closer to
Valduuk. “I can believe Sryka would come to a place like this but
Erebus?” She shook her head. “Poor Jessalyne.”

“Let’s just hope we find her before
the Akuza realize they have company.”

Picking their way through the jagged
rubble and spurts of hot sulfuric steam, the trio hiked deeper into
Scythe. The sky roiled with green gray clouds and despite the heat
from the fissures, lastlight brought a cold dampness. Even with the
linen square as a mask, the fumes rendered his elven sense of smell
useless.

Had he been able to see the night
sky through the foul mist clinging to the land, Ertemis knew he
would have seen the first stars twinkling through. The thought made
him sick for Jessalyne. He ached to be back on the wall walk with
her, counting stars and naming constellations. He imagined her
silky hair filling his hands and the sweet press of her
kiss.

With renewed determination, he
listened for her heartbeat, praying the silence filling his ears
would be met with a gentle thumping if he just listened harder. The
faint pulse he had clung to since the castle was completely
gone.

* * *

Sryka watched Jessalyne for a moment
before she spoke. “I am sorry for the pain he caused you. I would
not have had you harmed but then I couldn’t give him a reason to
suspect anything, could I?”

“Since when do you care what happens
to anyone but yourself?” Jessalyne eyed the old crone
suspiciously.

Leaning heavily on her staff, she
moved a bit closer to where Jessalyne lay. “Hah! You think I care
for you? You poor deluded child. I simply don’t want my new body
damaged. I’d hate to spend the first few weeks of my newfound youth
healing from some unnecessary injuries.”

Jessalyne struggled to sit up,
wincing at the pain in her shoulder. “What are you talking
about?”

“There’s no binding spell, you
dimwit. Erebus will witness you taking the Oath of Amity as
Jessalyne and then he’ll leave, thinking as you do that your powers
must be bound so he may safely bed you. In truth, I shall cast a
spell of renewal.”

She extracted a stoppered vial of
ashes from her pocket. She tossed the cork aside and shuffled
around the crystal circle, spilling the powder over it. “Ring of
ashes all around, now fire within is fire bound.”

She smiled. “I was a little
surprised when Erebus told me of your encounter in the hallway, but
fire is a simpleton’s trick. You couldn’t master even the novice
level skills I tested you with at the castle.” She gestured toward
the circle of ashes. “Try your fire tricks again and this ring will
ignite, burning you alive.”

“Soon my spirit will leave this worn
out shell and come to reside in your young tender flesh. Of course,
it may take a while for your spirit to surrender, but I’m prepared
for that. Not only am I a much stronger mage than you but I am much
smarter.”

The desire to set Sryka aflame
pulsed through Jessalyne. “I refuse to take the Oath. I’ll tell
Erebus what you have planned. I’ll fight you with every scrap of
power I can muster or I’ll die trying.”

Sryka shook her head. “No, you
won’t. You’ll be a good girl and do as you’re told.”

“Give me one good reason why,”
Jessalyne sneered.

Reaching beneath her robes, Sryka
pulled out a glowing lunestone pendant. It swayed in her decrepit
hand. “The dark elf approaches. If you don’t do as I command, I’ll
do to him what the midwives should have done ages ago.”

* * *

Ertemis sunk down onto the
hardscrabble, ignoring the shards of stone pressing into his knees.
She was not dead. He would not accept that. She would have to lie
cold in his arms for him to believe that.

Gravel crunched under Valduuk’s feet
as he approached, rubbing Dragon’s nose before setting his mammoth
hand on his Ertemis’s shoulder. Fynna hovered nearby.

“We can rest a moment, if you
need.”

Ertemis shook his head and stood.
His voice threatened to break. “I cannot hear her heart any
longer.”

Tears welled up in Fynna’s eyes.
“What does that mean?”

Gruffer than he meant to be, Ertemis
snapped, “I don’t know.”

Fynna swallowed and pointed to his
hand. “But...”

Ertemis glanced at Jessalyne’s
dagger still clenched in his fist. The lunestone shone intensely.
He lifted the dagger and turned it in all directions until the
stone burst forth lighting up the night around them. His gaze
followed the line of the dagger. Sharpening his vision, he
recognized what lay ahead.

He pulled the cloth from his face
and inhaled deeply. “Time for this to end.”

“Aye.” Valduuk nodded.

“There’s an abandoned Scythian
garrison ahead and from the scent of smoke in the air I’d say
Erebus couldn’t bear a cold dinner.” A wicked grin curved his
mouth. “Or Jessalyne’s set someone on fire.”

Ertemis flipped the dagger in his
hand and held it up to Fynna. “Here.”

She took it, shaking her head. “I
can’t make it glow.”

“You need a weapon. Valduuk and I
will try to watch out for you, but you must be able to protect
yourself.”

She nodded. “Thank you.”

He glanced at Valduuk. “You take the
old witch. I want Erebus to myself.”

“Aye, brother, he’s all yours. And
may Saladan have mercy on his soul.”

Chapter
Twenty-two

The glow from the lunestone pendant
lit the chamber with a cool, callous light. All Jessalyne’s anger,
all her purpose, all her desire to protect herself drained away as
if she had been punctured. Nothing mattered to her but Ertemis. She
would do whatever Sryka bade her to keep him safe.

Another set of footsteps sounded in
the chamber, but Jessalyne didn’t bother to look. She didn’t care.
Once she took the oath, this would all be over. Salena’s voice
echoed in the chamber. She sounded overly pleased to be helping
Sryka. Her jubilant tones pricked Jessalyne like needles in her
skin.

Shutting Salena out, she searched
for some thought to take her away from the dank chamber. With no
idea if it was day or night, she wondered if Ertemis was back from
Elysium yet. Did he know what had happened to her? By the time he
found her, if he found her, she’d be wed to Erebus and possessed by
Sryka. A lone tear slanted down her face. No. No crying. That would
solve nothing.

She called out to him, not knowing
if he heard her but needing to talk to him, to warn him of what lay
in wait for him. More than anything, she wanted to see his face and
touch his midnight velvet skin. Wrapped in his imagined arms, she
felt his illusory kisses on her face, skimming her broken lip and
soothing the pain away. She could almost feel his throaty growl
resonating against her skin.

A gentle, soothing heat radiated
through her. He would come, wouldn’t he? She resolved to fight
until she saw his face one last time, heard his voice, and told him
she loved him.

“Get her up.”

“I don’t want to touch her,” Salena
whined. “I saw what she did to Prince Erebus.”

“You silly twit. I bound her with
acacia ashes. She’ll fry herself if she creates fire in that ring
now.”

With a great martyred sigh, Salena
grabbed Jessalyne by the shoulders and hoisted her up. As soon as
she was upright, Jessalyne hissed at the girl as she had at Erebus.
Salena stumbled back, knocking a few of the crystals
askew.

“Clumsy girl,” Sryka
screeched.

Jessalyne squared her gaze through
the opening in the circle and gathered her power to give the girl a
good scare. She summoned a bolt of cold fire and sent it in
Salena’s direction. The blast exploded off the floor in front of
Salena and she stumbled, thumping her head against the stone as she
fell.