Facets of Power, page 8
part #3 of The Dragon Portal Series
Volack considered Malek for a moment. He lowered his head and said, “My apologies, Your Highness. To you as well, Lady Blossom.”
Sabine inclined her head, acknowledging his sincerity. She doubted many dwarves had ever seen a pixie. To her knowledge, they didn’t travel this far south without a Fae escort.
“He called me Lady Blossom, Sabine. Did you hear him?” Blossom preened, immediately forgetting the previous insult. “Can we make that my official title?”
Sabine blew out a breath. Now she’d never hear the end of that request. “We need to focus on Rika right now. Can you take us to her?”
When Blossom nodded, Sabine motioned for her to lead the way. The pixie took flight and zipped through the trees. Sabine hastened after her, glancing up at the sky for any sign of the Wild Hunt. So far, it was clear, but they were running out of time. She just hoped the treaty was still in force and the Wild Hunt couldn’t continue their pursuit once she was within the dwarven mountain.
The pixie stopped at a large tree covered with a light dusting of snow crystals. “Um, you can come out now, Rika. If anyone can fix it, it’s Sabine.”
Rika took a step away from the tree, her eyes shimmering from unshed tears. Sabine jerked back, gaping in horror at the human girl’s altered appearance. Rika appeared mostly unchanged, except for the twitching antennae poking out of her head and giant butterfly wings affixed to her back.
“I’m—I’m hideous!” Rika wailed and burst into tears.
Volack made a strangled cry that sounded a lot like a laugh. “Now that’s a bug.”
“Shit,” Malek said from behind her. “Please tell me that’s an illusion.”
“Not my fault!” Blossom shrieked, zipping around Rika. “I don’t like this place. Bad magic. Really bad magic.”
Sabine recovered quickly and walked toward Rika. “You’re not hideous, Rika. Just different.”
Sabine circled the seer, studying her wings where they’d sprouted from her back. Rika’s shirt had torn, and there was a trace of blood on the edge of the material. Sabine frowned. This wasn’t good. Blood should never be involved in an illusion.
Rika’s wings shimmered midnight blue and black in the sunlight. Under any other circumstances, they would have been beautiful. Sabine reached out to touch one of them, and a light dust of glitter coated her hand when Sabine pulled away. She stared at the residue on her hand in shock. It wasn’t an illusion. Rika’s wings were real.
Blossom landed on Sabine’s shoulder, her wings drooping. “I’m sorry, Rika. Don’t be mad at me. I didn’t know the magic wouldn’t work on you. If anyone can make it better, it’s Sabine.”
Rika took a shaky breath and wiped away her tears. “Is Blossom right? Can you fix it?”
Sabine hesitated a little too long. When Rika’s eyes began to water again, Sabine mentally kicked herself. “It’s going to take a little bit of trial and error to figure out how to reverse whatever Blossom did.”
Hope shone from Rika’s eyes, but Sabine didn’t elaborate. She tried to think of a possible solution, but her eyes kept gravitating toward those wings again. Blossom had somehow managed to turn illusion magic into a physical manifestation. Sabine had never seen such a thing before, except in books describing how the Fae had created other races like the Beastpeople. She shared a small bond with Blossom, which allowed the pixie to draw upon power, but Blossom shouldn’t be able to do this.
Another dwarf with a long scar on the side of his face came running up to them but skidded to a halt at the sight of Rika. “By the stone’s breath! Is that a giant pixie?”
“Pixies don’t have antennae, you stupid shorty!” Blossom yelled, her face turning red. “She’s part butterfly!”
“Who ya calling shorty, bug?” The scarred dwarf turned back toward Volack and elbowed him. “Did her da have sex with a butterfly?”
Volack shrugged. “I don’t know, mate. The tall ones are weird.”
Malek muttered a curse and turned toward the dwarves. He spoke a few quiet words to them, gesturing toward Sabine and Rika standing a short distance away.
Rika covered her face with her hands and cried. Sabine put her arm around the girl’s shoulder, careful not to injure her fragile wings. “It’s all right, Rika. This is temporary. If it bothers you that much, I can temporarily mask it with an illusion.”
Rika sniffled and looked up at her. “You really think you can fix it?”
“You have my word I’ll do everything within my power to return you to your normal form.”
“The Fae can’t lie, right?”
“No, we can’t,” Sabine agreed, not pointing out she hadn’t promised she would fix it. It would cost her a considerable amount of magic to maintain an illusion over Rika, but she needed to make it right. She should have taken the time to boost Blossom’s power without having the pixie rely on the flowers growing nearby, especially since the magic in the area had been corrupted.
Sabine brushed away Rika’s tears and asked, “What do you wish of me, Rika? Do you want me to hide your wings from sight?”
“For what it’s worth, I think your wings are very pretty,” Malek said and walked toward them. He gave Rika a disarming smile. “Besides, how often can someone say they have wings like a pixie? You’ll have some great stories to tell everyone.”
Rika’s cheeks pinked at Malek’s compliment. She worried her lower lip and glanced at Blossom. “I-I guess it might not be too bad to have wings for a while. Do I really look like a pixie?”
“A bit,” Sabine replied in agreement, but secretly she thought the twitching antennae were a little bizarre.
Blossom grinned and clapped her hands. “I can teach you all about being a pixie. Maybe we can even have Sabine shrink you so you can get the full experience! I wonder if your wings are just for show or if you can really fly?”
The scarred dwarf cleared his throat. “Uh, Volack? The demon’s giving us a bit of trouble, and we promised not to hurt him.”
Volack scowled. “What’s the problem?”
The scarred dwarf winced. “He says he won’t take another step unless his queen accompanies him. We tried to move him along, but he tossed Wospin up into a nearby tree and broke his spear. The demon’s threatening to strangle the next dwarf who comes near him unless we bring his queen.”
Malek’s mouth twitched in a smile. “Effective, isn’t he?”
Sabine sighed. It likely wasn’t an idle threat. She motioned for Volack to lead the way. “Let’s go. We’ll figure it out after we get to Razadon.”
“Hey, shorty. Have you ever considered learning how to use that weapon properly? Or were you too busy sucking on your mother’s teat to pay attention to your lessons?”
Sabine inhaled sharply at Bane’s insult. The dwarf he was addressing didn’t appear pleased by the comment either. The tips of the dwarf’s ears turned bright red, and he snarled something too low to be overheard. He waved his axe threateningly in the demon’s direction, and the other dwarves roared with laughter.
“What is Bane thinking?” Sabine muttered and shook her head.
Malek chuckled and placed his hand against her back, making her skin prickle in awareness. “I wouldn’t worry. Dwarves enjoy a good ribbing. Like demons, they admire strength. He’s already proven himself to be a capable warrior. The fact that he’s willing to keep poking at them even while he’s their captive will only make them respect him more.”
She arched her brow but didn’t argue the point. In some ways, demons and dwarves had more in common than with her people. They all respected strength and power, but the Fae prided themselves on maintaining a cultured dignity. It was one of the traits that had shocked her the most after leaving Faerie and living among the demon brothers.
“Not again!” Rika cried, thrashing her legs and arms in midair. Sabine grabbed Rika’s hand and pulled her back to the ground. The seer’s wings kept fluttering uncontrollably, and she kept gaining a little too much upward momentum.
“You okay?”
Rika wrinkled her nose. “Yeah. Thank—I mean… That was close.”
Sabine smiled, pleased Rika had caught herself before expressing her gratitude. It was happening less often, but she still forgot on occasion. “I won’t let you fly away. Perhaps Blossom can give you a bit more advice on how to keep your feet on the ground.”
“You’ll get the hang of it, Rika,” Blossom said with a grin. “Baby pixies fly out of their flowers all the time, but it doesn’t take long to learn how to control your wings.”
Rika brushed one of her lopsided antennae away from her face. “I’m worried I’m going to end up in the clouds.”
“We won’t let that happen,” Sabine promised, noticing more of the decorative archways on the path. These had glowing white crystals on the top, each swirling with smoky bands of the power contained within them.
Malek leaned in close and whispered, “Keep an eye on the crystals embedded into the archways, particularly the ones as we near the city gates. The purple ones act as an alarm to detect foreign magic. I’m not sure what the other colors do.”
She frowned, hoping the alarm wouldn’t be a problem for the dragon shapeshifter. “Will Levin’s warding necklace hide your identity?”
He hesitated. “I believe so, but the necklace wasn’t calibrated exactly for my type of power. It’s close enough to Levin’s wyvern magic that it should also mask mine. At least in theory.”
“Maybe we should walk in together,” she suggested quietly. “They already know about me, and I doubt their crystals will be able to differentiate the types of foreign magic it encounters. Our bond may help negate it.”
Malek nodded. “It’s worth a try. If anything goes wrong, I should be able to shift and get us out of here. If we head to the Sky Cities, you’d at least be protected from the Wild Hunt.”
Sabine’s stomach lurched at the thought. She might trust Malek, but the idea of walking into the dragon’s den terrified her. There were thousands of dragons in their world, and she was as much their enemy as Malek was to her people.
Blossom landed on Sabine’s shoulder. “So what’s the plan? Are we going to launch a big escape to free Bane? Are we going to blast their mountain wide open? Are we going to take over the dwarven kingdom and make a big garden out of the rubble?”
Sabine grimaced. “How about we acquire information first and leave the bloodbath as a last resort? I’d like to have Bane freed peacefully if possible.”
Blossom saluted her. “Snooping. Got it. I’ve got lots of flowers, so I’m ready for action.”
Sabine glanced at Rika, but she didn’t appear to be having any difficulties keeping pace with them. Other than her feet occasionally leaving the ground from the uncontrollable fluttering of her wings, Rika appeared to be adapting quickly to her new appearance. Sabine kept catching Rika trying to get a better look at her multicolored wings. Every time Rika twisted her body, her antennae fell forward and bopped her in the forehead.
Turning back toward Blossom, Sabine asked, “Do you have any of the flowers you used to change Rika’s appearance?”
“Yep. I figured you’d need some of them to reverse it.”
Sabine nodded. At least that would make it easier to determine how such an anomaly had occurred. If it was from the corruption, she had a better chance of reversing it. If it happened to be from Rika’s seer abilities, Sabine wasn’t sure how to help her.
The wind changed, and Sabine’s skin prickled in awareness. She turned her gaze upward. The sky was darkening, a sign the Wild Hunt’s approach was imminent. Panic rushed through her. They were out of time.
Sabine leaned toward Malek and whispered, “It’s the Wild Hunt. We need to hurry. How far away are we from Razadon?”
Malek lifted his head, his eyes narrowing on the sky. He placed his arm around her waist and pulled her closer in a protective gesture. “The main entrance is right over that rise. Another ten minutes at the most.”
Blossom squeaked. “They’re moving really fast, Sabine. I can feel them.”
Sabine gauged the distance and the dark clouds in the other direction. “That’s not enough time. We won’t make it before the Hunt’s upon us.”
In a loud voice, Malek called, “Hey, Volack! Can we get a move on? There’s trouble approaching.”
Volack paused, glancing upward. His eyes widened, and he muttered a curse. “Double time, men! Make haste. That storm has a bad look about it. If it’s tied into whatever happened to Badac, we need to get to shelter now!”
They all increased their pace, heading faster up the path. Suddenly, the sun disappeared behind heavy cloud cover and the sky darkened to midnight. A cold wind filled the air, whipping Sabine’s hair away from her face and chilling her down to her bones. The ground trembled beneath their feet, and a low peal of thunder rumbled throughout the mountain.
Sabine looked over her shoulder and another flash of silvered lightning lit the sky. Dark hooded figures emerged from the dark clouds, riding atop creatures of nightmare. Silvery tentacles emerged from beneath the riders’ cloaks, while the eyes of their mounts glowed red with malice. It was the Wild Hunt, and she’d always believed the next time she saw them would be the last.
“Run!” Malek shouted. “They’re nearly upon us!”
The dwarves rushed up the mountain. Sabine grabbed Rika’s hand to keep her grounded while they ran. Malek pulled out his sword but kept pace with them while they raced ahead.
Rika stumbled in the darkness, pulling Sabine down with her. Sabine hit the ground, her palms biting into the sharp rocks and stones. Malek pulled both her and Rika to their feet.
“Sabine!” Bane roared, jerking against his captives to reach her. The dwarves shouted obscenities at him, pushing the demon onward.
“Go, Bane!” Sabine yelled, motioning for him to run. Rika was human and couldn’t hope to keep pace with them, but Sabine wasn’t about to abandon her charge.
“They’re here!” Blossom shrieked, clinging to Sabine’s neck. “You have to run, Sabine!”
“We won’t make it,” Rika said, choking on a sob. Sabine grabbed her hand again, but Malek scooped Rika up and threw her over his shoulder.
“Run, Sabine! Dammit, run! I’ve got her!”
Trusting Malek at his word, Sabine lowered her chin to her chest and ran for her life. Using the glowing crystals affixed to each of the archways as a beacon, she raced up the mountain path. Malek’s footsteps pounded on the stone behind her, while the rumble of thunder from the Hunt’s mounts became nearly deafening. The riders were nearly upon them, but Sabine couldn’t stop. The lightning strikes were coming faster, and Sabine’s markings began to flash in resonance.
In the distance, Sabine caught sight of what appeared to be some sort of cave. She flew toward it, following the dwarves as they nimbly darted up the path. As they drew closer, Sabine realized the opening wasn’t natural in design. The dwarves had sculpted a stone archway directly into the side of the mountain. Three large crystals were embedded around the entrance, and they flared with a deep red and purple glow in warning.
Sabine raced inside the cave along with the dwarves and Bane. She skidded to a halt right beside a sealed stone door. Malek entered moments after her with Rika still over his shoulder, passing directly beneath the crystalline arch. Sabine lifted her hand to protect them but froze. The crystals hadn’t changed. Whatever protective measures had been enabled, Rika had either negated them with her seer ability or Malek’s warding necklace had protected him.
Malek lowered Rika to the ground and turned toward Sabine. He cupped her face, his brow furrowed as his eyes roamed over her features. “You’re all right?”
Sabine started to answer him, but Rika’s gasp broke through her thoughts. A creeping shadow moved toward them like tendrils reaching for its quarry. In the deepest part of the darkness, Sabine caught sight of the Wild Hunt and its riders.
“Activate the barriers!” one of the dwarves shouted. Two of them rushed forward, yanking hard on silver rings embedded into the cavern wall. A second later, the archway glowed an even deeper shade of red, but the light didn’t touch the riders outside the cave.
A dark hooded figure approached on his mount, the shadows enveloping him with aching familiarity. The black steed tossed its head, its mane of fire piercing the darkness. The rider gripped the reins with his skeletal hands and turned his mount to the side just outside the cave’s entrance.
The rider fixed his glowing red eyes on Sabine, his gaze penetrating down to her soul. It was as though every secret and every thought she’d ever held were laid bare in front of him. A tight band wrapped around her chest, threatening to steal her will. She took a shaky breath, staring into Death’s face for the third time in her life.
“The godsforsaken Wild Hunt,” one of the dwarves whispered, his eyes wide with terror. “They’ll strike us all down.”
Rika whimpered while Blossom trembled against Sabine’s neck, trying to make herself as small as possible. The smell of fear rose sharply in the cave, nearly choking Sabine with its sickly-sweet stench. Several of the dwarves crumpled to the ground, praying to their ancestors for forgiveness for various transgressions. Only Malek and Bane remained standing, but even they appeared shaken by the sight of the Wild Hunt.
Sabine held the Huntsman’s glowing gaze, refusing to succumb to the wave of terror the Hunt evoked. He was the living embodiment of nightmare, a tale of such fearsomeness that few who encountered his sight ever recovered.
The riders would hunt her to the ends of the world to fulfill their pact, no matter what lives they endangered. She wouldn’t allow anyone else to be harmed when she was the one they wanted. Sabine straightened her shoulders and took a step toward the Huntsman, prepared to meet her fate. If this was her end, so be it.
“Sabine!” Bane shouted, pulling at his restraints. “Malek, stop her!”
“Don’t do it!” Blossom shrieked, yanking on Sabine’s hair. “He’ll squish you! Malek! Help!”
