Fire in the Darkness (40 page)

So many things about my childhood seemed clear. The reason we moved around so much. Why after something strange would happen she would panic and have us packed up, leaving within a day. The reason my powers hadn’t showed up till after my mother’s “death,” when the protection spells were broken. She had done it all for me. She sacrificed having a real life.

“It wasn’t until I met Mark I realized I wanted both of us to have more of a life than the one we were living. Mark brought love and stability to both our lives. You and I were always tight, but he made us a family with a real chance for you to grow up and be normal. I hoped, with him being human and my protection spells, we could have a good life.”

“But we aren’t normal. Mark would have aged—eventually died. We wouldn’t. I think he would have noticed eventually.” The logical part of me still doubted this was my mother and thought it was all an illusion.

“With love you do not want to think about how things will end. I loved him so much. I would have glamoured myself, appearing like I was aging with him until he died. You would have slowly continued to age. I guess I was hoping he would not notice there were only slight changes in you.” Her voice choked up. Thinking about Mark must be painful for her.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked. “Were you ever going to tell me?”

“Eventually, I knew I would have to. I wanted to keep the truth from you as long as possible. Then it was too late.”

“But why? Don’t you think I would have preferred knowing the truth? I always knew I didn’t fit and I wasn’t quite right.”

“You would have been treated much worse in this world. You could have been killed.” Her lips went white as she pressed them together. “Plus, I know you, Ember. Telling you would have meant certain death for you. You are too inquisitive, which is a good trait in most cases, but not in this one. Your need to know what and who you were would have been too overwhelming. There would have been no way of stopping you from trying to find out more. The Queen would have found you instantly. You must be angry with me, but I did what I did to keep you safe. The less you knew the better. I won’t deny some of it was selfish. We were finally able to stay in one place and live a life I never imagined possible.”

I couldn’t fully let go of the anger and resentment I felt, but I also understood why she did it. She was right. I would have been too curious to stop searching and discovering the world I was meant to belong in. I would have been found and killed.

“There were a few close calls. Several times we were almost discovered. The Queen was closing in, and I knew it would be only a matter of time. I could not risk leading her to you. I encountered Torin in Canada when I was doing my research. I didn’t want them anywhere near you so I turned myself over. Unfortunately, that meant leaving no question I was dead. I did not want even the slighted hint I was still alive. If you came looking for me, which I knew you would if no body was found, you'd be even more unprotected.”

The trip to Canada, the conspiracy theory I came up with about her death had been wrong. The truth had been much more convoluted and crazier than I could have ever imagined.

“The house in Monterey had a protection spell on it. I hoped between it and living with Mark you would stay hidden. I should have known Torin would not stop until he found you.”

“But how could you do that to me? Do you know what it was like seeing your mutilated body on our back porch? The nightmares, the therapists, medication . . . all because I couldn’t see anything but images of you, torn into shreds.”

Lily pressed her lips together, agony filtered across her face. “I didn’t know . . . .”

“What do you mean you didn’t know? How do you think I’d react to seeing that?” I pushed farther away from her.

“No, I mean I didn’t know how my death was staged. My connections, who were living secretively on Earth, set it up for me. As fellow Fae they understood the body had to be glamoured to appear to be me, but not enough to be clearly identifiable. They took care of everything. No details were given to me.” Her eyes watered up. “I am so sorry, Em. I know nothing I can do will make it up to you nor can I ask for your forgiveness.”

“Was it the Dark Dwellers?” The words came to my lips before my mind realized that thought had been humming under the surface the moment I saw my mother. Why had Eli and Lorcan told me they killed my mother? Did they mean they had helped her look like she had been murdered? None of this made sense. Knowing Eli really hadn’t killed my mom lifted a weight from my soul. Rubbing at my head, the hurt and betrayal were riding high. There were so many things I wanted to know, countless things unanswered.

“The Dark Dwellers?” My mom jerked with surprise. “Why would you say that? How do you know about Dark Dwellers?”

Her reaction told me they had nothing to do with her faked death. My confusion only intensified. “No reason.” I shook my head and hurriedly changed the subject. “As much as I’d like to discuss every detail of the things you kept from me my whole life, we actually have more pressing issues to focus on.”

Hurt showed clearly on my mom’s face, but she nodded. It was upsetting to see her pain, but my own was too raw to let it go. Most of me wanted to lay my head on her lap like I used to and forget the world outside of us existed.

“The Queen has taken my friends to use as bait.” I paused, taking a deep breath.

“I am so sorry Em—”

“That’s not all,” I interrupted. “She has Mark as well.”

The moment of stunned silence broke into an anguished cry. “What?” The complete and utter dismay on her face only confirmed not one bit of her time with Mark had been faked. Her love for him was deep and concrete. At least that aspect of my life had been true. “Oh my God! She has Mark?”

I nodded in confirmation. “I came here to get them out. Torin and I came up with a plan . . . which didn’t exactly work out.”

“Oh Mark, nonono . . . he can’t be here. If he eats Fae food . . .” She rambled on, not listening to me.

“Mom!” I shouted. She snapped her head up to me. “Please, I need you to focus. Torin has assured me he is all right for now, but we have to come up with a new plan.”

She blinked and then a small smile crept onto her mouth. “When did you grow up?”

“Seven years ago . . .”

“I can’t believe I’ve been gone so long.” Sadness resounded in her eyes. “I missed you growing up.” She shook her head, taking in the information.

“Well, right now we need to come up with ideas to get out of here.” I sat down leaning against the cool, stone wall, pushing the years of questions and feelings back into the locked box in my heart. Now was not the time.

Nighttime was closing in on the Otherworld, darkening the cell in a murky haze. The only light came from the single glass fire bulb hanging from the ceiling. Cool air seeped through the tiny windows. Shivering, I hunkered down deeper into the foul straw.

“I am going to try to contact Torin. I need to know he is okay.”

“You two have grown close?” She looked at me curiously.

“Umm—yeah, I guess you could say that. He has been there for me and saved my life a couple times. It’s hard not to feel close to someone after that.”

“Do you love him?”

The question stopped me in my tracks. “Uhhhh . . .” I faltered. “Love him? I care about him a lot. He’s a wonderful guy. Everything I would want.”

“But . . .”

“There’s no ‘but’.”

“Ember, I am your mother. I know you and I know there is a huge ‘but’ in there. Is there someone else?”

I clenched my teeth. “You’ve supposedly been dead for the last seven years of my life. You don’t know anything about me anymore.”

Wounded, my mom looked away, blinking away her tears. A few moments of tense silence hung between us before she cleared her throat. “You’re right. I don’t know. Nothing I can say can take away the pain I caused.”

Resentment and guilt wrestled in my chest. “This really isn’t the time to talk about this.”

“No, you’re probably right.” She broke off, before speaking again. “He’s in love with you. So be careful.”

“How do you know he’s in love with me?” How would she know? Unless he came down here and told her, there was no way she could know.

Mom looked away, “Oh, I’m just gathering.”

My forehead creased suspiciously, but pushed it aside.
More important issues at hand, Em.
Settling myself against the wall of the jail I closed my eyes.
“Torin?”
I called to him in my mind.

For the next fifteen minutes I tried to contact him to no avail. There had been other times when he didn’t answer, yet I could at least feel a presence of some kind, a feeling he heard me. Almost like receiving a busy signal. He wasn’t available, but I knew he was there. This felt more like the cord had been cut. There was nothing, and it unsettled me. Something was wrong.

“Shit!” I banged my hands onto the stone floor in frustration.

“Nothing?”

“No . . . something’s not right. The Queen’s done something to him.” I closed my eyes briefly and hoped he was okay. The thought of the Queen hurting him made me ill.

“So, now what?” Mom looked down at the chains attached to her arms. “I am useless having been down here so long. I can barely stand.”

I pulled at my handcuffed wrists. How in the hell was I going to get out of here without Torin’s help?

“Shit!” I yelled again.

“I really wish you would hold it,” a small voice said above my head.

Whipping around, my gaze landed on two pixies standing in the tiny, barred window. “Cal! Simmons!” I exclaimed.

“Seems, my lady, you have gotten yourself in a terrible bind.” Simmons nodded toward my chains.

“Cal was sure you would need our help so we stayed close by.” Simmons stood like a solider ready for duty.

“Cal?” I felt both surprise and affection that he chose to stay near—just in case.

“Don’t get all mushy on me. I expect payment for the services rendered,” Cal responded abrasively.

A smile came to my face. “And what would the payment be?” He didn’t fool me for a minute.

“Endless supply of juniper juice. A new sword.” He tugged at his plastic cocktail garnish stick tied to his waist. “And maybe . . . a kiss,” he gruffly threw out.

“Done, done, and done,” I agreed.

His eyes lit up before he looked away. “Okay, fine. We’ll help the harlot.”

“Harlot?” My mom spoke up with a laugh.

“Hey. I’ve had to make a living somehow, Mom.” I arched my eyebrow at her.

Her lips quirked up, her voice proud. “That’s my girl.”

The warmth spreading through my chest brought a smile to my eyes. It reminded me of the old times, the way she and I had teased and bantered, the years we missed. I looked away from her.

“Okay, let’s get this show on the road.” I clasped my hands together firmly. “First, we somehow need to get out of these cuffs.”

“Oh, my lady, you greatly insult us.” Simmons flew down and, with only a tiny slip, perched on my knee. “We are prepared for duty.” Simmons pulled two bobby pins from his belt. Cal came down, plopping on my arm and took one of the pins from Simmons. In a matter of seconds he had worked the metal into the locks, wiggling it around, and freed my wrist and ankle from the shackles.

“You guys are unbelievable. Thank you.” I rubbed at my freed wrist, the weight of the iron peeling away from me instantly. “Oh, that is so much better.”

They hopped over to Mom. Her cuffs were a little harder to get loose as they had been on a lot longer than mine. The metal clenched together with its greedy bond. Finally, after several minutes, hers plunked to the ground as well.

That was when I saw her chains were not just energy suckers. They were torture devices. Each cuff was lined with teeth, small spikes that embedded into her skin. She cried out in pain as they tore away from her wrists. Aneira had tortured her by draining her energy and driving rods into her skin.

I looked forward to killing that bitch.

Mom crumbled back against the pile of straw.
From the little time my powers had been pulled from my body, I knew the immense emotion she must be feeling after that constant torture. I wanted to go to her, to hug her but struggling emotions held me back. She needed a few moments to adjust. If what everyone told me about her earth powers were true, it had to be overwhelming to have so much crash through you at once. She quieted down and took a deep breath, her head turned up in my direction. “Okay, I am ready.”

I nodded to the pixies. “So, you guys think you can work the same magic with the door locks?”

Simmons' puckered face told me I had insulted their capabilities again. “Sorry. Please, precede, Captain Simmons.” I motioned toward the door. I thought adding ‘Captain’ would help with his hurt pride. It worked like a charm; he glowed with satisfaction, fluttering toward the locked cell door.

“No matter what size the man, their egos need to be stroked,” my mom mumbled.

I snickered and looked at her, nodding. It was so easy to fall back into our old rapport. It hurt how much I’d missed her, how long I had wanted my mom back in my life. The years after her “death” had turned me hard and defensive. My heart had been shredded so many times, I guarded my feelings. My mom and I had a long road to recovery. It wasn’t really easy to accept she was alive and everything was okay and back to normal. Life didn’t work that way. I didn’t work that way.

With a loud crack and whine of metal, the cell door swung open. I winced, hoping the walls of the dungeon locked in noise as well as it did its prisoners. There had to be guards close by so I stayed watchful of every nuance of the large underground.

Taking the lead, I slipped out a knife from my boot. We crept down the dimly lit chambers, weaving through the labyrinth of the prison. We turned down a wrong path, and I was about to turn us around when something stopped me. A figure slumped in one of the cells caught my attention. Another prisoner. I peered closer; something about him seemed familiar.

Recognition hit me like a rock. Horror clogged my throat. “Oh my God.” Unable to stop, I rushed to the bars, pushing through the pain the iron bars caused me. I didn’t care. I fell to my knees as my arms went through the bars, grasping the man’s face.