Clash of the Otherworlds: Book 3, Portal Guardians (13 page)

"Can you roll over?" asked Samantha.
 
"We can't see your faces."

Finn was the first to comply.
 
As soon as we saw the result of being kissed by dragon fire, we gasped.
 
It was one giant intake of breath by all of us, almost sounding fake it was so perfect.

Spike broke the silence that followed with a short laugh and then, "Damn, Finn.
 
I thought you were ugly before, but now ... boy ... good thing you already have a girlfriend, that's all I have to say."

Tony rolled over next, and we had the same reaction upon seeing his face.
 
I moaned when I saw his skin. "Ohhhh, shit no, Tony!
 
Dammit!
 
Why didn't you listen to me?"
 
I wanted to touch him, but I was afraid I'd hurt him.
 
His face was lobster red, and his eyebrows and eyelashes were gone.
 
So where most of his bangs, too.
 
Small blisters had already popped up on his forehead, nose, and chin.

"Well, I guess we have our answer to one question," said Niles.
 
"Not everyone is immune to dragon fire."
 

"I know I ain't," said Finn, struggling to sit up.
 
He looked over at Tony and said, "Holy shee-it!
 
Dang, boy."
 
He turned to face us.
 
"Does my face look as bad as his?"

Now that we knew Finn and Tony were alive, it was really, really hard not to laugh at the freakish picture they both made.
 
Samantha started the giggling, but eventually we all joined in.
 
Even Niles snorted a couple times.

"Seriously, y'all?
 
Is it bad?
 
Am I butt-ugly like Tony is now?"

"Well," said Spike, barely able to breathe, "no one would ever accuse you of being pretty, that's for sure."

Finn looked over desperately at Tony and then me.
 
"Do I have my eyebrows still?"

I shook my head sadly.

"My hair?"

"Not really," I said.
 
"Some of it, but not all."

"Blisters?" he asked in a weak voice.

"Lots," I said.
 
I couldn't even see most of his freckles anymore. They'd been blasted off or something.

"Oh dang-me.
 
What am I gonna say to Becky?
 
She's gonna wipe the floor with my sorry butt when she hears what I did."

I held my hand out to help him up, and Spike did the same for Tony.
 
"Don't worry about her," I said.
 
"She's just going to be happy to have you back alive, period.
 
But do us a favor next time, and don't get so far ahead.
 
I tried to warn you and tell you to come back, but you didn't hear me."

"How'd you know to stop?" asked Jared.

"I heard the lizardy sounds again."

Before anyone could mock me too hard, Ben spoke up.
 
"I heard them too.
 
I know what she means now.
 
It's like a slithering, walking, and hissing.
 
Part lizard part snake or something."

"Yeah ... see?"
 
I ignored the fact that it was Ben lending credence to my stupid descriptions.

"Can you help them, Jayne?" asked Spike.
 
"Give them a shot of The Green or whatever?"

I held Tony's and Finn's hands.
 
"I can try."
 
I pulled some of the energy into me and sent it to them, but I could see right away it was too much.
 
And the dragon sensed it or something, because I could hear it moving around again.
 
"I have to stop," I said, letting the element go.
 
"It's attracting unwanted attention, and it's just too strong over here in this realm.
 
I think it's dangerous to use it."

"It's okay.
 
I feel better already," said Tony, smiling at me.
 
His blisters were flattened and healed, and his lips didn't seem quite so chapped.
 
But his hair was still gone and his skin way too red.

Finn was in pretty much the same shape.
 
"Yeah.
 
That's better.
 
Thanks, girl," he said, hugging me quickly and then letting me go so he could reach up to touch his hair.
 
He winced at what he felt there, whistling low under his breath.
 
"Man, I ain't never been this ugly before, even after I lost a fight against three guys who whooped me every which way but sideways in junior high."

"Hair grows back.
 
Come on, let's go see what's what," I said, urging him forward.

He stayed rooted in place.
 
"Are you outta your cotton-pickin-mind?
 
No way in sam hill am I goin' in there with that fire-breathin' dragon.
 
Huh-uh.
 
I'm stayin' right here.
 
You go on ahead fire girl, if you must, but I don't recommend it.
 
You're awful pretty now, but I ain't sure how pretty you'll be without your eyebrows 'n all."

I looked at the others.
 
"I guess he's right.
 
You guys should stay here."
 
I looked over at Ben.
 
"Are you coming?"
 
I hated the idea of him being with me, but I disliked the idea of being alone even more.

He shrugged.
 
"I'm not sure if I'm immune like you were.
 
We don't even know if you are here like you were in the Underworld."

"I guess we might as well find out," I said.
 
I glanced down at Ben's leg, noticing he still had his fang on him.
 
"I think the dragon we want to talk to is the one who wants that tooth back.
 
Be sure you don't hand it over."

"I know what not to do.
 
I don't need you to tell me."
 
He sounded like he was talking to a child.

I let his disrespect fall off me like water off a ducks ass.
 
Let him screw crap up.
 
I could care less, so long as most of us - everyone but him - got out of here alive and in mostly one piece.
 
Missing a little bit of hair was about as much of an injury as I could handle without losing my cool.

Spike took an extra few seconds to envelop me in a strong hug, making me promise to be careful and taking Willy from me gently, closing his fingers over the pixie's sleeping form.
 
I also transferred the strawberries to Spike's shirt pocket, hoping they wouldn't get too squished.
 
He smiled at me, leaning down to kiss me gently on the mouth.
 
I kissed him back quickly but pushed the warmth that rose up in my heart away, certain that going all mushy before interacting with dragons was a bad idea.
 
I hugged Tony next, worried he hadn't healed enough to manage the rest of our trip, but also pushing those concerns to the side for now.
 
I would mother him later, once I had made a deal with the dragon.

The others dropped back, and Ben and I moved forward side-by-side, me making sure to stay far enough away from him that our arms wouldn't touch.
 
I hated the idea of making contact with him, even just a little bit.
 
We walked in complete silence for a while, the only sound we heard the slapping of my moccasins on the floor.

"I see you've completely disregarded our bonding.
 
How classy of you."

I snorted in disgust.
 
"Our bonding ... oh, you mean that spell you and Maggie cooked up together?
 
Blow it out your ass, Ben.
 
I couldn't give a single shit what you think of me or Spike or anyone else.
 
You mean less than nothing to me."

"You think you know, but you don't.
 
But it doesn't matter.
 
I got what I wanted, and everything's going according to plan."

His devious and self-satisfied smile made me feel sick, but now was not the time to get into a fight with this turd.
 
Let him think he has the upper hand.
 
He'll get his soon enough.

"Can't you walk quieter than that?" he asked, obviously annoyed.

"Can't you shut up and just listen for the dragons?"

We fell into an uneasy silence, part of my brain focused on how much I disliked Ben and the other wondering why we weren't hearing the lizard sounds anymore.
 
We turned a corner in the cave and came upon a pile of stones.
 
Or rather, I thought it was a pile of stones until we got closer, and then I realized they were actually bones, not stones.

"Oh sick," I said, giving the pile a wide berth.
 
"That's just gross."
 
I tried to avert my eyes, but I couldn't help but look for fae skulls.
 
I didn't see any, thank goodness.

Ben held out his arm.
 
"Hold my hand," he demanded.

"Hold your own damn hand," I said, pushing his arm away from me.

"Come on, it'll be safer."

"Says who?
 
I think I'm safer avoiding you, to be honest.
 
You just worry about you, and I'll worry about me."

"Jayne, that's stupid.
 
We're dealing with a dragon here, not a simple fae creature.
 
We need to have each other's backs."

I snorted.
 
"Yeah, right.
 
Like you have my back
ever
.
 
The only thing you do with my back is stick a knife in it."
 
I shook my head at his sheer nerve.
 
He really was the most arrogant, conceited a-hole I'd ever had the displeasure of knowing.
 

 
"That's not true, Jayne, and you know it.
 
Things between us haven't been all bad."

"No, Ben, I don't know it; and yes, they all have too been bad.
 
I know that you lie, that you cheat, that you steal ... you do anything you want, regardless of the circumstances or who you hurt.
 
You're Dark Fae all the way and destined for the Underworld someday.
 
So keep your black fucking soul the hell away from me."

"That'll be pretty difficult seeing as how we're bound to one another."

I stopped in my tracks and started cackling.
 
Loudly.
 
I pointed at his face and laughed even harder for effect.
 
After I'd emptied my stress out a little, I stood and fixed him with my hardest stare.
 
"You just don't get it, do you?
 
Newsflash, Ben.
 
We are not bound, nor were we
ever
bound.
 
Your little friggin witchy light show was busted by the angel you tricked
and
the witch you recruited to help you, and it means nothing.
 
Nothing!"
 
The look on his face was classic.
 
"Yeah, surprise!
 
Happy birthday, asshole!
 
I'm not anymore bound to you than I am to a donkey, which by the way, I'm pretty sure I would have enjoyed a lot more.
 
So you can kiss my big white ass if you even think you're ever coming anywhere near me or living within a mile of me when we get back.
 
We.
 
Are. Through.
 
No more games.
 
No more bullshit.
 
No more lies."

Ben stood there, fuming at me.
 
I watched as emotion after emotion roiled across his face.
 
He was mad, furious even, then confused, then angry all over again.
 
He might have even looked hurt in there at some point, but I didn't give a flying filet-o-fuck about any of it.

"I did what I had to do.
 
I did the right thing," he insisted.

I shook my head, disgusted with his conceit.
 
"You are unbelievable, you know that?
 
Come on.
 
I'm bored.
 
Let's find this dragon and get the hell out of here."
 
I didn't wait for him, I just started walking again, avoiding stepping on any bones as best I could.
 
I followed the stench and lights, knowing I was getting closer when the slithering sounds started up again and the lights began to flicker.
 
I could hear Ben's footsteps as he crunched in the layer of small stones that were on the floor of the cave, but he said nothing and he no longer seemed to be interested in holding my hand.
 
And that was just fine by me.

I got to a corner that seemed like it was probably going to be the last turn before we entered the spot where the dragon was hanging out, so I stopped and waited for Ben to catch up.
 
When I felt him at my back, I said, "The dragon's in there.
 
I figured we should just go in and try to talk to it."

"We don't know if I'm going to feel the fire or not," he said.
 
"The dwarves took my elements away from me somehow.
 
I don't know if it was just in that room or what."

"Try to contact fire and see," I said.
 
I waited while he did his thing, but I knew right away it wasn't working.

He shook his head.
 
"Nothing.
 
Not fire, not wind."

"That sucks," I said, and I meant it.
 
I knew what it was like not to be able to connect to the elements, when Ben took them away from me during my torture.
 
Karma's a bitch
.
 
I got no pleasure out of that knowledge, though.
 
If Ben got fried I was going to feel bad about it.
 
No matter how much of a jerk he'd been, he didn't deserve to have his face melted off.
 
Burned a little, yes.
 
But not melted.
 
Samantha's comment about not being happy about someone else's misery had apparently made an impression on me.