Rising Moon (The Rune Stone Trilogy) (35 page)

             
A small smile came to El’s lips. Terra never questioned herself, she just knew if she had to do something, she would do it. El closed her eyes and blocked her mind to Aylin. She felt her mind slide on the rock of the cave towards an opening. Everything inside the cave felt wet and cold. She made it to one heartbeat, beating rapidly. One, two…oh no.

             
"
El,
"
Terra whimpered.

             
"
I know.
"
El opened her eyes.
"
We won’t hurt her, but we can’t take her with us,
"
she whispered.
"
If we do, they’ll know where we are. They are in control of her right now. Until that control is broken she can’t be trusted.
"

             
"
But-
"

             
"
Focus Terra!
"
El hissed. She would have to be hard and emotionless tonight. It would be better for the both of them.
"
We are here for Aylin.
"

             
Terra’s eyes were filling with tears, but she nodded. A twig snapped behind them and they jumped up as Blake’s tall form emerged out of the trees.
"
Well?
"
he whispered.

             
"
Two witches in there. But there is a complication.
"
El looked at Terra, then back at Blake. She reminded herself to be cold.
"
Your mother is in there also. She is under the witch’s influence. As I was telling Terra, there is nothing we can do for her right now. We can only take Aylin.
"
She steeled herself, ready for his anger.

             
His jaw clenched, and his eyes bore holes into her. She watched, as his body grew tense, the muscles in his arms flexed and then he pushed down his shoulders and gave her a short nod.
"
Okay,
"
he finally said.

             
El was taken back. She was prepared to battle with him, not for him to be so compliant. This was a clear sign of how much trust they put in El and Aylin. It was what Aylin had been working hard for, and now that it had happened, it didn’t give El
a
feeling of satisfaction inside. It was Aylin who they all should be following, not El. She wasn’t designed for the lead role. But she would do anything for Aylin.

             
"
She won’t be harmed?
"
Terra asked.

             
She swallowed and shook her head.
"
No. They need her too much for that.
"
El turned her attention to Blake.
"
Terra and I are going to focus on the two witches. We will try to block any spells that come at you. I’m leaving it up to you to get inside and grab Aylin, do you understand how much trust I’m putting in you?
"
she asked before she could stop herself. He had just agreed to leave his mother inside with the witches because she had told him it would be the right thing to do. Now she questioned him.

             
"
You don’t have to tell me.
"
Blake crossed his arms, standing straight to tower over her.
"
I know how much she means to you, and you have to know what she means to me.
"
He was frowning at her.

             
"
You’re right. I’m sorry.
"
El shook her head.
"
Hopefully we will give you enough time. Are you up to this Terra?
"

             
"
Yes.
"

             
El nodded and stood to enter the cave. She stood right at the mouth and her feet refused to leave the ground.
"
Shit,
"
she hissed under her breath and looked up. Above the mouth of the cave were three daggers sunken into the rock, only the handles were visible.

             
"
El, what is it?
"
Terra whispered behind her.

             
"
Damn it! Why didn’t I even think…
"
El grumbled, shaking her head in complete frustration. She shouldn’t have been so stupid. She pointed up at the daggers.
"
Protections against fae. Hang a knife above the doorway and the faerie won’t be able to cross it. We can’t get in, she can’t get out.
"
She leaned back and her feet loosened from the ground. She stepped backwards to get a better look at the daggers.

             
"
So let’s take them out,
"
Blake said roughly.

             
El glared at him.
"
We can’t just take them out. If I tried climbing up to remove them I would be stuck, frozen in place. Benefits of a protection.
"

             
"
Well, I’m not a faerie.
"
Blake stepped forward and looked for a place in the rock that he could hoist himself up. Once found, he stepped up and slid out the first dagger. El and Terra cringed at the sound of metal grinding against rock. The second came out just as easily. The third one was two inches out of his reach.

             
Blake took a few moments to calculate his next move, then planted both of his feet on the rock, bent his knees and leapt toward the dagger. His hand slid onto the handle and as gravity brought him toward the ground, the dagger broke, leaving the tip in the rock.

             
He looked down at the broken dagger in his hands.
"
Nice going,
"
El said, thick with sarcasm.
"
What’s the plan now?
"

             
Without a word to her Blake tossed the broken dagger into the woods, leaned down and retrieved the first two and tucked them into his belt. He went to the other side of the entrance, closer to where the third dagger was, and in one quick kick with his foot he made a foot hold in the rock. He climbed up, grabbed one of the daggers from his belt and slammed the hilt into the rock until there was a large enough hole for his hand. He slipped his fingers inside and pulled out the knife tip.

             
"
Show off,
"
El scowled, ignoring Blake’s wide smile.

             
As soon as El and Terra entered they felt a heaviness weighing down on them. The iron was potent around them. El put her hand on the wall and swiped it away, it felt like she had put her hand in a fire. Her hand had an angry welt forming where it touched the rock. She grimaced and showed Terra as a warning to be extra careful. Terra’s eyes widened at the sight of her hand, and she nodded vigorously.

             
Without touching her flesh to the rock, El put her ear up to the rock’s surface and closed her eyes. They watched her for a few moments, and when she opened her eyes she was smiling.
"
Knockers.
"

             
"
What?
"
Blake whispered.

             
"
They haunt mines, wells, and caves. They have long index fingers,
"
she held up hers,
"
and mimic the pounding sound that miners made. That’s an unexpected surprise.
"
She sat back on her heels and chewed on her lip.
"
I have an idea, just watch out for flying stones.
"

             
They came to a curve in the cave and they stopped just at the end of the curve. Around the corner they could hear voices. The three squatted down and El tried to look around the corner. The sight had her heart thundering. Aylin’s crumpled body was on the other side of the two witches, who were huddled around a smoldering fire. Terra’s mother was against the far wall, sleeping under a blanket.

             
"
I hate babysitting duty. It’s pointless. It’s not like she’s going to escape,
"
the witch on the left said. She was an older woman with silver, wiry hair. She was plump, and wearing heavy coveralls and work boots. The other witch was much younger, looked younger than Terra, and wearing a designer down jacket. Her jeans were tucked into furry boots, and she brushed her hair.

             
"
Maybe we could have a little fun with her,
"
the young one said.
"
I need to practice my interrogating skills. That’s what he told me this morning when I tried to come with.
"
She put down the brush.

             
"
No. Girl, you have no control of your spells! You could kill her. Then what would you tell him? Hmm?
"
The older woman yawned.

             
"
I could practice on her.
"
She pointed the mom.

             
"
Give it a rest Julia.
"
The woman rolled her eyes.

             
El crept back to Blake and Terra.
"
Us,
"
she made a dot in the dirt,
"
witches,
"
she drew a short line after the dot,
"
Aylin.
"
Blake nodded in understanding.
"
Terra and I go first. We need to distract them before you try to get to Aylin. I will tell you when to go,
"
she said to Blake.
"
Terra?
"
She motioned her to follow El.
"
What we want to do is create a protection field around them. Imagine the protection field that is around your house, created by those bundles that you and Aylin buried. Do you see it in your head?
"
She waited for Terra to nod.
"
I think that if we try to build it around them then their spells will only bounce back at them. We’ll create it from our hands.
"
She held her hands palm up.
"
Once Blake has Aylin out of here, I’ll have the Knockers help us distract them so you and I can get out.
"

             
"
El?
"
Terra asked.

             
"
Yes?
"
El was already forming her hands into a cup.

             
"
Make sure you come back with us.
"

             
El smiled at Terra.
"
Okay.
"
She nodded toward her hands. Once she felt the ball forming she closed the cup of her hands, isolating the ball. Her hands heated, holding the light in. Once Terra had done the same they stood up and walked around the corner.
"
Hello ladies,
"
El smiled at the witches.

             
The witches jumped up, the older one knocked over her plastic chair.
"
Who are you?
"
she screeched.

             
"
I’m one of the faeries that you’ve been looking for.
"
El threw open her hands, sending multiple red lights at the women. The witches flinched, throwing their arms in front of their faces. The lights hit their forearms, burning through their clothes onto their flesh. Terra sent hers flying, and hers were yellow, also burning the witches where they landed. Then El and Terra clasped hands, put the other hands in front of them and light exploded from their palms.

             
The older witch shrieked and began chanting. The light from their hands changed into a silver liquid and began to stretch around the witches like a bubble. The chanting of the older witch became muffled, drowned out from the field.

             
"
Let’s keep it steady, Terra,
"
El said. Sweat began to bead on her forehead.
"
Blake!
"
El yelled over her shoulder.

             
Blake slipped behind them and ran to where Aylin lay on the ground. He tried not to stop and stare in awe at what El and Terra had created. The bubble constantly shifted and changed colors as chants and spells bounced around the inside.