Abducted by Faerie (Stolen Magic Book 5) Read online

  The gray-green monster stormed under my perch and I dropped, clutching Epic in both hands, pointed at the base of its skull.

  It would have worked, too, if it weren't for that damned tail. Like it had an eye in the back of its head and knew exactly where I was, the spiked tail jutted forward over the beast's body like a striking scorpion. Dodging the strikes made my positioning loose. Lightning fast, the blunt end of the tail batted me aside like an annoying fly. Pain erupted in my side, lancing through my chest, and then I crashed to the ground.

  Luckily--if being batted out of the air like a baseball could be called lucky--I didn't smash into any trees.

  The stuff I landed in was actually quite soft. My landing hadn't dramatically added to my injuries. Based on the smell, I was currently feeling grateful for landing in beast poop. I'd have to ask The Morrigan about the glory of battle sometime, because somehow I always missed that part. An inventory of my injuries revealed a twisted knee, but it was nothing compared to the pain in my chest. It ratcheted up in intensity with every breath. When I realized it wasn't going to get better, I opened my eyes to survey my situation.

  The creature hadn't run off this time. It was about fifty feet away on the path, surrounded by my companions. Ava slashed at the beast's back legs with her long knives, attempting to cut the tendons there. She ducked out of the way of the tail that had flattened me and opened a gash in the gray-green skin. The cut disappeared. I blinked, thinking I'd gotten a concussion and was seeing things. Nope, when I opened my eyes again Zoe got in a good slash, and it also closed up an instant later, leaving only a small smear of red blood as evidence of the injury.

  There'd been a lot of impossible, unfair things about Oscura so far, but healing that fast? It was the last straw. I wouldn't accept it.

  I leaned forward and the pain from my ribs nearly blinded me. I couldn't just sit around while my friends fought an unkillable beast. It was too infuriating. I looked around for something to use as a lever to take some of the strain off my ribs on my left side. Epic was a few feet away, embedded in the trunk of a tree.

  The crap I'd landed in had probably saved my life, and in a glorious moment of battle, I wriggled across the mushy surface. Every bit of movement sent sharp pain through my body. I held my breath to minimize the movement in my chest the best I could. It took what felt like centuries to get my hand wrapped around the hilt of my sword. Another century later, I'd pried it loose and wedged it into a root so I could pull myself up.

  The pain was only marginally less, but somehow I stood. No longer consumed with my own struggle, I was able to focus again on the beast and my companions. They were giving it a wide berth while Phoebe wrangled it with her vines. There were at least a dozen wrapped around the creature's legs, neck, and tail. While it no longer lashed out in an attempt to make friend pancakes, it only seemed annoyed with the vines. It knew it would be free soon.

  They needed my help, and I could hardly walk. Things were not looking good. Damn it. I could barely focus enough to review my other options. Normally, I wouldn't have considered using my wail or my fear power in a situation like this, but with the aid of the Fleece, I'd had some success in targeting those abilities to an individual. I wasn't exactly wrapping my head around the idea, and the pain wasn't helping, but it felt right. The beast needed to be farther away from them first.

  I blame my pain-addled state for what happened next.

  "Hey, ugly-ass! Did your rhino mother make it with a stegosaurus?"

  The beast let out a rare roar and turned to face me. It may have looked stupid, but it acted like it very much knew what I'd said. It didn't like it.

  When it charged, Phoebe's vines ripped free as if they were tissue paper. The fear shot me up with adrenaline after that, and suddenly I was able to think enough to decide this had been a bad idea. Too late. I could barely walk, and there wasn't room for my human sized wings to spread in the forest. Not that I'd be able to use them with the fire burning through my ribs anyway. There was no time to do anything but stick to my plan.

  My heart lurched into my throat, providing plenty of fuel for me to use with my fear magic. If only I could figure out how to use it. I was beginning to think that I may have suffered some sort of head injury in my fall.

  Steggy let out what to my mind sounded like a gleeful snort and lowered his horned head so the point on the tip of his snout would run me through.

  That was enough for instinct to take over. My magic flared to life inside of me, fueled by all the fear I felt. Thanks to the clarity provide by the Fleece, I focused it in a tight beam that went straight for Steggy. There were two basic reactions that my magic inspired: fight or flight. Steggy was a strange beast. He--and somehow, during my analysis of his fear I knew his sex--wasn't used to feeling fear. The green mist was his domain and he ruled it absolutely. None could stand against him. If I blasted him with too much fear, it would confuse him. He would go into an uncontrolled rage. There aren't enough swear words for how bad that would be. So, against all past experience, I dialed down my fear and pushed out only the barest thread.

  Steggy's dark brown eyes widened in confusion. Rather than turning to run like I'd hoped, he altered his path. Just a fraction, but that was all it took. He piled on more speed and charged at me like a runaway train. I turned to flee, but pain made me slow. So slow. I couldn't get out of his path. A gigantic leg clipped me, knocking me aside like a rag doll.

  My landing wasn't gentle this time. I struggled for a few more breaths before the world went dark.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  A sense of motion brought me momentarily back to consciousness. Everything hurt. There was a horrible moaning sound; it took me a while to recognize it as my own voice.

  "Quiet, Sophie," said Ava, leaning into my view. "We have you. You can sleep."

  I didn't have any choice. Darkness enveloped me.

  When I surfaced again, the motion had stopped. I was laying in a familiar bed, staring at a wooden ceiling. Machines beeped. The back of my hand itched. I rubbed at it and found an IV line. Pain shot through my ribs, but it wasn't the blinding pain I'd felt in Oscura. It felt like aching muscles. I let out a sigh of relief.

  "Hello, Sophie," said Phoebe, rousing from a chair that was just out of my peripheral vision. "Do you want something to drink?"

  It took me three tries to wet my tongue enough to speak. "All the things. Desert." I pointed to my mouth.

  Phoebe gave me a relieved smile and bounced out of the room with more than her usual level of enthusiasm. Before the door closed, I heard her shout, "Ava, Zoe, she's awake!"

  A minute later I was surrounded by a gaggle of women who couldn't stop touching me. My arms, shoulders, and hands had been squeezed more times than I could count.

  Phoebe recounted my idiotic confrontation of the beast I'd dubbed Steggy with a lot more drama than I recall there being.

  I started to correct her when it hit me. "Hey! We can remember what happened!"

  "We were surprised, too," said Ava, her nose twitching like a bunny.

  Something else occurred to me and it made my heart sink. "How long have I been out?"

  The smiles around the room turned somber. "Three days," said Zoe, when nobody else seemed inclined to deliver the news.

  "Fuck me!" I shouted, tears springing to my eyes. "They've had him for three more days!"

  "I'm so sorry, Sophie," said Phoebe, leaning down to hug me. "We don't know what else to do. Steggy ran, but he eventually came back and drove us out of Oscura."

  "Are we back at Greta's hospital?"

  "Yes," answered Zoe.

  "I thought I recognized that IV pole."

  I tried for a smile, but I couldn't. I had no idea how to proceed. There wasn't much point in rushing back into Oscura on foot. All we were likely to do is get someone killed, probably me. We'd made absolutely no progress through the air. Steggy had gotten the better of me.

  My thoughts continued to spiral down from there, until I ended with the b
leak thought that Owen was probably already dead anyway. What use would they have to keep him for this long?

  "Ava, have you heard anything about a ransom?"

  She was shaking her head before I even finished. "Patricia has set up a pretty decent network now. There has been no contact with the kidnappers. My parents haven't been able to find out anything more than we have."

  "So much for the might of Lana Kinney."

  "She's not as mighty as she likes to believe," said Ava.

  "What would you normally do now, Zoe?" I asked.

  "I'm already doing it," she answered. "I've been reaching out to contacts, last-option people. No one wants to go in with us, and no one has any more information. No one in Faerie believes this is possible or…"

  "Finish the sentence," I said.

  She cleared her throat. "Or worth doing." Her eyes sparked with anger. "It's a common problem when trying to get help to find a missing person."

  It was too much stress too soon after recovering from my injuries. I could hardly keep my eyes open. "I need a plan. We have to find some way to get to Owen. Have something for me when I'm conscious again?"

  "We'll do our best," said Ava. The others nodded their agreement. "You get some rest."

  "As soon as Phoebe answers one question," I said.

  "What is it?" asked Phoebe, her face far too eager.

  "How did you know I called the mist beast, Steggy?"

  "Um," she replied, biting her lip. "You've been talking in your sleep."

  I ran a hand down my face. "Do me a favor and forget everything you've heard."

  "I'll try," said Phoebe, giggling into her hand. "But it's been pretty memorable."

  "I don't want to hear about it," I said, my words slurring. My eyes were already closed.

  "Good night, Chicken," said Phoebe, through barely contained laughter.

  "Stop listening to me," I grumped.

  Sleep overtook me.

  The next time I woke, Ava was sitting in the chair next to my bed.

  "There you are," she said, standing and bestowing me with one of her rare smiles. There wasn't much of a family resemblance between her and her brother unless she smiled. Then her peridot eyes sparkled and reminded me so much of his. She answered my question before I could ask it. "It's only been a few more hours." She placed a glass of water in my hand and I took a sip while I studied the room. All of our bags and my swords were stacked next to the infirmary door. They were bulging like they were ready for a journey. Good.

  "So, did I reveal my plan for our next move through my sleep-talking?" I asked.

  Ava's smile turned sad. "No, all you said was 'Owen' this time."

  "Yeah, even my sleeping self couldn't believe what I'm about to say." I wasn't sure if it was me or the Golden Fleece this time, but I felt confident that this was the thing to do. Maybe something was wrong with me. I always seemed to feel most confident about the most ridiculous plans. Whatever the case, it was what we needed to do, and not just because it was the only plan. I rolled the thought over in my mind, testing it, but it only made me more sure. "We have to go see The Morrigan."

  I'm not sure what reaction I expected from Ava, maybe for her to reject the idea out of hand as the lunacy that it surely was. Instead, she said, "Okay."

  Rather than break out into hysterics at the audacity of her going along with my suggestion, I took a page out of that book on leadership I should get around to actually reading someday. "Have Phoebe and Zoe back here and ready to go in ten minutes. We don't have any time to waste."

  Ava nodded and disappeared out the door, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

  I couldn't get over Ava's reaction, or lack thereof. She'd just… agreed. Unless she was waiting for the others to get here to gang up on me? Ava could be hard to read, but I didn't get that feeling. It was like she…

  "No."

  But denying it didn't do anything. I hadn't felt like I'd pulled on the authority the Fleece gave me, but maybe I didn't need to feel it. Maybe it was becoming so connected to me that I didn't notice it anymore. I'd told Ava what to do, and she'd done it.

  Phoebe and Ava hadn't said anything to me about how frightening my little gift with the Fleece was yet, but it sure as shit scared the piss out of me.

  "Okay, okay." I can handle this. I just needed to be more careful. Especially when I told them about my plan to see The Morrigan. It needed to be their choice. Their whole lives should be their choice. I let my head hang in my hands, and then shook it off. All I could do was move forward.

  Movement was always the best cure for getting out of my head, so with the plan decided, I focused on gently stretching my tortured muscles. The dragons had done an amazing job. In only three days they'd healed me almost back to a hundred percent, and I'd probably been in the worst shape of my life. I hadn't even asked how much damage Steggy had done on his last charge. After a couple minutes of stretching, I strapped on my swords and waited for the others to return.

  "What the fuck are you thinking?" I asked myself aloud. A few minutes of thinking about other things had brought me back to my ridiculous plan, and it sounded no more reasonable for the breather I'd given it. "The Morrigan?"

  I wanted so badly to talk myself out of it, but the truth was that I couldn't. I had no doubt that the Orani and Steggy would be ready for us on our next trek into their territory. If I asked, I was sure that Greta would send me with more of the dragons here, but I didn't believe that would make the difference. Siobhan had been right. We needed the help of someone who was familiar with Faerie, but Greta and Zoe weren't it. We needed someone as old as they came. Someone who knew the truth of Oscura and the Orani. If The Morrigan didn't know a way into their kingdom, it likely couldn't be done.

  "The only question is whether she'll help, or eat us all for daring to seek her out," I said, wondering if my current plan and talking to the empty room meant my cheese had finally slipped off my cracker. "Daring to seek her out" had been the given reason for her hurting people before. Hadn't she said something similar to Clarissa right in front of me?

  My team arrived, saving me from more conversation with myself.

  "You look so much better," said Phoebe, wrapping me in a hug.

  I hugged her back. "You didn't tell them, did you?" I asked, fixing Ava with a steely gaze.

  "I thought it best it came from you," she replied. "I told them you had a plan and were ready to leave immediately." I searched her gaze, hoping whatever I'd done to her with the Fleece's authority had already worn off. I wouldn't bring her unless I was sure she made her own choice.

  "Where are we headed?" asked Zoe, drawing my attention back to the people around me. Her calm demeanor and lack of suspicion made it clear that she didn't know me very well yet.

  Careful not to say anything that could be taken as a command, I told them, "I believe I should track down The Morrigan."

  Zoe's boisterous laugh rang through the room. "Good one!" She laughed some more, and actually had to wipe a tear away from her eyes. "I always wanted to be eaten alive!" Gradually, her laughter subsided and her face went slack when she met my gaze. "Holy shit, you're serious?"

  "She thinks she's going alone, too," said Phoebe. "Did you hear that?"

  "I'm going," said Ava.

  "You don't understand," I said. "You know the Fleece has made it so I command people. We've all seen it. It's scary."

  "It was a little funny with the dragons," said Phoebe. "Sorry, Zoe."

  "I just told Ava what my plan was, and she didn't blink. She just agreed, because I told her. I don't want to scare you all, but I'm a danger to you."

  "Yeah, yeah," said Phoebe. "You're a danger to yourself and others. I've known you a long time, I know this about you already."

  "This is different."

  "Oh, is it?" said Phoebe. "Because I think--"

  "I felt the Fleece's command," said Ava. "I felt pulled to agree, like someone I cared about was pleading desperately for my help, but there was a choice in it. As
much as there is ever a choice when someone you love asks for your aid." Ava tilted this way and that, her gaze studying the top of my head. "It was more a mental sway than a compulsion, though I've felt commanded by it on other occasions."

  "It's so much creepier when Ava talks about it," said Phoebe. "But I guess that solves that."

  "This is all so weird." I scooted out of bed, ready to be standing if for no other reason than it was uncomfortable to be in bed while everyone else stood over me. "I didn't mean to put my feelings out there in any way when I told you my plan; I definitely didn't mean to magically transmit that I was desperate."

  "Well, be careful about that," said Phoebe. "All right now. Everyone here has her own choice to make. Understood. Let's get back to telling Sophie why asking The Morrigan for help is absolutely bonkers, bananas, a deathwish… pick your own word for bad decision and get to talking."

  "I'm with Phoebe," said Zoe. "In case the laughing tears weren't evidence enough, I think this is the most bizarre plan I've ever heard. I mean, she eats people. She. Eats. People. That should be the end of that discussion. We don't call on legendary fae who eat people."

  "I mean, this sounds like something I'd say, so normally I'd be with you completely. But…" I shrugged. "She's my mother and I've survived a couple encounters with her. She'll likely laugh in my face rather than eating me."

  "Likely?" asked Zoe, her eyebrows creeping up her forehead.

  "Sixty-forty," I replied.

  "Well, isn't that a comfort?" She squared her shoulders. "I guess we should get going."

  "You don't have to come," I said, gripping her shoulder. "You've already paid back the favor I was owed."

  "There's not a chance that I'm not following this to the end. That means we rescue Owen. If I have to dance with Death herself, that's what I'll do."

  "I don't know," I said. "I imagine The Morrigan would be a difficult dance partner. You'd go left, she'd tunnel into the floor and reappear on the ceiling…" My friends smiled, but even Zoe looked like she was only doing it for my sake. It wasn't the time to be funny. I offered up an understanding grin. "I guess you're with us, Zoe. Of course, this means you're absolutely out of your mind." I patted her on the back and stepped out the door. "The best ones always are."