Freeing Shayle
Freeing Shayle:2117words
Update Time:2024-11-01 09:41:09
[Rock]The vampire kneeling by Shay looked like he couldn’t be much older than seventeen. It was like his body wasn’t fully finished growing. He looked up at me with glowing, light green eyes. “What’s your name, vampire?” I asked. “Ronaldo. I am the spy of Master Nightshade.” I put my hand out to him and he moved one of his hands from behind his head, reaching to take it when a sword came down suddenly, stopping him. I looked over to see Queen Ivy bring her other sword up to the vampire’s neck. She wasn’t the type to kill a man who was on his knees without talking to him first, so I wasn’t concerned. This was just to let him know she was serious. “You stopped reporting in to your master,” she said. “Explain yourself and know that this wolf will tell if you’re lying.” She tipped her head to Herbie. “I couldn’t leave. Vampire members of the cult are not permitted to leave the caves. Oberon says it is for their own safety, but it feels like something is draining my energy. I’m tired, which doesn’t happen to vampires. We’re given other cult members to feed on, but it’s never enough. “Every fortnight, they take a vampire after worship services and, when they return, they are different. They don’t need as much blood. Unless it's about Drakaris or Oberon, they don't speak much. They become totally devout and idealistic about the cult and its ‘god’. That’s why they’re fighting so hard right now. There’s nothing in their heads except protecting that thing,” he answered. “Master Nightshade was worried you’d died or turned against him,” Queen Ivy said. “I would never. Victor Nightshade is a better vampire than any I have ever met before, except for Dennis Lyons. And siding with these people means giving up on the goddess. I still have hope that there’s a Solus Amor out there for me. Seeing Master Nightshade with his mate reinforced my desire for that sort of relationship.” Queen Ivy withdrew her swords and let me help the vampire up. I turned my attention to Shayle. I couldn’t help but be pissed off that they’d done this to her. Shay may not have been a friend, but she was the daughter of one of my mom’s best friends and she was part of my life ever since she was a baby. It looked like this was the same thing they cast on Wylder, but she was awake instead of unconscious. That had to be even more annoying than just being knocked out. I pulled back and slapped her as hard as I could. Her eyes focused on me. I had to piss her off if she was going to break free. “Wow, Shay, I didn’t know you were this desperate for Forrest’s attention. Of course, he’s busy right now, so you have to be saved by the halfie. How pathetic,” I laughed. Queen Ivy laughed with me, but the other two seemed confused. I was glad she’d picked up on what needed to happen. “After seeing her get so easily defeated by Pyla, I’m not shocked to see that she is here, being useless while my mate is suffering,” Ivy scoffed. Shayle’s eyes narrowed, and I saw a spark of fury ignite in them. She resisted the spell, clenching her fists and gritting her teeth. I could see the muscles in her arms flexing as she fought against the magic holding her captive.I pulled my arm back to slap her again when something gripped my wrist hard. They flung me to the side, and it took a few moments before I could focus again. Getting up, I looked back to where I’d started. Wylder was in Shayle’s face, whispering something to her. I couldn’t hear it over everyone else. There were still a few vampires who were fighting, but most of them were dead. Tripp was helping Harmony to bandage Prince Ewan with the tattered strips of his clothing. He looked pretty weak. Getting up, I went back to Shayle and Wylder. I reached them just as Wylder grabbed Shayle’s shoulders and kissed her. After a minute or so, she reached for him and started kissing him back. This wasn’t exactly the time or place for a hookup, but if it helped Shay break out of the magic, I was all for it. Queen Ivy left them and went to her mate. I went to help with the last few vampires. The sooner they were dead, the sooner we could leave and find Carmen. It didn’t take too long to finish them off. We regrouped with the smaller fae. Some of them went off to find the rest of the fighting, while others got ready to follow us. Spencer had held his own with a discarded sword he’d found along the way. Pretty good for his first time fighting vampires. Forrest and Pyla made their way over to me. I was ready to move on. This was taking too long. I wanted to get Carmen. I put my hand up to her mark on my neck. It was still there. She was still alive. ‘I’m coming, Carmen. Stay alive for me, my little wolf.’“What’s up with Shay and Wylder?” Forrest asked. “I don’t know. Maybe he figured he would save her and get some of that ‘my hero’ ass. You two doing okay?” “Don’t worry about us, Rock. We need to get moving so we can find Carmen. This is taking too long.” The walls shook a little. Every troll in the cavern froze. Even Wylder and Shay. I knew they reached out to the earth with their magic when I did. Something big was at the center of this cave system and it was trying to get out of the place it was. I could feel the impacts better when I used my magic. It was far enough down that only a small shudder made it to where we were. If that was the demon, it was much larger than I thought it was, and I didn’t like it. Forrest didn’t seem to either. “Pyla, I want you to take Prince Ewan back up to the first level and out of the caves. Keep him safe while we deal with this,” Forrest said. “I’m not leaving you, Forrest. Don’t try to protect me. My village raised me as a warrior. I can fight as well as you, if not better. Have the werewolf and vampire take him out. Have Shayle take him out. Until I know Carmen is safe, I am not leaving,” she replied in a stern voice. Forrest growled at her, and she growled back at him. It reminded me of Carmen. She almost always growled back if I growled when kissing her. My chest hurt at the absence of my mate. “Forrest, Pyla’s right. We need solid warriors with us to fight this demon and whatever else might be down there. Shayle isn’t a good warrior and even though the other spies can fight, their job is only to gather information. I don’t mind letting them leave. Though, the vampire will have to stay back in the cave. I don’t even know how all these vampires were awake,” Queen Ivy said. “I have no idea how long I’ve slept or what time of day it is. There are no cellphones, no watches, and no clocks. I assumed I would function like I normally did, but I don’t know if I have been,” Ronaldo replied. “At my age, I should wake between thirty minutes and an hour before sunset.”Queen Ivy looked at her watch. “If the vampires come at dusk, it could be another two hours. I didn’t even realize we’d been in this place for almost three hours. Didn’t it seem like we just got in?” “That’s the magic in this place,” Shayle answered as she and Wylder joined us. “It keeps the cultists from getting antsy about how long it’s taken for Drakaris to fulfill his promises. It’s why our reports were sometimes irregular or missed. Even with a secret watch, I couldn’t keep track of time enough to make every meeting.” “Shay, we’ll have you, Herbie, and Ronaldo head up to the top level with Queen Ivy’s mate. The rest of our forces are there. Keep a few trolls there to direct our backup. I know the werewolves will be here soon,” I said. “You don’t need me to guide you more?” Herbie asked. “No. Trolls can sense things like the right paths to take in caves, especially cave trolls. I was built for this. Your work is done, Herbie. Go wait for your Alpha.” He nodded and went with Ronaldo to help Ewan up. They brought him over, and Ivy looked like she was trying not to fawn over him. The look in her eyes told me she wanted to hold and care for him, but there was a battle to fight. “Your grandfather is Oberon?” I asked Ewan. “Why was he punishing you?” Ewan looked up at me, and a small smile curled on his lips. “My mother was his daughter and disobeyed by leaving Europe to find her true mate and not returning with him. My father is a Sylvan and my siblings and I take after him. Oberon wanted her to choose another high elf to be her mate. Of all the children of Oberon and Titania, only a couple are actually his. Neither one was faithful to the other.“When I went to the human town for the first time, I ran into my grandfather, who was supposed to be dead, and he offered me a place at his side. He said to poison Ivy with a drug that mimics a rare, incurable, and fatal Sylvan illness. I refused. I didn’t want any part in his plans and I would never harm my Ivy.” He looked at his mate with love in his eyes, which told me he wasn’t lying. The conviction in his voice reinforced my belief. He had months to poison her. The fact that she was healthy told me he wasn’t tempted into his grandfather’s evil. “Go with Shayle and the others. My brother is on the main level. He and Sean will take care of you until I’m finished with the bastard who took you from me,” Queen Ivy told him.Her eyes flashed with her anger. I knew Ivy was a force to be reckoned with. She wouldn’t let our enemies win, just like I wouldn’t. Oberon fucked up, and he was about to find out just how badly. There were more tremors in the floor and walls. They were getting more violent and insistent. I needed to get Carmen out of there. Even though these were magical tunnels, that didn’t mean that the laws of physics didn’t apply. If the creature busted up too many important supports, this entire system would collapse. Shayle took Wylder’s hand and looked up into his eyes. It was a look I’d seen her give Forrest a hundred times, but Wylder softened in a way Forrest never had. He caressed her face, then her shoulder. “Don’t get hurt and leave this cave if it starts to collapse. I don’t care who you have to walk over to get out,” he told her. “You’re telling the truth, though. You didn’t just say that to break me out of the magic and get into my pants,” she replied. “I could have let him hit you until you broke out, then fuсked you after the whole thing was over. I wouldn’t lie about that just to get you into bed. Shayle, I will never lie to you.” “Come back to me, okay? Prove that I can trust you by surviving this fight,” Shayle murmured. “Always,” Wylder promised and kissed her lightly. Reassured, Shayle went over and picked up Ewan. He didn’t look too happy about it, but there was nothing an elf could really do if a troll decided to pick them up and carry them around like a baby. “What did you tell her?” I asked. “She’s my true mate. And if you ever hit her again, I’m going to skin you alive and give your fuсking pelt to her as a gift,” he growled. I nodded, trying not to smile. Shay would do well with Wylder. He was probably better for her than Forrest ever could have been. We headed back toward the tunnels. Carmen was our next objective. I needed to find her and take her home, where she was safe. Goddess, guide me to the other half of my heart or let me die if she’s lost.