"Your farther was High Lord until his wife sheathed a dagger in his heart. After she broke it of course, lying with a human." He snorted. "I always liked Sorcha and she me, but she was a foolish woman."
"Was?" I whispered. No one had confirmed my mother was dead, but then I knew in the core of me, she had not survived the horror of her own making.
He stared at me, pitiful once more. "She killed my uncle and the High lord, Rae. You expected her to live?"
Chapter Ten
It was cold. Noisy. Feeling returned in increments. First I could wiggle my fingers, toes then my legs. I moaned at the thumping at my temple and tried to bring my hands down to my face. My eyes groggily slid half-open when I realized I could not move them to obey. I looked down my body, now clad in a flimsy black sheath, and saw my legs drawn apart and held down by rough rope. I tried to remember, but the fog was still heavy over me and it was dark. I could smell trees, dirt, and fresh air heavy with smoke and something else, metallic and weird. I recognized this smell was wrong, bad, and yet so familiar. I tried to pull my legs, my arms, but I could do nothing but flail. Gasping, I drew deep and gritted my teeth. I opened my eyes fully and took in my surroundings.
All around me were leaves, thick purple leaves with sharp silver thorns.
Slowly, my mind struggled to piece it together. I shivered, and shook my head as it hit me in flashes. Breandan had been dragged to the centre of the camp and cruelly beaten. Lochlann had been held back, and Maeve had been thrust into his arms, sobbing.
Tomas had been brought forward, snarling and fighting as they bound him.
Wasp had enjoyed slapping the chains around my neck a little too much. I'd been hoisted up to hang from a thick tree bough, and was bound so tightly I'd lost feeling in my limbs. The smell of iron made me retch and heave. Then the pretty fairy had smiled wickedly before she punched me, and I'd lost consciousness.
I was awake now, and wishing she'd hit me harder.
Directly opposite me, my vampire-boy was suffering. Bound with silver, skin red raw where it rubbed against his wrists, he looked furious.
"Next time you listen to me," he said.
I gave him a wobbly smile. "You think there'll be a next time?" A chain slid against my wrist and I winced.
If such a thing was possible, his eyes darkened as he looked over my shoulder. I craned my neck around to see Breandan on his knees, bound in wreathes of iron chains. Maeve had woken and was in front of him, trying to hug him and crying and apologizing. Lochlann stood protectively near them, statue still and head held high. I guessed he could do nothing since he had been defeated. He had no choice but to let Devlin continue with this madness, unless he was rescued.
I decided then that fairy rules were stupid and melodramatic.
I whispered a wish that Conall would be nearby, and that he would save us before anything bad happened.
Devlin shouted something, and his voice drew my eyes to where he stood. Beautiful fairies were gathered around me chanting. The orange glow of a roaring, smoky fire flickered across exposed skins. Creatures with ears pointed and teeth fanged, swayed to a throbbing pulse I could feel vibrating my skeleton. They were like me, my kind. The side of my head throbbed, and I clung to consciousness. Oh gods this was bad. Feet clawed and scaled pounded the ground in a tribal rhythm. The beating of chest, feathered and armored blended into a melodic clamor. Fingers sunk into the earth to scoop bracken from the floor, and heave it into the air with flourish, letting it sprinkle over them like polluted rain. Clothes thin, transparent as the smoke that snaked around them, billowed and streamed in the wind as they gyrated and preened around my bound body. Every beady eye, fluttery lash and arced eyebrow was directed at me, yet the mouths and bodies whined a tune I was too dizzy to recognize. They shrieked and hissed. Leaping and dancing they groped and kissed, smiled and bit. Blood was drawn with screeches of rancor and their lusty whimpers whipped up a hungered frenzy.
I blinked, and focused hard on the centre of the commotion. They danced around something wide, flat and gray, raised from the floor. An alter. The human lying on the stone slab moaned and writhed.
"Alex," I whispered.
She moaned again, and twitched. She was coming too. I wished she would stay under so that she could be spared the horror.
"I call you fairies here to partake in this delight. The night is our master." Devlin's voice, raspy and thick cried out. His words were carried away on the wind into the darkness. He stood at the foot of the dais, handsome and magnetic. His hair flowed like golden corn. Eyes wide and clear as the sky in summer. Face luminous, pale and stunningly angelic. He held a simple curved blade in hands, too perfect to be human. Beneath his ebony robe he was naked, and the moonlight reflected off his pearlescent skin. A terrifyingly evil aura pulsed from within him.
"Our master," murmured the beautiful voices.
"She is pure. We offer her to the night with glee in our hearts, and blood in our mouths."
Devlin took a deep drink from a silver chalice then spilled the rest of the contents over Alex's body. The metallic scent from before reached my nose. A few splashes dripped into Alex's mouth and terror gripped her so hard she screamed, arcing her back. The skin under her bindings tore.
"We offer this human child. We give thanks to the night that blesses us with sex, blood and death."
"This is not happening," I said loudly.
"Rae?" Alex choked and squinted, trying to make me out in the low light. Her eyes went wide and she started to thrash around. "Help me, oh gods, what's happening?"
Devlin slapped her across the face. Alex kept shouting for me and pulled harder on the rope that bound her. I had nothing to help her. I didn't even have any words to soothe her. I tried to reach to the Source; I could feel it all around me, calling to me. All I had to do was touch it. I panted, and grunted, and tried to extend my influence past my own body, but the iron was overwhelming.
A cloaked figure stood in the męlée, utterly silent and composed. A deep cowl was drawn over his head, and I could see nothing but the gleam of calm and cold eyes peering at me. I got the greatest sense of danger from him, so I looked away and struggled harder. My wrists burned and chafed, but I kept writhing.
"My brothers, sisters. The Tribe protects you and pleases you with fresh meat." Panting, I continued to struggle. I just needed one arm free, just one leg. "A body to drink revel and break." Devlin's voice clotted with lust.
A new fear shot through me hot and hard.
He wouldn't dare.
His mouth trawled over Alex, and she convulsed in disgust as his clawed fingers dragged leisurely across her skin. Wasp was beside him and laughed throatily. My eyes stung, and the salt in my tears tasted bitter as it slipped into my mouth.
"The night is our master, our lover our warrior. The night is our master." Over and over and over they chanted, rising and falling in tempo.
Hair red as blood, a female threw back her head and shrieked at the moon. A bare-chested male with yellow jewels for eyes rocked on his heels and bared his teeth. Snarly razors filled my vision. He was smiling at me, and those eyes, those glowing eyes snuck into my mind and stoked the fires of my hysteria. I stared back in mute horror as he jumped onto the altar by Alex's head, and let out an undulating cry.
I looked up into the sky, through the dark shadow of trees and succumbed to fear. I stopped struggling.
"She can't die like this."
Wasp's hand slid down Alex's chest and cupped her breast, squeezed.
"Please," I begged, clamping my eyes shut as Alex's screams increased as her dress was pushed up her torso, and the wailing from the fairies got louder.