Chapter 8

I knew immediately this jump was different. Any other had been quick bursts of light followed by the loss of equilibrium. This felt like a great yawn of nothingness as Starke and I plummeted through darkness. A cold wind whipped around us as we fell faster and faster toward a bottom that threatened to break us into bits. The wind ripped away the scream pouring from my lips. Even with knowing it was dark Starke holding me, I buried myself further into his chest, praying he would find a sliver of caring and protect me from being crushed on impact.

A pinprick of light blossomed in the distance. The darkness was soon swallowed up by it as it exploded into a blinding burst. I shielded my eyes against the endless white light. Tears prickled as the light blinded me, and the sudden cease of movement caused my stomach to roll violently.I staggered as we landed hard, but Starke steadied me. Blinking rapidly, I waited for the blindness to clear.

Cold was the first thing I noticed. And fresh air. The city where we found Sash had been stifling and filled with odors we hadn’t really noticed. Nothing I could really put my finger on, just smells from thousands of people cooped up together in a small area. Here, the air was crisp and fresh. Untainted.

The second thing was the snow under my feet. At least, I assumed it was snow. It had the basic look and feel of snow, but it was more like an icy blue than white. Like a blue snow cone. The whole clearing was covered with this strange concoction, but I didn’t take the time to think about the weirdness of this place. I knew I only had a split second to make my escape. Ripping myself away from Starke’s embrace, I started running, aiming toward the blue-green tree line in front of me.

“Bridjette.” His yell was laced with warning, but it only kicked my fear up a notch. I didn’t dare slow down. I needed to put distance between us if I wanted to escape.

The line of trees I disappeared into was thicker than I anticipated. Branches whipped at my face, ripping fine hairs from my head, and I could feel a trickle of blood dripping down the side of my face. Still, I kept moving with no idea where I was headed, crashing through the trees and away from the darkness pursuing me.

I slipped on the wet ground and stumbled over a fallen tree, landing hard on one knee. Ignoring the pain, I leaped upright and kept moving. I could hear Starke behind me, his movement through the woods more subtle and surefooted, like some sleek jungle cat.

Hearing him behind me caused an adrenaline rush to kick in. Clawing frantically at the tree branches threatening to slow me down, I kept running, trying hard not to hyperventilate, but the high-pitched wheezing escaping my chest told me my body had other ideas. Finally, I burst through the thicket, only to be brought up solid in my tracks. Leaning over on my knees and sucking in air, my brain tried to comprehend what my eyes were seeing. Rolling ice-covered hills stretched into the distance, surrounding a lone, stone structure built in the middle of it all. The rock abode had the look of an old, medieval farmhouse, thatched roof and all, but it was what laid beyond the roof that was messing with my head. If the icy blue snow wasn’t enough, peeking from behind the fluffy white clouds in the cobalt sky was not one but two full moons. Two moons. What. The. Hell. This was not Endova.

“I warn you, do not run from me again. It is futile—"

My head swirling with confusion and panic, I turned on my heel and pulled my sai. Picturing the ice balls in my head, I hurled them his way. Pellets, not daggers. I wanted to take him down long enough for me to escape. Bruise him up, not kill him.

My wall of projectiles stopped mid-air, just inches from his raised hand. I watched in disbelief as one by one they shattered and fell to the ground only to disappear into the snow.

Starke’s raised brow was my only warning before the sai were ripped from my hands so fast I swear his magic left burn marks on my palms. He snatched them from the air effortlessly.

“What…? Give those back,” I growled, taking a step toward him. His magic rippled over me, rooting me in place.

“I think not. I don’t need you using your pathetic power. I am irritated enough at the moment.”

I struggled, trying to move my feet but felt like they were frozen to the ground. “You and… me both, dude. And there’s no… need to… control me,” I grunted, fighting against his control. “You know I’m… useless without my sai.”

“True.” He waved a hand casually at me like he was waving hello, and I stumbled forward, managing to catch myself before I hit the ground. Straightening up, I looked around with a clearer head.

My earlier question came rushing back into my head. What was this place? Was Asha here? I reached out tentatively with my weak magic. I didn’t feel any threatening auras. Other than from the man standing in front of me. And I deduced from the two celestial bodies hanging over the cottage that I most definitely did not end up where the others went. No. Neither Asha nor the other elementals were anywhere near here, which left me with that nagging question.

“Where the hell are we?” I averted my gaze to him, trying to fathom his reaction. “This is not Endova. I figured you’d bust your balls getting me to Asha to show dear ol’ mommy what a great job you did kidnapping the water elemental.”

He tilted his head. “And why would I do that?”

Did he just admit he hadn’t brought me straight to Asha on purpose? Did I get through to him after all? I kind of felt like we did have a moment at the crazy chicken joint before Kara shot him with magic. But then, he answered his own question.

“You are useless alone. I need four elementals to carry out the plan. You are bait. A way for me to entice the other three into my trap. Asha requires all four, not a single, weak elemental.”

Okay. So much for that idea. I guess that moment had been all in my head.

“Wow. Harsh. Kick a girl while she’s down, why don’t ya. I don’t think I’m exactly useless. I mean, I’m pretty kickass at times.”

His green eyes studied me, and I found myself being pulled into their fiery brilliance. Finally, he spoke. “You alone are weak. I think your earlier attack proved that. Insignificant. A tiny cog in the wheel. All of you are.”

His words along with his cold expression terrified me. I didn’t recognize this Starke. Not one little bit. This Starke was annoying as hell and brought out my feisty side.

“I somehow doubt that. We are the elementals. We are the only ones able to restart the prism and keep it powered. Whether Asha will admit to it or not, she needs us.”

“Hmm. She needs you to repower the prism, yes. But as I told you earlier, she does not need you whole for that. The queen has her ways of making every single waking moment a living hell. If I were you, I’d stay on her good side. So, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. Help me retrieve the elementals, and your lives will be fairly pain free. Resist us, and you will regret that decision.”

His words were meant to be threatening. To instill fear. I knew that, but they did the job anyway.

“You know I can’t do that,” I whispered. “My grandmother will come for me. She would rather cut off her arm then give you the elementals.”

His scoff carried down through the valley. “Do you really think she will come for you? Foolish girl. No one will come for you. No one will be able to find you to rescue you.”

His words confirmed the fear in my head.

“What do you mean no one will find me. Where are we Starke? Where did you bring me?”

“Matters not if I tell you. You cannot escape—”

“Argh!” My yell echoed through the trees and the valley below as I ran at him, head down and shoulders squared like a linebacker.

I body slammed him low, taking him by surprise. Fueled by anger and frustration, I tackled him to the ground.

“Where the hell are we?” I hissed, my arm pinned against his neck. “And enough with asshole Starke. Fight this already. Get him out of your head. I need my Starke back.”

He didn’t panic. He didn’t even struggle. He dropped me a cold grin as he flipped me over effortlessly and pinned me to the wet ground.

“Hell no.” Anger flooded me once more. I thrust my knee up, aiming for his dangly bits. Starke sensed my motive and shifted his weight, blocking my knee with his muscled thigh.

“Stop fighting,” he warned. “You will only hurt yourself.”

“Never. Let me go,” I seethed.

“Not until you calm down.”

“How’s this for calm?” I punched him in the damn face. Right in that damn dimple of his. Pain lanced across my knuckles, but I drew my arm back for another punch. He swatted my hand away like it was a pesky mosquito and pinned it to my side.

“Let… me… go,” I tried to knee him in the balls once more. He shoved his leg between mine, preventing any further movement on my part.

“Not until you agree to reason.”

“Reason?” I spat in disbelief. “You want me to reason with you? Someone under the control of dark magic?”

“You do not know of which you speak. Asha’s way is the true path—"

“Shut up,” I snarled. “I don’t want to talk to evil Starke or hear his brainwashed shit. I want good Starke back. Now, get off me, asshole.”

I jerked my hips in frustration, attempting to throw him off. All that succeeded in doing was press a very sensitive part of my body against a very sensitive part of his. A sudden powerful rush of heat washed over me, and I stilled, sucking in a startled breath.

Starke froze as well, his large body coiled with tension. My skin buzzed where he touched me, as if jolts of electricity danced over my flesh. I was sure he could feel my pounding heart thump against my ribcage.

The silence stretched between us as I stared into his familiar eyes, and for a moment, I thought I saw a flicker of remembrance. A tiny spark of the old Starke.

“Starke?” I whispered.

His head lowered toward mine and anticipation quivered in my belly.

“You brought this on yourself.” His voice was low and thick, his breath tickling my cheek. A small iota of unease crawled along my skin moments before the spell dropped from his lips. My mouth went dry as every single muscle in my body froze, like I’d just been dipped in liquid nitrogen. It took me a moment to understand what had just happened. Even as I watched him push himself off me and stand upright, I still hadn’t realized what he’d done. Not until I tried to sit up myself. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t even lift a damn finger, no matter how hard I tried. What had he done to me?

“Wha…?” I tried to ask him, but even my tongue was numb, like I’d just been given a giant-ass shot of Novocain.

I swear I saw a tiny smile lift the corner of his mouth before he bent over and lifted me off the ground. I flopped like a wet rag doll unable to control any of my limbs as he threw me over his shoulder so my head was hanging down his back and my rear humiliatingly propped up next to his ear.

“Oh my God. I hate you so much.”

Well that’s what I tried to scream at him, but it all came out like jumbled garb. I couldn’t be sure since I couldn’t see his face, but I swear I heard him laughing as he headed down the hill, me bouncing on his shoulder all the way.

The thatched cottage was his destination. As soon as he entered, he strode across the room and dropped me onto something soft and feathery. A bed. He was surprisingly gentle about it considering I had just tried to knee him in the gonads at least four times. Oh yeah, and punched him in the face. But it was not like he hadn’t deserved every bit of it in exchange for this immobilizing shit he just pulled on me.

Whatever he had done to me, it was starting to wear off. At least I could move my upper body now. I pushed myself up on my elbows as my gaze followed him about the room.

The cottage was pretty standard. Four stone walls encompassing a whitewashed stone floor covered in a dark brown rug. The room was fairly large yet contained nothing but a huge stone hearth dominating one wall and flanked by two high-backed chairs, the bed I was on with an old-looking steamer trunk at the foot of the bed, and a worn, oak table and bench underneath an equally worn cupboard. One corner of the cottage was curtained off by a cotton sheet, and I truly hoped it was a bathroom since I suddenly realized I needed to pee so freakin’ bad. But it was going to have to wait because I still couldn’t move my legs thanks to Starke. And there was no way in hell I was about to ask him for any help.

The man in question ignored my stabbing glares as he started stacking wood in the hearth from the huge pile in the corner. Within minutes he had a flame going, whether from matches or magic I had no idea. I just knew I was thankful for it since I could see my breath on the cool air.

“Where are we?” I asked again, my words at least intelligible now.

He stood silent for a bit, hands on his hips and staring into the flames. I didn’t think he was ever going to answer me; he was so deep in thought. Then, he shrugged.

“I do not remember the name of this place. But it belonged to my servant. The woman who tried to raise me in defiance of my mother. Her and her girl used to bring me here. Why, I don’t remember. To poison my mind against my queen, I would assume.”

I stared at him in disbelief. “You mean Shay? The woman who loved you and raised you as her own? The woman you thought of as your own mother? The girl, Deanna, who you loved as a sister.”

His sideways glance was full of disdain.

“You speak on a subject you know nothing about, and none of what you say contains an ounce of truth.”

“I do know about it. You told me. Just like you told me how much you loved Shay. It gutted you when she died. When your queen,” I spat the word at him, “killed her. I was there. How can you not remember?”

“Because you speak lies,” he roared at me. He took a couple of steps toward me, his hands balled into fists at his side. I would have stepped back if I was standing. As it was, I shrunk a little bit into the soft mattress underneath me.

“My mother warned me of you when she sent me after you. She said you would try to trick me. To get into my head. But I will not let it happen. I am stronger than that, witch.”

I snorted. “Witch? Really? I think you have me confused with your queen. She is the one messing with your head. Preventing you from remembering Shay—remembering who you are. This?” I waved my hand up and down. “This is not you. Not the Starke I know. Not the Starke who imprinted on me.”

His eyebrows raised a fraction in surprise, but I noticed it.

“Yes. You marked me. We were bonded. We knew each other inside and out. You have to remember that.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose like he was trying to chase away a headache.

“It is not true. You again lie, evil woman. The only truth is the queen and our cause.” He shook his head as if he was trying to clear it of cobwebs.

“No. That’s the lie. Everything Asha has told you is lies.” I tested my legs. They moved under my command. Rolling off the bed, I pushed myself upright, holding onto the bed for support. “Think, Starke. Remember the abbey where you lived with Shay. The villagers. The children. What Asha did to them all. She is the evil one. She’s ripped away everyone you’ve ever loved, and now she’s trying to rip you away from who you truly are.”

“Stop lying,” he snarled.

“I’m not. You’re the one lying. Lying to yourself. Why have you brought me here? This place that belonged to Shay. Why have you brought me here instead of to Asha? It’s because you’re confused, isn’t it? Because your brain is telling you something isn’t right with all the queen is telling you. You brought me here because Asha doesn’t know about this place, does she? This is your safe place.”

“Shut up.” He stepped toward me again, but I didn’t back down. I knew I was on to something. Something that just may help him remember.

“No. I won’t shut up. Not until you push her out of your head once and for all. Remember, Starke. Remember all we’ve been through. Our time together. Remember us. You are stronger than she is. You can do it. Good always overcomes evil. You have to do this because you are the good that Endova needs. You’re the good that I need.”

I knew I sounded desperate and totally needy, but I couldn’t help myself.

His eyes became shards of obsidian seconds before my feet left the floor and I was thrown across the room. A scream dropped from my lips as my arms went out in front of me trying to break my fall. I hit the floor and slid the last couple of feet, barely missing the oak table. I glanced up in alarm as he hovered over me, his hands flexing and his black eyes staring down at me. He stayed that way for a long moment, as if deciding what he wanted to do. Help me up or kill me? I wasn’t sure. I was desperately hoping it wasn’t the latter. Finally, his eyes faded back to green and he stepped away.

“Do not let the fire go out. The nights here are extremely cold.” His voice was emotionless.

“Wait,” I cried as he turned his back to me and headed for the door. “Wait. You can’t just leave me here. I’m bleeding for crying out loud.”

I nodded at the blood on my hands, spread out in front of me on the floor. It appeared to be running down from my arm. I guess I now knew the location of my injury from when he’d sent me flying through the restaurant window. Him throwing me across the room had opened the gash up again.

My plea fell on deaf ears. I felt rather than saw the ward he placed over the door as it slammed behind him, and I knew deep in my heart that there would be no chance for escape. He had magically sealed me in here. The cabin may not have bars, but it was just as much a cell as the one in Asha’s dungeon.

The knowledge didn’t stop me from trying the door though. I pushed myself to my feet and ran at it, shoving it with all my might, but it was locked tight. I couldn’t budge it. Nor the one window in the far wall. Panic bubbled up. I needed to get out of here. A pulsing, pounding anger swept through me, replacing the panic. Yelling with frustration, I picked up the bench seat and threw it at the window, knowing full well it would be a futile effort. The bench bounced harmlessly off the warded glass and clattered to the floor.

“Damn you, Starke Ryhill,” I screamed at the door, knowing he was probably beyond hearing me but not caring. “Damn you to hell. You and your crazy-ass mother.”

Fighting hard against the tears threatening to fall, I shuffled my way to one of the chairs in front of the fire and plopped down in dejection. So, that hadn’t gone so well. Mental note, don’t try to force evil Starke out. He’s not a happy camper when you do that.

Okay, first things first. I needed to pee. Then, I needed a plan. I had to be ready for when Starke came back. I needed to confiscate my sai if I was to get out of here. And I was getting out of here, one way or another. And I needed to get through to Starke since the promise to take down evil Starke if I couldn’t redeem him seemed more of a possible outcome than I cared to admit.

I sighed as I headed toward the curtained off area, rubbing my cut arm through my ripped shirt. That had damn well better be a bathroom or at least a porta-potty. My day just couldn’t get any worse.