Page 76 of Spirit Rites
We head inside, and I try to get my eyes to adjust to the sudden lack of light. Zarreth leads us to one of the food stands. He jumps across the counter, clearing it impressively. I pause and watch as other guards do the same. “Up you go,” someone says right before I’m sailing over the counter. By some miracle, I land on my feet. And then, I follow them through a door into a closet. Inside the closet, there’s a set of stairs that are normally hidden from view by the floorboards. We head down the stairs, and someone works to light a lamp. Only five guards follow Zarreth and I in. The rest stay topside, and they lock us in. After all the noise and insanity, the silence is just too much. I pace the small room, wondering how long we will have to stay down here.
A hand suddenly reaches out and snags my arm. I turn in surprise. Zarreth’s eyes are narrowed on my face. “Are you hurt? You have blood on you.”
I reach up and swipe a finger over my cheek. It comes away red, and I frown. I don’t remember getting hurt. “It’s not mine.”
Zarreth lifts my chin and turns my head, so he can look at my cheek. “It is yours.” I'm not sure what he intends to do about it; it’s not like I can do anything about it. “We have bandages down here and antiseptic cream. We’ll get it cleaned up.”
A few minutes later, I’m rocking a new bandage on my face. I really didn’t think it was necessary, but I was promptly overruled. I pace back and forth, unable to stay still. “How long do we have to stay down here?” I can’t help but ask. When nobody answers, I turn to Zarreth, pinning with my gaze. “How long?”
“Until I say it’s safe to come out.” His words have a sharp edge to them.
Chapter 37
He strides over to the door. “I’m going topside. Keller is in charge in my absence.” He’s gone a moment later, and I watch the closed door. The guards talk among themselves, but none of them address me. I’m thankful for that, honestly. I just want to be left alone. I drop my head into my hands and try to sort through everything that has happened. I think of Zarreth’s words that Kaldar would have broken the bond when he gave me the jade bracelet. I stare down at the bracelet as I finger it. I don’t understand it. I try to determine if I feel anything different, but I didn’t feel anything when Kaldar and I supposedly became bonded in the first place. So, I guess it doesn’t surprise me that I don’t feel anything now. But I refuse to give up hope. Until I see Kaldar, and he tells me the bond is broken, I will continue to hope.
Where did they take you?
Veyra’s voice in my head suddenly surprises me.Veyra, you’re okay!Relief floods me so hard and fast.
Did you think I wouldn’t be?
I shake my head and almost smile.I’m glad you’re okay. Where are you now? How are things out there?
Not good.
My stomach drops.Is Kaldar...I can’t even finish the thought.
I don’t know.I close my eyes.I’m with Jespar now, waiting for him to wake up.
I'm relieved that she’s out of the fight for now, at least.Okay. Good. You two stay safe. If Jespar wakes up and finds out anything from Kaldar, will you tell me? I’m stuck in some kind of safe room, and I don’t know anything that’s going on outside.
I’m glad you are safe. I will.
That’s it, but that’s okay. I’m getting used to my non-emotional jaguar. She definitely balances me out. I pace again for a while before sitting again. I so desperately want to know what’s going on out there. I need to know if Kaldar and Taren are okay, as well as Jorren and Reika. I need to know how many casualties there were, and most of all, I need to know how in the world a man turned into a fire-breathing guivre! I’ve heard the guards talking, and they’re just as shocked as I am. It’s too much for me to figure out. I wish desperately that I could talk to Kaldar. Harper would call me whipped. Alarm spreads through me, and I shoot to my feet.Harper!Fear clenches around my heart once again. All I can hope is that she never came to the assembly today.
I don’t know how long we stay in that room. It could be twenty minutes; it could be three hours. But when somebody knocks on the door, and Zarreth steps inside, I lift hopeful eyes to him. He meets my gaze, and I shudder at the dark look there. I suddenly don’t know if I want to hear a report. “It’s time to go out. The guivres are all dead.”
“Kaldar?” I ask.
The room gets quiet, and I hold my breath as I await his answer. “We don’t know where he is.”
Any hope I’d held on to deflates. It takes everything I’ve got to ask my next question. “But you didn’t find his body?”
He hesitates a moment. “No. Not yet.”
I take this in. “Then he’s still alive.” I won’t believe otherwise. He has to be alive.
“I’ve got men looking for him.”
“What about Taren?”
A fist bangs against the door, and Keller opens it. Jorren shoves the door open and searches the room. When he sees me, he takes a breath. “We’re taking her with us.”
I walk towards him. He’s got blood all over him, and I catch my breath. But he grins down at me. “Guivre blood.” Relief flows through me, and I step out into the hallway.
“What about Taren and Reika?”
His face clouds. “Reika’s got a nasty burn, but she’ll be okay. The guivre didn’t get her directly.” I grimace because I know what that pain feels like.
