Dark of Winter: A Between the Worlds novel Read online

  “Of course ye does,” the Glaistig said in the dialect of the lesser Fey, smirking, but she came over willingly enough.

  Sal looked at Allie, “I’ll make you a deal Allie. I’ll untie your hands so you can take off your coat, put your shoes on, and take care of your toileting needs by yourself, but only if you promise me – swear to me – that you will not make any attempt to escape or to hurt anyone here.”

  Allie scoffed openly. “You’re mad. You kidnap me, drag me here, wherever here is, and expect me to promise not to try to escape?”

  The Glaistig, Anna, snorted, her amusement flowing around Allie. Sal short her a dirty look. “Be reasonable. Do you want to spend all your time tied up?”

  She glared at him, but he had a point. “Fine. I will agree not to try to harm either of you. And I will agree not to try to use magic against you. But I can’t promise not to try to escape.”

  Sal glared at her. Anna giggled, “Oh come now. What’s ‘erself goin’ to do then? She can’t hurt ye nor me and she swears she won’t use her magics. Just take her shoes away and lock the pantry door at night. Ye think she’ll try hoofin’ it out through the snowy Wilds barefoot? Not likely. An’ even if she tried she won’t get very far.”

  “She can’t use magic anyway right now,” Sal muttered but Allie barely noticed.

  Allie looked at the other woman, stunned. I’m in the Wildlands? she thought, her head spinning. The Wildlands were an area that existed between the Fairy Holding and the Border, a place that technically fell under the Queen’s rule but in practical terms earned its name. Uncivilized, untamed, unmapped, the Wildlands contained the Fey that couldn’t or wouldn’t live in the Holding but also rejected even the borderland’s ties to mortal earth. In places the Wilds were no more than a thin section of land between the Holding and earth – sometimes not even that – but in other areas Allie knew the Wildland could go on for dozens of miles or more before the border of the Holding. Even with shoes she had no intention of trying to walk through the Wildlands by herself.

  Sal finally nodded, but he didn’t look happy about; Anna however smirked, obviously pleased that she’d gotten the young elf to agree with her. He turned to Allie, “Give me your word that you will not harm us nor use magic against us.”

  I’m not going down that easy kid Allie thought, quickly trying to find the best way to word her oath so she’d have some wiggle room. “I swear by the green earth, endless sky, and changing sea that while I am your prisoner I will not intentionally try to harm either of you, nor will I use high magic against you.”

  The Glaistig’s eyes glinted and Allie doubted the other woman was fooled by her words, but Sal was already working to untie her wrists. As soon as her hands were free she slid out of her heavy winter coat, reveling in the cool air.

  Sal gasped recoiling, even as the Glaistig squealed in delight and lunged forward. “Oh! Yer pregnant! Ye lucky thing.”

  Allie braced herself for the inevitable abdomen fondling, but she found she didn’t mind so much. The Fey woman was growing on her, and her emotions were pleasant and straightforward. Besides it didn’t hurt Allie at all to have someone sympathetic to her involved in whatever was going on here. Sal’s emotions in stark contrast bordered on horrified. She looked at him, resisting the urge to laugh. “What? You kidnap me and somehow didn’t notice I was five months pregnant?”

  “No,” he stammered, flustered. “Your coat was so thick and it’s not as if I strip searched you.”

  She raised an eyebrow, perplexed that he hadn’t searched her. She was hardly an expert in kidnapping but even she knew that you should check a person for weapons. Now that he’d admitted he hadn’t searched her she realized her cell phone was probably still in her pocket. It didn’t do her any good here, since they wouldn’t work in Fairy, but it could be an advantage later.

  The Glaistig finally tore herself away from caressing Allie’s stomach. “Are ye hungry girlie? Thirsty? My name’s Anna by the way.”

  “Allie,” the half-elf said, deciding in these circumstances that she wasn’t in the mood to stand on the expected Fey manners. She saw the surprise and then the glint of amusement in Anna’s eyes and was glad. “And before anything else I really do need to use a bathroom if that’s still an option?”

  Sal flushed, but it was Anna who urged her to stand and then linked her arm through Allie’s in a proprietary way and pulled her towards the back of the building. “I’ll show ye. Then we come back out and I’ll get ye some food. This is my place by the way. Mine and my man’s. He’ll treat ye good don’t worry.”

  Allie nodded, feeling a bit dazed by the rapid fire way the Glaistig had of talking, but her energy was soft and pleasant and Allie decided she did like her. “Where exactly is here?”

  “Ah now, nice try,” Anna said, leading her down a narrow hall to a small door by a stairway. “But ye’ll be getting me in trouble with Salarius asking things like that. He’s been in quite the tizzy since he got ye here last night.”

  Allie sighed but shrugged, taking the response philosophically. “I’m not trying to get you in any trouble, but I had to try didn’t I? I don’t suppose you could at least tell me how long I’ll be here?”

  Anna opened the narrow door revealing a very basic bathroom, with nothing in it but a simple toilet and sink. She gestured for Allie to enter, then as the other woman passed she said, “Well I suppose there’s no harm in it. Ye’ll be here at least until whoever he contacted gets here. I got no idea when that’ll be.”

  “Fair enough,” Allie said by way of a thank you, then closed the door to see to her bathroom needs.

  She sat down and after a moment’s hesitation she reached out to Jess and Bleidd. Their worry and fear was overwhelming but she felt a surge of reassurance just to connect to them. At least she knew that whatever charm was blocking her magic wasn’t effecting her connection to them at all. “Jess? Bleidd?”

  The response was immediate, the two elves speaking over each other, “Allie?”

  For the first few moments she just let herself enjoy their emotions, tangled and painful as they were. Then Jess was speaking again, almost desperate, “Allie? Where are you? Are you alright? What happened?”

  “I am fine. I’m…well I don’t know where I am exactly. Somewhere in the Wildlands.”

  “The Wildlands? Are you certain?” Jess’s mental voice was worried, his feelings pressing at her.

  She heard a shuffling out in the hallway and knew it wouldn’t be long before Anne grew impatient. “Listen I don’t have much time right now. I can’t be certain, no, but I was told that’s where I am and I believe it to be true.”

  “Why do you not have time to talk to us?” Bleidd finally spoke again, his mental voice raw, his emotions a painful swirl of regret, fear, and longing.

  “I’m in the bathroom at the moment,” she said, unsure why that amused them both, “I don’t want anyone to figure out I can talk you this way or they will try to find a way to stop me. So I’m only going to talk to you when I’m alone. I’m being held in a building, a home. By a Glaistig named Anna, and she says her man who I haven’t met yet, and a young elf named Salarius. I don’t know why he kidnapped me, but he did.”

  Out loud she spoke to Anna through the door, quickly washing her hands and face in the sink, “I’ll be right out Anna, is it okay to wipe my face on the hand towel?”

  She felt Anna’s surprise through the wooden barrier, “Sure ‘tis. We don’t stand on fancy things here. But yer kind to ask first.”

  Jess’s voice was in her mind again then, “Allie we suspect it is the Dark Court who took you, do you think this may be true?”

  That rocked her, “I…I don’t know. You may be right. Anna said Salarius has me here waiting for someone else to contact him.”

  “Did she say for how long?”

  “She didn’t know,” then quickly as she reached for the door, “I have to go I will talk to you again as soon as I can.”

  “Allie,” Bleidd said
, “Are you okay? Really?”

  “I’m scared,” she said honestly, “and I’m pissed off. But other than that I’m fine, and so is the baby.”

  She sent them a wave of love and reassurance then opened the door and stepped back out.

  Anna was waiting in the hall still standing in the same place. She regarded Allie thoughtfully as the two walked back down the hall. “Ye ain’t much like any other elf I ever met.”

  Allie struggled again to repress her inappropriate nervous laugh. “Well, I’m only half-elven, maybe that’s why.”

  “Truly?” the Glaistig said, looking keenly interested. “I never met a mixed blood before.”

  “Yup, truly.” Allie said.

  Anna hooked her arm through Allie’s again, grinning. “Seems I like mixed bloods then. Come on, I’ll dish ye up some stew.”

  Allie appreciated the kindness and decided not to ask what was in it.

  ****************************

  Many miles away in Ashwood Bleidd slumped against Jess, clinging to Allie’s last words. After Jess had followed him up to their room earlier that morning Jess had ended up taking a role that Allie had often filled over the years when Bleidd used to drink: comforting him as the alcohol freed the emotions he usually held in check. As the drink wore off Jess had convinced Bleidd to take a shower, hoping the water would help wash away the last of the emotional miasma. And not incidentally the stench of the alcohol.

  When Allie’s voice had reached them the two were in the shower together, Jess trying to help Bleidd sober up. Bleidd was still on the ragged edge, balancing between the catharsis the drinking allowed and the inevitable guilt of giving in to his addiction. As she spoke to them he had wanted to ask her better questions about where she was, what was happening but had found that the words wouldn’t come. To his frustration he couldn’t focus enough to think what to ask, although he knew it was important to ask the right questions. So he had been silent as Jess had spoken to her, and her voice had echoed in his mind sweet and precious. Only at the end had he managed to speak, and what had he said? Nothing of value, only asking her the same thing Jess had already asked about her welfare.

  Jess gently eased out of his arms, turning off the water. He spoke into the silence as the water stopped, his voice cheerful, “You see Gadreene, I told you not to lose hope. Allie is able to speak to us, and she is unharmed. We have at least a few small clues to her whereabouts. Now as soon as the Border Guard clear us to proceed we will be that much closer to finding her.”

  Bleidd swallowed his own bitterness and recriminations, wanting to point out all the things they should have said, should have asked. But he could not be that cruel to Jess, not now, not when Jess was so hopeful that they had made progress when in reality they had done nothing. It was Allie who had reached out to them after all. Stepping out of the shower and taking the towel Jess handed him he saw the worried look the other elf gave him and he forced himself to speak, knowing he was asking too much of Jess but that he had to ask it. “My love I have to ask something of you that is…a big thing. It is too much and if you do not want to do it I will understand.”

  Jess had perked up at the term of endearment, a first from the normally aloof and snarky former Outcast elf. Now he looked curious. “Of course my heart. Anything.”

  “Do not be so quick to promise me anything until you hear what I will ask of you,” Bleidd said walking into the bedroom, his shoulders slumped as if the weight of the world was carried on them. Jess followed closely, and as Bleidd sat on the edge of their bed he moved to sit behind him, reaching up to massage his partner’s shoulders. Bleidd knew that Jess needed the reassurance of the physical contact and felt another wave of shame that all he could do for his spouse right now was provide a touchstone. He took a deep breath. “Jess, I am not strong enough to fight my own weaknesses. It seems I can resist the temptation to drink when things are going well, when it is easy…but when things are difficult…I cannot. Obviously.”

  “This was only one time, do not judge yourself so harshly,” Jess said, his voice gentle in Bleidd’s ear.

  “It wasn’t,” Bleidd said, forcing the words out. “This happened before, one of the times when you were out on assignment, when we were being hexed by that girl, and I was receiving those notes. When Allie had hurt her hand. I was feeling stressed then as well, and I…gave in to the temptation.”

  “Alright,” Jess said slowly. “But still, that was only one other time, months ago-“

  “Please, don’t try to justify this,” Bleidd said. “I do that enough myself and I am trying to do the right thing now, the strong thing. Which is why I am asking you to help me because I cannot do this by myself.”

  Jess leaned forward, wrapping his arms around Belidd’s torso. “What can I do to help you? Ask and I will do it.”

  “Don’t let me drink,” Bleidd whispered, the words frightening him even as he said them.

  “How can I keep you from drinking?” Jess said uncertainly.

  “Whatever it takes do it. Talk me out of it. Take the alcohol away from me. Physically restrain me. Anything. But don’t let me do this again.”

  “Bleidd,” Jess said, “I don’t know that I can do this, even if I try.”

  “I understand, only promise that you will try,” Bleidd said, leaning his head back on against Jess’s chest. “Because I cannot do this alone.”

  “I will promise to try to keep you from doing what you do not want to do,” Jess said slowly, “if you will promise not to drink alcohol.”

  Bleidd tensed, knowing how serious it would be to take such an oath, and more importantly to break it. To be foresworn. Yet aren’t I asking him to do the same thing? He thought bitterly to himself. I want him to promise me that he won’t let me drink as if he has control over my actions and yet when he asks me to make a reciprocal promise I hesitate. Because I do not want to do this again, but I also do not want the responsibility of failure either. He truly hated himself with that realization and so he spoke quickly before he could change his mind, “I swear to you, my heart’s love, that for your sake and for Allie’s and for our child’s I will do everything I can not to let myself drink alcohol again. And if I am foresworn it will be for you to decide the fine I will owe for it.”

  Jess flinched slightly behind him then he could feel the other elf nodding. “So be it. And I swear to you, my wedded spouse, that for our love and for Allie’s sake and for our child I will do everything in my power not to let you drink again.” He paused slightly to let the oath sink in and then added, “And I pray you do not hate me for it later.”

  “Oh no,” Bleidd said, “Never. I may hate myself for putting you in that situation, and I may be angry at you for being the wonderful honorable person you are. In the moment I may say things I don’t mean. But I could never hate you for helping me with this.”

  Jess sighed, his breath heavy against Bleidd’s hair. The two sat like that for a long time until they both, together, stood and dressed without a word. The events of the morning hung between them still, but the day was young and there was too much left to do. Like it or not, there was no time to rest and process any of this. They had to keep moving forward.

  As they walked towards the door Bleidd finally spoke. “Do we have any plan beyond going back to the woods and taking up the trail again?”

  Jess hesitated, his hand on the doorknob. “The wisest course for now is to do so. She thinks she is in the Wildlands, and we know she is in Fairy. We can follow the direction you point us in and see where that leads. Meanwhile Zarethyn has committed another squad to examine her car, to see if any more evidence can be found there, and I will share with him what Allie told us about this elf, Salarius. Perhaps he can uncover something there as well.”

  “If she is in the Wildlands they will have to get her into the Holding somehow, unless their plan is to hold her in the Wilds indefinitely.”

  “That would be a poor plan,” Jess said looking down, hand still on the door. “Still, ther
e is uncertainty. It might be wise to consider another option for helping her, since it is the Dark Court who is holding her.”

  “What do you mean?” Bleidd said, worried by Jess’s tone.

  He hesitated then shook his head. “Never mind. Let us focus on the immediate concern for now.”

  Jess opened the door and walked out, leaving Bleidd to follow.

  Chapter 4 – Friday Afternoon/Night

  Allie sat in a comfortable chair next to the hearth, still barefoot, watching Anna clean and Sal brood. Sal had indeed taken Anna’s advice to take her boots and Allie had no idea what he’d done with them. Given his current mood she was hoping he’d just hidden them and hadn’t done something more drastic like throw them in the fire.

  Whatever the young elf was waiting for he didn’t seem particularly excited about it. His apparent misery made Allie glad. She was still angry with him for this entire situation and had spent their earlier shared meal resisting the urge to throw crockery at him and making pointed comments, while he ignored her implied accusations and glared at his plate.

  Anna, with her cheerful demeanor, continued to grow on Allie. The Fey woman had taken an immediate liking to Allie and was going out of her way to be kind to her, something that Allie appreciated, given the circumstances. At the moment the Glaistig was humming happily to herself as she worked, washing the dishes from lunch at the sink near one of the room’s windows. She had flatly refused to let Allie help and insisted that the half-elven woman rest instead.

  Allie had managed to get a look out a window earlier, under the guise of putting her own dishes in the sink after eating, but it was a wasted effort; there was nothing to be seen but a wall of snow-clad trees in every direction. The sky was overcast so she couldn’t even get a sense of direction from the sun. She’d decided to settle in for the moment and act like a model prisoner until she had another chance to talk to her husbands. And so she sat by the fireside, resting her bad ankle and contemplating what Jess had told her.