Tainted Waters Read online

  The light from her headlamp when she turned toward the elf, reflected against his black-streaked, silver hair.

  A hand raised, shielding his eyes. He hissed and turned away, groaning before he flung a wave of magic toward her.

  The light flickered and popped off. Blackness returned.

  “What’d you do that for?” Her voice trembled, as did her hands as they reached into the darkness. When she reached the edge of the circle, there was a flash and a static pop.

  All the elves blinked against the light.

  Alice backed up. “What was that?” She pulled herself into a sitting position and wrapped her arms around her knees. A shiver raced over her. Did she dare move again? What were these things? Footsteps neared her and she scooted back. “Please, don’t hurt me.”

  “Why are you here?” The voice was still cold, but less clipped.

  She opened her eyes. A silvery movement broke the darkness. “Nettle. I’m here for nettle.” Her voice came out raspy.

  “Nettle?”

  Another silver flash pierced the black void.

  “Yes, it’s a plant.” She jerked her head to the side, following more movement. “Why, what is…” She drew in a breath and closed her eyes. Could she use magic to protect herself against this thing? When she tried to call up magic, nothing happened.

  The echo in the chamber carried mocking amusement in a loop of laughter. “A plant? What are you trying to call on now, hag?”

  Tears came to her eyes. “I’m scared. Cold, hurt, bleeding. I’m calling on something to protect me from you.”

  “It’s scared?” The smaller elf tugged the larger one back. “Watch out, it might sing a siren song to lure you closer. Or throw hexes. They do that when cornered.”

  The one who’d been questioning her rolled his eyes. “You two are dismissed. Send me the oracle. I need to be sure it’s safe to bring this thing deeper.”

  “Deeper, sir. Really?” The head guard’s black eyes widened, and his body stiffened.

  “Don’t question me. If the oracle deems it a danger, it will go over the cliff.”

  Alice listened to the footsteps grow fainter as the other elves moved away. “Don’t push me over a cliff.”

  “Give me half a reason, and over you go.” Rocks crunched under his feet as the remaining elf circled her.

  She leaned her head on her knees and cried. What was the oracle? Would it be her salvation, or the last creature she laid eyes on when the elf tossed her to her death?

  Chapter Two

  ALICE JERKED HER head toward the sound of approaching footsteps. Silver flashed in front of her. Another elf. She shivered. The darkness that blinded her, veiled within it something that felt even more terrifying. The oracle? “Hello.”

  “Sir, I heard about your…” The oracle paused. “Discovery.”

  The chamber filled with laughter. Alice listened as the one they all called sir, addressed the oracle with a name she could never repeat. She renamed him to something with similar sounds. Jasper.

  “Discovery? What do I need to know about her?” His foot tapped, crunching rocks.

  A silvery movement circled her. The presence wasn’t as abrasive as the other. The voice was softer. “She’s a witch. What else do you need to know?”

  “Before we kill her, I want to know if she is of any use. We do have the water issue that eludes you and my best mages.” His tone was accusatory.

  Jasper stepped closer to the circle.

  Magic brushed against Alice. She lifted her head. Shimmering skin and hair came into focus, but her eyes struggled to make out details. Her palms ground into little rocks as she scooted away from him. Where was the other one?

  A bag rustled.

  Alice tensed. Her eyes adapted enough to the darkness to see Jasper knelt a few feet away.

  He pulled two glass jars and three smaller bags from a larger one. With two fingers he loosened the drawstring on one of the bags, and pinched dried leaves between his fingers, depositing them in a stone dish. After he repeated the process with the contents of the other two small bags, he opened the lids on the two jars. The lids unscrewing reverberated in the cavern.

  Liquid poured freely from the jar he held in his right hand, and dripped slowly from the one in his left. Each drop from the left jar hissed when it hit the bowl. The grinding of his pestle as it crushed the contents into a mush, seemed louder than it should in the silence. When the mixing stopped, he got off his knees and sat on the ground outside the circle where Alice sat.

  “Certee, imbrum, pallethbrium.” The cave chanted back his toneless words in unison with his own as he repeated them three times.

  The other paced, not bothering to hide his impatience with the entire process.

  After the chanting was complete, Jasper held the mixture toward his leader. “I need a cross drawn on its forehead.”

  “Well?” The sound of his foot tapping echoed.

  “I’d rather not touch it. Not until I’ve a better idea what its intentions are.” There was a hint of unease in his tone. His gaze flicked toward Alice.

  “Right, a cross? Need any incantations with it?” He reached down and took the bowl from Jasper, dipping his fingers into the mixture.

  “No, sir. Careful, sir, they bite.” Jasper cocked up one side of his mouth and bunched his features in disgust.

  “Bite? I don’t bite. Don’t you touch me.” Steps neared her, along with a cold magical presence. The same cold, unpleasant magic from before. It moved fast, blurring. “Please, I’m afraid.”

  Something brushed her face. She sucked in a breath.

  A cold, wet finger made a diagonal line on her head.

  “Afraid?” He snorted and drew the next line. “Why are you in my cave?”

  “Nettle. I’m here for nettle.” She backed away from the touch, and reached for her face where there was a wet spot.

  “Leave it. If I must do it again, you won’t like it.” He leaned in closer. “I do bite.”

  She dropped her hand. Annoying the nasty elf probably wasn’t best.

  Jasper remained seated outside the circle. He dipped his fingers in the mixture, and made a cross on his forehead. The connection sent a wave of light and sweet into his consciousness. “She’s a Ljósálfr? Witch too.”

  The elf beside her shoved Alice on the ground. “I felt as much. You tell me what she wants.”

  Rocks cut into her hands as she braced her fall. Stinging radiated from her palms up her arms as she dragged herself to her knees. Would the elf shove her down again, if she tried to stand? Probably. She tilted her head up.

  His black eyes glistened, catching her in his hate. “Well? What does it want?”

  Her words came out cracked. “Nettle. I told you already.”

  “Shush.” His finger pressed her lip against her teeth as her head pushed back.

  “You touched its mouth?” Jasper shook his head. “Give me a second.” His eyes closed, breathing leveled, and shoulders relaxed. “Certee, imbrum, pallethbrium.” The magical tether between them pulsed, filling the room with static.

  Coldness radiated from the ‘x’ on Alice’s forehead, and pressed into her. Icy tendrils reached into her mind. A soft whimper manifested in the back of her throat. The air swirled as she pushed up a shield against the intrusion.

  The back of a hand across her face, broke her concentration.

  “No casting,” the elf said.

  Jasper winced as his connection with her, sent her emotions into his mind. “It’s afraid. A scared witch?” He forced a breath through his nose. “Regardless, there are no malicious wards on this one.”

  “What else?” The other elf clasped his hands, drumming his thumbs.

  Jasper leaned closer and sniffed. “Jasmine. Vanilla. Not witch scents. Sweet.” He closed his eyes again. “Cloves. That would be her witch.” When he opened his eyes, he smirked and chuckled. He returned a few of his things to his bag. “She’s not here for the light elves. Not really for the coven either.” He laughed a little louder. “She may prove useful.”

  Alice reached up at a twinge where the connection broke. “Useful?”

  “What the devil is so funny?” The leader stepped away from her and out of the circle. “Who is she here for?”

  “What, not who.” Alice pressed her palm against her forehead.

  “You. She’s tangled with you, likely here to teach you a lesson.” He laughed again.

  The other elf leveled a cold glare at him.

  Jasper stopped laughing. The smile melted from his face and the amusement in his tone vanished when he spoke again. “I also see water. Our source water.”

  The leader growled and cut his eyes at her. “She knows about the water?”

  “I get no malice. Odd, considering her light. I see her and you at the water, sir. It is not a past intrusion. Maybe she can fix it? It was magically altered, and my workings have been wholly ineffectual.” He drummed his fingers on the stone bowl and put it in his bag. “She’s no present threat, but you mustn’t forget she’s a witch. Never good, not entirely.”

  “I can’t keep it out here. As you can see, anything can stroll right in.” He tapped the toe of his boot against the ground. “Witches creeping around my cave. Good thing we are already under isolation. Scandalous.”

  “Wait. Keep it? You can’t keep me.” Alice pulled herself to her knees. “He said I’m not malicious. Let me…”

  The leader crouched and hissed. “Hush!”

  Alice recoiled.

  “Questioning rooms were built to keep in magic. No one has to know.” Jasper sucked his teeth. “Course, the guards can be loose with their tongues.”

  “I’ll deal with them.” A smile crept on his face. “The questioning room will be perfect, and not so far i
n as to worry anyone.” The ruler took in a deep breath. A low growl escaped from deep in his throat when he turned to Alice.

  The sound carried his emotion, wrapping her in his hatred. Her heels rolled on the rocks as she scrambled away from the sensation. The back edge of the circle popped her.

  His head tilted slightly as he watched her response to him. “Come with me.” He waved his hand, a cold static coming from his fingers.

  The circle broke. His energy pressed closer.

  “Where are we going? What do you want with me?” Her voice held a bravery that didn’t line up with how she felt.

  Another chuckle echoed, followed by the sound of footsteps.

  Were they leaving her? She scrambled to her feet and took a few steps, with her hands in front of her. “Hello? Mister?”

  A cold hand wrapped her upper arm. The fingers pressed in with a bruising force, pinching her skin. She squealed and tugged her arm away.

  “Don’t fight me. I’ve not established a use for you yet.” His voice was low and deep.

  “I’ll walk. You don’t have to tug me like that.” She squirmed again.

  The grip tightened. “If I feel you begin to cast, retaliation will be swift. Do you understand me?” The anger in his voice was more than she’d ever heard directed at her.

  “I’ve not done anything to warrant such hostility.” She continued to struggle against his hold. “Just let me go. I don’t really need the nettle.”

  “Not happening. I will find out what you want, if I have to devour that knowledge from your bloody bits.” He walked faster, dragging her along. “Keep moving.”

  Bloody bits? She stumbled. The monster was going to eat her.

  He yanked her up, and shoved her forward. “Move.”

  Alice spun, taking a few steps away. The wall of the corridor slammed into her face. The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth as her lips and teeth crashed together. A strangled cry escaped. She pushed away from the wall, spun, and raised her arms with balled fists. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I will.”

  A cold magic pushed against her, followed by a warm body. A hand grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. He held her chin up and wrinkled his nose. “Feisty. Witch. You are not going anywhere, until we come to an understanding about why you are here.” As he talked, he leaned closer, his lips brushing hers.

  “Nasty, feisty, hag, and the way you say witch. What have I done to you?” She turned her head, trying for any distance.

  Something in his presence, the magic perhaps, drew her closer, but at the same time repulsed her, mixing the instinctual signals she lived by. If he expected her to have answers other than nettle, things were going to get ugly. If the coven knew elves were in this cave, why hadn’t they trained her, or at least told her about them? How would she match up to him, if she stood her ground?

  He dropped her chin and snatched her wrist. “That has yet to be determined. Regardless, witches can’t be trusted. And Ljósálfr, forget it.”

  “Julsafar? You’ve been misinformed. I’m apprenticing in the Glendale coven.” She put her hand over his and dug at his fingers. “That hurts. Please, just let me go. Can’t you see this is a mistake? If I were as evil as you suspect, I would have attacked you. I should attack you. You are a monster. You netted me. You hit me.”

  He ignored her pleas and kept his grip. “Attack me? If you thought you could cast your way out of this, you would have. We both know you can’t fight your way out. Move. We’re almost there.”

  “Almost where?” She waited for an answer that never came. “What are you?” She paused again, but he continued to ignore her questions. “Are you some sort of fallen elf?”

  “I said move.” He slammed her against the wall and pinned her wrists beside her head.

  Alice twisted against his grasp.

  He bared his teeth and tightened his hold. “What witch doesn’t know about elves? Fallen elf? Don’t be rude. I didn’t ask what you are, half-light. An oddity for sure, Alice.”

  She cut her eyes at him. Did he call her a halfwit? “Now who is rude? I just asked what you are.”

  “I’m Dökkálfr.” He stared at her with half hate and half inquisitiveness.

  “I’m Alice.”

  “No, you are witch.” His head leaned down and he sniffed her. “Sadly sweet. Still spicy, just underneath. Unquestionably a witch. I’ve never tasted witch.” He backed up, clutched her hand again, and tugged her along.

  She tripped over her feet as she tried to keep pace. “If you are not a fallen elf, what sort of elf are you? Why are you down in a dark cave?”

  “I’m not here to answer the questions of a prattling witch. Nor do I like to repeat myself. I am a Dökkálfr.”

  When he let her go, she stopped walking. “Is that supposed to mean something to me? I thought it was your name. “Dooka… Dokka… Decker? It’s what? Some sort of fairy?”

  “Pfft, fairy? What exactly were you doing in my water?” He narrowed his eyes and stepped closer to her. “The guards tell me you were looking up and dancing. Some ritual?”

  “Dancing? I slipped.” She stepped back and stumbled on the uneven ground.

  He caught her arm and kept her on her feet. “You are not a very graceful creature, are you?”

  “Look, I don’t want to bother your cave, or water. I was sent to get some cave nettle. If you ask me, it’s a foolish game, because nothing could live down here.” She stopped talking when she saw he was smiling at her, with a smile that was way too big for his slender face. “I didn’t mean, well, obviously you live here, whatever you are. I need to go.” She glanced around the narrow passage, not able to see far into the darkness. “Please, this is a mistake. A terrible mistake. I don’t know what you are. I have no idea about your water.” While she talked, she backed away.

  He matched her steps. When she backed herself into a wall again, he pressed into her. His long fingers gripped her chin, while he spoke into her face. “Are you trying to make a link to here? Is that why you wanted the nettle, you nasty thing?”

  “Get your hands off me.” She pushed at him, her palms hitting an immovable chest. “Link to here? As if this has been a pleasant adventure. With you as a greeting party, you’re not apt to get return visits.”

  With a swift movement, he clamped on her wrist, turned, and they were walking again.

  She fought to keep up with him, getting the impression if she didn’t, he would club her and carry her over his shoulder. “I’m coming. You can loosen the grip you have, Decker.”

  “Decker?” He stopped mid-step and cocked his head.

  “Well, what is your name?”

  “Dvrnthious.” His black eyes widened. “Can we carry on now?”

  She pursed her lips and attempted to repeat it a few times. “Right, can I call you…”

  “While elves are versed in the tongues of many species, I understand humans are limited, even with their own languages.” His brow cocked. “Decker is sufficient, Alice.” The way he said her name sounded like he was trying the letter combination for the first time. He let her wrist go and laced his fingers in hers, still holding on tighter than was needed, or comfortable. “Curious little witch, A-l-i-c-e. Move.”

  “There’s a lot of bitter in your annunciation.” She let her gaze drift to the ground, even though she couldn’t see that far down. She couldn’t see much of anything. Alice smiled as they passed glowing flowers, that added low light to the path. Pretty, but still not enough to see anything. “You can see down here?”

  “It would be absurd, if I couldn’t see in my own cave.” His fingers rubbed the back of her hand. “The darkness unsettles you? A witch afraid of the dark?”

  “A little, yes, a lot.” Why did she admit that?

  He chuckled. “It is a healthy fear. It should have kept you away.”

  She smiled at his laugh, which was also deep and smooth, and for the first time since the ordeal started, lost its menacing quality. While she thought over the best way to get out of there, she listened to the sound of their feet against the rocks. As they neared another opening, she saw light, and her hand squeezed his. “Thank you.”

  “Thank me?” He looked at her with a shimmer in his eyes.

  The faint light danced across his unusual lines. Sharp, distinctive, dangerous. “Yes, thank you for taking me to the light. I was scared.”

  “Danger isn’t over yet, sweet.” His tone was flat. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he studied her. He ran a finger over her cheek. “Go.” The tenderness he used on her face vanished as he shoved her into the room.