Love Me to Death (Underveil, #1)(88)
“You risk everything if you don’t.”
She really wanted to talk to the vampire from the cell. Something in her believed he’d know what to do. “Who is the vampire in the dungeon?”
Aleksi patted the hay next to her, and the boys rushed to her side. “I call him Vlad,” she said, “but no one knows his real name. He used to live in the old Poenari castle before he was captured by my uncle.”
“Yeah, but who is he?”
“Don’t know, but he’s delicious, isn’t he? If he were anything but a vamp, I’d so do that.” Aleksi reclined back on her elbows between the two young teens, who squirmed with excitement to have her near. “I understand abandoning the wood elf, but why did you leave him in the dungeon?”
“I…I had to.” She was hesitant to mention she could see glimpses of the future, even though she was certain everyone in the barn was an ally. “I just kind of know stuff sometimes, and I knew I had to leave him there.” Hopefully, her vision was accurate and he had not been killed after she escaped. Where are you? She called to him in her mind. We’re in the stable.
The other vision, the one with the elf, was as puzzling as that of the vampire. “Tell me about the elf.”
“Oh, Fee the Alchemist? Not much. I’ve never even seen her before.”
“Why ‘Alchemist’?”
“Elves don’t have surnames. They use their talents as identifiers. Her brother is Aksel the Forger, her mother Leione the Weaver, her father is Dalra the Warrior, which is why it was a f*cking stupid move for Fydor to pick this particular elf to kill. Dalra puts the bad in badass, and he keeps his daughter under close watch ever since his son disappeared. I have no idea how Fydor pulled off capturing her.”
That was not exactly what she had meant. “So, Aksel makes the swords and stuff from enchanted metal. What does Fee do specifically?”
“She deals with infusing the metal with properties that bind powers. The elves are all about making money off other species. She also helps formulate multiple elven elixirs that are sold by intermediaries to Underveiler dealers.”
“So she’s a drug dealer?”
“Sort of, only under the Veil, most everything is legal as long as it doesn’t involve humans. I guess from your perspective, light elves are the weapons dealers and drug lords of the Underveil, but it’s not a bad thing, so stop thinking like a human.”
God, she hated being told that. “She makes the elixir your uncle is hooked on. The one you told me about?”
She put her arms around the boys’ shoulders. “Maybe. Several elves are Alchemists.”
It would explain how Fee had contact enough with Fydor to catch his eye and to get caught by him, perhaps. The image of her from her vision popped to mind again, and a sparkle of hope shimmered in Elena’s heart. She couldn’t beat Fydor using brawn or nonexistent fighting skills, but she just might be able to play on his weakness and outwit him. Grab him by the Achilles heel Stefan talked about.
“Okay, you two know what to do, right?” Aleksi ruffled the boys’ hair in a sisterly way.
The larger one nodded. “Simion and I are going to run to the castle and tell everyone the Uniter has teleported to the elves’ forest with Lady Aleksandra and Mr. Claude as hostages.”
She smiled. “Right. And then?”
“Then we’re gonna run home and not tell anyone anything else or you’ll cut off our testicles and use them as marbles,” the other one said, grinning ear-to-ear. If he’d had a tail, he would have wagged it.
Elena shook her head. “Niiiiice.”
“Visual imagery works. Easy to remember, motivational, and highly effective.” Aleksi stood, brushed off the hay, and flipped her black hair over her shoulder.
Elena remembered the hostile reception Nik received when he asked the elf for help in the forest. She was pretty sure there was no way that was their destination. The story the boys were to tell was a red herring. “Where are we really going to go?”
The door slammed open, knocking Claude down, and two huge men stormed into the room. Not Slayers, Elena noted immediately, based on their dark brown eyes and brown hair. “Where are you really going? You’re going to the dungeon,” one growled.
“Bear shifters,” Aleksi said, pulling her sword from the sheath on her back. “Slow moving. Strong. They claw and bite.”
Still in human form, one charged her while the other one stalked toward Elena, making a low, grumbling sound in its throat. Aleksi brought her sword down on the huge man’s shoulder, nearly severing his arm when he got within reach. “And they’re stupid.”
The one closest to Aleksi shifted into a huge bear with black claws and fangs as big as the head of a claw hammer, while the one nearest Elena remained in human form. He grabbed Claude by the collar.
“She took me prisoner!” he shouted. “She’s dangerous. Release me!”
The guy let him go and spun to face Elena right about the time the bear stood on his hind legs, towering over Aleksi, who remained in fighting stance, sword in both hands in front. The bear roared, and both boys shifted into dog form.
Keeping her eyes on both the bear and the man stalking toward her, Elena sent a charge to her hands. Very little energy was building up. She must have used it up zapping the guard on her way into the dungeon or maybe lighting the cells with her palm. She slipped the sword from the sheath on her thigh.