He circled me, his booted footsteps echoing through the cabin. I could tell he was holding something, and when I focused I discovered it was a syringe.
My insides squirmed. He was going to drug me again. I couldn’t let it happen.
“I suppose you’re confused right now. Possess does that sometimes—makes you see things that aren’t real—but mostly, it just makes you forget your pain. For a little while, anyway.”
“You? You created the drug? Why?”
“It helps cull the soul’s energy. Everyone I collect from has been on the drug for some time, just as you will be. It makes taking your soul an easier process, and for you, it’s almost necessary. Yours will be a hard soul to collect.”
“You won’t get the chance.”
“Don’t be so naïve. I will take your soul just as I’ve taken the others, and then creating the portal to the undiscovered land will be a matter of using your energy to reunite the fairies’ stone with the smaller piece.”
He reached in his pocket and pulled out the fairy princess’s ring. Kneeling beside me, he held the ring close enough for me to see the glimmering red jewel.
“I need the stone intact, you see. The larger stone collects dark energy for the time being, but if I ever want to use it for the portal, it will have to be in one piece.”
“I don’t understand. Why do you need the stones?”
He gave me a leering smile that made me draw back.
“I’m glad you asked. When I first discovered the dark land, I was much younger and wore a different skin—the form of a unicorn. I saw images of the undiscovered land in the pool I guarded. Voices came to me—softly at first, and then their pull became stronger and stronger until I listened. Bring me the starstone, they said, and I had no choice but to do what they wanted. I took the unicorns’ stone and descended into the world unknown. I lived there for many years, until I nearly forgot my past life. But the unicorns’ stone was not enough, for those in the under realm needed the power of the fairies’ stone as well.
“I returned to our world and took the fairies’ stone, but I was forced to come to Earth Kingdom. Now, I have only one way to get back. I must use the fairies’ stone to create a portal, but I cannot use the stone without the energy of mortal souls, and I cannot open a portal without your magic.
“I’ve had help, of course. Otherwise, I never would have accomplished it.”
“Who helped you?”
He shrugged. “It’s not important. After I became trapped on Earth, I knew that if I wanted my plans to succeed, I would need a suitable body to inhabit, so I took this man’s form. His was an easy soul to possess. He had lost much—his family had left him, he was plagued with nightmares of the wars he’d fought. He was compromised, so I used his weakened state to my advantage.”
“But why? Why take the starstones to the undiscovered land?”
“For the same purpose that many have been seeking for years—to bring about the return of Theht. She will return to the world once again, whether you fight it or not. Her arrival is only a matter of time. I seek to call her forth.”
He grabbed my arm, his callused hands rough against my skin.
“Now,” he said, a sly smile on his lips, “are you ready for another dose?”
“Stop!” I screamed, aiming a kick at his face.
I caught the corner of his jaw, and his head snapped back. He released me for just a moment, and I used the time to race away from him. His form blurred for half a second, growing so tall it loomed in front of me, and then it faded, taking on the officer’s form once again.
My mouth grew dry as he walked toward me. I had nowhere to run or hide. I tried calling my magic but only found emptiness inside. I had nothing left. No magic. No weapons.
He lunged for me, and though I darted backward, he caught my leg and slammed the needle deep into the tissue of my calf muscle.
I screamed, feeling the solution burrow inside my veins. My breath came out in labored gasps as the drug took effect. I clawed at the wooden floorboards, my nails scraping over small grains of gritty sand. I needed to think, to concentrate. My mind was the only weapon left in my arsenal, and without it, I was completely helpless.
My back hit the wall. Whimpering, I huddled into a ball with my arms wrapped around my legs. The liquid worked its way through my bloodstream, warming me, making me immune to the cold.
“Don’t fight it,” he said.
I heard his words as if from far away, though I knew he was sitting next to me.
“You’ll enjoy this part.”
Chapter 21
Tears moistened my cheeks when I woke. More than anything, I wanted to go back to sleep, but as my mind rebooted, I remembered where I was—trapped by Officer Gardener, the bloodthorn. My body ached as I crawled into a sitting position, and my skin, cold and covered in a clammy sweat, tingled as the blood returned to my muscles.
As I scanned the room, I saw Officer Gardener sitting in a chair across from me. He locked his eyes on me, and I was reminded of my near-nakedness. I hugged my arms around my legs.
“You’re just in time for breakfast,” he said, then tossed something at my feet.
I shied back as I realized it was a dead cottonmouth snake, and he laughed as I recoiled from the serpent. He wanted to frighten me, to make me feel afraid and helpless. He needed my soul at its weakest so he could take control of it. But I knew what game he was playing. I wouldn’t let him see my weakness.
“I’d like my clothes back, please,” I
