Lucas was kneeling down next to the hearth, building a fire. “I saw no flint,” he said as he tucked pieces of straw carefully into the arranged wood.
Rachel looked around. “Nope.”
“
What’s in the other room?” Val asked.
“
Hansel and Gretel,” Lucas said, barely pausing as he rubbed two sticks together, inhumanly fast, his arms a blur. There was a curl of smoke, and after a few more seconds, a flame. He touched it to the straw, blowing on it for long moments, tucking in more straw as the flames caught. As if he was tending to a sick child. His movements were slight and careful.
“
Jack. Can you keep the fire going?” Lucas said, not turning away from his task.
“
Yes,” Jack said, a small amount of anger leaking through.
“
Good. I shall find more wood. If we are trapped here for a while, we’ll need it. And do not go into the other room until I return.” And then he was out the door and gone.
Ominous. Maybe it is Hansel and Gretel.
“
What about food and water?” Val asked. “Should I go get snow or something?”
“
Wait for Lucas.”
“
I’m thirsty. I can just put some snow in the kettle, get it melting.”
“
You need to wait.”
Val walked to the front door, ignoring Rachel. She was thirsty. Rachel moved, appearing in front of her and with a click of her tongue said, “I told you to wait.”
“
What will Lucas do if he comes back and you’ve laid a hand on me?” Val said, beyond irritated. She’d push past Rachel if she had to.
Rachel smiled. “I can keep you here without violence. And he’d certainly be mad at me if you went out there and—“
“
Enough.” Lucas was back, standing behind Rachel as she blocked the door, his arms filled with firewood. Snow dusted his shoulders and sparkled in his hair. Valerie looked at him and felt a sharp pang in her heart. There was something so human about him carrying firewood. Maybe because he’d carried firewood for centuries, before electricity, and so his comfortableness with the task went deeper than the modern man’s. When doing the task well meant the difference between living and dying.
Or perhaps it was just the primal knowledge that a man was providing for her and protecting against the elements to keep his woman safe. Now that she had slept with him, she was trying to make him more human.
I think I’ve made a huge mistake.
She remembered telling him she’d fall in love with him, throwing out that awkward piece of information, like having a pair of underpants in the middle of the living room when someone came to visit. Painfully awkward and inexplicable.
You will get your heart so broken if you keep this up.
Jack was frowning at her hard.
And Jack might slap me upside the head. Best case scenario.
The fire was crackling and close to a blaze. Heat spread out into the room, making her muscles thaw. Val sat in one of the chairs, watching Lucas arrange the firewood into a neat pile for later.
“
You’re really settling in,” Jack said flatly.
“
Caution is appropriate.”
“
I’m thirsty,” Val said.
If in doubt, don’t let Jack and Lucas interact in any way
.
Jack walked over to the kettle and peered into it. “I don’t know how clean it is, since there doesn’t seem to be anything here invented after the spinning wheel, but I suppose it will have to do.”
Lucas put his hand to his head, pressing his hand over his eyes as though he was thinking hard or trying to be patient. He stood, and stared at Rachel steadily.
Val felt lost. What was the problem?
Rachel shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“
I hate it when you two have these big conversations with a look and keep me in the dark,” Val said.
“
Could fire burn the magic off?” Rachel asked tentatively, as though Val hadn’t said a word.
“
The risk is too great. And since the enchantment spreads to food, cooked or raw, I would assume not.”
Val feared she understood. “Are you two conversationalists saying that we can’t eat or drink anything because we’ll be stuck here?”
Moving closer to Val, Jack crossed his arms, as though on the alert, ready to protect her.
Good luck to him
.
Lucas nodded.
“
I’m lost,” Jack said, unhappy since he was usually the guy who had all the answers. Now he was out of his element. He’d been put in his place by Rachel questioning his physical strength, and now he was behind on the situation. And at the mercy of Lucas.
“
Traditionally, the Fey take people to their land. They can return home on their own so long as they find an exit and do not eat or drink anything enchanted. If they do, they are bound. Water is out. Any food from the land, all hunting, everything,” Rachel explained.
Val crossed her arms. “How did humans make it out before? If they didn’t eat or drink anything?”
“
We need to find a portal,” Lucas said.
“
I’m already stuck here and bound, right? That was what the dreams were all about. So, how come
I
can’t drink anything?” Val asked, knowing there was the smallest truckload of whine in her voice.
Lucas said, “No, you have been claimed through blood, and you are at one Fey’s mercy. Eat or drink from something another has created, and you shall be bound to them as well. But if you drink, you will certainly be at their mercy. Rachel, can you send out your will and locate a portal?” She looked down at the ground and back up, her expression a bit tortured. “I don’t think that will work. I need to be able to feel the portal’s energy. Sending out my consciousness—it’s like a shadow. I can’t touch or feel anything. I’ll try it, don’t get me wrong, but I really don’t think it will work. And it leaves me weak. Even with your blood, it’s the witch power that gets tapped out.”
“
What range could you cover?” Lucas asked.
She hesitated. “Three, maybe four miles.”
Lucas shook his head and sat on the floor, legs outstretched and crossed at the ankle. Watching him sit on the ground made Valerie look at him a little longer. Every time he did something human, or normal, she became fascinated by him. Why was that? Because she wanted him to be normal? Or because he was so beautiful that when he did something normal it exacerbated that beauty, made it stand out in contrast. Like giving a black and white TV color.
“
I doubt that would help,” Lucas said. “We were taken here because it’s undoubtedly the farthest from any exit.”
“
So who brought us here?” Val asked, moving to stand closer to the fire.
Lucas raised both eyebrows as though slightly surprised. “I assume Cerdewellyn brought us here, or his Queen, perhaps. Someone powerful.”
Rachel went to the door and opened it. The snow had come unnaturally fast, and was waist high. “Well they did an excellent job. We’re not going anywhere anytime soon.”
A few minutes passed where they all thought about their impending doom. And pizza.
But that might just be me
, Val thought.
Jack squeezed the back of his neck with one hand, a sign of his rising tension. Val realized he was staring at Lucas. Jack took a step back, moving closer to Valerie as though to protect her. What? She looked at Lucas, and he had the cold reptile vibe going on, as though he were conserving energy. One could throw a blanket over him like they’d done to Aunt Edna in Vacation, and no one would know the difference.
Then Lucas breathed, blinked, and his eyes were suddenly aware again. “This must be related to Valerie. She is the target.”
“
No, she’s the one who bled out. If you’d bled all over the ground maybe you’d be dreaming of flowers,” Rachel said.
Jack stood beside Valerie, his hand behind his back. Was he touching his gun? She pretended to sneeze, turning a little to see behind him. Sure enough his hand was on his weapon. What the fuck was he thinking?
“
This is fucking fantastic. So what you’re telling me is we have no food or water, we can’t leave because we’re buried in snow, we may never get home again, and some Fey creature is toying with us until we are too weak to fight? Is that it?” Jack’s voice was husky.
Lucas looked to Rachel as Jack talked, “Do nothing,” he said to her, before turning back to Jack, who was still talking. “And yet the two of you are just fine, is that it? Got the food problem all worked out because of Valerie and I?”
Jack drew his gun, the small click of the safety being turned off loud in her ears. Jack pointed the gun at Lucas and shifted closer to Valerie, trying to move her behind him. Lucas watched patiently, making no overt gestures.
He’s one cool cat.
“
I suppose I can’t kill you, but what about her?” Jack said.
And the gun swung to Rachel.
Rachel looked genuinely worried, and her gaze flicked to Lucas as though asking him what she could do to defend herself. Lucas had known what Jack was about to do. So why hadn’t he stopped him?” There is another option. And if you attempt to kill Rachel, you will be dead before you can hit her twice.”
Jack’s jaw was clenched tight, sweat on his brow.
“
Jack, no,” Valerie whispered to him.
“
No! You were right, you make bad decisions around him. I am
not
food. If we’re going to die, I’m taking one of them with me.”
“
I’m not dying!” Val said loudly.
“
The other option,” Lucas said, voice even, “is to share blood. Your lives are sustainable for a month or two if you drink my blood. In turn, Rachel can survive without feeding more than once or twice in that period. Any additional needs she has shall be supplemented by me.”
Jack laughed angrily. “You’re a real fucking saint, you know that? You think I’ll drink your blood or hers?
Never
. No one will
ever
feed on me. Tell me you fucking understand?”
“
Let me be clear on my priorities,” Lucas said, voice low with anger. “I want Valerie out of this land. I will do what needs to be done to accomplish that. I’ll keep everyone alive as long as it doesn’t affect my ability to keep her safe.”
“
And if we’re still sitting here in the snow, like the goddamned Donner party when that starts to happen, what’s your priority then?” Jack said, fingers white from gripping the gun so tightly.
“
I am unwilling to indulge that conversation,” Lucas said, tone final. He stood, like a puppet master had pulled him up off the ground. Jack swung the gun back towards Lucas and pulled the trigger. Sound exploded in the small room.
Valerie screamed and lunged forward, towards Lucas or Jack, she wasn’t really sure.
In the blink of an eye, Lucas held the gun in one hand, the other wrapped tight around Jack’s throat. Lucas leaned in, so close that no matter how quietly he spoke Jack would hear him, lips bared in a feral smile. “I fear Valerie would be rather put out if I killed you. Or else I would.” He shook Jack lightly by the neck, and Jack’s hands tore at Lucas’, scrabbling to get air into his lungs. “And that would benefit me greatly. How long need I wait for her to mourn you, if you push me? One year? Perhaps two? I cannot fathom that it would be more.”
“
Let him go!” Valerie shouted, pulling on Lucas’ immobile arm. But trying to force Lucas, no matter how hard she pulled on him, was like pushing against a concrete building.
Finally, Lucas released Jack, pushing him away, but keeping the gun. He stalked away from Jack, his gaze landing on Valerie and burning her like a spark of fire. “Come here.
Now
.”
“
She’s not going anywhere with you. Stay here, Valerie,” Jack said.
“
I’m not a fucking dog, Jack. Now sit down and try not to get yourself killed,” Val responded, disgusted with him. It just wasn’t smart. And Jack was smart. So what the hell was he doing?
Lucas went to the door and opened it, extending one hand back as though Valerie might take it. His eyes were almost glowing, his whole body so tense and coiled that she didn’t recognize him.
Cool, aloof Lucas. This wasn’t icy and contained, it was a man on the edge.
She went towards him, and he took her hand in his, his large one swamping hers. He cast Jack a look that could only be described as malevolently possessive. She felt sick under everyone’s attention and the deathly excitement.
She could feel Jack looking at her and Rachel, too, the combination of one burning gaze and a frigid one having a visceral effect on her, like a little patch of ice on overheated skin right in the middle of her back.
Val’s voice was thin. “Just a minute. Can I… No, I’m not asking, I
need
to talk to Jack for a minute. Can you give us a minute? Please?” She begged him with her gaze not to get mad.