Shasta lifted up a spoonful of the concoction. “Nope, but this is a nice vegetarian blend. No chance of werecreatures having ended up in here.”

  “I take back my complaint.” He slurped up a spoonful of the glop.

  “I thought you might.” She ate another spoonful. Across the table he smiled, just like he had at countless dinners. Though he’d been an expected guest then. “What is it you aren’t telling me about how you ended up here?”

  Cord set down his food. When he answered, he wouldn’t meet her eye. “No answer I give you will make up for showing up here when I was not wanted. I can only offer my sincerest apologies and give you my word that I will do my very best never to break your trust like this again.”

  It was very sweet and heartfelt, even if he looked at the table the whole time, but it was still an evasion. “That’s not what I asked. I want an answer.”

  “No.” He kept going before she could protest. “If after we’ve settled all this you still wish to know, I’ll tell you.”

  Shasta pushed her food to the side, less hungry than she had been before. “You’ve dodged the question more than once. Why should I believe you’ll tell me then?”

  He sucked in a deep breath and met her gaze. There was honesty and fear in his eyes. “Because I love you. I’ve always done my best to be truthful with you, and that hasn’t changed. However, I also want to protect you. You might not like what I have to say. I want us to be somewhere else, where you’re safe and you can yell at me or walk away or do whatever you want.”

  “Promise?” He’d never broken a true promise, so that’s what it would take to get her to drop this.

  “I promise.” There wasn’t so much as a flicker of uncertainty in him.

  Shasta nodded, continued eating. When they’d both finished with their meal, they each took a trip to the bathroom. Cord shouldered the backpack while Shasta quickly told him about the location of the cave, the terrain around it, and the best way to get there without being seen.

  They left the house, closing the door behind them, and set off toward the path that would take them down the volcano. From there, they carefully worked their way around the edge of the village, trying to keep some type of flora between them and any sirens that might be moving around or peering out windows.

  They were only a short distance from the path when Shasta noticed a shadow moving. She froze and held up her hand for Cord to do the same. He crouched behind her. Ahead of them the shadow moved closer to town. The moon slid out from behind a cloud, and Shasta got a clear view of Roxana. The siren walked a few feet to the right and stood squarely in the center of the path, a spear in her hand.

  Agatha had said she’d increase the guard, but she hadn’t been specific. Shasta had presumed most of the guard would be by the cave itself. She gave the area careful look. There was enough shrubbery and enough deep shadows that she and Cord could probably sneak around Roxana. However, there were some parts of the path where it would be nearly impossible to avoid a guard.

  Shasta turned her head enough to see Cord and motioned for him to move off to their left. While Roxana was looking toward the village, she and Cord eased their way between two bushes, carefully stepped over some loose rock, and hurried over the crest of the path.

  As soon as they were far enough down the path to be out of sight, Cord held up his hand. Shasta froze. For a long moment the two of them listened. There was no sound of footsteps, though with the way the sirens could leap, she wouldn’t necessarily hear them approach.

  As she listened, she scanned the path ahead of them. There was enough moonlight that she could see fairly well. She didn’t see any guards between here and the cave. Cord must’ve made the same evaluation because he motioned for them to continue.

  Shasta was more than happy to let him take the lead. She’d done her share of sneaking around in darkness when they were in the Dragon Lands, and it was his turn to shoulder some of that burden.

  She followed him as the path wound its way down the side of the volcano. When they were within sight of the cave entrance and the two guards standing outside, Cord stopped and motioned to the left. Shasta nodded. They moved off the path, working their way across the uneven ground until they had a clear view of the cave entrance and the two guards. She slipped the camera out of the pack, taking care to be as quiet as she could so the sirens wouldn’t hear her. Then with the camera in her hand she stretched out on the ground next to Cord.

  This was the boring part. Now they just had to sit here and hope something happened. Once something did happen, she had to be sure to get the pictures. As she lay there, she could hear the crash of waves and the breeze moving through the shrubs, see the two sirens standing at the cave entrance, and feel the earth below her. It wasn’t the way she normally felt the earth. She couldn’t sense the ebb and flow of energy. Instead, she simply felt that there was land under her.

  The minutes ticked by, moving ever so slowly since she was waiting for something. It felt like they had been lying there for forever when she heard a rock tumble down the path. Either the sirens didn’t hear it or it was a common occurrence because neither of them moved. She looked up the path, lifting the camera. There was a shadow there. She snapped a picture.

  She kept the camera on the siren as she made her way down the path. The siren—Demetria, Shasta realized with a start—walked into a particularly bright spot, and Shasta got another picture. There was a satchel over Demetria’s shoulder, straps taut with weight.

  Demetria walked right up to the two guards, pulled a water skin out of the satchel, and offered it to them. Both the guards took the offering. Shasta got pictures of all of it.

  While the guards continued to pass the water skin back and forth, Demetria sat down and, from the slight whispers of sound that reached Shasta’s ears, seemed to have a conversation with them. Shasta nudged Cord and exchanged a puzzled look. He gave a very tiny shrug and returned his attention to the three people at the cave entrance.

  Shasta kept taking pictures. If Demetria was one of the problem sirens, something would happen. If not, pictures could always be deleted.

  As if on cue, the two guards swayed and toppled to the ground. Shasta hurried to take pictures of that. Demetria calmly picked up the water skin and returned it to her satchel. After a quick glance up the path, she walked into the cave.

  Before Shasta could move, Cord laid a hand on her arm. She hadn’t needed the warning. They needed to give Demetria some time. Right now she could simply be out of sight, watching to see if anyone would follow. They needed her to go farther into the cave so they could get the proof Agatha required.

  Cord squeezed her arm and then lifted his hand away. He slowly got to his feet. Shasta hung the strap of the camera around her neck and pushed off the ground, lightly landing on her toes.

  They quietly returned to the path and headed to the cave. When they reached the two guards, Shasta knelt down and searched for pulse. It took a moment, but she found one and gave Cord a quick thumbs-up. A moment later he returned the gesture. The guard he’d checked was alive too. Hopefully, whatever Demetria had given them was a sedative rather than something deadlier.

  Side by side they stepped into the mouth of the cave. Demetria was nowhere to be seen. Roughly twenty feet back, the passage turned to the right. Light spilled onto the rock from deeper in the tunnel.

  They stepped quietly over the smooth, even floor, Cord taking the lead as they hugged the wall prior to the turn. Cord stopped short of rounding the corner, and for a few moments Shasta could only hear their breathing. Then he quickly stepped fully into the passageway.

  Nothing happened.

  He motioned for her to join him. Shasta moved up behind him. This stretch was absolutely empty. It was also short, with another turn only ten feet away. The light was coming from whatever was on the other side of that turn.

  Cord stayed close to the wall until he was by the opening. Then he quickly peeked around the corner before flattening himself against the wall. “Let me have the camera,” he whispered.

  Shasta made a face and handed it to him. Getting the evidence was important, but she wanted to know what was going on over there.

  Cord just barely stuck the camera around the wall and snapped a few pictures, then passed it to her. She turned on the view screen and flipped through the images. Inside the doorway was a very large chamber with eggs around the edges and sitting on shelves. Demetria had set her bag on the ground and was digging through it. In the very last picture there was a large bottle of vinegar in her hand. Shasta turned to the camera so Cord could see.

  He pointed to the camera and then to his pack before making little running motion with his hand. Shasta stashed the camera in the backpack, then with a quick twist of her wrist summoned her sword.

  Cord, sword in hand, held up three fingers. He lowered one, then two, then dropped his hand and darted forward. Shasta was right behind him. She entered the cavern at a run, sword up, lips holding back a war cry.

  The pictures had failed to truly capture the size of the cavern. It was enormous, stretching back more than two hundred feet. Along each wall were row upon row of roughly football-sized eggs. When Agatha had told her about the first clutch, Shasta had thought of something smaller, no more than a hundred eggs. This was thousands of eggs.

  Demetria whirled around, open vinegar bottle in one hand, cap in the other. She turned back to the eggs and started to tilt the bottle.

  Shasta pointed her sword at the bottle and called up a thick strand of magic. The magic ran down her sword, taking the shape of the spell before darting toward the gallon jug of vinegar. “Fehu.” Freeze.

  The vinegar turned to ice.

  Demetria spun back. “You!”

  Cord snatched the bottle out of her hand and hurled it toward the entryway. It landed with a thud and a sharp crack as the plastic bottle split.

  Demetria screamed and leaped for Cord, her hands blurring as long heavy talons emerged out of the tips of her fingers and scales replaced flesh. She slashed at him with all ten of her claws. He jumped back, but not before she sliced through his shirt.

  Demetria pressed her advantage, slashing again with one arm, her other mirroring the movement. Cord backpedaled enough to dodge the first swipe, but that brought him close to the eggs, leaving him nowhere to go.

  Shasta darted forward, swinging her sword up. It collided with Demetria’s wrist. A heavy vibration traveled the length of the blade and into Shasta’s hands. There was no spray of blood, no hand separating from arm. Instead, Shasta muscled the rest of the move, heaving Demetria’s arm away from Cord.

  When she stepped back, there was a thin red line on the scales along Demetria’s wrist. Out of the corner of her eye, Shasta saw Cord moving away from the eggs. She trusted him to find a better position while she watched Demetria. The siren’s eyes flickered to something on Shasta’s right. From the footsteps that had just stopped, the siren was evaluating Cord’s new position.

  “You are outsiders,” Demetria sneered. “It’s not your concern.”

  Shasta kept a firm grip on her sword. “Agatha said different. And neither of us agree with killing young.”

  “Agatha will not believe you. I am a trusted member of our society. You are guests most of us didn’t want.” She flexed her fingers, tapping her claws together.

  “We have proof,” Cord countered. “Pictures of you about to pour vinegar on these eggs.”

  In one lightning-fast movement, Demetria sprang up into the air, leaping over Shasta’s head. Shasta spun around as Demetria landed behind Cord and kicked his knee. His leg crumpled. As he fell, he vanished his sword. Demetria’s grip on the loop at the top of his pack kept him from crumbling all the way to the floor.

  Shasta lunged, sword slicing through the air on its way to Demetria’s chest. Before the thrust could connect, Demetria slashed through the straps and leaped away, the backpack clutched in her hand.

  The camera. She had to get that bag back, but she hesitated. Cord was on his hands and knees. “Are you hurt?”

  Wincing, he pushed himself up onto his feet. “Right behind you. Get the camera.”

  He didn’t look like he’d be right behind her, but they were partners, and she trusted him to take care of himself. Shasta pivoted and sprinted after Demetria. The siren was already out of sight. Shasta charged around the curve in the tunnel with a silent prayer to the earth to watch over her.

  As luck would have it, Demetria wasn’t hiding there, ready to attack her, but Shasta did catch a glimpse of the siren’s skirt as she darted around the next corner. Shasta bolted after, skidding as she rounded the next bend. Now Demetria was only fifteen feet ahead of her.

  Shasta put on a burst of speed. As they ran through the mouth of the cave, Shasta closed the gap to four feet. She had to get that camera. She put everything she had into her legs, propelling herself through the air toward Demetria. She managed to get a hand on the loop of the pack as Demetria flung herself into the air.

  For a moment she carried Shasta with her, off the path and over the steep side of the volcano. Hanging in the air, Shasta held on to the backpack with every bit of her strength. It was a long way down in the dark onto the rocky slope. That wasn’t a fall Shasta wanted to make.

  Demetria’s grip slipped, and Shasta dropped three inches before the siren managed to grab the strap again. Then the strap slipped through Demetria’s hands, leaving her clutching empty air.

  Shasta plummeted toward the ground.

  Chapter Eleven

  Shasta heard herself screaming as she fell. She had to do something, and quick, because the ground was getting closer and she didn’t want to know how an impact from this height would feel.

  She reached out to the earth. “Soften, shield me from this frightful fall!”

  There was no warm surge or tickle in her mind that told her the earth had heard and was responding. Her mind scrambled for another option. If the earth wouldn’t listen to her, what else could she do?

  Magic. She could try magic. It had worked against the vinegar and might work here. She focused on the patch of earth under her. “Orzu.”

  The spell yanked the power out of her, dragging a chunk of it away from her and down to the ground. Shasta had just enough time to close her eyes and whisper another prayer to anyone who was kind enough to be listening. Then she hit the ground.

  The earth sank under her, cushioning her and absorbing the impact. For a split second she was cradled by the ground at the bottom of a six-foot hole. Then the earth slowly flowed back into its original shape. Lying there, she sucked in a deep breath. She was alive, and she was uninjured.

  Even though the earth was reluctant to communicate with her, she pressed a hand to the ground. Thank you.

  She dredged up most of her remaining magic and countered the original spell. “Fehu.”

  Shasta clutched the bag to her chest as she tried to catch her breath. She felt like she’d run ten miles without having so much as a single drop of water along the way. She slowly pushed herself into a sitting position. She swayed a little, then shook her head to try to clear it.

  Using pure magic tended to leave her feeling like this. The sensation wouldn’t last long, but she needed to get back to Cord. Though how she was going to scramble up the side of this volcano was a problem in and of itself.

  While she waited for the slight dizziness to pass, she unzipped the bag and retrieved the camera. It looked undamaged. When she pushed the button, the screen lit up, showing her the pictures of Demetria and the egg room with the vinegar. Now she just had to keep these images safe until they could show them to Agatha and the other sirens.

  Satisfied that the evidence was intact, she carefully stowed the camera and eyed the straps. They had been cut near the top, where a strip of padding ran inside the fabric. The seam holding the padding inside was the only thing holding the straps together. The ends were frayed and shedding fibers.

  It might be easier to protect the bag if she was carrying it in her hand, but that also made it more difficult for her to fight. Plus she would need both hands to scramble up the volcano. Shasta held the two sides of one strap together. She cracked open her shields and let a trickle of elven and magical power flow into it. Reknit. Be as you once were.

  The threads wiggled as they wove between each other. A moment later the strap was whole again. She tugged on it gently, then harder. It held, though it wasn’t as strong as it had been before. She repeated the process with the other strap and tested it as well. It held up too, and she settled the pack on her shoulders. It felt as lumpy as it looked, but it would do the job.

  A rock tumbled down the slope, taking with it a shower of smaller stones and dust. A mumbled curse followed.

  Shasta tensed, and as quietly as she could, shifted around until she was kneeling. Stretching her hand out to one side, she twisted her wrist and summoned her sword. Then she went completely still. She heard the scuff of shoe against rock.

  “Shasta?” Cord called out softly.

  As much as she wanted to lower her guard and dismiss the sword, there was a chance Demetria had circled back and was using Cord. “Here,” she whispered. Hopefully that was quiet enough that an elf could hear but a siren wouldn’t.

  “I’m alone, if that’s what you are worried about.” Cord limped into view. “I moved the vinegar outside the cave and hid it behind a rock. The guards are still out.”

  “I got the camera back.” Shasta dismissed her sword and got to her feet, feeling safer than she had only moments ago.

  Cord sighed. “Good. Though how did you end up down here?”

  “Not that important.” Shasta shrugged. “How badly are you hurt?”

  Cord studied her for a moment before answering. “Sore. She has a powerful kick, and I managed to jar the same knee while I was sliding down the volcano.”

  “Sorry.” Shasta winced. “I think there might be a minor healing charm in the pack.”

  “Not now. I’ll be fine in a few minutes, and I’d rather keep those in reserve in case you have another run-in with Demetria and her supporters.” Cord rubbed his knee.