Chapter 25

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

We ventured into the dunes and kept both eyes out for trouble. The only problem that arose was from our own inner circle. Clara woke up and she was not happy.

The witch's eyes fluttered open and she looked around in bewilderment. "What in all darkness is-" Her attention fell on Tegan and her eyes flashed with fury. "You!"

Clara slapped him across the cheek hard enough that Tegan stumbled back. He opened his arms and dropped her butt-first onto the soft sand.

"You're welcome," he mused as he rubbed his red cheek.

She glared at him from her sandy seat. "You monster! To hit a woman when she was saving your ungrateful hide!"

"You were thwarting our plan, and might I add that it worked," he retorted.

"Then why are we out here?" she snapped.

"You're a little late to your trial preparations so we were walking you to Lusio," I reminded her.

Her whole body boiled with rage but she merely snapped her head to one side. "Damn those trials! Lusio can find himself another witch!"

Tegan cast a curious look at me which I perfectly understood. "Oh no," I insisted as I held up my hands in front of myself. "I already have one job here. I'm not going to be taking on another low-paying job."

"It's just a thought," he mused before he turned his attention back to Clara. He offered her his hand and a smile. "Let me help you up, at least."

She wrinkled her nose but accepted his hand and allowed him to help her to her feet. "That's certainly the least you can do for hitting me."

"I'll try to make further amends but after we've reached the house," he promised.

We continued on our way and reached the house without further incident. The grounds themselves were still full of desperate servants. That is, until one of them caught sight of us. "Sir!" he shouted as he raced to the front of the house. "She's here!"

Lusio popped his head around the corner and relief mixed with fury. He marched over to us with his hands balled into fists. "Where have you been?" he snapped as he wagged a finger at Clara. "You were supposed to be here nearly an hour ago for the final preparations."

Clara shot him a look of death. "I was busy chewing through my gag."

He stopped in front of us and blinked at her. "Is this some sort of poor joke?" he wondered as he looked at all of us. Lusio examined us with a mixture of horror and confusion. I looked down at myself and understood his expression. We were all covered with bits of God-knows-what from Clara's jars and smattered with cobwebs and sand. "What in the world happened to you?"

"Nothing that can't be explained later," Tegan replied as he swept his eyes over the area. "But first, where's Miles?"

A puzzled expression passed over Lusio's face. "He hasn't returned. Shouldn't he be with you?"

"We need to find him," Tegan insisted as he nodded at the servants who surrounded us. "Tell them to start searching for him."

Our host's mouth dropped open before he gathered himself and shook his head. "But it's nearly time for my guests to arrive!"

Tegan shot him such a firm glare that the man cowered back. "If you care about your life then you'll find him."

Some of the color drained from Lusio's face but he spun around toward his servants. "Find Miles immediately!" The servants once more scattered to the four winds, leaving us alone with our host, and Lusio's shoulders slumped. He didn't turn to us as he spoke in a low voice. "Now tell me what happened."

"Miles used magic to trap us in Clara's house," Tegan revealed.

Lusio half-turned to us with a look of astonishment. "Magic? But Miles doesn't know how to do magic."

"He does now," I quipped.

Our host clutched half his head in one hand and frowned at the ground. "How can this be? How could so much go wrong?" He lifted his curious eyes to Clara. "And how did an incompetent servant manage to trap you with magic?"

She scowled back at him. "The magic that trapped me wasn't done by a buffoon, you fool. Whoever is behind this mess is a master at spells."

"Sir!" someone shouted from far off and one of the servants popped up from the dunes in the direction of Clara's hut. "I found him!"

"Then bring him here!" Lusio snapped back.

The man's face paled and he shook his head. "T-there's something not right with him, sir. You should see for yourself."

"Damn all this," Lusio muttered as he hurried toward the servant.

We followed, including Clara, and the servant led us over a few of the dunes before he stopped atop a rather large one. He pointed down as we joined him on the peak. "There, sir."

The dune overlooked a hollow among the sand hills. Miles was in the center of the depression with his head clasped between his hands. He staggered to and fro with his face a twisted mask of terror and pain.

"I won't go!" Miles shouted as he yanked himself in the direction of the house.

His body had other ideas, however, and he violently pulled himself in the direction of the beach. His face contorted and his legs shook so badly he collapsed onto his knees.

"Leave me be! I beg of you!" he pleaded as he bowed his head and shut his eyes. "Have you not done enough damage to me?"

"Miles!" Lusio shouted though Tegan grabbed his arm a second later.

Miles' head shot up and his eyes widened. There was a brief moment of comprehension before a strange glossiness slipped over his pupils, distorting the color and creating the effect of a lifeless doll. That's when he darted away from us and in the direction of the ocean.

"Stop him!" Clara shouted as she shuffled after the man. "He'll throw himself into the waves!"

Tegan and I slid down the high dune and hit the ground running. The chase would have been comical, what with both parties skidding through the sand, had the stakes not been so dire. The lapping waves invited Miles and he hit the water without slowing down. The waves were up to his hips before we crashed in after him.

Tegan was the stronger swimmer and reached Miles just as the water came up to his neck. My dragon husband got another wide swing in with his fist and slammed his hand against the side of Miles' head. The older gentleman crumpled like a paper doll and Tegan caught him.

The waves tried their hardest to drag both men out to sea but I managed to grab hold of one of Miles' arms, giving Tegan enough of a break that he could dig his heels into the wet sand. Together we pulled Miles out of the waves and onto shore where we deposited him onto the sands.

I collapsed beside him and Tegan did the same on Miles' other side. We were soon joined by our host and Clara, along with a dozen of the servants.

"What in the world is going on here?" Lusio exclaimed as he threw up his arms. "First the dart, then Clara going missing, and now Miles tries to kill himself? Why in all the hells would he even desire to do such a thing?"

"I don't think he did," Tegan countered as he sat up and looked the man over. He opened one of Miles' eyelids and revealed normal eyes. "I think someone made him do everything he did today against his will."

Lusio's face drooped. "To try to make another attempt on my life?" His announcement was news to the servants around us.

Tegan frowned at our careless host. "We should talk about this elsewhere."

Lusio waved his hand at his fallen servant. "And do what with him? I won't let him back in the house until I know for certain he can be trusted!"

A soft groan came from Miles and Lusio jumped back with a high-pitched yelp. Miles stirred and his eyes fluttered open. His unfocused gaze swept over us before his eyes filled with fear. A scream erupted from his lips and he thrashed about the sands. "No! No, please! I beg you!" Tegan pinned the man's flailing arms to his sides while I jumped on the legs. Miles only took that as a challenge and squirmed harder. "Please no! Mercy! Mercy!"

"Miles!" Tegan shouted at him as he shoved his face into that of the frantic man. "Focus on me! Focus on my voice!"

The commanding tone forced Miles to unconsciously stare into Tegan's face. His terror subsided enough that he stopped thrashing but his face was as pale as the sand beneath him. He breathed in and out with all the speed of an oncoming heart attack. Tegan helped him sit up and Miles sat in a stupor as he swept his eyes over all present.

His focus stopped on the irascible Lusio and he shrank beneath his employer's accusing glare. "S-sir, I am truly sorry for what has happened. You must believe me when I say I meant no harm to anyone."