Chapter 19

Iyanked at the flowerheads that were closed tight around my wrists, their teeth driving into my skin and my magic locked down by the strange liquid which oozed from its jaws. The stem didn't break, and I stared up at the top of the blood red brick pit with a whinny of frustration.

One minute, we'd been walking along the street, the next, the whole world had tipped, the ground becoming a slope and sending us tumbling down into this hole full of carnivorous plants.

Footsteps padded this way and my heart lifted.

"Hello?!" Sofia yelled. "Is someone there? We need help!"

Washer appeared at the top of the pit, his eyes widening at the sight of the three of us below. "Goodness me, are you alright down there in that wet hole? That was quite the earthquake."

"These damn plants are locking down our magic," Tyler explained, trying to rip one free from the ground, but it was no good. Blood bled down his wrist from his efforts and I stamped my foot, furious that I'd let this happen to my herd.

"Not to worry. I've had plenty of experience extracting a fellow or two from tight spots," Washer said, rolling up his sleeves and preparing to cast magic. It wasn't entirely comforting to have him as our rescuer, but we didn't have much choice.

"Wait," Sofia gasped, but two of the flowers were already shooting toward him, their thick stems extending unnaturally and their sharp jaws wide. "They're drawn to magic!"

Washer yelped as one of the flowers snapped around his left hand, sending a blast of water at the other one and knocking it away from him. But the first flower tugged on him with frightening power, and he was forced over the edge. His feet got stuck in the sap that lined the walls and the ledge above, and he fell, his feet still stuck at the top of the wall while his face went slamming into the bricks, sticking in the green gloop coating it.

The flower tugged on him again and he was ripped off of the wall, his shirt and pants torn clean off his body, left hanging in the sap as he went flying to the bottom of the pit in a pair of tight purple briefs. He hit the ground with a groan, then grabbed the flower by the stem in a chokehold, freezing it with his ice. Another flower came tearing towards him and I tried to kick it, but it snared Washer's free hand.

"No," I gasped, our only hope now trapped down here with us.

Washer got to his feet, pulling on the flowers with all his might, but he couldn't get free any easier than we could.

"Blast," he cursed. "I almost had us out of here."

"Almost had us out of here?" Tyler scoffed. "You didn't do anything!"

"Now, now, watch your tone, Mr Corbin. I'm in charge here," Washer said, rising to his feet and considering our predicament.

"Bullshit," I growled. "We're not your students anymore, and I'm the most powerful Fae in this pit."

Washer scrutinised me with a frown, then inclined his head. "Forgive me, I didn't mean to step on your tippy toes, Xavier. You are a fine specimen of Fae, but I must say, I do have a teeny weeny idea to get our hands out of these clenched wet petals."

"Go on then," I said through my teeth.

"Well I know a thing or two about these plants. Starclamps, they're called. And there is one thing that can make their jaws release us from their grasp."

"I read about these," Sofia gasped, her eyes brightening in horror. "If we stay here too long, they will slowly but surely dissolve the skin from our bones and ingest it."

"How do we make them let go then?" Tyler pushed, looking to Washer in desperation.

"They just need a little tickle in the right spot," he said. "Finding the spot is the trouble."

"I think the real trouble is how we're supposed to tickle them without our hands," I said, wincing as the teeth on my right wrist sunk a little deeper.

"Not a problem, my boy." Washer kicked off his shoes and dropped down to the ground, lifting his foot right up to his face with no bother. He caught his sock between his teeth and spread his unveiled toes, wiggling them before placing them on one of the stems and tickling it.

I grimaced, watching as he worked methodically along the stem, seeking out the right spot. His toes were weirdly flexible, and something about their movements unnerved me, but who was I to complain if they were going to save us all?

Washer scooted along the ground on his ass, spreading his tanned legs and wiggling his toes against the flower stems holding his hands. It was uncomfortable to watch, but for some reason, I couldn't look away.

"I don't think it's working, Washer," Tyler said, sharing a disgusted look with Sofia.

"Nonsense. I just need to find the right spot, rub that little nub in just the right cranny and I'll free us in no time," Washer insisted.

A yodel sounded somewhere off in the abandoned city, bouncing from wall to wall, echoing everywhere.

"That was Geraldine," Sofia said excitedly. "Do you think she's close?"

"Geraldine!" Tyler yelled. "We're over here!"

We made as much noise as we could, trying to draw the attention of any of our friends, but no one appeared.

"I hope they're alright," Tyler murmured.

"They're fine," I said firmly, refusing to let myself consider any other option. "We'll find them as soon as we're out of here."

A grinding of stone sounded behind me and a nervous prickle ran up my spine.

"Um, Xavier," Sofia whispered, and I turned, following her gaze to a tunnel that had opened up in the wall. Snakes spilled out of it, hundreds of long, slithering bodies rippling together and coiling towards us.

"Everybody stay still," Sofia hissed. "Those are velox snakes, they'll strike at any sudden movement. Their venom is deadly."

"By the stars," I breathed, freezing in place.

Washer stopped moving too, his legs still wide as snakes slithered over his ankles.

Another grinding of rock made me look up and I cursed as a circle of stone twisted out from the edge of the pit above, slowly sealing us in.

"Now what?" Tyler growled.

"Not to worry," Washer said. "Gently lower yourselves down and spread your flower stems across the ground. Let the smooth shafts of the hungry serpents do the tickling for us."

It wasn't a bad plan, so as one, we inched towards the floor, trying to move as slowly as possible. My fingers were starting to tingle inside the flowers, and I tried not to think about why that was. In all honesty, this whole situation could have had me in a complete panic, but I had to stay strong for my herd. I'd get them out of here no matter what. And if I lost my head and made a wrong move, it could cost them their lives. As for Washer, well, I guessed the guy deserved to make it out of here. He had come to our rescue after all.

My ass touched the ground and I gently lowered my arms so the stems lay among the writhing snake bodies. We were losing light by the second as the slab of stone crossed overhead, and I shuddered as it finally closed with a thud.

Instead of being left in total darkness like I'd expected, the snakes' bodies began to glow just enough to see by.

"This had better work," I said, keeping my lip movements to a minimum.

"It will, my boy," Washer promised, lowering his body even further to the ground and splaying himself out among the snakes in a tortuously slow movement.

We waited in anxious silence as the snakes slithered this way and that, passing all over the stems, but not one of the flowers released us.

"My hands are going numb," Tyler hissed. "This isn't working, we need a new plan."

"There's got to be a way," I whispered anxiously. My hands were tingling and I didn't know how long we had until these plants started digesting our fingers.

"Wait a moment." Washer moved his foot the tiniest amount, picking up a sharp-looking stone between his toes. "Perhaps we can cut ourselves free."

"Can you do that with your feet?" I asked in shock, though it was clear he had some serious dexterity in his toes.

"Of course, my boy. I have spent years practising toe flexation in a quest to one day possess as much nimbleness in my feet as I do in my hands. It comes in quite handy when those lusty urges call many a Fae to my bed and I need to lend a toe or three to caress, fondle, dip, or pump a lover's cog or cranny."

"Fucking hell, just get on with it, will you?" I demanded.

Washer ever-so-slowly moved the sharp rock against one of the stems, working to cut it without drawing the snakes' attention.

It was an arduous process, but eventually, the stem split apart and Washer was partially freed. The flower might still have been clamped over his left hand, but he wasn't tethered to the ground anymore.

"Do the other one," Sofia urged, and Washer got working on it, bending and grunting a little as he worked. I couldn't stop staring at the way his toes handled that stone and his legs bent at such a wide angle that it was all I could do to keep my gaze away from his lightly thrusting crotch.

Suddenly, he was free, and we released breaths of relief as he crawled his way toward me next, careful not to disturb any of the snakes. It took a few minutes, but he finally used his feet to cut the stems holding me down too and he cautiously made his way towards Sofia next, his ass pointing right my way in those overly tight briefs.

At last, when the four of us were free, Washer led the way into the tunnel, moving slow as hell to keep the snakes from noticing. I was second in line but immediately regretted it seeing as my nose was a few inches from Washer's ass. Without the glow of the snakes, it was pitch dark in the passage and I had no idea how far it went, but I prayed it would lead us outside again. If we could find the others, they might be able to get these damn flowers off of us, then we could get back to the task at hand.

"I smell clean air, laddies," Washer called.

"I don't," I muttered, grimacing at his ass even though I couldn't see it ahead of me. But then he stopped abruptly, and my face slammed right into it.

"Argh," I grunted. "Just keep moving. Don't stop star damned moving."

Despite the ass in my face, I could smell fresher air up ahead and sensed we were on the right path. The stars were twisting our fortunes today and dragging us through the gutter, but we weren't done for yet.