Page 129 of Changeling
Sasha pulled away as if he’d been yanked back, and Nathan whipped around expecting to see Jim. Instead he saw Walter, dimly illuminated by the light from the hat on the floor, huffing from exertion as he stood between Nathan and Sasha. Sasha stared from the other side of the corridor not understanding what had happened.
“What are you two doing?” came Jim’s voice, echoing back to them. Jim appeared a moment later and took in the scene. With the way Jim focused for a moment on the spot between the pair, Nathan wondered if he could see Walter standing there.
Without a word, Jim picked up Nathan’s hat and handed it back to him. Then he turned a steady stare on Sasha. “Take the lead with Alex into the main cavern.”
Nathan sputtered for a response, unsure if he trusted Sasha with Alex, but as she appeared from behind Jim, she shot him a look that said she would be okay. Meanwhile, Jim walked to Nathan and grabbed his arm, pulling him along with him down the passageway. Nathan barely got his hardhat back on, and only just managed to look back at Walter and mouth a heartfelt ‘thank you’.
Eventually, he had a hold of himself enough to wrench his arm out of Jim’s grip. They were several feet behind the others. “Ya mind?” he shot at his brother. The truth was that Sasha had cut up Nathan’s wrists pretty badly, not that he could do anything about it now.
There was a mild huff from Jim as they continued forward.
“How exactly do you plan to dig us out the way we came in, anyway?” Nathan asked after a moment, hating silence on principle but especially with an amber-eyed Jim.
“I have an idea.”
“An idea? And were you planning on sharing this idea with the rest of the—” Nathan flinched as Jim came to an abrupt stop and whipped around.
“You know, you’re pretty ungrateful,” Jim snapped. “Keep in mind, my abilities are what’s going to save your life, and yet you keep turning your nose up at them. Why? Because they make methis?”
Reacting in such a way, indignant and frustrated, was so very…human. Nathan didn’t know if that made him feel better or worse. He studied his brother, looking at the way Jim seemed to glow. Sure, there were the amber eyes, but unlike Sasha, Jim was otherwise just Jim in appearance. It was what remained beneath the surface that scared Nathan.
“Because I don’t believe I can trust you,” Nathan admitted. “Can you really blame me for that? You and Sasha being all buddy-buddy in all your dark glory. Yeah, that’s comforting. Come on, Jim. This is the part you didn’t want either, remember? You say you want the same things you always have. But do you really?”
Jim’s eyes were unreadable, so Nathan focused on the way his lips weren’t at all smiling and his eyebrows were tightly knit. “I’ll show you, Nathan. I’ll show you,” was all he said before he turned and began moving up the corridor again.
A torrent of emotions rumbled through Nathan on their way back to the main cavern. The thought of what Jim meant, of what he could possibly show Nathan that would change his mind, made him feel hollow and helpless.
Alex was fine when they caught up to them, sitting in the main cavern as far from the body of Iain’s mother as she could get, going through the two duffle bags. The remnants of Sasha’s shirt, shoes, and leather jacket also became visible. If they gotout of there and things didn’t completely go to Hell, Nathan would take Sasha shopping for a new one.
“So, Mr. Dark Sidhe Mastermind,” Nathan said mockingly to Jim. “This idea you have for getting us out of here? Please tell me it doesn’t just involve you and Sasha using your super-strength to dig us out with your hands.”
Sasha chuckled, his eyes piercing as they looked at Nathan.
Jim chuckled, too. He shrugged, moving to the closed-off exit that led to the main entrance. “Just the two of us, even with our strength, would take too long, but that doesn’t mean it’s not doable with a little extra help.”
“No offense, Jimmy,” Alex said, walking over to him, “but I don’t think Nate and I will be of much help.”
That dimpled grin stretched wider as Jim tilted his head at her. “Have a little more faith in me than that. I wasn’t talking about extra help from inhere.”
Jim moved directly up to the gathering of crumbled rock. As he began to lift his hands palms outstretched facing the way out, Nathan feared for a moment that his brother meant to use TK. That would be just as risky as punching their way out with how likely this place was to give way to another cave-in. But nothing visible began to move in front of Jim even after he had closed his eyes.
After what felt like several minutes, Sasha suddenly roared as if he was afraid or at least cautious of something on the other side of the rocks. Alex moved closer to Nathan, while Sasha stayed up by Jim, growling increasingly louder as time ticked on.
Another handful of minutes passed and finally Nathan started to pick up on something. It was sound, definitely sound, but also a certain kind of reverberation. He feared another cave-in for a moment—maybe Jim had been using his TK after all just from the outside in—but the sounds weren’t merely moving rock.
Sasha wasn’t the only growling creature Nathan could hear. It was low at first but it grew, joined by howls and grunts and shrieks like a God damn wraith. There were growls like Sasha’s and others that were more feral, some that sounded like animals, and others that were definitely more human. The sounds grew until it felt like they were all around them. Even though Nathan knew it could only be coming from the other side of the rock wall, the cacophony of dark noises seemed to reach out to them from the very rock itself.
Nathan saw Alex flinch when the first of the rocks they could see started to move, falling away from the other side. The noise was almost deafening. Sasha was hunkered low behind Jim, fangs bared and eyes flashing, claws out to attack and wings spread like he was ready at a single order from Jim to launch himself at whatever was coming to get them.
Oh God, Nathan realized with a sick twist in his stomach. Jim had summoned a horde of dark fae to dig them out…
Sasha roared again as more rocks fell, and suddenly there was a faint flicker of light. Nathan saw eyes first, glowing various colors from the other side. It was such an insane mass that he couldn’t make out any substantial figures. Alex took his hand.
When the last of the rubble blocking their escape was tossed away, the creatures that had been their salvation remaining just out of sight within the darkness beyond, Jim lowered his hands. The sounds of growls and howls and whispered words Nathan couldn’t make out dulled to a soft din as if they were all waiting for something. Sasha was still on guard but Jim glanced over his shoulder, wholly confident.
“Guard from the back,” he told the incubus and then stepped forward into the passageway.
It was implied that Nathan and Alex were to follow. Sasha turned back to them, waiting for them to move past him. It was only because Nathan couldn’t stand the thought of Jim beingout amongst those things alone that Nathan found the strength to start walking. He and Alex each grabbed a duffle and stayed close to each other as they went. Nathan thought of Iain’s mother’s body being left behind. He couldn’t do anything about it now, but later, if there was even the slightest chance, he would come back for her.
