Briar Rose by Jana Oliver
Briar paced for a time, though it was difficult given the size of the hole. She wanted to make him hurt as much as she did. He’d killed her future, taken away her family and landed her inside this twisted fairy tale.
The longer she paced, the more she noticed that he hadn’t moved, staring blankly at nothing. As if the admission of his sin had hollowed him out inside.
Briar returned to her part of the pit and slumped down. She unconsciously mirrored Joshua’s pose, knees tucked close her chest. A sort of crinkling noise caught her attention and with some digging she retrieved the leafy pouch. She’d forgotten about it.
‘What is that?’ he asked, his eyes suspiciously moist.
‘One of the fatas gave it to me.’ Briar carefully opened the pouch to find glimmering dust inside. It was lavender and when she dipped her fingers into it, it made them tingle. She held them up. ‘Great. We got sparkles. Just what we need.’
Their eyes met again.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘I really am.’
Briar tucked the pouch back under her corset. Oddly her anger had burned out like a damp firecracker. ‘You really didn’t know about the curse?’
‘No. I have no idea who put it on me or why. Nobody will tell me.’
That sounded familiar.
She raised her head. ‘With me carrying the curse, you were golden. What are you doing here? It’s way dumb for you to be anywhere near me.’
‘I’m here to make it right.’
‘How? You’d be stupid to take the curse back. Even if you could, it might not make any difference. I might just be . . . doomed.’
‘Or not,’ he insisted.
‘Does Reena know all this?’
‘Yeah. Lily told her after you went to sleep.’
‘Of course, the entire world knows and somehow they never got around to telling me,’ Briar sniped. Like they never told me about Mike and his lies.
‘They didn’t get around to telling us,’ Joshua said, his eyes narrowing. ‘Remember, you’re not the only victim here.’
‘You know, you could have fooled me.’
The silence between them, heavy with words unspoken, made Briar curl up for a nap to block it out. That meant lying on a dirt floor, one that smelt faintly of copper and of oil. She dreamed of water, the relentless kind that had nearly killed her. Once again she experienced the panic, felt the unyielding pressure, sustained that tingling jolt between her and Joshua as they tumbled in the rolling darkness.
When she struggled up out of the dream, dusk was settling in. It took her a moment to recognize the walls of the pit and then their current situation returned full force. She stifled a sob.
Across from her Joshua stared at nothing, still digging at the ground with a piece of shale.
Her drowning dreams were always harbingers of bad things to come, like the fierce windstorm that had damaged the high school when she was a freshman, causing her and the other students to take shelter in the hallway. Or when Reena had been in that traffic accident on the way to South Carolina. She’d dreamed of roaring water the night before it had occurred.
‘Something bad is going to happen,’ she announced.
‘Worse than being trapped in a pit with no toilet?’ Joshua mumbled.
‘Yeah. Way worse. I . . . just know it. I . . . get these premonitions.’
Briar tensed, waiting for the laughter or the derision. It didn’t come.
‘OK, I’ll go with that warning,’ Joshua said. ‘Something bad is going down, but what is it?’
‘I don’t know. Just . . . bad.’
He stretched, a couple of bones popping, then moved to the pile of rags and gave it a kick. Suddenly his posture changed. ‘Ah, hell,’ he said.
Joshua rarely swore. ‘What’s wrong?’
He picked up one of the pieces and brought it closer for her inspection. There were rust-brown spots in the fabric and it appeared as if someone had taken a pair of scissors to it, leaving dozens of slashes behind.
‘That’s dried blood.’ Joshua dropped the garment, frowning. ‘Why don’t they have a guard right on top of this pit?’ he asked, pacing now. ‘Because they know once it’s dark we’re never coming out of here.’
‘I don’t understand.’
‘Remember what the regent said? “When darkness falls and the metal reigns supreme.”’
‘So?’
‘Those scratches in the rock?’ he said, more agitated now. ‘They’re not from someone trying to get out. They’re from something that lives down here.’
Briar was on her feet in a heartbeat. ‘What kind of something?’
‘Don’t know and don’t want to find out. We are out of here.’
Joshua moved to the closest wall, one with a number of stone outcroppings.
‘If I can get enough handholds, I can do it. Don’t stand underneath me in case I fall,’ he urged. He gave her one last look. ‘I promise, I won’t leave you down here.’
‘I didn’t think you would,’ she said, wanting that to be the truth.
Joshua nodded as if he appreciated her trust, then began to climb.
‘The shale is bitchy stuff,’ he said. ‘It breaks easily and it cuts you up. Probably why they dug the pit here.’
It proved a painstakingly slow process. He’d find a handhold and a corresponding place for a foot and pull himself up. Then repeat the process. One time he slipped and he barely caught himself. Another time the rock broke and he had to quickly readjust. He wiped his hands on his trousers a couple of times and she could tell they were bleeding.
Briar found herself holding her breath, becoming dizzy. Forcing herself to breathe, she called out, keeping her voice low. ‘You’re doing great!’ And he was. She’d never known he was capable of this.
Joshua had just reached halfway up when suddenly he cried out.
‘What’s wrong?’
‘Something bit me!’ he said, waving his hand. He examined it, and moved another notch up.
‘Go on, you’re OK,’ she urged. ‘You’re almost there.’
He’d climbed another few feet when he cried out again, and this time he slid down the wall of the pit, desperately trying to grasp on to something. It proved futile and he hit the ground hard.
‘Oh my God. Are you OK?’ she asked, kneeling beside him.
When he looked up and found her so close, he shied back. It’d been reflexive on his part, but the message was passed. He still feared her, feared that the curse could claim him even if she wasn’t dying.
Briar stepped away, trying to contain the hurt. ‘So that’s how it is, huh? Even now?’
‘I’m sorry. It’s . . . hardwired.’ He lifted his hand. It was bleeding and starting to swell. ‘Something was in one of those holes. I thought I saw it just for a second.’
‘It was probably just a bug. Take a rest. You’ll get it. You were doing great.’
‘No, we need to get out of here. Now.’
A dry, metallic rustle began just as Joshua regained his feet. To Briar’s ears it sounded as if someone were pouring a truckload of nails on a concrete highway, in slow motion. The rustle continued and then grew in volume.
Joshua whirled round in an effort to pinpoint the source. ‘Where is it coming from?’
‘Everywhere?’
The first rust-coloured creature poked its head from a hole near the top. It slithered out, wriggling like a girl trying to pull on a pair of tights that were one size too small.
‘What is it?’ Briar asked, squinting in the gathering darkness.
Before Joshua could answer, a dozen more of the things began to descend the pit wall.
‘Centipedes,’ he said, his voice registering surprise. Curiosity claimed him and he moved closer to check one out. It returned the scrutiny by arching up, displaying its sharp mandibles and snapping at him.
‘These things are metal!’ he exclaimed.
‘Then get away from it, you idiot!’
There were more of them now, undulating down the
‘Oh God, why did I wait?’ Joshua batted at one that had climbed up his trousers, then tramped it hard with a boot heel. It stopped moving.
‘Joshua!’ He whirled round to find Briar encircled. She was jumping on the creatures as hard as she could, but it wasn’t slowing them down.
He yelped when one sliced into his flesh. Even after he’d destroyed that one, hundreds more closed in, eager for blood. They crushed the creatures as fast as possible, but it was no use. The tide of centipedes scrambling over each other to get a taste of human was overwhelming.
It was ironic. All her mother’s protectiveness had been a waste of time: her daughter was about to become supper for a ravenous family of magical arthropods.
‘I am NOT dying in some damned pit!’ she shouted. ‘That is not going to happen!’
Something clipped the side of her head and Briar almost went down. The something was the rope ladder.
‘Go!’ Joshua called out. He was about to push her towards it, then checked himself.
She didn’t take time to think it out, but grabbed the ladder and began hauling herself upward at a frantic pace. She felt the rope go tight below her and knew that Joshua was following right behind.
Though she was off the ground, the danger was still present as a wave of their attackers followed them up the walls. Briar kept climbing, sometimes having to slap one of the things off the rope so it wouldn’t bite her. Beneath her she heard Joshua cry out again, but he kept moving.
A hand pulled her out and she landed hard on the ground. As she rose to thank her rescuer, she gasped. It was the guard who’d taken too much of an interest in her. His knife was now busily sawing on the rope, a move that would send Joshua to an agonizing death.
‘Wouldn’t want him to get free, would we?’ he wheezed, grinning at her.
Blind, murderous fury catapulted Briar forward: she kicked the man hard in the side causing a rib to snap. He swore and dropped the knife. Off balance, his arms windmilled, his hands seeking hers.
‘Help me!’ he cried. Then he was gone, tumbling over the side of the pit with a hoarse scream.
Briar dropped on her knees at the hole’s edge, fearing the guard had hit Joshua on the way down. To her relief, he was still climbing towards her. A centipede scurried up the ladder ahead of him and as it reached the top, she smashed it with her fist. It rolled over on its belly, legs quivering in the air.
To her horror, the weakened rope began to unravel where it’d been cut.
Briar offered her hand without thinking. ‘Hurry,’ she called out as one side of the ladder broke free. Joshua’s eyes went wild with panic as he swung in the air.
‘Take my hand!’ she cried out.
‘Move,’ a voice commanded, and when she rolled away she saw Ruric reach over and yank Joshua out with almost superhuman strength. Joshua fell on his side, panting, his hands bleeding.
From below them came an unholy shriek, high pitched and frantic, the plea of a man who knows he has no escape. The screams suddenly cut off, leaving only a thick gurgling noise as the metallic rustling intensified.
Ruric pulled her away from the edge. ‘Don’t look,’ he said.
Joshua sat upright, staring at her with wide eyes. She’d let a man die for him, and they both knew it.
‘Thank you,’ he said simply.
With a quick slice, Ruric cut the other side of the ladder and let it fall in the pit.
‘We must go,’ he said.
When he turned towards them, Briar clamped a hand over her mouth.
Half of his face was solid metal.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Something brought Reena out of her slumber: a low murmuring noise. She sat up to find a cluster of fata talking quietly among themselves. Their posture and gestures told her they were agitated.
‘Hey, wake up,’ she said, shaking Pat. He mumbled for a bit and after another good shake he finally awakened, groggy and confused. His hair fell over his face and he had sleep wrinkles in his skin.
‘I’m still in this dream?’ he said. ‘God, won’t it ever end?’
Reena pointed at the fata. ‘Something’s up. They’re spooked.’
‘You woke me up for that?’ Pat rolled over on his side, and then he was sitting up again, running his fingers down his injured arm.
‘What’s going on here?’ He cautiously moved the limb and then blinked in surprise. ‘I thought you said it was broken.’
‘Let me look.’ Reena gently checked the area where the bone had fractured. Then she smiled. ‘I’d say you’re in good shape, dude. Magic. Better than a cast any day.’
He yanked his arm away from her. ‘You’re messing with my head, right? This is all some sort of trick.’
‘Why would I bother doing that?’ she asked.
‘You’re pissed off at me because of Briar. I know you’re a witch. They talk about it at school.’
Reena rolled her eyes. ‘I’m a rootworker, not a witch. There’s a difference.’
‘Not to me. I don’t know how you got me here, but I don’t belong in this nightmare. You need to fix this, now.’
The arrogant jerk was back now that he wasn’t hurting.
It was so tempting to do exactly as he wanted, to get this thorn out of her side. Except she didn’t dare. If she sent Pat back on his own, then she and Joshua might be trapped here forever. Or until the curse killed them. Given that it’d been making life rough for them, that was a definite possibility.
‘I know your ego isn’t going to believe it, but this isn’t about you, Daniels. Not even close. So think of other people for a change, OK?’
‘You can be a real bitch, you know that?’ he said, his words coated with acid.
She leaned closer, narrowing her eyes. ‘When it comes to protecting my friends, yeah, I am. Trust me when I say this, you’re not one of them.’
‘Like I care,’ he said, but she noted his eyes were at chest level. Checking out her breasts, no doubt, even while he was dissing her. It was only then she realized the skeleton key lay outside her clothes. She tucked it away, Pat watching her every move.
The tension was broken when a fata approached and placed her canvas bag on the floor in front of them.
‘It’s my bag.’ Reena opened it to find her herbs and roots. But there was more inside now and she pulled bread and cheese. ‘How did you get this food?’
The fata pointed upward and then retreated.
‘They sent someone for takeaways?’ Pat asked. ‘That’s crazy. They know what happens if they get caught.’
‘I’m guessing hospitality is a big thing with them, like it is with my great-gran. You don’t disrespect your guests,’ Reena said. She broke off a hunk of the bread and handed it to Pat, their fingers touching for a brief moment.
‘Do you think we should eat this?’ he asked, quieter now. ‘I mean, what if it’s poisoned?’
‘If they wanted to kill us, they could have done it while we were sleeping.’
‘Unless they’re really sadistic and want to watch us die in agony,’ he retorted. At her frown, he shrugged. ‘I watch a lot of horror movies.’
‘Really? I think we’re good here.’ She took a munch of the bread and found it to be filling, at the very least.
‘Just how do we get home?’ Pat asked.
His conversational tone spiked her scepticism. ‘I do some magic and we’re gone. At least the three of us. Briar will have to fix the curse somehow or I don’t think she’ll ever go home.’
‘Saralyn told me she’s a vegetable. Is it true she can’t wake up?’
‘That’s a jerkwad thing to say to her best friend,’ Reena snarled.
‘Whoa, tone it down. Are you like PMSing or something?’
‘You don’t want me as an enemy, Daniels. Not ever.’
?
‘No, but I can leave your ugly ass here.’
‘You can’t do that,’ Pat retorted, the piece of cheese in his hand forgotten. Then he must have realized he might be wrong. ‘Tell me you wouldn’t leave me here.’
Reena barely heard him, caught by the dark emotions seething just under her skin. Lily had warned her about this, how there would always be a temptation to use the magic for harm, especially on a loser like Pat. She closed her eyes, trying to clear the anger, and then she blew most of it out in one long stream of air. When she opened her eyes, Pat was staring at her as if she’d sprouted horns and breathed fire.
‘I’ll get you home when the time is right,’ she said, working to keep her tone even. ‘Not before. You understand?’
There was a nod of the head, almost respectful. Except that his eyes tracked to her chest again, but this time she knew it had nothing to do with scoping out her breasts. He’d figured out the skeleton key was important in some way. She’d have to guard it more closely from now on.
Was this the curse at work? Was it trying to drive them apart, leave them isolated, so it could pick them off one by one?
That was not a comforting thought.
The next fata to come near them was shivering, glancing upward at every few steps.
‘What’s wrong?’ Reena said, rising to her feet.
You must go.
‘Something’s here, isn’t it? Something . . . bad.’
A nod. Come. Now. Hurry.
Reena clutched on to the bag as they retraced their steps down the long corridor towards the well. The hair on her neck began to rise.
‘What is that I’m feeling?’
Darkness, the fata said. What we are, after . . .
‘After what?’
After the metal changes us. We burn. We kill.
Reena shot a glance over her shoulder to ensure that Pat was following. He wasn’t. Instead, he’d halted along the way, an expression of total bewilderment covering his face.
‘Daniels? Come on!’ she called out.
His expression remained unchanged, as if somehow he’d lost the will to move.
‘Pat? What’s going on?’
The fata tugged her arm, pulling her along. Go now!