When The Heart Sings

Chapter 33

I could feel the bond twisting, but it wasn't entirely in response to my emotions this time. My worry and fear had the bond reacting slightly and Darien was obviously able to feel the bond as it tried to get him to go to me. He had no idea where I was though. If I could feel the bond twisting from his emotions, then he was likely ready to kill anything in his path as he hunted for me.

A deep grating noise above made me look up. The awning was high enough that it allowed me to see most of the top edge of the pit. Some sort of roof was slowly starting to cover the pit. Slowly, the two halves kept sliding closer together. They stopped while only quarter way open.

The bond shifted and I could feel Darien getting closer. He was still a long distance away, but he was coming quickly. I felt relief even though he was not here yet. Someone must have told him where I was since he was heading almost straight for me. I waited for probably fifteen minutes as I felt his approach.

He should be close enough now. "Darien!"

Like an answered prayer, his very distant voice responded, "Serena!" It was so faint that I barely heard it, but it had likely been a loud shout. If I could hear him, then he could hear me. He was heading directly towards me now at a high speed.

"Darien! It's a trap!"

He didn't slow down, and it wasn't long before a familiar set of mostly black glowing eyes appeared on the edge of the pit. Darien spotted me at the far end of the pit and jumped off the edge. I inhaled in alarm, but the steep drop didn't seem to faze him and he didn't slow in his approach.

He reached me and immediately scooped me up as he held me to his chest, blanket and all. Even through the blanket, I could feel his muscles shaking. He was breathing heavily from his hard run. I raised a hand and rested it against his cheek. Darien opened his eyes and I blinked when I saw that they were still mostly black.

A grating noise above had us both glancing up. The two halves of the roof closed the gap and sealed us inside the pitch black pit with an echoing thud. Darien's deep growl told me that he was not impressed.

"What is going on?" I leaned my head against his shoulder, nervous and unsure of what was happening. All I could see in the darkness was the faint glow of his eyes.

He exhaled slowly and his deep voice was deadly calm, "I am going to kill someone. Several someones." His eyes turned to me and became concerned, "Are you alright?"

"I am a bit cold, but otherwise I am fine."

Darien somehow unwrapped me from the blanket without putting me down. He held me close to his warm chest before wrapping the blanket around both of us. His skin was always so warm, and I soon relaxed with the heat. The occasional shiver slowly worked its way out of my muscles as I warmed back up and my goosebumps faded.

He stood there for quite some time with his forehead resting on my damp hair. I turned my head to look at him and he lifted his head to gaze down at me. I couldn't see his expression in the darkness, just his eyes. They were halfway blue now.

As concerned as he was, I knew he would be trying to read me constantly. I pushed the image of his oddly colored glowing eyes to the front of my mind. The glowing eyes disappeared momentarily as he slowly blinked. "They are going to regret taking you from me."

I blinked in confusion, "I heard something about a Councillor Mitchell, which one was he? Do you know what they are planning?"

His eyes turned towards the ceiling as they narrowed in anger, "He was the red-faced one. I am not sure what they are planning, but the fact that they are trying to trap us in the storage hold of a ship means that they are likely going to try to take us behind enemy lines via the ocean."

We were on a ship? I couldn't feel it rocking, but Darien knew what was above. I looked up, but of course, couldn't see the ceiling doors in the complete darkness. They had been quite high up and the walls were completely smooth. "Can you get us out?" I really didn't want to end up in the middle of a warzone.

For the first time since we met, Darien's voice was uncertain, "I am not sure. Those hatch covers are heavy and I am not sure I can reach them. I doubt I can damage these walls, and even if I could, it is below the water level."

He was silent for some time, "Are you warm enough?"

I nodded, "Yes."

"Then I am going to put you down. I am going to see if I can reach the hatches."

He carefully put me on my feet and I leaned against the wall as I watched his blue eyes move to the far side of the pitch black room we were trapped in. His eyes suddenly launched up, before coming back down, and landing with a light thud. It was an impressive jump that would have shocked any Tarulk or human, but it hadn't been enough to reach the hatches.

He tried again and it looked like he tried to ricochet off the wall this time to gain more height, but the smooth walls gave his feet no purchase and that too failed. I watched his attempts as I tried to think of what I might be able to do to assist.

I spoke quietly, "Are you actually able to see in here?" It looked as if he could see the walls from how he kept trying to get up them.

His eyes glanced back at me as he paused, "Very little."

I hesitated, "If there was a fist-sized indent in the wall, would you be able to see it? Would it help?"

He walked back to me as he peered at my face, possibly trying to read me, "Can you elaborate? If I knew roughly were such an indent was, then I could probably find it. Even my fists will not dent this type of metal and the walls in a cargo hold like this are quite thick."

I spoke quietly, "My magic may be able to rust such a hole or two in the metal walls."

His eyes watched me intently, "It is worth a shot. Do you need me do anything?"

I shook my head, "It will take me some time, is there a certain place you want the hole?"

He glanced back, "About two-thirds of the way up, preferably near where the hatches are joined."

I took a deep breath to help me concentrate as I started humming. I didn't bother to keep it quiet. My magic tested the bizarre metal as I concentrated on one spot. I wanted something like a foothold for Darien. This metal was designed for life on and around salt water, it didn't want to rust.

My hum increased in intensity, with pauses whenever I took a breath. The magic was rising, but it wasn't really getting anywhere. I kept testing out the pitch, scale, and even tone. I had never encountered a metal like this before and hoped that if I ever did, that it wasn't trying to hold me hostage.

The metal seemed foreign, and it reminded me more of rock or stone than of metal. But it was capable of rusting or corroding – it was just really resistant to such disintegrations. It was going to take a lot of work to cause any damage though...

The higher pitches seemed to fit best. I modulated my hum into a whistle, which earned me a startled glance from Darien. Now that I thought about it, he had never heard me whistle or sing before. The whistle was able to hit higher pitches and carried more power. I just hoped it would be enough.