She lifted the male up from under his arms and though the skin was raw with burnt flesh, she held on firm enough that she wouldn’t drop him, and heaved him up over her shoulder a little. She moved towards the entrance, the yowie in her grasp coming to a little, and catching his footing every few steps to help push them along. Then the cave exploded again.
Everything went black. Maya thought she was dead. But she opened her eyes and a warm yellow glow surrounded her. Her magic had protected them in a shield, but the cave burned around them, a river of flames rolled over the protective bubble and out into the woods in Sayeesies. Maya held on to the yowie and watched the flames move over her shield, wondering if it would hold, or if it would fall and the flames would swallow them both.
After what seemed like forever, the fire slowed then stopped, and only the smoke remained. She pushed herself up and grabbed hold of the yowie. He was heavier than before, no longer conscience enough to help at all. But she pushed on. She stumbled her way towards the exit. A sizzling noise sending her heart racing inside.
The light of the woods on fire diminished. The hissing crackling noise replaced by an eerie silence and the smell of mud.
She stumbled against the wall of the cave and dropped the yowie, crying out in pain. It was then she saw her skin. The shield mustn’t have gone up fast enough. Her uniform clung to her in scraps, burned away in most places, exposing her red bubbling skin. Her heartbeat was pounding in her ears and her hands shook uncontrollably as she bent down to grab a hold of the yowie again.
“We are getting out of here. I’ll get you out!” she cried, draping the arm of the yowie over her shoulders against her exposed skin. With gritted teeth, she trod one foot in front of the other towards the light of day. Then finally the ground became wet and soft beneath her feet.
Where did the water come from? she thought as she moved forwards. As she stepped out of the cave, her eyes landed on Jax and I.
Then she fell to the ground.
10
WITH THE MEMORY OVER, I was brought back to the here and now. Both our faces stained with the tears we cried as we walked through her memory. Jax sat silently beside us, looking at the body of the yowie we couldn’t save.
“What made the fire?” Jax asked.
Maya raised her head to look at me. “The yowie said she but I can’t think of who or what could have caused so much devastation.”
“You don’t know about the attack?” Jax asked, his eyes finally moving from the dead yowie to Maya.
“What attack?”
“Sayeesies was attacked by demons.”
“What?” She stood up. “How did demons get in?”
“They possessed some fey who were in the human realm, then used them to get through,” Jax replied.
“This could have been a demon too. But why would a demon go after the yowies?”
“They were still looking for the demon that possessed Malcolm, right?” I asked, standing up with Maya. “I bet it was Traflier, I bet he is here and he did this.”
“Des,” Jax said as he reached down to lift the yowie up into his arms. “Maya said it was a she, so it couldn’t be Traflier.”
“Traflier is back? How? You killed him,” Maya said, her eyes bulging.
“He’s one of the demons that got through. He took his tree.”
“He destroyed it?”
“No, he took it. The whole thing is gone.”
“Maybe I heard her wrong, it could have been he.”
“Maybe. Come on, there is nothing we can do here. Let’s hope some got out from the other entrances.” Jax spread his wings to rise into the sky.
“I’ll check the other entries. I feel much better now,” Maya said, and Jax looked down at her tattered clothes.
“You might want to put on some clothes first,” he said, looking away again so as not to be staring.
“Oh, right,” she said, glancing at what was left of her Nazieth gear. Then she phased into her fey form. Her wings were a light yellow like beach sand, and unfurled to sit low behind her back.
“We will take the yowie back to Sayeesies. You check on the other entrances and call for help if you find anything,” I said, nodding in the direction of the caves.
“How do I do that?”
“Good point...”
“Hey, Des, how about those orb things your father used to speak to you and Ava that time?” Jax asked, lowering back to the ground beside me.
“I don’t have any. There should be some in his study, but we don’t have time to go get them now.”
“Cast a portal.”
“My magic is pretty drained, I don’t know if I could,” I said, looking to the blackened earth. “But I’ll try.”
I spun my arm around trying to cast the portal. My magic was really drained. It fought against me, the portal opening about the size of a grape and sucking back in again.
“I can’t.”
“Here, take my hand,” Jax said, reaching out for me.
My shoulders relaxed as I clasped his hand in mine. I didn’t need a huge portal, just big enough to fit my arm through. I swung my arm around again and this time the portal sparked quickly, a small speck of light in front of me. It grew slowly until, past the sparks of rainbow light making up the border of the portal, I could see the basket of goodies on my father’s desk. Before it could close, I reached in and grabbed the one I needed. The smoke filled orb Max had used to talk to Ava and I.
“Here,” I said, pulling it through and passing it to Maya. “Shake it and think of who you want to speak to. The smoke will create a visual connection with them and you will be able to tell them whatever you want. The chief Nazieth is a part of the council now, so you should probably try to picture her. The council will have to approve any actions taken, so this will be the best way.”
Maya took the orb, and lifted into the sky. “Thanks, Desmoree.”
Then she was gone.
“Come on, let’s get back,” Jax said, still holding the yowie in his arms.
“How are you carrying him so easily?”
“I cast the strength cast before, to lift you up. It’s still in effect.”
“Hey...”
“What?”
I raised a brow at him. “You needed a strength cast to lift me?”
Jax bit at his bottom lip, suppressing a smile. “No, Des. You are light as a feather. It was the portal, all that magic.”
I shook my head at him. “Come on, we don’t have time for this.”
“You started it,” he said, looking down at the yowie body in his arms. “Sage clinic?”
“Yep, oh! Wait, look,” I said as a spark appeared in front of me. “A flame note is coming through.” I reached out and grabbed it just as the fire formed the paper. Unwrapping it quickly, I read aloud, “Desmoree, the search for the demon that self-exorcized from the child at the clinic cannot be found. The casts and wands used to track demonic energy are showing no signs. My superiors believe there is no demon in the Feydom. I wanted to let you know I believe your account of what happened, and will continue to search, but Crow has reallocated the Nazieth teams to other tasks. I hope this note finds you well. Your friend, Jud.”
Jax shook his head. “This whole council thing sucks, you know?”
“It seemed like a good idea at the time. Go, I’ll be right behind you. I need to let Crow know about the caves. She will have to send the Nazieth to look for whoever started it.”
“Do you think it was the demon? The one they can’t find?”
“I don’t know. Can a demon even start a fire like that? I would have said a dragon had I not already met one. Go, I’ll send Crow a flame note and head home. Maylea has been working on more potion and I need to add my... you know,” I said, waving my fingers as the tips ignited in my magic.
Jax flew to the Sage’s clinic. Even though there was nothing left to do to help the yowie, he deserved to not be left to the animals in the woods. I focused my magic and erased the note from Jud to insc
ribe my own for Crow. Sending it would be harder. I was pretty wiped out, and with Jax gone I wasn’t sure I could create the cast alone. I looked at the ground, still wet with ash. Bending down, I laid my free hand flat against the warm soil. My fingers vibrated with energy as a rush of strength went through my skin, all the way up my arm.
There was opal dust mixed in with the mud of the soil and I quickly cast the flame note with my message for Crow.
Crow, explosion at the yowie caves, possible demon fire still burning through them. Please send Nazieth and sage’s to search for survivors and track whoever or whatever did this. Desmoree.
The text appeared far neater than I could write in my own hand then as soon as my name appeared at the bottom, the piece of paper disappeared in a flash of blue fire.
I lifted my hand from the soil and looked at my palm, covered in a layer of mud, the opal dust specks caught the light and sparkled like glitter. I looked back at my wings, where they had curled up behind me, staying just off the ground, and I focused to unfurl them against the mud of the ground. As soon as they made contact a rush of energy swept over me. It was like a sugar rush, hitting me all at once, and like a sugar rush, it would wear off quickly.
Swooping my wings into the muddy soil a little, I lifted off into the sky. I wasn’t as fast as I usually was but I made it home before Jax.
Landing just outside the back of the house, I glanced at the mud still clinging to the edges of my wings, then I saw my shoes. Seeing that much mud coating my boots would normally have sent my heart racing, but I felt nothing.
I phased back to my regular form and walked through the back door into the kitchen, opening the wall separating the potion collection from the main room. Large batches sat in huge jugs awaiting my addition. I focused my magic and grabbed a pin from the tray by the door. I had pricked myself countless times over the last few weeks. I took the lid off the front three jugs and pushed the magic to the tip of my pointer finger. Holding it above the first jug, I pricked the tip and a drop of glistening blood filled with magic, then fell into the jug.
My head spun with the effort. I really was drained. I squeezed my finger over the second pot, forcing out another drop of magic infused blood. It fell into the potion and glistened as it changed to show it was now complete and effective. My heart began to race, beating hard against my chest wall. I held my finger over the third jug, but as I squeezed, the magic retreated and only a regular drop of blood fell into the mixture. It bubbled and went black.
“Fuck.”
“Language, Desmoree,” Maylea said from behind me, and I jumped, stumbling back and nearly knocking over the two jugs that had been completed.
“Sorry, I just... well, look for yourself,” I said, moving aside so she could see the jugs.
“Come sit down, you look exhausted.”
I fumbled my way out to sit at the counter and she moved into the potion room to lid the two jugs and carry the bad batch out. She poured it down the sink and ran the tap into it without even a hint of disappointment on her face.
“I just came from the Sage’s clinic, I will be heading back there to help should they find any survivors, I just wanted to see that you and Jax were okay,” she said. “Where is Jax? He should be back by now.”
I rested my elbows on the bench and my head in my hand. “He might have stopped to see his parents. Do you think some got out from the other entrances?”
“Maybe,” she lied. “Here, eat.” She slid a shiny brown circle of divinity between my elbows.
A wagon wheel. She hated that I loved these things so much. I picked it up and bit into it slowly, letting the happiness it brought wash over me and take away some of the sadness, the pain.
The marshmallow, biscuit, jam, and chocolate were the perfect combination of flavors without being too sweet.
“Now eat these,” she said, placing a bowl of mixed berries in front of me. I didn’t mind. I loved the berries of the Feydom. You could actually get all the nutrients you needed from the berries and could go without eating anything but them. Not that Maylea would actually let me get away with just eating berries.
Maybe Ava, but not me.
“He has Grace,” I blurted out. Maylea stopped rummaging through the fridge. I lifted my gaze and she was staring right at me.
“You are going again, aren’t you?”
“I have to, this is all my fault, I can’t have more fey pay the price for my decision.”
“It began with him, Desmoree. Do not forget that. None of this would be what it is if not for him. You let that blame rest where it must.”
“Wherever it rests, doesn’t matter. I’m the only one who can get her back.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because he sent me a message. If I meet him, he will let her go.”
“You can’t.”
“I have to. And I have to go before Jax gets back or I won’t be able to stop him from coming too.”
“What about Ava?”
“It’s because of Ava I have to go alone. If I don’t come back, she will have Jax.” My vision became blurry as the tears welled.
“Desmoree, you take on too much. If I can’t stop you, at least let me help you recover your strength. You will need to be at full power to...”
She looked away, not finishing her sentence. She went back into the potion room and came out a moment later with a small brown bag.
“What’s that?”
“Opal dust, laced with equillis tears.”
“How the hell did you get that?”
“I asked for it. When you put me on the council, you put me in a position I did not at first like, nor understand. But soon I saw what I could do for the fey. As a member of the council, I called for permission to withdraw some opal dust from the walls of the council building to use for healing casts. They agreed, and then I met with the queen. She is a fine creature, a noble being. She immediately agreed to help.”
“Wow.”
“Wow, indeed. Now you will need to drink this,” she said, spooning some of the laced dust into a teacup before adding water from the tap.
“What will it taste like?”
“Does it matter?”
“That bad?”
“I found it to be much like the squaller beans you refuse to eat.”
“Greaaat,” I chided before taking a breath and downing the entire cup. She was right, it did taste like squaller beans. Like if fungus and blue cheese made a baby, it would be squaller beans.
“Now what?” I asked, moving my tongue around to lick away the residue that clung to my gums and teeth.
“Now you sit still,” she said and laid her hands over mine. “Formas, toral, formas, refree, formas totalust.”
The mixture burned inside as it made its way down, then my magic latched onto it and consumed it. Swelling inside me like a recharged battery.
“Wow, I feel great.”
“Good, because I think Jax just came home. It’s time to go.”
“Can you try to keep him here?”
“I won’t lie for you, Desmoree.”
“Even to save him?”
She shook her head. “I’ll buy you as much time as I can.”
“Thanks, I love you,” I said then pushed myself up across the counter to kiss her on the cheek, before dashing out the kitchen door towards the study. I needed to get to the gateway at Sayeesies to open the portal to the beach. To Grace. I grabbed a folding orb from the basket on the desk, recognizing its glittery teal mist circling inside. I closed my eyes.
This is going to suck.
The cold compression of the orb’s magic was as spine chilling this time as the first time I had done it, and I shook my arms to try and disperse the sensation. Seven Nazieth guards stood in front of the gateway, three facing me, four facing the shiny black onyx of the portal.
“What are you doing?” I asked, stepping forwards.
“They can’t get the barrier up, we are to stand guard until they do. No one gets in, no
one gets out.”
“Except I have to get out.”
“I’m sorry, Crow’s orders.”
“Crow is not the council, you will let me pass or I’ll remove you and then pass through.”
The four facing the portal turned to me.
“We really can’t let you past,” the male fey on the far left said, stepping one foot forward and raising his hand. A small orb of orange light lit from his fingers, his eyes squinted, and one side of his mouth raised in a half smile.
“You really can.”
He glanced at the orb of magic in his hand and back to me. “Crow’s orders must be followed or we lose our rank,” he revealed as the others all looked at their feet.
How can Crow hold so much power over them? I really don’t have time for this shit.
I threw up my shield and took a step towards them.
The same fey grew the orb of magic in his hand and swung his arm around, sending it flying at me. I moved a step to the left, dodging his orb easily. Though if I hadn’t have stepped, I doubted it would have hit me at all.
“Please, don’t make us apprehend you,” he begged.
“Really, apprehend me?”
The others drew their magic up, but they did it slowly, looking at one another as if for assurance they were doing the right thing.
“Crow said you were not to leave, if you tried, we were to stop you and bring you to the council.”
“And since when is Crow the leader of the fey? The council rules the Feydom because I deemed it so. Move now, or I’ll have to move you.”
A laugh escaped my lips as I glanced around.
No one is watching, they could let me through and no one would know. But they are Nazieth soldiers. They have honor or some crap, so I guess I will have to make it easy for them.
I focused and transferred the shield from me to encase them each individually. They were frozen in place. Their eyes bulging at the realization of what I had done. I slid between them, sending back a wink as I approached the gateway.
As soon as I was through, my shield would release them and they could report me to Crow. I didn’t care. I was getting out one way or another. I was getting Grace.
Destroying the Fallen Page 17
