by Kat Adams
Leechers used water on the lava snakes. Rob stepped in front and blocked the attack with a wall of ice. The lava snakes all slowed and hissed. Dark earth elementals tried to continue the assault on the air elementals, but the pixies had swooped in, swarming them and lifting them into the air. High into the air. The swarm suddenly broke, and the dark elementals dropped. Those with the ability to teleport, did. Most, however, didn’t and slammed into the ground, the impact cracking skulls and other bones. Not one of them moved again once they hit the earth.
I had to get out there. I hadn’t built an army to sit and watch from the sidelines. My troops were being slaughtered, the Council having no mercy in their killings. They were brutal in their attacks, using forbidden calls like it was their job. Elements flew in every direction. Legends began to fall. The yetis dispersed, leaving the earth elementals exposed. The Council closed in, murdering anyone standing up to them.
“Stop!” Alec brought up both hands and froze the entire scene as if he’d just taken a picture. He walked into the center of the round. “Oh, quint? Care to come join the fun? Or would you rather continue to hide away like a coward?”
Fuck that noise. I was no coward and braced myself to teleport out.
“Katy, wait.” Vanessa stopped me with her hand on my arm. If I teleported out now, she’d come with me. He’d kill her without a second thought, especially knowing she’d been helping Sentry all along. “Why would he stop the battle just to call for you? Something isn’t right.”
I hated to admit that she had a point. “What do you suppose he’s playing at?”
“I don’t know, but if you go out there, he’ll kill you. Right in front of everyone.”
Maybe that was his point. He did love to put on a show.
“Come out now, and this all ends. I will spare the remaining members of your precious Sentry. I’ll even allow your harem to survive. Come out now, and I will call a truce between our worlds. Refuse, and everyone dies.”
I had no choice. I couldn’t let everyone die so I could live. That wasn’t how this worked. I moved to teleport out, but Vanessa refused to release her hold. “Let me go.”
Vanessa tightened her grip. “Everyone, make contact with Katy. She won’t teleport out if you’re touching her.”
The hell I wouldn’t. “You don’t want to test that theory.”
A massive explosion rocked the building. What the hell was that?
Vanessa looked out the window. “Oh my God. He just blew up Terrae.”
Another explosion sent us diving for cover as windows shattered, sending sharp shards flying at us. He was taking out the houses one by one until I came out.
“No? Well, maybe this will convince you.” Alec nodded, and Spencer walked up to an immobile member of Sentry.
“Are you sure they have to be frozen for this? I do love it when they scream.”
“Just do it.”
Spencer called the air from the earth elemental’s lungs, clearly relishing the way she turned red, then purple, then blue. When the life left her eyes, he chuckled. “Watching her die and her not having the power to stop me was more satisfying than I would have thought.”
Alec walked over to Trevor and brushed his hand over the kid’s hair. “I believe the quint cares for this one. Pity for him.” He removed the leather glove from his left hand to reveal what had replaced the hand I’d taken from him when he’d trapped me in the ruins. It was another hand, all right, but unlike anything I’d ever seen. It glowed orange as if on fire just below the surface. He lifted his fingers, and flames shot out each tip.
Then, right before my eyes, he shot a stream of fire so intense, it burned a hole right through the center of little Trevor Carson, killing him instantly.
“No! Trevor!” I teleported out, bringing several MEs with me. With the flick of his wrist, he sent each one flying until it was just him and me. “This ends now.”
“Oh, I agree.” He brought up his hands.
“What happened to you calling a truce?”
“I lied.”
“I figured.” I brought up mine and was about to attack when his smile threw me off. “What’s got you so giddy?”
“I have a little secret. Well, a pretty big one, actually.” He held up his fire hand. “Your mother made me this as a gift after you shattered my real hand. It’s quite beautiful, don’t you think?”
“Oh, for the love of Pete, man. Stop talking me to death. Are we doing this or what?” Why did he always insist on drawing it out by monologuing?
“She also enchanted it using a drop of her own blood. Do you know why?”
“No, nor do I care.”
“It has the power to kill anyone within her lineage.” Stace walked up and stood between Alec and me. Renee must have found a spell that worked to bring her back from the void. “But it won’t kill me.”
“Let’s test that theory, shall we?” Alec shot a stream of orange light at Stace.
“No!” Instinctively, I pushed her out of the way.
But not fast enough.
The stream hit us both, and we collapsed where we stood.
Several things happened at once. Everyone unfroze and stared in my direction instead of continuing the battle. The world around me grew darker, colder, as I struggled to pull in a breath. I vaguely heard my guys scream my name as my lids slid closed.
“Reed! Reed! Oh my God.”
“Montana! No. No!”
“Babe? Babe?”
“Katy!”
My guys held me as I took my last breath.
23
Everything they said about death was true. The bright light. Seeing loved ones that’d passed before you, waiting to help you cross over. And no more pain.
That was the best part.
It was the opposite of the void. No darkness. No zombies shuffling around in a catatonic state. Cressida Clearwater stood in front of the brightest part of the light, her smile warm as she reached for me.
I ran into her arms. “I thought I’d never see you again.”
“I am always with you. Always.” She held me tight.
“Hello, Katy.”
I stiffened and whipped around, shaking my head at the sight of Stacey Layden standing there. “No, you can’t be here. You aren’t supposed to be here.”
She smiled sadly. “There are some things out of our control.”
“No, Stace.” Tears filled my eyes as grief consumed me. “This was never part of the prophecy. You know that. I was the one destined to die. It’s my death that will unite our world, not yours.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you here?” A sob tore through me, shredding my control. I did this. I got her killed. This was my fault.
“Because I love you like a daughter. You’re my family. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing you. That’s why I’ve been searching so hard for another way for this to end. When Alec described the enchantment your mother cast on his hand, I knew I had to do something. That’s why I jumped in front of the spell.”
“There is another way,” Cressida said, drawing our attention. “Katy, Stacey, sit with me.” She seemed to float as she approached a bench I hadn’t seen there a minute ago. She took a seat and patted the bench on either side of her. We joined her as I wiped my eyes.
“Katy, you have powers far greater than anyone has ever seen, even greater than mine. You represent the idea of two worlds coming together. Good and dark elementals. You represent both worlds with the elements inside you, the light and the dark. That is your calling, to lead the two worlds into a peaceful existence. The world as we know it will be no longer. It will no longer be good versus evil. Supremacy is certain.” She paused to regard Stace. “Only one stands in the way.”
Stace nodded in understanding. “This is the way it has to be.”
I shook my head and refused to believe it was that easy. “No. I was prepared to die to fulfill the prophecy. It’s my destiny. You can’t just take my place.”
“Only
one,” Cressida repeated and made a circle with her hand. A tear in the light appeared, and on the other side, the world I’d just left behind. “Only one must die for the other to live.” She stood and stepped away before turning to us. “I’ll give you both a moment to decide. Only one will journey with me. The other will go back.” She nodded at the tear.
“Katy, you need to go back.” Stace took my hands in hers. “An entire world is counting on you to unite it. They need you.”
“I can’t leave you.” My voice shook with thick emotion.
“Go. Let me do this. For you. For our world. There’s so much I want to tell you, but there’s just no time.” She lifted her shining gaze as her chin quivered. “I never thought we’d end like this.”
“Like what?” I whispered, unable to do anything more.
She lowered her gaze and blinked, sending tears streaming down her cheeks. “Everything I’ve done was to protect you.”
“Including keeping the fact Vanessa was the custodian from me?” I couldn’t mask the bitterness in my tone.
“Yes. If it got out, if you found out, there’d be questions. Potential exposure. I’m not proud of some of the things I’ve done, but this is something where I hold no shame. Vanessa risked everything to support our cause. I couldn’t turn my back on that.”
Neither could I. Still, she could have told me. Bygones, especially given our current situation. Forgive and forget. “I understand.” I really didn’t, but I’d eventually get to that point.
“Katy, sweetie, let me do this for you. You are the true prophecy. You are how our world will become one again. Go back and live a long, peaceful life with your quad squad. I’m sure they’re missing you.”
My guys. Just the mention of them had me straightening sharply, blinking as I focused on my situation with fresh determination. I couldn’t leave them. I had to do this, had to unite our world, and I’d do it with them by my side.
“I’ll never forget you.” I pulled her into my arms and hugged her fiercely.
“I won’t let you.” She held me tight. “I love you, Katy.”
“I love you too.” My voice broke on the last word.
“Stacey,” Cressida said with her hand extended. “It’s time.”
I rubbed my palms on my pants as we both stood. I hugged them each one last time before backing away. Cressida led Stacey into the light. I watched them until they faded.
With another deep breath and new determination in my soul, I turned and walked through the tear, back into my world.
“I’M TELLING YOU, my hand hasn’t stopped glowing. She’s not gone.” Clay, the eternal optimist, tried to convince the others.
Rob, the eternal pessimist, was quick to argue. “I held her while she took her last breath. She’s gone, man. She’s fucking gone.” The sound of his sob tore through me.
“Then why aren’t we all dead?” Clay asked the obvious question. “Our wards bond us, right? Everything we feel, we feel together. As one. Take a look at your wards. Would they glow if the bond broke? No, she’s not fucking gone, you moron. She’s not.”
Rob took exception to Clay’s words—shocker—and shoved him hard. “Call me that again and you’ll be gone.”
“Oh, whatever. You are all talk. That’s all you’ve ever been.”
“That’s it.” Rob pulled back his fist.
Bryan blocked his punch by catching Rob’s hand. “This is the last thing we need to be doing. We can’t turn on each other. This is when we need each other the most. The ward isn’t our bond. It’s us. The five of us. I refuse to believe this is how it ends. We’ve fought too hard to get to this point. She’s not dead.” His voice cracked on the last word and released Rob’s hand as he turned away.
“We all saw it,” Leo pointed out. “No one can survive a hit like that.”
“She can,” Clay fired back.
They all fell silent. I blinked my eyes open and squinted at how bright it was in the room. We were in the infirmary, in Syd’s private examination room. I tried to sit up, but it felt like I had an elephant sitting on my chest.
“Clay’s right,” I said and pushed into a sitting position. “I can.”
“Montana!” He practically bowled over everyone else to be the first to hug me.
Rob pushed him out of the way to pull me into his strong arms. “Don’t you dare ever do something like that again, Reed.” He buried his face in my hair and shook as he held me.
“You scared us, babe.” Leo got his turn hugging me, running his hands up and down my back.
“You didn’t scare me.” Bryan lifted me in his arms and swung me around before kissing me soundly. When he set me on my feet, my knees wobbled, and I grabbed the examination table for purchase.
“Whoa. I’m a little weak.”
“I guess death really takes the life out of a person.” Clay snorted at his bad humor. “What? Too soon?”
“I’m going to end him.” Bryan doubled up his fists and raised his hands, a gesture I now recognized as him channeling my darkness.
I covered his fist with both hands and lowered it. We’d need to work on him controlling the darkness later. For now, we needed to survive this war. “How about we not kill each other and focus on beating the Council.”
“We tried,” Rob explained. “Our numbers are depleted. When the Sentry members saw you die…” He paused and swallowed. “They retreated back into the woods to regroup. Even the legends disappeared. The elements are resisting our calls. They’re tired of being used as weapons.”
“Then we use the one element the Council can’t control.” I smiled when none of them picked up on my meaning. “The element of surprise. They think I’m dead. Why not let them believe that, just long enough for us to get into position.”
“If you’re back, does that mean Stace is too?” Clay lost his smile when I shook my head. “What do you mean?”
“Only one stands in the way,” I stated quietly, sadly. “She sacrificed herself to save me. Only one needed to die to fulfill the prophecy. She stood in the way of that being me.”
The guys all gave a moment of silence for their fallen comrade.
“The prophecy isn’t fulfilled yet.” Leo pointed out the obvious. “Alec is still out there. As soon as he finds out you’re still alive, he’ll keep coming for you. He won’t stop.”
“I know. That’s why I plan to stop him. Permanently. Come on. Let’s rally the troops.”
The guys insisted I wear the crystal, which this time I agreed without argument. It would help with the element of surprise, give me the chance to sneak up on him without him noticing. As the five of us left the infirmary, I made a request to the elements. “Please, help us end this once and for all. Help us unite our world. If we don’t, this will never be over.”
“What was that?” Clay looked to Rob.
“I didn’t say anything. Come on, look defeated. Really sell it. That’s not selling it, dude.”
Clay hadn’t stopped grinning since we left the infirmary. “I’m just happy. I’m a happy guy. That’s who I am, man.”
Rob rolled his eyes and drudged forward.
When we came to the scene of the battle, at the number of bodies on the ground, we all slowed. Alec was still there, along with Spencer and Virgil Graves. None of them smiled or seemed all that pleased the battle had ended. Then they spotted the guys, and all brought their hands up to the ready.
Bryan lifted his hands in surrender. “Whoa, we agreed to a truce so we could collect our fallen.”
They all lowered their arms. It was Alec who spoke. “Make it quick.”
“We need to get the rest of Sentry to help.”
He chuckled. “It won’t matter. There’s not many of you left, now is there?”
Bryan tensed but said nothing. He hung his head as we all moved past them. Bryan and Rob walked on my left, Clay and Leo on my right. Even invisible, I still had my guys protecting me.
“Isn’t that interesting,” Spencer said in that haughty acce
nt. “They still leave a space between them when they’re walking, as if she walks with them.”
“Yes,” Alec agreed, his tone suddenly sharp, edgy. “Interesting.” He raised his voice. “Hold up.”
We all stopped and waited for Alec to approach, Graves and Spencer on his heels. He stared at the ground beneath my feet. Directly beneath my feet.
“Montana, levitate.” Clay spoke through clenched teeth. “Right the fuck now.”
I did and followed the path of his attention. There, on the ground behind us, were five sets of footprints sunken into the wet grass. Oh crap. Apparently being invisible didn’t make you weightless. Good to know.
“What did you do with the quint’s body?”
“She has a name.” Bryan challenged Alec, once again doubling up his fists. “It’s Katy, not quint.” He shifted his attention to Spencer. “Not dilute.” He finally glared at Graves. “Not prophecy. Katy.” His voice shook with each word. Talk about selling it.
“And what we did with the body is none of your damn business,” Clay joined in. “You said we could take her. That’s what we did.”
“I won’t ask again.”
“Good,” Rob barked. “Then don’t. Look, man. You won. You got what you wanted. Katy’s gone. You fulfilled the prophecy by killing her. The world as any of us know it is no more. She was our world, and now she’s gone. So, congratulations. You’re the supreme one. She was the one standing in the way of you taking over our world. Now that she’s gone, there’s nothing stopping you. I hope you rot in hell, you son of a bitch. Come on, guys. Let’s recruit some help to get the rest of them.”
“I haven’t given you permission to walk away.”
Rob spun and threw a punch, knocking Alec to the ground. Both Graves and Spencer jumped in and called air, throwing a wall up in front of Alec.
He wiped at his now broken and bleeding profusely nose, smearing red across his scarred cheek before bringing up his hand. “It’s all right. Let them go. You have one hour to collect your dead and report in for duty.”
