He’d already guessed Kelsey had infected the others, and if I was right, he’d planned it all along.
“The halfbreed, again?” He raised an eyebrow. “It was, I will grant you, one of my more elegant pieces of magic. Modifying the spell so that it would attach itself to the shifter infection was almost a challenge. I wonder if any of the druids at the circle will prove equal to breaking it – but I suspect not, given your willingness to join me today.”
“It’s possible, then?”
He inclined his head. “It is. But you know the price of my cooperation.”
“You know that’s not on the table. You’re not stupid.”
“I believe that’s the kindest thing you’ve ever said to me.” He gave me a sardonic smile. “So I shall return the compliment. Let’s not either of us pretend this cell will hold me forever. Do you really imagine there is any ward I cannot overcome given enough time? I have precious little else to occupy me down here.”
“Maybe I should leave, then, and let you get back to your fantasies.” I was starting to wonder if he was losing his grip on reality. His sanity had been questionable to start with; maybe he’d lost the little he had. Because there was no other way he could think he’d break out of here.
“You doubt me, after all you’ve seen?”
Something flashed through his eyes, gone so quickly I wasn’t sure I’d seen it. But his voice… he sounded almost… hurt by my doubt. By my insult to his abilities. I should have known. He’d always been obsessed with his power to beyond the point of arrogance.
“Doubt you?” I got to my feet and headed for the door. “There’s nothing left to doubt, Raphael. I don’t know how you pulled off that second-generation rage spell, but I know you’re not up to the task of breaking it. You don’t even know where to start.”
I raised my hand and rapped on the door.
“I could brew that cure from my leftover dinner faster than an enforcer trainee can scare off a familiar.”
I spun back to look at him as the door swung open behind me, but he was already reaching for the book as if he hadn’t said a word.
Chapter Fourteen
I mulled over Raphael’s words in the following weeks. Cody thought he might have given up more than he realised – enough to give the circle a start on the cure, which he felt sure now could only be a potion. But me, I couldn’t get past his comment about the familiars. It was like he’d known I was scaring them off every time I stepped into Tàthadh. But how?
“Ow!”
I rubbed my head and looked up at Stormclaw. He thrummed and shook out his wings, preening.
“Yeah, okay, point taken.” I reached up and gave his neck a scratch. This wasn’t the time to be getting distracted. It was two weeks since I’d had my position of the Itealta team snatched out from under me, and Ryder had finally sold the team on the idea of the race. Xavier had been busy last Saturday, and apparently, we all had to accommodate his lordship’s schedule. It meant we’d missed a fortnight of training – and I was pretty sure the reason Xavier had stretched it out was so he’d had the extra time to get to know his new gryff.
“Doesn’t matter,” I said, checking Stormclaw’s bridle for the third time. “You’re still the best gryff I’ve ever ridden.”
Well, the only gryff I’d ever ridden, other than Firefly, and he’d been a little on the untrained side. But of all the gryffs I’d known, none had come even close to the connection I shared with Stormclaw. I didn’t know how fast Xavier’s new gryff, Wildwing, was, and I didn’t know how many Itealta games he’d played in, but me and Stormclaw were a team, and that counted for something.
“And nothing,” I said, slipping a hand under his girth strap, “is ever going to change that. We’ve got this, boy.”
“I hope you’re as good as your pep talk.”
I straightened and caught sight of Ryder leaning against the wall, watching us.
“How long have you been there?”
“How’s your head?”
My cheeks reddened, and Ryder grinned. His expression turned serious.
“I mean it, you’ve got to beat Xavier today. I don’t think I can stomach a whole season of having him on the team.”
“You’re the captain, aren’t you? Can’t you just, like, kick him off?”
Ryder shook his head and held out my helmet to me. “It doesn’t work that way. Unfortunately. It’s a team decision.”
“And they’d all rather him to me.”
“Not all of them.” I met his eye, and he studied his hands. “Just, you know, most of them.”
I laughed, and he jerked his head up.
“What, you think I haven’t been the outsider before? I eat insurmountable odds for breakfast.” I pulled the helmet on and clip the strap. “Anyway, just think how Xavier’s going to feel when he gets beaten by a girl.”
I slipped my gloves on, checked the girth strap one last time, and patted Stormclaw on the shoulder.
“Alright, Stormclaw. Mount up.”
“Don’t you need a mounting bl– Uh, never mind.”
I grinned, and scrambled up onto the platform Stormclaw had made by tucking one claw up behind him, and from there, I placed my foot in the stirrup and swung myself into the saddle.
“Neat trick.”
“It’s not the only one he knows. See you at the finish line.”
Ryder’s chuckle fell away behind me as I circled Stormclaw and took him into the air. For a few minutes, I forgot all about the race and just enjoyed the ride – the air rushing past us, the ground blurring beneath us, and the rush of adrenaline that flooded me every time I took to the skies. I loosened the reins and Stormclaw squealed, quickening his pace and wheeling in the air, but not so sharply that he threatened to unseat me. From my very first ride, he’d gone to great lengths not to drop me. Which was great, because falling from a gryff flying at full speed was very, very painful.
But we couldn’t hide up here forever, not if we wanted to earn back our place on the Itealta squad.
“Alright, boy, let’s go show them what we’re made of.”
Stormclaw crooned, and the sound was snatched away by the wind rushing past us. I stretched one hand out to rub his neck, then picked up the reins and guided him towards the far field. The rest of the team were already there, gathered around Xavier on his new gryff. It was a huge chestnut beast, more muscular than elegant, and as I drew closer, I could make out the scar running along one side of his face – a relic from an old fight that told me he was no stranger to trouble. Great. That was what I needed: Xavier on an aggressive gryff. Last time I’d ridden against a combination like that, my team captain had almost been killed, and I’d picked up a ban for the rest of the season. I wasn’t particularly keen to repeat the experience.
I touched Stormclaw to the ground near Wildwing, who snorted and rolled his eye at us, prancing sideways. Xavier tightened his reins and held the animal in check.
“I was starting to think you weren’t coming, Zeke.”
“And miss the chance to trounce you?” I forced a grin and hoped it didn’t look as fake as it felt.
“The only one getting trounced is you.” His gryff eyeballed me again and flared his wings, air-snapping in my direction and shying away from me again.
“Really? Because it looks like you can’t even get your gryff to stand still.” Instead of trying to take my head off my shoulders.
A flash of uncertainty passed through Xavier’s eyes before he plastered his usual cocky smile back in place.
“It’s not standing still that counts. You do know that Wildwing used to play for the Cheviot Mambas?”
“Was that the best your father’s money could buy, a retired pet on his way to pasture?”
Xavier sneered at me. “Retired? No. My father just made his rider an offer he couldn’t refuse. Wildwing has ridden in over twenty professional games, and he’s still ranked as one of the best in the league.”
Crap. The Mambas were one of the best teams
in the country, maybe even as good as the Hornets. Maybe better. And if Wildwing was one of their best, we were going to have our work cut out for us. I was starting to think I’d bitten off more than I could chew with this whole race idea… but I forced that thought from my mind before it could show on my face, and matched Xavier’s cocky smile with one of my own.
“Shame the same can’t be said for his rider.”
Wildwing shied away from me again, and Xavier swore, swinging him round in a tight circle. I stared at the beast, wondering what was wrong with him. I doubted he’d have made it as a mount on the Mambas if he was so nervous. Except… well, it seemed like he was fine around Ryder and the rest of the team. It was like it was me he had a problem with.
“Right, you two,” Ryder said, seated on his own gryff, Ironheart. “Listen up. When I give the word, you’ll race up to the academy, and ride three times around the east spire.”
I nodded. Sounded easy enough. Ryder continued.
“But there’s more to Itealta than just speed. Somewhere out there, you’ll find two Itealta balls. Grab one of the balls using the trius manoeuvre and fly three laps around the west spire. Drop the ball, or leave your gryff, and you’re disqualified. Craig and Josh will be down at the academy.” He nodded to two of the other mounted riders, and they turned their gryffs to the building and flew off. “Do a toinn pass, then catch the ball back again and race back to the field. The first one to get past a defender and throw the ball through the hoop is the winner. As team captain, I’ll have the final say on any foul conduct or if there’s any question about whether the manoeuvres were completed correctly. Understand?”
I nodded again. Not so easy. But not impossible, either. And good to know I wasn’t the only one who’d considered foul play might be on today’s agenda. I hoped Krakenvale’s healer knew his stuff.
“Ready. Three, two, one… Go!”
I leaned forward, loosening the reins, and Stormclaw leapt forward. Beside us, a red blur surged into action, but I kept my eyes focused on the academy in the distance.
The wind whipped at my hair, and fanned Stormclaw’s flight feathers as he beat his wings, making a break for the lead. Beside us, I felt as much as saw Wildwing respond to the challenge, and kick up his pace a notch. I risked a glance sideways in time to see him draw alongside us again, the two gryffs neck and neck through the skies. Damn. Wildwing was fast. Maybe as fast as Stormclaw. This race was going to take everything we had. But we weren’t going down without a fight.
I aimed Stormclaw at the spire and urged him on. He responded to my touch, banking to the left and flapping his black and gold wings harder. We edged in front and I heard Xavier curse, and call to Wildwing. The beast screeched in response and I twisted round in time to see him take a snap at Stormclaw’s hindquarters. Stormclaw swerved, and the motion flung me halfway from the saddle. I gripped the horn and hauled myself back into position, and Xavier streaked past us. I glared at him.
“Hey! Control your gryff.”
He laughed in response, and I rubbed a hand along Stormclaw’s neck.
“It’s okay, boy. You’re okay. Let’s do this!”
Xavier had already completed his first lap as we started ours, and we raced round, almost side by side. I scouted the ground as we flew, looking for one of the balls, but all I could see was grass and dirt tracks, and I didn’t dare risk more than snatched glances while Xavier was so close. He clearly had no reservations about fighting dirty. Falling from Stormclaw would get me disqualified. And probably kill me, which would also be bad. I kept my focus on the massive gryff under me, making sure we didn’t stray too close to our rivals.
Xavier finished his third lap while we were only halfway round – we were gaining on him, but not quickly enough. I risked a glance over my shoulder as I urged Stormclaw on, and a glint caught my eye from the ground below. The ball! Xavier already had Wildwing in a dive – he must’ve seen the other ball. Dammit.
“Stormclaw, down!”
Half a dozen of the team were watching us from the ground, but I shut them out and wrapped one hand around the saddle horn. The trius was one of the most dangerous manoeuvres in Itealta, and attempting it with anything less than absolute focus tended to result in a trip to the hospital wing. I’d spent a lot of time there when I first made the team at Dragondale.
I dropped the reins, letting them hang loosely around Stormclaw’s neck, and as the ground rushed up to meet us, I hooked one leg over the horn and leaned out of the saddle. I stretched my hand out as Stormclaw’s front feet hit the earth, and wrapped my fingers around the metal handle. Pain seared through my palm and I opened my mouth to scream. My whole hand felt like it was on fire. My knee slipped, and then Stormclaw’s back hooves thudded into the earth. The impact jolted through me, and bounced me clear of the saddle, tossing me through the air. I screamed again, in fear this time, then smashed into the ground.
The force pounded the air from my lungs, and for a moment I just lay there, stunned – and then the pain caught up with me. I had no breath to scream as the agony ripped through my shoulder and I rolled onto my back, desperate to get the weight off it, every single thought driven from my mind by the pain.
I could hear voices shouting my name and I tried to lift my head, but it felt like my neck was made of spaghetti and my head was a rock, and the pain in my shoulder was shredding and tearing at me.
Air rushed back into my lungs, then burst out again as a scream. Broken. It was definitely broken. I bit down on my lip and smothered the sound into a whimper. The last thing I needed was the rest of the team hearing me screaming like a little kid over a broken shoulder.
A yowl sounded next to my ear and for a moment I thought it was me, but no. My teeth were clamped down on my lip so hard I could taste blood. I rolled my head to the side, and there was a flash of colour, yellow-brown and black, and–
“Lyssa, are you okay?”
Ryder skidded to the ground next to me, and I sucked in a juddering breath.
“Broken shoulder,” I grunted.
“Craig! Get the healer. Don’t worry, Lyssa, you’re going to be fine. Josh’s gone after Stormclaw.”
I laughed, but it came out more like a groan. I didn’t like Josh’s chances of getting hold of Stormclaw.
“I can’t believe he ran off and left me.”
“Your scream probably scared him off.” He smiled, and I tried to return it, but my lips wouldn’t co-operate. “Alright, not long. Deverell’s coming.”
“The ball…” I said, then broke off as air rattled in my lungs. I opened my hand, where the ball had burned straight through my glove, and the skin under it was bright red and blistered. Ryder’s jaw clenched, then he smoothed it out with what looked like a lot of effort.
“You let me worry about that.” He looked at something off to my other side. “Deverell, over here!”
The healer hurried over and took one look at me before turning his attention back to Ryder.
“I can’t fix her here. Help me get her up.”
Another scream rattled in my chest as they slid their arms under me and I grimaced, not letting it escape. They paused a moment, letting me get my breath, and Deverell muttered a spell. His magic wound around me, acting as a sling and taking the weight of my arm, much to the relief of my protesting shoulder. I nodded to the healer, and braced myself as they helped me to my feet, supporting me between them, and steered me towards the academy.
I glanced back at the spot where I’d seen the flash of yellow-brown and black, but whatever had been there was gone.
Chapter Fifteen
“I can’t believe he did that to you,” Zara said. “You got your revenge, though, right?”
“When exactly do you think I had time to do that?” I sighed, and slumped over my desk, shooting a glance at Travis to make sure he wasn’t paying us any attention, but he was busy scrawling something on the board.
“You’ve been out of the infirmary for a whole two hours, so…” She rolled her
eyes like she thought it was obvious that after a night-stay in the infirmary – because I’d smashed up that shoulder more than once, and Deverell was a worry wart – my first port of call should have been getting revenge, rather than getting a decent meal and checking on my gryff.
“I had other priorities. Like Stormclaw.”
“Josh managed to catch him, then?”
I chuckled and flipped the page in my textbook.
“I’m not sure if he got Stormclaw, or Stormclaw got him. Deverell had to heal up the hole in his arm.”
“Are either of you actually going to help with this potion?” Kyle asked.
I grabbed hold of a pile of dandelion leaves, but as they were halfway to the cauldron on our bench, he grabbed my wrist and pushed it away.
“Dandelion powder, not dandelion leaf,” he said, shaking some grey-green powder from a paper bag onto the scales. Earth elements. Trust them to be obsessed with ingredients. I shrugged.
“It’s all the same thing.”
“Just… go back to talking.” He shook his head and glanced down at his textbook. I shared a look with Zara and we both chuckled.
“But at least you got your spot back on the team,” Zara said. I grimaced. “Wait, you did get your spot back, right?”
“Nope.”
“But he cheated!”
I grabbed some leaves and started shredding them with more vigour than strictly necessary.
“I can’t prove it. And as far as the rest of the team are concerned, I fell. Xavier won.”
“That’s not fair. You’ve got to hex him, at the very least.”
Kyle grabbed the bowl of leaves and moved it out of my reach. I let the ones in my hand fall onto the bench and shook my head.
“Much as I hate to say it, Elias is right. I’ve got bigger problems. If I can’t bond a familiar before the end of the year assessments, I’m out of here.”
Zara shrugged, reached for the leaves, and Kyle plucked the bowl from her reach, too. She rolled her eyes and turned back to me.
“That’s ages away. You’ll bond one sooner or later.”
Familiar Magic (Druid Enforcer Academy Book 1) Page 10
