by Linsey Hall
Murmurs sounded as they all looked around. I said nothing, not wanting to break my concentration. We still had to get into the giant fortress, after all.
I sucked in a ragged breath and turned my attention to the huge stone walls.
Attack, I commanded the monsters. Break them down.
Slowly, the beasts turned. Then they began to run, their huge stone feet pounding the ground and making it shake.
“Follow them!” I croaked, the magic making it hard to do anything but command my new army.
Faces turned up toward me, surprise flashing.
“Oh, shit,” Cass said. “She’s controlling them.”
“Cool.” Rowan grinned wide.
I could feel a monster coming up from behind my tree. An elephant, I thought it might be.
When it was underneath me, I jumped off my tree limb and landed on the elephant’s back. It thundered forward, heading toward the fortress.
As we passed Rowan, I reached down for her hand. Her palm gripped mine, and I helped swing her up. Bree joined us, flying up to land on the elephant’s back.
Joy and surprise surged through me as we raced through the forest, my friends running at my side. Cass, Del, and Nix jumped on the back of a big stone wolf, while Ali and Haris got onto a boar.
Wind tore at my hair as we raced through the forest.
“This is amazing!” Rowan cried.
“I don’t know how long I can hold on to it!” I shouted back. “But the stronghold is up ahead.”
We thundered through the trees, surrounded by the great stone monsters who bowled over anything in their path. As we neared the stronghold, the walls rose ever higher in front of us. It looked like the stronghold grew right out of the forest. Or like the forest was trying to devour it. The great stone walls were covered with vines, and the wilderness grew right up to the edge of the walls.
“Holy fates, that place is big,” Bree said.
“We’d never make it in without the monsters,” Rowan said.
As she spoke, the first in our stone army reached the fortress walls. The great stone lion charged, slamming into the stone wall. It shook, some of the stones coming loose. The lion charged again, making a bigger dent on the second approach.
A huge stone serpent joined him, slamming into the wall and causing more damage. A giant stone man—Hercules, if I had to guess—strode up to the stronghold. He reached for one of the stones on the top and tore it off.
The stone mermaid with two tails joined him, and together, they ripped off stone after stone, flinging the rocks behind them.
“Watch out!” I screamed.
The stones plummeted to the earth around us, sending my friends scrambling.
“They’re effective, but messy,” Rowan said.
“No kidding.”
Soon, an army of a dozen stone monsters was destroying the fortress wall. We waited on top of the elephant, my friends gathered around. From inside the stronghold, shouts sounded.
They knew they were under attack. They’d have to be morons not to realize it. A stealth operation, this was not.
Finally, there was a gap in the wall that was big enough to fit through.
Return to the forest! Leave here and do not return.
I prayed they would listen. They’d be a big help inside the fortress, but I couldn’t guarantee that I’d be able to hold them for any length of time. If they turned on us in such a confined space, they’d crush us.
Slowly, the monsters retreated, disappearing back into the woods. All except our elephant and the wolf and boar that my other friends rode.
“Smart thinking,” Rowan said.
“Yeah. Don’t want them to turn on us.” I commanded the elephant onward, and it thundered toward the stone walls.
Lachlan raced into the fortress first, so fast in his lion form that there was no catching him. Ali and Haris followed on the stone boar, while the Protectorate members ran in next.
“I’m going airborne to look for the Fates.” Bree launched herself off the elephant’s back.
“Good luck!” I called.
Our elephant neared the stone walls. The shouts from within had grown louder. As we passed through the walls, I took in the scene around us.
The interior of the fortress was a lot like the clearing that we’d just left. A huge open space that was being devoured by the forest. This had once been some kind of fantastic fortress, but no longer. The crumbled remains of a building littered the middle of the interior. Amongst the fallen stones, a group of Protectorate members were chained up, each with a massive shackle around their neck.
Demons raced around inside the space, guards who’d abandoned their posts in order to fight us. There had to be at least fifty of them, each armed to the teeth with weapons. Magic glittered around the hands of some, and others threw fire like it was the Fourth of July.
Lachlan already stood within the huge group of chained Protectorate agents. He’d shifted back into his human form and was pressing his hands to the shackles at their necks, using his metal-melting power to destroy the locks at their throats. They flung the collars off as soon as the lock had melted and joined the melee.
I caught sight of Caro, her platinum hair shining in the sun, as she picked up a fallen rock and slammed it into the head of a demon.
Ali and Haris leapt off their boar. Ali became one with the giant boar and began stomping around, aiming specifically for the demons who were hurling fire and ice, trying to kill my friends. Haris ran for the wolf that Del, Cass, and Nix rode.
“Clear out!” he shouted.
They jumped off, into the fight, and his body drifted into the wolf’s. Suddenly the stone creature stood up on two legs, then slammed down on a demon, smashing him.
Cass shot fire at another demon, lighting him up like a torch, while Del adopted her phantom form. She danced through the crowd of demons, going corporeal long enough to slice off heads and disembowel anyone who got in her way.
Nix joined Potts on top of a pile of rubble, and both of them fired arrows at the demons who tried to stop Lachlan from freeing the captives. He was too fast, though, and they were running free, joining the fight.
Except they didn’t use any magic. Instead, every one of them stole weapons from demons or grabbed rocks of the perfect size for skull smashing.
Caro should be using her water power to send deadly jets through the demons, but she wasn’t. It was bad news, but I didn’t have time to focus on it.
To my left, Jude used her electric whip with crazy efficiency while Connor threw potion bombs and Claire shot fire. Aidan, in his griffon form, fought from the air, picking up demons with his massive beak and crunching them in half.
As a wolf, Cade leapt on demons, tearing out their throats. Princess Snowflake III seemed to like his style and stuck close to him, joining in with howls of glee. Bojangles moved so fast I could barely see him, but he left paths of destruction in his wake. Muffin was the same, the Cat Sìth bouncing through the air on his little wings as his claws did their damage.
“Where are the Fates?” Rowan shouted from behind me.
“I don’t know!” But I could feel them. Their magic was sickly and dark, coating my skin with a horrible feeling like slime.
Bree flew in the air about a hundred yards away on the other side of the fortress. A moment later, she shot upright and screamed, “Over here!”
Go! I commanded the elephant to run forward, and it obeyed, the earth shaking beneath its feet.
We hurtled around the ruins of the stone building, leaving my friends to fend for themselves. Nearly every Protectorate member was free now, and I caught sight of Lavender as I passed.
“Took you long enough!” she shouted, a laughing gleam in her eye.
I laughed, too. I still didn’t like her, but she was funny. My laugh faded as soon I caught sight of the Fates. They were no laughing matter.
The two of them who were still alive stood on the stage of an amphitheater at the back of the compound, a massive smoking
cauldron between them. They had fully corporeal forms now. No longer were they wispy, ghost-like figures.
Their Roman uniforms were perfect and their faces lit with rage.
“You!” shrieked the one on the left.
She threw out her hands, hurling a blast of magic toward me and Rowan. It slammed into the elephant, blasting it backward. The creature began to fall, and I leapt off to avoid being crushed, Rowan at my side.
Tip over the cauldron, I commanded. I didn’t know what the hell was in that thing, but it had to be bad.
The elephant surged to its feet and lumbered off toward the cauldron. Thunder cracked as Bree shot lightning at the Fates. They dodged, avoiding it by inches, and turned to me.
“You’re too late!” shrieked one.
She threw another blast of energy at me, and it hit me square in the chest, throwing me backward.
Pain nearly blinded me. My insides felt pulverized. It was the strongest sonic boom I’d ever felt, the most insane blast of magic.
I lay on my back, blinking up into the sky.
Holy fates, I might die here.
My sisters might die here.
The thought fed my fear, my adrenaline. I scrambled to my feet, slow and awkward.
Rowan was charging toward the Fates, her sword drawn. She dodged the first sonic boom, but was hit by the second. She flew backward and crashed into the ground.
Near the cauldron, the elephant slammed into it, knocking it over. The Fates didn’t even bother looking back at it, which made my heart ice over.
If they didn’t care about it, that meant the spell was done.
We were too late. For what, I had no idea. But I wouldn’t like it.
Bree’s lightning struck again, and this time, she got lucky. The bolt nailed one of the Fates right on the head. She shook and collapsed to the ground, but I doubted she was out for long.
I called upon my fire, blasting it toward the Fate who was still standing. It hit her, but only briefly. Then she was gone, darting to the right.
“You’re too late!” she crowed again, clearly enjoying her victory. “You’re the one who is supposed to defeat us and you’re only half a Dragon God.”
She cackled, and her sister joined in, rising to her feet. Her hair was frizzing from the lightning and her eyes wild. She threw out her hands again, shooting a sonic boom right at me.
I dived left, narrowly avoiding it, and threw another blast of fire right at her. The flame plowed into her stomach, blasting her backward, but she was on her feet a moment later, rage emanating from every pore.
“Your friends are not free,” she hissed. “And soon, you won’t be, either.”
Her sister raced toward me, so fast I could barely see her move. A long sword was gripped in her hand. I called on my own, drawing it from the ether, and met her first strike. Steel clashed as we fought. She was quick, her blade whirling as fast as a propeller. I blocked the worst of her hits, but she landed a blow to my arm that cut deep.
I parried, hitting her in the side, but she moved before I could do much damage.
“They are free,” I hissed at her. “Every one of them is out of those chains.”
She laughed, stabbing her blade toward my middle. I dodged left just in time, barely avoiding the strike.
At my side, Rowan fought the other Fate, while Bree took any opportunity she had to send lightning striking toward them. She landed a couple hits, but it didn’t seem to make a difference.
I tried calling on my magic, imagining opening a hole in the ground that I could shove them into, but I was too weak.
I’d used too much magic controlling the stone monsters, and now I didn’t have enough left to fight the Fates.
Half a Dragon God.
The sound of footsteps thundering behind us made me glance back. My friends had arrived, the entirety of the Protectorate drawn by the sound of Bree’s lightning. The demons must’ve been gone if they were all here.
“This isn’t over,” the Fate hissed.
With that, she darted backward. Her sister joined her, tossing a transport charm to the ground. A glittery gray cloud rose up.
Right before they stepped into it, one of them met my eyes. “We will have vengeance for our sister.”
The other one looked right at the Protectorate members who stood behind me. “You’ll be hearing from us.”
With that, they disappeared.
Silence fell.
Panting, I turned to my friends. There were a few who looked badly wounded, but I didn’t see anyone missing.
“Is that it?” Rowan asked. “Is it over?”
The earth began to tremble again, shaking like an earthquake was tearing apart the ground. Oh, fates.
“Not over.” In the distance, through the gap in the broken wall, the trees trembled. “The monsters are coming back.”
My magic was exhausted, my supply gone. And so was my control over the stone monsters. The stone elephant, who’d been standing passively at the side of the compound, turned to face us.
“Portal!” I cried. “We’ve got to get out of here.”
Lachlan leapt into action. His magic surged on the air as he created a portal. People began to race through, a steady stream heading back to the castle.
Jude and Hedy dug into their pockets, then hurled transport stones at the ground. “Come on! They won’t last long.”
Others raced for the glittery clouds, leaping inside.
Del turned corporeal and dug her hand into her pocket, then hurled another stone on the ground. “Over here!”
As fast as they could, my friends escaped. The elephant was nearly to us, about to crush the horde of my friends who remained.
I wasn’t strong enough to fight him. I had no magic left.
But that didn’t mean I couldn’t run.
I waved my hands and shouted, “Over here!”
The elephant’s gaze landed on me, and it turned, charging after me. I sprinted across the leafy ground, leaping over fallen rocks as the elephant gained on me. My lungs burned, and I used my frustration over losing the Fates as fuel.
Thunder cracked, and a bit of relief flowed through my muscles. Bree.
I glanced back in time to see her lightning strike the elephant. He stopped dead in his tracks, a massive crack appearing in his back. I used the opportunity to turn around and run back to the portals.
The wolf and boar that Ali had possessed were rounding the massive pile of broken building, their eyes on me. Behind them, hordes of other stone monsters pushed through the gap in the wall.
There were only a few people left, though. We were almost all out.
“Come on!” Lachlan shouted.
I sprinted for the portal, Bree flying right over my head.
Muffin, Bojangles, and Princess Snowflake III leapt into Lachlan’s portal. Rowan disappeared, then Cass. There was no one left but me, Bree, and Lachlan.
The monsters were nearly to us, so close that every footstep thundered through the ground and up my own legs, making me stagger.
I raced for the portal, diving in right behind Bree. Lachlan followed.
The ether sucked me in, carrying me away from the disaster and back toward safety. For now.
16
I appeared on the lawn of the Protectorate a moment later, muscles aching and breath heaving. The sun shined brightly overhead. “Is everyone here?”
I could hear Jude’s voice counting. I held my breath.
“All accounted for!” she shouted. “Let’s get to the infirmary.”
Those who could walk carried those who were wounded, while I collapsed, the cold ground freezing my butt.
Caro plopped down next to me, her face red and her platinum hair messy. Bree and Rowan joined us, along with Lachlan. There was chaos all around, but I needed to catch my breath.
“Are you all right?” I asked Caro.
“Yeah, mostly.” She smiled, but it was wan. “Thanks for saving us.”
“Of course,” Bree said.
“What does ‘mostly’ mean?” The Fate’s words echoed in my head. You’re too late.
A shadow passed across Caro’s face, and her eyes turned stark. “We have a problem.”
She held out her arm, palm up. In the middle of her hand, a black tattoo was drawn.
The cross with the circle around it. The same symbol I’d seen back in Orvieto.
My skin chilled. “What’s that?”
“Their symbol. We all have it,” she said. “It appeared a few hours ago.”
“The cauldron,” I said. “It had to have something to do with that smoking cauldron.”
“They were working on a spell while we were there,” Caro said. “It took time, but I think they completed it. And now we’re their slaves.” Horror filled her voice.
“Wait, what?” Shock lanced through me.
“No, you’re not. You’re free,” Bree said.
“Sort of.” Caro’s face was so pale that she looked like snow. “We’re here. That’s better than being there. Now we have a chance. But this symbol—it represses our magic. They control our magic now. They control us. If we leave the castle grounds, where we’re protected, I think we’ll be under their control.”
“But you weren’t under their control back there,” Bree said. “You fought with us.”
“It wasn’t easy.” Caro laughed, a slightly bitter sound. “It took everything I had to resist their pull. I think they were distracted by you, so it was harder for them to control us. And the spell is young.”
“Holy fates.” Fear iced in my veins. “This is terrible.”
“No kidding,” Caro said.
We really had been too late.
But it didn’t have to stay that way. “We’ll figure a way out of this.”
“We have to,” Caro said. “They’ve just built the most powerful army in the world. Us.”
She was right. It was a genius plan. “They wanted the power that they lost. When people once worshipped them and believed in them, they controlled the fate of the world. Now they’re trying to recapture that power.”
“And what they can’t do for themselves, they’ll get others to do,” Lachlan said. “So they’ve branded you and will compel you to do their bidding.”
