“Ah, I know guys like you. Big talkers, but they never lift a finger.”
“You think I want to be a hero? To whom? Witches? Basics? I was not raised in the era of chivalry, sugarplum. Martyrdom, the savior complex? Those are the pseudo-psycho derangements of your time, not mine.”
“Do your thing with Lucia,” I reminded him.
“Already have done,” he said with a wink. “She’ll be fine.”
“You are such a creepy old man,” I said. “Don’t ever go near her again, under any circumstances, do I make myself clear?”
He started spinning, slowly at first with arms outstretched, then faster, like a child trying to get dizzy. “Blah, blah, blah… here comes the fun police!”
Blue smoke snaked up his legs. I grabbed his arm. “This isn’t the end.”
Chaos locked two feral eyes on mine. “I already know how it ends, baby witch rider!”
His arm shrunk away from my grip and he was gone.
Lucia gasped. I turned to take her hand and steady her.
“Sophie,” she said, blinking three times. “When did you get here?”
I smiled, relieved. “I was just looking for Lil.”
She squinted her eyes to remember. “Lily’s on campus tonight.”
“Yes,” I said. “You were telling me that when you got faint.”
“Oh, dear,” she said, still trying to remember.
“It’s okay, I caught you.”
“You’re a good girl. So lovely. And the only friend of Lil’s I like.”
“Thanks,” I said. “I think you need to lie down. I’ll help you.”
She nodded, then noticed her sexy nightgown. “Oh, Sophie, what in the world am I wearing?”
“It’s flattering,” I said, leading her to the bedroom.
“Well, I do try to stay fit,” Lucia said, beaming. “You never quite know when you’ll meet an interesting man.”
CHAPTER 16
____________________________________
Winter drove away as soon as he dropped me off. He said he’d go see what he could find about the Sacred Vault—if anything. His expression on our way back to his condo was blank, his body language unreadable. I had no idea whether he thought Chaos’s story was credible or not.
Gaining access to the vault archives wouldn’t be easy, he said. Nobody was allowed entrance without special authorization from the highest officials. If Chaos was right, just filing the petition might raise red flags with the Seventh Council and beyond.
I barely slept that night. I got up at sunrise and sat by the window in Winter’s living room, feeling drained and restless at the same time, mulling over the conversation with Chaos in my head.
A light breeze blew through the half-open window, infusing me with some much-needed energy, when the phone rang. It was Faion.
“Hey,” I said, “everything alright?”
“How fast can we get to Palomar Mountain?”
“That’s like two hours away, Faion.”
There was a gate to the Deep Down in the forested area of the State Park on Palomar Mountain. Not a coincidence I suspected.
Faion snickered. “One and a half tops.”
“You’re forgetting the walking part to the gate.”
“Damn,” he said. “Math.”
I needed his humor. “What’s going on, Faion?”
“It’s another Gran thing. You know your friend, Tam? Turns out she knows my gran and my gran wants us to meet with Tam, both of us.”
“And we’re meeting at the gate on Palomar Mountain?” I asked.
“Thought I said that. Get your bony buns moving.”
I closed the window and grabbed my jacket. “Okay, I’m coming.”
The Uber driver pulled up to Faion who was pacing in front of his dorm. We barely talked during the ride. The Uber driver didn’t need to hear about shifters and shadows and for sure not soul swallowers.
Palomar Mountain State Park had a beautiful forest complete with long and winding hiking trails, scattered fishing ponds and large campsites. I had been there multiple times. I could almost smell the pine and fir and cedar trees as we drove.
A gigantic incense cedar served as the Palomar gate to the Deep Down. Nearly 200 feet tall and a trunk over ten feet in diameter, it was hard to miss.
The orange brown bark on the trunk was weathered and fissured and ready to disintegrate. At first look, it didn’t look like the tree held any special significance. To most it was just an anonymous old tree on the mountain. To those of us who knew a certain spell that could split the bottom part of the trunk in two, it was a gateway to a hidden world of wonders.
Once open, two hundred steps led you down to a circular chamber with multiple transition portals, each one of which could instantly transport you to different gateways of the West Coast underground network.
In a sense, the Palomar gateway was the mother of all gateways.
A bowstring snapped. An arrow stuck in the ground at our feet.
Faion backed away while I stepped in front to protect him. We both looked up to find Tam sitting on a tree branch clutching her bow and grinning from ear to ear.
“You should have seen your faces,” she said, laughing. “Faion, I’m sorry if I caused you to defecate. There are leaves everywhere if you need them.”
“You a nasty girl,” Faion said. “That’s what you are.”
Tam hopped down and stretched her arms over her head to stretch.
“We came as fast as we could,” I said.
“Next time come as fast as I can,” she said. “I was starting to develop a bad case of kyphosis hunched up there.”
“Why were you waiting on top of the tree portal?” I said.
“I’m not supposed to be here,” she said, “but Celia insisted I get you up to speed on the latest developments.”
She led the way through the forest until we came to a narrow stream. We crossed it and approached another huge incense cedar. We sat at its feet. Tam offered us her water canteen. The ground was cold and wet.
“What’s this my gran wants us to know?” Faion said.
Tam’s gaze intensified. “A troglodyte convoy has visited the Deep Down to discuss matters with Horpheus, Helianna and the rest of the Board of Supernatural Orders. They have disclosed that part of their elite fighting force under a General Orsenio have broken away to form an alliance with wielders of dark magic. The convoy has offered to assist us. They recommend barricading our communities and bracing for the coming storm.”
“The Deep Down is the alliance’s target?” Faion said.
“They said we needed to act fast or get caught in the crossfire.” Tam glanced my way and lowered her voice. “There have been reverberations in the orbs, like someone’s checking our defenses.”
Argos and his Shaervas no doubt.
I decided to test the waters, see how much Tam knew. “The troglodytes don’t have the kind of magic that would be required for such a task. Did they mention who’s behind the dark alliance?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. What we do know is that there are necromancers involved as well as several old exiled mages and sorcerers, but Celia didn’t say if the troglodyte convoy have revealed who’s pulling the strings—it’s possible they don’t have that information themselves.”
I glanced at Faion. He nodded, giving me his blessing.
“Tam, there is so much that you don’t know. The Eternal Gates have been opened and the exile vortex has been compromised.”
“That’s not possible,” she said.
“It’s true, I’m afraid, but that’s not the worst part. The Seventh Council has plans to unleash war on all magic and supernatural factions, starting with the Deep Down. They have extremely potent Immortals among them who can control and convert elemental and other Earth energy. A few Divines and even Eternals are on their side.”
“Holy shit,” Tam said.
“That’s not all,” I continued. “They can exert absolute control over human
technology. Their ultimate design is to make the entire planet grovel at their feet so they can assume dominion over everything and everyone still alive.”
Tam stared at me, flabbergasted.
“What she said,” Faion added.
“As crazy as this sounds, we have allies among the Immortals,” I said to cushion the blow. “If it comes to that, the Deep Down won’t be alone, not completely anyway.”
“Yeah,” Faion said, “just extremely outgunned.”
Tam considered my words. “Luna, this sounds like crazy talk.”
“That’s because it’s completely bonkers,” I agreed.
“Yeah,” Tam said.
“Yeah,” Faion said.
“Listen, Tam,” I said putting my hand on her shoulder. “Tell Celia about all this, she’ll know what to do next.”
Tam nodded, trying to make sense of it all. “I will.”
I rose. Faion did, too. “We really have to go.”
Tam climbed to her feet. She looked to Faion. They had a moment.
Faion stepped in front of me. “I’m needed here, Luna. This is my home. I need to be with Gran and this message needs to be delivered by someone who can convince her of its certainty.”
I also needed Faion. It was starting to feel like a lonely world, but I didn’t have a second to spare. Winter could be back with his approved petition at any moment and we had to get on a plane.
“Yeah, okay,” I said. “I guess, yeah. This is your home. Make sure Celia believes all of it. That’s right. You’re right. Go.”
Faion had trained all his life for a moment like this when his charisma could help protect his own. He had grown so much since the day we met.
I took Tam’s hand in mine. “Faion is of one mind with me. What I know, he knows. His skills and courage will be great assets to you.”
“I will protect him,” Tam said. “He and all who dwell here.”
Tears threatened as I hugged my friends tight, wishing I could stay by their side and fight, wishing to reveal the truth of my origins and my destiny.
Nobody except Winter and Chaos knew I was a mist rider and I had to keep it that way long enough to come upon a mist horse. It might be our best and only chance to tip the scales of what was to come.
Leaving Tam and Faion behind I started to run and then I ran faster and faster until the wind dried my eyes.
CHAPTER 17
____________________________________
It half past six and already dark when Winter returned. He looked like a man who hadn’t had a good day in twenty years.
“How’d it go?” I ventured to ask.
He sucked in his breath and avoided eye contact. “As expected. An official petition to visit the archives has been filed.”
“Do you think they’ll grant you access?”
“Not to me, no.”
He strode to the kitchen. I scooted down the couch to get a better view.
I raised my voice. “I’m sorry, I’m confused. Why did you file it then? You wanted to make the Council suspicious just to be denied?”
“The petition wasn’t filed on my behalf,” he said, coming back from the kitchen with a bottle of sparkling water.
“I see. Kirsi?”
“Not her. Someone else. A person not easily connected to me.”
“Okay, that was clever,” I granted. “So, when they get it approved, we head to Alaska?”
He took off his jacket. He wore a black button-down shirt and black pants, like the first day we met. “No,” he said as he sat down next to me. “If the petition is approved, we won’t go. The person who filed it will.”
Did I hear him right? “What? What’s the whole point then?”
He cleared his throat. “I can see you need this explained. If the petition is approved, you can rest assured there are no prisoners in the dungeons of the vault and, therefore, no reason to go there at all.”
“So, we’ll go if the petition is denied?”
He nodded. “Eureka!”
“Okay, that kind of makes a little sense,” I conceded, “but why must all you Shadows be such condescending pricks about everything?”
He closed his eyes. “You’re comparing me to him. Great.”
“The fault to this brilliant plan is the waiting,” I said. “We don’t have to wait for your Immortal crony to call. We could just get on a plane to Alaska and once there, feel things out.”
“I have a much better plan,” Winter assured me.
“Oh? And what would that be?”
“We wait.”
“See, you’re a prick.”
“Yeah,” he said, facetiously, “I see that now.”
I rubbed my temples to soothe my energy. “Listen, there are things happening, things you don’t know, Jonas. I talked with a friend from the Deep Down today. A troglodyte convoy brought news of a dark alliance.”
He took a moment to consider my words. “What friend?”
“A true friend. A childhood friend,” I assured him. “She’s a warrior.”
Winter nodded three times but did not speak.
“Tam said elite Troglodyte forces and their notorious General have broken away to partner up with wielders of dark magic.”
“Interesting,” he said, completely disinterested.
I felt like banging my head. “We’re not going to do anything?”
“We’ll monitor the situation and we’ll train, something I should have been doing with you for years.”
I rolled my eyes. “You Immortals move too slow. You’ve been ruined by an overabundance of time. You want to train when it’s time to act.”
“No, it’s time to train,” he said. “It’s always time to train for the witch who wants to stand up against forces far greater than she can fathom.”
I sighed. Maybe I needed the distraction. “What did you have in mind?”
He rubbed his chin. “What indeed? Anything and everything. You’re so behind and so unskilled it’s not even funny.”
“Always with the compliments.”
“We could work on your shields,” he said. “You waste too much energy trying to control your flow. Unless you are hyper efficient, your shields will begin to break down during long battles. Unfortunately, shield efficiency training is very time consuming.”
I shrugged. “What’s the point? I will always heal.”
He looked at me, mildly irritated.
“Oh, c’mon, Jonas, I’ve seen you forego summoning shields and take bullets in the gut and I think I know why. Healing is faster.”
“You think you have it all figured out? Trust me, a day will come when a fortified shield will be your only defense against Divines. Without a shield, they’d drink up all your blood with a straw.”
What a lovely thought.
“Then, and since you brought it up, there is the question of your healing time,” he went on. “To condition your body to automate and accelerate the mending process, you need to be more efficient. Go back to step one.”
“You and your shield training,” I said. “Do have a sponsor or something?”
He was not amused. “The proper shield leads to the proper power which leads to optimum healing.”
“Okay, we’ll do shield training, but can we learn healing first?”
His furrowed his brow. “Fine, but you’re not going to like it.”
One glance at him and I put two and two together. “Oh, no, no way, I’m not going to hurt myself over and over to train. Certainly not now.”
He regarded me with patient, sympathetic eyes like you would a toddler.
“Inflicting lethal damage yields the best results. I find it’s easier to have someone assist with that.”
I waived my hand impatiently. “Next one, please.”
He looked self-satisfied. “You want to delay lesson one and lesson two searching for what? Something easy? Something fun? You want to learn fighting skills, but those won’t matter if you blow all your energy on subpar shields and therefore are stru
ggling to heal.”
Winter waited for me to respond. I thought he wanted me to go back to lesson one, but instead I did not respond at all. He huffed and then reached under the couch to pull out two swords.
He threw a sword up in the air and I caught it midflight.
“Connect to your blade,” he said. “First fighting skill… how to channel emotion to boost your energy during a fight.”
I held the sword high with two hands. Magic shot through my tingling fingers into the hilt. The blade began to shimmer with a red glow. Pins and needles pulsated through my entire body as a connective path was forged between me and the magic-infused sword.
“Good,” Winter said. “You haven’t forgotten. Now, you see the way the blade glows red? Different colors mean different things. Red is the color of readiness. It means your blade has connected to your nervous system and your magic is ready to strike.”
I swung the sword with simple flicks of the wrists, feeling the untamed force of the glowing blade.
“You can use the tension of your emotions to feed the magic in your sword,” Winter said. “Your blade will reflect which emotion in color.”
He flipped about on his feet and landed a sharp blow to my right knee with his sword. Blood spilled out of the injured joint as ligaments and cartilage ruptured.
I crumpled to the floor, shrieking in pain. Fury and something that felt like a murderous rage flared up in my chest.
“You didn’t have to fucking do that,” I hissed through the pain.
Winter clanged his blade against the tip of my blade. “Look at that.”
A vibrant purple sheen coated the blade, sparking. I flicked my wrist and jammed the sword inside Winter’s thigh.
He collapsed next to me, somehow grinning while grunting.
“Purple is for anger,” he said. He pointed at my knee that was already in mending mode. “Faster regeneration, faster reflex time. Anger will give your magic a little extra juice, but it will also drain reserves faster, leaving you with nothing. You can’t rely on that boost.”
I was still too furious to respond.
He jumped to his feet. Hot red fire sparkled to life in his hand. He grabbed my hand and pulled me close. The flames came close to licking the side of my face. I recoiled with a grunt.
Winter (Mist Riders Book 2) Page 12
