by Kaitlyn Hoyt
Hearing swords clanging together around me, I open my eyes. I did it! I’m back at the compound. My glee doesn’t last for long. The burning of wood and the heat from fire infiltrates my senses. Without thinking about it, I rush out from the cover of the trees, covering my mouth and nose to avoid inhaling too much smoke.
Instantly, I start coughing and stumble as I enter the clearing. Bragden turns around and looks down at me surprised. “Ryanne?” he says as I fall to the ground unable to breathe because of the smoke. Bending down, he picks me up. Incendia throws a barrier of fire around us, but this time, it isn’t hot or aggravating. I step away from Bragden and catch my breath.
“Where have you been?” he asks me.
“Umm…I have no idea actually. I was fighting against Zahtri and I remember him hitting me with some form of magic and I flew into a tree and lost consciousness. I woke up lying on the ground in the middle of the forest. Have I been gone for a while?”
“I’m not sure when you disappeared exactly, but I know that you’ve been gone for a little over ten minutes.”
Ten minutes? “What happened to Zahtri?”
“I don’t know. He disappeared shortly after you did.”
“Drop the fire. I’m fine now,” I tell Incendia, “The fire just caught me a little off guard.”
“Are you sure?”
“Is everyone okay?” I ask before she drops it. “Colton? Liam? Emma?”
“They’re all still alive…” Bragden tells me.
“But this isn’t over yet,” I finish for him. Nodding at Incendia one more time, I wait for her to release the fire barrier. Giving me a sad look, the fire disappears and once again I’m thrust into the middle of the chaos. Looking around, I see Colton with Tom, Vincent, Colin, and Chris. They’re okay. A large arm wraps around my waist and pulls me back. I slam into Bragden’s chest as a small dagger flies past the spot I was just standing.
With wide eyes, I thank him, but don’t step away. That’s the…second? time someone had to save me because I didn’t see a dagger flying toward me. Arching my head back, I look up at him and see him staring down at me with wide eyes.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asks.
“No, but I’m ready for all of this to be over,” I whisper. Bragden’s arm falls from around my waist, but I still don’t move away. My eyes move around the clearing looking for Zahtri. I see David and Emma fighting. Natalie, Liam, and James are all working together. Logan and Lily are fighting side by side in the back. Larkin blinks in front of a Gadramick and elbows him in the solar plexus and then leaves again. Natasha is still asphyxiating random mages as she tries to make her to way to…Natalie? I follow her line of sight, and she is definitely trying to make it over to her twin.
I briefly see Travis crouch down near his parent’s bodies before he disappears. He’s lost his younger sister and both of his parents in such a short period of time. I can’t imagine what is going through his mind.
Without saying anything to Bragden, I start walking away from him. Throwing a shield up around me, I casually move through the chaos. I push magic into my shield, so if anyone attempts to touch me, they’ll end up getting shocked.
There’s something I need to do, and I’m not going to let anyone deter me from accomplishing it. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Colton stop fighting and look in my direction, but I don’t stop.
Someone else needs my attention.
Walking onto the platform, I look around at the fighting around me. Many mages are staring, waiting to find out what I’m about to do. Taking a few steps back, I walk off of the platform and step into my previous spot.
Throwing my head back, I yell “Zahtri!”
I know he’ll hear me, and I know he’ll come.
So, I wait.
Colton
I duck to avoid getting punched and while I’m down, Tom reaches out and sweeps his fist across the man’s jaw knocking him to the ground. I stand up and open my mouth to thank him when I see people moving away from a girl. A girl with brown curly hair. Where has she been?
Tom sees her at the same time as I do and stops fighting. What is she doing?
Ryanne glances in my direction, but doesn’t stop moving. I know she sees me, but she doesn’t stop. My eyes follow her as she moves through the crowd. No one attempts to touch her. I can see the determination in her posture and facial expression. She’s definitely angry.
Without pausing, she jumps onto the platform and faces the crowd. Her eyes move across the clearing not focusing on any one thing. She doesn’t stop to look at anyone in particular. She’s looking for something…or someone.
Standing in front of the splintered tree, she screams his name. Tom reaches out and punches a Gadramick in front of me. I’m no longer focused on the fight. I can’t be. I’ve been trying to keep my attention on the Gadramicks and let Ryanne do her thing, but it’s so hard. I want, I need, to run forward and protect her with my life. I’m not, nor have I ever been, her protector, but I’ve made a personal promise to protect her. She’s my soulmate. It’s what I’m supposed to do.
Right now, I can’t protect her, but damn it, I want to. I need to be beside her. Tom reaches out and places a hand on my shoulder.
“You can’t, Colton,” he says. “Don’t forget about the prophecy.”
“Who freaking cares about the prophecy!” I yell. Ryanne looks around, waiting for Zahtri to show up. “I’ve seen her die too many times to care about what the prophecy states. Zahtri threw her into a tree earlier. Look at that tree!” I point to the tree she’s standing in front of. “That is from her small body being slammed into it. How much force would he have had to use against her to cause that sort of damage? Huh?”
“But look at her, Colton. Look at that girl who was just thrown into a tree. Does she look weak? Does she look injured? No. She looks strong and determined. She wants this to end as much as you do. Now, let her do what she needs to do. Let her finish this. This is not your battle to fight. Ryanne has to be the one to end this. If you try and go against the prophecy, one or both of you could end up dead. Is that what you want?” Tom says.
That is definitely not what I want. I’ve discussed with Ryanne what I want to happen many times. We have plans that cannot be fulfilled unless we both survive.
I calm down and look at Tom. I can see how much he’s struggling with this as well. I have to remember that I’m not the only one that cares about her. I look away from my Uncle right as Vincent falls to his knees. We both turn and watch as he pulls a bloodied blade from between his ribs. I look across the field and see a dark haired mage smiling at us. Phillip threw the knife.
Tom crouches down next to Vincent, who is now leaning forward, resting his palms against the ground, trying to catch his breath.
Vincent looks up and gives his attention to Phillip. Without saying anything to anyone, he disappears. “Where did he go?” Tom says as he stands up. We all know Vincent will succumb to the dark magic from the blade, but for the time being, he’s going to fight with everything he has in him. With Jedrek and the antidote gone, there’s literally nothing we can do about the wound.
Phillip moves out of the way and starts fighting against a different mage. Where did Vincent go? My eyes move away from Phillip to the opposite side of the clearing. Ryanne is still standing beneath the tree, waiting. Vincent reappears beside her and grabs onto her waist and transports both of them away from the clearing.
“What the heck?” I say as I spin in a circle. Where would he have taken her? Why would he have taken her anywhere?
Right as Vincent disappears with Ryanne, Zahtri transports back into the clearing.
“How did he know that he was going to appear right then?” Tom asks me.
“I have no clue,” I say as I continue to look for Ryanne and Vincent. Zahtri’s eyes move around the clearing before they land on my group. He looks straight at me and grins before he disappears again. All of us tense and wait for what is going to happen next.
When nothing happens for a few seconds, we all relax.
The Gadramicks numbers are thinning. Many are leaving. Dravin is dead and Zahtri is…who knows where. Valdus is pushing through the crowd around us working his way to…Liam?
I look over at my Uncle. He has dropped everything to help us during this time and I know we haven’t shown him just how appreciative we really are. “Thank you for everything, Tom,” I whisper as I start moving across the field. Tom, Chris, and Colin can handle everything here. I have to warn Liam.
Not knowing where Ryanne is makes calling my invisibility much easier. As I step away from Tom, I let it take over. No one will bother me as I make my way across the field.
I maneuver through the Gadramicks without actually touching anyone. I stop as a Gadramick runs in front of me. Mr. Prowler rushes after him. Pushing forward, I continue moving toward Liam. I see Valdus pushing his way through everyone, so I pick up my speed. He’s going to get to Liam before I can.
Two Gadramicks run in front of me and stop. They can’t see me, but they are in my way. Valdus starts running now, Liam hasn’t seen him yet. Hitting both of the men in their pressure points, I push them out of the way before they hit the ground. I’m not going to make it.
“Liam!” I shout as Valdus pushes past a Gadramick and jumps toward Liam. He turns around and looks in my direction, but because of my invisibility he can’t see me. His attention quickly leaves my area and lands on Valdus. His eyes widen, but he doesn’t have enough time to move.
Valdus barrels into Liam right as Phillip’s sword slices through the area where Liam just was. James grabs onto Natalie and pulls her back out of range. Valdus rolls off of Liam, but remains on the ground. Liam looks up at Phillip, but doesn’t move to fight him. His attention is on Valdus.
James releases Natalie and moves toward his brother. I make it over to Liam and crouch down beside him. I can see the blood soaking the ground beneath Valdus where Phillip’s sword sliced him.
“Valdus?” Liam says as he leans over him.
“I’m so s-s-orry, Liam,” Valdus says as his body starts convulsing. “F-f-for ever-r-rything.” Valdus turns his head and looks straight up at Liam. “Your m-mother would be proud of you,” he whispers. Unshed tears glisten in Liam’s eyes as he looks down at his tribe leader.
I stand up and move away from Liam giving him some privacy. I look behind me at Natalie, but see her looking to her left. I follow her line of sight and see her looking at Natasha. She’s fighting against a mage, but she doesn’t seem to be doing as much damage as I know she’s capable of.
“I don’t know what to do about her,” she whispers to me. I don’t know how she knew I was beside her. I grab onto her hand and squeeze. I don’t know if it’ll come to it, but if Natasha attempts to attack someone either one of us love, we’ll have to fight her. I don’t want to hurt her, but she made this decision. She chose to help Dravin. She chose the Gadramicks over us, and she has to face that decision.
Liam walks up behind her and places a hand across her shoulder. “I hope this ends soon,” he says without looking at either of us. He’s looking at James who is now fighting against his brother. Neither one is taking it easy on the other.
I look away and glance back at the platform. Vincent and Ryanne are still gone. Where could they have gone, and what is taking them so long?
Hearing a pained grunt behind me, I turn back around and find James pulling his sword out of Phillip’s chest. Phillip is staring up at his brother in shock. I can see the sadness in James’ eyes as his brother falls to his knees. “I’m so sorry, brother,” he says. “You gave me no choice.”
I look up at James, shocked that he was able to do that. If I was in his situation and had to fight against David, I wouldn’t be able to. James takes a step back and apologizes one last time before turning away. Phillip falls onto his chest where he remains unmoving. James turns his back to us and reaches up to wipe the tears from his eyes. He doesn’t want us to see his sadness, and I don’t blame him.
Hearing another scream to the right, I see David gasping for breath on the ground. Emma is fighting someone, so she can’t help him. I look around him looking for the Gadramick responsible and see a tall man standing in the shadows.
There’s no way I can get to him soon enough. I open my mouth to call for Larkin when Natasha runs across the clearing and knocks the unknown man to the ground. Natalie squeaks beside me, staring wide eyed at the scene in front of her. Larkin transports in behind the Gadramick fighting Emma and knocks him out. Thanking him, Emma turns around and falls to the ground beside David who is gasping for breath. Did Natasha just saved him?
Even David seems a little shocked. Without saying anything to Emma, he looks over at Natasha who’s fighting against the large Gadramick. He punches her in the jaw and she spins around and lands on her back. Scooting back, she attempts to asphyxiate him.
The Gadramick stumbles a little, but doesn’t stop his forward momentum. Natasha lets out an earsplitting scream as her skin turns a blistering shade of red. He’s a fire affinity. That’s why David couldn’t breathe. His lungs were literally on fire.
Seeing movement to my right, I watch Logan trying to push his way through. It looks like he healed himself enough to start fighting again. Natalie gasps beside me and starts running toward her sister. I see Connor stop fighting against a Gadramick and move toward her as well.
“Natalie!” Liam yells after her. At the same time, we both take off in their direction. Natalie doesn’t attempt to fight anyone and no one tries to stop her. Natasha’s screams start to die down the closer we get to her. Her skin is covered in third degree burns, and she tries to roll over, but can’t move her body. Larkin appears behind the man and grabs onto his shoulder and disappears, taking the man with him. Natalie and Conner reach Natasha at the same time and both crouch to the ground beside her.
“Natasha,” Natalie whimpers with tears glistening in her eyes. “Please don’t go.” Liam and I stop behind her.
Conner grabs onto Natasha’s hand and kisses her knuckles. Coughing, Natasha looks up at them and tries to smile. “He promised if I worked with them, he’d leave you alone. He promised you’d be safe. He was going to keep coming after Ryanne, and I knew you’d become involved. I didn’t want you to get hurt,” she whispers. “I had a part to play. I had to play the part. There was too much at stake. Too much to lose.” Natasha’s head rolls to the side and her breathing slows. “I had a part to play.”
“Natasha!” Natalie screams. “Don’t leave me.”
Connor looks over at Natalie. “Ryanne was right.”
“What?”
“She told me the girl we knew was still there.” He looks down at Natasha. “I love you Natasha.” Leaning down, he places a kiss on her forehead.
“I still hate her,” Natasha whispers as she glances at me. “Tell Madison I love her, okay?” Natasha croaks as tears fall out of her eyes and land in the grass. “I’m sorry.” she gasps and closes her eyes. Her hand goes limp in Connor’s. Natalie cries out and covers her mouth; tears are streaming down her face and over her hands. Liam reaches down and pulls her up to him. She stands, throws herself into his arms, and cries into his shirt. Logan finally makes it to us and drops to the ground beside her to attempt to heal her, but she’s gone.
That doesn’t make sense. Ryanne rescued Natalie and Conner from Natasha’s attack earlier this summer…She had a part to play.
With a sad shake of his head, Logan stands up and makes his way over to David and heals him. David thanks him, but reaches out and hits me lightly on the shoulder. Without saying anything, he points over at the platform.
Ryanne is back.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Zahtri has to come sooner or later. He’s not going to leave me standing here alone for long. He has to want this to end as much as I do. We can’t do this for much longer.
I bite my lip when someone touches my shoulder and whip around expecting to come face-to-face with
Zahtri, but Vincent is standing behind me. “Wha—”
Vincent’s arm wraps around my waist. All the colors around me blur and the sounds coalesce together in a vortex of meaningless noise and shades. I close my eyes to try and make the transportation process easier. When we stop moving, I lose my balance and stumble to the side. Vincent keeps a grip on me, making sure I don’t fall.
When I turn around, Vincent lets go of me and reaches down to place a hand on his ribs. My eyes move down to his hand and I see blood oozing between his fingertips. “Oh my gosh,” I gasp and look back up at him.
“Use his weakness,” he says. I try to ignore the grimace on his face. Vincent is dying. A normal wound wouldn’t push that much blood out as fast. He was hit with a weapon Zahtri infused with dark magic. “Claire said to use his weakness.”
“What weakness? I can’t find anything?” I look around me briefly. We’re still in the forest, just an undisturbed part. Vincent takes a few steps back and leans against a tree. “I’ve been looking, Vincent. He’s too strong. The only way I can stop this is if I take myself with him, and I’m trying to avoid that.”
“Get creative,” he tells me doubles over in pain.
“I’ve been trying. I don’t know what else to do.” I move toward him, reaching out. I don’t like seeing him in pain. There has to be something I can do to ease the hurt.
“You’re a smart girl, Ryanne. Get creative.” A peaceful expression crosses Vincent’s face as he stands up straight and looks at me. “You know, I was going to marry her,” he whispers.
I take another small step forward, toward him. “Who?”
“Claire, I loved her.” He grabs onto my wrist and I feel myself being transported again. Closing my eyes, I wait for the movement to stop. When I feel Vincent’s hand loosen its grip, I open my eyes. I’m back at the clearing. The fight is still ensuing, but there is no one around us. “I can almost hear her calling me,” he says with a small smile. I catch him as he falls forward, gasping.
