by Bonnie Vanak
At the tallest tree, she saw a spotted jaguar, its sharp claws piercing the trunk, climbing toward the crystal. The birds saw him, and began attacking and dripping acid on him.
Kieran howled, but kept climbing.
A shadow fell over her. Ella glanced up and saw a bald eagle circling the island, high above the lower flying birds. It dove down and chased them, attacking from above, snapping its beak at them. Darcy. Ella shook her muzzle and backed away to the water.
Hurry, please. We need to get out of here before the Dark Lord’s followers find us.
The threat removed, Kieran climbed down from the tree, a purple glow coming from his mouth as he clasped the stone between his mighty jaws.
Surely this was the powerful crystal, for his bleeding wounds from the droplets of acid splashing on his fur had already begun to heal.
She accompanied him as they swam out to the boat. Ella shifted back into her Skin form, climbed on board and clothed herself by magick.
As the jaguar climbed into the boat, she gave a rueful glance at the lime green shorts and bright orange t-shirt on her body. She still had some adjusting to do in the clothing department.
The eagle landed and transformed into Darcy. Her friend wore the usual black leathers she preferred.
“Thanks, Darcy.” Ella wiped sweat off her brow. “Close call.”
Darcy grinned. “When you’ve lived long as I have, you learn to adjust your form to fit the predator.”
“That was some impressive form.”
Darcy beamed.
The jaguar padded over to her, nudging her. Ella reached out with one hand and the crystal dropped into it.
“You still must complete the ceremony to transfer the powers.” Darcy started the motor. “The books in the archives back in Colorado contain the spell. Let’s go.”
In the boat, Kieran snarled, pacing back and forth. Worried, she looked at him. “Is he okay?”
“It’s the crystal. The power of the stone is forcing him to remain in his jaguar form. Here, put the crystal in this.” Darcy handed her a small leather pouch.
Soon as the crystal was inside, Kieran shifted back to his Skin form and conjured clothing. Shivering, he hugged himself. Ella went over to him, gathering him close. Immediately his violent shudders eased.
“My foolish Ella. I saw what you did—draw away the attack.”
“I couldn’t let you have all the fun.”
Then Darcy pointed to the island. “Look!”
All the translucent birds had suddenly fallen from the sky, into the water. Once they hit the water, they turned to dust.
It was an ordinary island once more.
“Ella-mine, are you ready for what lies ahead?” Kieran murmured.
She smiled. “Saving my mother? Yes. Whatever it takes, I can handle it, as long as you’re with me.”
He kissed her as they made their way back to the marina.
A distant cawing in the sky made her pull away and glance up. The bird, flying against the light of the waning moon, looked like a raven. She hoped it was only a bird.
But deep inside, she had a bad feeling.
14
The next day, they arrived back in Colorado. Ella was stunned nothing followed them and they encountered no problems. Kieran booked them into first class. He slept the entire way, as she rested her head against his shoulder.
It took a few good hours to drive back to the town. When they made it to the library, Ella’s heart was racing. Nine days had passed. What if Kieran was wrong? What if the spell had already cast her mother into permanent ice?
When they arrived at the library, she clutched the leather pouch containing the crystal. Kieran slid his right hand into hers.
“I’m with you in this, Ella-mine. No matter what happens.” He gave her palm a reassuring squeeze. “It’s going to be okay.”
The library was quiet. She’d called Danica on the drive over and her friend assured her that she’d keep everything locked tight and meet them in the secret archives.
In the basement, Kieran entered the secret code with his left hand. The keypad lit up with a soft white glow, sparkling like fairy lights. The trio headed for the light at the end of the shelving.
Several tables had been pushed together to form a single unit. A sob caught in Ella’s throat as she saw her mother, still frozen, resting upon the tables. A few lamps glowed softly, showing the pale blueness of her skin and face, the hands and arms stiff with frost.
“Ella!” Danica stepped out of the shadows and ran forward. She hugged her.
“I found the correct spell to activate the crystal. Are you ready, honey?” Danica asked.
Palming the crystal, she cast a worried glance at Kieran. He nodded.
“It’s okay, Ella. Do it. It’s the only way to free your mother.”
She recited the words on the page Danica translated. A surreal purple glow pulsed in the room as the crystal in her palms lit up. Kieran squinted and stepped back, as did Danica and Darcy, but the light did not hurt Ella’s eyes.
Power flowed through her as if she’d placed her hand on a live electrical line. The burning wasn’t unpleasant, nor did she fear it. For the first time in her life, Ella felt as if she found her purpose.
I was born for this.
Ella set the crystal down on the table, staring at her glowing white hands. She felt filled with energy and renewed, as if awaking from a long sleep.
And more than a little scared at containing power. So much magick! She felt as if she could fly through the air, heal a thousand injuries.
Or destroy a thousand cities.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Danica move toward the crystal.
“Hey,” Darcy protested. “What the…”
Danica punched her half-sister, and Darcy fell to the ground.
“Stop her!” Darcy cried out.
But Danica snatched up the crystal and murmured a spell. Power suddenly radiated from her, a dark aura that smelled of pure evil.
In her hands the crystal’s lavender glow cast shadows on her face. “It’s activated now. Mine. Soon as I recite the final spell to transfer all your power into me, nothing can stop me. Now the Dark Lord will reward me for my patience. So many long years of subservience, pretending to like you, pretending I was Skin.”
Ella stared at her friend. “Are you mad?”
Danica laughed. “Mad? I’ve never been more sane in my life. All this wasted time, waiting for you, you bitch, to stop living in Skin. It’s finally paid off.”
No. She could not believe it. “Danica, please don’t do this.”
But her words fell on deaf ears.
Betrayed and utterly grieved, Ella dropped her hands. “You said you wanted to help me, hell, you got me this job. You helped save the kittens I’ve rescued in the past.”
“The cat in the woods was a sacrifice to keep my little bit of magick alive. I would have killed the kittens, too, if you hadn’t found them first.”
Danica’s smile was filled with malevolence. “I killed Alice and her husband, and your father, when they realized there was something wrong with their adopted son, Ed, and he was spending too much time with me. They suspected someone close to you would turn against you. I couldn’t let anyone warn you, or push you into using your powers until I gained a firm hold on the spells you needed to cast.”
Ella felt her stomach clench in knots. “You were my friend.”
Danica laughed. “I pretended friendship to grow close to you to watch you, to seize this moment. I serve the Dark Lord and through his power, I will live forever and rule alongside him!”
The crystal had been useless in the hands of anyone else—good or evil. Until the spell releasing the power had been recited, and Ella activated the crystal. Guilt filled her. She must stop this.
Kieran snarled, shifted into a jaguar and leapt, his fangs sinking into Danica’s leg. But before he could bite, he howled and fell back. Burn marks showed on his muzzle.
The crysta
l protected Danica from ordinary Others like Kieran.
Ella knew what she had to do. Her mortal heart broke to see her friend turn to evil.
“I’m invincible,” Danica shouted. “My lord whom I serve, I am offering this to you!”
As Danica started to recite the spell to empower herself, Ella flicked out a finger. Danica’s mouth shut tight. Her jaw locked.
“No, you are not. Danica, I bind you from doing harm to any living creature, mortal or immortal.”
Ella flung out her arms, envisioning Danica as the most harmless image she could conjured. Bones snapped. Skin melted like ice in a fire.
Confused, and yet knowing she must not stop, Ella kept the flow of magick pouring through her.
Finally nothing remained of her former friend but liquid green goo, sprinkled with little chocolate bits.
“Damn girl,” Darcy muttered as she stared at what remained of her former half-sister. “Remind me not to get you mad at me.”
“I turned her into mint chocolate chip ice cream,” she whispered.
“Flavor is too good for that bitch,” Darcy told her.
Emotion clogged Ella’s throat. So much power. How could she learn to control this?
Ella stared at her hands. She had done this. She had destroyed life.
The jaguar lay on the ground, whimpering, his muzzled seriously burned. Ella felt the power inside her surge. She touched the jaguar, laying a hand on his mouth.
The burns healed. Kieran shifted back, clothed himself. He stood and rushed over to her, cupping her face.
“My Ella. My brave girl. Are you all right?”
She looked helplessly at Kieran. “I took a life.”
He brushed a kiss against the corner of her wobbling lips. “No, Ella-mine, you took away pure evil. She was a follower of the Dark Lord, and you did what you must. None of us could see what Danica was, what she planned.”
“I’m so shaky,” she whispered. “I’ve never killed anyone before.”
He glanced at the liquid goo on the floor. “Well, not exactly killed, Ella-mine. More like turned her into bad dessert.”
His joke chased away her horror, but worry filled her. “Kieran, what if I hurt my mom instead of healing her? If my thoughts are this powerful, how can I control them?”
“You can,” he insisted. “I’ll help you.” He pointed to the mess on the floor. “First, we must clean up this. Something this powerful, this strong, can reform. Are you ready?”
“I don’t know what to do.”
“I will show you.”
Warmth tingled through her as he took her hand. “Look at Danica. See her as pure evil you must eliminate from this world. Banish her to the underworld. Burn her with your magick. Pure white light.”
He dropped her hand. Ella pointed her finger at the sticky mess on the floor. White light ringed her hand, and power surged through her like thousands of electrical lines. It did not hurt, only felt right, as if she could take on the world. She thought of the white light engulfing Danica, and then the mess on the floor suddenly began to move.
Surging upward. Taking shape. Horrified, she realized she was not destroying Danica. She was resurrecting her.
“Banish her Ella,” Kieran yelled. “Now! Give it all you have!”
Ella threw a bolt of energy at the rising Danica. The gooey mess vanished, leaving nothing behind but a clean floor.
Darcy whistled. “Wow, that’s some magick, Ella.”
She beamed. “I did it. Now I can save my mom.”
Kieran shook his head. “Before you save your mother, you must eliminate the crystal. It cannot be done here, for you risk harming us. It is far too dangerous to leave in this world. Transport yourself and the crystal by thinking of the most inhospitable place you can imagine.”
She gazed at him uneasily. “How can I do this if you’re not there to guide me? I need you, Kieran.”
He drew in a breath. “Then I will go with you, Ella-mine.”
Palming the crystal in one hand, Ella took his other hand. She closed her eyes and thought of a desolate, barren desert where she could harm no living thing. Power engulfed her and she felt herself rushing through time and space.
Opening her eyes, she saw a giant void, tawny sand dunes surrounding them. The great sand sea of northern Africa. Wind sent sand stinging into her eyes, lashing against her skin.
“This will hurt, Ella,” he yelled over the noise of the wind. “Summon the inner fire you have, and aim it at the crystal. You must throw everything you have at the crystal. It will burn you.”
She had no desire to experience pain. But she knew he was right about destroying it. She could not allow it to fall into enemy hands.
Ella placed the crystal on the sand as Kieran stepped back. She thought of herself as pure energy, white-hot light that would shatter the strongest diamond. Power surged again inside her, so much that it felt like her skin burst. Suffocated with it, she gasped to breathe.
“Now!” he yelled.
Ella pointed at the crystal, streaming all her energy at it. The crystal blew into thousands of shards of dust, and billowed with the wind sweeping over the dunes. A small burn mark appeared on her right palm. It stung as if she’d placed her hand on a flame. Tears threatened, but she willed them aside.
Kieran took her hand, turning it over gently. He kissed it, his mouth cool and soothing.
“Fire and ice,” he murmured. “You are the fire and I am the ice.”
He kissed her, his mouth soft and cooling the heat that hurt her. Then as they kissed, she thought of returning to the archives. When they broke apart, they were standing back where they’d been before.
Darcy blinked. “You were gone only a moment.”
“It feels like hours,” she murmured.
“Let’s awaken your mother.” Kieran gestured to the still form of Nellie.
“I don’t know if I can. I expended all my power in destroying the crystal.” Ella bit her lip, deeply worried.
“No, you did not. But Gideon was wise. He knew this would happen, knew it would drain you enough to safely use your powers to warm your mother slowly.”
Kieran guided her over to Nellie. He placed her hands on her mother’s chest.
The ice penetrated her skin, but soothing, warm magick chased it away.
“Think of how much you love her. Let only love fill your thoughts, Ella-mine. See Nellie warming gently, as if she were immersed in a bath filled with bubbles and warm water. You will not harm her. You will heal her.”
Letting the power surge, she realized it was coming all too quickly. Ella slammed it back as a runner would stop racing and switch to jogging.
Good thoughts. Gentle power, flow through me. Break the spell and bring my mother back to me.
A soft purple glow ringed Nellie’s body, the ice melting onto the table. Gentle warmth, as soft as Kieran’s kisses. As warm as her mother’s love.
Finally her mother’s skin turned golden with glowing health. She opened her eyes and slowly sat up.
Crying out, Ella hugged her.
“Honey, I don’t know what happened. Everything is a blur. I feel as if I’ve been asleep in an ice cave.” Her mother pulled away, searching her face. “Are you all right? You look different.”
Ella kissed her cheek. “I’ve come into my powers, Mom. I know who I am.”
Nellie sighed with apparent relief. “Then my work is done here. I can release you.’
Ella helped her mother off the table. “What are you talking about?”
Nellie looked peaceful. For the first time in years, the lines of strain were gone from her face. “I’m not your birth mother, Ella. Neither was your father. We were appointed by the goddess to raise you, watch over you, until the time when you came into your power.”
She hugged her tight. “We could never have children of our own, and we loved you like our own daughter.”
Another revelation. “Who are my birth parents?”
“Your mother is Lupine,
and your father is a Changeling Shifter. They loved you, but understood you needed to be safe, here in the Skin world, until you decided to accept, or reject, your destiny as a werewolf of the Wyld to protect the Crystal Wizard and Others.”
Wonder filled her. Such a sacrifice her parents had made. “Can I meet them?”
“Yes, but not for a while. First you must learn how to use your powers.” Nellie gave her a long, thoughtful look. “All the while I was here, I could hear Danica chanting to the Dark Lord. There are many others like her, Ella. You must be the new force that helps to stop them. It means you will seldom spend the same night in the same place.”
“I’ve always wanted to travel,” she admitted and Nellie laughed.
“As long as I can come home to you, Mom. You’re my real mom.”
Nellie hugged her again. “I’d love that. “
Darcy held out her hand. “Come on, Nellie. I’ll take you out to dinner. I imagine you’re quite hungry. And then we’ll go back to my house. I’ll find you some new digs.”
“What happened to my house?” Nellie asked.
“Long story,” Darcy said.
Darcy and Nellie walked outside, and then drove off in Darcy’s sedan.
Outside, she snuggled against Kieran. “And now what? Where are we going?”
“You are returning to the condo where we first met.” Kieran removed the car keys from his pocket, enfolded them into her palm. “The entire complex belongs to Xavier. He will give you shelter there. Take the car. There’s plenty of food and what you need. Xavier will begin your training to teach you how to use your powers. He’s a good wizard, Ella. Trust him.”
“I trust you, Kieran. I love you.”
But he gently untangled himself from her. Sorrow filled his expression.
“I can’t stay with you, Ella-mine.” He took her hands, kissed them, his expression tormented. “I must return to my people, and leave you to your duties. If I am with you, you will be more focused on me than your training.”
“Kieran, no,” she whispered.
“Please, don’t make this harder on me than it already is. I’m dying, Ella. I don’t want to leave.”
