Smoke and Ruin

by Tiffany Daune

  "A few seconds. " Jae placed her hand on his chest. "Natalie’s heart will only stop beating for a few seconds. As soon as the portal to Etlis opens, I'll remove the spell."

  "We're vulnerable in the open. If my brothers and sister come, they won't show mercy. This won't end well." Emil grasped the hilt of his dagger.

  "I'll be by her side." Asair grabbed his shoulder.

  "Your heart won't be beating either. Plus, we have him to deal with.” He cast his gaze to a van. Inside, Dax was strapped to a board with metal bindings. “It’s better if I kill him now."

  Jae shook her head. "We must wait."

  Asair agreed with Emil; Dax couldn’t be trusted. "Maybe we should take the stone back to the fortress."

  Lina coughed into her sleeve clearing her throat before speaking. "Halen will need nature to fight Tarius. A blue moon siren harnesses their powers from the elements. You should know. Trapped inside a concrete barrier will only weaken her. If Tarius claims her before we can get her soul back inside her body and unite her with her magick, then we will need all the help we can get from Mother Nature.”

  He winced with the thought of her body lying on the back seat of Vita’s air-conditioned SUV. Already hours had passed arguing with the best plan. In the end, the only way to Halen was to open Etlis, which meant Natalie and his heart had to stop beating. With all three heartbeats silenced the door would split wide open. Dax vowed to draw her out. He had been the one to guide her soul farther into Etlis with the white butterfly; he believed he could bring her back. His admission nearly cost him his life, but what choice did Asair have? He couldn’t bring her back himself.

  Once she stepped through, Jae would reunite her with her body, so Halen could reconnect with her magick and then Jae would restart their hearts. Tarius didn't have a chance against three blue moon sirens and Galadia's wand. Only Asair knew from watching others' lives for a hundred years, no matter how good the plan, fate would bend to the heavens' will. He only hoped the heavens were on their side.

  "Assemble the tents." Asair nodded to Jae. "Let’s get started."

  “Hold up, there’s a car coming.” Emil reached for his bow and withdrew an arrow.

  The car pulled beside Natalie’s SUV and Emil released his arrow. The rod sailed through the air puncturing the tire.

  “Stop,” Natalie shouted. “They’re sirens.”

  Asair's heart raced. Sirens. Had they come for the stone? He ran with his hands thrust against the air, and when the driver opened the door, Asair’s magick shoved it closed.

  The driver shot him a stern glare. The girl beside him opened her window and released a warbling cry. Her spell cut the air, sending Asair to his knees. Jae dropped her cape, her wings expanding over him in a protective cage. The siren girl clasped her hand over her mouth.

  Natalie blocked Asair's next blow shoving his magick away. “Catch is with them. Stop.”

  Asair lowered his hands and Jae dropped her wings by her sides. Emil, however remained poised for battle, down on one knee, arrow nocked in his bow.

  “It’s alright.” Natalie waved to the sirens.

  Catch stepped from the car. He hugged himself as he approached Natalie. She threw open the door, and he stepped up and threw his arms around her.

  Emil ran, kicking sand up with his boots. Asair remained close to the Hunter’s side while Tasar and Lina surrounded the sirens’ car.

  Five sirens were crammed in the Jetta. The driver was a young man with ruddy red hair and a muscular frame. And even though his arm had been amputated, he would be hard to take in a fight. The others were damaged, and not just in the haunting way they met his stare, but each bore scars of torture.

  The youngest, a boy with a gold eye, waved. “Hi,” his voice shook. “We’re here to help.”

  “We don’t need assistance.” Asair clasped his fists to tame the stirring magick.

  The boy tapped his gold eye with his nail. “You’re going to need all the help you can get when the dragon stops your heart.”

  “Orca shush,” the girl spoke.

  “No, he’s right,” Jae stepped to Asair's side. “You’re an oracle?”

  The boy nodded.

  Jae slipped in close to Asair as she addressed the boy. “Then you know what must be done.”

  The boy leaned out the car window; the sun shone within his knowing eye. “There isn’t much time.”

  *

  HALEN DIDN'T EXPECT his idea of renewing their vows to include a lavish celebration, but it was as if Tarius had a big stack of Martha Stewart magazines stashed away in Etlis and had taken tips from each one. A canopy of fire loomed below, the flames placed in such a way they appeared as brilliant flickering flowers. An intricate pathway of ash spread along the ground with patterns of fish, seahorses, and coral blooms. Even with all the decay, Tarius managed to invoke beauty, which only sickened her more. This opulent display was all for Galadia.

  She turned to the dress spread across the alter; a gown of feathers and dragon sequin scales in pristine condition from years preserved in a crystal box of magick. As she picked up the gown, the scales shimmered in the glow of fire. She ran her fingers along the sheen thinking of Jae. What was she doing now? Was she mixing potions, searching her scrolls for a way to bring her back? Or was she preparing Natalie for an eternity inside the Hunter's gold arrow? She only hoped she wasn’t too late. She would need her sister on the other side. Halen would say the words Tarius wished to hear in order to get to the stone. After, all bets were off. She would rip his heart from his body, feed it to the desert sun, then turn the stone on his soul.

  She stepped inside the gown, pulling the silver threaded fabric up her fragile body, thankful the length covered her ravaged legs. She fastened the little claw hooks which lined the front. Glancing in the mirror, she cringed at the apocalypse zombie prom queen staring back. As she tucked a wisp of lavender hair behind her ear, her fingertips flickered with sparks. She stared at her hand with surprise. Her breath quickened as the skin healed along her arm. “No, no, no.” This wasn't her body. Hers lay in Jae's quarters.

  Her ears rang with the familiar hum of the water stone. Its low alto tones rolled through her. The vibration worked from her brain all the way to the tips of her toes. As the hum deepened, sparks trickled along her arms and legs; her bones coated with soft new flesh. She yanked her sleeves down, not wanting to witness the transformation. If she healed in this body, would her soul be trapped too?

  She leapt up, running to the window where Tarius waited beneath the fiery canopy. A dragon swooped down, and as he landed next to Tarius, he transformed with long muscular body of a man, his skin the color of midnight. She leaned forward wishing she could hear their conversation. As if feeling her watchful eye, Tarius glanced toward the tower. She stepped away from the window clutching her chest. She couldn't do this. She couldn’t renew vows she never made in the first place. If she could hear the water stone, then the portal was open. Natalie was already dead. She swallowed hard. This meant Tarius hadn’t been lying about Asair either. She pushed back the tears threatening to rise. Everyone she cared for had already died. What good was her magick if she couldn’t protect them?

  Your magick will save the realms, her mother’s soft voice filled the room.

  Halen spun searching. “Mom? Are you here?” She balled her hands to fists, frustrated that this too was another life taken because of Tarius. “Mom, I need you!” She shouted. “I can’t do this alone.”

  A cool breeze rushed in from the window. She inhaled the vanilla scent; the familiar perfume of her mom.

  You’re not alone.

  When Halen opened her eyes, she met her reflection once more. She stared beyond the body, searching deep for the reflection of her soul, and when she found her true self, she knew exactly what she needed to do.

  GATHERING UP HER gown, she rushed down the stairs. Halen entered Etlis beyond the forest. This had to be the way out. Tarius, no doubt, would try to head her off, but already her magick
felt stronger, her body too matching the new surge of sparks. Her mother’s words fuelled her stride. She wasn’t alone. She never had been. Even if Asair and Natalie were dead, there were others who needed her—Luke and the sirens, Catch, Lina, and Tasar. They would fight alongside her. She just had to get out of Etlis.

  At the bottom of the stairs, she passed the entrance, searching now for the back way out. She ran the entirety of the circle, finding each room as empty at the first and without a window or door. She leaned against the wall, her breath heavy. Her hands warmed against the stone wall, her sparks twitching. She smiled. Placing both hands on the wall, she shoved the stones and they crumbled to dust.

  She crawled through her newly made exit, when her gown caught. She tugged, ripping the fabric as she toppled outside. She tore the hem, tossing it to the ground. She turned to run, when a portly hog cut her off. Halen flinched back as the ravaged beast snarled. Her eyes widened, taking in the grotesque animal. Its snout was black with soot, ears crusted with blood. Along one side, skin curled back from the bone, revealing charred lungs through a broken rib cage.

  She pressed her back against the wall, glancing toward the forest. Her magick trickled her fingertips once more. As she lifted her hand to strike, the hog let out a shrill squeal.

  “No, shush.” She pleaded with the hog.

  The bone hog shifted; its body slipping away to a portly young man. He stood before her; his frame stricken by years of flames.

  She darted, when the boy grabbed her arm, yanking her back. His bone fingers cut into her flesh shaking her hard. "You can't run from Tarius." His curious gaze drifted along her new fleshed arm. "It's true." He tugged her harder.

  Tarius rounded the corner. "Let her go. She’s your queen now."

  The boy dropped his hand by his side, bowing his head, though his gaze never left her arm.

  "Make yourself useful. Bring up the kwikilum. We will celebrate tonight." Tarius dismissed him with a wave.

  Halen's gaze followed the boy, he glanced back at her before disappearing around the corner. It was brief glance, but she swore he smiled. She quickly pulled down her sleeve.

  "You tore your dress." The disappointment in Tarius' smoky voice, gripped her attention. She turned to face him.

  He leaned against the tower. He wore a tuxedo of blood red dragon scales; atop his head a crown of crooked bones set with dazzling diamonds. The right side of his face, where she had torn his flesh was now covered with an etched bronze metal plate, which contoured his cheekbones and wrapped under his chin fastened to his jaw by claw hook.

  She tugged her sleeves down, not wanting him to see the work of her magick. How long she had been in Etlis, she didn’t know, but she felt as if her body on the other side was running out of time. The more comfortable her sparks grew in this body, she feared they would nestle in like a corpse in a crypt never to be seen on the other side again. She clenched her fists. No way would she allow her magick to thrive here. She had a body to get back to—a home waiting for her—a life.

  “It doesn’t matter.” He let out a heavy sigh. “We can get you a new dress when we leave here.”

  "You think a dress will make her happy? You know nothing about Galadia, then.”

  He snorted with laughter. “No, the dress is for me.” His eyes gleamed with a sickening hunger.

  Even though he terrified her, he would never harm her, which gave her more power. Just knowing it would pain him to hurt Galadia, or to never be united with her again, Halen had control. His love for Galadia was his greatest weakness. “I know you think this is the way, but forcing me to renew some vows isn’t going to bring Galadia back."

  "When you speak the words, her soul will remember. Think of your sister."

  She didn’t dare tell him the song of the water stone called to her. Her sister’s soul was lost forever. What she needed to do was appease Tarius. Just for a moment, so she could break through to the other side. The stone would guide her, she only had to follow its hollow call. “Natalie’s soul is safe. She will never allow Dax to take her life. Did you not know she loves a Hunter?”

  He cocked his head to the side as he registered what she was saying.

  “We could stay here for eternity.” Halen called his bluff.

  “She wouldn’t allow a Hunter to capture her soul. The suffering would be immeasurable. Surely, she would welcome a quick death at the hands of Dax.”

  “You don’t know my sister.” She smiled and his slipped from his face.

  She had him.

  "Doesn’t matter.” He shrugged. “Wherever we are, I welcome an eternity with you by my side.”

  “We won’t last in these bodies.”

  He glanced skyward to the crying dragons. “We can be anything we want.”

  The thought sickened her. Did he really have the power to do this? Jae had mentioned Tarius died long ago and his soul could take any form he wished.

  “Come, Darion is waiting for us." He headed toward the canopy of fire flowers.

  Fearful of a fate inside a tortured dragon, she followed. Stepping away from the tower, a dragon swayed above, its scales glistening against the flaming sky. The heat caught in her lungs; lungs healing and dying over and over again with her magick.

  A man with a bare chest, his muscles strong, the lower half of his body covered in scales, stood at the end of the grand canopy. Another stone alter lay before them. Tarius lay on one beckoning her to lie beside.

  "No," her voice was but whisper, but Tarius waved her forward.

  "No," she spoke louder.

  "Galadia." He swung his legs over the stone slab and sat. "Don't let this foolish Halen girl cloud your heart. Come to me." He reached for her hand.

  She yanked away and as she did the sleeve of her fine gown rose. His face flickered with surprise. “Your magick is returning.” His smile broadened. “So will your memory.”

  Halen stepped back, but the man closed the gap.

  "Galadia." The Etlin bowed at the waist.

  Tarius' lips twisted with a satisfied grin.

  Lightening cracked overhead, stealing his pleasure. "Say the vows now." He cast his gaze toward the sky.

  Halen followed his concerned stare. Above, indigo waves flooded the red sky, blowing the billowing smoke clouds away.

  "Now!" Tarius wailed, the sound reverberating in her chest.

  "Never." A cool wind called to her from within the blue sky and the water stone sung out her name. "I will never say the words." This time her voice rose like a murder of crows screaming from deep inside. She cleared her throat, as the voice not from her body, but her soul came forth.

  He dropped to his knees. "Galadia, my love."

  "You betrayed the heaven’s will. I could never love you." The indigo sky spun the flames to smoke, swirling the ash, and the air fell deathly chill.

  "If you just say the words, you will remember how sweet it is to love one another again."

  The struggle tugged Halen inside out as her thoughts collided with her soul's remembrance. Life after life she fought to be free. Loving Tarius was her soul’s greatest burden, and as she tried to deny the love she harbored for this monster, never in all her lifetimes had she loved another more. She hated how a love so wrong could be so perfect.

  "Say it." Tarius reached up taking both her hands in his. The winds whipped away the flamed canopy, destroying the intricate ash artwork. "Please, my love, before it's too late."

  As she glanced down, a flash of a young man with waves of black hair stared back. She knew his locks were soft as new silk and smelled of summer clover, for she nestled in the crook of his neck many times before, kissing his dark skin, which was always warm against hers—a shifter boy she dared to love when the heavens had promised her to another. She suffered a thousand lifetimes for this forbidden love. As he kissed the tops of her hands, her pulse raced, her magick sparked.

  “Please say the words.” He knelt before her.

  “Tomlo,” Halen whispered. She stroked his cheek,
and Tarius' skin softened with new skin. He smiled, his lips parting. She guided him up. “Fikso.” The winds whipped with a frosty chill as delicate snowflakes fell around them.

  Dragons cried overhead, but she could not tear her gaze away from the boy with soft eyes, snowflakes in his eyelashes, who had loved her for centuries. He had lost his way, but she could guide him back. "Swa…"

  "You're almost there." His grip tightened. Her eyes shut as a new surge of memories flooded her mind. Tarius stood on a mountain with the fire stone in his fist. The Etlins climbed toward him, only to be struck by flames. One by one he slaughtered his brothers and sisters of Etlis, his rage destroying the beauty of the realm until nothing but bones and blood remained. A flash cut through this memory and Halen found herself standing in a great hall of amethyst. The floors, the ceiling, the walls all a brilliant hue of violet. At the end of the hall, two stones sat beneath a ray of light, behind them Tarius. He reached for the stones and her eyelids shot open. She remembered everything, including his greatest betrayal of all.

  “You stole the stones.” She gasped for breath.

  His face flickered with surprise. “You wanted to be together—forever. The stones were the only way.”

  “You never told them it was you.”

  “I did it for us.”

  “And we were banished.” Halen recalled now the loneliness of the empty realm. Galadia’s constant sorrow and regret. She created Elosia out of remorse; her gift to the heavens, a plea for forgiveness. “I know why Galadia never wanted to see you again—she could never forgive you. You took away all she loved: her family, her friends, her home. She died hating you.”

  His gaze sharpened, his anger reaching all the way inside. She jerked away.

  "You will say the words!" He stood, towering her, yet she felt no fear knowing she was his only weakness. His gaze shifted to the open forest.

  Beyond miles of desert stretched out. A hum reverberated through Etlis. The water stone was near.

  He spun to hooves and fur before she blinked. Tarius bounded for the desert. She ran, but her feet were no match for the stag. When she waved, dewy glistening feathers spread from her shoulder blades elongating to wings, and her body transformed to a bird. She darted into the air, weaving in and out of the flames, chasing Tarius as he thundered toward the open desert spreading before them.