by Linsey Hall
In the distance, the air flashed silver. A portal. It had to be. The one that held the sword.
I raced for it, crying out to Roarke as I passed, “We’re close! It’s in that portal up ahead.”
“We’ll follow!” Roarke yelled. “I’ll bring the others!”
I left him behind and sprinted the last ten yards, dodging a demon’s fireball as I ran. A shadow flickered through the portal, leading me to it. A sense of rightness filled me as I neared it—I was close to the blade.
I could hear my friends running behind me, crashing through the forest to get to the next portal. I adopted my Phantom form right before I reached it, plunging inside.
Chapter Thirteen
I skidded to a halt on the other side, my eyes widening. I was back in the tower. The one from my childhood. In my mind, I was immediately in the past, as if my present self were joined with my younger self. My head buzzed with the combination of adult knowledge and childish yearning.
Being here made me want to see my parents so badly. Even though my only memories were of their abandonment, I couldn’t help but think that if I just saw them, everything would be okay. And I would have answers.
I knew it like I knew I needed air to breathe.
I spun, taking in the empty room. Or was it empty? I almost felt a presence, but I wasn’t sure. Draka, maybe?
Behind me, the portal glowed like a window into the forest I’d just left behind. My friends ran toward me—toward the portal.
Roarke grabbed Cass’s and Nix’s hands and stepped forward.
He pulled up short, as if he had hit a wall. Confusion flashed over his face. He tried again, but he couldn’t get through.
I could see Cass’s lips move, but I couldn’t hear her. She wanted to know what was wrong. From behind my friends, more demons appeared, running out from between the trees. An endless supply of them. Aidan, still in his griffin form, roared to warn them. They all turned. Cass threw a fireball at the nearest demon while Nix fired her arrows.
As my friends defended themselves, I turned back to the room, unable to help myself. My mind buzzed with memories, all elusive as smoke. I couldn’t quite grasp them, but they were here. The blade was here.
Somewhere.
But I couldn’t feel where.
The door on the other side of the room was open.
The exit!
My heart leapt. It’d never been open before—not while I was unsupervised. I could run down and see my parents.
Vaguely, I recognized that my mind had gone back to the past. Back to when I was a girl, locked up here until I learned to fight and use my magic.
Do what is right. Draka’s words from my dream echoed in my head.
My gaze stayed riveted on the door. I could just run down. I should just run down. I would see my parents. I would have a good life with my family. The life I once wanted, beautiful and pure. I wouldn’t end up with the Ubilaz demon’s power.
Even better, I’d have answers about my past.
And the sword blade had to be down there. Why else would I have come here?
But what about my friends?
I turned, gazing out of the portal at the people I’d grown to love like my own blood. More demons had arrived. They fought valiantly, Roarke and Aidan swooping through the air and diving for the demons’ heads while Cass and Nix shot fire and arrows.
But there were so many demons.
I turned away, gazing at the room once more. My heart ached like it had never ached before, pulling me toward the open door. Would I find Draka down there? My parents?
Yes.
My parents, yes.
But I knew, like I knew my own soul, that if I went down those stairs, I would never come back up. I might find the life I’d wished for, but I’d never see my deirfiúr again. Never see Roarke again.
But the sword was here, somewhere in this world. I could feel it.
Unable to help myself, I turned back to the portal to see my friends.
More demons had arrived. They wouldn’t stop arriving. Roarke and Aidan could fly out of there, taking Cass and Nix with them. But they wouldn’t leave without me. They’d die fighting for me.
My chest hurt.
They needed me. I couldn’t stay here. Not even for the sword blade.
There was no time to search for it. Not as long as the demons kept piling up on my friends, flowing out of the forest like a wave of evil.
My heart tore in two. If I left here, I’d be leaving the sword blade behind. Leaving behind any hope of controlling the last of my power—the worst of my power. It would be the death of me, sooner rather than later. I’d leave behind any hope of knowing my family.
But if I stayed, I’d leave my friends to die.
Do what is right. Draka’s words echoed in my head as I stepped toward the portal. I had to fight by their side. I had to be there so they would escape—not stay here and let them die, trying to defend a friend who had abandoned them.
As I stepped toward the portal, the sword sheath at my back twitched. I was about to reach for it when something grabbed me from behind and yanked me back into the room.
For the first time since I’d entered the tower, my mind cleared fully. I slammed onto my back on the floor. A black shadow swirled above me, amorphous but vaguely shaped like a cloaked man.
Shit!
The shadow that had cursed me?
My head ached, as if the curse in my mind were reacting to its nearness.
Yes. The shadow that had cursed me.
I threw out my hand, calling on my ice power, and sent a massive icicle straight at it. The spear flew through the shadow and shattered against the ceiling, raining icy shards down upon me. I rolled, protecting my face, but the shadow jerked me up.
I thrashed, trying to break its hold, but it was so strong! Fear chilled my skin, and I wished desperately for help. Any kind of help.
A dog’s bark sounded, so familiar and beautiful. Pond Flower hurtled from the other side of the room, black flame rising from her skin and her teeth bared. She leapt through the shadow, driving it away from me.
I whirled to face it just as it surged back toward me. I hurled another icicle at it. Again, the icicle shot through the shadow.
On the other side of the room, I could see my friends, still fighting. Dozens of demons surrounded them, throwing fire and wind and all manner of magical weapons. Nix was down, struggling to rise. Cass stumbled. Blood poured from Roarke’s chest, and Aidan’s golden fur was streaked with soot from fireballs.
My heart thundered, panic racing through me. I had to get to them! They were so badly outnumbered.
Something tugged at the sheath on my back. Pond Flower!
Why was she tugging at the sword hilt?
I reached for the sword, pulling so hard that the straps containing it broke.
As I drew the sword in front of me, the shadow spun around to face me. Shock lanced through me at the sight of my sword. From the hilt, a bright blue blade was growing.
My magic screamed inside of me, lighting up like fireworks. I blinked, trying to focus on the black shadow that was surging toward me. I swung out with the blade, aiming for the shadow. When the glowing blue metal swept through its middle, it hissed. I struck again, and this time, smoke rose up from it.
The shadow whirled, racing across the room and disappearing out the door. For the briefest second, I longed to go after it, but I ignored that feeling.
It wasn’t gone, but that battle would have to wait for another day.
My magic was going wild inside of me. Like for the first time, I could feel all of it. Identify all of it. Different powers glowed as different lights. As I’d once imagined, the Ubilaz demon’s power glowed as a bright orange light.
In my mind, I reached out and grabbed it, getting ahold of it so easily. As easily as if I were turning into a Phantom or throwing an icicle. It was nothing to snuff it out, dampening the power and the call to all the demons that it seemed to emit.
Pond Flower barked with joy.
“Thank you,” I told her. She’d come when I’d truly needed her. Apparently she only showed when I was at my most desperate.
I’d take it.
Pond Flower licked my hand once, then disappeared.
Joy sang through me as I raced through the portal, stumbling out into the woods. None of the demons looked at me funny, like I was an abomination they needed to kill.
It had worked!
I joined the battle, testing my new blade against a nearby demon. As it sliced through his neck, instinct made me reject his power. He stumbled back, collapsing, but his soul didn’t fly out and cling to me.
“You’re back!” Cass cried.
“Yeah!” I plunged my sword into the chest of another demon, this one massive and with huge fangs. With my blade sunk into his chest, I kicked him hard to dislodge him.
Twenty feet away, a small yellow demon crept up on Nix. I shot an icicle at it, nailing it in the stomach.
I liked this new multitasking!
Sweat poured down my face as I fought, but at least new demons had stopped appearing. I was no longer attracting them with my Ubilaz power, thank fates.
Eventually, all the demons lay dead around us. My shoulder burned from a fireball wound and a cut on my leg dripped blood, but I looked better than my friends. Every single one of them was bleeding from multiple wounds and singed with fireball blasts.
Roarke staggered up to me, one of his wings drooping.
“It worked.” His gaze went to my sword. He grinned.
“It did.”
He gripped the back of my neck and pressed a kiss to my forehead.
“Good job,” Cass said. “Whatever you had to do.”
“Not ditch my friends,” I said.
“What?”
“Long story.” I glanced around the woods, looking for more demons. They were no longer drawn to me, but I didn’t want to run into one accidentally. We were just about out of fight juice. “Let’s get out of here, and I’ll tell you.”
We tromped off through the woods, following my dragon sense back toward the portal. I held Roarke’s hand, while Cass and Nix leaned on each other. Aidan stalked ahead, still in his griffin form.
My heart warmed. I’d made the right choice. No matter how much I’d wanted answers and to meet my family, this was my family. The family that I’d chosen. And who had chosen me.
Walking with my friends, victorious after battle, was pretty much the best feeling in the world.
Chapter Fourteen
The next evening, I pushed open the door to P & P, grateful to duck in out of the rain. It’d been nearly a full twenty-four hours since we’d arrived back on Earth, and I was supposed to meet my friends here for a recap. They’d all been so tired and injured when we’d finally made it back that we’d agreed on a short break so everyone could heal up. After the healer had seen to him, Roarke had spent the night at my place, both of us just relaxing until we passed out from exhaustion, but he’d headed back to his place to change about an hour ago.
I was the first to get to P & P, where we’d all agreed to meet, which was part of my plan.
“Hey!” Claire called from behind the counter. “You’re just in time.”
“Good.” I walked through the empty cafe, pulling the dagger out of the bag at my side. “I’ve brought the artifact. Will Orson be here soon?”
Claire came around the corner and took the dagger from me. “Yes. I told him I’d found the artifact that had been imbued with the Ubilaz demon’s magic and destroyed the magic. He’s agreed to come get the dagger.”
“Awesome.” The true point of inviting Orson to P & P was to see if he recognized me. If the blood spell had worked, he shouldn’t. Claire had emptied out the cafe so we’d be alone, just in case his memory hadn’t been wiped.
At that point, we’d have to deal with him.
“Have a seat, and I’ll bring you a drink.” She pointed toward the corner near the bar. Not my usual seat, but it would ensure that Orson saw me when he entered.
I sat, enjoying the fact that I didn’t have to shift to make a sword sheath fit comfortably. I’d figured out pretty quickly how to store my new blade in the ether and draw it whenever I needed. It meant that the talisman was always with me, but I didn’t need to carry it. And that meant no demons showing up randomly.
I pulled out my phone and began to idly scroll through it, waiting for Orson and trying to look relaxed. In reality, every muscle was tense.
“One mug of red wine.” Connor’s voice made me jerk my head up.
He grinned at me, holding the mug out in front of his usual obscure band T-shirt. Today, it was Alterbridge. Who the heck was Alterbridge?
“Thanks!” I reached up and took the mug.
He sat in the seat near mine and grinned. “I’ll keep you company while we wait. Nervous?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, we shouldn’t—”
The door opened behind him, cutting him off.
It was Orson, impeccably dressed as usual in a long black raincoat that had clearly been custom made. I stiffened slightly, then forced myself to relax and sip the wine Connor had brought me.
Connor, bless him, began to make inane conversation about Alterbridge while Orson stalked across the coffee shop.
His gaze passed briefly over me, and though it paused, it didn’t stick. My heart calmed slightly.
Claire came out of the back kitchen just as he reached the bar.
“Do you have it?” Orson demanded.
“Yes.” Claire pulled the dagger from underneath the counter where she’d stashed it and handed it over. “A mage helped me remove the spell. But the Ubilaz demon’s powers are gone for good now.”
Orson nodded. “Good. I can feel that there are no more disturbances in the demon power sphere. The Order of the Magica will be pleased. I should get a raise for this!”
I suppressed a scowl. If anyone should get a raise, it should be Claire. To her credit, she just nodded and smiled. She was used to her crappy boss.
I held my breath as Orson walked out of the coffee shop. He glanced at me one more time, but there was nothing more than disinterest in his gaze. As soon as he disappeared down the street, Claire came over.
“It worked,” she said with a smile.
“Yeah.” My shoulders loosened. “Thank fates.”
The door opened a moment later, and Cass and Aidan came in. Both looked vastly better than they had after we’d escaped the Underworld. Nix and Roarke followed almost immediately.
“You’re all punctual,” I said.
“You’re early,” Cass said.
“I was supposed to be.” Guiltily, I fessed up. “Claire and I arranged it so that Orson would come and pick up an artifact that was supposedly imbued with the Ubilaz demon’s power. We wanted to see if he recognized me.”
Roarke leaned down and kissed me briefly. My heart fluttered as he said, “He didn’t, I presume?”
“No. Thank magic.”
“Good!” Cass shook her finger. “But you’re an idiot for doing that without us!”
“I couldn’t let him know you were my accomplices if he did recognize me. You guys have already done enough.”
“Nah,” Nix said. “That little fight in hell was fun!”
“Fun. Right.” I grinned at her.
“We’re going to get some drinks,” Cass said. “Then you can tell us what the hell happened back there.”
While Claire got drinks for everyone, Connor hopped up and turned on some music. It was some obscure band I’d never heard of—maybe Alterbridge themselves—but that didn’t matter. I was so happy to be with everyone and have everything mostly back to normal that he could have played Gregorian chants and I’d have liked it.
Roarke was the first to join me, settling into the seat next to mine. He leaned over and kissed me briefly, sending my heart rate skyrocketing.
“How’re you doing?” he asked.
“
Great. My magic feels totally in control. Like my whole body is in harmony.” I searched his handsome face, looking for any sign of the bruising he’d had yesterday. Those demons had done a number on everyone. “More importantly, how are you?”
“Good. All healed up.”
“Good.”
Cass plopped down in the seat next to me, a silver can of her horrible PBR clutched in her hand.
“So, spill,” she said.
Aidan sat next to her, and Nix joined us a moment later. Claire and Connor took the last two seats, rounding out our little private party nicely.
“Thanks for closing the cafe for this,” I said.
“No problem,” Claire said. “It’s usually a quiet night anyway. And I didn’t want anyone here when Orson came to get the dagger.”
“I’m so glad he’s off your tail,” Nix said. “Now tell us what happened back there.”
“Okay.” I sucked in a deep breath and told them about the tower room and the shadow. About having to make the right choice to prove I was worthy.
Once I’d finished, Cass asked, “So, you think by choosing us, you did the right thing, and that’s what made the sword blade appear?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I mean, it was a no-brainer. I’d love to know my parents and get some answers, but your lives were on the line. And you’re my family. I really think that if I went down those stairs, that I’d never have come back up. I’d never see you again.”
“Maybe that’s because of the shadow,” Roarke said. “Because if you ask me, that sounds a hell of a lot like a trap.”
I nodded, dread twisting my insides. “I think you’re right. And I think that shadow was what cursed me. But I didn’t kill it. It’s still out there.”
“But at least now you have control of your powers,” Nix said.
“And I’d bet big money you’re going to get a second crack at that shadow,” Cass added.
“Yeah.” I sat back, clutching my wine in both hands. “I just wish I knew what happened to Draka. I’m going to need her help.”
“You have our help,” Roarke said.
