My heart collapsed in my chest and a pang riveted my stomach. “That’s not true.”
“I had no choice. I needed you to become what you are today—a hero. It’s why we had Riley exile you, it’s why the demons of the Underworld always came after you but never won. We designed your life and made certain it went our way. When you went astray, we corrected it. The day you met Rayna is a perfect example. You two were supposed to meet, but not under the circumstances that you did. That one required some…improvising.”
“Nobody has that kind of power,” I said, but even I didn’t believe it. The anger had risen in my throat and sadness weaved through my body.
“We do, and soon, so will you. The difference being we’ve had thousands of years to develop it.” Drake walked toward me and I stepped back. “What do you think the chances are that you run into a demon in the middle of a portal jump, who just so happened to want to help you?”
“No.”
“His friend Krulear gave him that vision and told him what he had to do. But who made sure she saw exactly what she needed to from an entire dimension away? Who made the vampire send you to the sanctuary?”
“Stop it.”
“Chase, how do you think the Circle found out about Rayna’s parents? Or that she and her mother had returned to Stonewall? Think about everything. The only reason we sent Riley on a wild goose chase to find a ‘special demon’s blood,’ is because we needed you and the summoner together. You needed to build trust in one another. It wouldn’t have worked otherwise.”
“Shut up. Shut up!” I screamed. I turned and started back toward the market. I refused to believe that I’d never made a decision in my life. Everything I had done was exactly what they wanted me to do; when it wasn’t, they did something to rebalance the scales.
“Now do you see? I’ve done horrible things. All of it to get my father back. There is no end to what I will do to rescue him from that hell, but I never wanted to destroy another’s life so completely. It’s why I want you to have a chance at a real life…at happiness. If you listen to me, you can have an eternity of it.”
I turned and grabbed Drake by the throat. Fire burned in my palm and scorched his skin, sending wafts of smoke into the air.
“Happiness? You have taken everything: my father, my mother, my life as a hunter…Willy.” Anger caught in my throat. “I will give you nothing else but these words: I will stop this, and I will kill you.”
Drake tried to speak but I squeezed tighter, choking his words. Black strings of magic poured from his hands but hissed as they touched the flames on my hand. My skin became a white inferno and the smell of burnt flesh clung to the back of my throat. Drake pressed his power against me and it crept over my scalding hands like a liquid entity, screaming against the heat.
“I want you to think about this, Drake. Think about it long and hard. What if this time I’m right? What if all along you’ve been Ithreal’s pawn? Then what?”
Drake’s magic wrapped itself around my wrist and a blast of power exploded between us. I tried to fight the force, but it was too strong and I skidded across the road. My hand was torn from his throat and the skin ripped away with a sloshing sound.
Drake cried out in pain, reaching up to his throat. The perfect white skin oozed and black threads of burnt flesh were engrained in the wound.
“I may not be able to kill yet,” I said. “But I sure as hell can make it hurt.”
The Dark Brother gasped for air and a demonic growl rumbled in his throat. Skin moved from the back of his neck and grew over the wound. When he pulled his hand away, there was a smear of blood coloring his skin, but the wound was gone. “Yet? We are demigods. We cannot kill one another. Not now, not ever. Our lives end only at the hand of a god.”
“I have the power of a hundred gods inside me. They may only be pieces, but are you certain when they’re bound to my soul, I won’t be more than you? Do you truly think the gods would entrust their lives, and the lives of everyone in their dimensions, to me if I couldn’t win?”
Drake’s black eyes were focused and for the first time, I saw a hint of doubt. He quickly wiped it away and shook his head. “I’ve tried to help you, Chase. I really have. To give you something back. If you just—”
“It’s not in your power to give back what you’ve taken.”
White flames crawled up to my elbow and snapped on the air. My air element came to life and a breeze tore through the sky, throwing blond strands in my face. Rocks lifted from the ground and floated along the wind, pebbles at first, then larger stones that sailed toward Drake.
The Brother backed away, his power tearing open a portal behind him.
“I’m coming for you, Drake. And I’m never going to stop.”
“Then you best be on your way,” he said. He adjusted his jacket and cleared his throat. “The winter solstice comes in ten days, Earth time, and then Ithreal will be free. We don’t need you there for the ritual, and you can’t hide from us now. One way or another, Ithreal will be inside you.”
Drake stepped back into the portal and it closed behind him, leaving rocks and wind to spin in a cyclone around me. Flames rose off my arms and anger, pain, hatred, and sadness, flooded my soul. The fire consumed me and burst into a flare of bright light before vanishing completely. I fell to the ground, anger consuming me to the point of paralysis.
All my elements evaporated, leaving me in a stupor of emotions. I stared at the open space that once held Drake’s portal and the night passed over me. I wasn’t sure how much time had gone, but hues of color had already broken over the horizon when Rayna’s voice came.
“Chase?”
Her voice didn’t alleviate my rage and I didn’t call back. The next time I blinked she was crouched next to me.
“What are you doing way out here? Have you even slept?”
I couldn’t look at her. My eyes were locked on the open space that had held Drake hours ago. Tiki and Vincent stood behind her now and my emotions were a hurricane, tearing apart my insides. My legs felt weak. I didn’t think I could stand if I tried.
“Chase, talk to me.”
“Drake,” I said, and my voice sounded hoarse.
“He was here? What did he want?”
I shook my head, and realized tears were falling from my eyes like pebbles rolling down a hill. Rayna reached out to wipe it away and pulled her hand back with a gasp. The tears were nearly ice—magic leaking from my body.
Rayna’s eyes pulled me in and should’ve comforted me, but comfort eluded me. It wasn’t just my life that had been taken. The Dark Brothers had taken Willy’s, my mom’s, and Rayna’s mom too. They had destroyed Rayna’s childhood and altered her life forever. Drake had told me what he had done, but now I had to tell her. I had to be the one to tell her that her blood was the reason her mother was dead. I had to be the one to break her heart.
Chapter 24
Rayna sat in disbelief at first, then heartbreak took over, quickly changing to rage, and finally, sadness. We’d moved off the road and into the field behind it and the grass danced against my skin. I needed the constant sensation to keep me grounded. I had to be strong for Rayna. I couldn’t get lost in anger or sadness anymore. The Brothers had owned my life and then destroyed it. I wouldn’t give them this too. They couldn’t own what was left of me.
Vincent and Tiki left to get food, and Rai took off into the sky, a blur of white on a green backdrop. Rayna and I stayed together, her head on my shoulder. She had cried and so had I, but we told each other we wouldn’t give up. Right now, at this moment, this was all we had left. Our future was ours, not theirs. They would never take anything away from us again.
“If I have to be here feeling like this, I’m glad it’s with you,” she said, but her voice was empty and distant.
I kissed the top of her head and pulled her tight against my chest. “Me too.”
“Don’t ever leave me,” she whispered.
“I won’t. It’s you and me…” I let my voic
e trail off, the words reminding me of my mother, yet another life stolen.
“Always,” she said.
I closed my eyes as she finished the sentence and held back any tears that wanted to fall. Even as I heard footsteps trampling the grass toward us, I kept my eyes shut, and it wasn’t until Vincent spoke that I let the memory go.
“This was the closest thing to normal we could find, and I got spit on twice to get it, so you damn well better eat it.” He had a basket full of what looked like green bread and a variety of fruits I’d never seen. I couldn’t argue. At this point, I think I might have even eaten whatever Moke had given us in Lavinos. In fact, with how hungry I was, I almost wished I had.
I finished the last few bites of my food and wiped my hands along the ground. It hadn’t tasted awful, but the texture had made me gag on more than on occasion. We’d spent the entire meal in silence, which left me to my thoughts. We needed a plan; we were running out of time.
“I think we should split up,” I said.
“What? No way,” Rayna said. “You’ve been an advocate for sticking together this entire time. Remember what happened last time?”
“Drake said we have ten days based on Earth’s time. That means we have what, a day or two here max?” I looked to Tiki, but he only replied with a shrug. “We still have to finish the rite and get anyone we can on our side. That isn’t a lot of time. And we still need to go to Silas to get Grayson.”
“I don’t necessarily disagree with you about splitting up, Mr. Williams, but I think you may have to come to terms with the fact that he’s an extra,” Vincent said. “If we can get to him, great, but if not, there are bigger things happening. It’s you who is always saying if Riley wins we all die anyway, right? If we don’t have time to get Grayson now, we’ll go back for him after we win this thing.”
I hated the thought of leaving Grayson to whatever fate he faced in Silas, but Vincent was right, which made me hate it even more.
“You haven’t said more than a few words since we left Lavinos, and now you’re preaching to me about wanting to do what’s right to win? What gives?”
Vincent shrugged. “I’ve had a change of heart. So be it.”
I laughed, and the sound surprised even me.
“Is that really so hard to believe?”
I nodded. “Yeah, it really is. What aren’t you telling us?”
Vincent tore his gaze away and shrugged. “It appears that you’ve done me yet another favor. Whether or not intentional, I am most grateful for it and as such, realize perhaps my approach may have been slightly skewed all this time.”
“What are you talking about?”
Vincent’s eyes flashed up to Tiki, then to Rayna, and settled on me. He looked uncomfortable at first, and then he smiled.
“So…are you going to tell us?” I asked.
“I’m showing you,” he said. “Notice anything different?”
I studied his face for a few seconds before I realized it. “Your teeth! I thought it would be years before they came back, if ever.”
“It appears in the unfolding events of Lavinos, that procedure was…sped up slightly. So thank you.” Vincent shuddered and turned away.
“When you used your element on the Queen,” Rayna said. “We all felt your magic, it went right into us.”
“Well, look at that, our little vampire’s got his bite back,” I said.
Vincent glared at me from the corner of his eye. “This does not make your humor any more tolerable. How can you even smile? If I were you, I’d be on a rampage.”
“Because being angry has worked so well for me in the past,” I said, regretting the angry tone I’d used. I shook it away and sighed. “This is all I have left. The Brothers have taken everything else. They’ve altered and steered the course of my life for years, but now it’s mine. This moment right here, this is what I have left. And they can’t have this too.”
******
With Vincent on my side, Tiki and Rayna only needed a little convincing. I didn’t love the idea of splitting up, but we were running out of time and options. Besides, it was different this time…safer. We weren’t splitting up to go into battle, we were doing it to build an army, and after telling them that, the others agreed. Rayna and I would go on to Alkalina Lake with Rai, while Vincent and Tiki headed toward the trolls. If they could get the trolls on board with us, and possibly use Ishmar to bring the giants, we’d be in a much better position. And if those demons could convince any of their allies to join them, we might have a chance.
Rayna and I wished them luck and clung to Rai’s feathers as she launched us into the sky. The wind was cold and when the lake was in sight, memories of that day months ago came rushing back. They were so fresh that I could hear the thunder raging in my ears, regardless of the clear sky above.
Rayna’s grip tightened as we descended and the volcano grew larger with each passing moment. Dirt flung into the air as Rai thrust her claws into the earth, running along the ground as she tried to slow herself. We bumped and jerked with the landing until we came to a stop. Standing alongside her, Rai cawed and I ran my fingers through her feathers. She leaned into my hand before jumping into the air and flying away.
On the edge of the lake, we stared up at the half-crumbled volcano. Steam rose into the air from the peak and the lava that had spilled months ago had cooled and hardened. Black rock now covered the mountain, including the mouth of the cave. Large boulders had collapsed, blocking the entrance, and lava had rolled over it, filling in the spaces and sealing the cave shut.
“So now what?” Rayna asked.
“I don’t know. I guess we dive in and see what we can see?”
“You want to just jump in?”
“You got a better idea?”
“Well no, but what if there are things down there? Slimy things…” Rayna shuddered at whatever image had formed in her mind.
“Only one way to find out.” I ran the last few steps and jumped forward, diving into the purple liquid.
The water felt warm as it glided over my skin. When I opened my eyes, my vision wasn’t blurry, nor did the water seem to hurt my eyes. The liquid carried a magic of its own, allowing me to breathe with ease while illuminating the way. Water and bubbles foamed beside me as Rayna jumped in; when the bubbles cleared, I took in the lake below.
The bottom was a sandy red that extended evenly for as far as I could see. Yellow, blue, and green plants stretched up from the sandy base and swayed in the water as a liquid breeze pushed them back and forth. The rocky wall beside us sloped down with jagged pieces of stone jutting from it and forty feet across was the base of the mountain.
Molten lava had coiled down into the water, cooling and hardening into a swirling design. It coiled into itself and had stiffened with small pocket-like holes covering its outside. So far I couldn’t see fish or any type of creatures swimming in the water, and that eased at least one tension that had ripened in my gut.
The bottom of the lake was twenty feet from the surface and a large stone archway jutted randomly out of the sand. Initially, it reminded me of my first time in Drakar when Tiki led me into a lake and through a similar archway. That door had taken me from water to land in a matter of inches. I had stepped out onto the rocky path of the market and my journey to stop Riley had truly begun. As I looked on across the lake, however, this wasn’t the only arch. Every few feet stood another arch in the sand, each of them facing different directions. I turned to Rayna who seemed to be confused by her ability to breathe under the water. When she’d grown comfortable, she pointed at all the arches and then to the surface, kicking her legs to propel her upward.
When my head broke through the water, the clear sky had changed. Dark clouds rolled in from the horizon. They bubbled and expanded with each passing breath. Although the thunder was too distant to hear, flashes of lightning crackled inside the clouds. Déjà vu rocked my body and nervousness pressed my skin.
“That’s a lot of doorways,” Rayna said
.
I spit some water from my mouth as it slipped between my lips. I stared into the clouds and nodded. “And I don’t like whatever’s happening up there.”
Rayna stared up at the rolling clouds and a shiver ran through me.
No! He’s getting close.
He cannot do this. He is weak.
We must take over before it’s too late.
A splitting pain cut across my mind and my head snapped forward. My face disappeared beneath into the water and I gasped for air, the pain stealing my breath.
“Hey, what’s the matter?” Rayna treaded water but she reached out and touched my arm. Her magic pushed through and helped clear my mind.
“We’re running out of time,” I said.
Concern covered Rayna’s face, but it deepened as the lines around her eyes and forehead creased. “Then we better get started.”
Rayna slid through the water with ease, pulling herself down to the first archway. Through the archway I could see the lake on the other side. The plant life continued to sway and everything seemed calm, but the moment Rayna pushed her head between the stones, it vanished. I’d never seen it from this perspective before and her headless form floated out of the doorway, giving me an unsettling feeling.
When her face came back into view, Rayna shook her head and swam toward the next arch. The water rolled over my face and body as I swam, stopping next to another doorway. The stone was smooth and hard to grip, but I managed to get a hold on the rock. I kicked my feet and pulled myself forward, letting my head go through the door.
A tickling sensation ran over my face as it crossed the threshold, and then there was nothing but cold. Sharp winds cut against my face like frozen shards and the air nearly burned my skin. There was a flurry of snow covering the ground, and visibility was almost zero. All I could see was a grey mist that lingered in the storm.
Endure Page 23
