Mortal Enchantment
Page 17
“The creep factor just went up several notches,” I said, my voice echoing.
Ariel raised an eyebrow. “What now?”
I was about to answer when a hidden side door creaked open. My pulse raced. One by one, male and female elementals silently lined the walls of the room until we were completely encircled. Although dressed in casual mortal clothes, they marched in unison like soldiers in the military. I wasn't sure how many there were—maybe twenty. Several of the elementals sported tattoos of the blazing fire court symbol on their necks.
It all made sense. Valac was not only fueling the war against the fire court, but also recruiting other fire elementals—all behind Liana’s back—for his planned takeover. This was even bigger than I’d thought, which was only going to make my plan ten times harder. I glanced over at Ariel. I could see beads of sweat popping up on the back of her neck. I clenched my fists, refusing to show fear. The elementals watched us as if they were waiting for a signal to attack.
I crossed my arms to hide my trembling hands.
The crowd parted and I flinched. Valac strolled through with his sister at his side. Selene was intimidating, but it was clear she took her cues from her brother. When I locked eyes with Valac, they both took a few steps to the side. Two soldiers made their way through the crowd with a bloody Rowan in tow. I held back a shrieking scream. Valac pointed at Rowan. They released him, letting his motionless body crumple to the floor with a thump. His eyes were closed, his face bruised, and a line of dried blood stained his cheek.
A lump swelled in my throat and I swallowed hard. It took everything I had not to run to him or to react to seeing him that way. Valac had brought him here to scare me, I refused to give him what he wanted. Just as I was about to look away, Rowan's chest rose and fell. He was still alive. My heart fluttered, but I had to push those feelings aside.
I tore my eyes away from Rowan and glared at Valac. “I've come to offer you a treaty with the air court.”
“Kalin, don't do this!” Ariel begged, playing her part well. A few elementals snickered in the audience, but I didn't shift my attention from Valac. “I've come for my father and Rowan. If you let us leave with them, then the air court will be your ally and support your claim to the fire court.” I concentrated on keeping my voice calm, making every attempt not to appear frightened, even though my stomach was a twisting ball of nerves.
Valac's face was unreadable. “Very well,” he said, gesturing toward the hidden door. “Follow me.”
The crowd cleared a path and Valac strolled through with his sister right behind. He agreed too easily, which set off my internal alarms. I didn’t trust him, but what choice did I have? I met eyes with Ariel, giving her a just-go-with-it look. We followed them through the entryway.
What I saw next made me feel like my chest had caved in. I could not breathe.
Dad was sitting on his knees with his hands behind his back. His canary yellow court robes were ripped, and his normally immaculate brown hair hung clumpy and dirty in front of his face. An iron collar was locked tightly around his neck with charred, bloody skin encrusted around the edges. The collar prevented him from using his power.
Rage fueled me, triggering my power. My muscles simultaneously tightened. I thought about letting loose right here, but I needed to save my energy. I had no idea what Valac might have planned. “What have you done to him?”
Dad looked up and our eyes met for the first time. I placed my hand over my mouth to hide a gasp. He had spent too much time in the mortal world and was aging rapidly. The young man I was used to calling ‘Dad’, now appeared to be in his late fifties. Dark wrinkles encircled the bottoms of his eyelids, his skin was ghostly pale. He blinked several times and in a faint voice, he whispered, “Kalin?”
I wanted to cry and run into his arms, just as I had so many times in my dreams. I took a few paces toward him, but stopped dead in my tracks as Jarrod stepped out from behind Dad and held a knife to his neck.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Not so fast,” Jarrod warned.
White-hot anger raged inside of me, surging my power. “I can't believe you! My father trusted you Jarrod, and you betrayed him. How could you?”
“How could I?” he chuckled. “Do you really think I’d choose Taron over my own children?”
The force of his words made me take a step backwards. I couldn’t have heard him right. “What?”
“Valac and Selene are my children.”
I stood completely still, dumbfounded by this revelation. “How…is that even possible?”
“Their mother was a fire elemental—she died during childbirth. When it was clear the twins would be fire elementals, I went straight to Prisma. She raised them and she taught them to use their power.”
I wondered if Dad knew anything about this. “None of this explains why you betrayed my father. Why did you attack your own court?”
“It's nothing personal,” Valac said before Jarrod could respond. “Taron would have never passed the crown to him. Father only did what he had to.”
Of course! Valac promised him the air court if he helped him. How very clever.
Jarrod released Dad, coming to stand next to Valac and Selene. Dad winced once before falling on his side. Ariel ran to him. Kneeling in front of him, she put his head in her lap. She tried to hide her hands, but I saw her trying to rub the salve she made on the skin around his iron collar. Smoke rose from the metal touching her skin, but she continued even though I was sure the pain was excruciating.
I needed to keep Jarrod, Selene, and Valac’s attention on me.
Valac waved his hand in the air and a wall of fire encircled the four of us.
I scanned around my new prison. “Nice display of power. I'm sure Queen Liana would be impressed.”
Selene let out a disgusted huff.
“Liana is no queen,” Valac said, voice laced with venom. “She’s a steward of the fire court.”
Seems I found a soft spot. Poking away at him might give Ariel time to heal Dad, or at least get him to a point where she could take him to the portal. I had to keep Valac talking. “She is the queen. Your queen, if you want to get into the specifics.”
Valac rolled his eyes. “Rowan should never have passed the throne to her.”
Rowan had given the throne to Liana? That part I did not know. “Who should he have passed it to? You? Oh, right. You were exiled.” I tapped my finger on my bottom lip. “Speaking of exile, how is it you’re still alive?”
Valac chuckled. “We never left Avalon. All this time, our father kept us hidden away inside Taron’s court.”
“Okay, then why not avoid all this drama and just challenge Liana for the throne?” I gripped the knife hidden in my breastplate.
He cocked his head. “Every member of the House of Djin has to be eliminated before the crown could to be passed.”
“Do we really have to kill Rowan?” Selene asked, cringing as if she was expecting to be hit. “If Liana’s dead, couldn’t we force him to rescind the throne again?”
Valac narrowed his eyes at Selene. “You would show him mercy, Selene? The one responsible for our mother’s death?”
Everything Valac said was a lie. He never wanted Rowan to join with him. He was trying to get to him while he had his guard down. “How could you kill your own brother?” I asked, totally disgusted.
Fire ignited from Valac’s fingertips. “The throne belongs to me. I would kill every elemental in Avalon if necessary.” He clenched his fists, putting out the flames. “With Rowan dead and Liana following soon behind, there is no one left to challenge me.”
Sweat trickled down my spine. We heard a noise that sounded like scraping metal. Valac lowered his hand and the firewall dropped to waist level. Without knowing we were watching, Ariel removed the iron collar from Dad’s neck. His eyes opened and I had to hold back the tears.
“Destroy her!” Valac yelled.
Guards closed around Ariel and she leaped to her feet into a crouche
d position. A sword appeared from behind her back. When she reached for it, I could see her palms were badly burned. She winced when she gripped the handle. Without missing a beat, she swung it out in front of her as a warning.
A wild roar came out of nowhere, shaking the floor beneath us. A Gabriel Hound. He raced over, positioning himself in front of Ariel and my father. The hound was protecting them. When two of the guards moved toward them, the hound jumped on top of them. They screamed in pain as he ripped them apart. The other guards didn’t stand around watching. They ran for the exit. What I was seeing made no sense at all, but it didn’t matter as long as Ariel and Dad were protected.
With the attention on the rogue hound, I figured I had about ten seconds.
This was it.
I had to act.
I pulled the hidden knife out of my breastplate, quickly plunging it into Jarrod’s chest. He grimaced in pain, but he managed to hit me with a backhanded slap across the face. I stumbled from the shock of the blow.
Valac came toward me, and before I could register what was happening, he punched me in the stomach, knocking the wind out of me. When I bowed forward, I took a kick to the face and fell to the ground. Blood spattered onto the floor and my vision was spotty.
Jarrod pulled him backwards by the arm. “She's mine.”
Valac laughed but he didn't seem as satisfied. He was ready to come back and inflict more damage. “I’m not done with her.”
Jarrod put his hand on Valac’s shoulder. “I should be the one to kill her. It’s her family’s crown I’m taking after all.”
Valac paused, then backed away. “Very well, Father. She’s all yours.”
Jarrod growled as he slid the blade out of his wound. The knife clanked when it hit the ground. “You're going to pay for that, little bitch. I'd planned to kill you quickly, but now, I'll take my time with you.”
As he resumed his attack on me, my muscles seized up. I tried to ignore what was going on and ignite my power, but the pain made it impossible to concentrate. Jarrod kicked the sides of my body over and over again. I curled into a ball, turning away from him, trying to block his assault. My breaths were short, possibly from broken ribs. I tried to protect myself, but it only made his attack more vicious. Now he was stomping on my back and shoulder blades. Wheezing and writhing, my strength lessened by the second.
Jarrod stopped. Apparently worn out and needing a break. He said something to Valac, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying over the sounds of my own choking and hacking.
In between heavy breaths, Jarrod asked, “Do you hear that sound?” He looked around as if he was searching for something. “It's the sound of your impending death.”
Jarrod turned his back to me to gloat some more. My eyes caught a flicker of light. It was the shimmer of the metal blade. During the attack, my knife had somehow slid only a few feet from where I lay. I concentrated all of my remaining strength on my wind magic, pulling the weapon to me. I moved as fast as I could. I leaped to my feet, plunging the blade into his ribcage. I twisted it to make sure I had pierced his lung, then pulled it back out.
Jarrod fell to his knees, I whispered in his ear, “I guess it wasn't my death you heard, asshole!” I pushed him and he landed on his face. Winds swirled around his body at a rapid pace. His skin turned to powder and what was left of him floated into the skies.
“No!” Selene screamed. She motioned like she was about to pounce. Just as I prepared for the attack, the hound growled. The floor shook as he leaped through the firewall, landing on top of her. His jaws clamped around her arm, ripping it out of the socket. She wailed in pain.
“I’m going to kill you!” Valac screamed at me.
We circled one another. I didn’t have enough strength to fight him, so I had to get creative. Rowan taught me how to suck the air out of a fireball, I wondered if it would work on another elemental. I grabbed him as he prepared a fireball in his hand. Putting my palm over his mouth, I used my power to suck the oxygen out of his lungs. He leaned forward, gasping for air, and I pushed him onto the floor next to Selene.
I blew another gust of wind as I ran through the wall of fire that Valac had created.
My adrenaline kicked in and I could barely feel the pain of my injuries. Ariel was still fighting some of Valac's guards.
A few lay on the ground as they slowly burned to ash. Damn, she had some serious skills with a sword.
The power inside me was so strong that my fingertips burned. Ariel caught a glimpse of me and leaped out of the way. I closed my eyes, concentrating on the remaining guards. Holding my hands out in front of me, I imagined I was pushing the power out from my shoulders through my hands.
A thrust of energy released, knocking me off my feet.
I opened my eyes.
Black blood ran down the farthest wall. On the ground below, some of Valac’s guards appeared to be unconscious while others struggled to stand.
Holy shit, I had smashed them all into the wall!
I tried to get up, but I was weakened by the beating I took and the amount of power I used. Without my power, the pain of the fight returned. My muscles felt bruised just like the time I’d gotten in a car accident with some friends from school.
“Ariel, open the gateway now!” I shouted out with as much energy as I could muster.
The hound appeared at Ariel’s side. She held onto Dad’s hand as if trying to channel his power to help her. A swirling gust of wind appeared; she’d done it. Surprisingly, Dad stood up. She put his arm over her shoulders and guided him through the portal.
I got to my feet, but my muscles ached so much I wobbled.
I couldn’t stop, no matter what. The longer we stayed here, my father continued to age. Most important, both Dad and Rowan needed immediate medical attention. I staggered over to Rowan. The hound sat next to him as if he was preparing to be mounted. There was no time to check to see if Rowan was still breathing. I put Rowan on the hound’s back, following close behind as he hauled him toward the portal. Tears of pain streamed down my cheeks, but I willed myself to keep going.
“Rowan, please stay with me.”
He didn’t move.
Once inside the portal, a cool breeze rustled my hair. I trudged forward with every ounce of strength I had left.
When we reached the other side, I was ready to collapse. The portal brought us to some kind of infirmary, much like the one we had at school. Instead of medical supplies, the cabinets contained glass canisters filled with green and brown herbs. The room was lit by white candles resting on large marble pillars and smelled of vanilla. I struggled to get Rowan off of the hound and onto one of the hospital beds.
Rowan was unmoving, but he was breathing. Within moments, the crisp white sheets were stained with blood and dirt. Every part of my body hurt as if I’d been pulled in every direction all at once. A sheeted curtain opened and Ariel appeared out of the side holding a red stained cloth. Both of her hands were bandaged.
“How is my father?” I asked, trying to hide the panic in my tone.
“King Taron is stable and resting,” Ariel said, her eyes scanning Rowan’s bloodied body. “I’m more concerned about Rowan right now.”
Nerves filled my stomach as I watched his chest rise and fall in short breaths. “Can you help him?” My voice shook. “He hasn’t responded at all.”
Ariel came over and opened one of his closed eyelids. “He’s been poisoned by iron.” She made her way across the room, opening the top drawer of a white cabinet. When she came back, she had a syringe and a clear bottle of liquid. She tightened a rubber band around Rowan’s arm, and a vein popped up.
“Isn’t there anything else we can do for him?”
“Normally, yes, but Taron isn't ready to use the amount of power it would take to heal him and neither are you.” In one quick movement, she punctured the rubber cap of the liquid bottle with the tip of the needle. She inserted the medication inside the syringe, and then plunged the needle into his arm. “This will
go through his bloodstream and prevent the poison from killing him.”
My hands were shaking. “What do we do now?”
Ariel retrieved a glass jar from a cabinet, then sat on the bottom corner of his bed. “We treat those injuries of yours.”
“No.” I glared down at Rowan. “He needs your attention more than I do.”
Ariel’s eyes widened as she looked me over. “Kalin, you're really hurt. Let me help you.”
Rowan’s eyes were still closed and his expression was solemn. I put my head on the pillow so his face was only inches from mine. His hair was sweaty and dirty, yet still felt soft between my fingers. Underneath the putrid smell of burned flesh, I took in the faint cinnamon aroma of his skin. “I don't want to move.”
She sighed. “You'll help him more by helping yourself.”
I sat up and she began applying some kind of salve. It smelled like butterscotch, but it burned as she coated each wound. I winced as she applied it to my face and ribs. I couldn't stop thinking about Rowan. “I just wish I had been able to get there sooner. Maybe if I would've told him about the vision, I could have―”
Ariel squeezed my wrist. “Hey, you did what you thought was best. No one can fault you for that. And, by the way, what you did back there, you were amazing!”
After she finished patching me up, I went over to Dad’s bedside. A silver bowl sat on a nearby table, filled with red liquid. Ariel must've cleaned his wounds before we got here. His eyes were still closed, but the coloring had returned to his face.
Ariel said, “It will take some time, but I expect him to recover.” She ran the cloth over his cheeks. “Unfortunately, I can do nothing about the aging, although, I think he looks quite distinguished.”
I ran my hand across his cheek and kissed his forehead. Knowing he was safe and alive filled some of the emptiness I’d been carrying. Each of his breaths came out slow, but steady. It was comforting to watch. It somehow made the world feel peaceful.