by Hall, Linsey
Joy surged through me. This time, I could tell she was real. She wasn’t a solid figure, but she was more than the apparition that had guided me back at the stone circle.
They stepped forward and hugged me. Comfort like I’d never known flowed through me. I wanted to feel it forever. Their arms were as solid as if they’d been real, but they were semitransparent, like ghosts.
“Am I dead?” I asked.
My mother stepped back and smiled. “No.”
“Then where am I?”
“I don’t know, exactly,” my father said.
“I think this is what we prepared for,” my mother said to him.
“What do you mean?”
“When you were born, we knew you were special. Actually special. Not just special because you were ours. We moved to Inismor because we thought it would be a good place to raise you. The next day, the statues appeared at the Black Fort.”
“We realized you were part of the Triumvirate and knew you might be hunted. So we had the locket created to protect you. We didn’t know if someone would try to steal your power, but we suspected it could happen.”
“So it protected me when Victor Orriodor tried to take it.”
“Yes. Though we didn’t expect you to give your power to your friend,” my father said.
“I had to do it.”
“Yes, you did,” my mother said. “It saved your life. And you were able to get it back. The statues connect you with Del and Nix, but they are also a conduit for your magic, making it stronger.”
“But you’ll have to practice with your gift,” my father said. “You have endless power, but you will be unskilled at wielding it. Until you have control, you will be dangerous.”
“I wish we’d been able to train you.” My mother squeezed my shoulder.
My father draped an arm over her shoulder. “We wouldn’t have known how. This was for the best.”
“Thank you for saving me from Victor’s dungeon when I was a kid,” I said.
Pain glinted in my mother’s eyes. “We didn’t succeed.”
“You did.” I hugged her. “You made it possible for us to escape. Without you, we never would have made it out of the house.”
My mother squeezed me hard, then stepped back and said, “You must go now. Your friends need you.”
My heart constricted. “I want to stay with you longer.”
“You cannot. You are now at some kind of waypoint, able to talk to us, but your friends are back on Earth. When you lowered the protective charms on the circle and released your magic, you destroyed your concealment charm and all the protections on the Black Fort. He is coming for you.”
Victor Orriodor. “Will I see you again?”
“One day,” my mother said.
“So the afterlife is real?”
“Where do you think we came from?” my father said.
I grinned, bittersweet joy flooding my chest, and hugged them, never wanting to let go.
Half a second later, I opened my eyes back on earth. I was on my back in the grass, staring up at the stars. I struggled to my feet, my heart fuller than it had been in years.
The world had turned eerie while I was away. Gray mist drifted along the ground. The grass beneath had been singed, almost incinerated.
By me?
My friends all lay on their backs, the gray haze curling around them. I dropped to my knees by Claire, who lay nearest me.
“Wake up!” I shook her shoulder.
She blinked, her gaze confused. “What’s happened?”
Around us, figures appeared at the edges of the circle. Each carried a flaming sword that glowed bright in the night, cutting through the gray fog.
“Shit,” I whispered.
There were over a dozen, and more kept appearing.
“Get up!” I shouted. “Everyone, wake up!”
I surged to my feet, and Claire struggled upright. The rest of my friends stood slowly, shaking their heads and trying to get their bearings.
They stood not a moment too soon. The demons entered the stone circle, bypassing any protection charms that might have once been there.
The fight broke out in half a second as the demons charged. Everyone jumped into action. A swirl of gray light surrounded Aidan, and a moment later, the massive griffin stood in his place. He roared, then launched himself into the sky and swooped on the demons, crushing their heads in his beak. Blood sprayed.
Claire threw massive fireballs toward one group of demons, her flame lighting up the night. The fire bowled them over, but more followed behind.
Connor threw potion bombs, which exploded on the demons in flashes of color. Demons shrieked as his acid coated their skin. Del became a phantom, her bright blue form stark against the dark night, while Nix conjured her bow and arrow, cutting down demons left and right.
But more appeared for every one we killed.
My daggers could do nothing against this. No matter how fast I threw, I couldn’t keep up.
But I had my powers back. Better than that, I had eternal magical energy. I could fuel so many spells that I’d take out armies, masses of soldiers at a time.
My magic vibrated beneath my skin, a massive amount of power that was so different from the emptiness I’d felt while I’d had the Nullifier’s gift. Aidan had been right—my own magic had driven out the Nullifier’s power.
Joy and strength surged through me as I called upon my magic. There were so many demons that I’d have to use something big. Aidan’s Elemental Mage gift would work well.
Using my Mirror Mage powers, I reached out for Aidan’s signature, trying to get ahold of his power over flame. There was so much magic in the air that it was hard to find it at first. Finally, I grasped on to the scent of smoke and heat of flame that marked Aidan’s gift and crafted a massive fireball.
The flame burned inside my chest, roaring to be released. It thundered within me, stronger than it had ever been. I turned toward a group of demons who were racing toward Claire and hurled my fireball at them.
A jet of flame the size of a city bus hurtled through the air. Worse, a blast of magic exploded from me, like a sonic boom radiating across the grass and throwing everyone to their backs.
I crashed to the ground with everyone else, the wind blown from my lungs. My magic screamed inside me, going haywire. I shook from it as I scrambled up, panting. Chaos surrounded me. Bodies everywhere. Not a single person or demon stood besides myself.
Fear shot like ice through my veins, chilling my bones. My chest ached. Had I killed them all?
What the hell was my gift?
I raced toward the nearest body—Aidan. In the blast, he’d turned back into his human form. As I fell to my knees beside him, the scent of rot and decay rolled over the stone circle. Invisible bee stings pricked my skin, and a taste like death coated my tongue.
Terror seemed to freeze my muscles solid, and I had to force myself to look up. My heart froze as my gaze met Victor Orriodor’s.
He stood outside the circle, his immaculate suit looking out of place in the blown-apart landscape that I’d created with my magic.
“My, my.” His voice was colder than the arctic. “Did you do all this, FireSoul?”
He called me FireSoul, like he had last time we’d spoken at Ephesus. So he still didn’t know my real name. Just that I was the FireSoul he sought. Most likely, he didn’t care what I called myself.
In front of me, Aidan shifted. Barely.
Not dead.
Relief flowed through me. I had to keep Victor talking while my friends recovered from the mess I’d created. I could try to sonic boom the bastard, but I’d probably just hurt my friends more. Or kill them. They were weakened by my disastrous attempt to use my new strength.
I’d felt a sonic boom before. Victor Orriodor’s, in fact. It was one of his gifts. It could crush your organs and kill you, especially if you received multiple hits. That was what’d killed the Nullifier.
But I couldn’t control it like
Victor could. It was a byproduct of my new strength, not the point of the spell. If I produced one again, I could kill my friends.
Blustering my way through it to buy some time was the only thing I could think to do. “What, Victor? You here to kill me?”
“Kill you?” Incredulity colored his voice. “Why on earth would I do that?”
“Oh, I don’t know. After your goons tried to drown me in the Pool of Memory, I sort of figured that was your goal.”
He shook his head, disappointment clear on his face. “No. That wasn’t supposed to happen. They were trying to pull you from the pool. But tricky thing, that Pool of Memory. It wouldn’t let you go.”
“So they decided to drown me instead?” The memory of my body dying while my consciousness was stuck in my memories turned my stomach.
“No. They were just too stupid to realize what was happening.”
Around him, more demons appeared. Four, then six, then eight. All appearing in groups, as if they used transportation charms. Victor really had bought them all up.
My friends still weren’t waking. If only the Monster had arrived before I’d tried my magic. I’d at least have blasted him away. I’d escaped him so many times before, but of course I couldn’t manage that forever.
“Leave my friends,” I said. “And take me.”
I’d deal with getting out of his creepy dungeon when the time came. I could blow the place away with my wonky magic if my friends weren’t there to get hit.
“Oh, I’m an all or nothing sort of fellow. And I want all three of you.”
My skin chilled. There were now over two dozen demons. Too many for me to fight without my magic, which was too dangerous to use.
I stood shakily, reaching for Righty. So it’d be a fight, then, and I had only two daggers to use against the most powerful supernatural I’d ever met. Victor laughed as I withdrew Righty, but the sound cut off sharply a moment later.
Colored birds zipped past me out of the corner of my vision.
What the heck?
I squinted at the shapes before realization hit me. The dragonets! They dive-bombed Victor, who threw up a shield against them. One by one, they bounced off. But they shook themselves and dived again.
Thank magic they weren’t flesh and blood. They couldn’t be killed. Though I didn’t know how effective they would be against Victor.
More figures appeared, distracting me from the dragonets. In pairs, the League of FireSouls appeared on the Everlong Portal stone.
Backup had arrived! We had a chance.
At that moment, Aidan groaned, then stood. He looked around, his sharp gaze taking in the situation. Silvery magic swirled around him, the scent of the forest rising. He transformed into a griffin, then launched himself into the air. Connor and Claire struggled to their feet as the League of FireSouls surged into the fray.
Now we really had a chance.
Something grabbed me from behind, wrapping hard around my middle.
“Let go!” I thrashed, trying to break free as it dragged me backward.
Around me, the demons were rising, shaking off their stupor.
When my feet scraped over the large circular stone that marked the portal, I shrieked, “No!”
Half a second later, I was sucked through the ether. My vision went black for a moment. When I opened my eyes, I was in the forest outside the FireSouls’ compound.
I pulled away from the arm that encircled me and spun, kicking my captor in the middle before I’d even gotten a glimpse of who it was.
Corin tumbled to her back in the leaves that scattered the forest floor. I jumped onto the stone that marked the portal and envisioned the stone circle and the fight, wishing desperately to return there.
Nothing happened.
“Why the hell isn’t it working?” I demanded.
“It’s blocked.” Corin struggled to her feet, her arm wrapped around her middle. “I think you cracked a rib.”
“You deserved it. Send me back!”
“No. I can’t let you be abducted.”
“What about my deirfiúr? My friends!”
“The others will bring them here to protect them.”
“What if they can’t?”
“Then at least Victor won’t have all of you.” A hard expression entered her eyes.
“Damn it! Send me back!”
Corin shook her head. “Can’t. I have orders.”
Helpless rage made my skin heat and my chest feel too tight. I couldn’t believe I was here, trapped, away from the fight.
The transportation charm!
I dug into my pocket and pulled out the small black stone, then threw it to the ground. But it didn’t burst into the glittery cloud that would take me wherever I desired. I picked it up and chucked it again.
Nothing.
“Won’t work,” Corin said. “Those are blocked here.”
Damn it. I shoved it back into my pocket and was about to try to call on my illusion power to scare her into following my orders when the charm around her neck made a noise.
She pressed her fingertips to the comms charm. “Yes?”
“You can bring her back. They’re gone.”
“On it.” Corin’s gaze met mine. “Your lucky day. We’re going back.”
“That was a fast fight.” Dread filled my chest. Victor wouldn’t have left without a victory, and he had more men than we’d had.
Corin joined me on the portal stone and gripped my arm. The portal sucked me in, and a moment later, I stood back in the middle of the stone circle.
Demon bodies were scattered on the ground. Only ten feet away, Connor lay on his back. I ran to him and fell to my knees, laying my fingertips at his neck.
His pulse was strong. Thank magic. My shoulders loosened. I glanced around, searching for everyone else. Among the bodies, I couldn’t find anyone I recognized. My skin chilled.
A thud sounded behind me and I spun. Aidan’s massive griffin stood in the stone circle, his coat glinting gold in the moonlight. Claire climbed off his back.
Magic shimmered around Aidan as he transformed back to human.
“They took Nix and Del,” Claire said as she fell to her knees at Connor’s side.
“What?” I asked.
“Almost immediately after you were dragged away, Victor changed tactics,” Aidan said. “I was nearest Claire, so I picked her up. Before I could reach Nix or Del, Victor’s demons grabbed them. They disappeared a moment later.”
“Damn it!” Fear clawed at my chest. “He must have taken them to the waypoint.” My dragon sense couldn’t find them there.
Connor shifted and opened his eyes, croaking, “What happened?”
“You got knocked out, dummy,” Claire said.
Alton approached. “But it kept you alive. The demons assumed you were dead and left you alone.”
I whirled on Alton. “You bastards! You dragged me off when I could have helped.”
Alton’s gaze chilled me. “We did what was necessary. And there were too many for you to be any help.”
“Your magic is, uh, pretty powerful, Cass,” Connor said. “Probably better you didn’t use it a second time. My insides feel liquefied.”
“Yeah,” Claire added. “At least this way, Nix and Del are still alive.”
I stutter-stepped backward. They were right. I could have killed them. In my fear and my rage, I could have let loose again with magic I didn’t understand.
“I’m sorry,” I croaked. “I—I—”
“It’s cool.” Claire rubbed my arm. “You were just trying to help.”
I scrubbed a hand over my face, thinking about Del and Nix. “We’ve got to get them back.” Victor Orriodor made his home at a strange place that wasn’t on Earth. It was between the heavens and hells and impossible for me to find.
“Do you know how to get to the waypoint where Victor Orriodor lives?” I asked Alton.
“No. We do not,” Alton said.
I wanted to scream my frustration. B
ut I didn’t have time to lose my shit. My deirfiúr needed me. I had to find them.
Find them.
Of course. My FireSoul abilities hadn’t been able to locate the waypoint in the past, but maybe now that they had the extra power, they could.
“Will you guys step back?” I asked. “Far away. I’m going to try to use my new strength to find Nix and Del.”
Everyone nodded and walked away, well outside of the stone circle. I was really going to have to get a handle on my new magic, because I didn’t want to be a walking bomb.
But at least I had it back.
It wasn’t hard to shove away all thoughts and focus on my dragon sense. I’d never wanted to find anything so badly in all my life.
Within a few seconds, I picked up the thread of their location.
But it wasn’t at the waypoint.
“They’re in Magic’s Bend,” I said, confusion welling.
“What the hell?” Aidan stepped forward.
The others followed, gathering around me in a large group—Aidan, Claire, Connor, and the nine FireSouls I’d met before. The dragonets hovered over everyone’s heads.
“Yeah, I’m sure of it.” No wonder it’d been easy to pick up the thread of their location. They weren’t at the waypoint. “Let’s go.”
“We cannot follow,” Alton said. “The Order of the Magica has a strong presence in Magic’s Bend. The League is already too small. If we are captured, we will disappear for good.”
“And then there’d be no one to rescue us from the Prison for Magical Miscreants,” Corin said.
I remembered what they’d said about that being one of their primary goals. Of course they couldn’t risk their entire organization.
“But when Victor removes them from Magic’s Bend, contact us,” Alton said. “We can help you at the waypoint, or another place that is removed from the Order’s influence.”
“Here.” Corin handed me a transportation charm. “Use this. It’s the least we can do.”
“Thank you.” They were committed to keeping me and my deirfiúr out of Victor’s hands, but not to the point that they’d risk their organization. I couldn’t blame them. “I will let you know what happens and if we need help.”
They nodded and departed, disappearing in pairs through the portal. Within moments, we stood alone in the stone circle, the moon shining serenely as if the ground weren’t singed and soaked with blood.
