Reaching Retribution (The Prophesized #4)

by Kaitlyn Hoyt

  My eyes land on the doorway, but Jedrek is no longer standing there. I don’t know where he went. Earlier, I walked up to him and apologized for yelling at him in the lab. I know that he didn’t understand what he was getting himself into. I remember when I was in the car accident with mom, I couldn’t think straight. I didn’t know what was going on around me.

  He told me to kill Dravin. “Don’t think about the blood promise, Ryanne. Stop Dravin.” Despite me proclaiming that he’s nothing more than a sperm donor to me, I know that’s not true. He’s my dad. We don’t get to choose who are parents are. Blood is blood. I just wish there was a way I could stop Dravin and save him. I just found him and now I have to lose him again.

  I look around the field. I can’t see Colton anymore. In fact, I can’t really see anyone through the chaos. I laugh as I hear Adam commanding Gadramicks to fight other Gadramicks. I’m so glad he’s on our side. His power is very helpful. Liam reaches past me and punches a man in the jaw. I jump back and hit Liam’s chest. I hadn’t seen the man standing there. I need to get out of my thoughts and focus on the task at hand.

  My eyes continue their scan as I look for one person specifically. I see him standing off to the side, alone. He’s not fighting anyone, and no one is attempting to fight him.

  “I’m going to go after Zahtri,” I yell at Liam and Adam. Both Adam and Liam knock out the men they’re fighting and turn toward me. It’s almost comical how both men fall to the ground unconscious at the same time.

  “Ryanne, are you sure you want to do that?” Liam asks.

  “Liam, I’m the only one here that can,” I tell him. A man comes at me and I push a string of magic toward him without taking my eyes off Liam. He falls instantly. They both raise their eyebrows at my action, but don’t say anything.

  I don’t like this. Colton will kill me.

  She’s right, but she could get herself killed in the process.

  “Colton’s not going to kill you, Liam. He understands that I have to do this,” I tell him. I turn to Adam. “And I could very well get myself killed, but that’s a risk I’m willing to take to stop Zahtri.”

  I walk up to Liam and give him a hug. “You’re not going to die if anything happens to me,” I whisper to him.

  “It’s not me I’m worried about,” he tells me. “How do you know that?”

  “It’s just a feeling I have.” I whisper to him as I step back.

  As I turn around, Adam reaches out and grabs my wrist and pulls me back. “I’m sorry for high school.”

  “That’s in the past,” I say as I step away from him.

  “I was jealous of him,” he states. I instantly know that he’s referring to Colton. Adam told me something similar before, but I didn’t think much about it then.

  “I know.” Taking a few steps back, I start walking toward Zahtri. Liam looks torn. He wants to be with me during this, but I know I’m supposed to do this alone. This is what I’m supposed to do. It’s him versus me. No one else. It hurts to leave him standing there, but it has to be done. I didn’t get to tell him that Claire came to me while I was unconscious after Zahtri pushed me into a wall. She said that Liam was meant to protect me for this moment. Everything was leading to this. I no longer need Liam’s protection, but I know nothing I tell him will make him believe that. No matter what, Liam will always be my protector, with or without magic binding him to me.

  “Please remember Ryanne, a dawn is coming. Don’t give up just yet,” he yells after me.

  “This is darkest dawn I’ve ever seen, Liam.” I give Liam and Adam a small smile as I call my magic to me to jump onto the platform. Zahtri stands up straighter when he sees me, but doesn’t move.

  Two Gadramicks jump onto the platform with me: one in front and the other behind me. Simultaneously, they run toward me. I roll my eyes. You’d think these Gadramicks would communicate with each other to see which stunts work against me and which things are just stupid to attempt. I push my magic underneath me. When they’re both a foot away from me, I jump and hover ten feet above the ground. The men collide into each other and fall over. I twist my body in the air and then land in a crouch on the platform. They groan and don’t get up immediately. I look toward Zahtri again. He looks surprised, but still hasn’t moved.

  I bring my attention back to the two Gadramicks on the ground in front of me. They slowly stand up and turn toward me, angry and determined. I siphon their anger and use it to strengthen my magic. I smile as another emotion hits me. I stand up and slowly walk toward them. The men look surprised to see me approaching.

  I make sure to add an extra swing to my hips. I turn toward Zahtri and smile when I see their eyes soften. Even in a fight, you can always distract a man. Zahtri looks angry when he sees my simple plan working. I stop right in front of the men and place my hands on my hips. “Hey, boys,” I coo.

  They look me over right as I push some magic out. I trail my finger across their chests as I walk around them. Both of them watch me, but don’t do anything. They can feel my magic moving around them, but neither of them react. When I’m standing behind them, I thrust my magic out and send them flying off the platform.

  I know he’s there before I turn around. “Using you’re feminine charms, I see,” Larkin says.

  “Emma always told me to flaunt it,” I say. Zahtri is staring at me through narrowed eyes. Why isn’t he attacking?

  “I know what you’re planning on doing, Ryanne.”

  “I’m going after Zahtri,” I nod. Everyone knows that.

  “You’re not going to sacrifice yourself.”

  “If it’ll stop Zahtri, I’ll do it.”

  “Think about what your death would do to everyone. Don’t do that to us. You didn’t see Colton this past week. Don’t do that to him.”

  “I may not have a choice, Larkin.” I put up a shield around us, so no one can attack us. A man runs toward us and bounces off the shield. “He’s stronger than you think.”

  “No, he’s not. I know exactly how strong he is and I know that you are stronger, but you don’t believe in yourself, so you don’t see your strength. You think that you have to sacrifice yourself to prove you’re strong, but you don’t. You can take Zahtri on without it resulting in your death.” Larkin grabs my shoulders. “Ryanne, look at me.”

  I keep my eyes on the fight around us. I need to be out there. Right now, it’s hard to tell who has the upper hand. I watch Natalie fighting someone. The man behind her suddenly falls to the ground, so I know that Colton is fighting with her while invisible. Liam and Adam are working together fighting off Gadramicks right below me. Liam looks directly at me, wondering what is going on.

  Larkin grabs my chin and forces me to look up at him. “Ryanne, when you died, you were supposed to overcome all these insecurities. You are strong, and you are prepared. You can do this without causing your death. Would your mom want you to just give up in the end?” Harsh. Using the mom card is just mean.

  “Some things are hard to change,” I whisper to him.

  “Not if you have faith,” he whispers back and pushes my hair away from my face. I never have a hair tie when I need one. “You gave an awesome speech earlier. Fight for those you love, Ryanne. Don’t forget how many of us actually do love you. No one will forgive you if you sacrifice yourself,” Larkin looks toward Natalie, but I know he’s actually looking at Colton. “No one.”

  “Larkin, we don’t know if any of us are going to get out of this. I’ve never had to go against someone as strong as Zahtri before, and I’ve come close to death so many times. There’s nothing that says I won’t end up dead this time.”

  “Just be careful, Ryanne. That’s all I’m saying. Don’t try to be the superhero here.”

  “I never wanted to be a superhero, Larkin,” I whisper to him as I drop the shield. “Now, go help our family. Don’t let anyone get hurt.” I run to the other end of the platform and jump off. Zahtri is standing by himself on this side waiting for me.

  “Took y
a long enough, darling.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Colton

  “I said all I could,” Larkin says as he transports behind me. Natalie yelps as someone barrels into her. She falls to the ground and gasps while trying to push the Gadramick off. Larkin and I both grab onto his back. Larkin stabs him in the stomach and throws him to the side. I reach down and help her stand up.

  My eyes travel behind the wooden platform to Ryanne. She’s tense and prepared, but she’s not fighting Zahtri. I see Dravin slowly walking toward her. Ryanne suddenly turns to her right. I see Adam fighting through the Gadramicks, trying to get to her. She turns around and her eyes widen.

  Put a shield up, Ryanne.

  Dravin brings his arm back. The little sunlight breaking through the clouds, gleams off the metal dagger in his hand as he releases the weapon. Ryanne screams, but doesn’t throw up a shield.

  “Ryanne!” I yell right as Adam jumps in front of her.

  The dagger implants into his shoulder. Adam falls back into Ryanne, knocking both of them to the ground. Ryanne moves out from under him. Leaning over him, I can see tears falling from her eyes. Liam runs over to them. Ryanne yells for Logan, but Liam starts shaking his head. Even from this distance, I can see the large amount of blood pouring out of the wound.

  Some of their weapons must be infused with the same magic as the dagger that Enrique had. I hear thunder crack ahead. We all stop as the deep noise shakes the group beneath us. If there’s thunder rolling, Ryanne is very mad.

  Even the Gadramicks stop fighting when the thunder echoes through the field. Ryanne slowly stands and faces Dravin. The Ryanne standing there is not one I recognize. I’ve seen her mad. I’ve seen her upset, but I’ve never seen this much emotion on her before. A look of fear crosses Dravin’s face as he starts walking backward.

  I reach out to my left and punch the Gadramick in the jaw that was trying to walk toward Natalie. No one knows that I’m invisible until it’s too late.

  “He did everything you asked of him,” Ryanne yells. “You killed him!”

  “He slowly stopped listening every time you came here.”

  “You brought me here!” Ryanne screams as more thunder rolls through the sky. The little bit of sunlight that was visible earlier is no more. Dark clouds dictate the sky, creating a more suitable atmosphere for what is happening.

  “Oh, he better start running,” Larkin says. We all know that Ryanne’s power only affects the weather when she’s very upset. She has more control of that now.

  Liam picks up Adam’s body and drags him out of the clearing. Ryanne stops in front of Dravin and pokes him in the chest. It’s strange how we can all hear her right now.

  “Did you really think you would get away with all of this? Did you think you’d be able to experiment on humans? That you could just capture mages and try to take their magic? That you could just kill those who didn’t give you the right results and go about your happy life like you didn’t do anything wrong? Huh? Every action has a consequence, Dravin.”

  Dravin laughs and takes a step toward Ryanne. “Put away your magic. I’m not going to fight you.”

  “No, you’re just going to throw daggers infused with dark magic at me. Dark magic that Zahtri told you about. Is that what you call not fighting?”

  Dravin takes another step forward. He’s literally standing inches away from her. Ryanne has to arch her head up to see him clearly. “You don’t know what you’re doing, Ryanne. Call off this attack and you and all your little friends will get out of here alive.”

  “I’m not afraid of death, Dravin. How many times do I have to tell you that? I’m not keeping any of them here against their will. They’re here because they want to be, not because anyone is forcing them.” Instead of letting Dravin say anything else, Ryanne brings her knee up and hits him in the crotch.

  I bite my tongue to keep from laughing. I know all too well how that feels. Ryanne wastes no time. When Dravin grunts and bends over, she grabs the back of his head and slams it into her knee. Even from where I’m standing I can hear the crunch of his nose breaking. Taking a step back, she spins around and kicks her leg out, connecting with the side of his head. When Dravin spins to the ground, Ryanne pushes magic out and sends him flying into the tree line.

  “Oh, shit,” A Gadramick beside me exclaims as he starts backing up. “I’m outta here. I didn’t sign up for this.”

  Ryanne stands there for a few seconds before turning around. She briefly glances at the crowd watching her, but doesn’t react. Her eyes go straight to Zahtri again.

  He pushes away from the tree he was leaning against and slowly starts clapping as he walks toward the center of the field. A steady rain is now falling from the sky—the only signs of Ryanne’s conflicting emotions. She now has a blank expression on her face as she watches Zahtri move forward.

  “That was an interesting little show you just put on,” Zahtri says he as walks to Ryanne. I notice a few more Gadramicks leave the field. Ryanne just stares at him, but doesn’t say anything. “You don’t understand what you’re getting yourself into, little one.”

  “Only my family gets to call me that, Zahtri,” Ryanne says as she takes a step toward him. Zahtri looks slightly surprised at Ryanne’s boldness. He doesn’t know her like the rest of us. When she’s angry, she pushes aside her insecurities and becomes the confident Ryanne she needs to be. She doesn’t know that she does it. She still thinks she’s not strong enough, but she has it in her and it comes out when she needs it most.

  The wind intensifies around us as Ryanne calls magic to her. “I can read your mind, darling, your magic is going to be useless.”

  “Really?” Ryanne says as she pushes pure magic toward him. Zahtri flies back into the tree line and slams into the base of a tree. “Because I’m projecting false thoughts, Zahtri,” she mumbles as she slowly walks toward him.

  Zahtri grunts and sits up, glaring at Ryanne. She stops when she sees the smile he gives her right before he disappears.

  “Where’d he go?” Natalie asks me. As soon as the words leave her mouth, Zahtri reappears behind Ryanne, grabs her, and transports out of the field.

  “Are you freaking kidding me?” I shout and reach out to hit the closest Gadramick to me.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  I try to throw a shield around me when I hear his thoughts, but Zahtri transports much quicker than Larkin. One second he is in front of me, and then the next, he is wrapping his arms around my waist and transporting us out of the field.

  I try to fight against him, but his grip is too strong. I slam into a large rock. My back instantly protests as pain shoots through my torso. I gasp, trying to catch the breath that was knocked out of me. Zahtri is smiling over me. It’s no longer raining anymore, but the dark clouds above me could open up at any minute and shed their tears. “Get off of me!” I yell at him as I attempt to get away from him. The legs around my hips tighten and his arms pin my hands above my head.

  “Stop struggling, Ryanne,” he growls at me.

  “Then get off of me.”

  “Stop trying to kill me. This would be so much easier if you’d just pick the first option.”

  “You’re still stuck on that?” I ask. “I’m not going to work with you.”

  “So you’d rather let more people die because of you? They’re either fighting with you or they are fighting against you. You’re the reason why people are dying.”

  “They’re fighting for or against you as well, Zahtri.”

  “Yes, but I don’t care if anyone dies. You do,” he tells me. I close of my mind, not letting the meaning of his sentence sink it. I can’t over think anything right now. That’ll get me killed. Liam and Larkin have both talked to me today, and I understand what I have to do.

  I call my magic to me. I know Zahtri can feel it moving around us because he tightens his grips on my wrists again. The bones are on the verge of breaking when I release all the pent up anger I’ve gathered since I’ve been
at Dravin’s compound. Zahtri flies off of me, but he doesn’t loosen his grip right away. I’m thrown into the air and land, not so gracefully, on another rock and roll a couple times before coming to a stop. Zahtri’s deep grunt fills my ears as he also lands painfully against the rocks.

  Since I don’t have time right now to dwell on injuries, I jump up and get my first look at my surroundings. I’m standing along a cliff off the coast. Angry water crashes against the edge of the rock about thirty feet below me. I back up. If I had rolled a couple more feet, I would have fallen off. Turning around, I face Zahtri, with the knowledge that this is it. This is what I am meant to do. Claire told me I would be somewhere else during the final battle. I wouldn’t have Liam and Colton around me.

  Now I understand why.

  I step forward, putting more distance between me and the cliffs edge all the while decreasing the distance between Zahtri and me. I can feel his magic flowing around us, so I know he’ll attack soon. I push more magic out, putting it into the air. My magic works much quicker when I don’t have to push it out.

  I throw a shield up behind me along the cliff’s edge as a precaution. Zahtri stands up and stalks toward me. “I really hoped we could have solved this civilly.”

  “Then you shouldn’t have kidnapped me and stuck me in a cell for this past week,” I retort.

  “Touché,” Zahtri says as he stops a few feet away from me. I throw a shield up around my mind, hoping that he can’t read my thoughts. I can’t read his anymore, so I know that he’s doing something.

  “You’re smarter than I gave you credit for, dear. This might actually be fun.” Zahtri’s voice and constant endearments are really starting to annoy me. I’m an accent person. I love accents, but after hearing his deep almost Australian accent, I hate it. Endearments are something only those close to me get to call me. I am definitely not close to Zahtri, so he needs to knock it off.