He answered with surprisingly little hesitation.
“When the original plan didn’t turn out right...Adalyn killed her fiancé for us to be together.”
“No way.” Avery gasped out louder than intended. Lowering her voice, she scooted forward this time touching his arm.
“You have to tell them Mason. They’re going to put you on trial for the crime.” She added in a hushed voice.
He laughed bitterly.
“You’ve clearly never been in love.”
Cold, Avery drew herself back onto the opposite wall again. The twinges of jealousy she’d felt morphed into disdain. Why had Avery even thought that she had a chance with Mason? He was too far down the Adalyn River without a paddle. She struggled to control her emotions. It felt like Nathanial all over again. She fell for the cool irresistible guy and had it thrown back in her face.
Forcing herself not to over react, she turned her attention back to the obstacle at hand.
“I remembered something else from Jericho. I’m not sure how to explain it but he was trying to get the magic to stick into the glass amulet but it wouldn’t take. He decided it only clung to organic organisms and that’s why he used his blood.”
Mason’s expression rapidly altered into interest and his body suddenly became livelier. Seemingly encouraged by the update, he reached out and snatched up Jericho’s journal. Mason clearly looked for something specific among the last pages. Avery held her breath, forcing patience that didn’t come naturally. Mason thumbed to one final page, ran his finger over the heavy ink, and scanned a few lines. Her heart lifted in her chest as she waited but when Mason finally shut the book, his expression wasn’t comforting.
“What’s wrong?” She prompted.
“I read it before…but I didn’t put it together. I’m sure of what it means now.”
He stood, clearly shaken, and began to pace. Avery sprung to her feet too.
“What do you mean? What’d you find?” Alarm rising, she begged him to continue.
“No. It won’t matter anyways because of what I’m about to do. We’re in trouble, Avery.”
He didn’t make sense and Avery began to panic. She sprinted up to him and grabbed his arms forcing him to face her. Stronger, Mason broke free of her grasp and he looped his long arms around her waist and held her to his chest. Avery didn’t fight but persistently pushed for answers.
“What are you going on about? Please tell me.” She begged.
Seeing him this upset wasn’t encouraging. Lips in her hair, he answered.
“Don’t you get it? My father bonded the energy with his blood. It’s not like other amulets in that way. The magic clings to life force. When the amulet broke, the magic clung to the nearest available life force. You. And it won’t be leaving, going into anything else until its current residence’s life force is fading. The amulet had to break for the magic to move. You have to die for the magic to move again.”
Avery heard what he said before she understood it, her mind taking an extra minute to wrap around the concept.
“I have to die for it to work.” She whispered when she caught on.
Mason kept holding her because he felt guilty, Avery realized. She should have been frightened but the emotions didn’t register immediately. Pressed against Mason, she didn’t know what to think. The adventure couldn’t end just like that. There had to be a way to fix it without her dying.
“So I can hand you over to the authorities for them to deem you dangerous and potentially kill you. I’d have to watch the one innocent person I know in this whole thing take the fall. Get my banishment removed in time to go on trial for murdering Adalyn’s fiancé. Or...” Mason said.
“Or what?” She was afraid to ask but still managed to.
His sad smile stretched into something crazy.
“I guess we’ll have to escape and evade the authorities for the rest of our lives.” His tone spiked with hysteria and he let her go. Free from her, he paced up to the bars and thrashed at them. Avery shrunk against the wall, watching the harpie.
“Of course, that means we have to break free from the most well guarded prison on Earth but that should be easy, right?” Not containing his voice, Mason’s words echoed off the closely confined walls.
Heart pounding loudly, Avery barely heard the footsteps but when she did, she rushed to his side.
“Mason, shut up!”
“Why, because it can’t be done Avery?”
He didn’t seem bothered that everyone on the floor could hear him, but Avery cared. Knocking the harpie back into the wall, she pressed a firm hand to his warm lips.
“Shut up, Mason.”
The footsteps grew closer. The fellow cells on this hall being empty, the steps were inevitably directed toward them. Mason didn’t struggle beneath her but suddenly acted content to wait too. The figure finally became visible and Avery froze when she saw the person.
“Leela.” She acknowledged in a stunned voice.
The unmistakable brunette girl stared at her in return. Though still dressed in the black coat and knee high boots as the day Avery had last seen her, Leela didn’t seem badly kept. Her neat auburn hair had been tucked beneath a ski cap and her skin was bright and flawless. Leela’s eyes scanned them before landing on Avery.
“Are you okay?” Avery spit out in a jumble, absolutely uncertain where to begin.
Leela didn’t answer at first, small hand jigging the latch outside their cell until the iron bar door opened.
“Come with me.” Leela said shortly.
Avery slipped out of the cell. She wanted to give the only real friend she had a crippling hug and spill out every frustrated emotion she’d been holding in. She never got the chance. Looking up at the hallway, she’d stopped herself.
“Where’s your minder?” She asked.
The hallway sat void of anyone else besides them. There should have been someone. No one walked these halls alone. The situation didn’t fit right and Avery didn’t ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach. Leela never turned and gave her any answer.
“Come with me.” She said again.
This time, a dark feeling in her gut made Avery hesitate. Mason’s claws suddenly jumped out and grabbed Avery’s shoulder. Pulling her back, Mason hissed.
“Get back in the cell.”
“What’s going on? How’d she get away from the Band?” Avery asked as she staggered backwards.
Mason answered in a deadly serious tone.
“She didn’t.”
“What do you mean?” Avery demanded.
“Avery, look at her eyes.” Mason hissed in her ear.
This time Avery paid attention. Leela’s pupils had been dilated to the twice the normal size until the brown iris disappeared. The girl stood too stiff as well. She hadn’t naturally swayed or shifted once.
“What’ve they done to her?” Avery gasped.
“It’s strong magic. She’s being compelled.”
A flash of Mikhail and his orange amulet shot to Avery’s mind. Mikhail had an amulet for allure in which he could use to compel people into actions. He’d looked into Avery’s eyes once and had her spill her secrets. With more than a few minutes of that kind of magic, anything was possible.
“What do we do?” She asked Mason desperately.
“Come with me.” Leela answered them both. “Come with me or I’ll jump off of the roof.”
“Mason!” Avery begged as he held her. Leela had already turned and began to walk down the hall.
“They’re up to something.” He sounded sure of it.
Avery knew it too, knew they were using Leela against her, and knew that she was buying into their plan. Dangerous or not, she couldn’t let Leela die on her behalf.
“I have to follow, even if I have to go alone.” Avery decided.
Mason roared out of frustration.
“Just don’t leave me!” He ordered, grabbed her hand, and walked them into the hall.
Leela kept acting bizarre. Her
movement jerky, she headed straight down the hallway. They followed with a wide gap. The hall was dim and the nearby cells were eloped in shadow. Mason kept glancing in the cells and behind them. The mere thought that someone would spring out of the darkness frightened Avery more than she’d like to admit. She squeezed Mason’s hand tighter.
“Leela, please stop. Those aren’t your thoughts or your ideas. You don’t have to obey them.” Avery pled.
She hadn’t even considered that when Mikhail had compelled her actions on Hatcher Pass. Maybe if Leela comprehended that someone else was inside her head, she could fight it. Leela kept walking. Avery tugged Mason’s hand, ready to storm in front of her friend and physically stop her in her tracks. Avery had some weight and height advantage but Mason prevented her from doing it.
“Wait.” He urged her.
They took a corner and for the first time, Avery could see the unmistakable bright orange of sunlight ahead. Considering the prison had no windows, Avery wanted to ask where it’d come from. Before she had to, they were close enough to see. The wall had been blown open in an array of dust and rubble. Sun beamed through the opening. This high up, fourteen stories and a pounding coast line were beneath them.
“They blew a wall in the prison?” Avery gasped.
“It’s a trap Avery. The walls of the prison have magic that protect us from uninvited harpies coming in, but if we go out there then we’re vulnerable!”
Leela turned in one stiff movement and before they could react, she burst into a run. Jumping straight through the hole in the wall, Leela dropped.
“Mason!” Avery screamed.
Mason lunged out after her, wings snapping open. Avery rushed to the opening and peered down. Mason had caught Leela but something else drew her eye. Avery jerked backwards, but in a flash the harpie was on her. Talons ripped her free out of the side of the building. Avery fought back instantly. Grabbing at him, she caught a free limb and forced the magic in her chest outward. The attacking harpie shrieked, releasing her, and Avery fell.
Avery’s whole world spiraled until only a clear wash of blue remained. She hit the salt water with a painful crack. Muscles ceasing up, the waves thrashed her up against the rocks. Only the magic in her body kept her breathing. Unable to see straight, she glanced up. The entire sky lit up with chaos. Harpies collided. Harpoons howled. Sharp blue suits spun through the air.
She couldn’t spot Mason among them. The waves drew her back and threw her again. Salt water washed up her nose and burned in the back of her throat. The magic hummed but Avery couldn’t feel anything below her abdomen.
A shadow suddenly swopped over her and then a quick hand plucked her from the water. Avery looked up into Eva’s grinning face.
“I told you we’d have a nice chat.” Eva laughed.
Avery didn’t fight. Too weak, she couldn’t. All she could do was wait and see what Eva had in store for her now.
Twenty-two
Magic ripped through the air in vibrant flashes of blue, green, and gold. The night sky lit up like a thunder storm. Every second, the clouds above would glow and show the vicious fighting shadows above. Eva maneuvered through the raging battle with practiced ease. Fifteen stories up, she dropped Avery on the building top. The resulting awkward crash into brick left Avery writhing on the damp floor. Eva set down next to her and yanked Avery upright by the back of her collar.
“Stop fighting me.” Eva growled in advance.
Avery hadn’t yet thought of using her magic. The wind up here was fierce, and the cold salt water clung to her skin to leave her harrowingly numb. Bones aching, she stilled obediently. She just had to wait, Avery told herself. She just had to wait for Mason. With that mantra in her mind, Avery turned her attention to the situation.
Eva had thrown her down in the middle of the makeshift courtroom. Above, atop the raised wooden bench perched Mikhail. He balanced lightly with his wings barely opened and peered down at her.
“How are you dear?” Everything about the leisure ridden tone seemed bizarre as though the harpie didn’t realize a battle raged on around them. Eva also kept her eyes set inward as if they were in a bubble and everything else went down miles away.
“What do want? You said you couldn’t use me.” Avery shouted almost futilely. Her teeth chattered so hard, she could barely form the words.
Wings snapping open, he swept down until his presence towered over her. Avery jerked back but Eva held her still with a brutal hold on her shoulder.
“Oh foolish girl, we didn’t kill the Prince to let our prize go.”
Avery sputtered for an answer when Mikhail produced a gleaming knife. He brandished it but never struck. So focused on the situation in front of her, Avery barely noticed Mason land with Leela nearby. He came to an awkward landing and before their feet even touched the ground, Leela broke free from his hold. The girl then took off, rushing to stand besides Mikhail. Leela was still bespelled, clearly, and her mind must have been on a one track road. Mikhail’s allure amulet still had Leela bowing at his feet.
Mason stood by, doing nothing but waiting intently. He didn’t want to step in with Mikhail’s knife still posed to strike. Avery held back on protesting herself. They were at a standoff.
“Let her go.” Mason said slowly. “She’s no use to you.”
Eva sneered.
“Then why are you still here, Mason? If she served no other purpose, you would have traded her in to the government a long time ago.” Eva asked pointedly.
Avery’s heart skipped a beat. The Band apparently didn’t miss much. If he had decided he couldn’t remove the amulet’s magic from her body-- turning her in or not-- he wouldn’t have spent almost three days delaying. Mason seemed to know this too. Apparently careful to change their thought train, he said something else.
“I wouldn’t trade her into the government. They’d kill her and you know it. I won’t let another innocent person die. I’m nothing like you.” His temper had flared and with it, he growled so darkly at his sister that even Avery was intimidated.
“You’re everything like me. When will you admit it?” Eva shot back, her voice curling into an ugly and bitter tone.
The hatred in her green eyes simmering, she looked ready to attack. Avery watched it, her stomach knotting with the tension. If Mason kept this up, a sibling show down would be inevitable but he was also successfully distracting Eva.
“I would never have killed our father. You crossed a line.”
Avery watched as Eva kept going for the distraction hook, line, and sinker. Too concerned with the spat, she hadn’t been any closer to discovering the secret about the amulet’s magic. Avery’s attention flickered to the clouds. The police had descended upon the island with a fully fledged force. Most of the Band was in the area fighting back but they were clearly outnumbered. She stood a chance, Avery realized. If she just kept the secret for a few minutes longer, the police would swoop in and she’d escape.
“You have no right to judge me, Mason. And you have no right to protect that man. Jericho was a thief, a traitor, and a liar.”
“Eva. Shut up.” Mikhail said softly but the second he spoke, all attention fell to him. His knife still lingered in the air but his patience had apparently worn thin. “You’ve forgotten why we came.”
Avery squirmed backwards on the muddy pavement but Eva quickly readjusted her painful grip until Avery moved no more. Mikhail turned his eyes on Avery and she felt her skin crawl and her stomach flutter. Lungs constricting and mind blanking, she struggled to talk. Mikhail was using his amulet again. He would compel her to comply with his commands just as easily a second time.
“Tell me dear. Why are you still around? What has Mason found out about the Willow magic?”
Her mouth clicked open but she struggled for words. Her head pounded. Mikhail looked dreamy again. His black eyes appeared soft and beautiful. His hair fell over his face perfectly and skin looked shiny and smooth. His half smile made her heart swoon. Feeling light headed, she
forgot all of her concerns.
“You have pretty wings.” She giggled lucidly. “Can I touch them?”
He pouted and Avery panicked, knowing she’d upset him.
“Not until you tell me. Tell me what Mason has found out about the Willow magic.”
Airborne Page 18
