by Linsey Hall
Del raced ahead, safe in her phantom form. When she reached the last remaining demon, she turned corporeal long enough to take off his head with a flying leap and sweep of her sword.
She landed and turned to us, panting. “We cannot get a freaking break.”
I glanced at the lava that flowed toward us, then back at the Monster’s mansion. More enemies would come from it soon if we didn’t get out of here. The Trackers still hadn’t shown up with the Monster, but they would.
The air didn’t waver. No change of scenery was coming.
“I think we gotta risk it, Del,” I said. “The waypoint is weird, right? So it’s not as far a distance as out in the real world.”
“Yeah.” Her gaze clouded with doubt. “But I don’t know if I’ll be able to get us all back when the portal closes.”
Indecision warred within me. I could feel the heat of the lava at my back and the glower of the Monster’s mansion ahead of me. But it was the sight of him striding out the door and down the stone steps that made up my mind. Now that I realized how many powers he’d likely stolen, he seemed invincible.
“Risk it!” I sprinted to Del. “Monster incoming!”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
A second later, we arrived back at the bazaar where we’d first been snatched. Sound and color were a wild cacophony around us as the heat of the desert and hundreds of bodies pressed in on us. A woman dressed in colorful scarves shrieked about fish for sale and a man who looked just like Aladdin—the cartoon one—shouted over her, trying to sell CD players.
“Fates, I hope that didn’t screw us,” Del said. “I really don’t know if I’ll be able to get us all back.”
“We’ll worry about that when the time comes.” A man jostled into me and I shoved him away.
“Wench!” he spat, then disappeared through the bustling crowd.
We needed to get the hell out of this bazaar. I focused on my dragon sense to find Aidan and the Nullifier. The familiar tug pulled at my middle.
“Come on!” I called. We raced through the stalls, not stopping to say “excuse me” or even “move your ass.”
We just bowled people over and shoved by them as we ran. Trackers and shadow demons could be anywhere. Because even though the waypoint was everywhere at once, it was the Monster’s world more than it was ours. He and his minions knew it better than we ever would.
I caught sight of Aidan’s dark hair, an easy feat considering he stood a head taller than everyone else.
“Aidan!”
He turned immediately, relief in his gray gaze. I reached him before he could take a step and threw myself into his arms. He hugged me tight, his strong arms banishing the last of my fear over my nightmare. It would come back in the dark, but for now, I was strong.
I pushed away from him. “We’ve got to go!”
He nodded. I glanced to his left to see the Nullifier, his gaze tired and stressed, then focused on my dragon sense and the portal we sought.
“This way!” I grabbed Aidan’s hand.
I set off through the crowd again, glancing behind to make sure the others followed. Del and Nix bracketed the Nullifier, protecting him as we pushed through the crowd. We’d nearly reached the edge of the bazaar when our surroundings wavered, the air shimmering. I held my breath and prayed for something favorable.
Yellow sand stretched out before us, waving hills like an ocean.
More freaking desert. Same oppressive heat, but instead of a crowd jostling us from all sides, sand sucked at our feet.
But an oasis glimmered ahead. The lack of obstacles in our path meant I could actually see the end goal instead of just feel it. It spurred me on.
“There!” I pointed.
I ran, but I was so slow. The sand dragged at me, holding me back. Aidan was faster than me, but not by much.
“Aidan! Fly the Nullifier to the pool. We’ll follow.”
“I’ll take you as well,” he said.
“No. You’ll be faster alone. He’s the one who needs to get there.”
“But we all need to get out,” Aidan said. “When the portal closes, we won’t have long to escape.”
I didn’t tell him that my deirfiúr and I weren’t sure we would all get out, but he was right. We needed to stick together.
“Fine. Take Del and the Nullifier. I’ll shift too and take Nix.”
Aidan nodded.
I reached out for his power, grasping onto the evergreen scent and crashing wave sound, searching out his ability to shift. I let the magic fill my limbs, warming me from the inside. My bones twisted and changed, a process that was thankfully painless, and a second later I stood taller, my clawed feet digging into the sand.
I knelt on one knee so that Nix could scramble onto my back.
“Looking better!” she called.
I grinned—or thought I did, if beaks could grin—and pushed off the ground, my strong wings carrying me into the sky. It was awkward at first, but I caught on quicker this time and flew after Aidan.
Nix shrieked, her joy obvious. My joy was palpable, too, singing through me. I loved my power now that I’d embraced it. It gave me so many gifts. Completed me. Whatever I’d lost when I was younger, at least I had this. I was too strong now for the Monster to steal it from me.
The scenery around us changed as we flew, turning to ancient forest. Scraggly oaks reached up from the ground, their claw-like branches grasping for us. Shade cast the forest floor in shadow. The woods looked like the type dark faeries would gather within.
I could still see the pool from my lofty vantage point, though it had changed slightly. The water still glimmered blue with the portal’s purple sheen, but the land surrounding it was now made of great boulders dotted with ferns and moss. An enchanted glen.
I pushed myself harder, beating my wings with everything I had. I was a griffin—mostly—and I could fly, but not like Aidan. He was strength and grace in animal form when he flew. His strong wings left me in the dust.
I squinted against the wind and raced to keep up.
Suddenly, a massive fireball flew from the ground, straight for Aidan. He dodged, wheeling on the wind, his golden wings glinting in the light. Another blazing orange fireball followed. He dodged again, Del and the Nullifier clinging to his back.
The third and fourth fireballs got him, shooting from the trees below and hitting him square in the underbelly, one after the other. He flailed as his wings failed, then he plummeted.
I shrieked and dived low to follow. More fireballs shot from the trees. A defense line we’d triggered? Guards? I’d seen no guards while the desert had been here, but we’d been farther away then. They could have been hiding amongst the palms and ferns.
“Fireball to the right!” Nix yelled.
I dodged the flame as best I could, escaping two fireballs that singed me with heat as they passed. My wings ached as I struggled to maneuver.
“Fireball left!” Nix screamed.
I shot right, but an enormous oak was in my way. I jerked back, narrowly avoiding the trunk, but pain blazed in my wing and the smell of burning feathers hit my nose.
I’d been hit!
I struggled to keep beating my wings, but they faltered, the injured one barely moving. With one wing, I couldn’t stay aloft. I fell, flapping my good wing in an attempt to control my landing. Nix clung to my back.
“The clearing to the left!” Nix screamed.
I aimed for it, flailing as we plummeted. I kept my footing as I landed, galloping across the ground on wild legs I no longer controlled. Unable to stay upright any longer, I skidded on my knees in the dirt, flinging Nix off my back. She flew head over ass, crashed, then slid on the dirt.
I struggled to my feet, wincing at the pain in my left leg, then called upon my magic. It flowed through me, warm and comforting, turning me back into my human form. Nix scrambled upright, her hair covering her face, then ran to me.
“You okay?” Nix’s gaze was wild as it skimmed over my form.
“Fine.” I was even wearing all of my clothes this time. “Let’s go!”
We sprinted through the forest but kept low to the ground.
Where was Aidan?
It was darker than it should have been in the shelter of the gnarled oaks, as if some kind of black magic protected this place, and it made it hard to see. Colored lights glittered amongst the trees. Dark faeries, the tiny apparitions that wreaked havoc with travelers. An ancient tower loomed in the distance, evil radiating from its gray stones.
The sounds of a battle drew us to Aidan and Del, who fought demons only fifty yards from the pool. Over a dozen smoke demons bombarded them, their clouds of burning smoke flying through the air. The Nullifier huddled against a tree and cast a protective circle of anti-magic around himself.
I threw myself into the fray, gathering up my lightning and blasting the nearest demon. Thunder cracked as he crashed to the ground, his gray form alight with electricity.
Aidan stood at the base of a giant oak, hurling jets of flame at any demon who approached. He lit up three in the short time I watched.
Del danced amongst the horde in her phantom form, immune to their smoke. She went corporeal long enough to slice limbs and lop off heads. Nix jumped in with her to conjure grenades that she hurled at the outlying demons.
“To your left!” I screamed at Nix.
A demon had snuck up behind her. His blast of smoke got her in the arm, but she ducked and pivoted, conjuring a sword that she swung one-armed with deadly accuracy. The demon’s head tumbled to the ground. She clutched her injured arm and glanced around for more demons to fight.
There were only two left before the way was clear and I could get the Nullifier to the pool. The water glittered beckoningly.
I raced to the Nullifier, jumping over boulders and dodging trees to get to him.
We were so close. Almost there.
The air shimmered. Dark magic shook the air.
I stumbled, recognizing the signature.
The scent of rot and decay filled my nose just before the Monster appeared, a Tracker demon at his side. My heart froze as I skidded to a halt, my gaze glued to the Monster. His pressed suit looked so out of place in the forest, but his hulking demon sidekick fit right in. The Tracker demon surged toward my friends, but the Monster turned his gaze on the Nullifier, who was still over a dozen yards from me.
I called upon my lightning, building the biggest bolt I’d ever created. It crackled and burned in my chest, ready to fly. But before I could send it, the Monster threw a sonic boom at the Nullifier. The ricochet alone knocked me on my ass. I skidded in the dirt, then scrambled up to see the Monster throw another boom.
This one hit the Nullifier dead on and threw him against the tree behind him. The first must have broken down his no-magic shield, but the second…
He didn’t move.
No!
I threw my bolt of lightning at the Monster, taking advantage of his distraction with the Nullifier. Thunder cracked as it hit him, vibrating my bones. He convulsed and fell; my heart soared. Victory tasted sweet, though it wouldn’t last. He’d rise soon. I wouldn’t stay to watch.
I sprinted for the Nullifier, yelling, “Cover me!”
My friends had polished off the demons and turned their attention to the Monster, who had climbed to his feet. As I ran, Nix lobbed grenades—which were a bitch to dodge even if you were a supernatural—while Aidan threw enormous blasts of flame that exploded against the Monster’s shield. Aidan shifted tactics, calling upon his Elemental Mage power to disrupt the earth beneath the Monster’s feet. It rose as a craggy hill, throwing the Monster to his back.
His gaze caught mine as he fell. Fire blazed in his eyes. He stretched his hand out toward me, but nothing happened. I grinned and sprinted harder. I was only a few yards from the Nullifier now.
Something hard snapped around my waist, a massive arm that jerked me up into the air. I thrashed and kicked my legs, clawing at whatever had grabbed me. Rough bark bit into my fingertips. I looked down. A tree branch had grabbed me, yanking me high into the air and holding me like King Kong had held Whats-her-name.
The Monster could control the forest?
We were screwed.
I pulled my obsidian blade from its sheath and hacked at the branch as I watched Del race toward the Monster, her invincible blue form transparent in the dim light. Fear chilled my skin as she charged. She ran straight through his barrier, her phantom form not stopped by his magic, but when she went corporeal to strike, he was faster. Before her sword blow could land, he’d thrown a sonic boom at her that sent her hurtling backward. She crashed into a tree, then collapsed.
I screamed, hacking at the tree limb, but it did no good. My blade was nothing against the enchanted wood.
Del wasn’t rising.
“Help!” I screamed. I didn’t know who I was calling to—all my backup was here and totally occupied. But Del wasn’t getting up and fear for her made me crazy.
A flash of orange light caught my eye, then blue. I jerked my head left.
The four dragonets fluttered nearby—fire, water, smoke, and stone—and all looked at me, their gazes expectant.
What the hell? Had I called them? Who cared.
I pointed to Del. “Help her!”
The sparkling blue water dragonet zoomed off, heading straight for Del. The fire dragonet flew behind me, its warmth grazing my cheek as it passed. I craned my neck to look. The dragonet wrapped its body around the tree limb, its nose touching its tail. Smoke rose from the limb as the wood burned away.
Wood creaked and groaned, then snapped. I plummeted. Something hard pushed at my butt and fluttered against my sides. I glanced down. The stone dragonet was trying to break my fall, but it was far too small.
It slowed my descent, at least, flying away at the last second so that I wouldn’t crush it. I crashed to the ground, then scrambled to my feet. Del was rising as well, her hair wet from the water dragonet.
She charged the Monster, who was still holding my friends off. Nix was down, but struggling to her feet.
“Help them!” I cried at the dragonets.
They surged into the fray, flame and water, smoke and stone.
I ran to the Nullifier and I fell to my knees at his side. His face was pale, his mouth slack. My skin chilled.
I shook his frail shoulder. “Wake up!”
His eyelids fluttered, revealing slivers of his eyes.
“Come on! You have to be okay,” I said.
“I’m…not.” He coughed through the words. Blood appeared at the corner of his mouth. “Trauma can…kill me. This is that trauma.”
Tears rolled down my face, tears over the loss of Magic’s Bend and the guilt that I’d dragged this man into this. To his death.
“You must take my power,” he said, then gasped. “Finish the job.”
I stumbled back. Take his power? It would crush my own. Turn me powerless. I’d just started to embrace it. I liked my power. I loved it. And even when I hadn’t been using it, it’d still been part of me. Taking his power would be like cutting out part of my soul. After all I’d lost, I’d lose the rest of my magic too?
It made me feel empty inside just to think of it.
The Nullifier was dying, his power there for the taking, but of course my FireSoul covetousness hadn’t surged. My FireSoul didn’t want anything to do with the Nullifier. He was anti-magic.
If we didn’t kill the Monster here today, which I doubted we had the power to, I would still be hunted by him. Now powerless to protect myself.
“No,” I said. “No, I can’t. You’re going to be okay. I’ll take you to the pool, then Aidan will heal you.”
He shook his head, his gaze sad, but I ignored it.
“Aidan!” I didn’t worry about alerting the Monster to my plans. He knew our goal. “To the pool!”
I tried to ignore the pallor on the Nullifier’s face as I focused on mirroring Aidan’s shifter powers. I couldn’t carry the Nullifier in m
y current form. Warmth filled my limbs as I envisioned the biggest, strongest griffin I could imagine. Magic sparked as I transformed.
My new, clawed feet were enormous. Twice as big as my old griffin form, though they still looked a bit odd. I turned toward the Nullifier and scooped him up in my claws, gently as I could. As I launched myself into the air, I prayed that my friends could cover me.
I’d only beaten my wings a couple times when the odd sensation hit me. It felt off. Weak.
Death?
I glanced down at the Nullifier. He hung limply in the cradle of my claws, his eyes barely open. My heart thundered, fear tightening my throat. My enhanced griffin senses were picking up the Nullifier’s looming death. The weakness of his breathing, the chill of his skin. His magic leaving him.
Frantically, I flapped my wings and ignored the pain of flying with my injured body, trying to reach the pool as quickly as possible. Aidan waited for us at the edge. I landed as gently as possible, laying the Nullifier on the soft moss.
I transformed back to human, stumbling on shaky legs, and begged, “Heal him!”
Aidan dropped to his knees by the Nullifier. Tears burned my eyes as I watched him gently place his big palms on the Nullifier’s shoulders. The Nullifiers head lolled as he turned to look at me.
The tears spilled over my lids and onto my cheeks.
“I can’t,” Aidan said.
“I’m too far gone,” the Nullifier croaked.
Aidan’s eyes met mine. “I’m sorry, Cass. There’s nothing I can do. The sonic boom created too much internal damage.”
My gaze darted to the Nullifier.
“Do it,” he breathed. “Or Victor Orriordor will win.”
I glanced over my shoulder. Nix was down in the dirt, struggling to get up. Del was holding off the Monster, but barely. He’d ignited a line of blue flame behind her and Nix, trapping them against his sonic boom attacks. The dragonets were trying, zooming around the Monster, but they couldn’t do much against him.
My friends couldn’t hold out much longer. Magic’s Bend couldn’t hold out much longer. The whole city would be destroyed, homes demolished, lives lost.
I turned back to the Nullifier, my heart tearing in two. The pain nearly stole my breath.
