by Sacha Black
“Attention, Trutinor. Do not be alarmed at the sky marks. Please be aware that the Guild of Investigations is running some ground to air defense magic. You may see some maroon staining in the future. There is no need to panic.” Her eyes are ablaze, just like Trey’s when he’s using compulsion.
My chest tightens at the thought of millions of Keepers lapping up every word because they’re under her spell. She has to be stopped. The announcement loops a few times then cuts off.
I turn to Trey, “Just me, or do you find it convenient that she was able to hack the network only a few days after Victor did?”
Trey’s eyes narrow. He swipes across to the call screen and dials Kato, whose face appears.
“I’m already on it,” he says, without even glancing at the screen. “And this time, thanks to the systems we set up in Hermia’s spare room, I was able to hack into the network while she was live. I slapped tracer worm on that baby. I’m working my magic now.”
“You really are a genius, aren’t you?” I say, grinning.
This time he does look at the screen, “Obviously, darling.” He hangs up.
Arden's zoomed in on Victor's location; he pushes the screen in our direction, and I wriggle over the rocks to get a closer look. All three of us stare at Arden's screen as the images blur in and out of focus. They inch closer to the rocky ridge, and as the image sharpens, Victor's face stares back at us, grinning, yellowed teeth on show, his maroon vein pulsing down his temple. He tips his head, giving us a salute. Then he runs.
“Shit,” I say, jumping up and grabbing Trey. Victor sprints across the ridge plateau as if he’s going to head down the mountain.
"Let's go," Trey says, grabbing my hand. Arden, Trey, and I sprint down the slope back to camp.
When we reach the camp, Bo is already shouting orders at the group, demanding beds be packed. Sorcerers are flinging their wands around, wispy green enchantments flying through the air, packing the equipment away at light speed.
Trey CogCalls Kato back, relaying our position and where we saw Victor. I can hear Hermia shouting commands in the background, barking at their new supersized tracker to display maps and relay information to us. Trey signs off. “They’re sending the best direction for us to cut him off.”
I nod as Bo charges over to us, hopping on her prosthetic as she pulls her boot on. “The Six are ready. Eden, you can ride Delphine Delacroix, Trey ride Angus. It’s better than trying to chase him on foot.”
I hesitate, “Is Delphine okay with that?”
“Delphine will be fine,” Bo snaps.
I recoil and decide that when this is over, I have to ask her if something’s wrong. She was funny with me before Stratera started too. I shrug it off and decide it must be the stress of being a general. When Bo was given The Six, they were less than impressed that Israel relinquished control to a seventeen-year-old. I think Angus' exact words were ‘my boss is a little stick insect brat.' Bo later found out that Delphine, head of the Third House of the North was the ringleader of that little tryst. Apparently, Delphine had a soft spot for Israel and was less than impressed that she hadn't been given The Six. It was never a possibility, of course, because control of The Six stays with the First House of the North. But that didn't seem to matter to Delphine.
When Bo lost her leg in the battle against her brother, the rest of The Six saw the way she fought and decided to toe the line. Delphine did too, eventually.
"Delphine will be fine with what?" Delphine says, strolling through the bustling group with Angus. She's tall, taller even than Angus, who has a constant bear-like appearance about him, with shaggy brown hair and mud-colored clothes. While Delphine is thickset, she has fine creamy-white features. Her eyes, like her lips, are jet black, which I assume is her essence mark. She flicks her long cream-colored hair behind her back, then folds her arms.
“Letting Eden ride point,” Bo says.
Delphine peers down at me, raising her eyebrow as if I'm an ant that needs squashing. Her lips thin into a slip, but she detaches a huge collar that was hanging from her hip and throws it at me. Her body plummets to the floor then billows up and out, making me stumble back.
“She’s a polar bear?” I ask.
“Couldn’t you tell?” Bo says, rolling her eyes at me, “God, the attitude alone should have been a giveaway. Cold as an iceberg that one.”
Delphine grunts, the corner of her darkened lip rippling up. Bo turns and glares at Delphine. I take a nervous look back; Bo has balls of steel. Delphine bears her long thin incisors at her. Bo shifts her body forward so fast I think she's going to slap Delphine's black nose. Delphine flinches but holds her position and growls so loud it rumbles through my chest.
“Guys,” I snap, “there isn’t time.”
The pair of them look at me then Delphine lowers her head, allowing me to slip the collar over neck and on to her shoulders. She nudges me to mount her. I clamber on, pausing to realize I've never ridden a bear before. But I figure it can't be that different to a camel. We're surrounded by desert in the East, and camel riding is compulsory for all Elementals, a throwback tradition from before the trains. I squeeze my legs into her sides and hold the two handles that stick out from the collar.
“I’ll shift and go airborne,” Bo says, “it’s faster, and once I get a lock on Victor, we won’t lose him.”
“Go,” I say.
The air around her body shimmers and pulses, until she disappears and reappears, flapping long sleek wings. Her slender peregrine figure shoots skywards. Her belly is speckled taupe, her back covered in a silky white strip. She circles us, squawking out what I imagine must be commands. Obert, Vega, and Markov stop what they're doing and look up. They throw their last few belonging into their kit bags and dump them in the growing pile of kit and equipment then, they too, shift.
A thread of green magic from Olivius’ wand zips around us lowering the protective dome. Angus, in brown-bear form, bounds across the gravel and rock and skids to a halt in front of Trey, lowering his massive head and shoulders for Trey to climb on.
Arden reappears at my side, “Find him, bring him down, and capture him. Alive. I’ll finish up with Olivius here, and then we’ll follow the route Kato sends us. Trey, do you have the plan?”
"Yes," Trey says, flipping open his CogTracker. "Kato's trying to get a lock on him now. They couldn't track his essence because he's dead, so they've found a way to track the Imbalance he’s creating, and they're narrowing the parameters. But Kato sent a proposed route of attack." He taps his Tracker and mine. Arden's beeps in response so I open it to view Kato's plan. I nod in agreement; he’s suggested we ride down the mountain and split into two groups to set an ambush. He thinks Victor's going for the forest. We’ll cut him off inside.
“Once we get to the forest perimeter, you take one group, and I’ll lead the other.”
“Okay,” Trey says, tapping out coordinates on his tracker.
“Let’s ride,” I say, and dig my heels into Delphine’s ribs. She rears up, her jowls bellowing out a roar, and she jerks forward, racing down the mountainside.
After half an hour of riding hard, we're three-quarters of the way back to the forest, and I cannot help but wonder why we didn't ride out yesterday instead of walk.
Our pack, two wolves, two bears, a panther, and a peregrine, is panting hard. The pace has slowed, and underneath me, I can feel Delphine's muscles are tired and twitching.
“Does Kato have a lock on him yet?” I shout over to Trey.
Delphine cocks her head in Trey's direction just as he shakes it ‘no.' She slows to a halt and wriggles me off her back, shifting into Keeper form.
"Well, what are we doing to find him? We can't keep blindly running," she says, her cheeks pink with exertion.
Trey and the others pull up too. He takes a small water bottle out of a pouch attached to Angus' collar and throws it to Delphine who takes huge gulps before throwing it back. Above us, Bo's wings flap hard as she slices through the air, but
she too slows until she's hovering above us. She lets out a shriek, and her wings fold into an arrow-like position, and she plummets down the mountainside.
"She's got him," I shout. Delphine shifts and in seconds, I'm on her back, and we're bounding over the craggy ground. Finally, I spot him too, breaking through the field at the bottom of the mountains. He’s in wolf form and running straight toward the forest, just like Kato predicted.
My legs grip Delphine’s belly, cramps in my thighs make my muscles scream, but I refuse to let go. My knuckles whiten as I cling harder to the handles. He will not get away. Not this time. Not again. I dig Delphine's ribs, spurring her on as if she were a horse. Her jaw swipes round, growling a warning at me, but it spurs her on anyway, and she runs faster over the pebbles, rocks, and sheer cliff faces toward Victor.
Our group must look like a stampede tearing down the gray Eris hills. The wind, cold and sharp, and full of snow, whips through my hair and bristles Delphine's fur. My eyes stream, and for a minute I lose sight of Victor. But I spot him entering the forest in the direction of the Pink Lake.
The lake stretches further than I can see, meandering through the Ancient Forest like a snake and off toward the North. Bo squawks and dives in his direction, chasing after him again. Our group races off the foothills, across the field between the mountains and the forest, and into the tree line after them. When we hit the edge of the Pink Lake, we pull short. Bo is back in her Fallon form, crouched behind a large trunk. Her fingers point to her eyes, then over to the north-west rim of the lake. I crouch down and spot Victor, twitching by the lake shore.
What’s wrong with him?
Bo's hands form a rapid set of shapes, as she dishes out silent instructions to The Six. Obert in wolf form and Markov in panther, move off to the left. Angus and Delphine cut right and around the back. Trey and Vega, the last member of The Six, remain although they form a defensive line behind Bo and me. Bo pulls me into her crouched position. From here I get an even clearer view. The peaks and ridge lines of the Eris mountains are visible in the distance. The surface of the water is cloaked in pink water lilies and cherry blossom, detritus discarded by the perpetual flowering of the trees.
“What do you want to do?” Bo asks.
“Approach directly,” I whisper. “He's going to be expecting me anyway; there's no point springing a surprise ambush if it isn't a surprise."
Bo nods in agreement. When everyone’s in position, she signals for us to go, so we step out from the cover of the forest’s undergrowth.
Victor's body convulses, cracking and spasming as if his bones are breaking. His eyes glaze black, as does the vein that trails from his temple. He lurches forward, then snaps back, his chest cracking open. I scream and stagger back as a dozen creatures spring from his ribs, bald purple veins crisscrossing their skin. The creatures’ mouths hang low, detached hollow jowls that gape like cave mouths. They howl the sounds of death and Imbalance at us. I've seen these creatures before. They're lost soul demons infected with Alteritus. They land on the floor, scuttling and scurrying toward us like insects. Victor shakes himself down, his chest knitting back together.
Bo barks out a series of commands. The Six charge out of the bushes and into action. Biting, swiping, and attacking the creatures. I run at Victor, launching a fireball right at his torso. He laughs, batting it away with a wave of water, taunting me with his new ability to control my powers. But I now know it's not his ability; it’s the Last Fallon. I close on him. Twenty feet. Ten feet. Five feet. Something slams into my back making me stumble to the floor and smack my shoulder on a stray log. I yelp as blood oozes down my top. The demon creature is on top of me, its mouth swinging just above my chin. Black drool spills over the side of its lips and drops onto my neck causing me to gag. Its head kicks back, shrieking, but I'm not sure if it's in delight or anger. I don't care. I reach up, clasp my hands around its clammy neck, and squeeze. I shove it onto its back and ignite my hands. Not with electricity but with fire. The dead burn like gasoline.
When the creature is still, and dead again, I climb off and run to Trey's side. He's battling two lost soul demons and Victor is right behind him. I skid to his side and fling fire at the creatures. I kick one in the head, and it scrambles away.
Bo’s blond ponytail flies across my periphery as her body is launched skyward and lands in a bush. I freeze. Waiting. A second later her wolf form bounds out of the bush, howling, her fangs bared as she lunges for the creature that hurt her and sinks her teeth into its neck. Delphine roars and tramples on another creature, breaking its neck. Then she reaches down and tears its head off for good measure. She really is cold-hearted.
In the seconds I was distracted watching Bo, Victor’s pulled his clawed hand back ready to strike Trey. I shout Trey’s name, launching a fireball at the creature he’s fighting and another one at Victor, but his name is lost in the chaos. He’s too preoccupied attacking one of the demons and doesn’t see Victor’s hand as it swipes through his side, splitting his skin, spraying all of us with blood and chunks of skin and bone. Trey spins round and tumbles forward, dropping to the ground. Lying motionless.
I scream. A deep guttural cry rips through my chest as all my fears about my dreams manifesting come true.
My vault snaps open.
A maroon gloss colors over my vision, and my body fills with Imbalance. Lightning covers my hands, and feet, and spins in loops around my chest as if it's going to encase me.
Words form in my mind. Kill him. Destroy his soul. And I want to. I want to hurt him for everything he's done. I launch pulses of lightning at him, mindlessly firing, and with each shot, Bo bellows ‘no' at me and runs full pelt toward us. My arm rises like a zombie, electricity throbbing around it, ready to stop her from getting in my way.
Angus, Obert, and Markov are all behind Victor now. He's hemmed in. A trail of demon corpses litters the forest floor. But he's surrounded. His fate is sealed, yet still, I want to end him.
The lightning builds, throbbing harder and faster until both my legs and lower body are encased. I pull back my arm ready to throw every bolt I have at him when Bo’s voice cuts through me.
“Trey’s still alive.”
It’s enough to slice through everything: the noise, the electricity: and the rage. My eyes skirt to Trey’s body; he’s on his back, a pained expression carving deep lines into his face.
He is alive.
In one groan from his mouth, all my energy is sapped. Angus, Obert, and Markov all dive on top of Victor pinning him to the ground, allowing Delphine to straddle him and Bo to shove Faraday cuffs over his hands, legs, and torso. As the Faraday helmet is attached, Victor's face slackens with relief, as if whatever magic was controlling him has dissipated.
“Is Trey okay?” Bo shouts.
“He’s alive, for now,” I say, touching his cheek and tearing the rest of his top open to see a gash that’s pumping blood out.
"I'm taking Victor straight to Datch. I'll contact Arden, but you need to get Charlie, now. He can save Trey."
I nod, and Bo, Delphine, and the rest of The Six, drag Victor into the forest. I’m left with Trey.
"It's going to be okay," I say, cradling him. But his skin is sweaty and pale. A pool of blood has stained the leaves underneath him.
“You can’t die on me. I mean it, Trey. Do not die.”
His hand reaches up to my cheek; he splutters out words I can't understand, which makes blood taint his lips. Then his body falls limp in my arms.
Twenty-Five
‘The strangeness of the Dryads is acute. Born of the soil, they evolved as the lands evolved, wielding earth magic and the raw power of Trutinor. While they are Keepers in part, they are also something more. They are also the manifestation of Trutinor itself.’
Excerpt - The Book of Balance
My hands drop to the earth; I bury them as deep as the leaves and mud will allow, my fingers pushing past twigs and pebbles as I channel power through the wet undergrowth. I push my es
sence through the ground until I reach a tree root. Dryads are all connected, meshed by earth and nature and a web of intertwined tree roots. But finding Charlie somewhere across thousands of acres of forest is going to be impossible. I shake the thought away. I can't give up. I have to try. He can't die in my arms. That thought makes a sob burst from my chest, and giant tears fall down my cheeks. Get a grip, Eden, there isn’t time.
I curl my fingers around the largest root I can feel and concentrate.
Charlie? I need you. Come to the Pink Lake. Trey’s dying. I funnel the message over and over again through the earth and rock and tree roots, pushing the message deep into the forest, stretching my essence until my head feels like it will crack open. Pressure builds in my head making blood ooze from my nose, but I don’t care. I will not let him die. I throw even more energy through the ground, pumping everything I have until my vision speckles with static, and I think I might pass out. My essence smacks into a something hard: Charlie. The power I funneled through the earth reverses, surging back toward me. I pull my hands out, backing away from the vibrating earth, and with what little strength I have left, I drag Trey a few feet away just as the ground splinters and breaks open.
Roots twist and entwine, wrapping and knotting into a physical form. I’ve only ever seen this done once before. Dryads don’t move like this often, it requires too much energy.
“What happened?” Charlie asks, pushing his leafy root-locks behind his ear. His brown bark-skin is paler than usual, probably a consequence of the extreme travel.
"Victor. He took Nyx. Now Trey's cut." I'm babbling, full of panic. I take a deep breath as a fresh wave of tears spill down my cheeks. "Victor's claw sliced through Trey's side, and I think it's nicked his lung." I glance down at Trey, my body trembling as I survey his injuries. His breathing is shallow, his figure limp, bubbles of red rising up and out of his mouth.
