Dead Air: A Collective World Novel (Academy's Rise Trilogy Book 3)

by Lia Davis

  Once everyone was through the portal, Phenex closed it, then the sentries spread out in front of us. My sisters, our mates, and I needed to be fairly close together so we could connect when we pulled all our powers together. I didn't think we'd have to touch to connect this time, but just in case.

  I formed an energy ball while adding my air. Damn, it felt good to have all my powers online. Meda and Tala formed their own, only Meda's was more of a high-powered fireball and Tala's was supercharged water ball. I grinned. "On the count of three."

  "One," Meda said.

  "Two," Tala followed up.

  Instead of saying three, the three of us called out to Trinity, snaking power into the air and our voices. Dad had given us a crash-course in demon summoning before we left. With most magic, it was a matter of intent. "Trinity, we summon you."

  Like the demon she was.

  Within minutes, the air charged with the dark power of Hell. It nipped at my awareness as if saying hello. The air held whispers of the demons who materialized moments later. Figures, the cowardly bitch would send the demons first. But, we'd expected it.

  My sisters and I threw our balls of elements and power at the group of demons, then charged at them. Meda conjures swords for Tala and I and then one for herself while pushing her fire to cover the blade. The demons seemed surprised that we had our elements back.

  "Yeah, we figured out how to break the curse." I sliced through one demon, then turned, slicing through another. My swords moved in super-speed, now that I had full power and my elements, I was able to use all of my training. I hadn't realized how crippled I'd been by the curse. It had affected more than my elements and mood.

  Without it, I was faster, lighter. I caught Harper's gaze. She grinned at me before jumping straight up in the air, then coming down on top of a demon. She took its head between her hands and jerked, snapping the thing off his shoulders. Ew. But also yay, Harp!

  Noah and Gino battled a few demons of their own, and I rushed over to them, using their bodies to shield me while formed a large energy ball. Swirling my hands out in front of me, I pulled power from Poppy and Hell. Even though he couldn't be with us in physical form, he was there in spirit—kind of. I felt him briefly as I pulled Hell power into my ball, expanding it with ease. Using the power to create energy balls was far easier and simpler than trying to pull it into myself and direct it, use it.

  I tapped into Meda's fire and Tala's water, adding them to the magical cocktail I was forming. Then, my air was last. Shit, this is huge!

  Meda laughed in my head. Stop playing with it and throw it already.

  And I did, screaming, "Incoming! Hit the deck!" We'd warned them ahead of time that a huge powerball was a possibility, and they had to be prepared to drop if they heard us yell.

  The sentries, Collective that had volunteered to come help, Dad, Paw, my sisters, and our mates all hit the ground as the large power ball slammed into the crowd of demons. Their screeches echoed around us as they dissolved into black ash.

  Everything fell quiet for a few seconds. We looked at each other in amazement. This was how it was supposed to be. We were the most powerful creatures alive. Supposedly ever. Something as mundane as a crowd of demons shouldn't have been so difficult.

  Then, the sound of slow clapping made my sisters and I whirl around.

  Trinity. Bitch. She walked out of the woods wearing a black, tight-fitted suit. Her white-blond hair looked professionally styled, pulled back in a complicated bun. I saw it when she turned her head to take in the whole group with us. She looked like she belonged on a runway for a Haute-couture business wear designer. If such a brand existed. She was even wearing heels. I tried not to roll my eyes.

  "That was very good. Your powers are impressive. But are they enough?" She lifted her hands and we braced ourselves.

  Each of us formed energy balls, waiting, no idea what she would do.

  Lightning cracked through the sky, then touched down. The ground shook and the shock wave knocked us on our asses. Our hair stood on end as we looked around, our energy balls dissipated.

  "What the fuck is that?" Tala yelled, looking at Dad.

  "I don't fucking know." Dad's eyes glowed from the power he was pulling from his mother—our Lilipad. "She couldn't do that when I knew her." Then he threw his energy ball at Trinity. The demonic bitch deflected it like it was nothing more than a gnat.

  "What happened to you, Trin?" he called.

  She cocked her head at him. "How would you respond to the death of your child?"

  "Before that. We were best friends. Why'd you have to ruin everything?"

  She smiled and sucked in a deep breath. Trinity was calling on the electricity in the atmosphere again. We had to pull all our powers together. All thirteen of us, and we had to do it quick. Problem was, we'd only ever done it once. There was no time to practice it over and over.

  "Meda. Tala."

  Meda nodded, knowing what I was thinking. It was great to be connected again. I'd missed my sisters in my head. "Dad. Paw. Get the sentries to distract her long enough for us all to connect."

  "On it," Paw said.

  Dad strode forward. "Stop this, Trinity. You had such a promising future. You can't win this."

  She laughed maniacally and engaged him in conversation. I heard her daughter's name but ignored her words as we focused on connecting.

  Our mates closed in. I met Meda's gaze. "I think if we all hold hands we'd have enough contact to connect."

  "I think so too." She grabbed Peter's and then Sterling's hand. Dorian took Sterling's, then held his out to Kevin. We formed a circle with our backs facing inside so we weren't vulnerable to whatever Trinity threw at us. She would try to take advantage of any weakness she saw.

  Phenex joined the circle last, standing in the center, not touching us, but I felt him inside me. Apparently, being connected to all of us when we broke the curse was good enough to link him to all our mates. Good to know. He was truly our center now.

  I opened the link to Hell and pulled in my sisters. This time it went fast, which was great since Trinity had turned her attention back to us.

  Each of them pulled in their mates. We didn't bother doing it one at a time because we didn't have time. I heard a few curses from our mates but they didn't pull away. It must've been uncomfortable, being sucked in quickly.

  "Ready?" Meda asked as Trinity raised her arms. "It's going to be hard and fast."

  "That's what she said," Kevin said. Then he grunted when Tala elbowed him in the ribs. "Sorry."

  Holding in my giggle because it was funny, and because I was freaking stressed out, I counted down. "Together on three."

  "One," Meda whispered as a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky. It was taking Trinity longer to call it down this time.

  "Two," Tala followed up.

  Again, instead of saying three, we pulled on the power of Hell and threw our magic and elements into the link at the same time. Phenex served as a central power source, and I hadn't realized just how much he had held back from us until that moment. Even on the beach, he hadn't given us his full ability. Glancing over my shoulder I saw him lift his arms, and a large ball of power, fire, water, and air formed over us. It contained power from each of us and hell.

  When it was larger than our circle, he threw it right at Trinity and the new group of demons that had run out of the trees to join her. It killed all the demons as soon as it touched them but didn't touch Trinity.

  "Fuck," several of our mates said at once.

  "How the hell is she still standing?" Tala growled.

  That didn't make sense. "Who is she connected to that can give her that much power?" She had to be linked to someone powerful in Hell. It was the only thing that would give her that much power. "What now?"

  Meda growled then looked at me. "Can you freeze her?"

  "I think so. I should be able to." I focused on Trinity and called to my time manipulation power. Usually, I just needed to focus on something and
simply will it to freeze. It didn't need to be spoken out loud. However, it wasn't affecting Trinity. "It's not working."

  We'd waited too long. Trinity's lightning returned, blasting inside our circle. We were ripped apart and thrown in all directions. I climbed to my feet, blood running down my forehead and into my eye. As I tried to wipe it away, I looked around to see Gino lying unconscious on the ground.

  "No," I whispered, but I couldn't hear my voice. The blast had messed with my ears. Rushing to my mate, I was relieved to find him stirring. The blast had knocked him out, but he was rallying.

  Tala and Meda had their mates around them again, and Phenex sat beside them, holding his head. He'd probably been closest to the bolt when it hit the ground.

  I grabbed Gino with Harper's help and hobbled over to my family.

  To buy us time, Dad had attacked Trinity hand-to-hand, but she was playing with him. She was faster than any vampire had ever been, darting around him with maniacal laughter pouring out of her mouth.

  "Connect again," Tala said. "I have an idea."

  We drew together. I didn't know whose hand I grabbed, but soon we huddled close, everyone touching more than one person. I opened up the flow of power, and as soon as it touched me, my ears cleared, and I could hear again.

  Tala got quiet, her total focus was on Trinity. The demonic vamp jerked her gaze to Tala as if the two of them had connected in some way. Calmly, and with a cold tone, Tala said, "Form another power ball, bigger than the last one and when I say the word, Ami, freeze her." She narrowed her gaze on Trinity, tears pouring down her cheeks. As I pulled on her power to form the ball, I gasped. Her emotions were consumed with grief.

  Okay. I didn't ask questions. Whatever she was doing, she thought it would work. I kept funneling power into the ball.

  I felt Phenex behind us, pulling on more power, and I pushed my air to him, knowing that Meda and Tala added their elements. I also felt our witches adding their magic in the mix. This had to work.

  Trinity snarled and walked toward us. Tala laughed, but the sound was evil, sending a shiver up my spine. I'd heard her be mean, careless, thoughtless. This, though, was a cruel joy. It struck me deep inside. Tala had power none of us understood yet.

  Suddenly, Trinity stopped her stalk and gasped, clutching her chest, sobbing as tears rolled down her face.

  Tala said, "Now Ami." Tala's voice was choked, full of pain. I looked at her as I pulled on my power. Her red face was tortured, liquid running out of her eyes and nose as she focused on Trinity.

  "Freeze," I commanded. I didn't want to freeze time, just her. I'd never tried it before, but with the massive amount of power flowing through me, I willed it to be so.

  Trinity froze.

  Without breaking our link, Meda stepped forward. "This is how your daughter died, bitch."

  Then Meda took control over the energy ball and used my air to control it. The ball shrank as it neared Trinity, but the power stayed inside. Condensed. Trinity's eyes followed the power as it floated in the air toward her. As the ball reached Trinity's forehead, it was the size of a marble but had enough power in it to level a small city. I stepped forward and took Meda's hand again. Tala did the same. We focused, and the power ball burrowed into Trinity's head as she screamed.

  The sound would haunt me for years to come. The sound of an animal dying a painful, horrific. death. It was well-deserved, but the shriek chilled me to the bone.

  The scream didn't stop until Trinity burst into black ash.

  I stared at Meda as a calm settled around us. "Damn, Meda, that was dark."

  Meda shrugged, unconcerned. "I'm the granddaughter of Lucifer. I'm a little dark."

  Chapter Nineteen

  I released the power of Hell abruptly, sinking to the ground. "It's over," I whispered. "She's dead." Running through the psychic connection I had to my mates, sisters, and parents, I made sure they were all alive. Their links pulsed with various levels of pain, grief, and worry, but everyone was still there.

  Focusing my depleted energy, I plucked at the threads between worlds, opening a small portal into Mom's bedroom. "Hey," I called to her back. She whirled around. "Ami!" Rushing forward, she tried to look through the opening, but I'd only made it big enough for my face. "None of the family died, but I have no idea the injuries or deaths of anyone else yet. I'm lagging but wanted you to know. Trinity is dead."

  The edges of a portal burned too much to touch, so she pressed a kiss to the tips of her index and middle finger and then pressed her fingers to my lips. "All my love, bring everyone home safe to me."

  I let go of the threads of the portal and collapsed, letting my head settle onto the soft grass. I hadn't been directly injured, but I felt more burned through now than I had the day before when we'd handled the power together for the first time.

  Rolling onto my side, I looked at the scene. My sisters and all our mates were the only ones lying on the ground in exhaustion. Everyone else milled around, checking injuries and helping others to their feet. Paw and Dad walked around the wounded, looking for the worst injuries.

  My sisters laid behind me, and our mates were trying to get to their feet. No doubt they wanted to get to us.

  I smiled to see Harper sit down beside Gino and draw his head into her lap. She spoke to him and touched his face. It wasn't sexual or even loving. She was caring for him. I felt for her in my mind, and concern flowed. She looked up at me when she felt me checking on her. I shot her a weary smile that she returned.

  Noah got to his feet and stumbled over. "You okay?" he whispered. He knew I was, but he wanted to be near me as much as I wanted to be near him, Harper, and Gino.

  "Yeah. I will be. If you can, will you help check on the wounded?"

  He nodded. "I'm not hurt, just worn out."

  "I think that's all of us," I said.

  "My mates are okay," Tala said behind me. "Meda?"

  Meda nodded, dragging herself into a sitting position. "Yeah."

  Slowly, the wounded were gathered, and the dead carried inside the dorm building to wait for their families.

  We'd only lost two, but it was two too many. Sentries, they'd lost their lives making sure nothing could get to us while we took care of Trinity.

  They'd be honored.

  Phenex had a bit more stamina than the rest of us, having manipulated power for many, many years longer than we had. He gathered the wounded and opened a portal. "I'll send them to the infirmary," he told my Dad.

  "We had an infirmary on the island?" I asked. I'd managed to get to my feet and walk over to Phenex. My sisters were still working on it. "We might need to see the Shaman," I told Phenex.

  He put his hand on my forehead and closed his eyes. "I'll check your sisters out, too, but I think it's just burn out."

  "Burn out?" My sisters walked up as I spoke.

  "Is that why I feel like the end of a blown-out match?" Meda asked.

  Phenex nodded. "You'll recover, but it'll take a few days. Your witches look like they'll need the most care."

  I turned to find Harper and Noah holding Gino up. "Can we go home, or back to the island, or wherever it is we're going?" Harp asked. "We can't hold him up for long."

  Phenex nodded. "I think it would be easiest to return to the island for the night and give everyone the option of going home or staying."

  Dad sucked in a deep breath. "Yes, I agree."

  Phenex opened a portal and ushered the wounded through. "I'll help the shaman if you can get everyone else back," he said.

  I nodded. "I think I can handle enough to make a portal," I said.

  It wasn't easy, as it turned out, but I managed to make three. One at the entrance to each of the hotels on Poppy's island, allowing the Collective members that had volunteered to fight to exit at the point closest to their families.

  Many hugs and congratulations were given. It was hard to smile and accept the compliments when two more dead bodies lay a few feet away inside the dorm building.

  My pa
rents would have to deliver the news to two more sets of families. Families that were, at this moment, waiting for news of their relatives.

  Finally, everyone was through except my sisters, their mates, Paw, and Dad. I created one last portal, then followed everyone through, closing it with a snap, then collapsing on the couch.

  "Someone else is going to have to move our mattresses so we can have a puppy pile," I said wearily. "I can't do it."

  "We can," Dad said. "We're tired, but nothing like you lot."

  Our wonderful niswi moved the couch with me, Meda, and Tala lying on it, curled around each other in a tangle of limbs.

  "Tala," I said, raising my head. "What did you do to her?"

  "Trinity?" she asked.

  I nodded my head, but I had no idea if she saw me.

  She must have because she continued. "I have no clue what made it pop into my head. Or why I've never thought of it before. But, her grief was pressing at the wall I keep to hold off my emotions." I knew what she was talking about. Poppy had helped her create it years ago, and it kept her empath abilities from overwhelming her. It also made her a callous bitch sometimes. But, we loved her anyway.

  "I opened myself to it. Absorbed it. It was significant. She carried around a lot of pain." Tala shuddered. "Something inside me told me I could give it back to her. So, I tried. And I amplified it. I grabbed the fear and pain of the people around me and stuffed it into her grief—somehow."

  "And when you gave it back to her, it overwhelmed her?" Randell asked. I looked up to see everyone in the room was staring at Tala with their jaws slack.

  "Damn, Talls," Peter said. "You're scary AF."

  "I keep trying to tell you that, but nobody believes me," Tala grumbled.

  We chuckled, everyone too weary and sad to muster a real laugh.

  Soon, the niswi had our mattresses laid out. We climbed into bed, knees over legs, arms over stomachs. I was pretty sure my feet were tucked halfway under Randell, and Meda's butt was crammed into my back. Phenex walked in as we started to drift off and wiggled into the middle of us all, sighing in relief. "I can't believe how happy I am to be here," he said. "A few weeks ago, I would've laughed at anyone that said I'd be here now."