Called by Darkness

by Sean Fletcher

  My skin got chills. My heart suddenly picked up. “Okay, I think I used one too many numbing spells—oh!”

  Asher’s gentle fingers pulled my chin up until all I could see were his deep blue eyes. “I never wanted to hurt you, Skylar. And I promise, from now on, I’ll do everything I can to make sure I never do.”

  I couldn’t speak. My face felt as though it were being drawn to his, as though his lips were pulling mine closer—

  My hand slipped and Asher shrank back with a pained hiss.

  “Sorry! Sorry! My bad!”

  Asher grimaced, but gave a soft chuckle. “Why do I get the feeling you did that on purpose?”

  I hurriedly went to finish healing him and not think about his perfect face, and how Asher…Asher made me feel these things…

  “It wasn’t just your fault,” I said, trying to bring the conversation back to something that wasn’t so dangerous to my senses. “I can also be…a butt sometimes.”

  “Only sometimes?” Asher said innocently.

  “You want me to ‘slip’ again?”

  He put up his hands in mock defeat.

  “I didn’t make it easy to be around,” I went on. “I know you get it too, but the pressure…it’s always there, always on me. I couldn’t get it out of my head about how perfect my mom was, how great she was, how I had to live up to that or else I…what was I? I was nothing but the lesser daughter.”

  My hands were shaking. I clenched them into fists until they stopped.

  “People see what they want to see. They remember and idolize what they want, the way they want,” Asher said.

  “I know that now. At least, I think I do. Like, my head knows it, but my heart still tells me I won’t be enough. I wanted to believe she’d done all those amazing things alone so that I was justified in doing them alone.”

  A tear dripped down my cheek and watered the dry dirt.

  “I’m sorry, Skylar,” Asher said softly.

  I wiped my face with my sleeve. I gave a sniffled laugh. “It wasn’t just you. I pushed you away, too, even if I didn’t realize it until now. Because if you don’t have anybody, if you don’t let yourself rely on anybody, then nobody can let you down, right?”

  Asher was quiet for a long moment. “I guess that’s one way to look at it. But it’s a pretty lousy way to go through life. Maybe you won’t live up to what you think you should, and yeah, maybe others will let you down in one way or another, but that’s kind of how living works. There’s always the risk of loss and pain. But I think—I know—it’s worth that risk.”

  My fingers slid over the last of his wound, leaving nothing but a faint pink line that snaked up his side. That’s how Asher and I were. Newly healed, still tender, something that would never quite be the same, but with the potential to be almost as good—no, better—than before.

  “Yeah. Yeah, I guess that’s true,” I said. “I’ll have to start giving it a shot, then.”

  “I’ll be right there, too. Promise.”

  I traced my finger down the newly healed skin. “That’s going to leave one heck of a scar.”

  “I heard the ladies love those.”

  “I don’t think you need any help with the ladies.”

  I kept my fingers pressed against his chest, not wanting this moment to end, but knowing we still had work to do.

  After a long pause, Asher rose to his feet. He held out a hand to help me up.

  “There’re some people out there who need us. So what do you say we go give the Society a wake up call?”

  I took his hand. “I can’t think of anything better.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  I knew what I had to do. At least, I thought I did, but I hated the idea. And I knew Asher would too. Which was why I wasn’t going to tell him.

  Asher held aside another branch and let me slip under before following. We’d snuck our way back to the surface of the ruins, keeping as inconspicuous as we could, expecting to hear the sound of battle, or voices, or something.

  All was quiet.

  “You think that’s good?” Asher whispered. “Could mean the Masters beat them.”

  Or it could mean something else entirely, though neither of us said that.

  We double-checked that the cliffs rising on either side of us were empty before continuing to move. We peered inside abandoned houses, peeked around street corners, hurried down trails with thick green roots bursting through the earth. All the while I continued going back and forth in my head. What I had to do…it was our only chance. Unless the Masters were all right and we—

  I slowed as Asher did. He peeled aside some brush and drew up short. My heart sank when I saw what he was looking at: a grassy clearing, surrounded by at least a dozen Society acolytes. In the center of them sat Coach Newman, Master Lipstuck, and the others. Most were covered in dried blood. Lipstuck was rubbing his ankle. Other than that, though, they appeared all right, but they sure weren’t going anywhere.

  Asher gritted his teeth. I put a hand on his arm.

  “I don’t see your dad. I’m sure he’s still—”

  A low rumble shook the ground beneath us. Over the clearing, a cloud of dust poured from one of the cliff entrances, probably leading to a cavern beyond.

  “Wish she’d hurry up and finish that pretty boy off,” one of the acolytes said.

  “Give her time. I’d expect Lucien Dunadine to put up a fight,” another answered.

  “And you’d be right!” Master Lipstuck piped up. “He’ll give her a proper thrashing and be back for us, just you wai—”

  One of the men drew his hand through the air. There was a loud smack! and Lipstuck fell silent.

  “Kasia’s prepared for dealing with the likes of him,” one of them said. “He’ll die. And when he does, you’ll all be next.”

  “At least you don’t beat around the bush about it,” Coach Newman grunted through a busted lip.

  I couldn’t look anymore. I pressed my back against a tree trunk and slid down. I sucked in sharp breaths, forcing myself to calm down. Without the Masters, we couldn’t easily leave. And we couldn’t just leave them.

  “Okay.” Asher joined me, running his hand through is hair again and again. “Okay. This is bad, but we can get through it. We can do something.”

  No. I could do something. I’d known it the moment I’d seen the extent of Kasia’s power. I’d known that the Dark Prince had been right. Kasia was beyond anyone I’d ever faced—heck, she was going toe to toe with Lucien, and if he couldn’t beat her I had no chance on my own. Plus, the longer we stayed here, the greater chance Asher or one of the Masters could get hurt. It made my decision pretty easy: If we were going to get out of this alive, I would need the Dark Prince’s help.

  “We’ll go around,” Asher was saying. “Take out the perimeter guards…”

  “Asher.”

  “If we can figure out a way to warn the Masters to cover their eyes—”

  “Asher.”

  Something in my tone must have made him look at me as I stood. “I’ll lead the acolytes away. You use the distraction to gather the Masters. Mess up the Society as much as you can but try to make it out of here and get help.”

  Asher’s expression darkened. He stepped closer and towered over me, suddenly furious.

  “I thought you were done being selfish.”

  “This isn’t selfish, it’s smart.”

  “It’s suicide!”

  “No, it’s the only way,” I said, sounding more confident than I felt. “If we can’t draw the acolytes away then we have no chance of making it out. And there’s no way they’ll leave the Masters completely unguarded.”

  “You can’t be serious—”

  “I’m dead serious.”

  “You…” Asher pushed out a seething breath. “You’re so frustrating!”

  I couldn’t help but smile. “That’s because I know I’m right. Asher…”

  I tried to touch him again but he yanked his arm away, and for just a moment I did
n’t see anger on his face; I saw fear. He wasn’t mad at me. He was scared for me.

  “I can’t have your back if we’re apart,” he said, voice low. “Let me distract them.”

  “I’ll be fine. I…I’ve got a little trick up my sleeve.”

  He eyed me, still scowling. “Oh yeah? What’s that?”

  I was momentarily lost for words, wanting so much to tell him, but knowing the secret had to stay with me. “Do you trust me, Asher?”

  “To a point.”

  “Asher.”

  He let out a long sigh. Before I could move, he’d cupped my cheek in one warm hand. “Yes, I do. Promise me this isn’t you trying to play hero.”

  It wasn’t. I’d gotten enough of a taste of that to know the end result wasn’t worth the price.

  “Promise.”

  “How sweet,” someone hissed behind us. “The kiddos want to save the day.”

  On instinct, I threw up a shield, right as a burst of flame rocketed between some of the trees and slammed into it. The greenery surrounding us immediately shriveled up, and through the wreath of flame it created stepped a man…I think.

  Half was face and one arm was completely covered in snake scales. He leered at us through slitted eyes and when he spoke, a forked tongue darted between his pointed teeth.

  “The Mistress wanted you alive, but it’s easy enough to say you were accidentally torched!”

  He launched another ball of flame that crackled against my shield. I shoved Asher toward the clearing as wave after wave of fire slowly ate away at my defenses.

  “Get the Masters! Hurry!”

  Asher hesitated.

  “Asher! Get your butt moving!”

  The second he was safely away, I plunged my hand into the ground. “Humak!”

  A fissure split in front of me, forcing the man to leap aside. I heard some of the acolytes cry out as the earth rumbled. There was another loud crack of magic and more yelling. Asher had gotten to work.

  I dashed into the clearing before snake face could recover, firing stun spells at every acolyte I saw. The nearest ones went down without a fight, but the rest caught on, deflecting my spells with ease—

  Right until Asher burst from the other end of the clearing and took down a few more. We had them pinned on both sides, but they still seriously outnumbered us.

  “Get up and let’s go!” Asher yelled to the Masters.

  “Don’t mind if we do!” Coach Newman roared. Whatever magical hold the acolytes must have had on the Masters briefly shattered, and in an instant he was shifting to bear form and swiping a couple of them aside like they were kittens. Lipstuck summoned a golden whip and snapped it at a few others, keeping them at bay as Asher and the rest of the Masters retreated toward the entrance of the cavern.

  “Miss Rivest, if you’d care to join us, please!” Lipstuck called.

  I ducked another spell. The remaining acolytes had nearly closed me in, leaving me with no other place to run than away from the Masters. I met Asher’s gaze across the clearing. I could see his eyes begging me to follow them. I’d asked him to trust me and he had.

  I only hoped I deserved it.

  Before I could get completely trapped, I turned and plunged into the underbrush, the acolytes hot on my trail.

  So my plan to draw part of the Society away from the others had worked too well. Now I couldn’t seem to escape them.

  Another acolyte burst from the bushes on my right and managed to latch onto the back of my shirt. I twisted as I ran, shoving my hand against his chest.

  “Spectra!”

  He went rigid and let go. That still left a few more dogging my steps, but at least it was a few that Asher and the others didn’t have to deal with.

  I hoped.

  I looked up at the cliff I was running toward, the one I’d seen smoke belching from before and where I hoped I’d find Lucien. It was steep, but stairs climbed up one side of it. Those were my goal. And beyond them, Kasia. I couldn’t risk tiring myself out too much before I got to her.

  “Gotcha!”

  I drew Valkyrie and swung without thinking. The blade cut across the woman’s chest and sent her stumbling back, screaming in pain. My stomach lurched at the sight of her blood sizzling at the edge of my sword, but I held down my queasiness. Now wasn’t the time for sympathy. They wouldn’t have any for me.

  The other two acolytes who’d followed glanced at their unconscious comrade, then back at me. I held Valkyrie higher. “Want to try your luck?”

  They picked up her arms and dragged her away.

  There. That hadn’t been so hard—

  My sword arm went stiff, as though it’d been turned to stone, right as snake face lunged, his claws nearly cleaving off my head.

  “Mistress will be pleased with Greubel!” he cackled. “You won’t disappoint her anymore! Greubel will end you!”

  He lunged again, but I twisted as we fell, managing to leverage my body beneath his and throw him off. He darted in again before I could cast a spell. His eyes flashed red and my sword arm—which had started to regain feeling—once more felt as though it’d been covered in hardened cement.

  My heart clenched with fear. Basilisk. This guy had to be part basilisk.

  I skirted around a tree as his claws severed the trunk beside me, chunks of bark stinging as they pierced my skin. I kept moving, mind racing for a way to outmaneuver him.

  “Have you talked to a psychologist?” I called. “The whole mistress thing…comes off as a little weird, you know?” I ducked as he swiped again. “Also, talking in the third person is kind of freaking me out.”

  Greubel let out an angry snarl. More fire wreathed his hand, but I’d pissed him off enough to break his concentration on my sword arm. I swung around the tree just as he torched it to smithereens. I struck with Valkyrie, but he brought up his scaled arm and the blade glanced off.

  I didn’t even bother attacking again, but took off straight for the stairs. I hadn’t exactly planned what I was going to do if I made it this far with a half-basilisk on my tail, but I wasn’t dead yet. That had to count for something.

  My muscles were aching by the time my feet hit the crumbling stone steps and double-timed it up. I nearly slipped as a piece broke off near the edge, but I caught myself and kept moving. No time to stop. No time to see if I was being followed. No time to even look across the cavern to see whether Asher and the Masters were still fighting. I needed to focus on Kasia and what I’d have to do when—

  “You’re mine!”

  I jerked to a sudden halt, my forehead slamming into the next step up. I looked back to see that Grebuel had latched onto my ankle. I tried to hit him with Valkyrie but he twisted out of the way, still holding on to me, turning my leg in his grasp. I screamed and tried to kick him off with my other one.

  “Die, magic girl!” Greubel said, flames building in his free hand. “Di—”

  The stairs beneath him gave way right as my free foot connected with his face, and then he was plunging down below into the undergrowth without a sound. I looked over the edge at where he’d fallen. The height probably hadn’t killed him, but I wasn’t going to wait around and see if he wanted a rematch.

  The leg he’d twisted throbbed as I put weight on it. I gritted my teeth and limped the rest of the way up until it felt halfway normal again. I didn’t hear the sounds of battle from the cavern ahead. Had Lucien really been fighting ever since we’d arrived? I felt sick just thinking about it. He might have been one of the most powerful magic users alive, but he wasn’t young anymore.

  I left the warmth of the lush cavern behind as I entered a new, colder one. There were no plants here. Just rocks and more tunnels.

  And Kasia.

  “How fortuitous,” she said, standing in the center of the cavern. Alone. I was dismayed to see she didn’t look tired at all. There was barely a speck of dust on her white jacket, or a scratch on her pale skin. How could anyone fight Lucien and not even break a sweat? “And here I thought I’d
have to go looking for you.”

  I leapt down to her level and brought Valkyrie up, barely keeping my hands from shaking. “Where is he?”

  Kasia nodded to one of the side tunnels.

  “He fled. Clever Lucien. And here I thought I was matching his strength, when really he was just stalling for time so the rest of you could get out. I guess nobility runs in the family.”

  That same creepy smile slid back across her face. The shadows surrounding her deepened. “And why have you sought me out, Skylar? Come to finish what you weren’t able to do before?”

  “I’m going to stop—”

  A shadow stung my leg and I cried out before slicing it away. Kasia moved her hand like a conductor directing a symphony, sending wave after wave of darkness toward me. I tried to keep my sword strikes under control, but soon wound up swinging wildly, just barely keeping them at bay. My confidence at facing her alone was shattering more by the second, overwhelmed by the power of her attacks.

  “Backed into a corner with no chance of rescue, and still you hold back,” Kasia said. “How pathetic.”

  A griffon shadow lunged from above, and I barely ducked in time to avoid getting my head taken off.

  “You know what you have to do. Do it,” Kasia hissed.

  A snake wrapped around my arm and pulled. A tentacle grabbed my other. My sword clattered out of my grip. My hands were smothered, unable to cast any spells. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t fight. The darkness stirred within my chest. I knew what I needed to do, but I was terrified. I was playing with Pandora’s Box.

  “I’ll help you,” Kasia said. Black flames cloaked her arm as she raised it, aiming for my heart.

  I was out of time. I closed my eyes and forced myself to that dark place.

  “Give me your power!”

  In my mind’s eye, I saw the outline of the Prince smile as his lips met mine. “It’s about time.”

  My eyes flew open as new power rushed into me, as though a dam had broken inside my chest. Strength filled my body, tightening my bones and muscles like titanium, giving me that strength beyond anything I’d ever had.