“Did the bone…?” My stomach turned.
“I don’t think so,” Gen said softly. She bent down closer to Erin’s thigh then sat up straight and shook her head. “No blood there. I think that’s coming from her back.”
“We need to get home with her,” Trey said in a rush. He hurried over to her then squatted down. “I’ll carry her.”
Genevieve scowled. “I can carry her.”
Trey rolled his eyes and handed Gen her own sword, which she’d apparently dropped. “You can, but I’d rather yours and Jackson’s hands be free to kill whatever comes at us.”
Gen cursed. “You’ve got a point.” She grabbed her swords then hopped to her feet.
“You okay, B?”
I jumped at the sound of Warner’s voice right next to me. “Yeah, yeah. I just was a little wobbly for a second.”
He nodded then held something in front of me. When I looked down, I saw my sword in his grip. He smiled. “That was one hell of a throw, Baby Spice.”
“Thanks.” I grabbed the hilt of my sword and squeezed it tight.
Jackson’s hand slid down my waist to my hips, and I thought my body might melt. I bit down on my lip to stop myself from sighing, or worse, moaning. His skin was just so warm and soft. Focus, Bettina. I blinked and forced myself to watch Trey and Gen lift Erin off the ground. Once she was upright, Trey wrapped his arm around her back and leaned her into him. Erin’s face scrunched up in pain, and a nasty string of curses left her lips as a whisper.
“Are you okay to walk now?” Jackson’s breath brushed over my forehead.
No. I looked up and met his eyes, and they twinkled in the dark. “Yes.”
He nodded then slowly, almost reluctantly, let me go. I wobbled for half a second but caught myself quickly. As much as I loved him touching me, I was no damsel in distress. If I wasn’t injured, then I didn’t need to be carried.
Jackson cleared his throat. He had both weapons in hand and ready to go. “Let’s try to stay close. Bettina, can you see if you can find that flower again?”
The black lotus. I nodded and turned…and found only darkness. I froze. There was no way I’d see a black flower in the dark. “Um, did anyone bring a flashlight?”
Gen and Warner cursed, which I took as a no.
“Charge your sword by the moon,” Jackson said in a rush.
I frowned up at him. “Say what now?”
He smirked and there was a playful sparkle in his eyes that I wanted to see more of. “Raise the crystal blade of your sword up in the moonlight, then repeat after me… For what I seek is cloaked in darkness, I see my stone in your likeness.”
My eyes widened, but I did as he said. I thrust my sword high above my head into a patch of shimmering silver moonlight. Then I focused my thoughts and tried to push my energy into my sword as I repeated the spell. “For what I seek is cloaked in darkness, I see my stone in your likeness.”
The fire opal stone lit up in an instant. I gasped and lowered it down by my face. Something moved in my peripheral vision, but when I waved my sword, I found it was the trees and plants. They swayed toward the light. I grinned and walked forward, hunching over as I searched for the black lotus flower with gold spikes. I felt everyone’s nervous energy prickling down my spine as they followed behind me.
I kept waiting for something to look familiar, to recognize the part of the pathway we’d taken to get here, but nothing was memorable. Warner and I moved through the greenery together with my sword lighting up everything in a ten-foot radius. I felt Jackson’s energy right behind me.
“Oh, over here!” Trey shouted from behind me. “I found it!”
I frowned and spun around with my sword raised. The light from my blade cast him and Erin in a soft silver glow, and she looked even paler than she had a few minutes ago. Trey reached out with his free hand to touch a flower hanging off a tree. I squinted and eyed the plant. It looked similar to a lotus, but the petals curved under too much. And the color was more of a brown than a rich black. I opened my mouth to tell him it wasn’t the right one just as he wrapped his fingers around it and started to pull.
“No, don’t—” But it was too late. He’d already plucked the flower off the plant.
Thunder rolled and cracked over our heads. The ground trembled so hard it knocked us off our balance. Only Jackson remained upright. My light flickered and bounced around, and it took every ounce of strength to hang on to it. A wild gust of wind slammed into my back then whipped around the trees like a tornado. The wind roared and whistled. The trees swayed. The patches of moonlight vanished, drenching the area in darkness. There was a vicious crack, and then the giant tree beside me plummeted to the ground. Warner and I dove out of the way, throwing ourselves backward.
The ground rumbled and groaned….then it opened up and sucked the tree, Trey, and Erin down into the crevice. Genevieve screamed and leapt into the crevice after them. We all shouted and dashed to the opening, but the grass sealed itself back up right under our fingers, taking Trey, Erin, and Gen with it.
We spent the next hour searching for our friends, though it might’ve only been five minutes. It was growing harder and harder to keep track of time. It felt like forever and no time at all. In the end, it was Jackson who forced us to continue on. The Old Lands had taken them. We weren’t going to find them.
“Come on,” Jackson whispered and led the way toward a tree in the distance. “I think we saw that on our way in. I think.”
The three of us moved together, walking in silence. Leaving didn’t feel right. I wanted to keep looking for my friends.
When we finally reached the tree Jackson thought he recognized, I sighed with relief. I’d seen this one, too. Which meant we’d find the lotus flower right on the other side.
Together, we walked around the building-sized tree…and froze.
There was nothing in front of us but a wall of black. I frowned and spun around, and my heart stopped. My bones turned to ice in my body. The forest was gone. It was just a black wall. No life, no energy, no monsters lurking in the shadows. Just…nothing.
I licked my lips and tugged on Jackson’s shirt. “Guys…guys, look behind us.”
Jackson gripped my shoulder then spun me around. He raised his hand with the red rose tattoo and pointed in front of him. His low voice rumbled in my ear. “Look ahead of us.”
I frowned and followed his point. We were in a black box, and the only thing inside it besides us was a single torch. I shrugged and moved closer to the torch, and it exploded like a firework. Little balls of fire soared through the air, splitting through the darkness. They fell to the ground, and flames shot up over our heads. My breath left me in a rush. The fire spread out ahead of us as far as I could see.
Our pathway was in the middle of a fire tunnel.
Chapter Forty-Five
BETTINA
The ground, sky, and everything around us was blacker than night. All I knew was darkness and fire. The flames swayed like palm trees in a storm. Little sparks flickered on the ground. Red glowing mist seeped out of nothingness all around us. I glanced left and right, but it surrounded us. It grew taller than a person, then swirled and shifted until it made shapes.
“Jackson… Jackson,” Warner grumbled. “Are those…”
“Runes,” Jackson said, his voice barely more than a whisper. “But ancient ones. I-I don’t know what they mean.”
“What are the chances they say ‘Welcome to the Ritz-Carlton’?” Warner chuckled nervously.
Jackson took a tentative step forward. “Fluffy pillows this way, chap.”
Fire surged higher around him. The flames turned from orange to red, to purple, then to white. The world wobbled like we were on some kind of carnival ride. My knees slammed into the dark, hard ground, and pain shot up my legs. I tried to get back up, but my balance was knocked off and my hands hit the ground. Warner dropped down to all fours beside me, his knuckles white from how hard he fought the tremors holding us down.
; I looked up just as orange flames shot up from the ground right where Jackson was crouched. He cursed and threw himself back to dodge the fire…and disappeared into the darkness.
“JACKSON!” Warner and I shouted at the same time.
We scrambled to our feet, then leapt to the spot Jackson had just been in. Except he wasn’t there. He was nowhere to be seen. My pulse went nuts, beating like a jackhammer in my chest.
“JACKSON!” I screamed his name over and over.
Warner spun on his toes. “Did you hear that?”
“No, I hear nothing!”
“No, no— There— There it was again!” Warner spun, each flaming tower of fire reflected in his wide hazel eyes. “It’s Jackson. I hear him! Over there!”
“Warner, no!” I reached out to grab his arm to stop him from moving toward the flames, but he’d already taken a step. My hand passed through the black nothingness, and Warner was gone. “NO!”
I waved my arms out, using my sword to try and feel for them, but I only found air. “No, no, no, no, no….”
I saw only blackness. The fire hissed and crackled like someone had poured water on it. White smoke billowed from within the darkness, rising into the black sky. I spun in circles with my heart in my throat. It was just me…alone…with the fire. I heard nothing but the crackling of flames and the pounding of my pulse. My hands trembled and my breath was shaky.
My body felt like it was on fire, though no flames touched me. My bones rattled as fear took hold of my thoughts. I’m alone. I’m all alone. There’s no one here. It’s a black hole, and I’m never gonna get out of it! I gasped for air, but nothing cooled the fire burning through my lungs. My legs gave out, and I dropped back to my knees.
What is this place?
The fire beside me roared and surged toward me. Flames shot out like arms from the shadows and reached for me. I screamed and threw my arms up, pushing my magic out with every last ounce of energy inside of me.
Bright pink mist exploded from my palms. Everything around me lit up pink like some kind of smoke bomb. The flames shrieked and hissed. And then the ground opened up underneath me and I dropped. I fell into utter darkness. I screamed like a banshee, my lungs burning like I’d been branded, but I couldn’t stop myself.
A gust of wind slammed into my face from below, carrying with it the scent of smoke and pine trees— I choked on a gasp. JACKSON! I knew that Christmas smell. Bright white light exploded around me, and then I crashed into something hard, knocking the wind out of me. I bounced off whatever I’d hit and flew into the air. Two big, warm hands gripped my waist and yanked me back down.
The soft cotton of Jackson’s shirt was a welcome relief as we fell. I squeezed my eyes shut and buried my face in his chest, anything to block the assault of light on my eyes. He wrapped his arms around my waist and squeezed me tight to him, flush against his body. I felt the brush of his breath on my forehead and the heat seeping through his clothing. I snaked my arms around his body then sank my fingers into his back. Cold air rushed by us, and I braced myself for impact. Jackson slid his hand up and cradled my head, holding me into the crook of his neck.
And then we slammed into something hard and cold. Pain exploded inside me. A strangled kind of grunt left my lips. The force of our impact sent us rolling. I tangled my legs with Jackson’s and held on for dear life. We rolled more times than I could count before the world righted itself. For a moment, neither of us moved, like we thought for sure we were about to fall to our deaths again.
But then after a few seconds of nothing, I groaned and pushed up. The palms of my hands sank into something cold and firm, yet squishy. My chest heaved as I tried to control my ragged breathing. My ribs screamed, and my lungs burned so hot I thought I might spit fire. Whatever I’d landed on was pounding against my body.
I opened my eyes, but everything was blurry with big black spots. I blinked and blinked until my vision finally cleared…and I spotted Jackson.
Under me.
He looked up at me with wild aquamarine eyes that sparkled brighter than the North Star. That pounding under me was his heart beating like crazy. Or maybe it was both of ours. My hands were planted in the dirt on either side of his head. And it was only then that I realized I was lying on top of him, my legs still tangled with his. My cheeks warmed, and I knew by the twinkling response in his eyes that I was blushing.
I licked my lips and looked down into his eyes. “I change my answer. It hurt when I fell from Heaven.”
A wide grin split across his perfect face. His body rumbled as he laughed. He reached up and cupped my face. I didn’t know if I leaned into him or if he pulled me down, but our lips crashed together. He gripped the side of my face and took my mouth with his, deepening our kiss. We licked and nibbled at each other in a panicked frenzy, like we couldn’t get enough.
His kiss commanded me, taking over my brain and hotwiring it. I melted and reformed into something I knew would change me afterward. Suddenly I was on my back with his big, heavy body pressing me into the cold dirt. I sighed and pushed up into him, wrapping my arms around his neck and hooking my legs through his.
There was a loud roaring noise and then something crashed to the dirt beside us. A large dark object bounced off the ground and rolled into the bushes. We jumped apart, scrambling over.
“Warner,” Jackson whispered.
I nodded, still trying to catch my breath from his kiss.
“Nope,” Genevieve groaned and crawled out of the bushes.
Jackson gasped and spun around, and at the same time, we both yelled, “WARNER!”
My body turned cold. His face paled to a sickly shade of white. We stared at each other in horrified silence for a moment before we snapped into action. We both scrambled around, searching bushes and between trees for our friend, but he was nowhere in sight.
“Oh God, where is he?” I screamed. “He was right there. Then he disappeared, but so did you! He should’ve fallen with us!”
Jackson spun in a circle then stopped and bent over to put his hands on his knees. He looked like he was going to be sick. “He’s still in there.”
“Still in there?” I jumped over to him. “What do you mean, in there? It’s a place?”
Jackson’s eyes looked haunted. He nodded and swallowed nervously. “I heard…voices. Screaming, crying, begging for help, but I couldn’t see any of them… I heard Warner. Goddess, why didn’t he fall with us? How did you get me out?”
“I didn’t. I-I-I don’t know! I screamed and then my magic kinda exploded, and then we were falling!” I pushed my hands through my hair and tugged. Tears stung my eyes. “We have to go back! We have to save him!”
Jackson closed his eyes, and I saw the pain roll through his body. He cursed and picked up his sword off the ground. With my emotions lodged in my throat, I turned and spotted my sword a few feet back. I jogged over, but when I got there, I found mine and Warner’s sword. I held it to my chest and squeezed my eyes shut.
“Bettina?”
I gasped and opened my eyes, then turned to face him. “I found this.” My voice was barely more than a whisper as I held the short sword out.
Gen closed her eyes and hung her head.
Jackson’s face fell. “Let’s retrace our steps?”
I didn’t like it, but I didn’t have a better idea. We needed to find Warner. And maybe even Trey and Erin, though I was afraid to hope they were still alive.
“Okay.” I tucked my sword into the holster strapped to my thigh. With Warner’s sword gripped in my hand, I strode over to Jackson’s side.
Jackson nodded. “Find that flower.”
It was only then, as I looked around, that I realized it was daylight. Up above, through the layers of trees, I caught a glimpse of bright blue sky. The air around us was that same shimmery golden tone. Everything was green again.
“Is that it?” Genevieve whispered and pointed.
I ran over to look at the flower in question and tears stung my eyes. It was th
e flower from the drawing. The one that might lead us back to Warner. “Yes.”
“Come on.” Jackson sighed. “Let’s go.”
“Wait!” I shouted. When they froze, I hooked my arm around each of theirs so we were linked. “I don’t want to lose anyone else.”
Together, we walked down the path with our arms hooked, following the cookie-crumb trail of black lotus flowers. It was just like when we’d first entered the Old Lands. The pathway wound through a gorgeous forest with magical plants and intimidating energy. Every few feet, we’d spot another flower. I felt like Dorothy following the yellow brick road.
I couldn’t have said how long or how far we walked, or if we were headed in the right direction, but after what seemed like forever, our path made a sharp right turn. We rounded the corner then skidded to a stop. A black shadow covered half the pathway, but the energy around it was ice cold and pulsing with menace.
Jackson didn’t miss a beat. He threw his hand up, and a ball of golden light shot out of his palm and slammed into the shadow. It hissed then vanished into thin air.
My breath left me in a rush. Relief and horror ran through me.
Right there where the shadow had just been were Trey and Erin…and they weren’t moving.
Chapter Forty-Six
BETTINA
We dove and landed on our knees beside them, Trey jumped and scrambled back with wide eyes. He gasped, but then he must’ve realized it was us because he sagged back to the ground.
He grabbed his chest. “Jesus. I thought you were that thing again.”
I shuddered. “What was that?”
“No idea.” Trey grimaced and climbed back to his knees, with Erin still cradled in his arms. “Man, I thought we were—”
Gen reached down and pushed the long red strands of Erin’s hair back—and we all cursed. Her skin was a pale shade of gray that made my stomach turn. Her eyes were closed and her mouth hung open as she lay limp in his arms.
The Coven - Academy Magic Complete Series Page 22
