by Raven Steele
“You can’t win, Arrow,” Linda said, shifting her position so her and Ireland could corner Arrow.
Arrow once again spoke only to me. “I know we aren’t friends, but you have to listen to me, Rose. Stop this now! This is way out of your league.”
“You’re the one who’s out of your league,” Linda growled. She appeared in front of Arrow in a blink of an eye and decked her so hard, she joined her friends in unconsciousness.
“Can I be you when I grow up?” Ireland asked Linda in awe.
Linda hurried to my side. “You’re doing great. Keep going.”
“I don’t feel so good.” My head had begun to spin, and my vision blurred.
“Just hold on. You’re almost there!”
“What about Mr. Stenberg?” Ireland was kneeling next to him. “He seems to be hurt pretty bad. Should I call someone?”
“Leave him,” Linda snapped unexpectedly. “We’ll get him help soon.”
I flickered my gaze at Ireland, who was also looking at me in confusion. I almost insisted, but a sudden heat bled into my flames. A tugging sensation so strong I sucked in a breath. With it came a familiar warmth, and it wrapped me in a tight cocoon.
“I can feel her!” I gasped. Her presence was all around me, bathing me in heat far stronger than the sun. It reached the deepest parts of me, and in that moment I felt my mother’s complete love. It was her eternal flame that burned deep through her soul, and it threaded into mine.
“Keep going!” Linda cried in glee.
My mother’s eyes began to flutter, and her fingers twitched.
I pushed harder, fire pouring out from me, but it wasn’t just mine anymore. My mother’s own fire pushed into mine, and the oranges and reds deepened into that of a glorious sunset.
“It’s beautiful,” Ireland whispered.
“Wake up, Mom,” I said. “I’m here.”
Her eyes snapped open, and she lifted off the table in a great breath. Her hands gripped the edges of the table tightly.
I dropped my hands, extinguishing the flames, and rushed to her side. “Mom!”
Her frantic eyes darted around the room, and her lips quivered.
I palmed her face and stared into her eyes. “It’s okay, Mom. It’s me, Rose. Your daughter.”
Her gaze steadied on my face and she took me in. “Rose?”
I nodded, tears blurring my vision. “You’ve been asleep for ten years, but I woke you up. You’re free.”
She frowned, her eyes searching mine. I could practically hear her thoughts trying to remember what happened.
“Can we help Mr. Stenberg now?” Ireland said behind me. “His breathing is pretty ragged.” I heard her pause. “Linda! Come help me.”
I heard the shuffling of feet. Linda and Ireland talked in hurried voices, but I focused all my attention on my mother.
She touched my face lightly in wonderment. “You’re all grown up.”
“Do you remember what happened?” I asked gently. Tears of joy spilled onto my cheeks. I wanted to throw myself into her arms, but it was too soon for that. She needed to process.
“There was a fire … “Absolute terror twisted her expression. “What have I done?”
“It’s okay! You were innocent. Linda and I are going to get you far from here before the Enforcers come for you, but we have to hurry.”
“Linda?”
I opened my mouth to explain further, but she gripped my arms painfully and pulled me to her. “You have to leave. Now. It’s not safe!”
“Not without you.” I tried to squirm out of her grip, but she held me firm.
Panic filled her eyes, and her whole body began to tremble. “I wish you wouldn’t have woken me. I won’t be able to stop!”
“No one will try to control you ever again,” I tried to tell her, but I could feel her heat begin to burn my flesh, a different kind of heat from what I’d been feeling moments ago. There was no love in it, only pure, undiluted rage.
She stared into my eyes with horror. “It’s starting all over again! You need to run—”
Her body jerked upright, and fire bloomed in her eyes.
I stumbled back. “Mom?”
“I’ll take it from here,” Linda said, her voice calm. I glanced back at her and frowned, noting her necklace was glowing.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Ireland said. She was still by Mr. Stenberg’s side. “Aurora looks like she’s going to blow. We better get everyone out of here.”
I said my mother’s name again, but there was nothing of the woman I knew left. Something else had taken over. Something dark and powerful. “What’s wrong with her?”
Ireland was patting Mr. Stenberg’s face begging him to wake up.
“Nothing’s wrong with her,” Linda said and walked in front of my mother. “Hello, dear friend. It’s good to see you again.”
My mother smiled, an evil, wicked motion. “It’s good to see you too, Hawk.”
“Hawk?” Me and Ireland looked at each other.
“Let’s go,” Linda said to my mother.
My mom obeyed and took a step forward. She didn’t stumble like someone should’ve after been asleep for ten years. She looked too strong and soldier-like. Everything about this felt so wrong.
“Mother!” I cried. “Look at me!”
Linda guided her to the door.
“What the hell is going on?” Ireland said, expressing the frustration I was feeling.
My heart was beating so fast, and with all the energy I had expended, I thought I was going to faint. “Linda, please! Tell me what’s happening.”
Linda paused at the door and turned around. My mother remained face forward. “You did well, Rose. You woke your mother like you wanted, but now it’s my turn to take over like my father did before me. I’m going to finish what he started.”
“Which is?” Ireland asked.
“Bring the world to its knees, and burn anyone who dares stand in my way. It’s time for supernaturals to rule.”
Chapter 30
“You can’t want this,” I begged my mom, but she still didn’t look back at me.
“Your mother is gone, Rose.” Linda’s words were surprisingly gentle, considering the sudden turn of events. “I’m sorry, but this is the way it has to be. Aurora is too important to our kind. She’s the only one who can accomplish our goals. And this time,” her gaze flashed to Mr. Stenberg, “no one will stop her. We’re prepared.”
“We?” Ireland asked.
Linda smiled and rubbed at her still glowing necklace. I looked at it closer, my mind reeling. How did I not remember it before? A small sword, not a dagger. An Athame, a rune that channels fire. But the spell book had said something else, something equally as an important. The witch Loreima who had used an athame to bind fire to her. Had Linda found a way to do the same using my mother?
“I have a whole army waiting at my disposal,” she said. “All I have to do is show them their Queen and the war will begin.” Her eyebrows lifted. “You both are welcome to join. It’s going to be epic.”
“You are a crazy—”
“Bitch,” I said at the same time as Ireland.
“I don’t have time to waste on you children anymore.” Linda pressed her palm on the small of my mother’s back and guided her out.
“Mom!” I yelled at her back. “Don’t do this.”
“That isn’t your mother,” Ireland whispered.
I turned to her. “It’s Linda’s necklace. It’s controlling her somehow.”
“How can you know that?”
“I just do!” I motioned to Maisy and the others. “Try to wake them. We may need their help.”
“Are you serious? To do what?”
“Save my mother.” I paused. “Again.”
I dropped to Mr. Stenberg’s side and shook him hard. “Wake up!”
Very carefully, I heated my palms where my hands gripped his upper arms. The sting of it made his eyes open and cry out in pain.
&
nbsp; I quickly let go of him. “Sorry about that, but you have to help us.”
He sat up and took in the scene, his gaze landing on the empty table. “It worked? Where is she?”
“Gone.”
He dragged himself to his feet. I took his arm again to steady him.
“Where?” he asked. “And where’s Linda?”
“Linda isn’t who she said she was. She’s Hawk, and she’s controlling my mother. I think with her necklace. Somehow it lets her take control of my mother’s fire.”
Mr. Stenberg looked towards the door. “Her necklace?”
“It’s an athame.”
His face paled.
“A what?” Ireland asked. She lightly kicked at Arrow as if that might wake her.
Mr. Stenberg spoke quickly. “The athame around her neck. It can bind fire to it, but she’d need something more powerful to complete the spell. Something incredibly old and rare. It’s nearly impossible.”
My eyes lit up. “Like an old white ash tree inside a cave with runes all over it?”
Ireland sucked in a breath. “Damn. We’re screwed.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. “That would do it, but where?”
“The cliffs. I found it and touched a rune similar to Linda’s necklace.”
His shoulders dropped, and he shook his head. “I should’ve noticed something was off. Linda had been going out late at night more and more, but I didn’t think anything of it.”
“Why would you? We all trusted her.” Ireland asked. She had moved on to Grant and was giving him a few harder kicks. “Wake up, jackass.”
He groaned, but his eyes remained closed.
“How do we stop her?” I asked Mr. Stenberg.
“You must destroy the necklace with fire. It’s the only way.” He glanced towards the exit. “When did they leave?”
“A minute or two ago.”
“Then we need to hurry. They can’t leave the school grounds, or we will already have lost.” He turned and practically jogged away.
I followed after him, my heart thundering in my chest. “I don’t know if I have enough strength to use more fire.”
“You better find a way, or a lot of people are going to be killed.” He reached the bottom of the stairs.
Ireland called to us, “What about the rest of these guys?”
“Leave them for now,” he answered. “There isn’t time. We’ll have to stop Aurora and Linda ourselves.”
Ireland flipped off whoever might’ve been waking up behind her, then sprinted after us. We raced up the stairs, taking them two at a time. I stumbled a few times, but Ireland caught me.
After catching my breath, I called up to Mr. Stenberg. “How do you plan on stopping them?”
“Somehow we have to break that necklace.”
“What if they’ve already left?” Ireland asked from behind me.
He threw open the next door with magic. It blew off the hinges. “Linda will need to get supplies. We’ll make it.”
By the tone of his voice, he was trying to convince himself. I hoped he was right. I couldn’t believe my mother was awake, but still being taken from me. Linda’ betrayal hurt more than I could say. The one thing she knew I wanted, and she had planned to take it away from me all along.
We reached the elevator and waited impatiently for it to rise to the main level.
“What if the place is still swarmed with ghosts?” Ireland asked and shivered.
“Maybe we could use them to our advantage,” Mr. Stenberg said, thinking out loud. Sweat beaded his forehead. His eyes met mine. “It’s not her. The Aurora I know loves her daughter very much. Remember that.”
I nodded, my eyes tearing again.
As soon as the doors opened, Mr. Stenberg said to both of us, “I need to grab a few things from my office. Go to the front of the school. Whatever happens, don’t let them drive away.”
“What if Linda freezes us,” I blurted before he could get too far away.
“Right.” He swiveled back to us and placed a hand on each of our arms. “Sanguis libber moventur.”
A strange, cool sensation rushed through my veins, making me gasp.
“My spell will only last for maybe an hour, so let’s do this quickly. But if possible, please don’t engage them. I’ll get help and supplies.” He darted away, leaving me and Ireland staring at each other.
“My mother’s awake,” I said stupidly. I didn’t mean to say it, but everything happened so fast I hadn’t had a chance to fully process it.
“If you just realized that, we are totally screwed.” She tugged on me. “Come on. We’ve got to block the driveway.”
We sprinted into the lobby, screeching to a stop when two ghosts turned away from three students cowering in the corner. One of them was missing half of his face and dressed in a night gown. The other looked completely unharmed and wore a soldier’s uniform.
“Remember what Bonnie said,” Ireland said. “Don’t look them in the eyes.”
I quickly dropped my gaze to the floor and kept walking passed the ghosts. I could see them tracking our movements, but they didn’t come at us. I shoved open the door, sucking in a great breath.
Most of the students had left the front lawn. The volleyball net had fallen to the ground, and one of the soccer goals was missing. Over a dozen ghosts wandered aimlessly across the grass.
I hurried after Ireland, who had her head on a swivel. She was born for this kind of high-intensity pressure. Every part of her seemed to thrive in the chaos. I, on the other hand, felt like my heart was going to explode.
“We should probably check in with Bonnie,” I called up to Ireland. She didn’t stop running until she reached the driveway, the only road leading in and out of Solar Academy. I didn’t see any fresh tracks. My mother was still here.
“I’ll call her.”
Ireland pressed a few buttons into her phone. I quickly lowered my head at a passing ghost with long, stringy hair and a torn wedding gown. With all the dead swarming around us, it made me feel like I might be joining them soon.
Ireland spoke quickly to Bonnie. “Aurora’s awake, but she’s ready to blow. Ms. Swanson’s controlling her. We can’t let them leave. We’re outside blocking their path so they can’t.”
She hung up.
“Don’t you think she could’ve used a little more explanation than that?” I asked her.
“Nah. I said what’s important. Besides, I like it when Bonnie panics. Interesting things happen.”
“Is she going to get rid of the ghosts?”
She shrugged. “That’s up to her. I’m kind of digging the ambiance.”
I shivered, not liking it at all. I wrapped my arms around me and asked, “What happened to you down in the basement?”
She growled. “That bitch Arrow zapped me with a lightning bolt before I even saw her. It knocked me out, but not for long.”
“I’m glad you’re okay. I don’t know what I would’ve done if something had happened to you.” I didn’t want to stop talking. Didn’t want to think about what was sure to happen any second. I couldn’t bear it. Never in a million years did I think I’d have to fight my mother. Fire against fire.
“Tell me about your mother,” I said. “What is she sick with?”
“MS. She’s had it all my life, but in the last year she’s gotten really bad. She can’t even get out of bed on her own anymore.”
“I’m sorry. I can’t imagine what that must be like.”
She didn’t say anything after that, and I felt stupid bringing up anything else. Her mother was battling to live while I was about to battle my own mother, possibly to the death.
Ireland craned her neck. “Do you hear that?”
I listened to night’s gentle voice, pretending the woman in white wasn’t floating past us again. “I don’t hear anything.”
“It’s a car’s engine. That must be them.”
“How exactly are we going to stop a car?”
She snorted. �
��You’re going to blast it with fire.”
“What if I hurt my mother?”
“You won’t.” She must’ve noticed my horrified expression because she added, “Look, I saw what you did earlier. You won’t hurt her. Are you seriously doubting your abilities right now?”
“Rose!” a voice yelled.
I glanced towards the front of the school. Hudson stood on top of the stairs, his face pale. Sweat spots wetted his dark t-shirt.
“Shoot! What am I going to tell him?” I asked Ireland. Of course he’d been looking for me.
“You’re going to tell him to get his ass over here and help us stop Linda.”
“But I don’t want to get him involved!”
“Too late for that. This is bigger than just trying to wake your mother. We’re going to need all the help we can get to stop Linda from making Aurora kill more people.”
I groaned and leaned over to try and easy the pain scathing my stomach. My fire didn’t like my nervousness and it was quick to try and eat it up, but there was too much of it.
When Hudson reached us, I forced myself in an upright position.
“Where have you been? I’ve been looking all over for you.” He took hold of my arms and looked me up and down. I sucked in a breath at the icy coolness rushing through my veins. It gave me new life, my tired flames sparking with much-needed energy. All that adrenaline made a mess of emotions surge to the surface. Tears blurred my vision, and I sucked in a hitched breath.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
I threw my arms around him, gripping him tightly. His own arms wrapped around me. “What happened?”
“You tell him, Ireland,” I said through shaky breaths. “You’re better at summarizing.”
She sighed. “Basically, Rose woke up her mother, but Linda backstabbed her,” she hesitated, “back stabbed us all, the bitch, and has somehow gained control of Aurora and is going to use her and some army to basically get the whole human world to beg for mercy.”
Hudson’s grip tightened on me. “That can’t happen. My father—”
“Which is exactly why Rose has kept you out of all this. Major conflict of interest for you. Plus your father is going to be here in like eight hours.”
“Why?” Hudson asked over my shoulder. I was so grateful in that moment for Ireland’s ability to stay calm during stressful times. I’d have never gotten the words out.
