The Creative Strategist

by Sarah Noffke

  “Ten, nine, eight,” Cassie said to herself.

  Sometimes she wished Freya could speak, if for no other reason than to give her someone to actually talk to. With everyone gone, she’d gotten quite lonely. What she wouldn’t give to have someone who understood all the strange things that had happened in her life. To understand that she felt bigger than she was. Someone who knew what it was like to feel the weight of the world on their shoulders for no apparent reason except that her instincts told her every choice she made had bigger implications. That was why she’d resigned herself to the fact that she was crazy.

  “I’m just a strange girl living in the middle of nowhere. I’m no big deal,” she whispered to herself and Freya as the ute got farther away. “Seven, six, five.”

  Sometimes she thought Freya understood her. It had been like that since the beginning, shortly after her grandfather had disappeared. She and her mother had been driving down the road. She looked out the window, and beside the car was Freya, speeding along as if trying to keep up with the car. When she’d gotten home, she expected that the strange dragonfly would leave, but she never did. During all these years, when everyone went missing one by one, Freya had stayed. She was all Cassie had left.

  The girl smiled at her best friend fondly. “Four, three, two, one.”

  As quietly as she could, Cassie stood, taking her bike out of its hiding place. With one last glance over her shoulder, she hopped onto the bike and headed back to the main road, Freya safe in her compartment, the wind grazing past her wings.

  All Cassie wanted was for this to be over.

  She let out a sigh as the ute careened down the road behind her, having apparently turned around. It barreled in her direction.

  Actually, not only did she want this to be over, but Cassie also wanted a place where she felt protected for the rest of her life. She hoped the place with the fairies was real.

  She prayed it was.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Liv felt like a complete idiot.

  She was racing down a road in the Australian bush on the back of a Clydesdale horse with a baby brownie tied to her back.

  In her time as a Warrior for the House of Fourteen, she’d done some crazy things. She’d been in some strange circumstances, but never, ever anything like this.

  And worse than her impossible situation was that she’d lost sight of Kayla and Cassie. This shouldn’t have been that surprising to her since one of them was on a motorbike and the other was in a truck, and Liv had chosen the Clydesdale horse.

  Thankfully, the horse was very cooperative, especially since she really had no clue what she was doing. However, from her back, she could hear Ticker whispering rapidly. Liv didn’t know if this had anything to do with the fact that whatever or wherever she wanted the horse to go, he did. However, at this point, when she’d lost almost every single advantage she had, she was glad to accept this small win.

  Everything was riding on Liv finding this Mortal Seven. Cassie was the last Luce in her family. If something happened to her, it could break the House of Fourteen in half for the rest of eternity. Liv couldn’t allow that to happen.

  However, she had no idea how Kayla was alive. Liv had pushed her off the top of that building in London. There had been reports of a woman’s death on the road below.

  But those same eyes had seen Kayla Sinclair in Glenrowan, dashing into a truck. And she was a Sinclair, Liv reasoned they were about like Plato and seemed to have multiple lives.

  The thought of her best friend and his unknown fate made a gentle sob float to the surface. Liv knew she couldn’t be weakened by worry right then, so she shook it off, focusing on the dusty road up ahead.

  To her astonishment, the blue motorbike zipped around a corner, speeding in the opposite direction in front of her. Liv’s heart leapt with relief; she thought she was close to saving this Mortal Seven from danger. And then the old beat-up truck Kayla had stolen swerved around the same corner, following closely behind.

  Liv rolled her eyes, realizing she should have expected this turn of events.

  One step forward, three steps back. Always.

  She bore down on the horse, encouraging it to run faster.

  “Gaster fo! Gaster fo!” Ticker cheered from her back in his squeaky little voice.

  Liv couldn’t help but smile at the sweet little guy’s chanting, and to her surprise, the horse sped up, gaining on the truck.

  The ground seemed to melt under the horse’s hooves as it sailed across the dirt road, easily swerving past the cloud of rocks and dust the truck launched in their direction.

  Liv could see the bike just ahead, its driver frantically looking over her shoulder. Liv knew that expression. Cassie was running out of options. She was scared. Tired of running.

  Liv had been there too many times to count, and she didn’t want this girl to go through this any longer.

  She pulled the horse closer to the truck, surprised at how fast she’d made up the distance.

  In the rearview mirror, she could see Kayla’s long face. But thankfully, the magician hadn’t noticed her yet. She appeared to be quickly repeating an incantation, which worried Liv quite a bit. That might be how she was tracking Cassie, or it could be how she was going to wipe her out. Everything hinged on unpredictable circumstances at that point.

  When the truck was just beside them, Liv reached onto her back and pulled Ticker free. “You stay here. Follow at a distance. It isn’t safe for you to go with me.”

  The little guy nodded. “He melp.”

  “I know you will,” Liv said, giving the brownie a fond smile before fastening him into place on the front of the saddle, ensuring he was safe.

  He grabbed the reins, and smoothly, the horse sidled up close enough to the truck that Liv could make a jump unlike any she’d ever attempted.

  She gave Ticker one last look before she dove.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  At high speed, Liv jumped from the horse, hurtling over the side of the truck into the bed.

  The sudden jolt got Kayla’s attention. She glanced up but didn’t catch sight of Liv since she’d ducked just in time. Instead, she saw the horse racing beside her and jerked the truck to the side, trying to take out the Clydesdale.

  Thankfully, the horse slowed, avoiding being hit. Liv waved to Ticker on the back of the Clydesdale, hoping he’d be okay. Right now, she needed to ensure another innocent soul wasn’t harmed.

  Rolling over on her stomach, she felt the roar of the engine as the truck picked up speed. The old truck was sputtering and stalling every now and then, definitely pushing it on this leg of the journey.

  Liv glanced up, noticing the passenger’s side window was down.

  When she knew Kayla’s attention was on the speeding bike ahead, she made her move. In one swift movement, she launched herself up and to the side, reaching through the open window. Instantly, she heard the chanting. Kayla had been using a tracking spell. Cassie had no chance of getting away from her, no matter how crafty the Mortal Seven was.

  However, Kayla was forced to quit chanting when Liv’s fingers reached through the car window, scratching at her face. She screamed and swung the steering wheel hard, throwing Liv back. She would have been flung from the vehicle, except that she had a hold of the side of the truck. She flopped down, though, her boots skidded across the road as the truck barreled forward. Kayla continued to wildly jerk the truck back and forth, looking over her shoulder to try to knock Liv loose.

  To her delight, she noticed red scratch marks on Kayla’s face where she’d attacked her. However, it wasn’t enough, and she was currently dragging on the ground, her feet dangerously close to the rear tire.

  Pressing her eyes shut, she used an incantation to blast the doors off the truck. A loud screech told her it had worked. She looked up in time to see a metal door soaring through the air and landing on the side of the road. It worked, but to her dismay, she realized it was on the wrong side.

  She’d managed
to remove the passenger’s side door. Funneling her strength, she tried again, not believing that she was having another high-speed vehicular fight. It was laughably ironic.

  The distraction had worked, giving her the moment of respite she needed to properly perform the spell. The other door busted off, nearly hitting her it as flew to the side. Thankfully, it missed her and also the horse and Ticker, who were keeping up with the truck, but not too close.

  Liv hoisted herself up, trying three times to kick her legs into the cab of the truck. Kayla slapped at her, trying to steer the truck and also send attacks her way.

  To Liv’s relief, it appeared that Kayla had used a good bit of her magical reserves to track Cassie.

  Liv finally was able to secure her boot on the side of the truck. The other one was still dangerously dragging, constantly knocking into the road. However, this was still going according to plan for Liv. Well, the impromptu plan she had come up with seconds prior.

  Putting her weight onto the foot jammed onto the door frame, Liv pushed herself up on her hands, doing a strange backbend and launching her dragging foot straight into Kayla’s face, knocking her to the other side of the cab. Blood spattered the windshield when her nose broke.

  The truck, without a driver, slowed drastically, swerving back and forth, then veered off the road. Liv was certain they were going to hit a tree they were speeding toward. She let go with her hands, sliding into the open cab and grabbed the wheel. Kayla was hanging out the other side, barely holding onto the seatbelt.

  For a split second, Liv felt bad about this. Then she looked into the soulless eyes of the person she was fighting and all remorse disappeared. Whoever this person was, she was undeserving of her sympathy.

  Kayla crawled back in, similar to how Liv had. The evil magician launched a fist at her face. Since she was driving, Liv didn’t avoid the attack altogether. It was hard enough to keep the truck on the road while also not falling out the open cab. Up ahead, she caught sight of Cassie glancing over her shoulder many times.

  The girl had gained considerable distance on them now that the truck had slowed. She could get away if she wanted to. Liv definitely had her hands full at this point.

  With strength to impress, Kayla jumped up on her knees on the seat and threw another punch at Liv. She ducked just in time and the girl ended up on her lap. It was definitely awkward since they didn’t know each other that well and the girl was pretty much sitting on her, her head hanging out the side.

  Liv threw the wheel hard to the right and held onto it for dear life as the truck spun in a three-sixty. Kayla grabbed for her, her legs and feet trying to take hold of something as the sudden movement sent her flying. Liv didn’t try to help her. Instead, she used the last of her magical reserves to encourage the girl out of the moving truck and onto the road, where she hit it hard, rolling over several times until she lay flat in the middle.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  The two crazy people were fighting each other. It was Cassie’s chance to flee. To get away. To find the fairies.

  She had been watching the fight as safely as she could from the back of the bike. The one girl had ridden up on a horse, and like the bravest warrior she’d ever seen in movies or on television, she’d jumped into Tim’s ute and fought the girl with the white hair.

  The struggle had been intense. Cassie had nearly crashed as she sped down the road, trying to get away and still see what was happening. It was like they’d used magic. Something had busted the doors off the ute. Cassie had never seen anything quite like it.

  And then it had all ended quickly, with the white-haired girl being flung from the ute. The other one, who had long blonde hair, halted the ute, got out, and strode over to the one on the ground.

  This was Cassie’s chance to get away. She wanted to speed home. Pack. Leave. Escape for good.

  But she couldn’t understand why the two had fought. Were they fighting over who was going to capture Cassie? Who was going to kill her? She didn’t know, and she wasn’t sure she should stay to find out, especially because she didn’t think she’d survive if the girl with the long blonde hair came after her.

  Still, she found herself slowing the bike. She turned it to the side, watching as the girl in black stood over the other one in the road. She lifted a beautiful sword over her head.

  Cassie knew what was going to come next. Murder. Death. Things she didn’t want to see.

  This was her chance to escape. To distance herself from whatever this was that had taken everyone in her family.

  Freya peeked out of her compartment, strange wisdom in her round eyes. Cassie knew at that moment exactly what she must do.

  She cranked the throttle of her bike as she released the clutch, the gravel crunching under her tires as the bike picked up speed.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Liv stopped the truck, checking over her shoulder several times for two important things. She needed Kayla to be there when she halted the truck, and she also needed Ticker to be a safe distance away, although something told her the brownie could handle what had just happened. He wasn’t like human children.

  To her relief, Ticker had halted the horse a hundred yards away and appeared to be letting it graze on the grass beside the road.

  And because somewhere the Magician in the sky was smiling down on Liv, Kayla was lying in the road, not moving.

  She needed to ensure that this time, this Sinclair was actually dead.

  Swinging her body out of the truck, Liv pulled Bellator from her sheath, carefully approaching the other magician.

  Kayla wasn’t dead.

  Liv knew that by the sound of her ragged breathing and the fluttering of her eyelids. When Liv stopped in front of her, Kayla brought her chin up.

  Liv had never wanted it to come to this, but in truth, that was why she did what she did. The world had evil in it, and if left unchecked, it would run rampant. Her job was to stop it, and that meant doing what had to be done.

  She raised Bellator, knowing what she must do next.

  “P-p-please,” Kayla stammered, choking on blood.

  Liv paused but instantly chastised herself for that. She must not listen to the enemy. She was full of lies and deceit. Still, she felt compelled to hear her enemy’s last words.

  “What?” she growled, wondering what Kayla would beg for now that she was dying.

  “P-p-please,” Kayla said again, and Liv realized that the magician had something small nestled in her closed fist, lying beside her.

  She instantly wondered if she wanted her to do something. To give her something. Maybe make things right. Liv so wanted to believe the best in people, even the Sinclairs.

  “What is it?” Liv nearly yelled, holding Bellator at the ready, about to take the final blow. Kayla wouldn’t escape her again. Not this time.

  To her shock, Kayla smiled, but it looked all wrong on her dying face. “Please die peacefully when he kills you.”

  Liv had no idea what that meant. She blinked at the girl. She was about to threaten her. Punish her until she got information, but quicker than she should have been able to, Kayla rocketed her hand to her mouth. Liv caught a brief glimpse of a small red pill as it popped into her mouth. A suicide pill.

  The girl swallowed. Her head clattered back down to the road.

  And then her head slumped to the side as all life left her body.

  This time there was no mistaking it.

  Kayla Sinclair was dead.

  But who was the he who would try to kill Liv?

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Liv was so confounded by everything that had happened in the last sixty seconds, she couldn’t accurately compute why the girl with long brown hair was speeding up to her on her motorbike on the road.

  Disoriented, she glanced between Kayla’s dead body and the approaching woman.

  Cassie swung the bike to the side, kicking up rocks as she threw her feet down to stabilize the bike. The two studied each other.

  Then Cas
sie’s eyes fell on Kayla. “You killed her?”

  Liv opened her mouth. Shook her head. Sheathed Bellator. Finally, she said, “No, she killed herself.”

  Cassie blinked at her, obviously confused. “I saw you two fighting.”

  Liv nodded.

  “Why?” she asked, her hands on the bike like she might take off at any moment if Liv didn’t answer the question correctly.

  “Because she was trying to kill you,” she replied.

  “But who am I to you?” Cassie asked. “Why risk your life for me?”

  That was a good question.

  Liv glanced at Ticker. She thought she could hear the little guy singing. Deciding he was okay, she returned her gaze to Cassie. “You might be one of the most important people I’ll have the honor of saving, but after watching you flee today, I think you actually saved yourself.”

  Cassie pushed the kickstand down and threw her leg over the bike as she stood to her full height. “I’ve lost everyone I’ve ever cared about. I want you to tell me what is going on, and I want the truth now.”

  Liv gave the woman a tender smile, relating to her words. She hadn’t lost everyone she cared about, but enough people that she felt this person’s pain. “You, Cassie Luce, are one of the Mortal Seven for the House of Fourteen.”

  The strange expression on Cassie’s face told Liv she’d heard of the House. Maybe even the Mortal Seven. It had been on the news lately. However, all she said in response was, “What?”

  Liv had expected this. “Some,” she indicated Kayla’s body, “don’t want you where you belong. They will do anything to stop you from taking your rightful position. But it is my job as a Warrior for the House of Fourteen to ensure all the Mortal Seven return, bringing balance to the world of magic.”

  “Ma-ma-magic?” Cassie stuttered. “So it’s true? Fairies are real? There’s a place where I’ll be safe?” She looked at the woods as if expecting a kingdom to materialize.