Ascent: Book 3 of the Scorched Trilogy

by Lizzy Prince

  His eyes hardened, but there was a vulnerability in them that I’d only had glimpses of before when he failed to mask his emotions. I took a step toward him, feeling like he needed support, but that only caused Cailleach’s eyes to snap over to me. She threw her head back and laughed, and my skin crawled from the unnatural sound. Her laugh was not normal. There was a depth to it that sounded like there were layers of voices screaming out in pain. There was magic woven into the sound, and it was pure evil.

  “Did you wait all this time for me to come back?” Cailleach sneered.

  It took me a beat to realize she wasn’t speaking to me, but to Roark. I didn’t take my eyes off her but felt him stiffen beside me. I had no idea what their past was, but now was not the time to take a trip down memory lane. Maybe Cailleach was genuinely surprised to see him, and she hadn’t planned this as a diversion tactic, but it was just as likely that she had, and we were playing right into her hands. We needed to keep focused on our plan, and that didn’t include social hour with the first witch.

  Cailleach approached us like she was the star of a music video, her dark hair unfurling and undulating behind her with every graceful step she took. She looked like a goddess, and I was pretty sure that was how she thought of herself too. Or at the very least that she deserved to be one. She sneered at Roark, looking at him like he was filth on the bottom of her shoe. One delicate hand brushed an invisible piece of lint off her shoulder as she assessed him.

  “Pathetic.” She sighed dismissively before she turned her dark eyes in my direction.

  I forced my shoulders not to slump, because all I wanted to do was fade into the background and out of the focus of her gaze. If it was possible for a look to burn, then Cailleach’s could have lit me on fire. Just like I’d done to her with a match. The mental spark gave me a baby boost of confidence.

  “And you.” She spat out the word like it was rotten in her mouth, but I didn’t shrink. I stared into eyes so dark they appeared black. “I know what you’re doing.” She smiled, but it wasn’t sweet. It was pure acid.

  “What is it you think I’m doing?” When my voice came out clear and solid, I wanted to give myself a high five, but that felt a bit premature. Just because I spoke without my voice cracking and dissolving into sobs, didn’t mean I actually had my shit together.

  Cailleach’s eyes narrowed, and she rolled her neck as if to work out the kinks of being buried in an uncomfortable position for years and years. She made a noise that could almost be called a laugh, but it was so bitter it made my muscles clench.

  “You think you can replicate my sister’s spell?” She raised a brow at me.

  She hadn’t even bothered looking at anyone else in our oddly shaped circle, as if they weren’t even worth the energy she’d expel to acknowledge them. But they were watching her, waiting until just the right moment to make their move. Cailleach stopped moving and was only a few feet from Roark and me but was still outside of the boundary where we needed her to be.

  She kept talking, ignoring everyone but me. “I can feel that little slice of my sister’s soul latched onto yours, and I’m sure it’s whispering all her secrets and telling you how she put me under the first time.”

  She was wrong, but I let her continue. Let her believe she was right. There was fear flashing over my face now. I couldn’t help the emotion, but she mistook the reason for it being there. She assumed she’d figured out our plan, when in reality, I was just frightened for my friends. That our plan wouldn’t really work, and we’d all end up dead with a crazy ass witch unleashed upon the world. Cailleach sneered at me, the wind whipping her hair around her head in a black frenzy.

  “It’s not going to work. You don’t have Áine’s magic.” She laughed. “It was released to the ether when I was awakened.” She reached out a hand as if to cup the air, and I gasped when I saw the golden particles of magic pool there as though they were liquid.

  I pushed aside the absolute terror at the sight, biting the inside of my cheek to ground myself. “What is it you want? Why are you terrorizing all these people? Killing them?”

  She dropped her hand, and the pooled magic dissipated like a mist she’d flung away as though it was a nuisance. “I want the life that was stolen from me by my sister. The magic that is my due, my birthright. I will be a goddess here in this world, and the masses will worship me. My power will awe them.”

  My hands trembled, and my teeth began to chatter because that’s what she looked like. A goddess, awesome and terrifying as she stood in front of us practically glowing with power. The mummified husk of a person that she’d been just days before was gone, no hint of that woman in sight. In her place was a fearsome and demented being.

  I wondered if she’d had any sense of herself and her surroundings when she’d been underground. Had she been sentient, or had she been asleep or some form of unconscious that entire time? I knew she’d been mad before they’d put her in the ground, but was she worse now because of what had been done to her? Or was this just her natural state of being? How had she ended up this way? I knew from the memories Áine had given me and the stories Munro and Butch had shared that Cailleach and Áine were two sides of the same coin, and their magic was balanced by one another. Cailleach was the death to Áine’s life, the dark to Áine’s light. But that didn’t make her inherently evil. If things never died, there couldn’t be new growth. If there was only light and no darkness, then things would start to wither and die.

  “But you’ll be alone.” My voice was stronger now, filtering through the cold of the night to punch into Cailleach.

  She laughed at me, shaking her head. “I will be worshiped by the masses.”

  “From afar. Never to know the touch of a lover, the embrace of a friend. The love of a sister. You sacrificed all of that because you were too afraid of the possibility of losing your power.”

  “I fear nothing,” she screeched, the wind howling around us in response to her emotions. But I just went on.

  “But look what you’ve lost instead. Your humanity, your family.”

  Cailleach stilled, her body a rigid bow strung so tightly I was afraid she was going to snap and explode. Her anger vibrated with such ferocity that small pellets of sleet pinged around us, biting into my skin.

  “I lost nothing. I was abandoned. Forgotten. Tossed aside and replaced.” She screamed the words, but they were carried off by the raging wind that blasted around us. I’d pushed her too far but knew it had only been a matter of time. She threw out her arm and twisted her hand before squeezing it tightly into a fist, and we all went down like a bunch of marionettes. Cailleach walked between us all as we writhed in pain, smiling down as if the sight brought her joy.

  Whatever magic she was using against us made it feel like my insides were being shredded apart, sliced and ripped open and left to bleed inside my body. My mouth was open in a silent scream, but there was too much pain for any noise to come out. Like when you get the wind knocked out of you and it’s impossible to suck in a breath. And for those few long seconds you think that you might die from suffocation. That’s what it was like. Except there was no relief from sucking in a breath and knowing it was going to be okay. It was just a never-ending agony screaming through every nerve in my body.

  Cailleach wandered over to Roark and loomed over him as he writhed beneath her feet. She looked down at him with pure malevolence like he was a bug to be crushed.

  “I’ll save you for last,” she sneered, squatting down to get closer to his face, her perfect features such a contrast to the ugly emotions displayed on her face. “I’ll kill the rest and keep you as my pet so you can remind me what weakness looks like.” She reached out to pet his hair like he was a pathetic animal.

  I could see him struggling against the pain of her magic, trying to fight it and get away from her touch. And failing. There was something in his rage, seeing him brought so low, that fueled me. The wrongness of it all sliced through me and I forced my senses to reach past the pain of h
er spell. The golden glow of the magic surrounding us looked like pure chaos, dashing away from Cailleach like pinballs bouncing in a million directions. The magic closest to her was discolored and murky, moving sluggishly as if coated in oil. I’d felt that kind of magic before from Hattie, and it was tainted, a gross distortion of what the magic should be.

  I closed my eyes, fighting through the pain and called the magic, opening myself up to the golden glow. It flew into me as if it had been waiting to escape Cailleach’s orbit. Gathering enough magic to lessen the horrible burn of her spell, I managed to kick out my leg, catching Cailleach by surprise and knocking her to her hands and knees. It proved to be enough of a distraction to release the magic holding the others, and Lola sprang up, yanking the sword from the ground and swinging it in such a badass looking twirl that I thought I might just develop a lady crush on her.

  She charged forward, but Cailleach was too quick and was already on her feet, flinging her arm out, sending Lola sailing through the air. She landed heavily and but amazingly lifted her head with a loud groan to glare at Cailleach. The witch was scowling down at her arm, where a thin sliver of blood dropped from where Lola had sliced it with the sword. There was the faintest pulse of magic as the blood helped to charge the spell we’d cast, creating a net that we hoped to use to snare Cailleach.

  Theo looked ready to tackle Cailleach, but he stayed put, his hand remaining on the side of the stone, doing exactly what we needed him to. He was our human anchor, providing grounding for the rest of us. His non-magical abilities were turning out to be a good thing because it provided another connection that enhanced the spell we’d cast within our circle. Our spell called for the bonds of family and friendship, crossing the barriers of blood and magic. Showing that the people in our lives could strengthen us, regardless of whether they are full or magic, or just full of shit like Theo.

  Lola’s eyes darted between Theo and Cailleach, and I knew she wanted to go back after her but was forcing herself to follow our plan. Next to me, Roark moved to his feet, and I scrambled after him, realizing that I was still on the ground. He picked up the silver goblet that was still somehow standing upright between us. Cailleach’s head whipped around to glare at him as he began murmuring ancient words that held no meaning for me, but I could still sense their power.

  Roark tossed up the contents of the goblet as he spoke the final words of the spell. The blood he’d dripped into it earlier turned to vapor as it touched the air. The magic formed the miasma into an invisible hand that wrapped around Cailleach’s throat, but she just shook her head, her hair whipping around her face and almost getting the hand to release her.

  Pieces of it did break off, reforming a mist that morphed into droplets. They sank into the ground, making it groan and rumble beneath our feet. The magicked blood caused rocks and dirt to spring from the earth and launch themselves at Cailleach. But she just laughed as though our magic was tickling her, like it was a nuisance she’d soon be getting rid of.

  Roark was enough of a distraction that she wasn’t expecting Ryan and Munro’s attack. A wall of fire burst up in front of Cailleach as her fingers clutched at the invisible hand that was still squeezing her throat. Her attention diverted by the fire, she didn’t notice Munro approach until it was too late, and the spear was already plunged into her side. Not deep enough to kill her, but enough that blood pooled and dripped down her side and onto the ground. Another drop that seeped into the earth.

  With a scream of fury, Cailleach broke the magic choking her throat, ripping it away like it was a tangible thing. As if it was a piece of paper she could shred with little effort. The wall of fire moved to surround her, but she just waved it away, dousing the flames with no more than a careless gesture. Munro was still behind her, and he hurried to throw the spear toward Theo, and I hoped to God that he didn’t stab himself trying to catch it. By some miracle, Theo managed to catch it in the middle, only now taking his hand from the stone for the briefest moment to slice the center of this palm with the blade side. With a cursed hiss, he slapped his hand back on the stone as Cailleach barreled through Ryan and Munro, calling down strikes of lightning that crashed into the ground where their feet had been just the instant before.

  Light began to glow around us in the circle we’d created, and I could feel the magic gathering and swelling. The pressure from so much of it making my eardrums ache like I’d gone deep underwater. Cailleach was moving toward Theo, but I sprinted after her, somehow managing to catch her before she reached him. I wrapped my hand around her arm, and she spun, growling at me as she tried to fling me off. I could feel the magic building inside of her, and she funneled it through my hand where we touched. It burned as it roared through me, searing my hand like the night of my parents’ murder. When the fire had heated the doorknob to their room so that when I’d touched it, it had nearly flayed my skin. But this was so much worse, because the pain didn’t stop at my hand. It crawled up my arm and melted into my skin, like it was eating away at my flesh and seared me deep to the bone.

  Cailleach focused her magic on me, and I gasped in pain when my side sliced open, as if Cailleach had given me the same injury Munro had inflicted on her with the spear. My shirt quickly soaked with blood, but I still didn’t let go. My raw fingers dug into her arm as I called to the magic in the air around us. Bringing it inside of my body and letting it bolster and support me.

  I used the power to dive deep into the very core of where my magic existed inside of me, finding that sliver of Áine’s soul nestled against my own glowing essence. There, at the very creation of my being, was my soul magic. I hadn’t used it since the night of my parents’ death, but I knew it was there, harnessed and waiting for me to unleash it against all those that would hurt my people. The soul magic surged through me, making the mark on my arm throb in a familiar acknowledgement. It unfurled from inside of me, and I pushed it out to the others, finding and connecting with their magic. I recognized each of their essences as if I were looking them in the face, and Munro’s comforting rainy forest and sandalwood connected with me, and I felt like I’d come home. Even Theo’s essence was there, tangling up with mine, and even though his lacked magic, it felt like family. That’s how they all felt.

  We’d all known this was how things needed to end but plotting about it in the abstract versus the reality of connecting us all through my soul magic, were two very different things. Still, everyone had agreed, and now they were opening their souls and magic to me. Even Roark. Our powers linked, and we created an impenetrable ring of family.

  Our circle was closing in on Cailleach as she began to bow under the grip of my hand. Our collective magic, whose most central component was family, was giving her the most agonizing pain. Family, but not by birth. Family by circumstance. We’d all rebuilt our lives. Lives torn apart by tragedy, selfishness or greed. But we’d found support and love and understanding from each other. Theo and Mari, Butch and Lola, Ryan and Munro, they’d all either stepped up and taken someone in when they didn’t have to, or they’d opened themselves up to be loved again by someone after they’d been abandoned or left behind.

  Then there was me and Roark. I didn’t know what his story was. I could guess at bits and pieces of it and maybe someday I’d find out how he’d ended up where he was, but what I did know was that he was like the rest of us. He’d been left behind, he’d been brushed aside, thrown away, and he’d kept on going.

  As for me, I may not have had my biggest supporter by my side, but Maggie and Sara had become my family. And they loved me so much that it made the ache in my heart that had opened up when I’d lost my parents, feel not so brutal. They made me laugh again, forced me back out in the world and insisted that I not miss the beauty in all of the small things. Pancakes and movies on my birthday, ice cream sundaes in pajamas for breakfast, writing our names with sparklers in the backyard on the Fourth of July, getting woken up by Maggie before the sun came up on Christmas morning because she knew that was what my mom had always
done. They were my family when I’d had none left.

  Now as I looked around, taking in all of these people who had come into my life, I knew I’d never be alone again. I’d always have family because I didn’t put limits on what that word meant. Locking eyes with Munro, he looked at me as if all he wanted was to make sure I knew he loved me. And it was the last bit of reassurance I needed.

  The wind roared around us like we were caught on the edges of a tornado. My hair flung across my face as my clothes molded to my body from the harsh wind. Chunks of ice flew at us and began to accumulate at our feet.

  “What you never understood, Cailleach, is that love makes you stronger,” I shouted at her over the roar of the wind.

  “No!” she shrieked, the sound so loud my ears ached.

  “Family isn’t blood. Family are the people who stand at your side through good times and bad.”

  Cailleach fell to her knees, but I didn’t relinquish my hold. Instead, I began to pull at the magic swirling around inside her like a violent tempest. It wanted to be released because it didn’t belong to her. It belonged to the countless other witches from whom she’d stolen it from, along with their lives. Once I found that magic, it was like puncturing a balloon and the magic burst. All of the golden particles scattered from inside Cailleach, leaching out of her like water pouring out of an overturned pool. The magic sought out those who could use the element. Water magic flowed to Lola and Butch, earth to Mari and even Theo, fire to Munro and Ryan, air to Roark, and finally, soul magic to me. It filtered through us all as if we were cleansing it before it was absorbed back into the universe.

  I thought about all of the people she’d sacrificed for magic that didn’t belong to her, and it made me sick. As if my mother’s magic sensed how revolting I found everything Cailleach had done, a wave of soothing comfort washed through me. Hattie had stolen my mother’s magic just like Cailleach had done to others, and I couldn’t help but think about that as I watched the magic from so many people drift back out into the universe.