I shuddered. This won’t be like that, I told myself.
Felicity gripped the coffee mug she was drinking out of with both hands. “They’ll be separated afterward.”
It was almost morning. We’d decided to have the meeting before sunrise so that Connor could be in attendance. Most of us were a little bleary. This attack on Eaglelinx was happening tonight, though, so it wasn’t as if sleeping in was really an option.
And anyway, what with Wyatt, I never slept in anyway.
“And separating them? We’re sure that’s going to work?” said Connor.
“No,” said Lachlan, “but I don’t see how we’re going to stand a chance against these things otherwise. The whiteflame burns through everything. It’s extremely powerful. We need this weapon if we want to stand a chance against these things.”
Scott raised a hand. “I’m confused.”
“Look, don’t worry about it, Scott,” I said. “You’ll be here tonight, safe and sound with Asia, while we go and take of this. We just brought you in on the meeting so you’d be in the loop.”
“Yeah, except I’m confused, so I’m not in the loop.”
Felicity turned to him. “Penny and Lachlan have a magical bond that makes them crazy powerful. Unfortunately, whenever they use that bond, they also turn into horrible people who don’t give a crap about human life.”
“Or vampire life or drake life or gargoyle life,” I said.
“Or dragon life,” Lachlan said with a smirk.
“Don’t joke about it,” I said.
“What?” he said. “I thought you were joking.”
“There’s nothing funny about it.” I rubbed my elbows.
Lachlan looked down at the table. “No, I guess not.”
“So, then, that’s the plan?” said Connor. “We show up and you guys blast them with whiteflame, the end?”
“Hopefully, it goes that smoothly,” I said.
“We need you guys there as backup,” said Lachlan. “You’ve both got magic talismans and you both know how to use them, right?”
“Sure,” said Connor. “But we don’t breathe fire.”
“No,” I said, “but you can use magic to move existing fire.”
“Wait, what are you saying?” said Felicity. “What existing fire?”
“We’re all showing up with gasoline doused pieces of wood. As many as we can carry. We light them, and you guys use telekinesis to blast that fire out at the Eagle and the Lynx or whatever they’ve got out there.”
“Right,” said Lachlan, “because they sent those lackeys at us before. We don’t know where they came from, but maybe they guard the Eagle and the Lynx or something. We may have to contend with some of those as well.”
Connor raised his eyebrows. “Okay. Okay, maybe this could work.”
“It will work,” I said. “When Lachlan and I really tap into the blood bond, we can rally enormous amounts of power.”
“You guys didn’t see it,” said Lachlan, “but the things we did…” He sucked in a breath and there was almost a hint of excitement in it.
I swallowed. Because I felt it too. I was eager to use the whiteflame again, to feel that whoosh of power thrum through me. I wanted it. “Afterward, we’ll need your help, though. We can’t be sure how… what it will do to us.”
“Since I’m the one who’s leaving,” said Lachlan, “we think I should be removed from the situation as soon as the threat is neutralized. I’ll give you tranquilizers, like the police use against magical creatures. If you can’t convince me to leave, you shoot me with the tranquilizer dart.”
“Me too,” I said. “Because I might not let you take Lachlan away.”
“Connor, I need you to be in charge of getting me out of there,” Lachlan said. “You’re strong and you’d be the one who’d have the best chance against me if it came to that. You have to subdue me at all costs.”
Connor’s eyes got big. “Seriously? Me?”
“You can handle it, Connor,” I said. “We trust you.”
“How bad is it going to be, guys?” said Felicity. “Are you really going to lose it?”
I shrugged. “Maybe not. After all, Lachlan and I used the whiteflame lots of times without any bad side effects. So, maybe just using it this once won’t cause any problems at all.” I tried to give them all a cheery smile.
No one smiled back.
* * *
We arrived at an inlet on the bay just after the sun had gone down. This was the address in Tess’s planner, an outdoor meeting place. The Managing Board was arranged on a permanent platform with desks and chairs built into it. They all had tablets or computers. They were wearing suits and gazing out over the water.
The water was shiny and placid in the darkness. It was cold, but there was no breeze. There were clouds on the horizon, dark against the dark sky. The lights of Sea City were at our backs and the lights of the mainland of Maryland too far away to see.
We all held bundles of gasoline-soaked boards, and the acrid smell was overpowering.
All of the members of the Managing Board turned to look at us.
“Hi there,” I said. “I think you know who I am. You’ve been trying your best to shut me up.”
“Penny Caspian,” said one of the men, standing up. “How did you find out about this place?”
“That’s not important,” I said. “What’s important is that you understand how things are going to go. Me and my team here are going to take care of your Executive Board. And then you’re going to stop making eagleclaw candies. Take them off the market forever.”
The man snorted. “Your hubris would be funny if you weren’t in so much danger.”
“Please,” said one of the women on the Managing Board, “leave this place now, while you have a chance. The Executive Board will kill you.”
“We’ll see about that,” I said. “We’re not going anywhere.”
Another woman stood up. “What is, um, the wood for?”
I threw it down on the sand. “You’ll find out. Where are the Executive Board, anyway? Are they running late?”
“They come when they choose,” said the man, looking out at the dark horizon.
“Should be soon,” said the first woman.
And then the water moved. It wasn’t a typical movement. It looked as though there was something underneath it, like a snake crawling under a blanket. A bulge of water appeared and it slithered quickly back and forth toward the shore.
Abruptly, the water crashed, foaming and frothing, spurting into the air.
It twisted and turned and took shape. An enormous water eagle flapping its wings into the water. Its wings were water. The water streamed up and down as the wings moved. A giant cat, made entirely of moving water as well. They had holes for eyes—dark gaping swirling holes.
There was a pressure inside my head, like when water gets in your ears when swimming. It hurt.
The pressure spoke somehow. Why have you brought others into our presence?
“W-we haven’t,” said the man. “This is Penny Caspian and her group of meddlers. They are here on their own.”
We weren’t going to sit here and chat. I sucked in a lungful of air, and blew out fire, igniting the wood at my feet.
It exploded, bright and hot.
I used magic to push the explosion out into the water.
“Now!” I screamed.
All around me, Lachlan, Connor, and Felicity threw their wood to the ground and lit it.
Their explosions were blown out at the creatures as well.
The fire hit the Eagle, but it sizzled out immediately. All of our explosions had done a fat lot of nothing.
The water churned, and things like what we’d fought outside the hotel twisted their way up out of the newly formed waves. They rolled and walked out of the water, their arm-like protuberances reaching for us. There were at least five of them.
The wood was still burning. Felicity gestured with one hand, shooting flames out over the water at th
e lackeys.
Connor followed suit, adding his flames to Felicity’s.
Lachlan as well. He sent more flames.
And I opened my throat and breathed, sending out fire of my own.
All our fire hit the first lackey.
It wobbled, lurched back a bit. But our fire wasn’t enough. It used its arms to wrap around the flames, engulfing them and extinguishing them with a hiss. It was still coming. It was crossing onto the land.
That meant it was up to Lachlan and me. I felt a mix of dread and anticipation begin to churn in my stomach. I turned to him, wind whipping hair into my face. “You ready for this?”
He gave me a wild smile. “Yes.”
And I wanted to call it all off. I didn’t like that look in his eyes.
But the lackeys were coming ashore, and they were opening swirling gaping maws like mouths, sucking in tree branches and flora as they came.
Lachlan seized my hand.
I felt his power push at me, trying to join with mine. I resisted for a moment. But then I let down my defenses, and I felt the magic rushing up within me like water released from a dam. It gushed and flowed.
And then it was out of us, a bright white beam of heat and light. It seared the first lackey, cutting through the thing. The water evaporated in a gush of steam.
We turned together, casting the beam wide. It cut across the water, taking out the lackeys one after another, with big popping hisses, as steam erupted into the night sky.
Wow. This was going better than I had expected. We were definitely right to use the whiteflame. And I still felt utterly like myself. Nothing was wrong. We were going to make short work of this. And maybe Lachlan and I wouldn’t even need to be separated. I didn’t want him gone for Thanksgiving. I really didn’t.
A roar of rage from the creatures out there, but I felt it reverberating inside my skull rather than heard it. The water grew choppy and then it surged high—like a tidal wave.
The wave crashed over our heads, dousing us, dousing the Managing Board, dousing Felicity and Connor.
And putting out the whiteflame with a sizzle.
I lost touch with Lachlan, swept under, pulled this way and that by the salty bay water. When I surfaced, sputtering, I pushed my wet hair out of my eyes.
Lachlan was only a few feet away, scrambling into a standing position.
I ran for him.
“Hey,” he said. “You okay?”
“Uh huh.” I looked around for the others.
The Managing Board had all been knocked out of their seats. They were sputtering and crawling away, heading inland.
Felicity? Connor?
I spotted Connor, face down next to the sand. He twitched, then pushed himself up onto his hands and knees.
“Connor!” I yelled.
He turned to me. “I’m fine.”
Where was Felicity? Where the hell was she? Damn, damn—
Another wave. It crashed overhead, descended onto us, engulfing us in salt water. I was startled. I hadn’t taken a breath, and I didn’t have enough oxygen. Maybe I should shift into a dragon? But no, Lachlan and I had never used the whiteflame that way.
And where was Felicity? Where the hell…?
The wave receded.
I coughed and spat, trying to get to my feet again. When I was standing, I looked down, and there—right in front of me—was Felicity.
She was lying on her back, motionless.
“Penny!” screamed Lachlan.
I fell to my knees next to Felicity, taking her by the shoulders. I shook her. “Felicity,” I said. “Felicity, wake up.” She was a drake, and drakes couldn’t drown.
But she didn’t move.
Could those creatures out there have done something to the water? Something magical and deadly to her?
She wasn’t… She couldn’t be…
Lachlan skidded to his knees next to me, taking my hand. “More whiteflame, Penny, now.”
“But—” I gestured. “Felicity—”
“There’s no time.”
I gaped at him. Didn’t he care? Had the blood bond already gotten inside him? Was he past the point of caring? If I delved further into that power with him, would I be lost too?
But another wave was cresting, surging.
I looked into his eyes, concentrating. The white hot beam of energy shot out of us again, straight into the wave.
When the whiteflame touched the water, it disintegrated a portion of the wave, and then the whole thing collapsed, crashing down into the water.
We were splashed again, but we kept up the whiteflame.
I could see the creatures, out in the distance, the Eagle and the Lynx. I focused on them, trying to turn the whiteflame.
It cut a haphazard swath over the bay, sizzling into the water and then out, heading more or less in their direction.
Until it connected, searing off the Eagle’s wing.
It cried out, a shriek that echoed between my ears, pain splitting my head instantly.
The whiteflame cut off.
“Damn it,” I said. “Did you feel that?” I clutched my temple.
Lachlan was grimacing. “They’re in our heads.”
“But we hit it,” I said.
“Let’s get closer,” said Lachlan.
“Right,” I said, stepping over Felicity’s body. Had I been worried about something a minute ago?
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Lachlan and I turned the beam of the whiteflame. We were actually doing a lot better at aiming it, which was a thing we’d never been much able to do before. This time, we managed to swing the whiteflame into the paw of the Lynx.
A howl in our heads, keening, like ice picks behind my eyeballs.
“Stop doing that,” I yelled, throwing out the whiteflame again.
It hit again, but it didn’t seem to do as much damage.
“We’re running out of juice,” said Lachlan.
“You need to drink my blood?” I said, holding out my wrist.
“Couldn’t hurt.” Lachlan seized my arm and bit me.
I gasped as pleasure and power washed over me, buoying me up in a heady burst of delight. Lachlan and I were one. We were one with the trees around us, with the water below us. I reached out to brush the creatures in the water, and I found their minds—dark, twisty things, full of menace and anger. I wondered if Lachlan and I could control those minds with our own, if we could master the monsters, make them do our bidding.
The thought excited me. I wondered what we could do with such creatures. I thought we could make the entire world bow to us. We could descend from on high, Lachlan riding my back with me in dragon form and rain down whiteflame on any nation we chose. No one would dare oppose us.
We could rule the world.
Lachlan’s mouth left my wrist.
I turned to look at him. He was beautiful. I dragged my fingers over his chest.
He gave me a wicked grin.
We turned back to the water and sent out another white hot bolt, this one stronger and more powerful than anything we’d done before.
But the Eagle and Lynx were gone. They were swimming into each other, twirling together and drawing themselves up into something else. A mingling of the two of them, tall and dark and fierce with gaping jaws like icicles and claws like shimmering razors.
The new monstrosity swallowed the whiteflame whole, completely unfazed.
“Damn,” I whispered.
“What is that thing?” said Lachlan.
We readied another bolt of power.
But before we could send it out, another wave surged onto the shore, and this one was full of fury and strength. It ripped me away from Lachlan, dragging my body out into the bay where it drove me down into the sand.
I struggled, trying to swim.
The water pounded me into the sandy floor violently, battering my face and my shoulders and chest.
My lungs screamed. I couldn’t breathe.
I pushed fire out my fingertips,
fighting the water with heat. The fire wouldn’t burn, not down here, but it lessened the strength of the water. I could move. I kicked my feet and rocketed to the surface.
My head out of the water, I gasped for air. Where was Lachlan?
I saw him. Far away, I spied his head bobbing in the water. A look around told me that I’d been taken far down from the inlet, carried off by the current. The platform with the desks was tiny in the distance.
Lachlan and I couldn’t use whiteflame this far apart. We generally needed to be touching. Once, I’d drunk his blood, and then I’d been able to use the whiteflame on my own against Darla Tell, but I hadn’t had any of Lachlan’s blood tonight. For the most part, I had lost my taste for blood once Wyatt was born.
We were close enough to use compulsion, though. I turned back to the large melded creature, with its wide open mouth and its icy teeth. I reached out with my magic, trying to find its mind again, like I had before. I reached for Lachlan too, for his presence to bolster my power.
But I couldn’t find either.
I could see Lachlan, but I couldn’t feel him.
And the creature was completely closed off to me now. I couldn’t sense anything from it.
Giving up, I started to swim in Lachlan’s direction. I waved to him. “Lachlan,” I yelled. “I’m coming your way.”
He either didn’t hear me or didn’t respond.
I swam anyway. The water was frigid and my teeth chattered. My wet clothes were plastered to my body and my fingers were numb the whole way through.
And then, another wave.
It tugged me down into the water. Down, down, down to the sand below again. It wasn’t violent this time, pounding me. This time it was only insistent. I swam against the water, but it held me firm. I couldn’t get back to the surface.
I thrashed, panic starting to fill me. I needed to get up, get free.
But it didn’t work. I couldn’t move. I was pinned down to the bottom of the bay, and it was cold down here and dark, and I couldn’t breathe.
Fire Brand (City of Dragons Book 6) Page 22