King Zaeden didn’t waste a moment. He used their hesitation to work his spell on half the hall, including King Peyton. Mirrabel smiled like a little girl who’d just been gifted a pony.
I grabbed onto Chel’s elbow and shouted, “Run!”
If King Zaeden recognized me from Terra, he didn’t show it.
Swearing, Chel grabbed hold of Zephyra’s hand and we bolted for the door. Zephyra knew her way around best. She led us around corner after corner. We didn’t stop to look back, but I heard the guards trailing us. A bell of alarm tolled, echoing throughout the corridors. We weren’t going to make it to the palace entrance.
Zephyra came to a sudden halt and pushed me and Chel into an empty chamber. She slammed the door shut and bolted it. Her chest rose and fell as she breathed deeply. “We need another way out.” Her eyes moved to the window.
“No,” Chel gasped. “It’s too far down. Unless…” She looked pointedly at me. “Unless your vines are strong enough to hold a person.”
“They’re strong enough,” I confirmed, rushing to the window. No glass rested in its frame, but the iron bars… those would prove a problem. It wouldn’t be long before the guards discovered our hiding place.
“I can take care of the bars,” Zephyra said, rubbing her palms together as she stepped up to the window. She closed her eyes and placed her hands on the bars. The iron turned red beneath her skin. The heat spread so every piece of iron on the window changed colour. Red, then orange, then white. The bars turned so bright, I had to look away. When the light dimmed, I saw the bars had melted into nothing but a bubbling puddle of black iron.
The guards tried to open the door. Realizing we’d locked it, they began pounding their fists on the thick wood. I moved to the window and peered outside. I could barely make out the moonlit ground far below. Holding my breath, I reached for my power. An instant later, a thick, twisting vine shot up and hooked itself over the windowsill.
The wood door started to crack against the hard pounding. I looked at the two elementals and said, “I’ll go first.”
Zephyra nodded. “Hurry!”
I loosened a breath and climbed out the window. The vine held strong. I slid down, as quickly as I could without falling. My arms and legs ached by the time I reached the ground. At least I could try to help the other two if they began to fall.
Zephyra’s feet appeared out the window. She slid down the vine fast… too fast. I’d never be able to catch her at that speed. I used my power to call another vine up. The second vine wrapped around her ankle as she lost her grip on the first. She dangled in the air from the vine as it slowly lowered her. Face red, she reached the ground safely. Though, her hair and gown were out of sorts, and she appeared like she was about to retch. She adjusted her skirts and cleared her throat. “Thank you.”
Chel was already half way down the first vine. On my command, it unhooked and lowered Chel to the ground with us. Her arms shook from the exertion of climbing half-ways down.
The bell still tolled. Sheer chaos had erupted inside the palace by the sounds of the screaming and crashing. A guard leaned out the window of the chamber we’d climbed from. He had no way down now that the vine was gone. “Outside, now!” he shouted to the other guards.
We had escaped from one of the side wings of the palace so we sprinted for the trees. Solis had no wall around it like Terra, but guards did patrol the perimeter. We were stopped by two who were on duty. Staring down at us from their horses, they drew their swords.
“Where do you think you’re going?” A weathered guard who I’d have guessed to be in his late forties, asked.
“Let us pass,” Chel ordered, her fingers flexed, ready to use her power.
“We cannot let you pass if you’re an enemy of Solis,” the younger guard put in.
The thunderous footsteps of the guards from inside the palace caught my attention as they charged outside and stampeded for us.
Zephyra stepped up to the two guards. “I am Zephyra Caldura of Solis, cousin of Queen Adelaide. Now, step aside.”
The guards smirked at each other. The older one turned his face back to her. “We only take orders from Queen Adelaide or Constable Creighton.”
“Please,” Zephyra begged. “Your comrades and queen are being controlled by dark spirits.”
The younger guard pressed his lips together, considering her statement.
We didn’t have time for this. I felt for my power. A vine shot up and wrapped itself around the horse’s ankle that the older guard rode. The black horse reared back, causing the guard to drop his sword so he could grab the saddle. But it was too late. The guards from the palace had reached us.
Glowing eyes promising brutal death advanced. My heart stopped. We were done for.
Chel threw up a spray of water, and the other horse bolted with the younger guard still on its back.
Zephyra stared, unblinking, at the guards who’d once protected her home. As the one closest to us readied to swing his blade, hot, hungry flames burst between us and the group of possessed men and women. Numb to pain, those who’d caught fire still came at us, flesh burning into ashes. It was enough. Zephyra’s power had given us the chance we’d needed.
The three of us ran through the trees, burning guards chasing us until they breathed no more. That they felt no pain as the bright golden fire ate them alive was a small mercy. Or perhaps they did deep inside where a small part of the real them still dwelled, untouched by the dark spirit who’d invaded their mind and body.
We sprinted, dodging branches, not sparing one glance backward. We didn’t stop until we could run no more.
Gasping for breath, Zephyra bent down and retched between her knees. She put her arms over her head, her body shaking with sobs.
Chel crouched down beside her, rubbing her back.
The fire elemental gathered herself enough to spit. She wiped her eyes. “Those people were good… were my people.”
“You did what you had to,” Chel stated. “War claims many victims.”
“I hate it.”
“I know.” Chel helped her back up. “Believe me. I know.”
Her slight nod was the only indication she understood her friend thought of the former lover she’d killed herself. “We need to find Percifal,” Zephyra said, changing the subject.
“He could be anywhere,” I argued.
“We have to try.” The fire elemental was nearly in tears again.
“We will head toward Terra and see if we can find him before we go on to Ventosa.” Chel brushed a lock of dark hair off her sweaty forehead.
“This is my fault.” Zephyra choked back a sob. “If we’d left for Ventosa like you wanted, we’d all be together. I’ll never forgive myself if he’s dead.”
Chel narrowed her eyes at me as she answered her. “It’s not your fault. Let’s go find my brother.”
“Fine,” I said to them both. “But first we need horses.”
“There’s a village on the way,” Zephyra offered as she began walking. “We’ll find horses there.”
We followed her through the trees. The summer night was warm and dry, the forest thinner than the one surrounding Terra. Not as many predators to worry about either. We navigated our way north until we cleared the cluster of aromatic pine trees. I ignored the sharp pain in the bottom of my feet as I stepped over the hard, rocky terrain.
We came to a village darkened by night. Only a few torches still burned in the quiet streets. Most had gone home for the night to sleep before arising for work the next morning. Only a few drunks straggled behind at the old taverns that kept their doors open for people such as them, addicted to the thrall of wine and spirits. We came up to the side of one such tavern where two horses tied to a rail waited for their owners. Zephyra marched up to the white one and began untying its rope.
“What are you doing?” Chel demanded.
“Taking these horses. We need them more than their drunken owners do. Are you going to help me?”
When
Chel didn’t move, I stepped up to untie the bay standing next to the horse Zephyra led away from the rail. “One of us will have to ride together,” I commented, finishing loosening the knot in the rope.
Chel glanced at Zephyra’s puffy skirts. “I don’t think there’s enough room in the saddle for both our gowns.”
Zephyra put her foot in the stirrup and answered, “You ride with him. It’s not proper for me to ride with another man.”
Chel rolled her eyes. “Fine.” She shoved her dark hair out of her way and then said to me, “Let me on first.”
I held the horse still while she pulled herself into the saddle, and then I settled in behind her. I’d never ridden with a second rider. I awkwardly adjusted myself, but no matter my position, her body rested right against mine. I tried to ignore the way her warmth seeped into my body and heated my blood. It was difficult. I was a male with a beating heart after all.
One of the drunks stumbled out of the tavern in time to see us take off. “Come back, you thieves!” he hollered, but it was useless. He was a disappearing dot in the street.
We rode through the night, galloping only as much as we dared without putting the horses in danger. When the sky transformed into a paler shade of violet, we stopped at a small stream to let ourselves, and the horses, drink.
“So that was your mother,” Chel remarked when Zephyra came up beside her to cup her hands full of water and drink.
“Yes,” Zephyra replied, drying her hands off on the skirts of her gown.
“No wonder you ran away from Solis.”
Zephyra stood and smoothed wisps of her fiery hair back. “I should have let her be executed all those springs ago when she planned to kill Addy.”
Chel pressed her lips together, questions rolling across her face. But she simply said, “She’s your mother.”
“Zephyra’s right,” I chimed in from where I let the two horses graze. “She should’ve turned her mother in if she knew she was a traitor.” It was a poor excuse for her to leave her kingdom. One’s own problems had a way of catching up with them. It seemed it was her turn to face them now.
Zephyra’s shoulders slouched. “She—she let King Zaeden in, and now Adelaide’s in danger. Do you think he’ll hurt her?”
Chel scowled at me as she walked over to Zephyra to put her hand on her back. “No, he needs her. She’s under his control. I don’t think he’ll hurt your cousin while the dark spirit resides inside her.”
Zephyra sniffed but nodded her head.
I wasn’t so sure about her reassurance, but my honesty wasn’t welcome so I kept my opinions to myself. “Come on. We’ve tarried long enough.”
I tangled with Chel’s mass of skirts each time we mounted. “If it were up to me,” she bit out, “I’d be wearing trousers. Unfortunately, it’s improper attire for a lady to wear at court.”
“Perhaps we can trade some of these jewels Queen Adelaide gave us at the next village for coin and supplies,” Zephyra offered.
“Yes, a splendid idea. What other use is there for such baubles? I once enjoyed my gowns and jewels, but I’ve realized their unimportance as of late.”
“I still like my gowns.” Zephyra absentmindedly smoothed her own skirts.
I silently wished I had my sword. We weren’t permitted to bear arms when dining with Queen Adelaide so I’d left my sword in the guest chamber. Thankfully, I’d hidden a dagger in my boot. I knew Chel and Zephyra had hidden blades as well. We were never fully unarmed. Our best weapons, though, were our powers.
We led our horses through the market of the next village we came upon, bartering jewels for coin and goods. We’d need coin to obtain furs closer to Ventosa. The kingdom of air was high up in the Acuties Mountains where snow never fully melted. Anything to keep us warm would be valuable. The villages in the southern parts of Sarantoa didn’t sell such items unless it was autumn or winter.
We bought saddlebags and packed them full until they nearly burst at the seams. The jewels we sold were worth a lot. The merchant’s eyes had sparkled when we’d shown them to him. It was his lucky day.
We paid a farmer a small sum to let us have an afternoon nap in his barn. He frowned at the request, but accepted the payment. We had enough coin to get us to Ventosa, but we had to be smart with it.
We travelled through the grassy plains for days. Used to the heat, I basked in the summer sun shining down on us. Chel, however, hated it. She’d grown up in the cold, damp coastal weather of Aquila. I felt the stickiness of the sweat coating her bare arms as I steered our horse across the fields. She often complained the sun was going to be the death of her. I poured water down her back at one point so she’d stop complaining, almost getting us thrown off the horse. Zephyra tried not to giggle but failed. At least someone was having a good time.
Animal life disappeared the closer we ventured to Terra. An eerie silence fell like a blanket as we entered the forest surrounding the kingdom of earth. Not one bird… not even one insect could be seen or heard. Even more sinister, the usually leafy green trees had turned brown and wilted. It didn’t make sense, until I recalled the words of the soldier who’d escaped from Terra to seek refuge in Solis. He’d said the forest around Terra had begun to die. I pushed down my panic as I realized the rest of what he’d told us was probably true. I didn’t want to know what now lurked in these woods.
We came to a point where the horses would go no further. The bay mare Chel and I rode, tossed her head in the air and pawed at the ground when we tried to make her move forward. Zephyra’s mount reared, clearly freaked out.
We dismounted and I said to both of them, “One of us has to stay here with the horses. The other two will go in further to see if we can find Percifal. I know you don’t want to hear this, Zephyra, but it’s a long shot. These woods cover a vast amount of space, and we don’t even know if he’s alive or what could be waiting for us in there.”
She sighed. “I understand. If we don’t find him soon, we’ll go to Ventosa.”
I handed Chel the horse’s reins. “We’ll make haste. If we don’t return soon, leave without us. Here.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out my compass. “Take this.”
Chel frowned at the compass. “Who put you in charge?”
I stretched my arm out further. “I know these woods better than the two of you, and are you really going to make Zephyra wait here while we seek out her lover?”
“He’s my brother.” Her gaze flicked to Zephyra’s sullen face. She snatched the compass from my hand. “Fine, but make haste.”
“Yes, Lady Water.”
Thunder and lightning filled her eyes as she gave me an annoyed look, but I turned away and marched past Zephyra. “Let’s go.”
Dead leaves crunched under out feet as we cautiously stepped into the dying forest. The smell of decay was so bad I almost gagged. The sky was as grey as smoke, not a shred of blue in sight. A crack echoed as Zephyra stepped on a fallen branch, causing her to start. She felt the same sense of impending doom as I did. We’d entered a world void of life. If this was only a taste of the dark world of Mnyama, what was coming to the rest of Sarantoa… nothing would survive.
An inhumane screech had us both halting to stare in the direction of the sound. The hush that followed was more unnerving.
“I should never have let him go,” Zephyra breathed out on a whisper.
I didn’t have any words of comfort to offer her, so I didn’t say anything.
The air had turned cold and dry upon my skin, as though not a drop of water were to be found in the entire forest.
No matter how much distance we put between us and where we’d left Chel, we found no sign of Percifal—or anyone else for that matter.
About to suggest we turn back or risk becoming lost, a dark shape flashed through the trees. And then another not far behind it. I froze and grabbed Zephyra by the arm. She’d seen it too. Her face transformed into a mask of horror as the shapes loomed closer to us. They were not human.
We both
turned and bolted, darting between trees and trying not to stumble on rocks. Celestia help us if one of us fell.
Faster. We needed to run faster.
The creatures gained on us. I could hear them snarling at our backs. We had to fight or they’d tear us apart from behind.
I stopped and spun, the warmth of my power rising. A vine smashed through the hard ground between us and the creatures. The vine caught the closest creature, with slick, black skin and a long snout, around its waist. It screeched at me, saliva dripping off its hooked, yellow fangs. Eyes the colour of fire watched me, promising nothing but a brutal, painful demise.
Its partner still chased Zephyra. She screamed from somewhere behind me. I tightened the vines grip on the creature… demon suited the thing better, but I could feel the vine dying. It was as if I was dying from the center of my core. My insides churned, my blood turning to sludge within my veins. The vine had begun to wilt where it touched the demon. I had to let go before my own power killed me from the inside out.
The vine disintegrated into dust as I released my hold on my power and snatched my dagger from my boot.
A flash of orange light to my left followed by an ear-piercing shriek told me Zephyra had thrown a ball of fire at her pursuer.
As the demon before me lunged forward, teeth bared and claws out, I jabbed my blade into its face.
It stumbled back, clawing where the dagger stuck out just below its eye. Dark green blood oozed from the wound around the blade.
It noticed me watching and gave up on the blade, snarling at me again. The demon narrowed its orange eyes and prepared to jump, but a swirl of sparking flames spiraled around it, engulfing its smooth, hairless body. The sounds erupting from it as the black skin melted from its bones had me and Zephyra both covering our ears.
Then everything but the crackling flames fell silent.
I’d have been that thing’s meal if it weren’t for Zephyra’s fire. I faced her and huffed, “Thank you.”
Her body trembled as she replied, “Let’s get out of here.”
“I’m sorry for…” I stopped, clamping my mouth shut. A misty, white shape drifted through the trees behind her and my stomach sank. Not again.
The Elemental Diaries - Complete Series Page 67