Nova shrugged and pulled up her face covering over her mouth. “I did wish for underground.”
I didn’t know what it was with magical people and just jumping into things like water rapids and black holes being dug by skeletons, but I couldn’t say I was here for it. Yet Nova practically cannon-balled down into that hole. Again a ball of slate morphed and changed like a bunch of blocks trying to find a shape. Just before Nova slammed into it, it smoothed out and caught her. Both her hands sparked, illuminating the tunnel and lighting her face in glowing purple light. “Dig, bitches! Dig!”
“You next.” He pointed toward Beckett.
“No. I’ll be in the rear.” Beckett shook his head. “You go.”
“You wanna keep trying my patience, I’ll leave your ass here,” Kylian growled at him and his one free hand glowed a bright copper color. “You used to be cool, but you are getting on my nerves.”
Blue smoke flowed from Beckett’s arms and legs then threaded through his hair. His eyes glowed and he seemed almost like he was on fire. I took a step toward him and Kylian held his hand out, stopping me. “Don’t.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, okay, boys, let’s put our swords away. No need to compare whose is bigger. I’m sure you’re both… awesome. Though I only know about one of you.”
They both turned to look at me with the same expression of horror and awkwardness. I waved them away. “Yeah, I can’t believe I said it either.”
The ground under my feet rumbled once more and chunks of slate began to fall into the hole. I stepped back just as the spot where I’d been standing fell in. “Shit. Beckett, into the hole!”
“No.”
I didn’t have time for this, and I was growing impatient with his mood. Whatever the case, I flicked my hand and let my power flow, knocking him from behind and right into the hole. It wasn’t graceful like Ashryn or adventurous like Nova. Instead, he practically belly-flopped into the damn thing. The slate appeared to catch him once more, but it wasn’t too gentle either, knocking the wind out of him.
Kylian did a double-take at me. “That’s cold.”
“Yeah, don’t you forget it.” My stomach tightened and I wanted to vomit, but I stepped into the hole, showing the faith I didn’t feel for this runaway railroad ride. The slate caught me, and it wasn’t as rough as I thought it would be. The rock molded to my body like a lounge chair or an Olympic luge. I lay back, letting the slate sled carry me down deeper into the tunnel. Up ahead I saw the faint glow of Nova’s magic and Beckett’s blue power. I could feel the anger rolling off him toward me, but things were getting out of control.
A loud crashing sound came from behind me, and I turned back just in time to see Kylian with Soto tucked into his chest fall into the hole. Behind them the tunnel started to cave in. The roof fell into the ground in large crashing chunks. My heartrate skyrocketed. There was no exit behind us or in front of us. No way out. The only thing we could do was keep moving. Dirt rushed all round them as he dug his hands into the ground beside his sled, trying to propel himself faster.
“Go, go, go!” he yelled over the crashing of the walls around us. The front of his sled slammed into the back of mine.
I flipped onto my stomach and let my magic flow. I didn’t know if I could hold up the feet of dirt over us, but I could make us go fast so their heads didn’t get crushed by a cave in. Golden power exploded out of me, and I forced it behind Kylian imagining there was a rocket on the back of his sled. The air whooshed past me and strands of my hair blew into my face, but I felt my magic just grow and expand like this place did something to it. It burned my hands and deep in my chest like it never had before.
“Hands up!”
Kylian stopped trying to make himself go faster and the moment he did, my power blasted behind him, sending our two sleds slamming right into Beckett. His head snapped back and he looked at me. “What are you doing!”
“Save us!” I called back and kept on going.
Our three sleds plowed into Nova and then Ashryn. This really was the freaking runaway train. My sled hit a bump and my entire body lifted off it, going airborne. “I am so sick of these rides! No one said anything about rides!”
I slammed back down, and my stomach dropped into my butthole. I kicked out my legs, trying to sit up, but we were gaining speed. I looked back past Kylian, hoping I could slow down, but the cave in had started, and now it was a chain reaction. I didn’t know how fast we were going, but it felt like my skin was going to peel off, like I was one of those dogs who stuck their head out of the window when the car was doing seventy miles per hour. My eyes watered and my face shook. Particles of dust slammed into my face like tiny needles pricking my skin. Up ahead we were nearly caught up to Nova’s digging dead people and behind us the cave continued to fall.
“Enough! Just stop! Stop! Stop!” I wanted off this ride and I wanted off now. I was gonna puke and shit at the same time. My stomach was in my butt and my butt was in my throat. I couldn’t tell up from down or forward from backwards.
The sleds came to a screeching halt and I threw out my arms. Gold smoke filled the entire area as the rest of them flew from their sleds into each other at the abrupt stop. My entire body shook as I came to my feet. Every single one of my muscles quaked, and I sucked in heaving breaths of dust, trying not to puke on Soto who was now at my feet.
Everyone groaned like we’d been in a car wreck. Beckett, Nova and Ashryn were in a pile just at the front of our little tunnel. They lay in a tangle of limbs and were slow to get to their feet. Soto had rolled into me and Kylian was splayed across the back of the cave. My power surrounded us in a capsule holding the walls, ceiling and floor around us. Nova crawled to her feet, rubbing at the back of her neck. “Holy whiplash, Astrid.”
“I’m sorry, but you didn’t see what I was seeing. If I didn’t stop us, we’d all be buried right now.” At that very second, the ground shook and the pressure on my magic doubled around us. “That ride had to end.”
Kylian nodded and shoved his black hair behind his ears. “She’s right. The tunnel was coming down.” He pressed his hand to the wall and shoved himself to his feet.
“How are we going to get out of here now?” Soto came to her hands and knees. She spit on the ground in front of her.
I looked up at the roof above my head and the walls at my sides. “The way I figure it, Nova can have her creeps dig us upward and Beckett can platform us up when we’re clear?”
“My creeps?” She sighed. “Yeah, I guess that’s about right.”
The earth around my magic shifted once more, and I tried to hold the world at bay just long enough to give us time to dig out, when something long and gray shot from the side of the wall and wrapped around my hip.
“Oh, shit.” I met eyes with Beckett a second before my body was dragged sideways and out of the pocket of my magic. The last thing I saw was the world caving in around me.
Chapter 34
Astrid
Gravel caved in around me, scratching my arms and covering my face. I inhaled a mouthful of dirt and choked on it. Strands of my hair were caught on the debris around me and were ripped from my head. I wanted to cry out in pain, to fight against whatever the hell dragged me through the dirt. But it was too fast, like being fired from a slingshot. I’d left my stomach back in the cave with the others. The sound of fracturing earth filled my ears, and my body was ripped from the ground like a weed. I flew high up into the air and looked down at the biggest freaking thing I’d ever seen. The ground all around his feet was cracked and caving in.
Four tentacles stuck out of the sides of the giant just under two meaty arms. His head seemed so much smaller than his hulking, massive body. He lowered me down to his face, all too close to his oversized mouth. Spittle flew from between his gapped teeth. A belly-rumbling laugh came from his mouth. Every inch of his blubber jiggled from top to bottom. His stomach hung so low that it covered his pelvis and made his loincloth look like it appeared out of nowhere.
“Look at this… I found me an appetizer.” He licked his meaty lips and held me over his mouth with that strangling tentacle.
Two beams of light exploded from my hands and shot the giant right in the face. He staggered back and his armpit tentacle loosened around my waist. I focused my power and turned it into a blowtorch in my hand. I turned my palm down to face the tentacle. The smell of burning flesh filled my nose a second before I was dropped. My stomach went into my feet and my arms and legs kicked out at the same time. The giant stomped around with its hands over its eyes. I shot my power from my hands once more, stopping my fall before I went splat. I dropped my feet to the ground and started to run back toward the hole that freaking Unseelie monster ripped me out of. The ground shook each time he took a step. It was like running on a trampoline. His foot went down and I flew up. I ran back for my friends. I’d been holding up that whole damn tunnel and it caved in without me. They needed me. I felt their magic rumbling in the ground beneath us.
“I felt you, moving in the dirt.” His deep voice boomed so loud I wanted to cover my ears. He staggered around then froze. I glanced over my shoulder for a split second. We made eye contact and I sucked in a deep, gasping breath.
I pumped my arms, running faster and harder. My head snapped up and my eyes were drawn toward a rocky formation. In the distance, I spotted the castle under the hollowed-out mountain. It stood on a pedestal-like rock formation, yet all around it was a deep canyon with lots of crevices for me to hide. Adrenaline flooded my body and sweat ran down my back. I tried to suck in deep breaths but couldn’t stop choking on the ash falling from the sky. Sweat ran down the sides of my face and into my eyes, stinging them painfully.
Move fast. Move faster, go, go. A surge of golden power surrounded me, and a head rush overcame me, like I’d spun too far, too fast. When I looked back, the giant was a hundred yards away, and I was nearly at the canyon below the castle. What the hell? How did I get here so fast? It didn’t matter, I had to keep pushing. I ran harder and faster. The giant stomped after me and that wave of dizziness overcame me once more. I stopped on the edge of the cliff. My arms swung wildly as I stopped myself from falling into the canyon. The ground rumbled under my feet as the giant came closer. I glanced out over the deep canyon toward the castle. I didn’t know where the rest of my friends were, or Beckett, but I had to believe they’d get out okay. If I even stopped for a moment to think that they wouldn’t, I’d lose it.
Now that I was at the castle, I’d do the only think I could—look for Logan and hide from the damn giant. I let my power flow and I jumped off the edge of the cliff and caught myself just enough that I didn’t plummet. I floated down to the ground and began running once more in the direction of the castle. The air burned in my lungs and scratched my throat. The slate was slippery under my boots, but I didn’t care. I was going to keep going. Beckett would want me to get to Logan and then go for them. But in my gut, I knew he was okay. I’d feel the loss of his tie to me otherwise, and it was still there, stronger than ever.
The closer I got to the castle, the more I felt a power I thought I’d felt before. Not Unseelie but a warlock. Some kind of warlock power. I shifted my path, running around the spiked-up pieces of slate. High above, I heard the bellow of the giant.
“Lunch! Where are you, lunch?”
My pulse quickened and I turned down another path toward the warlock power I felt. This place was like a maze of slate walls and spikes—each one looked exactly like the last. Then it opened up into a small circular area. I froze and my breath caught in my throat. There on the floor just in front of me was Logan. He was hunched over on his knees. His body swayed back and forth. His clothing hung from him like he hadn’t eaten in weeks. His shagged hair was so much longer than I’d expected. He was covered in a layer of dirt and grime.
“Logan?” I took a step toward him and his head snapped up. Our eyes met and I ran to his side. “Holy shit, Logan. Are you okay?”
He swayed on his knees like at any moment he’d fall over completely. His brows furrowed low and made a crease between his eyes. “I’m alive.” He struggled to swallow. “One question?”
I dropped to my knees beside him. “Yes, anything.”
“Who the hell are you?”
Chapter 35
Beckett
Cold fury rolled through me. Who were they to even think about touching a warlock? My warlock. Power exploded from me like a bomb, and the earth erupted. I yanked out the rest of our group with my magic, dragging them through the layers of dirt and rocks to the surface in a flash. They all fell to the ground around me as I landed on my feet. Astrid ran ahead of the hulking giant. With each of his steps, her little body went flying up into the air. Her arms and legs pinwheeled but she landed and just kept on running. Golden smoke poured from her hand and she took off… disappeared… then re-appeared a good distance farther. Then it happened again. Astrid stopped on the edge of a cliff and looked over. She swallowed and leapt off the side into the cavernous canyon.
She’ll be so useful to me… if she lives. I called my magic and grabbed the rest of my messed-up crew with it. I hurled them toward the hollowed-out mountain, tossing them through the air like rag dolls. I had no time be gentle. Two of my warlock council members were down there, and if I wanted to take what was mine, then I needed them. My power needed them, demanded them. I was blind to it before but being here in this realm gave me so much clarity.
I could see it all so much better than before, and I’d never felt so strong. My power coursed through my veins. There was only power and Astrid now. The heirs would play their parts and I would play mine. The warlock world would be ours. I blasted my magic out behind me and took off flying after the others. I reached out, catching them with my power and lowering them to the ground just as the damn giant jumped down into the canyon. The whole world shook just as I landed next to Kylian.
His arm snapped out and he grabbed my throat. “Next time you decide to throw me, warn me.”
“You act like I didn’t catch you afterward.” I grabbed his wrist and squeezed it, forcing his fingers to pop open. Then I shoved his arm back.
Nova shoved me from the side. “I don’t know what the hell is wrong with you but knock it off.”
I eyed her from head to toe. Her white-blond hair was covered in dark ash and dirt. Scrapes marred her milky skin and her clothing was ripped and torn in some places. Someone would think this dark gothic creature pretty. I once did. But now she was more of an annoyance than anything else. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Yeah, I bet you don’t.” She wiggled her fingers at me while toying with the edge of her glove. “Next time you toss me, I will send your ass straight to Hades. Murder hornets aren’t the only things I can kill with my magic.”
I shrugged. “You can try.”
“Your friends suck. You sure I want to live in your world?” Soto looked up at Kylian and shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“Psh. He’s not my friend.” He glared at me.
Oh, I’m so scared. Infant.
She took a step toward me and Ashryn moved between us. Even covered in dirt and scratched to hell, she was controlled, ever the calm Elf with her steady, hunter-green eyes and quiet words. “Focus. We have a giant to outrun and two warlocks to find.”
“Outrun? I think not.” I turned away from her and marched to the cliff overlooking the canyon. From this vantage point, it looked like a labyrinth of sharp rocks and dodgy walls. The giant ran around each corner straight toward the center as though he had it all memorized.
There in the middle of it all was that dark red hair I could spot from miles away. She hunched down low next to a shrunken, huddled figure. Logan. Something inside me panged deep and hard. He was my friend, my brother, the reason I was here. I shook my head and my power rushed to the forefront of my mind. I narrowed my eyes at the giant. He was in the way between me and taking the warlocks… His mistake.
I fired my power onc
e more and leapt up into the air. Blue smoke seeped from every part of my body and I lit up the area around me in glowing light. I felt the power, loved the power, wanted more of the power. I landed on top of a flat piece of rock and skidded across it almost to the edge, yet my heart kept a slow, steady beat. I jumped off again, aiming straight for the giant. The rolls on the back of his neck were covered in sweat, and I could see the dark spots over his oily gray skin.
Wind blew my hair back from my face as I lifted my arms over my head, gathering my power. As I came closer to his head, I threw my arms down, forcing my magic to land on him as though I were wielding a sledgehammer. A loud cracking sound echoed all around the dark jagged rocks as I collided with the giant. I landed on the back of his neck rolls just as my power knocked him in the melon. He staggered toward Astrid, about to fall on both her and Logan. I threw my arms to the side and tore off a chunk of slate from the pillar next to me. It slammed into his shoulder, knocking him off course. He staggered to the side and landed face down ten feet from where Astrid and Logan huddled. His long tentacles slammed into the ground and began to roll, and he placed his hands down, looking like he was about to shove upward.
“I don’t think so.” I lifted my arms out to my sides and those black vines that covered everything rose off the ground like they went hand-in-hand with my own power. I folded my hands together and those vines whipped up and over the giant, pinning him to the ground. I danced over his back and he fought against them, but he was no match.
I hopped down his side and landed next to Astrid. She had her arm wrapped over Logan’s head, blocking him from the debris that fell when the giant went down. I nearly crushed them but there was more than enough room… kind of. So what if those meaty arms landed only a foot away from them? A foot was a good distance… in theory.
Wicked Curse (The Royals: Warlock Court Book 4) Page 20