Most everyone present knew what that meant. The ifrits were some of our most powerful fighters. We’d do everything we could to ensure they had the perfect opportunity to fight.
“Which canyon are we expecting Lord Kenan to come through?” Abel asked. “What if they attack first via Park City?”
Vincent shook his head. “They’re heading directly for Lizzie. That means either American Fork or Provo Canyon.” He leaned forward. “The vampires and I will focus on eliminating Lord Kenan’s closest supporters. Disappearing at will gives us a great edge none of you have.”
Jack raised his hand again. “Miss Ashton, I regret to inform you that we will need to start fires again, the same as before. Leading up to those stones in Pleasant Grove. But please do not worry—now that we aren’t searching for you, we’ll be able to make them happen quickly, and they won’t burn large areas. They’ll happen this evening in quick succession. And they will help us. They allow us to fully harness our power.”
“How are we going to get Lord Kenan and his followers to the rocks?” Austin asked.
Everyone started talking at once, trying to come up with ideas. I raised my hand, quieting them. “That has already been solved by Nicole.”
I stepped to a dry erase board Abel had brought into the warehouse and drew a map of the Provo and American Fork canyons and the foothills on Timpanogos. Then I drew the spot where the rocks Eleanora and I had spotted were. I glanced at Nicole.
“Will we have enough spheres for all of this?” I asked.
She nodded. “We should, especially with their radius of power.”
“Then I suggest we use them as a way to force Lord Kenan where we want him.” I looked at my best friend again. “Would you show everyone what they are and how they’ll work?”
Nicole got to her feet. Austin picked up the duffel bag by her chair, and they approached a table we’d set up. Austin set the duffel on the table, and Nicole opened it, pulling out a handful of the little glowing balls.
“Lizzie has already activated them with the amulet,” Nicole said. “We weren’t entirely sure how they’d function, but after a bit of testing on random people in the streets before coming here, we’ve figured out they’ll stop and hold anyone who is not loyal to her cause, including Lord Kenan’s followers. Due to their strength and radius, they should hold at least a thousand or two. Unfortunately, they also prevent regular people who don’t know Lizzie from passing from their reach, so things will get a bit interesting.”
“How do they work?” Vincent asked.
“I’m not entirely sure,” Nicole said. “But their radius is around one hundred yards per sphere. And with us having several thousand of them, we’ll be able to space them out along both canyons, leading Lord Kenan’s men to the ifrit rocks.”
Vincent leaned forward. “Just where did you get them? How can you be sure you can trust them?”
Coolidge met Vincent’s gaze, and my eyebrows raised. Very brave of him when the vampire could control him. “Nicole is guardian of magical items. She got them from Shonlin, the library where a record is kept of every single magical item ever created, and where extra things are stored.”
Nicole nodded. “Apparently, back in the old, old days, militaries used them to keep civilians away when they were practicing and doing exercises. The amulet allows them to target only those who aren’t loyal to Lizzie.”
“How long will their effects last?” Jack asked.
“Their effects start over fresh with each new person,” Nicole said. “They aren’t based on the time they’re placed. And for how long they’ll hold someone? Anywhere between five to twelve hours.”
“Five hours?” I rubbed my forehead. “Let’s hope it’s closer to twelve. That isn’t very much time.”
“But remember,” she said, “we’ll be putting them all along the mountainside, leading Kenan’s army to the place where the ifrits want the battle to happen. If they don’t get caught by the first one, they’ll most likely get caught by one or more of the rest of them as they march. Those in the front will be caught by the first traps. Those in the middle will probably figure out what’s going on and avoid the radius of the spheres, but they’ll eventually reach a point where the spheres haven’t caught anyone yet. Yes, we’ll still have a ton make it through, but that’s why we’ve got fire vampires and ifrits.”
I got to my feet again. “So, we use the spheres to stop large portions of Lord Kenan’s armies and to force the rest to where the ifrits will fight. And along the way, the fire vampires and Aretes will reduce their numbers, with ghosts harassing and slowing them down. Does this sound good?”
“What about you?” Coolidge asked. “You’re the most important person in our group. You won’t be fighting until it’s absolutely necessary, correct?”
“Yes. I’ll wait until I can easily approach Lord Kenan and his hounds.” Please don’t ask for more detail than that. I still had no idea just how I’d do my part.
41
I thanked everyone, then said, “Let’s get the spheres placed.” I nodded at Vincent. “As we decided earlier, if you and your vampires will help with that, it’ll go much faster.”
Everyone dispersed from the meeting. Once the spheres had been placed, the fire vampires would be gathering along the Timpooneke trail that ran behind the western foothills of Mount Timpanogos. We planned to draw Lord Kenan’s army from Provo Canyon and along that trail, passing Battle Creek and ending up near Grove Canyon.
The fire vampires would start picking off those who didn’t get stopped by Nicole’s traps. Any they couldn’t reach would be stopped by the Aretes and ifrits. My friends and I would wait for Lord Kenan and his hounds near the ifrits.
“If Theory were a city, I’d want to move there,” I whispered to Abel while waiting for everyone to exit the warehouse.
“Huh?”
“Because everything works there.”
A brief smile flashed across his face before it disappeared, replaced by his usual stoic expression. “We’ll be fine, Lizzie.”
Abel and I hopped in my SUV while Austin, Nicole, and Austin’s dad went with Coolidge. We hurried to Provo Canyon, where we would start placing the balls.
The little spheres were both opaque and translucent, depending on how you looked at them. They glimmered and shone, but we quickly learned that when we set them down, they became invisible. That was awesome. Also, they were practically weightless. I felt like I was holding air when they were in my hands. I worried they would shatter until Nicole proceeded to set one on the asphalt parking lot and ground her foot on it. Nothing happened to it.
When everyone had arrived, we split up. Austin and Nicole headed toward Squaw Peak, and Coolidge and Austin’s dad handled the north side of the canyon, along with the little trails that headed off from the parking lots there. The fire vampires took at least a thousand of them, disappearing into mist and taking them to the western edge of the Timpooneke trail and parts of American Fork Canyon.
Abel and I helped on the south side of the canyon road. We placed them every ninety yards or so, figuring that would give their range enough of an overlap not to have people sneak through.
It was long, hard work with a lot of hiking and walking. Two in the morning came and went, and by that time, Abel and I had migrated to Dry Canyon up from Orem. We found where the fire vampires had started on their way north and worked our way south from there, meeting up with Coolidge and Austin’s dad.
“How are we supposed to collect them once this is all over?” I asked Abel.
He didn’t have an answer. Maybe Nicole had a way to call them to herself. Or maybe they expired and died and we would never see them again. I had no idea. Regardless, once we’d finished, we’d formed a line from Vivian Park to Squaw Peak and all the way across Provo Canyon on to the eastern side of the foothills, leading the enemy forces along Timpooneke Trail to Grove Canyon and the weird stones where the ifrits would finish them off.
Speaking of the ifrits, I could
smell the smoke from their fires. They hadn’t been kidding when they said it would go fast. When we’d started, I could see smoke down south, near Payson, and by the time Abel and I were finishing up, the fires were already past the foothills near Dry Canyon.
Pretty soon, the flames were no longer visible, and I assumed whatever the ifrits planned was now ready. I took a deep breath, staring out at the beautiful valley that had been ravished so much by the plagues. I knew from experience that the people of this state were resilient. They’d already started rebuilding their pretty cities. I was so proud of them.
The amulet warmed at my neck—not in warning, but to get my attention.
Your ghost armies are ready to command.
Thank you.
What are your commands? the amulet asked.
As soon as Lord Kenan’s armies reach the spheres, I want the ghosts to do everything they can to stop the armies. But they must stay away from Lord Kenan himself. I don’t want anyone to be devoured by him.
Make it a command, and it shall be done.
I said again what I wanted them to do, issuing it as a command. The amulet warmed at my neck, and I felt as magic left me, spinning away and into the darkness. I’d never sensed that before when commanding ghosts, but I had a very large number of them at my disposal.
The battle cries started sometime soon after—around three thirty in the morning. By this point, Abel and I had nearly reached Grove Canyon, where the battle was supposed to come.
We’d hiked this canyon several times, and I’d come up here twice with Eleanora. The trail was dry and would be exposed to the sun after sunrise, where it led through some really dangerous patches with steep cliffs, but then it reached a forest and creek and crossed quaint bridges, entering a very pretty meadow with lots of wildflowers.
It was too dark now to really see the wildflowers, but even so, it was still picturesque with the bright full moon shining on the trees, flowers, and grasses.
Austin drove Nicole back to my house to be with Mindy in case anything happened there. Then he parked and hiked up to join us.
Soon, Professor Coolidge and Austin’s dad joined us as well. We were all exhausted, starving, and out of breath. Even though I could hear the sounds of battle, I knew it would be a while before anyone reached us due to the fact that at nighttime, sound traveled faster and easier. That odd bit of trivia was due to my acoustic physics class. But hey, it served me now, letting me know we could afford to relax a bit.
We decided to take turns sleeping after we’d eaten food and cleaned up, storing everything in Ziploc bags in Austin’s backpack.
Well, I decided we’d take turns. The others had different plans, and no one woke me up when it was my turn. Abel had assured me that I didn’t need an alarm clock. The traitor.
I fell asleep with my head on a blanket in his lap. Despite no one waking me up, I definitely didn’t sleep well. The sounds of the forest were too different from my regular surroundings, and I couldn’t truly let go. I felt like I was in a drugged stupor the whole time. I knew I’d need to wake up at any moment, and I expected someone to nudge me, to let me know it was my turn. I was entirely unsure of how much time was passing. It was awful and disorienting.
Sometime later, when the sun was about to rise and the air was tinged with pink, the sounds of the battle got loud enough to truly wake me.
Abel brushed my hair out of my face. “We need to get moving.”
I nodded. He helped me up, and our group headed back to the trail. I paused a couple moments later when the amulet warmed at my chest. This time, in warning.
“Something’s coming,” I whispered.
The Aretes around me froze. I stepped into the shadows of the trees and commanded the amulet to hide me. Coolidge gasped when I disappeared. Had I not told him I could do that? Well, now he knew.
“You guys go ahead,” I whispered. “I’ll see if it follows you.”
Abel looked unconvinced for a moment, then nodded. He knew I was trying to use them as bait. They started down the trail again, not bothering to mask their noises.
Faint noises reached my ears as something approached. Something experienced at tracking—I only noticed it because the amulet had warned me.
I held perfectly still. A hound stepped into view, sniffing the air, his eyes sweeping the meadow where we’d just been sleeping. He could feel my presence. I was sure of that. His eyes passed right over me. My team had headed toward the trail, walking right past where I was now hiding, and the hound, following their scent, cautiously walked in that direction as well.
He was right next to me when I decided to do something that was probably very stupid. I jumped from my hiding place and tackled the large dog.
Kill?
Kill.
The dog slumped to the ground. I wasn’t surprised that I’d been able to snuff his flame, but I was a tad disappointed. If he had been Conor, I might’ve been able to aggravate him enough to get him to shift into his elevated form, allowing me to steal a spike.
I didn’t have long to celebrate my victory before someone grabbed me and yanked me off the dog.
“You’re so gullible,” the man said.
I’d been invisible, but he hadn’t needed to see me to know where I was. He tossed me against the tree I’d been hiding by. I scrambled to my feet, keeping my eyes on him and the flame behind his sternum. I didn’t recognize him. He pulled a gun from his waistband and trained it on me.
I raised an eyebrow at him. “And you’re an idiot if you think that’ll do any good against me.”
Before either of us could do anything, though, mist surrounded the man and Vincent appeared. He stabbed the hound to the heart, then turned to me.
“They’re coming this way.”
“Thanks.” I stepped to the man and snuffed his flame, grateful I was able to do it.
“Hurry. We can’t have you here when Lord Kenan’s armies arrive.”
“Are there more hounds coming?” There should be two more hanging around Lord Kenan, including Conor.
“Doesn’t matter—let the vampires take care of everyone we can reach. You get back to your friends.”
He didn’t need to encourage me any more than that. The sounds of the approaching battle filled the meadow, drawing our eyes to the east. Hundreds and hundreds of demons and humans approached at a run, weapons raised. Fire vampires appeared and disappeared around them, slaying them as they charged. I couldn’t tell how many were coming, but one thing I knew for certain—the vampires weren’t making much of a dent in their forces. Either that, or Lord Kenan’s army was much bigger than we’d expected.
Not wasting a moment more, I did as Vincent commanded and turned and ran down the trail, heading toward the weird rocks. I overtook Abel and the others soon after. They’d stopped inside a little grove across one of the foothills and gestured for me to join them. I did so. Abel took me into his arms briefly before we turned our attention to the coming army. It wasn’t very far behind me.
Our part of the battle was about to begin.
42
I could only hold still for a moment before itching to make sure the ifrits were ready.
“I’ll be back,” I whispered to Abel.
He tensed up for a moment, but relaxed when he saw I was heading in the opposite direction from Lord Kenan’s army.
The ifrits were already at the rocks, still in their human forms. I waved at Jack, astounded at just how many of his kind there were. At least a hundred. The battle sounds from the opposite direction got louder, and at a command from Jack, they all shifted into their larger forms.
I must have finally gotten service on my phone because it started vibrating with incoming texts and missed calls. I ignored them. Now was not the time to get distracted.
The ifrits began chanting, forming a large circle. Fire erupted all around them, and I sensed the weird magic that had taken me so long to place before.
As they chanted, the smoke in the air above from the fires they’
d burned all night rushed down toward them in great swirls of gray, white, and brown. More flames sprang up from the ground, and I returned to Abel and my Arete friends, watching and feeling as magic and energy were pulled from south of us. Immense waves of energy pulsed over us, stronger than I’d ever felt. And still, the ifrits chanted.
The flames spread outward, hot, but not close enough to burn us. The chanting grew louder, and my eyes widened as I saw everything converging, swirling in the middle of the ifrit circle.
Soon, a form began taking shape there. It grew, gaining substance, towering high above the chanting ifrits. And then, the largest, angriest, ifrit I’d ever seen solidified in the smoke. He was engulfed completely in flames, the outside of his body blackened lava with bright red underneath. Horns curled at the sides of his head and came to a sharp point facing forward. The beast had spiky ridges trailing down its back all the way to a long tail with a ball of spikes at the end.
I reached out with my magic, sensing fire, power, and strength flowing through him. I couldn’t help but grin. This guy was amazing. I couldn’t believe how lucky we were to have him and the ifrits on our side.
My friends and I waited for him to do something, but he didn’t do anything. He just stood there. But then I sensed that magic was still gathering around him as the ifrits continued chanting.
My phone rang. I pulled it from of my hoodie pocket out of habit, wishing I’d thought to silence it. I hadn’t had the need while I’d been out of service, though.
It was Mrs. Russell.
“Yes?”
“Where are you? We’re on our way now.”
We’d decided to let them get rest so I’d have someone on my side with more energy once Lord Kenan neared. I gave her quick instructions, she promised they would be there soon, and we ended the call.
I turned and looked the other way. Lord Kenan’s armies were coming. But where was he? And where were his hounds? I tried not to wring my hands, not wanting to show my friends just how nervous and stressed I was. We still didn’t have a plan for how to get the spike from Conor. Every time we’d tried to make one, too many unknown variables kept it from happening. Like, how much of his army would be left? Would they prevent me from reaching him? Would he even be there? Would he be at the start or the end or even the middle? Where would we be when he found me or vice versa?
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