Iris loosened her grip. “Your eye,” she whispered. The long purple scar was deep, creating a crevice in the closed lid.
Rin must have understood the word “eye,” because her lips trembled into a smile. “Though we were given the same name, I was never as good as you, Isoke.”
A flash of light burst in the distance, and then an explosion of fire. The commotion grabbed both Iris’s and Rin’s attention, but Iris responded faster. With one swift movement, she punched Rin in the face, knocking her out.
Her team was in trouble. She couldn’t stay here any longer. She had to go help them. It was the one clear thing in the thick muddle of her mind as she yanked the skeleton key off Rin’s neck and ran toward the light.
* * *
Iris wanted to call out to Jinn and Max, but if she announced herself, it would give away the one advantage she had: the element of surprise. She saw the two of them as she entered a small clearing next to the zoo’s refreshment hall, and Hawkins’s team as well. Hawkins and Cherice were struggling with their senses, courtesy of Rin’s teammate, no doubt.
“Max!” Cherice called out, holding her head and falling to the ground. “Where are you?”
“Jacob!” Hawkins yelled. “Are you okay?”
Jacob was nearly passed out by a nearby tree. Max and Jin were tending to him, struggling to lift him up.
“It’s all right,” Max said. “It’s gonna be all right.”
Iris surveyed the area. Their enemy must have been hiding somewhere and probably got the jump on Team Hawkins first since Max and Jinn were fine.
Darkness, Iris thought, remembering Rin’s command. Use the dark as your cover. Iris began to search the trees.
“Found you,” she said, spotting Baldie’s large bottom peeking out through the branches. She wasn’t sure if he was the guy who’d scrambled their senses or blinded them with light. Either way, she’d have to be careful getting to him.
As quietly as she could, she threw a small pebble with surprising precision at Jinn’s head. He frowned, his fists up and ready to fight until he spotted her behind an empty firework stand. They didn’t need words. She flicked her head toward the tree, and with that, Jinn left Jacob to Max and followed her.
Iris and Jinn snuck around the tall tree, and Jinn already knew what to do.
“Ready?” he whispered.
“Aren’t I always?”
Jinn smirked. Then, using his hands, he boosted her into a lift they’d done a thousand times. Iris flipped up so high it almost surprised her, but Jinn had meant business. She caught Baldie’s branch one-handed.
The bald man’s pupils dilated at the sight of her, and he cried out in a jumbled-up language, sounding pained just speaking it, as if his throat were on fire.
Jacob. At some point, he must have tried to make sure Bowler and Baldie couldn’t communicate with each other. Who knew where Bowler had escaped to.
She launched at him before he could attack her, swinging around the branch and kicking him out of the tree with all her might. He landed with a horrible crack just as a purring brown cat slinked out from behind some roots. As she stared at the little animal, baffled, Jinn knocked Baldie unconscious.
“Iris!” cried Cherice, loud and shrill from the clearing. She stumbled back and sat on the ground with a thump. “Iris! Girly, is that you?”
“You okay?” Max stood, wiping the sweat off his forehead.
Iris nodded, showing him Rin’s key. But before she could say anything, the brown cat jumped at her, grabbing the key with his teeth and scurrying away.
Adam’s list. She forgot—there was someone other than the “old lady” among the champions who could shape-shift.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Iris looked at Max and nodded. “After that cat!”
Iris gave chase with Jinn by her side. But Max didn’t move. The supernaturally fast cat continued toward the lake, but when Iris looked behind her, Max was talking to Hawkins. Then, before she could call out to him, Hawkins grabbed Max, Cherice, and Jacob and pulled them out of sight into the darkness. They disappeared. Hawkins’s power.
Damn it, Max, where did you go? Iris gritted her teeth. Jacob had his own teammates to look after him, didn’t he? With Max’s power, she and Jinn could have caught the cat by now.
Past the trees and animal houses. The cat finally slowed down from fatigue enough for Jinn to launch himself forward and catch it right on the bank of the small lake. The moment he did, the cat transformed into a chubby man who struggled in his grasp. Which one was he? As blood pumped in her ears, she couldn’t remember his name. Guess it didn’t matter. As long as they got their key back.
Jinn had his blades strapped to his back with a rope. He wouldn’t need them to take care of this guy, whoever he was. But Cat was far spryer in his human form than Iris realized. With a cowardly yell, he kicked Jinn back, slipping from his grip, and darted past Iris, dropping the skeleton key in fear several paces behind her by some thick bushes.
Jinn picked up the key. She could see his grimace from here. “It’s still slobbery,” he complained.
“Well, it was in a man’s teeth.”
“It stinks.”
“At least we have it back,” Iris said with a little laugh. Max was still nowhere in sight.
“That makes two keys,” Jinn said, patting his pocket.
“Good.” Iris turned toward the lake. The tournament was three hours long and she couldn’t tell how much time was left. They just had to wait things out until it ended.
She looked at her reflection in the lake, and as it rippled gently, she could have sworn she saw Rin’s face instead. The girl had told her that Iris was once a warrior in Dahomey, kidnapped from a neighboring region. It explained why she understood languages from a time she couldn’t remember. But what was this white crystal Rin kept talking about? What did it have to do with her?
“Jinn,” she said, her eyes still upon the water. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
But her mind blanked the moment she turned around and found the man with the sagging jowls slipping out from some bushes behind Jinn.
“Jinn!” Iris screamed, but it was too late.
The Exploding Man grabbed Jinn and, before Jinn could escape his grip, set off an explosion of electricity.
25
THE EXPLODING MAN WENT OFF like a bomb. It was over in an instant, the damage done, and now he was squatting above Jinn’s burnt body, ready to pluck Rin’s key from his twitching fingers.
Iris launched at him, shrieking. It didn’t matter that he jumped back and began sparking once again. Iris wrapped her hands around his neck, screaming in pain from the electrical current, howling in fury but refusing to let go.
The Exploding Man couldn’t breathe. As if her vise grip were a candle snuffer, the electricity evaporated, and he fell back. Iris stood over him, body and clothes in a shambles, with an expression that would terrify a demon. He could see her body was already healing. Scrambling back, he ran off, leaving Jinn with the keys.
She would heal, but Jinn couldn’t. His shirt and pants were torn, his naked, exposed back bloodied and burnt. Tears welled up in Iris’s eyes as she turned him over. He was only just breathing.
“What do I do?” Iris wiped her face, still throbbing in pain from the electrical burns. “Jinn, what do I do?” Her whole body trembled as she held his head against her lap.
Cold water. Cold water! Whenever she burnt herself cooking, Granny would always bring her a pack of ice, not knowing that her wound would heal on its own.
Shaking terribly, Iris wrapped Jinn’s arm around her and stood, leaving the key on the ground, forgetting it entirely. She dragged him as fast as she could toward the lake. Then, wrapping her arms around him, she jumped into the icy water.
Bobbing in the waves, she lifted up his head while keeping one arm linked around his waist, examining his unconscious face, his dark hair floating around him. She was relieved when he started coughing. But he was still barely
conscious. It took all her strength to keep them both floating, hoping with everything she had that the chilly waters soothed his pain like it did hers, but he needed more than this.
“I-Iris…,” he croaked as she dragged him back onto the shore and laid him against the thick bushes.
“It’s okay,” Iris lied, watching his eyes struggling to open. His lips were trembling, his throat sounding sore with her name on his tongue. Water. She could get him water.
She ran to the lake and held as much as she could in her mouth. Then, as carefully as she could, she tilted Jinn’s head back and pried apart his lips.
Jinn… She couldn’t stop the tears trailing down her cheeks as she cupped his face, lifted it toward her, and emptied the water into his mouth. Slowly, gently. Jinn’s long lashes fluttered rapidly, his hand weakly rising up against her arm.
“Jinn,” she said, noticing a bit of his strength return. “Are you okay?”
His hand continued moving up until it touched her face. Then his other hand. His eyes, half-open, stayed on her as he kept her face near his.
“More,” he whispered hoarsely, and drew her face closer. “I need more…” And closer. Iris shivered, her heart crashing against her chest as her lips drew so close to his that his breath slid into her mouth. “Iris…”
His body gave out as he fell unconscious.
Shaken, Iris left him for a moment to grab the key she’d left behind, but then returned to his side immediately. She needed help. Someone. Anyone!
“Iris! Are you okay? God!” Max. He ran up to her and turned her around, gripping her shoulders tightly. “I’m sorry, Jacob was hurt, and the others needed me.” He was speaking so quickly, she could barely understand. He checked her face, hands, and arms before he finally noticed Jinn behind her. “What?” He gaped. “What happened?”
“They needed you?” Iris grabbed his shirt. “We needed you!”
Max took in the sight of Jinn, horrified. “Well, I…” He paused, guilt killing his words.
“Jinn needed you!” Iris gazed up at him, tears streaming down her face. “I thought we were a team.”
Max shifted, his breath heaving, his eyes darting around, not knowing where to look. “What should I do?” he asked with a hollow expression.
Iris held her head and thought. “The girl…” A deep intake of breath brought the girl’s image to mind. “The girl with the blond French braid. On Henry’s team. Mary! She can heal. Max!” She pierced him with a glare, the very sight of him making her furious. “You have to find her and bring her here! Do whatever you can!”
Swallowing, Max nodded. “What about you?”
Iris’s lip trembled. “I won’t leave him. I’m not like you.”
Iris was too angry to regret what she said, even seeing the look that crossed his face at her words. Max stood up, his body stiff, his lips flattened into a thin line. He didn’t argue. Didn’t retort. He simply took off, disappearing with the blink of her eye.
Iris wiped her tears as quickly as they fell because she had to stay alert. They had two keys, but there was still time left in this hellish round. There was no telling how long it would take Max to find that girl, Mary, or if he’d find her at all. Until then, she had to protect Jinn.
“You’ll make it, Jinn,” she promised, removing a strand of wet hair from his cheek. “You have to—you still haven’t told me your real name.”
And for just one fleeting moment she let herself break down, pressing his head against hers.
* * *
Thirty minutes. No, closer to an hour. Max hadn’t returned yet. Jinn was still breathing, but for how long?
Iris didn’t dare move him any more than she already had. Instead, she kept watch for any approaching enemies. At this point, even if one managed to sneak up on them, all she’d be able to do in this situation was guard Jinn.
Her nerves flared, the hairs on her arm standing on end as she waited.
But she didn’t have to wait long.
He sauntered up to them, whistling. A few marks on his face but otherwise none the worse for wear.
Barry Bately.
Iris shot up to her feet, fists ready.
“Come on, woman.” He tilted his head to the side, amused as he swung a pair of keys in plain sight. “You know that won’t be much use against me.”
He was right. But what confused her was the fact that he already had a pair of keys. So what business did he have with her?
“Oh, these?” Bately said when he saw her staring. “Can never have too many, can you? Especially if you don’t want anyone else to get that mysterious advantage for the final round.”
Iris gritted her teeth and squeezed her fists tighter. She had to think, and think fast.
Bately seemed to relish the moment before he used his power. Seemed to love choosing the most evil words he could think of. And she could smell the bloodthirsty malice from here.
“Do me a favor, love,” he said, his voice now sounding deep and hollow as if it’d fallen down a well. “I’m Queen Victoria of this here England, you see. So take that rock over there—yes, that sharp one. And prove your loyalty by stabbing yourself in the neck.” He paused and then could barely contain his laughter when he added, “Oh, and while you’re doing it, I want you to say, ‘God save the queen,’ all right? Just for the fun of it.”
Iris didn’t struggle with her arm as it reached for the sharp rock at her feet, didn’t fight it when her mind went blank and her smile widened into a dreamlike grin. What a strange request. But he’d requested it, after all.
That’s why she yelled, with all her might, “God save the queen!” And stabbed herself in the neck.
“Good show!” Bately yelled as Iris fell to the ground next to an unconscious Jinn in a pool of her own blood. It was the last she saw of him before she died.
The wound was easy enough for her body to heal. She kept her eyes only half-open after she awoke to the sound of him rolling on the ground in laughter. “Amazing! ‘God save the queen.’ Bloody brilliant!” She wondered how long he’d been rolling there.
Soon he was on his feet. Dusting himself off, he quickly approached Jinn, just like she knew he would. As he squatted down to grab the keys, Iris’s foot came flying to his face.
Bately stumbled back, wiping blood from his busted lip. Iris still wasn’t completely healed. One wrong move and it felt as if her head would sever. And Bately was serious now. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he was readying his silver tongue yet again. So Iris did the only thing she could think of.
She covered her ears and started singing. Loudly.
“God save our gracious Queen! Long live our noble Queen! God save the Queen!”
While he was staring in shock, she leaped and kicked him in the face again.
“Send her victorious!” She kneed him in the stomach. “Happy and glorious!” Kicked his shins. “Long to reign over us!” A nasty headbutt that nearly split his forehead in two. “God save the Queen!” And one final punch to send him flying.
Iris checked Bately’s immobile body on the ground. Unconscious. Served him right. She held her neck in pain, its flesh still weaving itself back to perfection. “The queen.” Iris scoffed.
She tore off a piece of her dress and shoved it in the mercenary’s mouth. Then she took his keys for good measure. “Can never have too many,” she said with a smirk before going back to Jinn’s side.
It wasn’t long before Max came back, Mary flat against his chest, his hand over her mouth. He dumped her at Jinn’s feet.
“I-I don’t have our key!” Mary said, her eyes glistening with tears. The poor thing was terrified, but Iris wasn’t in the mood to care.
“We don’t want your key. We want your powers.” Max pointed at Jinn. “Heal him.”
Mary looked at Jinn’s burns and pursed her lips. “Wh-why should I?”
“Because if you don’t, I’ll kill you slowly.” Iris’s blood was boiling, her eyes blazing. She truly didn’t care. If this girl
wasted any more time, Iris would tear her apart.
Mary trembled, her hands pressed against her chest. Max sighed. “Look. Just do this for us, and we’ll help you out later, okay? It’s a promise.”
Iris was incensed at how polite Max was being. It wasn’t until she saw Mary weave her magic, running her hands just above Jinn’s body as if playing a harp, that the murderous blood in her finally calmed and she was back to herself. She sat and watched the gold trails Mary’s fingers made in the air. Like shooting stars.
“Why in the world are you involved in this competition?” she asked Mary suddenly. “A girl like you…”
Mary shot her an angry look. Of course she would. The captor asking the captive a question. “That’s none of your business.”
“Looking for a better job than being Mr. Whittle’s servant?” offered Max. Mary inhaled in surprise, but he shrugged. “Why else would you call a boy younger than you Mister?”
Mary bit her lip. “I would never leave the Whittle family. Not after they gave me a home. I would never betray them. And you won’t make me!”
She must have mistaken this for an interrogation because there was a defiant lilt to her tone to go along with the fear. But all Iris could think about in that moment was Jinn and Granny. The two who’d given her a home. Her eyes softened as she watched Jinn’s wounds heal.
Em Ees Llits Uoy Od.
Iris’s head snapped up, and she searched around her. Anne? Iris thought she saw the girl standing on the lake, but she had to be wrong. It was a mistake, a trick fueled by trauma. After squeezing her eyes shut, she concentrated solely on Jinn and refused to look anywhere else.
Finally, Mary stood. “He should be okay in a few days.”
Iris raised an eyebrow. “Why isn’t he okay now?”
But Iris understood. Leverage. Mary didn’t want three champions chasing after her. It didn’t matter. Iris was done. She just wanted this to end.
The Bones of Ruin Page 25