Ducking back, he looked to Mud with a grimace, but the little man ignored the expression. Anticipation glinted in his beady eyes, and Harris’ brow drew down at the sight.
The back door opened. A man strode in, passing them with a derisive glance. In the dining area, the harpy gave a shout and an explosion reverberated through the room, bringing screaming on its heels.
“Time to go,” Mud announced cheerfully.
The little man darted for the exit. Across the kitchen, the harpy burst through the swinging door, two men chasing her.
Shoving off the doorframe, Harris raced out of the restaurant as all hell broke loose behind him.
*****
The sedan flew through another intersection, barreling past the red lights and the traffic, and besides Lily, none of the people in the car with him batted an eye.
Struggling to keep from being obvious, Cole glanced askance at Ashley for what felt like the hundredth time. Black tendrils of hair fell around her face and blended with the jacket covering her, and her dark eyes swept the streets with a predatory gleam, as though daring the world to attack. Seated on the opposite side of Lily, she clutched the little girl’s hand, readjusting her fingers every couple seconds as if to reassure herself the child was real.
He hadn’t recognized her. It wasn’t the new look, or the dust covering her, or the dried blood from the scratches on her face that she didn’t even seem to notice. It wasn’t that he’d only seen her for a few minutes all those months before; the wild car ride and its results were firmly etched in his mind. It wasn’t any of those things.
Up ahead, the blood-covered linebacker she’d called Nathaniel shifted in his seat and Ashley’s gaze snapped toward the man instantly. A heartbeat went by. The wizard shook his head. Ashley looked back out the window, her fingers continually gripping and re-gripping Lily’s hand.
It was that she was so different. And when he’d seen her barreling down that alleyway, he hadn’t for a moment considered it was the same girl he’d given up for dead in a forest fire nearly half a year before. The thought hadn’t even occurred to him. And as for the rest of it…
His gaze dropped to Lily’s hand resting lightly in his own.
She didn’t glow like the little girl, but she damn sure was a wizard. And a formidable one, if the migraine from hell he’d gotten from her brief display of power was any indication. But he’d bet the Summers’ farm she hadn’t been able to do any of that back when they first met. At least, he was fairly sure. Maybe.
But now she killed people. Without hesitation, without hardly doing more than registering they were there. She’d just eliminated those four wizards in a heartbeat, and then moved on as though it was nothing.
Yet, it wasn’t like the wizards hadn’t been out to hurt them too. And given the chance, he would’ve tried to stop them as well. It was just… just…
Unable to keep the grimace from his face, he turned back to the window.
His dad. And Ashley being alive. And the Blood. And being back with a bunch of Merlin all over again. It was too much. Just too much.
And he had no idea what he was going to do now.
*****
Ashe tensed as a man on the sidewalk glanced toward the road. Raising a hand, he called a greeting to a lady on the other side of the street.
And then their car shot past him, with leaves and paper fluttering madly in its wake.
Up ahead, a yellow car flew through a stoplight to a chorus of horns and shouting pedestrians. Her chest constricted all over again, and then the intersection was behind them and the yellow car was gone.
Crystal’s dead eyes rose before her, followed instantly by the memory of Ghost screaming.
Jaw clenched, Ashe trembled. She couldn’t think about them right now. About what’d happened or how many more were dead behind her. She couldn’t handle it and she had to stay focused because, if she let it, the fear would run away with her and she’d be useless. Paralyzed. She couldn’t risk that.
Not again.
At a crosswalk, a woman looked their way. Ashe’s gaze snapped over, magic twisting beneath her skin, ready to strike.
The woman hesitated, a distracted expression coming onto her face. Turning back, she glanced to the shops behind her as though trying to figure out if she’d forgotten something.
Their car raced past. Expression fading, the woman shook her head and then briskly crossed the street.
Shivering, Ashe forced herself to breathe.
Lily’s hand moved in her own and her gaze flicked down. The girl’s skin was darker. Tan in the way it got after hours in the summer sun. She’d been outside somewhere. And there was a knick like a paper cut on her ring finger. She always got those when working on her crafts.
Joy and fear surged again and Ashe swallowed hard, tearing her gaze away and fastening it on the street. She couldn’t let herself look at Lily for too long. The sight just made her want to crumble and cry, and she couldn’t afford that. The emotions. The distractions.
And the questions.
Lily looked human. Completely. No hint of a Merlin aura touched the girl, and she didn’t feel like a cripple. Cole was. Ashe could tell that easily. But from Lily, there was just… nothing.
Ashe watched a couple glance toward the road and then continue on their way. She pulled another breath into her lungs.
Her sister wasn’t like the Blood. She wasn’t and she couldn’t be. The lack of what surrounded other wizards didn’t matter. It just meant Lily was different. Special.
Lily had always been special.
But she had magic. Or something. Ashe’s gaze darted to the staff propped between Cole and the girl. There’d been light inside that when she’d first seen Lily holding it, although the wood was inert now. But the staff was familiar. Important somehow, though the memory kept flitting out of reach. It’d been in a book, one of the countless books, but beyond that she couldn’t seem to grasp it.
Fighting a scowl, she ordered herself to stay focused. She’d ask them about the staff later. Hell, she’d ask them about everything later, from Cole’s reason for saving them in the first place to where the two of them had been all these months. They’d talk when there was time. When people weren’t trying to kill them at least once an hour.
She didn’t want to think about what she’d do if they couldn’t.
Taking another breath, she shifted as the car whipped around a turn. The skyscrapers of downtown were gone and somehow in the past few minutes, trees and houses had appeared. Foliage obscured the sky and the aging homes crowded one another to the exclusion of any grass between. Squirrels raced for safety as the car shot by, and on the sidewalk, a young man walking his dog suddenly scrambled for control as the animal tried to flee.
Something dark flashed beyond the trees.
Ashe’s brow furrowed. The car hugged another turn and she bent in her seat, looking past Lily and Cole as her gaze tried to pierce the thick cover of leaves.
“What is it?” Cole asked.
She didn’t answer.
The trees parted.
Ashe’s blood went cold. “Elias…”
She saw him glance back and then follow her gaze to the window. For a moment, he looked confused, his attention darting between the road and the horizon.
And then his breath caught. The car accelerated and jumped the curb in attempt to round the corner faster. In her seat, Lily whimpered, her grip tightening on Ashe’s fingers, and as they left the neighborhood, the trees gave way to afford them full view of the horizon.
Ashe pulled Lily’s hand closer.
In the distance, black smoke poured into the afternoon sky. By the sides of the road, people had stopped, watching the billowing clouds.
The car flew past them all.
At top speed, the sedan crested a hill, bringing the mall into view. Flashing lights ringed the parking lot and scattered crowds waited on the sidewalks, held back by barricades. Beyond the massive building, flames roared, stark against the bac
kdrop of trees.
“Councilman,” Nathaniel said, his eyes on the fire.
Elias didn’t answer.
His face darkening, Nathaniel looked over. “Elias!”
The man’s gaze flicked in his direction.
“The Blood could still be there,” Nathaniel finished more quietly.
Another moment passed. Elias’ gaze darted to Ashe in the rearview mirror.
She felt sick at the look in his eyes.
He slammed on the brakes. The car fishtailed and then skidded to a stop several blocks from the flames. Trembling, Elias eased his hands from the wheel and looked to Nathaniel.
“Where else can we go?” the large wizard suggested carefully.
Elias let out a breath and then nodded. “Outside town,” he said, his voice rough. “We have another safe house that the council doesn’t–”
He cut off as his phone buzzed. Hurriedly, he yanked it from his pocket and thumbed it on.
Another breath escaped him. “I saw. Where is she?” A moment passed. “Thank you,” he said sincerely and then hung up the phone.
The engine roared as he smashed the pedal to the ground.
“Katherine’s safe,” Elias told them. “She’s at Joe’s house.”
Nathaniel said nothing. His gaze slid back to Ashe, the caution in his eyes mirroring her own.
The sedan raced down the road. Bright new stores became fading older ones, and then the commercial district vanished behind a wall of greenery as Elias sent the car flying down a side street. Stout ranch homes surrounded them, each evenly spaced house looking a million miles from the parking lots only a few hundred yards away.
“Who’s Katherine?” Lily whispered.
Ashe glanced down, trying to ignore the somersaults her stomach turned at the sight of the girl. “His wife,” she said quietly.
Lily’s brow furrowed worriedly and she leaned her head against her sister’s arm. Swallowing, Ashe struggled not to tremble at the feeling of her there.
Spinning the wheel, Elias whipped the car into the driveway of a brick two-story house. Hitting the brakes, he barely waited for the sedan to come to a stop before throwing the gearshift into park and then shoving open the door.
Nathaniel made a growl of displeasure. Glancing back, he gave Ashe a pointed look and then followed Elias from the car.
Jaw tightening, Ashe eyed their surroundings. Flowering bushes only half-heartedly tamed crowded the house, blocking the view of the backyard and creeping up to obscure the first floor windows as well. The brick box of a garage sat at the end of the drive, encircled by its own wreath of greenery.
A door slammed. Katherine rushed from the backyard, her hair disheveled and a guard on her heels. “Are you alright?” she demanded, her sharp gaze sweeping the two men and the car before returning to Elias. “What happened to you?”
“We’re fine,” Elias replied, embracing her. “Are you okay?”
The guard’s gaze went to Nathaniel. “All clear, sir. The daughter’s still at school so the house is empty.”
Nathaniel nodded and then looked back at Ashe. She climbed from the car, drawing Lily after her.
“Gavin and I are fine,” Katherine said with a nod toward the guard. “The others…”
Her mouth tightened and she looked away. Her gaze caught on Lily and Cole. “Who…?”
Elias hesitated. “We should get inside.”
Katherine eyed him briefly and then nodded. She started toward the house, smoothing her brown curls as she went.
Glancing to the guard, Nathaniel jerked his head toward the car. Gavin went to move the vehicle.
The back door opened into a large kitchen. Dishes were piled high in one side of the sink, though the countertops were sparkling clean. White and blue patterned linoleum reflected light from the window above the kitchen sink and squeaked beneath their shoes as they came inside. Heading for the sink, Elias snagged a few paper towels from their dispenser and then flipped on the faucet to wash the blood from his face and arms.
“What happened?” Ashe said as the back door shut.
Her expression still tight, Katherine leaned against the counter, her hands braced behind her. “Mud,” she said precisely.
Ashe’s brow drew down. From the corner of her eye, she could see Cole look between them confusedly.
“I saw him,” Katherine continued. “He helped the human escape. And I can only assume that he contacted the Blood too. He seemed fully aware that they were coming, and the guards in the basement,” she grimaced again, “never came upstairs.”
Ashe dropped her gaze to the tile. Burying her reactions was getting harder, though she didn’t know what she’d do anyway.
Except scream.
The woman glanced to the window as Gavin shut the garage door, hiding their vehicle inside. “The Blood knew we were at Joe’s. They had already killed Derek out back before they ever came in the front door, and with Ethan and Wes downstairs dead as well… we barely made it out.”
Katherine looked over as Elias motioned for Nathaniel to take his place by the sink. “Joe saved us,” she continued. “He flung a vat of oil on one of them after they followed me into the kitchen. Another struck back, Gavin defended, the oil caught fire…”
She drew a breath. “Joe yelled at us to come here and then he ran. I presume, since you knew how to find us, that he is still alive, and that the Blood left him alone after we were gone.”
The back door opened and Gavin came inside. With a brief motion, Nathaniel ordered him toward the rest of the house. The man nodded and then disappeared down the hall.
“And now it’s your turn,” Katherine said, directing the words mostly to her husband.
Elias hesitated. “The twins are dead, Kat. And Joshua and the others are too.”
The woman was silent for a moment. “I was afraid you were going to say that.”
“I’m sorry.”
She nodded tightly. “How did it happen?” she asked, her tone edging toward clinical.
“Ambush.”
“The Blood have taken over Taliesin,” Ashe supplied distantly.
Katherine’s eyebrows rose. “What?”
“We don’t know for sure that they–” Elias started.
“Yes, we do,” Ashe countered, her heart starting to pound. “You really think they’d be that calm and have that strong a hold on Chaunessy if they hadn’t already killed the people hiding there?”
Elias grimaced.
“The Blood are making it look like we did this,” Ashe told Katherine. “And the Taliesin king controls them. Our best guess is, now that the council’s gone, he plans to blame their deaths on us and call for the Taliesin people to retaliate.”
Lily’s brow furrowed in confusion and then she looked from Ashe to Cole, the expression taking on an edge of concern. The young man turned away. Around the room, the wizards were silent, scenarios playing out behind their eyes.
“What do you want to do, your majesty?” Katherine asked quietly.
At the title, Cole glanced toward her and Ashe looked away, trying to ignore the twinge of old discomfort revived by the strange look in his eyes.
She caught sight of Lily’s hand in her own. The air slipped from her.
They couldn’t hope it’d take Jamison long to consolidate his hold on Taliesin. Nor to find out where the Merlin were hiding. With the tactics they’d seen on the streets not an hour before, the Blood and their wizard allies would have the factory’s location in no time. And then…
No one would believe what they were up against. And while a few hundred angry wizards were probably more than sufficient match for the Blood, she couldn’t think the Blood would be stupid enough to just go and get themselves wiped out by taking on the Merlin piecemeal. They’d have a plan. A strategy. They’d neutralized all of Chaunessy Tower, and the Taliesin guards, at least, had known what they were fighting.
She closed her eyes. So many innocents would be killed. Children. Families displaced by the war. T
hey thought she was crazy and it didn’t really matter, but she’d spent the better part of the past few months trying to find a way to save them. Even if they did think she was insane, she couldn’t just leave them to die.
Though Darius and the council would probably try to keep her from even getting in the factory door. And that was putting it mildly.
But anyone she sent in her place stood even less of a chance. The first mention of the Blood and Darius would have them locked up so tight, they’d still be in a cell when Jamison’s people found them. And anyone she took with her would be a target.
Lily leaned her head against her side. With her free hand, she ran her fingers across Ashe’s forearm as if to soothe the conflict twisting in her older sister. Heart pounding at the small contact, Ashe glanced down at the girl again.
She couldn’t just leave Lily here. She wouldn’t. Something could happen to the girl, even if she didn’t really know what. Anything. Something that maybe she could prevent, even if it was just by being there. Even if it meant taking the hit instead of the girl.
And she didn’t want to bring Lily to the factory. Darius wanted a puppet queen and he’d do anything to force her to become one. Regardless of who it hurt. Regardless of who it killed.
“Your majesty?” Katherine prompted.
Ashe looked up, her gaze running over the others in the room. There weren’t enough guards in the world to keep Lily safe. All these Merlin and even Cole… they weren’t enough. Nothing was.
Roughly, she made herself draw a breath. There wasn’t any choice. There was never any choice. She couldn’t leave the girl. And she couldn’t let hundreds of people die.
“We have to go back to the factory,” Ashe said.
Taliesin Ascendant (The Children and the Blood) Page 33