“Stop!” Van dashed forward without a thought to the rift in the cliff.
The ledge shook and dropped from her weight, sending the standing Brux tumbling over the side, the other lost his grip and disappeared. Now both Bruxes had fallen over the edge of the cliff.
Kopius attempted to dash over.
“No.” Van held up her palm, stopping him. Her weight had caused the ledge to drop by about a foot. “Your extra weight will cause the ledge to drop. I’ll go alone.”
Van cautiously made her way over the dangerously unstable ground before Kopius, or anyone else could object.
She inched her way to the edge and peered over the side. Both Bruxes clutched onto roots dangling from the side of the ravine. The thin sprigs, their only lifeline.
The Brux with bloody peck marks on his face and hands raised his eyes to Van. “We have a special bond. Look inside, I know you can feel it. You know it’s me.”
“We do have a special bond,” the other Brux said, the one that dangled to Van’s right. He grunted as he gripped the root. “But it’s with me.”
“These vines can’t support our weight for long. We’re both going to die if you don’t help us,” the Brux hanging to the left said. “Pull both of us up, and then we can sort it out.”
The other Brux stopped struggling. “Van,” he said in a somber tone. “You can’t save either one of us. You have to let us both go.”
“What? No!” Van cried. He eyes darted back and forth from Brux to Brux.
“It’s the only way to ensure the team’s safety.”
“Nice try,” said the Brux hanging to Van’s left. “He wants me to drop first, then he’ll change his mind. Van, don’t fall for it.”
“He’s right,” the other Brux said. “Van, I’m going to let go.”
“No!” Daisy screamed. She attempted to run to her brother, Kopius grabbed her, holding her back to keep her safe.
“He’s lying,” said the Brux to Van’s left, the one with the peck marks. “Notice how he hasn’t let go yet.”
“Van, I’ll hand you the gemstone. Use your powers to attune it to Paley. Then promise me you’ll let that one drop after I go.” He nudged his head at the other Brux. “Promise me.” He dangled by one hand, as he fumbled in his pocket with the other.
“Don’t do it, Brux,” Paley cried. “We don’t know if the gemstone can be transferred to someone else. I could die too.”
Brux gripped the gemstone and stretched his hand toward Van.
Van reached down.
“No!” screamed Daisy and Paley.
Instead of grabbing the gemstone, Van grabbed Brux by his wrist.
The shift in weight caused the unstable section of the cliff to rumble.
Van groaned as she tugged, trying to help Brux climb to safety but he was too heavy.
“Van, take the gemstone and let go.” Brux’s eyes were wide with fright. “We’ll both fall.”
“No! Save me! I’m the real Brux,” said the other Brux.
Kopius hopped down and dashed across the ledge. He crashed to his knees next to Van and stretched his hand to the dangling Brux.
“What’re you doing?” Van asked as she strained to hold Brux. “The ledge can’t support your additional weight.”
The ground trembled.
Van screeched as the ledge where she and Kopius knelt dropped several feet. She lost her grip on Brux and crashed to her side to maintain her balance and almost toppled off the cliff.
Van rolled onto her stomach to get up, her head hung over the edge, allowing her to see to the bottom of the ravine.
The weak vines supporting the Bruxes had snapped.
Kopius clasped the Brux on the right, locking his wrist in his grip.
The other fell.
Van watched the plummeting body of the Brux imposter as it began to change into a dark form and break apart.
A rush of back birds burst upward, flurrying so close Van could feel her hair rustle and felt the occasional sharp whack from wings on her face.
Crows.
She twisted onto her back and watched as they swirled above her, cawing.
They hovered over Van in a threatening swarm as if they desired to toss her over the edge. In her peripheral vision, she saw Kopius successfully drag Brux back onto the ledge.
“What the?” Paley muttered, staring at the murder of crows. They weren’t fluttering over her head, yet she still took a step back.
Daisy narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing the black birds. “Those aren’t Lilla’s.”
The crows swirled higher and moved away from Van, over to firm ground, close to where Daisy and Paley stood. Their loud caws began to blend together to the point where it sounded like mocking laughter.
The birds melded, creating the silhouette of a person.
The hair on Van’s arms stood on end as she hustled to her feet. Her stomach churned in dread. Before the dark shape took full form, Van already knew who it was.
Solana materialized. She stood before them, hands on her hips. Her raven hair fell thick and straight down to her waist. Her blood-red lips curled into an infectious grin. “So we meet again, Princess.”
Her jeering tone wasn’t lost on Van.
“S-solana’s alive?” Paley’s eyes popped.
Daisy gasped.
Kopius seemed pained not be close to Daisy but stayed put. His shift in weight could cause the unstable ledge to slide down into the ravine.
“You—you’ve been here the whole time,” Van said, her jaw slackened from shock.
Solana’s golden eyes locked onto Van.
Brux tucked the gemstone into his pocket and moved closer to Van, as if ready to dart in front of anything Solana could throw at her.
“You were the demimondaine who visited me with the poisoned soap,” Van said to Solana. “You’re the one spreading the illness, keeping it here with the help of your dark master.”
“For once, you’re right.” Solana tossed her hand, flippantly.
“But—” Brux spoke-up, a stunned look on his face. “How did you survive? You were blown to smithereens by the Coin.”
“Humph,” Solana said. She wore her signature skin-tight, black leotard and looked stronger and healthier than ever. “I’m a not just another pretty face, you know. I’m a highly skilled sorceress. Between the power I gained from my master and with the help of my cousin Merloc, who—news flash—happens to be a warlock, I was able to survive. Merloc hid me in Windermere and nursed me until I was completely healed.”
Daisy shuddered at the mention of Merloc.
Solana turned to Daisy. “You see, he does have a nurturing side.”
“You wanted immortality.” Van curled her lip. “It looks like you got it.”
“You know what they say.” Kopius’s hand hovered over his concealed dagger. “Be careful what you wish for.”
“No one is immune from the power of the Anchoress,” Daisy said, in defiance of Solana.
This new fury in Daisy seemed to take Solana by surprise. Nevertheless, the Balish princess didn’t appear intimidated. She sauntered a few steps closer and gripped Daisy’s jaw. “We’ll see about that.”
“Take your hands off her,” Kopius growled. He rushed forward toward the rift and leaped several feet upward onto the stable ground.
His movement caused the unstable ledge to rumble. The ground beneath Van and Brux’s feet shook, and they grasped each other for balance.
Kopius dashed straight for Solana.
Van and Paley gasped; Brux tensed. Kopius didn’t know the devious and evil capabilities of the Balish princess, at least not yet.
His insubordination seemed to enrage Solana. She released Daisy and swept her hand in the air, magically sending Kopius flying.
He crashed onto the ground about forty feet away. Van swore she heard something crack when he landed.
“No wonder Lilla ratted you out,” Brux growled at Solana.
Solana dropped her hand, losing interest in Daisy and Ko
pius. She turned her gaze to Brux.
“She’s angry that you harmed one of her children, the bunfy,” Brux said. “Probably lots of her animal children.”
With clarity, Van recalled the incident that happened last year. Solana skinned a bunfy alive in front of her and Brux. Paley was present too, but unconscious at the time.
Solana meandered toward Brux, unflustered by his comment. “Imagine the outrage when people find out the illness was intentionally released by the Grigori, for job security. More demons, more work.” She stopped at the rift, the one separating her, Paley, Kopius, and Daisy from Van and Brux.
Solana rubbed the pointed toe of her thigh-high black boot along the ledge and looked down at Brux.
“Life becomes more precious when mortals dangle on the edge of an abyss, don’t you think?” She raised her knee, ready to stomp on the ground, a move that would release the fragile hold of the unstable ledge and send Van and Brux plummeting to their deaths at the bottom of the ravine.
Kopius charged forward, hurtling himself toward Solana.
Van tensed, terrified as a hundred horrific outcomes flashed through her mind.
As Kopius made contact with Solana, and before her foot hit the ground, Van heard a pop.
Solana’s caustic laughter lingered in the air for a few moments after the Balish princess disappeared.
Kopius stumbled forward, almost falling over the side of the rift onto where Van and Brux stood, clearly not expecting Solana to vanish.
“Where’d she go?” Kopius swept his arms, clasping and unclasping his hands, grabbing nothing but air.
The ledge supporting Van and Brux quavered.
Van shrieked and fell to her knees as the ground below her and Brux’s feet dropped several yards.
Paley and Daisy screamed and clutched onto each other.
Kopius dropped onto his stomach and extended his hands to them. “Come on, grab hold!”
Van stood on the tips of her toes and reached up.
Brux grasped Van’s waist and hoisted her.
She clasped Kopius’s hands, and he pulled her onto solid ground with little effort.
Kopius immediately reached for Brux.
Brux stretched to reach Kopius’s hands but couldn’t. He crouched down and then jumped up.
The movement caused the ledge beneath Brux’s feet to drop away, but he reached high enough for Kopius to grip Brux’s wrists.
Brux dangled over the edge.
Kopius grunted as he tugged Brux to safety.
They both laid sprawled on the ground, catching their breath.
Kopius turned his head toward Brux. “So, now can I date your sister?”
They laughed, glad to be alive; relief glowed on both of their faces.
All of them breathed easier, having escaped an encounter with Solana, the most evil sorceress ever to walk among the worlds.
“She’s gone for now,” Daisy said, looking distant. “But I can still feel the disruption she’s causing in the universal grid.”
“Sweetie.” Kopius smiled at Daisy. “Let’s take the win.”
He and Brux got to their feet. Both continued to breathe heavily from adrenaline, sweat glistened on their skin.
Brux’s face and clothes were speckled with dirt and blood from his grapple with Solana while she was in the form of the Brux imposter, along with his multiple near-death experiences on the cliff. Despite his battered appearance, and his lack of energy from the drain of the gemstones, he oozed vigor and strength. Van didn’t want to, but she couldn’t stop herself from admiring his boyish good looks.
Until he opened his mouth.
He frowned at Van. “Seriously, you couldn’t tell me apart from Solana?”
Chapter 57
“Lilla wants you to know Wiglaf is with her,” Daisy said to Van. “They’re sharing some bonding time, after his ordeal with the Quasher.”
“It wasn’t the real Quasher,” Van said. “It was Thalassa, disguised as the Quasher.”
“Yes. We know,” Daisy said, meaning both her and Lilla. “Wiglaf’s injuries were not an illusion. Thalassa hurt him. Something Lilla will not forget.”
Brux offered Van some apricot twists and his pouch full of water.
She waved her hand, turning down the snacks and drink. “Thank you, but I’m good.”
“If we don’t get moving, the real Quasher will make an appearance,” Brux said. “Something I’d rather not face.”
“Agreed,” Van muttered.
The team made their way to the nearest TAV and arrived at Lodestar without any problems.
As expected, a sentinel stood at the foot of the stairs along with Tussel Fynn.
“Hey! You’re right on time! Van, Paley, Brux,” Fynn said, obviously happy to see them. “Looks like we picked up some people—Daisy!”
“Hello, Fynn.”
It surprised Van when they hugged. Since when have they been friends?
Fynn greeted Kopius, then his smile faded. “Pernilla?”
Everyone glanced at the ground, except Brux and Van who both sadly shook their heads.
“Right,” Fynn said, his lips turned down. “I’ll inform her parents.”
Fynn escorted them through the lobby, up the main staircase, and into the Head of the Grigori’s office. Uxa had been working at her desk, waiting for their return.
“Ah, slightly ahead of the deadline,” she said, rising from her chair. “Wonderful.”
Fynn informed Uxa that Pernilla was the only casualty this mission.
Uxa hung her head low in sorrow. “May her soul endure in the arms of the Creator.”
The silence in the room lasted for several seconds, then Uxa raised her head and looked art Fynn. “We’ll head over to Providence Island together after the team’s debriefing to let her family know.”
Fynn nodded in agreement.
Uxa’s personal touch delivering bad news to parents was apparently a new Grigori procedure.
“I see we’ve picked up two more.” Uxa greeted Kopius and then extended her arms. “Daisy!”
“Hello Uxa.”
Again, Van was taken aback when they hugged. Uxa had never hugged her, or Paley. Or Brux for that matter. Since when did Daisy become the goodwill ambassador?
“Professor Lake will be proud of you for safely returning his daughter.” Uxa gave Kopius a congratulatory pat on the shoulder.
Kopius straightened his spine and stated, “Proud to serve.”
“I’m sure there’s a story behind all this, and I want to hear everything,” Uxa said.
Daisy and Kopius spoke first, telling Uxa of their adventures before they happened upon the others at the Mother Tree.
Paley blurted out her story about the illness and her brush with death before Daisy and Kopius were finished. They tried to tell their stories in order, but Brux also excitedly added his part of the adventure too.
Van, a bit wary, held back.
Nobody spoke of the Cup, respecting that it was Van’s Cup, her prize, leaving it up to her when, how and if she wanted to tell Uxa. None mentioned their loss of the Coin or witnessing Solana’s resurrection, either.
“The illness?” Daisy asked. “Is it progressing?”
Uxa nodded, looking grim. “Maren and some of the others have turned. We have them secured in the Grigori’s holding area. We haven’t found a way to reverse the illness. But since their bodies died and turned to ash before they became demons, I’m afraid there is nothing we can do for them.”
Brux turned to Van, his look urged her to take this opening and mention the Cup.
Van knew she couldn’t keep the Cup, so did Brux and the others. The Cup belonged in the Celestial Tower, the holding place for the Items of Creation. A safe location, designed to keep the items out of the wrong hands. Even Van’s, who remained at risk of corruption by overuse of the items. But Van wouldn’t give up the Cup until she cured all the sick children and adults.
Uxa brought up their mission. “The second seal. Did
you mend it?”
Van shook her head.
Fynn pursed his lips and glared at Van like he had something to say.
“I didn’t have to,” Van said, ignoring Fynn. “It wasn’t broken.”
“Hm.” Uxa leaned back against her desk and raised her fingers to her lips in deep thought.
Van scrutinized Uxa, trying to see if her surprise was an act.
“Then we have a major problem on our hands. We must find a way to stop the spread of the infection. Fynn!” Uxa barked. “Call in President Sterling, Senator—”
“I have a way to stop it.” Van peered at Uxa, searching for the slightest telltale sign that she knew Van had retrieved the Cup, that getting the Cup was the real mission all along.
Van remained silent.
Uxa spread her hands. “Go on.”
Van reached inside her backpack and took out the Cup.
Fynn gasped.
Van placed the item on the desk next to Uxa, half-expecting Uxa to pounce on it with glee.
Uxa didn’t flinch. She appeared indifferent.
“The Cup saved me from the illness,” Paley said.
“Yes, but you are a terrigen, your vibration was raised by the Twin Gemstones,” Uxa said. “And you consistently drank colloidal silver. These two things protected you from turning. I’m fairly certain the Cup cannot change someone back who has died.”
“I never died, but I let in the darkness.” Paley shivered.
“Uxa’s right,” Van said. “The Cup can’t bring people back from the dead. But it is an antidote to the illness for those who haven’t yet turned.”
“There’s more at stake here,” Uxa said. “The situation is more dire than I thought.”
“What do you mean?” All of them asked at once.
Uxa pushed her hips away from her desk, appearing full of energy as if she suddenly discovered she had a lot of things to do. “All of you need to be checked out by medical.”
Van narrowed her eyes at Uxa’s evasive tactic.
“You will be tended to in the medical area of the complex, then be debriefed. Afterward, you will be reunited with your families.” Uxa turned to Fynn. “Please take Kopius to the medical wing here and then escort the rest back to Providence Island. Remember to keep Paley and Brux together, and to return the Twin Gemstones.”
Plague of Death Page 43