by Kat Adams
Good to know. I slipped it back over my neck and tucked it under my shirt for safekeeping. “According to the air pixies, the Council’s patrol continues to circle the area. They know we’re here.”
“They won’t be able to pass through the veil.”
“The protective veil is a spell, right? An enchantment?”
“That’s right.”
“Then isn’t there a chance the spell can be broken? They have sorcerers on their side who have no problem using dark magic.”
We all exchanged looks around the table as that awesome dose of reality sank in.
“Why can’t we just storm the castle and take them out?” Clay asked as he and the guys all restlessly paced around the treehouse.
“It’s their home turf. It gives them the tactical advantage.” Leo once again pointed out the obvious.
“I’m with Clay,” Rob growled. “We have to do something. We can’t just wait around for them to figure out a way to break down the veil.”
Bryan jumped in. “What if we use a sleep agent on the patrols? The latest batch we cooked up works in an instant.” He snapped his fingers to drive home his point. “Have the pixies sprinkle it on them. Once they’re out, we sneak past them and onto school grounds.”
“And then what?” I challenged. I didn’t hate the idea, but it wasn’t fully baked and would wind up getting us killed when we the dark elementals spotted us. “We need to be smart about this. Clearwater isn’t just home base for dark elementals, it’s our home. Period. Taking the battle to them will destroy the academy.”
The guys knew what that meant. Destroying the academy destroyed its founder, the one who’d made the ultimate sacrifice by merging her essence with the school to keep it safe. I couldn’t let that happen. Losing Cressida would be like losing my mother all over again.
For reasons I didn’t want to acknowledge, my gaze drifted to Stace. She caught me watching her, causing my stomach to flip. When our eyes met, I quickly looked away.
“There is a way to do this without them seeing us.” Stace’s lisp really took flight with that statement. She glanced around the room before settling her attention on me. “We use the void.”
“Are you crazy?” I launched out of my chair and backed away from the table as if it had just burst into flames. The mood I suddenly found myself in after her suggestion, I just might set it on fire.
“Hear me out. The void isn’t just purgatory for the mind. It’s a portal, a way to teleport from place to place in the blink of an eye. I know how to send people there. You know how to get them back out.”
“I’m not a strong enough teleporter.”
“We’ll use the crystal.”
“I can’t speak in the void. No one can. Without reciting the incantation, I can’t create the portal.”
“Katy, you found Bryan in the middle of a vast array of nothing. You can make this happen.”
Not just no, but hell to the in-fucking-sane no. “I only found him because of this.” I held up my hand, palm out, showing off my gently shimmering ward. “It took three of us keeping each other from slipping into a catatonic state. Not everyone here can teleport. They’re not even all elementals. I have no idea what time in the void will do to them. It’s too risky.”
We all fell silent again. That was when I heard it, a faint pounding, steadily growing louder. Whatever it was shook the ground and caused the coffee in my cup to tremor. I watched it, imagining a dinosaur walking toward us like in that one movie. “What is that?”
Several of the high priestesses hurried to the treehouse’s window facing the grove. The thump, thump, thump increased in sound and intensity. When the tree shook, knocking loose fir needles, I reached for something to stabilize my footing.
Bryan caught me. “It’s the veil. Look.” He extended his index finger toward the entrance where the slightest hint of a crack had begun to form.
Oh, shit on a shingle. The crack grew with each impact. The veil was failing. We’d lost our window while arguing over how to take the fight to them. They’d brought it to us, which suited me fine. It was our turf, our grove, and that gave us the tactical advantage. “Renee, gather the covens and do whatever it takes to stop them from breaking through the veil.” As the witches hurried out, I turned to the guys. “You each control a different primary element. Join forces with the legend that controls the same element.”
“What are you going to do?” Bryan asked.
“I’m going to do my job as the prophecy and protect our world.” I teleported out and popped back in on the field where a crowd had grown, all staring at the tear in the veil with wide, fearful eyes. Most had their shields in one hand, a weapon in the other. Some were swords. Others were maces. It was an eerie sight, seeing so many peaceful people take up arms, fighting for their right to live free. To live. Period.
“Katy!” Trevor pushed through the people. “It’s the bad. It’s the bad!”
I blinked at him. Was this what he’d been asking me to protect him from all along? Here I thought he meant the void. His mother was a soothsayer. Maybe she’d passed her gift onto her son. Maybe he’d seen this battle play out already.
“Trevor, when you asked me to protect you from the bad, is this what you meant? Protect you from the dark elementals?”
He shook his head and pointed behind me. “That’s the bad.”
I whipped around as the crowd stirred. Holy fuck nuggets. The putrid black fog dark elementals used to disorient Nelems—and good elementals on occasion—came pouring in from the crack and crawled across the ground like a slow and steady lava stream. It rose, blackening the sky and blocking out the sun. The grove plummeted into darkness.
Why hadn’t I accounted for this? We couldn’t fight an enemy we couldn’t see. I called air to push back the fog, but it barely made a dent. The black smoke continued to pour in, thickening the fog until you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.
And then I heard it.
Faint cries of surprise and pain as whatever came in with the fog attacked the witches. Grunts as they fought back. If I didn’t do something to protect the crowd gathered behind me, they’d be sitting ducks.
“Everyone hold on to your shield.” Most of them were magically enhanced elementals, so if I called light, it’d short out their powers and leave them weak. It wouldn’t affect the alchemists or blacksmiths, but there weren’t enough of them to protect those who’d be rendered helpless. And since I couldn’t see the assailants, I couldn’t pinpoint my call with any level of accuracy. That made calling light off the table.
I’d used earth to clear the fog in the past and tried again, calling the trees to wave like giant fans. That too didn’t work this time. My hellfire wouldn’t do a damn thing against fog. If I couldn’t clear the air with my most powerful elements, no way was my water call strong enough to do anything but make everyone wet.
That left one element I had the power to control, one that wouldn’t render everyone powerless. It just might do much, much worse if I couldn’t keep it under control. As I’d told myself before… One crisis at a time.
Cressida had said the ward would block me from tapping into my darkness. It was time to put that to the test. It was time to fight fire with fire, or in this instance, darkness with darkness. I focused on the cold in the pit of my midsection and pushed it to the rest of my body. My cells hummed, charging with energy. The coldness grew to the ends of my fingers, causing them to go numb. Then my hands began to glow, which was new, at least when I channeled my darkness.
I spotted a mirroring faint glow in four other sets of hands as the guys experienced what I experienced, thanks to the ward. Or maybe I sensed it more than saw it since I could barely see a foot in front of me.
My darkness lifted me ten feet into the air. I spread my hands and allowed the darkness to take over. The coldness consumed me as the glowing in my hands grew brighter. With a deep breath and hope beyond hope I didn’t get trapped inside the darkness as I’d done before, I t
apped into my power and focused my call on the intruders.
“You are not welcome nor wanted here,” I said in a deep, raspy voice that didn’t sound like me. It broadcast across the grove, echoing as it bounced off the veil. “Leave now under your own power, or I will force you out with mine.”
I sensed more than saw the hesitation by those who’d broken through the veil. That wasn’t good enough. I wanted to see the fear in their eyes, the terror fueling their retreat. I was the supreme being. They were futile humans and no match for me. They must all bow to me. I would rule this world.
No. NoNoNo! The darkness began to creep into my mind, robbing me of my control. I couldn’t remain tapped into my power much longer, or it would consume me. I called earth and focused on the fog, summoning it to me.
“Holy shit. Bry, what the hell? Stand down, man. Stand the fuck down!” Rob’s voice caught my attention.
“Dude, why did you—oof!” Was that Clay?
“Bryan? Are you okay? Wait. What are you—” Leo’s voice was abruptly cut off.
My guys. I had to get to them. I pushed for the fog to come to me. That was when I felt the pull of the darkness, not luring me in, but rather luring in one of my guys.
Bryan.
I immediately killed my darkness call. Shit. That was exactly the opposite of what I wanted to happen. Bryan couldn’t resist the darkness. Once I called mine, it triggered his. I increased my focus on earth. As soon as I felt Bryan’s darkness weaken, I tapped back into mine. I’d need it to summon the fog. If I did this fast, maybe he’d be okay. And maybe not, but I had to try.
I kept my earth call the strongest, hoping it’d block Bryan from tapping into the power of the darkness, and focused on calling the fog to me.
Miraculously, it worked.
The fog lifted higher and higher, well above my head. I switched to air, blending it with earth, squeezing the life out of the fog as I created a tornado fifty feet in the air, trapping the inky smoke inside. As I slowly curled my fingers, the cyclone followed my command and closed in as it increased in intensity. The fog fought me, trying to break free of the trap I’d created. It was no match. Once the fog had cleared completely, I killed my calls and rose to gain a better view on the battle below and find my guys.
What I saw nearly stopped my heart.
It wasn’t the battle below. Since the dark elementals no longer had the fog to hide behind, they were fleeing like the cowardly little bitches they were. My guys were huddled together, the three surrounding my earth elemental to check on him.
No.
It was the giant plume of smoke just on the other side of the veil.
Clearwater Academy was on fire.
21
Why would they do this? Why would they torch their headquarters? They’d already cast a spell over the barrier, rendering it worthless to protect against dark elementals. Cressida didn’t seem affected by the spell, unlike last fall when a counter ward struck the barrier like a virus and trapped her in human form, nearly killing her.
A fire, however, would destroy her along with the school she protected.
We couldn’t charge onto school grounds and announce ourselves. That was exactly what they wanted us to do. The attack on the veil, the battle at the grove, even the fog had all been a distraction. Something much more sinister was at play here.
When it hit me, I muttered the same four-letter word over and over. Graves had been there when my mom confronted me about Cressida, about how I’d been talking to her, how she’d been manifesting and advising me on how to win this war. He knew she hadn’t been in my head as my mom had accused. No, he knew she was real, as real as any of us now staring at the flames as they peaked high and consumed the main hall.
He planned to destroy the school to draw me out to save Cressida before it was too late. And, unfortunately, it worked. I’d agreed to the insanity Stace had suggested.
We were about to step into the void. Willingly. Only this time, it wouldn’t just be our minds lost if this didn’t work. We’d be trapped both mentally and physically. If the void denied my crystal its power just as it did our elements, we were all screwed.
“This had better work,” I muttered.
Stace stood next to me and nodded. “It will, Katy. I promise. Trust me.”
I hated that I did still trust her, even after everything she’d done to betray that trust. Did that make me an idiot? Probably. But she’d also brought a hell of a lot of good to my life. That…I couldn’t just forget or pretend never happened.
Drawing in a deep breath and glancing around at all the eager expressions, hoping it wouldn’t be the last time I saw them, I stepped forward and curled my fingers around the crystal before closing my eyes and concentrating on the void. “Aperi oculos.” For good measure, I said my destination out loud. “Take me to the void.”
When the crystal warmed, I opened my eyes and took another step, placing distance between me and everyone else. If this backfired and sucked me into a void vortex, I didn’t want to take anyone else with me. The legends had already repositioned right outside the academy grounds. Now it was just a matter of getting the rest of us there.
The green ring grew from the crystal and opened a portal. It worked.
“Groups of four,” I instructed, hoping that was the magic trick that’d worked for the guys and me when we’d gone in looking for Bryan. “Remember to recite the lyrics to the song you chose, and whatever you do, don’t let go of each other.”
Clay led the first group, pausing briefly to kiss me on the cheek. “See you on the other side, Montana.” He and the three he pulled with him disappeared through the hole floating in the air.
Leo was up next and stopped in front of the void to regard me. “Babe, my parents are somewhere in the void. If we make it out of this alive, I want to go back in and find them.” I nodded. He nodded back and walked through the hole, disappearing.
Rob stepped up, his concentration completely on me. “I love you, Reed. This is going to work.” He disappeared with his group.
Bryan hesitated next to me and stared at the portal. “Are you sure about this?”
I understood his uncertainty. He’d been stuck in the void not once but twice, each time the visit messing with his mind. Who knew how many more times he’d make it back out without permanent damage?
“Stace said it’d work.” I left it at that.
“But do you think it’ll work?”
“Yes,” I answered without faltering. Despite my own doubts about this plan, it was the only plan we had. I had to believe it would work. It had to. It just had to.
“Then I do too.” He winked, sending my knees into an unsteady wobble. “Hey, about what happened in the fog.”
“Later,” I said, cutting him off. I couldn’t focus on him going dark on me for a moment. I had to bring an entire army back from the void. “Let’s get through this first.”
He nodded. “Be sure you wear that crystal when you come out the other side. No reason to give Alec exactly what he wants, which is you.”
“I know.” I motioned for him to get going. He pulled his group through the void and disappeared. One by one, each group disappeared through the floating hole until only Stace and her group and me and my group remained. We exchanged looks. A million things passed through our connection. Fear. Uncertainty. Regret.
“Katy, I…”
“I know.” I tipped my head to the portal. “Go.”
“We’ll be waiting. I’ll make sure we’re all in the same area.” She led her group through the opening and disappeared into the void.
“Katy?” Trevor squeezed my hand and looked up at me with those big brown eyes behind giant owlish glasses.
“Don’t worry, buddy. I’ll protect you.” I really hoped I hadn’t just lied to the kid. Again. “Why don’t you start singing your song?”
“Okay. You are my sunshine, my only sunshine…”
Of course, he’d find quite possibly the happiest song of all time.
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I started in on my pocket full of sunshine and pulled us into the void. It surrounded us with no beginning, no ending, only nothingness. Trevor slowed as his expression fell. I squeezed his hand, drawing his attention. I mouthed his song with him, overemphasizing the words with my lips until he sang along.
It didn’t take long to spot the group. Several were slipping in and out of the catatonic state. The sooner we got out of here, the better.
I handed Trevor and the rest of my group over to the guys, each one attaching themselves to a different group. The guys kept everyone focused, pulling them back when they’d gone comatose.
I held the crystal in my hand and concentrated on the basement of the academy’s infirmary. Most didn’t even know the building had a basement, but having worked there, I knew not only about the basement, but also that it had a separate exit facing away from the grounds. I banked on that now.
The crystal warmed, so I lifted it and recited aperi oculos in my head since my voice didn’t work in the void. When nothing happened, I tensed and tried not to panic. If we couldn’t break through the void this way, we’d be trapped.
Slowly, as if the void itself fought the opening, a hole formed in the inky nothingness growing bigger, then smaller, then bigger again. I immediately recognized the supply room. I didn’t know how long the crystal’s powers would work here, so I nodded for the guys to lead the way. In the same order they’d stepped into the void, one by one they exited until only Stace and I remained. She’d lost her expression and stared straight ahead.
No. No!
I grabbed her shoulders and shook her hard. She didn’t acknowledge me, as her mind had clearly gotten trapped. No matter how much I screamed her name, no sound came. That didn’t stop me from screaming louder.
Not knowing what else to do, I pushed her through the portal and jumped through after her. She collapsed to the floor at Renee’s feet.