Elijah's Quest (Finding Magic Book 4)

by Blair Drake

  "Curse the skies," Zora snarled, blowing a curl of hair out of her face. "I can't get it to stay in physical form."

  Yeorfac's grip tightened on the axe.

  Elijah's mind was racing, and all he could think of was gas to liquid to solid.

  "I've got an idea," Elijah said, pushing away from Malalie and Rutrik. He held his hands up and stared at Zora. The ifrit was a creature wrought from fire.

  Unlike the ghouls, his magic might be able to help here.

  The hairs on the back of his neck rose. He could almost feel the Current stirring behind him, though there was no beat, no vibration. No, this was like a vacuum. A sucking hole of nothingness where the Current wasn't.

  "Zora," he mouthed, trying to catch her attention.

  It was right behind him. Elijah opened himself to the vibration, feeling his blood chill, as Zora nodded, very slightly.

  "Now!" she yelled.

  Elijah turned, hands spraying ice. The ifrit screamed as hoarfrost covered the golden scales, and fire poured from its open throat. But it was caught in transition, the ice keeping it solid long enough for Zora to run at it with her sword.

  One second. Two. She screamed a war cry and launched herself at the ifrit. There was enough iron in her steel to slice from shoulder to groin. The ifrit's body parted, and Elijah could see that molten fire within it try to snap back together, but Yeorfac was there, the axe slamming through its leg.

  The ifrit went down, and then Malalie joined the fray, driving her dagger into the ifrit's eye. Elijah blasted it with another wave of ice the second she yanked her dagger clear. The ice couldn't hold it; there was too much heat within it, but it kept the ifrit chained to its physical form.

  Sweat dripped down his face.

  An enormous backhand caught Zora across the side and she staggered into Elijah's arms. Malalie and Yeorfac stepped clear as the ifrit's fire burned hotter than before. The iron hurt it, but every wound seemed to knit together in a blaze of molten gold, until the ifrit's leg reformed.

  "Want more?" Elijah bluffed, holding his hands out and hoping they didn't tremble too badly.

  The ifrit snarled, a baritone rumble that hurt the ears. Then it vanished in a cloud of smoke that curled up toward the narrow crack in the hole in the ceiling.

  It was gone.

  "Thank you chem!" Elijah gave a fist pump. "And Zoe thinks I never listen!"

  Zora was panting, her vambrace scorched, and ash coating her shoulder. Yeorfac's beard had been singed.

  "Hurry!" Zora said, herding them back toward the pool. "We've run it off for now, but I daresay it shall return."

  Zandui surfaced from the pool of water with gasp. He blinked water from his eyes as he stared at the wall of fire. "What's going—?"

  "Is the gateway clear?" Elijah demanded, hurling Zandui's pack at him.

  "It's clear."

  "Good." Elijah waded into the pool in a hurry. "Because my ice is only going to keep that ifrit away for so long. And it's pissed."

  He dived under the surface, swimming for the green light.

  They surfaced in the labyrinth again, and Elijah hauled himself over the edge of what appeared to be a pool in the middle of a small walled garden. A goldfish flapped, caught in the fabric of his tunic, and he flicked it off his shoulder, back into the pool.

  "To find the next gateway, follow the stones to true love's kiss, but beware what stirs beneath the water," echoed in his ears.

  Clear as mud, as usual.

  One by one the others appeared, and Elijah helped haul them out. There were no doors in the wall of the courtyard. Just as he was about to ask where they were going next, a grinding sound echoed with a groan, and two of the walls began to creep toward them. They'd be caught in the middle and crushed if the walls met.

  The choices were back through the gateway, to the cavern of the ifrit. Or...."Over," Rutrik called, climbing up the wall like a monkey.

  Elijah started after him. "Wait for—"

  Malalie scampered up the wall, and then there was nothing else for it, but to follow.

  They landed in a small garden beyond. There was no mechanism forcing the walls to narrow.

  "Magic," Zandui said grimly, wringing out his beard. "Which means there's a mage here, somewhere. Stay watchful."

  "Cursed mages." Yeorfac spat.

  "Hey," Elijah protested.

  "Present company excluded."

  They crept through the lush water gardens. Lush lily pads bloomed on every surface, and the gravel path soon ended in a series of stepping-stones across a small pool.

  "Where are we?" Zora asked.

  Even Zandui looked stumped. "We're not in Yasmene."

  The gateway hadn't taken them back to the palace, after all.

  "These are the Water Gardens of Vanakh," Rutrik said. "They were created over two hundred years ago by King Ashraf for his favorite wife, Lady Ashira. They're twenty miles from the palace."

  "Any idea what's in them?" Yeorfac asked.

  Rutrik shook his head. "We did our best to learn the geography of Pasternak so we would be prepared, but the kingdom is enormous. I merely remember reading about the legend."

  "He likes romantic tales," Malalie said, with a snort.

  Rutrik punched her in the shoulder. "I do not."

  Zandui held up a hand to silence them, looking around. "Something moved. Over there."

  They all peered intently into the greenery. Seconds passed. A minute.

  "False alarm," Elijah murmured.

  "Maybe." Zandui and the others fanned out. "But be prepared for anything."

  "True love's kiss," Elijah said quietly, leaning toward Rutrik. "Any idea what that might be?"

  The teen tugged at his earlobe. "Maybe the folly? That was where Ashraf and Ashira, ah, read poetry."

  Is that what they call it in Yasmene? Elijah grinned as the boy's face turned bright red. "How do we find the folly?"

  Rutrik took the lead, staring at the five paths that led into the distance. "There was a map of the gardens in the book." He pressed his fingers to his temples. "Curse the skies. Why didn't I pay more attention to it?"

  Malalie's head turned between two of the paths. "Weren't gordian lilies Ashira's favorite flowers? Would the king have planted them near the folly?"

  Rutrik lowered his hands. Malalie pointed to where one of the paths circled through a pair of ponds, strands of lush white tubular flowers growing thickly.

  "Maybe," Rutrik said, looking at all of them. "But I don't know."

  "Nothing else to go on," Elijah said, with a shrug.

  "Lead on," Zandui said, gesturing Rutrik into the lead.

  Elijah realized what bothered him about the gardens as their footsteps crunched over the white gravel paths. It was so quiet. Mosquitoes whined, and occasionally water would stir, somewhere nearby, but apart from that nothing moved. No wind. No shouts in the distance. He realized he was even breathing quietly, as if afraid to give them away.

  The white lilies led to a large natural pond. These must have been wetlands once upon a time, though no birds stalked the shallows.

  That was weird.

  "Only one way across," Rutrik said, pausing at the edge of the water.

  Large white pavers led across the water. They looked like they were floating. On the other side—nearly forty feet away—a grassed hill rose out of the water, with a marble domed structure on top of it. It was a scene straight off a postcard.

  Something stirred within the slime of the pond. Bubbles began to surface. Beware the water....

  And somehow they had to cross it.

  "Stay back," Elijah whispered, and pressed his fingers to the edge of the pool. Ice crackled across the surface in thin sheets. He forced the Current through his fingertips, and the ice thickened and hardened, covering the entire pool until it looked like an enormous ice rink.

  "Run!" Zandui called, and the six of them bolted across the stepping-stones rising out of the water, as ice crept up them slowly.

 
Whatever had been in the water remained there, possibly stumped by the sudden sheet of ice covering the surface.

  They were all breathing hard when they finally made the far shore, and saw that telltale glow of green light ahead of them. It seemed to be coming from within the folly.

  "I can see why they do battle with you at their side, mage." Rutrik looked impressed.

  Elijah remained bent over, trying to suck in air. A pinpoint of pain echoed behind his right eye, as if he'd strained himself.

  "That's the last time you help," Zora said, clasping his hand and examining the tremble of exertion in his fingers. "Save your energy for the final fight, Elijah. We will handle the next few challenges, as I daresay Ezra will not be exerting himself until the end."

  And all of these minor challenges meant nothing in the face of the final one.

  He straightened and nodded. Zora offered him her water flask, and a strip of dried beef. Elijah didn't argue.

  They'd just reached the lip of the next gateway, when the ice behind them shattered as an enormous beast surged through it, bellowing. Elijah caught a flash of curled horns, much like that of a bull's, and a face like a horse's skull.

  "Through the gate!" Zandui cried, and all of them leapt through.

  Gateway after gateway, they fought their way through the challenges. One second they were in the palace, traversing narrow corridors and moving staircases, and the next they were somewhere far away, in lands green or barren, and once, even stepping out onto an island somewhere off the coast. He lost track of the monsters they either fought or avoided. Elijah was kept in the middle of the pack, with Zandui, Yeorfac, Zora, and even the Havistock's taking turns fighting at point.

  There was no sign of the other teams. Whoever had wandered off in the desert was either lost, or had to deal with an irate ifrit. He wished them luck, though he was kind of glad the Isthenians were behind them.

  Night was beginning to fall as they landed in the palace once again. Zandui insisted upon stopping to eat, and they shared some of their rations with the Havistock teens. Elijah's heart ached when he realized how ill prepared the Havistock's were, but Malalie saw him looking at her rations and scowled.

  "They didn't expect us to get this far." Her voice was laced with wounded pride.

  "Won't they be surprised when you survive," he said, trying to smile, but she was still warming up to him.

  "Surprised, yes," Rutrik muttered. His dark eyes flashed up, and then he sighed. "Thank you, Elijah. All my sister and I have ever wanted was to make it out of these games."

  "Will you return home?" he asked, as if making it out of this place alive was an option. He was too tired to be nervous anymore. "It seems as though returning to a kingdom who sent you here to die would be pointless."

  Rutrik chewed the last few bites of bread carefully. "I do not know. I guess we shall consider that decision when we make it out of here."

  He'd touched a nerve. Rutrik helped Malalie to her feet, and settled her pack into place. It was such a brotherly gesture that Elijah suddenly recalled the baby.

  When he'd first found out about Amie's pregnancy, he'd been slammed with fury at his father. He'd never truly considered what it would be like to have a brother or sister.

  If I get home, then I'm going to call my father. The past was done, and his mom would be hurt by the news, but Elijah had been through too much in the last few days to throw a tantrum.

  He wanted to see the baby. He wanted to make it home and find out if it was going to be a boy or a girl. And regardless of the sex, he was going to be there for it.

  "You are like a broody hen," Zora muttered as they climbed to their feet and moved on. "Picking up strays."

  "Someone has to."

  "Oh, Elijah," she sighed, and then raised her voice. "If we make it out of here, you're both welcome in Thanasi. I am friends with the princess, and she will find you both a place to live."

  Rutrik looked startled, color flooding his cheeks. "Thank you. If we make it out of here, we might accept."

  Malalie's gaze lingered on them even longer, and the young girl looked troubled.

  "Thank you," Elijah said, squeezing the back of Zora's neck.

  "You remind me there is more to this life than fighting," she admitted. "I will always feel better for having known you, mage." And then she smiled, and Elijah didn't feel tired anymore.

  There was an arched opening ahead, and Zandui paused in the center of it.

  "What's wrong?" Elijah called.

  "Nothing," said Zandui, glancing back to look at him. "We've reached the final challenge. There's the Yarlstone."

  Elijah's gaze raked across the garden in front of them. It had to be located somewhere within the palace grounds. Gilded cupolas gleamed in the distance, but what drew his eye wasn't the palace so many miles away, but the enormous oval pool in the center of the garden, and the single granite platform in the center of it, with a gleaming yellow stone the size of his fist mounted on an elegant stand.

  Elijah swallowed as he saw the soft green glow of the pool. It was at least twenty feet from the nearest edge to the platform. And there was no water. Only the pale green glow of another gateway.

  No way across it. No way to leap it. No telling where it would take him.

  Nowhere good, he was guessing.

  But how were they going to reach the Yarlstone?

  "Shit," he said.

  Just as the sudden, stark arrival of the Pasternakian team in the opposite archway scored a second whammy.

  "Double shit."

  Chapter 18

  "Oh, it gets better," Zora murmured. "Look at the walls, Elijah."

  Half a dozen enormous stone statues lined the walls. Giant muscular men, with the head of bulls, the torso of a man and the bottom half of a bull, with heavy cloven hooves. Each one held a spear that had to be at least fifteen feet long. Hollow eyes stared flatly at the pool and the Yarlstone, but Elijah had the creeping suspicion they were aware of what was going on.

  Couldn't be, of course. They were just statues.

  But it held the same effect of a painting's eyes following you around the room.

  "The minotaur," he breathed. "Where's the minotaur?"

  No sign of it.

  "Do you think it's been hidden by a cloaking spell?" Zora asked.

  Elijah barely heard her. His gaze dropped, and locked on Evil Elijah. Their eyes met, and it was like he could see what the guy was thinking.

  "Hurry! He's going after the Yarlstone." Elijah called, as Ezra's muscles bunched, and then they were both sprinting across the courtyard, toward each other, toward the gateway.

  "Elijah! Wait!"

  They couldn't afford to let the Pasternakian team get their hands on the prize.

  But something groaned, like enormous boulders scraping over each other. Elijah caught a hint of movement out of the corner of his eye and skidded to a halt as one of the stone statues suddenly swung its spear at him.

  "Whoa!" He leaped over the spear, and skidded to a halt.

  Found the Minotaur.

  Correction: found six Minotaur's.

  "Elijor!" Yeorfac bellowed.

  The enormous stone statue took a step toward him, the ground shaking beneath its foot. The second one began to shake free of its stone casing, shards of granite and dust sliding off its shoulder. All of them were waking up, as if he and Ezra had set the magic that powered them into place, the second they made a move for the Yarlstone.

  Fire flared as Team Ezra threw balls of flame around, scorch marks darkening the nearest statue. Rangoon shot an arrow at one of the Minotaur's and it exploded, taking its right arm off.

  At least they weren't the only ones battling the monstrosities.

  Elijah didn't have time to see what else was happening, for one of the enormous statues locked on them. He turned and bolted out of the way, nearly crashing into Zora. A spear came crashing down, and both of them narrowly dodged it.

  "This way!" she called, yanking on his arm. The
courtyard was surrounded by a series of steps, as though people sat upon them somewhat similar to a stadium.

  Elijah leaped up them, and ducked as that enormous spear swung back toward him. They sprinted along the top platform, coming face-to-face with Rangoon.

  The Pasternakian archer's lip curled as he drew his bow and stared down the arrow toward them. "You should never have come to this world, Elijah. This tournament is ours."

  Discord hammered through Elijah, the Current suddenly focusing directly upon him as if it sensed his peril.

  One pluck of that vibration, and sheets of ice crackled over the steps beneath Elijah, flooding like a frozen waterfall down each successive step, until the Pasternakian's feet went out from under them. The arrow soared into the sky.

  Zora hurled a dagger at Rangoon, and it sank into his side.

  "Stay down," she said, as the archer gasped.

  "What do we do?" The statues seemed invincible. Ezra's fire was barely slowing them down, and one of the Minotaur's backhanded Asilla into a wall.

  Team Elijah was faring little better. Yeorfac and Zandui had whipped a rope from their pack and were running at one of the statues. They ducked under the swing of its spear, and then wrapped the rope around its legs, Yeorfac ducking low beneath the rope Zandui held.

  The statue tripped, but took them with it, yanking them forward as it fell to its knees.

  Malalie and Rutrik were trying to fend off another of the Minotaur's, though he didn't like their chances. The other one waited by the gateway, like a goalie guarding the net.

  Zora stared at her blade, then cursed. "None of our weapons are designed for this." She jerked her head toward the Yarlstone, then Ezra. "If we reach the Yarlstone, then the game's over. The magic might grind to a stop. We just have to get there before he does."

  Ezra had somehow managed to climb his way up the Minotaur's back, and was holding his cloak over its eyes as he tried to steer it toward the gateway pool and the Yarlstone in the middle.

  "He's going to jump," Elijah breathed. From that height, Ezra just might have the momentum to hit the platform in the middle.

  "Elijah!" Zora turned wide eyes upon him.