“You really don’t inspire confidence.” Zinnia narrowed her eyes at Ophelia and tipped her head back and shot the liquid straight down.
My heart dropped from my chest into my stomach and my hands shook with nerves. I closed them into fists at my sides. Tiny flames sparked on my skin. I closed my fist tighter, smothering them. “H-how do you feel?”
Zinnia rolled her shoulders. “I feel . . . I feel . . . light.”
Zinnia’s body went from solid to translucent in the blink of an eye. She stood before me as a ghostly version of herself. She held her arms up. “Did it work?”
I reached and tried to brush my hand over her cheek, but it went right through. I swallowed around the nervous ball in my throat. “It worked.” I turned to Ophelia. “How long will it last?”
“Indefinitely.” She brushed her hands off. “Pretty good, right?”
“Indefinitely!” Zinnia and I snapped in unison.
“Relax, guys, once she siphons enough power she’ll turn corporeal again.” Ophelia motioned toward the wall. “Okay, go on.”
“Turns me into a ghost then tells me to go. Just great!” Zinnia moved toward the wall of crystals.
“Zin, be careful.” I stepped toward her, wanting to touch her, wanting to pull her into my arms.
She winked at me. “Of course.”
Chapter 16
Zinnia
I stood before a wall of crystals. There was no way I should be able to walk through this. Yet when I kicked out my leg, it went right through them all. “Wooooooo, wooooooooo.”
Ophelia motioned to the wall. “What are you doing?”
I shrugged. “Acting like a ghost. I figure hey, if you’re going to be one might as well embrace it.” My nerves were all over the place. I was worried about my mother, worried I wouldn’t be able to come back from being a ghost, worried I wouldn’t get the crown. If a little corny humor was what I needed to break the tension then so be it.
I stuck my foot through the crystal wall and glanced back at Tuck. “Wish me luck.”
He swallowed and the breath hitched in his throat. “Good luck.”
I turned and pushed the rest of the way through. It was an odd feeling, like wading through warm water. The moment my entire body was in the other room the torches on the wall sparked to life. Motion activated. I raised my eyebrows. Treasure like I’d never seen before filled the room from one end to another. Coins, jewels, rubies, and emeralds the size of my fist littered the pathway leading to a pedestal in the center of the room. “The freaking cave of wonders.” All I needed was a magic carpet, a genie, and a money sidekick and this would be my own personal movie.
Even the walls were made out of gold brick. Sculptures, paintings, and ancient scrolls were everywhere. I took a step toward the pedestal and came against an invisible barrier. I pressed my hand to it. It gave at my touch and molded around my fingers like a balloon. Ophelia did say I’d need my siphon powers. I closed my eyes and opened my senses. I saw the magic in the room behind my eyelids. It was a bright indigo with shimmering silvers that matched my own magical power. I let my powers go and siphoned off the first pull of magic. It rolled through my body like a slow tide. At first it started at my feet then traveled up my legs, washing me in warmth. Euphoric energy overcame me, and I smiled. My body changed from ghostly to corporeal in a moment. I held my arms up and wiggled my fingers. Then it hit me. “Oh crap.”
I was trapped in a windowless, doorless room with no place to escape to. I turned around and banged on the wall. “Ummm, guys.”
“Something wrong?” Tucker’s panicked voice pushed through the wall.
“Yes and no.” I pressed my hand to where the barrier had been and it went through as if it’d never been there.
“Yes, let’s be vague at this exact moment!” Ophelia punched the wall. “Details about what the problem is would help.”
“Well, I made it through the wall, through the magic around the crown and now . . . now my body is back to normal and there is no way for me to get back out once I grab the crown.” I looked over at it, a perfect white gold circle sitting on top of a velvet pillow. It gleamed in the torch light. A band of crushed diamonds sat in the middle of the plain silvery circle. It wasn’t much to look at, but it was laced with Alataris’ power amplifying it, making him nearly unstoppable.
“Shit, I thought this might happen,” Ophelia called back.
“You did?” Tucker snapped at her.
Ophelia sighed. “Well, it was a possibility. I mean, she goes ghost then siphons off enough power to run a small city . . . what did you think was going to happen?”
“O!” I smacked the wall. “This is something that would’ve been good to know. Share with the class next time!” I pressed my back to the wall.
“I think I have a plan . . .” She trailed off.
I heard their muddled voices but couldn’t make out the words. I jammed the heel of my boot into the wall. “Whatever your plan is come up with it fast.” A blaring alarm sounded through the whole castle. The walls around me shook. There was only one other thing that could’ve set that alarm off . . . Mom! They got my mom! I screamed to Tuck, “Real freaking fast!”
Then I ran for the crown . . .
Chapter 17
Ophelia
Crap, crap, crap. The wailing alarms made my ears ring. Tuck was screaming at me, but I could barely hear what he was saying. I looked down at the crystals and the leftover potion on the table. The alarm dimmed to a low hum, but it was still going off in one end of the castle.
I handed the vial to Tuck. “Hold this.”
“What for?” He turned toward the wall. “Why don’t I just shoot a massive ball of fire at the wall and take it down?”
I grabbed a shard of black crystal and dropped it into the clear fluid. It turned a bright yellow and bubbled like seltzer. “Because if you hit the wrong crystals the entire castle will be blown to hell. They have different elements, different traits that can be harmful or useful. In this case we want a controlled explosion that’ll only affect the wall, which is stone. I’m hoping it’s some kind of pure element on the other side too.”
His honey eyes widened. “Don’t you think that’s a little risky?”
I grabbed a pink crystal and dropped it in. The potion fizzed to the top of the vial but didn’t pour over. “Do you think we have time for this?”
He pressed his lip into a thin line. The alarms in our side of the castle went off once more.
Crap, they’re close.
Tuck nodded. “Do what you gotta do.”
I ran to the very end of the wall and plucked up a tiger eye stone. “When I drop this in you have to smash it on the top of the wall so it can trickle down. If it works like I expect then Zin will be out.”
“Guys, are you ready?” Zinnia knocked on the wall. “I got the crown. We have to get out of here.”
“Back up! Fire in the hole.” I dropped the crystal into the vial and orange smoke billowed from it. I waved Tuck on. “Toss it.”
“Ah crap!” He wound his arm up and threw the vial at the wall. Orange smoke covered it from top to bottom.
At first it only started in the center then expanded out toward the corners. The smoke ate the wall the way acid melted tables. Huge chunks of stone fell to the ground and melted like putty. Orange slime coated the crystals and let them fall to the ground without shattering. As soon as the wall opened, I spotted Zinnia staring at the gaping hole. “Are you seriously melting it?”
“If you want to make it out of here before this crap reaches those two clear crystals on either end of the wall then I suggest you move your ass!”
Zinnia clutched our father’s crown in her hand. She ran straight for the hole in the wall. The bottom of the wall had yet to burn away. She kicked one leg out and tucked the other leg behind her, hurdling over the wall. Tuck caught her in midair before her back leg could smack into the acid potion. He held her there for a second before lifting her clear of the acid and placi
ng her on the floor. “Got ya.”
My heart raced in my chest. The orange acid was only a foot away from the explosive clear crystals. I ran toward the door and grabbed the handle, yanking it open. “Move now.”
Zinnia glanced around the room. “What don’t I know?”
“Boom.” I held my hand up and made the universal sign for explosion.
She ran through the door. Tuck followed quickly behind her. I slammed the door behind me and turned to run after them when my face smacked into something hard and unyielding. Tuck’s back? I shoved him forward. “Come on.”
He motioned to something in front of him. “I can’t even.”
I peeked around his shoulder. “We really don’t have time for this!”
Chapter 18
Zinnia
Brax sat on the floor back in his human form. He leaned up against the wall with his legs extended out in front of him. Claw marks ran down his arms and pieces of his black army pants were missing. His head was tilted back, resting on the wall behind him, and he had his eyes closed. Sherman was once again back in his carrier and strapped to Brax’s chest. But the sight that stopped me dead in my tracks was the wild cat that lay with its entire body pressed against Brax’s side. The cat laid its head in Brax’s lap just below the carrier.
“Don’t you hear the alarms? We have to go!” I pointed toward the hole on the other side of the room.
“Da, I hear them.” He motioned to the cat. “She needed a cuddle.”
“You do realize that cuddle cat could slit your throat with the flick of its tail, right?” I marched over to the hole. “Let’s go.”
Brax slowly rose to his feet. He dusted his hands off and patted the cat on the head. “Come on, let’s go.”
He took two steps toward the opening in the wall and the ninja assassin cat followed in his wake. Ophelia put her hands on her hips. “You can’t be seriously considering taking that thing with us.”
Brax nodded. “She’s coming.”
The alarms continued to blare and footsteps vibrated in the ceiling overhead. I grabbed Ophelia’s jacket and yanked her toward me. “We don’t have time for this. The cat’s coming.”
Tucker hesitated. “Zin, I don’t think it’s a good—”
“My mom is up there. We’re going now. We’ll figure out the cat later.” I walked through the falling doorway Sherman destroyed. Ophelia raced in front of me to guide our way out. She broke into a run with the rest of us following closely behind. All that could be heard was the sound of our footfalls. My heart raced in my chest. Mom, I’m coming. My breaths came in panicked puffs, not from running, but from the nerves I felt at finally seeing her after all this time.
A couple quick turns and we sprinted straight out of the tunnel in a skirmish. Ashryn sat perched on the top of the tunnel with her bow and arrow at the ready. Bodies of Alataris’ minions lay on the ground all with arrows jutting from different parts of their bodies. Not a single one was dead, but each was wounded enough for them to stay down. I spun in a circle. “Mom? Where’s my mom?”
An angry bellow drew my gaze up toward the top of the castle. There on the very top edge of the wall stood my mom. Her back was to me and the others stood in front of her in a loose semi-circle. The wind kicked up, sending her wild waves that matched my own flying in the breeze. She shoved Serrina to the side and took a hit from an energy ball right in the shoulder. Her upper body jerked from the impact and she stumbled two steps back. Her foot dangled off the edge of the castle before she fell to her hands and knees. Grayson scrambled up the rocks like a spider. He was up and over ready to defend.
I pointed up toward her. “Tuck!”
Without another word he sprang his wings of fire from his back and grabbed me under my arms. My feet left the ground in mere seconds and we were shooting up to the top of the castle. We flew over the wall. I looked down at the scene unraveling before me. The top of the wall was a perfect square connected by turrets. On one wall stood my mother and our crew. On the one opposite wall Alataris stood in all his glory. Balls of magical energy gathered in his hands. Blood ran from a gash on his shoulder, the same shoulder as my mother’s. On the other two walls Alataris’ Thralls scrambled down the walkways flanking our crew. Golden ribbons of magic shot from the tips of Tabi’s fingers and over the sides of the castle. The ground shook and jungle vines exploded up around the castle like tentacles. Some wrapped around the Thralls, tossing them off the top of the castle. Others stabbed right through those creatures, turning them to dust.
Serrina held her hand to her lips and blew across her palm. Red sparkling magic drifted on the air, swirling and spinning as it met the nose of every warlock Alataris had running after them. “Stop!” They all froze in their tracks. “Time for a nap.”
One by one the dark cloaked warlocks fell to the ground, falling asleep where they were. Black smoke billowed from Alataris’ body like steam, his obsidian eyes filled with anger. His hair stuck out from his head in a matted mess and blood ran from his shoulder, coating the blue T-shirt and pajama pants he wore. I pointed down toward where Grayson, Beckett, and Cross stood in front of my mom like a shield. “Land there.”
Tuck dropped down with me beside him. We landed just in front of Beckett, Grayson, and Cross. Tabi and Serrina flanked their sides and my mom stood behind us all.
“Zinnia!”
Her voice hitched on my name and I wanted nothing more than to hug her close. But I couldn’t turn my back on my father. I narrowed my eyes at him. “Father.”
“You.” He growled low in his throat. “You will never take her from me. I will always be a part of all of you.”
Alataris lifted his hands high above his head and held two energy balls ready to fire. I opened up my senses, letting my power flow over me. Except this time it felt stronger, potent, dark even. I glanced down at the crown I clutched in my hand. If it was tied to Alataris still, then I could drain some of his power. I took my first pull of power and let it course through my veins. I sucked in a deep breath, then blew it out. Black smoke just like his drifted down the walls and over the castle.
Alataris stumbled back, shaking his head. “No, you can’t have.” He ran his hand over the top of his head. “That’s mine, you little thief.”
“Not anymore.” More Thralls ran into the center of the castle. Each of them held smaller magical balls in their hands, ready to fire them at us. The black fog I’d created rolled over them, disintegrating them to nothing but ash.
“I’ll kill you for this!” Alataris threw a magic ball right at my chest.
“No!” My mother’s desperate cry echoed in my ears.
Tuck’s flaming sword swung up in front of my body, slicing the ball away from me. My avenging angel saved me from a blow that would’ve surely killed me. The flames made his skin glow and sparks fanned out from his honey eyes. The muscle in his jaw ticked with anger. “You okay?”
I nodded. Because of you. “Yeah.” The two halves ricocheted off his sword and crashed into the inside of the castle walls. The world shook under my feet. The sound of collapsing rock filled the air. “Beckett, time to go.”
“On it.” He turned around, giving his back to Alataris. “Cover me.”
I raised my arms and let my power flow from my body. A shimmering wall of magic rose between us and Alataris. Alataris fired another energy ball toward us. It disintegrated against my wall. I glanced over my shoulder. “Faster would be better.”
Beckett held two blue orbs in his hands. He tossed them over the edge of the wall where they combined and expanded into one flat surface. “We’re ready. Catherine, you first.”
“No, not without Zinnia.” She shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest.
I threw the wall up higher, using all the power I could siphon from the crown. Once it felt firmly in place, I turned toward her. “Go, Mom, I’ll be right behind you. I have to make sure this holds for the rest of my crew.”
“No, I’m staying with you.”
&nbs
p; “We don’t have time for this.” Cross stomped over to my mother and wrapped one arm around her legs and the other behind her back. He lifted her off the ground. She flailed and cursed. But Cross was at least six-foot-three, with muscles for days. My mother was the same size as me, five-foot-three and barley 130 pounds.
“Put me down!” She kicked her arms and legs out. But Cross was stronger than she was. He lifted her up over his head and threw her into the portal. She screamed the whole way down until she disappeared into it.
I shoved Cross to the side. “Was that necessary?”
Alataris threw three more energy balls at the wall. It stopped two of them, but the third broke into flaming pieces that got through. Tabi squealed and patted out the spark on her arm. Beckett wrapped his hand around her back and shoved her toward the edge of the castle. “Time to jump.”
Tabi squatted down then leapt off the side of the building, cannon balling right into the portal. Cross motioned to my wall. “Clearly necessary. You’re next.” He moved to pick me up.
I let my magic run over my body like an electric current. The moment his hands met my skin he jumped back, shaking his fingers. “What’d you do that for?”
“Not until the rest of the crew is safe! Where’s my sister?” I glanced down at the ground past the portal at where Tuck and I had left them.
“I’m all good.” Ophelia sat straddled on the back of the damn cat as it clawed its way up the wall. Sherman was back to being his oversized pug piranha self with Adrienne holding on to his collar for dear life. Her long braids streamed out behind her and her eyes were as round as saucers. Ashryn, our elf, stood on Brax’s back as he too clawed his way to the top in his tiger form. Ashryn fired off one arrow after another as she stood on his back as if he weren’t running up a wall. One by one the animals and riders jumped into the portal, disappearing.
Wicked Queen (The Royals: Witch Court Book 5) Page 10