by Linsey Hall
There were so damned many of them.
Up close, the castle lost its mirage-like appearance. It just looked…sad. But as we passed through, my skin prickled with awareness.
The ghost of the princess was definitely here. I could feel her gaze on me.
“Creepy,” Rowan muttered next to me.
“No insults,” Puma Spirit said.
Rowan blushed. “Sorry.”
I squeezed her hand, shooting her a look that said I agreed. It was damned creepy here.
The buggy rolled through a great open arch that marked the perimeter of the castle, entering a courtyard filled with dry scrub brush and surrounded on all sides by half-finished walls. The air was cooler, and shade stretched across the ground.
“Stop here,” Puma Spirit said.
Bree hit the brakes.
“We wait.” Puma Spirit leaned against the safety rail, his arms crossed over his chest.
I did the same, though just standing here was hell on my nerves. The Romans were approaching, getting closer with every minute. I could just imagine their war elephants trundling along, ready to knock down the walls and stomp on us. Not that they’d need to. There were no doors. We’d driven right in, and so could they.
I glanced at Rowan, worried.
Was this really our best plan? Waiting in this sad shell of a castle, hoping a ghostly princess would come help us?
Then again, we didn’t have much choice. Puma Spirit was right about the oncoming army. Even if we broke through their lines, they could close in on us from the sides, too many to defeat.
So we waited.
The hair on my arms stood on end as anxiety raced through me.
Come on. Come on.
I wanted to jump up and yell, “Princess!”
But yeah, that wouldn’t work.
Finally, the air chilled to freezing. I straightened, senses on high alert. A shockwave rolled out through the castle, icy cold. I stumbled, barely keeping myself upright.
Puma Spirit’s shoulders relaxed. “She is here. The castle is protected.”
“For now.” The voice was as cold as the air, and even more regal.
I turned to find the owner and spotted a transparent white ghost in the middle of the courtyard. She was so skeletal that she looked like she barely had any flesh on her bones. But her dress was beautiful—an incredible piece of artwork embroidered and beaded with thousands of decorations. Her hair, which would have been dark if she weren’t a ghost, was piled high on her head. Black eyes burned into me.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded.
Puma Spirit knelt, his head bowed.
On instinct, I dropped to my knees as well. My sisters and Lachlan did the same. Then the cats bowed. Even Princess Snowflake III.
Clearly, she knew this was a big freaking deal. With the Roman army coming for us, we really needed the favor of the evil princess.
“We seek your protection, Princess,” Puma Spirit said. “From the army that is bearing down upon your walls.”
“Why should I do that?”
“Those who seek to harm us are evil,” he said. “You would know about that.”
I almost gasped, biting it back at the last minute. Had he really just called the princess evil?
He had.
I peeked up, desperate for a glance at her face.
Would she smite us?
But her expression was sad.
“Yes,” she said. “I do understand.”
Oh, wow. So she really did feel guilty about what she’d done. And Puma Spirit had just totally guilt tripped her. I sent him an appraising glance. Well done, Puma Spirit.
“I will hold them off,” she said. “They have surrounded the castle now, but they cannot enter. My magic prevents it. If you want to escape, you must break through their line.”
“Can you hold them, once we’ve broken through?” I asked. That was a super important part of the puzzle, after all.
“I can. For long enough that you can get away. But you’ll need to be fast.”
“Oh, we can be fast,” Bree said.
“Then rise,” the princess said.
I stood, my knees aching.
“You may use the top ramparts to determine your plan.” The princess pointed to some stairs that lined the wall, leading up. “You have twenty minutes. At most. Including the time you need to run. Then my magic will falter.”
“Thank you.” Everyone spoke in unison.
“Let’s go.” I jumped off the buggy and hurried to the stairs, my companions joining me. We sprinted to the top, and the view took my breath away.
The castle was surrounded by thousands of Romans. More than I’d ever assumed.
They spotted us and roared, their collective voices shaking my bones. I shivered. Hundreds of spears and swords and bows and arrows waved in the air, each soldier armed to the teeth. Though they strained to break through the protective enchantment, the princess’s magic held strong. The air was still so chilly that my skin almost hurt, but it was a comforting pain. Without this magic, we’d be dead.
I turned to Puma Spirit. “You were right. We never would have made it through without help.”
He nodded. “The princess was our only hope.”
I spun, taking in the legions. They were equally thick all around us, stacked dozens of men deep.
“How will we break through them?” Rowan asked.
“I have an idea,” Bree said.
7
Ten minutes later, after discussing our plan with the princess, we stood at our chosen exit. The archway was on the west side of the castle, so it would be a straight shot out and toward freedom.
As long as we made it past the army.
Lachlan and I stood on the front platform, while Rowan drove. Puma Spirit and Bree took the back, ready to fight.
“Be fast,” the princess said from behind us. “My hold on them won’t last for long. Some may even manage to fire their weapons. You’ll have to be on guard.”
I turned to her, suddenly incredibly sad at the sight of her. Not for her, necessarily. She’d enslaved her family and killed her daughter. But she represented that tragedy, and it all just made me so damned sad. Because she was hardly the only one. That kind of evil existed everywhere in the world. We were surrounded by it, in fact. The Romans shouted and clamored, ready for blood.
“Thank you, Princess,” I said.
She inclined her head. “Go now.”
I nodded and turned back to the army. We were so close that I could see their faces. Some even had freckles. So young, yet they’d kill us in a second.
“Go time.” Bree grinned, then the lightning began to strike, right into the middle of the path we wanted to take.
The soldiers screamed and scrambled out of the way, pressing into their comrades. Thunder ripped through the air as Bree sent more lightning into the ground, clearing a path right through the enemy.
The soldiers tumbled over each other, pushing and shoving to get out of the way.
“Go!” the princess shouted, her voice strained. She’d explained that it would be difficult to hold them as they fled the lightning, allowing them the space to move amongst themselves but not toward us.
The soldiers had created a passage right through their ranks, forty feet wide and filled with striking lightning. On either side, they jostled and heaved, shaking their spears and trying to lunge toward us. But Bree kept the lightning going, blinding strikes that created safe passage.
Rowan stepped on the gas, and the buggy shot forward.
As we rolled, I called on my earth magic, building up an earthen barricade between us and the soldiers on the right side. I could feel the dirt and rocks as if they were part of me, and I heaved them into position, blocking the worst of their weapons. Lachlan did the same on the left, and soon, we were driving through an earthen corridor as lightning struck all around.
We were halfway through when the dirt wall on the right burst outward. An elephant stumbled int
o our path, coated in armor and ridden by four soldiers. The creature was created from dark magic, not alive so much as a spell meant to carry destruction into our path.
It turned to us and roared, a sound more suited to a lion than an elephant, and the soldiers raised their spears.
My heart leapt into my chest.
Rowan swerved, barely avoiding colliding with the creature.
The soldiers turned to us, heaving their spears in our direction. I called upon my shield magic, desperately reaching for it. At first, it faltered. Grimacing, I pushed harder, reaching deep inside myself.
The shield flickered to life at the last moment, a white barrier that stopped the spears. They exploded into it, shattering into a dozen pieces. My shield faded.
The buggy zipped away from the dark magic elephant.
“The princess is growing weaker!” Puma Spirit shouted. “Fast as you can!”
Rowan pressed on the gas. We flew past the legions. Lightning continued to strike, and the dirt walls stopped most of their spears except for a few who managed to break free and race through the opening created by the elephant. Four of them raised their bows, arrows pointed straight at us. I called upon my shield again, but it didn’t come.
The arrows flew.
“Lachlan!” I screamed.
His magic swelled, stopping time right around the spears. They halted for the briefest second, long enough to let us slip away.
Then we were free, the truck racing away from them. From a distance, the princess’s magic looked like a transparent blue dome, holding them tight within its grasp.
Wind tore at my hair as Rowan drove the buggy away at full speed, putting as much distance as possible between us and the Romans. When the princess’s hold finally broke and the Romans charged toward us, we were at least three miles away.
“They can’t catch us,” Lachlan said.
Thank fates. I collapsed against the rail, my muscles weak.
“We aren’t far from the exit,” Puma Spirit said. “I will leave you there.”
“Thank you.” I smiled at him.
He nodded, his expression serious. “See that you rescue your friends and leave this place. Take these Roman monsters with you. Let them hunt you on other ground.”
“It’s a deal.” I looked at my sisters, then back at him. “Though we’ll be the ones doing the hunting.”
He cracked a smile at that. “Good hunting, then.”
His gaze moved from me to the land in front of the buggy, and he gave Rowan directions to the exit. As we neared, I realized that the air shimmered, just like when we’d entered. But there was already an archway there, ready to be driven through.
“We go through there?” I asked.
“You do, though it may not be an easy passage.”
“It never is.” Rowan stopped the buggy right in front.
“Beware of the ghosts of Dead Mountain.” Puma Spirit jumped off the front platform and turned to us. “Safe travels.”
“What are the ghosts of Dead Mountain?” I asked.
But he’d already disappeared.
Shit.
“I guess we’ll find out.” Rowan directed Mini Mouse through the arch.
As we passed through, magic began to spark, sharp and fierce. The air swirled with a pale mist, and it felt like we’d entered some kind of chamber. In the distance, mountains rose tall with pale white peaks.
Then the buggy stopped.
I turned to Rowan. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. Mini Mouse won’t go anymore.”
Oh, crap. I inspected the area around us. The white mist continued to swirl.
“We’re stuck in the gate,” Lachlan said. “It’s not a simple exit.”
The white tips of the mountains in the distance began to move, seeming to sway in the air. Some of the white tips looked like tall, massive boulders perched at the peak.
“Are those the Dead Mountains?” Rowan asked.
“Could be.” We’d only ever seen them once, when we’d gotten lost. They were best avoided, according to Uncle Joe.
Then the white tips broke away, becoming swirls of bright white mist that drifted toward us.
“The ghosts of Dead Mountain.” Something compelled me to climb off Mini Mouse, onto the ground. My druid sense, no doubt. But I didn’t disobey it. Instead, I walked out to face the ghosts.
They drifted toward us, as big as skyscrapers. Three of them, each as amorphous as the last. What the heck were they?
The spirits of something, but I had no idea what.
They loomed in front of the buggy, their magic so powerful it nearly bowled me over.
“Let us pass!” I screamed.
They surged toward me, a threat in every movement.
I called upon my gift of fire, blasting an inferno toward them. The magic swept through me, making me feel as tall as a mountain. Big enough to fight even them.
But it blew right through the ghosts. I swore I could hear them laugh.
Wind, then.
I used my gift over the wind, sending a hurricane at them. It blew them backward, at least a little, then they plowed forward once more. I strained, giving it everything I had, trying to force them out of our way with my magic.
But it didn’t work.
They were too strong.
Panic tightened in my chest.
My light, then. That worked on threatening beings. And they were ghosts of Dead Mountain—maybe a healing light could defeat them. I called upon the strange light power. It flowed through me, strong and fierce. It was the essence of my magic, and I threw it at them, compelling them away from us.
The glow blasted out of me, blinding in its brightness. The ghosts were plowed backward, but they drifted forward again.
What the hell was going on?
Then I felt it.
They felt like the usual Death Valley magic, but there was something else there. Something strong and foreign. And wrong.
I gasped. “Romans.”
Somehow, the Fates had even gotten to the ghosts of Dead Mountain.
And they were determined to stop us from leaving this realm.
That was a death sentence.
“You thought it was so easy to get into this realm with your new magic.” The ghosts’ voices boomed through the air, though I could see no mouth. It was more like an amorphous cloud of malevolence. “But you are only half a Dragon God.”
“Half?” I threw my light magic at them, blasting them with everything I had. Rage surged inside my chest, mixing with the panic and making a toxic sludge that fueled my ferocity. “I’ll show you half!”
But my light couldn’t drive them off.
Bree, Rowan, and Lachlan appeared at my side.
Lightning began to strike, thunder shaking my bones. Bree hit the ghosts dead-on, making them shudder with every blow.
Rowan’s arrows began to fly. Everywhere they hit the ghosts, their pale white forms turned darker.
Lachlan made the sky howl with wind and rain, a storm driving the ghosts back even farther.
A sense of impending victory surged in my chest as I pushed the last of my light magic at the ghosts, shoving them away even farther.
Alone, I hadn’t been able to take out this enemy.
But together, we stood a chance.
The air swirled with our magical signatures, each of us giving it everything we had to defeat the ghosts of Dead Mountain. They were so huge and so strong that it took ages. My muscles began to flag and my breath came short. I could feel the dregs of my magic within me, every ounce of it going toward the fight.
The ghosts howled and thrashed, surging toward us only to be driven back once more. I was almost entirely out of power by the time the ghosts were forced away, weakened by our joint attack. The massive figures swirled off into the distance, shrieking.
I sagged, nearly going to my knees.
Lachlan grabbed my arm. “I’ve got you.”
I stumbled upright. Bree nearly went
down a half second later. Rowan grabbed her. Rowan was the only one of us who looked normal, since she hadn’t used her magic. Even Lachlan looked pale and drawn.
“Let’s get out of here before they come back.” I gasped out the words, still unable to catch my breath.
“Genius plan.” Bree staggered toward Mini Mouse, and I followed, Rowan and Lachlan hot on my heels.
We scrambled up into the vehicle. Lachlan took the back platform, acting as lookout, while I sat next to Bree on the front bench seat. Rowan took the wheel, since she was strongest, and shoved her foot onto the gas. The buggy jumped forward, speeding ahead. It cut through the foggy white air, then burst out onto the other side of the magical gate.
Heat bombarded us immediately, the last of the setting sun shining over the valley.
“We made it.” Bree thumped her head on the back of the seat. “Thank fates.”
Slowly, I pulled myself upright, peering ahead. Every muscle ached as I took in my surroundings. A massive surge of relief slackened my muscles. “Guys, we’re past the crater. It’s behind us. Hider’s Haven is ahead.”
Bree’s and Rowan’s gazes shot to mine, then they looked around.
“Hell yeah!” Rowan fist pumped.
“Oh, thank fates, I don’t think we would have made it across the crater,” Bree said.
“What’s in the crater?” Lachlan asked.
“Phantoms.” I shivered at the memory. “It’s a massive pit filled with phantoms, and you’re required to cross if you want to get into Hider’s Haven.”
“Thank fates we’re past it, then.”
“No kidding.” I’d seen all manner of magical beasts, but phantoms were always the worst. “Even better, I can see Hider’s Haven in the distance. We’re almost there.”
The entrance sat behind a massive boulder at the base of a steep mountain. The rock concealed a doorway into Hider’s Haven, which was a series of old mining tunnels deep within the mountain.
Normally, Hider’s Haven would be hidden if you hadn’t completed the miserable trial of crossing the phantoms’ crater, but apparently our trip through the Fates’ half realm had been dangerous enough to prove our worth and earn us entrance. If things went as they normally did, there should be no more challenges between here and the entrance, though once we made it into the mountain, that might be another thing altogether.