by Jessica Gunn
And I thrust the sword downward.
At the last second an ember of white ala-ether wrapped around the bottom half of the sword as I drove it down into Lady Azar’s chest. She screamed, her skin graying in sync with how deep the sword went into her. The wound spurted with blood, and also ala-ether as it burst from within her, the last bit needed to kill this Old One.
Her body shook violently and then, in a brilliant show of blinding white, purely Good magik, her body erupted into a shower of white sparks just like all those beams of light that’d shot upward in the distance.
Riley, Krystin, and Shawn—they were killing all the demons on this plane. Every last one of them.
All of them.
Fear slammed into my gut and I turned toward Riley and his dark burgundy eyes. That couldn’t mean every demon. Krystin and Shawn wouldn’t do that. Not to Riley.
Their ala-ether bathed all the visible area in magik, eliminating demon after demon in flashes of white light that burst up into the sky. A great wind swept up around us, blowing all manner of leaves and flower petals into a tiny cyclone. But the ground seemed to shake less and less with every burst of demon death that occurred. Minutes went by, time spent holding on to Rachel’s hand and praying that Shawn and Krystin knew what they were doing.
Areus, who’d watched the fight from afar, looked hopeful. He watched the trio with amazement in his eyes, but also curiosity. Had he not seen Riley borrow Krystin’s magik either? How had he taken her magik when she was still using it?
Finally, the Alzanian magik calmed down, leaving behind only my son being held by two members of my team. Two of my closest friends.
Rachel let go of me first, shoving me aside to run to them. I joined her, my body shaking with anticipation. Was Riley okay? Krystin?
Krystin fell sideways just as we reached them. Nate caught her before her head hit the ground.
“Krystin?” he asked as he placed a hand against her forehead. “Krystin, wake up! Guys, she’s burning up.”
“It’s her magik,” Shawn said.
Areus moved him out of the way and knelt down beside her. “I told you to be careful, Daughter.” His expression was grave, a severe, worried frown on his lips.
Rachel had wrapped Riley in a hug. But as soon as his eyes found mine, he wriggled free from her and jumped into my arms.
“Sorry, Daddy,” he cried, his face red and blotchy. “She—I—”
“Shh,” I said as I started to rock him. Kids liked being rocked, right? God, what the hell was I supposed to do to comfort him? “I know, buddy. I know. It’s all over now. I promise.” I looked over his shoulder to Shawn. “Explain. Now.”
“We used the Alzanian magik to take out all the demons,” he said. “Just like the prophecy foretold.”
“Except you used Riley, too,” Rachel pointed out. She had a hand on his back now, rubbing it in tiny circles as she whispered to him that he was okay and safe.
“I… have never seen anything like that before,” Areus said as he moved in to cradle Krystin’s head. He placed two fingers on either side of her temples. She looked peaceful while asleep. Too peaceful, almost. “Even in the First War when the Daughter shifted planes for us.” He shook his head. “You three turned it into the weapon it was meant to be.”
My eyes narrowed. “Krystin told Riley to steal her magik.” I pulled Riley back so I could see his face. “Is that what happened?”
He pouted, trying to hold back tears and look tough. Or at least that’s what I imagined he was doing. “Her magik felt like mine. Not like Mom’s—” He wailed again and buried his face in my shoulder.
“Riley recognized the parts of Alzanian magik that are Neuian,” said a woman’s voice from behind us.
I turned and saw Karen Reiner standing there on the side of the courtyard with an entourage of a dozen or so Neuians, identifiable by the tattoos on their temples. “Is this why Lady Azar thought you guys were coming for Alzan next?” I asked.
Karen nodded deeply. “We have no quarrel with Alzan as of right now, so long as the cianza remains neutral.” She glanced at me. Your son has an incredible gift. He is powerful, one of the strongest magik users I’ve seen in our line in quite some time.”
I pivoted to keep myself between her and Riley. “Don’t even think about taking him.”
“Ben, we need to go,” Shawn said. “Krystin can’t wait any longer.”
What was I supposed to do? Run from this woman and the Neuian entourage?
Areus shot up, leaving Krystin with Shawn and Nate. “Be gone, Karen. You have said your peace. Unless you are here to assist in recovery, leave.”
“Areus,” she said, drawing out his name like she couldn’t believe he’d stand up to her. “It’s been quite some time.”
“And time for us both runs short,” he said.
“Perhaps.” Her gaze fell to Riley again. “We will see about that.”
“Enough!” Areus roared. “Shawn, we must bring her to the Pyramid Building right now if we have any hope of saving her.”
Krystin groaned, her eyelids fluttering as if in response to his words. “Don’t.”
My mind warred with itself. I wanted to run to Krystin, to see if there was anything at all I could do to help her. But Riley clung to my side and Karen was still here, looking at me like I was a chess piece waiting to be used.
“Join us,” Karen said. “You and your cousin. Your son. We’ll need our strongest descendants to take back what’s ours in a coming battle the Neuians must face. And it seems as though the Hunter Circles no longer wants you anyway. Neither do the Powers. They have their own soldiers to fight their wars.”
“Are you serious?” I spat, my eyes narrowing. “Like I’d sign up for something like that. I’m never turning on these people. They’re my family.” Even if part of that immediate family was currently in distress before my eyes. Riley… Krystin…
“I am your family,” Karen said.
“By blood, maybe,” Rachel said. “And magik. But that’s not what family is.”
However right Rachel was, I couldn’t stop my sudden curiosity about what Karen meant. What battle was coming that the Neuians had to fight? Another civil war like the one that ended their first civilization?
A chill coursed down my spine. Or a battle with Darkness and the Powers?
Karen’s lips thinned. “No. Family takes care of their own, and we may yet be able to save Riley, to return him to what he once was. But if we’re not family, then it will not be done. Until next time.” She turned to gather beside her entourage once more.
“Wait!” I screamed into the sky. “Turn him back!”
She shook her head solemnly, and in the blink of an eye, she and her entire entourage were gone.
Riley cried out as if he’d understood the whole conversation. Tears stung my own eyes, but I blinked them back. Riley couldn’t be a demon, not for the rest of his life. I didn’t know how to even begin dealing with that.
“We need to go,” Areus said again. He placed a hand on my arm. “If we don’t, Krystin won’t survive.”
I swallowed my pain and desperation. For now, Riley was alive. That had to be okay for the moment because it seemed like in the next, I’d be losing someone else close to me.
Chapter 22
KRYSTIN
My head was swimming with thoughts and feelings and colors. The brightest oranges and yellows and reds, the deepest navy blues and blacks. Rainbows of magik swirling around inside my head like a gyre.
This was my magik backfiring. Burning my mind along with the blood in my veins. My magik itself. Searing its way through me down to the core of my soul.
This was how I’d die. Surrounded by friends at best, or enemies at worst. Guess that depended on if Ben had realized what I’d done. That I hadn’t endangered Riley but had saved us all.
The world shimmered around me as someone used teleportante. The sunlight outside turned into a dark encasement of marble in an unlit room.
Are
us’s face appeared above mine. “Are you still with us?”
I moved my tongue to speak, but my mouth was impossibly dry. I swallowed and tried to wet my lips. I nodded.
“Good.”
Ben swam into focus next. A warm hand held mine. “Hang in there, Krystin. Please.”
“Trying.” But not. Because though the pain had made me almost numb, the kaleidoscope of colorful magik was so beautiful. I didn’t want it to stop. If this was how I was going to die, I’d die in peace and beauty. Which was a lot better an outcome than I’d expected growing up under Jaffrin’s control or when I’d been rotting away in Ether Circle Prison.
“Krystin,” Ben begged. The pressure on my hand increased. The hand he was holding vibrated a little, the heat increasing. It felt weird, tingly almost.
My vision cleared for a moment, the rainbows gone as if by magik itself. “What…?”
“Did you just shock her?” Shawn asked from somewhere.
Ben nodded. I could see his cobalt blue eyes now and the tattoos around them, inky swirls of Neuian design. “It worked, right?”
“My head’s clearer.” My voice was still hoarse, but at least I could think straight again. However temporarily it would last.
“You are dying,” Areus said, his firm voice betraying his desperate, sad expression.
“Figured that much.”
Tears welled up in his eyes, a strange emotion for someone who barely knew me. We’d only met a week ago. “I wish there was more I could do, Daughter. But there is no cure. This you know. I’m so very sorry I couldn’t teach you sooner.”
“S’okay,” I said. My head was beginning to get fuzzy again. “Not your fault.”
“There might be something,” someone else said. Nate. He was standing near wherever Shawn was, out of my line of sight. “I’ve been researching for the last few days, looking to see if the monks I studied with had any sort of remedy. They did for a lot of ailments, since healers are ether-users. There was one ritual written down that might save you, Krystin.”
I nodded as best I could, but inside, my mind warred. I’d accepted this. I only had to make it through this last battle and then I’d be free, painful as that freedom was. But I’d never be anyone’s pawn ever again.
“Demons still exist,” Ben said, as if reading my thoughts. “Your work isn’t over yet.”
“You don’t… decide that…” My tongue seemed to have grown in size.
A zap of lightning struck me again. Just enough to push away unconsciousness.
“Stop,” I said.
“I need you, Krystin,” Ben said. “I don’t care if that’s selfish. I need you here—with me. With this team. And you promised me you’d help me save Riley.”
“He’s safe.” Lady Azar was dead. And after today’s stand against her at Alzan, I doubted anyone would come after him anytime soon—if ever.
Ben looked across me to someone else. “What does the ritual entail?”
Nate’s face swam into view above my torso, replacing Areus’s. “It’s complicated. I don’t even know if I can do it.”
“What does it do?” Ben asked, more forceful this time.
“It’ll bend her ether to someone else’s, another ether-user’s,” Nate said. “I don’t really understand the specifics, but it joins the ether, gives it a place to lean on instead of eating itself. I think the ritual was meant to save only ether-shapers from a magikal backfire, but…” He glanced down at me. “Your magik is based on cianzas, which were made by the Neuians, whose magik is essentially the same thing. That’s why the Power is neutral on cianzas as long as the person isn’t currently channeling another’s magik.”
“Are you going to bind her magik to Cianza Alzan?” Ben asked.
Nate shook his head. “I can try binding it to mine, as an ether-shaper. But… I think using yours or Rachel’s magik would be better. Since you’re Neuian.” His gaze traveled across the room to someone I couldn’t see. “Or Riley’s. His magik is the most neutral for her.”
Ben shook his head, his eyes tightening. “Absolutely not. Use me.”
Nate’s face grew hard. “It’s not without risk, Ben. There’s a good chance that by tying your magik, whatever happens to hers happens to yours. The connection might go farther than that. I don’t know and won’t know unless it works and I can then contact the monks.”
“I don’t care.” Ben’s words were rushed, desperate.
I tried to speak, but my mouth had grown dry again. Instead, I squeezed Ben’s hand for all I was worth and mouthed the word, “No,” while glaring at him. There was no way in hell I was going to force him to share whatever fate the Powers had planned for me. This was my burden alone to bear, and bear it alone I would.
“You’re not the only person who cares about you, Krystin,” Ben said. “I’m not letting you die when this might save you.”
I glared harder. I was already dead; a goner the second my fate as Daughter of Alzan had been sealed. Who was Ben to decide what should or shouldn’t happen for me?
He cares about you, my mind argued.
Yeah, unless he thinks I actually wanted to kill Riley back there.
“Nate,” Ben urged. “Just do it. She can be mad about it later all she wants.”
“She’s… right here… asshole,” I ground out.
Ben looked down again. “Good. No arguing—that’s an order. I’m not leaving anyone behind this time. If it means I’m stuck with you being angry with me for the rest of our lives, at least we’ll be alive to argue about it.” He glanced back at Nate. “Do it.”
“It might kill you,” Nate said, his eyebrows furrowed. “I’ve never done this before.”
“You’re a powerful ether-shaper. I trust you.”
A wave of nausea rolled through me as my fever grew hotter. Hands held me down as my body convulsed. Darkness crept along the edges of my vision. Something swept in on top of it all, dampening the rainbows and the pain and the nausea.
Peace. Ending. Freedom. Which was all I’d ever really wanted.
Freedom. The word was sung like a prayer through my mind. I resigned to it. Stopped fighting the darkness.
“Nate,” Ben growled, but it came through cotton in my ears, muffled as though he were miles away.
“Okay,” Nate said.
Blackness overtook every part of my awareness. I was numb to feeling, deaf to hearing. Couldn’t see, couldn’t speak. There was nothing. Only me alone standing in the nothingness as if all that existed were my innermost thoughts. Adrift in my mind and nothing more.
A bright blue light poked through a pinhole on the horizon, reaching out with tendrils into this endless night. It looked strange, like a snake slithering through the stillness around me. A cobalt blue beam that searched the darkness, coming for me.
I reached out for it, too. Was this the way home, to freedom? Follow the light and everything will be fine? It sure sounded like all the stories I’d heard from Hunters who’d faced death and come back.
This Hunter’s fight was over. At last.
A vibrant white light poked over my shoulder, small in size, though not in radiance. Like a tiny supernova in the emptiness of space.
The blue tendrils reached out for it, galloping across the darkness. The supernova on my shoulder danced, then hopped off and raced toward the cobalt blue.
“Wait!” I called after it, panic seeping into my awareness. “Wait for me!”
The two lights zipped toward each other; the blackness they left behind grew darker, as if that were possible. My awareness fatigued without the light.
Closer and closer they raced, dancing around each other, swinging like stars in orbit in the night sky, faster and faster until—
They slammed into one another, colliding in a brilliant flash. I closed my eyes, bracing for the afterlife—if there was one.
But when I opened them, all I saw were Ben’s blue eyes, wet with tears that streamed down his face. His tattoos were shining bright blue, pulsing in light and mag
ik and power.
Above me on the other side was Nate. He smiled weakly down at me, though his face was pale. Too pale.
I was alive. They’d done it. Saved me.
But for how long?
“Your ether magik is now bound to Ben’s,” Nate said, lying in the bed opposite me in the Pyramid Building’s hospital wing. “Your magik is so similar to begin with that it made him, Rachel, or Riley the most obvious choice.”
“I wasn’t risking Riley,” Ben said. He’d been by my side the entire time, even when they’d carried me here. Only when they’d redressed me into clean clothes had he left.
I leaned my head back into the pillows. “So you risked your life when my fate was already sealed?”
“You’d have done the same thing.”
I opened one eye and looked at him. “That’s not the point.” I turned to Nate. “Why are you in a bed too?”
“It wiped me out,” Nate said, frowning. “I’ll be out of commission for a while, I think. But no backfiring here.”
“Good,” I said, rolling my eyes. “You dumb idiot. I know you care, but that was insane.”
Rachel stood behind Ben holding Riley. As far as I knew, Riley hadn’t left her or Ben’s sides since the fight with Lady Azar. “No, it wasn’t, Krystin. We weren’t going to let you die.”
I didn’t know why I was being such an ass about this. But Ben had connected us for life, even when I’d said no. It wasn’t that I wasn’t grateful to be alive. That wasn’t it. But I’d accepted death. I didn’t want death to take him, too, the next time it came for me. “Just so I understand this: We don’t share the same exact magik, but if one of us backfires, the other will too?”
Nate nodded, uncertainty furrowing his brow. “I think so. I need to make a trip and confirm a few things. I’ve never actually seen this ritual performed before. Hadn’t even heard of it until I started digging. But it’s been done before, so it has to be somewhat safe.”
It was that “somewhat” that had me pissed beyond reason. “And what happens if I die anyway, now that we’re connected?”
Nate frowned. “I don’t know. Look, it was the only way to keep you alive.”