by Linsey Hall
Like the fact that lightning now exploded out of me occasionally.
Not great.
“It’s more than that,” Hedy said. “Your magic isn’t united within you. Your lack of control isn’t just a danger to others. It’s a danger to you.”
“What do you mean?”
“We’ve seen this before,” Hedy said. “With your sister Bree. If you can’t get your magic under control—and soon—it will devour you from the inside. You’ll become the walking dead. A shell of yourself. Just a husk with no soul and no magic.”
I swallowed hard, ice streaking through my veins. I’d known this was a vague possibility, but hadn’t really thought it would happen to me.
I’d ignored it.
But it was happening, apparently. Right now.
“How long do I have?” I asked.
Hedy’s gaze turned serious. “I don’t know. A couple weeks? Maybe a bit longer? It all depends on your power, Rowan. And you.”
Chapter Three
A few hours later, after a shower to get the smell of burnt ozone off of me, I found my sisters at the Whiskey and Warlock. The little pub was almost empty since it wasn’t yet five in the evening. The scarred old tables and chairs gleamed a warm golden wood, and copper mugs hung from the ceiling.
Bree and Ana were the only ones in the little room where the Protectorate usually gathered. They sat at a small table near the roaring fire, each with a drink in front of them. Bree’s pink cocktail shined in the light, while Ana’s pink champagne bubbled away.
The sight of them, a bit worn and mussed-looking from their recent job, warmed my insides. I turned from them and faced the bar, leaning on the gleaming wood. Sophie, the bartender, turned to smile at me. Today, her shirt said Mess with Nessie and You Mess with Me.
“What’ll it be?” she asked.
“Tea, please. Just a bit of milk.”
“No beer?”
I shook my head. “Can’t say that I deserve it today.”
I needed to get to practicing my magic, but I’d wanted to see Bree and Ana first.
“I doubt that’s true,” Sophie said.
“Kinda is.”
I guess my face said it all, because she just nodded sympathetically and went to the back to brew some tea. “Take a seat and I’ll bring it out.” Her voice echoed from the kitchen.
“Thanks,” I shouted, then went to join my sisters. I smiled at them, nodding to their drinks. “You’re starting early.”
“Celebrating.” Bree grinned widely, shoving her dark hair back from her cheek. “We caught the Melphius demon who’s been terrorizing Pitlochry.”
“Really?” I’d been hearing about how the hellbeast was burning houses and catching people as they fled the flames. “Then you deserve a celebratory drink.”
At that moment, I wanted to be them. To have finished with my classes and proven myself worthy. To have joined the team and my sisters at the Protectorate, fighting to keep people safe.
Ana nodded, her blonde hair glinting in the light of the flames. “It wasn’t easy, but we took him down.”
At her arm, a wound bled sluggishly. I scowled at her. “Let me take care of that.”
“What?” She glanced down. “Oh, that. I hardly noticed. There were worse ones.”
“So you’ve already done some healing?” I frowned, not liking the idea that she’d been worse off than this.
“A lot of it.” She sipped her pink bubbles and sighed happily. “I’m pretty much tapped out now, but that one’s little. It’s fine.”
“Well, let me see to this anyway.” I pulled a little vial of healing potion from my belt and dabbed it on the wound. While I worked, Sophie delivered my tea.
“Just tea for you?” Ana asked as I put the vial of potion back in my belt.
“Got a problem.”
They both leaned forward, their eyes concerned. As if they were the same person, they spoke in unison. “It’s your magic, isn’t it?”
I swallowed hard and nodded, explaining how my new lightning magic was exploding out of me. I’d had pretty good control of the water power I’d first gotten from the gods, but now that I had another power, it was all going haywire inside me. Not to mention Hades’s magic…
“Oh no.” Bree’s face paled. “I was worried about this. You need to get it under control.”
“Fast,” Ana said.
“I know.”
“We always knew this was a risk. But I didn’t really believe it would happen to you.” Bree shook her head. “Probably because I didn’t want to face it.”
“We can help you get it under control,” Ana said. “So can Maximus. He’s very skilled.”
Just the thought of Maximus made me warm inside. I shoved it away and reached for her hand. “Thanks, guys.”
“Of course. We’re always here for you,” Bree said. “I can help you with your lightning power.”
“I’m not bad with the elements,” Ana said. “Water is a specialty of mine.”
“But what about that power from Hades?” Bree asked. “The one that lets you suck the life from plants.”
I blanched. “Um, that one is tough.”
“Have you practiced with it?” Bree asked.
“No.”
“You have to,” Ana said.
“I don’t want it,” I said. In fact, I was pretty damned scared of it. I loathed admitting that, though, even to myself.
“It doesn’t matter if you want it,” Bree said. “You need to make it work for you. That’s probably part of your problem. You can’t ignore it.”
“I know. You’re right.” I leaned forward. “I also got a hint of what the Stryx saw in the Truth Teller, before my magic blew up and caused problems.”
Bree leaned in. “Really? What?”
I described the blazing sky and black mountains, the explosions. Before I finished, a noise blared from the comms charm around Ana’s neck, sharp and loud. The three of us jumped.
My heart thundered. “What the hell is that?”
“Red alert.” Ana pressed her fingertips to her comms charm, igniting the magic within it. “Jude? What is it?”
“Emergency in northern Greece.” She rattled off a list of geographical coordinates. “Get here soon. Be prepared to climb, and watch out for the Obsidia. Mean little bastards.”
“What?” Confusion echoed in Ana’s voice, but there was the sound of an explosion, then the connection cut out. “Jude? Jude!”
There was no response.
They surged to their feet and I followed.
“We’ve got to go,” Bree said.
“I’m coming.” I stepped forward.
“You don’t have to,” Ana says. “It could be dangerous.”
“From the sound of that explosion, it is dangerous,” I said. “I’m coming anyway. It’s in Greece. I’m the Greek DragonGod. No way I’m not coming.”
Bree shot Ana a look. “She has a point.”
I grinned. “Exactly.”
Ana nodded. “Let’s get a move on, then.”
We hurried out onto the street, which had already grown dark.
Bree reached into her pocket and withdrew a transport charm. “I’ll get us as close as I can to those coordinates.”
Ana and I nodded, and she hurled the transport charm to the ground. It exploded upward in a cloud of glittery black dust, and the three of us stepped into it.
The ether sucked me in and spun me around, spitting me out into the middle of what felt like a war zone. I coughed and stumbled on gravel. Smoke burned my eyes as I looked around.
We stood in a valley between two huge black hills, the earth itself made of crumbly black rocks. The sun was beginning to set, shedding an eerie, pale light over the smoke that drifted down from the top of one of the hills. The sound of explosions echoed in the distance, but I couldn’t see them yet.
“Where are we?” I scraped my hair off my face and turned in a circle, looking for clues.
“Besides Greece? No idea.”
Bree’s silver wings flared from her back, and she launched herself into the air. “Going for recon. Be back soon.”
She flew high into the smoky sky. Ana and I looked up, following her progress. The air here stank of sulfur and burning stuff. In all the pictures I’d seen of Greece, I’d never seen anything like these massive black hills.
Dark magic prickled in the air, a powerful force that made my skin crawl and my senses go on high alert.
“Something is really wrong here,” I said.
“No kidding.” Ana pointed toward the sky. “Here she comes.”
Bree appeared through the smoke, her silver wings bright against the dark clouds. She landed next to us, her face streaked with soot. “I couldn’t see much, but I think we have to head up that hill.”
She pointed to the one that was belching smoke. I nodded and trudged toward it, the glassy gravel easily swallowing my boots up to my ankles.
“Do we know who else is up there?” I shouted through the sound of explosions.
“I couldn’t see anyone,” Bree said.
I tried to breathe shallowly to keep the smoke out of my lungs, but it wasn’t working. It burned as I climbed, my muscles aching in tandem. All around, the gravel shifted, flowing downward as something at the top of the mountain disturbed it.
“Do you hear that?” Bree asked, tipping her head to the left.
“No.” I tried, but I couldn’t. Bree had godly hearing, though. A gift from Heimdall, a Norse god.
“Something is stalking us.”
The words made a chill race down my spine.
Something is stalking us. That was the last thing you ever wanted to hear.
I didn’t have my potion bombs since I hadn’t brought my bag, but I did have my dagger and some other weapons stored in the ether. Also my magic, but that was totally wonky and I wasn’t sure I wanted to risk it.
“To the left,” Ana said.
I glanced over, spotting a flash of movement against the black ground. The figure was only a few feet tall and blade-like, each limb as skinny as a sword. And if I wasn’t mistaken, the creature was made of black glass. Red eyes gleamed at us.
“That must be the Obsidia,” I said.
“Ten bucks it’s made of obsidian,” Bree said.
“Not taking that bet.” I was certain it was made of the black volcanic glass. Unfortunately for us, obsidian was the sharpest surface on earth. Brittle, though, thank fates.
We continued to hurry up the mountain, keeping our pace quick and our gazes on the Obsidia. By the time we’d climbed another hundred yards, there were three Obsidias. Then four. They didn’t have faces—just red eyes on a jagged slab of black volcanic glass that protruded upward from the shoulders.
The sounds of explosions intensified, covering up the skittering noise that the Obsidias made when they moved.
“They’re getting closer,” Ana said.
She was right. The little jerks were creeping ever closer, their blade-like arms outstretched toward us. They had no fingers or hands, just glassy swords for limbs, which were longer than their legs. Easily a three-foot reach. That was a heck of a lot longer than my sword, and definitely long enough to do some serious damage.
Heart pounding, I moved my hand toward my side, out of view of the Obsidias. Then I called my sword from the ether, preparing for an attack.
As a group, the beasts charged, all four of them racing across the gravelly slope toward us. Their red eyes flamed and their glassy bodies gleamed.
Bree launched herself into the air, drawing a long sword from the ether. She shot toward the little monsters, her blade raised. As soon as she hovered above it, the creature jumped, launching itself fifteen feet into the air and slicing out with its arm.
Bree shrieked and dodged, diving aside just in time to avoid a nasty cut. The Obsidia landed on the ground, then leapt up again, flying twenty feet high this time. Bree was ready for him, though, and she struck out with her blade, shattering the creature’s arm.
The little monster didn’t so much as flinch, though I wasn’t surprised. Dark magic reeked from them, stinking of sulfur and death. They were dark magic creatures, built of magic and stone instead of flesh and bone. Pain wouldn’t be something they were familiar with.
Beside me, Ana raised her hands, her magic swelling on the air. She used her power over the earth, calling upon the gravelly ground to rise up and slam into two of the beasts who were closest to us. They flew backward, buried under a pile of tiny rocks.
I lunged for a creature that charged us, my blade raised high. The monster charged at me, jumping ten feet to sail through the air, headed right for my head. Before it reached me, I swiped out with my blade, shattering the creature’s arm. Black glass shards flew everywhere, tiny pieces slicing across my cheek and neck.
The Obsidia landed gracefully and spun, swiping out with its other arm, aiming at my leg. I darted out of the way, but too slowly. The glass cut through my shin, and pain flared.
I gritted my teeth and dived forward, slicing through the Obsidia’s body with my sword. As the creature shattered, I threw my arm up in front of my face, covering my skin. Glass shards embedded themselves in my jacket, but I escaped the worst of it.
When I lowered my arm, I spotted Bree and Ana tag teaming three more Obsidia. Ana kept them distracted with sprays of gravel while Bree attacked with her sword from the sky. They took them out one by one, and I turned my attention to scanning our surroundings, searching for more attackers.
The wound at my shin burned, but I ignored it. When a shift in the rubble to my left caught my eye, I tightened my grip on my blade.
A half second later, an Obsidia burst from the ground, red eyes blazing. Its gaze glued to me, and it charged, razor-sharp arms outstretched.
I sprinted toward the monster. It was comforting, having a problem that I could fix with just my blade and muscles.
As I neared the Obsidia, I swiped out with my blade and slammed it into the creature’s arms. They shattered, but the beast used the stub of one to slice at my arm. He made contact, and agony flared, making my eyes water and a cry tear from my throat.
Thank fates it isn’t my sword arm.
I raised my blade and brought it down across the creature’s chest, shattering him into a hundred pieces. I was too slow to cover my face, and the glass bit in sharply, a dozen pinpricks of pain.
When I lowered my arm, I spotted my sisters. Bree had landed next to Ana.
The monsters were gone.
“You okay?” I shouted over the sound of explosions.
Ana bled from her arm and Bree from her leg, but they both looked all right.
“Just dandy!” Ana said.
“Couldn’t be better.” Bree grinned.
Ana turned to Bree, her hand glowing golden with her healing light. “Let me take care of that leg.”
While they healed up with Ana’s Druid healing power, I pulled a healing potion from my belt. This one was meant to be drunk, and it’d be better for the gashes and tiny wounds. I took a sparing sip, wanting to save some for later, and felt the pain begin to fade.
A few tiny glass shards fell from my face as my skin evicted them in the healing process. Once I was sure they were all gone, I did my best to wipe the blood away.
All healed up, we continued to climb toward the top. Every inch of me prickled with awareness as I kept my senses tuned for more Obsidia.
As we climbed, the sound of explosions grew louder. The earth beneath my feet shook, and more rubble flowed down the hillside. It took everything I had to stay on my feet, and I struggled to keep upright.
By the time Jude’s figure appeared at the top of the hill, surrounded by the blaze of the setting sun, all of my muscles were burning. I wiped the sweat away from my face and peered at her.
Behind her tall figure, there were more hills. Gravel and smoke exploded upward, revealing a silhouette of horror.
I gasped at the familiar sight, stumbling backward. The strongest sense of déjà
vu swept over me, highlighting all the similarities between this scene and the one shown to me by the Truth Teller.
“We’re here.” The words came out in a rush.
“What?” Bree asked.
“This. This scene is what the Truth Teller showed the Stryx.” I turned to my sisters, knowing my eyes had to be wild.
Ana and Bree’s eyes widened.
“The red sky and black mountains,” Bree said.
“The explosions.” Ana covered her ears as a particularly violent one struck.
“What’s going on?” Jude shouted, climbing down the mountain toward us, her braids blowing in the wind.
I turned to face her. “This looks just like the scene that the Truth Teller showed me in class.” I pointed to the explosions. “This is the work of the Stryx.”
Jude’s eyes narrowed. “Really? I got a glimpse of red in the image, but didn’t see it well.”
“Really. I saw it so clearly.”
She waved us forward. “Then come up and check it out closer. See if you still feel the same when you get to the top.”
I scrambled up the hillside behind her, moving as quickly as I could. By the time I reached the top, I realized it was a massive crater. We were standing on the spoils of a huge digging operation. In the pit below, the Stryx were plowing into the earth using explosives. We were near a volcano—we had to be, given all the obsidian flying through the air—and the Stryx were just going deeper.
I squinted down into the middle of the gigantic crater, but I could see nothing except smoke and explosions.
“We can’t get in!” Jude shouted over the noise. “We’ve tried, but there is a barrier blocking us.”
“So you can’t stop them?” I asked.
“Not yet.”
“It’s definitely the Stryx, though. I’d bet my life on it.”
“Good.” Jude nodded. “At least we know, now.”
I turned back toward the explosions, finally spotting Maximus standing about thirty yards away on the same ridge. He looked tall and strong enough to break a bus in half. His arms were crossed over his chest and his face creased in a scowl as he watched the explosions. He hadn’t seen me yet.