Smoke and Ruin

by Tiffany Daune

  He slammed the water, his magick curling the waves. "We’re done." His sparks burned with his anger seeking a release. The water warmed around them, bubbling with steam. She hated the heat, which roiled her stomach the same as rancid blood.

  "What are you doing?" She fought the current now spinning with boiling water.

  "What I should have done a long time ago. Maybe my soul is better off in the Hunters’ arrow than with you."

  When Kye surfaced, he struck her back. She howled, baring her fangs, the flesh of the leopard caught in her teeth. He created these abominations; he could destroy them.

  "You need us." Selene hissed. Her fins beat the water, but his barrier held fast.

  "No, I don't!" His magick charged, shoving him up and above the steaming ocean water. They stared wide eyed while he hovered. The faces of the Elosian girls he forced to drink his blood flashed through his mind. "I'm sorry." He shut his eyes, releasing the force of his magick. The waves electrified. He dared not look when their screeches split the night; he couldn’t face Selene and her sisters as they succumbed to the charge.

  When only the cry of distance gulls filled the air, he floated and landed back on the dock. He collapsed, facing the stars with remorse and freedom tugging at his heart. No longer protected by the mermaids, he wondered if perhaps Natalie was right—maybe they were all better in the Hunters’ arrows. He could make a deal with Rania. If she called off her army, then Halen would still be safe. He would surrender to the Hunters. But first, he had to make a call. He couldn’t leave Halen wondering what happened to him, not with dark magick stirring in her blood. Her rage would seek retribution.

  He closed his eyes, exhaling long and slow to steady the sparks. He no longer needed marrow from Elizabeth to recover, but a little rest before he called Halen would ensure his magick wouldn’t waver. As he inhaled, the wind whipped alongside the docks. A scurried rush brushed his ears followed by a broken howl. He opened his eyes to find a snarling Krull commander, sickle in hand, at the end of the dock; its eyes, long slits in the warrior’s mammoth skull, glowed.

  Asair’s veins alit with fire. As the Krull commander stepped forward, its weapon gleamed with anticipation of striking flesh. Below the creature’s waist, spiked steel gray quills quivered, set for battle.

  His gaze darted to the water, hoping for an escape, when he spotted the grotesque mutant army charging the shore. Their beady yellow eyes illuminated the path. In the center of the battalion, a woman emerged. Her angered energy swirled around her like a torrid storm searching for her next target to decimate. When her sharp gaze met with Asair, memories of Quinn’s mother rushed him all at once. His magick sparked, then faded as quickly as it rose; Quinn’s love and hatred for this mother fought his urge to strike.

  If Rania had any feelings left for her son, it didn’t show, for she let out a series of whooping calls, releasing her army on to the beach.

  Asair reached out, wiggling his fingertips, searching for any spark to rise.

  She waved, commanding the Krull soldier before him.

  Focused on his lack of magick, he didn’t even see the dagger poised in the air before the blade plunged into this back.

  Rania screamed from the shore. "No, you fool. Not that one."

  Asair’s fingers brushed the hilt, but he could not reach far enough to yank it out. He hurled as the pain seared through to his bones, catching his blood on fire. As he turned, he caught a flicker of gold. He wanted to scream out to the Krull who stabbed him, warn him to turn, but the flames and vomit stole his voice.

  A Hunter bent over the Krull warrior, striking the beast across the jaw. Ezra's face broke with a smile, as he reached over his shoulder for his gold arrow. Perhaps if the Hunter were still the siren boy Halen adored, Asair would have a chance, but with Otho's soul in control, and his magick on hiatus, he didn’t see a way out. Avoiding the glimmer of gold, he cast his gaze to the heavens, breathing in the sweet salty air, centering all thoughts now on the girl who would never forgive him dying.

  "WE HAVEN'T HEARD back from Vita. I'm worried." Halen rubbed her arm, now stained a purplish black hue from Jae's potion, but still the annoying sliver shone through. Not matter what herb or incantation Jae cast, the fused silver wouldn't budge. Halen wouldn’t give up though, she would endure any disgusting taste or any amount of pain to free herself from Dax. They had to try harder, work faster, so she could leave to join the fight.

  "Emil’s making calls now. He's spoken to Tasar, but there's no sign of the Hunters, Rania, or even the mermaids."

  "Tasar?" As Halen rose to a sitting position, her head swam. The tiny glass potion vials on Jae’s counter all blended into a rainbow blur.

  Jae rushed over, lowering her back to the pillows. "You need to rest. This is hard when you’re still healing from the mermaid venom. I can’t have you bleeding to death like—" She averted her gaze.

  "You can say her name—Tage,” Halen said. “Tage was tough. She would have been right here by my side trying to help.” Speaking her name tugged her heart. She missed her friend, but she had to fight because of Tage—for all the sirens who risked their lives so her heart stayed beating. If she didn’t fight, their lives were lost for nothing.

  “I’m sure she would.” Jae exhaled a long slow breath. “But I don’t want to push you anymore.”

  “I'm fine." Halen glanced up at her. "Just give Dax the next dose. The sooner I'm free of him the sooner I'll heal."

  Jae's gaze slipped to Natalie.

  "I can take it." Halen assured her sister. Natalie hadn't left her side, holding her hand when the fever boiled, absorbing her sparks when they threatened to strike Jae's spell. Though they hadn't grown up together, already Natalie felt like family. She had the same caring nature as their mother. It comforted Halen just having her by her side. If it were the other way around, she would do the same for her sister.

  Natalie nodded. "Give it to Dax. I'll take care of her."

  Halen managed a faint smile. The last dose tore through her like fire ants charging through her veins. Dax, however, looked much worse. His arm welted with bubbled wounds, his blond hair had turned a violet gray, and his skin beaded with sweat. Halen prayed the next dose penetrated the silver. If Jae could just hit the melting point without killing them both, then she might be able to extract the remnants of the bracelet.

  Her assistant, a bird like girl with a hooked nose and a plume of bright pink hair, stood by Jae ready with a long needle. When Jae whispered her incantation, the girl punctured Dax's bicep.

  Halen's arm pricked; she winced, anticipating the excruciating pain sure to follow. She pinched her eyes shut as the scent of burning charcoal filled the air.

  Jae chanted an incantation.

  With each syllable, the pain intensified with a throbbing pulsing pressure. Halen grasped Natalie’s hand. Her arms shook while the vibration of Jae’s chanting rolled across her chest. She jerked wildly as spasms of dagger sharp sparks jolted through her.

  "This is too much!" Natalie shouted.

  "No. Keep going." Halen forced words to her throat. "Don't stop."

  "The silver's melting." Jae's assistant pulled the needle up ever so slightly and the tube filled with a shiny liquid.

  "Hang in there." Natalie ran a damp cloth over her forehead, patting away the sweat with her free hand.

  Halen's eyes rolled in the back of head; her jaw clenched as the fire spread. She could do this. She had to do this. If only…

  "Stop!" Dax's warbled cry cut the air. He thrust his arm out, and the girl flew back against the wall. She jumped up, securing his flaying arm with the band.

  Halen's gaze darted toward the monitors beeping with their spiking heartbeats.

  "The spell’s working." Natalie shouted.

  With this hope, Halen fought the next surge of pain as Jae injected the needle in her arm.

  Jae continued her chant, her tone deepening with each syllable.

  Halen writhed in the grip of the new pain waves. Her e
yes opened wide as flash of white light burst from her sockets. The light bounced across the room, sending books and scrolls, vials and brass bowls crashing to the ground. Natalie's wheelchair flew back, hitting the wall, then toppled sideways, tossing her to the floor.

  Jae reached for the needle, but another surge of light shot her back, throwing her up into the air. Jae's body jerked, her skin transforming with dragon scales. Her eyes bulged as horns sprouted from her head.

  "We're losing him." Her assistant fought the shaking needle. "We have to stop."

  The monitor beeped, squealing with the high-pitched alarm of death, then fell silent.

  Jae collapsed back to the ground. She righted herself at once. Shaking her head and rolling her neck, her bones cracked as her wings sprouted from her back. "Extract the silver!" Jae's voice came out as a growl. "This is our only chance."

  "Halen’s magick’s too powerful. It's forcing me away. She’s protecting the Guardian.” The girl's needle wavered over his arm while her gaze darted between the silent monitor and Halen. “She’ll kill us all!”

  With a wave of her hand, Natalie righted her chair, floated to the seat, and wheeled beside the girl. "Go! Get out of here." She grasped the needle. "I've got this."

  "You should have let Emil take her." The girl rushed from the room.

  Curved black claws sprouted from Jae's feet, yet her voice remained steady; her words of magick spun Halen's thoughts.

  "Hang in there," Natalie shouted.

  Halen grasped the pillows, clutching them to her chest as the fire spread. Another flash shot from her eyes. This time, in the bright light, Halen caught the glimmer of charred antlers. Her breath rushed in and out of her chest as smoke choked the air.

  "Help her." Natalie sounded so far away.

  Jae's face blurred in and out of her vision. Her icy cool hands spread over her ribcage, but the magick in her palms was not enough to quell the raging fire inside.

  Plomo kryrptolo, Jae shouted.

  Smoke filled Halen’s nostrils, slipping down her throat—breath, an unattainable wish.

  "Halen!" Jae slapped her face, her dragon claws catching the flesh of her cheek. "Wake up!"

  Follow me, a whispered voice rushed through her thoughts. A white butterfly floated before her, its delicate wings singed. The insect floated up and away, heading toward a cool breeze. She ran after the butterfly, following it across the bridge, over the crimson river, and down the ash coated bank. With each step, the pain lessened, and Jae's voice grew fainter. A part of her wanted to stop, but compelled by the butterfly, she found she could not turn back.

  She ran farther, her pace steady as she trudged through the ash until Jae’s voice was no more than a whisper. When the butterfly drifted into the burning forest, her heart flooded with fear. “Don’t go!” She called to the butterfly.

  The insect fluttered into the flames.

  She darted to save the creature, when a magnificent stag headed her off. She fell back, tumbling in the soft ashes.

  The beast stood before her; its fur stained in soot; its gold coated antlers gleamed against the flames. She gasped as she met the creature's black stare and the butterfly perched in the crook of its grand antlers.

  She stood at once, backing away as the stag edged closer. She had seen this creature before in the forest, the day she left Asair—the day she sealed the portal with her soul. Etlis could only open one way… She touched her chest; her heart beat with life beneath her fingertips. Her gaze darted to the swirling red sky above where dragons howled with tortured cries.

  The sweltering winds swept the ash at her feet in a spiral of decay. She closed her eyes and held her breath, and finally when the ash settled, she dared to open her eyes.

  A young man stood before her. His skin curled from the bone along his jawline, the tendons in his neck a raw red. His eyebrows were singed; his dark hair fell in patches across his burned skull. He wore pants of shimmering dragon scales, his muscled chest bare. Pinned to the lapel of his fur vest, the butterfly struggled for freedom. He held his hand out to her. "Welcome home."

  As the thick smoke choked Halen's breath, Tarius' welcome stole the last from her lungs. With a quick glance at his offered hand, her courage roiled inside. If she was in Etlis, then Jae's spell failed. But why then did she feel the heat of the realm pressing against her flesh? Why did her pulse surge when she met Tarius' haunting gaze? If she was dead, she shouldn’t feel anything at all.

  Driven by the fear coursing through her veins, she bolted, heading straight into the burning forest. The thunderous pounding of hooves against the ruins of Etlis chased her deeper into the crackling flames. Hopping over a burning log, her toe caught in the fire. She pounded her foot in the ash, as the stag leapt over the burning brush. She bolted, now ducking beneath the black curled branches. Halen dared not glance over her shoulder with the stag steady at her heels. She coughed the tickle away in her throat, but soon her lungs absorbed the dense air, and she buckled as the smoke stole her gait.

  Her gaze darted toward the clearing beyond the forest. A rock centered in the burning field drew her back to the mermaid's first vision. When they first captured her, and brought her to the mermaid’s gate, they revealed a vision so terrifying Halen had repressed the thoughts unravelling her destiny. She had witnessed a girl, flowers blossoming with her footsteps, but the beauty quickly turned to chaos as the fire erupted with flames. She didn’t comprehend it at the time, but now standing in this vast landscape melting with crackling fire, she understood what the mermaids had seen all along—Tarius’ love for Galadia spun with destruction.

  A breeze fell at the back of her neck. She turned into the stag's muzzle.

  It's not so bad. You'll get used to the heat. His voice entered her thoughts.

  Halen shook her head, unable to find words, unable fathom a night in this burning hell with this monster. She side stepped the hellish beast and darted across the field. Though the ground scorched beneath her feet, she forced each step, begging her legs wouldn’t give out.

  Ahead, a stone tower emerged from the smoke as a breeze whipped through the air. A part of her sang with a warning that this too was a trap, but with her focus set on the curved entrance, she sprinted. When she dashed inside, the clattering clomps of hooves silenced.

  Clasping the stone railing, she strode up the winding stair case, listening for the stag, peering out each tower window as she ascended, checking to see if he were watching from below. With no direction in mind but away from Tarius, she took the stairs two at a time, climbing for what felt for hours. Her muscles burned in her calves, her lungs ached for breath, and her legs wobbled, threatening to collapse, but she wouldn’t allow him to reach her.

  She tripped over the last step, stumbling into a circular room. She froze, fear skipping along her shattered nerves. The only escape from the stone tower was an open window hundreds of feet above Etlis. She scanned the room. A stone alter sat in the center, a tall mirror, swiped clean except for the sooty fingerprints, propped against one wall, and next to the mirror was a glass bird cage, which hung by an ornate metal hook from the domed ceiling. Her gaze darted to the walls barring her in. Between choked breaths, she folded clutching her stomach.

  Her eyes widened as her gaze landed with her feet. She wriggled her toes, the nails black, the skin of her little toe burned to bone. Brushing away the ash, she reached for her foot, when the coughing consumed her. Stumbling, she grasped the alter, but the lack of air wasn’t the only thief stealing her breath. As Halen cried out, the monstrous girl reflected in the mirror mimicked her scream.

  “NO, NO, NO!” Halen touched her cheek, her fingers finding bone. She swiped away the soot, not believing her reflection. Her hair clumped at her scalp. Strands of gray and violet curled over her flesh torn shoulder. She leaned closer to the mirror. Skin peeled back from her jawline, the mandible charred. She worked her jaw from side to side and her lips cracked crimson. Parched, she licked away the blood. Halen fanned her skirt, the l
ace dress frayed like her flesh. As she ran her hand over the silk ribbon, she spotted a feather poking from her wrist bone. Her eyes widened. Dusty black feathers coated her wrist up to the crook of her elbow. She touched the sharp tip with her finger. She tugged the feather harder. When she twisted it free, her skin stung as if she’d been pinched.

  "I apologize for your new body," a voice said at her back.

  Her gaze darted to the mirror. Reflected in the mirror, Tarius stood in the doorway, blocking the stairway. His energy consumed the room, calling to her fear.

  "Finding a host in Etlis is not easy. I knew one day you would come. I kept her for you. She’s the last of her generation." He nodded toward the open bird cage. “We will cross soon enough. Maybe you can even take your old body back if you like?"

  Halen held her hand up, cringing at her charred fingertips, wondering if they might fall off from the simple action. Though her appearance frightened her, her companion terrified her more. "Tarius," she spoke his name.

  He smiled closing his eyes, breathing in her words. "To hear my name from your lips. Well, not quite your lips, but the sound comes from your soul." He pounded his chest.

  She glanced toward the window, considering jumping. "How did I get here—inside Etlis?"

  "Your heart stopped beating. I will reward Dax. He served the Tari best of all. He’s a wonderful Guardian." His dark gaze landed with her. "Galadia. You don't know how long I've waited." He stepped toward her, his bare feet black with ash.

  "My name is Halen." She edged away.

  "In your last life, yes. But it was so short, you will easily forget in time and claim your true self."

  She was Halen Windspeare, daughter of Corinne, sister to Natalie. Other than not having her body, she was exactly who she was supposed to be. The force of her magick could crumble this tower. She had faced demons, mermaids, and monsters. Why then did she cower in his presence?

  He licked his lips, and she cringed inside. He rolled his broad shoulders back bearing his chiselled chest where the skin peeled back, revealing exposed muscle.