by Gina LaManna
Ilinia didn’t bother to glance at him, her eyes focused on Liam. “It was necessary,” she said. “I had to do it.”
“Do what?” Liam leaned forward, and I grasped tighter at his hand. The last thing we needed was to give away our only advantage. “What did you do?”
“It was you!” she cried. “You are the reason I went to jail! I trusted you with everything; I told you my plan to rule this island, and you tried to stop me. I had to make you forget—you gave me no other choice.”
“You never told me any such thing,” Liam said. “Where is this coming from?”
“She did,” Ranger X said. “Liam, you were the witness. I caught Ilinia using blood magic on you, and that’s why I refused to reveal the name of the witness. I didn’t want to hurt you; I could see how much you loved her.”
Liam shook his head. “No.”
“You have a scar on your head,” Ranger X said. “Just above your temple. You fell then, while under her spell, and she told you it was from sleepwalking that night.”
Liam stiffened, and I sensed he’d heard that story before.
“The truth is that she used mind bending on you. I found you under her spell, unconscious on the ground, and that is why I arrested her.” Ranger X sighed. “And it’s why she’ll go back for hundreds more years.”
“Is this true?” Liam whispered, his eyes locked on Ilinia.
“Of course it’s true,” Ilinia said, her emerald green dress billowing in the wind. “But I didn’t mean to hurt you. I had a plan, Liam, and you fought me on it. Together, we could’ve ruled this island but no—you threatened to expose me, and all of my plans. You left me with no choice.”
“You wiped my memory?” Liam echoed.
“Don’t you see?” She fell to her knees, inching closer to Liam. “I wanted to marry you. I wanted to marry you so badly I used my magic on you, and it worked. And if it weren’t for him, we’d be together. We’d be happy, and we’d be the king and queen of The Isle.”
His next move happened so fast I couldn’t stop it. Liam freed his hands from the ropes, lunged forward, clasped his fingers around her neck.
Ilinia made a strangled noise, her arms coming up to pull him away from her, but Liam didn’t budge. He held her tight, cutting off her air.
I wanted to move, to tear Liam away, but Ranger X was faster. He leaped for Liam and pulled him off her.
“She’s not dying like this,” Ranger X said, kneeling next to her, holding her back.
A shot rang out then, whizzing past me and connecting with Ranger X’s shoulder. He spun backward, never letting go of The Puppeteer, even as his shirt was soaking with blood.
I reached for him while Liam rushed for the attacker. In all of Ilinia’s explanation, we’d forgotten about her travelling companions. There was only one man now, the other two assistants having departed while we were unconscious.
“X,” I said, shaking him, my voice trembling, on the verge of falling apart. “Stay with me.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” His face pinched with pain as he reached a hand up and pushed the hair back from my face. “I love you.”
“Stop it,” I said, reaching into my pockets for my teensy vial of Aloe Ale. “This isn’t meant for serious wounds, but it should help accelerate the healing. It’s only a patch, and it’ll—”
“Shh.” Ranger X’s fingers pressed against my lips. “You’re shaking. I’m going to be fine.”
A shadow appeared over my shoulder. I could feel it was her. But I needed to focus on covering Ranger X’s shoulder with the Ale, so I slipped a hand under his shirt. The wound felt clean, as if the bullet—magic or otherwise—had gone straight through.
My stomach roiled, nausea darkening my vision, but from somewhere I pulled the strength to continue. The world slowed down, every motion exaggerated.
When I finished, X breathed easier. He squeezed my hand before he closed his eyes.
“He won’t die from it, you know,” Ilinia said, coming to stand behind me. “The Ale will patch him up.”
“I know,” I said, turning to face her. “Why are you using weapons like a human? Magic isn’t enough for you?”
A look of annoyance crossed her face. “I didn’t use it—he did.”
I glanced over her shoulder. Liam, his face more battered than before, was pressed nose-first against the ground with a shoe on his back. Over him stood one of the last people I’d ever expected to see holding a gun.
A Candidate.
One of Ranger X’s very own Candidates—a person X had taken under his wing, guided and instructed, and given every opportunity in the world—had turned against him.
“Hello, Lily,” Dillan said. “It’s nice to see you and Ranger X. Again.”
CHAPTER 34
A few minutes later, the three of us were piled together under the watchful eye of Ilinia and her accomplice. Bindings weren’t necessary, but Dillan fastened them around our wrists anyway.
Ranger X was forced to lie on his side because every time he tried to sit up, he’d spiral toward unconsciousness. I sat next to him, with Liam on my other side.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, glaring at Dillan. “What could you possibly be thinking?”
He smiled, that handsome smile now oily, the glint in his eyes suddenly terrifying. “I’m thinking big. Very, very big things are happening, Miss Locke, and this is just the beginning.”
“What beginning? And your broken arm—what happened to it? I watched you fall in the first Trial. You were in pain when I stopped by The Oasis. You should still be in a cast, not carrying a weapon.”
The former Candidate stretched, flexing his muscles. He didn’t look injured in the slightest. “Ilinia healed me. Blood magic is powerful. It can be used to help, too. To heal a person when nothing else works. As for the help in the tent. . . that was a setup. I, in fact, needed something from you.”
“From me?”
“I didn’t have a doll for you, my dear,” Ilinia said, a giddiness to her voice. “But thanks to Dillan, thanks to the blood he obtained from your paper cut, I had all the materials I needed. Your doll is complete, Lily.”
I didn’t care if she had a hundred dolls of me. I was stuck on the idea that blood magic could heal. The possible consequences had my mind reeling. I glanced at The Puppeteer. “You healed Dillan?”
She stood in the background. The emerald green dress whipped around her legs and gave an ethereal quality to her figure as she watched us all.
“I don’t believe you,” I said when she didn’t respond. “Prove it. Heal Ranger X.”
Her fingers twitched, as if she was dying to demonstrate how very wrong I was. But Dillan interrupted before she could do anything. “Don’t,” he said. “Let’s get rid of them already.”
“Why?” I asked. “At least tell us why.”
“Why?” He gave a mirthless laugh. “Why what?”
“Why everything? Why are you working with her? Why are you murdering Candidates?” I ran my fingers through Ranger X’s hair. “Some people spend their whole lives dreaming about joining the Ranger program; you, however, have the opportunity, and you turn around and hurt the man who gave it to you….why?”
The smallest glimmer of discomfort flickered in Dillan’s eyes. “It’s nothing personal.” He spoke to Ranger X’s chest. “But he’s not the only one who trusted me. My uncle trusted me, and he’s far more powerful than any old Ranger. He holds a key position in The Faction.”
“Is this true?” I asked Ranger X. “I thought you carefully vetted each Candidate.”
“We do,” Ranger X said, his teeth gritted in pain. “We knew about the link between Dillan’s uncle and The Faction. What we didn’t know was that Dillan knew his uncle. Your father hates his brother more than anything, doesn’t he?” Ranger X asked Dillan. “He kept your uncle a secret from you.”
“My father doesn’t know what’s good for him,” Dillan said with a frown. “No, I didn’t know about my uncle until jus
t before the Trials. But that’s when everything changed. My uncle came to visit me, and he told me the truth about my father.”
I knew Dillan’s father—not personally, but I knew Gus purchased a good chunk of fresh fruit from the man. He was a farmer, a jolly man with red cheeks and a quick smile. Gus had no problems with him, and Gus had problems with everyone.
“The Faction tried to recruit both my uncle and my father. My uncle leaped at the opportunity while my father turned them down. He chose to stay here on this stupid island and live as a farmer. A farmer! He could’ve had the world at his fingertips, just like my uncle, but no.”
“Your father is a good man,” Ranger X said, pulling himself into a sitting position. “I took a chance on you, Dillan. I thought you had a brighter future than your uncle.”
Dillan’s hand trembled. I couldn’t tell if it was from anger, uncertainty, disappointment—his eyes darkened, and he stepped forward. “I’m stronger than my father will ever be. When my uncle searched me out, he told me about everything we could accomplish together.”
“He was lying.” Ranger X’s voice was soft, cutting. “If your uncle gave a damn about you, he would’ve entered your life years ago. He knew about you. He knew where you lived. He’s using you, and you’re letting him.”
“That’s not true.”
“Of course it is,” Ranger X said. “And you know I’m right, or you wouldn’t be this upset. He’s chosen not to be a part of your life since the day you were born. This is a decades old fight, and he chose sides before you existed.”
“Well, my father didn’t tell me he had a brother, either,” he snapped. “It goes both ways.”
“Because your father didn’t want to lose you to The Faction,” Ranger X said. “Like me, he hates The Faction more than anything in the world, and that is why I gave you a chance.”
“How could you know that?” Dillan’s accusatory stare dropped, a note of genuine curiosity in his voice.
“Because your mother was kidnapped by The Faction, and your uncle did nothing to save her,” Ranger X explained. “Just after you were born, they came for her. She’s believed to be dead.”
“My mother died,” Dillan said. “Freak accident.”
“There was never a funeral because to this day, she’s still considered missing. As a child, it was easiest to explain that it was an accident.”
“But—”
“Argue all you want. I have no incentive to lie to you,” Ranger X said. “You will understand when your uncle throws you away, forgets about you like he has the past twenty years of your life. He’s using you to get at the other Candidates, to access The Puppeteer. When you’ve served your purpose and he’s done with you, don’t come back to me. I don’t give second chances.”
“No, I helped Ilinia escape from jail.” Dillan backed away, fear blooming where anger had been moments before. “We’re going to work as a team. My uncle promised me that the two of us could rule this island together. The Faction asked us both to maintain control of The Isle for their cause.” He turned to Ilinia, his eyes widening. “You promised me.”
She wrinkled her nose, black hair billowing behind her as the wind picked up. “Apologies,” she said. “But I lied.”
“No…” Dillan moved away like a caged animal. He raised his hands, his gaze darting from one person to the next. “No, you can’t. . . my uncle will find out you lied.”
“Your uncle and I had a little deal,” Ilinia said. “You see, I’m selfish, and I don’t want to share control over this island. Though I appreciate all of your help and rabid enthusiasm, your work here is done.”
“No!” He screamed, but halfway through the scream Ilinia extended her hands and twisted her fingers, muttering a spell under her breath.
Dillan’s body went rigid. Stone still, straight as a statue. Then, he began to march like a toy soldier who, once wound up, never stopped moving. He marched and he marched, straight toward the edge of the cliff—not the lagoon side, the far side where there was no water to break his fall at the bottom. It was a hundred-foot drop onto sharp rock.
“No!” I cried. “Stop!”
Ilinia’s eyes were hollow, a glow around her blueish pupils as her irises faded to white and her lips drained to black. With intense focus, she directed her hands like the puppeteer for which she’d been named.
I tugged at my restraints, but they were too tight. Ranger X could hardly move he was so weak, and from what I could tell, Liam was only half conscious.
I leaped forward, but the restraints held me back. I couldn’t budge the dead weight of the two men fastened to my arms.
My cries sailed off the cliff as Dillan continued his march toward the ledge.
Marching and marching until finally his feet no longer hit firm ground. Taking one final step, he hit thin air. His stride broke with a flail of his arms, a twitch from his legs. Not a peep from his lips.
And then he was gone.
CHAPTER 35
My ears rang, the silence deafening.
Ranger X’s breaths rasped, while Liam was hardly lucid enough to be useful. Ilinia watched me carefully as I leaned closer to X, as close as my restraints would allow.
“It’s you and me, isn’t it,” Ilinia said with a wry smile, her feet nudging the two men before her. “I wish you’d consider working with me, Lily, I really do. You and I could be unstoppable. Rule this island like nobody before us.”
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Ranger X. “What good would that do?”
She laughed, an indulgent, high-pitched giggle. “That’s why you and I could never be business partners. You just don’t get it.”
“I don’t,” I said evenly. “But I’d love to try. Enlighten me.”
“No.”
“No?”
“I’m sick of questions, sick of explaining myself. Sick of nobody understanding my plan. Stand up,” she said. “I have a use for you, and as long as I need you, you’ll stay alive.”
“How?” I gestured to my position on the ground. The rope holding my wrists together was looped to the same rope holding Liam and X captive. “I’m tied to them.”
“Well, let’s fix that,” she said. Stretching her fingers, she moved them gently, delicately, as if playing a melody on the piano. The black lips returned, the blue of her eyes fading to the white of the clouds.
In sync with her murmurings Ranger X began to rise, his movements stiff. From somewhere, he withdrew his knife, slicing his own ropes.
Ilinia, still controlling X, walked over to the bag she’d been carrying. “You made an antidote,” she said, her voice flat. “I can feel his resistance. He didn’t take enough of it, but I can sense it, and I don’t like it. You’re making my life difficult, Lily.”
Despite the horridness of the situation, a piece of hope soared through my veins. I’d concocted a potion to fight the strongest, the most powerful form of black magic. Ranger X had only taken a few drops but maybe, just maybe, Liam had ingested enough to keep himself immune.
She bent over the bag, her dress shielding my view. When she stood, she held something in her hands. A doll. I’d recognize that black hair, those dark eyes anywhere—it was Ranger X, constructed from yarn.
“To use mind bending at its strongest form, I need my Puppets. Usually, I don’t need them for simple mind bending, but with your new potion…” She paused, stroking the doll’s hair. “It is more difficult than I expected. Lucky thing this will help. Just wait until I pull out miniature Lily—she’s my best work yet.”
Sure enough, as soon as her hand touched the doll, Ranger X reacted. He stood straight, waiting for further instructions, any semblance of fight in his eyes gone. I pulled at the bindings, struggling to stand, but Liam’s dead weight was too heavy.
Meanwhile, Ilinia picked her way across the rocky cliff, reaching Ranger X in a matter of seconds. She hooked her arm through his, and together they strolled toward the edge of the cliff. She held her head high, one hand on his chest, almost delica
tely, as if they were on a leisurely stroll.
“There we go,” she whispered. “Good boy.”
“Ilinia, stop! I’ll do whatever you ask. Whatever you need me to do, just let him go. Let X and Liam leave,” I panted, my body exhausted, muscles straining to break free. “You have my word.”
“Sorry,” she said. “Promises mean nothing to me, as you might’ve guessed by now.”
She reached the edge of the cliff, and it hit me that no matter what, there was no stopping her. The pair stood at the cliff’s ledge, the deep lagoon below them.
“Goodbye, dear.” Ilinia pressed a kiss to Ranger X’s cheek. With a dainty push, she let go of Ranger X’s arm, and he fell.
At the same moment, a rage I’d never known soared. I stood, dragging Liam with me, and that’s when I spotted it—the knife Ranger X had used to break us free. He must have dropped it when he’d moved under Ilinia’s spell.
I snatched it and cut myself free. Liam murmured something, slowly regaining consciousness. Adrenaline burned through me as I flew across the face of the cliff toward Ilinia, but even then, I was too slow.
I grabbed her, yanked her back as I leaned over the cliff, watching as Ranger X hit the water with a splash. Bubbles pricked the surface. He was alive, but for how long? He was injured and sinking fast beneath the surface of the water.
“The fall might not have killed him,” Ilinia said. “But I will, don’t you worry.”
Then she murmured the dreaded spell, hitting me hard and sending my body flying backward. I couldn’t stop it. I landed with a crack against the stone. Something softened my fall, and as the spell lifted, I realized it was Ilinia’s bag that had broken my crash landing.
Her dolls had spilled out, scattering across the rock surface. It couldn’t have been all of the dolls; there were hundreds of people on the island and only a dozen dolls in here. There, in the mix of yarn and fabrics, I spotted a black haired doll wearing a green dress. Ilinia had a doll for herself.