by Linsey Hall
Unfortunately, that meant she wasn’t in control of her magic. She was good with the bow and arrow, though, taking out demon after demon who blocked their way.
"Do you have it?" Rowan screamed as she pulled the buggy to a stop in front of me. “Do you have the Doomsday Stone?”
“Half of it. But there's something I have to do first.” I needed to turn back time to save those who were already lost. And we needed an advantage. We couldn’t win like this, not if they were already within the castle walls.
Rowan frowned at my mention of half the stone, but shouted, “Then get in!”
I climbed onto the front platform, taking a position next to Caro. Lachlan climbed on the back. The Cats of Catastrophe raced off into the fight.
Rowan stepped on the gas, and the buggy jumped forward, surging toward the horde of demons that were still flowing through the castle wall. We’d have to fight our way through them to get to the hole in the wall.
Caro fired her arrows, taking out an endless stream of demons. I chose fire, lighting them up like barbecues. Screams rent the air, but I felt no guilt. They were here to enslave my family and destroy my home.
I would do whatever it took.
Bree’s lightning struck from the sky, while Lachlan heaved at the earth, making the demons lose their footing and fall beneath the pounding footsteps of their companions. They were crushed underneath the horde.
As Rowan drove like a maniac, I searched for the Fates. Were they already inside, hunting for the second half of the Doomsday Stone? They might even know where it was hidden if Dante had told them.
I turned to look at the castle, catching sight of the Fates running through the massive front doors.
Dread filled me. We would have to be fast. If they got to the stone first, the curse would be permanent. I didn’t even know if my Morrigan powers could turn back time.
"Faster!" I turned to face forward, watching us approach the wall.
Rowan steered the buggy around demons, driving straight over their corpses if they got in the way. By the time we reached the hole in the castle wall, they had all run through, invading the castle grounds. It was quiet here, the remains of our defenses in pieces.
I climbed out of the buggy and inspected the damage.
I had to turn back time here, just like I had with the seal woman.
My friends watched me silently, confusion on their faces. I ignored them, closing my eyes and focusing on the magic within me.
I didn't know what I was looking for, but it had to be inside me. I was the Morrigan, right? I had shifted into the Battle Crow, proving it to be true. The Elders had helped me jumpstart my fate powers before, but this time I had to do it alone. I had to fully transform into a Dragon God to become the Morrigan.
But no matter how hard I searched, I couldn't find a way to change fate. It was easy to find my earth magic, or my light magic. All of those were so easy now.
But I couldn’t see the molecules of time like I had before. Just thinking it sounded insane.
There was something I was missing.
My gaze was drawn to the cliff that plunged into the sea. The dream flashed in my mind's eye.
Believe.
Risk.
I knew what I had to do. I didn't hesitate. I didn't stop. I didn't think.
I just ran.
I sprinted for the cliff, running as fast as I ever had. My friends’ screams sounded from behind me, but I ignored them.
I had to believe in myself. I had to risk it all.
In the dream, I had jumped off the cliff and turned into the Battle Crow.
I had to do that now. It had been a premonition.
And I couldn’t give myself time to doubt. I was too afraid of heights to stop and doubt.
Bree appeared above me, flying fast with her silver wings. "No! Ana, no!"
"Don't try to catch me!” I ran faster, my heart thundering. I couldn't focus on my fear. There was too much at stake to spend time on worry. If I couldn't turn back time, the Protectorate was gone. My friends enslaved. And eventually, the Fates could destroy the world with their new army of the unwilling.
I reached the edge of the cliff and jumped.
For the briefest second, fear pierced my heart. It was impossible not to feel it when the ground fell out from under me and I plummeted toward the sea. The wind tore at my hair and made my eyes water, and my stomach pitched.
But I was the Morrigan.
I was the Battle Crow.
Magic swelled inside my chest, something greater and brighter than I had ever experienced. It felt like the sun rising inside me, pushing out all the dark spaces and weaknesses and fears. My power grew exponentially. It was a living thing that I could feel, filling me up and making me whole.
Suddenly, the wind caught beneath my wings. I swept up on a current of air, leaving the surface of the sea behind. I had shifted.
I had risked, and it had worked!
I was the Battle Crow. The Morrigan. A full Dragon God.
Joy surged in my chest as the wind blew through my feathers. I rose high in the air and turned, my new and stronger vision easily finding my friends standing near the break in the castle wall.
Shock painted their features as they looked at me, and I swept in a circle over the castle grounds, inspecting the damage.
Hordes of demons were surrounding the main castle building. They fought my friends, sending fire and ice and wind and steel through the crowds of people. Though my friends fought bravely, they were overwhelmed. It tore at my heart to see Protectorate members fighting their friends and colleagues. Those who were already enslaved had looks of such torture on their faces that I couldn't bear it. They were being forced by those they loved.
Hatred for the Fates swelled in my chest. I would do whatever it took to stop them.
I turned from the site of the battle, the image of my friends’ falling bodies burned into my mind.
I flew back to the break in the castle wall and focused on it.
Not only was my vision stronger, but it was easier to see the way that time was part of the air. It looked just like when I’d been with the seal woman and changed her fate.
I had to do the same thing here.
I reached out with my magic and grasped time. It was easier now, though I still didn't understand the physics of how I did it. But perhaps I wasn’t supposed to. That’s why it was magic.
The power of the Morrigan flowed through me. I was a conduit for the magic that began to twist the molecules in the air, turning back time slowly and completely.
The battle went silent. The whole world went silent.
I turned to look at the fighters. They had stopped, and the demons were walking backward toward the break in the castle wall. It was as if I were watching a movie on rewind. This was so much bigger than it had been with the seal woman. So many more people and so much more damage to fix. But I pushed my magic hard, making it happen. I never could have done this as a half Dragon God. The demons flowed back to the castle wall, a horde of them disappearing from the grounds. Even the Fates were sucked back out of the castle and across the lawn toward the break in the wall.
They looked up at me, somehow able to break through the freezing power of my magic. Rage lit their faces.
But I was too strong. I continued to turn back time, dragging all of the demons out of the castle. When every last one was out of the grounds, the wall began to rebuild itself. I pushed my magic a little bit farther, giving us just a bit of time before the castle wall broke again. But I couldn’t go back too far, or I would risk too much. I could only change fate in the smallest way.
I let the spell stop.
Sound returned to the world. My friends were shouting below as they prepared for the invasion. Some stood on the castle walls, attacking the forces that had gathered outside. But no one seemed to notice that the wall was weak at the base. I looked around, searching for the buggy and my sisters. Searching for Lachlan. They were no longer where I had left them
because I had turned back time.
I hoped that I hadn’t gone too far back. If I was here at the same time I should be in hell, taking the Doomsday Stone, then perhaps I would never take the stone at all. I flew back to the ground, shifting into human form as my feet landed on the earth. I plunged my hand into my pocket, grateful to find that the stone was still there. Thank fates I hadn’t gone back too far.
I looked toward the castle, to the space where Lachlan and I had appeared when we’d arrived. I had to wait a few moments for time to catch up, then he appeared, along with the Cats of Catastrophe. Shock flashed in his eyes when he realized that I wasn’t next to him.
I waved my arms at him, gesturing him closer.
Confusion streaked across his face, then he loped toward me.
As he approached, I pressed my fingertips to the comms charm at my throat. “Bree! Rowan! Where are you? I'm here, near the eastern part of the wall. Come meet me.”
“We’ll be there,” Bree’s voice echoed from the charm.
Lachlan joined me. I pointed to the part of the castle wall that would soon break. "We have to pile the earth up in front of the wall there, reinforcing it."
“Okay.” He looked at me, questions in his eyes. “Then later, we can discuss how you disappeared suddenly."
“No problem. This first, that second.” None of my friends had experienced what I had just experienced. I had changed fate, and I was the only one with the memory of the battle.
It was for the best. The misery on my friends’ faces as they fought each other was enough to haunt me forever. I was glad they didn't have to live with it.
Lachlan and I faced the castle wall, each of us digging deep for our magic. I called upon the earth, forcing it to rise up and mound against the back of the castle wall. It provided extra reinforcement, and I kept going, piling tons upon tons of dirt against the wall.
I just prayed it would be enough, because this fight was a long way from over.
15
I finished shoving the dirt against the wall just as Bree landed next to me, her gaze confused.
A second later, Rowan drove up in the buggy. Caro still rode on the front, but this time, Jude had joined her. No doubt she'd hitched a ride to come see what was going on with the dirt against the wall. The three FireSouls were nearby as well. Cass, Del, and Nix all ran up, questions on their faces.
"What's going on?" Jude asked.
I pointed to the pile of dirt against the wall. "That section of the wall is still weak from the damage caused by the fae portal months ago. The Fates broke through it fifteen minutes ago, but I turned back time and changed fate."
Shock flashed across everyone's faces.
Nix frowned, her green eyes confused. "That should be impossible."
“Ten minutes ago, it was. But it turns out that I'm the Morrigan, and I can change fate. At least a little bit."
Everyone's brows rose.
"Wow, you’re mega powerful." Del, her dark hair glinting in the sun, nodded approvingly. "That's some magic to come into."
"I'm not sure if I have enough magic to do it again, so we have to defend that part of the wall. If it breaks, we’re lost.”
Cade, Bree's boyfriend, arrived as soon as I said the words. His dark eyes traveled from mine to Jude's. “I’ll lead the forces and get started on the defense."
Jude nodded. "Excellent. Thank you, Cade."
He pulled Bree close and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. "Be careful."
She met his gaze. "You too."
He loped off toward the wall, calling out to Ali and Haris as he ran, asking them to help gather the forces.
“What else?" Rowan's gaze met mine. "You look like there's something else."
"Did you find the stone?" Jude asked.
"I found half of it, but I still have to find the rest. It was broken and stolen centuries ago and hidden somewhere in the castle."
"I'll help," Cass said. She stepped forward, her red hair glinting in the sun, her brown leather jacket protecting her from the worst of the winter cold.
"Thanks." Her dragon sense was more reliable than my Druid sense. I might be able to find the stone, but together, our odds were so much better. And I was never dumb enough to turn down help. I dug into my pocket and held out the stone. It was about the size of my palm with one jagged edge.
Cass hovered her hand over the stone and closed her eyes. Her magic swelled on the air. Her eyes popped open. "Definitely in the castle. Far below the main structure."
"That makes sense." Jude's starry blue eyes sharpened. "It's the only place where we wouldn't have found it until now. Who put it there?"
"Dante Alighieri,” Lachlan said. "He's been working against you all this time. On the side of the Fates."
A shadow passed across Jude’s face. "That bastard."
"We won't let his plan succeed." Anger surged in my chest at the memory of his betrayal. "Let's go get this damned stone."
Del stepped forward. “Nix and I will go defend the wall. If you need help, just call."
"Be careful," Cass said.
"You too.” Nix hugged her, then turned and ran off toward the wall with Del.
"Rowan and I can help them,” Bree said. “Good luck, Ana.”
I reached out and grabbed her arm. "No, come with me. I think I’m going to need you. I can just feel it."
Jude nodded. "The five of you go find the stone. The rest of us will defend the walls."
"Hold them off as long as you can. We need all the time we can get." Failure was not an option.
Jude nodded, then turned and strode toward the castle wall.
"Let's go." I sprinted toward the castle, the others at my side.
We passed dozens of our friends, all of whom were carrying more weapons from the armory. Hundreds of bows and arrows, dozens of potion bombs. So few of us had our magic that we needed all the weapons we could get. We sprinted across the courtyard and ran up into the main entry hall of the castle.
“Let's head to the library.” I turned toward it. "If the stone is deep underground, it's probably in that cavern that is accessed through the stairs in the ghost library."
As quickly as we could, we ran down the hall toward the library. As soon as we entered, Florian drifted through the wall. He didn’t even bother announcing his presence with his usual wail. The librarian’s face was pale, even for a ghost. His fancy wig sat askew on his head, the curls going every which way.
"Are you okay?" Florian wrung his hands. "How is the battle going? It sounds like it's terrible."
"We need to get underneath the castle." I ran past him, and he followed, drifting along. "Do you know of any unfamiliar stones down there, any unfamiliar magic or something out of the ordinary?"
He shook his head. “No, nothing seems different than it ever has.”
"The stone would have been put there before your time here,” Lachlan said. “I don’t think that anything would feel different to you."
"Well then, I will help you look." He nodded, determined.
"Great, we can use all the help we can get." I sprinted toward the ghost library, slipping through the small door at the side of the bookshelves and stepping onto the wide platform that overlooked the cavernous space.
"Whoa.” Cass breathed the word. "This place is amazing. Del would die to get in here."
I had to assume that Del liked books. That, or dust motes, because there were about one million of those, too.
Fortunately, the stairs appeared in front of us, leading us down to the next level.
"Thanks fates for that," Bree said. "We don't exactly have time to prove our worthiness here."
We sprinted down the stairs, cutting around the bookshelves and down the corridors, running until we reached the trapdoor that was set into the wooden floor. Lachlan pulled up the heavy door, and we ran down the narrow staircase, deeper into the darkness.
How much more time did we have? Had the wall fallen yet?
My heart thundered as we ran,
worry filling my chest like an inflating balloon. I pushed it aside, trying to focus only on my goal.
The ancient stone staircase went far underground. As we went deeper, a blue light glowed brighter from below. A minute later, we spilled out into the cavernous space beneath the library. Glittery blue lights dripped from the ceiling, highlighting the small lake in the middle of the cavern. The pedestal that sat on the little island in the middle contained the stone heart that held part of Arach’s soul.
My gaze moved toward the tunnel that the Fates had dug into this cavern last month in order to steal Arach’s stone heart. It was closed up and reinforced with extra protective magic. Thank fates it was still inaccessible. Ever since the break-in, we made a point to lock this place down tight. The result was that they were trying to break in through the castle walls rather than underground, but hopefully our forces could hold them off.
"Okay, everyone, spread out and look for a place where the stone could be hidden. It should be very subtle, since we searched this area last month." I started to search the empty space, sticking to the edges of the walls and hoping that my eyes might find something they hadn't before. My Druid sense tugged gently, but not enough to locate the stone. It was here, but I couldn’t tell where, exactly. I looked at Cass. “Do you feel it?”
“The sensation is very diffuse. Some strange magic is blocking it.”
I frowned, trying to focus on my Druid sense as I looked for the stone.
"They must have tried to steal it when they were here before," Bree said. “Thank fates they failed.”
A minute later, my Druid sense tugged a bit harder. I followed it until my eye caught on something. I knelt down and squinted at the scratches in the stone. “I think I found something!”
Cass and the others hurried over.
“Do you think it’s in there?” I asked Cass. My Druid sense tugged lightly, but I couldn’t be sure. Magic was probably protecting it, just like Cass had said.