His eyes widened as I stepped away from him. Samara nodded and put a hand on my arm. Cactus finally nodded. “I love you, Lark. Don’t forget it.”
I kept my eyes on his as I reached up and twisted the armband counterclockwise. The world around us sucked us down and I braced myself for the memory I would gain from Samara.
The images were dull, and flickered, unlike the other times I’d Traveled with another.
Samara as a child, beaten and hurt. Her desire to protect others. Her Ender training. The ridicule she endured. How much she loved the queen and how she wanted to protect her family.
So much like me it hurt to see and feel the past played out, even in those flickers and bits. We jerked to a stop, and she let me go. This time, the guards were waiting for us inside the Traveling room.
“You are under arrest—”
I launched myself at the guard who spoke. I didn’t know who it was with his visor pulled up, and I didn’t care. I slammed the butt of my spear into his head, dropping him before he could finish his sentence. Samara took on a guard while the remaining two surrounded me.
“Lark, don’t make us hurt you,” Blossom said, her voice distinct even behind the visor.
“It’s not me you have to worry about,” I snarled.
“Cassava is back,” she said.
The guard beside her snapped a fist sideways, catching her in the head. “Shut the hell up, woman.”
His distraction was all I needed. I swept his feet, leapt into the air and came down with my fist, driving it into his chest. Ribs cracked under my blow, at least three by the way his body gave under me.
To the side, Samara drove both fists into her opponent’s gut, throwing him hard into the wall. He slid down as his eyes rolled upward and he passed out.
I stood and stared at Blossom. “Cassava? Are you sure?”
She slipped off her visor and threw it to the floor. “Yes. As soon as you were gone she showed up, took Vetch under her wing and took the throne. She said . . . she was going to send someone to bring Bella home and deal with her condition.” Her voice caught and I put a hand on her shoulder. “She means to kill Bella’s baby, doesn’t she?”
Just like Bramley. “Has she done it? Has she sent anyone?”
Blossom shook her head. “Not that I know.”
I slipped off the Traveling band and put it on Blossom’s arm. “Go, protect Bella. You know she is the one who should rule here. She can’t be hurt. Tell her to fight for all she’s worth and to never forget she holds the necklace. She’ll know what I mean.”
Slowly Blossom nodded. “What about you, Lark?”
I looked at Samara. “I’m going to kill Cassava. I’ll send a message when it’s safe to bring Bella home.”
Blossom brought the globe around and settled it on the Deep. With a twist of the armband she was gone.
“You should go too.” I bent and trussed up the guards, glancing at Samara.
“No. This will affect us too. We know Cassava is a loose cannon. She stole Wicker from us.” She helped me tie up the guards. “How do you want to do this?”
I touched my hand to where the smoky diamond lay in my pouch. I opened the leather bag and slipped it out. “Take this. It will boost your power. When you go back to the Eyrie, give it to Aria. It belongs in her hands.”
She gasped as I dropped it into her hands. “Mother goddess, the power raging in this . . . is it what I think it is?”
“Yes. Use it carefully. Or maybe in this case, not so carefully.” I stood and strode to the door, peeking out. There were no guards waiting for us. But that did not mean it was safe. The bond with Peta tugged at me. She was scared and pissed off as only a cat could be. But she was alive.
I slipped out and Samara followed me, silent. I stopped at the bottom of the steps and tugged off my tall boots. I needed as much connection with the earth as I could get. Wiggling my toes, I pulled the power of the earth below me and let it fill me.
“What can we expect?” Samara asked quietly.
“Blackbird can control all five elements. Cassava is powerful with earth, but nothing else.”
She grabbed my arm. “Can you kill her? Are you strong enough?”
“I’ve been waiting my whole life. I’ll kill her or die trying. In which case, you finish the job. All our homes are in danger as long as she is free.”
Her face grim, she nodded. I crept up the stairs, all my senses straining. But there was no sound, nothing to indicate there were ever inhabitants in the barracks. A spooky emptiness permeated the air as we slipped into the upper levels. I went to my room and then Ash’s. Both were empty, though I hadn’t really expected him to be waiting for me there.
Beckoning for Samara to keep close, I crept along the edge of the training room to the main doors of the barracks. I ran a hand over the wooden doors, then pressed an ear to them. There was nothing, not even a buzz of distant talking. I looked at Samara and she shrugged.
There was no other way . . . unless. . . . I spun and we ran back the way we’d come, bolting down the stairs and sliding to a stop in the Traveling room. There was one armband left. I grabbed it and slid it on. “Hang on.”
“What are you doing—”
The world dissolved, but the trip was quick. I popped us into the forest at the northern edge of the Rim. There wasn’t even time for a memory to roll over me.
I dropped to a crouch and Samara followed suit. “Where are we?”
“At the outside edge of the Rim.”
“Why exactly?”
Slowing for a brief moment, I looked back at her. “Call it a hunch, but there is only one doorway out of the barracks and Cassava knows it. She’s not stupid, even if she is deranged. She’ll be waiting for us to pop through those doors.”
“Great, smart and a psycho.” Samara pushed a fern out of her way and caught up to me. We jogged side by side until we reached the first house on the outer edge of the Rim. I ducked down beside the wooden structure. Using the houses for cover, we slipped unnoticed to the center of the Rim where it became apparent things had gotten rather shitty.
By the numbers, it looked as though every single member of my family had been gathered outside the Spiral and the Enders Barracks. In the center of them stood Cassava, with Blackbird at her side. I scanned the crowd looking for Ash, but there was no blond head with his height. My heart clenched. No, she wouldn’t have killed him. The bond with Peta thrummed lightly and I felt her eyes sweep toward me. I reached back and touched Samara to bring her forward for a look. Putting my mouth to her ear, I whispered, “Can you sweep everyone away from Cassava?”
She grinned and whispered back, “You got it. What about Blackbird, though? He could have me pull down on you again.”
I reached out and took her hand. “Don’t let go of me.”
“That’s going to get awkward.”
“This won’t be a fight with weapons.”
Her eyes widened and she nodded. I stood and we stepped out together. She lifted her free hand and the trees above us groaned. Everyone looked up, including Cassava and Blackbird.
The wind that swept through the Rim was icy cold, as if it had been pulled from the Wretched Peaks themselves. It slammed into the Terralings surrounding Cassava and swept them away in a gust that sent them flying through the air like a child’s ragdolls.
Screams rent the silence and I finally caught a glimpse of Ash. He was on his belly in front of Cassava, stains of red in his golden hair. I dragged Samara forward with me.
I held out a hand and the earth below us rumbled, the plates under our feet shifting as my anger boiled to a fever pitch.
“Ah, Larkspur. So lovely to see you again,” Cassava purred. She snapped her fingers and Blackbird picked up Ash. His body was limp. “Don’t worry, he isn’t dead yet. But if you don’t do what I want, he will be.”
All the power of the earth couldn’t help me. But maybe Spirit could. Samara tugged on my hand. “I can send them flying.”
“Do
it and I will have Blackbird burn your familiar and your lover to a crisp right in front of you,” Cassava said.
Blackbird had a hand on Peta’s ruff and he shook her hard. “Cooked kitty. I’ve never had that before.”
She hissed at him and swung a paw, but in her housecat form she wasn’t much of a threat. I had no doubt he was suppressing her ability to shift.
“What do you want?” I asked. Samara stilled, her hand in mine tightening.
“Don’t, Lark. They’ll kill all three of you.”
“Not if you can get Ash and Peta away.” I looked at her and saw a kindred spirit. A child like me who’d been broken and found a way to put herself back together. “I trust you to get them away, Samara.”
Her jaw ticked and she nodded. “And what about you?”
The ground under us heaved. From behind us, Vetch laughed his donkey-braying laugh. We landed apart. “Get them!” I yelled at her. She stood and the wind picked her and Ash up. Peta, though, was tangled in Blackbird’s hands. My cat twisted and bit him on the wrist and he dropped her with a curse. She ran to me, not to Samara. I caught her up in my arms and clutched her to me. “You have to go.”
“No. I will not leave you.”
I looked up at Samara and nodded. At least Ash would be safe. Blossom would look after Bella. It was all I could do.
The sound of footsteps, the whistle of a weapon slicing through the air; those were the only sounds of warning I had. A sword pierced my back, right under my heart.
I arched backward as blood bubbled up my throat and trickled out my mouth. Peta let out a screech that turned into a snarl as she shifted into her leopard form. Hanging onto the power of the earth, I pulled a creeping vine forward and wrapped it around her back legs, yanking her out of the circle that tightened around me. I caught a glimpse of Samara and she gave me a nod as she swept Peta away.
“NO, NO!” Peta screamed, her voice breaking on the one word.
The sword was yanked from my back and I slumped forward onto my knees. My siblings, minus Bella and Raven—my only supporters—surrounded me.
There would be no escaping this time. All those who could have saved me were far away; and I wouldn’t have wanted them to trade their lives for me. Not even Peta. Maybe most especially not my Peta.
“Little Larkspur. Your time has finally come.” Cassava knelt in front of me, cupping my face in her hands. “Do you want to know why I left you alive so long?”
I blinked up at her.
“Yes.”
CHAPTER 18
“ou were to be a part of the new order, Lark.” Cassava stroked my face. “Spirit is such a rare element, and to have a child with all five elements . . . is difficult. I’d hoped you would remain biddable enough. But, so be it.”
“You wanted a child from me?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Why not keep Bramley alive then?”
“He was named as heir. I couldn’t have that. He had to die.” She tapped my nose with a finger, and in her eyes I saw the broken mind behind them. “You were nothing to your father even then. I knew I could control you. I promised you to Requiem.”
To Requiem . . . “I’d rather die than be your breeding bitch.”
“Yes, I realize that now. Which is why I will waste no more time with you. Vetch, take her to the oubliette. I don’t want anyone finding her body. Ever.”
I caught Briar’s eyes as Vetch threw me over his shoulder. “Briar, run away,” I whispered.
She blinked back tears and turned her back on me, fear making her biddable. Raven . . . I had to believe he’d at least gotten away. Blackbird fell in behind Vetch as we walked to the barracks and the Traveling room. Vetch set up the globe. I couldn’t tell where he was taking me, upside down and dying as I was. Dying. Yes, that was what was happening. I probably should have been more afraid, but there was no strength left in me.
Distantly I recognized that Blackbird could be suppressing my desire to live, using Spirit to control me.
Blackbird faced me, but I had no idea of what was going on with him. “Why did you want Giselle?”
“Even now when you lie on death’s cusp you want answers?” He seemed genuinely surprised.
“Yes.” Why the hell it mattered to me, I truly did not know. But in this small way, I fought to stay awake, to keep my mind together.
“Giselle would have helped us to be sure of our steps. To be sure it was the right time to kill you and the king. A safety measure. But as you can see, we didn’t really need her after all.”
The world swirled, and I fell into Vetch’s memories.
I struggled at first to understand what I was seeing.
Briar cringed away from Vetch, her hands up, and her clothing torn.
“Mother said we must, so stop your crying.”
“I don’t want to,” she whimpered, clutching her hands around her naked torso.
“Not up to you, Briar. Not up to me.” Vetch stripped off his clothes and stalked toward his youngest sister.
A flicker of rage snapped through me as the air popped around us and we were through to somewhere humid and hot. The brush and swirl of a heated wind did nothing to cool the sweat on my brow.
A few seconds later, Blackbird appeared and stepped up beside Vetch as my brother packed me on his shoulder with the indifference of a mindless creature. “Did you break Vetch?”
“Worried about your brother?”
“Tell me. He deserves to be broken.” I breathed out, coughed and fought the wave of darkness that flowed over me.
Vetch flipped me off his shoulder. I landed on my back, on the hard ground. The world faded and I fought the desire to close my eyes and let death take me. “Tell me everything.”
“So you can die in peace?” There was a thread of sadness to Blackbird’s voice I didn’t understand.
“Yes.” One word, but even one was becoming too much for me.
Blackbird knelt beside me, his cloak spread over my body. It didn’t dissolve as Keeda’s had.
“Keeda was a tool, as is Cassava. They think they are running the show, but they aren’t. I will rule the Rim through her. As I will rule all the families through their leaders. That is what the mother goddess wants, for her children to all be together.”
“Not like that.” I stared up at him while I clutched his cloak. “She wouldn’t want it done this way.”
“You don’t know the mother goddess like I do. She and I go way back. She chose me when I was a child. My mother bedded several men while wearing different stones in order to make sure I came into existence.” It felt like he was laughing at me and I didn’t understand.
“Then why was Cassava scheming with Requiem to create a child like you?”
Blackbird grinned. “Ah, yes. Requiem. Idiot of epic proportion. Mother wanted to see if another child like me could be born naturally and pose a threat. She promised Requiem he could have you for test breeding, over and over.” His grin widened. “But it appears he got Bella instead.”
A sharp stab of pain shot through my body. I tried to arch away from the wound in my back, but I barely twitched.
“Death is a funny thing. It can help us see more clearly. Or so I’m told. Do you see me clearly yet, Larkspur?” He put his hands to the edge of his hood.
“You are Cassava’s lover.”
“Yes, I am that,” he said. “She is my everything. Lover. Confidante. Partner. And more.”
If I could have gagged I would have. I said nothing as he began to peel back the cloak, slowly revealing his dark hair. Coal? No, it couldn’t be Coal. I’d killed him.
Dark hair, blue eyes sparkling with mischief.
“Raven.”
He ran a hand down my cheek. “Yes, sister. You were to be mine once Requiem was done with you. Mother has a taste for the exotic looks, and I,” he leaned in and brushed his lips over mine, “share that with her.”
I couldn’t move, couldn’t even pull away. My brother. He was Cassava’s lover, son. The words jumbled up in
my head. Twisted was the only thing I could think. She’d twisted him into a monster.
“Vetch, help me put her into the oubliette.” He snapped his fingers and Vetch grabbed me under the arms.
There was one last thing I could do, to help Bella and her child survive. I reached toward Vetch with one hand and pushed Spirit into him, driving it deep into his mind. There was nothing of him there, no emotion, no personality. I broke what was left of it apart, and stopped his heart. He stiffened under my hand.
“Lark, that wasn’t necessary.” Raven chided me as though I’d thrown a temper tantrum. Vetch dropped to the ground, his heart stilled. One less sibling to deal with, and more importantly, my sisters were safe from him. Raven bent and took the armband from Vetch, then leaned over me. “Are you quite done?”
I looked up at him, held his gaze. “No.” With the last of my strength, I grabbed him with both hands and pushed Spirit into him. I had to kill him, I had to if Bella and her child were to have a chance at stopping Cassava.
Power raged between us as he fought. Spirit screeched, the sound like a thousand death cries at once, of a hurricane and earthquake, of a tsunami, all rolled into the roar of Spirit doing battle.
I didn’t hold back. I was dying, I knew it.
So did he.
“Lark, don’t!” His eyes were full of terror as I hammered him with everything I had. He kicked me in the stomach and sent me tumbling backward. I hit the rounded edges of something anything but natural. Smooth, hard, and stinking like rubber.
The oubliette.
“You almost had me there, sis. Almost.” Raven stood over the opening of the oubliette and I could do nothing but stare up at him and hate him.
“Almost,” I whispered. That had been my life. Almost. Maybe. Nearly. Failure after failure. Tears slipped down my cheeks.
“Don’t cry.” He crouched beside the opening. “I won’t forget you, Lark. Everyone else will, but I will remember you as the one who could have stopped me.” He winked and slammed the oubliette’s rounded door shut, thrusting me into total darkness.
The oubliette shifted under me, sinking into the ground. Sucking me down into my grave.
Windburn (The Elemental Series Book 4) Page 16