“We were under attack by Hunters,” Halen answered. “Natalie was with them.”
His eyes deepened with an odd, pained expression. He rubbed the coppery-blond stubble on his chin. “So, she’s alive.”
“She’s unhinged,” Dax said. “There’s nothing I can do without leaving Halen unprotected.”
“You can’t break your bond with Halen.” Huron shook his head. “But you two better work on your communication skills. You need each other.”
“Pepper fell in.” Dax nodded toward the pond. “It was my fault. I couldn’t save them both.”
“There’s nothing more you could have done,” Halen glanced at his bracelet. Whether he wanted to or not, the Guardian bond saved her life over Pepper’s. Her blame was misdirected; her hitchhiker was at fault. Asair forced her hand open, not Dax. She was the one who couldn’t use magick. She choked back the tears rising in her throat. “I’m sorry I lost it on you.”
Huron gripped her shoulder. “Lives have been lost.” He placed his other hand on Dax’s shoulder, pulling them into a huddle. “And more blood will be shed if we don’t find a way to stop the flames.”
“What do you think we should do?” Dax asked.
“Obviously, what we thought we knew about Asair was wrong. Somehow, somewhere, history has deceived us. We need to know why. I must go to the aqueducts and protect the water stone until we have answers.”
A stag.
A boy.
A river of blood.
Halen stumbled back with the weight of the images igniting her sparks.
“What’s wrong?” Dax asked.
“I’m fine. It’s just all too much.” Her gaze slid to the water where only moments before her friend fought for her life. Why was she seeing these images again? What did they mean?
“It will be all right. We just need to get out of here,” Dax said. “You don’t think anyone would come for the water stone, do you?” He turned to Huron. “No one can touch it.”
“We think no one can touch it, but we also thought Asair’s death would open the portal to Etlis,” Huron said. “We must challenge everything we knew. We can’t trust anyone.”
Water stone. Again, the name flecked her skin with sparks. A flash of crystal blue washed through her thoughts and her fingers twitched with a desire to feel the polished stone in her palm. She clenched her fist tightly. When her eyes closed, a barren land washed through her thoughts; miles of sand stretched before her, and beyond, only darkness. She lifted the stone skyward and the air spun with deep blue water—the Elosian sky.
“Halen?” Huron squeezed her shoulder. She flinched, opening her eyes.
She glanced at the familiar swirling blue sky above. “What is the water stone?”
Dax explained, “The water stone holds infinite power for those who can possess it.”
“What do you mean by possess it?” Realization washed over her; Asair wanted the stone. Her energy now surged with wanton desire for a stone she had never seen.
“You can explain later.” Huron eyed the tunnel from where he’d emerged. “You really need to leave. I’ll contact you.”
“I want to come with you,” Halen all but blurted. Asair, she hissed through her thoughts. You’re not going near that stone. I’m going to London and evicting you.
“No, you need to go to back to Earth,” Huron said.
Voices carried down the corridor and Huron’s green gaze widened.
“It’s her, isn’t it?” Halen asked, though she already knew, for her sparks electrified.
“Go!” Huron shouted.
“No one is going anywhere.”
Rania’s voice scattered Halen’s sparks.
Rania clasped her arm; her cropped hair was the shade of the blood dripping from the seaweed poultice clinging to her wound. Two beastly guards flanked her. Their stark white flesh glistened as if slicked with water, their eyes long slits in their mammoth skulls. Dozens of gold hoops adorned their pointed ears; the piercings extended down the flesh of their necks. Black rods, thick as finger bones, pierced their chest above their nipples. Below the waist, spiky gray and black needles poked from their skin. Each beast grasped a sickle of stone aimed toward Halen.
Halen stepped back, butting against Dax’s chest. “What are they?” she whispered.
“Krull commanders.” He placed his hand on her hip, shifting her to his side. “The mutants won’t be far behind.”
“Rania, this isn't your fight,” Huron said.
“How dare you!” Her nostrils flared and her neck flushed crimson. “You know what I’ve sacrificed.”
Huron stepped so that he too shielded Halen. “Your parents were wrong.”
She clutched her arm and blood trickled down to her elbow. “You don’t know what they did to me.”
“I do.” Huron’s tone softened.
One wrong word and those white beasts would tear them to shreds. Halen prayed he knew what he was doing.
“You suffered. I know that, but your parents were on the wrong side,” Huron said.
She choked with laughter. “They were Elosian. They punished me because of what the Tari made me do.” She was shaking now, when she turned her birth mark toward them.
Halen shuddered. Instead of soft Elosian swirls, a new fate branded her arm. The raised scars were sinuous, as if her flesh had endured endless blistering from a hot iron.
“The heavens didn’t choose my fate, the Tari did.” Rania shook her fist. “Our two realms don’t belong together. My parents helped me see that clearly.” Her gleaming gaze shifted to Halen. “Did you let Asair live on purpose?”
Halen’s breath caught with the punch of shock.
“Asair is dead,” Dax said. “I watched him die.”
Halen’s guilt wound like a serpent with a rat.
“Is he?” Rania walked closer, her gait light, as if she floated on air.
Halen wished for such poise at this moment, as her shoulders curled in and her chin hung to her chest. She shouldn’t be scared. She had faced Asair head on, dived into the dark side of her soul. Her mission hadn’t been victorious, but she’d come out alive. However, right now, her mental pep talk wasn’t convincing. Though magick flowed through her veins, her sparks had failed her. “Damn it, I thought you would help. Do something or she’ll kill us,” Halen said, trying to reach Asair, but he wouldn't answer her back.
A stone-cold silence filled the air.
Dax turned. His eyes deepened with curiosity.
Heat rose up her neck, flushing her cheeks. How careless could she have been? Her tongue rolled to the roof of her mouth. Of all the times to open her stupid mouth… She had only wanted Asair to answer, to make good on his promise. Didn’t he get it? If she died, so did he.
Rania rubbed her arm, wincing. “The heavens don’t answer little demon sirens.”
Halen bit her lip. Rania thought she was talking to God. Hallelujah.
Dax, however, shook his head.
“Take her,” Rania ordered and the two pale beasts lunged forward.
Halen held fast. If Asair, or her magick, wasn’t going to help, she would have to help herself. “Killing me won’t solve your problem. The flames in Etlis will destroy Earth. And from what I know, Elosia is dependent on Earth’s waters. Whether you accept it or not, we need to work together.”
“Aren’t you brave?” Rania sneered, her lip curling up on one side. “I’m tired of working together. You’ve been fed lies, child. The Tari are nothing but murderers. You’re just a pawn and unfortunately, their play didn’t work.”
“I went after Asair to help the realms. I want the fires to end just as much as you.”
“Is that what the Tari told you?” Rania chuckled. Her pointed chin dipped and her eyebrows arched as she faced Huron. “Did you tell your daughter why you wanted the fires to cease? Does she know the truth?”
“Halen’s fighting for the cause,” Huron said.
“Whose cause?” Rania shouted. “It doesn’t matter anyway
.” She waved dismissively. “Halen failed. Whatever she did created a disturbance within Etlis. If the Tari had simply left Asair alone, we wouldn’t be standing here now. Your daughter’s blood is on your hands.”
Dax approached Rania. “We should work together.”
“When has working together brought peace? We’re through with discussions. I have made my decision.” When Rania snapped her fingers, the guards lowered their sickles and took one step forward. “This ends now.”
“Rania, please.” Dax held out his hand. “Think of what you’re doing. We need her.”
“You may need her, but Elosia does not.” She snapped her fingers and the pale beasts lunged.
Halen’s strangled scream cut the air.
Dax sidestepped to protect her. A Krull struck him in the gut. He buckled, moaning, and the other beast slammed the butt of his sickle across Dax’s back.
Halen waved her hand, and the sickle flew from its clawed fist. The magick burned, draining her energy. She bent over, sucking the damp air in gulps. The beast balled its fists and ran toward her, but Huron lunged, cutting him off. He rammed the beast against the rock wall. The beast swatted Huron aside as if he were a moth.
Halen shoved off the wall, but toppled back. Asair! She screamed through her thoughts. Damn it! Stop blocking my magick!
Dax was now in a headlock. His arms flailed at his sides as he swatted the beast.
Halen closed her eyes, concentrating now on the few sparks lingering along her arms. She needed to gather this energy, unite it into one force. The sparks flickered, bouncing into one another, and as Halen stomped her foot, connecting with the energy of the rocks, the walls rumbled. She opened her eyes and stomped again.
Rania stumbled and the pale beasts faltered. Dax ground his fist into the beast and it let him go, while Huron reached for the sickle and sliced it across the other beast’s throat. Blood spurted from its neck, splattering across Rania’s fine corset. Her eyes deepened and she growled. Halen struck the ground with her heel once more and the rock ceiling crumbled.
Rania crouched against the falling shards. She lowered her head and released a whooping call. Her battle cry rocked Halen to the core, sending her courage running.
The beast dropped Dax and hopped from side to side as if being enchanted by the rhythmic calling.
“The army is coming!” Dax grabbed Halen’s arm.
“Run!” Huron rammed his fist into the jaw of the beast.
The ground rumbled, reverberating in Halen’s bones. She froze, transfixed on the yellow lights flickering in the tunnel. They shone, growing brighter by the second.
Halen’s breath caught as the first lights breached the cavern. They weren’t lights at all, but eyes—dozens of shiny little eyes of vile creatures. They rushed out in pairs, a foul stench choking the air. Sharp teeth hooked from their lips, reaching up to jutted cheekbones, where gills cut along the sides of the creatures’ heads. Ruddy scales of rust and black coated their stout bodies, ending at their hands where sharp claws curled around axes.
Time to leave, darling. Asair popped into her thoughts. Halen raised her arm, her silver bracelet spinning. The creatures marched forward. The first pair headed for Dax when Huron intercepted. The creature’s teeth hooked into his arm. Halen wanted to run to him, but her feet held her in place.
Focus, Asair said.
Her attention drew to the uppermost tip of the water spire. Asair’s magick wove through her, spinning with a plan. She summoned the swirling water, so it rose to a towering wave. As the water curled, she struck the air and the wave crashed, washing away the devilish beasts.
The mutant army zigzagged, knocking into one another.
“Take them!” Rania screamed.
Her gruesome army clambered to their feet, gaining their footing one by one. They locked arms and marched.
“Run!” Huron battled the beasts.
Instead, Halen knelt.
“What are you doing?” Dax pulled her by the arm, but she didn’t budge.
Without even knowing herself, she scooped a handful of water and sipped it. She held the cool salt water in her mouth, swishing it between her cheeks, then quickly spat it out.
“Stop this!” Dax yanked her back from the pond.
“Just wait!” She shoved him away.
Dax spun and kicked a Krull, sending it into the water. The creature clawed the edge, when a hand reached up from the water and dragged the Krull below.
Halen’s flesh prickled as silver fins flashed through the water. She scooted back. Dax lifted her to her feet as a shimmering tail slapped the water and a wave crashed across her chest.
Halen swiped her wet bangs from her eyes. She blinked as a girl with alabaster skin surfaced. Dark veins sprouted from the corners of her eyes and down her cheeks; the Krull’s scaly finger dangled from her black lips. The mermaid spewed it out. Her hungry gaze landed on Halen.
Halen’s heart flooded up to her throat. What have you done? she shouted at Asair. Her gaze darted between the Krull army and the mermaid.
The mermaid rose from the water, spreading her webbed arms like a cloak of death. Smoke wafted from her parted lips and she blew out. The dark cloud swarmed the Krull mutants. They clawed their throats, drawing blood; their yellow eyes burned red.
“Halen!” Dax shouted into the crux of his arm.
Two more mermaids breached the swirling water. Their lips rounded with wispy smoke, they blew out, blinding the enemy with their fog.
He inhaled a quick breath, his eyes wide. “I don’t understand.”
“I don’t either, but we need to find Huron and leave while we can.”
The mermaids dove under the swirling water. Their silver tails slapped the surface. The sound crashed around them, but Halen stood fast as their splayed fins pounded the water. The water spire vibrated, wavering.
“Let’s go!” Dax turned toward the smoke cloud. “We have to get out of here.”
“No!” She yanked him back. “Look!” She pointed to the base of the water spire, now displacing into a flat step. As the mermaids thrust their tails against the water, another step emerged. Drop by drop, a staircase rose up to the Elosian sky.
Halen ascended the first stair. To her amazement, the liquid held firm beneath her foot. When she glanced back, Dax’s energy shifted to fear, not for the Krull army, but fear of her.
A Krull broke free from the smoke. He threw his jagged blade toward Dax.
“Watch out!” Halen swatted the air and the dagger diverted.
Dax turned as the Krull rammed his side. They rolled and when the Krull neared the edge of the water, a mermaid crushed his spine with the next slap of her tail. The Krull slipped into the water, howling.
Guided by the Krull’s tortured cries, as the mermaids ripped its scaled arms from its torso, the rest of Rania’s army descended.
Halen held her hand out to Dax. “This is the only way!”
The Krull army marched forward and Dax took her hand. They ran up the stairs and as they rose above the smoke, she searched for Huron. She caught a glimpse of his back as he disappeared down the tunnel. Rania retreated down the opposite tunnel, leaving her army to a war they couldn’t win. The mermaids drew the Krull into the water, lassoing them with bindings of silver rope. The Krull yelped with cries and grunts as the mermaids feasted on their bones.
Shuddering, she turned away, climbing the water stairs two at a time. When she reached the top, the Elosian sky parted with cool salt water. With Dax by her side, she kicked off the last stair, and swam, leaving behind the blood-torn wreckage of Asair’s magick.
TIME NEVER PASSED so slowly as the SUV caravan headed into the desert, past the point of no return. Miles of sand stretched before them, the last town fading in the horizon like a distant memory.
“Where are you taking us?” Ezra asked again, his nose pressed to the glass.
Tage glanced across at Halen’s mom. She still hadn’t awakened. Occasionally, she murmured, but whenever Tage rea
ched across for her, Natalie shot her a warning glance, forcing her to retreat. Daspar too lay unconscious; she only hoped her spell held. “Their desert fortress.” She sighed.
“How would you know?” Natalie set her tablet on the seat next to Corinne.
“Where else would we be going in the middle of Nevada?” Tage slumped farther into her seat.
“To bury our bodies.” Ezra clasped his arm where the Hunter’s arrow had grazed him.
“The Hunters could have taken your souls and left your bodies to rot in the hotel room. We didn’t need to drag you all the way out here.” Natalie’s long eyebrows lifted with amusement.
Ezra opened his mouth to speak. Tage grasped his knee. “Why did you, then?” Tage asked. “Even if Halen wanted to come after us, you know Dax wouldn’t place her in danger—the Guardian bond is too strong.”
Natalie glanced out the window. “I know Halen will make the right choice,” she said so quietly Tage wasn’t sure she was talking to her.
Tage had so many questions for Halen’s sister—on the top of her list: why the hell was she hanging out with assassins? Emil especially piqued Tage’s curiosity. He seemed enamored with Natalie, as if he wanted her heart instead of her soul. Everything was so wrong about their situation, but she knew if she asked, silence would follow.
“Look.” Ezra pointed out the window.
Tage leaned across his shoulder. A wall of black glass gleamed ahead, reflecting the endless desert. Barbed wire curled along the top of the gates, shimmering with the sun’s bold rays. For immortals, they sure were paranoid. Daspar once compared the Hunters to vampires shielding their lair from the light; only, Hunters didn’t have a weakness, so all the security guarded secrets. Tage swallowed hard when the first SUV stopped. She didn’t want to discover their secrets; she wanted the hell out.
The driver pressed his palm to a decoder pad, and the gates parted, allowing one vehicle to pass. Their SUV pulled up next. The driver repeated the action and the gates slid fully open. Tage clutched the seat when they drove directly underground, the sun disappearing behind them. She held her breath as they waited for a red laser beam to turn green. Ezra’s emotions spiked; she hugged herself, his fear now ripping through her.
Curses and Ash (The Siren Chronicles Book 2) Page 9