by Sierra Cross
“Yeah, that doesn’t clear anything up, lady,” Asher said. “For those of us who don’t see visions of the possible future, would you mind—”
“Dios mio!” Pillar’s eyes flew open wide, like she was hearing something only in the canine range. “You have an army of undead on your heels. Go! Or you won’t be helping anyone.”
The undead? Vampires? “Crap.” She’d just told us a bunch of stuff she had no way of knowing and was right in every detail. I had so many questions. Could Pillar tell us how to get the Splinter out of my sister without killing her? How fast was her sweet soul weakening? How much control did she have over the Splinter? But if Pillar sensed that Bonaventura’s crew had found us, I thought it was better to believe her than have a reunion with Ambrose. “Which way to the docks?”
“Through my shop.” Pillar turned and rushed through a slim doorway. We followed behind her. The dingy shop was a sliver of what she’d had in Las Calles. “Bring her back to me. I can help her. You don’t deserve it,” she added, “but she does.”
At a clipped pace she led us out to the back exit. “Run!”
We did, plowing through overturned crates and piles of discarded produce. Asher pushed past me to take the lead. Shimmying alongside an ancient delivery truck that nearly blocked the narrow alley, we slowed but only for an instant. Matt, daggers in hand, brought up the rear. Our steps fell in unison, all earlier tension forgotten, we moved as a unit.
From between the buildings, I saw a huge black SUV skid to a stop on the crowded street. How did they even get those monster trucks down the streets around here? Shouts rang out as car doors slammed. They were going to follow us on foot. And god knows, vampires were a hell of a lot faster than us.
“Miss Hill!” Bonaventura’s voice reverberated off the walls, pounding into my ears. Though I couldn’t see him, he was getting closer. “Save yourself some pain and stop now.”
“Swap places with me,” Asher called to Matt, who complied without argument.
Matt cleared the way as I readied my magic. Asher’s tattoos swirled as he ran half-turned around, a cloud of magic on his fingertips. His graceful strides not hampered as he leapt over discarded boxes and stray trash.
Wes’s sleek form appeared from around a corner, in a full sprint, bloodlust in his eyes, he barreled straight for us. Asher’s magic kicked up all the rubbish and trash cans and crates. The vampire was pummeled with a barrage of debris. The vampire dodged, but it barely slowed his pace.
“I get it. Let me help,” I tried to run and turned as Asher was, but my stride wasn’t nearly as surefooted.
“Use your mind, not your eyes,” Asher called to me.
Through the coven bond, I could feel where he was directing his magic, I didn’t need to see it. A vampire I recognized from the Michigan crew dropped from a building in front of Matt, who made like a Mack truck and barreled into the vampire, daggers slashing. A spray of red blood shot across the brick wall. It would’ve been lethal for a human, but would do no more than slow this vampire down. Matt picked up the pace, leading us unwaveringly to our destination.
I concentrated on pouring power into Asher’s magic. The two-screening technique I’d picked up in my Dominion Gene studies helped here as well. I split my focus, ensuring I didn’t fall and break my neck while moving my energy into the coven bond.
“This little shit isn’t slowing them down,” I shouted to Asher without turning. “We need something bigger.”
Asher took my suggestion and pointed our magic at the metal dumpsters. Lifting and hurtling, turning them into massive projectiles, we sent the bins at our pursuers. The dumpster slammed into Wes, sending him sprawling.
“Score!” With a smirk, Asher swiped his magic across a wall. A flood of bricks rained down on the vampire.
A preternatural roar made me cover my ears as we ran. I stole a glance behind me and saw Bonaventura bounding over the pile of bricks. His movements so fast my eyes could barely register them.
He crossed an alley and bam! A delivery truck plowed right into him, smashing him into a wall.
I turned to Asher in awe. “Did you do that?”
“No. That was just lucky.”
It was about time we had a lucky break, I thought as we sped to catch up with Matt. We pounded onto the docks. My thigh muscles burned, and my heart was beating wildly. I couldn’t see the vampires behind us, but our efforts wouldn’t hold them back for long.
Matt was already on board an old wooden boat, motioning us to hurry. Diego had the engines started and was holding the last line loosely wrapped around the cleat waiting for us to board.
The four vampires, looking a little rumpled but not injured, were cresting the top of the hill.
Asher leapt from the dock and landed in the boat in one stride. I jumped and plowed into Matt as Diego gave a hard tug on the line and floored it in reverse.
“Doble la tarifa!” our captain shouted over the roar of the deceptively powerful engines. Did he just demand we double his fee? Matt nodded and urged him to hurry up.
“Apparently a getaway boat costs double,” Matt said.
A spray of water showered the dock as Diego cut the wheel hard and left a dripping Bonaventura shaking with fury on the dock.
I prayed that this heap of lug nuts would be faster than anything the vampires could rent. They’d come after us soon, of that I had no doubt. I just prayed we had enough lead on them to get in without them slowing us down.
Diego drove like a madman. We obviously weren’t his first clients to have required fancy footwork to escape pursuers. He took us due north until we were far enough up the coast that even vampire eyes couldn’t see, then he cut west and finally south again. The engines groaned loudly, and the wind whipped. The boat bounced along the chop, and a fine spray was constantly hitting my face. I held onto the pin rail with one hand and Matt with the other. Asher looked a little green around the gills and had a faraway look in his eyes that made me wonder what he’d seen when Pillar had touched him.
The ocean stretched out all around us, no land or vampires in sight. But Diego kept the speed. The boat slowed at the same time I felt the dull ache of the edge of a powerful ward.
“Esto es lo más lejos que voy,” Diego said, putting the engines in neutral. A shudder ran through him—to a Wont, a ward that strong would put him on the verge of a panic attack.
“He doesn’t want to go any farther,” Matt said.
“But we’re in the middle of the freaking ocean.” Asher looked around incredulously.
A gull screeched overhead, and the green expanse of an island rose on the horizon.
“Tell him it’s just magic he’s feeling,” I suggested. “That it’s not really going to hurt him.”
Matt interpreted. Diego shook his head as he answered back. Even without the translation, the mention of magic had made our captain even more reluctant to get closer.
“We’re still two hundred yards off the coast.” No way I was going to try and swim and fend off attacks at the same time.
“Tell him we’ll triple his fee,” Asher said.
Matt pulled another wad of pesos from his vest pocket and handed it to our captain.
Diego cussed under his breath before stashing the money. He inched us forward at a snail’s pace. The ocean was so blue and clear I could see the sandy bottom below us. The boat inched forward, and the island got larger. It was much bigger than I had expected. Behind the wide white-sand beach a dense jungle rose up, so thick it looked like night beyond the dense foliage. At the center of the island stood a single mountain—a dormant volcano? I hated being out in the open like sitting ducks. Even though the coordinates Masumi had given us were for the far side of the island, it was still closely monitored and certainly booby trapped. I willed Diego to go faster but sensed it wouldn’t help to try to rush him. With an audible thwack, the boat hit an invisible wall. Like running into a giant rubber band, we were sling-shot backward. Diego’s eyes went wide, and he started spewing a
string of agitated Spanish.
“He’s done. We can either get out here or go back to shore with him,” Matt informed us.
“Looks like we’re swimming,” I said.
“Let’s disable this ward,” Asher said. The three of us pooled our magic; we stood facing the island. Our mix of magic flowed together and began slicing a hole in the barrier before us. Unlike at the Wellspring campus, there too many tripwires here to disable them all. We were going to have to take our chances and hope we could get out of sight before El Diablo’s security landed on the beach.
Diego threw us a look. “Estás loco,” he muttered.
Right. To a Wont, we looked like we were just standing there waving our arms around.
“Wait ten seconds after I jump,” Matt said. “No sense all three of us getting killed if the water’s been spelled to be lethal.”
“What?” I watched slack-jawed as Matt jumped off the edge of the boat and sank beneath the aqua waters. To my relief, he bobbed back to the surface and gave a thumbs up.
Asher and I glanced at each other and plunged in after him. The saltwater was surprisingly warm. I let myself sink all the way to the bottom before coming up for air.
No sooner had we hit the water than Diego’s rooster tail sprayed us. Treading water, I watched the boat speed away. I had a funny feeling he wasn’t coming back to pick us up.
“Once we hit the beach, we sprint.” Matt pointed to where the jungle’s foliage was encroaching onto the sand. “Head into the trees for cover.” He put his face down, pulled his well-muscled arm back in a powerful stroke, and swam forward.
Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw a large dark shape glide through the water. “What was that?”
Asher whipped his head back toward the open ocean. “Oh shit, we’ve got company.”
Sharp grey fins. Circling us. And there were more than one.
I felt the color drain from my face. Ever since I’d seen Jaws in the sixth grade, this was one of my worst nightmares.
Matt must have sensed we weren’t following. He popped his head up and looked in the direction that had our attention. “It’s all right. They’re nurse sharks. If we leave them alone, they’re harmless.”
Matt sounded so confident, I breathed a sigh of relief…till I noticed their circle around us seemed to be tightening.
“If they’re so bloody harmless,” Asher said. “Why are their eyes glowing red?”
“It’s not the water that’s been spelled,” I said, “it’s the wildlife.”
The sharks took turns darting toward us menacingly and turning away at the last second.
“Form a circle. Backs together,” Matt yelled as the first shark reached us. Blue magic covered Matt’s body. He formed a fist and punched the shark in the side of the head, right on its gills. The red-eyed beast flew across the water like a skipping stone. But the others didn’t slow. They spanned out and began to slowly circle us again. I’d read horror stories about this happening to sailors at sea. It never ended well for the sailors.
While still treading water, Asher raised his right arm out of the ocean. A thin trail of golden magic floated up from his liberated hand and tentatively took shape.
“A barrier?” I guessed. “Just focus. We’ll cover you.” I managed to form a small firebolt on my fingertips while swimming. I cocked my arm and threw it at the nearest shark, but the bolt just sizzled out the moment it hit the water. The sharks were undeterred.
Luckily, Matt’s sheen of blue seemed unaffected by the water. He punched and kicked at the sharks that tried to breach our circle. But it wouldn’t be enough to keep them all back.
Slowly, Asher’s golden plume of magic spread out in our direction. His face twisted as he struggled to bring it all the way around us. “It’s not sealing,” he said.
“Let me give you more power.” I redirected the magic on my fingertips, trying to push it through our coven bond. But maintaining my magic on my hands while swimming was like trying to light a match in the bathtub. The water kept dampening my fire.
The sharks were inching terrifyingly closer.
I concentrated on our coven bond, but the water was thwarting my ability to direct my power into our warlock. “Shit, it’s not working.”
A shark darted at Matt. He kneed it hard in the nose. The big fish tumbled backward, end over end, at the same time the golden hue around us disintegrated. Asher let out a frustrated roar. The attempt to build a barrier had completely failed.
“We can’t stop them in the water,” I said. “Our magic—”
“So we have to stop the water,” Matt said calmly.
“Ah, what?” Asher asked.
“Cover me.” Matt gulped in a lungful of air and let himself sink to the bottom. What the hell was he doing? I could see his arms stretched in front of him, palms together. For the longest time, nothing happened. Asher and I put all our magical combat training to use. We kicked and punched, barely keeping the bloodthirsty demonic sharks from tearing at our flesh. Between forays with our fishy friends, I saw tiny shards of crystal magic emanating from his fingertips.
His Mal magic worked underwater? I guessed it was because it wasn’t based in fire like our witch’s magic was. For whatever reason, the stream of white glass-like pieces was flowing freely now, coming together creating a whole wall of Mal magic. His breath had to be running out, but he stayed with the task.
When the thin wall of white magic reached from the sandy bottom to just above the surface, Matt split his hands apart…and the one wall became two. The space between them was devoid of water, bare sand showed below the blue sky. Matt’s magic was forming a dry chamber. With a grunting effort, he pushed the water back further, enlarging the dry area. I felt a thousand tiny tingles as his crystalline magic moved through me and forced back the water that had surrounded me. With no water left to hold me up, I tumbled onto the soft floor of the ocean. Asher leapt into the open space after me.
The muscles in Matt’s face clenched as he struggled to keep the walls intact, and we raced across the sand. The sharks swam around us like an exhibit at the aquarium. Or maybe we were an exhibit for them? I wasn’t going to stand around and figure it out.
The walls of the chamber began to ripple, and Matt’s arms began to shake.
“Can’t hold it! Run!” he yelled as the spell burst. The water sloshed up, and the ocean rushed back in around us. In the knee-deep surf, water splashed all around us as we sprinted our way onto the beach.
Away from one danger, into another. Scanning the shore, I noticed a rustle of leaves in the jungle to the east. “We’re about to have more company.” I pointed to the welcome wagon heading our way.
“I’m betting it’s the two-legged variety,” Asher said, as we all rushed in the opposite direction. Toward the nearest cover of foliage.
Sand flying behind us, we reached the edge of the jungle. My muscles ached from the effort. Matt pulled a long knife from its sheath and began to hack a path for us.
The rustle of leaves was getting louder. Whoever they were, they were close.
Something whizzed right by my ear. Small and sharp, it tore through my shirt, missing my skin by a millimeter. The shiny chrome projectile with its red fletching fell onto the sand. “Darts!” I shouted as another hissed past me. Then another. “They’re coming from right in front of us.” The fabric on my arm sizzled and smoked where the dart had ripped it. “And they’ve been treated with poison!”
“In the tree line.” Matt inclined his head as he deflected a hail of darts headed his way. “Booby traps.” This deterrent wasn’t magical—a motion sensor had likely set them off. It was Wont technology, but no less deadly.
“Looks like it’s only on the outer perimeter,” Asher said. “If we can get deeper into the jungle we should be clear of them.”
And if we somehow managed to do that, I wondered what other surprises we’d find?
“If we pool our magic, maybe we could throw a veil over us?” Asher sounded unsur
e. It would take a lot of power to form a veil and throw it over us while dodging darts.
“Maybe we don’t need a whole veil?” I asked. “All the darts are coming from one direction.” I squinted at the tree line. The devices tied to the tops of some trees were well-camouflaged, but I could make out wires supporting a slim barrel and ammo belt of extra projectiles. The dart version of a machine gun.
They were all geared to stop people from entering the jungle.
“We don’t need 360 protection,” I said. “Can you deflect the darts while I build a single layer just in front of us?”
“It’s worth a shot,” Asher said.
I pulled from their magical reserves, trying to knit together as much of a veil as I could. Too much multitasking meant our power was uneven at best. What I threw together was not a masterpiece. “On three, everybody run.”
From the jungle to the east, I heard men’s shouts.
“Now or never, luv,” Asher said, urgency in his voice.
“One, two, three!” I screamed the words as I threw the makeshift veil up before us like an ethereal shield. Diving under the lip of the veil, we ran headlong beyond the booby trapped perimeter to safety.
Relative safety. Between the footprints in the sand and the path we’d carved out, we would be easy prey to follow. The magic of the veil shredded as it was assaulted by hundreds of darts. Tiny flecks of golden magic and spent darts fell to the jungle floor.
“No more slashing. We need to be invisible.” Matt said, obviously thinking the same thing I was. He led the way into the uncharted jungle before us. Asher motioned me to go ahead, and he brought up the rear.
I batted my way through the thick foliage. Sharp palm fronds scraped across my cheeks, and the hot moist air made it hard to take a deep breath. I swatted bugs the size of sparrows away from my face and hair. With every step I scanned the jungle, searching for more Fidei deterrents—magical or otherwise.
With visible effort, Asher sent out swirls of shimmering gold magic to straighten every bent leaf and clear every footprint we’d left behind.