by Leia Stone
Eva sighed. “Lily is shifting every twenty minutes. She thinks it’s fun. Each time she shifts she absorbs some of the spell. I sent Danny in the middle of the night to my last source that might have unicorn blood, it was no good.”
An idea popped into my head. “The necklaces! Why don’t we put Lynn’s necklace on Lily!” Hope soared inside of me.
“We tried that. Didn’t work,” she said.
And hope came to a crashing halt.
“Your mother made those specifically for each person. Yes, your mother’s necklace works on you a bit, but it’s not the same as when she wore it, I’m sure.”
She was right. It wasn’t the same as my staff.
Another idea popped into my head. “Logan can put her in a dragon sleep!”
Logan frowned. “Sloane, she eats every two hours. She would starve. Your full grown dragon can go three days without food but a baby wouldn’t last more than six hours.”
Shit. I was starting to panic. This land, our safe haven, was about to become a warzone. I wasn’t ready.
I sensed him before he spoke. Turning, I saw Isaac holding both staffs, and wearing metal cuffs on his arms, he looked fit for battle. “Sloane, I’d like to speak with you privately.”
I looked to Logan, who squeezed my hand and gave me a nod. “We’re calling a pack meeting. Come over to the fire-pit when you’re done.”
I nodded, as he walked over and ushered Casey away.
With a heavy heart, I faced my mentor.
“This seeming catastrophe is a gift,” he told me.
How on earth could he see this as a gift? I just gave him a stank face and he smiled.
“We have advanced notice, so we get to prepare. We get to choose where we want this to go down. On our turf.”
“We’re not ready,” I pleaded with him. In the end, it was Isaac and I who were going to take Ardan down, and we hadn’t trained nearly as much as we should have.
He set down his staffs and placed both hands on my shoulders. “We’ll never be ready for something like this. We just need to get it over with.”
Okay, not the sagest advice, but probably a good point. Rip that Band-Aid right off.
“There’s like sixty of us and hundreds of them,” I said.
He nodded. “And how many of them throw fire and can create sinkholes?”
That got a grin out of me. “We are kind of badass, aren’t we?”
Isaac chuckled. “We are, and Mother Earth is on our side.”
I nodded, feeling a renewed sense of confidence.
Isaac squeezed my shoulders, letting his hands fall to his sides. “I want you to know I’ve contacted my lawyer, in the case of my death I’ve left the land to you and Logan.”
My eyes bugged out. The vision of a tiny staff tattoo flashed through my mind. “What? No. You’re not going anywhere.”
He just gave me a flat look. “I certainly hope not, but an old man must plan for his demise one day.”
No, I refused to allow the demise of Isaac. “I’m not going to let that happen, Isaac. You and me are both walking out of this alive, together, and we’re starting Earth School.”
He nodded. “I hope so, child. I hope so.” Without another word he bent down, picked up his staffs, and walked to the crowd congregating by the fire.
What the hell just happened? God, if you take Isaac from me, we’re not friends anymore. I sent up my threatening prayer, pretty sure that wasn’t how it worked, but it was worth a try.
No more loss. I couldn’t bear it.
After a few steadying breaths, I reached for my staff too, and walked over to the fire pit. Dee and Keegan were standing on chairs, towering over the crowd of shifters and a sprinkling of skyborn.
“So,” Keegan said, “you all have a decision to make. You can either stay here and fight when the time comes, or leave now and be spared. No one will think less of you.”
“We’re staying!” Isabella screamed.
“So are we!” a group of big ass shifters from Dee’s pack yelled. The group’s voices rose up as every person declared their decision. Lynn was weeping in Tony’s arms, and I hated to see the guilt in her eyes. She might have felt this was her fault. It shouldn’t be a crime to have a baby that was a different race. That shit was going to end.
“Alright!” Dee shouted. “Let’s prepare, then. My group will set up a perimeter. I want you guys in the trees with guns, knives, bow and arrow, whatever we have. Bring food up there and bottles to piss in, because we’re not getting down until this is over.”
Whoa. She was hardcore. Woman crush.
Keegan nodded and then took center stage. “My pack will be the ground team. Our single job is to protect the skyborn! Casey, Geoff, Lynn, and Tony will be hiding in the hut with Lily. Dylan, Isabella, Marco, and Sloane will be fighting alongside us, but if Ardan comes we create a circle around them and don’t let him through.”
Casey groaned, looking completely devastated that she wasn’t going to be able to go head to head with Ardan.
Oh, to be fourteen again.
It was valiant of Keegan to tell his pack to protect me and the other skyborn first, but in reality Isaac and I were the only ones strong enough to take him on. It was going to take a combination of our druid powers to end him.
I turned to Eva. “How long do we have?”
She pivoted, peering over her shoulder to look at the hut that Lily was sleeping in, seeing something my non-magical eyes were not privy to.
“Maybe by nightfall, probably before,” she said, resigned.
Jesus. How had this happened so fast? Any minute they could show up and wreak havoc on this beautiful place, hurt these wonderful people. It frightened me and pissed me off all at once.
“Sloane!” Keegan called from where he was standing with Logan and Isaac.
I gave Eva a small nod before leaving her to join the boys. I walked slowly, as if the act alone could slow down time, and make this inevitable moment never come.
“We need a plan,” Keegan said. “I know you didn’t want it to happen this soon, but Ardan will come and we need some kind of plan.”
I’d never seen him so frazzled. Ardan was powerful yes, but as Isaac had told me moments ago, I could do this. We would never be “ready,” because that would be waiting on perfection, which didn’t exist.
“I’ve got this,” I told Keegan with complete confidence. “You and the others keep any of his druids and hunters out of my way, Isaac and I will finish him off. We’re ending this war. Tonight.” It was totally forced confidence, but I had to suck it up and believe in myself sometime, and it was better now than never.
Isaac beamed at me with pride, leaning on his staffs and assessing me with his orange eyes.
Logan, however, looked ill.
‘I want to club you over the head, and cage you in a basement far, far away from all of this,’ he said through our bond.
I tried not to snort. ‘That was creepy and romantic at the same time.’
‘I’m serious. Everything about this feels wrong to me. I want to protect you.’
I stepped closer to him. ‘You can’t protect me from this.’
His eyes widened as complete and utter desolation crossed his features. This man loved me more than anything. I was so lucky to have that kind of loyalty and devotion.
“Sloane,” Isaac called to me. “We should train.”
The air charged with Logan and my love, with everything unsaid that was flowing between us in that moment. But I had to get in warrior mode. I had to disconnect from him for a moment and focus on this task with Isaac.
“I’ll see you in a bit,” I said out loud, and reached out to squeeze his hand.
When my fingers grasped his, he clamped down and yanked me forward, so that I flew into his arms.
I grinned despite the dire circumstances, and leaned forward to meet his lips. He kissed me frantically and then pulled away. “Nice try, but I’m glued to your side for the next twenty-four hours.”
Isaac chuckled. “Well, then, lover boy, let’s go. I need to work on some moves with her.”
Lover boy. That had a nice ring to it.
As we walked hand in hand over to where Isaac wanted to train me, I felt good about the future. I had my staff, my necklace, and I’d been training for a while with Isaac and Sophie. But the best part was Logan by my side. I truly believed that together we could get through anything.
Chapter 9
I’d been staring at the leaf for over an hour. I was tired, thirsty, and jumpy as hell. Logan sat next to me, walkie-talkie in hand. The entire pack was on high alert.
Light on fire, you little bastard! I mentally screamed at the leaf.
Nothing.
Isaac groaned. “You’re trying too hard. I can tell the energy gets squeezed when you do that. Just relax and light the leaf on fire.”
I loved Isaac. I did. But I wanted to freaking punch him.
I could aim my hand and using the necklace energy light it on fire. I could point my staff and using the crystal tip light it on fire. But I couldn’t skip across the air and light it on fire with my eyeballs!
At that moment a low buzzing zipped up my feet, drawing my attention to the ground.
What the…?
Was the Earth trying to communicate with me, like Isaac insisted she always did? I stared at the leaf. The ground zipped again.
What? What are you trying to tell me?
The blades of grass between the leaf and I moved then, ever so slightly, and my eyes bugged out. The light bulb went off in that moment. There wasn’t air between the leaf and me, there was Earth. She wanted me to use her to direct my magic to the leaf.
I sprang up so fast on the balls of my bare feet that Logan fell back and pulled his gun.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, looking around.
I just grinned. “I’m going to light the leaf on fire now,” I stated, with absolute confidence.
Logan frowned, righting his position on the grass so that he was sitting erect. “Okay…”
Isaac stepped closer and I took a deep breath, centering myself. I felt for the ground, the energy that ran there, and opened myself to it. Unless something was suspended in midair—which not much was—I could use my connection to the Earth to harness my fire magic. I didn’t see why I couldn’t light anything up that was touching the Earth.
At that thought, a large jolt of energy zipped up my feet. Mother Earth approved of my idea. I had officially entered Insanityville with Isaac, because I’d just had a conversation with dirt.
Planting my feet a good distance apart, I called upon my fire magic. Instead of willing it outward through my hands, my eyeballs, or whatever else I’d tried before, I tried to direct it along that path of grass, channeling it through the ground and to the leaf. But I didn’t push right away because I didn’t want to light the grass on fire and leave a trail, I just sort of let it flow without thinking about it too much, like Isaac had said, and then when I felt my awareness hit the leaf, I pushed—just a flick of my magical power—and purple and orange flames erupted from it.
I stumbled backwards, gasping and laughing, in total shock, as Isaac leapt towards me. “Yes! You see now? That is how you do it!”
Logan was staring at me, mouth dropped open, about to speak, when the walkie on his belt squawked to life.
“They’re here,” Keegan said in a clipped low tone.
Oh shit!
The three of us burst into action, Logan going for his second gun, me bending down to get my staff, and Isaac grabbing both staffs, then charging the ten yards into the clearing where we’d left the group.
“I love you. Be safe,” Logan ordered, before jogging along with me after Isaac.
‘Same to you,’ I told him. I was in the zone. I’d just freaking lit a leaf on fire with my mind! Ardan was going to burn.
Isaac reached the opening first and stopped, so I knew right then something was wrong already. If Ardan touched a scale on Lily’s body, I would explode with anger and burn everything in my path.
“What is it?” I shouted, coming up behind him to assess the situation.
When I saw Ardan standing in a bubble of yellow protective magic, surrounded by a dozen sorcerers, I wanted to scream.
“What the hell is he doing?” I asked.
Isaac grit his teeth. “He’s smart. He’s got protection, but he didn’t bring fighters. He’s probably just here for you, Sloane. This looks like a kidnapping.”
“Like hell!” Logan roared, linking his arm with mine by hooking in at the elbow. “He’s not taking her anywhere again.”
Ardan was just standing there with a freaking smug grin behind an impenetrable yellow wall. Danny and Eva stood directly in front of them, the pack behind them, hurling yellow balls of magic at the wall to no avail.
I wondered suddenly if my fire magic could make its way into that shield. I wasn’t feeling too confident that I could take out a shield erected by a dozen sorcerers. I was pretty far away. I would need to get closer to have a shot.
“Get me closer,” I told Logan and he nodded.
With Isaac in front, we walked past Dominic and some of the others, until we stood right next to Keegan and Nadine, who were directly behind Danny and Eva.
“Can we bring that shield down or what?” Keegan roared at our pack sorcerers.
Danny was sweating, trying to make his ball of energy bigger and bigger. “Or what…” he replied.
Damn, not the answer I was hoping for.
Keegan aimed his shotgun at the top of the dome and fired, causing it to ripple, but it remained unharmed. No bullets seemed to penetrate it either.
The crack of a twig behind us had Logan and I turning just in time to see a half a dozen druids creeping up on Dominic, who was at the perimeter of our little situation. Dom spun at the same time, and let the bullets fly from his glock. Pandemonium rained down on our land. The half dozen druids had shields up and Dominic’s bullets were bouncing off. I’d forgotten about Dee and her pack up in the trees until I saw the arrows fly into the chests and shoulders of some of the approaching druids, shattering their shields. The red hazy druid shields seemed to be weaker, and only worked for so long compared to the yellow sorcerer shields.
Spinning back around, I knew I had to act quickly if I was going to take down Ardan. If this was a massacre, he’d have brought more people. He had a plan, and I hated not knowing what the hell it was. I used my connection to the Earth, through my bare feet, to send along some feelers. My energy crawled along the ground, passing Eva and Danny. I felt a thrill at the thought of being able to burn that MOFO alive, but then the energy hit a wall and fizzled out. The witches were fully protecting him above and below.
Okay, Plan B.
“I’m assuming you can’t sinkhole him?” I asked my mentor.
The ground had trembled a few times, so I knew he was trying. He just shook his head in defeat.
Taking my staff in both hands, I aimed it at the dome protecting him.
I called up my fire magic, feeling the burn as it traveled up my feet, through my arms and then out into my staff, pulsing within my necklace as well.
“Get down!” I roared to Danny and Eva, who turned to see the tip of my staff glowing red as they stumbled out of the way.
The moment they were in the clear I let my magic loose. A purple arc, akin to a lightning bolt, shot from my staff and attached to the wall of the shield, where it spread out like fingers encompassing the entire dome.
I saw sweat bead Ardan’s forehead. In his eyes there was a flicker of fear, even if only for a moment. Nothing brought me more satisfaction than to see him wonder if his protections would hold or not. I didn’t let up, I pushed all of my magic through that staff. The dome started to thin and waver. The sorcerers looked to be sweating too. I think my magic was making it unbearably hot in there for all of them.
Evil druid barbeque coming right up.
Ardan clapped his hands hard then; thunder crackl
ed overhead as a gust of wind picked up, slamming into the back of me. Isaac stepped closer to the dome and bent down, digging his bare hand deep into the dirt.
“It’s working!” Nadine screamed at me with a wild grin on her face. She had Sophie’s harpoon gun in her hand. Sophie had been instructed to protect Lynn’s family and Casey. They were all hiding in their hut while this went down. I just hoped they stayed there, safe.
Without warning, Ardan sank a few inches into the earth as the dirt opened up at his feet.
Yes! Isaac and I were going to do it. Together we were going to stop all of this and kill him.
The moment I had that thought, the evil druid blinked out of existence, vanished.
“Keegan!” Logan growled and hooked into my arm tighter.
Keegan spun, aiming his shotgun just over my head, watching my back as I continued to break down the dome. Having an alpha werewolf point a shotgun at my head was not my idea of keeping me safe. I just hoped his aim was good.
Knowing someone could just pop up behind you and steal you to Ireland, made it really hard to relax and let your magic flow. I was trying to keep sending my fire at the dome and wear it down, but was losing my concentration. I knew Keegan had my back. I was watching my front, and Logan was gripping me like a vise, but still, it made it hard to focus.
“Where is he?” I growled. I glanced over my shoulder quickly to see Dominic and Dee’s pack locked in battle with his druids, but no Ardan.
Now that I’d killed Steven, Ardan was playing it safe. It also meant he was afraid of my power, bringing a dozen sorcerers with him to protect him. Just when I thought he’d maybe gone home, Ardan popped into existence in front of me, yanked Nadine into his arms, and popped out.
My whole body went weak as my magic flitted to nothing, cutting off from my staff. I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. It had all happened way too fast. Gear cawed somewhere in the skies.
Ardan took Nadine.
Keegan roared, spinning in frantic circles, looking for her. Suddenly, within the dome, Ardan popped into reality with Nadine by his side, a large smile plastered across his douchy face.
“Let her go!” I roared, yanking my arm free from Logan and running at the dome. Maybe if I just slammed into it I could get through.