Aurora met her midway, their swords ringing through the air as they met. “No!” Aeonia said. “You can’t hurt her!”
“She’s trying to kill you,” Aurora snapped. “When will you open your eyes and see that she doesn’t care for you?”
Emile slipped off the horse. I clung to the creature’s neck, trembling, and Quinn came to my side, steadying me with one hand on my waist. Her eyes were wide with fear and I wished I could comfort her, but it was taking all I had just to remain upright.
Despite her height, Aurora moved fast, knocking the sword from Claudette’s hands and tripping her up with a sweep of her legs. Then Emile was there, his own sword unsheathed, lashing out at her.
“The brother,” Aurora said. “I remember you. Quiet little thing, always following the others around like a lost puppy.”
Emile blocked her blow and went on the offensive, causing her to take a step back. “I’ve grown up now, Aurora. We both have, thanks to you and your family.”
“Your friends tried to kill my sister. What happened to Ayres was unfortunate, but if Michel hadn’t done what he did, your city would still be standing.”
“It was an accident,” Aeonia said in a rush.
Claudette grabbed her fallen sword and jumped to her feet. “That was not an accident, Aeonia! They cast the spell and then cheered when it was over. And you know what the worst part was? When you wanted me and Emile to travel with your people, as if we hadn’t just seen them murdering everyone we cared about!”
“Why won’t you listen to me?” Aeonia implored. “I’m trying to make things right with that stone. I’m going to bring back Ayres—”
“You can’t bring it back!” Claudette’s anguished words echoed into the night air, causing Emile and Aurora to pause in their fighting. Backing away, still wary, Emile went to his sister and put a hand on her heaving shoulders. “It’s gone, Aeonia, and no magic stones will ever bring it back. Stop using that as an excuse to justify what you’re doing. Just… stop.” Looking exhausted, her voice faded to a whisper.
Aeonia took in a deep, shuddering breath. “You’re wrong. I can bring it back; I know I can.” Up until this point, she’d been pleading with Claudette, her tone of voice different from the one she’d used with me when we were in Dusk. But then a change came over her, straightening her posture and steadying her voice. “And when you see what I’ve done, you’ll be begging for my forgiveness.” Her tone turned to steel. “But I have no idea if I’ll be in a forgiving mood. Now, the stone, Irina!” She lifted a hand and magic shot past everyone to me.
Sensing it, the horse reared back and I lost my grip, falling to the ground hard enough that all of the air whooshed out of my lungs in one painful gasp. The horse danced over me and Quinn grabbed its reins, pulling it away before it could trample me. I tried to tell Quinn to run, but I couldn’t speak.
“Leave her alone!” Claudette shouted. She went for Aeonia but Aurora was there, and again Claudette was knocked to the ground. Emile dashed to his sister’s side, leaving Aeonia free to come to me.
“I should have killed you back in Dusk,” she said mercilessly, raising her hands again.
Kill her, kill her, kill her, the stone chanted.
I had no idea if it was talking to me or Aeonia.
“QUINN, RUN,” I TOLD THE girl, but she shook her head and stood by my side, her hands curled up into fists.
“I’m not leaving you. You didn’t leave me in Dusk.” Even though Quinn’s voice was shaking, she stood her ground and pointed at Aeonia. “You don’t scare me!”
Smirking, Aeonia said, “Then you’re a fool.” As magic burst forth from her fingertips, time seemed to slow down and I found myself clear-headed and momentarily free from the pain that’d been crippling my body. Getting to my feet, I shoved Quinn out of the way and held up my hands, palms facing outward. The cloth Claudette had tied around my left hand was stained in blood, but I ignored it as a fire raced through my veins, down my arms, and out of my hands, hitting Aeonia’s magic before it could strike me or Quinn.
The two forces collided with a loud explosion that sent me flying backward and Emile’s horse bolting in panic. I covered my eyes with my arm as magic whooshed around me and the ground shook. Only when silence settled over everything did I peek over my bicep to see Aeonia, also on the ground, staring at me, stunned.
She recovered quickly, jumping to her feet and summoning magic once more. I was at my limit; whatever I’d just done, I couldn’t repeat it, even if I’d wanted to. The crippling pain was back, incapacitating me. Realizing this, Aeonia’s lips curled up into a smile.
Another deafening sound filled the air and for a moment I thought I’d somehow caused another explosion without realizing it. But then a shadow passed over us, blocking out the stars and the moonlight before landing in front of me and nearly on top of Aeonia. A cloud of dust flew up, irritating my eyes and blocking my vision for a moment, but I knew what’d just happened.
Jaegger, I thought, my heart singing. Somehow, impossibly, my dragon was here, his body acting as a shield as he snapped and snarled at Aeonia. His wings were pressed down flat against his massive body, the muscles in his legs and back poised to pounce. It’d been a long time since I’d seen Jaegger this size; I’d forgotten how intimidating he could be.
Aeonia gasped, stumbling back, her hands in front of her. “Stay away from me!”
“You do not give me orders.” Jaegger lunged for her and she tripped in her haste to get away from him. “You do not hurt my human. The only thing you will do is sit there quietly while I destroy you.”
Aeonia shrieked, throwing her hands over her head. For the first time since I’d met her, she looked young and vulnerable, and I almost wanted to feel bad for her. But I couldn’t tell Jaegger to stop, even if I’d wanted to. I was slumped over on the ground, my body aching as the stone in my pocket burned even hotter. Dragon, dragon, dragon, it sang. Kill it, free us, kill it, free us.
Be quiet! I snapped. Surprisingly the chanting stopped.
For now.
There was a flash of steel and Jaegger jerked awkwardly to the right as Aurora’s blade narrowly missed cutting into his flesh. Out of all of us, she was the only one able to move, her face set in determination as she fought to protect her sister.
Jaegger swiped his tail in her direction, catching her in the side with one of his pointy barbs. Screaming, Aeonia caught Aurora before she fell to the ground. “Don’t hurt her! Please!”
“Aeonia…” Aurora struggled to stand.
“Shh, don’t. It’s all right, I’ve got you.” Wrapping her arms around her much taller sister, Aeonia faced Jaegger, her face stained with tears. “Let us go now and I promise we’ll leave you alone.”
Jaegger growled low in his throat. “Your promises mean nothing to me.”
“Please! She’s bleeding!” Aeonia’s voice rose in volume, bordering hysteria. “I don’t care about the stupid amplifier—I just want to help my sister.”
“Then you should not have attacked them in the first place!” Jaegger roared. Even I winced at the fury in his voice, fury that wasn’t even directed at me.
“Wait.” Claudette stood, holding out a hand. She was watching Aeonia with a strange look on her face, like she didn’t recognize the woman in front of her. “Do you swear it, Aeonia? You’ll leave us alone? For good?”
Aeonia nodded her head rapidly. “Yes. Please, Claudette. You have a brother; I know you would do anything for him, give up anything for him. I’ll give up the amplifier for Aurora.”
There was a long pause, and then Claudette said, “Let them go.”
“Are you sure?” Jaegger asked.
Turning away, Claudette looked at Emile, who nodded once, agreeing with her choice. “Yes.”
“Then go,” Jaegger said to Aeonia. “But if I ever see you again—if you ever harm my human or any of her companions, I will rip you apart.”
“Thank you,” Aeonia whispered to Claudette. “And… I’m so
rry. I’m sorry I couldn’t save Ayres.”
Shutting her eyes, Claudette didn’t respond. I could see how that hurt Aeonia, but after a long moment she whispered a word to Aurora and they stumbled away, back to the carnival.
The stone voiced its displeasure, telling her to come back as it flared brightly in my pocket. Groaning, I tried to reach for it, but I could barely move my fingers. Hearing my distress, Jaegger was at my side in an instant, his aqua eyes rimmed with worry. “Little bird?”
“Jae…” I said. “You… came back.”
“Of course I came back.” He pressed his warm muzzle against my shoulder. “I clearly can’t leave you alone for a moment; look at the trouble you landed yourself in.”
I tried to laugh but was instead seized with a crippling pain in my stomach and I doubled over, crying out.
“What’s wrong with her?” Jaegger demanded, his booming voice causing my very bones to tremble.
“I don’t know,” Claudette answered, sounding panicked as she came over. “It started after Aeonia stabbed her.”
“Aeonia stabbed her?” Snarling, he said, “I knew I should have eaten her. Tell me everything that happened!”
Someone turned me over gently and I peeled my eyes open to see three humans and Jaegger staring down at me. The dragon’s eyes were half-closed as he assessed me.
Claudette explained how Aeonia had ambushed us and taken us back to her tent. “She said she needed a dragon to break the seal on the amplifier.”
Jaegger hissed at that. “She thought I was still with Irina?” It was the first time I’d ever heard him use my actual name, and it sounded odd.
“I guess?” Claudette said hesitantly. “I wasn’t really sure what was going on, just that Aeonia had a dagger and she stabbed Irina in the hand with it.”
“Again?” Quinn looked horrified. “Parnaby did the same thing to her!”
“The stone must have told her I was with Irina,” Jaegger mused. “Which was true when we first retrieved it. What happened next?”
Claudette told him about our escape and how Aeonia and Aurora tracked us down.
“No,” the dragon said, sounding frustrated. “You’re skipping something.”
“I told you everything!”
“A stab wound wouldn’t do this!” he yelled. “Think, knight. What else happened? Did Aeonia do something to her when she stabbed her?”
Claudette bit her lip, meeting my eyes as if she could find the answer there, but I had no idea, either. Why was I in so much pain? And what had I done earlier to stop Aeonia’s magic?
Her eyes widened as she remembered something. “The knife slipped,” Claudette said slowly, working it out. “The second time. Aeonia stabbed Irina once, and then when it didn’t work, she went to stab her again, but I knocked into her, and she cut herself instead.”
In a hushed voice, Jaegger asked, “And where was Irina when this happened?”
“Right there,” Claudette said. “She was tied to the chair; she couldn’t get away.”
The dragon stilled. “So when the witch spilled her blood, it dripped onto Irina? More specifically: into the wound in her hand?”
Claudette nodded. “I guess? It happened so fast, so I’m not entirely sure. But if that’s what happened, what does it mean?”
“It means,” Jaegger declared, “that Aeonia’s magic is now running in Irina’s blood.”
Horrified, Claudette took a step back while Emile made a soft exclamation of surprise. “Magic can be transferred like that?” he asked.
“Normally, no,” Jaegger answered. “Or else when the magicians were dying during the wars, they would have simply increased their ranks by cutting the nearest person and creating a new magician.” The siblings winced at that. “No, you need an object of immense power to complete the transfer. A conductor, of sorts.”
Understanding dawned on Claudette’s face. “The stone. The thing Aeonia thinks is an amplifier. Whatever it really is… It helped transfer her power into Irina? Is that how Irina stopped Aeonia’s magic?”
“She stopped her magic?” Jaegger smiled at that. “Oh, little bird.”
“Why are you smiling?” Claudette demanded. “This is awful! Aeonia’s magic runs inside of her? She’ll die!”
“No,” Jaegger said. His gaze shifted to me, proudly. “She will be magnificent.”
I tried to respond, but pain shot through me and a whimper escaped from between my tightly clenched lips. Claudette placed a hand on my arm. “We’re here, Irina.” She looked at the dragon in desperation. “What should we do?”
“Jae, please.” Quinn put a hand on the dragon’s front leg, crying softly. “Help her.”
His expression softened. “Of course, little one. Irina will not die simply because I will not allow it. Leave us for a moment. I need to be alone with her.”
The three exchanged glances. “I have to find my horse,” Emile said, moving first. Claudette followed him, leaving Quinn, who placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed it before following the others.
Jaegger sat down next to me, his face close to mine. “Oh, little bird. It pains me to see you suffering. But you will get through this. You are strong—far stronger than you realize. It will take time, it will take sweat and tears, but in the end your enemies will cower before you.”
“No cowering,” I said. “I just want to…” Another gasp as fresh pain rippled over me. “Go home and live my life.”
“You will. I swear it.” His eyes narrowed. “What is this darkness that is emanating from you? It’s not Aeonia’s magic; it’s different, somehow.”
“The stone,” I managed to gasp.
Instantly he was on alert. Claudette had forgotten to mention how we’d stolen it from Aeonia. Gritting my teeth, I reached into my pocket and removed the bundle, tossing it onto the ground. Jaegger stood, growling. “Do not touch it anymore, little bird!”
“But we have to… return it to Dusk.”
“I will carry it. It won’t affect me, like the amplifier. And I can ignore their siren song.” He butted the wrapped up stone with his nose.
“They’re evil…”
“Yes,” he said seriously. “Even in their prison, they shouldn’t be taken lightly. The sooner we return them to Parnaby, the better. But for now, we must worry about you.” Resting his head on my left hand, he shut his eyes and began humming quietly. I watched, transfixed, as his body started glowing in a soft, white light. Some of the light transferred from him to my hand, traveling up my arm until it engulfed my entire body. It was both terrifying and beautiful.
“What—” A sharp agony shot through my body, arching my back. I cried out, certain I was about to die, when the world faded to black.
Just before I fell into unconsciousness, I heard Jaegger say, “Trust me, little bird.”
SLUMPED OVER, I FELT MYSELF coming back bit by bit. The pain was still there, dulled a little, but not nearly enough. Moaning, I opened my eyes to see the bobbing head of Emile’s horse in front of me. In the distance Fairfield was lit up like a beacon under the dark night sky. We were much closer than before, when Claudette and I’d been stumbling toward the city, and I wondered how long I’d been asleep.
Strong arms circled around my waist, tightening their hold as I began slipping. “She’s awake,” Emile said. He pulled on the reins and his horse stopped. Next to him Claudette and Quinn came to a halt. Jaegger, small size again, was resting in Claudette’s arms, but he hopped out of them and into mine, peering up at me.
“All right, little bird?” he asked.
“Everything hurts,” I said through gritted teeth.
“I know.” His aqua eyes shone in the darkness with both wisdom and sadness. Arching his body up, he butted my chin softly with his head. “I can put you to sleep again, or you can try to make it to Fairfield awake. We’re not too far. It’s your choice.”
“Are we going to… Leonid?” I asked.
“Yes.” It was Emile who answered. “And the others.”
I didn’t want to miss seeing them. Who knew how long I’d sleep this time? “I’ll stay awake.”
Jaegger nodded and curled up in my lap. His presence was a warm comfort that managed to numb some of the pain coursing through me. I lifted my right hand, placing it on his back. He leaned into my touch, a soft rumbling noise emitting from his chest. I’d never heard him make such a noise before and I wondered if it was a dragon’s version of purring.
It was slow-going, mainly because Claudette and Quinn were on foot. They talked to me while they walked, hoping to distract me from the pain. “We wanted to ride Jae,” Quinn said, “but we thought that would attract too much attention.”
I felt myself smiling at the thought of Jaegger strolling into Fairfield like the god he was. He’d probably expect everyone to drop to their knees in front of him, but they’d be too busy fleeing for their lives.
“I miss my horse,” Claudette grumbled. “She’s all right?”
“For the third time, yes,” Emile said. “She’s stabled at the house we’re staying at.”
“Where are we going, again?”
“For the second time,” he said with exaggerated annoyance, “it’s the stagecoach’s driver’s house. He lives there with his brother, the doctor who treated Leonid and Vernen.”
“I can’t believe Fancy Pants got stabbed,” Quinn said. When Claudette shushed her, she shrunk back, looking guilty. “Sorry!”
“But… he’ll be all right,” I said.
“The doctor said he’ll make a full recovery,” Emile said. “He’s lucky. If Aurora had aimed a little lower, she would have hit his lung.”
“What about Vernen?” Claudette asked, eyeing her brother carefully.
I couldn’t see his face, but I could hear the tension in his voice when he answered. “Physically, he’s fine. But with Leonid injured and Irina kidnapped… We had words, before I left.” His arms tightened their hold around me; it was almost painful, but I didn’t say anything. “I wanted him to come with me, to find you and Irina, but he wouldn’t leave the house. He’s… blaming himself for what happened. And when I told him he was being foolish…”
The Whispering Echoes (Smoke and Mirrors Book 3) Page 14