by Kresley Cole
But I was helpless, Baggers continuing to drain me. My body would soon be a husk like Tess's.
The copter landed in the field not twenty feet away, kicking up ash. The wind gusts sent the falcon tumbling away from my attackers.
I turned my gaze toward Sol. He mouthed something to me. I couldn't be sure what.
The four Bagmen abruptly stopped drinking. They stood and moved back, their lips coated with my blood.
The rotors slowed. Not Richter--a girl climbed from the pilot's seat and stepped down. Long, jet-black hair curled from her helmet. Behind her mic, her lips were bright red. She wore a green jumpsuit and gloves, and had a pistol holstered to one thigh and a long blade strapped to her other. To take my head?
She strode over to us, yanking off her helmet. Her eyes were vivid hazel, her expression livid. A tableau flickered over her. I saw a wheel spinning in a night sky with a sphinx running on top of it and a winged dragon dancing along the bottom. Ancient clay dice rained down.
The Fortune Card!
Was Lark seeing this? The falcon had taken to the air, circling overhead.
"Que porra e essa?" Fortune snapped at Sol.
"Good to see you too, Zara," he grated. "And one more time: I don't understand your Portuguese." They had known each other all along--Sol and Zara. "Dios mio, that accent!"
"What the fuck?" she said. "Why'd you summon a horde of Bagman freaks?"
Huh? There were only four besides Sol's pets.
He shrugged. "I can't help that they're attracted to me."
My head was splitting, my stomach churned, and those bites burned like acid. But I wanted answers. Why had Sol played along with me? He'd known who I was the instant my tableau had appeared in Olympus, maybe even sooner, if he could see through his Bagmen.
Sol asked her, "Where is Richter?"
"Kicked back, recharging for the big finale," she said. "He doesn't come out for B-team bullshit like her. Did you find out where Death's lair is?"
Sol had used me to locate Aric's? For the big finale.
How badly I needed to live, to warn Aric and Lark. But I'd lost so much blood, and the mutation weakened me even more.
Because I was already turning?
"The Empress seemed confident his place is somewhere around here," Sol said. "Since we're in the area, we should do a flyover."
Zara shook her head. "Can't. I'm on fuel reserves just to pick you up. My whirlybird's stripped down."
Sol rubbed the back of his neck. "We need to get airborne." He pointed up at the falcon. "That's one of Fauna's scouts. She allies with the Empress."
The falcon screeched and dove yet again. Zara snatched her pistol from her holster, trained her aim on the moving target, then fired. The falcon plummeted in a lifeless heap.
My eyes stung, but I reminded myself that the bird would regenerate.
"There. No more scouts." Zara asked Sol, "Do your Baggers like poultry?"
"Bitch," I sneered--or tried to. Only a wheeze crossed my lips.
Zara kicked my leg, asking Sol, "Is she contained?"
I couldn't scream. Couldn't die. I struggled to keep my eyes open.
"She's been bitten enough." Again, Sol didn't sound proud or regretful. "She has tried to muster her powers, but can't."
Zara aimed her gun at my chest. "Just in case." She fired.
Once. Twice. Three times.
Three shots--to the heart? I laughed at her, choking on blood. Bullets couldn't hurt something that had already been destroyed.
"What a freak." Zara holstered her weapon, shaking her head at me. "I can't believe you have icons. The great Empress? You're just a weak little girl." She knelt beside me, pulling off one glove. "And you're about to become a very unlucky one." She reached for my face--
A wolf howled not far away, then another. Lark!
Zara shot to her feet, her gaze darting. "Fauna again?" She brandished her pistol once more, aiming it in all directions.
Sol nodded. "Makes sense."
"Get the Empress and let's go." She hurried to the copter. "Come on, Sun, anda logo!"
When Sol waved his hand, one of the Bagmen grabbed my ankle and dragged me over the ground to the copter.
The Sun and Fortune were taking me to the Emperor.
14
As Sol strapped my limp body into a helicopter seat, he yelled to Zara, "We have to GO!" With another wave of his hand, he directed his pet Baggers into two more seats.
In the cockpit, Zara flipped switches and twisted dials. The engines roared louder. Wind swept through the open side door.
"Now, Zara!"
She answered with a spiel about "overtorque" and "max RPM" and "collective pitch," ending with "asshole."
She sounded like she knew what she was doing, and she certainly had Sol's number. So this helicopter was a weapon for her. Part of Fortune's Arcana arsenal.
Sol had just belted in Joe when she snapped, "Fuck it!" and pulled on some lever between her knees. We lurched into the air.
I slumped against my seat belt. Sol lunged to close the side door, but slipped over the metal-plated floor before he reached it. My blood and Bagger slime had slickened it.
He grabbed a handle for balance. Then his eyes went wide. "Oh, estoy jodido! Death's riding for us!"
Aric? He was alive! With effort, I turned my lolling head. Death charged into the clearing on Thanatos. The warhorse had survived as well. I shouldn't have been surprised. Thanatos bench-pressed three-eighty and swished his tail at floods.
Aric rode in with both swords raised, and my bullet-riddled heart wanted to beat for him.
But I'd led our enemies straight to him! I needed to warn him. Which meant escaping. Stay awake. Stay alert.
"Where's the mounted gun?" Sol yelled to Zara, panic in his voice.
If a knight in black armor on a red-eyed steed charged for me, I'd be panicked too. In fact, I had been terrified when in his sights.
Now I was proud. Lark's giant wolves sped forward to flank Aric.
"I told you," Zara snapped. "The copter's stripped!" Since the helicopter was Fortune's weapon this game, she should've conserved her fuel.
The first law of an Arcana's arsenal, Zara? Conserve, conserve, conserve.
She yelled, "Flare your rays!"
His eyes emitted light, a spotlight on Aric. I choked out: "Don't."
We seemed to hover in place for several moments. "Nada. Death's still coming!" Sol's beams faded. "I don't think it works on him."
"You've got Baggers nearby," Zara said. "Use them."
"On it."
Damn it, I had to get off this helicopter. I could jump from the open door, if I could muster the strength to move my legs.
I summoned a single claw, nearly blacking out from the effort. When my vision cleared, Aric looked so far away on the ground. How high were we? I blinked--then again.
Behind him . . . thousands of Bagmen swarmed the field, sprinting after him.
Scarface charged ahead of Aric. With a spine-chilling growl, the wolf sprang for the copter . . . we were too high . . .
Caught us! We pitched sharply to the side. Another growl sounded from so close.
Zara screamed, "Porra!"
"The wolf's latched onto the skids!" Sol was barely hanging on by that handle.
I clawed my seatbelt free. My body crumpled to the slimy floor. As the copter rolled sideways, I slid toward the open doorway, my head at the edge.
"No, pequena!" Sol reached for me, struggling to keep his footing. "Estupida!"
Scarface was just below me. I met gazes with him--and with Lark through her familiar. "Kill . . . them," I choked out. "They're coming . . . for you."
The wolf thrashed its massive head, shaking the copter like a chew toy. Bea, never belted in, almost fell out of her seat. Sol scrambled for balance.
Lark had once explained why wolves thrashed their prey: to snap a creature's neck instantly. Scarface was about to take this metal buzzard out.
If Death didn't d
o it first; with a bellow, he hurled one of his swords right at me.
My lips curled.
The sword struck the helicopter. Sparks rained. Grinding sounded, like a giant lawn mower hitting a steel pipe. The engines whined. Alarms blared.
BEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPP. BEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPP. BEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPP.
We spun like Fortune's wheel. Dizziness and nausea surged.
"Fucker took out the tail rotor!" Zara fought that lever. "We're going DOWN!"
BEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPP. BEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPP. BEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPP.
Sol crawled toward me, just as Scarface thrashed again. Bea and Sol slammed into each other. I slid out farther and vomited blood; it spattered onto the snarling wolf's muzzle.
Spinning, spinning. Like a whirlpool in a flood.
To my left: Scarface. To my right, Bea scrabbled at the edge.
Sol had a grip on one of my ankles and one of hers. But he was slipping over the slick floor. He had to make a choice: save me or Bea.
A last thrash from Scarface--the buzzard's deathblow.
Sol chose.
I tumbled through the sky, weightless.
I glimpsed the copter diving into a nearby canyon, about to crash like me; the wolf released its hold at the last second.
Then--
Impact. I landed in a standing position. The ground pulverized my legs.
15
"I have you," Aric grated. "Hold on, sieva!"
Consciousness wavered. I wanted to warn Aric, but speech felt impossible. So I tried to reach him mentally. The Emperor is coming. He's recharging.
Aric clutched me with one arm. With his other, he wielded a sword, cleaving his way through Bagmen.
So many. Thousands. Their wails were deafening.
Aric needed both hands, or he'd never get through this swarm alive. I would probably turn into a Bagger anyway. I was handicapping him. Leave me.
If Aric heard me, he didn't react, just continued to fight. As he swung and slashed, I saw flashes from the canyon: a blast, then billowing smoke. The helicopter had exploded! Would Aric get Sol and Zara's icons? Or would Lark?
The giant fireball from the crash lit our way.
Two howls sounded over the wails. Scarface and Maneater leapt in front of Thanatos, clearing a path through Baggers like a snowplow.
Aric murmured, "Good show, Fauna."
I was about to black out. "D-Dying. Sorry . . ."
He spurred Thanatos. "You are not dying!" We galloped faster. "Empress?"
All my reserves of strength were gone. I couldn't even answer him.
"Sieva?" The last thing I heard was his agonized bellow. . . .
When I roused again, I heard thundering hooves. Aric's ragged breaths. Steady rain.
I cracked open my eyes. Had we escaped the Bagmen? I whispered, "Aric?" I'd never been so cold; my body shuddered.
"Ah, gods, you're awake." He raised his helmet visor. "Don't talk. We're almost home." He looked exhausted. Rain pelted his armor and dripped down his proud face. If he'd been burned from the searing flood, his enhanced healing had already mended his skin.
When his eyes went starry as he gazed down at me, I released the tourniquet on my heart and started to bleed out, was dying anyway. "My powerful knight." I peered up at him with all the love I felt for him. "Knew you . . . couldn't be dead." I reached for his face, but my arm collapsed halfway.
"Save your strength, sieva."
"Baggers bit me . . . a lot. You'll . . . kill me . . . before I turn. Right?"
"It will not come to that," he said, his voice a rasp. "I will get you well from this."
Mist swirled around us as we rode at a breakneck pace. How was he still going? "Will you take care . . . of Gran?"
"You will not die! I will not allow it."
I tried to shake my head. Mistake. Neck broken? "Emperor will find your home . . . destroy you. Big finale."
"You led the Sun in the exact wrong direction, love."
I had? Naturally. "Will you kill . . . Richter for me?"
"Do not talk! If you save your strength, you will regenerate."
"Sol said the bites . . . neutralize Arcana powers. Healing myself . . . is a power." Something was very wrong inside me. Sickness had me by the throat, wouldn't let go.
Like a wolf slowly breaking my neck.
After the tiniest hesitation, Aric said, "Doesn't matter. This will be different."
I disagreed. Which meant I needed to talk to him. "Have to . . . tell you things." All the things I might have regretted. I began murmuring the thoughts in my head, not really aware of what I was saying.
I trusted Aric to pick what was important from my ramblings. I spoke until I was on the verge of unconsciousness again.
Whatever I'd said affected him. He yanked off his helmet so he could press his lips to my forehead as he clutched me close. . . .
I must have blacked out again; I jolted back to awareness when Aric yelled, "Circe, let us pass!"
The sound of waves, and then water receding. Was the Priestess nearby?
Thanatos galloped upward, upward, the air growing even colder. Just when I was about to drift off again, Aric told me, "We're home."
I was back at the castle of lost time? I opened my eyes, squinting. We rode through the giant gate and into the courtyard. Hooves clattered on the brick. Gas lights stung my eyes.
"I'm getting you help. Just hold on." Aric cradled me against his chest as he dropped from Thanatos and rushed inside, spurs ringing. "Lark, get the EMT!"
Lark . . . I'd missed her over the last few weeks. She'd led Aric to me. They'd both fought to save me.
"We're prepped and ready to go in the nursery, boss," she answered. "Under the sunlamps, just like you said."
Sunlamps. Clever Aric. They had strengthened me before. But I sensed I was beyond help. He hurried down the many steps to the underground nursery, telling me, "Stay with me. You must stay with me."
He laid me on a bed. I squeezed my eyes closed against the blazing overhead light. I heard shears as my clothes were cut away.
Lark sucked in a breath. "She's one big wound. I've seen roadkill in better shape."
"Enough!" Aric snapped.
A man said, "She's been bitten multiple times. Those are bullet wounds in her chest. The EMT? Wasn't his name Paul? He'd patched up Lark after Ogen's attack. "Her legs are . . . done. What do you expect me to do for her?"
His tone murderous, Aric grated, "Unless you want to die by my sword, I suggest you--save--her." I knew how menacing his face would look right now. I'd been on the receiving end of his threats enough.
"I-I'll try to clean these wounds, sir," Paul said, his voice scaling higher. "And start a drip. Lark, can you help me? She's lost a lot of blood."
"Shouldn't Eves have started healing?" Lark asked. "When I sliced off her cilice down here, she was regenerating in seconds."
"Give her time," Aric said. "The injuries are significant." He brushed damp hair off my forehead. "Feel the light, sieva. You will heal. You always heal."
I could feel the warm lamps, but I didn't sense even a twitch of regeneration--
A woman's scream. "E-Evie!" Was that . . . my grandmother?
I tried to say, "Gran." Blood came out of my mouth. For so long, I'd fought to reach her. She was with me at last, but I couldn't speak a word.
"The Sun did this to her," Gran said. "Did you kill him, knight?" I sensed her and Paul on one side of me, Aric and Lark on the other.
"No. I believe they survived the helicopter crash." They had?
"Then why don't you leave my granddaughter's care to us? While you go finish the job?" She sounded as murderous as Aric had.
"I won't leave until she's healed."
"You should have found her sooner! How could you not find her before this happened?" Why was my grandmother baiting him? "You've located her so many times before."
I knew she considered him a villain, but couldn't she see that he cared for me? He'd rescued her from North Carolina, brin
ging her back to this castle--for me. He'd taken on two Arcana and a Bagger army to save my life.
To try to save me.
I still might turn.
Sounding like he was about to strangle her, Aric said, "The Fool has silenced our calls." No wonder I'd heard nothing. What was Matthew up to? "After following every mile of the flood's path, every fork, every twist and turn, I scoured the countryside for the Empress--from here to Fort Arcana. For some reason, she went in the opposite direction of this castle. I wisely had Lark dispatch sentries in all directions."
"Wisely? Evie's dying! Or worse."
"She can hear you. Govern your tongue--or leave."
"I am her grandmother!"
"Even my eternal patience has limits, Tarasova."
"You're threatening . . . threatening . . ." Her words trailed off.
I heard a strangled cry. What was going on? Why couldn't I see?
Aric bit out a curse in Latvian.
Lark said, "Uh, what's happening to the old lady?"
A scuffling sound. A moan.
"Jesus," Lark muttered. "Eves, you're having the shittiest two weeks in history."
16
"I'm here, sieva." Aric brushed a cool cloth over my forehead.
Death's vigil. How long had he been caring for me? I was suspended in some kind of twilight; I didn't die--yet I hadn't healed.
I thought I'd understood physical pain. A few months ago, I'd amputated my own thumb to get free of cuffs so I could fight Death. When I'd drowned not long after that, I'd felt as if my lungs would burst. Then an ogre had choked me, snapping my neck. Lately? I'd lost an arm, been tossed around in a flood, and been bitten and drained by ravenous Baggers.
Yet real pain and I had never been introduced before now.
The Bagmen's mutation ripped through me. Whatever Empress power I still possessed battled it. A war had erupted inside my body.
"Fight this. Fight," Aric urged me. He sat next to me on the bed, taking me into his arms. "You must return to me."
I tried to speak, to tell him I loved him and to ask about Gran, but no words passed my lips.
"I know why dying might seem tempting"--because I could follow Jack?--"but I need you. Come back to me."
Another wave of agony hit. I heard a scream.
Mine?
Voice thick, he said, "I wish to the gods I could take this pain for you." He rocked me. "You're too strong to die, and too stubborn to turn. Your only path is to come back to me."