“What the hell is that?” Cooper shouted.
“Oh, Goddess, there’s more of them!”
I grabbed the crown then rolled to my feet. I reached up and pulled my sword off my back then searched for what had attacked me.
My jaw dropped. Sitting on the brick ledge under the ledge was a woman with long golden blonde hair that shimmered like sunshine. She had a narrow nose and sharp cheekbones. Her brown eyes were bigger than they should have been proportionally. Her skin was pale, and her shoulders bare and sharp. She wore some kind of fluffy golden— I gasped.
Those were feathers. From just below her shoulders all the way down, she had bright golden and white feathers…and the feet of an eagle. She threw her arms out, and wings spread wide. My pulse quickened.
“Harpy,” I yelled to my friends.
She pushed off the ledge and dove right for Bettina. I shouted and sprinted toward her, but I’d been thrown too far. Bettina leapt to the side and swung her sword, just like I’d taught her. Cooper charged for her, but two more harpies jumped out of nowhere and tackled him to the ground. I cursed and changed direction. Cooper was in more trouble than Bettina. The two harpies had him pinned to the ground and were slashing at him with their sharp nails. The talons on their feet pierced his skin, and red blood gushed out.
NO! I pushed my legs harder then dove for them. The first harpy saw me and screamed, but it was too late. I tackled her from the side and shoved her into the second one. We collided and crashed to the grass in a feathery mess. The harpies squeaked as we slid through dirt. I used my momentum and flipped backward, then landed on my feet. The harpies were tangled so I leapt over them and charged for Bettina.
She was doing great, and in the back of my mind, I noted how impressive she’d become with a sword. I’d have to tell her later. But right now, I’d had enough of watching monsters attack her. I summoned my magic and threw bright, flaming blue balls of fire. The flames slammed into the harpy’s back, throwing her off of Bettina and rolling her across the grass.
I leapt over a gravestone and raced toward her. The harpy was already back on her feet and snarling at me. She curled her fingers, and her pointy nails elongated. I slid Henry’s crown on my head so I’d have a free hand.
The harpy gasped and dropped her hands. “Lancaster.”
I stopped short, my sword raised and ready to strike. “What did you say?”
“LANCASTER!” she screamed and pointed to the sky.
I looked up just as one of the other harpies swooped in and snatched me right off the ground. Her talons dug into my shoulders and lifted me high into the air. I thrashed around and tried to break her hold, but her grip was tight. We shot straight up, way over the top of the ruins. If I dropped from this height, I’d probably break my neck, so I held still, waiting for my moment to fight back.
But then she flipped me over her head and threw me like a curveball. I flew through the open archway, then my shoulder slammed into the ground. My body made a sickening crunch sound as I rolled through the center of the ruins. All the air in my lungs was knocked out of me. I coughed and gasped, and tried to get oxygen back in.
When I finally stopped moving, I didn’t let myself wallow in pain. I scrambled to my feet and raised my sword—but I was alone. Henry’s crown was still on my head, which was the important part.
“JACKSON!” Bettina screamed for me. “He’s inside!”
I shook my head to clear my vision, but things were still a tad wonky. Her voice was coming from my left, which meant she was running up the pathway that led to the entrance. I called on my memories of this place as a kid and followed the brick wall around to the side to where there was an opening.
Bettina was sprinting up the path with wide eyes. “JACKSON!”
Cooper hobbled after her, but he was gripping his side. Blood dripped down his face and arms. “You see him yet?”
“NO!” Bettina cried.
I frowned. “I’m here!”
“Jackson, where are you?!” She screamed like I wasn’t fifteen feet in front of her.
It didn’t make sense. We were literally on the same pathway. “I’m right here!”
I ran through the opening and slammed into an invisible wall. My face crashed into glass, and I crumbled to the ground. Pain shot up my legs. I cursed and tried to get up, but my legs gave out. Bettina sprinted up to the opening. I opened my mouth to shout for her to stop, but she ran right through.
What the hell? I leapt to my feet and chased after her.
“Jackson?” She rounded the corner then slid to a stop. “He’s not here. He’s not here!”
I reached out to touch her arm. “Bettina, I’m here—"My hand passed right through her. I gasped and stumbled back.
“No, no, no,” she whispered and spun in tight circles, her sword gripped tight. Her eyes were wide and her face pale. “He’s not here. He has to be here. JACKSON!”
She dashed across the middle of the ruins between the brick walls and out another opening. I chased after her. This time I gritted my teeth, lowered my head, and braced my shoulders then jumped with every ounce of strength I had.
Another invisible wall threw me back ten feet.
Cooper and Bettina were still screaming for me. Up on the top of the arch, one of the harpies sat watching me. She’d done something to me. I was here but not. Everything looked the same, but it was like I’d slipped into an alternate dimension—which wasn’t possible. I spun around, and my breath left me in a rush.
Standing right behind me were two dozen knights. My heart stopped. I jumped back and slammed into the invisible wall. The air shimmered then changed to a soft pink. The knights glowed…and then they moved. My stomach turned.
They were spirits.
Ghosts.
And they did not look friendly.
I adjusted my grip on my sword and raised the blade up in front of me. The knights unsheathed their long swords from the scabbards hanging from their hips in perfect unison. I frowned. Can you lot hurt me? They lifted their swords up, and the metal glistened under the moonlight. My pulse quickened.
This is rubbish. I turned to look through the invisible wall, but it had changed to glowing red bricks. I was blocked. The only way out of here was up or through the spirits. I’d learned enough at Edenburg to know these spirits were perfectly capable of killing me. A trapped soul was a cursed soul… Soul.
Beneath the arch rests a rubied soul. I’d assumed that was about the ruby, but looking at these translucent red spirits, I was having second thoughts. The knights were mostly covered by silver armor, and that would make them difficult to fight.
I took a step forward. “I don’t want to fight.”
The knight in front screamed, and then they were gunning for me all at once. I cursed and leapt into action. Two dozen against one weren’t odds I’d ever practiced, but this was no time to worry about that. I dropped and spun, slicing my sword through the abdomen of a few spirits. They exploded into a cloud of red dust.
Everything blurred. All I saw was the gleaming reflection on the silver armor. But I’d trained for battle. I shut my brain off and let my body take over. Metal blades clashed and clanked as swords met in motion. My hands burned, but I raced forward. I called on every memory of fighting I’d ever had.
A red haze came over me as I ducked and dodged attacks. I spun and sliced my way through the spirits. Red puffs of magic exploded like popcorn in a microwave as I cut through them. They showed no mercy in their attack. Their blades sliced into my skin. In the distance, Bettina shouted my name, but I couldn’t think about that.
Two spirits jumped in front of me. I flipped over them and swiped my sword through their heads. But I didn’t stop to look around. I summoned my magic to my left hand and threw blue fire balls into the spirits. They exploded one after another. While they were distracted, I slid and swung my sword through abdomens and backs of knees. They went down in a cloud.
And then there were five.
These las
t few guys had skill. We danced and fought for several minutes, exchanging blows by the second. I let out a battle cry and went for the kill shots. Blue magic shot out of me and zapped my enemies. Three of them dissolved into thin air. I front kicked one spirit in the face then flipped backward and buried my blade in a spirit’s spine. It burst in front of me.
I turned to the last spirit and froze.
He knelt down on one knee in front of me and dropped his sword to the grass.
“What are you doing?” I shouted at it. “Get up and fight!”
The spirit reached up and pulled his armored helmet off. My jaw dropped. I recognized him immediately. I knew his face. But more importantly, I knew that crown sitting on his head because it was identical to the one I had on. The spirit looked up to me and arched one eyebrow.
I jumped back and lowered my sword. “King Henry,” I whispered.
He smiled up at me. “My crown looks good on you, son. I have waited a long time for this, and you did not let me down.”
“Thank you,” I heard myself whisper. “But you’re…you’re…you’re dead…”
“Very much so.” He gestured to the ground in front of him. “Kneel, my son.”
I dropped to my knees in front of him. I opened my mouth, but no words came out. King Henry VI stood in front of me. I just stared and prayed I wasn’t embarrassing myself. He reached up and lifted his glowing ethereal crown off his head…then placed it on mine, right over the real one I was wearing. Warmth seeped into my hair and shot through my body.
“We have always been the keepers of the light. Remember that.” He crossed his hands over his heart and smiled. “Thank you for honoring our family, I am proud of you. Until we meet again in the afterlife. Farewell, mine blood. Go now.”
Bright red light shot through his chest and he sighed. A big smile spread over his face, and then he was gone.
I blinked and jumped to my feet. Bloody hell. I stared for another moment then shook myself and sprinted for the opening. This time nothing stopped me as I ran down the path. I rounded the corner and slid to a stop.
Bettina had one harpy pinned to the ground with the tip of her sword pressed to its throat. “Where is he? What did you do with him?” she screamed.
My heart fluttered. Even though it had no right to feel this way about her, I still couldn’t help it.
I smiled then cleared my throat. “BETTINA! Let her go! I’m here!”
Bettina jumped and spun around until her eyes found me. Then she sprinted to me and wrapped her arms around my neck. “Oh, Goddess! I thought we’d lost you. I was so scared.”
“I’m okay.” I rubbed her back in soothing circles. Over her shoulder, I watched Cooper struggle to get up on his feet, though I was glad his back was to us. I took a deep breath and let her floral scent fill my lungs, then I pulled away. I looked down into her watery eyes and brushed my thumb over her cheek. “I’m sorry you were scared. I’m okay.”
I stepped back just as Cooper turned to face us.
He grimaced. “You all right?”
“Are you?” I chuckled and led Bettina back over to him. “I’ll be fine once we get that stone.”
Bettina shook her head. “Yeah, where is it? What just happened? Where did you go?”
“The veil,” one of the harpies said.
The second harpy dropped down out of the sky next to her friend. “For six centuries we have guarded the stone. We have waited for the Lancaster to return.”
“That was your test.” The third harpy smiled. “Congratulations, you have passed.”
I sighed. A test. Naturally. “Thanks. Now, may I get the stone without you attacking me?”
The second harpy shook her head. “The stone was stolen.”
“WHAT?” My stomach rolled. “Who took it? Where is it?”
“We watch it from afar.” The third harpy flapped her wings. “It is safe enough.”
I took a deep breath then exhaled slowly through my teeth. “I have to have it.”
The first harpy pulled a paper out of her satchel strapped around her shoulder and handed it to me. “It is here.”
Chapter Forty
BETTINA
Jackson’s face turned sheet white, and his eyes went wide. It made my stomach tighten into knots.
“What do you mean it’s HERE?” Jackson groaned.
I leaned over to try and see the paper she’d handed him. “What’s wrong with here?”
“What’s wrong?” His eyes were weary and nervous. He shoved the paper at me then backed away while tugging on his hair. He shook his head. “This is Buckingham Palace.”
I gasped and fumbled with the paper.
“That can’t be good,” Cooper mumbled.
My jaw dropped. It was dark out so it was difficult to see the details without a light, but the building on the brochure was iconic enough to recognize immediately. It had to have eight hundred windows on the front alone. In front of the palace was a black wrought-iron gate that had shiny gold spikes running across the top.
I blinked. “I can’t believe this. You’re telling me I have to go to Buckingham Palace right now.”
“Yeah, me either,” Jackson shouted. He whirled on the three harpies. “Why here?”
The harpies exchanged nervous glances with each other and whispered. But they kept peeking up at Jackson and getting all flustered. The blue flames coiling around his hands couldn’t have been helping.
One of the harpies tucked her golden hair behind her ears then took a step forward. She pointed to the palace on the brochure I held. “The stone Henry hid is now in there.”
Then I caught up to the panic pouring out of Jackson. The stone we needed to put in King Henry’s crown…the stone to help us find Michael’s sword…was inside the palace of England’s royalty.
“When you say it’s in there…” Cooper scratched his head. “Do you know where exactly?”
“The old lady has it.” The smallest of the three harpies pointed to her head. “In the hanging crystal where she watches people.”
Jackson swayed on his feet. “The old lady…”
The third harpy nodded. “Shouldn’t be hard to get by her. She’s an old human.”
“She’s the Queen of England!” Jackson whimpered and spun away from them. He scrubbed his face with his hands and paced the pathway.
“The Queen of England has our stone?” I heard myself whisper, even though she’d just said it.
Cooper cursed. “How are we supposed to get inside Buckingham Palace?”
“Do they do tours?” I frowned then turned to the brochure. “Maybe it says so in here.”
Jackson grumbled a string of obscenities. “They don’t do tours in the winter, and even if we were there during tour season, it wouldn’t bring us where we need to go.”
I peeked up at him. “You know where it is?”
“Yes, he does,” the smallest harpy said with a cheery voice. “He has seen it.”
Cooper whirled around. “You have?”
Jackson scowled and shook his head. He looked to the harpy. “No— I have?”
She nodded. “When you were a young boy. I went to check on it and I saw you. All the Lancasters were there. You saw it.”
Jackson’s jaw dropped.
I glanced back and forth between him and the harpy. “What does that mean exactly?”
“In the balcony room?”
The harpies all nodded and clapped their hands. They pointed above them and gestured wildly. Jackson must’ve known what they meant because he grew paler with each word.
“Goddess, almighty. I did see it. I know where it is.”
“Great, then we’ll go grab the stone and be out.” Cooper shrugged. “But how are we supposed to do that?”
“We’re not,” Jackson snapped. Her shook his head furiously. “We can’t just stroll inside Buckingham Palace. We can’t. She’s the bloody queen!”
I bit my lip. He was right. We couldn’t just stroll in. We’d need a plan, a damn
good one.
I sighed and pushed my hair back. “But first we have to get there. How far is London from here?”
Jackson threw his hands up. “Few hours, at least.”
“Okay. So let’s rent a car and drive over—”
“We’re in the country. There are no car rentals here.” He shook his head and held his hand up to stop me. “We’ll have to take the train, except there are none this late. So we’ll have to wait until morning.”
Cooper narrowed his eyes at the harpies. “By any chance can you fly us there?”
All three shook their heads.
“We’re not allowed to help,” the one with the satchel said with a grimace.
Jackson pinched the bridge of his nose. “We’ll have to get a hotel for the night. There’s one in Devonshire my parents used to take me to. It’s about a twenty minute walk. Let’s go.”
Chapter Forty-One
BETTINA
Half an hour later, we were riding the elevator in a hotel up to our room for the night. Because of course there was a hiccup in the plan. That was our kind of luck. I still hadn’t wrapped my head around this plan in the first place. Just thinking about the task ahead was making my stomach tighten into knots. Now I’d have to suffer all night.
“So…” I cleared my throat. “Jackson, how’d you manage to get us a room? I mean, we’re all teenagers.”
“I didn’t. Cooper did.”
Cooper shrugged. “Deacon’s parents credit card, remember? Just added a touch of magic with it.”
The elevator doors opened, and Jackson practically sprinted out. We followed him in silence down the hall until he stopped at one of the rooms. Without speaking, he unlocked ours and threw the door open. He charged inside then stopped short.
“What’s wrong?” I asked and hurried to his side. Then I saw. “Ohhh.”
Cooper cursed behind me. “She said this was the last room available in the whole hotel, so I didn’t ask what the bed situation was.”
The bed situation was one king-sized bed. For three people. Me, a girl, and two boys—neither of whom were my boyfriend. Actually, it was worse. It was a boy I had feelings for and the boy I was trying to have feelings for. The three of us just stood there staring at the lone bed.
The Coven - Academy Magic Complete Series Page 71