And held.
I frowned. She was trying to tell me something without telling me. It was a hint. Think. What did she just say? Something about angles? Wait…angles. That’s the clue.
Tegan smirked then turned and walked over to the chapel area. She wasn’t allowed to actually help. I’d gotten that message. But Tegan was not one to blindly follow rules without pushing limits. Bettina said she was the riddle master…and she’d just given me a hint.
I needed to look at this room from a different angle.
Part of me wanted to run over to the chapel because that was where she’d gone, but my gut told me the answer wasn’t in there. Nor did I think Tegan knew the answer specifically. She was just good at thinking through riddles and puzzles. I’d already seen this room from each wall, so those were out.
Wait a second. The ceiling.
I dropped to the ground and lay down on my back.
The ceiling had a design made out of different sized shapes and colors of stones that made it look like a star or snowflake. My favorite part was the very top, right at the tip of the ceiling where little flecks of light were shining through in the shape of a— I gasped.
A flower.
I jumped up without taking my eyes off of it. “Tegan, can you fly me up to the ceiling?”
“I like the way you party.” Tegan wagged her eyebrows and wiggled her fingers, rainbow mist spilling from her palms. “Tell me when.”
A strong wave of energy hit me, and electricity shot up my legs. Cold air rushed over my feet as I lifted off the ground. I shot up to the ceiling faster than I could take a full breath.
When my hands hit the stone ceiling and those flecks of light were right in my face, I shouted down, “When!”
The air hardened around my feet until it felt like I was standing on solid ground.
“What do you see?” Bettina yelled up to me.
I shrugged and looked down. Bettina’s eyes were brimming with excitement, and it made me nervous as hell. She had too much faith in me sometimes. Cooper was cracking his knuckles. Tegan gave me two thumbs-up. I sighed and returned my gaze to the ceiling.
My heart sank. The lights I’d seen that looked like another one of those lotus flowers turned out to be tiny holes in the stones. I ran my fingers over the spots and watched golden light pass over my skin. My breath left me in a rush, like I’d been sucker punched. I thought I’d been onto something.
I looked down and shook my head. “I don’t see anyth—” I frowned.
“Jackson?” Bettina called up.
I squinted through the daylight pouring in and cocked my head to the side. On the floor there was a series of patches of lights coming from the holes in the ceiling. They looked eerily familiar, like I’d seen the pattern before. I pulled my hand away and watched as new white spots appeared on the floor. Together they made a circular shape, almost like Morse code written in a circle.
“Lancaster?” Cooper waved his arms around. “You alive?”
My pulse quickened, and adrenaline rushed through me. I knew the answer to this. It was right there on the tip of my tongue, yet I was coming up blank. The light patches were just too hard to see.
What if I try this… I flicked my wrists, and my blue flames hit the floor, covering every inch of the light patches.
I gasped. I knew exactly what this was and where we had to go.
Stonehenge.
Chapter Forty-Six
JACKSON
“Stonehenge?!” all three of them shouted in perfect unison.
“Yes. That’s the clue.” I nodded and gestured toward the floor. “It’s noon now, so that means I have eighteen hours and only God knows how many more stops. Just trust me on this one?”
Bettina smiled and wrapped her hands around Tegan and Cooper’s elbows. She stood directly across from me looking annoyingly adorable in Cooper’s gray hoodie. Every second I had to look at her in it made me want to pluck my eyeballs out. I wanted to be the one keeping her comfortable. I wanted to be the one who provided sweaters and warmth. My stomach tightened into knots.
Tegan cleared her throat. “All right, Jackson. Bring us to Stonehenge, just like last time.”
“I…uh…I’ve never been there.”
Cooper cursed. “Well, shit. Me either.”
Tegan pursed her lips and nodded. “Hey, Siri, where is Stonehenge?”
“I have found one option for Stonehenge in Salisbury. Would you like that location?” Siri said from inside Tegan’s pocket.
“No, I know where it is,” I said. “I’ve just never been there myself.”
“No thanks, Siri.” Tegan narrowed her eyes. “All right, well…let’s give it a go, then, eh? If it doesn’t work, we’ll try something else.”
I grabbed ahold of Tegan and Cooper then squeezed my eyes shut. As a child, I’d always asked my parents to take me there, but they hadn’t. Guess they should’ve taken me. That way I’d know where I was going now. I couldn’t wait to rub this in their faces. But this wasn’t the time for that. I needed to try and bring us where we needed to go.
Just try and picture it in your head, Tegan said into my mind. Think about what you know of it and focus on that.
I nodded and took her advice. Stonehenge wasn’t too terribly far from my family’s estate. I’d wager just about everyone in England knew where it was and how to get there—at least conventionally. Hell, I knew it enough to recognize it in Henry’s clue. This wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities for me. I pictured the ancient site in my mind: the stones, the open fields, the road running alongside it.
The second I got the clear picture in my mind, Tegan’s magic surged around us. It grabbed ahold of the image, and bright white light flashed against my closed eyes. Cold air rushed over me. The ground was suddenly softer under my feet.
“Uhh…I don’t think this is it…” Cooper said under his breath.
I opened my eyes and groaned. “This isn’t it.”
Bettina sighed. “Oh, thank God. I thought it was glamoured or something, and I just couldn’t see it.”
Then she looked up at me, and the flush in her cheeks took my breath away. I hadn’t seen that shy look on her face since the first moment I met her on the front walkway at Dean’s house. She looked down then back up at me. Her blue eyes sparkled, and the memory sharpened.
“Okay, Lancaster, let’s try that again,” Tegan said with a chuckle. “And GO.”
Rainbow magic flickered in my peripheral vision, and then white light flashed around us. I gasped and tried to think about Stonehenge, but then the light vanished and we stood in the middle of a two-lane street. I recognized it in an instant.
A car horn blared. Over Bettina’s shoulder, a red pickup truck slammed on its brakes, but it was moving too fast, too close. Tires screeched as it slid out of control. Bettina’s eyes widened. She gasped and jumped backward. I glanced behind me just in time to watch a black sedan hydroplane then slide toward us.
Rainbow mist shot past me, and the sedan stopped…right in front of Dean’s house.
Bright white light wrapped around us, and then we were back in that open field.
I exhaled in a rush and leaned over with my hands on my knees. My pulse was racing.
Cooper cursed. “What the hell was that?”
I shook my head and peeked up at the others. They were all pale-faced and breathing heavy.
Tegan shuddered. “That’s my bad.”
“Where the hell did we go?” Cooper ran his hands through his short hair. “I didn’t recognize it.”
I did.
Bettina’s eyes met mine, and her cheeks turned bright pink.
Well, shit. Guess she did, too. My face warmed, and I knew I had to be blushing.
“Charleston.” Tegan frowned and stretched her arms out. “I’m not sure how I managed that one.”
“Sorry. Sorry. I-I wasn’t ready.” I sighed. “Let’s just…let’s just try it again.”
Tegan nodded and held her hands out. We all grabbed ahold of e
ach other, but I kept my eyes on the ground. I couldn’t risk looking up and finding her eyes on me. I’d always known she was a distraction, but bloody hell.
Are you focusing, Lancaster?
I clenched my teeth and nodded once.
Are you sure? Do I need to glamour Bettina to look like someone else so you can concentrate?
I turned and glared at Tegan, but she just smirked. This damn woman was infuriatingly observant.
I’ll give you a countdown. Remember, we’re going to Stonehenge.
I shook my head and closed my eyes. The pictures of Stonehenge popped into my mind. I latched onto them and really focused on one specific spot.
In three…two…one…
Cold air rushed over my face. There wasn’t much noise around aside from a soft murmur of voices and some birds chirping. The air was a little damp, like it’d rained recently. I took a deep breath then opened my eyes.
I exhaled and swayed on my feet.
“Stonehenge,” I heard myself whisper.
Those iconic stones stood tall against the gray sky that was thick with angry clouds. The grass was green but patchy. A gust of cold wind ripped around the stones and through the field. I shivered and zipped my jacket higher. It wasn’t that cold out. Back in Eden I hadn’t worn a winter coat in years because I was just never that cold…but today my nerves were shot. I felt like my bones had turned to ice and were trying to freeze me to death from the inside out.
“Wow,” Tegan whispered.
Bettina nodded as her wide blue eyes devoured our surroundings. “So beautiful.”
You have no idea.
Dammit. Focus, Jackson.
I closed my eyes. At this point, I had to assume Michael had sent Bettina with me on this quest to ensure my failure. The fact that she was all cuddled up in Cooper’s hoodie made my stomach turn and my concentration vanish. But I had to push her aside. Eighteen more hours and then I could waste the rest of my life wallowing in my misery over this girl.
But not for eighteen more hours.
I took a deep breath then opened my eyes. There was a reason we were here. The crown led us to the stone, which led us to the Tower of London, which then led us here.
“Excuse me? Will you take a picture of us?”
I frowned and turned toward the voice. A girl about our age held her phone out to Bettina and smiled. She pointed to the small group of girls behind her. Bettina said something, but I didn’t let myself listen to the sound of her voice. It tended to wreak havoc on my system. Instead, I glanced around, only to then notice just how many humans were nearby. I didn’t know what was in store for us here, but I knew we couldn’t have witnesses.
I cleared my throat and stepped closer to Tegan. “We need to get rid of the Sapiens.”
Tegan nodded. “I agree.”
“Can you use persuasion like Deacon can?”
“Technically, yes. But it’s something I don’t like to let myself play with.” Tegan grimaced. “I don’t want to lose control of my power. I don’t want to open myself up to my own demons, ya’ know?”
Cooper shuddered. “That’s a terrifying idea.”
It really was. Tegan’s magic was limitless, so I had to admire her hesitation to remove someone’s free will. I liked that she understood herself so well. However, we still needed them out of the way—for their own good.
“Got any other ideas?” I asked.
She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes on the horizon.
The ground trembled under my feet. I frowned and glanced over to Cooper, but he looked more concerned about his sister than the earthquake. All of the humans around us gasped and whispered. They looked around in a panic.
Lightning as thick as my body shot out from within the gray clouds and struck the ground twenty feet away. Bright orange flames exploded out of the ground where it hit. Humans screamed and scrambled away. The sky opened up, and rain fell on us like a monsoon. Hail the size of baseballs crashed to the grass. Thunder roared over our heads. The humans turned and sprinted for their cars.
Within seconds, the four of us were alone with the towering stones.
I spun around and found Tegan standing there with her arms spread wide and her eyes closed. Rainbow mist coiled around her body. Then she opened her eyes and snapped her fingers—and the rain vanished. The ground stopped shaking. The clouds calmed back to the dreary gray they’d been when we arrived. It was like that storm had never happened at all.
Tegan looked around and grinned. “Done.”
I shook my head.
Bettina rolled her eyes. “Right, because that’s less creepy. Jebus, woman.”
“I’m just glad you’re on our side.”
“You have no idea,” Cooper grumbled.
Tegan just shrugged, completely unbothered.
Bettina chuckled then she turned to me. “All right, Lancelot. What now?”
I pulled the ruby out of my pocket and held it up for the others to see. “Let’s see what happens when I put this back in the crown.”
The others moved in closer, and my pulse quickened. If this wasn’t the next step, then I was clueless. I unhooked the crown from my belt and held it in front of me in my other hand. It was only then that I realized I had no idea how I was supposed to reconnect—
The stone flew out of my hand and into the crown, like it was pulled by a magnetic force. I blinked and shook my head. The ruby filled the opening perfectly. I shook the crown to knock the stone loose, but it didn’t budge.
Huh. Wicked.
The crown warmed in my hand. I gripped the back of the crown, and pressure tightened on the back of my skull. My eyes widened. Slowly, I lifted the crown then set it on my head.
Something red flashed by my face. I jumped back just as bright crimson lines formed in my vision. They looked like narrow lasers. At first, I couldn’t see, but after a few seconds, my eyes settled and it all clicked into place. These lines had taken shape all around me. It was like looking at a blank coloring book. Except everything was red. The outline was there, and all someone had to do was fill it in. There were tall buildings with windows and chimneys. Trees without leaves and metal-looking railings. The ground seemed to be made of brick and cobblestone. To my left there were benches and a statue of a guy on a horse. To my right was a line of buildings and lamp posts on what looked like a street.
It was familiar, yet entirely foreign.
“Jackson?” Tegan leaned into my line of view and arched one eyebrow. “What’s happening?”
I opened my mouth then shut it. I shook my head. “I-I don’t know exactly. I think I’m seeing a map of sorts, but it’s a visual. I’m seeing…well, it’s some kind of city.”
“A city?” Cooper frowned. “Like it used to be here?”
I shook my head. “No, I think it’s a visual of where we have to go next.”
Bettina cocked her head to the side. “Any indication of where?”
“Somewhere in…” I narrowed my eyes. Something was moving along the top of the stones. It was a big red blob. “What is that?”
Bettina jumped and spun around. “What is what?”
I pointed. “That right there.”
Cooper turned his back to me and started to inch backwards. “There’s nothing there, man.”
The thing jumped from one stone to the next. It was big, about the size of a German shepherd and glowing bright red. “That thing right there! Sitting on the stone!”
“There’s nothing there, Jackson!” Bettina hissed.
Cooper shook his head. “Yeah, I don’t see anything either.”
“What do you mean you don’t see it? It’s right there?” My stomach turned. “Tegan?”
“I see nothing.” Tegan flicked her wrist, and a ball of rainbow magic soared through the air toward the spot I’d pointed to, to where the demon sat perched.
Her magic slammed into the demon’s side. It yelped and leapt to the next stone. Thick glowing red liquid dripped down to the grass…and the scent of
maple syrup exploded around us.
Demons.
Tegan cursed. “Jackson, whatever demons you see, we can’t.”
Cooper shouted and crashed to the ground with a glowing red demon on his back.
“COOPER!” we all screamed.
He thrashed and swung at his back but missed each time. The demon pulled its lips back, and long, sharp red fangs extended from its mouth. It hissed and dove for his neck.
“ROLL!” I shouted and sprinted for them.
Cooper rolled and the demon missed his throat by inches. I swung my sword like a bat. My blade sliced through its head like cutting butter. It squealed then vanished into thin air. I spun around, and my breath caught in my throat.
We were surrounded by demons…and only I could see them.
I tightened my grip on my sword. “Guys…do you trust me?”
They exchanged nervous glances then turned back to me and nodded.
Six demons leapt off the ground and lunged straight for us.
I swallowed the lump of fear in my throat and raised my sword in the air. “Did you ever play that game Simon Says as a kid?”
Their faces paled.
“Good.” I rolled to the balls of my feet. “Simon says DUCK!”
Chapter Forty-Seven
BETTINA
I dove for the ground, then rolled back to my feet just like Jackson had taught me weeks ago. Cooper jumped up and pulled his daggers out. Tegan stood tall with her rainbow magic coiling around her hands. Jackson spun in a circle with wide eyes. His gaze was sharp, and he was definitely seeing things we couldn’t.
“Where are they?” Tegan screamed.
“DROP!”
We dove back to the ground. Dirt and grass hit my face. My heart pounded so loud I could barely hear Jackson’s voice.
“ROLL LEFT!”
I rolled to my left then landed back on my stomach just as Jackson swung his sword through the air. Thick, red blood splattered across Cooper’s back.
Jackson dropped down and pulled a dagger off his thigh then jumped straight up, swinging both blades above him. “Tegan! Left!”
The Coven - Academy Magic Complete Series Page 74