by S A McClure
“I don’t—”
“I can’t explain it.”
She clasped Iris’s hand, stilling it. “What are you saying?”
Her heart thundered in her chest.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Emma squeezed her hand. “I can feel him, Iris. I can’t explain it, but I know that if we follow this path, it’ll lead us straight to him.”
Iris sank to her knees and wrapped her arms around Emma. They sat in silence for a moment. Iris squinted into the distance. For a moment, she could imagine that Liam could see the light too. She could believe that he knew they were coming for him. That she would save him.
Leaning back, she peered into her sister’s eyes and smiled. Heat coursed through her veins as she as she whispered, “I guess you’re a witch, too.”
“I guess I am.”
Chapter Two
Emma
Find him.
No matter how long it took or what the cost was, she needed to find Liam. Her sister’s happiness meant everything to her and finding him was the only way of seeing her smile.
Mud and leaves stuck to her boots as she squelched through the forest. Drizzling rain chilled her, creating gooseflesh on her arms. It had been like this for over three days now without reprieve. Even her water-resistant cloak was heavy and damp.
Although she didn’t fully understand her powers, she knew she was the only one who could find him. Whenever she focused on him, her veins coursed with blue light and she could somehow sense what path to follow to find him. It was like lightning coursing through her body. Each step she took pulsed with energy. It drove her to follow the thin line of blue light that exploded from her chest each time her abilities engaged. So far, she’d only been able to maintain the tracking ability for a few minutes before it snuffed out entirely. Thankfully, she knew the forest well enough to guide them through it.
She had spent her childhood exploring these forests and hunting what little there was to eat. There was even less now. Her stomach rumbled and cramped. Gritting her teeth, she continued to trudge forward.
She had nearly died in that ravine. Bones broken, her precious lifeblood seeping from her. She had blacked out for most of it, but there were moments when she slept when a chill seeped into her bones and she felt the complete numbness that came with death.
A branch snapped, and she held up her fist, stilling Micah and Iris as they trailed behind her. Silently, she slipped a dagger from her belt and crouched low to the ground. It was a practiced move that she’d used multiple times before during her hunt for food.
Her ears prickled as the sound of more twigs snapping. She sniffed at the air. Nothing smelled amiss. Dropping to her knees, she crawled forward, towards the sound of cracking branches. Whatever had joined them in the forest was large. Larger than any animal had a right to be.
Ducking below a low hanging branch, she emerged into a clearing. Tall grass grew in the center of the circle, waving in a gentle breeze. Not a single animal made a sound. Her muscles tensed and her breathing slowed. The air was dense in this place. Starbugs flitted around the edges of the clearing, but they didn’t move into it. She held up her hand to stop her sister from entering the space.
Too late.
Iris stepped into the edge middle of the field. The air undulated as if it were a soap bubble about to pop. Emma rushed forward, reaching out to take her sister’s hand. Her footfalls slowed. Her mind still worked, but her body froze to the spot where both feet landed in the field. She couldn’t feel anything. Her eyes flicked to Micah as he hung back on the perimeter of the clearing.
His frown told her everything. He wasn’t going to save them.
She should have known. After all this time, he was still just a cowardly Szarmian. How long had he been biding his time until the right moment to just let them die?
Iris’s skin began to glitter. It was as if thousands of stars had suddenly kindled to life. Her lips parted but no sound came. She closed her eyes, her brow furrowing into deep lines.
Fissures erupted along the air. Emma’s eyes widened as feeling flooded back into her legs. She lifted her foot ever so slightly.
Iris shook violently. Her teeth chattered as the light clinging to her skin began to lift off her in particles of sparkling dust. Her already pale skin turned ashen as her feet rose from the ground.
“Iris!” Micah screamed as he lassoed her with a vine. It disintegrated into dust the moment it touched her skin.
The invisible manacles holding Emma in place released their hold on her entirely. Her legs gave out, and she fell to one knee. Sweat dripped from her brow as she stared up at her sister.
Micah threw another vine to Emma. She wound it around her stomach as he pulled her to him. He crouched beside her and cupped her cheeks in his hands. His dark eyes roamed over her face, concern etched in every line and crease. She gritted her teeth against the kindness in his eyes. Her heart fluttered slightly as his thumb caressed her skin. Not today. Maybe not ever.
She supposed she would have to forgive him for the thoughts she’d had only moments ago about him abandoning them. At every turn he proved her wrong. It was infuriating.
Thunder cracks without lightning shook the world around them. Emma turned her gaze to her sister’s floating body. Wrenching her face free from Micah’s hold, she scrambled to her feet. She shielded her eyes against her sister’s brilliance.
“Come on, Iris,” she whispered.
Iris’s body shuddered.
Micah stood beside Emma. He slipped his hand into hers as they stared up at the floating body above them. Streaks of purple tinged in black coursed over Iris’s veins, as if she were absorbing poison. Emma clung to his hand. It was the only thing grounding her. She wanted nothing more than to rush in and yank her sister from the heavens. To save her. Just as she always had.
But there was no way of reaching her.
The air all around the clearing turned opaque. It hardened into a crystalline structure with fissures racing across its surface. Emma placed a hand against the hard line of air. It was warm to the touch, almost feverish. She jerked her hand back as the spot she’d just tapped dissolved.
Trusting her instincts, she began running her hands over the opaque wall of air. Every place her skin touched puffed into dust. Without being asked, Micah followed her lead. Together, the destroyed the lower half of the wall and started on the top.
Iris gasped loudly. She fell from the sky at an alarming rate as the rest of the barrier shuddered and vanished, as if it had never existed.
Emma rushed forward to catch her sister. She wasn’t going to make it in time. Despite her training, she wasn’t fast enough. She lunged forward, tripping on a log hidden in the tall grass.
Micah grunted as he caught Iris in his arms. Emma hadn’t even seen him rushing forward. His shoulders shuddered under her sudden weight, but he didn’t drop her to the ground. Instead, he cradled her to his chest and, straightening, strode from the clearing. gently laid her onto a bed of moss beside a tree. Emma hurried to join him.
Iris’s cheeks were so pale, they were nearly translucent. Emma placed a trembling hand on her brow. She was burning up. She snatched her hand back and leaned in close.
“You have to tell me which herbs will help you,” she whispered. “You’re the potion-maker of the two of us.”
Iris didn’t stir. Not a blink. Or a whoosh of air as she breathed in.
“Iris?” she asked, fear creeping into her. She shook her sister’s shoulders.
Iris’s head lopped from side-to-side.
“Please be okay,” Emma whispered.
She pressed her ear to Iris’s breast and listened. She couldn’t hear a heartbeat.
She pounded her fist in Iris’s chest. She wasn’t exactly sure what she was doing, but she’d seen Grandmother Rel perform a similar procedure when a mountaineer fell from a tree and broke his back. He, too, didn’t have a heartbeat when he’d first arrived at the cottage. She pumped her fist into her chest over and over again until her knuc
kles turned red.
Micah gripped her shoulders. “Let her go,” he whispered from behind her. “You can’t save her now.”
Emma glared up at him.
“You know nothing of what it means to be a family.” She growled as she redoubled her efforts. “Breathe!” she screamed, and then pressed her lips against Iris’s and forced her breath into her sister’s lungs.
Iris’s chest rose and fell as the air expanded her lungs and then left again.
“I am not giving up on you!” Emma whispered. “Do you hear me?”
Her arms shook and her wrists ached from pounding on Iris’s chest. Micah didn’t try to stop her again.
Just when she didn’t know if she could pump her sister’s chest another time, Iris sputtered and then coughed. Her eyes were glassy when she opened them, and she grimaced at the bright light from the sun.
Emma wrapped her arms around Iris’s shoulders and pulled her up into a tight embrace. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she sobbed into her sister’s hair.
“I thought I’d lost you,” she whispered.
Iris tightened her grip around Emma’s shoulders. “I will always find my way back to you.” She laughed. “And, even if I didn’t, I have no doubt that you’d use this newfound tracking skill of yours to hunt me down.”
They both laughed. Emma felt as if she were watching the scene from outside her body. She was numb and yet overwhelmingly relieved at the same time.
“What happened?” she asked.
Iris shrugged. “The clearing was cursed. I get the sense it was one of the coven witches.”
Emma’s jaw fell open. The coven had sent a bevy of creatures to kill them only a few short months ago. They’d even enlisted Micah and Liam to attempt to kill them, but somehow, they’d fought against their orders and helped save them instead. At least Micah had. She still wasn’t sure about Liam’s role in all of this. One minute he was saving their lives, the next he was betraying them. He’d left with the hag who’d raised them, Grandmother Rel, the moment Iris freed him from his curse. If Iris hadn’t been so committed to saving him, she would have left him to suffer the consequences of his betrayal.
She knew they’d been bent on killing Iris because of her ability to break spells, but she hadn’t realized they’d resorted to setting traps for them.
She jerked her head back to Iris.
“Have you been wandering the dreamworld again?” she asked, harshly. Iris knew every time she entered that place to search for Liam she put her safety at risk. The coven had been able to trap her there once—had nearly killed her in the process.
Iris didn’t meet her gaze as she whispered, “Yes.”
“You know how dangerous it is!” Emma shouted. She sprang to her feet and stepped away from her sister. “I’m tracking him, remember? You don’t have to put yourself—or me, I might add—at risk by wandering in that place!” Doubt clenched her abdomen like a bear’s claws. She wasn’t in complete control of her tracking ability yet. Still, that didn’t matter. Her jaw ached as she clenched her teeth together and glared at her sister.
“I know,” Iris replied timidly. “Believe me, I know the risks. I think about them every time I search for his dreams.” She wrung her hands in her lap. Her lower lip extended slightly. “But I yearn to hear his voice again, Emma. Just once I want to know he’s okay.”
Micah stepped between them. “We don’t have time for this,” he chided. He peered down at Iris. “If what you say is true and the coven set this as a trap, then we need to leave this place. Now.”
He lifted Iris to her feet and gave Emma a pointed look that seemed to say, ‘no more arguing.’ Emma fought the urge to stick her tongue out at him. She didn’t care if that made her childish or not. Her sister needed to learn how to start assessing the risks of her decisions before she got everyone around her killed. Including them.
Emma led the way through the trees, Micah beside her. Iris trailed behind them.
Emma’s stomach growled slightly. She needed to eat if she was going to be strong enough to use her tracking ability again. She still didn’t fully understand how she was able to sense him. He was basically a stranger to her. She’d barely shared more than a dozen words with him.
But Iris loved him.
And, she supposed, that was enough for her to give up renovating the manor house to travel north to rescue the poor soul.
Iris stumbled and fell farther behind.
“Do we need to slow down?” Emma asked, barely glancing over her shoulder.
Iris still had not regained her color following the trap. Her cheeks appeared more sunken and her hair clung to her face.
“No,” she replied breathily. “I’m fine. I just need to. Catch. My. Breath.”
Her words came out stilted.
“Are you sure about that?” Emma asked.
“Of course,” she said as her breathing slowly returned to normal. She swayed slightly.
“Alright, that’s enough,” Emma said, slowing to match her sister’s pace. She wrapped her arm around Iris’s waist and supported her as they moved forward. “You clearly need rest.”
“No, I can keep going,” Iris said. “Please, Emma. He’s out there. All alone.”
“Not quite,” Emma said, callously. “Or did you forget that he’s with Grandmother Rel?”
Iris glared at her. “And that makes it better, how?” She huffed. “The more time we waste, the longer she has to dig her claws deeper into him. She could be hurting him, Emma. I haven’t seen him since he asked me to find him. It’s been over a week now!” Her cheeks reddened as she spoke and she chewed on her bottom lip. “I know he’s out there. I know she’s doing terrible things to him. I know you can’t summon your ability on command all the time yet. I get it. Trust me. I do. But…” she trailed off. “If I have to push myself past exhaustion to find him, I will. Please try to understand, Emma.”
Emma caught her sister’s hand in her own and squeezed. “Listen to me. Whether we find him tomorrow or several years from now, I promise you that as long as you think he’s breathing, we’ll keep searching.”
Iris wobbled.
“Can you carry her?” Emma asked without looking at Micah.
She already knew the answer would be yes. So far, he had agreed to nearly everything she asked of him. Not that she asked much. Iris told her that he had been a faithful companion to her and, in her dreams, she sometimes remembered his kind eyes. But that didn’t mean that she could trust him.
In response, he scooped Iris into his arms.
“Thank you,” Emma said.
She sighed heavily and focused on Liam. Although she had never actually seen his face in person, Iris had described him enough that she somehow felt like she knew all the details of his features. Although she could sense him without imagining a face, it helped cement what she was searching for in her mind.
A thin, wavering blue light shot from her chest and weaved between the trees. She motioned for the other two to trail her and began following the light’s path.
The wind picked up the farther they walked. The earthy scent of rain filled the air before the first drop of water fell on her head. Summers in the Beoscuret Mountains were never warm, but unlike the dead of winter when everything was blanketed in snow, summer meant torrential downpours.
“We need to find shelter,” she shouted just as a flash of lightning cleaved the sky in two.
Iris jolted and buried her face into Micah’s shoulder.
He set Iris on the ground and withdrew a map from his satchel. Although rain poured all around them, their clothes, packs, and the map remained dry. One of the cursed humans they’d saved from Balkeen’s lair was an enchantress who specialized in protection spells. Rain repellent spells were, apparently, quite popular when she worked for the crown. But that was before she’d been kidnapped by Balkeen and turned into a fox.
Before they’d left the manor house, she’d enchanted everything they wanted to keep dry. Until now, they hadn’t h
ad a chance to test the enchantments’ effectiveness.
“We’re close to a village.” He pointed slightly to the right of where the blue light led. “If we go this way, we’ll reach it within the hour.”
Iris frowned. “That’s out of our way.”
“Yes, but we’ve been on the road for several days now and you just almost died. I’m sorry, Iris, but I think we’re going to have to out vote you on this one.”
Emma lifted her chin and narrowed her eyes as Iris looked between her and Micah. To his credit, Micah remained stoic, even when Iris’s lip began to tremble.
“Fine,” she said with a hiss. “But, just so you know, the longer it takes for us to find him, the more likely it is that I’ll venture out on my own.”
Emma rolled her eyes. “You wouldn’t last out here. You don’t even know how to light a fire without a starter.”
“Well,” Iris began. She stopped, her eyes growing wider as she fought to find the perfect comeback.
Emma smirked at her. “It’s okay, Iris. You can make potions and heal people like you’re a Creator. All I can do is hunt and survive.”
Iris smiled. “Together we make an unbeatable pair.”
“We do.”
“Alrighty then, if you’re done building each other up, I would like to get out of this rain before the enchantment wears off,” Micah said as he bent to pick Iris up again.
“I can walk,” she said, slipping away from him.
They marched on in silence towards the town. Emma extinguished the blue light emanating from her chest and squeezed in between Iris and Micah.
She wrapped her arm around her sister’s waist and leaned in to whisper, “When can we ditch him again?” She jerked her thumb towards Micah. “He’s kind of a drag.”
Iris smirked. “I believe, dear sister, that we must bring him with us. Two young, unchaperoned women will draw attention. At least if he’s around, we have a cover.”
Although Emma knew her sister was right, she hated admitting it. She stole a glance at Micah. He caught her eye and smiled. She shrugged and turned back to Iris.
“Fine,” she mumbled. “But if we ever get the chance to get rid—”