Before me was a conflict where I rooted against both sides. A swarm of flying monkeys fought Alex, one of the hunters who’d stolen Merlin’s magic, and three soldiers (including that guy Jae who’d absorbed Kai’s levitation powers). Jae battled with his sword, but every once in a while, he used his new powers to levitate a rock and assail a flying monkey. The boy may have been inexperienced with magic and weakened due to the Aurora, but I knew from my early days of power that when properly motivated a person could do a lot with a little.
The flying monkeys used the shadows of their enemies as a point of reference. However, since we were also invisible, we could spot the antagonists fully. And they could see us too. Alex shot me an unmistakable surprised look when we entered.
“Jae!” he called, pointing at us.
“Duck!” I shouted as Jae launched a stalagmite. But the duck wasn’t necessary. The projectile zoomed over our heads into an extremely thick deposit of magic dust. That’s what Alex had been pointing to, not us. The stalagmite crumpled on impact, and the force of its blow caused a layer of magic dust to rain down—coating us entirely. That’s what my brother had intended. I guess because the dust was magic, it was unaffected by both Merlin’s invisibility powers and our SRBs. Our silhouettes were now unmistakably shimmery and visible.
Every beast in the area turned on us—easy prey compared to attacking shadows. As the flying monkeys came charging, Alex and his men took their chance to escape and fled to an opening at the far end of the cavern. The crows around us went wild and began flapping across the chaos—their beady eyes and blinking cameras capturing everything. There was no point in projecting invisibility over us now; Merlin dropped the magical cloak to conserve his energy.
Oh boy. Here we go.
“Aim for the monkeys’ wings!” Ozma yelled.
The first three flying monkeys reached us and our team broke apart to split the monsters’ focus. Jason followed Ozma’s advice and easily sliced the wings off the first creature with his axe. SJ rolled under the swooping claws of another then fired a silver portable potion that encased it in ice.
Ozma and I dove behind a stalagmite the size of a grizzly bear. The Ozian drew a large hunting knife that had been stuffed in her boot.
“Why don’t you use your magic?” I asked. Julian’s wife Eva, the former Wicked Witch of the West, had the power to produce and control fire. Ozma and Julian had elemental powers too. I couldn’t recall what they were at the moment, but any magic would come in handy.
“It won’t work well here,” she replied simply. Then she leapt back into the brawl.
The screeches of flying monkeys filled the cavern and my glow instinctively erupted around my hand. A vicelike grip suddenly squeezed my arm. I followed the hand to Blue. She looked me dead in the eye, stealing a second just for us in a scene where seconds couldn’t afford to be spared.
“Don’t use your magic.” She meant it as an order, not a suggestion.
As curtly as she’d come, Blue released her grip and darted away. I hesitated for a second before going after her. My glow had extinguished from the surprise of Blue’s touch. I sensed if I lowered my resistance even a smidge it would return—it still pulsed powerfully within—but I chose not to let it out.
I understood why Blue didn’t want me to use magic. I’d already crossed the Malice Line several times on this journey—to rescue SJ in the Canyon of Geene, to help us in the Temple of Malbona, to save Century City from the dragon. But what I’d done outside to the magic hunters—what the deep, primal, magical part of me still wanted to do to them—was different. I literally saw my magic change. More importantly, I felt myself change as Magic Instinct placed me on autopilot and pursued its own dark emotion-driven motives.
Blue was right. I should try to avoid using my powers for now, no matter how much they yearned to be released. I took a deep breath to rein in the magic, transformed my wand, and dove into the fight.
As I skidded under a low-bearing flying monkey, I saw Merlin thwack his spear-drill on one of the monster’s heads. It must’ve been a strong blow. That flying monkey went down. Merlin immediately spun and threw potion sand at three other monkeys that blasted them back.
Across the cavern, Kai and Daniel fought together. It was an obnoxiously consistent tendency that I hadn’t realized until now bothered me. Daniel’s new sword from Avalon seemed to be serving him well. The boy was already one of the top five swordfighters I’d ever witnessed, but somehow his skill seemed more elevated than before.
An orange wormhole abruptly opened in the cavern next to me as a flying monkey swooped in. With a well-aimed smack of my lacrosse sword, I sent the monkey straight through it.
Have fun in Limbo, you jackwagon.
Shield.
My weapon spiraled out in time to stop the talons of a flying monkey from ripping my face off, though the force of its impact still pushed me back. The creature regained traction to assault me again. Ozma leapt on top of it and drove her blade into the ridge of its neck. Pretty hardcore for a thirteen-year-old. I didn’t even have the stomach to watch her complete the action.
Despite our combined skill, we were not winning. The flying monkeys were fast, erratic flyers. Even SJ and Blue had trouble landing a shot with a potion or knife.
Lacrosse sword.
I snatched a flying monkey out of the air and flung it roughly to Jason, who was standing on my right. He hinged his axe—
“Ow!”
I whirled around at the sound of SJ’s shout. She cradled her arm as the monkey who’d scratched her circled above, screeching. When the creature dove at her again, Merlin hurled his spear-drill straight at the beast’s jugular.
SCREECH!
This wasn’t one scream; it was a chorus of many. More monkeys were inbound through various openings in the cavern.
“They’re going to keep coming as long as Glinda wears the Simia Crown!” Ozma shouted, as we went on fighting. “She’s definitely commanded the flying monkeys to find intruders and eliminate them!”
“The longer we’re in here,” I used my spear like a club and smacked a flying monkey out of range, “the more time Arian has to get to the memory stone.” I leapt off a rocky mound and landed beside Jason. “He wasn’t in here with Alex and the others. They were distracting these flying monkeys for him like we’re doing for them now!”
“Crisa, you need to find Arian!” Blue called over her shoulder. “You—whoa!” A flying monkey caught hold of her cloak and tugged it violently, lifting her off the ground.
From a nearby ledge, Kai ran at full speed and jumped, landing on the flying monkey’s back. The sudden weight and impact drove it lower, just enough for Blue’s boots to drag on the floor. Kai stabbed the flying monkey in the neck with her sword, and she, the monster, and Blue skidded to the ground.
“You okay?” I called over my shoulder as I ducked an incoming monkey.
“Fine!” Blue responded. “But like I said, you need to go. We should split up like the antagonists did. Some of us have to stay here and be the distraction, but a few of us need to charge ahead!”
“Agreed!” Daniel called from another ledge. Three more flying monkeys had entered the cavern from where we’d first emerged—fresh and ready to fight. I faced them, and a moment later, Daniel skidded down from his perch, joining me.
“If half of us stay, we’ll keep drawing the attention of this troop of monkeys,” he said as we fought back-to-back. “The rest of us can go ahead and locate the memory stone while Ozma gets the Simia Crown. When she claims it, she can make the monkey attack stop.”
“So, who’s going?” Kai asked, stabbing a flying monkey, hacking the claws off a second, and yelling in satisfaction as she finally wasted both creatures in one swift swing of her sword.
“I’ll stay!” Blue called. Jason and SJ volunteered as well. I thought that might be enough, but then five more flying monkeys entered the cave. Daniel and Kai said they’d stay too, leaving only me, Merlin, and Ozma to charge onwa
rd.
Set on our plan, Kai took my place with Daniel and I followed Merlin and Ozma across the cavern. Halfway to the far wall though, I stalled and glanced back at my friends. I wanted to help them. My magic could do that. The power within me liked the idea. In fact, it loved it and I was tempted to give in. Then I caught Blue’s eye. She looked straight at me and clearly shook her head.
“Come on!” Ozma urged, pulling me by the wrist.
It hurt to keep the magic down—it hurt as much to not do everything I could to aid my friends—but I gulped and turned away. We sped into the same dark passage that Alex had taken.
You have to control yourself, I repeated as the power snapped inside me.
There was a reason none of my friends had asked me to use my magic against the flying monkeys even though it would’ve been tremendously helpful. I’d crossed a line in more ways than one with the magic hunters. My friends obviously didn’t want to know what would happen if I unleashed it again. Frankly, neither did I. And yet, the magic simmered—almost arguing to be called on.
Shut it, I grumbled as I ran.
Merlin made us invisible again for when we came across my brother and his team. They would be able to see us either way; shimmering magic dust still clung to our clothes. But with invisibility-powered magic hunters at large, we needed to make sure we could see them too.
We ran through darker, colder tunnels for a bit. The sounds of fighting and flying monkey screeches faded away. When bright light appeared at the end of our current passage, we slowed.
The mountain tunnel opened up to a dangerous cavern where the ground dropped off steeply on the left side. I peeked over the ledge. Eight feet below was a glistening, black-tinted, see-through force field that covered a vast plunge. The drop was so deep it may have gone to the base of the mountain. Veins of magic dust as thick as those in a giant’s forearm started in the ceiling and stretched below, getting more substantial the farther down in the chasm they went. It was so bright at the bottom that I had to squint when looking directly at it. I couldn’t make out too many details, but there was some kind of work camp down there.
It was the camp I’d foreseen in my dreams earlier in the year—complete with mining equipment, a tent city, and the men, women, and children who worked there. From this distance, all I could make out were tiny figures moving around and some large rectangles that could be machinery. But it was pretty obvious what they were doing. The flying monkeys captured people for Glinda on occasion; she was clearly using them to mine the rich magic deposits in this mountain.
I walked away from the ledge and only then noticed that Merlin and Ozma had frozen at the tunnel entrance. I turned to follow their gazes. On the opposite side of the cavern, which was only about thirty feet away, Alex and company were at the top of a mound of rocks that looked like the aftermath of a cave-in. They were clearly trying to get past it. Jae glowed with silver energy and a large pile of stones sat to the side of the blocked tunnel; he’d been using his levitation powers to move the rocks one at a time. He’d almost cleared enough from the top of the mound for a person to crawl through, but he’d stopped working when they heard us come in. The latest rock in his control dropped to the ground. Now our group had a silent, momentary standoff with theirs. Alex and I glared at each other for a tense second before he gave the order to his men.
They turned on us—three on three.
Ozma rushed at Jae. Merlin went for the magic hunter. I met Alex in the middle. He had his sword; I had my spear. For a moment, I thought about old times. Him and me at home dueling each other, trying to make one another better.
As if.
Those days were gone. The gold bracelet glinting on my wrist, which had once been so precious to us both, was a cold reminder of that—especially since the object was toxic to his touch. Now when I looked at Alex my insides hollered with ire like his Shadow had when he’d touched this very accessory and the thing had partially ejected itself.
I lunged and met my brother’s sword with the full force of my spear. I shifted my weapon and shoved it behind Alex’s neck and thrust him to the ground. He rolled out of the way, swiping at my legs, forcing me to jump instead of strike. I slammed the spear down to keep his blade at bay. He bounded up and charged. I deflected. We fought more ruthlessly than we ever had—adrenaline and bitterness pounding in our chests while sweat dripped off our foreheads.
“I can’t believe you set those flying monkeys on us,” I shouted as I pushed him back.
“I can’t believe you shot a spear into my leg,” he responded with a slash at my head.
My eyes flicked to his thigh. There was a lumpy ring underneath his pants around his upper thigh where his leg must’ve been bandaged. I thought he seemed half a second too slow on all his moves. He was still recovering from when I’d speared him on Avalon.
Duck!
Alex’s sword came toward my shoulder, slicing off an inch of my hair when I didn’t move out of the way fast enough.
Whoa. Super close call.
“If you’re trying to kill me now then you’re going to have to work a bit harder,” I said, shifting to parry his next move. “It’s gonna take a lot more than some fancy sword skills to stop me.”
All of a sudden, I was thrown off my feet in a rush of silver energy. I dropped my spear and tumbled to the edge of the chasm. I glanced up and saw that Ozma had been knocked over too. Jae had a satisfied smirk on his face—he’d used his magic to blast me. Just like he was presently using his powers to control an enormous boulder levitating ten feet over my body.
“And what if I dropped this rock on your head?” Jae said. “Would that stop you?”
I gulped. “Yup, that could do it.”
Merlin was busy fighting the other soldier. Ozma stirred, but her eyes were still closed. My spear was out of reach. I was beyond help.
Much as I didn’t want to, I was about to give in and use my magic as a last life-or-death resort, but then that option was robbed from me too. A second after I scooted up on my hands, I was slammed back against the floor. Jae was learning fast; he was splitting his magical focus. Silver energy encased my body and pinned me in place, forcing me to remain in the shadow of his boulder.
“Jae . . . don’t,” Alex said wearily.
“Not your call, man,” Jae responded. “I know she’s your sister, but she’s too dangerous.”
Merlin saw I was in trouble and turned to help, but the magic hunter stabbed at him, and he had to shift his attention to defending himself.
“Say goodbye, Crisanta Knight,” Jae said. “You can’t imagine how Arian will reward me for getting rid of you.”
My magic flared—golden energy fighting against Jae’s silver aura—but I didn’t have half a second to channel it before Jae dropped the boulder.
I should’ve been crushed.
But I wasn’t.
Because Alex intervened.
Right as Jae dropped the boulder, Alex stabbed him in the side, causing Jae to release his magical hold on me. I scarcely rolled out of the way before the rock smashed to the ground. It broke into pieces, several of which tumbled into the force field of the chasm. When they made contact with the barrier, it lit up with electric energy and vaporized them. A second later, Merlin blasted the magic hunter with a dose of potion sand that sent him over the brink too. The hunter screamed until he hit the force field, where he was intensely electrocuted. He bounced around like bacon in a frying pan before completely evaporating. The magic that had been inside him drifted down to the work camp below in the form of a silver energy cloud, off to absorb into someone else.
I looked back at my brother. Alex was standing over Jae’s body. He stared at the blood on his sword, shocked and confused by his own actions. Both his form and Jae’s flickered. With the magic hunter dead, the invisibility that previously consumed them vanished. It looked like Jae was still breathing, but that was hardly my concern. I still couldn’t comprehend why Alex had interceded.
I didn’t get
a chance to ask him, and he didn’t have a chance to offer an explanation. Merlin released a handful of potion sand that erupted in blue smoke and blasted Alex to the ledge. He stumbled to find his footing, but a risen Ozma dashed in for a low dive that swept my brother’s legs out from under him.
Alex flailed and went over the edge. My heart leapt up my throat. I scrambled to the brink to find that my brother had grabbed onto a protruding rock below that kept him just above the force field. He was already pulling himself back up.
A quick peek over my shoulder showed that Merlin and Ozma had already put him out of their minds, figuring he was dead, and had moved on to the blocked passage. Merlin extinguished our invisibility to save his strength since we didn’t need it anymore. Ozma climbed the rock pile and began shoving debris out of the way. With a mighty push, two rocks toppled down, giving her enough access to get through.
I stood up and backed away from the chasm, unsure of what to do. Should I offer my brother a hand? Should I mention he’s still alive to Ozma and Merlin?
Ozma glanced over her shoulder at us, satisfied. Then her eyes widened in horror. “Crisa, look out!”
I whirled around. Alex had climbed over the ledge and stood two feet behind me, right on the edge. He was panting with one hand resting on his sword.
Suddenly, the mountain shook. I didn’t know if it was a result of some shot gone off in the battles ahead or behind, but it was enough to cause everyone to falter. And for Alex, that meant losing his balance. He was about to fall backward over the brink when I lunged in and grabbed his hand.
I didn’t know what had compelled me to do it. Was it a reflex? Was it because I felt I owed him one for Jae? Was it love? I couldn’t say, but I gripped his forearm and he latched onto mine.
For a second I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to hold him. He weighed much more than I did and his body was at an angle almost past return. But I did not let go.
I heaved with all my might, yanking him in. It worked, and he collapsed to his knees in front of me. One of his hands pressed to the ground; the other still held my arm tightly as he took a second to compose himself. As my eyes fell upon where his wrist connected with my arm, I suddenly realized what had driven me to keep him from falling. It wasn’t reflex or backpay or love—it was a tiny spark of an idea I’d had days ago.
Crisanta Knight: The Lost King Page 24