by Linsey Hall
“Holy fates, it worked!” Sora grinned widely at me.
“Looks like it did.” The sparkles rushed down the river, dragging rocks up from the depths.
I withdrew my hand and watched as a path continued to rise through the surface of the water. I stood and approached the closest steppingstone. “Be alert as we go. I don’t think this is going to be easy.”
Sora nodded and moved beside me.
Tentatively, I put my foot on the steppingstone, gradually resting all of my weight on it. The boulder stayed strong, and I moved to the next one. Sora followed, and we began to travel down the river, jumping from stone to stone.
Magic sparked all around, and when the water splashed to my left, I looked down in time to spot a small creature reaching up from the depths. It was crystal clear, made entirely of water but shaped like a strange little man. It had a small head and two long, spindly arms. The creature grabbed my ankle and pulled hard.
I kicked it off, but another one jumped from my other side, leaping up and trying to grab me around the waist. It was the size of a small child, but impossibly strong as it gripped me. Pain flared as my ribs and lungs compressed.
I smashed my arm through the creature’s body, and water droplets exploded everywhere, destroying the creature.
“What are these things?” Sora demanded, smacking a creature away as it leapt for her. Another lunged out of the water, headed straight for her.
She thrust out her hand, her magic flaring. A blast of gray smoke shot from her hand and enveloped the beast. It disappeared mid-leap.
“Some kind of water spirit.” I called upon my shield from the ether and smashed it against a flying water creature, causing it to explode into thousands of water droplets. “Do you want a shield?”
Sora voided another. “I’m good. Let’s keep going.”
We raced across the steppingstones, smashing and voiding the water creatures as they attacked. Water rushed around the boulders as we ran, shifting and moving to form the tiny attackers.
We ran, moving as quickly as we could while the beasts jumped toward us. Water exploded into thousands of droplets as I smashed the attackers.
“Do you feel that?” Sora asked.
I hadn’t felt anything until she spoke, but then the threatening prickle of power came from behind. I turned back, spotting an enormous wave coming toward us—the river, giving chase.
“Go!” I shouted, grabbing her around the waist and swinging her onto the boulder in front of me so that I was between her and the wave.
She sprinted forward, leaping from steppingstone to steppingstone. Despite her shorter legs, she was fast and graceful. I sprinted after her, looking back to see the wave shifting and changing shape.
It morphed to form a four-legged beast with a huge head, like some kind of deformed southern Kelpie. I’d never seen anything like it. The creature was fast, galloping after us as more of the water surged behind it, rolling like a wave across the top of the river.
As I ran, I called my potion bag from the ether. I reached in, searching for anything that would slow the beast. Finally, my hand closed around a star-shaped bomb. I yanked it free and hurled it back at the Kelpie.
There was no hard surface for the glass to explode against. The potion bomb hit the creature’s chest and absorbed. The attack seemed to enrage it, making it run faster after us, gaining with every step.
Shit.
I turned back and ran faster. “Keep moving! We may have to outrun it.”
My lungs burned as I followed Sora, looking back to check on the beast that tracked us. It gained speed, closing the distance swiftly.
There would be no outrunning it.
My mind raced.
I had to keep it away from Sora. It could grab her and drown her.
It surged toward us, the water beast leading the massive wave behind it. I reached into my potion bag for one more bomb, finding it swiftly.
The creature was so close I could almost reach out and touch it. Instead, I drew a sword from the ether and turned to face it, praying Sora would keep going.
It loomed over me. I chucked the potion bomb up like it was a baseball and swung my sword like a bat, smashing the potion bomb right as the beast neared me. It exploded in a shimmer of cobalt liquid, spraying the water beast.
I ducked low, covering my head and praying that it worked.
14
Sora
I turned in time to see Connor use his sword as a bat. The glass potion bomb exploded against the beast’s enormous, aqueous body, which looked like a semi-transparent, deformed horse.
Fear spiked through me, chilling my skin, as Connor ducked for cover.
As the potion splashed on the monster, it froze solid, turning to one huge block of ice. Behind it, most of the massive wave froze as well. The remaining water splashed into the river behind it.
“Holy fates.” I bent low, gasping as I kept my eye on him. Shock raced through me. “I can’t believe that worked.”
He stood and dragged a hand through his dark hair. “Neither can I.”
“You would have been dead.”
“Maybe.”
I had no idea what exactly that water demon could do, but I had a feeling that Connor would have been in a real bad state if it had gotten to him. Connor turned to inspect our surroundings, and I straightened. There was no time for freak-outs. We needed to keep moving and stay alert.
I peered into the water around my steppingstone, muscles tense, but none of the water sprites leapt out at me. Still shaking slightly, I turned to face downriver.
“Holy fates,” I whispered in a rush.
The river sloped sharply downward into a valley, giving us a good view of what was to come. In the distance, the river led toward a sparkling lake. The trees that bordered the river disappeared, and soon, we’d be able to walk on the bank. Farther on, the river itself seemed to vanish beneath an expanse of enormous boulders that formed a protective circle around the water. That had to be the stone maze that Orion had mentioned, and the water must go underground before it reached the lake.
Connor joined me, stopping on the stone behind mine. “We’re not that far away.”
“I hope that whatever Orion gave us to help with the stone maze works, because it looks like it covers a lot of ground.”
“It will be one of the last protections for the Sacred Sea, though. Once we get past it, we’re almost there.”
“It looks too small for a sea.”
“Once you are close, the magic makes it much bigger. Like small houses that are enchanted to be larger on the inside.”
I started forward, hopping from stone to stone. Together, we made our way along until the trees that lined the banks ceased and we were able to jump onto the grass. We followed the river toward the protective barrier of stones that surrounded the lake. We could no longer see the lake itself—just the towering granite that rose overhead. Up close, the rocks were much larger, at least fifteen feet tall and all jumbled on top of each other.
“Time to use the lure.” Connor pulled his bag from the ether and removed the smaller bag that Orion had given him. He slipped the tiny silver lure free, and I could feel the magic of buzz through the air.
A low humming sounded in the distance, and I spun around to search for it. Tiny silver sprites zipped toward us. Shaped like miniature fairies, they glowed with an internal light that hummed a low, steady, oddly soothing tone. Four of them gathered in front of Connor, each no bigger than my palm. He held out the lure, allowing it to sit flat in his palm so that they could buzz around it.
The lure hummed a different tone, but it seemed to excite the sprites. They sang louder, zipping around.
“It’s like Orion is sending them a message through the lure,” I said.
“I think he is. I’ve never understood quite how they communicate, but this must be part of it.”
The sprites began to drift away, heading toward the stone maze. We followed, keeping up easily. I had a feeling
they could move a hell of a lot faster, but they were going slowly for us.
They led us toward a gap in the stone wall, and we followed them into the maze. The rock rose tall on either side of us, the passage narrow. Protective magic sparked all around, uncomfortable against my skin. I could feel it coming more strongly from the left, so I veered toward the right, sticking close to that side of the wall.
“The sprites will try to keep us from the dangers in the maze, but they aren’t infallible,” Connor said. “Stay wary.”
I debated pulling my dagger from my pocket but left it there for now. Instead, I focused on my newly controllable void magic, elated that I could use it again without worrying I’d knock myself out.
The sprites zipped left and right, ignoring some passages through the maze and taking us through others. At one point, the protective magic vibrated so strongly against my skin that my stomach turned.
In front of me, Connor’s hands twitched, as if he were ready to draw something from the ether, but he just wasn’t sure what.
When an enormous pillar to our left rocked in place, threatening to fall right on us, he lunged backward and shoved me out of the way. He fell on top of me, covering me with his body. The rock crashed to the ground, landing with a hard thud that seemed to shake the stone walls around us.
Connor was warm and strong as he leaned over me, his face close to mine, worry gleaming in his eyes. “Are you all right?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Your heart is thundering so loudly I can hear it.”
I laughed. “I think you hear your own heart.”
“Maybe.” His eyes dropped to my lips and warmed.
Would he kiss me?
Before he could, a sprite appeared near our heads, zipping left and right in an agitated manner.
Connor’s jaw firmed. “We need to go. This does not count as me keeping my guard up.”
I cracked a weak smile. “No kidding.”
He stood, and I followed. The huge pillar lay across the path at an angle, leaving a small spot for us to crawl beneath, and the sprites zipped through. Connor crouched low and passed through quickly. I followed, feeling a hell of a lot less graceful as the mud stuck to my hands and knees.
We climbed out on the other side, and I paused next to Connor, trying to brush the mud off me. The sprites flew on, and we followed. Four more boulders fell in our way, but we were quick enough to avoid them. My heart was going a mile a minute by the time we saw the light at the end of the stone maze.
“Thank fates,” Connor murmured.
We strode toward it, and the magic of the Sacred Sea filled the air. It felt welcoming and repelling all at one, a strange sensation that made my stomach turn.
We reached the very end of the maze, and the sprites flew straight up toward the sky, disappearing.
I stood next to Connor, peering out at the lake. The shore was about a hundred yards from us—impossibly far away and yet so close. It gleamed a dark navy, the surface glittering under the light of the sun.
“It’s freaking huge,” I said.
“That’s the spell.”
I whistled low under my breath. “Some spell.” It was way bigger than it’d looked before. “What now?”
Connor shifted, looking around. “This will be the dangerous bit. The waters of the Sacred Sea are one of the most powerful potion ingredients in the world. Serious magic protects it. I need to get past that magic and get some of the water to make my potion.”
“Then we get out of here and head back to your workshop?”
He shook his head. “I need to make the potion here. The magic in the water has a half-life of only a few minutes.”
“Crap. So it’s basically useless if you don’t use it right away?”
“Exactly. I’ll combine it with my blood and the other ingredients, and if the tools of the Rising One are as powerful as they are supposed to be, I should be fixed up within minutes.”
I nodded, staring around at the empty stretch of grass between us and the lake. The protective magic was fierce, and I wondered what would be waiting for us.
I flexed my fingers, ready to zap it into oblivion. “I’ve got your back.”
He squeezed my arm, looking down to meet my face. “I’ve known you for barely a day—how are you so good to me?”
“You got me my magic back, dummy.” I raised my hand and wiggled my fingers, as if to indicate the power I now had. “And I like you.”
“I don’t deserve you.”
“You don’t have me yet.” I grinned, then stood up on my toes and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. He groaned low in his throat, and I could feel his fingertips press briefly to my sides before disappearing. It was as if he wanted to clutch me to him but resisted.
I savored the last of the kiss and pulled away, looking up to meet his eyes. “But I’ll be wanting that date if we get through this.”
“We’ll get through this.” He squeezed my arm. “But you need to use that transport charm to get out of here if things get dangerous. I’ll follow.”
“Sure.” I smiled and nodded, knowing there was no way in hell I’d ditch him.
“I mean it, Sora. I can see you don’t intend to do it. But if the time comes, you have to.”
I scowled at him. “You can’t tell me what to do.” My frown morphed to a grin. “Anyway, we’re here, aren’t we? There’s nowhere to go but forward.”
Frustration seemed to seep from his pores, but the slight twist of his lips looked almost like a smile. “Stay safe. It’s the most important thing to me.”
His voice was so serious that a shiver went through me. I nodded. “You, too.”
We turned to stare out at the lake. After a minute, he asked, “Ready?”
“Yeah.” I stepped forward.
Together, we ran for the shore. It took only a moment before the rock wall surrounding us began to move. It shifted, boulders tearing away from the wall and rolling toward us. They were massive, most of them the size of cars. And fast. Damn it, they were as fast as cars, too.
Connor drew his potion bag from the ether and reached in, pulling out a red glass ball. He chucked it at one of the nearest boulders, and the glass orb exploded against the side. Red liquid splashed, and the rock disintegrated on the spot.
But there were so many. I called upon my magic, hurling a blast of gray void smoke at a boulder that was about to knock me over. It slammed into the rock, sucking it away into space.
“Go!” I shouted. “I’ll cover you!”
“Get out of here if it’s too dangerous!” he yelled back.
“Okay, I promise.” I knew they were the words he needed to hear, even as I was unsure of their truth.
He sprinted for the lake, and I got between him and the attacking rocks. They rolled toward us, leaving deep dents in the earth as they moved.
My magic flowed strong as I called it to the surface and hurled it at the boulders. The smoke flew fast, the boulders disappeared, and confidence soared through me. I felt complete for the first time in years.
15
Connor
I sprinted toward the edge of the Sacred Sea, hating to leave Sora to guard my back. But those rocks would keep coming, and we needed to be quick.
And she was insanely powerful. I didn’t need to worry about her as much as I did.
One of the boulders hurtled toward me, and I threw a disintegration bomb at it, causing it to collapse into dust. Quickly, I turned to see Sora void three massive rocks. A huge smile stretched across her face, and her eyes glinted with concentration. She’d never looked so beautiful.
My heart thundered as I raced toward the sea, the magic calling to me. I blasted two more rocks with potion bombs before reaching the shore. As soon as I neared it, I stashed my potion bag back in the ether. I needed to be quick here.
I pulled a second bag from the ether and withdrew the tools of the Rising One. The tiny cauldron glinted gold under the sunlight, and the blade looked sharp.
Magic sparked from the tools, making my fingertips buzz. Finally, I removed the small vials of ingredients. There were only two—Esphoria and Wisloram, two common Fae herbs—and I measured them quickly. I’d had this potion memorized for years, and it came easily.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Sora destroying the rocks that hurtled at me, zapping them into oblivion with her magic.
Quickly, I sliced into my wrist, letting my blood drip in a crimson stream into the cauldron. When enough had filled the vessel, I picked up a small ladle.
Anticipation thundered through me as I moved to dip it into the lake. The water gleamed invitingly. As the ladle neared the surface, it became more difficult to move. It felt almost like the air was made of Jell-O that grew more and more solid as I neared the surface.
“You think to take the waters of the Sacred Sea without earning them?” The feminine voice vibrated with power, and I looked up, shocked.
A figure was rising from the depths, her form glittering like the sun. She had no easily discernible features, but the magic that vibrated from her was strong. “Storm Bringer, you are here to face your fate.”
“I am.” Slowly, I rose. “But who are you?”
She gestured to the shimmering water behind her, her movements graceful. “I am the guardian of the Sacred Sea, the source of its power and magic.”
“How do I earn the right to take some of the water?”
It was impossible to make out her features, but it looked almost like she smiled. “I am glad to see that you are asking the correct questions.”
“I try.” I pointed back to Sora, who was still fighting off the boulders. Worry for her tightened every muscle in my body, but I tried not to let it show. “Any chance you could call those boulders off?”
“No.”
“Then could I do whatever is necessary quickly? I care about her, and she won’t leave me, even if I insist.”
“You know her well.”
“Well enough, and I don’t want her hurt. What do I need to do?”