“Her necklace?” Cooper shook his head. “Nah, man, was too busy eyeing her fangs!”
The sand in front of Tegan opened up like a black hole, and then the siren flew up. Tegan pushed both palms forward, and a black ball of magic crashed into the siren’s stomach. It sailed backward, flipping tail over head.
“Seriously? No one saw the necklace?”
“She didn’t have on a necklace,” Bettina shouted.
Tegan glanced over her shoulder and met my eyes. “You saw a necklace?”
I saw it and they didn’t. That only meant one thing, and Tegan had already figured that out.
I nodded. “Bring her back, and I’ll get it.”
The ocean roared like a freight train, then a wall of fire came gunning right for us. Right in the center of it was a redheaded siren. She grinned like she thought she was about to win a delicious meal. Tegan raised her hands up. Magic pulsed through the water. A narrow air pocket opened up on the surface way over our heads. Wrapped up inside it was a siren. Tegan pulled one hand down, and the siren plummeted to the ocean floor.
“That’s her!” I said through clenched teeth. That was the siren with the necklace. I could grab it, just needed her close enough.
The other siren saw her friend coiled in Tegan’s grip and screeched. She rushed toward her friend when a dark object shot through the water from within the wall of fire. I gasped. It was the tiger shark. The big gray animal sliced through the water, and I recognized the black stripes on its side. It was the one Tegan had petted before. It whipped its tail then dove for the siren.
She screamed and tried to flee, but the shark was faster. It snapped and snatched the siren by the tail…then swam away with her still in its mouth.
“Thank you!” Tegan yelled to the shark as it swam away.
She giggled then swung her arms back, and the other siren shot right toward me. I switched my sword to my left hand and rolled to the balls of my feet. That rose-shaped necklace sparkled from her chest. I just had to grab it.
Bettina gasped and I felt her fear trickle through the magical rope wrapped around my waist. “Oceanic white tips,” she whispered.
Tegan lowered her arms. “Come and get her,” she growled.
Six massive gray sharks with long white-tipped fins chased the siren…headed right toward us. My stomach rolled. I narrowed my gaze on that necklace then jumped straight up. The siren hissed and snapped at my arm, slicing through my skin. Red blood poured into the water. The six sharks went into a frenzied panic, flicking their fins and racing toward us.
I balled my fists and punched the siren in the jaw in one swift uppercut. Her head snapped back, and I saw the sharks right behind us with their jaws wide open. I dove for the necklace. I wrapped my fingers around the rose and squeezed.
Bright white light exploded around us. I heard the anguished wail of the siren, but then it was cut off by rushing water. Tegan’s magic rope tightened around my waist, and then we were flying through a tunnel of water.
Cold water splashed on my face and icy air rushed over me. I tried to yell out for the others, but there was too much pressure. My bones rattled in my body. My jaw was locked shut.
I slammed into a hard surface and bounced into the air. My breath was knocked out of me. I flipped and rolled and crashed face-first into something firm but soft. I pushed myself up on my elbows and coughed up a mouthful of dirt. Then I looked up and blinked. We were on a beach somewhere… That was sand I’d just spit out.
I groaned and rolled to my side—and almost cried with relief. Tegan, Cooper, and Bettina were all lying in the sand next to me. They moaned and groaned and coughed up sand. We were all hurting and breathing hard…but we were alive. And not missing any limbs from shark teeth.
Tegan rolled onto her back and giggled. “Okay, I did not see that end coming.”
“I…am…forever…scarred,” Bettina said between breaths. Her beautiful face was still pressed against the sand like she was refusing to move.
Cooper sat up and shuddered. “Yeah, ditto. I don’t know how Tenn never mentioned them before. I still don’t know when he first fought the sirens, and I grew up with him.”
Bettina picked her head up and scowled. “I meant the damn sharks!”
Tegan threw her hand over her mouth and laughed.
“Shut up, Tegan,” Bettina yelled and tossed a handful of sand at her best friend, but she was smiling. “Did you see them? God, terrifying.”
Tegan sat up and grinned. “I think Cota sent them to help us. That’s my theory.”
I flipped onto my back and just breathed. Above me, the sky was jet black and dusted with sparkling stars. Wait a bloody minute. “It’s nighttime. WHY?”
Tegan frowned. “Yeah, you’re right. That’s weird.”
“Weird?” I scrubbed my face with my hands. “It was morning when we left Leyka’s island! Oh, Goddess, I only have one day now. How did this happen?”
Cooper pushed to his feet then brushed sand off of him. He frowned and glanced around. “Where the hell are we?”
My stomach rolled like I was going to be sick. I flipped over then pushed myself up on all fours. I tried to breathe through the panic flooding my system. Cooper said something, but I didn’t hear him. I looked up to ask what he’d said, and my jaw dropped. My body turned to ice.
“I know where we are,” I whispered. “We’re in England.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
BETTINA
“ENGLAND?” we all screamed at the same time.
Jackson jumped to his feet and stared at whatever was behind us. He still had King Henry’s crown on his head, though I had to admit it looked rather dashing on him. But then I saw his paleness and the way he just stared.
He blinked and leaned back on his heels. “We’re in England,” he whispered in amazement. “This is England.”
He just kept saying that. I sat up, and my ears rang. There was an aching throb in my head, and if I moved at all, the whole world swayed. I blinked and rubbed my eyes. It was okay though. We were on land. That was all that mattered to me at the moment. My life didn’t depend on someone else’s magic giving me oxygen.
Cooper frowned and looked around. “How do you know?”
“Well, he is English, sooo…” Tegan shrugged then got to her feet.
“I’ve been here only a bloody hundred times.” He smirked and wiped his face. Then he pointed in front of him. “This is the River Wharfe. On the other side of that is Bolton Priory. We’re in Yorkshire…and I’ve been here. My parents used to bring me here all the time as a kid.”
That made me smile. This was his home, and that had to mean something to him. “Does it look the same?”
He frowned. “We never came at night, only during the day.”
“Yorkshire, eh?” Tegan narrowed her eyes. “Well, it would also explain why it’s dark out.”
“Yeah, it’s five hours ahead of Eden.” Jackson nodded. He looked to his left and smiled. “And over there’s the stepping stones. Bloody hell, I used to time myself to see how fast I could get across them.”
That’s it. I’ve got to see what he sees.
I took a deep breath then pushed myself up to my feet. The world wobbled for a second. When it stopped moving, I slowly turned. My jaw dropped. It was breathtaking. It might have been dark out, and the moon was a small crescent, but it was a clear night and the view was spectacular. We stood on the shore of the river, and just as he’d said, over a little ways to our left was a row of stones to walk across.
But the most impressive sight was the building straight across from us. It looked to be made of either stone or brick. At the front, there was a huge open archway that was probably at one point an amazing stained glass or something. The side walls connecting to it had towering windows as well. I sighed and wished it was sunset or sunrise. The view had to be really something then.
I’m in England.
ENGLAND.
I laughed and shook my head. I’m in another co
untry. The others were deep in discussion about what had just gone down, but I was too busy reveling in the moment that I was in another country. I smiled and took a deep breath. The air smelled fresh and clean. All around us were trees and open fields, or at least that’s what it looked like in the dark. It was definitely cold. When the adrenaline faded, I was going to be freezing. I exhaled and my breath came out as a white cloud.
Something moved in front of me in the sand. I frowned and squinted. Maybe I have sand in my eyes or something. I blinked a bunch of times then looked back to the sand. Nothing moved. See, brain, nothing to worry abo— Something wrapped around my ankle and yanked.
I screamed as it dragged me toward the river.
Blue and white magic hit the sand below my feet, just barely missing my foot. Whatever had me tightened its grip on my ankle then lifted me in the air. I flew way above the river. Dark tentacles shot out of the water and swung at the shore. I tried to look at my friends, but the thing kept swinging me around, flipping me upside down and back up. My stomach rolled and twisted. My hair wrapped around my face.
White magic shot like missiles at the beast beneath me. Blue flames lit up the river. It threw me straight down toward the water, but a wall of rainbow magic covered the air. I bounced against it then flew back up toward the stars. I couldn’t see anyone. I was moving too fast. But there was no way they were going to get me free without hitting me at the same time.
I gripped the hilt of my sword with both hands and tried to summon all my strength.
“What…the…hell…kind…of”—I swung my fire opal blade at the tentacle around my foot—“…Middle-…earth…bullshit…is…this!”
The monster screeched, and thick dark blood poured out of the tentacle holding me. I screamed and kept swinging. My abs were on fire. My whole body was burning. I kept swinging. Light erupted from the river, exploding like fireworks on the Fourth of July, and then I was flying toward the moon. I kicked my legs, but the tentacle was gone.
“TEGAN!” I screamed as loud as I could.
I froze midair, hovering several stories off the ground. My body trembled, and I tried to slow my breathing. Then I began to move. Rainbow magic coiled around my body. I gasped. Tegan. I slammed my mouth shut and closed my eyes as Tegan slowly lowered me. My feet hit the ground, but my strength failed and I sank down to my knees.
I opened my eyes, and tears stung the backs of them. My heart pounded. I was back on the shore of the river. Tegan cursed and leaned over with her hands on her knees. Cooper was down by the river with two daggers in hand, glaring at the water. I turned to my right and found Jackson standing there…staring at me.
His face was pasty white and his golden bronze hair stuck out in every direction. Neon blue flames coiled around his left hand. With each breath he took, his shoulders lifted and fell, like he was struggling as much as I was. But then my gaze met his, and my heart stopped. His aquamarine eyes were wide and full of panic and pain. He looked like someone had just killed his pet.
I knew I needed to look away, but his stare was hypnotic.
“Did you yell out, ‘what the hell kind of Middle-earth bullshit is this’?” Cooper asked with a laugh.
I sighed. A chuckle escaped my lips. “Yeah, Gandalf. I did.”
Tegan dropped to her knees a few feet in front of me and laughed. “Middle-earth. God, I missed your nerdy ass.”
Cooper scowled. “Is that…Lord of the Rings?”
“That’s what I asked!” I gestured toward the river. “What the hell was that?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t want to linger here much longer.” Cooper twirled his daggers around like he didn’t trust the monster was gone. “Where to next?”
“Good question.” Tegan looked over to Jackson and waved. “Yo, Frodo Baggins, bring the one crown to rule them all over here. Let’s discuss your precious.”
Jackson shook himself then scrubbed his face with his free hand. He slid his sword back in the holster strapped to his back and walked over. He cleared his throat then crouched down so he was eye level with Tegan and me, although he didn’t look at me again.
He pulled the crown off his head. “According to legend, a giant ruby is supposed to sit in this open spot.”
Cooper stomped over. “Does it say anything on it? You’ve gotten prophecies from both the pipe and the coin.”
Jackson opened his mouth then shut it. He frowned and looked down at the crown, then he tilted it and peered at the inside. His eyes widened. “Good call,” he whispered.
My heart fluttered. I crawled closer. “What’s it say?”
“Echoes of Angels, sins of the lost, Follow the Path at Heaven’s cost.” His soft British accent rolled over each syllable in a glorious sound. “Beneath the arch rests a rubied soul, Seek the buried to make it whole. To see the lines not once but double, The secret lies within the rubble.”
Silence.
Darth Vader’s famous “The Imperial March” blared through the quiet dark night. Tegan cursed and dove into the pockets of her leather jacket. She fumbled around while her cell phone rang with the tune. She finally found it and pulled it out—just as the ringing stopped.
“Oh shit. I have forty-seven missed calls.” She tapped the screen in a panic. “No, no, no! What do you mean one percent? I haven’t used it all damn day— Shit! It died!” She looked up at us. “Keep going. I’ll catch up with you. Something’s wrong at home. I have to go.”
There was a flash of light, and then she was gone.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
JACKSON
Cooper cleared his throat. “Sorry, but how do you know this is the place we’re supposed to be? I mean, doesn’t it seem odd we land in the exact right place?”
“Actually…not really.” Bettina pursed her lips and cocked her head to the side as she stared up at the bricks of the ruins. “If it were me setting up clues for a scavenger hunt like this—one where I genuinely want the person to win—and I had an object that worked as a portal? I’d have it deliver them to the right place. Otherwise, what’s the point of the portal in the first place?”
Cooper opened his mouth then shut it. He shrugged.
“Echoes of Angels, sins of the lost, Follow the Path at Heaven’s cost,” I said softly then looked down at the crown. “This building used to be a church back in the Middle Ages. That’s what these lines refer to.”
“Plus, Beneath the arch… This is an arch.” She pointed to the massive open window space. “The lines suggest there’s something buried beneath it, and I’m gonna guess rubied soul is a fancy way of saying ruby.”
“To make it whole. Right.” Cooper nodded.
I nodded then started up the pathway that cut through the middle of a cemetery. We’d lost so much time today, I couldn’t waste any more. Second dawn was a few hours away, which meant I had roughly twenty-four hours to find Michael’s sword.
Beneath the arch. I jogged up the path and followed it to the left, then stopped right in front of the massive arch. The bottom ledge towered over me. It had to be another ten feet up at least. I cursed and looked around for something I could use to get up there, but there was nothing. Just a picket fence and gravestones, neither useful.
“Of all the times not to have Tennessee here,” Cooper grumbled from right behind me.
Bettina chuckled. “He’d just take a step and be up there.”
I took a few steps back and eyed the ledge. “How far back do you think I’d have to start running to jump that high?”
Bettina and Cooper turned and looked at me with wide eyes.
“I’ve trained for these types of things my whole life. I can jump.” I grimaced. That wall was high, and I’d never tried to jump something like that, though.
“Dude. No.” Cooper leapt in front of me and waved his arms. “You’ll break your leg or something, or worse. Let’s think this through.”
“OH!” Bettina snapped her fingers and hopped over the picket fence. Her long legs just stepped right over li
ke it was made for toddlers. She walked up to the wall and waved for us. “We’ll do a pyramid, like in cheerleading.”
“I’m sorry, say what?”
“That’s not the weirdest idea I’ve ever heard.” Cooper ran over and hopped over the fence, then joined her by the wall. “Come on, Lancaster. Let’s try this. I’ve seen it in movies.”
I lifted the crown off my head and ran my hand through my hair before resettling it. He’s right. It’s not the craziest idea.
I sighed then joined them at the base of the wall. “All right, so how exactly do we do this?”
Cooper got into a squat position then cupped his hands in front of him. “You stand like this in front of me, then Bettina puts her foot in our hands and we throw her up there.”
“Umm…” Bettina chewed on her bottom lip. “I think we need to throw Jackson up there. Chances are good he’s the only one who’s gonna see the clue.”
My eyes widened. “I’m like two hundred pounds.”
“And I’m right, and you know it.” She copied Cooper’s pose. “Let’s just try, okay?”
I sighed. She was right. I walked up and stood between them, then put my hands on their shoulders. “Cooper, I’m putting most of my weight on you.”
“I’m ready.”
Here goes nothing. I put my left foot in Cooper’s hands, the mud from my boots covering his fingers. Bettina looked up and met my eyes. She nodded. Her hands were so thin and delicate-looking, but I had to remind myself she was a Sword. She’d seen many battles already. Hell, she’d been fighting off the river monster while it whipped her around. She was tough, and I needed to just let her try this. I pushed off and lifted my other foot into her hands.
Cooper groaned but his grip was iron tight. “Use your magic, B.”
Bettina cursed and wobbled a little. “I got it, I got it,” she said through clenched teeth,
“On three,” Cooper said, his voice tight. “One...two...three!”
White and pink magic exploded under my feet, and then I flew into the air. The top of the ledge came into view. I threw my hands out to catch myself when a large object shot through the arch and slammed into my chest. I sailed backward then crashed into the grass and slid a few feet. Henry’s crown popped off my head and bounced. I cursed and scrambled after it on my knees.
The Wild Witch (The Coven: Academy Magic Book 3) Page 19