Two Blades brave enough to leave the Garden dart out. Moloch takes them down, one by one, swiping a talon across their chests. He easily snaps their necks with his jaws and flings their lifeless bodies deep into the woods as if play toys. With each kill, he moves closer to Gray. No one else dares to leave the safety of the Garden.
Moloch hovers right above his target. Warring powers collide inside me. A sick, dark part of me enjoys how Gray writhes. But the stronger part knows I can’t let him die. Even someone like Gray.
What do I do?
If I command Moloch to back away, this close to the Well, I’ll connect the realms. And the gate is still open. The Legions have arrived, and they’ll be sure to rush through. Sage’s army inches closer, hiding in the black mist that now hovers in the ash-scented woods. Everything will be just as Sage planned.
Gray cries out, pitching his Steel at Moloch. Despite his trembling hand, the weapon whirs with arrow-like precision, landing in Moloch’s chest. The beast stumbles back with a bloody cry, but only for a moment. It cranes its ghastly head, ripping the knife from the wound with its jagged teeth and spitting it out of sight. Black blood oozes from the cut. The beast’s eyes narrow into slits. Hot breath steams between his curled lips and bared canines.
There’s only one thing I know how to do. It’s suicidal. But it’s the only thing I do well.
I run.
With every ounce of strength in me I run straight for Moloch. I leap over Gray and throw all my weight into the beast, screaming as I dig my shoulder into his breastbone, a full tackle into the wound. His skin slimes against my cheek and oozes all over Maddox’s jacket.
The beast hops back. How can this monster be a fragment of the splintered Ayala that Sage loves so much? Moloch stretches his—no, probably her—neck and releases a thunderous squawk, rattling the ground.
I stand my ground and choose each word carefully. “I’m not letting him die.”
Moloch swats a talon, but doesn’t come close to striking me. She won’t kill me. Not as long as Sage needs me. But I’m still cautious, because that doesn’t mean she won’t hurt me in the process.
“I’ll get you behind the Circuit Wall,” I tell Gray from over my shoulder. “Help me get that branch off of you. Then get inside and close the gate.” Gray’s stoic expression gives no indication that he’s listening. But as a frigid wind kicks up a dust cloud around us, Gray and I lift the bough off his chest, together. I’m careful to stay between him and Moloch.
The ground shakes as creaking, twisting metal signals the gate is closing.
“Stay behind me,” I tell Gray. “I’ll stay out here. You close the gate. And whatever happens, keep Maddox inside the Garden. Protect him. Please.”
Gray’s eyes meet mine. His haughty expression fades, then he scrambles to his feet without a word and stays behind me. Relief floods me. He’s listening.
I face Moloch with arms spread wide. Gray probably has another knife hidden in his jacket and could stab me in the back any minute, but that’s a chance I’ll take. I circle around Moloch. Gravel crunches under Gray’s footsteps, offbeat with mine as we inch closer to the gate.
A ridge of feathers rises on Moloch’s back. Those yellow eyes narrow once again. I tune out all sound and lock eyes with Moloch, watching for any sudden moves while my peripheral vision scans for any sneak attack from another beast.
Gray’s footsteps scuffle and then stop. “I’m in.”
I won’t turn to be sure, but out of the corner of my eye, the Circuit Wall throws sparks. Not enough to heat the air, but the same way Gray’s knife sizzled with tiny pops. “Close the gate!” I shout. “Now!”
The gate creaks and grinds. I ignore Maddox as he yells for me to run. Moloch purrs and clicks. Teeth bared, the creature inches closer to the gate. But the opening should be too narrow for Moloch to enter by now. I risk a glance to be sure but quickly swing my attention back to the shrieking beast. I’m startled as Moloch springs into the air at that moment. Her talons are reaching out, coming right toward me.
There’s no time to shift out of the way. Moloch will gouge out my heart, unless I leap backward. But if I do, I’ll hit the gate and splinter into a dust cloud.
Moloch’s wings beat the air. Fangs drip with black blood. The razor-sharp claws aim for my chest. Death by splintering dust cloud suits me just fine.
I jump back, close my eyes, and accept my fate.
Death feels like two strong arms wrapped around me, holding so tight, air can’t find my lungs. Like panting breath against my ear, and Maddox’s strained voice saying, “I’ve got you.”
I open my eyes. Chaos erupts. The gate stalls. Throws more sparks. Biting wind whips through the opening too small for Moloch, but not a Legion.
“No, no, no!” I wrestle out of Maddox’s arms, slipping out of the jacket. This is a mistake.
“It’s okay. Calm down.” The idiot grabs my wrists, pulling me further into the Garden. “It’s me. Maddox.” He holds my face in his hands. “You’re through the gate, safe.” His eyes are fixed on mine. Frantic. Angry. Terrified. Afraid. His emotions are a storm I can’t quite make out.
“But you’re not!” I twist and pull, but he’s much stronger. “I can’t be inside the Garden. Sage wants me here.” He dodges my kicks.
He spins me around, clamping both of his arms around me. His breath labors close by my ear, and his heart is pounding. “Stop fighting me.”
“I had a vision. Sage siphoned it. I can’t remember any details. But my presence puts everyone in terrible danger. I have to leave!”
In our wrestling, Maddox has managed to get me to the base of the hill, away from the gate that remains several feet open.
“It won’t close!” The baby-faced Blade takes the lantern from Pop. He struggles to work the light, waving it up and down and back and forth, over and over again. Sparks kick off the gate, but it refuses to seal shut. Ash-scented wind whisks through the opening—and with it comes the sound of angry bees.
A dense fog rolls across the forest floor, swallowing everything in its path. A pitchy sandstorm of Legions creeps toward the gate. No one notices. But they wouldn’t know because they can’t see the beasts in mist form. Only I can.
I fight to break away. “Let me go! That gate won’t close if I’m inside. And Legions are coming. This is exactly what Sage wants!”
Maddox holds tighter. “Pop says the Well wants you here. So do I.”
A strand of black fog breaks from the cloud and rockets toward the gate. The buzzing mist corkscrews through the air. Gray paces near the opening, shouting commands as he ties his wound with a piece of torn fabric. Lance and Red Beard help the baby-faced Blade with the lantern, as Pop stands nearby.
The mist soars through the gate, a sideways tornado. “There’s a Legion inside!” I shout. The misted beast swirls, aiming for its target: Gray. I break away from Maddox. “Gray, strike above your head!” He stops pacing but doesn’t listen to me.
Luckily, Lance does. He raises a fist and cuts at the air above Gray. Red embers explode into a spark shower as Steel and Legion collide.
“Felipe, shut that gate. Now!” Gray commands the baby-faced Blade. Then he glances at me and looks away.
“The Garden senses a threat.” Pop rests both fragile hands on his cane as the wind billows through his flannel shirt. He stands too close to Gabriel and the exposed entry. Another Legion breaks from the cloud. This one comes in faster.
Maddox holds me back. “Stay by my side. Tell me when and where to strike. We’ll fight together.” Maddox pulls a knife from his belt. The one with the black handle, carved like twine. Cole’s blade. He faces the violent wind with the weapon drawn.
“More are on the way,” Maddox tells the others, his hair blown back as he moves toward the opening. Gray joins his side. Lance and Red Beard flank the inside of the gate as Felipe works the lantern.
Pop stays right behind Gabriel. He tilts his head as though looking intently at the blurry shadows dancing on
the Circuit Wall, but he can’t possibly see the honey-colored light shifting images on the warping air. Maybe this light is an aftereffect of the swirling drugs in my system, maybe a trick of the light in the Garden, or maybe the Current itself.
Gray takes the lead. His face is pale. Blood soaks through the fabric on his bicep as he struggles to stand against the raging wind. Perhaps we can take down two or three together, but not the rolling thundercloud that approaches. There’s no way they can fight that bubbling mass on their own and survive.
My being here is the problem. Despite what Pop says the Well wants, leaving is the solution.
But I’ve made my decision too late. A Legion slips through the gate. “Gray, strike now!”
Gray swipes the air with a smooth cut. The creature squeals, exploding into tiny embers. A bigger stream of black mist launches from the cloud. Then another. Then a throng of them. “Six. Maybe seven more. Three chest level, three overhead. One down low.” I count down their arrival. Three. Two. “Strike!”
Gray hits three. Maddox gets two. Lance explodes another one, but Red Beard gets hit in the chest. Gray spins and cuts the air, exploding the Legion, but it’s too late. The Blade falls several feet in front of me, eyes open and slack-jawed. I slap a hand over my mouth and muffle a scream.
I didn’t even know his name.
“Are there more?” Gray demands to know.
Fiery sunrise burns through the clouds. There are more. Too many. “They’re swaying, holding form, preparing for another attack, but there’s no way we can hold this many off.”
“Felipe!” Gray shouts. “The gate.”
“I’m trying!” The Blade is frantic.
“It won’t close on its own.” Pop grimaces. “Can’t breach its own law. Gonna need to force it closed, or else we’ll all die.”
“Cera, how many more?” Maddox stands exposed at the entry. Gray and Lance circle near him. The entire cloud of Legions lines up. My stomach is queasy. “Over a hundred.”
Gray shields Maddox from the opening. “Go get backup. Now!”
Pop leans into the violent wind as he shuffles forward. “Listen here.” The top of Pop’s round head only comes to Gray’s bleeding bicep. “Go on and back up. I’ll take care of the gate. Just be ready.” He turns his head in my direction. “And Honey?”
“Yes, Pop?” I’m ready to do whatever he tells me. To use whatever I can to save the Alliance. To run out that gate, like I know I should.
His lips broaden into a smile. “Time for spring to rise.”
That’s not a directive. “Pop?” His name is drowned out by the fierce wind kicking through the opening, blinding us in a dust storm. I rush in his direction, aiming for the gate. Through the howling wind comes the growing sound of bees.
The wind rages as I race toward the opening. A Legion knocks me in the chest, sending me to the ground. Everything swirls in slow motion. Gray, Lance, Felipe, and Maddox fight the Legions as they pour inside the Garden like serpents sliding through cracks in a wall. Pop pushes hard against the wind.
“Pop!” I shout as he raises his cane with both hands lifted high over his head. “Pop, stop!” I scramble to my feet. He connects each end of his cane with the gate at the same moment Legions strike his body. The air turns still for one breath. Then a bright light explodes like the midday sun, silhouetting and then eclipsing Pop. The earth quakes as I hit the ground.
Then ringing silence. The wind settles. A yellow leaf lands in front of me as I lie in the dirt, afraid to move. Afraid of what I’ll see.
I manage the strength to look. Maddox was tossed a few feet away from me. He groans, barely moving. But alive. Gray and Lance are facedown in the dirt near the base of the hill. Also alive. But baby-faced Felipe . . . I look away.
The gate is closed as if never disturbed. The trees overhead shudder, then sit still. The scent of ash is replaced by the sweet arbor smell. Vibrant green leaves uncurl, sprouting to life with warp speed. Outside the Circuit Wall, in the barren winter, the Legions slowly retract—a creeping mist reeling back into the forest before disappearing altogether, leaving no sign of battle.
Pop did it.
I push to my knees and stand. “Pop?” Earth and blood mix on my tongue. His name rebounds through the piercing silence. Where he stood, shimmering dust dances in warm sunlight before drifting to the ground.
“Pop?” I look around. Muted clouds hide the sun.
Gray and Lance stir. Both sit up to survey the quiet gate. Maddox pushes to his knees. Deep sadness shadows his eyes.
No, Maddox. Don’t look at me like that. Pop is here. He has to be here. He needs to shake that boney finger at me, telling me I’m being hotheaded. He needs to clear his raspy throat when I’m out of line. Toss seeds into the wind and remind me to believe. Please, Pop. You need to be here.
It’s only when a yellow leaf falls that the truth sinks in. I collapse to the ground.
Pop is gone.
Lieutenant Foster sits across from me as my breath hitches and tears linger. I’ve recounted everything that Sage and the others revealed, including the artwork I can remember being in Sage’s collection. I also divulge all the dualistic powers Sage claims I have as Maddox leans on the back of the couch near me. Gray paces near the globe when he should be with a Healer, or at least sitting down to keep the blood from seeping through the wound.
I’m waiting for Foster to chew me out. But he doesn’t. He hasn’t said a word about punishment, or what lies ahead. He makes no mention of Pop. The only words he has spoken have been to Lance, instructing him to call Devon and then to find the admiral and Council leaders who are viewing the Well.
“So you have no recollection of any details in your vision?” Foster now says, his voice controlled and even, without a trace of anger. I squirm, nonetheless. Punishment has to be coming. I ruined their plans, even though doing so saved them from Sage’s counterattack.
I lower my head. The only images that come to mind are from the rising death toll: Juniper. Bearcat. Two Blades strewn somewhere outside the gate. Red Beard. Felipe. And Pop.
Maddox lays a gentle hand on my back. “I can extract it.”
Gray stops pacing. “Once it’s siphoned—”
“She’s not an ordinary Seer. It’s still there. I can sense it.” Maddox’s confidence gives me a bit of hope that maybe all isn’t lost. “It just might take me time.”
Gray frowns. “No. I don’t want you to be a target.”
For once the two of us agree.
“For what it’s worth,” I tell Foster, “I don’t think Sage wants to destroy the Well.”
“Of course you don’t,” Gray says sharply. “You’re under his spell.”
“He’s not a warlock,” I snap back. “He just knew my triggers the way Lieutenant Foster thought he would. Sage siphoned my father’s powers long before I arrived, which gave him knowledge about me, keeping him one step ahead. It wasn’t a coincidence that Sage was gone when you came. He let you go in. He didn’t put up a fight until we came back to the Garden gate. He was watching from the woods. Even then, he attacked only when you threatened me.”
Gray’s jaw tightens. “You said it was a creature.”
“Sage is the gorilla creature, shapeshifted. His eyes were the same. His fingers lit with a red spark aimed at your knife. He wanted to be sure I’d go through the gate because he knew it wouldn’t close. He sent his Legions so I’d use my powers and bridge the realms to save”—I glance at Maddox—“to save everyone. Sage had every detail planned, just how you feared. But I don’t think he expected Pop to close the gate.” I swallow and look at Lieutenant Foster. “I never meant to cause the Alliance harm. I’m sorry. I know I don’t have the right to ask, and I’ll take whatever punishment you want to give me, but please, heal my mother. And Cole.”
“They’re with Lina,” Maddox reassures me.
Gray crosses his arms. “What happens now that the gate is closed and both sides of her powers are fully manifested?”
> Harsh voices come from the courtyard, headed in our direction.
The lieutenant quickly stands. “Go to Lina,” he directs me. There is an unsettling urgency in his tone as he says, “I will call for you when we are ready. I need a word with the admiral.”
Maddox walks me to the door, but Foster stops him from leaving. “Maddox, remain here. Devon may require your support. Grayson, remain as well. The admiral will expect a detailed account of events.”
Foster assigns Grumpy as my escort and shuts the library doors.
After Lina wipes a few scrapes and checks the bump Bearcat stamped on my forehead with the bed lamp, she has me chew on a bitter herb that tastes of salty water. She makes no mention of Pop and the incident with the Circuit Wall, but her eyes are somber and her movements are weighted with quiet reverence.
Convinced that I’ve masticated the herb enough to cleanse whatever poison Sage pumped through the air vents while I was with Cole, she finally lets me spit out the giant wad. It’s gross, but the residual haze in my mind is gone.
“Venga.” She motions to the back door. Go where?
I follow her through the wisteria grove, around the building where Gray had me locked in the cellar, and then over to another suite of rooms. Behind the second door, in a room gently lit by a bedside lamp, my mother is resting. Healing.
She lies under a light blue blanket. Her arms are tucked at her sides. I tremble as I watch for signs that she’s breathing. Her chest barely rises and falls, but it’s enough.
Lina places a cool cloth to Mom’s forehead. “Regreso en cinco minutos.” She motions to the clock by the door and holds up five fingers. Then she gathers a few supplies and walks out, leaving the door open. Grumpy stays stationed somewhere outside.
“Mom?” I whisper and sit in the chair, taking her hand. It’s warm, but not hot. An encouraging sign that her fever is coming down. “I’m sorry I’ve hurt you all these years. I’m sorry I ran out. I’ve made so many mistakes.” I rest my head on the bed, my cheek against the back of her hand, and inhale her lavender scent. It smells like home.
Realms of Light (The Colliding Line Book 2) Page 19