Touch of Death (Order of the Elements Book 2)

by Emma L. Adams

  To my intense relief, they didn’t argue. They piled into the van along with their captives and left us in the car park. Dex hid from sight behind a parked car, but he resurfaced when the van drove off.

  Ryan shook their head when they finally disappeared from sight. “There’s a node near here if you want to go back into the Parallel.”

  “Good, because I need to talk to someone about this shit.” I held up one of the vampires’ cantrips, which I’d swiped before the Order had taken the bag and confiscated everything inside it. “We need to find whoever gave them to the vampires—and who created them.”

  17

  Devon parted ways with the rest of us, as she alone wore an actual costume unsuitable for running around the Parallel.

  “I’ll let you know if the Order comes back and starts giving me grief,” she said. “Bloody vampires. Are you sure you’re okay to go back?”

  “Brant is still in the Court of the Dead, so I have to head there and pick him up,” I said. “Trix, did the vampires mention his name when you were there?”

  “No. I was tied up in their basement at the time.”

  That figured. “All right. I don’t think the Death King will let you into his castle, but with the vampires gone, you should be okay to go back to the Parallel. Just avoid anything dead.”

  “Actually…” He eyed Devon’s costume. “I’ve always wanted to go to a comic con.”

  “Go ahead.” I wished I could do the same, but my mind was in a scramble and I needed to talk to Brant before he flipped out at being confined to the castle and started a fight with the Fire Elemental again. I was starting to regret leaving him there alone, but he’d have been no safer at my house, considering the node lay right on top of it.

  Ryan was already heading for the corridor, so I joined them, pursued by Dex.

  “That was fun,” said the fire sprite. “I’d like to go to comic con, too.”

  “Don’t get used to it,” I said. “We’d better hope no witness reports come along later from anyone in the airport who saw us. Otherwise, we’ll find ourselves banned from international flights.”

  Not that I could afford one anyway. Ryan strode ahead, not speaking, and we walked through the node and came out directly in front of the Death King’s castle.

  “I’ll pick Brant up, if he’s awake,” I said to Ryan.

  “Go ahead,” they said. “I won’t pretend I’m sorry to see the back of him.”

  “I can’t say I don’t understand your position, but he’s really not…” I trailed off, noticing who stood on the steps of the castle. “Not him again.”

  Davies stood waiting for us near the castle, a smirk on his face.

  “He’s not in,” said the Fire Element, when I approached him. “Your boyfriend just left.”

  “What the hell do you mean?” My fists clenched. “He wouldn’t have just left. He could barely walk.”

  He shrugged. “I know what I saw.”

  “A likely story.” If he’d driven Brant off while he was injured, I’d make sure he’d regret it.

  Ryan stepped in. “You’d better not be lying, Davies.”

  “What would give you that impression?” said the Fire Element. “He left through the gates about an hour ago. You shouldn’t have left him here alone if you wanted him to stay put. He hates this place.”

  “Maybe it’s all the dickheads hanging around,” I said pointedly. “Fine. I’ll find him myself. And if I don’t, I’ll come back here and see if I can loosen your tongue.”

  Ryan gave me an apologetic look. “I have to get back to my master. I’ll tell him where you are.”

  “Thanks.” I hurried towards the gates, cursing the Fire Element. Where might Brant have gone? His hideout in the city wasn’t that far away from here, but he’d been unconscious when I’d left him, and I hadn’t thought he was in any fit state to walk on his own.

  “That guy’s trouble,” Dex commented.

  “I know.” I quickened my pace. “I bet he chased Brant off and then lied about it.”

  “Doubt he needed to,” Dex flew above my head. “If you ask me, fire-boy legged it as soon as he could. I’d have done the same.”

  I walked on, while Dex hovered so close to the back of my neck it was like wearing a transparent scarf. Given the number of phantoms drifting around, it was understandable that he was on edge, but we gave the nodes a wide berth and made it to the warehouses without being challenged.

  There, I turned towards the street leading to Brant’s hideout. “He must be there. I can’t think of anywhere else except home, and he’s too much of a gentleman to cross over into my house without asking.” Unless he’s been attacked again.

  Brant’s main apartment was on the other side of the city and I didn’t see him walking there on foot while he was still recovering from nearly losing his soul. That he’d made it this far seemed improbable, but I hadn’t seen any sign of him in the swamp.

  I made my way to the right house and knocked on the door. Nobody answered. I knocked louder. “Brant, it’s me.”

  Dex flew past the window, peering through the glass. “I don’t think he’s at home.”

  “You sure?” I moved to the window, and a shadow passed over the glass. “Someone’s in there.”

  Friend or foe, there was only one way to find out. I reared back and gave the door a firm kick, knocking it inwards.

  A musty, unused smell filled the room inside, which appeared even more dark and uninhabited than usual. I trod inside, an inexplicable current of dread raising the hairs on my arms like I’d trodden on a live wire.

  Dex flew overhead, his sparking light providing enough illumination to see the surrounding room. It was sparsely furnished, but the one new feature was a fresh stack of boxes containing Brant’s cantrip supply. The lid lay off one of the boxes, and I peered inside.

  Every single coin was unmarked. Blank cantrips filled the space within the box, too many to count. “What is he doing with these?”

  Brant was no practitioner. He bought his own cantrips via a supplier or from Devon, but I’d assumed he’d found out about the operation at the market at the same time as I had. How, then, had he got his hands on all these unused cantrips?

  Heart in my throat, I moved to the next box. More blank gold coins gleamed within. What the hell could a non-practitioner want with so many worthless cantrips? Unless he planned to sell them for a side income, but it made no sense for him not to ask for my help. Or at least tell me.

  Dex hissed out a warning. I rose to my feet, a fresh chill washing down my spine at the sight of a shadow moving against the wall. The shadow detached itself from the darkness, forming into the shape of a lich.

  “Olivia Cartwright.” I knew the voice. This was the lich who’d betrayed his king, who’d worked with Vaughn. And now…

  My hands fisted. “What did you do to Brant?”

  “Nothing he didn’t sign up for.” The lich glided closer. “You’ll be joining him soon.”

  No way. I reached for the nearest node, willing its power to bolster my own, but his words unbalanced me. The current of energy slipped through my fingers, too far away to grasp.

  The lich reached for me with a shadowy hand. Cold tingles spread from my fingers throughout my whole body. This same lich had nearly killed me once before, and without a node, I had no other weapons to fight with.

  Dex flew headlong into the lich, who staggered backwards in surprise. My own surprise doubled at the sight of the lich’s robes smoking at the edges. Dex’s whole transparent body was glowing, and more sparks flew from his fingertips. He must be terrified out of his mind, and yet he was still fighting.

  But I wouldn’t let him take the fall for me this time around, and I refused to watch him die again. “Dex, get out!”

  I reached for the node, drawing strength into me. Bright energy blasted from my hand, pushing the lich back.

  The lich made a hissing noise of displeasure. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

  �
�I’ll do worse, arsehole.” My hands glowed, illuminating the boxes at my feet. An idea sprang to mind.

  The lich reached for me, and I leapt over the boxes, kicking one of them over. Cantrips spilled, and I scanned for one which might help me pin this fucker down long enough to hand him over to the Death King.

  The lich caught my arm, his grip startlingly solid. Shit. That’s new.

  His cold breath frosted my neck as he leaned closer, his icy hand freezing my skin. Power rippled around his shadowy edges. He’d drawn in the node’s strength himself. “Don’t you know, Olivia, that the closer you grow to the spirit world, the more vulnerable you become?”

  My breath fogged the air. “Why are you turning on your fellow liches? What’s in it for you?”

  “They follow a false king,” he breathed. “A murderer and a traitor.”

  “Speak for yourself.” He’d totally iced me over. I couldn’t move an inch. “You’re involved with whoever’s creating these illegal spells, aren’t you? Cobb put you up to this before he died.”

  But he couldn’t be carving the spells himself. However solid he might seem at the moment, liches weren’t human, weren’t alive.

  “You should know that what is illegal is not always deserving of that title,” the lich breathed. “You have toyed with the notion yourself, haven’t you?”

  I jerked away from his icy touch. “I’ve never considered creating a spell which can turn a spirit into a rotting corpse, you evil piece of shit.”

  “A spell that can reverse life and death,” said the lich. “A spell that can free us from enslavement to the false king. Is that truly so heinous a notion?”

  My hands numbed, my body locking to the spot. I forced out the words through chattering teeth. “He’s not… enslaving you. You… what did you do with Brant?”

  A different kind of chill bloomed in my chest. There was no good reason for his house to be used as a storeroom for the same kinds of coins produced in the warehouses. What is he wrapped up in? Is he still alive?

  The lich didn’t answer. He wasn’t even touching me anymore, but my limbs remained frozen, my body trapped mid-motion as though a coating of invisible ice covered my entire body. I spotted Dex in the corner of my eye, but I couldn’t shake my head to warn him.

  The lich glided through the closed door, leaving me in the cold. Dex descended, the warmth of his elemental magic making me shiver even more. “Get closer,” I croaked. “I need warmth.”

  “Fire-boy’s in trouble, isn’t he?”

  “So am I.” My numb lips stumbled on the words.

  Dex flew closer to me and yelped when he landed on my shoulder. “You’re sucking the warmth straight out of me.”

  “Don’t be melodramatic,” I said through chattering teeth. “Did you see… where the lich went?”

  I already knew. He intended to turn on his master, and I still wouldn’t be able to pick him out of a crowd. Fucking liches.

  Dex’s warmth helped, and sensation came back into my body, inch by inch. Too slow. I needed something warmer. Like a fire mage. Or a spell.

  I stumbled forward, grabbing for the box of spilled cantrips. It took a few painful minutes of fumbling around before I found what I needed.

  As I activated the cantrip, a light flared up, and warmth flooded me. I sighed in relief, my eyes stinging with the release of the pain. I rose to my feet, my limbs restored to normal. Now he’s in for it. I crossed the room to the door, but of course the lich was gone. He was on his way back to the castle to blend in with the other liches, without anyone knowing he was a traitor.

  “Dex, can you fly ahead and warn the Death King?” I pushed open the door and walked out into the street. “Or any of his people?”

  “Too late,” he said. “I can see liches all over the place over in the swamp. They wouldn’t know him from their own neighbour.”

  “They really need to wear nametags.” I retraced my steps to the swampland, impatience prickling at me. In an imitation of Ryan, I let out a low whistle.

  “What’re you doing?” asked Dex.

  The skeletal shape of Neddie the horse appeared a moment later, cantering up to me.

  Dex floated above my head. “You’re gonna ride that thing?”

  “You bet.” I swung up onto the horse’s back. “Let’s go.”

  We’d almost reached the gate when a blast went off somewhere outside the castle, a torrent of light surging up to the sky.

  Shit. We’re already too late.

  I tightened my grip on Neddie’s reins, urging him through the gates. The liches on guard had scattered, and inside the grounds, chaos reigned. Patches of fire engulfed the few plants growing in the swampland, while several wight foot-soldiers lay in the dirt, their bony forms scorched around the edges.

  A gasp escaped my lips. No. Brant couldn’t have done it. He wasn’t here.

  “It’s that Fire Element,” I said. “I should have known he was up to no good. His behaviour should have clued me in from day one.” I’d assumed the Death King trusted him, but who else could have set the swamp ablaze?

  “Where’s he run off to?” asked Dex.

  “Inside.” I leapt clear of the horse’s back and ran up the steps to the castle, bracing myself. The doors slammed open, and sure enough, a man with blazing hands stood in the way of the door to the hall of souls.

  Except it wasn’t the Fire Element, but Brant, his hands afire and an expression of righteousness on his face. It turned to shock when he saw me. “Liv?”

  “I thought you ran off.” I said. “What are you doing in here?”

  He lowered his hands. “Nothing. I’m back on my feet, but you weren’t around, so—”

  “Does it have to do with the store of illegal spells in your bolthole?” I took a step closer, surreptitiously glancing around for the Death King. Where is he? And where are his Elemental Soldiers?

  Brant paled. “What?”

  “I found a lich in there, too,” I added. “He froze me out and left me for dead. Anything you wanna say about that?”

  “You what?” His eyes grew wide. “A lich was in my house?”

  “Yes, along with the illegal spells.” I emphasised each word. “He seemed to think you wanted him to be there, in fact. Before he tried to kill me.”

  “I can explain.”

  At his words, my last hope that there’d been a huge mistake evaporated like smoke. I clenched my hands, my body trembling, dread swirling inside me. “This better be good. Go on.”

  Before Brant could speak, Ryan appeared in the doorway, a current of air rising from their hands.

  Brant spun around, too late, and the attack blasted him off his feet. He hit the wall, a dazed expression on his face. “What the—?”

  “I knew you were up to no good.” Ryan stalked over to him. “You planned to steal from the hall of souls, didn’t you? Don’t deny it.”

  Brant rubbed the back of his head, which came away damp with blood. “You should have stayed down.”

  My heart contracted, and so did my throat. In the end, all I could say was, “Why?”

  Ryan closed in on him, as did I. Brant drew in a breath. “I didn’t—look, you know the Parallel is a shithole, and none of us has a chance of making a living back home as long as the Order has a stranglehold on the magical trade laws.”

  “So your friends want to change that,” I said, the words hollow. “Is this what you meant? Murdering liches, working with someone who tried to kill me and who allied with illegal spirit mages—were you in on Cobb’s plan, too?”

  He flinched. “I—”

  “You were,” Ryan interjected. “You didn’t intend for Olivia to get involved, but I knew my boss never should have let you go when he turned you into a lich. He only spared you because he wanted to give you a second chance.”

  Each word hit my heart like a blow. “You were involved with Cobb. You wanted him to kill the Death King and get me locked up or worse?”

  “Never,” Brant insisted. “I wanted y
ou to stay out of it.”

  “But you were all too willing to take advantage when you realised Liv might give you a shot at getting into the hall of souls,” added Ryan. “You went as far as to fake an attack to get in here.”

  “You faked that attack?” I stared at him. “Who are you working for?”

  His shoulders slumped. “I…”

  “Get on with it.” Davies stepped up to Brant’s side. “Come on, you cowardly little shithead. Let’s burn the spirit mage.”

  Fire blazed from his hands, joining the flames in Brant’s own palms, and the inferno surged towards us.

  18

  Brant’s attack veered away at the last instant. Davies’s didn’t, but the Air Element’s hands lit up, and a blast of air slammed into me, sending me out of the way of the flames. I rolled over on the ground, breathless, but mercifully unhurt. Ryan wasn’t so lucky. They took the fire attack head-on and hit the wall, their armour smoking around the edges.

  “You bastard!” I screamed, calling on the node’s power.

  Magic roared through my fingertips and blasted both fire mages off their feet before they could unleash another double assault. Ryan slid to the ground, bruised and burned. Then a second bolt of spirit energy ripped through the room, raising the hairs on my arms. The Death King stood in the doorway, a swirling current of power surrounding him like the current of a node.

  The two fire mages tried to run, but the Death King’s attack caught them first. Brant got the full blast of it, flying into the air before crashing into a heap on the floor. The Fire Element dodged to the side, vaulting over Brant’s body and out through the castle doors.

  I gave chase, running through the doors and down the stairs. “Get back here!”

  I hit the ground running at the foot of the steps, closing the distance between us, but he spun around and flames burst from his hands. In an instant, the ground was ablaze, a scorching torrent that seared my skin even from a distance. I stumbled back as the Fire Element put on a burst of speed and disappeared into the node.