A scream split the sky, and Arialle tumbled in front of her. Penelope yanked the reins, swerving Domino. They missed her by inches. All she could see for a moment was a tangle of red wings, but then she realized there was another set of wings, a set of wings that matched the blue-gray of the storm clouds. Zane.
They spun and twisted and fought mid-flight, first one on top, and then the other. Then, with a resounding boom that shook the sky, they hit the nearest mountain peak and went flipping over the side of it.
Penelope dove after them. Fifty feet down the side of the mountain, a small outcropping of rock jutted out. Arialle and Zane landed on it, rolling across the surface, still entangled. They approached the edge fast, too fast. At the last moment, Arialle opened her wings to slow their descent, and they stopped not more than a foot from the edge.
Bullet landed next to them, Domino just a moment behind her. Penelope and Willow leapt off their mounts and jumped into the fray. Zane had a short, slender sword, and Arialle her golden spear. They whirled back and forth, and Penelope fell back. She was powerless to help in this fight. Without nightfall, her elemental powers were no good. And her power as a Rider was worthless as well. Even her bow was too risky; she might shoot Arialle instead of Zane.
Willow, however, was not so helpless. She pulled her blade from her belt and joined in the whirlwind of destruction. With both Arialle and Willow attacking Zane, he had to move twice as fast, twice as strong. His blade whirled so quickly it looked almost as if it formed a solid shield. His blue eyes burned from behind the blur of his weapon.
And then, hoofbeats announced company. The Others had found them. The mountain shook as their four horses landed in unison.
The copy of Felicity leapt from her mount, bent to the ground, and sent a shock wave across the top of the outcropping, sending Willow, Arialle, and Zane over the edge of the cliff. Penelope had only a moment to grab Domino’s reins before she, too, was swept into space.
Her arms and legs clawed through the air. Domino broke her fall, swooping down and around as she dangled from the reins. She caught flashes as she fell. The red of Arialle’s wings. The flash of Zane’s blade. Willow free-falling through space. She didn’t know if Willow’s power as a Rider would shield her from a fall at that height. Her heart climbed into her mouth as the ground approached rapidly.
And then there was a swoosh of wings. Willow stood safely on the ground, Arialle next to her, and Zane was gone.
But they weren’t alone. The Others landed a moment behind them. Penelope knew they didn’t have enough power to fight them, and her plan to lose them in the clouds had failed. There was nowhere left to go.
Except…
Across the canyon floor, Penelope saw a dark, beckoning hole. The opening to a mine, braced by thick wooden timbers. A mining cart sat out front.
“There!” she yelled.
They ran for it. Penelope could feel the earth rumbling behind them again as the Others sent their elemental magic after them. The mine was twenty feet away. Then ten. Penelope let go of the horses’ reins and shooed them ahead. Willow ran at her shoulder, Arialle taking up the rear. Penelope went down on one knee as the tremors caught up to her, and Willow grabbed her and pulled her back up again. With her free hand, Willow made a gesture and sent the mining cart flying past them toward their attackers, the metal in its wheels obeying her power over it.
Penelope reached the entrance and kept on running. Arialle lifted off the ground and dove into the mine shaft, wings tucked at her side. But Willow stopped just past the entrance and whirled, a roar of rage surging out of her. The mountain began to tremble, and as Willow screamed, the mouth of the mineshaft twisted and closed. Darkness descended around them.
“What just happened?” Penelope asked, breathing heavily.
Arialle raised a hand, a glow of magic illuminating her fingertips to provide a small trace of light.
“I called the copper from the earth and melded the entrance shut,” Willow said.
She stood hunched over, hands on her thighs, her breath coming out in sharp puffs. But still, she had so much magic pouring off her that Penelope could taste it in the air. The mountain shuddered around them.
“You need to calm down,” Penelope said. “Your magic—”
Willow whirled on her, face twisted in rage, her green eyes shot through with black like the storm clouds they’d traveled through. “Do not tell me to calm down!”
Penelope pointed to the ceiling above them. “You’re going to bring the whole mountain down on top of us! Pull it together!”
Willow let out a guttural yell and stalked off into the mine shaft. But the shaking of the tunnel stopped. Penelope flicked her eyes up to Arialle and they stood quietly, rock dust drifting down on them from above.
“Thank you,” Penelope said softly to Arialle. “You saved Willow. I don’t know that she would have survived the fall.”
Arialle looked up from examining a bloody gash down her arm. “I wasn’t the one who caught her.”
Chapter Fifteen
Dynah
Dynah closed the door to her room, her heart fluttering in frustration, her palms sweaty. They’d spent another whole day at the library and once again hadn’t made much progress, except to discover that a dark moon was a lunar eclipse, and lapis obsidianus was a stone more commonly known as obsidian.
But worse than that, Felicity had lapsed into another quiet, sullen mood. It had happened shortly after breakfast, and it struck Dynah even harder because she’d thought their conversation in the bathroom had cleared the air from the day before. That it was merely a headache and nothing more. She’d even offered to go back to the townhouse at one point and get more medicine for Felicity, but she’d brushed it off like nothing was happening.
Something wasn’t right with Felicity and Dynah would make her confess what it was. She stood, fists clenched. They didn’t have the luxury of a pity party, or whatever was happening here. Her sister and Willow were out there risking their lives. They needed to make sure their part of the plan was just as worth it. Their futures depended on it. The whole world depended on it.
Taking a deep breath, she strode over to Felicity’s room and knocked on the door. Nothing but silence for several long moments... she lifted her hand to knock again when she heard Felicity’s voice from within. Another deep breath, and she opened the door. Felicity was sitting across the room at the vanity, staring into the mirror there.
“Listen,” Dynah said, then realized her voice had come out rather loudly. She shut the door behind her so as not to wake Zachariah. “I can tell something is bothering you. Please tell me what it is.”
Felicity didn’t move for a moment, then she cocked her head toward Dynah. “You seem anxious.”
“I am anxious!” Dynah said. “We didn’t have much success today, and you got all quiet again. I know you said you’re getting headaches, but I don’t understand why you won’t talk to me. We need a new plan for tomorrow, and I—” she took another breath. “I can’t do this without you.”
“Come and sit down,” Felicity said, standing in a fluid motion and gesturing to the seat she had occupied a moment before.
“What?” Dynah cocked her eyebrows.
“We’ll discuss the plan. But you should relax first.” Felicity pointed to the chair again.
Dynah hardly thought that was necessary, but if it got Felicity talking, she would do what she must. She crossed the room and sat down in the chair. Her reflection looked like that of a stranger: her red curls piled atop her head, a satin dress. The British made their dresses far too lowcut. Her breasts would come free in thirty seconds if she were atop her horse. Completely impractical. She much preferred her typical plaid shirt, hair loose and free.
Felicity moved to stand behind her. As if sensing her thoughts, she pulled out the clips holding Dynah’s hair. It came cascading down like a rush of flames. “Does that feel better?” she asked.
Dynah wiggled in her seat. “Yes. A bit.”
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“Good.” Felicity smiled, though it seemed a tad frosty.
“Now, for tomorrow, I thought—”
“We can talk about that in a moment,” Felicity said. She ran her fingers through Dynah’s curls, twisting her hair and then releasing it.
“What are you doing?”
“Helping you relax. Don’t speak.”
Dynah tensed for a moment. Felicity really had gotten feistier since they became Riders. The shy girl she first met in Hawk’s Hollow weeks ago would never have said such a thing. But a moment later she felt Felicity’s fingers at the base of her skull, massaging the tense muscles there, and she realized she was quite tense. Having her hair piled up all day had taken its toll.
She closed her eyes and focused on the warmth of Felicity’s fingers. It hurt for a moment, because she was so tight, but then her muscles softened, and she let out a sigh. Felicity’s hands moved down to her shoulders, working along the tops of them, squeezing and releasing.
“How does that feel?” Felicity asked.
“Wonderful,” Dynah said, releasing another sigh.
Felicity’s thumbs worked in along her spine, up and down between the shoulder blades, and her other fingers traced along the sides of Dynah’s neck. She melted into it, realizing how tired she was. It seemed ages ago since they’d last slept.
She felt Felicity’s fingers slide forward over the tops of her shoulders and down over her collarbone, then pull back tight along her chest muscles. Felicity repeated this motion several times, starting out near the edges of her shoulders, working in toward her neck. As she reached the center, her hands slid around Dynah’s neck and tightened, cutting off her air.
“Too hard!” Dynah squeaked.
Felicity released.
She returned to the softer strokes along her shoulders. Dynah felt her shift her curls off to one side, and a moment later, her lips grazed the top of Dynah’s shoulder. Felicity pushed her hair back from her neck and brushed another kiss along the side of it.
Dynah eyes flew open and she turned to face Felicity, who leaned down and placed the next kiss directly on her lips.
The warmth of Felicity’s mouth on hers sent a spike of heat through her body. It felt…soft. Sensual. Not like the kisses of cowboys. Sloppy or rough or urgent or wanting more. And she realized, with a tightening in her chest and a catch of her breath, that this time she was the one who wanted more.
But something was off.
She placed her hand gently on the side of Felicity’s face and pulled back.
“Do you not like that?” Felicity asked her.
She had an odd expression on her face, one which Dynah recognized instantly. The look of someone who had the upper hand. The look of someone who knew what the other person wanted and was merely teasing them. She recognized it because she had worn it many, many times herself. But it wasn’t a look Felicity would wear. Felicity, whose mother had told her she could go to Hell just for looking at a man. She knew, in her heart, that this was Felicity’s first kiss.
“I—it’s just—it doesn’t feel right,” she said softly.
Felicity blinked rapidly and her eyes refocused on Dynah’s face. Then widened as she pulled back, quickly, as if bitten by a snake. “S-sorry,” she stammered. She placed a hand to her forehead, then backed up and sat on the bed.
“Are you okay?” Dynah asked.
“I’ve—it’s just this headache again,” Felicity said. She shook her head, eyes closed. “I feel like I’m in a fog.”
“Oh—um—let me go get you more laudanum,” Dynah said.
“No—it’s okay. I think I just need to go to sleep.” Felicity pulled back the covers and climbed under them.
“Okay. Well, I can get you some water at least.”
Felicity didn’t respond, and by the time Dynah had returned from the bathroom with a glass of water, she was already snoring softly. Dynah set it on her bedside table and returned to her own room. Once there, she changed into a nightgown and dabbed her face with some rosewater sitting on the vanity. She pulled Beziel’s ring from her finger and placed it on the bedside table, next to her crown, which she’d left there earlier. Her thoughts spun. What on earth was happening with Felicity? She still didn’t know why her friend was acting so strangely, or what they were going to do to find the answers they needed in Sekhmet’s book. Her plan to get her to talk had utterly failed. Now she just had more questions.
She climbed into bed and pulled the covers up around her, dissolving into the softness of them. Tomorrow they would turn things around. She would make Felicity tell her what was going on. Truly, this time. No more distractions.
But as Dynah drifted off to sleep, she didn’t think about Egyptian spells or the end of the world. She thought about candlelight in dark eyes and the way her lips still tingled.
Chapter Sixteen
Willow
Willow stalked through the dark tunnels, feeling the snap of rage and magic in her fingertips. In her soul. She could barely separate one feeling from the other. It was her nature as a Rider, after all. She was born of rage. It was the source of her magic. Sometimes, she didn’t know that she wanted to reverse their power. Because right now, if she wanted to, she could bring down this entire mountain, and the thought of it sent a thrill through her veins.
She found Bullet and led her deeper into the tunnel. Behind her, Arialle’s light illuminated the tunnel in a soft glow. A minute later she called back to the others. “I found a fork in the tunnel. I think we can get out this way.”
“Willow?”
Penelope. The voice of reason. She sighed and stopped walking. “Yes?”
“Talk to me, okay?” Her friend caught up to her. “What happened back there? Your eyes were…”
“Were what?” She knew her tone held a threat, but she couldn’t help it.
Penelope lifted her chin. “They were turning black,” she said, not attempting to sugar coat it at all.
“Interesting.” Willow started walking again.
“It’s not interesting, it’s scary,” Penelope said. “You should be scared. But you’re not.”
“I don’t need a lecture, Penelope.”
“What happened with Zane?”
“What do you mean? You saw the same thing I did. He brought those Riders to kill us.” The mountain trembled slightly as her magic pulsed.
“It looked like that, yes. But then Arialle said that he caught you when you fell off the cliff.”
Willow turned to look over her shoulder and saw Arialle shoot Penelope a look that said don’t drag me into this.
“So, did he, or didn’t he?”
“I’m not really sure what happened,” Willow said briskly. “I was falling, and then I was on the ground. It was more likely my powers.”
“Fine. Whatever,” Penelope grumbled.
They fell into silence; only their footsteps and the hoofbeats of the horses could be heard.
“And what’s the plan if the Others bust through the melted cauldron you made of the end of the tunnel?”
Willow let out a growl. “You seem to have all the answers, Penelope, so why don’t you figure it out.”
“I’m not sure why you’re mad at me. Just because you can’t handle your emotions, don’t point your blame this way.”
“Duly noted.”
The mountain shook beneath them and Willow heard what sounded like a magnificent explosion back the way they had come.
“Damn it to hell!” she snapped.
“I think it’s time to go back to my realm,” Arialle said.
Willow spun on her. “No way I’m going back there.” She started walking again, faster this time.
“We knew this might happen,” Penelope called from behind her. “That’s why Arialle is here. That’s why we have these rings to summon Beziel.”
“I’m not. Going. To hide,” Willow said through gritted teeth. “What good would it do us anyway?”
“Well, stay alive, for starters,” Penelope an
swered.
“We’re so close to Sahkyo. The vaqueros said fifty miles. And we probably covered half that just now,” Willow argued.
“We can go to the realm of the Fallen. Wait a bit. Then start again at the last town,” Arialle suggested.
Willow knew what they were saying made sense. But she’d never been one to run from a fight, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to start now. They’d passed town after town that hadn’t had that kind of chance. That hadn’t had an escape route when the Apocalypse came.
She turned again to face them, twisting the silver ring off her finger as she did so. Then she hurled it off into the darkness. It made a faint tinkling sound as it hit the wall somewhere in the distance.
“Go if you want. I’m staying right here.”
Penelope sighed, long and hard. “You know I’m not going to leave you.”
“And neither am I,” Arialle said.
They stood there in heavy silence for a moment.
“I can smell fresh air this way,” Arialle said, pointing to another fork in the path.
“What, Fallen have the noses of hounds or something?” Willow asked.
“I’ll take any bit of luck we can get,” Penelope said.
They picked up a jog, and within a couple minutes Willow could see a spot of light in the distance. If they could make it out before the Others caught up to them, they might be able to lose them in the canyons. The darkness pressed in on them as they ran for the exit. Willow couldn’t see or hear anything behind them. Were the Others gaining on them? Where had Zane gone off to?
When they finally burst out into the light, Willow had to squint her eyes against the brightness. It seemed they’d come out further south than the first entrance to the mines. She wasn’t entirely sure. She looked up to the sky to see where the storm was to orient herself before swinging back up on Bullet.
Penelope seemed to have a more certain sense of direction than she did. “This way,” she called as she spun Domino and headed down the canyon.
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