We loaded the mage up and secured him with a bit of rope Alex kept slung over his back. Cruz’s skin was exceptionally pale and waxy, but I had a feeling that was partly because he was now strapped to the back of a flesh-eating dragon. Maybe I shouldn’t have told him that story about my parents and Valentina?
“It’ll be okay, Cruz,” I said with a reassuring smile. “They won’t hurt you. Right, boys?”
Each dragon let out a soft screech to prove their innocence.
I pet each of their gleaming scales, smooth and solid beneath my palms. “Good.”
Cruz’s eyes widened and he swallowed hard. It was probably his best attempt at appearing brave. I nearly giggled, despite the circumstances.
“Rise,” I told my dragons, and they swiftly took to the air.
They had no more than left when Arlo, Kayo, and Alanza sounded the conches, signaling the siren alarm.
“Mutants incoming!” Alanza shouted.
“What?” I cried, spinning around in disbelief.
Mutants were supposed to be a sea problem, not land. But sure enough, strange creatures were now circling us, and more were creeping out from the woods at the base of the mountain.
Zia shook her head in horror. “They’re like, half-wolf half-lizard or something.”
“Whatever they are,” I said, grabbing a baton from my belt, “they’re going down.”
I pressed a button, and both ends shot out, expanding into a long, s-curved, double-sided sword. I twirled it around in my hands, momentarily surprised at how much faster it moved outside of the water.
“Stay close!” Alex shouted to us. “Don’t let them separate you from the group!”
“No!” Malisa shouted back, surprising the hell out of me. She wasn’t usually the argumentative one. “Liliana needs to retrieve the stone! That’s all that matters.”
“We’ll hold them off,” Catalina agreed, glancing at me.
Gunfire sounded as Alex began shooting the mutants from afar. The sirens each pulled off a baton, quickly expanding them into crossbows and started releasing ropeless harpoons—a siren modification to the old whaling contraption.
The creatures were gaining ground, snarling and salivating as they clawed up the side of the volcano, slipping in the rocks like all of us had. As the harpoons landed, half of the mutant front line went down, but more beasts were already prepared to take their places.
“Go!” Alex shouted at me, pointing to the top of the volcano before reloading his gun and firing at the mutants again.
Finally, I scrambled into action, scraping my way to the top as fast as I could, though it wasn’t nearly as quick as I’d like. It was like I was moving in slow-motion. Like my limbs were dragging through tar or something.
I eyed the mouth of the volcano in apprehension. As long as Cruz held the spell, I’d be safe from the extreme heat and the consequences of burning. But if he lost it, if the spell got too heavy and he couldn’t hold it anymore, I’d be dead in milliseconds, the stone would remain unfound, my people would perish, and so would the humans. It would be a chain reaction resulting in nothing less than extinction.
I sheathed my weapon, and stole one last glance into the sky, watching as Bravo carried Cruz high above the dangers of the fight below. Then I peeked down the mountain, watching my team valiantly fending off the attacking mutants. Finally, I took a deep breath, steeled my nerve, and jumped inside.
When I landed, I was waist-deep in a viscous pool of lava. Terror overcame me as I slipped beneath the surface, sinking lower and lower until I reached the very bottom. It was frightening, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. But thankfully, through some combination of my underwater eyesight and Cruz’s magical spell, I was able to physically see what the hell I was doing.
I waded to the other side and studied the inner walls. They were rough, almost like coral, but brownish gray like tree bark. The stone could have been anywhere. I quickly scanned the hazy horizon, peering through the molten heat in an attempt to spot the damn thing.
That’s when something twinkled, catching my eye. Against the volcanic wall, I’d swear it was almost white. Like one of the stars I’d seen up in the sky while we camped.
Please tell me it’s the stone.
I slowly waded over, instantly thrilled to find it was, in fact, a stone. A jagged, crystalline, turquoise-colored stone. Not at all like the one depicted in the scroll. But there was a glow to it, and it definitely appeared to be magical. Where it was wedged in the wall, tiny veins of energy had spread out, pulsing through the volcano’s interior, almost as if feeding it angry vigor.
The Legacy Stone. It had to be.
I wrapped my fingertips around it and pulled, but the damn thing was cemented in tight. Honestly, I had a feeling that might’ve been the case, but I still had to try.
I took the bejeweled dagger from my belt and readjusted my grip. Then, carefully wedging the tip of the blade into the crack between the stone and the volcano wall, I pried. The stone moved a tiny bit, causing the veins to dim for a moment, but otherwise, it stayed put.
Distant screams sounded from the mouth of the volcano above, muffled through the magma. Fear exploded in my chest, spreading out into my limbs. Were my friends hurt? Dying? Getting eaten alive? I needed to hurry my ass up. The sooner I grabbed the stone, the sooner I could help them.
I applied more pressure to the blade, wedging the stone out a little farther. The energy in the magical veins faltered again, and the light grew even dimmer.
I wrapped my left hand around the stone so it wouldn’t shoot out when it came free, and pried again.
It gave a little, then a little more, and a little more, until pop! It shot out into my palm, and Fuego instantly calmed down. I smiled as the lava levels lowered, draining until my head was above the surface once again, and the angry smoke stopped billowing.
I peered up into the volcano’s mouth, and my smile faltered. How the hell was I supposed to get out? Only one way out I could see was to climb, but that was going to be damned hard, considering gravity and I were definitely not friends.
I yanked on the tight fabric of my skinsuit and placed the stone at my chest for safe keeping. Then I swapped out my jeweled blade for a matching set of daggers. Reaching back, I stabbed the first blade deep into the wall far above my head. Pulling myself up, I reached back with the other hand and did the same thing, climbing a bit higher.
It was nerve-wracking, to be honest. I was used to water, where if you fell backward, you simply floated. Here on land, if you fall backward, gravity slams you into whatever is underneath you—in this case, a draining pool of lava with jagged rocks slowly poking through. Not a pretty scenario. Forcing myself to look up, not down, I continued scaling the inside of the channel.
By the time I reached the top and clawed my way out, I found myself being attacked by three mutant wolf-lizard things. They had scaly skin with patches of fur in random places, wide mouths with tiny but needle-sharp teeth, and hairy webbed paws with thick black claws. Plus, they reeked with the stench of death.
One latched onto my arm, one latched onto my leg, and one launched itself at my throat—either going in for the kill, or for the stone. Regardless, I couldn’t let that happen. I ducked, and the creature sailed over me, but my head was now closer to the two on the ground, and they let go of my limbs in favor of snapping savagely at my face.
Gripping the two daggers in my hands, I started swinging wildly. Clean cuts didn’t matter at that point. As far as I was concerned, if I was making bodily contact of any sort, then I was gaining ground. I slashed through skin and fur, and the creepy things yelped, as their forked tongues shot out, wiggling in pain. I bit back a shriek of disgust and terror.
The mismatched mutants totally freaked me the hell out.
Further down the mountain, my friends were still battling hordes of them. The fact that only three had gotten past them was a serious testament to their skills.
I stabbed one of the mutants in the chest, pinning it to the ground wher
e it quickly died, then removed my blade and stabbed the other in the side of the head with a crunch. Two down, one to go.
The last one lurched at me again, and I ducked again, but this time, I jabbed my dagger into its underbelly as it sailed overhead. Blood sprayed out, but I was too slow to turn away, and it covered my face and arms. The mutant hit the ground in a whimpering, writhing heap before going motionless.
I took a step back and wiped my face with my forearm. That was freaking disgusting.
Another scream sounded, and I was happy to realize it wasn’t a cry from my friends, but rather a warning screech from Feroz before he flew low and scorched the earth with a blast of fire. Countless barbequed mutants laid crisp and charcoaled in his wake.
I had a feeling the dragons would enjoy eating those. My gaze floated up to the sky. Poor Bravo couldn’t come down to get any roasted mutant, because he was doing his best to keep the mage far from the fight.
“Feroz!” I shouted, drawing his attention.
He swooped over and landed on the loose ground before me, cocking his head.
“You should take some food up to your brother. He’s probably starving.”
Feroz huffed out a plume of smoke before gathering a mouthful of mutants and launching into the sky. I watched as he tossed them into the air high above, and as Bravo caught them, swallowing them whole. Maybe that was for the best. Who knew what they’d taste like if he’d actually taken the time to process the flavor?
After emptying his mouth, Feroz dove back to the ground in order to kill more mutants. It was almost like a fun little game for him. The wolf-lizards were easy targets, but it still gave him the satisfaction of taking them down and helping us out. He fried the last of the mutants in one final wave of fire, and Bravo finally drifted lower, bringing the mage back down now that the coast was clear.
“Move farther down the mountain!” I shouted, hoping everyone was paying attention. “As soon as we’re away from the lava, Cruz can drop the spell!”
Catalina spun around and eyed me with a face full of relief. “Liliana! You’re alive, thank Poseidon! Did you get the stone?”
I patted my chest, accidentally jagging myself with the damn thing. “Yes.”
“Awesome!” She spun back around and finished off her last opponent by jamming her trident into its chest.
“You heard Queenie,” Alex shouted at everyone. “Let’s move out!”
“What about Zia?” Malisa asked, pointing at her lifeless form in the grass.
I blinked and my face went numb. The sensation slowly spread through my body, dulling my nerves all the way down to my feet. “You mean... we lost our only healer?”
She nodded, features full of remorse.
“Son of a bitch,” I cried, raking my hands through my hair. This was great. Just fucking great.
“Nothing we can do about it now,” Alex said with a sigh. “We need to keep moving.”
I eyed Zia one last time before continuing down the mountain. Despite having just found the stone, a hint of foreboding was now threatening to bubble to the surface. Something told me this was going to bite us in the ass—hard.
The journey down was a hell of a lot faster than the climb up, considering we slid most of the way, kicking up large clouds of dust behind us. When we reached the bottom, we quickly headed away from the lava, and back toward the deserted town of Alotenango.
Before we got too far, though, we paused to unstrap Cruz from Bravo’s back.
The mage was shaking uncontrollably. It was as if every muscle in his body was on the verge of collapse. Sweat poured from his skin in streams.
“Cruz!” I shouted, trying to snap him out of his concentration. “We’re safe. I got the stone. You can drop the spell.”
He blinked and turned his trembling head toward me. “You’re safe? You got the stone?”
I nodded quickly. “Yes. Drop the spell before it crushes you.”
The next second he slumped lifelessly into Bravo’s back, taking deep gulps of air. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and ran his fingers through his hair. It gave him one of those sexy, just-been-fucked looks—a look I should definitely not have been thinking about at a time like this.
“I can’t believe I held a spell over that many people for that long of a time.”
I smiled encouragingly. “I don’t know much about magic, but I can tell that was extremely difficult for you. I want you to know how much I appreciate it. Thank you.”
He smiled back, lips still quivering from his weakened state. “You’re welcome.”
Suddenly, Bravo’s head jerked up and he scrutinized our surroundings with wide eyes.
Cruz sat up too, listening intently to the forest around us.
It totally freaked me out. Hairs stood up at the base of my neck, giving me the sensation of being watched. I spun all around but glimpsed nothing.
“What is it?” I asked, heart racing.
Blood whooshed in my veins, muting out most of the noises around me.
Cruz’s lips moved, but no sound followed the action.
“What?” I asked, frowning and cupping my ear like a seashell.
“Get. Down!” he lipped frantically. “Liliana, get down now!”
Chapter 11
I no more than hit the ground on my hands and knees, when a wave of magic soared over my head, striking a massive mutant right in the chest. He flew backward into the woods in a smoking heap of flesh. Even in that position, I could clearly comprehend he was at least three times as large as the others. Was this one the alpha? Or were the mutants evolving somehow?
Bravo scampered over to eat the ugly thing, while Cruz slid from his back and dropped to the ground beside me.
“Are you okay?” he asked, putting his hand on my spine.
My nerves tingled where his fingers touched. I wasn’t sure if it was from this crush I was developing, or from some sort of residual magic lingering in his palm.
I nodded because I was worried my voice would come out all feathery and low.
He held out a shaking hand to help me up. I took it but made sure that I was the one helping him up. He needed it way more than I did.
I cleared my throat. “Thank you—again. You were just drained of all your magical and physical strength, and yet you still managed to save me...with magic.”
Kayo tipped his head in Cruz’s direction. “You have certainly proven your worth, mage. Please forgive my previous remarks.”
“Nothing to forgive,” he said, patting Kayo’s shoulder. The guard raised a brow and stared at the hand indifferently. “I’m just glad we got the damn stone.”
“You and me both, brother,” Catalina said, collapsing her weapons and putting the batons back on her belt. “Speaking of which, can we see it?”
“Absolutely.” I pulled on the collar of my skinsuit, accidentally flashing Cruz a healthy dose of cleavage—I could tell because his eyes went super wide and his mouth dropped open—and passed the stone to Catalina.
She spun it around in her fingers, watching in awe as the sunlight reflected off the multitude of jagged, aquamarine planes. “It’s beautiful,” she said, voice whispery. “Bigger than I was expecting, though.”
I grinned and furrowed my brows at the same time. “It fits in your palm, Cat. How small did you think it would be?”
She tossed it over to Malisa. “I don’t know. Pearl size?”
Malisa passed it to Arlo, who held it up into the light. “Where do you suppose its sacred resting place is?” he asked, then passed the stone to Kayo.
I crossed my arms and shrugged. “I have no idea. What do you think, Alex?”
Kayo passed the stone to him, and he examined it as he pondered, testing its weight in his palm. “There are a number of important locations in the area. Central America is filled with ancient ruins. Any one of them could be the sacred resting place.” He passed the stone to Cruz. “Any ideas, mage?”
Cruz’s stare filled with alarm when he touched the stone. His
hair blustered in a breeze only he appeared to be affected by. A strange glow crept from the stone and climbed up his forearm, following his veins like it had in the volcano.
“There is an ass-load of power in this stone,” he said, stumbling back a bit. He quickly passed it to Alanza, then shook out his hand, watching as the glow faded back out.
Alanza examined the stone with mild disinterest. Then suddenly, she paused, face going blank like she was listening for something. The rest of us stopped to listen too. A low rumbling filled the air. The ground had a slight vibration to it.
Feroz and Bravo immediately took to the skies to check out the threat. From high above they roared and screamed, sounding off an alarm that set my teeth on edge. If they were warning us, then the threat was definitely something big and most likely bad.
The rumbling grew louder, rattling the stones at our feet and the leaves in the trees.
Nervously, I took the Legacy Stone and stuffed it back into my suit, then pulled a baton from my belt and extended it into my s-shaped sword. Everyone else followed suit, removing weapons and aiming them in the direction of the woods.
Suddenly, a mutant broke free from the trees. It was huge, like the last one, and frothing at the mouth. It was running so fast, the wind had peeled back its lips, revealing multiple rows of tiny, spear-like teeth.
Then another shot from the trees. And another. And a whole hoard more. It was a stampede of oversized mutants. But worse, they weren’t all the wolf-lizards from before. Some had developed alligator-looking spikes along their spines. Some had grown horns from their faces.
Terror leeched into my bloodstream. I’d never seen mutants change that fast. Something was terribly wrong. The stone pulsed at my chest, where it dug into my skin. I had a bad feeling the stone had everything to do with it.
“Get back to the village!” Alex cried, leading the retreat.
We followed him as quickly as our land-legs would allow, sprinting through the undergrowth like a pack of baby sea turtles gunning it to the shore.
The mutants were hot on our heels, snapping and snarling just a few seconds behind us. I pushed harder, trying my damnedest to keep up with Alex and he sped through the trees. He was used to the terrain—we weren’t. Thankfully, I could already glimpse the rooftops of the colorful houses as they came into view on the horizon. That glimmer of hope pushed me even harder, even though my lungs burnt with each raspy intake of dry air.
Siren Awakened (The Cursed Seas Collection) Page 9