Elemental Trial, page 2
I focused on my breathing, trying to match the slow, steady rhythm of my heartbeat. I centered on that deep part of me where my magic resided. Unlike times before, it rose to my bidding relatively easily. I summoned a single flame on the tips of my pointer fingers, then down each successive finger all the way to the pinkies. I summoned a fireball next and tossed it back and forth before clapping my hands together and extinguishing it.
So far so good. I wasn’t even feeling the least bit drained.
Time for something a bit bigger.
I twisted my feet into the ground and focused on the heat radiating from my skin. I’d seen pictures of other elementals, true elementals, in images Sawyer had found; Immense beings with soulless eyes, leaving paths of destruction in their wake. When facing off against Farrar the vampire—and again against Lukas when he’d nearly killed Jasper—I’d felt that same primal rage. I may not have been a true elemental, but I was enough of one that I was scared to think of what I might become.
“Come on…” I whispered as my magic rose to the surface again. Not a little. A lot. More than I’d ever tried to control. I wanted to test the limit of what I was capable. I wanted to see just how dangerous I was.
I opened my eyes to waves of intense heat wafting off my body, nearly melting the newly formed curtains. The stone beneath my feet began to feel soft. In another moment I was sure the bed would spontaneously combust.
“Just…a little more…” I urged.
I saw the barest hint of a tiger’s fiery claw emerge from one of my hands, followed by a snarling mouth full of teeth. My muscles shook with strain. Red filled my vision. Anger, too. My earlier resentment toward Iris hit me full force and the resulting surge of magic caught one of the end tables on fire.
The hold on my magic broke. The tiger sank back inside me until I stood, panting and cold, in the middle of the room. A small crater had formed around where I stood. Everything within a five-foot radius was either charred or completely disintegrated.
I stared at my hands, biting my tongue in frustration. Using my magic had been easier than ever before, but thoughts of Iris had ruined it. I didn’t want to think about her. What she’d done couldn’t hurt me anymore.
I shook my head and focused on what I’d nearly done. Jasper had said the tiger magic was one of my body’s last lines of defense. An immensely powerful instinctual protector that only came out when I was in desperate need. I’d nearly summoned him all on my own. Queen or not, it was clear something in my magic had changed. Hopefully for the better.
The door opened. There was a squeal of happiness and I turned just in time to be assaulted by a hug. Strands of multicolored hair stuck in my lips as Sienna attempted to suffocate me with love and compassion.
“You’re alive!”
“I’m alive!” I squeaked.
“I’m so, so happy—ouch!”
Sienna suddenly let me go, shaking out her arms. “And you’re hot. What have you…” She took a look around the semi-melted spot I stood and then at the charred room, eyes widening. “Er…Practicing hot yoga?”
“Something like that. Give me a minute to cool off and then you can try suffocating me again.”
Sienna beamed, and my heart relaxed. I’d missed the smile of my latest best friend. She was the fourth Outcast and a self-proclaimed witch extraordinaire with the style of someone who could never decide what to wear so just threw it all on. A spaghetti strap top fell to just above her knees where polka dot tights took over, down to the combat boots on her feet. I noted with some dismay that my room smelled quite a bit like burned noodles, but she’d brought in the scent of incense and maybe some casting chalk.
“Did you arrive with the others?” I asked.
Sienna placed her hands behind her back and took a walk around the room, taking in what décor was still in one piece. “Nope, just me. Jasper and Ari didn’t feel it was safe enough for everyone to leave the Loft. And Lucinda can’t, you know.”
I nodded. Lucinda was our resident mermaid and could only be out of water for a little while. “Are they okay?”
Sienna waved her hands and muttered a few words beneath her breath. The curtains I’d burned began to regrow even faster, now turning a deep, witchy shade of purple. “Everyone’s fine. But they’re all really, really worried about you.”
I couldn’t help grimacing. “Even Colette?”
Sienna grimaced right back. “Well, I mean she wouldn’t say she was, but she was. I’m pretty sure. And I am too.” Her expression rapidly shifted to concern. “I overheard a little of what Jasper and the others were talking about with the Conclave. They…did not sound happy, especially the shifters. What did you do?”
I knew she totally didn’t mean for that to come off so accusatory, but I still felt a tightness in my chest like I’d been caught trying to open my Christmas presents a week early. “I’m not entirely sure…”
I told her about what had happened since we’d left the Loft and gone after the magically appearing tunnel that led to the elemental throne. About how Farrar had betrayed us when he attacked me, how Jasper and I had fallen down here, to the Dead City, our fight with Lukas, and finally me touching the throne. I left out the part about Iris because…Well, Sienna wouldn’t totally understand just how much it hurt. And I wasn’t ready to think about it quite yet.
I guess by the end of my story I’d cooled off because Sienna clutched my hands like they were the safety bar on a roller coaster. “You beat—You found—You—”
“Yes, yes, and possibly yes,” I said, failing to stifle a grin.
Sienna pulled my hands up and down with excitement. “And you said Hayes betrayed Lukas. I told you he wasn’t such a bad guy!”
“Sienna, I still don’t think having the hots for that guy is a good idea. We have no idea whose side he’s truly on.”
“Have the hots? I don’t have the hots.” Sienna gave an awkward laugh. “The only one who has any hots is you. For Jasper and, you know, literally. Me, have the hots…especially for a guy with a ponytail…”
I rolled my eyes, deciding not to push the issue. “But now that I touched the throne I’m not sure what comes next. You were just at the Loft. Did you happen to see if the words of the prophecy went away? Did I finish it and break the curse? Can you all see your loved ones now?”
Sienna slowly let go of my hands, thinking. “I didn’t actually see, sorry. But we can try to figure it out.”
She raised a finger and traced fiery letters in midair, writing out the lines of the witch’s prophecy I’d unfortunately come to know all too well.
“The Thirteenth one shall be the key. That one’s kind of obvious. That’s you!” Sienna scribbled that line out. “The remedy to Outcasts’ strife.”
“Not sure about remedy,” I muttered. “But true enough.”
Sienna nodded and scribbled it out. “With blood of mortals, blood of old…”
“That’s about me being part elemental. At least as far as we know.”
“Right. Great! See, this is easy, like a Sunday morning crossword!”
Sure. Easy. I was just glad she was having so much fun.
Sienna stopped writing. “The last couple lines…”
“They ascend the ancients’ throne, and from the dark reveal the light,” I read.
“And you did that! Done!” Sienna happily scribbled the remaining lines of the prophecy and then stared as though she expected them to start dancing. “Well…That’s it, right?”
That was it. I’d completed the prophecy in its entirety.
“So…Do you feel any different?” Sienna asked. “Did you happen to find a crown lying around somewhere? Are you suddenly getting delusions of becoming a power-hungry queen?”
“I’m not getting much of anything,” I admitted. “I kind of hoped the prophecy would give the next steps. It’s led us this far and now…”
I waved my arm toward the words, which caused them to vanish into wisps of smoke. Sienna gave me a comforting smile. “I’m sure you’ve done everything you’re supposed to. Now all that’s left is to convince the other paranormals you’re the rightful queen…”
She trailed off, but not before a weight like a cannonball settled in the bottom of my gut.
Before I had time to properly start panicking, Leon returned. He didn’t mention the smell or the singed parts of my room. His expression was troubled.
“What’s wrong?” I asked immediately.
“You’re going to be shocked to hear this, but the other members of the Conclave aren’t too happy with the idea that there might be a new queen,” Leon said gruffly.
“Not even with all the evidence?” Sienna asked.
“Not even with the evidence,” Leon confirmed.
The cannonball in my gut sunk deeper. I wanted to vomit. I wanted to curl up under my blankets. I wanted to do anything besides what I knew I needed to do.
“Take me back to where they’re meeting,” I said before I could chicken out. “It’s time I faced all of them myself.”
Chapter Three
Each step I took felt like a dozen bricks had been tied to the bottom of my shoes. The way to the throne room where the rest of the paranormals were meeting wasn’t long, but it felt like a million miles.
“Jasper and Ari have calmed them down enough to at least have a decent talk,” Leon said. “But the Pack and Deathless both…Well, you’ll see.”
Surprisingly, that didn’t help me feel any better.
“We’ve got your back,” Sienna said confidently. She flicked her thumb to light a stick of incense she’d pulled from her pocket and stuck it behind her ear. “And you know Jasper won’t let a single one of them get near you.” She waggled her eyebrows suggestively.
Leon grunted. “Forget Jasper, I’ll rip them in half if they try anything. Some of those Deathless have been alive so long they think the world revolves around them. It’d be my pleasure to remind them that even the undead can still die.”
I let out a small sigh of relief. This was what I needed. Friends who’d always cover my back. Not stab me in it.
I heard shouts and enraged interruptions all the way up to the doors of the throne room. It sounded like Ari was trying to calm someone down—one of the Pack, judging by all the snarling and growling.
I straightened up as much as I could and, keeping my eyes and chin forward, walked inside.
The atmosphere in the room immediately changed, the tension thick enough to suffocate. I could hear it in the arguments that ceased immediately. Still, I didn’t even glance at the vampires or shifters who’d congregated at the front of the room. I definitely didn’t look at Jasper’s fierce expression as it burned into me. I could practically hear him yelling, “What the hell do you think you’re doing here?”
I didn’t look at anything but the throne.
I took the three steps up to the dais, letting my hand trail along the stone arms. The entire thing was made of deep black onyx rock inlaid with cold ribbons of steel. The first time I’d touched it I’d felt a spark, a hint that my magic had awakened something.
Now, as I slowly lowered myself into the seat, I hoped that the cold feeling I’d felt that first time would start to warm. Maybe the throne would give me and the others a sign that this was where I needed to be.
I settled into the ice-cold seat. It was all I could do to resist shivering. Even more so when I looked up and saw the vicious stares of the paranormals standing before me. The pure loathing I could feel from some of them made me want to shrivel up.
“I see you wasted no time in taking what you believe to be yours,” a cool voice rose from the vampires. Valencia, the surviving leader of the Deathless. “You’ve been amongst us for less than two months and yet you feel entitled to subjugate us all.”
“Ain’t happening!” one of the Pack snarled. It looked like Lukas’s pinch-faced sub-alpha, Yu. He and a few others had formed an imposing line before the rest of the shifters. I had no doubt they were in a state of turmoil now that their big bad leader wasn’t here.
“You all knew about the prophecy,” Ari said sharply. “You’ve all followed it for years. Now Riley’s completed it, even after some of you tried to stop it.” She glared at the Pack.
“You truly believe you’ve completed it?” Valencia said, her tone deadly soft. “Tell us, Riley, do you feel like the one in charge?”
I opened my mouth but nothing came out. The cold from the throne seeped deeper into my bones. Why didn’t I feel like I belonged up here? Why did I get the sense that this was the last place I was supposed to be?
“I did as the prophecy said,” I said. “You all agreed to follow it—”
The light in the room waned as shadows bled from the corners. The other paranormals shifted uncertainly. Jasper moved closer to the throne alongside Leon and Sienna.
Then one of the shadows at the far end deepened and out from within the swirling void stepped a couple figures.
“Uko. Kaia,” I said, failing to keep the relief out of my voice. Kaia was a member of the Outcasts, so I knew she’d be on my side. And Uko was head of the Horde, pretty much the only group of paranormals who truly believed in my place as an elemental queen. He’d even been the one to help me find the throne.
Uko held out a hand to the shadows, as though keeping them at bay. For just a moment I glimpsed a multitude of dark red eyes peering out at all of us. The other paranormals, even the vamps, shuffled farther away from the shadows before Uko seemed convinced the rest of the Horde would stay and he and Kaia took spots before the throne.
“I see you’ve found it at last,” Uko said.
“We were just discussing that, Uko,” Valencia said, her voice velvety soft. “There are many here who don’t see her as the rightful ruler, prophecy or not. Many who believe she’s committed other crimes—”
“She killed Lukas!” Yu snarled, pointing a clawed finger at me. “She invaded our turf, and when he was trying to stop her from taking over she killed him!”
“As she did our beloved Farrar,” Valencia said, eyes flashing.
“Farrar was a traitor,” Jasper said. “He was a Forsworn vampire who wanted her magic for himself—”
“Liar!” one of the vamps yelled, and then they were all shouting. I couldn’t make a single word out over the din, even if I’d tried.
I sat back on the throne. This felt wrong, all so wrong. I wasn’t someone who belonged up here. Justified or not, I had done those things. And now here I was talking down to everyone as though I was a parent demanding my children listen to me.
But even as that uncertainty took hold, anger started to replace it. Yeah, I had done those things, but it’d been to protect myself, to protect my friends, to protect Jasper. I hadn’t wanted to kill anyone, any more than I’d wanted to become an elemental. But it’d happened. I had to deal with it.
“Stop!” I yelled.
Nobody stopped. I started to stand, my body growing hot, but a sharp look from Jasper froze me in place. As annoyed as I was, I understood. I wouldn’t gain control by losing control myself.
“That’s enough!” I yelled again.
And this time, as though I’d cast a spell, the shouting ceased. Valencia and Uko both looked at me curiously, as though wondering what exactly I had planned. I wished I knew.
“It’s…true I killed Farrar,” I said at last. “But only because he attacked me first!” I added quickly as unnatural hisses of fury rose from the vampires’ side.
“So you say,” Valencia said. “Farrar was a great leader of our kind. Even if he was a Forsworn like you claim, he wouldn’t dare stoop to stealing magic from the likes of you.”
“It’s true, we all saw it,” Jasper said, indicating Ari and Leon.
Valencia gave a sneering smile. “The addition of more Outcast witnesses does nothing to help you.”
“I also killed Lukas,” I went on, because apparently I was on a roll with these murder confessions. “Again, because he attacked me. Even before I’d reached the throne room he was already trying to stop me from finding it. He wanted it for himself.”
“Lies!” Yu screeched.
I looked desperately at Uko to back me up. Kaia gave me an encouraging smile, but the ghoul stared impassively back. The peeling skin of his face—highlighted by the gaping hole of skin missing in his cheek—was only partially hidden by the hood he wore.
“Right, Uko?” I said, hating the desperation in my voice. “You were the one who told me about the Dead City and the Dying Lands. You said the Horde were the ones that confirmed all new Outcasts and that the prophecy was true…and…”
I trailed off as Uko’s chilling gaze remained transfixed on me. I saw Jasper give the barest shake of his head and the triumphant look on Valencia’s face and knew that I’d just screwed up. Royally.
“I haven’t the ssslightest idea what you’re talking about,” Uko said at last. “I don’t remember usss telling you anything. Or you promisssing anything to us in return.”
His ice-blue eyes pierced me, and I knew exactly what he was talking about. When we’d met him beneath the bridge he’d wanted me to promise that I’d become a champion of the Horde; that I’d help restore them to their rightful place among the other paranormals. But after Jasper had been forced to join the Deathless I’d refused to pledge myself to anyone.
It looked like that was already coming back to bite me.
I sagged back in the throne, trying not to look as defeated as I felt.
“Approaching the Children of Prophecy without the permission of the Conclave, Uko?” Valencia said, as though finding a mouse caught in a trap, still alive and wriggling. “You didn’t tell any of us. What were you trying to hide, I wonder?”
“Backstabbing, that’s what it is!” Yu said and some of his shifter buddies vigorously nodded in agreement. “Trying to get in good with that prophecy!”
