Elemental Trial, page 27
—Right as the ground split wider.
Where once was solid ground now became more lava, reflecting off the sheen of Jasper’s surprised face.
I dove forward and snatched his hand from thin air. With my other hand I propelled a jet of flame that sent us both skidding back to the safety of the fissure’s other side. Without pausing, I reached out to the lava beneath and urged it to well up, to expand and push at the sides of the ground until the fissure widened to a distance not even Lukas could jump. And unless Onora was hiding real wings beneath her stubs, she couldn’t make it across either.
“You’ve been learning some new tricks,” Jasper said, helping me to my feet. “Thanks.”
“Anytime,” I returned. “But don’t make a habit of it.”
He grinned and started jogging off toward the rest of our friends. I couldn’t help casting a final look back across the fissure.
Lukas watched me, now shifted back to his human form. There was contempt on his face—oh yeah, plenty of that—as well as plenty of malice to back up his promise to end me and the Outcasts. I wouldn’t find a warm welcome when I returned to the Dead City. I’d won the trial, and the throne was officially mine by right, but that didn’t mean he’d simply hand it over. I don’t think he ever planned to.
Like Vulcan said, one of the hardest parts of my journey was over, but a potentially more difficult one had just begun.
Maybe I was imagining it, but I thought I saw something else in his face, too. Something that looked almost like…conflict? Uncertainty? I wasn’t sure.
What I could read was the unbridled hatred practically radiating from Onora, as hot as the surrounding lava. She sneered before stalking down the other side of the volcano. She had every reason to feel cocky. I might have gotten the crown, but she had a backup plan of some kind. I knew it.
And I had a feeling that, soon enough, we would all find out what it was.
After much scrambling and leaping over ever-widening fissures, our group made it down the steep slope of the volcano and onto the lava plain below.
“Don’t stop running,” Ari commanded. She pointed to a large outcropping of rocks rising from the barren plain ahead of us. “Get to the mundane world. When this volcano goes, it’ll take a lot of this place with it.”
I glanced back only once when we reached the rocks. The cone of the volcano had receded to nearly ground level, almost all of it covered in a glimmering, bubbling sheen of lava. In the center I could have sworn I saw the vague shape of a dragon stretch its wings before it plunged itself into the caldera.
The lava spread rapidly after that, coating the plains in our wake. We managed to steer the group of paranormals, some of them limping, through the maze-like path between the rocks until I looked up and realized that, at some point in the last mile or so, we’d come out on a lonely dirt road on a hill scalped of trees. In a valley to our right was a small town, lights shimmering.
A small cheer rose from Mitch’s group. Mitch squeezed Tricia in a celebratory hug and planted a big kiss on her lips. “All’s well that ends well, unless you’re dead! We got any dead?” he yelled.
There was some furtive head shaking and more rousing cheers. Sienna gaped. “Is he being serious?” she whispered.
“Did ya get it?” Mitch bellowed at me. “That thing you were doing the trial for?”
I tilted my forearm up and the outline of the crown shimmered beneath my skin. “I got it,” I said.
Another small cheer went up. Iris gave me a small hug, wincing slightly when I returned it.
“Sorry,” Iris said when I looked at her worriedly. “Just a few scratches. Nothing to worry about. You got the crown, that’s all that matters.”
She was beaming so widely I couldn’t help but smile back.
“You’re one of them witches, right? You know any burn-healing spells?” a shifter asked her.
“I, er…” Iris fumbled. “They’re not really my strong suit—”
“Yeah, she’s a witch,” another said. “You gotta know some spells. Better than nothing, right?”
“Malcolm forgot the first aid kit and burn cream,” Ari said, nudging Iris with her elbow. “Why don’t you help them out?”
Still protesting, Iris was dragged excitedly toward the injured, Sienna happily trailing behind her. Ari and Kaia were talking animatedly with one another, gesturing toward the cluster of rocks we’d exited from. Nobody seemed in any rush to keep moving. And why should they? The volcano was gone, Lukas, Onora, and the others were separated from us by a still-flowing field of lava. I’d kept the crown and the throne out of Lukas’s grasp once again. Everything should have been perfect.
“You’re not happy.”
Jasper took my hand and traced the outline of the crown, his fingertip sending a pleasant chill up my arm. “Let me guess, we’re not done yet.”
“You know we’re not,” I said. “The Courier never told us what would happen after. I got the crown. The throne is mine.”
“But you don’t think that’ll be enough.” It wasn’t a question. “What did Lukas say to you, at the end?”
Over Jasper’s shoulder, I saw Ari looking at us concernedly, her morose expression out of place among the excited revelry.
“He said it’s not over,” I said. “And I believe him. It isn’t over. Not now. Not yet.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Mitch clasped my hand and pumped it up and down vigorously enough to nearly dislodge it from the socket.
“That was the most fun we’ve had in a long while!” he roared, accompanied by cheers of agreement. “And totally legal, too.”
“Glad you had fun,” I said. “I would say come join us anytime, but with any luck we won’t need to do that again. Ever.”
Mitch guffawed. “Don’t matter. You can call on us whenever you need something, whether it’s fighting or helping you move into a new apartment.”
“I prefer ripping or tearing stuff,” a man added.
“Or if you just want us to rough someone up a little bit,” a woman agreed. “Or a lot.”
“As long as it’s legal, of course,” Mitch added, giving me a wink. “We’re on the right side of the law, remember? Or at least we will be now that we have the new queen on our side.”
I wasn’t entirely sure how to respond to being called queen but, regardless, I appreciated the offer. I’d need allies in the coming weeks, and having Mitch and Tricia would be invaluable.
Tricia finished hugging Ari goodbye. The two exchanged a few words too softly for me to hear. Ari kept nodding and saying what I thought sounded like, “I will, I will.” Then Tricia patted her on the shoulder as Ari wiped away a few stray tears. Tricia came over to hug me next.
“You tell our son to hurry back once he’s done working with you all. We’ve been apart too long and his mother wants to baby him again.”
“Actually, where is the Charmsmas—Corey?” I asked Ari. Her lips grew tight, as though his mere mention was enough to annoy her.
“He’s with the other Outcasts. He’s been helping with…well, we’ll show you.”
At that moment, Sienna and Iris returned, deep in conversation, no doubt comparing notes about their witchy powers. Sienna had been unabashedly in awe of Iris’s projection magic and Iris similarly impressed with Sienna’s spell casting. They’d been talking nearly non-stop since our group had moved off the hill and down to the nearest road.
“Leon’s here!” Sienna said to us. “He said to move it or we’re walking back to Cliffside.” She smiled sheepishly. “He also says he’s a little bit peeved we didn’t take him along to knock heads around. Only, you know, he included a few more colorful words.”
Mitch let out a belly laugh as Ari rolled her eyes.
“Tell him to stop taking so many delivery shifts and maybe he’ll be around when we need to go,” she said.
“I don’t think he’ll take any more shifts,” Iris said. “Not after this. You’ll need all the Outcasts together for what comes next.”
My skin prickled with anxiety as I nodded. “I think you’re right.”
There was a flicker of movement and Jasper appeared out of nowhere, eliciting shouts of surprise from some people. Jasper smiled mischievously.
“Jerk,” I said, not meaning it.
“I heard Leon’s here?”
“He is. And Kaia?”
“She’s safely started back to the Horde, but she’ll meet up with us at the Loft in a couple days.”
“What about Lukas and Onora?”
“We won’t be seeing them for a little bit, at least. The lava plains are still impassable.”
“And your motorcycle?” Ari asked.
Jasper’s expression darkened. “Completely covered.”
“Oh no!” Sienna said with such sincerity that I believed she was legitimately torn up about it. I felt bad for his loss, too, but it had done what we needed, and for that I was grateful.
“It was custom-built and everything,” Jasper grouched.
“We’ll buy you another one when this is all over,” I promised.
“I’ll hold you to that.” He jerked his chin at Iris. “I agree with her. We’ll need all of us together. Can’t be spread too thin. Not anymore.”
I chewed the inside of my lip. “Kaia will be okay, won’t she? Uko and the rest of the Horde wouldn’t…”
“She’ll be all right, Riley,” Ari said confidently. “Kaia can take care of herself.”
“I’ll check on her when I…” Jasper let the sentence hang. I chewed on my lip more. He laughed, though I could tell it was forced. “Anyway, we’ve got a clear window to move, at least for now.”
“Then let’s go,” Ari said.
With a last round of goodbyes, our group headed down to the road where Leon sat in an idling minivan, one of the vehicles that must have been hidden amongst the others in the garage beneath the Loft.
“Ooh…sleek and sexy,” Iris said, barely containing her laughter.
Jasper patted Leon’s arm where he rested it on the open driver’s side window. “No scooter this time? I thought you couldn’t stand gas guzzlers.”
Leon merely pointed down the long, lonely road. “You can walk.”
The entire long drive back to Cliffside, Leon demanded every single detail about what had happened over the last week or so. In between my marveling at the passing landscape—wondering how it was we’d managed to get so dang far on foot in such a short amount of time—Jasper and I recounted everything. There were a few points we glossed over, such as the specifics of Rasesh’s death and his final moments, and what Jasper had told me when we’d been recovering at the top of the volcano.
He’d given me a grateful smile when I’d skipped over that part, squeezing my hand tight.
“So you kept Lukas from the crown, but it sounds like he’s still going to keep you from the throne,” Leon mused when we’d finished.
“That’s so cheating,” Sienna pouted.
“Are you shocked?” Iris said.
Leon shrugged, his massive shoulders practically pushing Ari over in the passenger seat. “Are any of us shocked? We all knew the guy had no intention of playing by the rules from the start.”
“And the Conclave won’t step in to do anything,” Jasper said.
“I think it’s safe to say there isn’t a Conclave anymore,” I said. “At least not one that Valencia and Lukas don’t control.”
The car went morosely silent. Jasper squeezed my hand even tighter and I knew he was thinking about Valencia and the rest of the Deathless. As much as I wished I could do something for him about that, and as much as I wished the Horde would oppose any move Lukas made against me, right now we were pathetically low on options.
I sighed, exhaustion making my muscles feel like a waterfall of lava crashing on my shoulders. “It’s probably best to hang at the Loft for a bit. Take some time to regroup and figure out what to do next.”
“Yeah…” Leon grimaced at me in the rearview mirror. “About that…”
Leon steered us off the interstate and onto the main road cutting through downtown Cliffside. He refused to say any more as he turned onto the road full of high-priced condominiums and skyscrapers where the Loft was located.
“Keep your heads down,” Leon muttered as we drew closer to the Loft. “All of you.”
Leon himself even hunkered low—looking about as comfortable as a lion in a shoebox—as we rolled up to the Loft, then past.
I started to pop my head up. “Leon, why aren’t you—”
Then I saw why. The spot where the Loft had once been was now empty, the space between the two skyscrapers completely vacant save for some lingering bits of rubble a few figures were sifting through. I leaned farther over Jasper’s lap to get a closer look. I caught the flash of yellow eyes as one of them ripped up a slab of the foundation, clearly searching for something.
“Are those…”
“Members of Lukas’s Pack, looks like,” Iris said darkly.
“Must be,” Jasper said. “Who else would be stupid enough to search for an entire missing building beneath a single piece of concrete?”
“They must have been waiting for his command,” Leon said.
“Them and the Deathless both,” Sienna said seriously, leaning forward from the backseat. “I bet the second after you got the crown, he told them to attack.”
I recalled the order Lukas had given to Yu and that other woman before they left us. “I bet you’re right.”
Ari’s stricken face followed the empty lot as Leon continued driving past. “But if it’s not there…Where is everyone?” She whirled on Leon. “Answers, now! I thought the Charmsmaster was supposed to help protect the Loft from the Pack and Deathless, not raze it to the ground!”
“He didn’t raze it, Ari,” Sienna said, giggling. She immediately sobered when Ari turned a murderous gaze on her. “He, ah, helped us move it to a safer place. Somewhere no one in the Conclave knows about. He had Sawyer and me help him too, of course. Even Collette.” She made a face as though that experience had been less than fun. Which…come on, it was Collette, so it probably hadn’t been.
“You know, sometimes I feel like you don’t trust us,” Leon said, pretending to be hurt. “All we did was magically teleport an entire building using a new, relatively untested kind of magic that had the potential to completely backfire. It’s no big.”
One of the shifters looked over at us. His eyes narrowed and I had no doubt they could see clearly through the van’s windows.
“Ari,” Jasper warned.
“Just drive,” Ari growled, noticing it too.
“Gladly.” Leon hit the gas. “Let me show you our new home.”
We had just reached the northern outskirts of Cliffside—a collection of wooded inlets and slivers of coursing rivers hiding suburbs thick with houses—when Jasper leaned forward into the front seat and said, “Pull over.”
“What’s wrong?” I said, immediately looking behind us to see if some of the Pack or Deathless were following. “You see anything?”
“I know a spot where we can stop,” Leon said as though he’d anticipated whatever Jasper was referring to. “We already came up with it beforehand.”
Jasper simply took my hand again and gave me a sad smile. An uncomfortable feeling grew in my gut.
After another mile of driving, Leon pulled over to a roadside general store and gas station at the corner of a three-way intersection. Bleached antlers hung on one side of the wooden paneling while an excessive number of wind chimes made of everything from glass to tins cans rattled in the slight breeze.
A couple figures waved at us from one of the picnic tables as Leon parked. Sienna leaned forward again. “Is that—Maxime?” she squealed, practically shoving Jasper and me apart in her mad dash to exit the van. Iris apologized to us as she slipped past after her.
“Seriously, what is going on?” I asked Jasper. He seemed to be having a difficult time looking at me.
“This is where we part. For now.”
It felt as though a bowling ball had dropped into my stomach. Of course, I hadn’t forgotten that he was still bound by a blood oath to the Deathless, but why now? Why did he have to leave us when we needed him—I needed him—more than ever?
“Can’t you stay for a little longer?” I asked.
“I wish I could. But it’s best I get out now before I’ve seen where the new Loft is, in case Valencia and the others ask about it.” Jasper forced a smile. “I’m sure Leon has a plan to make our parting a little easier. The guy’s smarter than he looks.”
“What did I say about you walking?” Leon said as he slipped out of the front seat. He made a show of looking around. “I think this place I’m already planning to drop you off is a good place to kick you out.”
With another reassuring squeeze of my hand, Jasper exited the van, me trailing behind him. I had all of two seconds to stretch my stiff legs before the world’s most sharply dressed elf rushed across the grass and lifted me in a hug.
“You’re alive! Oh, I’m so happy I could…well, I could hug you!”
Maxime continued doing just that, spinning me around in a circle until everyone else was nothing but a blurry smudge.
“Good to see you too, Maxime,” I said, stumbling a bit when he put me down. “I’m so happy you’re okay. And the others—”
Maxime let out a strangled gasp. He grabbed my wrist, then ran his fingers over the shredded pieces of my vest. “Wonderful! You used the bracelet—no, don’t tell me why, let everyone else be here for that story. But this.” Part of the vest crumbled to charred ash beneath his light touch. Maxime backed up, a horrified hand going to his chest. “What. Happened?”
I looked down at the vest, realizing only then what kind of a state I and the rest of my clothes were in. “I, uh…I went through the trials. Some people tried to kill me. And we ended up at the top of a volcano. Honestly, I’m impressed they’re only a little singed.”
