Chapter 22

TWENTY-TWO

BASH

Venus lay on the floor at my feet with her own dagger protruding from her side. My power rendered her blind and deaf. Yet I let her feel the castle quaking. It sounded like a stampede heading right for us. The wall to my side exploded inward. Rocks and dust rained down on me. The cell bars flew across the hall into the empty cell across from me.

“What the hell!” I leapt back against the wall, searching through the dust and debris for whatever was happening.

A huge bull-moose-thing made completely of that vibrant green moldavite spun in a wild circle kicking its front and back legs. Its eyes glowed red like lava. Steam puffed from its nose as it dug its huge onyx hoof into the ground. It threw its head from side to side, knocking the walls and ceiling down with horns made of smoky quartz and agate. Jade flowers and strands of moldavite leaves hung from those horns and swung all the way down by its feet. It reared back, kicking its front legs up into the air, and let out an ear-splitting roar.

Those giant onyx hooves crashed back to the floor and sent violent tremors through the castle, cracking the floor beneath our feet. One of its hooves cracked down on Venus’ leg. She let out a bellow of agony, but the bull didn’t stop. He swiped his horn across the ground and flicked Venus across the hall. She smashed against the wall and fell to the ground in an unconscious heap. My balance faltered, but I caught myself just as I caught sight of a bloody lump draped over its back.

“COLLINS!”

She peeked open her eyes for a second and waved her hand. The collar fell away from my throat, and I leapt onto the bull behind her. I tried to pull her into my lap, but the whimper she let loose made me freeze. It wasn’t her clothing hanging in bloody scraps on her back, it was her skin. The smell of blood and burnt flesh hit me so hard I nearly gagged.

“Oh God, Collins! No! What have they done to you ?”

She couldn’t answer me, and I gently laid her across my lap face down as I held onto the bull with my legs. I shoved my wings out and let them help me keep my balance. “We need to get her out of here.”

The bull looked back at me and blew two big puffs of steam from its nose as though it understood me perfectly. With a roar, it bucked forward and charged for the hall. There was no rhyme or reason to its violent movements, but I held Collins for dear life, hoping that we’d make it back to The Emerald in time to save her. She’d lost too much blood, too much skin, too much . . . everything. When I looked up we were heading right for the wall.

“Wall!” He didn’t stop. “Wall!” He ran even faster. “BEAST, WALL!”

We crashed right through it and went right into a free fall out of the side of the castle. I’d forgotten how high up we were when I could always fly. But with Collins limp on my lap, I couldn’t risk it. I fluttered my wings to keep a hold as the beast landed on the side of the mountain. He slid down the snow-covered crystals, sending snow flying up around us in a blanket of freezing sleet. The sound of cracking ice filled the air, and when I looked back, half the castle had splintered off and began to slide down the mountain like an avalanche.

“RUN, BEAST! RUN!”

He reared up and ran faster, leaping from crystal to crystal, trying to outrun the mix of snow and destruction. We ran so hard and fast I couldn’t see ten feet in front of us through the blizzard. I had to blindly trust he knew where he was going. Behind us, I heard my mother’s laughter on the wind and my father’s distant, high-pitched scream. Our only buffer was the constant sheet of snow that fell around us . . . and maybe a few hundred yards.

They’d be upon us soon, and all I could do was hold on and pray we’d make it there. When the beast slowed his pace, things started to come into view. We were halfway between the castle and the portal, deep in the forest where the other fae in our realm resided. The beast slid to a halt in the middle of an opening in the trees. He spun around in a circle, kicking up more ice. When I looked to the trees, gleaming little houses were all built high in the air around the trunks of crystal trees. Each of them was covered in a thick layer of snow that almost made them blend in with the elements. Normally, they would’ve been shining with different colors, but not anymore. Rope bridges hung between each of them, but they too were covered in icicles that made them look like thick branches.

When I glanced up toward the multitude of gleaming tree houses, I noticed sets of eyes peeking down from the windows. When they landed on us, the fae rushed from their huts. There were dozens of them, in all shapes and sizes. Each one was heavily bundled in a thick fur coat with a hood and matching boots. Their breaths came in puffs of smoke.

I felt the need to warn them. “Tephine and Bregan are coming.”

A wild male just a few years my elder hurried out to me. I’d met Aphid on my many trips here to help the people. He was taller than most, with dark skin that held a pearly sheen. His hair was a few shades darker than his skin and was cut tight to his head, revealing his pointed ears. His eyes widened at the sight of Collins in my arms.

“The Stone Keeper? Is she . . . is she dead?”

I shook my head. “She’s barely hanging on and we’re followed by Tephine and Bregan.”

“We will see to it.” He motioned to the others. “The tarps now!”

“Brilliant.” I’d given them the means to hide themselves from my family a while ago. I’d spelled giant white tarps with the ability to hide anyone or anything. They were sensory deprivation invisibility cloaks. The material was light and silky with an iridescent sheen to it.

“The rest of you, you know what to do!” More of the village ran in the opposite direction, disappearing into the trees.

“Where’d they go?”

Aphid ran his hand over the beast’s snout like he’d pet him many times. “To create a distraction.”

“Aphid, you know this creature?” I motioned to the beast.

He pulled his jacket from his back and offered it to me. I gently laid it over Collins to protect her from the elements. It wasn’t much, but it’d have to work. “I know this creature well. He’s become tame since meeting her. I’m to understand his name is Bartholomew. Bart for short.”

He led Bart over to a thicket of trees like a cowboy would lead a horse. When we were in-between them, a large tarp dropped over us. It was like looking through a threadbare blanket. I could see the middle of the town, but now it just looked like more trees . . . with no sign of us.

“She would name a beast such as this Bart.” I petted the giant moldavite creature.

Aphid rested his hand on Bart’s nose. “Shhh, she approaches.”

Silence fell over the clearing—the kind of silence that came with standing in a forest during a snowstorm. Tephine landed where we’d just been standing. I’d never seen my mother so out of sorts. She was covered in dirt from the collapse of the castle. Half her hair was matted to the side of her head with blood and the other half looked like it’d been set on fire. Her clothes were torn to shreds, and the tips of her fingers were covered in blood like she clawed her way out of the castle.

“Where are they?”

My father landed next to her, and he didn’t look much better. His dark green-hair, which was normally smooth, was knotted up. Cuts and bruises had already begun to form over his pale skin. “I don’t know.”

She screamed. “You idiot! Do you know anything?”

“I know as much as you, wife. I told you to kill that beast long ago, and now we’ve got half a castle to live in.”

“I don’t care about the castle! I WANT THAT STONE KEEPER!” Her eyes darted around the clearing, and I sucked in a breath, holding it as though she’d hear me over the sound of the storm or see me through my own magical tarps.

She took three more steps and was only a few feet away. Suddenly, an arrow soared through the air and landed at her feet. She spun around and yelled into the sky, “Who shot that?”

Five more came from the opposite direction, drawing her attention away from us. Her wings fluttered and she lifted up off the ground. She took off in the direction where the second arrows came from. “Let’s go!”

Bregan lingered for a moment longer, staring at where I sat on Bart’s back.

“Bregan, NOW!” Tephine’s voice echoed through the trees. He rolled his eyes and took off to follow behind her like the lap dog he was.

We sat there for a few moments longer until Collins groaned. I turned to Aphid. “We have to go. I need to get her help. Though I don’t know how we’ll stop my mother from following us through.”

A smile spread across his lips. “I have an idea. It should give you some time before Tephine can find you again. Go, we will follow.”

He smacked Bart on his hindquarters, and the beast began running headlong through the forest once more. Aphid flew beside us with a huge tarp rolled in his arms. The whole time we ran I held my breath, listening for even a hint of my mother. Snow and sleet hit my face like sharp needles, and I could only hope it made Collins numb so she was feeling no pain. Bart sprinted toward it without ever slowing his pace. When we got closer, he skidded to a stop and I leapt off with Collins in my arms. The portal opened and Sandra, along with Jada, stood on the other side. Their eyes widened, and their jaws dropped at the sight of us. I had to believe that if I got Collins into Sandra’s arms, she would be able to heal Collins . . . to save her.

“Wait,” Collins whispered.

“No, love. We can’t.” But it was too late. A tiny puff of her magic smacked right into Bart and wrapped around his whole body. He went from the size of a truck to the size of a kitten. Without hesitation, he leapt up onto my shoulder and settled there. I turned and flew through the portal into The Emerald.

The moment my feet hit the ground, I felt the adrenaline leave my body and I collapsed. Sandra and Jada were already there with their arms wrapped around us. A sob broke from Sandra’s throat.

“Oh God! What happened to you?”

I didn’t know how to answer. All I could do was look back at the portal and give Aphid a single nod. He winked and threw the tarp over the portal, hiding it from Tephine. I prayed it’d give us enough time to heal Collins.