Chapter 30

THIRTY

STELLAN

“Is anyone else bloody seeing this?” I ran my hands through my hair and tugged at the strands.

A huge army spilled through those two rifts by the castle. They outnumbered us by far and we had no idea what their powers were, if they had any, or where the hell they came from. They were still far away but it was obvious they had to be close to seven feet tall because I knew how tall those trees were. Their weapons looked like they could cut a man in half with one swing. I glanced around at the rest of our crew and found identical expressions of shock all over their faces.

Ellie shook her head. “Only in the freaking movies.”

I turned to fake-Collins, aka Sandra. “Do you know what this is?”

She swallowed roughly, her face pale. “For the love of all that is holy, no.”

“It’s too late now.” The real Collins who looked like her mother stepped up. “We can’t go back.”

“Then we go forward.” Savina held her hand up and red lightning sparked between her fingers. “Someone is gonna die today, and it’s not gonna be us.”

Purple power flowed from Ellie as she smirked at Savina. “I’ve been wanting to try some new things out. Seems we’ve got a bunch of volunteers now.”

I threw my hands up. “Are you lot not the least bit concerned?”

Bash, who looked like petite Jada, placed his hand on my shoulder. “Of course we are, but Collins is right, there is no going back. We sealed the portal. We are the deadliest beings of all the realms, and today we will unleash hell on them all. No holding back.”

I had to admit there was a certain appeal to letting go of one’s powers and seeing what they could do. To really stretch the limits of our abilities and try new tricks, as Ellie said. I nodded in agreement with them. “No holding back then.”

The army was growing closer. Within seconds, war would be upon us.

Tephine cackled, clapping her hands in excitement.

“We stick to the plan.” Sandra said. “Ellie, you know what to do.”

I triple-checked my pocket for the decoy Chaos Stone. It was there, so I turned to Ellie and winked at her. “Be seeing you, love.”

She waved her hand, and her magic covered me from head to toe. “Remember, when you want to be visible again, just hit it with a flicker of your magic and it’ll dissipate.”

"Got it.” I rolled my shoulders and bounced on my toes. “Flicker of magic.”

The others looked in my direction, but their eyes never focused on me. I was invisible.

Ellie turned to glare at the approaching army. “And love?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t die.”

“You either, love.”

“Be careful.” Collins looked around at our group. “Give them hell.”

“ You guys fight them! I’ll get the Stone! ” Sandra-Collins shouted, then flicked her pink and purple braids over her shoulder. I had to give her serious credit at capturing her daughter’s mannerisms. “ Bash, come on! ”

This was the plan. Sandra was starting the show to intentionally get Tephine’s attention. My stomach tightened into knots. Here we go, mates. Bloody hell, this is crazy. But when Sandra-Collins spun on her toes and sprinted away, I had to push all my doubts away so I could focus. Jada-Bash was hot on her heels. And bloody hell did Jada know how to run like Bash did.

I chased behind them, completely invisible to the eye.

I’d always wondered why Collins’ hair was so bold and brightly colored, but as Sandra ran ahead of me, I was thankful for the bright-pink and purple colors because they stood out amidst the white terrain. We sprinted in the opposite direction of Crystal Henge, away from where the real Collins and Bash needed to be. I glanced over my shoulder to where Tephine hovered. She cackled at the sight of the army on her side. They spilled around the castle and down in front of it. Row after row, they rolled out of those holes. It was like that scene in Lord of the Rings when the orcs marched on Helms Deep—some ten thousand soldiers armed and ready. God, Ellie would be so proud of that reference. She’s rubbing off on me.

Tephine flew in circles and zigzags over the army as though it were the masterpiece she’d always hoped for. She spun around like victory was already hers and none of us mattered anymore. We were already dead in her eyes. Her giddy joy poured from her. But we weren’t going down without a fight. While none of us wanted to die here, we were all prepared to so long as she went down with us. And our plan was solid. It had to work. It had to.

“Come on, you bloody psychopath. Come get us.” I whispered to myself as I used my magic to kick up the snow to hide my footprints.

Tephine’s gaze finally snapped in our direction, her eyes zeroing in on Sandra-Collins ahead of me. She grinned. “ Fools. ”

And then she charged.

Her wings fluttered faster than I’d ever seen them before. She crossed the open field in seconds, soaring over her army without a second glance in their direction.

Spoke too soon, mate. Spoke too damn soon.

I hurried my steps so I was right next to Sandra and whispered in her direction, “Incoming.”

She gave me a wordless nod and I fell back to let them lead the way. They hurried toward the forest and were nearly at the ice-covered edge when Tephine threw two long vines at Sandra and Jada, coiling around their legs in an instant. It took everything in me not to hurry to their aid, but I had to play my part, or we’d all die right here. I ducked into the tree line and stood there watching, close but not too close. They struggled against the vines as they wound up their bodies. Large leaves spread over them and across their bodies, pinning them down.

Fake-Collins struggled to her knees and glared up at Tephine. “Let us go.”

Tephine cackled. “Now why would I do that?”

“You have no idea where the Chaos Stone is,” Sandra snarled.

“That’s the last piece of the puzzle I need.” She looked fake-Bash up and down. “That and your death.”

Jada was still unable to talk, so she just growled in Tephine’s direction.

Tephine ignored her growl. “You are such a disappointment to your father and me. We had big plans for you.”

Fake-Bash shrugged and looked at her as though he didn’t care. I almost chuckled at how perfect Jada made Bash’s faces.

Fake-Collins sighed. “We will never give you the Stone. We’d rather die first.”

“THAT CAN BE ARRANGED.” Tephine curled her hands and the vines tightened around them. “Trust me. I’d love to.”

I wanted to step out, to protect them, but the longer they kept her preoccupied, the longer the real Collins and Bash had to complete their mission to sever the bond.

Fake-Collins lifted her chin. “You need us.”

“Wrong!” She pointed at her. “I need you . The only thing I need him for is to watch you die an utter failure. But it doesn’t have to be that way. I’m willing to compromise.”

“You and compromise don’t go together,” fake-Collins snapped as she pretended to struggle in the snow.

Power sizzled around Tephine and danced in her hair. Wild vines stuck out from behind her like snakes rattling and moving. She curled her finger and the vines lifted fake Bash and Collins higher off the ground. She lowered herself closer to the snow so she was nearly eye-to-eye with fake-Collins. “I’m willing to show you and your friends mercy. I just want my win. I’m done. Give me the Chaos Stone and I promise to kill you and your friends quickly and painlessly.”

“ You lie, ” fake-Collins growled.

Tephine shrugged and gestured behind her. “Look behind me. My army will destroy them bone-by-bone and relish every scream. So, it’s up to you. Reject my offer and I’ll ensure they save you for last so you can watch them all die horrible deaths.”

Their eyes widened.

“Or accept, and I call the army off now. Their deaths can be instantaneous.” She grinned. “What’s it going to be?”