Chapter 35

THIRTY-FIVE

COLLINS

I woke up with my face buried in the snow and my head pounding. Every muscle in my body ached and throbbed. The muscles that were supposed to control my wings twitched like they’d missed that awful memo and were trying to lift me off the ground. Everything hurt. It took me a minute to gather enough strength to push myself up on all fours, but the world spun like a carnival ride and I crashed back down. My stomach rolled, threatening to force back out everything I’d ever eaten in my entire life. I squeezed my eyes and mouth shut and breathed through my nose to calm my stomach. The ringing in my ears could’ve won an Oscar for best soundtrack.

“ Bart, ” I groaned. “Bart, are you okay?”

I tapped on my cargo pocket where he’d been hiding and sagged with relief when I felt him move under my hand. My eyes were still closed, but I felt him wrestle his way out of my pocket and climb onto my hand. I slowly lifted him up and sat him on my stomach because I hadn’t regained strength in my body yet. Everything was mush. He jumped up on all four hooves, then shook like a dog getting out of the water.

It made me chuckle. “Yeah, I feel your pain. That was rough.”

“ Are you okay? ”

I gasped and opened my eyes to see who was there but found only Bart standing on my chest. He was still only a few inches tall, small enough to fit in my pocket, but he cocked his head to the side and looked down at me. His antlers almost touched my body they were so big.

“Who said that? Who’s there?” I licked my lips. “Hello?”

“ HELLO!” Bart leapt off my chest and by the time he landed, he was the size of a golden retriever puppy. “ You heard, Bart?! ”

He didn’t have a tail but his little butt was wiggling just the same. Bart really was adorable. His body was thick and sturdy like a bull, and it just made him so cute with the massive moose-like antlers. The fact that he was that pretty green color of moldavite was just the chef’s kiss topping.

Wait a second. I pressed my hand to my forehead and looked up at his little face staring down at me. “Bart, did you just talk to me?”

He danced on his hooves and nodded. Bart always talk to you.

That was when I realized he hadn’t spoken out loud, I was just hearing him the way I did with other crystals—or similarly.

Riven’s nickname for me was making more and more sense every hour.

I reached up to pet him. “So it took an explosion for me to hear you? Cool. I’ll take it.”

Bart no like boom but Bart like you hear Bart.

“I like that I can hear Bart too.” I grinned up at him. “Are you hurt?”

No, Bart not hurt. Bart shook all over but Bart fine now.

I bit my lip and felt my cheeks flush. “Do you like your name I gave you?”

Bart love Bart. Bart can be big Bartholomew or Bart can be small like Bart.

That made me giggle which sent a round of sharp, stabbing pains through my eyes and temples. I exhaled and gripped my head with both hands. A groan slipped through my lips.

Collins hurt.

“Collins hurt, yes." I took a deep breath. “Do you see Bash?”

No. Bart no see Bash. Bart look around but no Bash. No anyone. Just Bart and Collins. Bash go with boom?

“I was afraid you’d say that.” I tried to get up but the best I could do was roll onto my side so I was face-to-face with Bart, who was flat on the snow on his belly. “Bart, I can’t get up.”

Bart help. He ducked his head down and at an angle so I could throw my arm around his neck. Okay. Bart pick up now.

I took a deep breath and braced myself just as his body grew bigger. His antler scooped my legs off the snow and carefully lifted me onto his back. It was not graceful by any means, but I couldn’t wait to tell Ellie I’d just acted out the scene in Lord of the Rings when Aragorn’s horse picks him up. She would love the reference. That made me smile. I leaned my forehead against his neck and just relished the coldness against my skin—which was the first time in my entire life I’d felt that way.

Collins look like Collins soon?

“What? OH. Right. Sorry, Bart.” Without lifting my head, I reached into my other pocket and grabbed the vial with Maren’s reversal potion inside. Thankfully, it hadn’t shattered. It took me a second to actually get the top off so I had no strength left to bring it to my mouth. They’d just poured it on us before though, so I flicked my wrist and sent the potion splashing into my face. The pain in my head made the chill of the potion actually pleasant. I took a few deep breaths, then lifted my head. “Am I me again?”

Bart craned his neck back and looked at me nearly upside down. Bart sees Collins now. Bart happy.

“Good, good. Okay, I need to get back to Crystal Henge and see if Bash is there. Can you get us back up there?”

Bart get big so Bart strong for snow.

“Okay, yeah, get big.”

Hold on to Bart?

I smiled and wrapped my arms tight around his neck. “I’ve got you.”

The world hadn’t quite stopped spinning, so I closed my eyes and trusted Bart to get me where I needed to be. Despite being massive and made of solid crystal, he moved gracefully with smooth steps that didn’t jar me. It was better off he gave me a ride anyway. My mind was an absolute mess over Bash. He’d been holding me when I dropped the sixth staff, so how he didn’t land where I did really confused me. But mostly it terrified me. I was trying to stay calm and not freak out before I knew if there was a reason to freak out.

We just had to get to Crystal Henge, then go from there.

I had no idea how long Bart walked but I was fairly certain I fell asleep. My head was woozy and pounded. I’d gotten a concussion once in middle school, and this felt worse than that. Exactly what I needed for this little war of ours.

Bart at Crystal Henge now. Collins okay?

“Collins is okay. My head just hurts.” I sat up as slow as possible and the world spun, so I gripped Bart’s antlers for support. “Collins needs a second.”

When it settled, I had to blink my eyes about a dozen times to spot Crystal Henge buried beneath heaps of snow. A rainbow swirl of colors hovered off the ground. It looked like we were standing inside an Aurora Borealis. It was breathtakingly gorgeous. For a moment, I could only stare.

Bart worried about Collins.

I smiled and ran my hands over his back. “Sorry, Bart. I might be worried about me too.”

Bart feels stronger from Crystal Henge. Maybe Collins will too?

“You’re so smart, Bart. No time like the present.” I leaned forward so I could pull myself up and over his back but gravity claimed me in an instant and I went flying right off the side and crashing to the snow with a thud and a crunch. “Ouch.”

Bart made a weird, slightly panicked sound. Collins stuck on Bart.

“What? No, I’m on the—” My eyes widened. Apparently, the blast had rocked me so hard that my braids had begun to unravel and the long pink strands were caught in Bart’s antlers. “Oh boy. That’s just my hair. Lower your head?”

Thank God my hair was so Rapunzel-like or I might’ve had a matching braid to give Zuriel for his souvenir collection. He lowered his antler, so I grabbed hold of it and let him lift me back to my feet. I swayed a little but had a good grip on him so I stayed upright. Then I peeled my hair off of his antlers and chuckled.

“Sorry about that, Bart.”

It was actually a relief to see my own hair flowing by my hips. I’d been a few other people now, and something usually went wrong when I was. I wanted to be me from here on out.

“Ya know, Bash, I—” I gasped. “BASH!”

I spun around in a panic, kicking at the swirling rainbow fog hoping to find him lying beneath it, but I only found snow. My mind was so foggy I’d forgotten what I even came back here to look for. My stomach was a ball of rocks. He was nowhere to be seen. In every direction I looked, I found only snow and ice.

“Bart, do you see Bash?”

Bart see no one. Bart take a lap around.

I nodded and scrambled through the thigh-high deep snow until I got to Crystal Henge. I couldn’t tell which crystal was which by sight, everything just looked white, so I just started touching them until I felt the familiar tingle of moonstone. YOU! Moonstone! Hi, have you seen Bash?

Like always when I communicated with crystals, I saw the world from their angle in my vision, which meant right now I was seeing myself. I cringed at the cut on my forehead and the blood dripping down the side that I hadn’t even felt. My braids were nearly halfway unraveled, leaving my hair crinkled and wild. But it was my eyes that made me nervous, they looked bugged out and wild yet also kind of fuzzy. I blinked and closed my eyes. Please, can you find him? Just give him a zap?

I watched with nausea in my throat as the visions soared through the blizzard. It went far, too far, before it finally stopped. But the vision was a dull gray. It pulsed and then lifted straight up. Two thin, brown hands planted in the snow, and I sagged with relief. Those were Jada’s hands, but right now they were Bash’s, which meant he was alive.

My breath left me in a rush—and then everything went dark.

COLLINS!

I gasped and jumped up only to find I’d been lying in the snow. “What happened?”

Bart saw Collins fall. Bart come back. Bart no see Bash or Jada or anyone.

“Thanks, Bart. I saw him through the stones. Kind of. He’s alive but I think he flew far away in the explosion.”

Bart looked to the pink-ish sky and nodded. Bash fly fast.

“Yes, he does.” I smirked and looked around. The staffs we’d made were gone, as if they’d been shattered to dust in that explosion. “Let’s hope that worked, Bart.”

Bart sat down on his back end with his back legs flopped to each side like Eeyore. It was adorable even though he was bigger than a moose right now. I was pushing to my feet and wiping the snow off my hands when I heard it: that singing I’d heard before. It felt like ages ago that I’d heard it, but there was no doubt in my mind it was the same sound. My pulse quickened. I closed my eyes and focused on the sound. It had words now, but I couldn’t understand them. The voice was too far to make them out.

I opened my eyes and smiled a giddy smile. “I hear you.”

Bart hears what?

“I can hear a song. It’s the most beautiful song, Bart. I’ve heard it here before.” I took a step away from him. The sound was nearly hypnotizing. It was methodical and sweet, a mix of the best kind of Classical. It called to me, tugging at my power. I wanted to follow it, needed to follow it. I spun around in a circle. “Talk to me, please. Chaos Stone, I know that’s you. I hear you. I want to set you free, but you have to talk to me. Tell me where you are.”

Nothing, just the howl of the wind ripping between the mountains.

I sank to my knees and closed my eyes. “Please. Please tell me where you are. Chaos, I’m here. I’m your Stone Keeper. Tell me how to find you.”

You are not ready to find me, Stone Keeper.

I choked on a gasp. My eyes flew open. “Yes, I am.”

I am not so sure.

“You’re not sure ? Are you kidding me?” I pushed back to my feet and spun around to look down at the war my friends were fighting. Those holes in the sky sent waves of armies through without ending. I saw the flash of red and purple but nothing else. I pointed down to the carnage beneath us. “Are you not looking? Look at them. Look at what they’re fighting for : us. For you and for me, they’re down there risking their lives. This isn’t even their realm! They can go back to Second Realm with the Astral Stone and live happily ever after, but they’re HERE with US to save YOU. And you’re gonna tell me you’re not sure ?”

Silence.

To my surprise and horror, I heard a deep, musical chuckle in my ears. It was something from a horror film. Chaos looks good on you, Stone Keeper. Did that feel good?

I exhaled and my breath left me in a white cloud. “Yes. It did.”

Good. Maybe you’re ready after all.

I groaned. “Please. I just severed the bond. We’ve killed all of the royal family except for her. I’m here now. Come to me so we can end this together . . . so I can bring you peace.”

Peace? It chuckled again. Little Whisperer, I AM Chaos. I do not seek peace.

“Everyone seeks peace. It doesn’t mean your definition of it has to match mine.” I gestured around us. “This what you like? Being frozen beneath the snow? Being used and abused by a monster? Stop calling my bluff. We’re at the end now. You know it, too, that’s why you’re finally talking to me. You could’ve been talking to me this whole time. So, let’s have it. Tell me how to find you.”

I waited. And waited. Bart just cocked his head to the side and watched silently.

Finally, I heard that singing again. If you want to find me, Little Whisperer, you must prove you are not like her.

“Prove I’m not like her? ” I scrubbed my face with my hands. “What more do I have to do to prove I’m not like her?”

She was once as charmingly chaotic as you, Little Whisperer. You better hurry and figure it out.

I cursed. But then I remembered Venus and Bregan’s chest stones in my pocket. “OH! Okay, hold on!”

With shaking fingers, I dove into my pocket and pulled out both Venus’s rose quartz and Bregan’s tiger eye. Time to go home, you two. I held my hands out to my sides, offering the stones back to Crystal Henge. This was where they belonged. I’d done this before, so I just let my magic flow around my arms. It lingered around my hands and dropped to the ground like little waterfalls, spreading out from me in slow ripples like an aquamarine lake. When it reached the circle of stones, the ground shook under me and the ice cracked. Ice popped and rose from the ground like jagged rocks around me. The snow lifted off the stones, and everything froze.

For a moment, everything was silent . . . and then everything happened at once. Two pillars rose from the ground at my sides. On top of each pillar was a small tripod-looking pedestal. I placed the stones on them and the forks of the tripod wound up around the stones like crystal vines, encompassing the stones completely. They glowed even brighter.

Finally be free. No one will hurt you anymore. I felt joy burst from the stones. They were home and forever free of their poisonous captors. It was just like with Aryk and Marigold’s stones. The crystals all flared to life with bright colors. Their beams shot up toward the sky like brilliant spotlights. Each one glowed so bright it was nearly blinding. The stones began to vibrate, rumbling all around me. The sound of cracking ice filled the air. The wind kicked up and sent my hair flying.

The stones all rose a foot off the ground and started to spin around me. Their speed increased until the stones became a glowing blur. The beams of light wove together in a rainbow of colors above my head like little strings spinning around each other. They shot up to the air and colorful lightning forked over the sky, then shot down around Crystal Henge. Chunks of ice flew in the air. The booming of each strike was so deafening I nearly had to cover my ears.

The two pillars lowered into the ground, and everything went right back to where it was, as if I was never here. I let out a deep breath. That was one hell of a welcome home celebration. I’d been so shocked and startled by it the first time I hadn’t truly appreciated it for what it was. I wanted that level of celebration when we won this war.

I grinned. I bet you heard THAT, bitch. Tephine had to be livid.

I heard the Chaos Stone sigh in relief, and it echoed in my head. Thank you.

“You’re welcome. So, what about that, Chaos? Tephine would never?—”

They’re dead. That proves nothing.

“What? ”

We are happy to have them home, but it is not enough. You have not proven yourself enough.

Not enough. I supposed I wasn’t too shocked by that statement. I still had to return Helena’s and Tephine’s. That had to be it, to be what the Chaos Stone wanted. And I couldn’t blame it. I’d want what was stolen from me back in its entirety.

There was a small sliver of doubt lingering in the shadows of my mind that maybe I’d need to do something else to prove my intentions to the Chaos Stone, but I hadn’t a clue what it could be. As I turned back to face the war raging down below, I saw the flashes of my friends’ magic.

But I also saw Tephine.

And the sight of her gave me hope for the first time . . . because she was struggling to stand. She staggered out of that crystal forest with knees that kept buckling. When she gripped the tree for support, I cackled like a villain. Her diamond-like wings fluttered and lifted her off the ground only to drop her on her ass from ten feet up. I laughed so hard I bent over and stumbled a few feet. Bart hurried over and with a flick of his antlers had me up and on his back. I looked back down to my nemesis and found her gasping for air on top of one of those crystal trees.

“Bart, bring me over to the moonstone in Crystal Henge?”

He spun around and leapt over to a stone covered in snow. I leaned down and pressed my palm to it. Hey, moonstone, can you send a message to Bash for me?

I closed my eyes and saw through Bash’s stone, staring up at the rift closing in the sky. Bash’s pale-blue hair flew around his stone. It was a relief to see him back as himself, even when his hand came into view with specks of blood on it. He was alive and standing. I’d take that.

BASH. Look to the forest’s edge. Your mother is struggling, I whispered through the stone. I had no idea what this would sound like to him, but according to Riven it worked. Meet me at the fight and let’s kill this bitch.