Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

Justice pulled away from the curb, and we sped off.

My heart pounded as I glanced at him. “I bet they know where we’re headed.” I rubbed my forehead. “Why do you think they’re not following us? This doesn’t make sense.”

He nodded. “Unfortunately, I think you’re right.”

Brody caught my eye in the rearview mirror, his expression determined. “We can’t let their intimidation tactics work. As long as we stick together and stay true to our mission, we’ve already won half the battle. They might think they have the upper hand, but our strength lies in our unity and resolve.”

“It’s going to take us half a day to get to the fairy pools on the Isle of Skye. That will give Maci, Rage, and the other demons time to either move the phoenix or set a trap for us,” Justice grumbled.

“Too bad we can’t use the hourglass,” Damon remarked as he folded his arms. “A time machine would have been nice.”

Zara and Lisa exchanged a loaded glance, their eyes flickering with unspoken concerns.

My stomach dropped. I’d seen enough of their silent witch communication to know when something was seriously wrong. The air around us seemed to thicken, charged with an energy I couldn’t place but definitely didn’t like.

“Maybe not,” Zara offered tightly. Two simple words, but the way she said them with that edge of fear in her voice made my skin crawl.

Lisa inhaled sharply, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. “There’s…a possibility we could conjure a spell,” she began, her words measured and cautious. “To activate the hourglass.”

She paused. “But the risks are severe. If the spell isn’t potent enough, it could backfire catastrophically. We might not all make it through. Some of us could be left behind, or worse, trapped in the folds of time itself.”

Her words hit me like a physical blow, sucking the air from my lungs. The car suddenly felt too small, too confining. I looked at the faces around me. Friends, family, people I’d die for. The thought of losing even one of them made my chest constrict painfully.

Memories of past losses flashed through my mind. Faces I’d never see again, voices forever silenced. I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms. Losing someone again wasn’t an option. It couldn’t be.

Yet if there was even the slightest chance this would work, the risk would be worth it. Wouldn’t it? The fate of everything we knew hung in the balance. I swallowed hard, tasting the bitterness of fear and determination.

“Even if we manage to cast it correctly, there’s no guarantee it will work at all,” she added.

I turned, not sure how to answer that.

“Well, ain’t that peachy.” Damon’s voice dripped with sarcasm. He scrubbed his face, then locked gazes with Lisa. “So, our choices are to sit here twiddling our thumbs or risk becoming time confetti. Great.”

He paused for a beat, then added with grim determination, “You know what? I say we do it. We’ve faced worse odds before. Hell, being trapped in time might even be a fun vacation from the usual crap we deal with.”

Damon smirked at me. “What do you say, Sawyer? Ready to add ‘time refugee’ to our resumes?”

It would take four to five hours to even get to the Isle of Skye, and that was if Justice sped through the countryside. Maci and her demons would get to the fairy pools long before we did. If there was even a chance…

The witches had laid out the possible catastrophes.

“I vote for time travel,” I replied, studying each of my team members.

Damon’s jaw clenched, his dark eyes fixed on some distant point outside the window, conflict etched across his features.

Lisa twisted a strand of hair nervously around her finger, her other hand clasped tightly with Zara’s.

Zara’s face was a mask of concentration, her free hand tracing invisible sigils on her knee as if already preparing for the spell.

Brody sat unnaturally still, his usual optimism replaced by a solemn determination.

“Anyone object?” I asked.

No one said anything. Their pressed lips and grave expressions spoke volumes. For better or worse, we were doing this.

Justice glanced at me, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. “I’ll pull over at that gas station and park in the back. Maybe Maci and her minions won’t spot it.”

“Maybe.” I settled back in my seat, trying not to let pessimism creep into my voice, but my gaze instinctively scanned the sky. The clouds above seemed to shift and darken ominously. Maci could be anywhere. Lurking in the shadow of a cloud, melding with the darkness between trees, or even hiding in our own shadows. The thought made the hair stand up on the back of my neck.

Lisa asked, “Do you think Maci’s tracking us?”

I shrugged. “Possibly. A shadow dragon isn’t exactly easy to shake.”

Damon chuckled bitterly. “Right, these suckers are like supernatural bloodhounds. Once they’ve got your scent, they don’t easily lose it.” He paused, thinking. “We need to muddy the trail somehow. Anyone got any ideas for throwing off a shadow dragon’s nose?”

I glanced over my shoulder. “Time travel.”

“If it works,” he mumbled. “Too bad we can’t roll around in some deer musk or whatever hunters use. Though I gotta say, that might be preferable to some of the other things we’ve had to do to ditch monsters.”

Justice took the turn into the gas station he’d noticed and pulled around behind it. It was a small station with tall trees in the back, so hopefully it would hide the SUV. We got out of the car, and I pulled the hourglass from my backpack, wondering if the spell would work. The hourglass time travel was supposed to be a one-time thing.

Lisa and Zara spoke in soft voices, then stepped apart from each other.

Zara wiped her palms on her jeans. “We have decided on a spell.”

“Wait, ‘decided on?’” Damon drawled, narrowing his eyes. “I thought you witchy types had this spell stuff down pat. You’re telling me you’ve been flipping through your magic cookbook this whole time?”

Lisa met his hostile stare. “We are from two different covens with different spell books, but we found one that meets both styles. Happy?”

“Yeah, yeah. You’re the witches.” He shrugged, then fixed them with a stern look. “Make sure it works. I’m not looking to star in my own ‘Back to the Future’ blooper reel.”

Brody shielded his eyes as he looked at the sky. “Team, we’ve got incoming. Large shadow overhead. Lisa, Zara, if you’ve got a plan, now’s the time. Everyone else, be ready to move on my signal.”

“Sawyer, put the hourglass on the trunk of the car,” Zara commanded tightly.

I complied swiftly, the cool metal of the car in stark contrast to my clammy hands. My eyes darted skyward, searching for any sign of Maci’s shadow form. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end, an eerie sensation of being watched prickling across my skin.

The screech of tires suddenly shattered the relative quiet. Car doors slammed in rapid succession, sharp and foreboding. Angry voices rose in a cacophony, growing louder with each passing second.

“Shit,” I muttered. “Rage is here.”

Lisa and Zara flanked the hourglass, their faces etched in concentration. They raised their hands, fingers splayed over the ancient artifact. The air around us seemed charged with an electric tension that made my teeth ache.

Their voices rose in unison, clear and powerful.

“Tempus fluit, aqua currit,

Horae vitrae, viam aperit.

Per umbras et lucem,

Ad fontes faerie nos ducent.

Crystalli potestas, temporis nexus,

Iter nostrum nunc perfectus!”

As they chanted, the sand in the hourglass glowed and pulsed. A faint mist swirled around our feet, gradually rising and enveloping us. The witches’ eyes blazed, their hair whipping in a wind that seemed to affect only them.

The angry voices grew closer, a crescendo of threats and curses. A dark shadow passed over us, and my heart leaped into my throat. I looked up to see the massive outline of a dragon silhouetted against the sky, its wings blotting out the sun. Time was slipping through our fingers like sand.

Rage rounded the corner of the gas station, his eyes gleaming with malicious triumph. “Going somewhere without me?” He put his hand on his chest in mock hurt. “I’m offended.” His casual tone belied the dangerous glint in his eyes.

“Everyone,” Lisa yelled, her voice cracking with urgency. “Touch the hourglass. Now!”

Adrenaline surged through me as I snatched my backpack and slammed my hand on the hourglass. The ice-cold glass sent a shiver up my arm. Justice and Damon flanked me, forming a human shield against Rage’s advancing threat.

Brody backed up and pulled Zara and Lisa away from their spellcasting stance, guiding them urgently toward the hourglass. The moment their fingers made contact, the air crackled with energy. Sparkles of light danced across my vision, swirling faster and faster until they became a dizzying vortex.

“You’re not going anywhere without me,” Rage roared in fury and desperation. He lunged forward, fingers outstretched like claws, grasping for any part of us he could reach.

My stomach lurched as the world dissolved into mist. Rage’s snarling face faded, his fingers passing through me like smoke. The last thing I saw was his expression of red-hot rage, a silent howl of frustration as I slipped beyond his reach.