The sky didn’t look any different. With the cloaking shield gone, it still carried its afternoon hues of pink and orange. Black smoke billowed from different levels of the mountain. Had it not been for the sounds of swords clashing, screams of agony, and Blaze’s bloodcurdling roars, this would’ve been a beautiful and tranquil afternoon.
“I know you’re anxious,” Laughlan said quietly.
I looked to my right and found him watching me intently from another branch. I replied with a shrug.
“Aren’t you?” I asked.
“Of course,” he replied. “But the shield is down. Which means that, any minute now, their people will be coming down from the sky.”
“I know.” I sighed, then let out a frustrated groan. “But we don’t know what’s going on in the city now. I don’t have Harper’s True Sight. I can’t see who’s still standing, or whether the daemon king is still alive. We don’t know anything!”
“I can see Hansa and Jax from here,” Rush murmured, taking his hood off and squinting toward the mountain through the blue lens. “And Fiona, Caia, Avril, Scarlett, and Patrik. They’re down on the third level now, headed for the fight. They left a trail of headless Maras behind them.”
“Hah!” I chuckled, my heart swelling with pride. “Knew they were hardcore,” I added, then frowned. “What about Harper?”
“She’s on the seventh level with… I think Caspian,” Amina chimed in, looking through the lens as Rush held it up for her. “He’s pretty banged up, and… Oh, no.” She instantly teared up.
“What?” I croaked, mentally preparing myself for bad news. It was bound to come. We were at war, after all. “Amina, what is it?”
“It’s Colton,” she breathed, her lower lip trembling. “He… He didn’t make it. Neither did Arrah.” She shook her head slowly, then wiped the tears streaming down her cheeks. “It’s best if we don’t think about the casualties for now. Let’s get this over with first.”
Amina was the first to get down from our safe tree spot, followed by Rush.
I watched them both as they headed out into the field. The sun was setting beyond the gorges to the west. My heart was aching at the thought of Arrah and Colton gone. Arrah, especially, had suffered enough already. She deserved better.
“What are you doing?” I asked, swallowing back my own tears.
“We should move out into the open,” Amina said. “The sun is going down. Once the others come from the moon, we need to be able to spot them.”
“She’s right,” Laughlan said, then jumped off his branch and landed in the tall grass. I joined him, and we walked over to Rush and Amina.
A spine-tingling groan erupted from the mountain base. The daemons had set the catapults off, hurling large stones at the third and fourth levels of the mountain. A variety of Druid spells prevented most of the projectiles from hitting the people and some of the buildings. The shimmering sheets of gold and blue pushed the stones away—they crashed into the second and first levels, flattening entire neighborhoods in the process.
My breath hitched, and I wondered if anyone was anywhere near the impact areas when the stones came down. I had no choice but to hope that they weren’t. There was enough anguish and anxiety building up inside me, and, like Laughlan had said, I needed my wits about me.
“At least Arrah’s brother is still alive,” I murmured, following Rush, Amina, and Laughlan deeper into the field. Amina gave me a sad look. “She fought hard to get him out of there and to keep him safe. So, there’s that.”
“Arrah died a hero,” Laughlan replied. “So did Colton and anyone else we’ve lost today. We knew this would happen, from the moment we agreed to help the GASP crew. But they did it. They brought the shield down.”
I stilled, staring up at the sky. My heart jumped into my throat.
“Whoa,” I croaked, my jaw dropping. A bright light twinkled between two strips of white clouds. “I think they’re here.”
I pointed at the light, which grew bigger with every second that passed.
Laughlan produced a handful of rough gemstones from his pockets, which he tossed around us in the grass, in a wide circle. He then joined me in the middle, motioning for Amina and Rush to move back. Rush frowned, then shook his head.
“No, you Druids need energy for your dark magic,” he said. “Take some from us, if you need to. Don’t push us back.”
“I’m not pushing you back,” Laughlan replied dryly. “The spell won’t work with you in it. Oh, and thanks for offering your energy. I was going to help myself, anyway.”
Amina chuckled, then crossed her arms. “Not a fan of consent, are you?”
“Sorry,” Laughlan replied with a half-smile and a shrug. “I forget I have to say these things out loud. I’ve been locked in that damn meranium box for so long, my social skills are comatose.”
He then muttered a spell under his breath. He clapped his hands once between each sentence of the incantation. With each clap, a gemstone lit up in the grass. When the last one ignited, bright white light swallowed us as the beacon shot through the sky.
Rush and Amina glowed as Laughlan’s Druid spell drew some energy from them.
The beacon was about fifteen feet thick. It could probably be seen from outer space.
Laughlan took my hand and whispered another spell. All of a sudden, I could see him again, despite the blinding light.
“I need you to focus now,” he said. “This beacon doesn’t just draw the interplanetary spell close; it also amplifies your elemental abilities and my magic. We’ve only got a minute before Rush and Amina are drained and we miss our window of opportunity.”
I nodded and focused my senses on the winds rising around us.
Humming, I put my arms out, then aimed them both at the interplanetary spell hurling toward the surface. It was round, and it glowed white. I summoned the winds, using an internal voice to ask for their help.
Come on… You’ve done it before, you can do it again. Help me.
It didn’t always work, but when it did, I could even hear the winds whispering as they did my bidding. With Neha’s stories about the Hermessi now in the back of my head, I was beginning to wonder whether there was any truth to them.
Please, winds. Help me.
They did. They howled and swished around us, then expanded into powerful gusts that knocked both Amina and Rush down before they headed toward the light orb.
I wiggled my fingers in an attempt to finetune the winds’ direction. Each current felt like an extension of my own body, perfectly attuned to my needs and my intentions. They worked seamlessly, albeit a tad roughly for my taste.
They knocked into the light orb, stopping its trajectory in midair. They swirled around it, then bumped into it and pushed it toward us.
“It’s coming!” I shouted. “It’s coming! I’m doing it!”
I laughed. I’d never accomplished such a feat before, not at that large a scale, anyway.
I could feel the energy flowing through me, as if every particle in my body was a part of the wind—weightless and timeless. It was strange, but I couldn’t get enough of it. It filled my heart with unprecedented joy, making my pulse race and my lips stretch into a grin.
“This feels… different,” I added, moving my hands and coaxing the large light orb closer.
Laughlan watched me with renewed interest. The shadow of a smile flickered across his face.
“I’m not surprised,” he said. “You’re a fae.”
“No, this is different,” I replied. “It’s… much more powerful. It’s as if I’m connected to everything. I’m having a hard time explaining this, but I can almost hear the wind whispering actual words in my ears.”
He frowned slightly. “Do you know what they’re saying?”
I shook my head. “Not really. I don’t recognize the language. But I’ve got a good feeling. It’s positive, I think.”
Laughlan scoffed lightly. “I’m starting to think that those Hermessi stories are real. Maybe the el
ements are helping you. I mean, it would make sense, if you think about it. Neraka is a powerful world all by itself. The strength of its waves. The resilience of its stone. The power of its winds. The devastation of its fires. It’s all there.”
I thought about it for a while as I kept my gaze focused on the approaching light orb. I found myself nodding slowly. Laughlan gave me a soft nudge, then put his arms out.
“Legends aside now, are you ready?” he asked. “Here comes the hardest part.”
“What’s that?” I replied, slightly confused.
“Steering and landing.”
My eyes grew wide, watching the interplanetary spell sphere get bigger. It was less than a mile away, and it was coming at us extremely fast. Whether it was my wind power or its own design, the light orb was going to smash into us if we didn’t help it slow down and land.
My heart skipped a beat.
“You’ve got this, and I’m here,” Laughlan added, as if sensing my frayed nerves.
I took a deep breath and focused on the orb.
We were so close to ending this war, once and for all.
Derek
Once we breached Neraka’s atmosphere, the interplanetary spell stabilized itself.
We shot through the sky at an incredible speed, and yet we were so far from the surface it seemed as though we weren’t even moving.
A beacon of light shot out of the field between Azure Heights and the gorges. It was thick and bright, and my instinct told me to follow it. I looked at Viola.
“Can we land there?” I asked.
Sofia gently squeezed my arm. “Are you sure it’s a good idea? What if it’s a trap?”
“I doubt it’s a trap,” Corrine interjected. “Someone took the shield down so we could come in. There’s a war going on at the base of the mountain, but there’s a beacon out in the field. I’m inclined to think they’re with us and they’re trying to signal us away from the mountain.”
She looked through her telescope, then frowned slightly.
“Who do you see?” I asked.
“Four people. Two of them Maras, a Druid, and… a fae, I think,” Corrine replied.
I looked at Viola again. She nodded once. “I can head toward it, yes,” she said, then gave her sisters a sideways glance. They all huddled together, humming as they lit up in a bright shade of hot pink. Viola put her arms out, muttering a spell as she helped guide the orb toward the beacon.
“Everybody, hold on!” Safira said, closing her eyes. “I can feel something coming.”
My heart skipped a beat. “What do you mean?”
“I’m not sure I can explain it,” she replied. “But as Daughters of a galaxy ourselves, we feel the planet’s energy. And right now, it’s aimed at us. It’s as if Neraka knows we’re coming and it’s reacting.”
“Is that good?” I asked.
Safira shrugged. “I have no idea, but—”
Something hit our capsule hard. It knocked me down. I caught Sofia and held her close as I fell backward, cushioning her landing. I heard the others grunt. Corrine and Ibrahim held on to the control board. Only the Daughters stayed upright, all of them glowing pink and shutting their eyes as they focused on steering the orb.
I looked around, then at Sofia. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “Mm-hm. But what was that?”
“Wind,” Corrine answered. “Extremely powerful wind. I think Safira may be on to something here,” she added, looking at the multiple glimmering lights on her control screen.
“What do you mean? What’s happening?” I asked, suddenly overcome with concern. There were many of us on board. At this altitude, an impact could do a lot of harm to half of our group. Our chances of survival were even slimmer if our travel spell exploded. Until our feet reached the ground, I had no choice but to stay on edge.
Safira groaned, then chuckled softly, her eyes still shut. “It’s the wind. It’s rough, but it’s actually helping us. It’s steering us toward the beacon.”
“Wait,” Corrine murmured, looking through her telescope again. “The fae… The fae and the Druid. I’ll bet they have something to do with this.”
I looked out through the windshield, then got back up and took a seat, with Sofia next to me.
“Maybe we should buckle up,” I said.
“No need,” Corrine replied, shaking her head. She gave me a brief look over her shoulder and smiled. “We’re steady now.”
“We’re too fast, though,” Ibrahim interjected, looking at the controls before him. One of the screens blared red. “Pink ladies, can you help us slow down?”
Viola chuckled softly, then continued with her incantation.
“We’re working together here,” Corrine replied. “We’re slowing down, and, judging by the wind direction, the fae is doing something on her side to help us, too. It’s pushing back against the capsule now.”
I took several deep breaths, holding Sofia’s hand. I felt the capsule tremble, hurling toward the surface of Neraka.
“Everybody, hold on!” Corrine said. “We’re landing.”
The impact wasn’t as bad as I’d thought it would be. The dragons and the wards lost their footing as soon as we hit the ground. They fell and toppled one another like bowling pins, grunting and cursing as they struggled to get back up and retain a sliver of dignity.
I stifled a chuckle, as did Jovi and the others. Heath gave me a joking death stare, prompting me to offer him a smirk in return.
“You all right there, Heath?” I asked dryly.
He scoffed, then got back up and stretched his arms out.
The capsule settled on the ground, just feet away from the beacon.
We all got out through the main hatch. Two at a time. Sofia and I rushed around to the front, where the beacon died out. In its place, four creatures awaited, as described by Corrine. A Mara couple, a Druid, and a young fae.
They all stared at us with wide eyes, measuring each of our crew members from head to toe.
Corrine and Ibrahim joined our side, while the others gathered around the gemstone circle left in the tall grass. The air was clean and fresh—though I could smell the burning wood and flesh from the city. It made my spine tingle, and not in a good way. It was the smell of death.
“I guess a thank you is in order?” I asked, looking at the four strangers.
They all bowed before us. The Druid then stepped forward.
“I didn’t think we’d see Eritopians again,” he said, and offered his hand. I shook it firmly. “I’m Laughlan,” he added, then pointed at the fae and the Mara couple. “These are Vesta, Rush, and Amina. We’re part of the Druid delegation that crash-landed on Neraka a long time ago.”
“Oh, wow,” Draven exclaimed, coming around to get a better look at them. “You’re… You were with the swamp witch, right?”
Laughlan nodded.
“What’s going on back there?” I asked. “Where are our people? How are you still here? What happened?”
Laughlan, Vesta, Rush, and Amina looked at each other, bitterly amused.
“There’s a war going on back there, but before you go in, there are a few things you need to know,” Laughlan replied.
We all huddled closer and listened as Laughlan and his group brought us up to speed on what had been going on in this world for the past eight or ten millennia. My stomach dropped as I heard about the Exiled Maras’ inability to turn their lives around and their horrible treatment of the Imen, along with other endemic species.
We learned about the daemons and their addiction to eating souls. That alone required a lot more clarification, but, given the war transpiring less than a mile away from our location, we had to make do with what the Druid could tell us.
We found out about Lumi and how she’d been abducted by the Exiled Maras, then tortured and shared with the daemons for her spells. Ten minutes later, we had a much better picture of what had been going on here. And it made my blood run infinitely colder. On top of that, there were a lot of ga
ps that needed filling, and details that didn’t fit the overall picture.
Sofia was the first to spot the most important anomaly. “Hold on,” she said, shaking her head. “You said our people have been here for weeks. How is that possible? They left Neraka four days ago.”
Laughlan stilled, his eyes widening as he realized something. “It wasn’t just a cloaking shield, then,” he muttered. “It was a—”
“You’ve got to be friggin’ kidding me!” Jovi snapped, suddenly exasperated. “It was a time lapse!”
“No,” Phoenix gasped. “Like in Eritopia?”
“Kind of? I guess?” Jovi replied, shrugging. “It’s only been days, though, not years. Plus, it’s reversed. Last time, we were the ones slowing down, while The Shade was going twenty years faster. Dammit, we really need to scrap this type of spell out of any recorded document. People can’t just screw with time like this again!”
Laughlan watched the exchange, somewhat confused.
“We’ve been through something similar before, where the flow of time is concerned,” I said, trying to speed things along.
“So, you’re saying the Exiled Maras and the daemons have been working together for thousands of years, bleeding Imen dry, wiping out the other species, and consuming actual souls?” Tejus asked, taking a step forward.
“Pretty much,” Vesta replied. “They’ve been keeping the surviving delegation members prisoner. They’ve been draining this world dry.”
“And the reason they reached out to us was so they could capture some of our people and force them into breeding camps?” Tejus muttered, his hands balled into fists. I could see rage swelling his veins already.
“Yes. Which explains why they shifted time within the cloaking spell,” Laughlan said. “They needed more time to figure out the best way to capture your people. They’d been putting on an elaborate play and looking for the right angle to attack. You see, they didn’t know you had dragons. That threw them for a loop, and they had to improvise. It didn’t work out too well for them because your kids are sharp.”