Merlin's Children (The Children and the Blood) (32 page)

“I have to… fuel that? Like with something like Merlin’s staff?”

“Staff?”

Thelma sounded like she’d never heard of such a thing. Of course, Ashe reflected, that didn’t mean much.

“Yes,” she persisted. “The staff only the Merlin’s Children could use. The staff that glowed when they touched it and made them stronger. I need something like that?”

The old woman’s bafflement melted into derision. “Toys. Push the canyon back, but never
fix
anything. You have to fuel it. Toys won’t do that.”

Ashe closed her eyes again. The staff was gone anyway. On some level, the answer was almost a relief. “Okay, then what will?”

“I told you.”

She exhaled sharply. “Can you tell me again?”

Thelma pointed to Cole and Spider. “Them.”

Ashe froze.

“You take from them. Like Merlin did. You need her,” Thelma glanced to Lily. “And then you need them. The power they have. What they are. You take it from them and make it yours.”

A rough breath escaped her, and she felt her head shake back and forth.

Thelma met her shocked gaze confusedly. “It’s how he made the spell.”

Another breath slipped out. It was hard to pull them back in. Things seemed to shift around her and she felt her hand grasp instinctively onto the banister, steadying her as the ground moved.

“Okay, you crazy Blood bitch,” Spider snapped. “Enough. Who the hell are you? Why do you look like them and how the
hell
do you know anything about this anyway?”

Thelma blinked at her. “I was there.”

“What?” Spider demanded.

The woman’s brow furrowed. “You pointed a gun at me.”

An infuriated noise escaped the girl.

“Ashe…”

She flinched at the sound of Cole’s voice, and she couldn’t bring herself to look at him. At any of them. Fighting for air, she turned away, her hand still gripping the banister as if it was the only stable thing in the world.

“Ashley?” Lily called worriedly.

Her eyes darted to the bungalow, to the yard and the land beyond, and her legs trembled with the need to run. To climb out of her skin. To vanish instantly.

But she couldn’t even breathe.

“Ashley, you can’t make the spell without taking–”

“Shut up!” Spider yelled at the woman. “You
want
a gun pointed at you again?”

With a gasp, Ashe shoved away from the banister.

“Ashley!” Lily cried.

She didn’t turn back. Striding fast, her feet carried her away from the truck and the house till she reached the far side of the overgrown backyard and her legs wavered beneath her. She stopped, staring unseeing at the crabgrass.

Birds chirped in the distance. The wind rushed past, cold and fresh with autumn, while overhead, distant cloud wisps drifted across the brilliant blue sky.

It was everything she could do not to scream.

Gravel rumbled in the distance. Her breath catching, she spun.

Shouting broke out beyond the house, followed instantly by gunfire and a blast of magic so strong, it could only have come from her sister.

She ran.

Magic hit the bungalow, taking part of the roof with it, and she dodged wood and shingles as they pelted the ground. Sliding on the grass, she skidded around the side of the house.

Thelma was standing in the middle of the yard, arms outstretched.

Half a dozen sedans were racing down the road.

The old woman’s arms slammed to her sides.

Magic roared from her, instantly disintegrating the gray sedan rushing toward them and sending metal debris strafing through the cars behind. Careening wildly, the surviving vehicles veered around the wreckage and kept coming.

“Ashley!” Lily yelled.

She gasped, her eyes sweeping the yard. From the cover of the porch steps, the little girl started toward her, only to have Cole grab her and yank her back as magic smashed into the house. Ducked behind the truck, Spider turned her face away as a second blast shattered the passenger window and sent the pickup rocking hard.

Thelma stumbled weakly, her hands catching on the tree nearby.

“Come on!” Spider shouted, grabbing the door handle above her head.

Ashe darted forward as Cole swung Lily into his arms and bolted for the truck.

Simultaneously, magic rushed them from the cars. Swiftly, Ashe stripped the nearest attack from the air and sent it back at the sedans, while Thelma’s defenses rose to take the other blast.

She wasn’t fast enough.

Magic hit the old woman, sending her flying into the side of the bungalow.

Ashe skidded to a halt, looking between the woman and the truck. Stirring weakly, Thelma struggled to rise, and then her arms gave out beneath her, sending her crumpling back to the ground.

Snarling a curse, Ashe ran toward her.

Chunks of siding pelted her as she reached the old woman, and she ducked, one arm protecting her head as the other snagged Thelma’s bony elbow.

“Move!” she yelled.

Gasping in pain, Thelma shook her head. “Can’t…”

Ashe flung her magic at the approaching cars, propelling one of them sideways into a telephone pole, though the vehicle behind just kept coming. “You have to!”

Thelma shook her head again. “Go.”

“I’m not–”

Light swelled from the old woman, and then Ashe was flying. Crashing backwards to the ground, she gasped as air rushed from her chest and the world shuddered back into place in a staccato of color and sound.

She was beside the truck, Lily was shouting, and by the bungalow, Thelma was deathly still. Over her head, the rear door of the pickup flew open and then Cole was there. Leaning out, he grabbed her arm, hauling her from the ground.

With a gasp, she scrambled up and tumbled onto the seat as Spider hit the accelerator. Scattering dirt in its wake, the truck whipped around and then raced for the road.

A sedan was right in front of them.

Spider swore and yanked on the wheel, sending the truck swerving wildly into the ditch. Snagging the headrest, Ashe pulled herself up from the seat, flinging magic at the passing car as she moved.

The sedan went sideways, caught on its own momentum and barrel-rolled into the air. More magic rushed them, coming from the wizards struggling from the damaged cars ahead, and quickly, her defenses swelled around the truck, taking the blows.

“What the–” Spider cried.

“Just go!” Cole yelled.

The girl didn’t hesitate. The engine roared as she sent the pickup surging out of the ditch.

Cole looked from Ashe to the wizards on both sides of the road, and then threw himself to the floor.

Her magic raced out and punched into the damaged cars, propelling them into the fields.

The wizards fell behind them and the tires growled as the road began to climb. Spinning on the seat, she looked through the rear window.

No one could follow.

A gasp escaped her as she stared down at the valley. Cars and pieces of cars littered the ground in a path of destruction from the base of the hills to the crumbling bungalow. Wizards ran for the tiny house, and a few already circled the space where Thelma lay.

And less than a mile from the chaos, an old pile of rubble marked her home.

The adrenaline drained as her gaze lingered on the ruins till trees swallowed the view and the truck swerved onto the higher reaches of the mountain road.

“A-are we okay?” Lily asked, clutching the front seat and staring between her, Cole and Spider as Ashe turned back around.

She didn’t answer.

“Ashley?” Lily pressed, and then tried again when a moment went by. “Ashley?”

Wordlessly, Ashe looked away.

*****

Blood dripped from shrapnel wounds covering him from head to toe, and his dislocated arm dangled uselessly. Smoke billowed from the wreckage of the sedan before him, though it didn’t obscure the bodies of the two wizards inside.

Grimacing, Brogan tugged a shard of fragmented car from his forearm and tossed it to the ground. Reaching up again, he gripped his shoulder, drew a short breath, and then shoved it hard.

A snarl escaped him as the joint snapped into place.

He scowled, exhaling as the pain subsided to a level he could more readily ignore.

The day they were done with the Merlin queen couldn’t possibly come soon enough.

Rolling his shoulder slightly, he eyed the destroyed vehicles scattered over the fields on either side of the road, and then turned back to the decaying house. They hadn’t given much consideration to the old woman six months ago, and certainly had never thought she could be like the Blood. How it was possible was a mystery, though thankfully, one the king would likely have the leisure to explore.

Motioning the wizards aside, he studied the old woman propped against the crisscross siding. Thick blood plastered sections of her wild gray hair to her head and stained the colorless fabric of her clothes. Bony legs stuck out from beneath her tattered skirt, one of them twisted awkwardly. But past the survivable wounds, age seemed to be bearing down, till only the shortest of breaths moved her lungs.

He nodded to the wizard crouching beside her.

A short pulse of healing magic sped through the old woman.

She gasped, her eyes flying open. “Firemen,” she croaked.

The wizard glanced back, questioning.

Brogan ignored him. “Do you know why you’re alive?” he asked her calmly.

She nodded, certainty in the feeble motion. “Won’t tell you though,” she whispered.

He paid no attention to the deranged response. It was enough at the moment that she was capable of giving one at all.

“You will tell us everything you told them, why she came to you, and all that you know. Do you understand?”

A strange smile crept onto the old woman’s face.

“Yes,” she answered simply. “Do you?”

Silence hung heavy on the truck cab, and through the shattered windows, the wind blew with the icy bite of altitude. Broken glass grated beneath him and, rising slightly from the bench seat, he brushed the blue-green bits toward their innumerable counterparts littering the floor.

Several pieces flew haphazardly to hit the girl at his side, and Cole glanced over. Staring out the broken window as the wind tossed her hair, Ashe gave no more sign of noticing the glass than she had anything else over the past few miles.

He hesitated. Whether or not the old woman was right about the spell didn’t really matter. He could tell Ashe believed it.

And it kind of looked like it was killing her.

The air seemed too thin and he turned away, suddenly working to take in a breath despite the wind whipping it away from him. Blinking, he scooted forward and wrapped an arm around the headrest to steady himself as the truck bounded over the rough country highway. In the seat below him, Lily glanced up, and then returned her gaze to the window like a small twin of her sister.

“Where are we going?” he asked, his voice tight.

Silence met the question.

“Spider.”

The girl’s eyes went to him briefly. “We need to lose the truck,” she said quietly.

Cole tried not to scowl, despite the fact he knew she was right. A big, red pickup wasn’t subtle on a good day, and that didn’t even bring into it the resources Brogan had at his disposal. Half the state would probably be looking for the Chevy within the hour, based on God knew what ridiculous story the Blood came up with this time.

He just hated what it would do to Ben and Sue, learning that not only were he and Lily hundreds of miles from where they said they’d be, but they were missing from a truck that looked like it’d gone through a war.

“Yeah,” he agreed.

Spider glanced to him and then returned her eyes to the road.

Looking out the window, he studied the valley below. Farms were scattered across the landscape to the horizon, and the afternoon sun picked out the houses and the vehicles next to them in brilliant relief.

He had no idea how they were going to get another form of transportation, short of theft.

Again.

Sighing, he shook his head. “So what’s the plan, then? Don’t suppose you know how to hotwire cars or something?”

Spider was silent for a moment. “Yeah.”

He paused. Of course she did.

Minutes passed and gradually, the highway descended. Houses and shops appeared among the trees crowding the roadside, and traffic picked up as blue signs for the interstate came into view.

“There,” Spider said.

He glanced over as she steered the truck toward a small gas station set back from the road. A yellowed marquee hung below the sun-faded station sign, and from the abbreviated words crowding the letter slots, he could only garner that something was on sale. Rusted siding dangled loose from one side of the pump shelter, and so many neon advertisements crowded the windows, it was almost impossible to see inside.

His eyes scanned the lot again before he realized what the girl must have noticed.

A dark green SUV sat in the shadow of the station, by the restrooms and far from any other cars. Meanwhile, only a single security camera was attached to the building, and it was pointed squarely at the pumps fifty feet away.

Spider guided the truck off the road and through the parking lot. Pulling around to the rear of the building, she brought the vehicle to a quick stop, threw the gearshift into park and then pushed open the door.

“Stay here,” she said over her shoulder as she climbed out.

He didn’t bother to answer as she shut the door and strode toward the SUV, her gaze sweeping the surrounding area as she went. At the side of the vehicle, she paused, checking the interior, and then tugged the handle.

The door opened easily.

With a glance to the restrooms and the front of the station lot, she slid into the SUV and then ducked sideways, vanishing from sight. He waited, barely breathing as his gaze twitched from the vehicle to the restroom door and back.

The engine of the SUV kicked over. Swiftly, the girl rose into view and put the vehicle into drive.

“Come on,” Cole said.

Ashe was already moving. Snagging the bags from the floor, she paused only long enough to be sure Lily climbed out before she pushed open the door and ran for the SUV. Quickly, he followed. Lily scrambled into the back seat after her sister, and he grabbed at the passenger door while Spider shoved it wide.