Reaching Retribution (The Prophesized Series) (27 page)

What’s going on Colton? Is Natalie okay?
I can hear the panic in Liam’s voice.

She’s going to be
; just get Logan.

Natalie stops screaming and turns and looks at me. I try to smile at her and let her know that everything is going to be alright, but I know it comes out wrong.
She’s sweating and still looks like death has a grip on her. I lean forward and push her hair off of her damp forehead. She attempts to smile, but it comes out as more of a grimace. She winces as Dr. Arden works on stopping the blood flow until Logan can get here.

“You’re going to be okay, Natalie.” I squeeze her hand. “Logan’s coming to heal you.”
She still looks so pale. While Natalie tries to calm her labored breathing, I turn and watch Dr. Arden applies gauze to the wound.

“How? I know that he hit me with dark magic.”

“He had an antidote,” I say as I point to Dr. Arden. Natalie turns and looks at him.

“Thank you,” she whispers.

“Don’t thank me. I’ve done nothing worth thanking.”

“Despite what you think, you’re a good man, Dr. Arden. I can tell,” Natalie tells him. I know that she’s using her powers to sense his emotions and intentions. “You have a good heart. You were just thrown into bad circumstances.
Ryanne understands.”

Dr. Arden applies
more pressure to the wound. Natalie winces, but doesn’t say anything. He briefly looks away from the gauze and looks toward Natalie. “I just wish I could have proven myself to her.”

“
You have. Don’t worry about that.”

The doors to the lab slam open as Logan rushes into the room.
His eyes widen when he looks at Natalie. I step to the side, but keep a hold on Natalie’s hand. Dr. Arden stops applying pressure to the wound and gives Logan some room to work.

With his eyes downcast, I finally get a good look at him. Ryanne does look a lot like him. They share the same dark curly hair, the light eyes. Ryanne’s eyes are slightly larger and her nose is smalle
r, but it’s obvious he’s her father. I can see the same determination and sadness in both of their eyes. I wonder where Ryanne gets her small stature from. I don’t think her mom was short…

“Thank you, Logan,
” Natalie says as she sits up and hugs him.

“Are you okay? Do you feel fine?” he asks her. “Liam is
attacking anyone that comes near him because he has no idea what going on with you. He’s worried and taking it out on everyone.”

“I’m fine. Come on.
Let’s go.”

“You should rest, Natalie,” Logan says.

“No. Liam is still out there fighting and while that is good, I need to let him know I’m fine. Also, Ryanne doesn’t get a chance to rest. We need to keep going for her. She’s fighting for her life right now, and I’m not going to rest while she’s still out there. I’ll rest when she’s back here safe.”

I smile at Natalie, proud.
I even see the grateful expression on Dr. Arden’s face. “How much of that antidote do you have left?” I ask him.

“A couple more drops. I’ll help where I can, Colton.” I
reach down and help Natalie stand up.

She looks down at her stomach. “Hmm…I didn’t like that.”

“Most people don’t like dying,” I tell her. “I wouldn’t make a habit of it.”

She smiles at me and starts walking
toward the door. Logan follows after her. I turn around when I feel a hand on my arm. I glance down and follow the hand to a body. “Please keep her safe, Colton. Do what I can’t,” Jedrek tells me.

“I’m trying my best. She’s not making it easy though.”

“She’s just like her mom,” he says with a sad smile. “I’m glad she found you all. I’ve heard about what Dravin has done to her. Do not hesitate to kill him.”

I wish there was a way to break the bond, so he wouldn’t die if
something happens to Dravin. I don’t want to see him die, but I know Dravin needs to be stopped. Dr. Arden has already accepted that he’s going to die today, so I nod. It’s a shame Ryanne never got to know this man better. Based on the look on her expression when they spoke earlier, I know she wishes she had the chance. Instead of answering him, I turn to leave the room. There’s nothing I can say that will make this situation any better.

Throwing open the back door of the compound, Natalie steps out and looks for Liam. I can see him in the back, taking on three men.

Liam?
I have no idea how this mind communication of his works, but it’s actually kind of helpful. It explains so much. Liam and Bragden would always give each other these glances and I just thought since they were brothers, they understood each other more. Bragden’s probably the only person who knew about Liam’s extra power. I don’t think he ever told Ryanne. Natalie hasn’t spotted him yet, so I point her in the right direction.

Is she okay?
Liam asks as he knocks out the men he’s fighting with. He turns and looks toward the compound doors. Natalie smiles widely at him when their eyes meet, and Liam starts to make his way over to us.

“You ready?” Natalie looks up at me and asks. I look at the field in front of us. Everyone is still fighting. Magic is flying in all directions. I can see Tom, Colin, and Vincent standing in the middle of the field, fighting in a circle. David and Emma are fighting beside Bragden and Incendia.
They are blasting fire at anyone who steps too close to them.

We could actually do this. I look
to my left, toward the platform. Dravin is using his power on mages who attempt to fight him. Natasha is standing beside him, defending him by asphyxiating people, but her eyes are scanning the crowd. If we’re going to stop him, it’s going to have to be a team effort. Liam punches a man and rushes the rest of the way to Natalie. He runs into her and picks her off the ground. Natalie laughs and wraps her arms around his neck. “Are you okay? You’re not hurt?”

“No, Dr. Arden and Logan healed me,” she says into his neck. “I’m good.”

“Dr. Arden?” Liam asks as he places Natalie back down on the ground. I unsheathe my sword and look toward the field.

“He saved her, Liam. Now, let’s get this over with.”

I
’m swaying. I’ve never been on a boat before, but I imagine this is what it feels like. My head rolls to the side, and I smell the salt from the water and can hear it crashing against the shore. Maybe I
am
on a boat. I could get lost in this feeling. I have no control of what’s going on with my body at this moment, and since I don’t have my anchor, I’m floating away at sea.

When my head rolls back, I jolt awake. I see the dark clouds above
me and Zahtri to my right. What is going on? I groan as I grab my head.

“What are you doing?” I whisper.

“Solving our issue,” he answers without looking at me.

I turn to the left and see Zahtri slowly walking
toward the edge of the cliff. I’m not on a boat; Zahtri is carrying me. I gasp as I attempt to get out of his arms, but he tightens his grip, holding me in place. I literally cannot move.

“Th
is is how you want this to end?” I shout at him.

“No, but I need to get back t
o the field. I need to rally my men and stop all the mages. To do that, I need you out of the picture.”

“Then let’s fight. Let’s fight like everyone in that field, Zahtri.” I say as he stops on the edge of the cliff. I can feel the blood dripping down
the side of my face from a cut above my eyebrow.

“It didn’t have to be like this, Ryanne. You chose this.”

I try to call my magic to me, but I can’t. What is he doing?

“I told you
that you weren’t strong enough, darling. You did pretty well for a little while. Kudos for that. But I’m done playing games.”

The drop looks much longer
now than it did before when I glanced down the cliff’s edge. I start fighting against Zahtri again, but it’s useless. There’s nothing I can do against him. My heart is pounding against my chest; I’m sure that he can hear its obnoxious beat. There’s no way out of this. I can’t use my magic, and in a battle of physical strength, Zahtri has me beat by a long shot. I didn’t see any weakness in his fighting earlier. There’s nothing I can do.

This can’t be it
. It’s not supposed to end like this.

So don’t let it.
I try to keep my body slack so Zahtri doesn’t sense anything.

Claire?

Use your resources, Ryanne.

What does that even mean?

Zahtri stops at the edge of the cliff. The breeze is blowing my hair in all directions. Use my resources. My resources…? What the heck does that even mean?

“It’s a shame,” Zahtri whispers
. He glances down at me and shakes his head as he throws me off the edge. I scream as I flip through the air, hurtling toward the rocky water below.

My resources. I have
resources?

I have resources.

“Larkin!” I scream.

If he doesn’t come…like right now, I’m dead. I feel arms wrap around my waist. I close my eyes. I hope that I didn’t just get us both killed.

I stop screaming as my back slams into the ground. The arms around my waist disappear and I roll, crashing into multiple people. A large person falls on top of me, knocking any last breath I had left in me out. I don’t even have enough energy in me to push him or her off of me. My eyes close and I start to lose consciousness yet again.

I
run past Liam and Natalie and head toward Larkin and Kyril. We need all the people out here that we can get. I step behind a Gadramick and kick him behind the knees. As he falls to the ground, I kick him in the temple, knocking him out. I step up to Larkin right as he disappears. I turn toward Kyril who shrugs, unsure of where he went. Bragden and Incendia move toward us, closing the circle we’ve created in the middle of the field.

I’m amazed at how much
everyone has come together the past couple of days for this moment. When we needed everyone the most, they came together. We wouldn’t be able to do any of this without them. Even mages who didn’t know each other a few days ago are now working together to ensure everyone makes it out of this alive.

I reach out and punch a man as I hear a scre
am echo from behind me. I kick him in the gut and push him backward as I turn around. Larkin lands flat on his back in the grass behind me and a girl lands on the ground beside him and rolls to the side, knocking into David. He attempts to move back, but he loses his balance and falls on top of her.

Though I ha
ven’t seen her face, I know that’s Ryanne. I’d recognize her anywhere. A column of fire surrounds us all, separating us from the Gadramicks. Incendia nods at me as I bend down and pull David off my soulmate. Larkin grunts and crawls toward us.

“Ryanne?” I ask.
She groans, but doesn’t open her eyes. Above her right eyebrow is a giant bruise. A cut on her hairline is causing blood to drip down her face. I push her wild hair out of her face. She looks so tired.

“Logan!” I shout. She needs healed before she loses consciousness. Logan pushes past everyone and falls to the ground at her side.

“What happened?” I ask Larkin as Logan places his hands on her face.

“I don’
t know,” he says while grasping for air, having difficulty getting any oxygen into his lungs. “She called me and I transported to her and…I don’t know. She was free-falling. I grabbed her and transported back here as soon as possible. She would have been killed instantly if she hadn’t called me,” he says as he watches her.

Ryanne gasps and rolls to the side coughing. I lean forward and grab her chin, making her look
toward me. When she sees me, she jumps up and hugs me tightly around the neck. I wrap my arms around her back. “What happened?” I whisper. I can feel everyone watching us, but I don’t care.

Ryanne pulls back and stands up
, shaking her head. “Stop the fire, Incendia.”

“Ryanne,” I start.

“I have to stop him, Colton. That psycho threw me off a cliff,” she mumbles as she shoots water toward the wall of fire, creating a doorway large enough for her. Without looking at anyone again, she walks through. The fire descends back down the second she’s out of sight. Logan turns and heals Larkin while everyone else just stands around, confused as to what we all just saw.

“What the
heck just happened?” Emma asks.

Thunder rolls in the distance. “He j
ust angered an already angry girl,” Logan says as he steps away from Larkin. Kyril reaches down to help Larkin stand.

“Do you think
this is going to be over soon?” David asks. We all glare at him. “What? I’m hungry. I forgot to eat before we came here.

“How do you forget to eat?” Emma playfully hits his shoulder. “You’re always thinking about food.”

“Incendia, drop the fire,” I say. She shrugs and smiles.

“I’m not the one doing this,” she says as
she looks up toward Bragden. We all turn and look at him shocked. I didn’t think he was strong enough yet to do this. He hasn’t been training for that long.

“You needed time to heal Ryanne…”

“Thank you,” I tell him. “Now drop the fire.”

The fire around us disappears, and through the fighting, I watch as Ryanne walks up to Vincent. He looks down at her for a second before nodding and grabbing onto her wrist. Both of them disappear without saying a single word to anyone else. “Where is she going?” I ask Larkin.

“Back to Zahtri.”