Reaching Retribution (The Prophesized Series) (33 page)

“What the heck?” I say
as I spin in a circle. Where would he have taken her? Why would he have taken her anywhere?

Right as Vincent disappears with Ryanne,
Zahtri transports back into the clearing.

“How did he know that he was going to appear right then?” Tom asks me.

“I have no clue,” I say as I continue to look for Ryanne and Vincent. Zahtri’s eyes move around the clearing before they land on my group. He looks straight at me and grins before he disappears again. All of us tense and wait for what is going to happen next.

When nothing happens f
or a few seconds, we all relax.

The Gadramick
s numbers are thinning. Many are leaving. Dravin is dead and Zahtri is…who knows where. Valdus is pushing through the crowd around us working his way to…Liam?

I look over at my Uncle. He has dropped everything to help us during this time and I know we haven’t shown him just how appreciative we really are. “Thank you for everything, Tom,” I whisper as I start moving across the field. Tom, Chris, and Colin can handle everything here. I have to warn Liam.

Not knowing where Ryanne is makes calling my invisibility much easier. As I step away from Tom, I let it take over. No one will bother me as I make my way across the field.

I maneuver through the Gadramicks without actually touching anyone. I stop as a Gadramick runs in front of m
e. Mr. Prowler rushes after him. Pushing forward, I continue moving toward Liam. I see Valdus pushing his way through everyone, so I pick up my speed. He’s going to get to Liam before I can.

Two Gadramicks run in front of me and stop.
They can’t see me, but they are in my way. Valdus starts running now, Liam hasn’t seen him yet. Hitting both of the men in their pressure points, I push them out of the way before they hit the ground. I’m not going to make it.

“Liam!” I shout as Vald
us pushes past a Gadramick and jumps toward Liam. He turns around and looks in my direction, but because of my invisibility he can’t see me. His attention quickly leaves my area and lands on Valdus. His eyes widen, but he doesn’t have enough time to move.

Valdus barrels into Liam right as Phillip’s sword slices through the area where
Liam just was. James grabs onto Natalie and pulls her back out of range. Valdus rolls off of Liam, but remains on the ground. Liam looks up at Phillip, but doesn’t move to fight him. His attention is on Valdus.

James releases Natalie and moves
toward his brother. I make it over to Liam and crouch down beside him. I can see the blood soaking the ground beneath Valdus where Phillip’s sword sliced him.

“Valdus?” Liam says as he leans over him.

“I’m so s-s-orry, Liam,” Valdus says as his body starts convulsing. “F-f-for ever-r-rything.” Valdus turns his head and looks straight up at Liam. “Your m-mother would be proud of you,” he whispers. Unshed tears glisten in Liam’s eyes as he looks down at his tribe leader.

I stand up and move away
from Liam giving him some privacy. I look behind me at Natalie, but see her looking to her left. I follow her line of sight and see her looking at Natasha. She’s fighting against a mage, but she doesn’t seem to be doing as much damage as I know she’s capable of.

“I don’t know what to do about her,” she whispers to me. I don’t know how she knew I was beside her. I grab onto her hand and
squeeze. I don’t know if it’ll come to it, but if Natasha attempts to attack someone either one of us love, we’ll have to fight her. I don’t want to hurt her, but she made this decision. She chose to help Dravin. She chose the Gadramicks over us, and she has to face that decision.

Liam walks up behind her and places a hand across her shoulder. “I hope this ends soon,” he say
s without looking at either of us. He’s looking at James who is now fighting against his brother. Neither one is taking it easy on the other.

I look away and glance
back at the platform. Vincent and Ryanne are still gone. Where could they have gone, and what is taking them so long?

Hearing a pained grunt behind me, I turn back around and
find James pulling his sword out of Phillip’s chest. Phillip is staring up at his brother in shock. I can see the sadness in James’ eyes as his brother falls to his knees. “I’m so sorry, brother,” he says. “You gave me no choice.”

I look up at James, shocked that he
was able to do that. If I was in his situation and had to fight against David, I wouldn’t be able to. James takes a step back and apologizes one last time before turning away. Phillip falls onto his chest where he remains unmoving. James turns his back to us and reaches up to wipe the tears from his eyes. He doesn’t want us to see his sadness, and I don’t blame him.

Hearing another scream to the right, I see David gasping for breath on the ground. Emma is fight
ing someone, so she can’t help him. I look around him looking for the Gadramick responsible and see a tall man standing in the shadows.

There’s no way I can get to him soon enough. I open my mouth to
call for Larkin when Natasha runs across the clearing and knocks the unknown man to the ground. Natalie squeaks beside me, staring wide eyed at the scene in front of her. Larkin transports in behind the Gadramick fighting Emma and knocks him out. Thanking him, Emma turns around and falls to the ground beside David who is gasping for breath. Did Natasha just saved him?

Even David seems a little shocked. Without saying anything to Emma, he looks over at
Natasha who’s fighting against the large Gadramick. He punches her in the jaw and she spins around and lands on her back. Scooting back, she attempts to asphyxiate him.

The Gadramick stumbles a little, but doesn’
t stop his forward momentum. Natasha lets out an earsplitting scream as her skin turns a blistering shade of red. He’s a fire affinity. That’s why David couldn’t breathe. His lungs were literally on fire.

Seeing movement to my right, I
watch Logan trying to push his way through. It looks like he healed himself enough to start fighting again. Natalie gasps beside me and starts running toward her sister. I see Connor stop fighting against a Gadramick and move toward her as well.

“Natalie!” Liam yells after her. At the same time, we both take off in their direction. Natalie doesn’t attempt to fight anyone and n
o one tries to stop her. Natasha’s screams start to die down the closer we get to her. Her skin is covered in third degree burns, and she tries to roll over, but can’t move her body. Larkin appears behind the man and grabs onto his shoulder and disappears, taking the man with him. Natalie and Conner reach Natasha at the same time and both crouch to the ground beside her.

“Natasha,” Natalie whimpers
with tears glistening in her eyes. “Please don’t go.” Liam and I stop behind her.

Conner grabs onto Natasha’s hand and kisses her knuckles. Coughing, Natasha looks up at them and tries to smile. “He promised if I worked with them, he’d leave you alone. He promised you’d be safe. He was going to keep coming after Ryanne
, and I knew you’d become involved. I didn’t want you to get hurt,” she whispers. “I had a part to play. I had to play the part. There was too much at stake. Too much to lose.” Natasha’s head rolls to the side and her breathing slows. “I had a part to play.”

“
Natasha!” Natalie screams. “Don’t leave me.”

Connor looks over at Natalie. “Ryanne was right.”

“What?”

“She told me
the girl we knew was still there.” He looks down at Natasha. “I love you Natasha.” Leaning down, he places a kiss on her forehead.

“I still hate her,” Natasha whispers as she g
lances at me. “Tell Madison I love her, okay?” Natasha croaks as tears fall out of her eyes and land in the grass. “I’m sorry.” she gasps and closes her eyes. Her hand goes limp in Connor’s. Natalie cries out and covers her mouth; tears are streaming down her face and over her hands. Liam reaches down and pulls her up to him. She stands, throws herself into his arms, and cries into his shirt. Logan finally makes it to us and drops to the ground beside her to attempt to heal her, but she’s gone.

That doesn’t make sense. Ryanne rescued Natalie and Conner from Natasha’s attack earlier this summer…
She had a part to play.

With a sad shake of his head, Logan
stands up and makes his way over to David and heals him. David thanks him, but reaches out and hits me lightly on the shoulder. Without saying anything, he points over at the platform.

Ryanne is back.

Zahtri has to come sooner or
later. He’s not going to leave me standing here alone for long. He has to want this to end as much as I do. We can’t do this for much longer.

I bite my lip when
someone touches my shoulder and whip around expecting to come face-to-face with Zahtri, but Vincent is standing behind me. “Wha—”

Vincent’s arm wraps around my waist. All the colors around me blur and the sounds coalesce together in a vortex of meaningless
noise and shades. I close my eyes to try and make the transportation process easier. When we stop moving, I lose my balance and stumble to the side. Vincent keeps a grip on me, making sure I don’t fall.

When I turn around, Vincent lets go of me and reaches down to place a hand on his ribs. My eyes move down to his hand and I see blood oozing between his fingertips. “Oh my gosh,” I gasp and look back up at him.

“Use his weakness,” he says. I try to ignore the grimace on his face. Vincent is dying. A normal wound wouldn’t push that much blood out as fast. He was hit with a weapon Zahtri infused with dark magic. “Claire said to use his weakness.”

“What weakness? I can’t find anything?” I look around me briefly. We’re still in the forest, just an undisturbed part. Vincent takes a few step
s back and leans against a tree. “I’ve been looking, Vincent. He’s too strong. The only way I can stop this is if I take myself with him, and I’m trying to avoid that.”

“Get creative,” he tells me doubles over in pain.

“I’ve been trying. I don’t know what else to do.” I move toward him, reaching out. I don’t like seeing him in pain. There has to be something I can do to ease the hurt.

“You’re a smart girl, Ryanne. Get creative.”
A peaceful expression crosses Vincent’s face as he stands up straight and looks at me. “You know, I was going to marry her,” he whispers.

I take a
nother small step forward, toward him. “Who?”

“Claire, I loved her.” He grabs onto my wrist and I feel myself being transported again. Closing my eyes, I
wait for the movement to stop. When I feel Vincent’s hand loosen its grip, I open my eyes. I’m back at the clearing. The fight is still ensuing, but there is no one around us. “I can almost hear her calling me,” he says with a small smile. I catch him as he falls forward, gasping.

“Vincent, please don’t go.” I lower him to the ground. I hope that no one shows up right now.
Gently resting his head on the grass, I push his hair out of his face. “Vincent?”

“I can s-see her.” The blood is still oozing out the wound. He’s too far gone for anyone to help. I hope he’s not in pain anymore. His eyes close, but he’s still breathing. “She’s so beautifu…” With one last exhale, his body goes limp.

“Vincent?” Nothing. “Go to Claire,” I whisper and place a small kiss on his cheek. “Thank you.”

Spotting Larkin at the edge of the clearing, I call his name. “We need to bury him,” I tell as I stand up.
“He deserves a proper burial.”

“Ryanne…” he starts.

“Please don’t,” I ask him. He’s going to tell me not to sacrifice myself again. I must have a look that he recognizes. After staring at me for a few seconds, Larkin just nods and blinks away with Vincent’s body. I don’t stray from the spot, but I move my eyes around and scan the fighting. Tom, Colin, and Chris are still fighting. Liam is with Natalie and James. Bragden and Incendia are where they were before. David and Emma are working together as well, fighting off as many Gadramicks as they can. But where is Colton? He has to be invisible, because I can’t find him anywhere.

P
ushing all the sounds of the fighting into the background, I bring my attention back to the small area in front of me. I need to remain focused if I’m going to do this. I need that confident feeling I had earlier. I need that feeling of happiness and love I experienced when near the tree with the initials carved into it. Running a hand through my hair, I concentrate on calling my magic to me.

When Zahtri comes, I’m not going to fight. I’m going to use all my magic. I’m going to
throw everything I can at him, and he’s going to wish he ended me when I was down and injured. He had a dagger and could have easily finished me off. He should have finished me off.

Hearing thunder roll above me, I push more magic out. Dark tenebrous clouds start rolling in as my magic moves around us. The
sounds of fighting are completely tuned out as the whispers start materializing. I have all the attention on me, but I don’t look out at the crowd. Taking a few steps back, I take in a deep breath, call out Zahtri’s name, and wait.

I don’t have to wait long.

Zahtri appears in front of me with a large smile plastered on his face. “That was quite the little disappearing act you just pulled. How’d ya do it?”

“Magic,”
I tell him without moving toward him. Get creative. I need to get creative. Vincent was right. Claire was right. Colin was right. I can do this. I just need to
get creative
. “I’ll tell you about it someday.”

“I hope you know what you’re getting yourself into,” he says as he takes a step forward.
I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing, but I’m going to pretend like I do. It’s kind of my thing.

“I hope
you
know what you’re getting yourself into,” I tell him as I push more magic around. Strengthening the shield around my thoughts, I stare Zahtri down. I can tell he can feel my magic. These games need to stop. This has to end. I’m prepared to finish this. Right here. Right now.

I feel Zahtri try to penetrate my shield, but I don’t let it affect me. Without breaking eye contact, I take a step forward.
Strength spreads through me as a look of shock crosses his expression. When he feels the edge of my magic brush against him, he moves back a little. I can see the disbelief in his face. I’m ready now.

Sensing that, Zahtri starts gathering magic around him as well. I can feel the shift in the air as his moves around me. Taking one final deep breath, I gather all of my magic into a giant ball and push it forward
at the same time as he sends some at me. I don’t visualize my magic doing anything other than just hitting him. I need to stun him long enough to do what I fully have in mind.

I’m going to get creative.

Our magic counteracts each other, and neither one of us causes any harm. This could take longer than I planned. Time for plan B. Running toward him, I jump into the air and transition straight into my flips. Usually my gymnastics stuns my opponents long enough for me to get a hit in. Zahtri sidesteps my moves, but he doesn’t take into consideration that I can use my magic and fight at the same time. As I move in front of him, I push my magic out.

It cascades
through the air and collides into his chest sending him flying back into the tree. Without giving myself any time to relax, I start pushing more magic out. Extending my hands, I imagine the magic creating a vortex around Zahtri. I just need him to stand up. I’ve created a magical tornado before, but this one will require more magic. I didn’t intend to cause harm the first time I made one. This time, I do.

Zahtri pushes himself up and faces me again. I can feel his magic hit my shield, but it doesn’t penetrate the barrier. He’s going to have to try harder than that.
When my skin starts vibrating from my own magic use, I forcefully thrust it forward. Zahtri’s eyes the magic tendrils swirling towards him, but he doesn’t react soon enough. Instead of barreling straight into him, I imagine it splitting down the middle and circling around, creating a magical tornado with him in the middle.

When Zahtri is fully encased inside, I push electrified magic at it. The electricity from
the lighting coalesces with the vortex. The tornado lights up like a Christmas tree with thousands of twinkling lights flickering off and on. Gathering all the anger from both mages and Gadramicks around me, I strengthen my magic and continue pushing it out. Despite being wrapped in negativity, my magic glides through the air like the wind before a storm—calm and peaceful, but potentially dangerous.

The edge of the tornado bows out as Zahtri attempts to break free from the magical
cocoon. Raising my hands above my head, I close my eyes and unlock my thoughts box. The thoughts of those around me swarm my senses, briefly overwhelming me. I wrap the thoughts in excess magic and push them toward the tornado. I’m hoping when they hit it, it’ll confuse Zahtri enough that he won’t be able to form any counterattacks.

Taking a few steps back, I continue pushing magic out and swirling it around us. I don’t know
what is happening in the clearing, but I can’t afford to break my concentration even for a second. A second is all Zahtri needs.

Continuing to move
backward, I image the tornado coming together at the top. I open my eyes and watch the vortex. If I can just close the vortex, I can end this. The edge of the tornado is pushed out again as Zahtri tries to get out. With renewed vigor, I thrust more magic at him.

Reaching deep inside me, I break down the rest of the barrier I had con
structed around my magic. Zahtri was right when he said I had to release more magic. I had more locked up than I thought; dwelling inside of me was hidden magic begging to be used.

I’m the secret of the flame. Liam
said that flames provide the illumination during the darkest of times. Mages have been living in darkness for a while now, and if I can cease the flickers in the flame and bring back its brilliant luminance once again, then I’m going to. No matter what it takes.

I feel my energy start to wane, but I continue funneling magic out. I don’t know how much magic it’ll take to stop Zahtri, but I’
m going to find out. Starting to lose my balance, I fall to my knees and push more out. I don’t think I have an endless supply of magic, so I’m sure I’m about to find out what happens when you use all of it.

The tips of the vortex fuse together, capturing Zahtri inside.
Placing my palms flat against the cold earth, I push more magic out. My airways tighten with each piece of magic that leaves me. Hanging my head low, I think about Colton. My best friend and soulmate. We had all these plans together and I don’t think we’ll ever get to experience them now. He means everything to me, so I wrap my love for him around the magic.

I’m going to disappoint all them, but this has to be done. David and Logan’s jokes echo in the background and I
keep pushing. The time that Emma and I baked a cake for Colton fills my mind. The magic strengthens as the happy memories intermingle with the strands leaving my body. I wrap my love for Liam around vibrating pieces of magic and push them out. My pranks with Bragden are pulled to the front of my mind and though my body is protesting my actions, I don’t stop the flow.

I think about everyone.
I think about those that came here to fight today. I think about the lives we have lost during this battle. I think about all those that died before at the hand of Dravin and Zahtri. All these emotions cascade out of me and infuse my magic. Neither one of them can come out of this alive.

All the strength leaves my body, but I don’t stop. I can’t stop.
I close my eyes and focus on the vortex. I have to end this. The Gadramick’s reign has to cease tonight. Mages shouldn’t have to live in fear anymore. Humans shouldn’t be at the mercy of them. The world is full of enough evil as it is. Magic does not have to add to it. Magic is supposed to be used for good. For help. For encouragement. For anything, but what they want to use it for.

Taking one last deep breathe, I gather everything I can. I can no longer see what is going on around me, nor can I hear anything, but I know what I have to do. Wrapping the weather elements, the emotions, and the voices into one giant ball of magic energy, I thrust it forward
toward the vortex. Everything I had in me leaves and moves through the air. I open my eyes and watch in slow motion as my magic melds around the vortex.

A few seconds
later, everything explodes. My magic release plummets back into me and surrounds me with a bright white light.

Then everything goes dark.