The Rising King (12 page)

Grandma’s eyes shine with unshed tears. “It’s where she was arrested for assault.”

Mom’s crazy, but she’s never been arrested before. I put my forehead on the table and groan. “This can’t be happening.”

“She’s in jail?” Leo asks.

“Released about a week ago.”

“Released.” Leo slams his big hand on my back. “Cheer up. Your mom’s a free woman.”

“And most likely not in Willow Creek,” I point out. She wouldn’t stay, even if the cops told her not to go far. She’d run. Run far and run fast.

“Hey, we’ve got a starting point. That’s encouraging.” Leo isn’t letting me lose hope. I’m beginning to wonder if Faldon knew I would need him along.

“How are we going to get there?” I ask. “I don’t drive. I longboard everywhere. And unless you have a car I don’t know about…”

Grandma jumps to her feet again and leaves only to come back and dangle a set of keys in front of us. I raise my head and give her a questioning look. She shrugs. “It’s mine. I never drive it.”

Leo hesitantly wraps his fingers around the keys. “Are these the keys to your new Wrangler?”

She nods.

He clutches the keys to his chest. “I. Love. It. I swear I will keep it in one piece. Not even a dent…no, not a scratch. Hell, I won’t even let a bird poop on it. I swear on all that’s holy—”

“I trust you, Leo,” she says with a laugh and pats him on the shoulder. “You’re a good boy.” She drops her hand. “Now go find my little girl and bring her home before she gets hurt.”

Leo jumps up and dashes outside screaming, “Road trip!” Grandma stops me as I head to my room. “Be good to your mother. She’s had it rough, and her life is going nowhere fast. Be sensitive to that.”

“I’ve been sensitive to her my whole life, Grandma.” And look where that’s gotten me.

She nods, hearing the sadness I can’t hide, and lets me go. After packing my duffel and snagging a sleeping bag, I head to the porch to wait for Leo. I don’t wait long before he brings around a shiny, muted-green four-door Jeep with tinted windows and a kickin’ sound system that he’s quickly familiarizing himself with. Grandma comes up behind me and gives me a roll of cash. “For gas and expenses.”

I shouldn’t take it, but she’ll worry if I don’t. “Thanks.”

“Am I doing the right thing?” Doubt laces her voice.

I can’t answer that. “Do we have a choice? We need that magic.” I toss my stuff in the back next to Leo’s and turn to her. “What are you going to tell Grandpa?”

She rubs her hands along the sides of her jeans as though she’s rubbing her guilt away. “I always tell him the truth…when he asks.”

“He’ll notice the Jeep is gone.”

“Eventually. He likes to look at it every Sunday after church and complain that I’m ignoring his gift. You have five days until he notices, maybe longer since he’s more concerned about everything that’s pushing through the barrier these days.”

“We’ll be back way before then.”

“We will?” Leo grabs the road map and starts calculating how long it’ll take us to get to Willow Creek.

“We have to be.”

I press the dog whistle I use to call Blaze in her hand. “Use it if you need to. He knows you now and he’ll help you if you need him.” I kiss Grandma on the cheek and climb in the passenger seat. When we get to the end of the driveway, I look back. She looks so tiny and defenseless. Am I making a mistake by leaving?

I don’t see any other way. The dream I had about Mom makes sense now. She’s running scared because Grandpa is hunting her down like a bloodhound. Somehow I’m the one who has to convince her to come home and face Grandpa. If that’s not a nightmare, I then have to get her to give me the magic without telling her what it is. I’m totally screwed.

“This is my dream ride,” Leo says, his voice vibrating with excitement. He points to the gas gauge. “We’ll need gas soon.”

“When we stop, don’t get out. I’ll take care of it.”

“Bro, what if I need to pee? I’m not a freakin’ camel.”

“That’s not the same. Camels can go without water…you know what? Never mind. You can get out, but only to pee.”

“Sweet.” He doesn’t say anything for a while, then asks, “What are you going to do when we stop, you know, that you don’t want me to see?”

“You don’t want to know.”

He thinks for a bit and finally asks, “Is it legal?”

“It’s not illegal,” I hedge.

He pats the dashboard affectionately. “Just so long as my new baby girl doesn’t get hurt, I don’t want to know.”

“Good. I’ll make sure I’m the one to take the bullet.”

“Wait, are you saying I should know? No,” he says and shakes his head. “I don’t. I definitely don’t want to know.” He chews his lip. “Okay, I do. I want to know…maybe.”

I roll down my window and listen to him yammer between wanting to know and not wanting to know. After a while, I click on the radio and turn the volume up. We can’t get to Willow Creek fast enough.

On the Hunt

She didn’t tell Dylan she was leaving. She should feel guilty about that, but she felt relieved. If he didn’t know where she was, he wouldn’t be able to stop her from doing what needed to be done. He had some warped idea he was supposed to protect her from getting so much as a bug bite. It was ludicrous. She wasn’t a porcelain princess.

While she had Baun’s added power, she intended to use it for good. She would change its purpose, think of it as a great gift, an honor that was bestowed on her. It wanted to control her, but no one had factored in how driven she was by her duty. She would use the dark magic to protect others, making it useful instead of something to fear.

Right now, Reece, Signe, and Halim didn’t think that highly of her. They would have left without her if she hadn’t found them when she did. They walked more than five paces ahead, whispering among themselves like a trio of bored old women at lunch. She understood their view. She’d gotten a little carried away, but finding the sisters was more than just avenging Wyatt. Everyone’s life depended on her stopping them from joining Teag’s enemies. If she had only stopped Lucinda the moment she brought the Seven Sisters into Teag, none of this would have happened. She knew what people said about them, what they were capable of. The rumors were all true.

“I’m sure,” she heard Halim say, and watched him throw an excited glance toward the trees to their left. “I can draw him out and when he’s not looking, you can football him to the ground like you showed me the other day.”

“That was a tackle, and you’re not doing anything.” Reece shrugged out of his satchel and handed it to Halim. “I’ll check it out. You all stay here.” He looked at Kera and frowned. “I mean it.” Quickly separating himself from the group, he trotted into the trees.

Kera reached the pair. “Where’s he going?”

Halim chewed on his thumbnail and darted a disappointed glance after Reece. “We’re being followed.”

“Don’t chew on that.” Signe snagged his hand in hers, gathered a large portion of her full skirts in her other hand, and tugged him after her. “We must act natural or whoever it is will become suspicious.”

They hadn’t gone more than three yards when the bushes rustled, stopping them in their tracks. A long stick flew out of the trees, scaring the trio back a few steps. The stick was quickly followed by a little man who rolled along the ground like a deflated ball, sputtering and hissing his distress. Reece reappeared and grabbed the man by the scruff of his neck. “Recognize this?”

Halim sighed and tossed his and Reece’s satchels down before he sank to the ground to pout. “It’s nobody.”

“Bodog?” A little spark of fear centered in Kera’s chest. “Why are you following us? Is something wrong?”

The stick rolled to Bodog’s feet, and the little man picked it up. The wood shifted and Faldon’s face appeared amid the cracked bark. “Dylan asked us to find you.”

Reece snorted. “You were sneaking around, which means you didn’t want us to know you were there. Why?” Bodog blinked, but kept his mouth closed. Reece shook him until his teeth chattered, eliciting concern from Kera, and Signe pulled Reece away.

Kera looked into the little man’s eyes. “Why did Dylan want you to find me?”

“Nightmare Men still attack from the shadows.”

That caught everyone’s attention. Halim jumped to his feet and ran to Reece, dancing around him like a puppy after praise. “They’re still in the shadows. I knew it. I knew they weren’t gone for good. Didn’t I tell you?”

Reece patted the boy on the head, but his gaze was locked on Kera. “They’ve come to get you. You should go.”

She narrowed her eyes. “I will not be put off so easily. I’m staying.” She turned to Bodog. “Tell Dylan I’m fine, and I’ll be back soon.”

Bodog shook his head so hard, his ears flapped against his temples. “I stay.”

“He gave his promise,” Faldon injected.

Dylan was doing it again, trying to protect her when she didn’t need protecting. A bubble of frustration rose in her chest. She looked at Faldon, ready to voice her objection, but he beat her to it. “He was very clear, Kera. We stay with you.”

“Fine, then you had best keep up.” Standing, she grabbed the satchels that were on the ground and tossed them to Halim and Reece. “Let’s go.” She motioned Halim forward. It was his turn to scout ahead. “Be back before it gets dark.”

“You don’t have to tell me,” he grumbled and slipped on his satchel. “I’m not stupid.”

By late afternoon, the group had crossed the border into the region northeast of Teag where the terrain grew rugged and harder to navigate. Massive rocks jutted from the earth at sharp angles. Not a tree or blade of grass could be seen. Only unforgiving stone with veins of shiny volcanic rock met her eyes and scraped against her hands. Halim had marked his passage and they followed the path as best they could.

Signe touched a large boulder and yanked her hand away, hissing against the sudden stab of heat. “It’s so hot. I can’t imagine this place freezing every evening.” She collected her heavy ringlets together and twisted them into a high bun, then grabbed her skirts up before accepting Reece’s assistance over an uneven section of their path. She caught up to Kera and said with a grimace, “I don’t believe anything could live here.”

“Neither can I.” But the rocky terrain meant they’d passed into enemy territory. “If we don’t get out of these mountains, we’ll find out firsthand what it’s like to freeze to death.”

“Are you sure we are headed in the right direction?”

“We are.” Kera vaulted over an outcrop of rock and nearly twisted her foot on the landing. Was Halim trying to kill them? Bodog kept muttering that his way was easier while Signe struggled to move, her legs trapped by a half-dozen layers under her skirts. With the path becoming more treacherous, Kera was fast losing her patience and time.

“Be careful. Tharnians live here.”

Bodog shuddered and his skin turned an unattractive ash color as he tried to blend in with the surrounding rocks variegated colors.

His alarming behavior didn’t go unnoticed. Reece gripped the hilt to his sword and searched the area. “What are Tharnians?”

Signe stepped gingerly as she followed Kera. “Creatures said to hide amid the rocks and spit acid.”

A disgusted look transformed Reece’s face. “That’s gross.”

“And painful,” Kera called over her shoulder.

The way ahead loomed darker. Kera turned to see Signe come up beside her. “The sun’s setting. We’ll have to stop soon.” Even now the temperature had dropped. Dark clouds rolled thickly overhead and a cold wind had picked up. “I’m worried. Halim’s been out front longer than he should. I don’t like it that he’s not back.”

She’d told him to return when it started to grow dark. The night was speeding closer and there was still no sign of him.

Their small group gathered at the edge of the hill. Everyone pulled out their jackets and slipped them on just as the sun disappeared. The moon rose full and bright. Behind them, the air chilled with the beginnings of a light snowfall. The tip of the stick Bodog held rested on the ground and ever so slightly shook. Signe wrapped her arms around her waist, licked her lips, and swallowed audibly. “What if he’s lost?”

Reece slid his arm around Signe. “I’m sure he’s not far.”

The way Reece looked, he didn’t believe his own words. Kera shook her head and a knot formed in her stomach. “He’s not lost.”

“Then where is he?” Signe asked.

The vibrations from the stick sounded louder against the ground. Kera was about ready to grab it from Bodog when it suddenly stopped, and Faldon’s face appeared. “Tharnians come. Hide. Now.”

They all dove into hiding places, immediately trusting Faldon and his too-serious face. Wedged into a crevice with Signe, and surrounded by deep shadows, Kera waited. It wasn’t long before the ground beneath their feet trembled.

The first Tharnian came into view, and he was nothing like Kera expected. Tall, lumpy, his feet hit the ground hard, like he weighed more than Blaze. Moss-covered skin resembled the ragged surface of unpolished granite. Four others followed him. Each Tharnian was shaped differently, colored differently, moved differently. They were walking rock people, and the heft and might of them shook the very air Kera breathed.

The last and biggest Tharnian tugged on a leash. Signe’s gasp sounded too loud in Kera’s ear when Halim stumbled into view and awkwardly fell to his knees. Across the small expanse, Kera saw a slight movement. She would have missed it if she didn’t know Reece was there. He wanted to help Halim, but Bodog stopped him with the talking end of his stick shoved uncomfortably beneath the bigger man’s chin.

The dust Halim stirred up when he fell hung thick, not yet hampered by the light snowfall. Gagged by a strip of cloth, he struggled to breathe. He was dirtier and more ragged than she’d ever seen him, but that didn’t stop him from searching the area. It surprised Kera when his gaze landed on her. One eye was red and swollen amid a collection of bruises. How did he know she was there? She put a finger to her lips. He gave her an imperceptible nod, and she melted deeper into the shadows.

The Tharnians spoke in clicks and knocks and stony scrapes, and the one holding the leash yanked Halim to his feet. He looked so small. So helpless. She hated herself for staying hidden.

After the Tharnians took their captive farther into the rocky hills, Reece knocked Bodog’s restraining stick away and flung himself out of his hiding place. Kera stopped him from following. “They are made of rock. Solid granite. If I have no clue how to fight them, I’m fairly certain you don’t either.”

“So we leave him? Is that what you’re suggesting?”

“No,” she said. “There
has to be
a way to fight them.”

“How?”

The snow fell harder, dropping the temperature even lower, and an idea formed. She held out her hand. Big dollops of snowflakes landed and slowly melted in her palm. She smiled. “Do you trust me?”

A harsh laugh erupted from Reece. “You threatened to rip me limb from limb and then you used magic on Signe and now you want us to trust you? How are we supposed to do that?”

“Because I’m Halim’s only hope for freedom.”

“You had better be,” he threatened.

She moved past him. “I’m not worried.”

But she was. What she had planned would take perfect timing.

“Why do they even want him?” Signe rubbed her hands up and down her arms as if the cold could penetrate her coat. “He’s just a boy.”

The hard scrape of Faldon’s face appearing drew their attention. “They need slaves to do things they cannot do. Sadly, many of the poor souls perish from neglect.”

The knot in Kera’s stomach tightened, and Signe’s face turned deathly white as she looked back at Reece. He went to Signe and pulled her close, whispering, “Don’t worry. We’ll get him back.”

Watching Reece wrap his arms around Signe and kiss her temple sent a pang of longing through Kera, and she looked away. She missed Dylan. She missed his strength. The way he smelled like sandalwood and candlelight.

Kera slipped her arms around her waist, pretending Dylan held her. She missed the way he laughed. The way his eyes crinkled at the corners. How he always found a reason to touch her, no matter how small. Mostly she missed his kisses, the way he held her so tightly, as if he never wanted to let her go. She imagined his breath near her ear saying everything would turn out, and that she was brave and needed to trust her instincts.

Dylan’s imaginary pep talk made her smile. She could rescue Halim. Dylan believed in her. She faced Reece. Tension etched deep creases along the outer edges of his mouth. She eyed Bodog, whose cloak was sprinkled with tiny snowflakes, and Faldon. “This would be a fine moment to advise us,” she told him.

The rough wood creaked, and vibrating commenced. All too quickly it stopped, and Faldon’s face reappeared.

“Well?” Kera’s skin prickled with tension and she chewed her bottom lip.

“I cannot see his future.”

A sharp gasp rose from Signe. Air hovered in Kera’s throat. Dead people don’t have a future.

Reece immediately turned and followed the path the Tharnians took. The rest followed close behind. Kera picked up a couple of small rocks and rolled them between her hands until they started to glow. She gave one to Signe. “Look for a vein of dark, shiny rock.”

They scrambled along, following Reece and searching for the rock at the same time. There had been a mass of it earlier, but now it seemed to have disappeared. Finally, Signe waved Kera over and pointed. “Is this what you want?”

“It’s perfect.” Basalt was a hard, glassy volcanic rock, and exactly what she needed. Palming her
incordium
blade, she scraped a fine film of shiny black rock dust into her hand.

Reece approached them. “Why are you stopping?” He squinted at Kera’s hand. “What’s that?”

“Hold still.” Kera lifted her hand.

“What are you doing?” The hesitance in Signe’s voice should have hurt Kera’s feelings. Her friend had never doubted her before, but things had changed. She had changed.

Kera didn’t let Signe’s doubt stop her. “Saving Halim.”

“Don’t I get a say in this?” Reece asked.

Signe grabbed Reece’s hand as Kera blew the dust in his face. He jerked back, sputtering against the dust as Kera repeated a spell she’d learned when she was younger and wanted to sneak out of the house. She hadn’t been powerful enough back then. She was now.

Before their eyes, Reece slowly disappeared, causing Signe’s eyes to widen as the hand holding hers faded. “What did you do, Kera?”

“A cloaking spell. Bodog can draw the Tharnians’ attention while Reece retrieves Halim. I would have used it on myself, but I’m not big enough to carry Halim.”

“Nice trick.” Reece sounded impressed.

“I have a few.” It was hard not to sound full of pride. Magic came easy to her now, almost as if she was wired to do it without even thinking.

“What do I do?” Signe clutched a wad of her skirt in her fist, clearly frustrated she had nothing to offer.

“Wait for Reece to bring Halim back.”

“We’ll be back in no time,” he said.