“I’ll cover you.” I lunged toward the Creeper, hurling a dagger right at him.
He dodged, fast as a snake, and threw a potion bomb at me. The red glass ball hurtled through the air, and I dived to the right, sliding across the floor. The bomb smashed into the stone and dirt wall behind me, exploding. Dirt and rocks flew outward, and I peered back to see a giant hole.
Crap!
That was one of the strongest explosive potions I’d ever seen.
I scrambled upright, calling on another dagger. I threw it, aiming for the chest, the biggest target. He was too fast for anything else.
He scuttled left, just like the spider we’d destroyed, and my dagger flew past.
How the heck was he so fast?
He grabbed another potion bomb off a table and flung it toward me. I dived behind a wooden table. The bomb hit the right corner of it, and the thing lit on fire. The various potions on top began to pop and explode, sending off sparks of all different colors.
One emitted a huge blast of wind that blew me into the wall. Pain flared in my back as I slammed into a stone. The sound of a roaring storm filled the room, making my head pound. The noise was so loud that it became hard to think. It came from one of the potions that had been destroyed. A herd of white antelope exploded from another potion and leapt off the burning table. They stampeded around the room, then galloped through the tunnel, heading for the exit.
What the heck had been in some of those potions?
Through the chaos, I could see Connor racing around, grabbing vials off the tables and pouring them into the massive cauldron under the crystal. The smoke turned from blue to red. I had to guess that he recognized the spell and was trying to counteract it or something.
Thank fates he was here, because I’d have had no idea.
The Creeper was in the middle of the room, freaking out. He pulled at his hair as he turned his attention from me to Connor.
“Stop!” he shrieked. “You’ll ruin it all!”
“That’s the point!” Connor yelled. He tossed vials of potion into the cauldron.
The Creeper grabbed a red glass potion bomb off a table. Red.
That was the same one that had exploded the whole wall behind me. If it hit Connor, he’d be dead as a doornail.
I called a dagger from the ether and hurled it at the Creeper’s back. This time, he couldn’t see it to dodge. The blade sank into his shoulder, and he screamed, falling forward. His potion bomb exploded against the ground, blowing up in a massive cloud of smoke and debris.
Red debris.
The remains of the Creeper.
I cringed backward, gagging.
“Connor, are you okay?” I shouted as the smoke dissipated.
“Almost done!”
The smoke cleared enough that I spotted him chucking two more potion bombs into the cauldron. It began to boil and fizz, and Connor sprinted around it, racing for me.
The bubbles shot upward, surrounding the crystal that hung over it. When they splashed back down, the crystal was gone, devoured.
Strength and power flowed through my veins, feeling like an intravenous shot of magical espresso.
I gasped. “Whoa.”
“Did it work?” Connor asked.
“I think so.” I flung out my hands, envisioning my usual pale white shield. The shield burst forth, strong and true. “It worked!”
“Good. Because we’re in trouble.” He pointed toward the ceiling.
I dragged my gaze from the white shield and looked upward. All of the explosions had made an impact. The ceiling had begun to pour water through a crack.
The lake was breaking through.
“Run!” I turned and sprinted from the room, Connor at my side.
Behind us, a great crack and splash sounded. I looked back. The ceiling had fallen away, and water was pouring into the room. It rushed toward us. I sprinted harder, but soon it was lapping at my boots.
Panic clawed at my throat. We were only halfway through the tunnel. The water was to my knees. Running became a slog.
We sprinted harder but slower. Connor grabbed my hand, and we pulled each other along.
The water was to my thighs. It felt like running through pudding. Fear chilled my skin.
“We’re almost there,” Connor said.
Lungs and muscles burning, I gave it one last burst of speed and climbed onto the stairs. We raced up, leaving the flooding cave behind, and spilled out into the dark night.
I turned around, expecting the lake to be in turmoil. There was a slight ripple on the surface, but nothing more.
Panting, we raced deeper into the forest, taking cover in the trees.
I turned to Connor. “I think we did it.”
“Your magic is back?”
“It is, and I bet my sisters have—”
“Ana?” Bree’s voice whispered out of my comms charm. “Our magic is back.”
“Yes!” Connor fist pumped.
“Where are you?” I asked.
“We’ve just arrived in the woods to the east of the house. We can see it.”
“Perfect. Wait for us. We’ll come find you.”
Connor and I raced through the forest as silently as we could. Magic flowed through my veins, making me feel complete again.
“How did you know how to stop the curse?” I asked.
“I didn’t. The potion in the cauldron was fueling the curse, which was trapped in the crystal hanging above. So I just decided to screw it up.”
“Like a cake recipe?”
“Exactly.”
At the edge of the forest, I spotted our backup. Lachlan caught my eye first, and something in my chest fluttered. I didn’t want to call it butterflies, but yeah, it was definitely something like that.
Bree stood next to Cade and Rowan, and at her side stood Caro and Haris. Ali must have been recovering from his wounds. Everyone looked a bit beaten-up and tired, but I was so glad to see them.
Bree and Rowan threw their arms around me, then drew back and scowled.
Lachlan greeted Connor with a manly hug. The kind with back slapping that men seemed so fond of.
“I’m sorry,” Lachlan said.
“Don’t worry about it.” Connor nodded. “I’m responsible for myself.”
“That was so stupid,” Rowan scolded me. “Going through an unknown portal!”
“It worked, didn’t it?” I met Lachlan’s gaze. He was standing close, his eyes glued to mine.
“Are you all right?” His voice was slightly rough. Worried. Tension stretched between us like a wire. The memory of the kiss flashed in my mind, but I banished it.
“Fine.”
He nodded, then backed up, clearly trying to maintain the professional distance he’d insisted on.
I turned to Connor. “Do you have any idea where we might find the spell that they stole?”
“Not a clue,” he said. “I can only guess that it’s with their leader, and when they talk about him, they always refer to a garden.”
“A garden?” Lachlan asked.
“Yes,” said Connor. “But I’ve no idea why.”
“Hmmm.” I thought about the Creeper in his hidden lair beneath the lake. “Maybe it’s supposed to be hidden and protected. Better than staying in the big house. That’s an obvious target.”
“True,” Lachlan said. “Let’s go find this garden.”
We were about to leave the protection of the trees when a whisper came from behind us. “Connor.”
A figure hurtled out of the trees, running on silent feet. She had dark hair and wore the leather clothing that was favored by mercenaries. A sword in a holster across her back completed the look, and a large bag hung at her side.
Claire, Connor’s sister.
She hugged her brother hard as three others stepped out of the woods.
The FireSouls.
I grinned at Del, Nix, and Cass. “Perfect timing.”
“Are we in time for a fight?” Cass asked, her red hair gleaming in the light of the moon. She wore a brown leather jacket and had two daggers strapped to her thighs. She was a FireSoul and a Mirror Mage, able to mimic anyone else’s magic for a short while.
At her side stood Del, a half-Phantom FireSoul with black hair and clever blue eyes. She was dressed entirely in black leather. Nix, the third FireSoul, was a conjurer. Her cartoon cat T-shirt was at odds with her tough demeanor.
We’d helped them in fights in the past, and they’d never hesitated to return the favor.