Relic (27 page)

“What are you planning to do to me?” I asked, though to my dismay, I sounded more afraid than defiant.

A mean smile pulled at Connelly’s mouth. “Oh, there’s plenty I’m gonna do.”

“Álvar wouldn’t let you lay a hand on me.”

“Wouldn’t he?” Connelly chuckled. “If I were you, I wouldn’t trust anything Álvar said or did lately.” He tapped his skull firmly. “That relic got into his brain and made him think all kinds of strange stuff.”

I glared at him, but if Yahn had been right about the nature of the Ko Zhin, I knew it was true.

“He never
really
wanted you like that; you ain’t his type. It was just that relic grabbing hold of his head, making him obsessed with you. Hell if I know why—you’re nothing but a worthless little whore in my book.”

My mind was too swept up in his claim about the Ko Zhin to care about the insult. Why would the magic make Álvar obsessed with me?

“At any rate,” Connelly continued, moving closer, “he’s not worried about you now. Not when he’s gone to fight the Apaches.”

I tensed. “It’s morning? They’ve left already?”

“Yes, indeed. They headed off while you were sleepin’ in your cozy new room here. Good thing I kept that staff safe for Álvar. He’s got it right where he needs it now.”

Words died in my throat. Seeing this, Connelly chuckled. “I ’spect they’ll be back by lunch. Shouldn’t take them long to wipe those dirty Injuns out.”

I wanted to tear that smile off his face. “You have innocent blood on your hands, and I hope it haunts you the rest of your life.”

“
I
have blood on my hands? Do you see me off killing Apaches?”

“Please. Don’t act like you aren’t part of it. You’re probably the one giving Álvar all the ideas.”

Connelly laughed. “Oh, I see how it is. You don’t think your precious patron could possibly be capable of coming up with such an evil plan.” He snorted. “Well, think again. I do as I’m told, and I make myself useful to the rich little bastard. But
he
is the one with the hankering to torch this whole valley to the ground. Maybe you don’t know it, but the kid’s drowning in debt.”

I said nothing.

“Yes, ma’am. Every property he owns has been sold out to someone else. ’Course he got himself in
real
trouble when he started sellin’ out properties twice. Three times, even. It was just a matter of time before them creditors came to collect. Lucky for him, right about that time he found the fire relic.”

Connelly seemed to be enjoying every moment of this. “You oughta see your little lover boy out there. He makes sure we get the job done. Yes, he does.” He laughed. “The night we burned Green Springs, there was this one little cabin up on the hill. As we rode up, a man comes runnin’ out, screamin’ and beggin’ us to spare his six kids.”

“Stop,” I said, trembling.

“Álvar has him shot in the head. Then he raises that staff, and the fire comes out like nothing you’ve ever seen. Like a pillar of pure lightning. Well, the cabin goes up in flames like a wisp of cotton.”

“
Stop
.”

“We could hear them kids inside, screamin’ and—”

“STOP!”
I shouted, thrashing my arms. “Stop! Stop it!”

Connelly quieted. I could see his smirk from the corner of my gaze. I clenched my jaw, hating that he’d gotten to me, hating that he’d found my most vulnerable place, hating the despair that surged into my soul.

“Sheesh,” Connelly said, folding his arms with satisfaction. “What’s eatin’ you? Not like he killed your family. Oh, shoot. I forgot. He did.”

“Leave me
alone
.”

“Why should I? I’m having so much fun.”

A woman’s voice echoed against the stone walls. “Now it’s my turn for some fun.”

I snapped my head up, and Connelly whirled around. We both stared, speechless, as Adelaide walked into the prison cell.

She looked different. She was barefoot and dressed only in her underclothes: a camisole and petticoat with a red corset. Her pale hair flowed wild and free around her. The blank grief in her eyes had changed to a fierce gleam. And around her neck, a relic amulet that made my pulse freeze.

“Adelaide,” I breathed. “What are you doing here?”

“I have a little business to tend to,” she said. She held up the almond-sized piece of Ko Zhin, still on the chain I had fastened it to, and gave it a kiss. “Look familiar, Connelly?” She smiled. “Bet you thought I didn’t know the code to that safe in your room. Tsk. You always did underestimate me.”

Connelly set his jaw. “You thievin’ whore.”

“Look who’s talking, sugar. If I recall correctly, you stole it from Maggie in the first place.”

“Listen to me, Adelaide,” I said, my voice shaking. “Take it off. Please. It’s
very
dangerous.”

A dark smile flashed in her eyes. “I know.”

“You have no idea what you’re dealing with,” Connelly growled. “Hand it over. Now.”

“What makes you think I don’t know how to deal with it, Percy?”

“You have no clue the kind of fire power that thing’s capable of.”

“Well, sure, I do. This lovely Hacienda’s burnin’ to the ground as we speak. I guess it’s so nice and quiet down here that you didn’t notice all the screaming.”

The color drained from Connelly’s face. I thought immediately of Ella, scared, alone, and terrorized yet again by fire.
Dear Lord, let Adelaide be exaggerating to scare Connelly.

“You didn’t,” he said.

She shrugged. “It took a little
persuasion
to find you. But we do
so
need to talk.”

He took a step backward. “Stay away from me.”

“Now is that any way to speak to an old friend?”

Like a striking rattler, Connelly leaped for me. His arm clamped around my waist, pulling himself halfway behind me. His other hand squeezed my throat.

“Don’t come any closer, or your friend here dies.”

As if for emphasis, his fingers smashed against my windpipe. Gasping, I tried to fight his grip, but he held me against him, a human shield.

Adelaide’s smile faded. “Not wise, Percy.”

“I said
get back
.”

I thrashed with all my might, but that only made him squeeze harder. My lungs burned like hot iron in my chest as the world around me started to go fuzzy and dark. I could hear my own gagging and nothing else. All I could think of was Ella, alone in the world.

Adelaide’s voice rang in my ears. “Stop! Don’t hurt her.”

“You gonna get back?”

She obeyed, her voice suddenly small and afraid. “Please. I—I’ll do anything you say. Just let her go.”

Connelly glared but slowly released his grip on my throat. Air rushed in, and I coughed and gasped huge gulps of it.

“That’s more like it,” he said. He stepped from behind me and jabbed out an open palm. “Now give that relic to me this instant.”

Adelaide pulled the relic slowly from around her bare neck. As much as I wanted to see the thing far away from her, I knew it would be worse in the hands of Mr. Connelly. I kept my eyes on Adelaide, trying to silently communicate some other plan, any other plan. But she didn’t look at me as she stepped forward with the relic in her fist.

Impatient, Connelly stomped forward. “I said, give it to me.”

Adelaide held the relic out over his open palm.

But then, like the flick of a match against wood, her eyes snapped up, burning.

Fast, so fast I almost didn’t see it, her hand jabbed forward, and a flash of flame illuminated the entire room. I winced, turning my face away from the heat. Connelly’s scream echoed over the stone. The smell of smoke and singed flesh choked my lungs. When I opened my eyes, Connelly was lying on the ground. The left side of his body was charred and bleeding, but he was alive. He panted as he stared up at Adelaide.

I swallowed back the bile that rose in my throat.

“Please,” Connelly rasped. “Please. Don’t kill me.”

Adelaide laughed. “Don’t you think that’s what Bobby said as he died in your fires? Don’t you think he wanted to live?”

“I didn’t kill your cowboy. It was Álvar!”

“Spare me your lies.” She swung the relic over him like a pendulum. “You’re going to get everything you deserve tonight, Percy. And I’m going to have a good time giving it to you.”

My heart was pounding. “Adelaide—”

“Stay out of it, Maggie.”

“Don’t do this. You don’t really want to kill him. You don’t want blood on your hands.”

She whirled around to me, her face ablaze. “I do. And I will, so don’t you dare try to stop me.”

“He’s a bad man,” I said. “He deserves to stand trial for everything he’s done and then rot in prison for the rest of his life. Don’t give him an easy out by killing him.”

The slightest hint of doubt flickered behind her eyes, and I grasped for it. “Get the keys from him. Let me out of these chains, and we’ll chain
him
up. We’ll leave him to think about everything he’s done to you.”

Connelly’s breath rattled heavily. His gaze snapped from Adelaide to me and back.

“Please, Adelaide,” I said. “Go on and let me out of here.”

She turned to Connelly, her relic aimed at him like a gun. “The keys.”

“Right here,” he said shakily. With his unburned arm, he pulled the iron ring from his pocket.

Adelaide pointed to me. “Get her out right now.”

He nodded. His body was bloody as a butcher’s block, but he managed to drag himself over to me. I cringed as his shaking, charred hand unlocked the chains at my feet. He tried to stand to get my arms but doubled over in pain. Adelaide kicked him aside, and he balled up with a groan of pain. Not even glancing down at him, she unlatched my hands herself.

The moment I was freed, I grabbed her in my arms. It was part hug, part restraint, though I hoped she wouldn’t notice the latter.

“Now let’s get out of here,” I said, holding her close. “Come on. We’ll leave him to rot.”

Adelaide was staring at Connelly. Her chest rose and fell with tense breaths. I guided her ever so slowly toward the door. We took one step. Then another.

“He’ll suffer real good in here,” I said, in a soothing whisper. “Real good.”

We reached the door. “Come on now,” I added.

Suddenly, Adelaide tore away from my grip. Her eyes flashed. “No.”

“Adelaide—”

“No!”
she shouted. “He’s going to pay for what he took from me!”

I reached for her, but she’d already thrust out her hand. With a cry, she sent a beam of white fire shooting right into Connelly’s stomach. His body arched backward, and his scream filled the room.

I threw my arms around her. “Stop! Please!”

“Get back,” she roared, shoving me off her.

I flew backward, slamming into the wall. My vision blurred with pain.

“You took everything that mattered to me!” Adelaide cried, sending another beam of fire into Connelly. He didn’t move this time or even cry out. The damp straw scattered on the floor now smoldered with flames. Smoke darkened the air, burning my eyes.

Adelaide raised the Ko Zhin relic with a trembling fist. She was panting heavily. Charges of fire and power surged around her, gathering for a final blaze. I staggered to my feet.

“Adelaide, don’t! You’ll kill us all!”

“Time to send you to hell where you belong, Percy Connelly.” She raised her hands over her head.

I jumped for her. My hands wrapped around hers, around the relic. It felt as if I were pressing my palm against a hearth, but I held on. The night in Landon’s hotel room flashed through my mind, how he’d held me and talked me out of the madness. It was my only chance.

“This isn’t you, Adelaide,” I cried. “You’re not a murderer.”

“Let go!”

I pulled her hands closer, hugging them to me, though they felt like hot coals on my skin. The flames grew around us. Heat melted against our faces.

“You’re a good person,” I cried. “A loving, kind person. This relic is making you think evil things, but it isn’t you. It isn’t you!”

There were tears in Adelaide’s eyes. “Stop!”

“Think about Bobby. He loved you so much. He wanted to marry you, to start a life with you. He died loving you, Adelaide.”

She shook her head fiercely, the tears now streaming down her face. Her hands were shaking. I took the risk of prying her fingers open. She sobbed, but she released the relic into my palm. I flung it into the flames fast as I could.

“No,” she moaned. “No! He has to pay.”

“He’s dead,” I said, holding her in my arms. “He’s dead, Adelaide.”

She shook with sobs. The fire around us raged, and I guided her to the door. Right before we left, she looked back. The orange of fire reflected in her flooded eyes, along with a pang of horror at what she’d just done.

“It’s over,” I said softly.

Her face dropped down. Keeping one arm around her, I pulled the prison door shut, leaving the evil of Percy Connelly behind it.

Chapter Thirty-five

As we ran up the spiral stone stairs to the main level of the Hacienda, we were greeted with more fire. My breath caught in my chest. So Adelaide
had
been telling the truth.

People ran in all directions, servants carrying armfuls of expensive curtains and the good china. Guards shouted out to one another, trying to make some semblance of order. Haciendellas lifted their elaborate skirts to run at full speed. Dense black columns of smoke twisted and spread over the ceiling. And everywhere fire trembled in thick fans of light and heat.

Adelaide’s face was ashen as she ran beside me. “I did this.”

“It wasn’t you.” I squeezed her hand.

She said nothing.

I hated seeing the raw guilt and horror in her eyes, but I had a bigger problem on my hands. Ella was somewhere in that fire and chaos. I ran down the burning hallways, pulling Adelaide along, and tried my best to keep the panic that shook inside me from exploding.

Then a familiar face rounded the corner—the long, pointed face of Señora Duarte. Only she was alone. When she saw me, her eyes widened, and she spun around to make a run for it. I lunged, grabbing her arms, and slammed her against the wall.

“Let go of me!” she cried. “I have done nothing!”

“Calm down.”

“I have done nothing wrong!”

I held her firm and looked into her eyes. “I only want to find my sister.”

Señora Duarte shook her head, her eyes squeezed shut. I gripped her shoulders. “Where is she? I know you know.”

She was trembling but remained silent. I shook her once, hard, startling her eyes open. “You
will
tell me where she is,” I said.

She was silent for a breathless moment, and then her body melted in my arms. Sorrow splashed over her face. “I could not stop him. He took her, and I could not stop him.”

Ice rushed through my veins. “Who took her? Álvar?”

Señora Duarte nodded, sniffling woefully. “He took her with him to the mountains. To the battle. I begged him not to. I told him it was far too dangerous for one so young. But he did not listen. Why would he do such a thing?”

I didn’t answer her, but I knew. If Álvar couldn’t have my Legacy to use for his dark purposes, he would use Ella’s instead. The thought of my poor sister, scared and confused and witnessing the horrors of battle filled me with a rage I had never known before. That rage coursed through me with a power stronger than any relic could offer. Stronger even than the evil bones of the Ko Zhin. All at once, any fear or danger we might face seemed inconsequential. I was going to get my sister, and I was going to do it right now.

Getting horses proved easy enough thanks to the chaos that gripped the Hacienda. It was a free-for-all anyway, so two women taking a horse hardly drew any attention. Adelaide followed me without question; she was still too stunned by the things she’d done while possessed by the Ko Zhin. As we rode together toward the mountains, I tried to explain everything I’d heard at the Apache camp, but she seemed so shaken by the day’s events that she only nodded, and I wondered if she’d even heard me.

I wasn’t prepared for the scene I found near the red-rock cliffs that stood at the base of the Alkali range.

Fire. Smoke. Towers of blackness billowed to the heavens, blocking out the sun. Everywhere men blasted guns and shot arrows. In the chaos of battle, I could hardly tell who stood on what side. Hacienda, Apache, townsfolk—they all blurred together in the smoke and noise. The only thing that punctured the mayhem was the stark brightness of the blood splashed over rocks and sand and sagebrush.

A flash of red light lit the smoky fog in the distance—relic magic. I could see signs of it everywhere. To my far left, a man fell to his knees, gripping his head and thrashing about, his mind filled with some dark illusion. Ahead, a floating bowie knife held by an invisible attacker slashed at an Apache warrior. And all around me, the fireballs of dragon claw rifles soared like comets, exploding against trees or the cliff face or a ground of men.

Adelaide and I had to get out of there. Fast. I scanned every direction, searching for Yahn, searching for Álvar. Part of me knew it was pointless. The battle stretched over a huge expanse of land. They could be anywhere.

An earsplitting blast of sound tore through the air. A flash of light, bright as the sun, and then
fire.
I whirled around. From somewhere high on the cliff, I caught sight of a column of fire that seemed to come from the Devil himself. When the flames hit the earth below, they ricocheted up in a fifteen-foot wall, and steaming hot wind from the impact blasted over the land. Men scattered in all directions away from the massive blaze. Those who didn’t get killed instantly, that is. As I watched, a cold, fierce terror gripped my heart, and I knew. That fire came from the Ko Zhin. And Álvar Castilla.

I grabbed Adelaide’s hand and started to pull her toward our horse. The flames had spooked the animal into the safe shadow of a cluster of shrub trees. We ran up to her, but as I came closer, I noticed the reins tied to one of the branches. My feet slammed to a stop. I certainly hadn’t tied her there. Frowning, I turned to look around and spotted two strange men. They walked side by side, heading directly toward us in a way that raised the hairs on the back of my neck. When I spun back the other way, I saw another man coming out from behind the Joshua trees.

Three men, neither Hacienda nor Apache, with ragged clothes and unkempt beards. Probably just angry, out-of-work members of the mob, relishing the chance to legally spill blood. They spread out a little, trying to surround us as they closed in.

“Stay away,” I called, pulling Adelaide close to my side. “I’ll shoot you if you get any closer.”

“Easy, girlie. We just want to have a chat.”

“I’m warning you. Stay back.”

But they kept moving closer. Adelaide breathed hard at my side. I squeezed her hand. “Get ready to run,” I said under my breath.

One of the men pulled a rusted knife from his inner coat pocket. “You girlies better play nice, or we’ll have to cut you up real bad.”

“Hand us over your relics,” another demanded. “We know you got ’em.”

“Don’t hurt us,” I said. “We’ll give you everything.” Mind racing, I bent to the ground. “Here, take it!”

I flung two fistfuls of dirt in the face of the closest attacker. The man whipped back, smashing his fists into his eyes with a roar.

I grabbed Adelaide’s hand.
“Run!”

We tore off, tripping over rocks and cactus and scrub brush to get away. A dark stabbing in my heart told me we couldn’t possibly outrun all three of them, but I pushed forward anyway, hoping for another group of fighters to get in the way, another blast of fire from above—anything to give us a chance to escape.

The men shouted behind us, closing in. I screamed for help, but it was a bad situation any way you looked at it. With the chaos of battle all around us, no one would be able to stop those men if we were attacked. Likely no one would even notice.

And then, through the smoke and heat and noise of the battle came a horrible and haunting sound, like a ghostly scream. Beside me, Adelaide dropped like a rock. She tumbled to the ground, rolling twice.

“Adelaide!”

I spun around to get her, but she was lying on the dirt, shaking, an expression of horror twisting her face. She stared at something no one else could see, paralyzed with fear. I’d read about such symptoms: a terror that froze a person’s body, made them lost in a nightmare until they died from not eating or drinking.

Banshee relic.

This couldn’t be happening. Not now. Not to Adelaide. I wouldn’t believe it.

“Adelaide!” I said, shaking her hard. “Get up!”

But she didn’t move. The three no-accounts tramped up, grinning cruelly.

“Don’t touch her!” I screamed, falling over her trembling body.

“Take it easy, girlie. You play your cards right, and we won’t have to use the banshee on you as well.”

I swung my arm through the air. “Get away! Get back!”

One of the men swooped up behind me, jerking me to my feet. He pinned my arms behind me and, in the same action, brought the blade of a knife against my throat. The edge pressed into my skin, slicing the first few layers. “Didn’t we say to calm down?”

His rank breath turned my stomach. I tried to look away, but the knife pushed harder on my throat, forcing me to stay still.

The apparent leader of the group pointed a dirty finger in my face. “Now you listen. We know you got relics. Two women wouldn’t be prancin’ around in battle without ’em. So pass ’em over.”

“We don’t have anything,” I said, my voice choked. “I swear it.”

“You’re a bad liar,” the knife wielder whispered into my ears, slicing the blade against my skin. It felt like a red-hot brander. Blood slid silently down my neck.

The third man crouched by Adelaide. “Want me to search this one?”

The leader opened his mouth to respond, but his body suddenly went rigid. His eyes bulged, and a strange, choking gasp escaped his lips. And the lean shaft of an arrow protruded from his throat.

Eyes filled with shock, the leader gripped the arrow and tried to pull, but it was deeply embedded in his flesh. He drew his hand away; it dripped with bright red blood. A strange, sad look passed across his face, like a man suddenly woken to a terrible truth. He fell to his knees, gasping in a strained way. And then, all at once, he was facedown in the dirt.

We all stared at his body, motionless, speechless. I thought a rogue arrow must have hit him, but then I heard a horse whinny. Every other sound evaporated from my ears. The smoke ahead seemed to part. I watched in amazement as a painted stallion galloped toward us, with Yahnuiyo strong in the saddle.