Falling Into Place (38 page)

The mage was not going to survive this
encounter. The first offense was enough for Hayden to want to
cleave Jarvis’ head from his body, but now he wanted to make Jarvis
suffer.

“Just warning you, Hayden. I’m going to hurt
Jarvis. You can’t flat out kill him. He’s a sick fuck who abuses
women. I know you want him out of the picture, but I’m going to
make him suffer first.”

“That, my friend, is something we agree on.
Amethyst is safe.”

Preston glanced over, a flicker of hope in
his eyes. “How do you know?”

“My connection snapped back into place as we
turned off the road. Felt like she was falling. I’m guessing she’s
at the falls.”

“Falls?” Preston asked.

Liz answered. “Yeah, the Jagged Cliff Falls.
They aren’t far from here, but that’s an awfully high drop.”

“Yeah, probably why my stomach made its way
into my throat,” Hayden muttered.

Fallon and Brody caught up, moving silently
through the woods

* * * *

Preston stopped in his tracks and held his
hands up. He could hear Jarvis and James arguing, but they weren’t
close enough to make anything out. He focused, gathering the traces
of Amethyst’s energy. It formed a pale purple light that he blew,
sending the glittering particles out in a funnel that stretched
into the woods, trailing the same path James and Jarvis went. It
highlighted the shadowy traces of James’ essence, and the sickly
green energy of Jarvis.

Hayden looked over at him with a scowl.
“What the hell is that?”

“Amethyst is easy to trace, but it helped
show us the path James and Jarvis took. Listen, you can hear them
thanks to the spell.”

Jarvis hissed in pain. “She kicked me.”

James sneered, “I told you not to trust her.
All her kind are full of lies. How do you think her mother cursed
you in the first damned place?”

That was all Preston needed. He started in
their direction, using magic to hide any sound of the group.
Granted, he was the least graceful of them all, but he was a city
boy and had always been.

James snickered. “You were always a fool,
but now someone’s coming. You’re on your own.”

Liz slipped past Preston and Hayden. Robert
and Tremaine appeared behind her as she raced off.

“Damn it,” Fallon whispered harshly. “She
needs a cool head if she’s going to deal with this.”

Preston wasn’t sure anyone could have a cool
head after everything James had done to Liz, but he knew Robert and
Tremaine had her back.

* * * *

Liz was done waiting for others to show her
where to go. She raced through the woods, following the trail of
essence. She heard Tremaine and Robert right behind her, and every
time they fell behind, Robert translocated them to her again. She
wasn’t sure where the extra burst of speed came from, but she
wasn’t stopping for anything.

Then she was picked up and slammed back into
a tree, Robert’s body pinning her there. “Liz, love, listen to
me.”

She glared back at him. “I need to finish
this. We need to finish this.”

“You need to slow down and think this
through.” Robert stared into her eyes. “You need to take a deep
breath and stay with us. We can’t lose you.”

“You won’t,” she insisted, her chest
heaving. She was seconds from shoving him off of her and hurtling
down that path again, especially when Preston, Hayden, Fallon and
Brody charged past.

Tremaine caught her face, pulling her gaze
to his. “We go together. No one is stopping you from taking your
revenge, doll. We want to be there to pick you up if you fall. Let
us be there with you.”

Her chest eased up and she took a deep
breath, realizing that he made one hell of a point. She had been
stupid, charging off without them. “Okay, you’re right.” Her eyes
shifted to Robert. “I’m sorry.”

He nodded once and stepped back. She slipped
past him but kept her pace reasonable. They were close, she could
feel it. Hell, she could hear Jarvis still whining in pain.

“Let’s end this,” Robert told her.

* * * *

James felt magic creeping up on them. He
wasn’t sure where the nymph had gotten off to, but he could sense a
variety of magic, including Robert and Elizandra’s. He’d waited a
long time for Elizandra’s magic. The little he had gleaned from her
all those years ago still pumped through his veins. She had been
something much different than a mage, unlike anything he had
tasted.

He could sense too many people. Fae, mage,
druid and werewolf. Even with all the extra magic he gleaned on the
way, he couldn’t battle everyone. He needed to pull Liz away, even
if he knew Robert and Tremaine would stick with her. Three he could
handle.

James slid between the trees, easing away as
he pulled his magical essence back into him, taking any trace he
could. He could see Preston coming into the clearing, his eyes
locking on Jarvis still huddled on the ground. The Earth Fae rushed
past Preston, the ground swirling up around him as he rushed toward
Jarvis.

James cast a silencing spell as he made his
way through the thickest of the brush. Before he made it out of
earshot, he heard Jarvis wail in fear and pain.

* * * *

“You take him, I’ll find Amethyst,” Fallon
said before she shifted into a hawk and flew off.

Brody let out a frustrated growl. “Be
careful, sugar.” He called as he tore off after her, running
through the forest.

Preston might have laughed, but he was too
focused on Jarvis who tried to scoot away. The slimy bastard didn’t
bother getting to his feet. “You’ll be taking me in, right?”

“To the council?” Preston scoffed. “Oh no.
You’ve gone too far, and I’m sure my friend here has no desire to
see you put through due process. You tried to take his mate.”

Jarvis squawked, “And what will you tell
Draecyn?”

“Draecyn? Oh, Draecyn is dead thanks to you
two. I don’t mind reporting that you admitted guilt right before
Amethyst’s mate tore you to shreds. I may just forget to mention
that I helped.”

“You’d let that beast attack a fellow mage?”
Jarvis pleaded.

Preston glanced over to see Hayden’s
features twisted in a mask of rage. When he looked back down,
Jarvis had pissed himself. Yup, always the coward, and Preston
wasn’t going to miss the asshole.

“I already told you, I have every intention
of helping.” Preston drew one of his short mana-blades and plunged
it into his groin.

Jarvis started screaming.

Robert followed Liz, who ran straight past
Hayden and Preston. Jarvis was screaming bloody murder, but Robert
didn’t bother to look.

“Where is he?” he asked. Robert wanted James
dead. His demented brother had hurt Liz too much, too many times.
He wanted her safe.

His future was up in the air at that point.
The only thing he was sure of was that it included Liz and
Tremaine. After this nightmare, he would figure out what he was
doing with his career. He couldn’t imagine going back to the
Council with the way things were.

Liz came to a stop, and closed her eyes as
she breathed in deep. Robert and Tremaine pulled to a stop beside
her and shared a confused look.

She raised her hands and started chanting
something Robert couldn’t decipher. He felt the wind pick up as the
branches and leaves danced in a funnel that stretched outward.

“Nooooo,” James screamed, the sound coming
closer, and then Robert heard the struggle. James was being dragged
by an unseen force to them. He was kicking and screaming.

“Fuck you,” James yelled, trying to grab
hold of a tree as he slid past, but his hands slipped away, blood
left on the tree. “How are you doing this?”

Liz opened her eyes. They glowed an eerie
gold green as her hair whipped up around her.

Tremaine rushed forward, but Robert didn’t
have the patience for that. He translocated to James, and sent a
shock through his body as James kept being dragged away.

Robert’s eyes flashed to Liz, but she was
still drawing him closer as electricity danced up her arms and
flowed down her body, covering her in flickering light.

As soon as James was between her and
Tremaine, she erected a dazzling shield Robert could hardly see
past.

“Liz, not like this. Not on your own,”
Tremaine screamed. Robert was beside him a second later.

“My fight,” she yelled back. “I don’t need
protection, I need to show this asshole he can’t win in a fair
fight.

Robert took another look at the shield. A
slow smile played on his lips as he recognized it for what it
was.

He grabbed Tremaine’s face, pulling his
gaze. “Let her do this.” His eyes slid to the shield as he tossed a
rock to the other side. “She can do this.” And they could still
step in if something went wrong. The shield was for show.

Tremaine stood there, his chest heaving, but
he nodded as understanding flashed through his dark gaze.

* * * *

Liz sighed in relief. Robert had conveyed
the message to Tremaine. This battle was hers, at least for now.
She needed some pay back, especially after seeing the hell James
had put Emily through for years and years.

She released James, who fell in a heap on
his knees. “Tell me you aren’t giving up. I’m looking forward to a
real fight, one where you can’t cheat.”

“Cheat? Cheat? How is what I ever did to you
cheating?” He sneered.

“The only way you ever had an advantage over
me is when you knocked me out and tied me up. You knew you couldn’t
take me any other way.”

“Are you so sure of that?” He climbed to his
feet, stepping forward. She felt the magic as he closed the
distance. She heard Robert’s gasp and knew he was trying to cast an
illusion.

Tremaine whispered urgently to Robert, but
she shut them out. She had no clue whose face he chose, but she
didn’t care.

Liz felt Tremaine’s spell wrap around her,
but she didn’t recognize it. It wasn’t protection, defense or
offensive, but something felt different.

James charged at her, fire filling his
palms. Liz called the wind to take the flame from his reach and
sling it into the water.

“Fire,” she taunted. “Fire won’t harm me.
Look at what my flame did to you, and not me.”

He cackled, his golden eyes cruel in his
disfigured face. “How is that, Liz? How can you not burn when the
fire burns so hot? I still think you’re spawned of demons.”

“I know who my parents are now, and they are
not demons,” she hissed, circling him, waiting for him to make a
move before she struck a blow.

“Oh, that’s right. Draecyn, and the slut
druid he was rumored to fall for. You’re like her, you know.
Unfaithful, selfish, only looking out for yourself.”

The demon insult hurt her at one time, back
when she didn’t know the truth of her strange magic. That was long
ago, and she knew the truth now. Liz wasn’t concerned with herself,
she was more interested in keeping her friends and those she
claimed safe. Countless times, she put herself in the middle of
danger to keep everyone else safe.

This was the one exception. Her shield was a
wall of glittering light. Robert and Tremaine could step through at
any time because she knew Tremaine would never forgive her for
being reckless.

James whipped his hands up, bringing the
roots and brush twisting toward her. Liz danced out of the way with
a frown. She knew James had gone dark, which meant he had at least
traces of whomever he fed from, but that was not a mage talent.

That gave her an idea. Her eyes swept to his
feet, and behind him was a tangle of blackberry bushes. She whipped
her hands up and the vines from the bush twisted around his ankles,
wound their way up his legs, and captured his arms.

Her own eyes widened at the way the wildlife
responded to her call.

“Oh, what is this? You think a few scratches
can do much to me? You stole my sense of touch, I can’t feel it.
You really did a number on me.” He laughed cruelly, trying to pull
away from the brambles.

She tested her newfound magic, pushing more
energy into the living bush. It grew, the vines thickening, the
thorns lengthening. Spots of blood seeped through where the thorns
cut into James, but he was rooted to his spot.

He flung his hands out, and the wave of
force knocked her to the ground. His roar of laughter filled her
ears.

She sprang to her feet and threw up her
hands, her own spell deflecting his second with a thud and a burst
of light.

“Come on, James. Where’s your fight?” she
challenged.

“Damn it, Liz. He’s not worth drawing this
out,” Robert yelled. “End him.”

“Making him suffer won’t help in the end,”
Tremaine added.

Liz nodded slowly, they were right. In the
end, the only thing that mattered was that he was dead and
gone.

James’ brows shot up and he flung a spell at
Tremaine and Robert. Liz threw a real shield, just a wall at her
dummy spell and charged James as he turned back to her, throwing
his hands out.

There was a pop, and Liz was tackled to the
ground as a stream of flame rushed overhead. Steam hissed and then
water drenched her and Robert. She looked back at Tremaine to see
cold determination as he stalked forward, water streaming from his
palms.

“Sorry, love,” Robert whispered.

“So you need help after all,” James
sneered.

“No, but they’re right. No sense delaying
your death. I see you’re still tangled.” Blood had soaked through
in places on his pants, and she wondered if he even knew the damage
he was doing to himself.

She might have felt guilty if he hadn’t
stolen her child from her, if he hadn’t tried to rape her, if he
hadn’t raped his sister and then cursed her. James was a
monster.