Martyr (31 page)

It was then he noticed the smear of darkness on the ground by the fire, the few small mounds he wished he could mistake for rocks. But he knew precisely what those chunks were. The kravens had feasted, and they'd let the Witches watch. He wondered if they'd let the clan choose who died first.

That alone made Tenn want to prolong the man's pain, but another burst of fire nearby brought him to his senses. While he was here deliberating, the twins were weaving their destruction and keeping him safe. And the army was trying to hunt them down. He had to act fast.

Even if the man did deserve to suffer.

A quick snap of Water, and the blood in the man's veins boiled, melted him from the inside out. It lasted a few seconds, but Tenn didn't even watch as the guy fell to his knees, gurgles of pain escaping his lips. He was already focused on getting the Witches out before they lost any more innocents.

Rhiannon must have sensed he was there; her eyes locked onto him, despite his invisibility. While the rest of the clan stared at the dying necromancer in horror, her eyes never left his form. Before the Witches could panic, Tenn reached out with Earth and snapped another branch from the twin's tree.

Briefly, he stopped channeling Earth into the stones, a split second as they flew out another twenty feet, drawing the Witches into their orbit. Then he sent out the power once more, rendering them all invisible. Rhiannon gave him the smallest, knowing smile.

“You have come,” she said. She made her way through the crowd, the girl still holding on to her hand, and swept Tenn up in a hug. Her grip was strong, though there was a shake to her touch, a tremor that said she was trying to hold it together, that she was close to breaking but would never show it. He knew the feeling well. She whispered into his ear, “I never doubted you would find us.”

“I'm sorry we couldn't have made it sooner,” he said. His stomach dropped a little further every time he saw the blood staining the ground not a foot away. Was that…a jaw?

“Do not grieve for what you cannot change,” she said. She stepped back and looked him up and down. “You found her, didn't you?”

Tenn looked down.

She cupped his chin in a hand and gently raised his eyes to hers.

“You did what you could,” she said. “And for that, we thank you.”

“We don't have much time,” Tenn said. This was the one part of the entire mission he'd been dreading, the one command that truly meant their lives were in his hands. If he'd messed up the first part, the twins could have at least helped the Witches escape. If he messed up now, they were all as good as dead. “Stay close to me. If you can fight, stand to the outside. Hopefully we can make it back to safety without anyone noticing.”

Although the place was swarming with Howls, none seemed to notice the sudden lack of prisoners. The fires were wild now, and the world was a torrent of sparks and heat and chaos. Tenn and the Witches darted through the madness as fast as they could, adults holding the children and those strong enough to fight ringing the perimeter—not that they had anything they could call weapons, but Tenn hoped at least a few of them were attuned.

They were nearly to the edge of the encampment—hard to discern, as even the countryside had been set ablaze—when his good luck turned south. A man stumbled through the edge of the circle, blinking and clearly in shock from the runes and the sudden appearance of fleeing prisoners. His shock didn't last long. A moment later, his eyes narrowed, and he took a deep breath.

Tenn nearly dropped to his knees, nearly lost hold of the stream of Earth that was keeping them all hidden and alive. It felt like a punch to the gut, a sudden unexpected exhalation. He gasped. Of course they would be discovered by a breathless one.

He made to lash out, but Rhiannon was faster.

For a brief, blinding moment, Fire flashed in her chest. The Howl went up in flames, blazed bright as the sun. Then the light vanished. The man was gone in a puff of ash.

She caught Tenn's admiring gaze and raised an eyebrow. He said nothing. Of all the Spheres he'd expected her to be attuned to, Fire was probably the last. He didn't waste any more time. He ran. The clan followed at his heels.

They dodged the fires that spun out of control, or perhaps the fires dodged them. In any case, they ran up the hill, the shouts and screams of the encampment fading behind them. Tenn kept the twins' tracking runes firmly in mind, let them guide him forward like a beacon. He kept waiting for Matthias to jump from the shadows and attack him, for a group of kravens to lunge and rip out their throats. But there was no one. Devon kept them all occupied.

When they broke through the line of runes and found the twins, he nearly sighed with relief. He dropped the connection to Earth and their camouflage winked out. The moment he stopped running, the clan crowded around, hugging him and the twins, showering them with kisses and gratitude. Rhiannon gripped him tight while her daughter hugged his leg. Not one of them asked about Tori or blamed him for what had become of them, but the guilt still punched his chest like a wound.

“Thank you,” Rhiannon said as she stepped back. Her gaze took in all three of them.

For the first time, the twins didn't look subdued, didn't look like they were waiting for the ax to fall. Dreya's back was straight, and even Devon seemed to soften under the hugs of the children that flocked around him. Tenn wondered if they felt they'd finally atoned for their sins.

But there was no time for congratulations; he looked to the twins and nodded.

“Be careful,” Dreya whispered.

Rhiannon's gaze darkened. She looked to Tenn.

“What—”

“This isn't over. Not yet,” Tenn said. He opened to Earth as Dreya brought the whirling stones in a closer orbit, circling only a foot from his body. Runes flashed, ensconcing him in misdirection. He didn't offer any explanation, didn't turn and wish Rhiannon well or apologize again for costing them so much.

He just ran, hunting down the man who had cost him everything, the man who would hunt
him
no more.

32

He
thought Matthias would be difficult to find. He couldn't have been more wrong. Seeking out the necromancer was as simple as finding a beacon in the night. He stood at the edge of the encampment, staring out at the blazing fields, his eyes alight with anger. All three of his Spheres were churning within him, their combined light nearly as bright as the inferno. Tenn knew he was seeking him out. Tenn knew Matthias was on to their games. And he knew without doubt that Matthias would never find them. Not now. Not anymore.

He slowed the moment he neared the man. Tenn's pulse was calm, his breathing slow. Earth was a steady hum in his pelvis, Water impatiently waiting to be unleashed. Just the sight of Matthias was enough to make the Sphere growl with hatred. Water churned, bubbling with memories of Jarrett's eyes, flashing traces of his touch. Over and over, with every blink, Tenn watched Jarrett leap to his death. All at the hands of the man in front of him, the man in his pinstripe suit and black cane.

Tenn clenched his jaw. Studied his foe. He was so close he could see the fields reflected in Matthias's eyes, could watch every single bead of sweat drip down the man's forehead. Matthias was straining. And yes, there was a hint in his eyes of more than concentration. Matthias looked unnerved. Surprised. And that sensation clearly frightened him.

Tenn opened to Water.

The Sphere sang with bloodlust. There were a thousand ways to die, and Water wanted to inflict every single one—impale him on a tree and let him bleed, drain his magic and make him a Howl, slit his wrists and spike him to the ground… It showed Tenn other things, too—things besides Jarrett leaping into the night. It showed him his house, empty, blood smeared on the walls; it showed him his parents, a bloody mound in the back shed; it showed him endless days of nothingness, of waiting to die.

It showed him every single thing that was wrong with his life.

And all he had to do to rectify it was kill Matthias.

He stepped forward, let Matthias get caught within the stones' orbit. Matthias's eyes widened at the sight of Tenn.

Matthias opened his mouth.

This is for Jarrett
.

Tenn struck.

Earth was a lance in his hands, and with it, he snapped the cords of Matthias's ankles, brought the man to his knees. Matthias gasped, his Spheres flickering, but he was a man used to battle.

Fire blossomed at his fingertips. Tenn was faster.

He pulled through Water, dragged every droplet of moisture into a shield of ice just inches in front of his skin. Power screamed within him. He tasted blood, but whether his own or his imagination, he couldn't tell. Fire billowed across the shield, white-hot and angry, but Tenn's power was stronger.
Your pain is your greatest strength
, Tomás had said. And Tenn had more than enough of that to spare.

Matthias's fire died out, and Water took its opportunity. The shield shattered, crystallized into a million tiny pieces that Tenn sent slashing across Matthias's skin.

This is for me
.

The man had the decency to scream.

Water had taken control now, a torrent of rage and memory that wanted to destroy as much as it wanted to prolong the blissful agony. It felt the pulse in Matthias's veins, the beat of his heart, the blood trickling from his wounds. It delighted in the beauty of red, in the symmetry of every slash, each cut a testament to Tori, to Jarrett, to everyone this man had killed. A twitch, and Tenn froze the blood in Matthias's legs. The man brought his hands up, wisps of flame swirling in his palms, but Tenn froze those fingers, too. Matthias's skin turned blue, his hands dropping heavily to his sides. He fell backward on the ashen grass, staring up at Tenn with narrowed eyes and a shocked expression on his face.

Tenn stepped over him and raised his staff. The tip twisted and stretched, ending in a point as fine as a needle.

He brought it down, speared the necromancer's stomach to the ground.

Matthias arched his back, blood spraying from his lips. Tenn could feel Matthias's life flickering, fading, but he kept the bastard alive, kept blood flowing and pumping through his veins. He wasn't done just yet. Not by a long shot.

When Matthias sank back to the ground, he looked Tenn straight in the eyes and laughed.

The sound made Tenn's skin turn cold.

Blood trickled down Matthias's face in rivulets, each heartbeat another spurt, each laugh another spray of crimson. Tenn twisted the staff. Matthias gasped, but he kept laughing.

“How does it feel?” Matthias asked. His voice came out in a rasp, but it was still strong, still had the power to chill Tenn to the bone.

“What?” Tenn asked through gritted teeth.

“Revenge,” he said. “Is it everything you hoped for? Do you…do you feel avenged?”

“I just want you dead,” Tenn said. Another twist of his staff. Matthias didn't avert his eyes.

“And what good will that do?” Matthias asked. “I am one man. As are you. Who can you hope to save? I've already killed your parents. Everyone you love, I've broken.”

The statement was a punch to his gut. Water nearly resurfaced, nearly brought back the day he'd wandered the halls of his house, the day he found his parents dead and mangled in the shed. The emptiness of their bedroom, the cleanliness, and that one smear of blood on the picture frame.
If you'd gotten there faster, if you'd have tried harder…
He shoved it away. He forced it into the whirlpool that was his pain. It was one more reason that Matthias needed to pay.

“I can at least keep you from killing again,” Tenn said.

Matthias chuckled again, the noise only broken by a wheeze.

“Killing me will do nothing. It won't bring back your parents. It won't save you from falling into Leanna's clutches. My goddess is the Dark Lady. For me, death is a reward.” Matthias's smile was a red slash across his face, one that dripped to the ground.

No, no, he has to see that he's losing
.

“I've already won,” Matthias continued. “Leanna was right. Take the man you love, and you would fall into our hands.”

“I'm not playing anymore. I have the Witches, and once I have the proper runes, I'll destroy all of you. Every. Single. One. Starting with you.”

“No,” Matthias said. He lifted his head off the ground and smiled. “You won't. Because you have overlooked one key thing.”

Tenn didn't say anything. He wasn't going to fall prey to this, not anymore.

Matthias laughed.

“You'll seek out Leanna. You're still the mouse in our little game.”

Tenn twisted the staff again. Water screamed, wanted the man to choke on his own blood.

Fire opened in Matthias's chest. Snakes of flame raced across Matthias's skin, twisted through his clothes. Tenn yanked out his staff as the fire swept higher, as Matthias burned himself alive.

Tenn wanted to scream, to cry out, but all he could do was watch Matthias immolate.

“She has him,” Matthias yelled through the blaze. “Jarrett's still alive.”

PART

THREE

BLOOD SINGS

“We have no way of fathomingthe evil
these creatures possess, the malice
in their hearts. Our only hope
is the dying chance
that they retain a semblance of humanity.”
- President's Final Address
Post-Resurrection, Week Two

33

Tenn
screamed. Water roared.

Matthias's body was a funeral pyre blazing in the night, and Tenn was blazing, too. Water raged in his chest, churned with such ferocity he had no doubt the power would tear him apart. Matthias was burning, burning, and Tenn howled.

There was no thought. There was no moment of questioning.

Water raged.

Water wanted everything to hurt as much as him.