Merlin's Children (The Children and the Blood) (19 page)

She slid through the empty window and then rose swiftly, her gaze on the highway above the drainage slope. Smoke poured into the air, obscuring the view, though she could see the dim forms of people crowding around the broken barrier to scan the wreck below.

“Go,” she hissed.

Glass and gravel crunched as Cole emerged. Quickly, he grabbed Lily’s hand, pulling her along as he took off for the trees. Her eyes on the interstate, Ashe backed away from the sedan and then turned, running after them.

Trees and bushes scraped her bloodied skin. As she pushed through to the other side of the hedgerow, her eyes swept the backyards. Chain-link fences separated each lawn from the next, with a few wooden fences thrown in for variety, and every one of the yards was still. A wall of houses blocked the road, but a few lots down, she could see a utility easement leading between two of the homes.

“Come on,” she said.

Lily hurried after her, leaving Cole to follow.

Moving fast, she strode between the fences and the trees, her eyes twitching to the houses as she went. Dark windows stared out at them, threatening despite the fact no one appeared to be home. Somewhere in the distance, a lawnmower growled, the sound nearly obscured by the sirens rushing down the highway. At the end of the easement, she paused, scanning the street. Nothing moved and most of the driveways were empty, their owners long since gone to work.

She had no idea where to go.

A quiver shook her aching muscles at the realization. Miles of labyrinthine residential streets twisted away in front of her, leading to a city she knew nothing about. They’d only arrived in Banston a short time before, and hadn’t hardly stopped long enough to do more than wait for the next portal on the way to the airport.

She made herself breathe as she fought the burgeoning panic. It didn’t matter if she wasn’t sure where they were. She just needed a portal to get them enough distance from here, and then it’d simply be a matter of finding a phone, calling Katherine and meeting up wherever the woman happened to be.

It was going to be fine.

Though that didn’t bring Cole into the equation.

“Where to now?” he whispered, as though in answer to her thoughts.

She swallowed, not looking at him. Cole didn’t matter; Lily did. Getting her away from here did. The boy was irrelevant, and if leaving him behind was what it took to keep Lily safe, then that was damn well what she was going to do.

Exhaling sharply, she raked her gaze over the houses, seeking a deep enough doorframe.

She froze. Between two homes down the street, the edge of a pastel pink house could just be seen. Magenta trim and purple shutters completed the image, rendering the garish house utterly out of place among its neighbors.

But she recognized it. She’d seen it from the apartment window when they first arrived in town.

She grabbed Lily’s hand and darted from the cover of the houses.

“Where are we going?” she heard Cole call furtively.

She ignored him, her feet picking up speed as she ran across the road. A brief flicker of magic took out the lock on the fence blocking her way, and another removed the latch beyond. Barely pausing at the next street long enough to glance around, she started down the sidewalk, her shoes hitting the pavement at a rhythm a thousand times slower than her pounding heart.

The wizards would be coming. It wouldn’t take them long to backtrack into the neighborhoods. She had to be quick if she wanted to get them out of here.

In so many ways.

Gritting her teeth, she pushed the thought away as she raced past the pink house. Lily would be upset. She knew that, and she’d deal with it later. But right now, the preset portal in that apartment was the best chance they had of reaching someplace actually safe.

She just needed to get it open fast enough to put the girl through before either Lily or Cole realized what was happening.

The tan brick of the apartment building came into view at the end of the next street. Her eyes sweeping the neighborhood, she ran down the sidewalk and then jogged up the entrance stairway, staying close to the wall. At the door, she paused, peering through the grimy window to the hallway beyond.

Stillness greeted her. Gray light shone through the glass onto the scuffed floor, and as she tugged open the metal door, the clank of the latch echoed in the silence. Her shoes squeaking on the tile, she pulled Lily behind her as she hurried across the hall to the stairs.

“Are the others here?” Cole whispered.

Halfway up the first flight of steps, she glanced back. His hand gripping the end of the banister, he seemed reluctant to move any farther, and though he never looked at the girl, it felt like he was focused on Lily all the same.

“What?” she asked, confused.

“The other Merlin. Did any of them stay behind here?”

She stared at him, incredulity warring with the memories. “Why?”

His face shut down as well as any wizard’s, and ice crept through her, joining the magic twisting beneath her skin and making it hard to breathe.

“Just want to know what’s up there,” he said neutrally.

“They–” Lily started, her voice choked.

Ashe jerked the girl’s hand and kept climbing, tugging Lily along.

It was a moment before she heard him follow.

Three flights up, she abandoned the stairs and ran down the shadowed corridor, making a beeline for the apartment at the end. The door flew back, the handle banging into the wall as she raced past, and to one side of the empty living room, the closet waited, a few bent hangers dangling within.

Her hand hit the closet doorframe. Blue letters chased themselves across the wood.

“Wait,” Lily cried. “What–”

She turned and grabbed the girl as, in the closet, the hangers and the back wall vanished into a gray vortex.

Cole ran through the apartment doorway.

Lily’s fist hit her shoulder, sending pain shooting through her arm, and for a second, her grip slipped. Shoving away from her, Lily tumbled to the carpet and then backpedaled.

“What’re you doing?” the little girl exclaimed, retreating to the far side of the living room. “We can’t leave Cole!”

Skidding to a stop, Cole’s face tightened with discomfort.

Lily waved her hand at him anxiously. “Stay away from it!”

His gaze darted from the girl to the door, and then came to rest on Ashe.

“You’re not taking her,” he said.

From behind his back, a gun materialized.

Her magic met it before he’d done more than bring it into view.

He gave a pained cry as the weapon went flying, but he recovered fast, moving for Lily as the gun clattered to the floor. Ashe raced to intercept him. Swinging hard, her fist connected squarely with his jaw. He staggered to one side, and then turned quickly to knock her away.

“Stop it!” Lily yelled.

He shoved her hard, sending her crashing into the wall. Hot blood soaked her shoulder as the wound from the airport ripped open. Gasping, she pushed herself upright as he rushed past her, heading for Lily.

Her hand burst into flame.

“
Stop
!” Lily screamed.

Bracing herself on the red-streaked wall, Ashe looked over at him. “Don’t touch her,” she ordered, her voice ragged with the effort of speaking through the pain.

One hand gripping the little girl’s arm, Cole didn’t move.

“Ashley, stop this!” Lily pleaded. Ripping from Cole’s grasp, she looked between them as she backed away. “Both of you. Stop!”

“You’re not taking her to him,” Ashe said.

Cole gave a cold scoff. “Wasn’t planning on it.”

Her brow twitched down.

“Please, Ashley,” Lily begged. “Put the fire out. Please.”

Her gaze flicked to the girl and then back to Cole. Tense, he watched her, and she was painfully aware of the gun resting in the kitchenette nearby. If she went for Lily, he’d go for the gun, and then there wouldn’t be much she could do.

Besides kill him.

And she could tell he knew it.

She shook her head, the flames unchanged. “We’re leaving. You can find your own way out of here.”

“I’m not going anywhere without him,” Lily protested.

“And if I try to stop you?” Cole asked, his voice becoming contemptuous.

Her hand trembled. “Don’t,” she advised.

His gaze twitched to Lily, calculations racing behind his eyes. “You won’t do anything in front of her.”

Quivers shook her and she fought to keep from giving any sign. Everything hurt, the air was like ice, and braced on the wall, her arm was going numb.

She made the flames grow higher.

“Just get out of the way,” she told him.

“Hey!” Lily snapped. “I said I wasn’t–”

“Shut up!” Ashe yelled, her voice breaking.

Shocked, the girl fell silent.

“Get away from her,” Ashe continued to Cole.

He paused. “No,” he said carefully. “I’m getting her out of here. Away from you, him, all of this. And if you care about her at all, you’ll let me. Understand?”

Ashe stared at him.

“Come on, Ashe,” he finished. “You don’t want her to be a part of this or you wouldn’t have been trying to put her on that plane today. Let me help you.”

A choked noise escaped Lily. The girl looked between them in horror.

Ashe swallowed hard. “That’s why you came back?”

He nodded.

“Y-you were going to–” Lily sputtered, staring at her.

“What about your dad?” Ashe asked, unable to bring herself to look at the girl.

“Lily’s safer away from him too,” Cole said flatly.

Her brow drew down, and for a moment, she desperately wanted to believe he was telling the truth. Lily could be protected and nothing had changed, even though the whole world had changed because Cornelius and the others were lying dead in a field after she’d asked them to do the exact same thing.

She shuddered, memories flashing through her mind. Everything hurt so much.

“The Blood are coming, Ashe,” Cole pressed. “Please. Do the right thing. Let Lily go.”

“I’m not leaving without Ashley either,” Lily argued, her tone lost between anger and disbelief.

Ashe watched him glance to the girl, and slowly, the desire to believe him faded away. Cole wasn’t Cornelius. He wasn’t Elias or Nathaniel either, and he never would be. At the chance to run to his father, he’d willingly blown every scrap of trust she’d given him straight to hell, and for all she knew, he’d just turn around and do it again. He was nothing.

And she was the best chance Lily had right now.

She pushed away from the wall, fighting to keep her face from showing pain despite the fact she wanted to collapse. “No. Lily stays with me. And if you know what’s good for you, you’ll get the hell out of my way.”

The flames on her hand leapt higher in warning as she walked toward the little girl.

“Ashley, you can’t do this!” Lily cried, retreating till the wall stopped her. “He–”

Ignoring her, she snagged Lily’s arm. From the corner of her eye, she saw Cole start toward them, and instantly, her other hand flew out. A small burst of fire charred the wall near his head, sending him flinching away. She kept moving, tugging Lily with her toward the portal.

“No!” Lily protested, digging in her heels. “I’m not going without–”

“Yes, you are,” she retorted, yanking on the girl’s arm hard enough to make Lily cry out in pain. Guilt tried to surface at the sound and she crushed it back. She’d apologize later. She’d apologize for every damn thing in this day later.

“I won’t!” Lily shouted as they reached the portal. “I’m not going! You can’t–”

The magic hit before she knew it was there. Air rushed around her, and then she collided with the refrigerator across the room and crashed to the floor. Gasping, she opened her eyes, choking as she tried to breathe around the feeling her body had finally been broken for good.

Her vision cleared. The first thing she saw was the portal.

It was rippling. Rumbling.

Roaring.

Her gaze snapped to Lily, but Cole was already there. Grabbing the girl, he lunged for the door.

Magic erupted like a gray geyser behind him. Twisting and snarling, it surged across the room, hit the wall, and took the side of the apartment with it. Her eyes closed as brick and glass exploded outward and the building rocked from the blast.

The quaking stopped. She could feel herself trying to breathe, every gasp halted by sharp pains in her sides. Someone grabbed her. Opening her eyes, she saw Lily crouched in front of her, hands shaking her hard, but the girl’s words were garbled by the rushing in her ears.

Cole appeared. He reached for the girl, trying to pull her away, and Lily shrugged him off, snapping something over her shoulder which made him freeze.

Lily’s blue eyes locked on her own.

Everything faded.

“You’re okay,” she heard the girl whisper imploringly. “You’re okay.”

Air entered her lungs. Blinking, she looked up to see Lily staring at her, tears in her eyes.

“I didn’t mean to,” Lily said. “I-I didn’t…”

“It’s alright,” she replied, her voice hoarse.

As Lily nodded jerkily, Ashe’s gaze moved from the girl to the hole where the corner of the apartment had been. The carpet was smoldering and charred brick framed the open space that used to be the wall. Through the gap, she could see out over every house on the street.

Her heart started beating harder. Any wizard in a twenty block radius could’ve picked up on that blast. And now all of them would be heading this way.

Swallowing, she moved to push herself from the floor, and then hesitated when nothing hurt. Her eyes flicked to her shoulder. Smooth skin. Drying blood without a trace of damage beneath. She drew a breath, burying her surprise as she rose the rest of the way to her feet.

“We have to go,” she said, reaching for the girl.

“Cole too,” Lily warned, retreating a step.

Ashe’s gaze twitched to him. Gun in hand, he stood a few feet from the little girl, and behind his caution, she could read the readiness to fight her all over again.

She barely kept back a scowl. “Cole too,” she agreed coldly.

He tucked the gun into the back of his jeans without a word.