Playing With Fire (Power of Four Book 2) (20 page)

Neriah paused before smiling. “It wouldn’t be just me,” he said and his tone was one of playful teasing again. “Ella would back you up too, even Skyler.”

Aaron laughed. “Yeah, that’ll be the day.”

Neriah watched him before letting out a sigh. “I meant what I said. I’m not going to force you. The decision to fight or not is yours to make.” He stared at Aaron intently. “But we really could use your help.”

Aaron didn’t know what to say.

A flash lit up the sky and, for a heartbeat, the entire city glowed red. Aaron whipped around, as did Neriah.

The sky was on fire.

Leaping up to their feet, Aaron and Neriah watched in mounting horror as a wave of fire, brilliant orange and red flames, spread across the sky. The next moment, the flames tightened, coiling themselves to form a symbol. Two adjacent lines, tilting towards one another until they joined at one end: a blazing inverted V burned in the sky.

“What’s going on?” Aaron asked, his heart kicking at his insides.

“It’s a message,” Neriah said, staring at the symbol for Fire in the sky.

“A message?” Aaron asked.

“From Hadrian. He’s telling us it’s time,” Neriah said. He turned to look at Aaron with darkened eyes. “Hadrian’s core has fully restored.”

18

The Sword In The Stone

The journey was made in complete silence. The only sound was the crunching of dry leaves and snapping of twigs under their feet. Aaron glanced at Neriah’s back as he led the way, once again, through a dense forest. Skyler and Ella were behind Aaron, and on either side of him, were Aaron’s parents.

Moments after Hadrian’s message had blazed in the sky, Aaron had found both his parents, Sam and Rose rushing to his side. They had all stood and stared at the fiery symbol for long minutes, each contemplating the fate of the realm now that what they had most feared had happened. Hadrian’s core was restored, after being locked for sixteen years. Hadrian had his powers again. A full Elemental with demonic powers – what exactly would the mages be up against?

Aaron couldn’t stand back, not now, not when the war was afoot. Hadrian had sent his declaration. If the mages were going to survive, they had to gather their forces and ready themselves for the battle.

Aaron had turned to his parents with eyes full of pleading, but before a word passed his lips, his dad had nodded at him and stepped forward, hugging him tightly. Seeing Hadrian’s symbol blazing above their supposedly safe city had shaken all of them. There was no time left for reservations. They had to fight. All of them had to fight.

Sam and Rose had been escorted to Salvador that same day, and by nightfall the trip to retrieve Aaron’s Blade was arranged. They left at daybreak, with Skyler and Ella joining them. They all took the portal Scott set up to arrive in the middle of a dense forest.

It felt like they had been walking for half a day when Aaron caught sight of something glittering in the distance. He squinted, trying to make out what it was. His eyes widened in complete and utter shock at the sight of a Gate, sitting in all its glory in the middle of the woodland. There was no Gateway for this Gate. It was just a great big towering door amongst all the trees.

Neriah stood before it, waiting for the rest of them to catch up. Once everyone gathered before the Gate, Neriah placed his palm on it and said his name. The Gate slid open and Aaron was disappointed to see what lay ahead was more of what he left behind. The forest looked just the same on the other side of the Gate, which meant they had more trekking to do. Neriah turned to look at Aaron. He didn’t say anything but his gaze moved to meet Chris’s before he turned and walked over the threshold. Kate and Chris entered with Aaron, leaving Skyler and Ella to follow after them.

Neriah continued to lead the way. It was hot and humid this deep in the forest. Aaron’s clothes were beginning to stick to him. Beads of sweat had already gathered on his forehead. He wiped at his brow and trudged along. The further he walked, the more breathless he felt, like the air had suddenly thinned. Thinking he was just getting tired, Aaron ignored it and pushed on. He pulled his backpack higher on his shoulders and walked with his head lowered. His feet felt heavy, every step cost him more effort than it should. A strange weight settled on his shoulders, almost like invisible hands were pushing him to the ground. Aaron came to a stop, breathing heavily. He looked up to see Neriah had come to a rest too, catching his breath.

A hand squeezed his shoulder and Aaron turned to meet his dad’s eyes. His face was covered in perspiration. He nodded at him. “It’s okay,” he said. “It just means we’re...we’re close.”

“The...the Blade is doing this?” Aaron asked, surprised.

“The Blades of Aric are powerful creations,” Neriah said, somehow managing to retain his graceful composure, even when his skin glistened with sweat and his voice shook slightly against the strain of breathing in thin air. “When you get close to them, you feel their presence–” He stopped. His body snapped straight with tension. He turned, watching the forest with narrowed eyes.

Not a word was uttered but Skyler stepped forward. His platinum blond hair was plastered to his head. He brushed his hand over his face, wiping at the moisture clinging to his skin. He scanned the grounds with intense blue eyes before turning to the right.

“There,” he said. “It’s over there.”

In the blink of an eye, everyone had their weapons in hand, everyone bar Aaron.

“It’s next to the stream,” Ella said, and just like that, everyone was moving – heading to the right of the woods. Skyler cocked his gun and pulled out his sword, charging forward on one side of Neriah, while Ella was on the other.

Aaron was taken aback. He had thought they would retreat and ask for Scott to send a team before going off to hunt whatever was out here. But Neriah, Skyler and Ella moved swiftly through the forest without a moment’s pause. Kate kept hold of Aaron with one hand, while her other gripped a silver semi-automatic. The sight of the weapon in his mum’s nimble hand brought a shudder to Aaron. He met her eyes but quickly looked away.

“Come on.” Chris tugged at Aaron’s other arm and they hurried after Neriah.

Aaron didn’t see much, other than tall trees and lots of vegetation, but he heard the stream before he saw it. The sound of water running over rocks, a soft melody in the quiet woods, led Aaron towards it. Kate and Chris were careful to not let Aaron get even one step ahead of them. They stayed by his side, guns in hand, alert and ready. Neriah, Ella and Skyler had slowed down and were approaching the edge of a hill with caution. Aaron followed them, struggling to quieten his heavy breathing and slow his racing heart.

Neriah, Skyler and Ella pressed themselves into the soft, mossy ground and peered over the edge of the hill. Aaron, Kate and Chris did the same. The first thing Aaron noticed was the thin, sparkling stream running through the forest. Sunlight bounced off the dazzling water, as if crystal jewels lay under the surface. Staring at the river, Aaron realised just how thirsty he was.

Then he saw what everyone else was looking at.

It was a woman with long white hair, crouching over the edge of the stream. Her pale grey dress hung off her skeletal frame. Aaron saw her thin, wrinkled arm extend to cup water in a trembling hand. Aaron glanced at the area around the old woman, but couldn’t see anyone else. Yet, everyone was staring in her direction with unblinking eyes.

Chris was the first to move. He brought up his arm and aimed his gun at the frail old woman.

Aaron couldn’t stop himself. “Dad?” he whispered. “What are you doing?”

Chris snapped his head around to look at Aaron with alarm. Everyone stilled. Breaths were pulled in but not let back out. Skyler cursed. Aaron turned to see the woman at the stream freeze, her hand halfway between the stream and her mouth. She whipped around and Aaron almost stopped breathing. Her face was barely more than thin skin stretched over bone. Her eyes glowed an eerie yellow and the moment they landed on him, she opened her mouth and screamed.

Only it wasn’t a human scream.

The sound that filled the air was one that made Aaron swear his ears were bleeding. A high-pitched screech, so intense it made Aaron’s teeth rattle, rang around them. Such was the volume of her cry that Aaron didn’t hear the guns go off next to him. The screaming stopped, and the woman turned and ran. Neriah raced down the hill after her, Skyler and Ella hot at his heels. The old, weak-looking woman bolted through the woods at a speed that left Aaron gaping in shock. There was no doubt as to what she was now. She wasn’t human and she wasn’t mage. Elementals were hunting her. She must be a demon.

Aaron stood up and spotted her past the trees, a little distance ahead. Aaron raised both hands, aiming a ripple at her, to slow her down.

Nothing happened. The ground stayed as it was. His fingers didn’t even tingle like they usually did.

Perplexed, Aaron looked at his hands, turning them over to examine them. He raised them again.

“It’s no use,” Chris said quietly by his side.

Aaron turned to him.

“Our powers don’t work here,” Chris explained.

“What?” Aaron asked. “Why not?”

“No power works on the ground that holds the Blades of Aric,” Chris explained. “The Blades draw power to themselves from the elements that surround them. If a mage gets too close, the Blades pull power from them too. That’s why we can’t open portals near them. The Blades would just swallow that energy.”

Aaron was stunned. “How am I going to use the sword if it drains my powers?”

Chris shared a look with his wife. “When you hold the Blade it will connect with the legacy inside you. Then the Blade will give you power rather than take it.”

A heavy sigh made Aaron turn to look at his mum. She didn’t look happy, in fact, she looked downright miserable at the prospect of Aaron wielding the Blade.

“Mum?” Aaron stepped towards her, reaching out to hold on to her arm.

“It’s your birthright,” she said quietly. “I know that. I just–” She shook her head and closed her eyes. “I wish you were older before you were forced into all of this.”

Aaron’s hand dropped from her arm. “No one is forcing me, Mum,” he said. “I want to be a part of this fight. I
want
to do this.”

“We know,” Chris said. He gave Aaron a small smile. “You’re not going to back down, we’ve accepted that now. If we can’t stop you, then at least we can protect you. You can take the Blade of Adams, but our job–” he gestured to himself and Kate “–is to make sure no one gets near enough for you to use it.”

Aaron stared at him. “Dad–”

But Chris looked over Aaron’s head and his expression changed. He stepped past him and Aaron turned to see the group of Elementals making their way back, guns clutched in their hands.

“Did you get it?” Chris asked.

Neriah shook his head. “It got away. We injured it, so it won’t get too far.”

“The Lurkers did a full sweep. They said it was all clear,” Skyler said, annoyed.

“It was alone. It must have wandered away from its nest,” Neriah replied.

“What was that thing?” Aaron asked.

“A Banshee,” Ella replied, scrunching up her nose. “Nasty things.”

Banshees. That’s what Kyran had claimed had been in that village he burned down.

“I thought Banshees were bad omens,” Aaron mumbled, trying to get Kyran and his words out of his mind.

He recalled an assignment he had to complete on folklore last year. His mum had made him focus in particular on Banshees. He remembered reading that their screams were their defence mechanisms, but some folklore suggested it was an offence. When they were attacked or killed, their screams were normal-sounding human cries that caused no damage. But according to different myths, their Banshee scream could do anything from kill, to warn of approaching death.

“They
are
bad omens,” Skyler said. “Considering they eat those they meet, I’d say they’re the worst type of omens.”

Aaron threw him a glare but otherwise ignored him.

“Come,” Neriah said. “We don’t have time to waste.”

He led the way back. Aaron and the others followed after him. Ella jogged forward to fall into step with Aaron.

“Hey,” she called. “You doing okay?”

“Yeah,” Aaron replied. “I’m good.”

“You should know, Banshees have a super sense of hearing,” she said. “That one heard you whispering.”

“I’m sorry,” Aaron said. “I didn’t realise–”

“It was already pretty weak, it won’t make it too far,” Ella said. “At least we know there’s a nest somewhere in the vicinity.” She smiled. “Maybe later on, you can come with your Blade and hunt it out.” She elbowed him in good humour.

“Are Banshees really all that dangerous?” Aaron asked. “That one didn’t look like it could do much.” He couldn’t stop thinking about how thin and frail it was.

“Looks are deceiving,” Ella replied. “Banshees are really vile creatures. They feast on mage flesh. They usually prey on babies and infants. Their screams paralyse the young, so Banshees can easily carry them back to their nest to feed on.”

Aaron shuddered at the thought. “So, pretty dangerous, then.”

“Not as bad as some, but yeah, Banshees are plenty troublesome,” Ella said.

Aaron thought for a moment. “Who are the
really
bad ones?”

Ella looked over at him. “I think you already know.”

“Vamages,” Aaron said, hating how the word now associated with his mental picture of Kyran.

Ella nodded. “And Lycans.”

As soon as she said the name, Skyler looked around at both her and Aaron with serious eyes and a furrowed brow. He didn’t say anything and turned back, following behind Neriah.

“Skyler’s sensitive to that word,” Aaron commented.

“Why wouldn’t he be?” Ella said quietly. “He lost everything to Lycans.”

Aaron remembered what Neriah had yelled at his dad – how Skyler was forced to watch as Lycans murdered his whole family. He felt pity well up inside him.

“He’s not the only one,” Ella continued, her voice barely above a whisper.

Aaron looked at her. He knew Neriah was her only family.

“What age were you when...?” Aaron faltered, wondering how best to ask such a personal question.

“My father died before I was born, in one of the worst attacks by Lycans,” Ella said. “My mother...” She closed her eyes and took in a breath. “She was killed by Lycans a year later.”