Reaching Retribution (The Prophesized Series) (29 page)

“You’re healing him,” I tell her. Logan’s wound is starting to close. Lily moves closer to him and presses harder on the wound. The black liquid from the dark magic starts oozing out of the wound, but Lily doesn’t move. She continues to put pressure on the wound.
Once the last of the black liquid is pushed out of Logan’s body, the wound begins to glow.

I try to keep my elation to myself. Logan is going to be fine. I’m not losing another family member today. Logan’s body convulses once and then he starts breathing again.
I lean back. I’ll give them time once he becomes conscious again.

Logan
is going to be fine. Oh, thank God. I don’t know how I would able to tell Ryanne that. I wouldn’t have to tell her. She’d know. A few seconds later, he gasps and opens his eyes. Like Ryanne did, he starts coughing and rolls to his side as he attempts to sit up. I stand up and walk to the edge of the fire barrier. I don’t know if it’ll burn me to touch, but I don’t really want to find out.

Logan opens his eyes and looks up at Lily. Without saying anything he pulls her down to him. I turn around giving them some privacy.

“Colton,” Logan says as he pushes himself up. I turn around at the sound of his voice. “Thank you.” I don’t need to say anything, so I just nod. He understands. Logan has done so much for all of us recently; we wouldn’t be here without him. I reach out and help him stand up. He’s not in any condition to fight, there’s no way to avoid it. Lily stands at his side, slightly awkward, waiting for his reaction again. When he’s standing, he reaches out and pulls her to him, hugging her. “Thank you,” he whispers into her hair.

“B
ragden, drop the fire,” I yell.

The fire around us disappear
s. Lily has her arms wrapped around Logan’s waist, helping him stand upright.

I turn
toward James and Travis. “Can you help her get him off the field?”

“I can fight,” Logan announces. Li
ly and I turn and glare at him.

“You cannot fight, Logan,” Lily says.

“At least take a little time to heal yourself. If you feel well enough to fight afterwards then you can.”

“Colton, I need to fight.”

“And I need you to keep yourself alive, Logan. Don’t do anything stupid.”

Jedrek
appears out of the thick of the chaos and stops in front of us. “I need a few of you to come with me,” he says.

“What?” I ask.

“There are some humans locked up in the compound that Dravin was running tests on.” He pulls a key from his pocket and hands Logan a key. “If you go inside and take a left at the end of the first hall there is an unmarked door. Use the key on that door. It’ll lead you to the basement where you’ll find five or six humans. Release them.”

“There are humans here…alive?” Incendia asks.

“Yes, and I don’t think I’ll be around for much longer, so someone has to rescue them while I try and save those who have gotten hurt with their weapons.”

Logan and Lily grab the key and start heading for the compound.
Travis agrees to go with them. Bragden, Incendia, and James will continue to fight. Bragden throws up another wall of fire to allow for Logan, Lily, and Travis to get into the compound without anyone attempting to stop them.

I turn and see Ryanne flying through the air. She slams into a tree and falls to the ground limp. Zahtri is lying on the ground across from her wit
h blood dripping down his nose.

My invisibility immediately takes over as I watch her struggle to get up.

I’ve noticed that the fight has almost come to a complete stop as everyone watches Ryanne and Zahtri fight each other.

Last time I saw Dravin, he
was standing near Zahtri and now he’s gone. I search for Liam, but don’t see him. We are the ones who are supposed to stop Dravin. Claire told us that much. I look around the yard, searching for the manipulative Gadramick that has hurt my soulmate one too many times.

“Looking for me?”

Everything hurts. It feel
s as if…I was just thrown into a tree. My body protests with each movement, but once the initial haze from hitting my head against the rough bark fades, I’m able to push myself up. I feel a lot better when I notice that Zahtri is slow to get up as well. I can feel my magic moving through the air around me as I try to formulate a plan. How can I get the upper hand here? There has to be something I can do that he won’t be expecting.

I glance
toward the crowd behind me. They’ve all stopped fighting.

No pressure
there.

I stand up and throw a shield around me while I try to
regain my strength. This is not going like I wanted it to. Right now, it’s pretty even. Neither one of us are able to gain any leverage on the other. Zahtri pushes himself off the ground and faces me again. I can feel his magic trying to penetrate my shield, but it remains strong. I take another moment to regain my strength. As Zahtri moves toward me, I start calling more magic. I can envision what I want to happen, but if Zahtri attempts to use his magic the second I drop my shield, I won’t be able to execute it like I want to.

Back when I trained a few times with Colin, he told me to get creative.
That’s what I need to do right now. Get creative. Zahtri has probably seen every trick in the book. He can probably assume what I’m going to attempt next. I’m creative. I know that. I can think of something he’s never seen before. I can do something he won’t expect, but I need surprise on my side if I plan on coming out of this alive. If he reads my mind or somehow sees my plan, we’re all screwed.

I look back at the crowd again and see a column of fire abla
ze off to the side. I know either Incendia or Bragden is responsible for this. Is someone hurt? I want to take more time to assess my surroundings, but Zahtri’s attempts to thwart my shield are becoming stronger. I won’t be able to keep it up for much longer.

Scanning
the crowd one more time, I search for a specific pair of eyes. Colton has his back to me, also scanning the field. He’s looking for Liam, who is standing with Natalie directly across from him. I can see him from where I’m standing, but Colton wouldn’t be able to see him through everyone. Seeing Dravin moving effortlessly through the mages and Gadramicks, I gather up my anger and concern and push the emotions toward Liam. He will know it’s from me when it reaches him.

Zahtri is still trying to break down my defenses. I take a small step
backward as I wait for Liam to look in my direction.
Come on. Come on, Liam
. Liam jumps and looks around confused. I watch as realization dawns on him and he looks up at me. With my eyes, I look in Colton’s direction. I don’t have any way of communicating to him that Colton needs his help. Liam’s gray eyes leave mine and move across the field. Spotting Dravin, he nods and begins to maneuver over there. At this rate, they’ll both make it to Colton simultaneously.

During t
raining sessions, Bragden told me to look for weaknesses in my opponents, but what if there aren’t any? What do I do then? Zahtri is cocky, but he is rightfully so. Even though he did not come about this magic naturally, he has a lot and he definitely knows it and understands how to use it. Nothing I am doing is giving me any advantage over him.

One thing is for sure:
I’m not going to back down. Even though I don’t have a plan, I’m going to pretend like I do. It’s worked for me in the past. Who’s to say this situation is any different?

With that determined, I
take a step forward. Just one step, but Zahtri looks a little surprised at my sudden move. I ignore the pain that shoots up my leg with each movement and casually walk to him. When Zahtri threw me into the tree, I landed on the ground at an odd angle. My ankle twisted beneath me as I fell, but I can’t show any weaknesses. I know Zahtri is in pain too, but he’s not giving me anything to use against him, so neither will I.

I take another step forward. Zahtri’s footing fails as he stumbles
backward. I continue my forward progression until the edge of my shield hits him. Zahtri is standing a foot in front of me, waiting for my next move. It has to be me who initiates what happens next.

The wind picks up as I call my magic to me. My magic is the only thing I have going for me at this moment. Zahtri doesn’t think I’ll be able to beat h
im because he doesn’t think I’ve released enough magic. Magic is always going to be a part of me. Before, I had too much running through my body at once. I don’t have to release anymore. My magic easily obeys me and is there for me when I need it.

Now, it’s not all running through my body. It’s not trying to compete with everything
inside. My magic is moving through the air around me. It is still a part of me, but it is not actually in me. What magic I have in me is what I’m supposed to have as a mage. Everything else is just what I need to accomplish this task. I don’t know if I’ll still have all this when everything is over. I don’t even know if I’ll be around when everything is over.

I place my hands together and form a ball of electrified energy, similar to what I did during my training sessions with Colin. The magic crackles as the orb forms. Zahtri looks down at my hands confused as to what I am doing. I just need a little more energy.

I’m not trying to end all this right now. I just need a slight distraction and more time to call the rest of my magic to me. I need to anger Zahtri enough to get him to act. I need him to act without thinking. He needs to let his anger for everything going on take over and completely control his actions if I have any hope of being successful.

“Are you going to kill me?” Zahtri asks as he moves to the edge of my shield. I know that he’s taunting me, trying to get me to react. “Are you going to watch the life drain from my eyes? Are you going to
be able to live with yourself knowing that you killed a man?”

I ignore him and focus on the magic in front of me.
My magic is shimmering within the shield. I spread my hands out a little further, letting the orb grow. Zahtri’s eyes zero in on the magic, but he doesn’t comment on it.

“Are you going to be able to wake up every morning know
ing someone doesn’t get that privilege because of you?” He’s just taunting me. I can’t listen to him. “Will you be able to go about your daily routine and pretend like you don’t have blood of your hands?”

I block him out and focus on the magic in front of me. I can see his lips still moving, so I know that he’s still trying to get me to react before I’m ready. It’s not going to work. I can’t afford to be callous right now.
There’s so much at stake. After a few seconds, my eyes hone in on Zahtri. He’s still talking, but he’s not looking at me. He’s still staring at the ball in my hands. The energy cracks in my hands telling me that it’s ready to be released.

I grin at him as I drop the shield and thrust the magic
toward him. Before the magic even hits him, I turn around and run in the opposite direction. I visualize the magic exploding around him, and I know that I’ll get hit if I stay here. A blast rings out behind me and my magic ricochets back. I push more out and attempt to create a shield around me, but the force is too strong. I’m hit with my own magic and am lifted into the air. I tuck my body in and roll when I hit the ground.

When I stop rolling, I push
myself up and immediately look across to the area where Zahtri just was. Only he’s not there. Throwing a shield up, my eyes move past the platform. He’s not here at all.

“Looking for me, darling?” I whip around and face Zahtri again. Dang, I didn’t obliterate him
.

“How do you do it?” I ask him.

“I still have a few powers on you. Like the power of transport. Though, I did get hit a little bit.” He rolls his shoulder, slightly wincing with the movement. I see the burnt holes in the fabric and the charred skin underneath. “Not a problem though. You’ll find out that I heal very quickly. Can you say that?” Zahtri moves until he’s standing along the edge of my shield. “Why the shield? Are you scared of me?”

“Not scared. Cautious. Weary. Suspicious. Yes, but not scared.”

“Then drop the shield and fight me. This is what you wanted isn’t it?”

Magic?
This is it. I feel my magic move around me, caressing my skin with its energy. This is the moment the prophecy has been talking about. Taking one last deep breath, I step back a few steps and narrow my eyes at him.

“Let’s do this,” I whisper as I throw my hands up, siphoning my magic through me and drop my shield.

This is it.

I turn around and face Dravin.
Everyone moves out of the way, giving us room. All the mages we brought know that Liam and I are supposed to be the ones that stop Dravin. Her two warriors are destined to put an end to the war. It has to be us. I know David, Logan, Larkin, and Bragden are really angry that they can’t help. We’ve all seen Ryanne after she’s been with Dravin. We all know what he’s done to her and Ryanne has inspired us to act. I can see Liam moving toward me, but I don’t look at him. I don’t want to alert Dravin to his presence. Not yet.

“
This could all be easily stopped.”

“Yeah, would you like to casually walk in front of my sword? Or better yet, you can just take it and stab yourself. That way your blood wouldn’t be on my hands.”

“Tell Ryanne to stop the attack unless you want to be lowering her casket six feet under.”

I feel my invisibility skimming the surface, wanting me to release it. It doesn’t like the im
age of Ryanne lying in a casket being buried and neither do I. Somehow, I push it back. I need to remain visible.

I hope
I have a good handle on it, because what I’m about to say could bring it out fully. “At least people would show up to her funeral. She’s touched so many lives here. Can you say the same thing? Will anyone miss you when you’re gone? These people are just followers. They don’t care about you, Dravin.”

Liam steps up behind Dravin and raises his sword, but Dravin turns around and faces him. “I wouldn’t try that if I were you.”

Liam lowers his weapon, but I move forward and kick him in the back of the knees. Dravin falls to the ground, but rolls to the side, out of the way. Getting back up, he glares at Liam and me. “This is really what you want to do? Fight to the death?” he sneers. “Are you really prepared for that?”

“You
afraid to do the same thing that girl is doing right over there?” Liam points in Ryanne’s direction. I briefly glance at her and watch her form a ball of magic between her hands like she did during one of the training sessions. Zahtri is talking to her, probably trying to instigate her. What I wouldn’t give to be fighting alongside her right now.

“Am I afraid to lose? Is that what you’re asking me?” Dravin takes another step forward. Neither Liam
nor I have magic that can be used as a weapon. Dravin does. We have strength and training and I intend to use all of that against Dravin tonight. This has to stop. All this madness has to end.

“Are you afraid to go against us? Is the strong, ruthless, Gadramick leader afraid to go up against two ordinary mages?”

Dravin throws his head back and laughs. I glance over at Liam, who gives me a similar look. We’re walking on thin ice right now. Instigation can go one of two ways. It can anger him enough to get him to react sloppily—to attack without thinking, giving us the advantage—or it can anger him enough to attack even more ruthlessly than he would have before. It could motivate him further, giving him the advantage over us. With Dravin, I’m not sure which way it’ll go. We’ll find out soon enough though.

This is the man
who put a dagger into my side because Ryanne wouldn’t tell him what her powers were. That feels like so long ago. Dravin knocked Ryanne out with dormirako and took Liam and me in as prisoners when we went to rescue her. This is the man who killed me.

One good thing did come out of that incident though. I was finally able to
tell Ryanne that she was my soulmate. I had been battling with how and when to tell her. She had so much on her plate already that I didn’t want to drop another bomb on her, but I knew she’d be mad if I kept it to myself for too much longer.