Release (The Protector Book 3) (48 page)

Chief nodded and everyone began to walk along the high, thorny walls and away from me. Chief’s eyes glanced over my invisible form and he nodded. “We are safe, Chase, because of you. Whatever you did scared the creatures away. Thank you.” He lowered his head in a bow. “Now go. You must return to your team and end this.”

Chief turned and ran after Jax, catching up within a few short strides, but in my mind, I urged him to run faster. Whatever I did had only alarmed the Visceratti to summon their queen. I didn’t want them here when they returned.

White clouds filled the sky. I couldn’t feel the air or smell the dirt, but the hum of power coursed through my veins. The legless birds screeched above me, snapping and tearing at one another.

The earth rattled and the loose rocks covering the ground began to vibrate and slide across the rocky earth. Hissing echoed up through the tunnels and I backed away. Tension clenched at my chest and my eyes locked on the burrows.

Visceratti pooled from the dozens of holes that littered the ground. I backpedaled faster, silently wishing I was no longer here.

Red eyes everywhere locked on me and the holes in the ground began to collapse, cracks spreading across the black stone. A loud rumble shook the earth in a violent quake and thunder boomed around me.

The ground burst open and a snake-woman slithered out of the earth. She was easily twice the size of any Visceratti I’d seen, and a thorny crown on her head sparkled with encrusted black stones. The hiss that came from her lips was accompanied by a thick white tongue. Jagged teeth filled her mouth and her blood-red eyes were crackling with black veins of power.

On the tip of her tail was a rattle covered in massive spikes. She lifted it into the air and smashed it into the ground, causing more earth to fall into the hole she’d created. Her body shifted as she slithered over the earth, and thick gray scars covered her naked torso.

“You!” she screamed, slithering towards me.

I continued to back away. She couldn’t really see me, could she? She could feel my presence, like Chief, but she couldn’t touch me.

The thought wasn’t enough. I turned and ran as fast as I could. The sound of her body sliding against the earth made me push myself harder than I thought I could go.

I looked behind me to find she was gone, and I stopped, looking in a circle around me. The earth shook as she fell from the sky and slammed down in front of me.

“You killed my daughter. You will pay, Protector. Ithreal will tear out your soul and feed it eternal life—one I will spend tearing you apart.

She snapped her neck to the side and it cracked loudly. I tried to back away, but the queen’s power arched and a barrier that I could not break surrounded me. Her jaw dropped, unhinging itself as she slithered forward. Before I could move, her shadow towered over me and the last thing I saw was her jagged teeth closing down on my body.

******

Before I opened my eyes, I could feel the ache in my back. Something had me pinned against the earth, and the dead grass was sharp, poking into my skin. I lifted my head and tried to push my knees underneath me, but they wouldn’t move. In fact, I couldn’t even feel them.

I arched my back and turned my neck. The pain was immense, but I managed to see the large rock that had pinned me. It took incredible force to roll myself over, but the rock eventually tumbled to the side. The relief came at once, and although it hurt to breathe, there was something satisfying about tasting the air.

As much as I tried, my legs wouldn’t budge. They weren’t fuzzy, or tingling, or hurt; they felt dead and completely void of anything. I poked my finger into one and panic raced through me because I felt nothing. I slammed my fist against them next, but I couldn’t feel anything.

My breath caught in my throat and my heart was a sledgehammer smashing into my ribcage. This couldn’t be happening.

I fell back against the earth and images flashed through my mind of me sitting in a wheelchair. I sat in the corner of a small room and everyone I cared about hung from chains in the ceiling. Riley was taking turns torturing each of them, but I was unable to stand up and protect them. All I could do was scream as he cut them open, one by one, and turned them to ash.

Sweat trickled from my brow and ran down my cheeks. My hair was wet from all the water that had poured out of me, and my hands trembled as I ran them through my hair.

I closed my eyes and called the element that had nearly drowned me. I was nervous of the pain I knew was coming, but the vision had scared me even more.

I projected an image of my body completely submerged in water through my mind. My legs kicked and I swam freely. The perfectly blue liquid sucked itself around me, and I tried to recall what it felt like to have the cool liquid run over my legs.

The image morphed and I sat cross-legged at the bottom of a lake. Silence engulfed me and I could breathe with ease. I panicked, trying to push myself up to the surface, but my legs would not move. Even as I waved my arms, I was stuck to the sand beneath me.

I sucked the water into my lungs, but when I exhaled, only bubbles of air drifted above me. I was breathing under water and it seemed as natural as it would on land. The lake bottom was empty, and all I could see were weeds drifting up from the sandy ground.

The water seemed to ripple and a bright light reflected back at me. It took a moment before I realized the light was coming from me.

Suddenly I was standing outside my body and I could see fire burning from my eyes. It didn’t hurt but it changed all the colors to a dark shade of red. A stream of red magic appeared and circled around my body. It swirled around me slowly at first, then faster, creating a whirlpool of power.

A whirlpool, starting at the top of the lake, churned into a funnel and sucked everything towards me. Air, pieces of dirt, water, and streaks of red light descended wildly through the vortex. I was on the receiving end, and each piece of debris moved around me while the streaks of magic permeated my body.

I was back in my body, watching everything swirl down from above. My back throbbed as the magic flowed into me. The power coiled and my spine snapped and shifted. Vertebras shuffled down my backbone, clicking into place, and the muscles tightened. Finally the magnet that held me in the sand released.

I paused for a moment before trying to move. My body floated upward softly and my legs stretched out beneath me. I waved my arms and planted both feet into the sandy bottom. Joy overwhelmed me and a smile was glued to my face.

I reveled in the sensation of each grain drifting between my toes. Rough textures rubbed against my feet and I laughed, bubbles aerating up from my lips. I pushed against the sand and drifted up from the lake, floating towards the surface.

When I broke through the top, however, there was nothing but smoke. I took a breath and gagged as the pungent smell burned my throat.

Raging fires scorched the water and the shoreline, sending clouds of thick, black smoke into the air. Everywhere I turned there was more fire; I was surrounded by a flaming sea. The heat blurred my vision and everything around me grew dark.

My eyes opened and I snapped back to reality, lying on the dead grass, surrounded by purple leaves, and staring into the sky I’d fallen out of. Pain scorched my left arm and fresh tears in my skin shot flames like a staged fire show.

I rolled against the ground, trying to smother the crackling heat, but the dead grass only caught fire. I screamed as the flames bit into my skin, and after what felt like an eternity, the fire sucked itself back inside me.

Left with only scalding pain, I rolled away from the burning patch of grass and watched it slowly dwindle until there was nothing but smoke.

The sky was a dark blue. Pinholes of white light sparkled above and the moon was massive, taking up almost the entire sky. I panted for air, my heart threatening to tear itself from my chest.

Both my legs ached as I pulled them up, and a wave of panic and disbelief washed over me. Pain? I could feel pain! An uncontrollable smile crept over my lips.

Tears streamed down my face, running into my ears. I tried to scream, partly in relief that I wasn’t paralyzed, partly in pain, but nothing came. My throat was dry and raw, but I didn’t let it steal my smile.

My right arm was fine. What was once covered in burns had completely healed. My left arm, however, was a revolting mess.

It was marred with torn skin and red, bubbled flesh. The original cuts had widened, and the skin surrounding the gashes was black. Lines of white pus trickled from the wound, making me woozy.

My head fell back to the ground and the grass poked into my skin. I wanted to sit up, I wanted to look around for my friends, but I couldn’t. All I could think about was the pain that tore through my arm and the smell of burnt skin making my stomach turn.

I felt the bile rise in my throat and I tried to roll over. The excitement of having feeling in my legs had passed and my arm hurt far too much to move. The pain was overwhelming and I dry heaved twice before puking.

I managed to turn my head to the side, and the bile spilled over my face. The taste in my mouth was horrid, but the burning in my throat was practically unnoticeable compared to my arm.

The disoriented feeling didn’t vanish. Instead it sucked me deep into its reality and the world around me started to fade.
No
, I thought.
Not again
.

I tried to sit up and fight the pain. I couldn’t afford to pass out; there wasn’t any time, but the image of my arm made me woozy once again, and I was forced to succumb to exhaustion.

******

Riley and the Dark Brothers were in a nearly empty room. A single table sat in the center, marked with engravings. Both the Brothers were seated at it, staring at Riley as he paced.

“All he is doing is getting in the way. Whatever you think we need him for, we don’t.”

Darius and Drake glanced at one another. Both of them held expressions I couldn’t read.

“Trust us; we know how the ritual works. You are merely a vessel here,” Darius said.

Riley glared at them, the black swirling inside his eyes. His jaw worked as he ground his teeth.

“What did you say?”

“I didn’t mean—”

“Merely a vessel? I’m going to invoke Ithreal’s power and you will crumble at my feet. Do not think of yourself with such value. You are replaceable.” Riley reached into his coat pocket and pulled out Ithreal’s dagger. The double-edged blade spun in his hands, and he wielded it with expertise.

Darius’s eyes blinked and turned solid black. He jumped gracefully from his seat and in a blur was behind Riley. “Do you remember who we are?” His words were a harsh whisper. “We are the sons of Ithreal. Even with that dagger, you are but an ant in my presence. I have not spent thousands of years stuck in this hell to be spoken to with such disregard. You are not my master, and until you are, I suggest you watch your tone.”

“Darius!” Drake’s voice was commanding, but he didn’t rise from his seat. His fingers tapped idly on the wood, dancing against the oak repeatedly until finally they slowed to trace the engravings.

Black tendrils spiraled from Riley’s back and wrapped themselves around Darius. With a force much greater than any hunter, Riley thrust him into the stone fireplace without so much as turning around.

“Threaten me again, and it will be your end. You may be a demigod, but I am already stronger than you.”

Darius’s magic came to life and his face contorted in anger.

“Darius, I will not repeat myself,” Drake said, rising from his seat.

Darius stared over Riley’s shoulder into his brother’s eyes. Drake did not move, or say another word, and his brother’s power faded. Darius nodded. “Yes…Master, please forgive me,” he said through gritted teeth.

Riley nodded. “Remember that.” The tendrils receded, dropping Darius and forcing his knees to buckle, sending him to the ground. Riley went back to pacing the room. “What I am doing is for the greater good. For all of us and the humans. This war must end!” He slammed his fist against the table, leaning in, inches away from Drake’s face.

“I agree. That is why we are all here,” Drake said.

“Then why must we keep them alive? That…abomination obstructs his view. With her out of the picture, I could turn him. I know I can!”

“We need her, and him. They are part of all this now, and without them, all of this is for nothing,” Drake said. “You have worked too hard, Master, to throw it all away. Let the kids play hero. As long as they stay alive there is nothing to fear. This, I can assure you.”

Riley’s eyes searched Drake’s face, but it was unmoving. He glanced over his shoulder at Darius on the ground and sighed. “Keep your brother in line. I do not wish to remove him from my side, but I will not let anything get in the way. All the lives I have taken were sacrifices in the name of peace, and I will not let their deaths be in vain because of some arrogant cockroach.”