The Steward (56 page)

“
Wow
, what?”

“I thought there would be more of you, that’s all.”

He considered what I said for a moment and then I felt him compelling me. It was painful, powerful, and I saw her. Aunt May lying in her bed.
Oh my god, it’s the night she was murdered
. I didn’t want to watch, and I could have thrown up my barrier easily enough, but I recognized that I
was witnessing
the scene from the perspective of someone in the room. My god, I was seeing it from the killer’s eyes.

Aunt
May lay frozen in place—only her eyes
moving
. I forced back the vomit
surging in the back of my throat
. She was petrified—I could see the fear in her face
,
and I wanted to help her
. I wanted t
o reach into this memory and stop the attack, but that wasn’t possible. I saw a rope of water enter her nose and mouth, and I heard her gagging. I blocked the sound out and just paid attention to her eyes.

The Fae who
did this
moved closer. It hovered just over her face. Her eyes were wet
,
and I felt like screaming
. B
ut then I noticed something—a mistake. I saw Chalen’s face reflected in her eyes.
It was you after all
. I threw my barrier back up and the invasion ended.

I dropped it again after he stopped trying to compel me. “You murdered her, Chalen, I saw you
r
reflect
ion
in her eyes!”

He leered at me. “That does not matter now. She is dust, washed away, gone forever.”

“You lied to the Council.”

“Who cares! Give me your answer, NOW!”

He
trembled with anger
, but I ignored his demand. Tears filled my eyes
,
and I
fought
to put the images of
Aunt
May’s death out of my mind. They were debilitating. I finally found something else to focus on
—Chalen
. He had murdered her. My loathing for him grew beyond any measure I thought possible. I allowed myself to sob, and quickly tried to come up with a plan.

“Answer me, or I’ll tear it out of you!”
He walked closer to me. “I want to hear the words.”

My plan was simple: I had to get off the island. I knew it probably wouldn’t work, especially if one of them was an Aetherfae, but I wasn’t going to die without a fight. I steadied my breath as he drew close
,
and I allowed my torch to settle down to just a slight glow.
The light from it reduced to a flicker
—I wanted their physical eyes accustomed to the dark.
The timing has to be perfect. Sell it, Maggie, sell it.

For their benefit, I cried out. “Stop
…
please
…
” I cowered down, hiding my face in my coat. I felt him against my barrier. I made it surge against him twice
,
then
let it fail
briefly
. Some of the others moved in closer. I looked up, letting fear dominate my face. I could see them, barely, staring at me
as
I waved my torch again and briefly let it flicker before going out. They watched my every move.

I heard Chalen step in front of me
,
and felt his hand brush my hair. I yanked my head away and buried my face again, closing my eyes—tightly. In the front of my mind, I pictured my torch lighting again, and hoped they were all trained on it. With all of my might, and well hidden from their peering
invasion
, I
pictured
the flash on
D
ad’s camera going off from the burnt end of the torch. I focused on it bursting as bright as possible, as bright as the surface of the sun.
Oh please, let this work...

I drew energy from the ground, and I set it loose on them. Even with my eyes covered, I knew it was incredibly bright. I glanced up as soon as it had gone out. They were all stunned. I grabbed Chalen with my mind,
as
he
clutched
his eyes.

“Here’s my answer!” I screamed.

I slung him as hard as I could
,
and felt his backbone snap against an Oak not far from me. I had already begun sprinting before he hit the tree, and I blew the disoriented Fae that blocked my path into the forest. I heard them crashing into the underbrush
and cursing.

My heart
crashed against my chest. I did
it
—b
ought myself a second or two
—but
I knew they
would
be on me in an instant. I wished more than ever that I’d learned how to fly. Instead I ran, feeling the ground in front of me with my mind. I was halfway to the shoreline when I felt them close
in. S
ix of them—the beasts—
had
regained their vision faster than the rest. They were impossibly fast. I blocked their advance momentarily with my barrier, but it was clear
that
I wouldn’t make it to the boat.

A rush of panic hit me when I felt another one streaking at me from the lake. “Oh Crap!” I
screamed.
I knew I counted fifty.
It
blazed
up the path
toward
me on a collision course. I
readied
myself to push it away, but from behind I felt the first attack—something hurled
toward
my head. I threw up my barrier and blocked it easily. Lightning cracked overhead, and I watched in ho
r
ror
as
the Fae in front of me transformed into a huge black leopard the size of a bull. It looked like Vada. I dove into the mossy path the instant before I thought we would collide
. From the ground I
threw my barrier
up
, but it
bounded over me
.

I heard Billy’s voice, mixed with a snarl, “No, Maggie, run!”

I watched him land, and instantly several bolts of lightning arced to the closing Fae. Four of them switched to their natural form and back again after the bolts struck harmlessly. The other two simply met the bolts with their own—they collided and sizzled in balls of energy before disappearing.
Those two are Fire aligned
.

I got to my feet and ran. More bolts converged on Billy
,
and he did the same thing—met them with his own and cancelled them out. I was at full speed again
,
and the earth
shook
under me just as the rain
began
falling
in torrents. The ice cold rain mixed with
the
enormous hail stones
bounced off my barrier harmlessly
, as did the ferocious gust
of wind
that
whooshed over me, knocking branches out of the tops of trees. I stumbled for just a moment and regained my balance. I ran at a dead sprint.

I felt it happen, but couldn’t miss it—a mound of soil or rock popped up in front of me and I tripped. Beyond the obstacle, a large black void opened in the ground. I knew I would fall inside, but as I flew forward, out of balance, I felt my mind catch my body, like it had done with the deer
, and I soared over the pit
.
In the air, I
searched the ground
for a solid surface beyond the opening. I found one, and
set myself down on
it
, still running as fast as I could.

Billy caught
up with
me. I glanced over and
saw his
gray eyes
set into
the beautiful cat face. He bellowed a thunderous snarl and turned. As lightning flashed again, I looked back to see several projectiles strike his side before bouncing off without causing harm. I blew them back at the six purs
u
ing beasts and the same thing happened. At that moment I remembered the Fae could shield themselves from projectiles they saw coming. I threw my shield up in front of them again. Only one failed to stop in time,
smashing
face-first and
bouncing
back, snarling in protest.

When I got to the shore
,
I
reached for
the boat with my mind. I felt the hull in
my invisible grip and pulled, imagining it speeding toward the shore. I
t
lurched
forward
as though it were
under
full
power.

Sensing something streaking
through the air
toward me, I spun just in time to block a tree trunk
.
You’re not getting
me with Air
.
Before it hit the ground, I flung it back at one of the running beasts. It morphed into it’s natural form until the trunk passed, and snarled
as it phased
back into the menacing
creature
. Billy turned back, still in leopard form, and blocked fire and lightning aimed at us. I
realized
why he
took
that form when his head twisted to the side. He could see better with cat eyes at night. I gawked around blindly until lightning lit up the island again.

Several bolts, more than I could count, converged on us. Billy met most of them with his own, but not all. I felt the remaining three
—I
could sense them. When they got close enough I tried to redirect them. I got one. The Fae channeling it screamed at me as the
blue streak
bent and scorched the promontory above us. Billy morphed into Naeshura just as the remaining two struck the ground where he
had stood an instant before
. Just
as
the Unseelie had done, when the danger passed he immediately shifted back into the giant leopard.

A part of my mind unconsciously scanned the island as I concentrated on pulling the boat close—
I
felt all of them converging on us so quickly
it made me
dizzy
.
N
o sign of the Aetherfae—that’s why I’m still alive
. I scrambled into the rocking boat
and pushed it around and away from the shore so quickly I heard the hull creak under the pressure. With so much going on, I could not focus long enough to start the engine. Billy stood his ground, apparently unwilling to get in the water. I
moved
away as if the boat were under
full throttle
—forty feet, fifty feet, sixty feet.