rylee adamson 10 - blood of the lost (11 page)

Lark leapt up onto the dragon’s back, using his bent back leg for a launching point, Peta right behind her. Shit, they made it look easy. Cactus followed them, doing the exact same thing. Well hell, if they could do it, so could I.

I ran at Blaz’s back leg, jumped and he lowered his knee a fraction of an inch, then helped me with a boost so I was launched onto his back.

“Well done, Rylee.” Lark let out a laugh. “But your dragon helped you cheat.”

I laughed with her and then, as Blaz lifted and we rose into the sky, I realized how badly my attitude had affected everyone else. How much I’d brought them down.

I buckled myself into his harness. “Blaz, how much of my emotional state from that demon could you sense?”

Almost none. It was as if you were blocking me
.

We hovered above the big box store and waited for Eve and Marco to flank us before heading west again.

Swallowing my pride, I opened myself up to Blaz. “You need to be aware of what I have going on.”

He sucked in a sharp breath and turned his head to look at me.
Are you sure, Rylee?

I’d never let him all the way into my head, not to the degree I was offering now. I gave him a tight nod. “Yes, I’m sure. It may be the only way we have a chance to survive. I know what happens if one of us dies.”

My father had been a demon slayer, and
Ophelia
was his dragon. When he was killed, Ophelia lost her mind and became a menace to herself, eventually manipulated by a demon because of that weakness. And if Blaz died?

I couldn’t even imagine my life without him, without the constant knowledge that he was—with the exception of Liam—the one I trusted the most with my heart.

A low rumble rolled out of him, and as he turned his head from me, I saw a rainbow glimmered tear slip down his cheek. I looked away, but let him feel the gratitude in my heart for him.

For his friendship and protection.

And for kicking my ass when I needed it.

Blaz roared into the sky as that last thought passed from me to him.

And I feel the same.

We swept westward at a good clip. The miles and the day flew by in a rush that I wasn’t sure I liked. Without even doing anything, we were running out of time. Another hour or so, and we’d be able to let Berget and Faris out of the bag again. The sun in front of us slowly set, the sky brilliantly reddening as though a forest fire raged below.

I sensed Jonathan in the distance as I Tracked him to the south. I fed the feel of the boy to Blaz, letting the dragon pick the best route to get to the automatic writer. But I was less concerned about our path and more concerned about Jonathan.

The kid was . . . his threads were, for lack of a better word, weird. He wasn’t happy or sad; he wasn’t feeling any type of emotion. Not even tired or awake. He existed in a fog that had nothing to do with my ability.

When I’d met him years ago, there had been the same lack of feeling, the same strange apathy that he floated in. He’d been a kid, passed from foster home to foster home because he was such an odd character. Freaking creepy, if I recalled right. I picked up on his creep factor loud and clear again.

A shudder rippled through me. What if the Shadow Walker had kept him, what if that had been his influence instead of Lark’s people? How much harder would it have been for us to deal with him then?

It would’ve been harder to get him to help, of that I was certain.

Around us, the air carried a strange energy, and the hairs on the back of my neck slowly rose. The Harpies started to fall back as a serious headwind slammed into us; the weather shifted so quickly, going from a calm breeze into a serious storm in a matter of minutes. The sky darkened and the clouds opened like someone had slashed a knife through them.

Rain pelted down, hard enough that I was sure there would be bruises, reminding me of London, and the constant wet and gray skies. But this was not London, and I had a feeling it was anything but natural.

Within minutes, we were soaked through, and the rain was not warm. Teeth chattering, I looked over my shoulder at Lark and Cactus. Curled up between them, Peta hid from the rain. “You two can’t do anything about this, can you?”

Lark shook her head. “No, and if any Sylphs come, it would be best if we were not seen. But I doubt we’d be able to hide in time, so that’s not an option.”

Above us a bolt of lightning ripped the sky, searing my eyes. I ducked my head. “Is it a Sylph doing this?” In the back of my head I scrambled for information. A Sylph was an air elemental, and as legendary as Lark was supposed to be.

“I’m quite sure. The four families created a lockdown around Jonathan, from what I understand. They knew I would come for him eventually. He is the first step in me taking back my place in our world.” She put a hand on my shoulder. “Look at Pamela.”

I whipped my head around to see Pamela standing on Eve’s back, Alex steadying her with his hands on the back of her thighs. Her hands were raised above her head and the wind around them stilled, the clouds pushed away. Eve winged closer and the calm encircled us. Pamela’s eyes were closed and she dripped with water—or it could have been sweat.

“Pamela, you are a badass,” I hollered over to her.

She grinned but kept her eyes closed. “I learned from the best.”

Lark shimmied closer to me and whispered into my ear. “I can stop the Sylph, but I need to be on the ground.”

“Blaz, you heard the Destroyer. Time to land.”

He tucked his wings and dropped like the ten-ton lizard he was. Behind us came the sharp whistle of wind screaming through the Harpies’ feathers as they coursed behind the dragon. I leaned over and peered around Blaz’s head to see the spot he’d picked to land.

“Blaz, tell me you’re joking. Please tell me that isn’t Mt. Hood.”

The quickest path was to stay north and avoid the higher ranges, then come down the coast line.

Mt. Hood. The sight of the volcano I’d caused to erupt; the place where I’d gained the ogres as allies, then lost them when I confronted their leader, Sas.

The place I’d been when
Dox
had been killed at my farm. My heart clenched.

So be it.

CHAPTER 13

PAMELA

THE MAGIC RUSHED through my veins, more heady even than the cup of wine I’d drank at winter solstice with Rylee. Around me, I could feel the world and every element within it, as though they were a part of me, and with a bare whisper of a thought I could ask them to do my bidding.

That had been the key to unlocking my power, truly unlocking it. Not to demand the magic do my bidding, but to ask it. To make it my partner in all I wished.

What no one had ever told me before was that the magic I carried was a living thing, a creature no different than Blaz, Eve, or even me.

And it was a bit temperamental and didn’t like to be shoved around.

Weaving the power through me, I kept the clouds and lightning at bay, redirecting the storm, sending it southeast, away from us.

Something pushed it back, though; another force of magic from what it felt like, though the sensation was there and then gone in a flash.

Alex’s hands tightened on me and pulled me down. “Sit, we’re landing.”

My eyes popped open. “Why did we stop?” All around us was black rock and above us was a mountain with the top blown off. I put a hand to my mouth as I slowly turned to take it in. The charcoal forest, the strange landscape, the mountain, and the crystal clear lake in the distance—this was the place Rylee had been, where she’d made the volcano explode.

Which meant there were ogres nearby; ogres that didn’t like us and were probably still being manipulated by Orion.

“Oh shit,” I whispered.

Alex squeezed my arms, and then quickly let go so he could slide off Eve’s back.

“Don’t freak out yet. Maybe it’s not all that bad.” He pointed at Rylee and Lark, who had their heads bent together. Marco hopped beside us, doing his best to keep Berget and Liam from bouncing on the ground as he landed.

I rolled my eyes. “Alex, this is Rylee we’re talking about. How can you say not to freak out?”

Laughing, he winked up at me. “Because I would like to believe we’re all getting out of this alive. We’ll look back on this someday and tell amazing stories.” He paused and turned his head, sniffing loudly. “Do you smell that?’

I swallowed hard. “Please tell me it isn’t ogres.”

He spun around and looked at me. “How did you know?”

“Call it a bad feeling.” I jumped off Eve’s back and ran to Rylee, fighting the urge to panic. Ogres were tough, and while my magic was strong, we hadn’t been able to fend off the human mob without Rylee getting stuck with a demon. What would happen if it were an ogre mob that came at us?

Blaz’s voice whispered across to me.
Easy, Pamela. You are broadcasting your panic.

I took a slow breath, let it out, and made myself stop hurrying. “Thank you.”

You’re welcome.

I stopped beside Lark and Rylee. The tall elemental made me feel very small, but her eyes and face were kind. She noticed me first. “What is it, witch?”

“Ogres are coming.”

Rylee’s jaw tightened. “Better to kill them now than face them later. Seriously, I thought I was done with these assholes.”

Lark put a hand on my shoulder. “There is a Sylph coming. They were manipulating the weather around us and are drawing closer. Rylee tells me you took down a Sylph when they tried to stop you from taking me out of the oubliette. Is that right?”

My mouth dried up at the thought of a Sylph and what they could do. I’d been on the receiving end of their power; it was more terrifying than facing Orion as he used Milly’s body.

“Yes, that’s right,” I managed to say.

“Then you, Peta, and I will tackle the Sylph. Rylee and the others will deal with the ogres, yes?” Lark said.

I caught Rylee’s eye and she gave me a nod. “Go, clean his clock. Another thirty minutes, and Berget and Faris will be able to help us with the ogres.”

Thirty minutes. Did she think it would take that long to deal with the two factions coming at us?

Probably not. But to be safe, perhaps you should stick the vampires farther back from the field of battle.

Blaz’s words must have gone to everyone, because Marco flew into the air, his beak moving as he relayed what was going on to Berget and Faris.

Lark led me away from the others. Peta trotted ahead of us, shifting once more into her leopard form. She sniffed the air and then flicked her head to the north, toward the mountain.

“Where are we going?”

“To the base of the mountain. My power and strength lie in the earth, so the more I have it at hand the better.”

I kept looking for the Sylph, wondering when he would come flying in. “Do you think the Sylph will attack with you here?”

Lark laughed softly with a bitter note to it. “I’m quite sure if I weren’t here, you would have got through fine. I’ve no doubt they’ve come to stop me.”

“Why?”

She took a deep breath and muttered, “Rylee said you asked a lot of questions.”

“How else can I learn?” I snapped at her, embarrassed that Rylee would warn her.

Lark held up both hands. “Easy, little witch. It is only that she wanted me to know that was your way. That you were hungry for the supernatural and all the knowledge you could gain. That is a good thing.” She paused and looked to the sky for a moment before answering my original question. “A long time ago, I was set apart by the mother goddess as her chosen one. It means I live outside the rules and stipulations placed on my people, on all elementals, really. It makes me dangerous because I can become the catalyst for change. And change is coming.”

I looked at her, then at Rylee. “You two really are related, aren’t you?”

Her mouth quirked up. “Yes—”

Lightning struck at our feet, exploding the hardened lava and sending chunks toward us at rapid-fire speed. I was thrown backward, and landed flat on my back, the wind knocked out of me. Rolling to my side, I looked up. Lark stood with her legs spread wide and her hands stretched out to the side. Her feet were sunk into the earth, and it held her tightly as the wind ripped around her, yanking on her. Peta stood in front of her, claws digging into the ground. She snarled at the Sylph above us.