My lips curled upward as hope shot through me. With this woman on our side, we could get my dad back.
"Silver Spell Solange," the woman introduced. "Let's ride and talk later. We’ve got a criminal to catch."
It was time to track down the enemy by joining forces.
Retrieve My Destiny
~JADE~
* * *
The thundering roar of our bike was the only warning given as Lisette increased our speed even more. We had to be reaching an illegal speed limit - unless we'd surpassed it in this new universe we'd just entered.
I couldn't give a flying fuck about breaking the rules. Not when Alaric Masters, headmaster of Tracker Hive Academy and my wonderful dad, was in the clutches of Charles Sokolov.
The sky was growing darker, clouds of grey gathering in congregation while strikes of lightning zoomed through the stormy palette in the sky. It was only a matter of time before it began to pour heavily, and I could see the approach of this world's rage at the intruder in our midst.
Charles had some sort of connection to this place, which was the only way he could have brought himself here with whatever portal magic he conjured, but there was no way in hell I'd let him be free to run amongst this universe.
He was OUR problem, and he wouldn't dare try and destroy another individual's life like he'd fought hard to do with mine.
In the back of my mind, I feared for Bianca. So many emotions were ignited by the mere thought of her body lying in the pool of her own blood, the level of regret in her eyes that were fading away from life and the gathering affection that swarmed those pink orbs of hers when she took in my image.
I was the final person she saw before she fell unconscious.
There was no way I could let that be the last image she saw before leaving this earth. Not because it was a bad thing, but there was so much for me to accomplish and have her witness. So many more memories she needed to create with the two men she adored and who loved her with immense compassion.
Seeing her dying in my arms left me realizing how much I wanted her to be at my graduation, my future wedding, and the time when I'd be ready to be a mother of my own.
Thoughts and wishes that never crossed my mind prior to that moment took the chance to seep into my despair, and it now motivated me to work even harder to bring back the criminal who did that to her.
I'd be lying if I agreed to be confident in capturing Charles. I wasn't close to feeling that way in this trying moment of rushing adrenaline, but as we zoomed through the sky highway next to our new comrades, the hope of bringing Charles back to our world was growing.
My eyes looked over to the larger motorbike that took the lead in our chase; the woman with silver hair was in full control of the bike while the man who accompanied her sat behind her in preparation.
Silver Spell Solange.
I had no idea what she was capable of or how Lisette had made a strong connection with this woman who arrived with divine timing, but now she was leading the way to track Charles, and she somehow knew exactly where he'd go first.
We knew nothing of the man sitting behind her since we didn't have time for introductions, but he definitely wasn't a human or elemental user like we were.
This was a world of supernaturals.
Our ride had only been ten minutes long, and yet I'd witnessed angels zooming through the skies as well as other creatures like dragons and harpies. We were driving on magical floating roads, ones deemed for those of high positions who assisted in stopping crime.
All Lisette could say was that this woman was connected to a Professor Phoenix, who knew a very powerful cat shifter from this world.
How that all connected probably needed an entire drawn-out map to mark the dots and line it all up, but we'd leave that for a moment of luxury and not crunch time.
"Kill. Kill. Kill."
My clips curled at Shadow Jade’s singing within my mind, her attempt to keep both of us calm in this traumatic time doing its job. I could feel her worry and anxiety as I'm sure she could feel mine, but we pushed it all away and continued to harbor our energy for the moment of confrontation.
We caught onto Silver's hand going up to signal us to follow her next move, and Lisette rammed up the handles of the bike, the engine roaring again just as thunder boomed in the sky above us.
"This is going to be a wild storm!" Lisette warned with an abundance of glee. She sounded far too happy to be rained upon, let alone caught in a ferocious storm that I assumed was not of natural causes.
If Charles thought a thunderstorm was going to stop us, he was about to feel the true power of a storm.
"Holy shit! THERE!" Lisette's scream cut through my thoughts as she used one hand to point down at the ocean that was below us. There was no way we'd be able to get to this area at this speed with a standard boat, leaving us with this privileged choice of using these sky cycle routes that allowed motorcycles thanks to Silver's lead.
The sight of a growing whirlpool in a sea of dark waves only justified how lucky we were to have her assistance.
I squinted my eyes to get a better look at what she was pointing at, and when I finally registered what was going on, I gasped.
"Alaric!" I screamed and realized that very man was in the middle of that swirling whirlpool. He was in a red cage on a floating iceberg that seemed glued to the center for now.
Even within a cage that appeared to be magically created with red electric currents running through the thick bars, he was handcuffed and looked beat up. He hadn't heard my cry from above, but the way his shoulders sank and how drained of energy his body looked told me he was losing whatever battle he was enduring.
The sight once again triggered the reminder that Bianca was in serious trouble, but I fought the urge to lose control, taking a few calming breaths as we began to dip downward.
"We're not going to be able to go with our bike soon," Lisette warned.
"We have to fly?" I suggested, but began to wonder if we could do that safely in the weather conditions. I could easily use the wind to keep us afloat, but if things got dangerous, multitasking would be a problem.
"Yes, but I’ve got you!" she declared and looked over her shoulder to give me a saucy look. “I’ve got an umbrella."
I stared at her blankly and she laughed hysterically.
"Don't give me that hopeless look, Jade! You're supposed to believe me! Even if it sounds crazy as fuck," she cheered. "Jump off!"
"Wait! Now?!" I was shocked by the sudden order but with my instincts and belief of jumping in first and asking questions later, I soon lifted my legs up to press my feet against the seat before pushing myself right off of the bike.
I flipped my body in the air, outstretching my hands and watching Lisette let go of the handles and jump onto the seat of the bike. She clapped her hands once, and her whole body began to ooze magical energy before words left her glossy lips.
"De Va La Ru Umbra Flyanda!"
As she outstretched her hands the umbrella she loved to use appeared, but it was double the size it normally was. She twirled the handle of it like a cheerleader. Tossing it into the air, she pushed off the bike as it began to literally break into tiny pink blocks of light until it was nothing but sprinkled dust while Lisette flipped like I had and then reached out for the umbrella that opened on its own accord.