My mother pinches my cheek with one hand and her lips spread into a malevolent smile. "There's my good boy."
Chapter Twenty-Eight
MAEVE
"Shit!" Izzy drops her arms, pushing downwards towards the ground before sweeping them up again. Stones and earth levitate and follow the movement, swirling around and obscuring her body. Shouting something unintelligible, she throws her arms forward and I duck as stones fly over our heads. Loose dirt hits my face and eyes and I stumble.
Tobias catches my arm and pulls me onwards, as I hold my other arm across my stinging eyes.
"Stop!" yells a male voice, as one of the men who appeared runs towards the chasm. "Simeon, bring Anastasia and Nikolai. Now."
My spirits life that Anastasia isn't with him, but how powerful are these men? Tobias guides me through the whirlwind of earth still rushing by as footsteps thud behind us. A man swears loudly and something thuds to the ground.
I'm blinded by debris and terrified I'll fall and slow us down. We've a few metres to go but they feel like a mile. The tunnel ends and I look up at where Ash kneels at the edge, reaching down. My tears wash the dirt from my eyes as I take hold of his hand and he effortlessly pulls me up. I didn't want to break down. Not yet. But as he encloses me tightly in his arms, I fall forward. I'm overwhelmed by the immediate safety I feel from his strength and comfort, not protesting when he lifts me from the floor and turns and runs with me. I cling onto his neck as the ground rushes by.
"Where’s Tobias?" I ask.
"He's following." Ash kisses the top of my head. "Are you okay?"
I nod and bury my face into his neck, inhaling his comforting scent and swallowing down my tears.
"You're safe," he whispers. "We're here for you."
A huge sob escapes and I cling tighter, never wanting him to let me go. "We were followed," I rasp out.
"Yeah, but look."
Ash sets me down, hugging me close to him to keep me upright. I blink the remaining dirt from my eyes and stare in disbelief. Magic creating a sudden chasm in the ground shocked me, but now a wall of water rushes through the space, filling the small gorge.
My heart leaps in my chest at the water's speed and ferocity, stunned by seeing magic this strong. How far will the deluge go? A man stands inside the chasm in the place we jumped down, yelling obscenities as the whirlwind of rocks and stone circle around his face.
A large stone smacks the side of his head and he falls forward into the water. Even if he's conscious, he'd need to fight against the swirling waters that bear down on him as heavily as the stones.
Anton's figure stands at the opposite side of the newly created riverbank, his hands outstretched to match Izzy's stance, water from the emptying lake at his command.
"Anton! Jump in," calls Izzy in desperation as the roar from the earth and water melds and grows.
Tall figures appear from the shadows, a couple at first followed by several more. Ash swears and I pull away to rush forward for a closer look. I almost trip over Tobias, who sits close to the edge of the scene with his head in his hands, back shuddering with his rapid breaths.
Anton lifts his arms again and the maelstrom becomes a mass of water and stone, roaring like a tornado as it storms upwards and outwards. Izzy's face pains with concentration as the pair's magic intensifies, the effect doubled by their skill at controlling the elements combining.
"Holy crap," breaths out Ash. "That's insane."
The men pause, distracted and awed by the scene, but in seconds one launches himself at Anton. Izzy yells out as the water subsides for a moment and I cover my face in horror as two figures bear down on him.
"Anton!" Izzy screams.
The water lifts high from the chasm and forms a wall. I gape at the size—the entire lake, almost as tall as the Blackwood mansion—and watch the water rush forward, a monstrous tidal wave filled with debris. The estate isn't visible anymore, hidden by Izzy and Anton's impossible creation. Izzy continues to call out for Anton, her arms trembling with the effort to keep her spell working, as Alaric stands with his hands on her arm. In comfort or enhancing her magic?
As the wave ploughs into the assailants, Izzy drops to her knees and her arms slacken. She leans forward and wraps her arms around her head and as the magic drops away and noise subsides, her sobs fill the sudden eerie quiet.
Alaric stiffly strides towards the ruined ground left by her and Anton's magic and stands on the edge of the chasm with his arms crossed. The lake is still, the water returned as if nothing happened, and the sodden earth and stone pushed into piles in the chasm. Hesitantly, I join him, Ash's grip on my hand firm. A handful of bodies are scattered around the area, limbs at the wrong angles.
Dead.
"We need to leave. Now," Alaric says gruffly.
"Is Anton there?" comes Izzy's faltering voice. She stands and staggers to Alaric. "Anton?” My heart aches as I look down at the desperate fear in her eyes.
Fear I've felt myself, for Andrei.
Andrei.
"Are Jamie and Andrei with you?" I ask Ash.
He jerks his head towards the trees. "They hung back near the car in case things took a bad turn. Alaric wanted to keep a couple of us separate—in case we needed help."
"I have to see them." I don't know how I'm still standing, but weeks in the supernatural world have taught me that shock and fear will fill my veins and keep me moving. "Where are they?"
"Behind those trees.” Ash bounds to catch me up in a couple of steps as I stagger away. “Wait!"
I reach the edge of a country lane where two cars are parked and run over to peer through the window. Empty.
"Where?" I ask Ash as he joins me.
Rubbing a hand across his head, Ash slowly turns full circle. His silence trips a shiver down my spine.
"Ash?"
"Alaric!" he calls and the cold spreads through my body.
We're now a few hundred metres from where Alaric kneels beside a distraught Izzy. Leaning in to whisper something then hugging her, he stands and crosses to us. Tobias hauls himself to his feet and follows.
"Where are Andrei and Jamie?" asks Alaric.
Ash shakes his head.
"Shit." He nods at me. "Do you sense anything? Maeve?"
I strain to detect people or thoughts. I only hear Tobias's—exhausted and muddled. "No.”
Ash charges towards the trees and Tobias's figure blurs as he catches him. "Stop. If someone else is around, don't alert them."
"Of course, they know we're here," he retorts and drags his arm away. "Let me go."
Alaric joins Tobias and they stand shoulder to shoulder. "He's right."
"I'm not bloody leaving here until we find them," Ash snaps. "We can't find two and lose two."
I take Ash's hand and squeeze. "At least we stopped the people on the estate from following us."
"Death does that," mutters Alaric. "Izzy is freaking out. Anton's dead too."
The world tips sideways for a moment. Somebody died helping me. Tobias wraps an arm around to steady me and his emotions match mine. Guilt.