Chapter 20 #2
His face went tight and his eyes darkened. He leapt forward, then suddenly we were shooting up into the air, I hadn’t even seen or felt him grab me it happened so fast. His right arm was wrapped snug around my waist, holding my back against his chest so we were both looking outward.
“Hold that bracelet out, Frodo.”
I thrust my wrist forward. Right now, the stones just looked like pretty pale-blue stones with little gold symbols etched into them. “Guide us to holy sand, please.”
My blue magic flashed within the stones, turning those symbols a glowing neon-pink. The runes lifted up off my bracelet and swirled together in a little pink tornado before forming into an arrow.
“I’ll keep my arm out. You just get us there as fast as humanly possible.”
“Humanly possible?” He chuckled. “Or my usual non-human speed?”
“Always non-human with you, Tenn. Always.” I grinned. “And if you drop me, just be sure to catch me before I go splat.”
“I’d hate to suffer the wrath of your Everest if I let you go splat.” We darted forward in the direction the arrow moved. “Maybe close your eyes.”
I squeezed them shut without hesitation. “Tell me when to open.”
With my eyes closed, it was easy to pretend I was on a roller coaster instead of however many miles above the ground Tenn had taken us. The wind was sharp and bitter cold against my skin. It prickled like needles on my face. My hair was thrown back over my shoulders, and I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d be tangled with Tenn’s hair or wings when we landed. That visual had me chuckling to myself as Tenn wove us through clouds. Sunlight flashed through my closed eyelids. I wondered what the humans would see if they looked up from their lunches and spotted us. There was probably magic somewhere to help with that. It probably would be weirder for the people who were witches or shifters and didn’t know it but could clearly see what looked like an angel abducting a pink-haired chick.
“Going down!” Tenn yelled over the wind.
We flipped and took a nosedive straight down. My stomach shot up my throat. I trusted Tenn completely, yet that didn’t stop me from gripping his arm tight enough to probably draw blood. I was too afraid to open my eyes to check. A little scream left my lips. I couldn’t help it. This was the best big drop on a roller coaster ever. When we suddenly jerked upright and stopped moving, my scream turned into a fit of giggles.
“I’d say I was a little worried about how much giggling you’ve been doing . . .” Tenn said as he set me on my feet. “But you are a Proctor. Go ahead, open your eyes.”
I opened my eyes but the bright sunlight was harsh, so I had to blink a million times and then hold my hand over my face to give my eyeballs a chance to adjust. “Look, I can’t help it. I was imagining a scenario where my hair got tangled in your wings, and that shit was funny.”
He hung his head and chuckled. “Dammit, I was also thinking about that.”
I threw my head back and cackled.
“I actually looked several times but luckily your hair is too short.” He smirked and shook his head as he glanced back at his wings. “Tegan’s hair is definitely long enough to tangle.”
“Oh, I can see it now. You two landing with both your hair, Tegan’s hair, and your wings all knotted together.” I laughed with him until we both realized we’d just been joking about Tegan, who was still very much unconscious. I knew his thoughts had taken the same path because his eyes darkened and he rubbed his fingers over their pink soulmate glyph on his chest. I sighed and glanced around. “Okay, where are we?”
“No idea, I followed the arrow?—”
The ground shook so hard my knees buckled and my legs gave out. My knees hit the cold sand as the world trembled. I threw my arm out and grabbed ahold of Tenn who hadn’t budged a fraction, like the earthquake hadn’t touched him. Michael’s sword blazed like an inferno of white fire in his left hand. His mismatched gaze was locked on the massive ocean-like lake in front of us. The surface of the lake rippled, yet I saw nothing. The sky was a solid wall of blue, not a cloud in sight, which gave us a crystal-clear view of the mountains that surrounded the lake in the distance.
“ What the hell is that?” I whispered, still holding on to Tenn because the ground shook too strong for me to catch my balance.
“I’m not sure?—”
A wall of water shot straight up to the sky, blocking the view of the lake and mountains. I gasped and leaned back, craning my neck to look up to the top of this wave. I’d never seen water that blue. Time seemed to stop as the wave stretched wide. I wasn’t proud of it, but I definitely leaned behind Tenn’s legs a little bit. Water splashed down onto us, drenching my clothes entirely.
“ Ohhh, ” Tenn said under his breath, his stance relaxing.
“What—” my words died on my tongue as that royal blue wave landed on the sand in front of us.
Four massive feet sank into the pale-gray sand, talons slicing tracks so deep that water bubbled up over them. My breath left me in a rush. I sank onto my heels and gawked up at the royal blue dragon standing practically on top of us. I’d seen dragons before—hell, this one wasn’t close to as big as Koth or Silas—but there was something about a dragon emerging from the water that I hadn’t prepared for. His wings stretched wide, casting us in its shadow. He snarled and the flames that billowed from his nose were so hot they were white. My clothes dried instantly. The water droplets on my skin evaporated. The water running rivers down the dragon’s scales turned to smoke with a hiss. The dragon stomped its front foot in the sand and growled. Those blue eyes were practically white.
Koth was terrifying for the sheer size of him but also for the power that radiated off of him. Silas was nearly as terrifying because there wasn’t a doubt to be had in those yellow eyes that he was a menace and lethal. But this one . . . this one was unnerving. He felt like a wild card, like I needed to back the fuck up quickly before he ate me or turned me to smoke.
“Ah, you must be the infamous Neka I’ve heard so much about.” Tenn slammed the blade of Michael’s sword into the sand so it stood on its own. I glanced up at him just as he grinned and held his left hand up. “I’m Tennessee Wildes?—”
The dragon gasped, which was a strange sound that I couldn’t possibly ever describe. Then it sank to its belly on the sand, tucking his wings to his body.
"Sorry to startle you by arriving like this. We were following her angelic runes stones— oh, sorry.” Tenn gestured toward me. “This is my cousin Francelina Proctor, the Tower Card.”
Those white-blue eyes snapped to me, then he blinked, which somehow I interpreted as a sign of respect. I wasn’t really sure.
“You are Neka, right?”
The royal blue dragon nodded his head once.
“Nice to finally meet you, Neka.” Tenn stepped forward and pressed his palm to the spike on Neka’s head like it was a handshake or something. Tenn glanced around and scowled. “Wait, is this Issale?”
Neka nodded and a little growl slipped out.
“I’m sorry. I had no idea we’d entered Issale. I haven’t been over this area before. We were following her stones.” Tenn flicked his wrist, and my hand lifted into the air. My rune stones flashed with my blue and pink magic, then a pink arrow pointed straight down. “See? So, I apologize. I was watching the arrow closely while I flew us. I never would have entered Issale unannounced like this?—”
“The Emperor needs no invitation,” Koth’s deep voice rumbled from behind us.
Tenn jumped and turned his back to Neka, a wide grin on his face. “Man, this land really shields you, doesn’t it? Even I didn’t feel you coming.”
“Yeah, it does.” Koth chuckled and walked up to Tenn to shake his hand. Then he gestured to the dragon. “But mostly that’s the magic of Neka. His aura has that effect.”
Tenn nodded. “Tegan’s gonna love that.”
Koth threw his head back and laughed. “Neka, thank you as always. You can go now.”
Neka stood to full height, then bowed to Koth, then to Tenn, then even gave me a half-bow before he made a sharp U-turn and dove back into the depths of the lake, disappearing from sight completely.
“Wow. Wicked.” I stood up on shaky legs and stared at the lake’s surface to try and see him. “What lake is this?”
“Lake Champlain.” Koth glanced back and forth between us. “I’m not upset you snuck your way into Issale. I meant what I said: The Coven needs no invitation to enter my land, which is why our magical barrier did nothing to stop you. But I am curious . . .”
Tenn smirked. “I flew us here, watching the arrow from her angelic rune stones. We’re on a quest for sand from Holy Ground.”
“To make those potions everyone needs?”
I blinked. “You dragons stay well-informed.”
“Dragons are telepathic with each other while in dragon form. As King, I am telepathic with my people whenever I want to be. My dragon guard can always reach me,” he smiled and tapped on his temple. “It’s convenient.”
“Huh. That would be convenient.” I looked to Tenn. “It’d be cool if we could have something like that.”
He cocked his head to the side. “Sam’s been communicating with Tegan. This tells me Braison knows something I don’t, which probably means Tegan told him while there.”
I nodded. “We’ll beat it out of them.”
Both males laughed.
Koth walked backwards to where a long log was lying on the beach. He picked up two big mason jars and came back over to hand them to us. “Elan informed me a few minutes ago he’d put these here and that I should expect your company—wait. Holy Ground. This beach is Holy Ground?”
At the same time, I flicked my magic at the sand at my feet just as Tenn did the same. The beach lit up with white-golden light. All three of us nodded in approval.
“That is good to know,” Koth said softly. “And we’re gonna pretend I knew that already.”
“Naturally.” Tenn grinned. “So do you mind if we take some of your sand?”
“Yeah, have at it.”
I bent down to scoop sand into my jar when it shot up off the ground and filled my jar. With a scowl, I glanced over to Tenn. “You do that?”
He arched one eyebrow. “Earth is my element too.”
“Oh . . . right.”
Tenn smirked and pointed to the water. “Can he breathe under water like me or is he more like a whale that has to come up for air?”
“Like you, thankfully. And he stays down there for weeks at a time, especially during the winter.” Koth sighed and there was a weight to the sound. “Issale used to be home to many water dragons, but Neka is the last of his kind.”
“Is there anything you can do about that?”
“I don’t know, Tenn. Once the Unseelies and bloodsuckers are out of our hair perhaps you and your queen of darkness can help us figure out some of our problems?”
“As soon as we possibly can.”
I pursed my lips. “I wonder if Everest knows about shifters? He’s old, right?”
“He’s scary.”
Tenn barked a laugh and then patted Koth on the back. “Thank Goddess you said it. I don’t fear many people.”
I rolled my eyes as the two of them laughed about being afraid of my soulmate. “Right, well, we’ve got the sand now. Should we head home and wake Tegan?”
“Please do.” Koth bowed his head. “But if I may make a request, please do not speak of Neka?—”
“No, he must remain your dirty little secret.” Tenn handed me the other jar full of sand. He tapped on his gold bands and Michael’s sword vanished, but his wings popped out. “The less people who know of him the better.”
When Koth looked to me, I pretended to zip my mouth shut.
He bowed again. “Thanks. Now, get outta here. It makes me twitch when you’re not with your Coven.”
Tenn flicked his wrist and my body flew across the sand and crashed into his chest. He wrapped his arm around my waist, and we lifted off the ground, this time with me facing him. “It’s like exposure therapy for everyone.”
Koth’s laugh could still be heard as Tenn took us up to the clouds.
“I’m going to fly faster now that I know where we’re going,” Tenn yelled over the rushing wind. “Hang on tight to those jars.”
“Got ‘em. Fly on, angel boy.”
He wasn’t kidding. I couldn’t keep my eyes open if I’d wanted to. That was how fast he flew. The force of the wind sweeping over me forced my eyelids shut. It burned a little, so I buried my face in his shoulder and focused on holding on to the jars. It seemed like mere seconds later when the world stopped moving. I peeked my eyes open and spotted Headquarters over his shoulder. I sighed with relief as he dropped me to my feet.
I chuckled. “That was some non-human shit, Cousin.”
“Thank you.” He tapped on the jars in my hands. “Now I need you to pull on your most non-human skills and get my soulmate awake.”
“No pressure.”
He winked, then spun away from me, skipping up the steps and through the front door. I took a deep breath, then exhaled. No pressure, Franks. You can do this. Your magic has already done all the work. Just get Tegan awake, and she’ll handle everything else.
By the time I followed Tenn inside the house, I found him and the rest of The Coven—or everyone that wasn’t injured—standing around the dinner table. Everyone just stared at the five silver trays. The one closest to me at the end was empty, but the other four held the Heavenly ingredients the others had just collected. The holy water was in little vials, the dirt was loose on the tray, but both the angel wings and the wood had been turned into little grains similar to the dirt or sand. Lennox held her hands out for the two jars I held.
“Right, so who has the Book of Shadows?” I glanced around. “Let’s see which of these Tegan’s potion called for.”
Tenn gripped the crystal necklace I hadn’t known he was wearing under his shirt. Light flashed between his fingers, then the Book of Shadows sat in his open palm. He sat it on the table and let it open itself to the page we needed. I walked over to stand between him and Tim, then bent over to read the symbols.
I frowned. “Does that say Tegan’s potion needs all five holy ingredients?”
Tenn let out a growl. “Yes. Which cauldron is hers?”
“It’s over here,” Emersyn said softly from where she still sat on the ledge in front of the hearth where five cauldrons hung over the fire. Emersyn’s bandage was firmly in place, yet she tended to the cauldrons like she could still see them. “Tegan’s is the first cauldron here on the left.”
I grabbed the trays with the angel feathers and the wood and turned for the hearth. “Whose are the other four?”
“Mine, Tenn’s, Bettina’s, and yours.” She pointed to each as she spoke the names. “The strongest hearth for the strongest potions.”
“That doesn’t make me uncomfortable at all,” I grumbled and sat the two trays down on the ledge. As soon as my hands left the tray, my magic snapped to attention. A small pinchful of the angel feather grains glowed neon-pink. I scooped that section off the tray and poured it into Tegan’s cauldron on the far left. The water turned neon-pink to match. “Cool.”
Lennox carried over the sand and dirt trays, then backed away. I quickly followed my magic’s guidance until I needed the water. Tenn held that tray out to me. There had to be two dozen small vials filled with water that sparkled within the glass. I lifted my hand and a whole vial turned neon-pink. When I lifted that vial, everyone else took a step back. Their auras seemed to hold their breath. I uncorked the lid and dumped the holy water into her cauldron.
The potion lit up bright white. The liquid swirled around in a whirlpool faster and faster until a water spout shot up to the top of the hearth. Lightning flashed within it. Rainbow mist billowed and bubbled at the top of the cauldron. All of a sudden, those three symbols I’d first seen during my initiation hovered in the air over the cauldron.
My jaw dropped. “It’s done. Tegan’s potion is done.”
Tenn sighed so hard he swayed. “Can we give it to her now?”
I didn’t know how I knew, but I did. “Yeah, but can you put the potion in a bottle?”
Lennox held a bottle in front of Tenn. He took it, then lifted his hand and twirled his fingers. The potion liquid raised out of the cauldron and poured itself into the bottle in Tenn’s hand. Once the bottle was full, Tenn turned to look down at me. He nodded, then led the way down the stairs. No one else followed us as we went down to the infirmary and into the room where Tegan was still passed out. Myrtle and Katherine stood back at the door, waiting and ready if we needed them.
“Okay, Tenn, can you make her drink it?”
He took a deep breath and let it out with a loud exhale. He sat on the bed next to his soulmate and moved the bottle closer to her face. With his other hand, he took her face in his hand and forced her mouth open. “All right, babe, I know you can hear me. Bottoms up.”
The potion lifted out of the bottle and slid right between her parted lips. She gasped and her back arched. Her skin shimmered like a pearl, flashing with rainbow speckles. Little lightning bolts flickered between her limbs and fingers. A wave of raw power slammed into me, knocking me backwards until I hit the wall.
I stepped up beside him. “Now what?”
Tenn sighed and ran his fingertips over her cheekbone. “Now we wait.”