Chapter 43
forty-three
. . .
Aten
Watching as the Jarkoreth tear into the Sur’gos, I’m reminded of why both are part of our bedtime stories and warnings as children. Calix and I might have risked seeing a Jarkoreth in the forest, but we wouldn’t have climbed up to the Sur’gos.
We all track as the Jarkoreth race from the forest, out of their usual cover, to fight the ancient creatures.
They are both as ruthless as each other, tearing into flesh, attacking with no question that their intent is to maim and kill. Teeth sink into skin and claws dig into flesh as they fight.
But it’s not just the Jarkoreth that keep coming. The Sur’gos, now granted passage by the winds and storm that brought the snow, seem eager to join us.
I glance at Calix, who just nods, and I see Ever, Raiden, and Capella behind us. As long as they stay there, I’ll be fine.
Calix steps into the attack coming for him, and arcs his sword high, clipping the Sur’gos at the neck and along its pointed beak. The shrill it lets out is deafening, but he doesn’t stop.
Two Jarkoreth step to the other flank.
“No, don’t hurt them,” Ever calls, and she drops her sword and nods to one of the giant beasts. It snaps its teeth at her and then turns, pushing Calix and me out of position and taking up defence of the girls, blocking anything from reaching Ever, Raiden, or Capella.
“At least they’re on our side, this time,” Calix calls.
As a few final Jarkoreth arrive, I wonder if they’ve all come. They aren’t often seen anymore, keeping to the depths of the forest. I doubt if any of us have ever seen a Sur’gos, and there can’t be many more of them.
The Jarkoreth keep any of the monsters from reaching Ever, but as I glance back, she doesn’t look happy.
“What’s wrong?”
“They’re protecting us. They’re dying. For us. Where’s the Usher? We need to stop him, and we can end all of this.”
The Sur’gos push us away from reaching the clearing and the Transference stone and pull the Jarkoreth from the forest. A litter of carcasses of both creatures lie in our wake.
Every time one of the grey-skinned creatures gets close, the Jarkoreth roars, baring its teeth, and pushes it towards Calix and me, happy in its role to protect Ever and the Naturals.
They don’t seem to have the same concern for the rest of us.
As long as they keep Ever safe, they have my support.
Since we came out of the forest into snow, my adrenaline hasn’t eased, forcing me on high alert.
I’ve never ventured high up into the mountains, never been in the snow. Now, seeing Ever traipse through the white stuff, seeing her grow colder, seeing the stage set for the vision to come to fruition, makes me fucking furious.
We’ve been through all of this, and now it’s right here: the vision, suffocating me.
“Ten!” Calix yells as a monster slips in past the first swipe of the Jarkoreth’s claw.
The talons sink into the snow, but the Sur’gos keeps coming, and its pointed beak spears forward.
I jump to the left and charge forward, cutting my blade through the strange skin connecting its body and forearm, shredding it.
Dark blood spurts from the wound, turning the monster black.
I turn to Ever, but she’s racing off with one aim—to reach the Transference Stone. Calix watches and sprints after her.
“Ever, don’t,” I yell, but my path to her is blocked by a Sur’gos, who’s still coming at me. The uninjured arm swipes at me as it surges forward, looking to hit me again.
I carve my blade and lodge it in its beak, but it wrenches its head back, pulling me forward, and I lose my grip on my sword as it swings its head wildly.
Luckily, the Jarkoreth opens its jaw, clamps its teeth around the Sur’gos’ neck and severs its head with three bites, drenching its own mouth with the black ooze that serves as blood.
I take a second to watch the Jarkoreth, and I give it a small bow of thanks before I break into a sprint after Ever and Calix, now the path is clear.
But as I catch up, it’s already too late. I make it to the edge of the clearing, but Fenix is there, leaning next to one of the pillars of the stone, his arm outstretched, and Calix is frozen in a midair attack.
Wrong move, Calix. I curse under my breath.
“Oh, look, the gang’s all here,” Fenix calls as I slow, coming to a stop next to Ever.
“Let him go, Fenix,” Ever calls.
“And why should I do anything you ask?” Anger drips from his words, all directed at Ever.
“You know what happened last time. You don’t hold all the power now, Brother.”
My hand reaches for the second blade strapped to my back, but Fenix clocks it, shaking his head. “I wouldn’t, mate.”
“Oh, I’m far from your mate.” I finish drawing my sword and spin the handle in my hand. I know it’s not even close to an even field without my magic, but I’d never let Ever stand against him without me. “Are you going to do what your sister asked?”
“I killed one, why don’t I make it a pair? It’s what you deserve.”
“I don’t think we’re even close to that.”
Fenix looks to my side as I hear footsteps, but I don’t turn to see who’s joined us—I doubt I’ll ever turn my back on him.
“Kalan. I can’t say I’m surprised, although I’m a little disappointed. After everything, you’ve taken her side.”
“The Usher hasn’t left me much choice, Fen. But you still have one.”
“Calix!” Kyra’s voice draws far too much attention, and Fenix’s lips twitch in amusement.
“Don’t you fucking touch her, Fenix.” Ever moves forward and thrusts her arms forward toward him, and a wave of something hits Fenix, knocking him off balance. It’s enough to break his focus on Calix, who drops to the ground.
Kyra’s right there, but Calix isn’t deterred and is up on his feet with one direction of travel.
“No, Calix. I know you want to.” I put my hand on his chest to stop him.
“Please, trust me. He won’t leave here alive, but we need to wait.
Ever’s the only one of us who has any magic.
Remember what happened when you fought him without magic before.
” His eyes are dark, the blue swallowed up and polluted with rage and grief, drowning out his carefree nature.
“He. Killed. Crim.” The words are covered with ash and dirt, as if he had to drag them from the depths of Zuns to say them.
“I know. I carried her body out of there. I am painfully aware of what he did. But I don’t want to say goodbye to you, too.”
“You haven’t lost your power then?” Fenix asks Ever as he gets to his feet.
“No.”
“Have you let it free? Or are you still too scared to see your potential?”
Ever doesn’t answer, but she shifts on her feet.
“Selina sends her love, by the way. Did you know she has no power now? You didn’t just absorb it, you stole it. Drained it from her. We thought, maybe, it would return. But she’s of no use now. She was a powerful Elemental, and you’ve taken that from her. From the Usher.”
“Where is he?”
“You need to be more specific. There are a few people with us today.”
“The Usher. He’s using you. Using all of you, and he’ll betray everything you ever thought you were working for.”
“The only person who’s betrayed me is my own flesh and blood. My own sister,” he hisses.
“You are delusional if you think that. You hurt us. You hurt me. And you nearly killed Ten. You murdered Crimson.”
“Because she stabbed me in the chest, hoping I’d die,” Fenix shouts back, his words blaring in the snow, reverberating around us.
As quick as a blink, he clenches his fist, and Ever freezes, and he pulls her towards him, the tips of her boots dragging through the snow.
He raises his arm, as if he holds her in his fist, and all we can do is look on.
“I am not the same girl now, Fenix,” she croaks.
“Ever, be careful. Please, for the love of Aslendrix and all the stars, be careful.”
“Don’t try anything, Ten. Please. I need to know where the Usher is.”
“Why aren’t we helping her?” Lyle joins us with the girls, but I don’t miss Kalan flanking them, stopping them from getting any closer.
“We have to trust her.” It’s the only way we don’t risk all getting killed. I’ve learned my lesson and will never underestimate her, even if doing so threatens to break me in the process.
“Trust her, she’s—”
“We trust her, Lyle. You can’t help her against him,” Kalan echoes my thoughts.
“Don’t, Kalan. Don’t tell me how to protect her.”
“Not here,” he grits the words out, and he seems to grow another foot with his anger on show.
I understand how Lyle feels because it’s eating me inside, standing doing nothing. But we wait. We all wait.
“Where is he?” Ever tries again.
“He’s… around.”
“Ever, do something, or we will!”
But there’s no movement from either of them. No response.
In the next blink, Ever’s free, and she’s on the opposite side of the stone to Fenix, but the Usher is there, too, heading right for it.
“What just happened?” Calix shouts. “How did she do that?”
It’s happened before. In Nehandun. If Fenix can freeze us, stop our bodies from moving, is it a stretch that together, they can freeze time?
“Don’t do this, Fenix!” she shouts.
“You tried to kill me, Sister. If you can’t see what we’re fighting for, then perhaps you deserve to share the fate of everyone else.”
He turns to all of us, and I know what’s coming.
Even if I had all my power, fighting him off would be fucking hard, but whatever scraps of power still remain, I pull on to block him as best as I can.
But it isn’t enough. The ropes of his power thread around me, freezing me in place.
I try to move and see if it’s just me he’s targeted, but I can’t even do that.
Something is different this time. Before, back in Nehandun, his magic wrapped, coiled, and dug into me, incapacitating every muscle and fibre of my body. Now, there’s something else working against that power and control. Every strand or flow of magic has a partner, a twin, working against it.