Maxon (6 page)

“I know, child.”

Panic empties my mind of rational thought. “So much pain… I can't reach them.”

“You will be able to very soon.”

My soul aches to connect to my people. “When?”

“After your coronation by the Valta.”

Closing my eyes, I make my mind focus on her words. My coronation. Right. The ceremony will take place at the Water Palace as soon as the Valta can be readied. Once the gathering is complete, the Valta will use their collective magic to connect me to all water elementals.

With some effort, I force my breathing to slow. The pain felt by my people fades to a dull ache. It's stays present, but in the back of my mind where it isn't as overwhelming.

“That's better.” Namare smiles. “You made it, child. I'm so proud. The power of water truly lives in your soul.”

My voice comes out robotic and low. “Thank you, great mother.”

Namare's words ricochet about my brain.
The power lives in my soul.
The moment turns crazy and surreal. The icefall disappears and I'm back on the open plateau, wearing a blue robe that matches Namare's. My skin's now covered in moving marks that look like sparkling blue water.

I look around. The other apprentices stare at me, open-mouthed. Namare lies on her side again, panting for breath.

Seconds tick by as everyone continues to stare at me, expectant looks on all their faces.
Maybe I'm supposed to give a speech?
My mind races through stuff to say. Over the years, I paid more attention to battle training than statecraft.

Crap, I'm sure Magic Marcus had a speech ready.

I nip my lower lip in my teeth, trying to come up with something good. Bad things happen instead. Wind whips through my now sapphire-colored hair.

Wait a second. Wind?

A line of smoke curls along the ground, aligning itself into a familiar shape.

Zephyr.

My heart sinks.

It can't be him. Not now. It's too soon.

Dozens of Air Valta surround him.

The apprentices form a loose circle around Namare and me. My mind races through options. I can fight, or I can summon an army of Water Valta.

I'll take the army, please
.

Trouble is, I don't know how to summon the Valta yet. My brain speeds through possible incantations while my body stays frozen in shock. Meanwhile, the apprentices kick, leap, and punch at the Air Valta. They're holding the Valta back. That won't last for long, especially considering how Zephyr hasn't even jumped into the fight. Instead, he floats over the scene, a gloating grin on his scarred face. I kneel down beside Namare.

“I need your help,” I whisper. “You must summon our Water Valta.”

Namare shakes her head. “I used the last of my power to send away the Kristalli.
You
must summon them now.”

I freeze with panic. “Look, Fisk and I only covered calling the Kristalli. I have no idea how to summon Water Valta.” Hell, it took me months to learn the trick with the Kristalli. Plus, the Water Valta hate my ass in a big way. Namare should summon them.

“There's no time for lessons now,” says Namare. “We will make do with what you know.”

In which case, we're screwed.

“Can't you turn into mist and escape?” I ask.

Okay, I already know the answer, but I'm pulling for a miracle here.

“I am mortal again.” Namare slumps back onto the snow. “I'm sorry.”

“Don't worry.”
Total lie.
“I got this.”
Bigger lie.

I rise, ready to stand shoulder to shoulder with the apprentices and fight for Namare.

There's no one to stand with.

All the other apprentices are dead. Their limp bodies seep blood into the snow. On a day that's already too full of surprises, this shock hits me hard. These were my peers. Maybe one day we could've become friends, too. I stare around the cold plateau, my mind as frozen as the ice.

Meanwhile, Zephyr stalks toward Namare and me. On instinct, I scoop up her frail body and pull it against mine. She's cold, too cold.

Zephyr's voice booms across the mountainside. “Where is your Kristalli?”

“Not here,” I say.

Zephyr pauses before me. He's huge—almost seven feet tall—and radiates evil. “Bring back the Kristalli and charge it with the power of the water element.”

I curl Namare closer to me. “No.”

There, that'll tell him.

“Namare.” Zephyr looms over us. “If you wish a calm passing, tell me the locations of the Kristalli of Fire and Earth.”

Namare whispers feebly. “Never.”

Zephyr stares at her for what feels like eternity. “I believe you.” His eyes narrow into dark gray slits.

With a snap of his fingers, fresh wisps of smoke appear on either side of me. The tendrils instantly weave together into the form of two Air Valta. Dread weighs down my soul. I clutch more tightly at Namare's bony frame. There must be something else I can do here. Nothing comes to mind.

Why didn't Namare choose a different apprentice? Magic Marcus trained to use elemental power for a hundred years. I feel like I know a bunch of party tricks, how to turn into mist, and that's it.

Still, I have to try.

Fisk's battle training runs through my thoughts. I need to break up the Valta's smoke bodies. I can do that.

Whispering a quick incantation, I conjure a sheet of snow. With any luck, it'll smack into the Air Valta and shatter their bodily forms—and their concentration—for a few precious seconds. That's all the time I need to gain an advantage.

However, my powers are too new. I just wanted to create some snow. Instead I summon a massive avalanche down the mountainside. The ground beneath my feet trembles as a wall of white careens straight towards our little group. An electric current of worry charges through my system.

The Air Valta use my own plan against me. I'm so stunned by the oncoming snow that a Valta easily pulls Namare from my arms. I gasp, trying to reach her again. I don't even get close. Another Air Valta grabs me, pins my arms behind my back, and lifts me from the ground. Rage and panic constrict my throat as the avalanche roars nearer.

What can I do? How can I stop this? I can think of no answers to my questions and Namare's too near death to offer any wisdom. I wait, suspended and helpless, as the avalanche barrels beneath my feet. The onslaught moves like a great white wave, burying the dead apprentices in its wake. My throat tightens with anger and regret. Namare's apprentices deserved a better end.

Once the avalanche is gone, the Air Valta keep Namare and me dangling above the ground. Namare heaves and strains for every breath. I writhe under the Valta's grasp, but can't break free. I can't even change shape or manipulate water, either. The Air Valta's magic easily blocks my too-new powers.

Zephyr floats closer. He stares at Namare, a satisfied smile on his lips. Shivers of fear run down my neck.

“Leave Namare alone,” I say. “This is between us.”

Or, I'd like it to be.

“No, Namare and I have old debts to settle.” Zephyr raises his arms until they're even with his shoulders. Instantly, a cyclone encircles both Namare and her Air Valta guard. Within seconds, the column of fast-moving wind turns brutal in its strength. Bits of Namare's flesh are torn from her body.

A knot of rage and grief forms in my stomach. “She'll be dead soon enough,” I plead. “Please, let her go in peace.”

Zephyr turns to me and bares his teeth. “Veni, vidi, vici. You know what that is?”

I think my ass off. There must be a way turn this situation around. Sadly, I don't understand whatever Zephyr just said, let alone how to reply. I decide to go for the
Hail Mary pass
of comebacks.

“It means you're letting Namare go?”

“No. It's something my commander said during my mortal life, spoken in the sacred language of Latin. ‘I came, I saw, I conquered.'” Zephyr turns to me. “When I was mortal, I burned more human cities than you can imagine. My Roman legion wiped out entire civilizations. All of them asked for mercy. None received any.” His gray eyes turn wild at the memory.

“So killing is what? Some kind of high for you?”

“It's my right,” says Zephyr with a snarl. “I've never negotiated with lesser creatures. I won't start now. Once, the Roman Empire ruled. Now, Air is supreme. You give me what I want, when I want it, and you don't whine for favor. If it suits me, I'll kill you quickly. That is the meaning of vidi, veni, vici.”

The Air Valta echo his cry. “Air is supreme!”

The cyclone around Namare turns wilder. Bits of bone poke through what's left of her flesh. She throws her head back and howls, the tendons in her cheeks and chin visible as she cries. I strain to break free from the Valta who holds me. All I can think about is tearing Namare loose. The winds rip the last of her flesh from her skeleton. The Air Valta drops Namare's lifeless bones to the ground. I shake with sobs of agony and sorrow.

Zephyr rounds on me again. “Now, it's your turn. Do you know where the Kristalli are?”

“Yes.” I keep staring at Namare's skeleton. This doesn't seem real. “I won't tell you, either.”

“I have other ways to gain this information, you know. I've some Water Valta in my dungeons. Perhaps they know something of import?”

“They know nothing.”

Which isn't exactly true.
Some Water Valta know the general location of the hidden Kristalli. Nothing as detailed as what I learned, but if they talked, it could cause some trouble.

I clench my teeth in anger. The Water Valta are pains in my ass. Still, they're my people. “Leave my guards alone. Release them from your dungeons.”

“If that's what you wish, then tell me the location of the other Kristalli.”

“That will never happen.”

“I believe you as well,” says Zephyr with a sigh. He motions to his Valta. “Torture the girl as you please, then bring her to my compound.”

White hot rage burns across my skin. There's that word again.
Girl.

“I've got another idea.” I say. There's no logical thought behind the two words that come out of my mouth. “Fight me.”

Zephyr chuckles darkly. “With pleasure.”

I nod toward his Valta. “Get rid of them, then. Or are you afraid to take me on alone?”

“I've had two thousand years to hone my skills,” says Zephyr. “You've had two minutes. I've nothing to fear from you.” He waves his hand and the Air Valta disappear, including the one who was holding me aloft. I fall to the ground with a thud and a groan. Snow and ice bite into my back. Ouch, that hurt.

Zephyr watches me with interest. “Going to fly away, little bird?”

No question what he means. Now that I'm no longer restrained by the Air Valta, I'd like nothing better than to turn into mist and float out of here. In fact, I'm pretty sure that's what I
should
do. Somehow, I can't. The vision of Namare writhing under Zephyr's powers is too fresh. I'm not going anywhere.

I force myself to my feet. “Ready when you are.”

“Good.” Zephyr speeds toward me across the frozen ground, his footfalls barely leaving any mark on the snow-covered earth.

Closing my eyes, I summon a cloud of sub-zero mist to form around him. Fisk warned me about major attacks with my new powers.

Narrow the energy flow, Lianna. Only use a little.

After my mistake with the avalanche, I have to be extra-sensitive with this one. If I go all-out, I'll make an ice-block the size of an eighteen-wheeler. I don't want to end up trapped along with my arch-enemy.

I focus my powers, sending a trickle towards Zephyr. A sub-zero mist engulfs him. I order the haze to solidify. Zephyr becomes frozen into a casket-sized block of ice. I exhale a relieved breath.

The wind around me instantly dies. Zephyr remains unmoving inside his icy prison. The silence on the mountaintop turns deafening.

It couldn't have been that easy, could it?

I move in for a closer look, being extra-careful where I step. The ground here is pretty shaky, what with the recent avalanche along with the natural crevasses on the plateau. It would be easy to take a tumble here, and I need to stay upright.

I reach Zephyr's ice prison. Sure enough, the Monarkki of Air remains immobile inside. A thin layer of frost covers his gray body.

Tilting my head, I set my hand on the chilly block of ice. Zephyr's gaze flickers in my direction, his gray irises turning dark with hatred. He's not completely frozen, and that's not good. My ice prison is solid, but I could do better. I need to reinforce the cold. My mind races through options and approaches.

How can I keep this guy imprisoned?

Before I have a chance to figure out a plan, the block of ice explodes. Zephyr howls with anger.

“Foolish girl!”

Panic zooms through every inch of my body. The good news is that it's obvious what I need to do next. The bad news is that it'll probably imprison both of us forever.

Better imprisoned than dead.

Taking a step back, I summon another, stronger cloud of sub-zero mist. This time, I'm giving it everything I've got.

Release all your energy, Lianna. Screw the consequences.

Blue mist engulfs everything. I pump more power into the haze, transforming it into a massive block of ice that's as long as a freighter. A thousand knifes of cold jab into my skin. Ice encompasses both Zephyr and me. Frost covers my eyes, blinding my sight.

I did it. We're both trapped, but I did it.

The huge ice block wavers on the unstable ground. With a low crackle, the snow beneath us falls apart. The world tilts on its axis as Zephyr and I fall down the mountain. I want to scream, but my mouth is frozen shut.

After that, everything turns dark.