Merlin's Children (The Children and the Blood) (18 page)

A choked noise escaped her, and then she was moving. Shoving off the asphalt, she sent a rapid-fire blast of magic racing toward the trees and then snagged Lily’s arm, hauling her up. Behind them, people screamed as they fled the collapsing hangars and, across the field, airport security vehicles were rushing toward the scene. Dragging Lily with her, she ignored them all as she flung more magic at the forest and ran for the terminal a million miles away.

Either side of the field erupted. Electricity and fire pounded her defenses, hammering at her till she stumbled and crashed to the ground. From every direction, wizards emerged from the forest, tearing down the fences ahead of them as they came. Fighting to reach her feet, she ripped the magic from the nearest and sent it roaring back. A dozen fell, but more were behind, and pain buckled her legs as their magic slammed into her weakened shields.

“Run!” she yelled at Lily as she stripped the magic from another wizard and then hurled it back.

Whimpering, the little girl shook her head and pulled on Ashe’s arm, her eyes on the people closing in on all sides. Blue-white light rose around Lily, tremulous and unsteady, and then it burst across the field, mowing down the wizards as it passed.

Ashe stared for a heartbeat, and then tore her gaze from the airfield. Digging her hands into the ground, she propelled herself back up, sucking air between her teeth as pain seared through her at the motion. Ignoring the blood running down her arm, she grabbed the girl’s hand and took off for the terminal again.

Lily choked. Ashe’s gaze darted over.

From the grass and tarmac, the survivors were rising.

A green sedan careened down the service road behind the wizards, a cloud of dust swirling in its wake. Swerving madly, it bounded off the path and tore over the fence, racing into the airfield.

The wizards turned. The car barreled through them.

Magic slammed into her from behind, tossing her through the air and ripping Lily from her grasp. Pain exploded through the side of her head as the asphalt met her and lights splintered her vision. Gasping, she rolled, trying to find Lily in the haze. Running toward her, the little girl shrieked and then tumbled sideways as magic roared past her to shatter the tarmac inches from where Ashe lay.

“Get up!” Lily screamed.

Dirt scattered as the sedan whipped around, screeching to a stop a few yards away.

“Lily!” Cole shouted through the open window.

With a relieved cry, Lily spun, grabbing Ashe. “Come on!”

Blood dripping down her face, Ashe struggled up from the ground. Clutching Lily, she didn’t move as her eyes met his over the little girl’s head.

Cole’s face darkened.

“Ashley, please!” Lily cried, hauling on her arm.

Lightning crackled past, frying the trees on the far side of the field. The terminal was surrounded by flashing lights and gawkers watching the hangar blaze, all of them hundreds of yards away.

Snarling a curse, she ran for the car. Lily yanked open the passenger door and tumbled inside, colliding with Cole. Ashe swung into the back seat, but he hit the gas a mere second after she made it in. Grabbing the headrest, she hung on as momentum shoved her toward the open door and then sent her crashing back in the other direction.

The door slammed closed. Wizards leapt from their path as the sedan raced for the service road.

“I knew you’d come back,” Lily told Cole. “I knew you would.”

Ashe glanced over. His lip twitched into something that might have masqueraded as a smile, and his eyes didn’t leave the airfield.

Drawing a breath, she twisted toward the rear window. The wizards were running for the security vehicles, and as she watched, magic struck the driver of the nearest pickup.

Metal screeched as the sedan tore across the fence and onto the road. Hitting the brakes, Cole hauled the wheel around, snapping the car through the tight turn.

Her gaze caught on the hangars. Flames engulfed the buildings and black smoke poured into the sky. On the ground near the wreckage, motionless bodies lay.

The air was thick and hurt to breathe. Pulling her gaze from the destruction, she stared at the seat fabric, fighting back a scream. Of its own volition, her hand reached up, gripping her wounded shoulder. The pain helped her focus and swiftly, she sent a rush of magic through the bleeding gash and up to the wound on her head, healing them as best she could.

Cole swore. Her eyes snapped back to the field.

The wizards had gained control of the security vehicles. And they were coming.

“Hang on!” he called.

With a jolt, the car flew past the broken gate of the service road and bounced onto the main airport thoroughfare. Horns blared in Doppler shift around them as the sedan darted between cars screeching to a halt and pedestrians scrambling to get out of the way.

The security vehicles skidded onto the road behind them.

“Faster!” she yelled.

“Trying!” he snapped back.

A minivan pulled from the parking garage ahead, its driver jerking to a stop in the middle of the road at the sound of all the honking. Swearing, Cole accelerated hard, jumping the sedan over the curb and onto the grassy hill by the roadside. The car tilted as it rushed up the slope, while in the lane below, the other driver never glanced their way.

She looked ahead. Over the rise, the elevated interstate arced above the airport road and, as the car surged forward, she could tell Cole had seen it too. Gripping the wheel harder, he raced the sedan down the incline and onto the street, veering around the cars paused by the exit road stoplight.

Fire erupted beyond the hill where the minivan had been.

Lily gasped. Ashe turned to see the girl clambering up on her knees to stare out the rear window.

“Get down!” she ordered.

She spun back to the road while Lily dropped low in the seat.

Half a dozen white security trucks flew out from behind the rise. The sedan took to the on-ramp, racing for the highway.

Lightning sped toward them. She gasped, her defenses rushing through the metal and the glass to surround the car.

Energy glanced from her shields and propelled the sedan sideways. Metal squealed as the rear panel slammed into a guardrail, and then they were on the interstate, leaving shards of the taillight scattered behind them. Snarling, Cole yanked the wheel around as the car careened across three lanes of traffic and then straightened out, snapping back onto the road just shy of the metal pylons at the center of the highway.

“Was that you?” he called, swerving to avoid another car.

“Just the shield.”

Gripping the back of the seat to keep her balance, she looked over as he cursed, pain twisting his face. “Can you handle it if I attack them?” she asked.

A chuckle escaped him, the sound not remotely friendly, and she couldn’t tell if it was intended for her or them. “Just make it quick.”

She eyed him for a heartbeat and then turned to the rear window, dismissing her confusion as deeply irrelevant. Her gaze locked on the on-ramp and her fingers flexed unconsciously with the pressure of the magic beneath her skin.

Three white trucks charged up the ramp.

The rear window of the sedan exploded outward. Rushing over the distance, her magic punched past the wizard’s defenses and into the grill of the foremost truck, carrying the engine back through the cab and out the rear wall. Swerving wildly, the truck collided with the pickup behind it, sending them both through the guardrails and onto the roadway far below.

“Son of a–” Cole shouted. “What the hell was that?”

Ashe drew a breath and struck out at the third truck. The pickup veered sharply as the wizard’s shields crumpled under the blow, but a blast of magic followed the moment the driver gained control.

She ripped the energy from the air and threw it back. Rubber burst across the concrete as the truck’s tires disintegrated and the pickup fishtailed madly through the lanes.

A gasp escaped her. Frantically, she flung her magic across the distance, but it was too late. Careening out of control, the truck caught the rear of the small car in front of it, shoving the vehicle into a spin even as the pickup kicked over itself and rolled.

Her magic hit the truck, propelling it backwards while the little car smashed into the metal pylons in the center of the interstate. As the truck tumbled to a stop, Ashe stared at the car.

The driver pushed open the door and stumbled out, gaping around in shock. Ashe remembered how to breathe.

“Ashley!” Lily cried.

She spun, looking from the girl to Cole. White-knuckled, he grasped the wheel, pain clear in every tense line of his face. Drawing air between gritted teeth, he whipped the sedan around another car.

“Any more?” he growled.

Turning, she checked the distant on-ramp. Her brow drew down. Midday travelers and semis occupied the interstate for miles.

But of the other three security vehicles, there was nothing.

“No,” she answered warily.

He swallowed hard and swiped a hand at the sweat dripping into his eyes. “Good,” he replied, the word sounding as though he’d just as soon it be a curse.

Scanning the road, she ignored him. On a lazy curve, the elevated highway swept toward the heart of Banston, most of which was veiled by a haze of smog. Beyond the guardrails edging the interstate, concrete drainage slopes led to deep ditches and a line of ragged trees trying unsuccessfully to shield the older sections of town from view.

White metal flashed at the corner of her eye, and her gaze snapped back to the highway. Half a mile ahead, three security vehicles sped down the off-ramp and charged into the oncoming traffic.

Her eyes darted from the trucks to Cole.

And then their magic was coming.

Electricity lashed across a semi ahead. The tires exploded, sending the truck careening, and then the semi jack-knifed hard. The front whipped back toward the trailer, catching on the blown tires. With lethal speed, the truck slammed down and ground across the width of the highway in a fountain of sparks and screaming metal.

Cole hit the brakes.

Two security vehicles raced around the ends of the skidding semi.

Swearing, Cole looked from the white vehicles to the semi-truck.

“Go!” Ashe shouted.

He crushed the accelerator to the floor.

The sedan surged toward the semi. Pulling in sharply, the security trucks veered toward the center of the road.

Ashe stretched her hands out to either side.

The car shot between the white pickup trucks.

“Now!” Cole yelled.

Her magic obliterated the windows and the vehicles beyond.

Spinning in her seat, she watched as the trucks tumbled across the interstate, the vehicles flying apart as they rolled. Twisting the wheel sharply, Cole raced the sedan through the narrow gap between the semi and the metal pylons dividing the interstate.

Lily screamed.

Cole slammed on the brakes.

She turned.

There was a car.

Propelled by magic, a blue sports car flew through the air like a child’s toy, heading straight toward them, and she had no time. Metal howled as the car slammed into them, the destruction racing her magic to reach the occupants of the sedan.

Her shields enveloped them.

Glass exploded as the hood crumpled and the whole world went sideways. The magic behind the impact threw the green sedan backwards, and the steel pylons dividing the highway vanished as the car plowed over them and began to roll. Concrete flashed past the windows, grating and screaming and kicking up shattered glass to fly through the chaos in the car.

And then they were airborne.

Gravity vanished and Lily screamed. Ashe’s stomach climbed into her throat, trying to escape, and breathing was an impossibility. Frantic, she poured everything she had into the shields as the world tumbled down and down and down.

Into the ground.

Glass tinkled like rain and smoke burned her nose.

Ashe opened her eyes. She was on the roof. Metal and fabric were pressing her cheek, while her shields still flickered weakly around her.

And the car was on fire.

The realization hit her as hard as the ground and she gasped, shoving away from the roof. Pain radiated through her, emanating from every muscle and bone in chorus, and she choked on it as she shifted around to see the front of the car. Pebbles of faintly green glass tumbled from her bloodstained clothes, and in her pocket, the crushed remnants of her cell phone grated as she moved. Beyond the headrest, she could see Cole dangling, his body suspended by the seatbelt still connected to the side of the car, and as she looked over, he groaned.

Lily lay on the roof by his side.

Breath catching, Ashe reached for her.

The girl moaned and opened her eyes. At the sight of her sister, she gasped. “You–”

“Are you okay?” Ashe interrupted, not caring what her injuries looked like.

Lily stared a moment more and then nodded.

Breathing again, Ashe echoed the motion. “We need to go,” she said with meticulous calm.

Lily’s nose twitched and then she looked sharply to the front of the car.

“Can you get him down?” Ashe asked in the same tone.

Wide-eyed, Lily nodded and then scrambled across the glass and debris to nudge Cole hard. “Wake up!”

Groaning again, the young man opened his eyes and then tensed, visibly thrown by finding himself upside down.

“Hurry,” Ashe warned him.

He twisted in the restraints to look at her, and then nodded at whatever he saw in her eyes. Reaching down, he braced himself on the roof as Lily unfastened the safety belt. Controlling his fall, he tumbled sideways to the ground.

“Ready?” she asked as he pushed away from the ceiling.

Lily crawled over next to her, watching Cole.

He nodded again and started for the empty driver’s side window.

Ashe grabbed his arm. “What if the wizards are waiting?”

He grimaced, stopping.

“Wait till I signal and then head for the trees,” she told him.