My mom had already disappeared with the rest of the Council members, leaving me feeling just as rejected and confused as I had when she’d disappeared, well…just about every other time in my life. Last night. Six years ago. I wanted to talk to her about how we’d fulfill the prophecy together as she’d said. I wanted to ask her why she’d vanished while I’d talked to Stace. But, most of all, I just wanted to spend time with her.
That wasn’t happening tonight.
I shuffled off the field and made a beeline for the infirmary to check on Leo, to make sure I didn’t do any permanent damage.
“How’d today go?” Bryan asked, catching up to me.
“It sucked.” I didn’t slow.
“Where’s the fire?” He flashed a sideways grin when I glared at his choice of words.
“Very funny.”
Clay popped in, blocking me from moving. I pushed him out of my way. Of course, Rob teleported in right after him. I finally stopped and glared. “Do you guys mind?”
“Not at all.” He hooked me around the waist and, in a flash of black, we popped out. The nothing swallowed me as we floated through some level of the void. It freaked the shit out of me. I flailed. I thrashed. I windmilled my arms and tried to run on air. All at the same time.
We landed outside the ruins. The shell of stones that used to make up one of the watchtowers of the original academy usually drew me in when I was by myself. It was where Cressida Clearwater had the strongest presence and connected with me the best.
It was also on the opposite side of where I wanted to be. The infirmary was now a good quarter mile away.
“What the hell, Rob?” I punched him in the arm, cracking several knuckles. Ouch. I shook out my hand and worked my fingers, confirming I didn’t break them. He laughed in response, the ass. I shoved him. Hard. “I need to check on Leo.”
“You need to control your shit, Reed.” He gently pushed me back. When I returned the gesture, but much harder and with the help of my air, he stumbled back. “Uncool, Reed. I’m trying to help you.”
“You’re trying to stop me from checking on Leo,” I countered. “Why?” I then turned to Clay and Bryan, who exchanged guilty glances. “Why are you all trying to stop me?”
Rob tilted his head from side to side. “You kind of attacked a member of the Council.”
“She attacked Leo! You did too.” I shoved him again.
He brought up his hands to ward off any further attacks. “That’s why we brought you out here, to explain. I already told you that you and I were gonna have words.”
“Leo told us about wanting to go through the final tribunal,” Clay explained. “Knowing how stellarly open and upfront the Council is about, well, everything… I suggested we take a trip to the cabin to talk it out with Rob since he’s our inside man. Bry was already there.”
“That’s the real reason you were all at the cabin?” I looked around, locking glances with each of them, searching for the truth. When I had no reason to doubt them—not that I ever did, but I was, after all, me—I nodded. “Okay, so you were all there to have a powwow without me. Awesome. At least it wasn’t to play that stupid board game.”
“It’s not stupid!” Bryan and Clay exclaimed at the same time, both ready to defend their stand to the death if their stern looks had anything to say about it.
“Okay,” I sang and brought up my hands. “You’re both twelve.” I regarded Rob. “What does any of this have to do with keeping me from checking on Leo?”
“You attacked a member of the Council. Do you have any idea how much trouble you’re in for what you did to Trina? She lost her eyebrows.”
“Good riddance, unibrow.” Clay lifted his fist. I bumped it.
We blew apart, both flying in opposite directions, landing on our asses. I rolled to my feet and had my hands at the ready to blast Rob for being such an asshole.
But it wasn’t Rob who hit me with a fireball.
I was stunned when I looked up to see not only Alec standing there but Spencer by his side. My heart hit my throat and the bottom of my feet at the same time. How the hell did they get past the barrier? Clearwater was warded. None of this made any sense.
“What the… What?”
“Happy to see me?” Alec asked, the snarl curling his thin lips. Same sharklike eyes. Same stringy black hair curtaining his skeletal face. Same dirty black leather duster that made him look like he’d just come from an Assassin’s Creed cosplay event. The scar bisecting the right side of his face still made him seriously fugly.
“I’m never happy to see you, Alec.” I smiled sweetly. “Or haven’t you gotten that through your head? No means no, dick.”
“I’m sure she’s happy to see me,” Spencer declared in that haughty British accent. His shaggy blond hair had recovered from the singeing I’d given him at the warehouse. His eyebrows had come back too. No way did hair grow that fast, so he must have cast a spell to restore himself back to his irritatingly gorgeous, underwear model appearance. He scraped that blue gaze over me, causing me to shudder uncomfortably. “I’ve missed you, Katy.”
“We literally saw each other yesterday. Remember when I nearly killed you? Ring a bell?”
“Nearly being the opportune word.”
I so very much hated the British invasion known as Spencer Dalton.
Alec glanced at Spencer, who glanced back at the grand poohbah of dark elementals with a grin. “I believe she’s looking for a challenge.”
“I believe you are right.”
“Oh my God. Tweedledum and Dumber, would you two just please get on with it? If you’re here
