We all fell silent again. That was when I heard it, a faint pounding, steadily growing louder. Whatever it was shook the ground and caused the coffee in my cup to tremor. I watched it, imagining a dinosaur walking toward us like in that one movie. “What is that?”
Several of the high priestesses hurried to the treehouse’s window facing the grove. The thump, thump, thump increased in sound and intensity. When the tree shook, knocking loose fir needles, I reached for something to stabilize my footing.
Bryan caught me. “It’s the veil. Look.” He extended his index finger toward the entrance where the slightest hint of a crack had begun to form.
Oh, shit on a shingle. The crack grew with each impact. The veil was failing. We’d lost our window while arguing over how to take the fight to them. They’d brought it to us, which suited me fine. It was our turf, our grove, and that gave us the tactical advantage. “Renee, gather the covens and do whatever it takes to stop them from breaking through the veil.” As the witches hurried out, I turned to the guys. “You each control a different primary element. Join forces with the legend that controls the same element.”
“What are you going to do?” Bryan asked.
“I’m going to do my job as the prophecy and protect our world.” I teleported out and popped back in on the field where a crowd had grown, all staring at the tear in the veil with wide, fearful eyes. Most had their shields in one hand, a weapon in the other. Some were swords. Others were maces. It was an eerie sight, seeing so many peaceful people take up arms, fighting for their right to live free. To live. Period.
“Katy!” Trevor pushed through the people. “It’s the bad. It’s the bad!”
I blinked at him. Was this what he’d been asking me to protect him from all along? Here I thought he meant the void. His mother was a soothsayer. Maybe she’d passed her gift onto her son. Maybe he’d seen this battle play out already.
“Trevor, when you asked me to protect you from the bad, is this what you meant? Protect you from the dark elementals?”
He shook his head and pointed behind me. “That’s the bad.”
I whipped around as the crowd stirred. Holy fuck nuggets. The putrid black fog dark elementals used to disorient Nelems—and good elementals on occasion—came pouring in from the crack and crawled across the ground like a slow and steady lava stream. It rose, blackening the sky and blocking out the sun. The grove plummeted into darkness.
Why hadn’t I accounted for this? We couldn’t fight an enemy we couldn’t see. I called air to push back the fog, but it barely made a dent. The black smoke continued to pour in, thickening the fog until you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.
And then I heard it.
Faint cries of surprise and pain as whatever came in with the fog attacked the witches. Grunts as they fought back. If I didn’t do something to protect the crowd gathered behind me, they’d be sitting ducks.
“Everyone hold on to your shield.” Most of them were magically enhanced elementals, so if I called light, it’d short out their powers and leave them weak. It wouldn’t affect the alchemists or blacksmiths, but there weren’t enough of them to protect those who’d be rendered helpless. And since I couldn’t see the assailants, I couldn’t pinpoint my call with any level of accuracy. That made calling light off the table.
I’d used earth to clear the fog in the past and tried again, calling the trees to wave like giant fans. That too didn’t work this time. My hellfire wouldn’t do a damn thing against fog. If I couldn’t clear the air with my most powerful elements, no way was my water call strong enough to do anything but make everyone wet.
That left one element I had the power to control, one that wouldn’t render everyone powerless. It just might do much, much worse if I couldn’t keep it under control. As I’d told myself before… One crisis at a time.
Cressida had said the ward would block me from tapping into my darkness. It was time to put that to the test. It was time to fight fire with fire, or in this instance, darkness with darkness. I focused on the cold in the pit of my midsection and pushed it to the rest of my body. My cells hummed, charging with energy. The coldness grew to the ends of my fingers, causing them to go numb. Then my hands began to glow, which was new, at least when I channeled my darkness.
I spotted a mirroring faint glow in four other sets of hands as the guys experienced what I experienced, thanks to the ward. Or maybe I sensed it more than saw it since I could barely see a foot in front of me.
My darkness lifted me ten feet into the air. I spread my hands and allowed the darkness to take over. The coldness consumed me as the glowing in my hands grew brighter. With a deep breath and hope beyond hope I didn’t get trapped inside the darkness as I’d done before, I tapped into my power and focused my call on the intruders.
“You are not welcome nor wanted here,” I said in a deep, raspy voice that didn’t sound like me. It broadcast across the grove, echoing as it bounced off the veil. “Leave now under your own power, or I will force you out with mine.”
I sensed more than saw the hesitation by those who’d broken through the veil. That wasn’t good enough. I wanted to see the fear in their eyes, the terror fueling their retreat. I was the supreme being. They were futile humans and no match for me. They must all bow to me. I would rule this world.
No.
