“The barrier, Zam, it’s still there!” Kiara cried out.
“Not for long,” I snarled. I had to believe this would work, we were too close to fail now.
I spun my entire body, throwing my weight into what would be the final blow either way. We’d be caught, or we’d escape. The time was now. A yell escaped me as the flail buried deeply into the barrier and the spiderweb of cracks spun out farther than before, cracking even as the flail pulsed and tugged on my hand. I yanked the flail out and jammed it onto the holster on my back. For the moment, it wasn’t pulling on my life force and even if I didn’t understand why, I would take it as a win. I jumped onto Balder’s back and booted him forward, toward the still-shattering barrier.
“Are you crazy?” Kiara screamed.
I grinned over my shoulder. “Fucking bananas, girl.”
Balder and I hit the barrier and there was a moment of resistance, a stretching sensation that made me hold my breath and pray to the gods of the desert, before it gave way in a sparkling, shimmering explosion that sent dancing purple dust out into the surrounding air around us. I ducked my head and closed my eyes, feeling Ish’s magic slide over my skin as she fought to hold me back. To keep me from going into the world and saving my brother, to keep Kiara where she could control her life too.
I gave Balder the sign to go, dropping the reins so my hands were free to fight if I needed to, and he bolted forward. Three days of pent-up energy unleashed in a single bound. I reached for the shotgun and pulled it up, but it wasn’t needed. There was no one giving chase.
Kiara’s horse kept up, and we raced east. My plan was to come around in a big loop to the north, to throw Ish off our trail in case she did send someone our way.
Behind us there was a scream that was nothing but pure fury, a screech that made the hair on my neck stand because it sounded so like the Ice Witch I’d faced not that long ago. I looked over my shoulder. Ish watched us as we raced away from the Stockyards, already out of her grasp. Watching us boot it the fuck out of there. Her long hair snapped in the breeze and for just a moment I thought I saw her raise her hand, and I tensed, waiting for a spell to come sailing our way. But it happened so fast, the motion was there and gone before I could be sure.
When I could no longer see her and the shimmering haze of the Stockyards faded, I let Balder slow, though he still wanted to run. He pranced underneath me as I brought him down to an animated trot. Kiara and Lacey caught up to us. She looked across at me.
“Ish was never like this before. She was never mean.”
I nodded my agreement but kept my thoughts on Ish to myself. “We’ll loop north after another mile or so. It’ll take us longer but if we get too close to the Stockyards again, I think she’ll try to bring us in.”
“She doesn’t leave the Stockyards. Not ever. And the servants are no match for us. We’ll be fine, we can cut close and save time,” Kiara said. She straightened her back and lifted her nose. Like she was going to run the show now.
If I kept rolling my eyes like this, they were going to fall out of my head.
“And from what we know, she’s never been cruel before either,” I pointed out. “Things are changing. I don’t want to take the chance that we could get taken back by someone we think might try to kill you and your cub. Do you?”
She bit her lower lip, her eyes lowered and her posture softened. A moment or two passed before she spoke again. “The jewel. . . I mean, the Dragon’s gemstone. You don’t mean to bring it to her, do you?”
I’d give Kiara at least that much, she wasn’t stupid even if she was dumb as a bag of brightly colored rocks when it came to Steve. “No, I don’t. Whatever is going on, I don’t think we can trust her with more power, and I think the gemstones are giving her that. It’s not just about her life, it’s about strength. Steve is trying to get it for her regardless of that fact. He can’t see past his own desire for power to realize Ish is becoming dangerous to us all.”
Kiara said nothing, and we rode in silence while we continued our road east. I didn’t think she agreed with me, but she didn’t argue on Steve’s behalf, which was a nice change.
I could only take so much of “how great Steve is” before I wanted to start killing things.
“How do you know where to turn north?” Kiara asked.
I glanced at her, reminding myself she didn’t leave the Stockyards often. “There’s a stone that’s been cut in half. It’s the marker to let people know that any further east and they are headed out into the wilds.”
She shivered, and I kept my eyes forward, watching for the stone.
Whatever waited for us out there, no matter how bad, was better than sitting in the Stockyards waiting for word of my brother’s death. No one would fight for him like I would.
Just like I believed he would fight for me. Like I believed Darcy would have fought for me. I frowned, not liking the comparison my brain made between the two people who I thought were the most important in my life.
Oh, if only the desert gods were not so cruel, that would have been true about Bryce fighting for me. But the truth was far uglier than even I knew.
A truth I would learn soon enough.
Chapter 4
Merlin leaned back in his seat before the orb, watching Zamira break free of Ish’s magic. His eyebrows shot up and he had to blink a few times to see if he was in fact seeing what was really happening. “I did not expect that.”
Flora snorted and smacked the back of his head. “You did it, didn’t you? You softened the barrier for her to get out. She’s better off there. As crazy as Ish is becoming, Zam needs to stay safe.”
He rubbed at his head where she’d messed his hair up. “Actually, I didn’t.” And that was what concerned him. The magic of the flail was a creation of the Jinn. That it hadn’t taken retribution on Zamira when she’d used it against the barrier was at the very least alarming. The flail was designed to kill any who held it who were not a Jinn. But he knew that as a weapon of magic, it would want to be used. . . it might be growing attached to Zamira, and that could be as dangerous to her as if she were being attacked by it.
“Excuse me?” Flora leaned so she was right in his face. “Did you just say that the weapon is meant to kill any who aren’t Jinn?”
Merlin cleared his throat and then smiled. “Said that out loud, did I?”
“Guessing you didn’t mean to?” She arched a brow.
He sighed. “No, I didn’t. The weapon is important, Flora. The Oracle said so.”
“No, she didn’t, Merlin. Unless you have something more to tell me?” Flora didn’t move an inch. The woman had the stare of a hawk when she wanted to with those sharp green eyes of hers, and Merlin began to squirm. Flora, in her days as a priestess of Zeus, had been formidable. As she’d aged, her temper had mellowed and her true strengths had shown—wisdom, cunning, and the ability to see to the core of people. Now it seemed that since her youth had been given back to her, she’d managed to blend both that fierce spirit and the wisdom she’d gained.
Her gaze narrowed farther. “Unless you mean you asked the Oracle questions before or after I was there? Hmm?”
“Before,” he muttered. Damn it, he had a hard time lying to this woman. Probably part of the reason he liked her so much. He didn’t like weak women. Though Flora was almost too strong, too stubborn even for him. As a priestess of Zeus, she was used to taking control of situations and the people in them. Including himself. He found a smile had worked its way onto his face.
“Gods, you are. . . impossible! Why did I think you and I could work together? I was a fool to marry into your family.” She pushed away from him, her curvy figure swaying as she walked.
“Marrying into my family saved your family line, if I may remind you.” He pointed a finger at her. He only wished he had convinced her to marry him instead of his brother.
She waved a hand at him. “Do not distract me. What else did the Oracle say?”
Hard to sidetrack that one. He grinned again, and then the smile slipped. “The weapon she has, the flail, is important. As are the last four gemstones Ishtar is collecting. We need her to collect them, but. . . ” He didn’t know how to say the last part. Because he’d kept it from Flora for this reason. Part of him had hoped that Steve would be the one to face down the guardians of the wall. That he would be the Wall Breaker they needed. Mostly because he didn’t think much of the Bright Lion that had cheated on Zamira, and in general been a self-serving ass. So if he died in the process, there would have been no real loss.