Page 38 of Ashes
Luther:Here
Mack:Here
Tanner:Here
Nova’s dots move on the screen as she types.Lost. Just as all our dots are going crazy tapping out responses, she adds,Joking. Sorry. Here.
I chuckle and push my hair from my face. I’d love to see Luther’s expression right now, although something tells me he’s starting to warm to our little supernova.
I’m the first to cast. I stretch my arms out to my sides, open the gates in my head, let the energy of the water beneath the ground and in the air surge through me. I push it down into the basement of my being then—as I say the words—I release it.
The air quivers. There’s a flash of bright blue light. A shimmering wall of nothingness forms in front of me. It moves like invisible waves through the air, up and up, forming a dome that stretches up above the trees. It curves out, around the lake, then meets another flash. Green. Kole.
In the distance, barely visible through the trees, there’s a third flash. Pure white. Mack. Shifter and air mage.
Then red. Fire. Luther.
I wait. Thirty seconds pass. The second flash of red doesn’t come. I stare and stare, as if I might conjure it with my eyes just by wanting it enough. I’m about to look away and check for messages from the others when the trees begin to shiver. The ground vibrates.Boom. A burst of burning orange illuminates the sky. It rushes toward me and slams into my blue light with a force that knocks me from my feet.
The mask is formed.
It worked. I check my phone.
Nova:Did you see that?! MAN, I love spells. Can you teach me some more?
18
NICO
Ikeep running until the pain in my feet makes me stop. My paws are bleeding, the pads almost clean scraped off from skidding on the glass in the hallway. I lick them. It doesn’t help.
When I shift back, the injury stays with me. I peel off the sneakers Tanner gave me and examine my feet. My soles are raw, and the palms of my hands burn. Sitting with my back against a tree, a few paces back from the side of the road, I put my head in my hands and exhale a long, shaky breath.
I have no idea where Mother and Ragnor are staying now. Since the fire at the hotel, they must have needed a new place to hide. But no one thought it necessary to share the location with me.
I don’t even have a number to call.
I reel back through my memory. Try to remember places we’ve met before. Places Ragnor has mentioned. There was a house. A big old house somewhere on the outskirts of Solleville. Mother took me there once when I was small. It had big black iron gates and a sweeping driveway. But it’s too far from here; with my injured feet, I’ll never make it.
So, stumbling to my feet, I head for my apartment instead. I have a small place here in the city. A penthouse with views over the whole of Red Rock.
The thought of being surrounded by my own things, safe with my own thoughts and actions, makes me suddenly tearful.
Stumbling to my feet, I wince as I begin to walk. It will take at least three hours to travel the distance between Phoenix Falls and the Red Rock apartment. Less if I shift, but I’m not sure I can handle the pain. At least in sneakers, my feet won’t take further damage.
So, I walk. Slowly.
When cars pass, I duck back into the shadow of the trees. At the tunnel, I keep my head down and press against the curved concrete wall every time a vehicle roars through.
Six black SUVs tear past in convoy. Doesn’t take a genius to figure out they’re SDB and headed for the chaos in Phoenix Falls.
By the time I reach the outskirts of the city, my head is pounding. The sights and sounds of the busy streets make my ears buzz. Passing a street vendor selling Red Rock merchandise, I wait until they’re not looking then swipe a large hoodie, pull it over my clothes, and jerk the hood up to obscure my face.
The final twenty-minutes of the journey to the apartment are torturous. When I reach it, I approach the front desk. The doorman, Freddie, eyes me up and down. “Geez, Nico, you look like crap. You okay, man?”
I laugh and shrug my shoulders. “Rough few nights.”
“Not hanging out atSpineagain?” Freddie whistles through his front teeth. I haven’t frequented the dark and depravedSpinenightclub for months, but I nod and give him a sheepish smile.