“Were friends,” she spat, faint flame igniting on her fingertips. “You slithered your way into our lives, and then you tried to kill me and my friends.”
Cyrus spread out his arm, stepping closer, his wings flapping. “You’ve got it wrong. I didn’t try to kill you. I tried to save you.”
“You’re a fool if you think I’ll ever believe you.” She threw a fireball at him and jumped on top of the roof while he dodged aside.
Cyrus let out a thunderous roar. “Who’s inside the Keeper, Ikelia?”
“Why don’t you go inside and take a look?” She cocked an eyebrow and flicked her wrist, and a magical whip of glowing silver cracked in the air.
Cyrus pointed at the trail of fire behind him, and with a wave of his hand, the fire flew to the roof and wrapped around Ikelia. Ikelia spread her fingers, muttering words I couldn’t hear, and raised her hand to the sky. Fire turned to walls of ice, purposely caging herself in.
Cyrus let out a boisterous laugh and flapped his wings, levitating off the ground. “Good trick, Ikelia, but you should know better. Ice doesn’t scare me. Let’s see how well you breathe under water.”
As Cyrus extended his hand, countless shards of ice darted toward him like arrows. Cyrus raised his hands as if he could stop the ice, pushed his hands through the air in front of his chest, and then turned to a ribbon of dark mist. Some shards of ice flew past and stuck in the ground, but the ones he could manipulate flew back to Ikelia. She leaped high enough to dodge them and landed behind Cyrus with the Keeper crystal extended toward him.
As Cyrus’s form flickered from shadow to solid, he dodged a white light seeping out from the crystal and transformed into himself behind Ikelia. With his forearm over her throat, he pressed a dagger to her chest and yanked the crystal out of her hand.
Ikelia whimpered.
“That’s right. You should be afraid. True cross dagger. Don’t think I won’t use it on you, friend,” Cyrus seethed, licking Ikelia’s face. “Now, where’s Eligor?”
“Right here.” Eligor strode toward them from surrounding trees, his dark, glorious wings stretched to their full height. His swagger and smirk were like Eli’s. The same eyes, same thick eyebrows, and same dark hair. “Let her go, Cyrus. She’s not worth our time. We have more important things to do.”
Cyrus’s eyes grew darker, and he tightened his hold on Ikelia. She yelped as the dagger pierced through the fabric. “You think I’m an idiot, brother? I know you’re on her side. You’re in love with her. I’ve watched the two of you sneak off and plan my demise. What about our plan? You chose her over me.” He paused, grinning as if he knew a secret. “Does she know you once planned to kill her?”
Eligor approached closer, his eyes darting about the vicinity, no doubt calculating the odds. “Join me. Join us. I have been wrong. We are wrong. We need to make the world better, not destroy it.”
The veins on Cyrus’s neck thickened and his eyes, even the white part, altered to midnight dark. “No. We’re in this together. You come with me, or so help me, I’ll kill her and the child she carries.”
Eligor froze. “A child?” he whispered. His expression turned to shock and worry, and he looked at Ikelia for confirmation.
Ikelia shut her eyes, and a tear rolled down her cheek. “I was going to tell you tonight. I’m carrying our child.”
Eligor gave a contented smile, but then sadness replaced his happy expression. “Cyrus, if you let her go, I’ll come with you.”
“No, Eligor. Please.” Ikelia’s plea suggested the worst was yet to come.
I flinched, eager to jump in.
“Lucia, don’t.” My brother knew me well.
“No, Eligor. Don’t go.” Milani wiped her tears.
Abel released a puff of air, flexing his fingers. “Can’t we do something? This is so unfair.”
“Nobody move,” Uncle Davin warned, his tone commanding.
“He’s going to die,” Brody informed. “I can’t watch. I can’t witness Eli’s father’s death.”
Jack let out a strange sound. “Something bad is going to happen.”
It was like watching a movie, the anticipation, the agonizing torture of the death unfolding before me.
“Sorry, brother, but I don’t believe you,” Cyrus said. “I’m going to finish what we started.”
Cyrus tensed to plunge the dagger through Ikelia, but she unleashed the silvery magical whip, shining like a new star, and wrapped it around Cyrus’s neck. He dropped to his knees, choking and struggling to breathe as he tugged at the whip. His hands burned every time he yanked on it.
“You’re not touching my child,” Ikelia growled, pulling tighter, harder.
Cyrus didn’t beg to be released, his face a calm mask. “After I kill you both, I’m going to mold your son to be like me. I’m going to take away all the children who lost their faith, hope, and their family, and mutate them into demons. They will become my children, my family, and they will kill for me.”
“You’re a sick bastard. I can’t believe I ever thought of you as a friend,” Ikelia said. “Hurry, Eligor. Lock him up.”
Eligor took the Keeper crystal from Cyrus and placed it close to him.
“No—I think we should chain him and deal with him without the crystal,” Ikelia suggested.
“You heard him, Ikelia.” Eligor never took his eyes off Cyrus. “He’s gone mad. I won’t put our child or anyone’s child in his hands. We must contain him.” Before Ikelia could protest, he brought it close enough, where the light from the crystal surrounded Cyrus, and said, “Keeper of life. Keeper of death. Welcome the body and conceal to the end.”
Cyrus should have been afraid of being locked up inside the crystal for eternity, but instead he sneered, “You’re not the only powerful Elementa. One of your sisters betrayed you, Ikelia. Do you know which one?” Then he jerked his eyes to Eligor. “Fool. I knew you would go against me. I tried warning you. I hold the protection crystal. You just sealed your doom, not mine.”
“No!” Ikelia shrieked, releasing the whip and shoving Eligor out of the way with the force of her magic, but it was too late.
The light from the Keeper crystal in Eligor’s hand and protective crystals from Cyrus lashed out and began to merge together in a halo of blue and violet. The blinding light surrounded Cyrus and Eligor, knocking them unconscious and lifting them in the air. As their limp bodies floated closer to each other, the ball of light grew bigger and brighter, changing colors.
Ikelia clutched her necklace for added energy and strength, but she couldn’t separate them. At last, the blended lights exploded and then faded. One body tumbled to the ground face down, black ink puddled under him. Cyrus. No sign of Eligor until…
Cyrus dug his fingers through dirt, crawling toward Ikelia. “Run. I can’t hold him off much longer.” Not Cyrus’s voice, but Eligor. His essence was locked in Cyrus’s body.
“Eligor?” Ikelia cried, dropping down beside him.
Cyrus’s body pushed to his knees with his head tilted back. “His protective crystal dragged me inside him. I will try to contain him through his mind. If this body ever tries to kill you, you must kill Cyrus.”
“No, Eligor. I would lose you forever.” She stood up and reached for him but stopped when he got on his feet. Though the voice was Eligor’s, the devastated expression began to change to something cruel and wicked.
“Run,” Eligor hissed. “Think of our child. Do not tell anyone I’m inside him, or they will hesitate to kill him if he tries to hurt them. Find Kalani and warn the others that we couldn’t contain Cyrus.”
“Eligor. How am I to have this child without you? We were supposed to build a life together.” Tears streamed down her face, and she backed away one step at a time.
“I love you, Ikelia. I wish we had the chance to raise our child together. I did many bad things before I met you, but you changed me. This is my punishment, and you shall not be part of it. Run!”
When Cyrus’s wings jetted out a
nd his irises swirled bloody red, Ikelia let out another gut wrenching cry and vanished.
Chapter 7
Lucia
“Oh man, oh man, oh man.” Brody slammed his palm to his face. “You’re right. Eligor is inside Cyrus?”
“All this time. We didn’t know. We almost killed him, and…” I leaned my back against the trunk of the tree and inhaled a deep breath. The sight of Cyrus storming across the field with dark vapor streaming behind him gave me eerie chills. Then with the wind, his demon form blew away.
Cyrus had told me he didn’t know Ikelia was with child until Eli was born, but he had lied. Obviously he lied and would say anything to cover up what he had done. Wouldn’t he want his enemy to find out Eligor, someone people trusted, was inside him to keep others from killing him? What kind of sick game was he playing?
“Eli is with Cyrus.” Milani began to pace from one tree to another, flames ignited at her fingertips. The leaves followed behind her as if they were an extension of her. Kind of cool and strange. “What if by luck he actually kills Cyrus and later finds out he killed his father too? We have to tell him.”
Abel stared into the distance at nothing in particular and said, “It doesn’t matter anymore. Eligor is dead inside Cyrus. He’s been trapped inside for far too long. Besides, if Eligor were strong enough to break away from Cyrus, he would already have done it. You would do anything for your child, wouldn’t you? To hold him. To be with him. Right?”
“Unless somehow Eligor struck a bargain with Cyrus, promising he wouldn’t kill Eli as long as he doesn’t try to get control.” Uncle Davin’s voice echoed within the forest, but he was nowhere to be seen.
Where did Uncle Davin go? Rather, what was he up to?
“Maybe Cyrus also made a promise not to kill Ikelia. Just a thought.” Zach’s voice carried through, but just like Uncle Davin, he was nowhere to be seen.
“Zach. Uncle Davin,” I hollered.
“Right above you, sis.”
“What the hell?” Harper and Hugo said in unison.
We tilted our head to the sound of Zach’s voice, coming from high above. Uncle Davin and Zach were sprawled along adjacent branches, soaking in the sunlight.
“We have a much better view up here.” Uncle Davin winked and leaned back with his eyes closed. “So peaceful. The breeze soft on my face. The birds singing. Nobody yapping away. This is the—”
“Uncle Davin,” I yelped, backing away. Kalani and two others appeared smack in the middle of us.
Uncle Davin and Zach dropped down beside me, swords ready by their sides.
“Mom.” Milani reached out her hand, taking in her mom in front of her. Kalani craned her neck to Milani and smiled, as if she knew her daughter would be right beside her in the future. Then Kalani touched her edelweiss crystal necklace as if to confirm she still had it.
Liquid pooled in my eyes as I thought of my mom. The resemblance between Kalani and Milani was uncanny. The same dark hair, the dark eyes, and even the smile. Milani was a mini version of Kalani. The three Snow Queen apprentices were stunning, brave, and courageous.
“We just missed them,” the one with long blonde hair hissed, staring out to where they were. “How are we going to find them?”
Kalani stepped beside her. “You should know better, Sabina. Ikelia never leaves without leaving her scent behind for us.”
Sabina smacked the tall bush with her sword. “I know. I meant, I can’t get a hold of her scent.”
The other woman with red hair sniffed the air. “That’s because she’s pregnant. Eligor is the father.”
“Halina, are you sure?” Kalani grabbed her arm, as if she wanted her to be wrong.
“Yes. I sensed it a week ago, but Ikelia didn’t know until recently. I wanted to tell her, but there was never a good time. Do you think she knows?”
Kalani gazed at the smoke rising from the chimney. “I don’t know, but Ikelia told me once we took care of Cyrus, she wanted to live in the mountains and take it easy. Perhaps she knew. Perhaps she was planning.”
Halina stroked her long, braided hair. “Well, I guess we’ll live in the mountains with her too. Where our coven leader goes, we go. The mountains don’t sound so bad.”
“Hurry.” Sabina ran to a dark spot on the ground and sniffed her fingers after taking a sample of it. “Something went wrong. We came too late. Those demons held us back. A trap perhaps.”
The other Elementum were by Sabina’s side in an instant. Kalani shot a glance over her shoulder to Milani as if to say goodbye and said, “I’ll lead the way. Follow me.”
“Hurry. We need to follow. Link up.” Milani’s tone urgent and commanding. “My mother knew we would be here. Hurry your asses. Now. Didn’t you hear her? She said follow me.”
We held hands without question and waited for Milani. Kalani stalled it seemed, as if waiting for us. Then Milani led the way, tailing Kalani to the unknown.
We arrived back in time inside Kalani’s cabin, before Milani was born. Simple wooden furniture was arranged the way I recalled. Lit candles filled the space with the scent of edelweiss.
“Why are we here?” Sabina went about closing the windows with her magic. With flicks of her finger, one closed after the other. Her blonde hair bounced from her quick stride, and her ocean blue eyes sparkled every time she used magic.
“I need to tell you about my journal.” Kalani muttered a spell under her breath, pulled out a leather bound book from the fire, and flipped through the pages. “Ikelia and I have been following the Knights Templar. Jacques de Molay has already hidden three pages because Cyrus is searching for a treasure Jacques has hidden. It is imperative Cyrus does not get the treasure. He’s left clues in three torn pages. Ikelia and I have mapped out and even written the spells needed to retrieve the pages, and only the four of us and our bloodline can decode it.”
Halina perked her lips and dragged a hand down the page that appeared blank to her eyes. “What treasure is Cyrus searching for?”
Kalani flipped the page, and letters I did not recognize materialized, one letter at a time in fire gold. “Ikelia believes it to be the key to open the gates of Hell.”
The other two Elementum gasped in unison.
“You said Jacques hid three pages, and then what happens after that?” Sabina asked.
“We need to find out where the last clue leads.” Kalani walked back to the fire, said her spell, and placed the book back. The fire engulfed it, making the book disappear. “Here is what we need to do. You two find Ikelia. If you can’t track her down, she might be on the run from Cyrus and doesn’t want to be found. I’m going to follow Jacques de Molay and his friend Geoffroi de Charney. We’ll meet up when it’s time.”
Sabina adjusted her white cloak and asked, “Have you heard from the Snow Queen?”
Kalani shook her head.
Halina sat on the dining chair, taking a sip of hot tea she had conjured with her magic. “Do you know if she’s alive?”
Kalani shifted the curtain to take a peek out the window. “The last Ikelia heard from her was when she left us to kill the three remaining originals. Ikelia and I think she went after Lilith since Vince is protected by Cyrus. I’m in the dark as much as you are about who the third original is—or was.”
“Very well, Kalani. Be safe. We’ll be on our way.” Sabina embraced Kalani. Halina said goodbye next, and as they held hands, they disappeared together. Kalani disappeared as well, but then she reappeared.
Kalani ran around the cabin like a wild woman, collecting all the candles, and arranging them on the ground around her. Holding out her hands, palms facing the ceiling, she mumbled softly.
We arranged ourselves around her, observing.
“What is she doing?” Harper inched closer. The wooden floor creaked, and Milani pushed her back. Harper scowled.
“Maybe she’s praying?” Jack said.
Uncle Davin gave Jack an are-you-kidding expression but didn’t say anything sarcastic.
Brody rubbed his eyebrows. “Whoa. What is that?”
A hazy blue light began to surround Kalani. Then the candles flickered off and on, off and on, off and on.
“Milani.”
We froze.
“Mama?” Milani scooted closer, and then stopped to meet my eyes. “I’m not hearing things, right? She said my name, right?”
I nodded.
“Milani,” Kalani whispered.
Milani’s eyes pooled with tears, her hands trembling as she raised them to the light barrier. “Mama. I’m here. Can you hear me?”
“If you’re here, I need you to listen. I’m inside a protective wall to ward off all evil so they can’t hear what I’m about to tell you. I have to talk fast. There’s so much I want to tell you, my sweet daughter. If you’re here and listening to my message, then it means I have passed on and my spirit is within the earth and sky. How big you must have grown. I wish I could be there with you. I miss you so much. But…must…carefully.” Her words began to fade in and out.
“Mama, I can’t hear you.” She wiped her tears, her tone anxious and urgent.
Kalani kept talking, ignoring Milani, but even as Kalani’s words were interrupted by who knew what, Milani kept listening. “It’s…find…journal… before Cyrus finds it. It’s imperative. You have to hurry. Eternal light… rocks…boulders. It’s hidden underground.”
Milani’s tears fell like a flowing river. “Mama. Mama. I can’t understand. You have to say it again.”
The ghost of Kalani disappeared, and all the candles back on the back wooden table blew out.
“Mama! Mama...” Milani waved her hand where her mom had been and then dropped to the floor, using her hands like a broom, and began to sweep the area her mom had stood, as if she could bring her back.
Brody’s shoulders slumped, and as his Adam’s apple bobbed, he wrapped his arm around Milani to pull her up still sobbing.
Uncle Davin placed his hand on her shoulder, soft and tender. “Milani. Your mother isn’t here. This message was created after you were born. She astral traveled to the past to send a message only for you. I have a feeling she left you messages at times throughout the past she thought you might travel to. We should try to find them.”