Windburn (The Elemental Series #4)(52)

I touched my hand to where the smoky diamond lay in my pouch. I opened the leather bag and slipped it out. “Take this. It will boost your power. When you go back to the Eyrie, give it to Aria. It belongs in her hands.”

She gasped as I dropped it into her hands. “Mother goddess, the power raging in this . . . is it what I think it is?”

“Yes. Use it carefully. Or maybe in this case, not so carefully.” I stood and strode to the door, peeking out. There were no guards waiting for us. But that did not mean it was safe. The bond with Peta tugged at me. She was scared and pissed off as only a cat could be. But she was alive.

I slipped out and Samara followed me, silent. I stopped at the bottom of the steps and tugged off my tall boots. I needed as much connection with the earth as I could get. Wiggling my toes, I pulled the power of the earth below me and let it fill me.

“What can we expect?” Samara asked quietly.

“Blackbird can control all five elements. Cassava is powerful with earth, but nothing else.”

She grabbed my arm. “Can you kill her? Are you strong enough?”

“I’ve been waiting my whole life. I’ll kill her or die trying. In which case, you finish the job. All our homes are in danger as long as she is free.”

Her face grim, she nodded. I crept up the stairs, all my senses straining. But there was no sound, nothing to indicate there were ever inhabitants in the barracks. A spooky emptiness permeated the air as we slipped into the upper levels. I went to my room and then Ash’s. Both were empty, though I hadn’t really expected him to be waiting for me there.

Beckoning for Samara to keep close, I crept along the edge of the training room to the main doors of the barracks. I ran a hand over the wooden doors, then pressed an ear to them. There was nothing, not even a buzz of distant talking. I looked at Samara and she shrugged.

There was no other way . . . unless. . . . I spun and we ran back the way we’d come, bolting down the stairs and sliding to a stop in the Traveling room. There was one armband left. I grabbed it and slid it on. “Hang on.”

“What are you doing—”

The world dissolved, but the trip was quick. I popped us into the forest at the northern edge of the Rim. There wasn’t even time for a memory to roll over me.

I dropped to a crouch and Samara followed suit. “Where are we?”

“At the outside edge of the Rim.”

“Why exactly?”

Slowing for a brief moment, I looked back at her. “Call it a hunch, but there is only one doorway out of the barracks and Cassava knows it. She’s not stupid, even if she is deranged. She’ll be waiting for us to pop through those doors.”

“Great, smart and a psycho.” Samara pushed a fern out of her way and caught up to me. We jogged side by side until we reached the first house on the outer edge of the Rim. I ducked down beside the wooden structure. Using the houses for cover, we slipped unnoticed to the center of the Rim where it became apparent things had gotten rather shitty.

By the numbers, it looked as though every single member of my family had been gathered outside the Spiral and the Enders Barracks. In the center of them stood Cassava, with Blackbird at her side. I scanned the crowd looking for Ash, but there was no blond head with his height. My heart clenched. No, she wouldn’t have killed him. The bond with Peta thrummed lightly and I felt her eyes sweep toward me. I reached back and touched Samara to bring her forward for a look. Putting my mouth to her ear, I whispered, “Can you sweep everyone away from Cassava?”

She grinned and whispered back, “You got it. What about Blackbird, though? He could have me pull down on you again.”

I reached out and took her hand. “Don’t let go of me.”

“That’s going to get awkward.”

“This won’t be a fight with weapons.”

Her eyes widened and she nodded. I stood and we stepped out together. She lifted her free hand and the trees above us groaned. Everyone looked up, including Cassava and Blackbird.

The wind that swept through the Rim was icy cold, as if it had been pulled from the Wretched Peaks themselves. It slammed into the Terralings surrounding Cassava and swept them away in a gust that sent them flying through the air like a child’s ragdolls.

Screams rent the silence and I finally caught a glimpse of Ash. He was on his belly in front of Cassava, stains of red in his golden hair. I dragged Samara forward with me.

I held out a hand and the earth below us rumbled, the plates under our feet shifting as my anger boiled to a fever pitch.

“Ah, Larkspur. So lovely to see you again,” Cassava purred. She snapped her fingers and Blackbird picked up Ash. His body was limp. “Don’t worry, he isn’t dead yet. But if you don’t do what I want, he will be.”

All the power of the earth couldn’t help me. But maybe Spirit could. Samara tugged on my hand. “I can send them flying.”

“Do it and I will have Blackbird burn your familiar and your lover to a crisp right in front of you,” Cassava said.

Blackbird had a hand on Peta’s ruff and he shook her hard. “Cooked kitty. I’ve never had that before.”

She hissed at him and swung a paw, but in her housecat form she wasn’t much of a threat. I had no doubt he was suppressing her ability to shift.

“What do you want?” I asked. Samara stilled, her hand in mine tightening.