Destroyer (The Elemental Series #7)(38)

“He won’t be able to find us.”

“Oh,” he laughed softly, “I think he will. And I think when he does, he’s not going to underestimate my loyalty to you over him again.” Raven didn’t look at me as he spoke. I stared at him hard, though, as if my gaze could break through his words and tell me if he was speaking the truth or not.

“What else can you tell me about?”

“Well, you got a dose of being able to inflict pain through Spirit, and I’ll let you figure that one out yourself, I think. I don’t have a lot of strength in that area anyway. Now, if you can find a witch to work with, you can create or pull apart a creature. At least, that is what Talan told me. I’ve never done it myself.” He spoke that last bit as if he were afraid of how I would react. I didn’t understand why he was so careful with those words.

“Why would I pull apart a creature?” I asked. “That’s stupid.”

“A creature created by another elemental,” he clarified.

My whole body stiffened and I tightened my legs around Shazer’s barrel. “You mean… Ash?”

“Yes. You’ll need a powerful witch to help you with that if you want it to be successful. I can show you what you would have to do on your side of the spell. It is Spirit that brings the process about, changing the shape of the human body into the flesh of the animal spirit that resides in all of us.”

I closed my eyes, doing my best to quell the spurt of hope growing in my heart. I knew no matter how much I loved Ash, I had bigger things to deal with before I found him and took him home. Much as I wanted to dwell on Ash and helping him, his loss paralyzed me if I let myself think on him too long. He’d been trapped as a golden eagle for years. “How long has he been trapped exactly?” The question was one I’d wanted the answer to for so long, I wasn’t sure Raven could answer it.

“Twenty-five years, give or take a few. Mostly give,” Raven said.

“Holy shit,” I whispered. “And can I bring him back from that?”

“Hey, what about me?” Shazer rippled his back, bringing my attention back to him. “I’ve been stuck like this for longer than I can remember. You’re acting like Ash won’t be able to even converse with you. Like he’s suddenly stupid because he’s an animal.”

I looked back at Raven. “And?”

“Different with Ash; he wasn’t given the ability to speak. Which means he’s been locked inside that eagle that entire time.”

My guts clenched with sudden understanding. “Like an oubliette.”

“Yes, but it was the only way to save him.”

“Wait, what?” I twisted around farther. “You say that like you… had something to do with his change.”

Raven’s lips pursed. “I was there when it happened.”

Peta shifted in my lap as she shook her head violently from side to side. “There is something, almost like a memory I can’t quite grab hold of in my head. Was I there with him?”

Raven closed his eyes. “Yes, you were there too, Peta. Talan took your memories. Even if you could unlock them on your own, they just aren’t there. That is a downside to a familiar’s connection to a Spirit Walker. He can truly wipe your mind if he chooses.”

I turned my back to him, because if I kept looking at him, I might’ve pushed him off Shazer’s back, and that was if I was being kind. I still needed him. At least for now. “You were there, but you can show me how to bring him back?”

“In theory, yes.”

“Then we will start with Shazer when we land,” I said.

Below me the Pegasus grunted. “And then you will have no way to travel.”

“Raven’s going to show me how to Ride Spirit, aren’t you?” It was not a question, not really. Because I was done with waiting. I was done with putting up with Raven and Talan dodging questions, dodging the answers I needed.

But as always, it seemed nothing would go easy for me. I waited for Raven to say something, then finally twisted around to give him the stink eye to hurry him up. But when I turned, it wasn’t Raven who caught my eye but the things winging toward us through the clouds.

“What the ever-loving seventh veil is that?” Peta climbed up and peered past me. “Is it a flying dog?”

Raven jerked around so fast, he wobbled on his seat and I grabbed hold of him to keep him from falling off. He grunted. “Shit, I thought I’d locked that beasty up good.”

“What?” I tightened my grip on him. “Raven, we are above the Atlantic Ocean. We can’t land!”

“Why do we need to land?” He held up his hand and both the wind around us and the water below rolled at the same time while my skin prickled. The lines of power raced up and down his arms, blue and white and terribly beautiful because I could see the damage he was going to unleash on the creature behind us.

The thing, or dog as Peta called it, was huge, and a strange dark gray that blended into black. The hide shivered and shimmered with a dull pulsing light. I realized as I stared at it, as it drew closer, it was more than just a big-ass flying dog.

It was a demon. The brilliant red eyes glowed as they locked on us, but particularly when they locked on Raven.

“What the hell did you do that got a demon on your ass?” I whispered, then remembered what Pamela had said.