Panic propels me forward, and I grab the bars, heat licking at my chest. “You leave her alone, you bastard!”
He lets out a bark of laughter. “I was going to take you with me, let you say a final goodbye before I end her. But now you can stay here and think about your insolence. Maybe a few hours alone will teach you to hold your tongue.”
He storms out of the room, leaving me alone for the first time in days. Fuck, if I’d known being an insolent ass would get me some me time, I’d have pissed him off days ago.
My stomach twists, and I take a deep breath.
Leela is on her way here.
It’s time to escape.
It’s fucking freezing outside.My nose is cold, and my whiskers feel crispy by the time I get to the nest. The green crystal planted outside the nest dome glows softly, enveloping the whole structure in an eerie glow. There’s no one on watch duty tonight, hasn’t been for a couple of nights from what I’ve seen. Mizikiel likes to take a turn in the gardens every evening, and he’s been dragging me with him.
This is good. It’s real good.
I scamper to the crystal then left because it’s not the crystal I need to play with. It’s the stone plaque pressed to the earth beside it. Symbols stare back at me. Symbols that would have meant nothing to me a few weeks ago, but now…Now Iknow which ones I need to touch. I know instinctively how to deactivate the dome. It takes seconds to bring down the ward, and another to activate the mechanism to open the doorway.
Sweet dry air hits me in the face, and a tingle washes over me, the residue of whatever magic was keeping my anchor friends dormant.
“Hello?” I won’t risk stepping inside. What if the door closes on me? No. I need to stay out here. Keep an eye on incoming. “Ida? Lola? Garu? You there?”
Ida stumbles out of the nest, her large frame wobbling on trembling legs.Dharma…she’s in trouble.
Bina…Garu hisses softly.Her mind is clouded, but I see her do things. Not things she wants to do.
“Yeah, the primordial evil has taken over the royal domain and loads of demigod and Asura minds. I’ll tell you the rest later, but first we need to get your demigods, free Pakshiraj, and go save Leela.”
I scamper toward the east wing, and my anchor buddies follow.
It’s action time.
Bina,Dharma, and Joe meet us in the hallway of the eastern tower. Chaya, Thanil, and Maya come hurtling down the stairs and there’s a convergence of bodies, tears and hugs, and fuck, I want ta give them time for a reunion, but there is none. We’re on a clock. Mizikiel is going after my Leela, and I need to save her.
“We gotsta move. Now. Leela is in trouble. I’ll fill ya in on what’s happened along the way.”
Dharma breaks free of Chaya and wipes at her face. “I know what’s happening. Been seeing it unfold. Hearing everything. But I was trapped behind glass.”
“Same,” Joe said. “We attacked Leela…I…I hurt someone bad.”
Chaya puts her arm around him. “You didn’t do those things. He did. He made you do the bad things.”
Bina clenches her teeth, her eyes filled with murder. “Yeah, and now it’s time to attack the fucker.”
That’s not the plan, but I let her have her moment. She needs it. They all do. “He can’t control ya if he don’t have your anchors, same with the other demigods, but there ain’t no time to get to Prashikshan and free the other anchors.”
“Wait,” Chaya says. “What about Keyton? We can’t just leave him here.”
“We have to,” Bina says. “He’s still under the influence of the primordial evil.”
I’ve considered this, and it hurts to say it but… “I can’t help him. You guys woke up cos I woke ya anchors up. You’re all connected. But Keyton…he’s fully under, no way to pull him out.”
“Fuck.” Joe rakes a hand through his hair. “Okay, we’ll have to come back for him. Find a way to free him later.”
Dharma looks up the stairs, her gaze wary. “Yeah, we best go while he’s in stasis mode.”
“You have a plan, don’t you?” Joe says ta me.
I scamper toward the door. “Yep. Follow me. I’ll fill you in on the way.”
