Chapter Nine

We were abruptly out in the open once more. Fon’s hand fell from mine so we could run faster. Vashri followed behind me as we pelted over the rough stone that formed the ground. The soultaker’s … palace, if that’s what it was, occupied an island, from what I could make out. As we ran, I expected to run out of ground at any moment and reach the sea. Vashri had warned me not to put my hands into the water, so escaping that way would be impossible without help. I didn’t think we’d be able to swim to safety.

“What do we do?” I gasped.

“Keep going,” Fon said.

“Where to?” The rest of the island was barren. There was no sign of the goddess, nor the souls we’d come here to find.

“Anywhere away from the soultaker will do.”

“Not a long-term plan,” I managed.

He gave a snort of laughter, not even out of breath.

A snarl ripped through the air behind us. I craned around to see Cardivass bounding towards us. He’d clearly coughed up and spat out the iron ball because he looked every bit as healthy as he ever had. And every bit as savage. The teeth in both jaws were displayed in a snarl as he ate up the ground between us.

“But it’ll do for now,” Fon replied.

Fear added speed to my feet. I stumbled, and caught myself. Cardivass continued to snap and growl behind us. We had no breath left to talk, only run.

And then we ran out of island.

With Cardivass so close, I might have risked diving into the sea, but that wasn’t an option.

I scrambled to a halt, staring over the edge of the island. There was no boat, no useful boatman, and the sea was there all right, but it lay about a hundred yards below us, crashing against tall cliffs. If the fall didn’t kill me, I was sure the rocks at the bottom would.

I spun to face Cardivass, making sure I was two steps away from the edge so I wouldn’t fall or slip by accident. “What now?”

Fon and Vashri were both mouthing the words of a spell. The kings were remarkable men, with extraordinary magic. I just hoped there was time for whatever they planned. Cardivass drew closer and closer. I swear his gaze was filled with victory, his growl becoming a smile in anticipation of chomping down on a few humans.

Vashri grabbed my arm. “Do you trust me?”

I looked into his steady brown eyes and didn’t have to think twice. “Utterly.”

“Then jump.”

Despite what I’d said, I might have hesitated. Vashri didn’t give me that chance. His fingers tightened around my wrist and he tugged me four steps. We ran out of solid ground and began to fall.

I screamed, but air whipped the sound away. I plummeted towards the angry sea and the unforgiving rocks below, my arms and legs windmilling as though that might slow the inevitable.

Something gripped my middle and I was abruptly pulled up instead of down. I looked up at the dark shadow cutting off the light, and I understood. Vashri had summoned his wyvern, and the creature had plucked us out of the air.

It opened its mouth and released a harsh cry. I looked at Vashri, held snug in the creature’s other clawed foot, and my fear became laughter.

“I said you could trust me,” Vashri called over the wind.

“Never doubted you for a moment,” I insisted.

Vashri smiled. “I must have heard Fon screaming, in that case.”

Fon! I twisted, my view narrowed by the scaly creature close overhead. Fon was directly ahead. His phoenix must have arrived the same time as Vashri’s wyvern. Fon was flying his beast with more grace than Vashri and I. He’d managed to snatch hold of his phoenix’s tail. As I watched, the creature turned and swooped back to fly level with us. He was grinning, and gave every sign of being as comfortable as though he travelled by phoenix every day.

I managed a weak wave in reply.

“I see a place we can land!” Fon called, pointing off to the left.

I peered, but could see little from my prone position in the wyvern’s claws.

“We’ll follow,” Vashri called back.

The fiery phoenix, with Fon clinging to her tail, dipped to the left and we followed, the wyvern understanding Vashri’s desires effortlessly.

After a few minutes, a grey lump took shape, rising from the sea below. As we flew closer, it became another island, a smaller version of the one we’d left. This one, thankfully, didn’t have a visible resident attack dog, and it didn’t look as if it formed the home of any vicious, soul-stealing maniacs, either.

That would do.

Fon and his phoenix pulled ahead, the creature diving towards the island before folding her fiery wings at the last moment and landing gently in place. Fon let go of her tail and turned, waving to encourage us to join him.

The wyvern flew steadily closer until we were almost on top of Fon. Because her claws were full, she had to hover in place, jolting a yard up and down with every beat of her powerful wings. I wondered if it would allow me to grip its foot so I could dangle and drop to the ground - and then she simply relaxed her claws and dropped Vashri and me.

I twisted and dropped into a crouch, Vashri’s magic helping to absorb the worst of the fall. My abrupt arrival was barely jarring, and I reminded myself that it was better than the ending I’d thought I was going to receive at the bottom of the cliffs.

I straightened, staggering a little at being upright after my strange journey. Burdens disposed of, the phoenix and wyvern left us, vanishing to dots in the grey sky.

I glanced around at the featureless island, then looked at Fon and Vashri. “Do either of you know where we are? How do we get to Rey’s and Axxon’s souls now?”

Vashri was scanning the rocky island. “I think we can safely say the master of the underworld won’t offer us any help. We’re on our own.”

“That could have gone better,” Fon stated.

I put a hand in my pocket and drew forth the ring that had necessitated our flight. “I’m sorry, it was stupid, I know that. I just … couldn’t leave her behind.”

Fon stalked towards me. “You’re a soft-hearted menace, Kyann.”

My heart plunged. It was true. I hadn’t needed to free Analee. Stealing the soultaker’s ring had brought us another enemy, which was the last thing we needed. Fon was right to grumble. “I’m sorry,” I managed. I was trying to find the words to explain how I’d felt, how it had just been impossible for me to leave anyone at the mercy of the master of the underworld. How it could have been me trapped there – would have been if the soultaker had had his way.

And then Fon threw his arms around me. “Which might be what I love most about you.”

I looked up to meet his blue eyes. “I was a fool,” I told him. “The soultaker would have let us go, and now we’re stuck who knows where, and Axxon’s and Rey’s souls are still lost, and who knows what’s happening back on—”

“Enough.” Fon pressed a forefinger to my lips, stopping my torrent of words. “You were brave enough to do the right thing. I salute you.”

My gaze slid to his lips. I couldn’t stop thinking about kissing him. The desire hadn’t ebbed now we were away from the soultaker and his manipulative demands. If anything, it had increased. Fon dropped his hand. I blinked. My chance had been lost. Fon was one of the four kings. He’d rejected my overture in the kindest possible way, but he had rejected it. He was a king, and I was just a girl from Myledene. His kindness didn’t mean anything.

My face heated as I pulled away. “Thank you.” I cleared my throat, examining the ground. I focused on the ring I’d stolen. “Well, I didn’t take this so Analee could be trapped with me instead of him.” I glanced at Fon, then shifted my attention to Vashri, whose face was as calm and impassive as ever. “Time to set her free.” I threw the ring with all my might against the rocks at my feet.