Page 79 of Wicked Warlock
I glanced over my shoulder at Cross, and he had already sat down in the sand watching her. “She doesn’t know what she’s doing, does she?”
He gave me a palms up shrugged. “I tend not to ask questions and just go with it.”
She turned around and looked at the vial. She held it up to eye level and shook it back and forth. Then she ran right toward the pedestal as the water splashed up around her feet. She stopped at the pedestal and held the vial over it.
“NO!” We all screamed at once, but it was too late. She turned over the vial and dumped the contents right onto the box. The box seemed to absorb it completely, sucking it up like a sponge. Dark grayish-black sparkles expanded out from the box and hovered there like a dome.
Smiling to herself, she looked over at the rest of us. “What?” She looked at Cross. “Think before I act moment?”
He chuckled and gave a silent nod.
“I don’t know why. Look. It’s ready for her.” She pointed at Zinnia. “You’re up, sis.”
Zinnia opened her hands and that silvery magic slithered over the ground like snakes. It latched onto the barrier and her magic flared brighter, like Christmas tinsel. She sighed and closed her eyes. “That’s some powerful shit.”
Her body seemed to glow from within as she dropped her magic and lowered her hands. “What’s next?”
“Well, if my theory is right, then we should be able to move that box.” Ophelia began to walk out into the water again when Astrid’s power flowed out past her, lifting out the box and floating it onto the shore, dropping it in the middle of all of us.
“Seemed simpler this way.”
Penny sighed. “I guess I’m up next.”
She dropped down in front of the box, examining it. She eyed the lock on the front and smiled. “This might’ve been harder if I wasn’t a god… Lucky me, brother.”
She opened her hand and her green smoke swirled in her palm, creating an older-looking bronze key. She shoved it into the lock and turned it. The lid popped open revealing a scroll with red and gold swirls on it and bright green handles on either side of it. “Not so difficult, is it now, brother?”
She went to reach for the scroll but when she tried to grab it, golden lines threaded over the top of the box. Catherine motioned to it. “We both know what that means.”
They were the exact same markings as on the planchette as the ones the Fury burned into the wall. Catherine laid her hand over the top of the box and reached in, pulling out the scroll. She held it out toward Zinnia. “I believe this is what we’ve been looking for.”
A small thrill went through my body, and I didn’t know if this would work or just be another clue. I didn’t know if I should laugh or be completely exhausted and tired of Alataris’ world-ending bullshit. But what I did know was we were one step closer to figuring this out and keeping Nylore out for good. Zinnia began to open the scroll.
The cavern shook as a loud explosion went off. The sound of running water hit my ears, sending pure panic rushing through my veins. At the back of the cave, one of those aquarium windows burst inward. Water poured in from the ocean. Then, one after another, three more burst like water pipes. Water rushed toward us, and I jumped into action. The back of the cave flooded completely from top to bottom, knocking the wheels right off the wall, and the water shot toward us like we were stuck in a pipe.
“Not again! Run!” My heart hammered in my chest as I yanked Astrid behind me.
I threw out my hand, making a portal a few feet away. The others sprinted toward it as the wave rushed closer. It swept through the cave, knocking us all sideways before they could make it. Water rushed over our heads, and I lost sight of the others.
The cave cracked and crumbled around us, dropping huge chunks of rocks. A tidal wave of water flipped me around in a circle and twisted my body. My heart raced, and I had no breath left. The current swirled and us along with it. Cross drifted by and I tossed a portal at him, scooping him from the water. Ophelia was right behind him, and I grabbed her too. A few feet away, Zinnia struggled to kick toward her mother who was being dragged backward, further in. Two more portals and they were gone.
My lungs burned and a streak of blond hair caught my eye. Penny! I sucked her up then shoved Astrid through. She didn’t let go of my hand and dragged me in behind her. My magic sucked us up and threw us out the other side like a clogged drain finally emptying. I didn’t know where to open the portal, so I just did it where we had begun—over the water in the ocean. My platform appeared below us, and we dropped down onto it, one after another, slamming onto it.
Astrid lay like a starfish next to me, sucking in deep breaths. Her hair was soaking and tangled over the side of her face. She chuckled. “No, I agree… never again.”
“Someone give me a phone. I have to tell Tuck.”
Astrid held out her hand and a brand-new iPhone appeared in it. She tossed it over to where Zinnia sat. She opened the phone and dialed the number then held it to her ear. “Tuck? Tuck, we did it.”
A loud crash sounded on the other end of the phone, and we all popped to our feet. Screams echoed in the distance, and I knew something bad was happening. “ZIN! Where the hell are you? We need you now!”
She met my eye. “Time to go.”
Chapter 38
Astrid
“Holy shit.”
