Page 22 of Bound Paths
The wind was completely unnatural, the way it wrapped around her. It blew from the wall, where no wind should come from, as if it were guiding her to plummet into the depths.
“Really?” Rose glared at Juliette.
“Don’t look at me. I told you the wind wouldn’t help you.” Juliette said.
“How do we make it around the ridge?” Carter asked.
Juliette looked at Rose. “It would be easiest if Rose could merge our magic and use the combined power around all three of us to fight the unnatural wind.” Juliette sighed. “But since we won’t be able to access that connection with Luc gone, we’ll just have to join our winds externally—the same way we used our wind together to speed up the horses on our trip.”
Rose didn’t need another reason to hate Luc not being here, but now she had one. Juliette was right. The two wind wielders could combine their shared element externally, but they couldn’t lean on merging their magic through her without all four Compass Points activating their power.
“I have better balance as a veil cat,” Carter said. For the first time, he said the name of his shifted form without whispering, undoubtedly because they were finally in a place where no one else would hear him. She turned to mock him, but he no longer stood behind her; a large cat prowled forward.
“Carter’s right,” Juliette said. “It should help. Not even magical wind can shake natural feline balance.”
The scent of sage and citrus filled Rose’s nostrils as Juliette’s wind rushed around them. Rose called her magic, too, joining it with Juliette’s. This wasn’t as strong as when she pulled from her internal lake of power, but if Juliette could make it around the ridge herself, then Rose supposed this method should be good enough.
“It will work,” Juliette said as if knowing Rose’s unspoken thoughts.
“If you say so…” Rose said slowly, stepping forward as she and Juliette’s wind twisted together and wrapped around them.
Juliette led, the veil cat in the middle, and Rose brought up the end of the line. She wrapped the wind shield around them tightly, pushing back on any force attempting to knock them off course. The wind spiraled out from the safety of the wall, pushing them toward the depths of the expanse. It was strong as it pressed against the combined magic of both Rose and the Osten Point. Rose took another step as she focused on flexing their shield to push back the onslaught.
Rose placed her foot down, the rock cracking and slipping beneath her. More rocks careened into the expanse. The noise of falling stones was deafening. She almost preferred the whistle of the wind whipping against them. The veil cat growled in front of her at the noise. Rose glared at him—unhelpful since she knew he didn’t see it, but it made her feel better.
“I know. I know. I’m not quite as light on my feet as you are,” she said.
“We’re almost there, Rose,” Juliette said. Her voice was tight. She must be focusing more than Rose expected. “Keep going,” the Osten Point called.
Rose took another step, reaching deep into her magic to support the shield. She focused on Carter—on keeping the veil cat steady—as the ridge’s winds tore at them.
She knew Juliette was right. They wouldn’t be able to connect their winds through the heart of her magic. But as she closed her eyes and reached for more power, she dove into her quiet center anyway. Her body froze in place on the ridge, but she couldn’t help searching for the now-familiar door. Her wind led her around the lake. As expected, no door was present. Her shoulders sagged in disappointment.
Rose felt the moment Juliette cleared the ridge. The Osten Point’s body no longer required the support of their joint shield, but Carter still needed her.
The wind raged against their defense as she started inching around the ridge again. Even Carter’s balance couldn’t stop the rock from slipping beneath him. She wasn’t sure she could hold off the unruly wind. Rose paused and dug deeper to fuel Carter’s last few steps on the exposed path.
The usually still water in her lake shifted violently as she dug for more strength. The rolling waves must have been enough to disrupt the sand of the lakebed. Rose’s gaze caught on something dark and shiny in the movement.
The black stone.
Images from her dream—or not dream—flooded back in. This stone was some connection to Luc. She was sure of it. Zrak’s wind assaulted her shields again, leaving her unable to investigate further.
The veil cat yowled, pulling her focus. A gust of wind swept from above to try to push him off course. Rose’s shield was still in place, but the unnatural angle wasn’t one she or Julietteadequately defended. The black stone in her lake shook like a readying earthquake, but didn’t crack as she pulled more magic to support Carter. Steadied, he stalked the last few steps to safety.
She took another step on the ridge.
Another gust swept down on her, the only remaining target on the treacherous path. Juliette’s sage and citrus rushed around her, but still, Rose’s foot slipped as another piece of the ridge fell away. Unable to catch her balance, she dropped to her hands and knees, her left knee slipping off the side.
“Rose!” Juliette call.
The black stone in the heart of her magic shook again, a deeper rumble, growing in strength. Power flooded her, bolstering the wind she and Juliette wielded.
“I’ve got it,” Rose said shakily. She let the power boost stabilize her. Once again, Rose and Juliette’s combined wind wrapped around her body, covering every angle for the remaining distance to the tunnel. She put weight on her hands as she worked to get both feet back under her. She righted herself and stared down at the remaining steps.
Just a few left.
She took a deep breath and sprinted, not bothering to check where the other Compass Points were in the tunnel she aimed for. Rose barreled into Juliette as she left the ridge and terrifying expanse behind.
