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CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE

Ellery

Usually when a magnetic storm hit Tempest, we could see it coming from miles away before it descended on the manor. But here, in the woods, we had no warning before the storm was upon us.

One minute, the sun was shining, and the next, the day turned to night. Lightning flashed across the sky with such rapidity it almost turned the night back to day.

Thunder rocked the realm as a deluge of rain pounded the earth. Amsirah cried out as they scrambled to find shelter from the sudden storm. They clambered into their tree houses while others worked to secure the animals in their shelters.

The wind howled through the clearing as the rain doused the fires and tore clothing from the lines. Maybe we’d find those clothes again if lucky, but I doubted it.

Overhead, the trees bashed and clanged as their limbs clacked against each other like the bones of skeletons dancing. Torn from their branches, leaves and twigs whipped through the air. Eventually, larger branches would give way beneath the maelstrom too.

I peeled leaves away from my face as rain drenched my clothes while I worked to close a window on the barn. Xanthus, an animal I’d never seen inside, put his tail up and trotted into the barn. Ruby closed the door behind him.

Scarlet waved to me before throwing her hands over her head and sprinting toward her parents’ tree house. She had one of her own but must have decided to ride out this part of the storm with her parents and Billy.

I contemplated following her before sprinting toward Ryker’s tree house. Once beneath the shelter, the rain and wind weren’t as punishing, but they still lashed me.

I remained standing under Ryker’s tree house, not because it offered me shelter from the elements, they were impossible to avoid, but because I couldn’t retreat up there while he remained in the forest. He and the others would be extremely vulnerable in this storm, and they couldn’t open a portal to return.

The tree houses all had lightning rods to help protect their occupants, but the amsirah in the forest were exposed to the lightning pummeling the earth. Those in the tree houses would be vulnerable if the lightning struck the trees, but they couldn’t do anything more to protect themselves.

I wondered what was happening in the tunnel below. Was the pulsing stone fluttering like a heart on its deathbed, or had it turned a vibrant shade of red and remained that way? Was it pulsing more rapidly, or had it ceased doing so?

After seeing what remained of the amsirah in that town, I wasn’t going down there to find out. But whatever was happening down there and what was happening up here was because our ancestors had taken the Heart from the gargoyles.

I knew what it would feel like to have my heart ripped from my chest. That’s what would happen if Ryker died. The death of my parents had torn away pieces of me, but losing him would devastate me.

“Get to shelter, Ellery!”

The words, screamed at me from above, were mostly torn away by the wind, but I caught them. The open window of her tree house framed Luna’s face as she waved at me.

I waved back but couldn’t retreat while Ryker remained in the storm. He might need help, and I was the only one who could withstand the storm’s wrath.

I waved the wind and rain away enough to see where I was going as I ran out from under the tree house and sprinted into the woods.

Leaning into the wind, I fought to keep from being blown over as lightning crashed into trees, slammed into the earth, and splintered across the sky in a dazzling array that turned it entirely white before the electricity vanished.

The wind roaring through the trees created a cacophony of noise that blocked all other sounds. I was more vulnerable now than ever before, but the storm had sent the monsters of the Revenant Woods into hiding.

Apparently, they were smarter than me.

My legs ached from fighting the wind as it tore my hair from its braid. It whipped around me as it battered my face; it was as punishing as the rain lashing my skin. My drenched clothes, clinging to me, made movement difficult.

My bow and quiver bruised my skin as they bounced against my back, but I pushed onward toward where Ryker and the others separated from me and Scarlet. When I arrived in the clearing, the targets I’d destroyed earlier had been ripped away and flung into the trees.

Overhead, lightning struck a branch. Sparks flew as it cracked before tumbling to the earth with a thud the wind and thunder swallowed.

The Heart wasn’t where it belonged. It had been taken from those who required it to thrive, and it was grieving because of it. That grief was pouring out on the land and battering Tempest with its sorrow.

I’d never sensed that from a magnetic storm before, but I did now. But there was also something more within the storm… something overwhelming as it drew me onward.

I couldn’t resist its pull and trusted it to take me where I belonged. Flying debris and tumbling branches became a constant threat I had to dodge. Trees split as lightning pierced straight through them.

I worried about those I’d left behind, but they were safer than those ahead. They’d built the tree houses with magnetic storms in mind; if Ryker couldn’t find someplace to shelter, they’d all be in danger.

The amsirah at the encampment had already weathered a magnetic storm. Yes, the number of amsirah and tree houses had grown since then, but the homes were all built the same. I had to trust they’d remain safe.

After walking for at least another mile, I reached a large hilltop. The rain was coming down so hard, it poured like a stream down the hill. It washed away everything in its path as it swept toward a river overflowing its banks.

Anxiety dug its nails deep and formed a pit in my stomach. I was being drawn forward, but I couldn’t go down here, and if Ryker tried to bring them through this way, the raging water would sweep them away.

Retreating from the hilltop, I studied the bending trees and plotted my next move. I couldn’t go down; that would end badly, but I couldn’t stay here.

With no other option, I turned left and battled my way forward, hoping to find another way down the hill. Or maybe, if I was lucky, the land would level out somewhere away from the river.

The electricity in the air crackled against my skin and raised the hair on my arms as a bolt struck the earth only inches away from me. The lightning’s impact and nearness would have thrown anyone else through the air; my power surged toward it as it sought to break free.

Forging on, I suppressed my ability as I battled the elements and flying debris.