Page 19 of Sun and Stone (Elementally Yours #5)

19. A Rock and A Hard Place

Ow. My head hurts.

I blink my eyes open, head pounding. The world swims into focus and I realize with a jolt that I'm tied to a tree. What's going on?

The pieces slowly come together as I take in the scene around me. Racing here to meet Fynn… finding Malcolm over him.

And now Fynn's unconscious in the center of a glowing ritual circle, a dreamcatcher hovering above him. The silver moonlight bathes him in an eerie glow, and I can see it's weakening him.

"Fuck." Fynn's in trouble. The mother of all headaches is hammering against my skull. I can't help making some noise.

"Oh shit. You're up." Malcolm runs towards me a second later, wielding a freakin' tire iron.

"Wait, take it easy!"

"Can't have you casting any spells."

"I can't! I'm bound!"

Malcolm freezes, the tire iron still raised in his hand. "Um, yeah? I tied you up? Does that make a difference?"

"My powers are bound," I explain. Jeez, this guy. Engaged to a wizard once and he doesn't even know the terminology. "I couldn't cast if I wanted to. And believe me, I'd really love to knock you out with your own tire iron."

He slowly lowers his weapon, watching me suspiciously. I can't tell if he believes me or not. Unsure how compelling of a performance I can deliver with a head wound, I skip trying to convince him.

I try looking around him instead, trying to get another glimpse of Fynn. Is he alright? Maybe I can buy us time. If he wakes up, he can save us.

Malcolm steps into my field of vision while I'm still debating what to do. "You really don't have magic?"

"I'm tapped out. I failed." I can't meet his eyes when I say this, though it's not because I'm lying. It's the shame of that statement and saying it to Malcolm of all people. Even when it's not entirely true, not yet, it still stings.

"If you're lying…" he hisses dangerously.

"If I had magic, I’d already be knocking you out with it."

After a moment, Malcolm nods. He believes me. It does make sense. What caster wouldn't use their powers to escape from danger if they could?

I need a moment to form a plan. Once I start using my powers, there's no going back. The temporary stone token still rests under my shirt. I only have enough magic for one last attempt. I need a better idea about everything I need to do first, because I’d hate to hesitate too long or panic and then lose the opportunity to do enough to save us.

Buying time seems like the best option right now.

"What the hell are you doing?" I demand. "You attacked two people."

He actually looks ashamed for a moment. "I didn't mean for this to happen! I just wanted to scare him. The sun catcher worked last time, so I thought..." He trails off, eyes darting around nervously.

"The sun catcher? You mean the one you gave him?" Realization dawns on me. "You did sabotage him when you were together." He knew the suncatcher was inverted. He wanted to weaken Fynn's powers.

I knew he was up to no good! The vindication doesn't do much to cheer me up. We bought Malcolm's clueless act when he claimed giving Fynn the wrong gift was an accident. Probably because he is clueless about magic. But he deliberately went searching for something that could hurt Fynn, and he found it.

Malcolm nods reluctantly. "He was pulling away, choosing magic over me. I'm not some afterthought he can just throw away. If I'm his second choice, then I won't let him have his first."

He's freaking unhinged, pacing back and forth with that tire iron still gripped tightly in his hand. Malcolm looks nothing like the high-powered executive I mistook him for when we met. His hair's a mess, his suit hopelessly dirtied and wrinkled.

Frightening as he seems right now, anger courses through me. This petty asshole. He couldn't stand not being the center of Fynn's attention. I strain against the ropes binding me, wishing I could slap him. "You bastard! How could you? Fynn actually trusted you! He said you’re not a monster.”

"You know Fynn. He’s too trusting. He sees the best in everyone." Malcolm sneers at me. "Why else would he go for a chubby wizard reject who is so far past his prime it isn’t even funny?"

"Wow, first you knock me out, then you body shame me. This is cruel and unusual punishment.”

"Shut up." He groans, pacing in front of me. "I'm not a monster. I just wanted a little revenge. It's not fair, Perry. He has everything—you, magic, a successful career. And I'm just a freaking secretary. I deserve more than being someone's backup plan."

I stare at him in disbelief. "So, you decided to take it all away from him? That's your idea of justice?"

"I wasn't trying to hurt him!" he cries. "Not like this! I only wanted to take away his magic, like before. He didn't even see me while he was making the circle. I tossed the dreamcatcher in as he was closing it... And then everything went nuts. He started shaking and now he won't wake up. I had no idea this would happen."

Fynn and Malcolm were never a match made in heaven. It seems like they both know it too. But the lunatic in front of me just couldn't let it go. He hated being forgotten about and tossed aside when his fiancée started spending more and more time focusing on magic, so he did something about it.

His gift of an inverted suncatcher weakened Fynn, but Fynn didn't give up immediately. So Malcolm ended up leaving him, thinking he'd gotten his revenge, leaving his ex without magic or a man. Maybe he hoped the other man would come crawling back once his powers were truly toast.

But Fynn took stock of his life and his choices instead and started making better ones. Getting away from someone who wasn't a good match was the right choice.

Especially when he turned out to be such a psycho.

Too bad the psycho wanted to have the last word. Too jealous and angry at being slighted to let it go. He tried to take Fynn’s magic away again, this time with a dreamcatcher infused with night energy, but it didn’t go according to plan this time.

Since I can't strangle him or fry him with a burst of electric magic, I force myself to take a few deep breaths. Is it possible to reason with him?

"You have to stop it, Malcolm. Fynn is in real danger here."

"No, shut up! Let me think." He paces back and forth, muttering to himself.

I glance over at Fynn, who looks so pale and vulnerable in the moonlight. The dreamcatcher is still hovering above him, draining his power, hurting him. The circle is supposed to keep out distractions and anything harmful, it's a safe space. Except something harmful is stuck in there with him. This idiot is doing even more damage than he realizes.

"Malcolm, you don't understand," I say urgently, fighting against the ropes binding me. "Fynn is completely open to elemental energy right now so he can accept the sun’s essence. But instead, you trapped him in what was supposed to be a protective circle with a power he's naturally weak to. You're hurting him."

Fynn’s here to watch the moon fade and the sun rise. Since he'd be totally unguarded to the moon energy he's weak against, he had to make the circle, a precaution so he wouldn't absorb the moonlight and its energy while he was waiting for the sun to rise.

Malcolm's face goes pale. "Oh god, oh god. Is he, is he going to...?"

"There's still time to fix this," I say quickly, trying to keep my voice calm. "Untie me. I can help him."

The bastard hesitates, his hands shaking as he paces in front of me. "I don't know, I didn't mean for this to happen. This wasn't supposed to happen."

"Then fix it!"

For a moment, I think maybe he's going to end this insanity and do the right thing. Then he goes quiet, and I start to worry. He's gone still, no longer pacing and freaking out.

When he finally nods and reaches a decision, he looks at me in a way that's chilling—like he's happy. Glad to see me. I don't like this at all.

"Malcolm, no, whatever you're thinking, it won't work."

"You're here and I saw the messages you sent him. You two were fighting. If something happens to Fynn, you did it. They'll think you did it."

My blood runs cold. "Malcolm, don't do something stupid. Fynn will be okay, and it was an accident. You won't get in trouble." He will get in all the trouble if I have anything to say about it, but I just need him to let me go first.

"I know," he says with a manic smile. "I'm innocent. You did this, not me. Yes, I can work with this."

Malcolm turns away from me as he evaluates our surroundings, the wheels in his head turning. He's looking over the chaos he's caused with fresh eyes, trying to see what he needs to do to stage the crime scene. That's what they call it in detective terms. He's going to pin it all on me.

I don't think Fynn will believe I hurt him. But does Fynn know who really did this? Did Fynn see his ex before he passed out? How far is Malcolm going to go to silence the witnesses? I don't want to find out.

Fynn's trapped with the dream catcher. I can't wait for him to wake up. It's up to me to save him and wake him up. There's no other way out. And there's only one bullet in the gun as the saying goes.

One last act of magic.

It was supposed to be for my last hurrah. Once I do magic, that's it. When I'm done or I run out of juice, the token will break. It's over.

The last time I ever use magic is really something I should think about. I spent decades chasing magic, so the moment needs consideration, even if one moment is all I can spare.

But to be honest, the choice is already made.

Fynn is in danger. If it comes down to his life vs. my magic, his life will win. Every. Damn. Time.

I may regret not having magic in the future, but I’ll never regret saving him. If the last act of magic I ever perform involves saving his life, I can’t think of a better finale.

The magic I loved for so long saving the man I love. It's fitting.

Time for the closing act, Perry. Take a bow. This is it.

Closing my eyes, I reach deep within, feeling the familiar tug of my connection to the earth. The rocks and stones around me respond to my call, and I sense them in the forest.

I look up to see Malcolm closer than a moment ago, and he looks like he's preparing to use that tire iron again on me.

"Thank you," I say.

His eyes narrow. "Don't try to trick me."

"You're the worst," I tell him seriously. "But you made what was difficult incredibly easy."

A large stone bursts into the clearing first, heeding my summons. I guide it with my mind, aiming it straight at Malcolm. The bastard doesn't even see it coming.

The rock smacks into the side of Malcolm's head with a sickening thud, causing him to stumble and fall to the ground in a crumpled heap. I watch with grim satisfaction as he collapses.

He groans, and I'm not sure if he's unconscious or not, so I keep going. Without wasting a moment, I call forth the larger rock pieces first, piling them on top of Malcolm's prone form, weighing him down so he can't get up and interfere.

Wow. There are a lot of small projectiles coming towards us. I don't actually want to crush him, but it's like every pebble, stone, chunk of rock, boulder, and piece of loose gravel in this whole nature park is answering me. I really am juiced up from conserving my strength and the potions.

I build a barricade with the boulders and heavier pieces so that even if he manages to get the rocks he's trapped under off him, it'll take him longer to get past all the stone closing him in.

When Malcolm is as trapped as he's gonna get, I send the next rocks towards the circle. If they can blur and mar the edges of the circle enough to break it, I'll be able to get in magically.

Of course, I can also free myself while I'm at it, and I send rocks towards the other side of the tree to attack the rope binding me.

Multitasking is not a great decision. The world around me starts to spin, colors and shapes blurring together. Shit. Casting with a head wound and blood loss is taking a toll. But I keep going, not done yet.

The lines of the circle are chipped away, and the silvery glow in the center goes out. Good, but not good enough. One rock collides with the dream catcher sending it farther away from Fynn. Rocks converge on it, piling up and keeping it down and trapped, blocking the energy from Fynn.

The stone token around my neck cracks with a sharp, splintering sound. My vision blurs, darkness creeping in at the edges, and my body feels unbearably weak.

Every muscle aches with the strain of the magic I'm channeling. I focus on Fynn and send out a plea. Please. Let him wake up.

I hope it's enough.

The sun is starting to rise—good timing—and a bright flash of light bursts forth, searing my vision.

It has to be the sun, right? I feel like it's lighting up the whole clearing; it would probably be beautiful, but I can't stop to take in the view. My vision is going dark, and I feel the token around my neck crumble into dust.