Collision: The Alliance Series Book Three (35 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

KAY

The calm hit harder than the rage, making me stumble over the already-unsteady ground. The light cleared from my vision and I could see the canyon again. There was no doorway, but barren, burnt-red ground, stretching towards the horizon. No voice whispered in my ear. Nothing but silence, and the light dimmed enough for me to see Ada. Relief knocked the rest of the deity’s influence away from me.

She was alive.

And she’d closed the doorway. No one else could have done it. A crack spread across the middle of the ground but was already closing, two sides slamming together with a reverberation that shook the earth. I braced myself for a hit that never came, because the quaking ground calmed, and Ada bent over the body at her feet and spoke to–Mathran.

Raj and Iriel lay unharmed, though dazed-looking. The bodies of the fallen summoners surrounded the area where the doorway had been open. But I could no more turn away from Ada than I could make my own heart stop beating.
She’s alive. She’s alive.

“Kay!” She stood, unsteadily, as I reached her, and threw her arms around me. “You’re alive. Thank God.”

“Not that god.”

She laughed shakily. For a moment, I held onto her, feeling her own racing heartbeat alongside my own.

“We’re still here,” Raj shouted. “And I’m pretty sure I have a concussion.”

“I think he’s exaggerating,” said Iriel, though she winced as she stood up. “Ow. Please tell me it’s gone for good.”

“Yeah.” Ada pulled back from me and nodded to the space where the doorway had been open. “The spheres are gone, and they were fuelling the doorway. Now it’s closed…”

“I can’t feel Veyak.” I scanned the area. Dead summoners, and scorched ground. Nothing more remained. The spheres had been swallowed by the earth.

“Damn,” said Raj. “Is someone going to explain what happened?”

“I can try,” I said, with a glance at Ada. “But to be honest, I’m not completely sure on some of it.”

“Not here,” said Iriel. “You have the world-key?”

“Yeah.” We’d have to explain this one to the council ourselves, and who would believe it? Only Ada and I had been to Cethrax, and seen the monster enslaved. This was magic beyond any I’d heard of.

Later,
I thought, taking hold of the world-key. I was far too tired to check the magic level was normal, or if it ever would be. That doorway might have drained half the magic from this world. There needed to be an inquiry, maybe even from the council… my head spun with it.
Later,
I told myself, again, using the world-key to open a doorway to the Passages.

***

ADA

First, we needed proof the deity’s rampage had stopped elsewhere in the world. Kay quickly opened a doorway to below the tree-city, which looked no different to the last time we’d been here, except nobody climbed amongst the trees. But when we moved directly below the tower, the sight of people moving inside it made relief flood me. They were alive. We owed them an explanation, but first, we had to check the base.

“We can’t leave evidence here,” said Kay, when we stood before the rubble, all that remained of the bronze stone building. “We’ll need the fake spheres as proof for the council.” The real ones, of course, had gone.

“This feels wrong,” said Iriel, shaking her head at the ruins. “But these materials belong to the Alliance. They’ll want to strip down the place anyway–look for any evidence. We’re deep in the shit when we get back.”

“Tell me about it,” Raj murmured, rubbing his head. “Are our bags and stuff in there, too? The tech we were using?”

“Yeah,” said Iriel. “Anything unbreakable survived.”

Unbreakable. I bit my lip at the word. For someone who was supposed to be unbreakable, I’d come awfully close to dying out there. We all had.

I half-heartedly climbed over the ruins to search out anything I might have dropped. I still wore the earpiece, though I’d forgotten I did. Kay and I tried to explain it all to the others, as best we could. Raj and Iriel could accept the two of us weren’t normal magic-wielders–like they hadn’t figured it out already. Cethrax was the part which made them exchange raised eyebrows. Anything might have been on the other side of the chasm, but an imprisoned giant was way down the list of likely things. Cethrax didn’t make deals with other worlds. And I’d thought the Vox was nigh on invincible.

Everyone else had thought that, too. Something–or someone–had wanted to use Vey-Xanetha’s magic source. Wanted it badly enough to risk Cethrax’s wrath.

“The council knows who the Alliance’s enemies are.” Kay closed the doorway on Vey-Xanetha for the last time. “They should have some clue. Unless it’s… no. I’ll think on it.” He checked his communicator. “It’s six. Ms Weston will still be around at Central.”

Raj groaned. “I’m concussed. And tired. And starving. I can’t handle an interrogation.”

“You’re not concussed,” said Iriel. “But you have a point. We aren’t
technically
supposed to go and report until tomorrow.”

“I’m pretty sure they think we’re dead,” said Kay. “Come on. Let’s check on the evening guard, at least.”

We walked through the Passages in silence. I half expected hordes of Cethrax’s monsters to be waiting, and kept glancing over my shoulder as we passed the stairs to the lower levels, but even the noise from the main Passage seemed to have died down. Hopefully that would be the end of the magic-related chaos on Earth. That’d be a relief to the Complaints Division. Maybe Nell would get some peace from the people asking her for help, too. I checked my communicator, but it was stuck on “no signal.” The thing was pretty resilient considering I’d had it in my pocket the whole time we’d been on Vey-Xanetha.

Carl waited around the corner. “You’re alive,” he said. “Weston’s been trying to contact you for hours.” He looked tired, but the magic burn mark on his face appeared to have faded slightly.

“Told you so.” Kay rolled his eyes. “Yeah. It’s a long story. Is Ms Weston around?”

Carl’s eyes narrowed. “I hope it’s a good story, because Central detected some erratic use of a world-key. Wouldn’t have anything to do with you, Kay, would it?”

“Not all of it,” said Kay. “In fact, keep an eye out in here. Has Cethrax made any more trouble?”

“Cethrax?” Carl blinked. “Not that I know of. Been pretty quiet…”

“That’s not right,” Kay muttered, echoing my thoughts. Maybe not, but I was too tired to think about Cethrax now.

“What’s that?” said Raj. “Come on. You’re the one who wants to drag us back to Central. We nearly died,” he added to Carl.

“He got hit on the head,” said Iriel, in explanation.

We really did nearly die.

I couldn’t take my eyes off Kay, but held back, aware of the others. We had some serious explaining to do to Ms Weston.

***

Late evening found us at the Blind Wyvern, of all places. I’d tried to call Jeth but my communicator’s signal was scrambled from Vey-Xanetha. I’d left a message instead, and another for Nell. She was over at the Knights’ place again, along with Alber, dealing with the latest in the chaos the rising magic level had caused. I’d dashed home to quickly shower and change out of my dust-stained, battered uniform, impulsively packing an overnight bag. I wanted my family, of course, but I didn’t want to leave Kay yet.

If Iriel and Raj noticed we were sitting close together at the pub, they didn’t comment. After another interrogation from the dragon, all we wanted was a decent meal and sleep. Though I didn’t particularly look forward to more nightmares. The good news, though, was that Vey-Xanetha’s magic levels were reported as back to normal. Ms Weston had finally contacted Kevar at the research base. And Earth was back to the way it should be–magic-free.

“Okay, I’m dead,” said Raj, standing up. “Not literally. Too soon?”

“Go and lie down,” said Iriel, wearily. “Me too, actually. You two staying?”

Kay shook his head. “Ada, you should go home.”

“Don’t start lecturing me,” I muttered, stifling a yawn. “In fact–that reminds me. I owe
you
a lecture.”

“Huh? Now?”

I pretended to debate as Raj and Iriel left, though my heart beat fast. This was it. Our brush with death had swept away all doubt. “At your apartment.”

His eyebrows shot up.

“It’s not far from here, is it?”

He shook his head. “Your call.”

I couldn’t read his expression. And he didn’t say anything as we walked through London. The cold night air, the gleaming lights of buildings and cars–it was all so surreal. My pulse raced. I didn’t want to lose this. Not ever.

I didn’t want to lose
him.

Four flights of stairs were murder after the day I’d had, but I followed Kay into his room with no hesitation. He threw his jacket over a chair and set his communicator down on the desk. Unlike last time I’d been here, there weren’t any boxes stacked in the corners and the punch bag was properly set up, though the room was still ridiculously neat. I hardly noticed, though, because my heart drummed with nerves and my pulse raced.
Get it together, Ada. You want this
. And I did. I shut the door behind me with a snap, making him turn around, startled.

“I’m not having you disappear on me again, whichever universe might need saving. And that means
literally
disappearing, too.”

“All right.” He rolled his eyes. “Hit me.”

“For one thing,” I said. “What were you thinking when you ran after Veyak? You didn’t even tell me you were going.”

“I was going to be quick. I didn’t mean to scare you like that.”

“That’s not the point,” I said. “You keep rushing into danger without considering what it does to other people. What would you do if
I
ran up against a mad god without thinking?”

Kay shook his head. “Ada, that’s not—”

“Not the same?” I crossed my arms. “Why shouldn’t it be? Either you have a death wish, or you think your life isn’t worth anything. You think no one would care, is that it? Well, I care, Kay. I care.” I ducked my head, feeling myself blush bright red. “For what it’s worth.”

For the first time, I’d shocked him into total, slack-jawed silence. I thought he wasn’t going to respond at all, and I backed towards the door. That’s what I got for speaking my damn mind.

“Everything.” One word, so quiet I barely heard it.

I stopped, inches from the door. “Huh?”

“You said, for what it’s worth.” He looked me in the eyes. “Everything.”

I swore my heart stopped beating.

He just said that.

No way.

And now I was the one staring in disbelief. “You… really…”
Remember how to speak English, Ada.
“You could have fooled me. I thought you were a goner back then.”

“Guess we got lucky. Reckon I’ve used up my good luck quota by now.”

“Hmm.” I moved several paces towards him. “I beg to differ.”

His mouth curled up on one side. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.” I moved forward until we were barely a metre apart, my heart fluttering in my fingertips. “Do I have to spell it out to you? I want you, and I won’t stay away from you.”

“What a pity,” he said, giving me a slow, crooked grin. “And there I was, thinking I was shot of you.”

“Tough,” I said. “And by the way, I’ll have you know I’m aware of several ways to kill a man with my bare hands.”

And I placed said hands on his forearms, wrapping him into an embrace.

His lips brushed my ear. “Then it’s a good thing I have a death wish.”

He kissed me. Heat rushed through my body, and I let my jacket fall to the floor–though I had an inkling I’d need to retrieve something from the pocket very soon. I pressed myself against him until he broke the kiss with a groan–“
God,
Ada”–and my fingers found the hem of his shirt and tugged. He pulled it over his head in one swift motion, and I did the same, whipping my top off so fast my hair tangled in it. Both of us were breathing heavily. His eyes roamed over me, head to toe, and his hand left goosebumps where he brushed my cheek, my neck.

Then we were mouth on mouth, skin on skin, shedding the rest of our clothes as he steered me back onto the bed. We explored one another, slowly at first, the intensity building as his hands wandered south until I gasped his name. We came together in a rush of heat and need, like a flame kindled to life.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

KAY

I lay still, not wanting to wake Ada. Almost afraid she’d disappear if I looked the other way.

Almost afraid I’d imagined the past few hours. Though imagination was no substitute for reality. Not with Ada. I listened to her steady breathing, breathed in the sweet-scented shampoo on her hair. I reached out, ran my fingers through it. Ada shifted, turning her head to blink at me. “You’re still here?”