Phoenix (31 page)

Ryker motions Beck and me forward. "Do you know what to do?"

"Yes," we say in unison. The truth is we're each others backup. If one of us fails, the other has to fight on. The thought sobers me. I could lose Beck. Lose him forever.

The energy of the battle builds inside me, mingling with adrenaline and causing a heady cocktail of magic to develop in my core.
 

Suddenly, a wall of fire ignites before us, almost catching Ryker in its blaze. "He sees us," I scream. So much for being stealth.

Beck cocks his head. "Put it out, Lark. You know how."
 

I take a deep breath and re-center myself. He's right. I know what to do. I don't need Mother or anyone else to guide me. I bash my hands together and a deluge pours down on us, extinguishing the fire. Callum tosses his head back and laughs.

"You know where you are, Lark? You're in
my
City. Mine," Callum shouts over the roar of the battle.

Without thinking, I run toward him. No one attacks me - they must have instructions from Callum to leave me for him. Which is fine. That's how it has to be: me versus him.

Behind me Beck, Ryker, and Annalise engage in the battle.

Go, Birdie, go,
Beck urges.
We've got this.
 

I dodge errant magic and climb the hill that my brother stands atop. From up here, the view of the battle is appalling. Dead witches, both Light and Dark, lay scattered about like a toddler's discarded blocks.
 

It's worse than the massacre I imagined back at Summer Hill.

It's real.

Callum waits for me. It's just us. Brother and sister. One Light and one Dark. Just like Caitlin and Charles. And just like them, one of us will die because of the other.

Callum eyes me, and I can tell he's mentally assessing my abilities.
 

"Don't worry, Callum. Anything you can do, I can do better." It may not be true since no one knows what my brother is truly capable of, but it sounds good.

Callum shifts position so that the sun is to his back - which means I'm staring into the blinding light. Not optimal.

Get him talking, Lark,
I say to myself.
Catch him off guard.
 

"Why did you hide for so long?" I ask. "Why not show Mother what you could do? She would have used you more in the State, no doubt."

My brother taps his foot angrily. "I knew what she could do and what she was. No, it was better for me to hide my abilities than to let her rob me of them."
 

"How did you know?"

Callum's eyes grow wide, mocking me. "How did I know?" He uses a baby voice. "Do I look stupid, Lark?" He doesn't wait for my answer. "It was Annalise. After her day with Mother all she did was cry about how Malin stole something from her. I already knew what I was, and I suspected the same about Annalise and Oliver. They were the only two suitable to be my friends."

"But they were both Dark."

"So? They were witches, and that's all that mattered. They weren't human scum like the rest of my house." The disdain my brother has for humans makes my skin crawl.

"What do you plan on doing with them?" I ask. "The humans?"

"What do you plan on doing with them?" he mimics, teasing me. "Who cares? It's their turn to live in the shadows and have their lives constantly at risk."

"It doesn't have to be like that." I keep my hands ready, and my ears alert in case someone is sneaking up behind me. "You could rule peacefully."

Callum tosses his head back and roars with laughter. "You are so stupid sometimes, Lark." He pauses, and scans me from head-to-toe. "Who am I kidding? You're always stupid."

He faux lunges at me, and I jump.

Callum laughs again.

Anger sits bubbly in my stomach, and I fight the urge to lash out. Lesson one from Ryker: always keep your calm.

Strike now, Lark. Strike and be done with this.
 

But I can't. Something is holding me back, preventing me from challenging Callum. Unlike in the past, I'm fully aware of what I'm about to do.

I ball my fist into my thighs. Magic drips from my clenched hands. Callum eyes me suspiciously and just when I expect him to throw magic at me, he leaps into the air and hovers about two feet off the ground before shooting straight up over my head. From his higher position, I'm at a disadvantage.

Callum laughs manically. "Didn't expect that did you?"

Unlike my past fights, I feel no anger. Instead, my magic rumbles around my body waiting for my command. I'm in charge. And anything he can do, I can do better, just like I told him.

I have no idea how to fly, or if I'll be able to control myself once I get airborne, but I leap into the air, and it catches me, holding me aloft. Callum gasps.

"What is it Brother, dear? Didn't expect this did you?" I taunt, tossing his words back at him.

Beneath us the battle rages, but my target is before me. My eyes are laser-locked on him, and the doubt from earlier disappears. I have to do this - kill Callum - if I want to protect not just the Dark witches, but the Light witches and humans too. I have to end the Splinter group - and my brother once and for all.
 

I fly at Callum, hands spread wide, full of offensive magic. My first strike misses him, but he's rattled nonetheless.
 

"You," he sputters, clearly flustered. He drops to the ground and cowers beneath me. "How?"

"Lark, behind you!" Beck yells.
 

I spin around and come face-to-face a handful of Callum's supporters. Magic comes at me fast, and I quickly throw up a shield. The magic bounces off in a display of green and blue sparks.
 

I'm in an impossible position. Callum is to my rear and his followers before me. And I'm stuck in a bubble.
 

Behind the Splinter group, Beck is fighting his way up the hill toward me. Suddenly, from nowhere, a bolt of magic hits his back. Beck convulses before dropping to the ground.

"No!" I scream, letting my shield disintegrate. The Splinter group forms a wall between Beck and me, and I'm not going to let them stop me. Remembering the spell Kyra taught me in the eucalyptus grove, I strike. Their bodies buck and writhe, and their eyes roll back into their heads. Finally, they all stop moving, and forgetting Callum, I run to Beck, jumping over the dead bodies.

A sharp pain tears through my shoulder, and I spin around to see Callum coming down the hill toward me.
 

It's okay, Birdie, I'm fine,
Beck's voice is hazy in my mind. Faded.

I lift my hands and using every bit of magic left in me, aim for Callum. My brother, who is laughing, grabs at his throat. Panic fills his eyes. I walk closer to him, tightening my fist, crushing Callum's throat with my thoughts. When I'm standing before him, he drops to his knees. His face is a mottled purple-red.
 

"Shall I end your misery?" I scream. "Shall I take revenge for all you've done to Mother, me, Beck, and our people?"

Callum rips at his throat as if it could help.

One more squeeze, and I'd be done with him. One more.

But I can't do it.

A hand on my shoulder. I lift my head and am greeted by Beck's olive eyes. He forces my hands down, and Callum chokes as air rushes back into his lungs.

"Beck," I say. "I need to end this."

He shakes his head. "No, I won't let you carry that burden." His words are soft, and I can tell he's been injured.
 

He takes my magic dripping hands and holds them between his. "Callum is defeated. There's no point in killing him."

And in my heart, I know he's right.

I am not a killer.
 

CHAPTER FORTY

Once the fighting ends, with me parading Callum through his captured forces, Annalise slaps a red wristlet around his forearm. A roar goes up amongst the Light and Dark witches who stood with me. Our numbers are less, that is for sure, but Callum's are depleted to nearly nothing.

"What should we do with him?" I ask Annalise.

She looks at me as if I asked a strange question. "That's your decision, Lark. You granted him mercy."

"Move him to Alcatraz." I say, naming the desolate island in the middle of the Bay. "Keep him in solitary confinement."

My sister-in-law nods while making a note on her tablet. "Should I mark him for execution?"

I blanch. "No. I think we've had enough killing."

"As for the others?" she asks, pointing to the desolate group that was once the Splinter group.
 

"Work crews in the far North."
 

Annalise makes a note on her tablet. "Very well then."

There is no humming of the Alouette today. No. There is only defeat - something far worse because it breeds contempt.

I scan the remaining Splinter group, unfamiliar with any of the faces staring back at me. How these people hated me without knowing me is beyond me. They just did. Because Callum told them to.

"Hey," Beck says, his breath tickling my ear. "Where's that brain of yours going?"

I turn my head slightly, and he catches my neck with his lips. A roar goes up amongst our troops, and a deep blush colors my cheeks.

"I was just thinking-"

"Well stop that. Enjoy the moment." Beck takes me into his arms and kisses me deeply. Another roar erupts, but this time I'm too lost in Beck to care.

The crowd surrounding us doesn't matter. Right now, in this moment, it's only Beck and me. For nearly the past year, I've had everyone telling me that we'd never be together. That I should leave him and move on.

I never listened.

Not really.

I lost all control at some points, but I always knew in my heart, I could never be without Beck. His laugh, his smile, his way of making me feel more like myself than when I'm alone.

I always knew.

His fingers are tangled up in the ends of my hair, his breath fans across my face. "I love you," he whispers into my ear.

"I love you, too. Forever."

#

The next morning, I awake to the sound of Beck humming. "Rise and shine, sunshine," he teases, tickling me through the blankets.
 

I squeal and bury myself deeper into the covers. Happiness fills me, and I sigh contentedly.

Until...

"You have morning announcements in an hour. Your prep team agreed to let you sleep in."

Not this again.

I peer up at Beck from my place down on the bed. "And what am I reporting on today? A battle that we want no one outside San Francisco to know about?"

"Callum had a horrible drowning accident while on vacation," Beck says with a straight face. "You're going to have to sit in mourning again."

Lovely.

I hold out my arms to Beck, and he instantly folds into them, but before I can get too comfortable, he lifts me up off the bed. "Work awaits."

I sigh. "And what are you doing today?"

"Working with Annalise on granting all Light witches who followed Callum amnesty. Hopefully, we'll be able to send the Eastern witches home soon and restock the Ag Centers with our own people."

"I thought they were going to work crews in the North?"

He shrugs. "The council met and decided this was the best option - for those that repent, at least."

I nod absentmindedly. I have no interest in any of this. All I want is to sleep for a hundred years, and maybe go to the Ag Centers myself. That's one thing I've learned over the past few weeks is that I am not my mother. I'm not cut out for this. I need a different life.

"What are you doing after that?" I ask.
 

His shoulders roll forward. "Well, Henry wants to work with me on self-control."

"Do you think you can do it?"
 

He smiles. "I swear, Lark, I've changed. I'm not the same guy I was. I've gotten myself under control."

My face stays frozen. He's worn me down so many times that I've begun to make myself immune to him. "You've fed me so many lies."

"Not this time. I promise." He grasps my hand. "You know, if you can change, so can I."

We've both hurt each other, but he never gave up on me. He never walked away. Yet here I am, contemplating walking away from it all. Perhaps I'm not as strong as Beck. Or maybe I'm just smarter.

Here's the problem though: I can't stop thinking about him. Every minute of every day is consumed by Beck. If I left all this, would it mean leaving him too?

"Do you remember how I stood fast? I never gave up on you, Birdie," he says.

"Stop listening to my thoughts."

"You know it's true."

"Then you also know that you were a fool. You should have thrown me to the Splinter group. Look what being devoted to me has gotten you – near death and possible insanity."

He smiles with the self-assurance of someone who has surely gone crazy. "A love like ours is unexplainable. It can't be fixed, and it can't be broken. It just is."

"You're a fool."

"I will never love anyone but you."

My shoulders sag, and I stand still. "I stuck around."

"You did."

"I love you," I whisper.

"I know."

"Why do we keep doing this?" I ask.

Beck lifts my chin and stares deep into my eyes. My stomach flops and is followed by a prickly heat that starts at the base of my neck and spreads throughout my body. "Because in our craziest moments, we're at our greatest. Our worst, craziest best, and you know it."

I place my hands against his chest and push. "You know it makes no sense for us to fight so hard to stay together. From the outside, we must look insane."

"But you know in your heart we belong together." He draws little circles across the back of my hand, calming me, clearing my brain of all thoughts but him.

"Why do we keep trying?" I ask.

"Because if we quit, I think we'd both regret it until the day we died.

#

After morning announcements, which required me to wipe the memories of all non-witch San Franciscans, I seek out Miss Tully. She may not be Bethina and know all the ways of the witch world, but she gives good advice.