Legacy to Zero

30: Each Apex

Lars

River unsheathed a knife in the blink of an eye. A wicked smile descended over her expression, like she had us exactly where she wanted. She spun the blade around in her grip.

I had to hand it to her—running was going to be hard.

Lightning crackled around her, as though the sky was no longer its source. Its light extended from her shoulders and twisted in a constant heartbeat. With every step she took toward Reid, the knife made another pinwheel.

Reid stayed in place. Paces behind them, the cliff dropped to the crooked stones and the ice-capped waves.

"Good luck with playing a coward's game," she said. "Really. I mean it. It'll be no fun fighting those two." The knife rounded in Taylor and Dex's direction. "I hate it when it's too easy."

My blood ran cold. If she thinks she's hurting either of them—

I let the wind pull me down. North moved forward to hide my bird form as I flew close to the clay on the cliff side. Transforming back now was out of the question.

Come up with a plan!

River advanced, and her lightning rushed around her hands. The weapon drove through the space between her and Reid; he stepped aside. She pulled to a halt, her boots kicking up blades of grass. Wind whipped around her.

I lowered myself once more. North's visor was pointed at her, his mouth pressed into a firm line. He whispered to me, "I might be able to help if I could seek her. I've never... seen that before. It's... like multiple threads—that's not possible, but I can't follow it."

I didn't have the time, or the ability, to fire off my questions at him. Think, Lars. How do you fight a sorcerer this powerful?

Backing up, River spun towards Reid once more. This time, he stepped back, and my eyes caught on his forearms. The flashes of her thread thrummed, firing at him.

A lump lodged in my throat. Reid planted his feet against the ground as the electricity honed in on his body. His outlined figure became bright. But then the pulse lifted, collecting to a wisp around his hands. Rapidly, the haze absorbed into his skin, where the fragment of a new tattoo formed—spirals of red ink rippled like the crash of waves against a beach.

He squeezed a hand around his arm, fingers tapping against his watch. And sighed, though it was barely audible over the thunder. "River," he said like the name tasted poisonous, "there's nothing here for you to take."

"Why are you here, then?" She laughed, moving forward for every step back Reid took.

"I thought it was something that it wasn't."

Thunder boomed. She lifted her fist until every knuckle caught fire, then drew it into a line in front of Reid. Blocking him in.

"I don't remember you ever fighting so pathetically," she said.

Do they know each other? Have they fought before? He said she was dangerous, but so had Alec Muiz.

Her boots made a low note against the ground, as though echoing through the stone. Lifting my wings, I flew alongside Reid. His eyes cut to me, but still he didn't budge.