The Arcana Chronicles 5: The Dark Calling

Birds and bats kept coming. Gabriel dodged them, bobbing and twirling. Winds gusted, flinging the other winged creatures away.

We were free. We were . . . falling?

More gusts sent Gabriel spinning in the air like a mimosa bloom. We were heading right for Circe's ice shards! He groaned as he flared his bullet-riddled wings. I squeezed my eyes closed, bracing for impact.

Our trajectory shifted.

I peeked open my eyes. We'd missed the tips of those shards by inches. "That was close!"

"What is happening, Empress? Joules and I heard you screaming and the animals behaving erratically. Why would Fauna and the Reaper target you?"

"Our medic is the inactivated Arcana card. He's brainwashed the others. Where's Joules?" The Tower was never far from Gabriel and rarely out of the fray.

"I left him on the next mountain . . ." He trailed off. "How . . . what . . . ? Ah, my mind. My mind is so clear."

Paul's influence was affecting him. "Get out of the yellow haze. Fly past the boundary!"

The Archangel's tableau flickered, then turned, like a slow roulette wheel. It clicked into place--in the reversed position.

Movement out of the corner of my watering eyes. Gabriel's hand crept toward his dagger sheath.

"Don't do this, Gabe. The Hanged Man is using his powers on you. You made a vow never to hurt me."

He flashed his fangs. "Vows mean nothing to me." Gabriel was usually forthright, principled, and loyal. The reverse of those traits didn't bode well for me. "I was taught that you are one of my three archenemies, but I ignored my teachings to become your friend. Now I shall make good on a kill that should have happened months ago." He yanked his blade free.

"No!" I somehow managed a vine to bind his wrist. "Snap out of this." How could I fight him in the air? I thrashed to get loose. I might have a chance on the ground.

With a yell, Gabriel twisted free from the vine.

"Stop! I'm pregnant."

His blade hesitated. What if Paul's influence was limited by distance? Like a phone signal? We were closing in on the edge of that hazy yellow. "With this baby, we can end the game."

Gabriel blinked his green eyes. Then narrowed them. "Memories arise in my mind. You once cut off my wings." Paul must be feeding him information he'd stolen from my chronicles. "You decorated your home with them, displaying them over your mantel. Oh, Empress, I am going to make this last."

I swiped my thorn claws at him. Couldn't bring myself to use poison on him. Five blades sliced his layered clothing to reach his flesh. Blood gushed. He yelled, releasing me.

I plummeted again. Falling!

I landed . . . in a snowbank. My teeth clattered, but I was uninjured. The yellow haze ended just feet from me. I tripped forward, clearing the boundary. Would Gabriel pursue me? Paul might lose his power over the Angel.

Gabriel hovered in the air but wouldn't cross the edge.

"I did cut off your wings, Angel. Come punish me for it."

He remained in place, as if he were a tethered kite--with Paul pulling the string. "I want my mind clear. I need the Hanged Man's knowledge, and he needs us to fuel his sphere." Even now it was growing.

I backed up several steps. "You're afraid of me," I taunted. "I must've cut off your balls as well."

"Classic Empress. You think to lure me away from my new alliance? Your time shall come."

Howls sounded from the castle. The wolves readied to hunt.

Gabriel grinned, exposing his fangs. "That time is now."

Lark's animals would probably be able to leave Paul's sphere. If so, my only shot at survival was getting to the Tower on the next mountain over. I turned--

Sparking blinded me.

Joules! Not surprisingly, he'd made a beeline for the action. He was weighed down with winter gear, only his glittery face visible. "What the feck is happening over there?"

I'd never thought I'd be so happy to see his scrawny Irish self.

Gabriel called, "She attacked me when I tried to save her." He drew aside his coat, revealing the bloody gashes I'd given him.

Joules's eyes went wide. "You hurt my boyo?" He raised one of his silver lightning javelins.

Between breaths, I said, "Listen, Gabriel's been brainwashed by a new card, the inactivated one. Any Arcana within that yellow sphere is under the Hanged Man's control." Wolves howled. "Joules, we don't have time. Lark and Death are coming for me."

Joules was confused--which meant he was spitting mad. "As if the Reaper would take out the one female he can get with!"

"They are after her for good reason, Patrick," Gabriel said. "She poisoned the Magician."

Joules sparked like a reactor. "Finn's done for?"

"Yes, and the Empress has targeted us next. In the past, she killed us. She cut off my wings for a trophy."

Joules gave me a disbelieving look that faded when I couldn't deny anything. "That's right fecked up."

"But I didn't kill Finn." If I possessed any mesmerizing power at all, I called on it now, telling Joules, "I swear I didn't." Grasping for the most compelling vow I could make, I said, "I swear on Jack's life."

"Jack's dead! We all know Richter got him." Maybe not?

The howling wolves neared. I faced Gabriel. "Prove me a liar, then. Just come out from that sphere."

Joules told his friend, "I'm about to fry this one. So put me mind at ease and step out from the haze."

Gabriel offered his hand. "Come stand behind me. I will protect you."

I said, "Joules, if you go in there, you'll get brainwashed too. Those beasts are closing in fast. He's not going to help us."

Finally, doubt crossed the Tower's expression. "C'mere, mate. Meet me halfway."

"Come stand with me, Patrick. You shall be enlightened. You shall know all the secrets of the game. If you side with my new alliance, I guarantee you will be safe from Fauna and the Reaper."

"Side with the bastard who killed my Cally? Now I know you're barmy. All the same, I'll take my chances with this tart." He hiked a thumb at me.

Thanks?

"Join us." Gabriel's face took on a macabre cast. "And then you will be safe from me."

Joules raised his pointy chin. "I'd rather die."

&n

bsp; Gabriel waved a wing behind him in the direction of the wolves. "That is being arranged."

Joules's jaw dropped. "You're goin' to kick back and watch me get eaten?"

I grabbed his bony arm. "We need to run!" I yanked him away from his best friend.

He staggered along, eyes wide. "What the bloody hell? Tell me you got a plan to undo this."

"I do," I lied. "We can save them. But only if we survive."

Joules nodded, determination overwhelming his shock. He yelled over his shoulder, "We'll be back for you, Gabe." With one last look, he sped forward, taking the lead. "We need a vantage." He pointed toward the next hill, a steep snow-covered rise. "If I get to higher ground, I can light this place up." His javelin glimmered reassuringly. "We're talking dead mutts all over the place."

"Three of those wolves are her familiars. They can't be killed." Roars sounded. "Besides, she's sending far more than mutts."

As we ran, Joules hurled spears blindly behind us, explosions sounding in the distance. He launched one after another, beginning to sweat.

"Save some bolts. We're going to need them."

He looked like I'd insulted his manhood. "I can do this all night." He twirled one spear. "And I got a special one for your man Death. Oh, wait--the Reaper's not your man anymore. Christ, Empress, you move through 'em fast. Jack, Sol, and Death. Three blokes in as many months."

"I wasn't with Sol. Can we focus on current freaking events?"

When we reached the hill, we fell silent as we trudged up the incline. Hunger had clearly sapped him, and my legs were Jell-O. How could I make it to the top?

Struggling . . . struggling . . . For the last dozen feet, I had to crawl in Joules's path.

Made it! I lumbered to stand. We both put our hands on our knees and caught our breath.

Below us, the hillside teemed with beasts. Dark fur against white snow.

I glanced behind me. The hill dropped off in a sheer slope on its other side.

Joules opened his palm to produce yet another javelin. Had it been sluggish to appear? He bellowed, "Get ready for a light show, arseholes. THE LORD O' LIGHTNING IS IN THE--"

The ground disappeared from beneath us. In a cloud of snow, we tumbled down the steeper side. An avalanche! It swept us along like one of Circe's currents.

My scream was cut off by a searing pain. Joules's spear had stabbed my shoulder. We plunged lower and lower. Feet over my head. Dizziness. Lurching.