from danger. They’re with us—they put their lives on hold for us—because they believe in defending magick and one another, just like we do.”
“They already know about the Dark Arcana,” Doc says.
“And they deserve to know about the Light.” I take his hands, smiling up into his gray eyes, his Moon energy filling me with a deep sense of wonder and magick. “They deserve to know us, Doc. Not just as elemental mages, a grumpy professor, and a spirit-blessed witch who makes a mean cup of tea. They deserve to know the Major Arcana who’ve sworn an oath to protect magick from all who seek to destroy it. Who’ve sworn an oath to fight for all of them, as well as for each other.”
Doc sighs, an argument poised on the tip of his tongue. But a deep acceptance threads through his energy, and he finally nods.
“I’m with Stevie on this one,” Baz says. “We’re all in this together now. Secrets between us are just going to end up as more weapons for the Dark Arcana.”
“Secrets are what got us into this mess in the first place.” Kirin gestures at the sacred objects, still glittering beneath their protective dome. “Case in point.”
“I never thought it would come to this, but…” Doc squeezes my hands. “You’re right, Stevie. They deserve to know everything. We’ll talk to them in the morning. Now if you don’t mind, I’d really like to get us the fuck home.”
I laugh, some of the exhaustion fading as fresh hope rises up once again.
We gather around the dome once more, watching in silent reverence until it fades back into the ground, the Arcana objects hidden once again.
Back in the main chamber, we’ve just closed out the ritual and put away the Book of Reckoning when another vision flickers at the edge of my awareness.
“The Princesses are here.” I try to focus on them, to pick up on whatever message they’ve brought, but they fade out too quickly, replaced at once with a dark shadow that wraps around me like smoke, chilling me to the core.
I gasp, clutching my head as a searing pain slams through my skull, unlocking the images from my earlier vision in brutal, technicolor detail.
“It’s… It’s a warning,” I grind out, fingers itching for the sword we’ve just buried. “The Chariot… She’s coming for us!”
“Here?” Doc hauls me to my feet, wrapping an arm around my waist and dragging me toward the exit. “The Forest?”
As if in response, the unmistakable sound of hoofbeats pounds across the top of the cave, relentless and powerful, louder and more ferocious than an entire herd of wild stallions.
The cave walls crack and tremble, rocks raining down on us from above.
“Move!” Kirin pushes us against a wall just as a huge section of the ceiling slams down behind us. “Baz, get us the fuck out of here!”
Baz links his arm in mine, attempting to call up his rock mojo. But the cave is too unstable, the walls crumbling down around us. He can’t hold the magick long enough to fully cast the spell.
“I’m losing it!” he shouts. “The energy is too erratic! I can’t—”
“Go! Now!” Doc shoves us out of the main cave about three seconds before the entire chamber collapses into a pile of dust, the impact reverberating beneath our feet. On either side of the passageway, rocks and debris cascade down the walls, filling the narrow space, quickly cutting off our exit.
“What do we do?” I shout. There’s nowhere to run, no escape from the relentless pounding of hooves.
A thunderous boom detonates overhead, and in the span of one panicked heartbeat, the entire cave system crashes down.
There’s no time to move, no time to even scream. On instinct, I shove my hands outward as if I can stop the collapse with sheer will alone.
But it’s not my hands or even my will that saves us. A burst of white light explodes from my chest, a nuclear blast that decimates the surrounding rock walls, leveling the entire passageway. Sharp, heavy slabs of rock crash down around us, but nothing touches me or my mages, the magick of my powerful wings creating a protective forcefield. Suddenly my perspective changes, granting me a bird’s eye view; down below, the mages crowd over me, trying to protect me from the falling debris. But I’m not with them—not anymore.
I’m in the sky, soaring across the Petrified Forest of Iron and Bone. Red dust covers the landscape, and far in the distance, two horses beat