The Elemental: Rootbound Part 8

"I do. And you must. He wouldn't want this." A tear slipped from the hawk, sparkled in the air and fell to the ground as we ran.

Outside the Spiral was total chaos as I slid to a stop at the edge of the main thoroughfare. Bodies were scattered everywhere and at the foot of the Spiral stood Bella, facing our father, Peta in front of her.

From where I stood I could see the tears stream down her face as she held a hand out to him. He snarled and batted her hand away. Lines of power, deep green and violently aggressive, spiraled up his arms. I was too far away.

The ground erupted under her, sending her flying backward against the Spiral with a thud that rebounded in the air.

"No!"

He twisted and glared at me. I sprinted toward him, spinning my spear out and around as I ran. Bella's eyes met mine from where she lay, and she nodded. "Do it, Ender Larkspur."

Except I knew it wouldn't be that easy. Basileus hadn't been king based solely on his family line. He was the most powerful Earth Elemental our world had seen.

Until me.

"Peta, I can't engage him with power; we'd destroy the Rim."

"I know."

I looked up. "Red, can you help?" A familiar turning on their charge was not possible, I knew that. So did he.

He dropped to my shoulder and his claws dug in tightly. "Yes. He would not want this, Lark. For all he's done, very little has been within his control." He paused. "Set him free."

Three words and the tears welled in my eyes.

"Peta," I choked on her name, "hamstring him."

Red clung to my shoulder, swaying. He bowed his head, and tucked it against my cheek, his feathers silken. "I bond myself to you, Larkspur."

His words were unexpected in the middle of the chaos and I jerked as a connection formed between us, swift as a rus.h.i.+ng wind, the feel of feathers inside my head a strange sensation.

With a cry, he launched into the air and circled us.

Shaking, I spun my spear, and faced my father for what I knew in my heart would be the last time. "Basileus, for the crime of attacking our queen, you are sentenced to death." If I could get close enough to him, I could put a hand on him. I could stop this before it went any further.

I took a step and the ground softened under me, sucked at my feet. I sidestepped and eyed the distance between us. There was no way I could leap it. There was no way I could do this except to kill him.

His eyes were wild, more white showing than a wild horse running scared. Was he scared? Or- "Then do it, Ender. Unless you are afraid of an old man?" he snarled.

Perhaps he wasn't as afraid as I'd thought. The lines of power curled around him, deeper and yet brighter than any other time I'd seen him connect to the earth. Wild and out of control. A part of me wondered if that was how the lines looked on me.

I saw his intention. He would rip the Spiral itself apart, destroying what had been created thousands of years ago, unseating Bella in her tenuous hold of the throne.

He gave me no choice and I hardened myself to what I was about to do.

"Peta, now!"

She shot forward, her wicked claws slas.h.i.+ng through both his hamstrings, cutting him down and breaking his concentration.

It wasn't enough, though. My father was a powerhouse, legendary in his strength. The ground rumbled and the Spiral s.h.i.+vered as it began to break apart. I hefted my spear. One throw, I wouldn't get another chance like this.

My father flung a hand toward me and the speed of the power was such that I couldn't sidestep him. Vines shot up around me, faster than any lightning bolt as they wrapped around my legs, arms, and neck. I slashed at the vines while they slowly strangled me.

I couldn't think, couldn't even reach for my connection to the earth, the panic was so strong. This was my father. How could this be happening now, when I'd finally forgiven him?

A flash of color, red and tawny brown, caught my eye as Red dove from above, his claws outstretched, a scream erupting from him as he slammed into my father's face. Blood and feathers flew into the air, the sound of flesh tearing blindingly loud in my ears.

Basileus screamed, the vines softened, and I ripped them from me. My father swung his fists at Red, before he grabbed him around the neck. "You stupid bird, I should have roasted you along with the other two."

Good G.o.ddess, had he killed Karhu and Hercules?

Red went limp in his hand and I felt his despair as if it were my own. He might have s.h.i.+fted his bond to me, but it was for one reason only.

A familiar would never be able to attack their charge. It was impossible. And so he'd done the only thing he could, and gave himself to someone else. To me.

My father bore down on Red's thin neck, a crack resounding through the air. The bond between Red and me s.h.i.+mmered, and dulled. I ran at them, sliding across the ground to tackle Basileus. I hit him in the midsection, flipped him over backward. Blood from the wounds on his face splattered my arms, the world slowed. Red flopped to the side, boneless.

I slapped a hand against my father's neck, and his pulse slowed under my fingers.

His eyes cleared, and his lips trembled. He looked around him, saw his hawk and let out a strangled cry. He gently lifted Red and cradled him to his chest. "Oh, my friend. My friend, forgive me," he whispered as Red's life faded. I scooped the bird from him with my free hand and lifted him to my face, pressing my cheek against his.

"Red, I can heal you." I offered, already knowing his answer. Because it was the answer Peta would have given.

"No. Let me be free with him. Let us fly together . . . as we were meant to." He closed his eyes and was gone. The bond between us dissipated, and I felt its loss, even though it had only been minutes he'd been mine.

As the feeling of being connected to Red blew away on a whisper of unseen wings, grief roared through me in its wake. I wasn't sure I could do what was being asked of me. I wasn't sure I could end my father's life. He took Red's lifeless body from me and tucked the bird once more to his chest.

"He is right. Let me be free of this madness, Lark. Let me go."

Bella approached from behind, tears streaming down her face. "Lark, is there any other way?"

I stared at my father, wanting the answer to be different. Wanting desperately not to have to make this choice. There was no power in this world that would cure a broken mind, a madness bound up in Spirit and fear, in death and manipulation.

"No. He is right. There is no other way."

Father held his hand out to Bella. "You are the queen our family needs, Belladonna. Do not forget it."

He took her hand and pressed it to his face. "Forgive me for my weakness, daughter."

She fell to her knees and pressed her face against his. "Father."

I closed my eyes, the only privacy I could give them to say their goodbye.

"Lark, do not hesitate," he said. I opened my eyes, the tears making it difficult to see clearly.

"I won't."

"I don't mean only with this, but in your life. Don't hesitate, child. Fear has held you back, the desire to fit in so strong in you, it is blinding. You were never meant to fit in." He brushed a hand along my cheek. "You were meant to burn brighter, to lead the way through the darkness our world faces."

Keeping one hand on his neck, I slipped a dagger from my belt and glanced at Bella. "Are you staying?"

"I will not let you do this alone."

She put her hand over mine as I clenched the dagger. Our people slowly gathered around us, crying softly, tears slipping down cheeks as they saw . . . what? The love of a family destroyed, coming together in the last second. Perhaps.

His eyes closed, and a smile crossed his lips. I thrust the dagger forward, Bella's hand gripped tightly to mine. There was a moment where the image in front of me wavered, and fogged at the edges where I thought perhaps I was dreaming, and I would wake covered in sweat still in my redwood tree house. That the day was a nightmare to be brushed off along with the sleepy dirt in my eyes.

Basileus jerked once, blood bubbled over his lips and his last breath escaped him in a slow exhale that splattered blood on both my face and Bella's. His heart beat once, twice, and then stilled. Jaw ticking, I pulled the dagger free and wiped it on his s.h.i.+rt. "It is done."

Shaking, Bella stood. She spoke to our family, the words white noise in my ears. Something about letting the past go and reaching for the future.

Peta crouched beside me.

I put a hand to the earth and opened it up under him, burying him right there, at the foot of the Spiral. There were a few murmurs that I stilled with a narrow-eyed glance.

"Bella, if you are coming with me, I'm leaving now." My words were hollow, without inflection. The truth of what I'd had to do sunk in slowly. I'd killed my own father. Even though Bella's hand had been on the dagger, I knew it did not lay on her.

I shook my head. I would not grieve. I would not let it take me into the grave with him.

A red head of hair moved through the crowd, and in seconds Cactus stood in front of me. His nose was still swollen, but his green eyes were soft with emotions I did not want from him. Forgiveness being at the front, love close behind it, compa.s.sion somewhere in the mix.

Peta tugged at my leg. "He could help in the Pit. You know that."

d.a.m.n, she was right.

"Lark, I'm sorry about . . ." He didn't seem to know how to say he was sorry I had to kill my own father. Not like that was something he could find on a Hallmark card.

I held a hand up. "Don't. There is nothing you can say to make this better. But you can help me."

His eyes brightened. "Anything. You know I'd do anything for you."

I swallowed back the words that almost came out. Like why don't you do as I ask and leave me alone? "I need you to go to the Pit. See what the atmosphere is like, and see if you can get close to Fiametta. See if you get any glimpse of Blackbird."

He frowned, and slowly nodded. "I can do that. Are you going to tell me why?"

I didn't need the tightening of Peta's claws on my lower leg to keep my mouth shut. "No, I can't."

Peta chimed in. "Business of the mother G.o.ddess."

"Oh. When will you be there?" He took a step toward me, and I glared at him, stopping him.

I shook my head and winced at the aches and bruises from the near-strangulation I'd endured. "I'm not sure. Soon, though. You'll have to find a way there. The armbands aren't working."

"I'll take a plane," he said. "I've done that before." His words surprised me. It was easy for me to forget there was an entire human world out there. And that Cactus had no problem interacting with it.

"That's good."

Worm s.h.i.+t, our conversation wouldn't have been more stilted if the words themselves had been frozen. I turned my back on him.

"Shazer!" I called out.

"I am here." He trotted toward me from between the Ender Barracks and the Spiral. "Where do we fly first?"

"The Deep." I hoped that it would be easier to deal with Finley. Hope being the relative word. With a long-standing friends.h.i.+p, there was plenty of reason for me to visit her, and for her to let me draw close. Bella's daughter River had ties to the Deep as well, which was another reason.

Bella touched my arm. "I am ready."

d.a.m.n. I was hoping she would stay behind to grieve properly. "Let's go then."

Shazer went to one knee. "Your Majesty."

Bella hurried to his side and mounted, her pale green skirts bunching up but still managing to cover most of her leg, though I noticed Shazer looking. I lifted my hands to him and he winked.

"She has nice legs, don't blame me for looking."

Once a male, always a male, apparently.

Bella stared out over the crowd from Shazer's back. "In my absence, Niah and River will oversee the running of the Rim. Look to them, and know I am going on the business of the mother G.o.ddess, to do her will, to keep the Rim, and our world, safe." Apparently she'd overheard Peta's words. If nothing else, the crowd murmured and nodded at her declaration.

What surprised me though was who she left in charge. Seemed I wasn't the only one who the announcement shocked. Niah was at the back of the crowd, tears still running down her face even as her eyes widened and she shook her head. Bella nodded at her. "Yes, Niah. You."

"Good luck, Niah." I lifted a hand to her, and she raised one in return.

"Be careful, Lark. Things are not as they seem, not even now."

I shrugged. "They never have been, old one."

I leapt up behind Bella, Peta right behind me. She put herself between Bella and me, curling up in the puff of Bella's voluminous skirts.

No words were cast between us as Shazer galloped across the Rim, gaining speed before he leapt into the air, his wings driving hard to lift us all.

I reached forward and put my arms around my sister. She clutched my arms to her as the sobs broke through, her body shaking with the force of them.

"Lark, we killed him. I know we had to, but I-"

"No, this is not on you, Bella. It was my dagger, and I did it."

I leaned my head forward and pressed it to her back, no cries escaping me. No other words I could give would comfort her. The truth was we'd had to do it, and she knew that.

Maybe Peta was right, maybe I was too hard.

Then again, I was about to go up against three elemental rulers in their places of power while madness rode them.

Weakness was not something I could afford.