Witch and Wizard_ The Fire - James Patterson [73]
As the temperature plummets, my teeth start to chatter, and I feel a terrible coldness clutching at me — a deeper cold than I’ve ever felt in the Shadowland before. …
It’s The One.
Chapter 77
Wisty
THE WIND WHIPS my red hair into my face, and he walks calmly through the valley, his eyes clear and his resolve evident. He seems to glide toward us, the air bending around him, warping as if heat is blowing through it; even the red sky darkens in response to his unwelcome presence. Despite the wind, the river stops, the water still as ice.
Everything is wrong.
The thousands of spirits fall silent as The One Who Is The One passes, and they step back, eyes lowered in reverence or fear. There is no difference anymore.
He moves through the crowd with deliberate slowness, never taking his gaze from my face.
I lean closer to my family, clutching my mom’s delicate arm. My dad stands in front of me, jaw set, and my brother squeezes my shoulder. Celia stands resolutely by his side, her Half-light flickering. We are united, or at least that’s how we look. But The One keeps right on coming. And we all know he’s coming for me.
“So we meet again, Allgoods,” The One says cordially, stopping in front of us on the wet gravel. He’s alone. “You found the River of Forever. Well, that’s fortunate. I couldn’t have planned it any better myself.”
No one says anything for a moment, and the air feels so heavy I think I’m choking. My parents seem small by my side in the shadow of his towering height. I can’t let him hurt them again. Not when it’s me he’s come for.
“Maybe you didn’t plan it. Maybe we did,” I answer, stepping out from behind my father. My stomach feels like I’ve been eating rocks.
Whit’s fists are balled up defensively. “What do you want?” he spits at The One, and I shake my head. Whit, don’t. This is not just Pearce we’re dealing with.
The One shakes his head as if he’s disappointed. “You know what I want. I want the girl with the flaming red hair. I want her fire, I want her energy, I want her Gift.”
“Never.” I shake my head bitterly, my temper already making my body heat up. “You’ll have to kill me first.” I realize that might be a very real possibility in this situation.
“I don’t think you’ve heard me correctly, child. The time has come. With the four elements under my power — earth, wind, water, and finally, at last, sweet fire — I will be eternal, a god.”
I can’t help but remember what Mrs. Highsmith said to us back in her apartment: our mission is to guarantee that The One can never play God. Then I think of Pearl’s small voice. Maybe she’s right; maybe he’s already there.
“And once I have that last little requirement” — The One’s eyes flash —“my journey will be complete. I’ve been patient, Wisteria, but I think I’ve waited for you quite long enough.”
I swallow. The time has come, but that doesn’t mean I have to give in without a fight … right?
“But the Allgoods’ journey is also about to be complete!” Dad shouts out of nowhere. I stare at him, surprised. Does he mean complete — as in, ending in our deaths?
The One is thinking the same thing. “I’m glad we’re in agreement about that, Allgood,” he scoffs. “This is, indeed, the end. Let’s get it over with, shall we? Wisteria?”
He raises an eyebrow, and a dull ache begins near my left temple as the wind whines. He’s causing the pain, I’m sure of it. I shiver, unable to answer him. I have absolutely no plan.
Then my mom steps forward, her face hard, defiant. “Our kids” — she puts her arms around Whit’s and my waists, hugging us close —“have now passed through the Five Realms. You do realize what this means?”
I sure don’t, but everyone else seems to. From their cowed positions crouched along the bank, the hordes of dead souls murmur at the possibility of what she’s suggesting, their whispers flitting through the air like moths’ wings. Thousands of eyes peek up at The One’s face, waiting, waiting.
Naturally, The One just smiles indulgently, amused. “Come now, Eliza, I expected more from you. You don’t really believe that little