18. CHAPTER 18

CHAPTER 18

DANIELLA

As I took hold of Cardian’s wrist, the transfer token flew off his hand, hit the floor, and rolled out of sight. I barely had the sense to regret its loss. There were more pressing matters to deal with.

Still holding on, I whirled and hid behind him.

He tried to get free, and he might have succeeded had my siphoning powers been slow, but they were instantaneous, and in one beat, his body went limp against mine, his life force channeling into my body. A drawn-out moan issued from his lips, something I was sure was meant to be a cry for help. His energy filled my chest, expanding my ribs, building that pressure I once mistook for guilt.

But even though my powers worked quickly, the sorcerer, Runik, and the Fae guards were quick as well.

A spell flew in our direction and enveloped our bodies. A crackling force wedged itself between Cardian and me and pried us apart. I flew backward, landing on my ass, and he collapsed to the floor, his joints completely unhinged, his skin a putty shade of gray. He twitched, his eyelids fluttering.

A few paces from Cardian, the sorcerer weaved his hands in the air, and I knew that another attack was coming. I scrambled to hands and knees and crawled backward. A blast of energy hit the spot I’d just vacated.

Pieces of splintered wood flew in every direction, several of them embedding themselves in my exposed skin. I clenched my teeth to stifle the pain and kept moving.

The guards rushed to Cardian, took his arms, and dragged him out of the way.

Moving as fast as I could on all four, I lunged behind one of the mirrors just as Runik loosened a second attack. I braced myself for an explosion of glass and shards to join the splinters already embedded in my body.

Instead, I heard a muffled cry, followed by a thud. I dared peek from behind the gilded mirror to find the sorcerer lying on the floor, his voluminous robes pooling around him. His own spell had bounced off the mirror and hit him.

The guards stood, Cardian on the floor between them, and stared at Runik in confusion, as if seeing him defeated was something they could have never predicted.

In unison, their gazes abandoned the sorcerer to look for me. They found me peeking from behind the mirror and drew their swords with a zing, but there was something in their expressions that told me they were afraid. Had they not seen what happened? Did they think I was the one who fell Runik? They had been dragging Cardian away, so maybe they’d missed the split-second result of the sorcerer’s miscalculation.

Their scared expressions and that pressure pushing against my ribs drove me to my feet and out of my hiding place. As I stepped out, a small object hiding behind a second mirror caught my eye.

The transfer token!

It seemed luck was on my side today.

Moving casually, acting as if my heart weren’t trying to pound its way out of my chest, I picked up the token and palmed it.

“Go on. Leave.” I made a sweeping motion with my hand, trying to sound generous. “Unless you don’t value your lives and want to end up like a husk.” I stared pointedly at Cardian.

They took a step closer, brandishing their swords. Even though they looked scared of me and my threat seemed to have some effect on them, there was clearly someone else they feared more.

Out of the corner of my eye, I glanced toward the door we’d used to enter this peculiar room. Flinging my hair behind my shoulder, I started walking in that direction.

“As much as I would like to stay and find out why you would rather take your chances with me than whoever would skin you alive for letting me escape, I have to go.”

Moving with the grace and speed of the Fae, the guards rushed forward and blocked the exit.

“You’re not going anywhere,” one of them said.

I put a hand up and willed the energy in my chest to manifest. For a second, nothing happened, and I started to fear that the attack I’d unleashed on Varamede had been a fluke, but then a ball of light appeared there, powerful and threatening. I stared at it in awe. It was beautiful, really, and it threatened to hypnotize me with its dancing quality. It was nearly blinding, like a million diamonds reflecting sunlight and bouncing back and forth.

“I don’t want to shoot your hearts out of your chest, but if I must, I will do it.” As I said the last word, I peeled my eyes away from the beautiful display and stared at the guards with murderous intent.

Part of me wanted to pretend I only wished to intimidate them, but another part of me knew I was capable of delivering on my promises.

One of the guards inhaled deeply and the other one sniffled. They were afraid, all right, but still, I was promising them a swift death, which was likely much better than what they would receive from… whom? Cardian, if he survived? No. I had a feeling it wasn’t Cardian.

I had a feeling it was Kellam Mythorne that terrified them so.

They pressed forward, pointing their swords straight at my chest.

“I warned you.” I jerked both hands forward and released the blazing heat of my light power.

As time slowed, I imagined them limp on the floor, gaping holes in their chest. It was a horrific tableau, and in the last instant, I prevailed over the darker side of me, and I held back, quickly changing the direction and intensity of my attack and aiming it at their faces.

A weaker beam of light hit them. They screamed. Their swords clattered to the floor as they pressed their hands to their faces and stumbled around drunkenly.

Oh, God! Had I blinded them for life? The thought horrified me, but I couldn’t linger on it. I had to get out of here, and at least I had spared their lives.

I started to run back toward Kalyll, then stopped short. The pressure around my chest wasn’t strong, and I feared the energy left in me wouldn’t be enough to pierce the sphere. Whirling around, I looked at the guards. They were screaming, palms pressed to their eyes. One of them was on his knees, speaking words in a language I didn’t understand. The other one was weeping and shaking his head.

My hands tingled. I needed more energy. I would have to kill one of them, after all. Then I noticed something, something moving under Runik’s robes. He wasn’t dead. Heedlessly, I ran to him. Peeling his hood back I nearly screamed at the sight of his face. It was twisted and contorted, the mouth a slash with no lips that revealed a rictus grin. Hundreds of small scars like slashes from a razor marred his weathered skin, and wisps of hair clung to a pale scalp.

“You tortured Kalyll,” I said, wrapping my hands around his neck.

His eyes sprang open. They were clouded and small specks of black moved inside them like ants. I resisted the urge to vomit and started drawing his energy just as he attempted to fight back. In an instant, I was done. His face was even more hideous than before, dried out and cracked.

“You’ll never hurt anyone again,” I spat.

There was someone else in this room who deserved the same fate. I let go of the sorcerer, stretched to my full height, and turned toward Cardian. I took two steps toward him, determined to end him.

The sound of voices made my head snap up toward the source. I froze, then knew I had to get out of there before I was spotted. Turning on my heel, I ran at full pelt, my bare feet slapping on the floor. I didn’t look back. I just ran, but a cry of alarm let me know that I’d been spotted.

I ran faster, arms pumping, that map I had created in my mind jumping to the forefront. I took one left and then a right. The sound of stomping boots and insistent cries to hurry up followed close behind me. I ran past a wide corridor, then skidded to a stop and retraced my steps. Left, I had to go left again. I kept going, and for a moment, I thought I’d made a mistake, then, a few steps ahead, I spotted Kalyll’s door and breathed a sigh of relief.

I’m almost there. Almost there.

The voices and the racket behind me were closer now. The Fae were so much faster than me. My human legs were failing me. For an instant, I considered blasting a beam of light over my shoulder to blind my pursuers, but I couldn’t risk it. I needed all the power I’d drained from Runik to break Kalyll’s prison. I couldn’t fail. If I did, I didn’t want to imagine what would happen. Cardian, whom I’d failed to kill, would make sure we paid dearly.

“Stop!” someone shouted.

There was a whistling sound, and as I rounded another corner, an arrow whizzed by.

“Oh, God.”

I needed to dig deeper. The next arrow would kill me.

“C’mon,” I urged myself, clenching my teeth.

Suddenly, I was moving faster, much faster than I ever had. Doors zoomed by right and left. I watched everything as if detached or caught in one of those dreams where you’re capable of impossible things. But it wasn’t a dream, I was really moving as fast or faster than Fae.

“Shit!” I exclaimed as I ran past Kalyll’s door.

Grabbing the doorjamb, I jerked myself to a stop, kicked the door open, and busted in. Kalyll was on his feet, expectant. No doubt his Fae sharpened senses had warned him we were coming.

“Daniella!”

“Stand back,” I ordered him, without stopping to consider the risks.

“What?”

I blasted the sphere, letting all the light pour out of me in one shot. My energy crashed against the prison. A horrible screeching sound pierced my ears as the two magical forces combined in a blinding flash.

I wrapped my arms around my head and ducked, bracing for an explosion, for death. But the sound quickly died out, and I opened my eyes to a diminishing glow that consumed itself, growing weaker until it disappeared with a soft pop.

For a nanosecond, Kalyll seemed suspended in the air, then the sphere completely vanished and he dropped to the floor. He landed on his feet and glanced around with wide eyes as he faced his freedom.

He barely had time to recover from his surprise when I crashed into him, wrapping my arms around his waist. Just as he held me back, the door burst open, and a host of guards rushed in. All along, the transfer token had been clenched tightly in my fist, so I wasted no time wishing us away to the first place that jumped into my mind.

As the guards reached out to grab us, we dissolved and left that awful place behind.