Chapter Thirty
Hatred is a blade turned inward, and in striking, it is struck, but love, ever patient, ever enduring, conquers with its unyielding truth.
I scaled down the wall at warp speed. Well, my version of warp speed. Guards rushed to different balconies, attempting to grab me as I passed. Thankfully, they couldn’t meet me on the ground. The mountain was too steep, with a churning body of water below.
At the lowest point, I had no choice but to jump. Which I did. Down I fell, hurtling toward the water. When I hit, I hit hard. Icy cold emptied my lungs, and muscles from top to bottom seized.
With the last of my strength, I swam to the surface. Or attempted to. Dark spots flashed as I failed to work my limbs, sinking fast. Panic pushed a whimper from my throat. Going to die?
A brawny arm banded around me, and a powerful man glided me up, up through the water. We breached the surface together, and I sucked in a gulp of oxygen.
Domino! I’d never been so happy to see another person.
Resolve dominated his water-dotted features. “You’re okay. Say it.”
“I’m okay, I’m okay,” I repeated, fighting past layers of shock deposited by everything that had happened.
As he swam us forward, fish darted. From this angle, the glint of two suns obscured the city that lurked beneath. One day, I’d learn more about it. Now? More feeders than I could count gathered upon the shore. They watched us, all but sharpening mental forks and knives.
“We’ll deal with them when we get closer,” Domino said. First, we had what might be half a mile to swim.
“How did you get here?” I asked between panting breaths.
“My book provided exact instructions.”
I spit out a mouthful of not-so-tasty water, highly aware of a pebble of envy beneath the tide of gratefulness. “I could have used those kinds of details a few minutes ago.”
“You had a private meeting with Victors, the exact same thing.” He glanced back, catching my eye.
Light hit his sharp, rugged features, showcasing the strength inhabiting every hollow and rise.
He’d trimmed his beard, the dark hair now cut close to his skin.
“You ended things with Cyrus.” A statement without emotion.
“Yes.” He’d accepted Astan. Preferred the god above our relationship. Had even accepted Lolli, his now wife, considering she hosted Briar Rose. I deserved better. “I don’t want to discuss it,” I said before Domino asked any follow-ups.
“That’s fine. To survive what’s coming, you need to create your sword of fire. Let’s focus on that. And don’t tell me you can’t. You are a glower.” He glided through the water. “You can.”
The severity of his tone chilled me. “How?” I’d never even tried.
“The flames are already inside you. Look past your emotions to the pritis. Soal’s fire burns inside it. Then, release it. The flames will run down your arm and produce a blade able to cut through both the spirit and the physical realms.”
“You make it sound so easy,” I grumbled.
“Because it is, especially now that you’re bonded to me. Don’t make it difficult. Get out of your head,” he instructed. Then, with wry humor, he added, “There’s nothing you need there right now.”
“Ha ha,” I replied with a smidge of humor, splashing water on him. We were almost to the shore, making it do-or-die time.
As instructed, I focused inward and hacked through frustration, heartache, grief, guilt, shame, and dismay. Hey! As soon as I cleared the smog, heat wafted from a glowing orb, trapping me in its orbit and drawing me closer.
A cold film around my heart began to melt, revealing flames.
The feeders grew agitated, ready for their next meal.
Trepidation sparked, dulled by the orb’s entrancement.
Each flame was fueled by something. That one drew from an emotional bond to Cyrus.
That one, the supernatural bond to Domino.
That one, a desire to protect and defend the people who had worked so hard to protect and defend me.
Another, a need to enlighten the masses with the truth about Soal.
There were others. More than I could count.
Before my eyes, the one powered by my feelings for Cyrus changed from glorious gold to putrid green. Worse, it started to chill, dousing the flames around it.
“Sever it,” Domino urged . . . and I did, reaching out to pinch it off at the base before giving myself a chance to reason.
Pain like I’d never known burst through me, shoving a scream from my throat.
“You’re all right, you’re all right.” The librarian treaded water, holding me up as my body ceased working properly. “Most people do this in stages, the pain trickling in. There wasn’t time for that. Now, at least, you have a chance to save him. And yourself. I’ve seen it.”
“I still love him,” I said and sniffled.
“Use your pain to your advantage.” Domino swam us forward again, and the feeders started drooling. “Fight. Return your focus to your flames.”
Okay, yes. Domino was right. I needed to fight. I couldn’t help Cyrus if I died, and I would help him. I must. Letting Astan win wasn’t even an option.
The flames burned hotter, one growing brighter, calling to me. The tie to Soal at the heart of them all. I reached for it.
Suddenly, flames leaped from the orb. Heat spread over my arm, tugging my consciousness outward. From my shoulder to my fingers, those flames crackled. Just as easy as Domino had promised.
Though the flames brushed him, he remained uninjured. A smile of pleasure lit his face, inspiring a return grin despite the awfulness of our circumstances.
“How many other things do I not know I can do?” I asked.
“Many,” he said, and I sighed. Figured.
My feet grazed the ground, and I stood.
“Get ready.”
Anticipation among the feeders turned frenzied.
We sloshed forward, coming out of the water. The librarian swung his arm as feeders rushed us, a flaming sword appearing in his grip. Heads dropped without their bodies.
As other feeders approached, I did some swinging of my own. To my shock, a sword of fire appeared in my grip, an extension of my hand. The blade sliced through everyone within reach, body parts plopping to the sand.
Best. Weapon. Ever.
I stayed on the move. Working with Domino, I sliced and diced through the masses. I ignored the chilly wind beating against my wet skin. The weight of my waterlogged gown. The squish of my soaked sandals. Swing, swing, swing. More feeders fell.
Beyond us, an engine roared, the volume cranking fast. Bodies went flying amid a series of thuds before a huge truck came to a screeching halt. Armed guards poured out, Winslet among them. Exactly what we didn’t need.
Each soldier carried a harbinger and peppered the area with bullets. Domino maneuvered in front of me, spinning his fiery sword with such speed he created a shield of heat more powerful than metal. The bullets melted, dripping to the ground, never reaching us.
I watched the masterful defense with my mouth agape. Between the ebb and flow of gunfire, when our challengers paused to reload, Domino dipped and turned, moving forward, tossing flaming daggers. Different guards fell until only a handful remained.
“You won’t make it on foot,” Winslet called. “Cyrus and Lolli are almost battle ready. Time is running out.”
“You die today, unless you give your life to Soal,” Domino called back.
“Did Cyrus tell you that? In order for all of Astan’s essence to fill him, you must lose what you were given.
The moment you do, you’ll bleed out. Don’t spend your final moments wounding the only people who can stop him from doing to others what he’s done to you. ”
Compassion welled. She’d reached the end of her story, the final scene set. “Winslet.” It was all I could say. I didn’t know her well, but I liked her. Her life had meaning. “You can be healed, if you’ll let—”
“Shut up,” she snarled.
Domino dipped, tossing another dagger. Winslet screeched, and a thud rang out. Injured. I darted around the librarian and charged the remaining guards. He didn’t stay behind me long but moved forward, keeping pace at my side.
One, two, three shots rang out. My heart pounded in time, the beats so hard they felt like a hammer against my ribs.
“Lesah,” Domino shouted, a command unlike any I’d ever heard, as if he spoke with many voices, all of them from a different rushing stream.
In a flash, the world decelerated to a crawl—but I didn’t. Nor did Domino. We blazed. “Lesah?” I asked, having never heard the word.
“Through Soal, we can slip outside of time for short bursts,” he explained, mowing down a cluster of feeders. “It takes discipline and strength. Don’t try it on your own yet.”
“Yes, sir.” We twisted this way and that as we ran, able to see the missiles and avoid contact.
New gunfire rang out. I attempted to dodge it, too, but I misjudged the distance and tripped. Domino noticed and bumped me, pushing me out of the strike zone. The bullet sliced through his bicep, and his sword of fire vanished.
“Keep going,” he demanded.
I righted and obeyed, slaying the final handful of soldiers. When the last dropped, I froze, panting hard. Time whooshed to a frenzy, seeming to go faster than before the slowdown.
“Are you okay?” I called to Domino. My adrenaline crashed to deeper depths, heralding a tide of tremors in my limbs.
“I’m fine. I’ll be fine.” His determination and confidence inspired mine. “Help her.”
Very well. I stumbled to Winslet. She lay on the ground, panting shallowly through pain. The dagger had ripped through her shoulder and left a gaping hole with singed edges. Color had drained from her skin.
I kicked her fallen harbinger away and crouched at her side to further assess the damage.
“You’re not going to win this,” she grated, pushing the words out through pain-filled breaths. “Backup . . . coming. More soldiers. More weapons. Orders to capture librarian . . . even if we must . . . injure you.”
Cyrus had given an order to physically harm me. I swallowed and, ignoring her warning, cut the shirt from an unconscious guard and returned to Winslet. Though she cursed and hissed, I forced her to sit up, then rigged the shirt as a sling, securing her arm to her body.
“You’re coming with us,” I informed her.
“Just leave,” she spat at me.
Domino came up to her other side and met my gaze. I saw the question in his eyes. Are you sure?
I gave a clipped nod. He worked his jaw but slung an arm around her waist and carried her to the truck.
“I hope you know how to drive, Dom,” I said, “because I’ve never learned.”
“Welcome to your first lesson. Watch me and prepare to practice.”
He must be kidding.
We settled in the cab, with the librarian behind the wheel. Tires squealed, and we peeled out. The landscape whizzed at our sides. An abandoned city with crumbling buildings and statues beginning to bloom with trees and flowers.
“She wasn’t exaggerating,” Domino said, his gaze cutting to the rearview mirror. “We’ve got three vans on our tail.”
I twisted to peer out the back windshield and groaned. Despite the dirt flinging from our tires, the vehicles came into view. One had a large machine gun attached to its roof, with a shooter behind it.
“Once the gun is within range, it can blow this car to rubble,” Winslet bragged.
The shooter took an experimental shot. At least, I figured it was experimental, since it didn’t land. Or maybe it didn’t land because Domino turned the wheel and we careened to the side, out of the strike zone.
“You won’t be able to outrun them,” Winslet added, panting. “Their vehicles are faster than mine. I just happened to be out on patrol when Cyrus’s order came in.”
“Okay, time to take the wheel, Arden.” Domino waved me over. “The left pedal is for stopping, the right for going fast. Keep heading west, but zigzag without tipping us over whenever possible.”
“Are you kidding? This wasn’t any kind of lesson,” I squeaked as I shifted closer, assuming control of our very lives. “What are you going to do?”
“What must be done.” The second my feet replaced his, he went lax, still, and quiet, not even breathing.
I didn’t understand until a familiar rain-and-earth-scented fog filled the cab. Just for a moment, I experienced the warm embrace I’d missed. Then the fog slipped through a crack in the window, engulfing everything behind us.
More shots popped off. I got nervous and jerked the wheel, attempting to avoid a statue. Our truck fishtailed.
“No fear, no fear, no fear.” By a miracle, I maintained my composure, kept up our speed, and straightened us out. A few times, bullets landed, but other than some bumps, we continued sailing forward without problem.
“This is foolish,” Winslet rasped. “You can’t open the barrier without killing someone you love. You’ve already lost.”
Dang it. I’d forgotten about the key to opening a doorway. We must get in. Must stop Cyrus from executing Astan’s plan to gain entrance into the library.
I could think of only one way to do it.
Dread gripped me, but I disregarded it. Better this than handing Astan the victory.
Winslet slid a dagger from an ankle sheath.
Heat flared down my arm, pooling in my hand, and, by instinct, I swung my arm at her, my fiery sword appearing against her throat. “Let’s call it a draw for now, hmm?” I suggested.
“Fine,” she snapped, dropping her weapon.
I opened my hand, and the sword vanished. “You’re on the wrong team, anyway. Soal is our only weapon against Astan, his Madness, and the total destruction of our world. That’s why CURED fights so hard to make us hate him.”
“Just because you think it’s true, doesn’t make it true.” Pain and anger drenched her voice.
“Ah. But you’ve been dealing with Astan for days. You saw him work his agenda through the emperor, and now Cyrus. Is the god who urges a man to murder his pregnant lover really the one you believe should rule our lives?”
A pause. Then: “Shut up,” she grumbled.
Determined to put my own plan into action, I pressed the pedal to the floor.