Chapter 25
Chapter
Twenty-Five
Winter
We gathered at one point of the barrier, forming a small triangle. Horrace positioned himself in the center, his tentacles extended to touch each of us, creating a physical connection.
"On three," Milo instructed, his expression unusually focused. "Direct all your energy through Horrace. He'll act as a conduit."
I closed my eyes, concentrating on the blue markings that had become such an integral part of me. I could feel them responding, power building beneath my skin like electricity before a storm.
"One... two... three!"
I released the energy, feeling it flow through me and into Horrace. The sensation was both exhilarating and terrifying. Through our connection, I felt Milo's necromantic power joining mine, dark and vibrant, followed by Zane's fae magic, wild and ancient.
For a moment, it seemed to be working. The barrier flickered, weakening at the point of our combined assault. Hope surged through me as I pushed harder, drawing on reserves I hadn't known I possessed.
Then something went wrong.
Because why wouldn't it?
The energies collided rather than merged, creating a magical feedback loop that exploded outward. The force threw us backward, scattering us across the chamber. I hit the wall hard, the breath knocked from my lungs.
Ow.
When my vision cleared, I saw Milo sprawled nearby, dazed but conscious. Zane had managed to land on his feet, though blood trickled from his nose where the magical backlash had hit him.
"Everyone okay?" He wiped the blood away with the back of his hand.
"Define 'okay,'" I groaned, pushing myself up. My head was spinning, and the blue markings on my skin were pulsing erratically. "That didn't work."
"It almost did," Milo sat up, his curls wild from the magical discharge. "We just need a better conductor than Horrace. No offense, buddy."
Horrace made a sound that clearly conveyed "none taken" as he picked himself up from where he'd been thrown.
"I think we've got bigger problems," Zane nodded toward the sigil on the floor, which was now rotating faster, the grinding of stone against stone growing louder. "That explosion accelerated the compression sequence."
The ward pulsed again, contracting noticeably. The chamber was now several feet smaller on all sides, the walls pressing inward with force.
"So we've got what, an hour?" I tried to keep the panic from my voice. "Maybe less?"
"Maybe," Zane didn't sugarcoat it. "We need another approach."
Milo was staring at the ground, unusually quiet. When he looked up, his expression was thoughtful. "What if we try something else? Maybe you two should kiss to break the tension."
I blinked, certain I'd misheard. "What?"
"You know, to break the magical tension," Milo clarified, though his cheeks were pink again. "Winter is the only one I've kissed before, but she's fantastic at it. Maybe if you two tried, the emotional energy could disrupt the ward's pattern."
There was a moment of absolute silence as Zane and I stared at Milo. Then Zane's eyes narrowed.
"Wait. No one else?" His voice held a note of disbelief. "You've never kissed anyone but Winter?"
Milo's blush deepened as he looked away. "I've been kind of busy with the dead."
I expected Zane to laugh, to make a joke at Milo's expense. Instead, his expression softened, becoming almost tender.
"You deserve to be kissed so well you forget how to raise the dead," his voice low and sincere.
I felt my own cheeks heating at the intensity in his tone. The air between them seemed to crackle with something that had nothing to do with our magical predicament.
"Um, guys?" I cleared my throat. "Impending doom, remember? Walls closing in?"
They both looked at me, then back at each other. The moment stretched, charged with unspoken possibilities.
"Right," Zane finally broke the silence. "Let's try something else. I've got a magical artifact that might help."
He reached into his pocket, pulling out what looked like an ancient coin. "It's a reality anchor. Usually used to stabilize dimensional rifts, but if I overload it with enough power, it might disrupt the ward long enough for us to break through."
"Will it work?" Hope was rekindling.
"Fifty-fifty chance," he shrugged. "But it's better odds than we had before."
"Do it," I nodded. "What do you need from us?"
"Channel your energy into me," he instructed. "I'll direct it into the artifact."
We gathered again, this time with Zane at the center. Milo and I placed our hands on his shoulders, while Horrace wrapped tentacles around all three of us, creating a circuit.
"This is going to hurt," Zane warned. "A lot. But don't break contact, no matter what."
I nodded, bracing myself. Milo did the same, his expression determined despite the fear in his eyes.
Zane began chanting in a language I didn't recognize, ancient and fluid. The coin in his hand began to glow, first silver, then blue, then a blinding white. I felt the pull as my energy flowed into him, the blue markings on my skin burning as they responded to his call.
The pain was immediate and intense, like being flayed from the inside out. I gasped but maintained contact, my fingers digging into Zane's shoulder. Beside me, Milo was doing the same, his face contorted in a grimace of pain.
The ward began to react, pulsing more rapidly as it sensed our attempt to breach it. The walls shuddered, dust and small rocks raining down from the ceiling. The air grew thick with the magical discharge, making it hard to breathe.
"Almost there," Zane gritted through clenched teeth, his entire body rigid with strain. The coin was now so bright I couldn't look directly at it.
With a final word of power, Zane thrust the coin against the barrier. For a heartbeat, nothing happened. Then the coin shattered, releasing a wave of energy that tore through the ward like paper.
"Now!" Zane shouted. "Run!"
We stumbled through the breach, Horrace leading the way with his superior night vision. Behind us, the ward collapsed in on itself, the chamber imploding with a deafening roar. We raced through the tunnel, rocks falling around us as the entire complex began to destabilize.
"Faster!" Zane urged, grabbing my hand to help me keep pace despite my aching knee.
We burst out of the tunnel just as it collapsed behind us, a cloud of dust and debris billowing out in our wake. We didn't stop running until we reached the boiler room, where we finally paused, gasping for breath.
"Everyone okay?" Zane looked us over, his concern evident despite his own exhaustion.
I nodded, too winded to speak. Milo gave a thumbs-up, though he was bent double, hands on his knees, his little skeletons all shaking at the experience. Horrace made a tired but affirmative musical note.
"That was too close," I finally managed. "How did you know the artifact would work?"
"I didn't," Zane admitted. "But I figured dying while trying was better than waiting to be crushed."
"Solid logic," Milo straightened, pushing his curls out of his eyes. "Though I vote for 'not dying at all' as the preferred outcome."
"Seconded," I agreed fervently.
We made our way back through the factory, moving more cautiously now, alert for any sign of the cultists who had set the trap. But the building remained empty, our footsteps the only sound echoing through the abandoned halls.
When we finally emerged into the late afternoon sunlight, I felt a weight lift from my shoulders. We were alive. Battered, exhausted, and covered in dust, but alive.
This was becoming a pattern, wasn't it?
"So," I broke the silence as we walked toward Zane's parked car, "I guess you owe me a magically-inverted coffee."
Zane raised an eyebrow. "How do you figure that?"
"You're the one who suggested we go into the creepy death factory," I reminded him. "I'd call that chickening out when we had to blast our way free."
"That's not how the bet works," he protested, though his eyes were dancing with amusement. "Neither of us chickened out."
"Then I guess you'll have to buy me coffee anyway," I grinned. "As a thank-you for saving your life."
"I'm pretty sure I saved your life," he chuckled.
"I'm pretty sure we all saved each other," Milo interjected reasonably. "So maybe we all buy each other coffee?"
We laughed, the sound carrying away some of the tension of the day. As we reached the car, I noticed Milo hanging back slightly, his expression thoughtful.
"Everything okay?" I asked quietly.
He glanced toward Zane, who was checking the car for any signs of tampering before we got in. "Do you think it's weird that I've never been with anyone?" His voice was so soft I almost didn't hear him.
Before I could answer, Zane turned, having apparently overheard despite Milo's attempt at privacy. He approached slowly, his expression gentle.
"No," he looked directly at Milo. "It's not weird at all. But I'd be happy to change that, if you wanted."
Milo's eyes widened, his cheeks flushing a brilliant red as he stammered incoherently. I bit my lip to hide my smile, watching the normally confident necromancer reduced to blushing incoherence by Zane's direct approach.
As I observed them, feeling the tension spark between them like electricity, a realization hit me with startling clarity. Oh no. I was in trouble. Because watching them might have been more dangerous to my heart than the prophecy.