Chapter 30
Thirty
“How about there?” Thal pointed at the rock formation a little downhill from the second peak, where tall evergreens were more common than the sparse bushes in the lower regions of the mountains.
The lukewarm air from the outpost had turned into chilly winds, and Lory had pulled her spare shirt over the blood-stained one to keep warm while the others had pulled on a jacket they’d been issued alongside their packs.
Lory knew better than to wonder if the Triad could show any more how little they cared if she survived this trial.
“It’s as good as anywhere,” Aiden agreed, already sliding his pack off his shoulders. “We won’t rest long. Just long enough to eat something, drink, and plan the next ascent.”
With Aiden being the only one who’d been in the mountains before, Lory had left it up to him to find the best routes and safest hiding spots, even though she hadn’t failed to spot large shadows following them wherever they went.
She’d mentioned them to the ice wielder, whose only response had been the same one Khayrivven had given her before: “The mountains are infamous for messing with people’s heads.
” And “I wouldn’t be surprised if the magic leaking from the Amrin caves made all of us crazy before the end of the trial. ”
When she’d asked him about that magic, Aiden had shrugged, a gesture he’d perfected over the course of their hike. “I wish I knew more. All I know is to stay away from the caves up in the higher regions of the mountains. Even the Criu rebels seem to steer clear of those.”
That had been that. No more caves.
“Less than twenty-four hours, Lory,” Thal said with a familiar cheeriness that didn’t fit their grim surroundings. “Any idea what the Triad is planning for you when you survive?”
Leave it to Thal to be that optimistic.
“You mean if I survive, and no.” A hearty bite of bread and a sip from her canteen, and Lory was ready to sit down on flat rocks in the shadow of the trees.
Tabi flexed her arms over her head. “Let’s get through the night before we start discussing Lory’s glorious future.”
Opening her mouth to retort something smart, Lory almost choked on a breath as she spotted an enormous shadow behind the trees. It had to be double her height, and distorted shapes stuck out from it at odd angles.
“What is that?”
All heads turned in the direction she was looking, but the shadow disappeared before she finished her words.
“Damn mountains,” was all Thal said in response, while Aiden kept quiet, gnawing on his lower lip, a glum expression on his face.
“I’m glad you have Falcrest,” he whispered more to himself when everyone busied themselves with their food once more.
Lory was about to ask him what he meant when something long and thorny whipped through the middle of their small group, almost hitting Lory in the head. In unison, they ducked out of the way, Lory reaching for Nyla’s sword at her hip and rolling to her knees, blade raised in front of her chest.
“Who’s there?” she called into the darkness, cursing the clouds to choose that exact moment to draw a curtain over the stars and moon.
A cold, female laugh was all the answer they got, but it was enough to recognize the elegant little ashling with the chin-length brown hair and dark green eyes.
“Ricca—” Lory hissed, earning a nod from Aiden and a curse from Tabi, while Thal fumbled with the two daggers on his belt.
They had all been issued more weapons than they’d ever been allowed at the academy. Apparently, killing Lory was top priority—or did the Triad want them to protect Lory?
After everything she’d learned, Lory was no longer sure what to believe.
It’s almost like they are leaving it up to fate rather than killing you themselves.
Almost like your survival or death might prove something.
Aiden’s words swirled in her head as she searched the darkness for any sign of the ashling whom she should not have shown mercy.
Yes, that had been Ricca’s laugh, but the thorny whip had been of Nyla’s making.
What were the odds two nature wielders of the same kind occurred in the same year at the academy?
“Duck,” Aiden’s shout rang out just in time to make Lory leap aside when another branch shot through the narrow space, almost hitting her shoulder.
Thal caught her by the arm, dragging her out of the wooden finger’s path as it slithered across the ground in search of anything to sling itself around.
“Didn’t expect to see you in one piece again, Bellmont.” Ricca’s voice was nowhere and everywhere all at once, forming a web of echoes that seemed to trap Lory’s limbs and spine as effectively as the roots would have.
“Damn it. What magic is that?” Thal voiced the question that had been running through Lory’s head, but Ricca was still laughing.
“And Vednis, too. Must be my lucky day.”
“More like night,” Lory hissed under her breath, covering her ears with sluggish hands as she scanned her surroundings. “Where the fuck is she?”
Aiden didn’t seem to have an answer either, but his magic flickered into clusters of ice crystals at his fingertips, ready to blast an opponent out of his path. “We need to get out of here.”
“Couldn’t agree more.” On Lory’s other side, Thal reached for his sword—as did Lory, sacrificing the protection of her ear with her hand for that of her blade.
“Come out, little fire-spitter,” Ricca’s voice purred from everywhere.
“Don’t even think about it,” Tabi grumbled through the array of fading echoes. “As long as we stay together, we’re strong.”
“Stronger than whatever unholy shit she’s pulling out there?” Thal gestured into the darkness without picking any specific direction. “I mean, she could have multiplied for all that I know. We have no idea what her power is.”
Next to him, cowering against one of the rocks, Tabi was already weaving her fingers through the air, doing what, Lory could only guess.
“There are at least two out there,” Lory noted. “Nyla, because of the root that attacked us, and Ricca, obviously. I wouldn’t be surprised if she brought reinforcements, though.”
“Shut up, I’m trying to focus.” Tabi had closed her eyes, making the impression of someone ready to fall asleep in a very uncomfortable position.
Her fingers were still grasping for invisible strings in front of her.
“If there are more than them out there, I’ll sense them.
I just need a moment to figure it out—so far, I’ve only done it once and in training. ”
Lory wasn’t sure whether to be relieved Tabi was capable of such a thing or to be alarmed that there was no guarantee she would be accurate with her assessment.
Under her breath, she uttered to Aiden, “You know these mountains best. If there are too many to fight, where should we run?” Not that the idea of running away from anything intrigued her, but the idea of staying alive if they were outmatched did.
“There,” Tabi hissed between remains of Ricca’s echoes, finger pointing north, where a narrow path wound around a sharp edge of rocks. “One of them is over there.”
Lory marked the direction, remembering the steep cliff they’d passed on their way up and the tall trees lining the path.
“Come out, Vednis. I’ve got a little surprise for you.” Again, Ricca’s voice wrapped around her like a net, ready to pull taut. Lory shook the feeling off, exchanging a glance with Aiden, whose blade was shimmering now in his other hand.
“Is hiding even an option?” she asked in a whisper, trying to measure the distance to the next set of rocks up the mountain.
Aiden shook his head. “If it’s only two or three of them, we’d better confront them. Odds are we can run after we decimate them.”
“And by decimate, you mean kill,” Lory confirmed without waiting for a nod of his head that wouldn’t come. Aiden had crossed that line before—a line Lory had managed to keep, even when she knew killing was to become her job if she survived the next fifteen or so hours.
“Whatever it takes,” Thal said from her other side. “We won’t die here tonight.”
“There’s another one,” Tabi interrupted, her eyes opening just long enough to find Lory’s as the clouds retreated above them, and the soft light of the moon and stars drenched the night in a silvery glow. “Two more.”
Aiden’s throat bobbed, and Thal’s hand started shaking, blade quivering in front of him. But Tabi’s focus didn’t break. “Two more over there,” she gestured east. “Guardians. There are six total.”
Six. They were outnumbered. Not outmatched, a feeble voice attempted consolation, perhaps encouragement, but Lory shut it out.
It didn’t matter if she could burn the mountains to dust; she couldn’t risk hurting her friends in the process.
If she could lure some of the attackers away from them, she could give Aiden, Thal, and Tabi a fighting chance.
“I’m not going to wait forever, Vednis. Come out, or we’ll kill off your friends one by one.”
“Wait, there are two more.” Lory held her breath as Tabi seemed to be counting in her head.
“Eight.” She confirmed with a nod. “I can’t feel any farther out than that.
” Her hands had wandered to her blade, drawing it soundlessly while, with her other hand, she kept weaving patterns until a scream tore the air not twenty feet from them, and a grin split Tabi’s face. “Seven.”
Lory didn’t dare ask what Tabi had done with the eighth, too afraid of the answer, but a faint glow of magic at Tabi’s fingers informed her that her odd gift of manipulating human bodies had something to do with it.
A curt nod passed between Aiden and her as the ice wielder slowly straightened, peeking over the edge of the rocks. “This is a good place to hide from the elements and get a good night’s sleep, but with seven long-range, weapon-wielding magic users out there, we’re sitting ducks.”