Chapter 30 #2
“All right.” Lory suppressed the fire stirring in her veins as her fear festered into panic. “What do you suggest?” And before he could get any ideas, she insisted, “I’m not running unless you do, too.”
A wicked grin flashed across Aiden’s face.
“Not a chance.” Instead of sending his magic flying, he extinguished the gleaming crystals with a snap of his fingers, bending down to grab a fistful of gravel and throwing it out into the night.
“Let’s see what sort of powers we’re dealing with—then we’ll figure out how to defeat them. ”
All four of them held their breath as roots whipped through the air, not five feet from them, gusts of air rushed through the bushes, and some of the rocks never hit the ground, hovering, suspended mid-air as if held there by invisible fingers.
“Nyla’s root-wielding, a matter manipulator with the gift to direct rock, and air magic,” Tabi spelled it out for them, her free hand still weaving patterns, a sigh on her lips. “I wish I could sense the type of magic in a body. That would make prioritizing whoever I take out a lot easier.”
The fact that Thal hadn’t asked a single question about Tabi’s powers let Lory guess he was in on the secret.
“As long as you take out anyone, I don’t care what sort of magic they have,” Aiden whispered, eyes on the hovering rocks.
“Nice try, Vednis,” Ricca purred from much closer than Lory had anticipated, and this time, her voice didn’t disperse in all directions—only one, and as it wrapped around her limbs, holding fast, Lory knew that the short, graceful ashling was even more dangerous than she’d imagined.
Heart leaping into her throat, Lory strained against the invisible bonds as the echoes of Ricca’s voice trailed away. And for each bit it faded, the hold of her voice weakened.
“Her magic makes her voice into a physical entity as long as it’s resonating in the air, almost like she can grasp things with the echoes she creates,” she said, quickly sharing her assessment with the others.
Thal shot her a glance—“Wicked.”—while Aiden frowned. “Let’s hope she hasn’t learned how to shape it into a blade, or she’ll be able to slit our throats without even looking at us.
“Come out, Vednis, or should I drag you?”
This time, Lory was prepared. She ducked under the voice, flattening herself against the ground, and as the echoes rolled through the air like lapping waves searching for something to trap, she slithered a few feet to the side, taking tally of her limbs and breathing deeply as all of them moved freely.
“Apparently, it’s restricted to location. If she doesn’t know where we are, she can’t directly aim it. Keep on the move.”
Without waiting for confirmation, Lory took off in the opposite direction of Ricca’s voice, waving the others along toward the cluster of trees half a mile up the mountain.
Aiden was right: Here, they were sitting ducks without knowing where their attackers were hiding.
The only way to lure them out was to give away their own location and lead them into the open before disappearing into a new hideout.
She didn’t care whether Aiden, Thal, or Tabi approved. Giving the others a chance to sneak up on them wasn’t going to happen.
“Can you take them out while running?” Lory asked Tabi over her shoulder, her magic simmering beneath her skin.
“I can try.” Together, they sprinted up the hill, feet slipping on the gravel path, but with a glance back, Lory confirmed there were at least five shapes following them, all of them nearly melting into the night with their black uniforms, but the occasional flash of moonlight bouncing off a blade gave them away as clearly as in daylight.
A streak of light split the night as lightning struck in front of Lory’s feet, and she nearly stumbled into Aiden, who’d sped to her side, catching her by the elbow and setting her back on her feet.
From their left, roots were sneaking up on them, slowly growing from the bushes they’d left behind, and a cluster of laughs swirled in the air, layering itself over them like one of those glass bells protecting cheese plates on fancy dinner tables.
“Didn’t expect you to run like a coward, Vednis,” the ashling shouted, the sound crashing into Lory like a physical blow. “Today seems to be my lucky day. I’m getting two criminals for one. Plus two filth-lovers who tried to save them. The Triad will be handing me an award for that.”
“Distract her,” Tabi hissed from Lory’s side. “I’ll try to take her out.”
Lory could almost feel Tabi’s power spilling into the night, searching for Ricca like a bloodhound, but halfway across the space, it hit a wall, and Tabi rocked back on her heels.
“What the fuck?”
A second form stopped next to Ricca, hand lifted in front of him, and where Tabi’s magic seemed to stop, coiling into itself, a barrier of hard air seemed to stop even the breeze tugging strands of hair from Lory’s braid.
Another strike of lightning cracked down behind Lory, nearly taking out Aiden, and a surprising force of fire sprang to life in her palm in response, ready to protect what she cared about.
Lory startled at the orange glow between her fingers, but her instincts seemed to recognize that wicked power as an ancient friend.
Not my family, it seems to hiss, sputtering and winding from fingertip to fingertip until her entire hand was engulfed in a small inferno.
“Doesn’t matter if I brighten the night up a bit with these.” She wiggled her burning fingers in front of her face. “The lightning has already drawn attention.”
Three more forms stopped next to Ricca, and Lory recognized Nyla, Solen, and Herion Ariden, another yellow who usually sat with Ricca during meals.
He lifted his sword, marching up to the edge of the invisible barrier. “Who wants to go first?”