oing down took much less time than climbing up. In less than five minutes they were forty feet above the water, beneath the thick blanket of smoke and able to see the battle below. The time the battle had been out of view had made all the difference. The Enlightened had surged forward, moving past Abeyla and Jax, who fought each other head on now, throwing spells with such force the air crackled with the intensity of the magic.
The fire had disappeared from the surface of the lake. Magic from spells that had missed their marks remained in the water, dancing as vibrant, shimmering lights across the black. It should have been beautiful. But bodies lay in the lake, dark markers that marred the bright magic.
Maggie couldn’t let herself count the bodies or study their clothes to see if they were Enlighted or Wanderer. Nothing could be done to change the fate of the dead.
A horrible sound echoed from under the overhang as a spell struck the village, splitting it in half. The docks shook, and Wanderers were tossed into the air, some hitting the water, others hitting the hard, wooden dock. Maggie didn’t have time to see how many of the Wanderers struggled to their feet.
With a cry of pain, Abeyla fell backward from her tower of water made solid and disappeared into the lake.
For a moment, everything froze, then Jax gave a triumphant laugh.
Maggie clapped her hand over Tammond’s mouth before he could shout.
“Stay quiet,” Maggie said. “We have to stay quiet or we can’t help.” Tammond moved to pull her hand away, but she clung on. “I know she’s your mom and you want to help her, but we have to be smart. She wants you to be smart.”
Jax was moving toward the village. In a minute, he would catch up to the Enlightened, and what chance would the Wanderers have without Abeyla? Abeyla dead.
Maggie shook the thought from her mind.
“Do you trust me?” She took Tammond by the shoulders, forcing him to look into her eyes.
“I do.”
“Then we’re going to swim.” She took Tammond’s hand and pulled him to the very edge of the ridge, hoping she could jump out far enough to clear the rocks. “On three. One, two―”
Her last word was swallowed by a crack that blocked all other sounds. But she was already jumping, flying farther out over the water than her legs could have carried her without magic. As she fell toward the water, she watched the edge of the overhang shatter and plummet toward the lake far below.
The shockwave found her in the water, striking her in the chest and forcing the precious air from her lungs. She clawed her way to the surface, holding tight onto Tammond’s hand.
She found the air, gasping for breath as Tammond emerged beside her. The rock had been cleaved off in one giant piece, forming a wall between the village and the Enlightened, crushing the attackers who had been underneath. But there were still sounds of fighting within the village. And on this side of the lake were Jax and Lamil.
Lamil stood tall on what was left of his boat, chunks of wood barely stable enough to balance on. He was bleeding from a gash on his chest and gasping as he took shuddering breaths. And nearby, floating facedown in the water, was Abeyla, her gray hair floating around her head like a shining crown.
“No,” Tammond breathed.
“Get Abeyla,” Maggie said. “Get her to shore. I’ll go after Jax.”
“Maggie, no,” Tammond said. “I won’t lose you, too.”
“Don’t worry about me. I have to help Lamil.” Maggie kissed him, hoping it wouldn’t be the last time. “Meet you in the village.” Maggie turned back toward Jax in time to see a shadow fall from high up on the cliff. A jacket caught in the wind, making it look for a moment as though Bertrand had wings before he disappeared on the far side of the rock barrier.
Two other shadows followed before Maggie took a breath and dove deep under water.
There was no current in the lake. No more shaking from the fallen rock. Lights streaked overhead, making the water in front of her flicker in the darkness. But swimming forward was easy. In seconds she lost sight of Tammond. But she pushed herself as far as she could before coming up to take a breath. She was close to Jax now. He was still distracted by Lamil. If she could only reach―
A hand closed tight around Maggie’s ankle, dragging her down into the lake.
The scream that flew from her throat was muffled by the water. But it didn’t matter. Her air was gone. She twisted to see who was pulling her deeper still into the lake. It was one of the Enlightened, his face shining with victory as Maggie struggled. She lunged toward him before kicking hard. She felt her boot hit his face, but still the man didn’t loosen his grip.
Her lungs were already screaming. Rage boiled in her. She needed to get away, needed to stop Jax. But her fury had power in it. Without thought for hurting herself, Maggie let her burning anger go, felt it fly in a white-hot sheet from her body, boiling the water around her. The man let go of her ankle, and Maggie kicked toward the surface. The burning water didn’t hurt her as she swam through it. Her own rage held no power to harm her.
Maggie’s head broke through the surface of the water, and she gulped in smoky air. She blinked away the spots in her eyes, desperate to see what was happening around her. Screams came from the village, but the water near her was silent. Lamil was kneeling in the boat now. His right arm hung limp and useless at his side.
Jax moved toward him, laughing in a cold way, not seeming to care that his men were still fighting in the village. Maggie swam as silently and quickly as she could toward Jax.
“You could have joined me, Lamil,” Jax cooed. “You would have stood by my side, and the Enlightened would have been stronger for it. But then―” Jax looked toward the overhang “―I guess my Enlightened have grown strong enough without you.”
“I never would have joined you, Jax,” Lamil coughed. “I’ve never had it in me. I’m not a traitor.”
With a scream, Jax raised his hand in the air ready to strike.
Maggie dove beneath Jax’s shattered raft, flipped over in the water, and kicked the wood with every bit of strength she had left. The wood splintered beneath her feet, before the impact sent her deep down into the water. Twisting as quickly as she could, she swam back up.
Jax had fallen into the water. She had seen it. Seen him sink for a moment. But by the time she neared the surface, he was already gone.
Maggie kept her head just below the surface of the lake, scanning the water for a sign of Jax. But there was no shadow; bodies and splintered bits of wood floated in the water, but nothing moved. With no choice left, Maggie surfaced as quietly as she could, taking in a calm breath and looking around.
Jax was there, right in front of her. She forgot to swim for a moment and sank back down below the surface of the water. She could see him now even with the water clouding her vision. Hovering two feet over the lake, Jax stood on a dark cloud that crackled with light. The cloud drew water from the lake, growing larger every moment as Jax again moved toward the village.
Maggie slipped her head into the open air pressing her hands to the surface. She shut her eyes tight, hoping against hope that her magic would work.
A scream of pain came from nearby, but Maggie didn’t dare look. With more strength than she knew she had, she forced her magic out into the water, forming a solid sheet of ice that reached in every direction. She shivered as the water around her grew cold. The ice expanded, gaining ground every second, crackling and splintering as it surged toward Maggie. Soon the ice would close around her neck. She wouldn’t be able to climb to the surface. Letting go of her magic, Maggie punched the ice, not caring as she felt it tear her skin. Before the ice had time to reform, she pushed herself onto its surface.
The spell had done what she had hoped. The storm Jax rode couldn’t pull any more water from the lake. He was slowing down, but not enough. He would still be able to make it to the fallen rock and then to the village beyond.
Jax raised his hands. Maggie could see magic between them, crackling with such
force it bent the air. The village wouldn’t survive that spell. It would be gone. Everyone gone. The children left in the dark place.
With a guttural scream, Maggie charged toward Jax, all thoughts of magic gone, her only hope to stop his spell. Jax turned to face her, surprise showing in his eyes for only a moment before his mouth twisted into a hateful smile.
He swept his hand through the air as though choosing a piece of magic to kill her with, but with a scream, Maggie launched herself at him, grabbing him around the middle and tackling him onto the ice.
Pain shot through her arms as they met the ice, but she held on, pushing Jax into the frozen surface. He screamed as the ice pinned down his arms and legs before growing to surround him. Maggie leapt away as the ice engulfed his body in thick, glassy layers, leaving only his face in the open air.
His screams of rage and pain shook Maggie’s bones.
He would break out of her spell. He had already done it once before.
She didn’t know a spell to stop him, didn’t know how to bind him.
A clunk sounded on the ice nearby as Lamil pulled himself out of the boat and ran limping toward Jax. Something silver shimmered in his hand, and the thing grew with every step, becoming as tall as he was with sharp tips on either end.
Before Maggie had time to think, Lamil drove the end of his shimmering staff through the ice, directly into Jax’s heart.
A horrible scream rent the night. Blood filled the ice, coloring it red, and Jax’s face became a death mask of his anger.
“He’s―” Maggie began, searching for the words in the fog of her mind. “He’s dead?”
“He is.” Lamil lowered himself onto the ice, setting his staff down beside him and clutching his bad arm.
Jax was dead. The night should have gone silent. There was nothing left to fight for. The Master of the Enlighted was gone. But shouts and cries still came from the village.
“Will you be all right?” Maggie asked. She paused only long enough to see Lamil’s tired nod before running toward the village.
he sheet of ice she had created reached all the way to the fallen rock. Maggie ran across it, grateful for her sturdy boots as she leapt onto the stone without stopping.
The ice hadn’t gone past the barrier. The water on the other side was still liquid, reflecting the fires that burned in the village. Half of the village had sunk and was nearly out of sight. A corner of it had caught on the rocks in the shallow water and clung on hopelessly. The other half of the village was still floating and shrouded in haze from the smoke that was trapped under what was left of the overhang.
People were shouting and fighting on the nearest dock, but others had fled to the few clusters of rock by the cliff wall. The shadows of the fighters danced in the firelight. Bertrand was there, fighting two of the Enlightened, his face calm as the air around him pulsated, sending daggers of broken wood at the men. Selna fought, too. She had her attacker on the run and almost backed up to the edge of the dock. Maggie watched as the man toppled into the water, and Selna hardened the water around him, leaving him to drown. There was another person fighting, lightning blazing from both hands.
Maggie took a deep breath and shouted as loud as she could, “Jax Cayde is dead! The Master of the Enlightened has fallen.”
One of the men fighting Bertrand faltered, and wood struck him through the arms, pinning him to the deck with a howl of pain. But the other fought on.
“There are none of your people left alive on the lake,” Maggie’s voice was louder this time, echoing off the rocks, drowning out the fighters. “The Enlightened have lost the battle. Leave now!”
The other Enlightened Bertrand had been fighting turned and sent a streak of bright red light toward Maggie. She dove to the side, out of the path of the spell. A shout carried across the water as the Enlightened fell.
There were only two left fighting, both of them moving so quickly they hadn’t even paused. It wasn’t until a bright white spell flew close to his face that Maggie recognized Tammond.
Maggie dived into the water, quickly swam the hundred feet to the village, and climbed onto the dock.
Tammond had the Enlightened backed against a house, but the man wasn’t giving up. Screaming, he threw spell after spell at Tammond, who had formed a barrier around himself and pushed his way forward as the spells slammed into his shimmering shield.
Maggie wanted to shout for Tammond to back away so she could help, but she was afraid to distract him for even a moment. But Tammond’s shield was faltering. The Enlightened’s magic wasn’t sliding harmlessly away from it anymore.
Tammond shouted in pain as one of the spells struck him.
“No!” Maggie screamed, charging forward, but Bertrand was closer.
With a wave of Bertrand’s hand, the slats of the house behind the man reached out and grabbed him like a dozen angry arms before the house burst into flames.
Maggie barely heard the screams of the Enlightened as she ran toward Tammond. He was lying on the deck, gasping but alive. Blood covered his hands and dripped down his face. A gash on his right side showed the bones beneath.
“Tammond,” Maggie breathed, pressing her hands to Tammond’s side, trying to stop the freely flowing blood. “He needs help! Please someone help!”
“Maggie,” Tammond said, her name trembling in his voice. “Maggie.”
“You’re okay,” Maggie whispered. “We won, you’re going to be okay.”
“Abeyla is gone,” Tammond groaned. “I couldn’t save her.”
“But she saved you,” Maggie said.
Hands moved Maggie’s from the wound as someone began healing Tammond.
“Abeyla wanted you to survive, and you did. She won. Jax is gone, and we’re still here.”
A dull light emanated from Tammond’s side, and he gasped as his skin knit back together.
“The village was destroyed,” Tammond said. “Our home is gone.”
“You’ll rebuild.” Maggie held Tammond’s hand.
Bertrand was by her side now, helping to lay Lamil down. The old man’s eyes were half closed, but he was still breathing.
“First, we’ll go get the kids,” Maggie said, trying with everything she had to keep pain and fear from touching her voice, “then you’ll find a new place to build. And none of you will have to be afraid of Jax Cayde ever again.”
Tammond’s eyes drifted slowly closed. Maggie looked to the woman who had been healing him.
“Let him sleep,” the woman said, her voice weak with fatigue. “The village will still be broken when he wakes.”
Maggie lay Tammond’s hand gently down on the deck next to him. There were still others moaning in pain, and part of the village was still on fire. Pushing herself to her feet, Maggie started toward the place where the village had cracked in half, but Bertrand laid a hand on her shoulder.
“The Wanderers will put out the fire,” Bertrand said, sounding tired for the first time. “We’ve done enough.”
Maggie looked out toward the lake. The fallen rock showed in the diming light of the fire, and beyond the lake was calm and still. The moon and the stars shone down as though nothing had happened at all.
“There are bodies out there,” Maggie said, not feeling afraid of them or even sick at the death that surrounded them. Too much had happened in the last few hours for her to be able to feel much of anything. “We should collect them.”
“We should collect the living first,” Selna said. Her brown hair had been burned away in patches, and newly healed cuts showed on her neck and chest. “As soon as the sun rises, we should go collect the children.”
“Mina will be so happy to see you.” Maggie nodded. That small movement made her dizzy. “I’ll go with you.”
“You’ll sleep first,” Bertrand said.
“Where am I supposed to sleep when the village is shattered and on fire?” Maggie asked as Bertrand took her by the elbow and led her to the far edge of what was left of the village. Most of the Fireside was
still standing. Only one wall of books had crumbled into the water. There were injured lined up against one wall. Most were already asleep.
“Dawn is in a few hours,” Bertrand said. “Rest until then. Once it’s light enough, we’ll go and get the children.
“I shouldn’t be sleeping while others are working,” Maggie said as Selna guided her to a bare bit of floor. “I should be up working with you.”
“Maggie,” Selna said gently. “You fought Jax. You helped us survive. You went into the water alone. You’re allowed to be tired. And you―” she turned to Bertrand “―you rest as well. When the others can’t work anymore, then you’ll be awake to continue.”
The crackling of the fire had stopped. The quiet of the village was haunting and unnatural. The patients were no longer screaming. A faint murmur whispered over the sounds of mourning for those who had been lost.
They carried Tammond in and laid him with the other wounded. Maggie walked over, stumbling on the rough wooden floor. They had cleaned the blood from his skin. He looked as though he were ill, like he was coming through a bad fever, not like he had been through a battle.
Maggie lay on the floor next to him. Not touching him, just listening to his even breathing. Counting each inhale and exhale as another moment they had outlived Jax Cayde. Before she had made it to fifty, she was asleep.
aggie woke with a gasp. Someone had touched her foot. Images of Jax rising out of the water flooded her mind, but before she let her magic loose, her eyes found Selna crouching at her feet, pressing a finger over her lips.
“The sun is rising,” Selna mouthed.
Maggie nodded. Gray light peered in through the now open wall of the Fireside. She crawled out from beside Tammond. He didn’t move as she crept out of the room.
“I’ll be right back,” Maggie whispered, though she knew he couldn’t hear.
Guards had been stationed on top of the fallen rock. They scanned the lake as the sun turned the sky a pale red.
“What are they looking for?” Maggie whispered to Selna.
The Girl Without Magic Page 19
