by Sky Corbelli
Chapter 56
Heroic Last Stands
The seer frowned, and Ezra could breathe again. “Ariella,” he croaked, “you're looking well.”
“Ah,” the water-seer smiled serenely, “good, you do remember. And I adore wit. Please try to hold on to that as long as possible. It makes things so much more enjoyable, in the long run.”
Ezra gulped. Note to self: stop trying to be clever. “How did you find me?”
“The will of the Mother. I heard of a disturbance in Faringway from an apprentice on his pilgrimage through the Midland Heights. It was not far out of my way, so I thought to investigate. Several of the villagers were happy to point me to where the Children of Lightning were hunting warriors from the Forbidden City.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I had never hoped it would be you. But, where Water is willing, fate shows the way.”
Ezra's eyes darted to where Sebastion lay. The young man's neck was twisted at the wrong angle, his arms and legs splayed bonelessly around him. He was obviously dead. The seer had killed him with no more effort than it took Ezra to draw a sword, and here she was talking about fate in that soft, gentle voice, as if to a child. She was a psychopath. He had pissed off a murderous, psychopathic water-seer assassin, who... Ezra blinked as Sarah's words echoed in his head. His tongue felt around inside his mouth, and he bared his teeth into something that might have been a grin.
“Release me,” the thunder-struck hissed. “That I might take my vengeance upon these unworthy demons.”
Ariella ignored him, tilting her head curiously at Ezra. “Oh? Have you found something that amuses you, boy?”
Ezra met her gaze and held it, letting out a low, mirthless chuckle as he did. “Why yes, lady seer,” he answered, eyes never wavering. “I believe I have.”
At that moment, Gal darted into the room from the tunnel leading out, barreling toward them and snarling, “Get your hands off him, you witch!” Ariella noted the swiftly approaching girl and rolled her wrist almost negligently, calling the water from Ezra's sword to form a blade of her own at her fingertips. Ezra bit down hard, activating the cap over his back tooth and hoping that it worked. An odd, prickling sensation passed through his body, like the one he had felt when he passed through the Sanctuary shield, only somehow in reverse. Probably because I'm entering a field instead of exiting one, some analytical part of his mind noted. He fell to the floor, the water-seer's grip on him suddenly released. Dropping to a crouch, his fingers closed on the hilt of his sword just as the liquid flowing from the seer's fingers splashed to the rock below.
The world seemed to slow down, focusing into a few, brilliant moments. Ezra saw the look of confusion on Ariella's face just as a bolt from Sarah's weapon impacted her shoulder. He felt the reassuring weight of his sword extending from his hand as he lunged forward, aiming at her heart. He felt the blade part her heavy robe, slicing upwards, biting into the soft flesh beneath.
But the water-seer was better trained than that. She spun with the motion of Sarah's attack, back hunching forward as she re-oriented her body, changing a fatal lunge into a painful slice drawn across her belly. Ariella's face contorted in pain, rage and, yes, a little fear as she landed awkwardly, stumbling away from Ezra. Blood welled up along the cut, seeping out to stain her beautifully patterned clothing as she fell back. Suddenly the world returned to its normal speed. Out of the corner of his eye, Ezra caught a glimpse of Gal sliding past Sebastian's lifeless form, scooping up the fallen bolt-thrower and letting fly at the downed seer. The elementalist's hand shot up instinctively to cover her neck and face.
And the water on the floor came with it, catching and holding the bolt.
Gal grabbed Ezra with her free hand, yanking him back toward the mouth of the cavern even as she skidded to a halt. They ran for all they were worth as Ariella screamed curses after them. Scrambling behind the wall, Ezra was caught by Sarah as Gal dropped into a shooter's stance, deftly reloading her weapon and holding it at the ready. “Steady,” Sarah hissed at him. “We've got you.” Her eyes darted to Gal. “Sebastian?”
Gal blinked hard and shook her head. Mat was lying against the wall, looking dazed, one hand held to his forehead. There was a little blood dripping through his fingers, a matching spot on the tunnel wall next to him. Ezra sheathed his sword shakily.
“Right,” Sarah began, exhaling heavily, “we need to grab Mat and get out of here, try to lose them in the–”
A harsh, grinding sound cut her off. Gal shot them a warning glance then peeked around the corner. She pulled her head back almost immediately as a stroke of lightning crackled past. “She's sawing at the cables. Letting the strucking Son of Lightning up.”
“Blighted thunder,” Sarah cursed, voice weak. “And it's broad daylight outside. Getting away from the seer would have been hard enough, but the two of them...” Sarah trailed off, looking worriedly at Mat and Ezra. Her gaze touched on Gal and she narrowed her eyes. “Gal, what are you... no, don't you dare. Don't even think about it.”
Gal was staring intently at something sitting just along the wall, barely visible around the corner. She licked her lips and nodded once, sharply, to herself. Spinning around, she grabbed Ezra and pulled him into a mind-blowing kiss. The heat of it, the burning passion, left him feeling weak in the knees. “Whoa,” he breathed as she let go, unsheathing his sword and pulling it with her as she did. Her eyes flickered over his shoulder toward Sarah, a pleading look in them.
“I love you, Ezra Hawkins,” Gal whispered fiercely. She shoved him in the chest, hard, then twirled and raced back into the room, diving and rolling past forks of lightning that couldn't quite touch her. Sarah's hand closed around his bicep like a steel clamp, pulling him backwards. A sharp twang sounded, the cables parting, and the thunder-struck let out a roar of triumph. Ezra reached a hand out toward Gal, confused, as he was forced relentlessly away, further down the tunnel. Gal reached the remote triggering device and hit it, turning back to smile heartrendingly at Ezra before raising the sword and bolt-thrower in defiance and leaping out of sight, toward the center of the room. The charges went off in a deafening tsunami of sound and force, flattening Ezra and his teammates to the ground as tons of stone fell, sealing the mouth of the cavern mere meters from where they sat.
Ezra blinked at the wall of rock in horror, the taste of Gal still burning on his lips. No, no that couldn't... not Gal. Oh please, not her. He turned on Sarah, eyes blazing in fury. She was stooped, supporting Mat's weight, eyes shining as tears glistened down her face. “I'm so sorry, Ezra,” she whispered, choking as a sob wracked her body. “Please, please I need your help. I can't carry him alone, and w-we, we have to run. Please, Ezra, I'm sorry, please help me.”
Ezra's anger left him. He felt viciously tired and horribly, horribly alone. No wonder Sarah is always so bitter, he thought. If she's been living with this feeling all along... it's amazing she can operate at all. He swallowed hard, straightening his spine and lifting his chin. His team needed him. There would be time to mourn later. He nodded and got a shoulder under Mat, lifting him and helping Sarah lead him forward one slow, shuffling step at a time.
Before they had gotten out of sight of the rock slide, they heard the sounds of explosive impacts from the far side, regular and chilling. They urged Mat to greater speed, glancing fearfully over their shoulders as the thumps of their enemies' power echoed after them. After a minute or two, they had gotten out of range of the noises, which was almost worse. By the time they reached the sunlit entrance to the cave, Mat was moving under his own power, if delicately.
Sarah scanned the area, holding her bolt-thrower low as she reloaded. “We need to get behind that ridge up ahead,” she said, nodding toward of the lip of another crater. “I remember seeing another tunnel there. They'll expect us to turn left or right, to try and skirt the mountain then head to the forest. We can hole up for now, then double back into the cave system once we're clear. We stay out of sight, only drink water from containers, and keep quiet for
a few days, then we can try to strike out for another portal.”
Mat rubbed at his head and nodded gingerly. “Yeah, I... that sounds like a plan. Man, my head is throbbing.” He squinted down at his hand. “Is that my blood? And why is the sun so bright?”
“He gonna be okay?” Ezra asked as they set off for the ridge at a gentle jog, to accommodate Mat.
Sarah let out a nervous laugh as they reached the ridge. “Yeah, if he can focus enough to complain, he'll be just fine. It's when Mat goes quiet that you really have to–”
The bolt-thrower clattered to the ground. Ezra turned to see Sarah, back arched in pain, as a bolt of lightning transfixed her chest.
