by Lisa Cassidy
Tarrick took a deep breath, the air fraught with tension. She kept her gaze locked on his, willing him to decide differently this time. And after what seemed like an eternity, his hard expression softened and he slowly nodded his head. “All right.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, almost swaying with relief.
Finn glanced between them. “How can you avoid engaging him?”
“He’s here for the councillors—the need to destroy them burns in him. I tried to protect them, but their choices have doomed them. I can’t save them now. We just need to get Cario clear.” It was brutal, what she was suggesting, and it felt like a failure—that at the first hurdle she was leaving her ideals behind, but what other choice did she have? Damned foolish old men!
“All right, Alyx,” he said simply.
Tarrick straightened. “Ladan, you and Dashan will come with Alyx and me. Dawn, Finn, Brynn, you take an extra horse and ride hard and fast to get clear of the valley. Once we have Cario safe, Alyx will fly straight to you and the rest of us will find our own way out.” He met Alyx’s eyes. “That’s the only way we’re doing this.”
She wanted to hug him. Instead she settled for a warm smile. “Deal.”
Brynn swung himself into the saddle without preamble, reaching out to take the reins of the closest horse. Dawn went to Ladan, leaned up to kiss him hard, then joined her brother in mounting up. They rode out at a gallop. Ladan’s expression was lost, like his entire life was riding out with them.
“She’ll be fine, big brother.” Alyx squeezed his arm. “Now let’s get Cario and get out of here.”
Chapter 31
With Tarrick in the lead, they walked cautiously up the steps and through the front doors of the hall. It was dark inside, the only light from the occasional flash of lightning coming through the windows.
Alyx’s hair was plastered to her skull, and she was soaked through. Water ran in rivulets down her face and she took a second to wipe it away. She shivered, and not entirely from the cold. The last time she’d been here she’d walked into a hall full of dead mage students. Howell’s body had been in the library lying alone amidst his beloved books. Her heart clenched. Focus.
“Tarrick, any thoughts on using my telepathic magic to find them? It could risk Shakar knowing I’m here,” she murmured.
“No,” Ladan answered quickly, Tarrick nodding agreement. “Right now Shakar’s attention is on the councillors. Let’s keep it that way.”
“I’ll take the lead. Ladan, you bring up the rear,” Dashan breathed. “We head for the main hall but do nothing until we find out what’s going on in there. Clear?”
They passed the deserted dining room and the hallway opposite where Alyx had once attended language classes. The place felt and sounded empty—Shakar hadn’t brought any of his mages in here with him. If he was still here. Frustration niggled at being unable to use magic to sense ahead. Finding Cario was going to be difficult without it.
She opened her mouth to suggest a small, shielded burst of telepathic magic, but as she did a shudder swept through her and she stopped abruptly.
“Alyx?” Ladan stopped beside her. “What is it?”
She took a deep breath, tried to fight another shudder. “He’s here.”
“How close?” Tarrick hefted his staff, glancing around as if Shakar was about to leap out from the walls around them.
“I don’t know. Close. Definitely in the hall. I can feel his magic.” It was the same dark presence from her nightmares, unmistakable, and tinged with triumph. Nausea curled in her stomach. She fought to keep her shield up, to keep the darkness out of her head. “I think he’s found the councillors. He can’t hide his glee.”
“Keep going,” Dashan said.
They moved on, but now Alyx started every time she heard a noise, fear leaping in her each time they rounded a corner, expecting Shakar to appear any second. She was terrified for Cario, hoped he had the sense to distance himself from the councillors if Shakar had found them.
Tarrick waved them silently past the main doors into the hall and instead led them down a corridor which ran parallel to the length of the hall. Reaching a side entrance, they huddled low, straining their vision to try and see what was happening. The space beyond was dark—the storm outside had moved past the valley, taking the lightning with it.
“I’ll have to use magic,” Alyx murmured. “Just to find Cario. Otherwise we’ll be stumbling around blind in there.”
Tarrick gave a stiff nod. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. First she summoned a tiny trickle of magic, keeping it as small as she could, then cautiously she reached out, seeking Cario’s mind. Terror gripped her at the thought of Shakar picking up what she was doing, and the moment she found Cario’s thoughts she let go of her magic completely.
“He’s in there, down the end to our left.” She swallowed. “He’s scared, but uninjured.”
“Shakar?” Ladan asked.
“I don’t know.”
“What’s Cario doing, just standing there?”
“I don’t know, Ladan. If you want me to risk Shakar sensing me by using more magic, I can find out,” she hissed, irritation flaring to mask her worry.
“No, we can’t risk it,” Dashan said. “Best case, we get Cario and slip out while Shakar is busy with the councillors. If we hit trouble, Ladan, you get Alyx and Cario out. Tarrick, you and I will give them time to flee before following.”
Dashan’s eyes flicked to hers as he spoke. She wanted to scream at them both, to say no, to say she couldn’t survive him dying again just to give her time to flee. But she’d learned from that night in Sandira that as much as she wanted her friends to respect her choices, she had to respect theirs in return. And her survival was critical.
“There’s an exit at both ends of the hall, as well as this doorway,” Tarrick added. “If we get separated, you all know the ways out of the valley. Get out as quickly as you can and keep moving. We’ll trust Alyx and Dawn to contact everyone once we’re clear. If you don’t hear anything, make straight for Alistriem.”
Alyx shivered at a scenario where both she and Dawn weren’t able to contact anyone, but nodded agreement. It was a sound plan considering the circumstances, and she intended to hold up her end of the bargain. Once she got clear, she’d fly straight to safety. Even so, she reached out to grab Dashan’s arm as they rose to move.
“No ridiculous heroics,” she hissed. “Promise me!”
“I promise I’ll do my best to get out,” he said solemnly. “If you promise me the same thing.”
She nodded, and he smiled at her. Even in the darkness it lit up her heart, and if the circumstances weren’t so dire, she would have kissed him then and there, three years apart be damned.
They moved out into the dark space, Alyx and Dashan in the lead, Ladan and Tarrick close behind. Their breathing was frighteningly loud in the open space, though the darkness closed in around them like a blanket. Alyx held her magic ready—once they got closer to the opposite end of the hall she’d use another burst to pinpoint Cario. Though it was strange they couldn’t hear anything—if he was there, where was Shakar? And where were the masters?
They stopped abruptly when a violet pearlescent glow lit up the darkness ahead—another mage was there, walking quickly towards them. It took a few moments for Alyx’s eyes to adjust to the light, but when they did, she wasn’t sure she was seeing right.
“Astor?” Puzzlement filled her, followed by a rush of relief. Her godfather’s presence was welcome…but Astor didn’t have concussive power, so how was it his staff glowed with the shimmer of a powerful warrior mage? She shook her head, wondering if her eyes were playing tricks. “How are you doing that? You’re a…”
“Lesser mage?” he asked, arching an eyebrow.
Ice-cold tendrils wrapped around her chest in a grip so firm her breathing stopped for a moment.
No. Oh no. Not this.
“Alyx?” Dashan’s glance was shifting quickly between her a
nd Astor—as always he knew the instant something was wrong with her. “What is it? Astor, what are you doing here?”
She barely heard him. On the heels of her shock came a deep flood of bone-melting grief. Not Astor. Her godfather. The man she’d loved and admired her whole life.
“It’s him,” she whispered, somehow finding the power to speak, her eyes firmly fixed on her godfather despite the tears now blurring them. “All this time.”
Clothing rustled as Ladan appeared at her side, hearing the distress in her voice even if not understanding yet what was happening.
“What’s him?” Tarrick snapped out. “Lord-Mage, what are you doing here?”
Astor smiled slightly. “I came for the council, of course.”
“Alyx!” Dashan cried out a warning.
Responding to his tone, Alyx raised her shield without thought. A concussion ball easily as powerful as hers slammed into it, shooting violet sparks in the air.
“What the hell…?” Ladan stared at Astor, where the attack on Alyx had originated.
“He’s Shakar,” Alyx shouted, the intensity of Astor’s attack breaking through her grief. Anger rose now, hot and cleansing. She lifted her right hand, magic illuminating it in a bright green glow. “It’s you.”
“It is.” Astor moved closer. She’d never felt such power radiating from a mage before; it was almost enough to burn her. All this time he had hidden it. She couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing or hearing. The nightmares that tormented her, the endless waves of Hunters trying to kill her, the attack in Sandira that led to Dashan’s ‘death’... her beloved godfather the cause of it all? A man she thought loved her, who she loved and admired. All this time it had been Astor? It was only her terror for Cario that allowed her to scratch and claw her way to enough focus to function. “Where are the councillors?”
A wide, almost maniacal grin spread over Astor’s face. It twisted the familiar features she’d grown up loving, turning them into something she only recognised from her nightmares. He moved the arm holding his staff and the violet light pulsed more brightly, showing the three dead bodies piled on the floor just behind him.
Walden, Yirith, and finally, Cario’s grandfather.
“The council is finally gone, Alyx. I destroyed them. You should be happy, it was what you wanted too, wasn’t it?”
She swallowed, gaze fixed on the bodies. Old men all, they looked so helpless and fragile lying there in a heap. She couldn’t tear her eyes away. “Cario?” she whispered.
Astor shrugged a little, lifted his hand. A floating body emerged from the dimness to land at Alyx’s feet. Cario’s bright blue eyes stared up at her, alive but trapped, unable to move. Another magical ability she’d never seen before. Fear struck, threatening to overwhelm her—Shakar was so much more powerful than she could ever be.
“I have to admit, I planned to use the young man as a tool to torture his grandfather before killing him,” Astor said. “Sadly, though, Councillor Duneskal seemed far more concerned with saving his own skin. But you…well, I didn’t expect this level of stupidity from you, Aly-girl. And over a single mage.”
She needed to play for time. Enough time for either Dashan or Ladan to come up with a way out of this. Even if it was only extending the time until he killed them. “You could have killed me when I was a little girl. You could have killed me a thousand times since. Why wait until now?”
“I have to admit to a certain...reluctance to hurt you.” There was an odd softness to his voice that clashed with the contempt ripping over his face. For a heartrending moment she saw her godfather, the man that had loved and cared for her since childhood, but then the contempt won and harshness returned to his voice. “But mostly, there was never really a need. You’re not a threat to me.”
The words sank in, but distantly. She was thinking while he spoke, trying to come up with a plan. A thought came to her and she spun. “Dash, get Cario and the others clear. I’ll be right behind you.”
He met her gaze, hesitated for only the briefest of seconds, then gave her a sharp nod. Alyx stepped forward, covering them, as Dashan launched into movement. Her magic leapt out, quick as she could, to take hold of Cario and send him sailing towards Ladan.
“Trust me, Tarrick!” She flung the thought at him, and then Astor was on her.
He went for her mind and body at the same time but her mental and physical magical shields were firmly up and he couldn’t get in. The force of energy he sent her way, however, battered her shield and sent her stumbling backwards several paces.
“Why?” she shouted, trying to keep his focus on her. Dashan and Ladan were lifting Cario’s dead weight between them while Tarrick hovered protectively. Then they were moving, heading for the exit. “Why become a monster? Why destroy so many lives?”
He laughed and attacked again. Her shield held off the concussion bursts, but they were powerful. Maintaining the shield under such a barrage drained her energy. She summoned her own magic, throwing a few concussion bursts at him. She had no hope of damaging him, but all she needed was to keep his attention on her for a short while longer.
Her magic dissipated before hitting him, like sliding off an invisible shield. Even though she’d known that would be the outcome, she gasped. Taliath invulnerability in a powerful mage was a fearsome thing to behold.
“I’m no monster, Alyx. I assure you I am a completely sane and rational man.”
She stepped forward. “Was it because you became invulnerable? You thought you could have whatever you wanted. Is that why you took a Taliath as a lover?”
Shakar’s face twisted and madness flashed briefly in his eyes, belying his claim and erasing all traces of the loving godfather she’d grown up knowing. That loss hit her like a punch, and she bit her lip, refusing to be shaken. She had to focus or she’d die here.
“I loved her!” He screamed the words across the open space, and she flinched at the desperation in them. His magic exploded out of him, manifesting in a great wall of flame bearing down on her. She leapt into the air, flying above the crackling fire and landing on the other side.
“You’re not capable of love,” she shouted back.
“They killed her.” His face was a mask of raw, aching grief. “I loved her and she died because they ordered it. I couldn’t save her.”
“Who killed her, Astor? Was it you? She gave you what you needed to become invincible so you murdered her?” Alyx gritted her teeth as he attacked her mind, as always unable to hold him off. But he wasn’t as disciplined as usual, his emotion chaotic and uncontrolled. What she saw in his thoughts made her gasp in surprise. He withdrew with a scream of rage and she stumbled backwards with the suddenness of it.
“Dawn, are you clear?”
A moment’s silence, then, “We’re out of the valley headed south.”
“Good, I’ll be with you soon.” Alyx expanded her magic, looking for Tarrick. His thoughts were frantic, torn between coming back to help and trusting her as she’d asked. But he was with Dashan and Ladan and they were mounted, riding hard for the valley exit. Cario was on Tarrick’s horse. She used a touch of effort to reassure him. “I’m fine. Keep moving!”
Breaking off, she met Shakar’s gaze, the gaze of her godfather, and some of the grief from earlier came back. “I’m glad I finally know who you are.”
“You’ll die happy then.” He’d calmed, sanity reasserting itself. He was done playing with her.
“I’d prefer to leave that to another day,” Alyx said, and took off at a run for the doors.
He came after her, loosing energy balls and firing at her fleeing back. She erected her shield, blow after blow slamming into it as she sprinted for the door. Then he used his telekinetic power.
Her feet came out from under her and she hit the stone floor hard. Gathering her strength, she leaped back to her feet and was immediately buffeted by another burst of his power.
“Coward,” he hissed into her mind.
Alyx ignored him, using her
flying power with more control than she ever had before, using it to keep her balance against his power, to keep her feet moving towards the door.
Crying aloud with the effort, she spun, lifting her hands and sending bright green-silver concussion bursts flying directly at him. Carefully controlled, they exploded before hitting him, lighting up the cavernous space in a green glow and blinding Shakar for a precious few seconds.
Then she reached the exit and leaped into the sky.
Chapter 32
Once clear she hovered high in the dark skies over DarkSkull Hall. The air outside the front entrance shimmered and he appeared out of nothing, staring up at her. She tensed.
He couldn’t fly.
She almost laughed at the frustration evident on his face—he had an ability to move between particular, specific locations, but he mustn’t be able to fly. Dragging together what strength she had left, she erected her mental shield. Then, she flew higher, so high into the dark sky that not even Taliath vision would be able to see her. Once well away to the north, and confident he hadn’t been able to track her with his magic, she turned and wheeled back south.
It took her less than an hour to find Dawn and Brynn, the extra horse following behind with Brynn’s hand firm on the reins. Alyx dropped wearily into the saddle.
“Get your mental shields up!” she snapped. “He’ll come after us if he can find you and we’re close enough.” She explained what she’d learned about his ability.
“I’ve been monitoring the others,” Dawn called over. Exhaustion tinged her voice. “The militia have splintered into several groups, all riding to different rendezvous points throughout Tregaya. Rodin is in command. Finn got separated from Brynn and I—we ran into a group of Shiven on the way out—but he’s clear and safe now.”
“Great work,” Alyx said, relieved. “Can you check in with Tarrick?”
