I clutch onto Casa, and Sebastian motions toward a cave a few feet away from us. If we’re fast, we could make it before more guards come. As the three of us run, I hear footsteps behind us. Guards. My mind tells me not to look back, but it’s hard not to. I need to know how far behind they are, if we can still make it. I quickly turn my head. Three guards chase us, each throwing magic but missing. My hold on Casa tightens as I shield her from the attacks.
We still have a long way to go and it appears as though the guards aren’t getting tired. Turning around once again, I lift my hand and shoot fire at the guard closest to us. He falters back before crashing to the ground.
With the next guard, I focus on getting him with lightning, but I must not be strong enough because, like the other guard, I hit him with fire.
“Good, Lily,” Sebastian says, breathless. “We’re almost there.” Casa grips my hand.
The last guard is much taller and larger than the other two. He looks like he can crush me in half like a toothpick. He lets out a roar, and a huge fireball is hurled at us. Sebastian grabs my hand and all three of us jump into the tall grass. The fire flies over us before slamming into a tree and burning it.
The grass gives us a nice amount of cover, but it won’t be long before the monster of a guard finds us. Peeking through the grass, I send him a few of my own fireballs. He manages to jump to the right and left to avoid them. Dammit. I’m still weak from all that training. I try to strike his hands so it will inhibit him from doing magic. Yes! I got him.
He lets out a howl before charging at us like a bull. I send some more magic his way, but clearly he’s been trained well because he seems to know exactly where I’m going to hit.
Shutting my eyes, I focus all my energy on killing this guard. My hands curl into tight fists, my nails digging into my skin. As I concentrate harder, putting in everything I’ve got, something gathers in the pit of my stomach. I feel it growing more intense, and then two large balls of fire jet toward him, causing him to explode.
“Holy crap,” I say as I gape at my hands. I didn’t know I could do that. I made him explode.
Sebastian clasps my hand. “We need to make a run for it.” He nods toward the cave.
We jump out of the grass and sprint toward the cave. As I’m running, I hold Casa tight, making sure not to lose my grip on her.
When we’re less than a foot from the cave, I heave a sigh of relief. We made it.
Suddenly something slams into the side of my body. I tumble to the ground as the right side of me scorches. It’s as though someone’s rubbing a torch all over me.
“Lily!”
My eyes are heavy, but I can see Sebastian leap onto the guard who must have hit me. Casa uses her short legs to kick the guard, but he shoves her aside.
“Casa,” I whisper. I’m in too much pain to see if she’s okay.
Sebastian pummels the guard’s stomach. The guard lifts his hands toward Sebastian’s heart.
“No!” My voice is weak, but my body and heart fill with energy. I won’t lose the man I love.
Clenching my teeth to fight the pain, I wave my hands around, creating the largest fireball I can manage and send it at the guard. He’s too busy getting excited to kill Sebastian that he doesn’t notice it heading toward him.
At that moment, Casa comes out of nowhere and jumps onto the guard’s back, biting his neck. Letting out a shout, the guard tears her off him, and that’s when he sees the fireball. He stretches his arms out, using Casa as a shield.
“No!” I shout. But it’s too late. Casa drops to the floor, charred.
Letting out another screech, I hurl more magic at the guard. I don’t care if I don’t have much strength left. I don’t care if this kills me. I’m not about to let this bastard get away with killing a little girl.
The guard looks like he’s being electrocuted before he collapses to the ground.
Sebastian’s at my side, taking my face in both his hands. “Lily!”
“Casa,” I murmur, my voice choked up. Tears threaten to break through.
Sebastian holds me close, rocking me in his arms. I can feel his tears dripping onto my cheeks. “Lily,” he whispers.
“I want to…I want to see her.” I pull free from his clutch and drag my body over to her. I’m so weak and full of pain that I can hardly think straight. But I need to see her.
When I reach her body, all I see is burned flesh. If not for my seeing it with my own eyes, I would never think this was a sweet, brave twelve-year-old girl.
The tears splash down my cheeks. “Casa.” My hand takes hers. “I’m so sorry. So very sorry.” I lift her hand to my mouth and kiss it softly. “Can you forgive me?”
An idea enters my head. Maybe I can heal her. As I hold her hand to my cheek and channel my magic, I feel the pain slowly vanish from me. I’m healing myself, too? When I look down at her, I realize that there’s nothing to heal. She’s already dead.
“Lily, are you hurt?” Sebastian gently touches me to check for pain, but I don’t feel anything.
I pull away. “I’m fine. I must have healed myself.”
He presses his face to the back of my head. “We need to get to safety. There are many more guards who’ll be looking for us. We can’t stay out here.”
I know he’s right. But I can’t just leave her here like this. The tears aren’t relenting as I turn around to look into Sebastian’s sad eyes. “We need to bury her. Right here.” I’m not going to let the guards disintegrate her body.
Sebastian agrees and we dig as fast as we can. Then we bury Casa. I blow her a kiss before Sebastian and I run toward the cave.
Chapter Fifteen
“I can’t handle this, Sebastian. I can’t.”
We’re lying on the cave floor, with my head against Sebastian’s chest. My tears don’t seem to dry up. It’s like there’s a fire hydrant behind them.
Sebastian doesn’t say anything as he strokes his hand down my back.
“All the deaths,” I continue, my voice above a whisper. Casa’s death replays in my head. Over and over and over again. More tears pool in my eyes.
Sebastian tightens his arms around me. “It’s going to be okay.”
I draw back. “How can you say that? All these people died because of me.”
“No. They died trying to make the world a better place for future generations.” He caresses my cheek. “They knew the risks and were more than willing to join the revolution. Please don’t blame yourself.”
“If I was stronger, maybe I could have saved everyone. Why didn’t we see the guards coming?”
“I don’t know. We had many of our own guards protecting us, but they must have been ambushed.”
I sit up. “You think someone told on us?”
Shock fills his eyes. “A betrayer?”
“Think about it. We had people hidden all over the place, didn’t we? The only way for the palace guards to take them down was if they knew exactly where everyone’s post was.”
He drops his hands from around me and runs them through his hair. “Who would betray us?”
I press my head to his chest, and that’s when I realize it’s bare. We were making out when we were attacked and he didn’t have a chance to put on a shirt. I wave my hand over his chest and a shirt appears on him. Sebastian gives me a thankful smile. “This is all speculation,” I say. “Maybe someone didn’t betray us. Maybe the guards are just too good.”
He nods slowly, like he’s trying to convince himself.
I scoot away from him and hug my knees to my chest. Images of the dead bodies fill my head, and I want to pull my brain apart. I want to dig into the part that holds my memories and erase each one. No, I want to find a time machine and undo everything that happened.
“What are we going to do, Sebastian?” I ask.
He rests his forehead against mine. “We need to search for the others.”
I swallow. “How are you so sure there are others?”
His eyes bore in
to mine. “We can’t lose hope. Renaya, your father…I’m sure they fled to safety.”
“Where exactly is safety?”
He lifts his hands helplessly. I snuggle up to him, trying to shove the image of Casa’s burned flesh out of my head. It’s like she’s haunting me, blaming me for getting her killed. I don’t care what Sebastian says. It was my fault. I was the one who threw that fireball at her.
“All I know is we can’t stay here much longer,” he says.
When we first got here, I used my magic to seal off the cave with a few thick layers of walls made of mud. They’ll hold and keep us hidden, but not forever. Sebastian is right—we’ll need to leave.
“But for now,” he continues. “We’re safe for the night. You sleep and I’ll keep watch.”
“I’m the one who has magic. I’ll guard.”
He shakes his head. “But you’re weak and in pain.”
“I’m fine.”
He cups my face in his hands. “I love how brave you are, but I doubt I’m going to get any sleep tonight. And you need the rest.”
“I’m not going to get any rest, either.”
“Maybe you don’t think you need to, but your body feels otherwise. Lily, if you don’t rest, you won’t have enough strength to protect us.”
He has a point. If guards swarm the place, I might be too weak to fight them off. “Okay,” I say. “But the minute you hear something, you wake me up. Don’t try to be brave and battle a guard on your own.” I rub his cheek. “You almost…died the last time.”
He wraps his arms around me. “I just want to protect you.”
“And I want to protect you. You really scared me when you fought with that guard. You’re strong but…”
“Fists are no match for magic.”
I swallow. “Yeah.”
“If only I had some weapons.” Light enters his eyes. “Lily, do you think you can create a weapon for me? Not now. When you’re strong enough.”
“I’m pretty sure I can. Let me try. I think I’m regaining my strength back. ” I shut my eyes and picture the biggest and sharpest sword ever known to man…well Ortarian, I guess. When I open my eyes, I see a long sword lying right next to me. I expect to feel a little woozy after using magic, but I’m fine.
Taking it in my hands, I examine it. It’s nothing like I’ve ever seen before. I bet it could cut through steel doors. I hand it to Sebastian. “Here you go.”
“Thank you.” He nuzzles my nose. “Now may not be the right time to say this, but you’re really sexy when you use magic.”
I want to laugh, to maybe smile. But I can’t. The memories of all the deaths still roam around in my head. I don’t think I’ll be able to laugh for a while. There’s no way to bring them back, but I’m determined now more than ever to put an end to Sorenten’s evil reign. I’m going to make Ortarus a peaceful and wonderful place to live. I won’t allow all my fellow rebels’ deaths to be in vain.
My head droops toward Sebastian’s chest. I want to force myself to stay awake, but it seems like my body has other plans. Sebastian rubbing my back doesn’t help me fight the sleep. And he smells so good and his chest is so soft, softer than a pillow. My eyes feel heavier and heavier and before I know it, I’m out cold.
Chapter Sixteen
When I wake up the next morning, Sebastian’s head is resting against mine and the sword is right beside him, his hand clutching the hilt. I’m surprised I actually fell asleep last night. I guess I didn’t realize just how worn out my body was. Now that I’m fully awake, the memories wash over me. I know I can’t constantly think about it. I need to try to move on, if that’s possible. The slain rebels wouldn’t want me to feel this way. They’d want me to be strong, to fight for them. As determined as I am, I’m also terrified. The palace guards displayed powerful magic. What will it be like to fight the king? What if I really do die?
No. The important thing is for me to kill the king so my dad can take the throne. It doesn’t matter what happens to me.
Dad. Is he even still alive? I can’t bear the thought of him being dead. I just got him back. We were building a relationship.
What about Renaya and the others? I don’t want to think about how crushed Sebastian would be if he learned his sister is dead. No, I need to keep my thoughts positive. The others survived. They had to.
Maybe I can try to reach them through my mind? Hastus told me that Ortarians can’t use magic to read minds, but maybe it’s worth a try. I need to do something.
Closing my eyes, I think about Renaya. I call out to her, trying to channel my thoughts to her. Nothing happens. I try the same thing with my dad, hoping our father/daughter bond will help. Again, nothing happens.
I’m about to try again, when I hear movement on the other side of the walls. We’re deep in the cave, yet I hear movement. My heart skips a beat. Is it the palace guards? Are they going to tear the walls down?
I peer at Sebastian and find him sleeping, his chest rising and falling gently. Maybe whoever is outside is nothing. I don’t want to wake him, not unless I need to. After giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, I creep toward the muddy wall and press my ear to it. There doesn’t seem to be anyone out there. I rest my palm against it and the wall slowly peels away to reveal a hole. After climbing through that, I do the same for the next few walls until I reach the entrance to the cave.
It’s dark out, which makes me realize I hadn’t slept for a few hours but more like minutes. It’s still night time. I have no idea what time. Do Ortarians even have time? Shaking my head to get rid of these useless thoughts, I look outside. All I see is darkness. Whoever was there, he’s gone now.
I’m about to crawl back into the inner cave when I hear noises in the distance. It sounds like people talking. The palace guards. Straining my ears, I can hear bits and pieces. One, a female, is telling her male comrade to search all the caves. Oh, no. If they’re checking the caves further down, then it won’t be long before they reach ours. I need to return to Sebastian and we need to get the hell out of here.
I turn around to find my way back, when I notice I can’t move. Something’s got my leg. Looking down, I find myself face to face with an animal I have never seen before. It has teeth that look sharper than a shark’s. Its torso is covered in scales and spikes. Its eyes are red. Big and red. I won’t let my eyes venture down to its bottom. I’m pretty sure that’s covered with something spiky, too.
It has my leg caught between its teeth. It doesn’t hurt, but after a second or two, I feel it. Like someone is inserting daggers into my leg.
My hands lift to throw this thing off me, when it catches both my arms in its legs. Like I suspected, they’re covered in spikes. There’s no way I can use magic to get this thing off me. My body is engulfed in pain, but I can handle it, for now. This pain is nothing compared to what I felt last night. I mean, a few hours ago.
How do I free myself? I can shout, but that might not scare this thing off. Also, it might alert the guards. I can try to wiggle out of its hold, but what if it has poison? What if moving causes it to sink its poison deeper into me?
“Get off me,” I say, as if it can understand me. It doesn’t seem to want to eat me. It’s content just biting into my human flesh.
I decide to try to use my magic. It’s possible I don’t need to use my hands. Maybe my mind is enough. Or my mouth?
Nothing seems to work. I’ve come to the conclusion that magic can only come from my hands.
The creature is staring at me like it wants me for dinner. When its teeth sink deeper into me, I let out a soft cry. That’s it. I didn’t come all this way to be eaten alive by some shark/porcupine hybrid. I shut my eyes and focus all my energy on this thing. An electric shock jolts through me before my entire body lights up in an orange color. It remains inside me for about ten seconds before shooting out of me and aiming at the creature. It screeches and is launched out of the cave.
The voices grow louder, and I hear footsteps. Oh, crap. The palace guards mu
st have seen the hybrid get hurled out of the cave. They’ll be here in seconds.
“Sebastian,” I whisper.
I don’t bother healing myself. It’ll only waste time. I squeeze through the holes in the walls until I’m in the inner room of the cave, where Sebastian is still asleep.
I shake his shoulder. “Sebastian, wake up!”
He doesn’t move. For a second, I think he isn’t breathing, but then I see his chest rising and falling. “Sebastian.” I shake him again. He still doesn’t move. I lightly slap his chest. “What’s wrong? Why won’t you wake up?” I slap his cheeks. I create a cup filled with water and splash it on his face. I try to use my magic to wake him.
Nothing works. It’s like he’s in a coma.
The footsteps are close now. I grab the sword and stick it in my jeans, trying not to wince at the hole I created. I then take Sebastian’s hand and picture us being teleported out of here. When I open my eyes, we’re no longer in the cave.
Sebastian is lying on the ground next to me, not moving. What happened to him? Why won’t he wake up? Tears fill my eyes, but I shove them back. He’s still breathing, so I force myself to take that as a good sign. As long as his chest rises, there’s hope.
I have no idea where we are, but I can’t think about that. I need to find another place we’ll be safe.
Bending down, I heave Sebastian to his feet and wrap his arm around me. I almost forgot how heavy he is and use my magic to help me hold him. I know it’s risky, since I’ll need my energy to fight off any guard that might attack us, but I’m not leaving Sebastian.
As I move, I call his name and squeeze his arm, but there’s no movement from him. I stop walking when I reach an area surrounded by caves. We can hide in one, but for how long? The palace guards are checking every single cave in Ortarus. Whatever’s going on with Sebastian, we need to hide somewhere where I can take care of him. Or wait for him to wake up. Or something. A cave would be the worst place to go.
I peer down at the tall grass. It’s not a good idea to hide in there, either. The guards will find us in seconds. But what about…underneath the ground? The guards wouldn’t look there, would they?
Keeping the Genie (Genie's Love, Book 3) Page 9
