Scorched Treachery (Imdalind #3)

by Rebecca Ethington

  I stood in one jump, my feet immediately moving to take me back to her.

  Joclyn lay on the bunk as she continued to hack up blood. She had bled when Ryland had hit her with a chair. The same thing was happening again, but this time, much worse.

  I needed to find the connecting fiber of the Tȍuha. I needed to bring her back, but I couldn’t get close enough to do so. I yelled as I squared my shoulders, fully prepared to battle my way through her seizure and save her…until her hands began to glow.

  If I wasn’t so focused on her, I would have missed it.

  The magic exploded out of her, an electrical current so strong it would have buried us all in the mountain in a matter of seconds. My magic burst away from me in a shield that cocooned its way around Joclyn. The force of her magic pushed me away from her as the transparent shell I sent toward her surrounded her, trapping a lightning storm of energy.

  Her magic crackled and boomed within the protective layer I had created, flashes of light shooting over the dark walls of the cave. My fear grew as the onslaught I had just trapped Joclyn in got worse, and I realized the possible danger that she could now be facing alone.

  I ran to her as I kept the shield strong. My magic pushed through the Štít in its desperate attempt to get near her, but still, it was restrained.

  The powerful barrier I had placed around her was no match for her magic. The fact should not have surprised me, but given the situation, it only meant danger for her and for the rest of us around her.

  I stepped back, although my heart called me forward. My jaw tensed as I looked at the danger before me, my blood ready at any instant to intercede.

  “Dramin!” My voice was barely able to rise through the large space before the shield shattered, the loud crack of her magic hitting the stone resounding through the cave in a fearful rumble.

  The sound rattled in my ears, the danger calling right into my gut. My muscles tensed and pulsed in my shoulders as the danger announced itself. My magic bubbled as my shoulders stiffened, my breeding guiding me toward her, toward the danger.

  Dramin’s footsteps were barely audible above the destructive sound of Joclyn’s magic as she continued to writhe, the uncontrolled streams of power flowing out of her. The white hot torrents escaped from her fingers and out of her chest as they continued to tear through the mountain, the contact impact beginning to shake the ground beneath us. I stopped as many of her magical attacks as I could, my magic surging away from me as I attempted to protect us, but I was no match for the power that Joclyn held inside of her.

  A rumbling sound ricocheted through the cave, echoing off walls as it intensified and the mountain began to fall apart around us.

  Thom and Dramin called out from somewhere behind me when the shaking increased and sent us all to the ground, our feet unable to stay steady inside of the rumbling cave.

  The current that now had a life of its own ripped the rock of her bunk apart, pieces of it falling around her and covering the bed she lay in as she unwittingly entombed herself in fallen rock.

  I didn’t think. If I had, I wouldn’t have moved. But my soul stepped in, moving me forward in an attempt to save her. I dodged as the magic crackled in the air around me, yelling as one long tendril sliced deeply into my arm.

  I could hear Dramin and Thom yelling behind me, begging me to stop, warning me of the danger, but I didn’t listen. I ignored the blood that flowed freely down my arm. I ignored their voices. I could only focus on the girl who was fighting for her life right in front of me. I reached her just as the attack stopped and her arms went limp. I grabbed her body and brought her safely into my arms, the bunk shifting into a mass of rock and debris as it collapsed over where she had been only moments before.

  Everything was silent. I held her in my arms as I let my pulse steady, as I accepted the safety of the girl I held.

  One moment of silence, and then the groaning of the cave opened up. The loud rumbling sounds had been a deep warning of what was to come.

  My muscles tensed as my fear rose and swelled into a power I always tried to restrain, but not now. Now, I needed it.

  The deep sound rumbled around us, ripping through our ears as it warned us of what was to come. I turned toward the two men behind me to see my own fear mirrored in their faces. Thom looked around as the groans increased and Dramin’s head whipped around as a loud bang sounded through the cave as the roof began to collapse on itself. If we didn’t move now, we would find ourselves buried in here.

  “Get out of here! Jít!” I yelled loudly in Czech, fully aware that I had placed the magical stream into my voice that would require them to comply. I knew that neither Thom nor Dramin could perform a stutter, and I was not willing to leave them here to die alone.

  Both men turned and ran, their speed increasing as more groaning echoed around us. I held Joclyn’s body to me, praying she did not continue to attack her unseen assailant before I could get her to safety.

  The floor shook as bits of ceiling continued to fall around us. The sizes of the stones increased as the mountain shifted; the groans responding to the destruction that Joclyn had caused to a now unstable cave. I listened to the groaning that echoed as we ran, the deep moans from the mountain warning of us of the end.

  I followed them as we attempted our escape. Thom’s long dreads bounced around his shoulders, and Dramin’s night robe flew behind him like a cape. Joclyn’s continued jerks and spasms were masked by the jostling movements of my run as we dodged around falling rocks and dirt. I ran as I watched the intricate stonework of the cave crumble around us, the beautiful iron work that once hung from the ceiling crashing to the stone floor only to crinkle like paper left too long in water. We darted through obstacles as the noise grew until each of us had made it into the hall that would lead us out, only to find it blocked.

  My heart plunged to see our escape route clogged with rock, the only way to safety encapsulating us in our danger. Thom and Dramin looked to me, fear and anger lining their faces. I ignored the emotion, stepping into my role as I had been raised to do.

  “The training room.” My commanding voice barely resonated above the groaning of the mountain, but even without the magical pulse weaved inside of it, both men quickly obeyed.

  The sound of the collapsing mountain had grown so loud that I could barely hear anything above it. I shifted Joclyn’s body up, leaving her dangling over my shoulder as the two men ran ahead of me toward the training room.

  I watched them go, praying that the space to which they were heading would be free of the horrors we had just left. Joclyn’s body bounced on my back as I turned to face what little was left of the beautiful cave.

  The palms of my hands came to rest on the cold stone that lined the dark hallway, the energy that the rock held inside of itself answering to my touch. The strong pulse of natural magic whirled inside of me, pulling at me for a fleeting moment before being sent back to speed through the mountain alongside my own. I closed my eyes as I focused, my magic pushing into the rock, moving it away. There was no way I could stop the destruction, but I could slow it down, stop what hadn’t already happened. I could not fail.

  I felt the shifting of the rock slow, the mountain answering to my call. I continued to push against it, sweat forming underneath my long hair as I forced the mountain to do what I wanted.

  Boulders moved back into place, rocks piled up against others, and I heated and fused the rocks back together in a desperate attempt to stabilize the mountain. My mind moved each hulking mass quickly, stopping the fall in one place only to have it start in another. Even with the speed that my ability gave me, I wasn’t going to be able to do enough to keep our way out free of more obstruction.

  Slowly, the groaning stopped, the crashing of rocks ceased, and quiet filled the air. I kept my hands flat against the stone as my energy moved back inside of me, energizing me at its return.

  I didn’t dare move, not yet. I stood still, waiting for the groaning to return. I could feel Joclyn’s
jolts against my back, her frantic movements continuing to alert me to the danger she was still facing. Her movements pulled at me, asking me to move, to go help her, but I had to make sure we were all safe first.

  “Ilyan?” I didn’t even move at Dramin’s voice. I stayed still, waiting, needing to know that the mountain wasn’t going to continue its attempt to bury us alive.

  “Is it safe back there?” I asked through gritted teeth, still not looking toward him.

  “Yes.”

  I felt his body only a step away from me, his energy pulsing through the air. I focused on his energy, my nerves tingling as I felt his arms rise, presumably to lift Joclyn from my back.

  “Leave her.” My voice was hard.

  Dramin’s arms dropped, but he did not move. His body was still right behind me. The minutes ticked by until I was sure that the mountain had ceased its implosion, my hands dropping as I turned to face Dramin, Joclyn’s twitching body still hanging loosely over my shoulder.

  Dramin looked at me, his eyes hooded with concern and fear. I ignored his expression, he needed no explanation from me, and I was not required to give one. I shifted Joclyn’s weight into my arms, her head lolling over my elbow as I walked passed Dramin, his energy following me into the bare cavern that had mostly been used for training until now. Now, it would be used as our home. At least until I could find us a way out of here.

  “What happened?” Thom yelled the moment I walked into the room, his words followed by profanities that no man should be aware of. I knew he was mad. I knew he needed answers. But right then, I didn’t care. His anger didn’t matter. All that mattered was making sure Joclyn was all right.

  “Joclyn je pod útokem.”

  “What do you mean, Ilyan?” Thom yelled, his anger boiling out of him. “Your girlfriend just tore apart the cave and trapped us underground!”

  I could feel the confusion and anger emanating off both of them as their magic peaked and their stress heightened the magical flow inside of them.

  I was the only one of my kind who was strong enough to feel the subtle change in the powers of those around me. It was just another one of the curses my powerful magic brought me. But right now, I wasn’t focused on the gentle flow and pulse of Thom and Dramin. I was focused on the fact that I felt nothing from Joclyn. Her undercurrent was there, but the actual strength seemed smothered. It was more than when Edmund had been limiting her power through the necklace and worse than when her magic was dying. The thrum I felt now was weaker than when I had first felt her magical pull before her powers had even awakened.

  My magic pulsed into her through the Štít, as well as the connection of my skin against hers. It flooded her. The strong barrier that had prohibited me from so much as calming her before was now weak and breakable between us like spun candy. Now, I could save her.

  I scanned her body for the thin connecting line of the Tȍuha, my body freezing when I found nothing. I pushed into her, letting my magic fill her to every corner, the full extent of my power enough to kill any other, but Joclyn just lay there. I searched for the bridge to her mind, for injuries, for warning signs, for spells and curses – but found nothing.

  I dropped to my knees, keeping her body in my lap, keeping her close.

  “She is being attacked in the Tȍuha,” I provided, knowing I had to give them some sort of explanation as to why their lives had been torn apart.

  “Ryland?” Thom accused, his angry voice bitter.

  “No.”

  “Then who?” Thom’s voice faded off as he asked the question because he knew, we all knew. We had all heard her retelling of Ryland as a black-eyed man, of how Cail was controlling her dreams. But this wasn’t a dream, and I didn’t know how to wake her up. I didn’t know how to help her. Somehow, Cail’s control had moved into the Tȍuha.

  “So, she attacked him in the Tȍuha and almost killed us?” Thom was angry, and I didn’t blame him. “Is she going to do it again? Can’t you just wake her up?”

  “I can’t find the bridge to her mind, Thom. I’ve been looking.”

  “How long ago did she go in?” Dramin asked, the confusion in his voice triggering my own.

  “Ten minutes,” I provided, knowing the short amount of time would sound silly. It did to me.

  It wasn’t just the time that she had been in there that had triggered my alarm. Her actions, what had happened to her body. I felt my lungs constrict in stress as I looked at the still wet specks of blood around her mouth.

  My hands pressed one of hers against the blood on my bared chest, against the dozens of scars that lined my skin. The pain flared through my chest as the pressure against the scars increased, the same way it had always done. I looked at our hands briefly before dragging my eyes back to her face.

  “How is he doing it?” Dramin asked, letting the unspoken name float between us.

  “I don’t know. But I will find out.” I looked up to the two men, looking from the deep sea green of Dramin’s eyes, to the crystalline blue of Thom’s – the color our father had cursed us with, the color of royalty.

  The necklace Ryland had given Joclyn still hung around her neck, the large ruby glistening. No, not a ruby, I reminded myself. A diamond. He had given it to her with the intent that it would protect her, just as I had placed the Štít within her. Neither was doing her any good now.

  After the protective shield of the necklace had faded, Joclyn was left with only a weak connection to my brother. I touched the stone lightly, knowing what it meant to her, but right then I hated it. I hated what it had come to represent and what it had done to her.

  It had been the bridge to his mind.

  My heart rate increased as I stared at the jewel, my breathing stuttering as I attempted to control myself. Before I could stop myself, I wrapped my fingers around the necklace, breaking the clasp as I ripped it away from her neck.

  I waited, waited for her to wake, waited for the bridge to make itself known, but she stayed as still as ever, the necklace dead and cold in my hands. I pocketed it quickly, returning my hand to her face.

  “Why didn’t that work?” Dramin asked, his voice making it obvious that he had already known it would not.

  “He has been controlling her dreams through a blood connection, but a Tȍuha? I didn’t even know that was possible. I have never seen anything like this before, Dramin.” I gave them as much of an answer as I felt comfortable giving, keeping my voice an emotionless mask.

  “I have.”

  Chapter Eleven

  “What?” I moved to face Dramin, his words still melting into my crude understanding of what was going on.

  “I have seen something like this.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him, and he took a quick step away in expectation of my anger.

  “Where?” I asked, trying to keep my voice level, the anger and regality seeping out without me wanting it to. “Was it a sight, Dramin, or at some point in your living life?”

  He hesitated, and I instantly knew why. Last night he had spoken in his usual guarded way about being needed; it was his reason for consenting to come to the Rioseco Abbey with Joclyn and me. I hadn’t thought twice at the time, how could I? For hundreds of years, guarded words and cryptic answers had been his way. I had no reason to think that would have changed. I felt Thom’s magic surge dangerously as his temper rose.

  “You have vidět this, haven’t you, Dramin?” My voice was level, the regal tone I had tried to keep restrained for most of my life seeping through.

  Dramin didn’t answer. He simply extended his hand toward me, his face pained as he gave me permission to use the full extent of his recall.

  I placed Joclyn on the cold stone floor of the cave to grab Dramin’s hand and place it against my forehead. My eyes closed to blackness for only a moment before the vision filled me. I could see myself, standing over Joclyn, the stone walls of the Rioseco Abbey clear in the background. Her body was still, limp, and yet I was yelling at her, panic evident on my face and in my voice. I
watched as Dramin walked into the room, his face calm for only a moment before he too panicked. Before I could see any more, Dramin removed his hand from my head, the vision leaving with it.

  There was no sign of her waking up in the sight, only her limp body and my pain and panic. That sight could be in a week or in five years – I had no way of knowing. I re-ran the vision in my mind as I inspected every aspect: different clothes, my usual shorter haircut, the Rioseco Abbey.

  “Why didn’t you tell me, Dramin?” I ran my fingers through my hair, pulling hard on the long uncomfortable strands.

  “Tell you what?”

  “Tell me what would happen! That something was wrong, something is…” I stopped, not knowing exactly what was going on. I was unable to put my lack of knowledge about what was happening into words. “We could have stopped this.”

  “How?” Dramin’s voice was deep and accusatory. I could already hear the regular rebuttal of his kind on his tongue – the lack of knowledge, the inability to interfere with things to come.

  “You could have told me,” I said, knowing my reasoning would be lost on him. “I could have stopped her from going into the Tȍuha…”

  “How was I to know it was Tȍuha?” Dramin asked his voice raising. Anyone else would have recoiled, but I straightened in front of him, my height and heritage meant to terrify him. He, however, was so used to me he didn’t even move.

  “I showed you all that I have seen, Ilyan. There was no way to know…”

  “Zastavit,” I said loudly, prickling agitation moved up my body in a ripple. I let it take over for one weighted minute before I released it. Unleashing my temper against Dramin would solve nothing.

  “Does she wake?” My voice was a whispered breath.

  “Yes.” My head snapped up at Dramin’s answer, hope running through me.

  “Then we will wait,” I said, when a small feminine moan behind me pulled all of my focus away from Dramin and back to Joclyn. I spun around, part of me desperate to see her eyes open, her bright smile. But, she was the same. I dropped to my knees, pressing my hands against her arms as my magic flowed into her.