Scorched Treachery (Imdalind #3)

by Rebecca Ethington

  Cail’s sacrifice ran through my head. Kill Timothy first. I raised my left hand and stared at the marks on my skin, the jagged edges strong where the zánik curse was bound into my skin. My brother had done that and in doing so had severed his mind into two halves. He had done it to protect me, in the hopes that he would someday be saved in return.

  I had two paths before me, one to certain freedom, and one in the service of my brother.

  With the power in my veins, the only thing that could stop me was Edmund, and he was safely tucked inside the bowels of the caves in search of the wells of Imdalind.

  Imdalind.

  I don’t know how, but he hadn’t found them yet. I could stop everything before it even began.

  “Which have you chosen?” Sain said. “The path of light or that of dark?” The reference to his sight was jagged and unwanted.

  “I don’t know what you are talking about, old man,” I said, my voice hard. “I am choosing the path that makes the most sense.”

  I tapped my toes once against the ground, a surge of power and energy rushing away from me. It flowed through the rock before it exploded into the large cavern that held the orchard, the whole thing going up in flames with a loud explosion that shook the entire mountain. I couldn’t help but smile at the surge of power, Sain jumping at the distant noise. His sharp intake of breath increased my smile before he laughed, soft and joyful. I guess that meant I made the right decision.

  I tapped my toes against the stone once more, confirming that my father had moved away from Cail in his attempt to find out what had happened. My jaw clenched as I felt him move closer, the wicked desire for blood I had lost when my memories were bound coming back strong. I was ready. Timothy would be walking in front of us in three… two… one…

  His quick steps moved him through the tall doorway of an adjacent hallway, but he didn’t even make it past the archway before my magic had grabbed him and pulled him into the darkened space Sain and I hid in, flattening him against the rock.

  He caught one sight of me and opened his mouth in a scream, a scream that never left his throat. I placed my hand against his mouth, my magic pushing the small black omezující stone into his belly before it flared and burned his vocal cords to a crisp and he could draw breath.

  “Hello, father,” I taunted, cocking my head to the side in amusement.

  His eyes widened as he tried to move against my bindings, the strength incapacitating him. I smiled, my eyes flashing at the sudden reversal of roles.

  He deserved this. My blood pulsed strongly in expectation and my smile grew.

  “What? Are you not going to say hello?”

  Timothy’s pupils dilated in panic as he looked at me, the scream of pain and fear that he could never muster lost somewhere deep inside of him.

  I placed my hand against his stomach, my palm pressed against the fabric of his shirt. His eyes widened as I pushed against him, my magic shooting a blade of fire into him. My eyes flashed with glee and I pushed harder, dragging my hand against his belly as my magic sliced a large gash through him, the heat of my magic cauterizing the wound instantly.

  “Choose light, Wyn.” I froze, the advance of my hand stalled at Sain’s voice.

  Fine, I would choose light. But that doesn’t mean I will leave him unaccountable. I would not leave him free to repeat his same sins. He could die alone in the dark. The way he deserved to die.

  “Goodbye, father,” I spat, before sending his body flying back toward the empty room we had just come from, his back snapping as he impacted with the wall. He slid down and fell into a heap, his lack of magic making it easy for me to leave him to die.

  “This way,” I hissed, grabbing Sain’s hand and pulling him behind me.

  One step against the stone and I could see a quick layout of the caves, my magic pulsing at the realization that Edmund was moving directly toward us. It was no surprise. The man was smart and he knew me well, too well. I altered my route, pulling Sain into a connecting hallway I hadn’t planned to use in an attempt to get away from Edmund.

  If only the hall had been empty. Four of Edmund’s guards were running through the hall in their attempt to get to the blazing orchard, their feet stopping the second we came into view.

  I pulled Sain behind me as each of their faces registered our presence, their hands rising in unison. They looked between each other and back to me, their faces lighting with an eager anticipation. They thought they were going to take me down, but they had no idea who they were really up against.

  “You aren’t going to try to kill little old me, are you?” I asked, a little pout entering my voice and, in seconds, each of their faces fell. Now they knew. Most of them were old enough to remember what I had been capable of, what Edmund had trained me for. The Trpaslík at the back wasn’t going to risk being near me. One look and he took off in the other direction, trying to escape before I unleashed my full power on him.

  Let him run, it wasn’t as if I wouldn’t face him eventually. Besides, the other three seemed to have recovered nicely.

  I smiled, waiting for them to attack, letting my magic surge as I prepared to breeze past them. The one in front raised his hand, his fingers shaking as he tried to pull together enough strength and confidence to attack me.

  It was pitiful to see, and if I hadn’t hidden all my emotions until I had time to deal with them properly, I would have felt sorry for him, but I didn’t. I reached my magic out toward the wall of the hallway, the cold stone warming under my fingertips. The heat inside my body grew as my magic moved into the stone. I liquefied it, the rock heating to an extreme temperature before it melted into a stream of molten lava that seeped away from the wall and over the floor toward the guards.

  The man that had come to the front opened his mouth in a scream as the fast moving molten rock ran over the stone floor, covering his feet and working its way up his body. He screamed as the heat of the liquid rock hit him, as the pain incapacitated him, and one last time before it hardened over him in a coffin of rock.

  “Whoops,” I whispered, sending the last of the guards running in the opposite direction, tripping over their feet in a panic to get away.

  “Don’t say anything,” I warned Sain as I pulled him past the molten man, making our way toward where I hoped Cail still was.

  My feet picked up pace, knowing the fire in the orchard would only keep them busy for so long. Edmund was already onto me. I could deal with his minions, but I didn’t want to test my newly remembered strength against him directly so soon, if I could help it. I ran forward, trying to focus on where Edmund might be, but he seemed to have disappeared.

  The halls grew darker the closer I got to Cail’s magical imprint. The normally brightly lit lamps were covered and dark, the yells from the orchard fading into nothing.

  I rounded the last corner only to come face to face with Edmund. I had hoped we would beat him here; obviously, I had been too optimistic. He stood between my brother and me, his arms folded over his black leather jacket as he looked me up and down. I could see Cail on a large bed behind him, the jagged red blade protruding awkwardly out of his chest.

  I clenched my teeth as I glared at Edmund, hoping my face would be enough to issue a warning, but he only smiled, my challenge greedily accepted.

  “Out of my way, Edmund, or you’re going to lose another finger,” I growled, my magic moving through the rock toward him eagerly.

  “You really think I am just going to let you leave, after I worked so hard to dispose of everyone else in these walls?” Edmund’s voice was deep, as a wicked gleam played in his eyes. “You are the last one, and you are going to die, just like the rest of them.”

  “Move, Edmund.” I felt my fingers flex as I watched him, unwilling to look away for a second. I wasn’t going to step down. I would not back away, not after I had come this far.

  “You would risk everything for him, wouldn’t you?” he said, my warning rolling off him like water. “Just as he would do the same fo
r you?”

  “Out of my way,” I snarled through my clenched teeth.

  “Very well,” he said casually, shifting his body out of the way and giving me a full view of the stone room at the end of the hall. I glanced at Cail’s sleeping body, my feet ready to take me forward, when a man moved to stand beside him, a large knife poised in his hands. I took one step forward without thinking, my blood pulsing with desperation.

  “Nonono,” Edmund taunted. “Remember, he dies first, and then you die, and if I am not mistaken, Timothy still lives.”

  Edmund and his games, I should have known better. I should have expected this. I was a fool to have hesitated. My father should have been dead by my hand. The fact that he wasn’t, and that there was some way he had lived through his fall was mildly disturbing.

  My jaw clenched, my eyes glaring at him for a moment before moving back to look at where Cail lay on the bed. Choose light, Sain had said. What was he thinking? Light and dark, I thought I had chosen correctly. Had I really chosen the wrong path? I wanted to say no, but I could hear the footsteps of Edmund’s army surrounding us, and I felt Sain cower by my feet, his practically useless magic no help to me.

  That was fine. I had enough power for both of us.

  I narrowed my eyes at Edmund, my lips turning up in eager anticipation. I felt the army surround us as their magic surged through the stone. The large stone cavern was now protected from every angle, trapping us in place.

  For the moment.

  Forgive me, Cail.

  I surged my magic into the rock I stood on, sending Sain into the air as I tapped my toes to the ground, a deep rumble spreading out away from me like a ripple on water. The rock shifted as it opened up and swallowed those around me to the waist before solidifying again and trapping them in the stone. I didn’t wait, I knew I only had a matter of minutes to use this diversion, and we needed all the head start we could get. I took off into the air, grabbing Sain around the waist and cutting our bodies through the air toward the exit.

  I heard the yells and explosions behind us as the rock I had trapped everyone in, was blown apart, releasing those I had trapped from their temporary prison.

  “Wynifred!” I felt the ripple of Edmund’s magic travel through the air behind me, my body turning as I dodged, afraid of what the magical current he had placed in his words might do to us.

  It was too late anyway, I had gained the time I needed. There was only one way in and out of these caves, through the gate. You couldn’t even stutter in entrance or exit, Ilyan had seen to that.

  The massive reflective carving that served as the gate into the underground circuit of caves towered above us – the large man sitting astride his horse, surrounded by a large intricate arch.

  I angled us toward the carving, toward what appeared to be a wall of solid rock. Without stopping, I pulled us through the rock and into the large canyon on the other side, right into a large group of tourists that had hiked through the moss-covered trench to see the mirror image of the carving that we had just passed through.

  Shouts of surprise echoed around us as a few tourists at the front witnessed our miraculous appearance from the stone.

  I pulled Sain behind me as I plunged into the thickening crowd of tourists, the initial shouts drawing others from nearby. I didn’t care about their mortal worries right now, I had bigger problems right on my heels. Of those that had seen us appear, many stepped away in fear, while others came closer, their curiosity bringing them dangerously close and slowing our progress. I glared at each of them, unleashing the full anger of my eyes on them.

  We were attracting too much attention, and I knew Edmund and the guards he had left were not far behind us. I shielded us quickly, the decision only causing more screams of fright to echo round the dark stone of the canyon as we disappeared from view.

  I moved us through the horde of tourists that had congregated around the ancient carving at the end of the damp canyon. The carving was known as the dwarves door to the tourists but was known as the gates of Imdalind to my kind. It was those gates I needed to seal.

  At this point, I did not care about the upset I caused. If I had, I might have been more careful, but my only goal was to get us in position before Edmund could find us. I needed him out of the cave before I could block the opening and seal him away from the wells of Imdalind. I pushed people out of the way, causing more fear as people reacted to being manhandled by an invisible entity.

  We reached the end of the line of tourists and moved around the edges of the crowd back to the side of the ornate carving we had just emerged from.

  My heart thumped in anticipation as I locked my jaw. The tourists had begun to settle down, forgetting what they had seen quickly, as is the case with magic, their fully mortal brains unable to process what had happened. There were a few others, the ones with un-awakened abilities in their blood, who were still so worked up that they were lingering on the edge of panic.

  I watched and waited, trying to control my breathing as I placed my hands against the rock face. My magic surged under my skin, the pulse of my magic matching the hectic beat of my heart. I felt the magic surge as it prepared to burn the rock and destroy the portal. I needed to find him first.

  It was only a matter of minutes before I caught sight of him, my chest tightening at seeing Edmund in the middle of the crowd. He had appeared there, having shielded himself to get through the gate, but unable to maintain his cloak as he moved through the panicking tourists. Edmund was out. Timothy and my brother were still inside.

  I narrowed my eyes and let my magic surge, filling the rock behind me with the heavy fire magic, the rock melding and morphing as I urged it to shift. I was careful to keep the labyrinths of mazes intact, careful to keep Cail safe. I moved the rock until I was sure I had covered the entrance, hoping to block Edmund from the wells of Imdalind. Of course, I was also trapping Cail inside, and I was leaving Talon’s body behind.

  Perhaps forever.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  One moment. I took one moment and risked closing my eyes to say goodbye. I looked into the blackness behind my lids and said goodbye to my brother, I thanked him for what he had given up to help me and silently prayed he would be all right and that I would see him again. I said my final goodbye to Talon, the man who had loved me no matter what and had protected me from myself for a hundred years, helping me grow as a person and learn to love life. I placed my hand against the cold stone of the mountain and felt my magic surge, the heat behind my eyes growing as I fought back the tears.

  Then the moment was gone. I shoved the pain and loss into the black pit of my icy heart and opened my eyes to the crowd of tourists. They snapped pictures of the carving, made crude signs in front of their cameras and complained about their lack of water. I heard them but let it all wash over me as my eyes scanned for what I was really looking for.

  My magic ran through the ground, serving as my sensor. My magic did not work as Ilyan’s did, it did not alert me to any power nearby. I had to scan.

  It rushed through the ground as I searched for him. My eyes narrowed as I found him near the edge of the crowd, surrounded by at least twenty of his men. Edmund stood still, presumably looking through the crowd for me.

  My jaw set in a scowl as I looked at him, my magic pulsing in excitement.

  I could take out at least three of Edmund’s guards before he would notice, if the tourists surrounding them didn’t notice the men turning to pillars of ash right beside them. I doubted that would happen. Besides, I wasn’t sure that causing trauma for innocent bystanders was really my thing anymore.

  I didn’t want it to be.

  As much as I could fight, as much as I wanted to, I also knew it wasn’t the best choice anymore. I had lost Talon, Ryland was gone, and I had trapped Cail in the caves of Prague with my father. I stepped closer to Sain as I weighed my options. I needed to get us out of here.

  I ignored the stubborn ache in my chest and continued to glare toward Edmund, wi
shing that I was as heartless as I had been once upon a time.

  I needed to get to Ilyan and to Joclyn, so that together we could end this. As much as regaining the fire magic had benefitted me, Joclyn was the only one that could stop the wicked man.

  I needed to get back to her. Which meant fighting was not an option for us here. Our best chance was to fly toward Ilyan’s ancient evacuation tunnel hidden in the catacombs of St. Vitus Cathedral in downtown Prague.

  There were a few problems with this plan. First and foremost, it was in downtown Prague. We were currently tucked away in the mountains, and it would take me at least fifteen minutes to fly us there, if Edmund didn’t track us right away.

  The Cathedral also sat in the middle of one of the busiest squares in the old town, and at this time of year, it would be flooded by tourists. I would have to be careful. I couldn’t let Edmund follow us, too many people would die. Too many people already had.

  “St. Vitus.” Sain’s voice was a whisper next to me. I had almost forgotten he was there. I turned to face him, not daring to keep my focus off the crowd in front of me for too long.

  “Excuse me?” I asked, alarmed that he had somehow seen into my head, which given who he was, was a distinct possibility.

  “We are going to St. Vitus, but we need to go by the Orloj where Kadan put his clock. I must retrieve something or this escape will have been in vain.” His voice wasn’t normal. It wasn’t like when he was given the Black Water, but more like when he had told me of Talon’s death. I couldn’t doubt that what he was saying was true.

  Considering what Edmund had done to him over the centuries, it was amazing his sight was still part of him at all, but if this was how the remains of his power chose to make itself known, then I would take all the help I would get.

  I grabbed Sain’s frail hand and held it in my small one. Our best bet was to fly, and if I could do this without detection, it would be a miracle.