Scorched Treachery (25 page)

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.

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, wishing 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.

I tensed my bare toes into the loose dirt that I stood on, letting the power inside me build. It bubbled and boiled until my body felt like it was vibrating
; the anger and power bleeding together in a torrent that flooded out of me, through the dirt, and into one of the large wooden benches that someone had placed on the side of the path.

The second the power had filled it, I sent a pulse, one strong surge of magic that boomed through the air in a violent explosion. Fire filled the sky as screams of the tourists sounded, the noise barely able to
be heard above the echo of the blast that was still bounced around the small canyon.

Tourists screamed and ran in their mad attempt to escape the blast. People ran into each other, children and women screamed as frantic men trampled over them. I could just make out Edmund as he turned toward the explosion, his eyes scanning the crowd for me.

I wasn’t stupid enough to expect him to run toward the blast. He was smart, and hundreds of years of working with him had taught me his weakness.

I dropped the shield around us, the lack of security making us visible to him, but making it easier for me to merge with the crowd. I didn’t wait to see if
he had noticed us, because I knew he would. I took off running toward the now destroyed bench, my hand tight around Sain’s as I weaved us through the terrified hoard that was fleeing the scene.

Please don’t let anyone get hurt.

I shielded us again, hoping that our brief stint of visibility was enough time for Edmund to have noticed us, and sent my magic into a bench on the other side of the canyon.

This time, I didn’t wait for the pressure to build. I just sent the pulse into the wood and sent the shards of wood into the air into a fiery explosion.

The effect was instantaneous. The remaining tourists screamed and turned to run toward the narrow opening in the canyon that had led them here, the only way to truly escape. They panicked and screamed as they ran, and I was swept up with them as they fled toward safety, their exodus taking Sain and I along for the ride. Edmund and his guards were forcibly turned about and separated as the crowd intercepted them, forcing them toward the bottleneck that was now forming in the crowd.

At any other time, I might have expected Edmund to attack. He saw mortal life as useless, but they were his cover as much as they were mine. He was being smart.

So was I, and I couldn’t wait any longer.

I stomped my foot into the ground, sending out a pulse of energy that shook the mountain. It rippled away from me and sucked the energy out of the legs of all those within range. Mortals fell as the power surged through them, their primitive minds signaling an earthquake as they screamed in fear.

I kept the shield strong around us as I took off into the sky, Sain’s body unsupported as he dangled below me. I couldn’t risk bringing wind to support his weight as that would be much easier for Edmund to detect. Sain would have to wait until I was sure we were not being followed.

Edmund and his men had fallen to the ground with everyone else, my unexpected magic pulse too much for them to fight against
, but he recovered quickly, and instead of searching the people on the ground, he was scanning the skies.

He lifted his hand as his eyes moved, a surge flowing through his palm as he searched for us. His magic waved
through the empty skies, and it would only be a matter of seconds before it would intercept with me, signaling to Edmund exactly where we were.

I felt his magic wash over me. It was the sign of the end, but I wasn’t going to give up without a fight. I turned abruptly in the air, changing course, hoping that he would assume I had continued in the same direction. Sain dragged through the air below me, my magic making him weightless but still not able to support him without drawing attention.

I sped us through the canyon and over the farmland that surrounded the beautiful city I had been born in.

“Are they behind us?” I asked, careful to keep my voice low and controlled. “Are we being followed?”

“I don’t know…”

My jaw clenched. Of
course, we were being followed. It was a stupid question really. My only hope was that they were following the wrong glare of the sun, the wrong gust of wind, that their guess as to where we were going was wrong.

We sped through the air as farmland slowly turned to city. The red-roofed buildings of Prague looked up at us as I moved over the narrow cobbled streets and right to the center of the city, the small bend in the river serving as my compass.

I set my jaw and increased my speed. I could see the cathedral now and the clock was just on the other side of the river.

We were almost there.

“Wyn! Look out!” Sain screamed, his voice ripping me from my focus on our goal and straight to the car that had exploded away from the ground below us, the large heap of metal making a beeline right for us. I screamed at the sight and reacted, my fear controlling my actions more than my logic.

I blinked once in reflex, and the car exploded in the sky. The weapon that had been hurtled at me turned into a ball of fire in the sky.

I swore loudly and spun out of the way of the explosion, drawing wind to support Sain as I flailed and fear caused my shield to evaporate. Not like it mattered, they obviously knew right where we were anyway.

I twisted my body through the air, searching for them, only to see Edmund streaming toward us,
about three hundred feet behind us. For one stupid second, I rejoiced that it was only him, but then reality caught up.

Edmund was right behind us.

I sent my hand out, my magic surging through the air in a line of fire that worked itself into a wall, a barrier that I hoped would slow him down. The wall moved toward him, the attack lingering in the air as I grabbed Sain and dropped us toward the crowded streets below.

“Is he following?” I spat as I dragged the old man behind me by the hand.

“What kind of question is that?” he yelled as we landed in a large courtyard in front of an ornate fountain, cherubs and snakes shooting water behind us. We landed roughly near a large group of people, causing several of them to scream in surprise. “Of course he is following us.”

I ignored the group of people. I ignored the screams. I tuned it all out and turned toward the man who was now falling through the sky toward us.

“Your magic… Can you help me?” I asked Sain, my eyes trained on the wicked man who was set on killing us both.

“Not unless you want to know what you are going to have for breakfast.”

I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face, the wicked gleam floating up to Edmund who only smiled more.

“Get to the clock. Meet me at the Golden Gate.”

I didn’t wait for his response. I didn’t make sure he could do it; after all, it wouldn’t matter if he could get to the clock if I didn’t stop Edmund. Or at least slow him down.

That was realistically the only thing I could hope for.

I swung my arms wide, sending what was left of the tourists and residents away from me. They slammed into buildings and landed in the fountain, but I didn’t care. If I didn’t get them away, something far worse was going to happen to them. Broken bones they could recover from, melting skin they could not.

I let my magic surge through my feet. It connected with the magic of the cobbled street I stood on and grew as it surged through the stones, shaking me as the road vibrated. The cobbles that had been laid thousands of years ago rattled and pulled themselves out of the ancient plaster they had been set in. They hovered above the ground as my magic seeped into them, heating them, melting them.

I watched Edmund’s hands rise toward me, his palms growing white as he prepared to rain down acid through the air around me.

He had his trick, and I had mine. 

The molten rock flew toward him as the white light grew in his hands. I shielded myself from his attack, my magic pushing me out of the way as the lava intercepted with him, the molten clumps of rock colliding with his powerful shield. His shield flashed and flickered as the boiling hot earth wove its way through it. It splattered against his hands and his face as his momentum flew him into it, his body falling to the ground as the white magic disappeared.