Page 95 of The Isles of the Gods
They bounce once, twice…and then they vanish as the spirits claim my sacrifice.
The column of flame twists, gouts splitting off in every direction as the air spirits wheel furiously around the flames, rebelling against my orders, sparks flying.
A fireball roars toward the huge magician, he screams—then the flame’s coming forus,like an arm made of fire reaching down the hallway, ready to press us to the ground, to smother us and burn us alive, the air spirits freewheeling around it.
Leander shouts in alarm, throwing himself over the railing, and I’m a heartbeat behind him, vaulting over the rail and half falling to the ground.
Keegan’s hands are waiting to steady us as we land, and we snap into motion, sprinting along the alley.
My vision’s still filled with stars, with the afterimages of flames, and my heart’s thumping with the sick memory of Leander throwing himself clear of that flame as it screamed toward him, driven by my furious air spirits.
I nearly did Laskia’s work for her.
I nearly killed him.
LEANDER
The Docks District
Port Naranda, Mellacea
I barely know who’s leading and who’s following as we pound around the first few corners—I’m reaching back toward the inn, trying to calm the spirits enough to stop them from burning the whole place down, but sensing them less and less as the distance between us grows.
There’s a roar from the direction of the square, and those fleeing the action are pouring down the side streets—we’re buffeted by the current of humanity pushing us along, and I grab desperately for Selly’s hand as a burly trader barges past us, nearly sweeping her off her feet. Ahead, Keegan ducks under a sailor’s arm and swings around toward an alleyway.
Selly and I push our way after him, and in the sudden silence we slow, to move more quietly, more cautiously. Now we’re glancing behind, taking each turn carefully.
After a couple of minutes, Selly pulls me into a tiny enclosed courtyard at the back of a bar, the building silent at thistime of day. The tight space is shadowed by taller buildings, the air crisp and cold, the cobblestones slimy beneath my feet. Crates of foul-smelling rubbish are stacked along the walls, but it has a gate, and there are no signs of life.
Keegan pulls the gate closed behind us, and the three of us crouch, our breath coming hard from the run—from the fear. We find ourselves staring at each other, trying to make ourselves believe this is really happening. That Laskia has found us again. That our safety has been snatched away.
Selly has tears running down her cheeks, and I reach for her hand, the leather of her glove rough against my skin. “Is it burning down?” she gasps—it’s nearly a sob—and I have to scramble to understand what she means.
“The inn? I don’t know. The fireball just exploded, I don’t…” My voice fades away at the look on her face.
“I saw the air spirits,” she whispers. “I tried to tell them to keep us safe, but they— I couldn’t control them.”
I can’t help it—I glance at the backs of her hands, where her thick, unformed magician’s marks are hidden beneath her gloves.
She follows my gaze, then squeezes her eyes tight shut.
“You did your best,” I murmur. “We’re alive.”
“I should have run. I nearly killed you. I shouldn’t have—” She breaks off, and I ache for a way to comfort her. I don’t know what to say, though. We’re both quiet, helpless.
“I nearly killed you,” she whispers again.
“You didn’t.”
“Which is fortunate,” Keegan says quietly. “But we must decide what to do next. We can’t go to the embassy. There’s too great a chance someone there leaked word of where we werehiding, and that bomb in the auto was intended for us. One of us in particular.”
His words yank me back to the present—we have far, far bigger problems than a fire. “It was Laskia,” Selly whispers. “You were already down in the alley, but it was Laskia, with a fire magician. And she won’t stop hunting us. Think what she’s done already.”
“Keegan’s right.” I’m sick with the knowledge, but it’s true—we can’t trust the embassy. I speak slowly, as the reality of the situation sinks in. “Laskia assassinated our ambassador. That means every way forward, except for one, was just closed off.”
“What do you mean?” Selly murmurs, rubbing her cheeks with her free hand, scrubbing the tears away. Packing her feelings away in a box, like she’s so good at doing.
I let out a shaky breath, and when I speak, my voice is hoarse. “The only way this ends now is war. And soon.”
