Page 192 of Librarian

The floor beneath us holds for a second. Two.

My eyes widen, and I grab for Eddy…just as the building’s magic runs out completely.

The mezzanine collapses under our feet. Wood splinters. Eddy screeches. Bombs erupt from the crates and roll everywhere. Shelves topple in a deafening avalanche.

My shield forms a protective bubble around us a nanosecond before gravity catches up. I wrap myself around Eddy, the two of us helpless to do more than hold on as we tumble down in a mass of limbs.

Dust flies everywhere, stealing what little visibility the ever-thickening fog permitted before.

“Onvosobli,” Eddy gasps the invisibility spell as we landhardin the rubble.

My bones ache, bruises already blooming on my back, which takes the brunt of the fall.

What? Why would she…?

“Don’t make a sound,” she whispers, her voice thin. “Let him think we’re dead.”

Mathias frustrated snarl echoes from somewhere beyond the dust, and I nod, seeing the wisdom in her idea.

“Can you hold it?”

She sets her jaw and nods once as I haul us both out of the rubble. She’s bleeding from a wound to her temple and moving stiffly as she lets me guide her away from the line of fire. It’s bleeding a lot, but it’s a head wound. They do that.

The air is thick, almost soupy with fog, smoke, and debris. It makes my throat burn, and I struggle not to cough. One wrong noise and we’ll give ourselves away.

Somehow, in the chaos, one of the lich’s spell books has been reduced to a pile of ashes on the floor. The grim smirk on Pierce’s face tells me he’s responsible.

Smart. Now Mathias is down to two.

The lich has given up on shields in favour of an all-out assault.

We have to get behind him. If we can sneak up on him…

I take Eddy’s arm, leading the way around the edge of the room.

“Ingaesh,” Mathias growls.

Dakari, North, and Lambert collapse under the torture spell. Leo manages to shield, but the tendons in his throat strain as he battles the power being levelled his way.

Pierce grunts but stays standing, aiming a blast of lightning at the grimoire Mathias is using to cast. It misses, because Mathias is using his free hand to attack back.

He casts a huge arc of white flame, and I clench my teeth as I shove even more magic into the shield. The heat is intense, unbearable even before the fire hits our bubble.

I swear I hear the Library scream in anguish.

Magic, no.

Pierce dodges. Leo gives an almighty groan as his shield snaps out, covering North, Dakari, and Lambert seconds before they would’ve been hit.

The shelves are on fire. The rugs. The desks. Even some of the revenants stumbling their way down from the ruins of the first floor are alight, screaming incoherently. The sound of their sizzling roasting flesh fills the air, along with the crackles of flame, and the groaning of a building in danger of collapse.

Stars, now that we’re out of immediate danger, I take in the wreckage with alarm. Kyrith’ll be devastated.

One of the macrame pot hangers gives out, sending the enormous terracotta pot it held crashing into the parquet floor on our left. Shards fly everywhere, cutting my skin.

Oh, stars, no. The books…

Dakari steps right through the destruction as he pummels the lich with furniture. Two steps, and I’m at Mathias’s back. Close enough to feel the magic radiating from him.