Chapter 12

It only took a split second for me to realize my mistake.

Sure, I'd been caught up in my hope to save Violet. When Rose had said her sister was alone and isolated, my only thought had been toward rescuing her before the dark wizard realized the danger. I'd been fooling myself into thinking this fight was winnable.

I'd forgotten everything they'd said about Yannis Salvago.

This was the wizard that had coldly strategized the destruction of the most powerful vampire court in history. He had participated in a secret campaign that had resulted in the destruction of an entire species of supernatural beings. He had fought wars against necromancers and Red Court vampires, and studied the dark arts like no other wizard alive.

He was a tactician, one that was no longer constrained by moral complications.

And we'd stumbled right into his trap.

None of it was an accident. The fires burning across the island weren't flukes; they were distractions, meant to keep us busy, wear us down, and separate our numbers. We'd numbered ten when we'd first set out, and now we were down to six, facing similar odds.

The fey emerald light shone in Andrés Peña's eyes as he started toward us, his warden sword unsheathed in his right hand while his left bore his gnarled wooden staff. The same light burned in the eyes of the bare-chested Warden Somboon, burned and battered and scarred from our previous encounters, and yet still impossibly upright as his dha sword crackled with blue-white energy and the wooden scabbard thrummed with power.

Beside Salvago, his latest conquest stood at the ready, the young wizard Rai staring slackly at those that had been his allies an impossibly long day ago, the mossy tendrils drifting from his dull eyes.

Thankfully, the Hound did not react when Salvago spoke. Rather than attacking, he remained at his master's side. Had he moved with that impossible speed I'd seen earlier, we might have been finished before the dark wizard had finished speaking.

Salvago himself stood calmly among the servants of his will, holding his long spear in his left hand. His Warden sword was still sheathed on his hip, ready should he need it. Now that I was closer, I could see how sunken his eyes and cheeks were, how sallow his skin that pulled tightly across his gaunt face. He seemed smaller than he had that very morning, and yet no less intimidating.

The hood of his gray cloak was up, giving him the appropriately sinister appearance I'd expect of the Big Bad. But his face held neither hate nor menace for us; there was no maniacal laugh or sinister leer. There was no glare that revealed his madness, nor glint of pretentious pride that could be turned in our favor.

There was only a stillness to him, a calm and cold posture that implied that the fight was already over. That he had done what he must to ensure victory, and was awaiting the outcome that was inevitable.

But despite the odds, I like to think that if we had been facing just those five, we might have stood a chance. That we could have risen to the occasion and faced them on even terms, or that Rose could have whisked us back into the Ways before the fight began.

It was not to be.

Even as the two wardens burst into motion, a fiery tendril of amethyst snapped toward our group from behind, wrapping itself around Rose. I heard her shout of surprise as Violet's fire whip tore her from our midst before the Lampad could draw us together. She disappeared into the crowd of civilians as she flew backward, and Violet turned to follow as the hypnotized townspeople surged forward, forming a human wall that blocked one avenue of escape.

"Back!" Moretti screamed as a buzzing noise whipped passed, and I saw Penny waver before falling backwards.

"Sniper!" Nelson shouted as he reached for the girl, even as I ducked low and dove for the alley. Moretti whipped his arm up, and the sound of air popping accompanied the appearance of several odd bullets freezing in mid-flight. Moretti stepped around the corner, out of sight of the unseen Katya while Nelson and I tugged Penny into the alley, looking Penny over quickly.

"She's not bleeding," I observed.

"Spirit round," Nelson said as he picked the girl up, his strength surprising me until I recalled his comment about using magic to fuel his physical attributes. "It's like a tranquilizer dart. They're trying to take us alive."

"Get her out of here!" Moretti shouted, his steel arm raised as he aimed a spell at the oncoming Wardens. But a thrust of Somboon's scabbard unleashed a spell that sent lightning crackling along the man's metal appendage. He staggered back, clearly surprised by the attack, and stumbled away as Peña closed on him.

Nelson shifted Penny to one side while training his staff at Peña with the other. One of his white shields flickered into existence between us and the charging man. The warden's sword was ready, and ripped through the white half-sphere as it formed, shredding the spell with the enchantments on the blade.

The sword swung back around, preparing to cleave Moretti in two. But the metal-armed man was suddenly drawn up, as if pulled by some unseen force, along the side of the building. I saw where his arm snapped to one of the iron railings along the second floor, and realized the wizard had used his magnetic abilities to pull himself out of the way.

I thought he might get away, but another whipping sound accompanied a Spirit round, which took him in the chest. The spell had been enough to knock Penny out instantly, but Moretti was still conscious, if somewhat groggy, when Peña wrenched his gnarled staff backward. As he did, the stone and tile wall supporting the ironworks shattered, the entirety of which crumbled to the alley floor. Moretti disappeared in the pile of rubble, crushed beneath hundreds of pounds of stone and steel.

"Serg!" Nelson shouted, stepping forward. I grabbed his arm, and he turned to glare at me.

"It's too late," I shouted, looking back toward the wreckage. Somboon had already leapt atop it, and was preparing another spell with his scabbard. I tugged the bald wizard further down the alley as another electrical spell rippled out, causing arcs of light to fire between all of the metal fixtures in the narrow passage.

Seeing as we were standing between all of those beautiful ironworks, that meant lightning was flashing all around us.

Several bolts struck us as we ran, causing us to stagger. Nelson did his best to stay on his feet, slinging Penny into a fireman's carry as we went. An arc struck the steel rod in the sheath across my back, which made all of my hair stand on end. Thankfully the leather sheath and coat shielded me from most of it, but my body was shaking as we reached the far end.

"This way!" I shouted, leading us downward. But even as we started, a crowd of people came around the next corner, their blank faces sending chills down my back as they turned as one. "Never-mind! Back the other way!"

In the face of the villagers, we turned and headed up the street, a cobblestone path that wasn't conducive to running. We made it a block before the terrain proved treacherous, especially in the hands of an earth mage like Peña.

The cobbles before us rose up, curling like a wave to block our route. Nelson fired a blast of his kinetic energy, but it did little more than splash against the thick earthen wall. Too much of his power was being fueled into his strength and speed to carry the girl.

Which meant breaking through the barrier was left to me.

My left hand dropped to my right wrist as I ran at the wall, reaching for the leather bracelet I wore. Three rows of studs made it look like something a goth kid might wear, but upon closer inspection, you'd see that the studs weren't really studs at all. They were removable snaps, all made of metal, but most with crystalline caps of varying shades.

I plucked a snap free, the chocolate-colored crystal atop it glinting in the light as I threw it at the wall. As it flew from my fingertips, I shouted the command associated with it. "Lith-luth!"

The pre-fabricated spell activated when the snap hit the barrier, and the earth magic inside washed over the cobbles and dirt. I called it my sandstone spell, the spell that broke down stone and earth into particles no bigger than grains of sand. It had been originally designed to trap an enemy in a small quicksand trap, but I'd adapted it to more uses several times.

A hole appeared in the wall before us, several feet of tile and dirt sloughing away like grains in an hourglass to reveal the road beyond. The other two ducked through a moment before I did, and then we were running, leaving the trap behind.

We made it another block before a wave of stone rippled along a side street ahead of us, carrying Peña atop it.

Thinking I'd turn his own strength against him, I plucked a second sandstone snap from the bracelet and let it fly. It landed between his feet, and I enjoyed the look of surprise on the wizard's face as he abruptly dropped several feet into the street, the earth holding fast to him as he squirmed inside the hole.

All too quickly, the earth mage twisted his gnarled staff, and as we were running past, the sand beneath him started churning, lifting him up. We had just enough room to run by while he was submerged, but as he rose, his sword began to snap around, dangerously close.

"Helca-luth!" I shouted as I hurled another tab at him. It hit him in his sword arm, which stiffened as the freezing spell sucked all of the heat from the air in the immediate vicinity. Ice blossomed across his upper body and up to his hand, although I noted it didn't extend onto his warden's blade.

Nelson and I kept running, but I looked back to make sure Peña wasn't on our heals. I was pleased to see that he was still pinned for the moment, but not as pleased to see Somboon run around a corner, lightning flickering around his legs as his power propelled him after us.

I tugged another snap free and let it fly, hoping the old fire-with-fire adage worked as well on him as it had on Peña. "Gwelu-ur!" I shouted, unleashing a ball lightning spell right in the path of the oncoming wizard. The spell was one of the most powerful I had, and had killed several vampires and a few other nasty things I'd run into on occasion. I felt a little bad about using it against a mortal, but seeing as Somboon had died several times over already, I wasn't too worried about killing him.

Unfortunately, the spell had no effect on him, as the lightning simply faded as he waved his scabbard in front of him.

"Well shit," I rasped out. "That was an expensive spell."

Nelson turned back, and began awkwardly firing his kinetic half-spheres over his shoulder, all while trying to keep Penny balanced. Each exploded at Somboon's feet, causing him to stumble, slowing him down. He was close, and with a leap similar to what I'd seen him do in the graveyard, the man was flying through the air, his sword sparking as he descended toward us.

"Raud-teitha!" I shouted as I threw another tab, this one lacking any crystal. It activated a few paces behind us, and directly beneath the leaping Warden. When the spell fired, the Warden seemed to waver in mid-air as a powerful magnetic field tugged at his sword.

The spell caused his leap to falter, drawing him down, but it wasn't enough to pin his sword to the snap like I'd hoped. The warden pulled at the weapon as it hovered over the tab, before a surge of electrical energy along the blade sparked to the metal snap. There was a small explosion, and then the spell was destroyed.

By the time he resumed his pursuit, we'd put some distance between us. I could see the edge of the town up ahead, and had the naivety to think we might make it.

The amethyst whip of fire that took Penny around the ankle took us by surprise.

The girl thudded to the ground painfully, pulled from Nelson's grasp at full speed. He and I skidded to a stop just beyond her, and looked back to see where Violet had been waiting on a side street. She'd appeared out of nowhere; perhaps coming from the Ways, or perhaps hiding behind a veil. Either way, the torch pulled at the unconscious girl, dragging her toward the Lampad.

"Violet, no!" I shouted, even as Nelson unleashed a series of kinetic blasts at her.

The fiery whip rippled up, coiling through the air to block the attacks. Each kinetic half-dome sparked against the flames, even as the end continued to drag Penny away. Nelson and I both ran for her, but an invisible wall knocked us backwards.

There was a shimmer of air, and then Salvago was there, his spear stabbing out. It took Nelson in the shoulder, and I watched the wizard fall.

My hand flew to my wrist, tugging another snap from the bracelet. As the dark wizard turned toward me, I let it fly, shouting, "Naur-luth!"

Salvago's eyes narrowed as I did, and then widened as a fiery blast enveloped him. The fire spell was intense, the most powerful that I had. And while I'd never used one on a human, I wasn't sure the dark wizard counted as one anymore. Not in my book, at any rate.

Almost as quickly as it formed, the fire was suddenly snuffed out, a trail of smoke wafting around the wizard in the shape of a dome, before dissipating in the wind. It didn't look like he'd taken much damage at all. There might have been a couple scorch marks on his gray cloak, but other than that, he was fine.

"Interesting," the man said, his voice rumbling. There was no emotion to it; no actual sense of surprise or wonder in the tone. Rather, it was a clinical observation. My ability to cast any sort of spell had surprised him, causing him to reanalyze my abilities. If he had any concern that I might be threat, he likely would have had his air shield up in self-defense. "An unexpected development," he continued, his face slack as he studied me. "A worthy attempt; although it takes air for fire to burn."

The man lowered his spear at me, and I hastily grabbed for the rod across my back, knowing I couldn't get to it in time. Glyphs swirled with a greenish light along the length of his spear, and then something nasty was flying toward me.

Without any chance of stopping the spell, I threw my hands up, shielding my face.

A wall of fire erupted between us, the lilac flames burning bright before disappearing in a flash.

I lowered my arms to find Salvago looking at Violet, who stood beside him. Her eyes were still glazed with that fey light, but a look of consternation had pushed through the slack expression.

"Interesting," Salvago repeated, the word carrying no more weight than it had before. His head tilted as he studied the Lampad, before turning back to me. "Very well."

While he was distracted, I tore my spear from its sheath, and then tugged another snap from my bracelet. I was just beginning to throw the second when the wizard's hand lazily waved in my direction. The spell on my lips died as all of the oxygen in my lungs was pulled from my body.

Dropping both snap and rod, I clawed for my throat, but found an invisible barrier encasing my head. My vision swam as I suffocated. I pushed at the bubble encasing me, but the spell prevented anything from passing through, including the air I desperately needed.

As I struggled, I could just make out a commotion. The bubble distorted my view, and I imagined it must be how a goldfish looks at the world. I saw Nelson rise, and put up some sort of a fight against the dark wizard. I couldn't hear anything, as there was no air for sound-waves to travel upon.

I saw Salvago's spear flash, and then Nelson was flying back, rebounding off of a wall. He hit the ground hard, and then a series of impacts smashed him from surface to surface.

My hand fell on my rod, and I focused on the command for it. Saiwa-nasta.

The spear extended into its full length, the spearhead glowing red-hot as I threw it at the air mage. Let him choke on that if he thinks not being able to breath will stop me, I thought furiously. As if Q hadn't practiced choking the life out of me to make sure I could fight in any condition.

My aim was true, but Salvago felt the spear coming through the air. He turned, his free hand raised in front of him, and the spear was caught in an invisible grip.

The spear seemed to catch his interest, and as my vision began to fade, I saw him studying it. Nelson, forgotten for the moment, scrambled to his feet. He shot me what I thought was a dismayed look, and then he was stumbling away, his journey unsteady and wobbling.

Or maybe that was just my eyes, as darkness began to creep in around the edges.

I saw several things as the lack of oxygen took its toll. The first was a pair of red eyes, high up on the building behind Salvago, staring down at me. The shadows around those eyes shifted, and I imagined I could hear the flutter of wings, even though no sound reached my ears. Then the eyes were gone, and the shadows with them.

The second thing I saw was the Hound creep into view along the alley floor. Its red eyes burned in an emerald haze as it dipped its head low, sinking into the chest of Penny. The girl shook, and then grew still, as the Hound drew a bright light from within.

My world narrowed, that light becoming a swirl until finally, there was nothing but merciful black.