Her eyes flickered to Ezra. “How do we free you?”
Inari returned to him, holding out a palm. “The spell, outline it on my hand.”
“A word of warning,” Ezra said, tracing runes on Inari’s palm. “It is blood magic. As such, it requires a little sacrifice. Not much. The Bloodstone is what sustains it all, and it is what breaks it all.” He gestured to the rock at the centre of the room, its red glow pulsing like a heartbeat.
Aloisia raised the blade to her thumb once more. “Tell me when.”
Inari opened his mouth as if to protest.
“I already did this to open the door. No sense in two of us opening veins.”
Inari gave a nod, conceding the point.
Ezra traced the runes again. “Do you have it?”
“It should be easy enough.”
The shaman rose and approached the Bloodstone at Aloisia’s side. He took the blade from her, pressing it to the fresh wound she had created, breaking it open again and pressing his thumb to it. She winced. Inari traced two runes, one below each of his wrists, with her blood and began speaking ancient words foreign to her ears.
As Inari chanted the spell, a strange tension rose within the room, like a chord pulled taut. He held her hand in his, turning her palm to face the Bloodstone. The chord tightened, threatening to snap. Aloisia’s heart fluttered in her chest, like a bird trying to escape a cage. Inari pressed her hand to the stone, and the world fell from beneath her feet.
THIRTY THREE
Aloisiagaspedandfelltoherknees.
The Bloodstone fused to her palm, like molten metal cooling at her touch. Inari’s hand still clasped hers and she braced herself against the stone’s surface. Kaja screamed, the sound distant beyond the pulse of her heart thudding in her ears.
Aloisia glanced up, her vision clouded. The walls ran with blood, washing away the runes binding Ezra. Inari continued his chant, his fingers tight around hers. A gale whipped through the cavern as his voice intensified. Aloisia’s hair blew back with it, the metal beads clinking about her head. If not for her palm fixed to the stone, she might have fallen away with everything else.
Red starbursts filled her vision, forcing everything out of focus. Aloisia thought she saw Ezra grin, a wide and wicked grin, but it could have been a trick of the unearthly red light. A sharp burn prickled across her skin where it met the stone. The strength within her faded, taking with it her pain and exhaustion. Her eyes rolled back, her head lolling to one side, and she lost the will to keep herself upright any longer.
As quick as it had begun, the spell ended. The stone released her, and she swayed towards the ground. Strong hands caught her, lowering her gently to the floor. Rasping breaths filled her ears, her own perhaps, but everything was so distant she could not be sure.
Inari appeared above her, his auburn curls falling about his face. The world around him was a vicious red.
“That had a little more spectacle than I expected,” Ezra noted.
Inari spun on him. “You said it would be a small sacrifice.”
Aloisia turned her head, watching as the shaman approached Ezra. Kaja appeared beside her, cradling her head in her lap, her fingers tangling in her braids.
“And so, it was.” Ezra rubbed his raw wrists, pulling himself to his feet now his shackles had fallen. “She’s alive, isn’t she? And she will recover. A large sacrifice would have been her life.”
Inari’s hand shot out, pinning the scholar to the wall by his throat. The shaman stood a head and shoulders above him, and twice as broad.
Fear lit Ezra’s expression, if only for a moment. “She will be fine. You are a shaman; I am a scholar of quintessence. We would have no issue healing her. But all magic has a price…”
The shaman released him, and relief flitted upon Ezra’s face. But Inari swiftly brought a fist across the scholar’s cheek, striking him back against the wall.
“I have released you, Ezra Solis, at significant cost.” Inari pressed his forearm to the scholar’s throat, cutting off his air. “Do not forget. You owe me a debt. And, in future, it is best to use clarity with me. I will not be so forgiving next time.” He let up, withdrawing his arm.
“Noted.” Ezra rubbed his throat, his wary eyes flitting between the three of his saviours. “Perhaps it would be best to set our course back to your town?”
Inari returned to Aloisia’s side and gathered her in his arms. Her body felt numb as he lifted her, as if she had detached completely. Blossoms of warmth tethered her to it, blooming where Inari’s body touched hers. She leant in, resting her head on his shoulder, concentrating on that warmth to bring her back to herself. During the spell, during the sacrifice she had unwittingly made, something had shattered within her. And, right now, only Inari’s embrace was holding those pieces together.
The shaman led the way back out of the cave.
“Let’s go.”
