With her, stuck underneath.
???
Venick’s ears were ringing. His eyes were dry rocks. He watched his mother fall. She didn’t get up.
He had the strange thought that it was snowing. White specks eddied along the air. He wasn’t cold. He wasn’t anything. He moved towards his mother like a sleepwalker.
Behind him, his boots left a trail.
???
Ellina stopped struggling. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and began to count.
One.
She wiggled her arms under her body.
Two.
Twisted her torso, levered one foot, the other coming around at her side…
Three.
…to find a weak spot in the wood, which she angled upwards. A crack appeared. A slip of light. She brought her leg to her chest andpushed. The crack widened. Ellina gripped the outer edge of the building and wormed her way free.
For a moment, she could do nothing but lay and breathe.
Her breath became ragged. The smoke was thick. She coughed and looked up.
The city was unrecognizable. Bodies littered the road. Some of them were bloody, but others, more disturbingly, appeared untouched. Firelight illuminated bloated smoke, giving the world a red, shifting glow. The streets were emptying of townspeople, everyone rushing to escape the teetering deck of falling buildings. Only a few stragglers remained.
One, actually.
Ellina’s vision narrowed. Venick.
He was moving towards the body of a woman. His back was to Ellina, she could not see his face, but she saw his stiff footsteps. She saw his open hands.
Ellina knew who that woman was. Knew that she was dead.
She pushed to her feet. Her ears were ringing, her tongue coated in soot. Unthinkingly, she began moving towards Venick.
Youvan stepped into her path. “It is time for us to go.”
Ellina blinked up. Thoughts were hard to hold. She felt like the smoke, pulling away from herself, glowing red. “No.”
Youvan’s eyes darted across her face. “No?”
“I am not coming with you.”
“I will shadow-bind you,” the conjuror threatened. “You cannot escape.”
Ellina laughed: a wide, wild sound. His threat seemed absurd. What did Ellina care of his shadow-binding? How could that possibly matter?
Youvan must have seen her thoughts because he darkened. “Your sister will show you no mercy.”
“Nor will sheyou, when she learns what you have done,” Ellina snapped. “We were meant to stay hidden.Find Rahven, that was the mission. Irek and its citizens—they were not to be harmed. We had a deal.”
“You and Farah had a deal. I have no part in your bargain.”
