Her footsteps slowed, but she didn’t turn back to us.
Emma joined my chorus. “You got this, Cal. There is no one tougher in this world. You can fight him.”
Her footsteps slowed again, and she shook her head more than once.
“We’re getting through to her,” Emma cried, picking up the pace, her breathing heavy and gait uneven. But she didn’t slow down or stop, she kept powering along.
“Come to me!”
That voice boomed unnaturally across the land, and I looked past Callie to see Laous standing on the top of the stairs, his hands raised to the sky. Whatever small part of Callie had been trying to fight was lost then. She started to full-on sprint, the stone held out in front of her.
More of the land lit up in her wake, and the heat and smoke from the fire was starting to get to me. My breathing turned into a series of coughs. Emma was in the same position. The next time she tripped, both of us went down in a heap, barely managing not to land in a bush blazing with flames.
The fire moved fast, so I rolled to the right, dragging Emma with me. My skin screamed as I scraped it across the ground, but hitting the fire would be much worse, so I just gritted my teeth and kept moving.
The air was a lot clearer down here, and both of us sucked in deep breaths when we got out of the main path of the flames. Cool wind brushed across my skin, and I looked up to find Lexen in the sky above. I could have cried as he zeroed straight in on Emma, diving down for her.
She was on her feet in an instant, screaming and pointing toward Callie—who was almost to Laous. Lexen’s fury washed across the sky in a rush of dark clouds and lightning, and when I peeked around the corner of our bush I was relieved to see strikes slamming into the area where the bitch and quiet creep had been. We needed to take out Laous’s backup. Then we would only have him to deal with.
“Avalon!”
I swung my head around to find Xander running so fast he was almost a blur. Daniel was close to his side, moving just as quickly. The moment Xander reached me, I was up and in his arms, his chest heaving as he held me close. “What the hell happened?”
Daniel didn’t wait for an explanation, storming past in a rush of heat and growling.
“Laous is controlling Callie somehow,” I said, already tugging him out into the open so we could follow.
“It’s from the Soulstealer goo,” Emma added. “It has to be.”
Xander swore, then the three of us were sprinting. Xander had to slow down to keep pace with us—we had no chance of catching Callie at this stage. Even Daniel and Lexen looked like they weren’t going to make it in time.
“Are Chase and Maya okay?” I asked, wondering why they weren’t here.
Xander nodded. “Yes, we had a little trouble with some of the locals right after you left. The timing was conveniently good. I’m guessing Laous and his guys used the distraction to slip away and get the aircraft. Maya and Chase are just cleaning up the last of the trouble.”
Xander didn’t sound worried, so I tried not to stress about it either. They’d be here as soon as they could.
“We’re not going to catch her in time,” Emma cried.
She was very right. “Go ahead,” I said to Xander. “Your friends need your help, and our human legs are too slow.”
He hesitated for a beat, then kissed me hard and sprinted away in a flash.
“Come to me,” Laous shouted again, his flames warding off the worst of Lexen’s storm.
“No!” I screamed, seeing that Callie was only a few feet away now. We were too late!
Out of nowhere—or so it appeared from my angle—a figure raced in from behind Laous. A tall, bulky man. For once his head was held high, scarred face filled with determination. He ran at full speed toward Callie, tackling her down to the ground.
She immediately started screaming, kicking and fighting.
“Rao!” I gasped, wishing we were closer so I could see better.
Emma choked on her next words. “He’s … trying to stop her. He’s giving our guys time to get there.”
Callie’s flames rose higher then and I couldn’t see her anymore. She had completely covered herself and Rao in fire, and I hoped Rao was immune to Imperial flames. Otherwise he had just sacrificed his life to save the stone.
22
