Rain clutched her to his chest and raced across the rolling hills of Eld. The exertion opened his barely healed wounds, and drops of bright scarlet marked a trail that would be all too easy to follow. Of course, with Mages at their back, leaving a visible trail was the least of their worries.
Ellysetta didn’t think the situation could get worse, then two—no, make that three—new portals opened. She saw one of the white stones with the fiery rune glow bright, just before a fifth portal opened where the stone had been. “It’s the stones! They’re using those stones to open the portals.”
The Eld were gaining on them. Carrying her as an extra burden slowed Rain down too much. She squirmed in his arms. The tingling, ice-spider feeling was still strong, but the initial rush of weakness had faded. “Put me down. We have no chance of outrunning them if you keep carrying me.”
He set her on her feet without breaking stride, and she landed running.
«If we can make it to the river, we might have a chance at escape.»The Heras was fed by the powerfulfaerilasSource at Crystal Lake, and its waters worked like acid on Mage flesh. Even with their magic tightly leashed, Mages avoided wetting so much as their smallest toe in the fierce waters of the Heras.«The river won’t stop the Mages completely, but at least it might slow them down.»
They raced through the trees, leaping over small rocks and fallen tree trunks. As he approached a final, small ridge, Ellysetta could smell the brisk, clean waters of the Heras and hear the rushing burble of its swift current.
Almost there. Five more tairen lengths, and they would be over that last ridge and speeding down its slope to the protection of the river and away from those gods-scorchedchemarstones that were spitting out Mages by the dozens.
An arrow slammed into Rain’s back, knocking him offbalance and sending him sprawling.
“Rain!” Ellysetta scrambled down the hill towards him.
“Leave me! Run! Get to the river! I’ll be right behind you.”
“I’ve already told you, I’m not going anywhere without you.” Her eyes went wide, and she lunged for him. “Look out!”
Rain threw himself to one side. The arrow in his back snapped in two as he rolled onto his back, and two more barbed arrows thunked into the ground at the exact spot he’d just vacated. A third arrow sank into a tree trunk near Ellysetta’s head.
Rain’s eyes flamed at the sight of the poisonous black missile quivering in the tree so close to hisshei’tani.Despite the howling protest of thesel’dorembedded in him, he sent Fire spinning from his outflung hand. It scorched several trees and ignited the three Elden bowmen who’d shot the arrows.
Ellysetta grabbed him and yanked him to his feet. Together, they raced up the final ridge, scrabbling over slick piles of fallen leaves and tumbled rocks. A storm of arrows erupted from the trees at their backs. Ellysetta flung a blast of Air to knock them off course.
At the bottom of the hill, a pair of yellow-robed apprentice Mages stood surrounded by archers and swordsmen. Magic crackled around them in a visible nimbus, and in their hands they coaxed deadly globes of blue-white flame to life.
One of the two Mages sent his ball of Mage Fire roaring towards them. Rain attempted a five-fold weave, butsel’dorhowled through his flesh. His resulting weak, crippled weave only managed to deflect the Fire, not destroy it. The Fire plowed through another clump of trees, eradicating portions of them from time and space.
In a battle of magic today, even those two apprentice Mages would win.
“To the river,shei’tani.Hurry!”
Behind them, at the bottom of the hill, the second Mage released his fire. Rain looked back just in time to see it hurtling towards them. “Get down!” He flung himself at Ellysetta, knocking her to the earth and covering her body with his own as the enormous ball of blue fire roared over their prone bodies, close enough to singe Rain’s skin with the burning ice.
A hail of arrows followed on the heels of the Mage Fire, and yet another volley of Mage Fire followed the arrows. Ellysetta deflected the arrows but Rain could not even slow the Mage Fire.
“Rain.” Ellysetta gasped softly and grabbed his hand, squeezing tight.
A sudden blast of energy from the west ridge intercepted the hurtling balls of Mage Fire and destroyed them.
Their unlikely savior was a blue-robed Primage heading up a second troop of soldiers and archers. “Kill the Tairen Soul, if you must, idiots,” the Primage shouted in Eld to the two apprentice Mages, “but harm the girl, and the High Mage will roast and eat your livers out of your still-living bodies.”
Rain glanced behind them, to the Mages approaching from the west, north, and east, then looked down at the troops standing between them and the river. “That’s our only chance,” he said. “I don’t see any Mages there.”
Ellysetta raised her brows. “So what are we standing here for?”
He laughed, loving her. Then his expression went serious as he handed her two red Fey’cha.
She took the poison blades and searched his face.
“In case, I cannot save us,” he admitted in a low voice.
Her gaze fell, and she nodded in solemn understanding. Their situation was grim. Rain would die before letting the Mages take her, and if he did, the Fey’cha would at least give her a way to avoid capture. She sheathed the poison blades carefully in the knife belt across her chest.
He touched her cheek. “Lend me your strength,shei’tani?”
