The men exchanged wary glances. I cocked my head. “What, never seen an Alchemist before?” Flicking my finger, I sent a stream of fire blazing at the one on the far left, watching with cold eyes as the flames enveloped his body. His companion next to him yelped, leaping to help put it out. The two remaining faced me with renewed vigor.
“Get out of my way, or I’ll be the last one you ever see,” I growled.
They merely smirked.
“Fine.” I beckoned them closer, and they charged. “Aegesis nova.”
The instant the first soldier tried to thrust his sword at my chest, there was a squelch and a choked cry. A hole appeared in his breastplate, showing the gash beneath caused by an invisible blade. My retaliation charm had worked better than I thought.Blood squirted from the wound as he dropped to his knees, confusion and anguish written on his features.
Within seconds, he was dead.
The other one glanced between him and me, then decided to take his chances and lunged. He was smarter than his friend, aiming for non-fatal blows: my ankles, my shoulders, my elbows. Each time, he cried out as thin lines of ruby red welled from his skin, while mine remained untouched. After the fourth try, he clutched at his wrist, dropping his sword. I strode toward him and kicked him in the stomach. He sprawled backward and tripped over his dead companion. Scrambling to the nearest column, he tried to stand, but I shoved my forearm against his neck and pinned him to the wall, pressing my dagger into his cheek.
“The civilians who were taken hostage. Where did they go?” I demanded. When he failed to respond, I dug the tip of the blade in deeper, his cheek dimpling as blood bloomed on the surface and dripped to the ground. “Tell me.”
“You’ll never catch them,” he said through gritted teeth.
“What are your people going to do with them?”
“What do you think?” He spat to the side, lips curving into a sadistic smile. “They’ll get what all you magic freaks deserve.”
My insides froze. I began to back away, when I caught the scent of…of peppermint and rubbing alcohol.
Like the ointments in the infirmary. Coming from the man under my hold.
With a sharp, distant voice I barely recognized as my own, I asked, “Were you the one who killed them?”
“You’ll have to be more specific than that,” he spat.
My grip on my dagger tightened. “The patients in the healer’s wing.”
His sick grin broadened.
Fury blinded me. Before he could move, I pulled my forearm off and dragged my blade across his throat.
He died with that smile still on his face.
Disgusted, I pushed away from him and watched as heslumped to his knees, then landed face first onto the ground. I swallowed down rising bile and clenched the handle. Whirling on my heels, I forced any thought beyond getting to the central sector from my mind.
The fighting and the fallen blurred together as I sprinted past them and burst into the morning air, following the sounds of explosions and shouting to the north. The pillar of smoke rising behind the treeline guided my way.
Everything except my heaving breaths and pounding of my feet on the forest floor faded. I would find Morgana and Beau, whatever it took. Theyhadto be safe. I couldn’t lose them, too.
I sped north through the small forest, forcing air into my lungs and pushing past the stitch in my side. Soon, the trees and undergrowth thinned and leveled out, opening to the village of the central sector.
Shop windows were blown in, thatched rooftops had been set ablaze, and civilians and soldiers alike swarmed the open streets. Men in what I recognized now as the black armor of Mysthelm barged forward, bringing as many Veridians to their knees as they could. Magic also filled the air—bright beams of sun rays shot from Lightbenders, wisping shadows of the Shadow Wielders engulfed enemies whole, giant creatures of all kinds prowled underfoot, ripping limbs and heads from Mysthelm guards.
And there was blood. So much blood.
It was chaos. It was carnage.
But there were no black carriages in sight.
For a split second, the light and shadows and fire seemed to shimmer, but when I rubbed my eyes, the effect waned. In my peripheral vision, I saw several hooded figures crouching low to the ground with children burrowed in their arms. At first I thought they were the enemy carrying off innocent young ones, but then I realized they were usingshadowsto cloak them from sight.
Veridians, not Mysthelm soldiers. And they were heading toward a building secluded from the rest that hadn’t yet been touched. They were taking them tosafety.
I darted into the nearest house, searching for signs of inhabitants. A woman and a little girl were tucked away in a closet, the mother rocking her daughter close to her chest as tears streamed down her cheeks.
