“Get up, Thane!” I yell as I snatch the dagger out of Maliek’s chest. Maliek’s sword clatters to the ground, and dark-red—nearly black—blood drips out of his mouth. I didn’t think he’d physically react, seeing as he’s already dead. Clearly, he’s not dead enough.
Maliek throws a weak punch at me, and I duck just in time. Grappling for me, he misses and stumbles forward, landing on his face. Blood spills from under him, and the room fills with grunts and clashing swords.
I look over to where Thane is lying on his back, struggling to fend off one of the assassins’ swords with his own blade. The gleaming edge is mere inches from his face, ready to slice through his flesh. He manages to shove the assassin off of him and hop to his feet before it can reach him.
One of the assassins grabs me, and I yell as another tries taking the tome. A blast of gold knocks one of them away. The one holding me loses his footing, slams down on his back, and cracks his skull when Thane gives his wrist a hard twist.
“Go, Zaira! Take the others and get out of here!” Thane shouts as more assassins rush him.
Thane goes for his swords and resumes the fight while I run for the tunnel with the tome tucked under my armpit. I pant wildly, stumbling through the ruined hall and jumping over thick piles of vines to reach the room full of treasure.
I hate to leave him alone, but I need to keep the tome out of The Shadow Guild’s clutches.
A wave of relief rolls through me as I near the treasure room. Rynthea and Algar have their rucksacks fully stuffed with treasure and are now trying to tuck more into their pockets.
“Hey, you two,” I call.
They turn to look at me at the same time as I step through the doorway.
“We need to get out of here,” I demand. “Right now.”
“What’s going on?” Algar asks.
“Maliek,” I say, and that name is enough for both of them to frown. “He and his assassins just attacked us.”
“Wait—what?Maliek?” Rynthea says in shock. “I thought Thane killed him!”
“Hedidkill him…and I just killed him again…”
Algar scratches the back of his head, completely puzzled.
“I’m not understanding. If he was dead when Thane killed him, how did he manage to come here and attack again?” Rynthea snaps.
“An evil sorcerer brought him back to life somehow— Look, It’s a long story, but to sum it up, they’re after Thane because of this.” I hold Azidel’s tome in the air.
Rynthea and Algar stare at it, their faces warped with confusion.
“What is that?” Rynthea asks.
“I’ll explain more later, but right now wereallyneed to get out of here.”
“What about the stones?” she asks.
“Thane lied.” My chest tightens just thinking about it again. “The stones were taken a long time ago…and he knew.”
“Motherfucker,” Rynthea spits.
“Where is Thane?” Algar asks, peering past my shoulder in search of his friend.
“Who cares about that liar?” Rynthea growls, snatching up her scythesword. “He’ll catch up with us if he makes it out alive. Let’s go. Now.”
Rynthea tosses me my loaded rucksack while Algar tries to pick up a few more coins on our way out. As we retrace our steps and sprint through the dark tunnels, Thane’s words repeat in my head.
That tome is powerful. I’m sure there is a spell in it that I can use to break your sister’s curse…
I can only hope that’s true.
Chapter 57
