Carabosso, Suzu, and the other mage looked away from him as Acri hissed an exhale, his face red withpain.
“Acri!” Lilian’s voice was as stinging as a whipcrack.
The young war mage boosted himself to his knees and staggered after his mother, pain radiating from everymuscle.
Carabosso waited until the mother’s and son’s footsteps faded before grumbling, “She’ll be in a rotten mood for amonth.”
“It will only push her to come up with an even more ruthless plan.” Suzu briskly set about covering Lilian’s paints, then glanced in Evariste’s direction. “You’ll dismantle whatever spells you were playing with?” She gestured to the blue cloud of Evariste’s magic that freely floated around themirror.
“Of course,” Carabossosaid.
Suzu shrugged and sauntered from thecavern.
Carabosso sniffed and ambled up to Liliane’s barely startedpainting.
Evariste watched him for a moment to confirm the rogue mage wasn’t going to immediately dismantle the spell.Now’s my chance. They’ll be occupied with Acri, and I doubt they’ll leave my own magic unattended in front of me again in the next decade.He leaned heavily against the mirror’s surface and again placed his hands flat against the glasspane.
Tantalizingly, his magic swirledcloser.
A glance at Carabosso confirmed the rogue mage was still rifling through Liliane’spaintings.
“Come on,” Evariste whispered. “Hurry up!” He tried to mentally reach out for his magic, but rammed into the unshakeable blocks that separated him from hisabilities.
Even so, his magic brushed the mirror’s surface, once again filling hissenses.
Yes!
He tugged it into him, breathing faster when his magic willingly followed his direction. Working quickly, he wove it into a dispelling charm, then pushed against the pane. His limbs slipped through the surface as if it was liquid, and a moment later, he popped out on the other side, breathing fresh air for the first time inyears.
Unfortunately, exiting the mirror sucked up every last drop of magic Liliane had leftbehind.
But he couldtastefreedom now—and smell it,too.
I’ll have to subdue Carabosso—there’s nothing in the room for me to hide behind besides the mirror or Liliane’spaintings.
Quietly as he could, Evariste stalked toward an oblivious Carabosso. He held his breath as he grabbed the stool set in front of Liliane’seasel.
Carabosso started to turn around, his eyes widening when he caught sight of Evariste. He opened his mouth—assumedly to shout—but Evariste brought he stool down on his head, and Carabosso collapsed, sprawling to the floor with splintered pieces of the now-dentedstool.
Not my first choice of weapon, but it willdo.
Evariste eased his shoulders back, stiffening when he heard the tap of footsteps. He darted to the cavern wall, pressing himself flat against its cold, roughsurface.
The stomp of surly footsteps grew louder. “Carabosso.” A somewhat familiar-looking male black mage trundled into the room. “What’s taking so—” He paused when he saw Carabosso’s comatosebody.
Evariste darted forward and struck at the mage with the stool, but it glanced off a shield made of redmagic.
The mage shrieked in surprise. “Suzu!” he shouted. “The enchanter is—” He gurgled when Evariste experimentally poked theshield.
When his finger sank through its surface, he struck, grabbing the mage by theneck.
He dragged the mage toward him and swiveled so he could ram the smaller man into the cavernwall.
The mage yipped in pain, but before Evariste could follow up the attack, hot agony bloomed on his back. He heard the crackle of fire and spun around, slamming his back into the rock wall and extinguishing the flames that had singed hisclothes.
“How did you get out?” Suzu flicked another ball of fire athim.
Evariste lurched forward, dragging the black mage with him and thrusting him out in front to use as ashield.
