I leapt off Oberi’s back while she was still running, and rolled against the ground to take the fall. Marcus was on his knees, and I grabbed him under the arm to haul him to his feet. Blood gushed out of a wound on his arm and coated my hand.
“Huh. Looks like I’ve been shot,” Marcus said, like he hadn’t felt a thing.
“Move, or you’ll be shot again!” I demanded.
Gunshots sounded in the air, and I fully expected one of them to hit me. I flinched, but all I felt was the lightest touch as my skin rippled against something.
I skimmed it with my fingers. It was a small bullet hanging in the air, as if someone had hit pause on a remote a split second before it was meant to penetrate my skin.
“Let’sgo!” Kallie demanded. “I can only buy us a few seconds. Time magic is too volatile, and if I mess it up, we aren’t getting out of here!”
She hadn’t slowed down time completely, because I could still hear the sirens blaring above us. But she had slowed time aroundthe bulletsso they wouldn’t hit us.
I would marvel at her magic if I had the time, but I didn't, so I tossed the bullet aside and grabbed Marcus. But he resisted, pushing me away. He wasn’t done just yet.
“You think a measly little bullet is going to stopme!?” Marcus shouted. He reached an arm back, and I felt a spell sizzle in his hand. “Rishi,kill them all.”
Rishi gave a primal hiss as he jumped on my shoulder and used me as a springboard to jump toward Marcus. Rishi melded into the spell until they became one, transforming into something akin to my Air, but much more dark and sinister.
Judging by Ava’s thoughts, Rishi had transformed into a black cloud of death. I could sense the foreboding nature of the cloud, even though I couldn’t see it. A low, angry growl emitted from the cloud, then Rishi attacked.
That’s my boy! A spirit of death,Oberi praised.
The guards must’ve been scared shitless, because they unloaded their guns into Rishi’s spirit form. It didn’t do any good. Rishi swept around the prison yard, darting between guards and ripping the life from their bodies one by one. He was so fast that by the time one guard dropped to the ground, two others were already dead.
It bought us time to make it to the tree line. By the time we reached cover, only a few guards were left shooting. Men screamed and begged for mercy, but Rishi silenced them with his death magic. The last of the gunshots died, followed by a scream that seemed to be falling through the air. Somethingcrunched, and I realized a guard had jumped from one of the towers to escape Rishi’s wrath. The last of the guards inside the tower screamed as they fled.
Rishi growled lowly as he circled the guard tower, then a powerful battle spell erupted out of him. It was so strong I could feel the magic from here. A massiveboomsounded over the yard, and the tower exploded so forcefully that tiny bits of rubble rained down on us. The ground shook as the tower toppled over and crashed to the ground.
“Gods, Rishi!” Kallie cried in a panic. The cloud of death had disappeared, and I could no longer feel his magic. We didn’t know where he’d gone, or if he’d been crushed by the tower.
Then we heard a tiny mew, and Rishi came running out of the rubble and into the trees.
Kallie practically sobbed in relief, then bent to pick up Rishi. “Good boy.”
We stood there for a moment to catch our breath. The entire Institute was engulfed in flames by now. Even from the tree line, we could feel the heat. The screams were distant, mostly coming from inmates who had escaped. The guards had been obliterated.
“My aunt’s vision came true,” Ava said quietly, and I felt an evil note of fulfillment at her words. The Institute would burn, and we would take pride in knowing this place was gone for good. It was satisfying, really. The Warden had our powers now, but his precious Institute was no more.
I turned to lead my friends to the Lair, but as I did so, my Earth magic through my feet. I paused, and panic filled my chest.
“Charlie, what’s wrong?” Ava asked, her voice raising a pitch. She could feel my fear through our bond.
“Something isn’t right,” I said.
The ground began to shake violently. Overhead, thunder cracked. Oberi neighed, and her hooves stomped upon the dirt as she tried to stay upright. I had to steady myself against a tree to keep from falling over. Wind whipped around us as a wicked storm began brewing.
“Charlie, what’s happening?” Kallie yelled over the roaring wind.
I could feel something deep within the earth, welling up inside of it with power I’d never felt before. I tried to calm the storm with my Air magic, but it resisted me.
“I don’t know!” I called back. “Whatever it is, it’s just as strong as we are!”
A deafeningcracksounded, and I was tossed upward before landing flat on my face. My friends screamed as they fell over. The earth continued to rumble, but we were thrown sideways every time we tried to stand upright. The sound of the storm and earthquake combined was deafening.
A crater opened up in the prison yard!Ava told me.
She didn’t have to tell me in words. I could read the concepts in her mind as she witnessed what was going on. A huge tunnel of red light beamed up from the ground, shining into the swirling clouds above us.
