Soul of Flame (Imdalind Series #4)(99)

“They are headed into an ambush; they can’t fly as you commanded them.” My voice sounded distant as I kept my vision on what was happening several miles away from us.

Ilyan’s muscles tensed, the same pain shooting up his arm as his magic again warned him of the break in his plan. His eyes stayed focused on the coming massacre that he could not see, his heart a thundering pulse in his chest as his jaw clenched and unclenched.

I could feel Ilyan’s need to help them, the same need pulsing within me. My friends were about to come under attack; they were about to die. I needed to help them. I needed to rush there and fight for them, not stay on this foolish mission that would only end in my death.

I could save them.

But I couldn’t, because this mission wasn’t foolish. It was needed, and I was the only one who could finish the job.

They are on their own, I spoke the words into Ilyan’s mind, my heart breaking as Ilyan’s did, too. The foolish hope that maybe we could still get there in time raged through him like wildfire.

“We need to get to my father.”

I nodded in agreement, Ilyan’s hand tightening around mine as our magic met between us. We burst through the trees in our desperation to reach the abbey, the wind at our backs as the thunder rumbled overhead, blocking our movements from view and our sounds from our enemies’ ears.

Our hands broke free from each other as Ilyan continued to shield me from within, our pace quickening as we ran to meet the first row of Trpaslíks. Their faces were hard as they stared into the tree line expecting our arrival, oblivious to the fact that we were already there.

Kill as many as you can; move straight through, Ilyan’s voice rumbled through me, my heart stuttering at the word kill, my soul fighting against it.

My muscles tensed before I continued on, knowing I didn’t have another choice. Not anymore.

I met the first line of the army, my hands pressing against two men’s chests as I sent a line of fire right into their hearts, stopping them on contact. I burned their magic to nothing with the one touch, their eyes rolling back as they fell to the ground, just as three more dropped dead a few feet away from me. The movement caught the attention of those who surrounded them, yells of fear and anger rising around us as they rushed to help and turned to face their invisible foe.

I ran forward in an attempt to get away from the now blindly fighting Trpaslíks, pressing my hand into one chest after another, my arms wrapping around heads as I twisted necks. Men dropped to the ground like stones as I kept pace with Ilyan, the lifeless bodies dropping before us.

It didn’t take the Trpaslíks long to figure out what was going on, to pinpoint where we were and where we were headed. A wall of fire erupted in front of us as the army herded their prey, hatred discoloring their features and fueling their magic.

It was then that I understood why Ilyan had asked me to kill, and not just injure. We were cornered, and there weren’t as many to fight now.

A ripple of nerves overtook me as I came to a stop in the exact place the Trpaslíks had predicted, Ilyan halting only steps away from me.

I pressed my back against his as I faced our attackers. Ilyan reached back and clasped my hand, the shield dropping away. Shouts of glee and dark excitement surrounded us as we came into view, bloodthirsty grins flashing around us.

I stared into them as my fear grew, the confidence I held before seeming to vanish at the sheer numbers that surrounded us.

I could feel Edmund just within the walls that were now within touching distance. I could get there. I could end this.

My chest heaved as the sky cut with lightning and the flickering of the fire that consumed the abbey lit the faces of those who surrounded us. The tongues of light and dark turned them into the menacing monsters that they had become inside. The group came closer, my eyes hardening as Ilyan’s did. He wasn’t going to give up, and neither would I.

“Use my magic,” he whispered to me as his magic flooded into me, a lightning storm of energy rippling through my body.

I pulled the energy into me, stretching it alongside my own as it grew, my power expanding, the lightning that still raged within me sparking. I held onto Ilyan’s hand as I pulled him around, a green fire shooting from my hand as it spit through the air toward the circle of demons that wished to take our lives. I let the wicked flames flow from me, the fire strong as it caught those who would kill us, their clothes and skin catching fire in the impermeable blaze as their screams rang in my ears.

I had only made it halfway around the hoard before I erupted into the air, my arms clinging to Ilyan as I took him with me. We soared away from the screams and the angry calls, only to land in the nearby courtyard of the abbey, the enemy I had hoped to escape only feet from us.

The heat from the fire I had created seeped into me as the screaming continued, the agony of those I had cursed to a slow death twisting my insides. I didn’t look back to see what I had done; I pushed the regret away, turned, and ran, my red shoes making a hollow sound against the stone as Ilyan followed me.

I pulled us into the closest entry I could find, the stone entry collapsing behind us as we entered the building, trapping us inside. The fire that had engulfed the building cast long shadows as we raced through the stone hallways, the heat from the fire growing the further into the belly of the building we moved.

Closer.

Closer.

Edmund was so close that I could hear his laugh echo in my head. My breathing picked up as his magic grew, the fear that had been misplaced for so long surging violently through me. I pushed the fear away, knowing I had no choice other than to continue, to face him and the insanity that he had controlled me with.