A Shadow Bright and Burning (Kingdom on Fire #1)(96)

“Nor I. I’m not even a sorcerer.” Mickelmas moved out of the shadows. Palehook shrank back. “Hello, Augustus. You’ve only gotten balder and uglier over the years. It suits you.” Palehook muttered something I couldn’t make out. Mickelmas laughed. “Speak up, old fellow. Granted, you must be tired. Black magic does rather deplete one’s energy.” Mickelmas rubbed his hands together and, with a flick of his wrist, sent a ball of white light sailing at the tomb.

But none of us anticipated how fast Palehook could be. With a swift movement of his stave, he bent one of the iron bars and severed it, sending the pointed tip through the ball of light and directly into Mickelmas’s side.

“Damn, damn!” Mickelmas fell, his blood pooling on the floor. He waved off the boys’ attempts to help.

Palehook turned to the mist hovering over Rook and inhaled deeply, smacking his lips like some grotesque vampire. His skin glowed as he took more and more.

“Come on, then,” Hemphill called as I frantically sought a way to the gate. “If you’re not commended, Miss Howel, then nothing can stop my putting a blade through your heart. I missed the last time, but I won’t tonight.”



Magnus roared and slammed his stave to the floor. The ground shook, throwing our opponents off balance. The battle had begun.

Around me, the sorcerers dueled furiously. They summoned winds that whipped along the corridor, and the bricks beneath our feet rattled and bucked. Lambe and Wolff ran side by side, their wards activated, and smashed into one of the guards. Blackwood collected the fire from a torch and exploded it in someone’s face. Dee pulled stones out of the floor and threw them. Magnus, teeth bared, dueled Hemphill with warded blades.

There was a path open to the tomb.

I took the opportunity and ran, setting myself on fire to keep the guards away. Palehook slammed the door in my face, but I blasted it open and entered, the blue flames rising around me as I reached for him.

“Get out!” He struck me with wind. A tendril of Rook’s life curled out of his open mouth like smoke.

Rook lay motionless on the stone. He looked terrifyingly flat. Please, God, I couldn’t be too late.

“Get away from him.” I struggled to keep my fire from touching Rook. Palehook leaned against the wall, beads of sweat dotting his forehead. He really had weakened, and I used it to my advantage. When he tried to move in any direction, I was there. His only way out was through fire.

“Stop!” he cried. But he was afraid; I could see it.

“If you yield, throw down your weapon.”

Palehook was still a moment, deciding. Then, slowly, he dropped his stave. It clattered to the floor, and he put his hands up. I stopped burning, created a warded blade, and held it to his throat. Palehook kept his chin up. He swallowed, wincing as the blade cut him slightly.



Behind me, the fighting ceased. Glancing quickly over my shoulder, I saw that both sides had paused, watching us, waiting to see who would win.

“Don’t be foolish,” Palehook said. Life force puffed from his lips with each word he spoke. “Think of what you’re doing. You’re condemning all of London to death.”

I cut him along the cheek. He hissed in pain. “Release what you stole from Rook,” I said.

“Let me finish, and I’ll convince Her Majesty I was wrong about you.” Even defeated, he still tried to manipulate me. “You’ll be a sorcerer. You’ll have everything you ever wanted.”

“I want Rook.” I slashed his other cheek, deeper than before. This time, he howled.

“You’ll be the death of us all!” Blood ran down both sides of his face, like tears.

“Do you want to die?” I didn’t know if I had the heart to murder a defenseless man, even if that man was Palehook, but my threat did the trick. Glancing at my blade, Palehook shook his head. Slowly, he moved over to Rook. He gave a few huffs of breath, and the vapor spilled out of him. He guided it so that it descended back into Rook’s body. Rook didn’t move.

No. It couldn’t be.

“Wake up,” I cried, shaking him.



“Howel!” Magnus yelled.

I shouldn’t have taken my eyes off Palehook. Stave in hand, he slashed at me. In my hurry to get out of the way, I slipped and dropped Porridge. With that, Palehook prepared for a killing blow.

The tomb’s shadows pulled him into their depths. Rook had raised himself up onto one elbow. He slowly brought his extended hand into a fist. Palehook screamed as the blackness bubbled and began to spread. It might take over the entire tomb, drawing us all in. I grabbed Porridge and braced myself for an attack on the encroaching gloom.

And then it stopped.

“Are you hurt?” Rook whispered. He gazed at me with concern. His eyes were black but not wicked. The power was not in control this time; he was.

“No,” I gasped.

Palehook started screaming inside the darkness, screaming fit to wake the dead. To my right, there was a stampede as his followers bolted out of the crypt, dragging Hemphill with them. It was all too much for them. That was the loyalty Palehook deserved.

My friends came over to the gate to peer in at Rook. They all looked afraid.

“Never seen anything like it,” Dee murmured.

“Let him out.” Blackwood winced. Palehook’s screams were growing more ragged and insane. “You can’t leave him there.”