Apprentice (The Black Mage, #2)(92)

And then I fell. Into the raging stream below I lost control of my magic. It was too late to attempt another casting – it was impossible to focus. White water swarmed me and I was thrust under its surface. I choked liquid as I fought to get air, only to be tossed again, rock after rock in the stream's rapid course.

The river was ice cold and the sharp pain in my thigh became more intense. Red blood and white waters threw me against the current, beating my body with every river rock along the way. I fought to the surface each time, only to get sucked under and then out. My fingers rubbed raw from scraping against rock.

I couldn't cast. Not with the collision of pain and water choking my lungs. My legs were numb and it was becoming harder and harder to swim. I couldn't see anymore. Darkness was grabbing me, pulling me under.

My arms held on the longest, but eventually those two slowly slipped away…

All at once I was conscious of gold. Sunlight streamed down from above, blinding me. I was at the surface. I could breathe.

There was shouting in the distance. My ears were pounding too heavily to notice.

My entire body ached, my skin felt like ice.

I opened my eyes and saw that the raging river had fettered out into a shallow stream. I had washed ashore. There was a deep gash in my left leg. An arrow had struck it. Part of the shaft was still in it.

But I was still alive.

All at once the shouting drew closer and my heartbeat could no longer block out the words.

"We found the mage girl!"

"Get her bound and gagged – she might be able to pain cast!"

I tried to move, stand, anything, but my limbs were still catching up from the cold.

I tried to cast but my vision just spun and spun and a sharp pain probed at my head until I was forced to vomit the contents of my breakfast onto the sand beside me.

I couldn't escape: I needed to do exactly what the Caltothians feared. I needed to create more pain. I blinked at the shaft in my leg. If I could just roll myself onto my side.

I shifted just slightly and pain tore into my thigh. I screamed. Magic came rushing out and I thrust as much of it as I could muster into the band of enemies racing toward me.

But I missed. My lightning missed its mark.

And now I didn't even have pain magic. Not unless I wanted to kill myself summoning more.

Two sets of hands pinned my arms and legs to the ground. My hands and feet were bound in a matter of seconds and then an oily cloth was shoved into my mouth as another wrapped it in place.

A face entered my vision and I saw the same woman who had killed the knight squinting down at me. Her lip was curled in disgust.

"Who else is with you?" she demanded. A large wad of saliva landed on the side of my cheek. "Hold up your fingers for the count of your men."

I trembled. I would not tell her anything. From Derrick's past accounts I knew I was going to die no matter what. Caltothians never kept prisoners. But at least I would not die a traitor.

The woman slapped me hard across the face. My lip split open from the sting of her impact.

"Tell me and I will let you live."

Never. I shook my head and tried to ignore its unwelcome spinning.

"Kinsey, shouldn't we keep this one?" one of the men probed. "She put up a good fight. If we break her, I bet it would be worth our time. We could use another mage-"

"You know the orders as well as I do, Wade, no survivors."

"Not if we don't tell them."

"Do you really want to take that chance?" Kinsey drawled. "Two times a traitor would only bring a slow and painful death."

The woman pulled out a curved dagger. It was the same blade she had used to slit the knight's throat. She cradled it against the side of my face. "One more chance before I gut you like a fish," she crooned. Her blade carved a shallow cut across my neck.

Be brave, Ryiah. I shut my eyes. I would spend my last moments of life envisioning something more pleasant than the ugly face of my enemy.

What would I see in my last breath, I wondered, Derrick's laugh, Alex's crooked grin, or my parents' kind smiles?

Kinsey cackled. "Enjoy the Realm of the Dead."

Darren.

In my last moments I saw Darren.

A sharp sting was followed by the withdrawal of pain and the shrill sound of a woman's scream. I opened my eyes and realized that I was not, in fact, dead. I touched my throat and realized the blade had only nicked it.

I was very much alive.

The woman who had been brandishing the knife was not so fortunate. Kinsey lay face down in the sand next to me, dead. A javelin was in her back.

All around me was panicked yelling.

Sensation returned to my limbs. I propped myself up with my elbows so that I could take in the scene around me. Was it too much to hope? Had someone seen my casting?

All around me were great flashes of light and smoke. The heat from the forest fire was growing: the air was sweltering. Any residual cold from my icy bath had faded quickly in its presence.

The Caltothians guarding me were busy, engaged in a battle of sorts with two others in the clearing ahead. It was hard to make out my rescuers' faces but I could tell from the way they fought that they were winning.

Only three of the Caltothians were mages and one of them – the woman who had threatened me - was already dead. The enemy soldiers were hiding behind their mages – only one of them was an archer, the rest carried swords.