Hunted by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #3)(53)

“Iannis!” I hissed, jumping to my feet. “It’s Argon Chartis! He’s the mage the Resistance recruited to help them, and he’s about to execute the delegates now!”

Iannis swore, then sprinted for the mineshaft, speaking the Words of the levitation spell as he went. Rather than fumbling with the spell myself, which I still wasn’t super confident with, I hopped onto Iannis’s back as he dropped down into the mineshaft.

“Ciach,” he swore as my arms and legs wrapped around his torso, but one of his hands wrapped around mine and squeezed, as if to reassure I was safe. “Are you trying to get us both killed?”

“I was going for efficiency,” I muttered in his ear as we descended into the shaft, far faster and smoother than when I’d done it on my own. As the elevator cage came into view, I realized Iannis wasn’t going to be able to squeeze by it with me on his back, so I dropped onto the top of the cage, then waited until Fenris floated past him before I swung myself over the side and dropped down into the tunnel.

Chartis swung around, his eyes wide with shock at the sight of us. Power crackled in his left hand, which was aimed at the delegate he’d been arguing with. All seven prisoners had been lined up against the wall, rune-engraved cuffs weighing down their wrists and preventing them from being able to use their magic. Four Resistance soldiers surrounded them in case one of them decided to attack, but it was hardly necessary – the mages could barely stand.

“You!” Chartis shouted, jabbing a crackling finger in Iannis’s direction. Strangely, he almost looked triumphant at seeing the Chief Mage alive. “I knew you had somehow survived that fall.”

“Well, I am a Chief Mage,” Iannis said coldly, stepping forward. “It would be rather pitiful if I could be killed so easily. Step away from the delegates, Argon. I made the mistake of letting you go quietly, and I won’t be doing that again. You are coming back with me to face trial for your treason.”

“Come with you? Not in this life!” Chartis yelled, his eyes sparking with rage. He shouted a Word, and a bolt of lightning shot from his palm, heading straight for Iannis. Iannis raised a hand and shouted another spell as he caught the bolt in his hand. The deadly lightning dissipated, much to Chartis’s fury. “You’ve already stripped me of my rank and thrown me out of the Guild – I won’t allow you to humiliate me by putting me on a public trial as well!”

“Stop this!” Iannis commanded, his eyes flashing. “If you throw around magic like that in this tunnel, it will collapse and kill us all!”

“That doesn’t sound so bad to me,” Chartis sneered, raising his hand again. “It means I won’t have to take the time to kill you all individually.” He shot another bolt at Iannis, and as he did the soldiers rushed forward to attack me and Fenris.

“Help the delegates!” I shouted at Fenris as I charged forward to meet them. “I’ll hold them off while you get them out of here!”

The next few minutes were utter pandemonium. Drawing my crescent knives, I blocked the first soldier’s sword and knocked it away, then came in with a slash at his mid-section. A second soldier went for my ribs as I did so, and I was forced to twist away to avoid the bite of his blade. As a result, my slash didn’t go as deep as I would have liked, and the first soldier jumped back, barely scathed. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Fenris duck out of the way of another soldier’s blade, then come in from underneath and slam his palms into the guy’s chest while shouting a word. Ice spread like wildfire over the man’s body, and the fourth soldier froze as he watched his comrade turn into a sculpture.

Inspired, I conjured a ball of fire in each hand, then tossed them both at the soldiers as they tried to rush me. The first one ducked it, but the second one didn’t get out of the way in time, and he screamed as his clothing burst into flame, then dropped onto the ground and started rolling to stamp out the flames.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Argon and Iannis continue to fight. Iannis was on the defensive, working as hard as he could to try and absorb Argon’s blasts so that they didn’t hurt anyone or destabilize the tunnel. Unable to use full force against a well-shielded enemy, he was at a major disadvantage. If I didn’t do something soon, Iannis was going to get hurt.

The hiss of a blade swinging through the air drew my attention to an attack from one of the remaining soldiers. I swung my crescent knife out to block the arc of his sword, but I didn’t quite catch it at the right angle and his blade bit deeply into my fingers, straight into the bone. I cried out, my knife slipping from my mutilated fingers, and jumped back, out of the soldier’s reach. He laughed at my pain, and the fear in my gut morphed into a towering flame of rage. Snarling, I lifted my other hand, then blasted him straight in the chest with a gout of flame. He flew backwards, landing hard on his ass, a scream erupting from his lips as the flames raced across his body, but I didn’t wait around to see if he was going to do the stop, drop, and roll like his buddy. Instead, I drew a chakram from the pouch on my hip, then flung it at Chartis using my non-dominant hand. Too busy trying to blast Iannis and simultaneously shield against his attacks, Chartis didn’t see the blade coming, and it sliced clean through his left leg. His scream echoed off the rocky walls, and blood spurted from the stump of his leg as he dropped onto his uninjured knee.

“You mangy beast!” he shouted, dark green eyes blazing with hatred as his gaze clashed with mine. He lifted a hand to blast me, but before he could, Iannis took advantage of Chartis’s lowered shield and blasted him with a bolt of his own. Argon screamed as the electric shock ran through him, and he toppled to the ground. I watched him shake and tremble for several moments before he braced his hand against the wall and tried to rise.