Scorched by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #7)(45)

When I finally burst out into the open, a rush of cool air slapped me in the face—a welcome reminder that I was alive. Taking in deep gulps of air, I set Rusalia down in the schoolyard field, then shifted into panther form to heal myself. The process was slower than usual, and it took even longer to change back into human form—I was running really low on magic.

Once I was done, I turned back toward the building. The roof of the school had caved in completely, and the outer walls had collapsed inward—a complete shambles. Maybe there was still enough time, maybe I could still get Fenris out. He was badly hurt, but Iannis could heal him once he got here. He had to heal him. Trembling, I took a step forward, but then another quake hit, nearly as strong as the first. The tunnel collapsed inwards, buried completely by the rubble I’d managed to push out of my way.

“No,” I screamed, falling on the mound of dirt and concrete. Frantically, I began to dig, but the sound of a small explosion stopped me in my tracks, and I ducked as a flaming hunk of metal came flying my way. To my horror, I realized the entire block of buildings south of the school was on fire, and the wall of flames was rapidly heading in our direction. The irony didn’t escape me that it was Fenris who had warned of the likelihood of fires being caused by the quake, and a stab of pain went through my chest. He would never get to see that he’d been proven right.

“Fuck,” I swore, remembering Rusalia, who was lying defenseless on the ground. Abandoning the caved-in tunnel, I rushed over to her, then undid the sleep spell.

“Wha…” she mumbled, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. Any vestiges of sleep quickly disappeared as she beheld the ruins of the school and the state of her dirty, torn clothes. “What happened?” she shouted, jumping to her feet. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head at the sight of the huge flames, which were spreading quickly toward us. “Oh no, I burned the school down!”

“No, you didn’t,” I snapped, grabbing her by the arm. “You’re not that powerful yet, kid. Now get on—we’ve gotta run.”

I hauled Rusalia onto my back, piggyback style, then sprinted for Witches End as fast as I could. I tried not to think about the fact that I was leaving Fenris’s body behind, and focused on avoiding the very real pitfalls—the sidewalks and streets had cracked open in places, exposing water mains below, and there were more buildings on fire. Luckily, most of the shops and homes in Rowanville seemed to be holding up, but several had collapsed, and there were plenty of people screaming and crying in the streets. The scents of blood, fear, and despair told me that there were injured and dead amongst them, but there was no time to stop and help. I had to get Rusalia home safely first.

“Thank Magorah,” I said aloud as Witches End finally came into view. The pier, and all the shops lining it, were still standing strong. Magic shimmered along the thresholds and roofs, and I knew that whatever protection spells the residents had put in for this situation had been activated.

“Comenius,” I yelled, banging on his apartment door. “Com, I’ve got her!”

“Pa,” Rusalia sobbed as soon as a very harrowed-looking Comenius opened the door. She threw herself into his arms, and he gathered her tight against him. “Pa, I’m sorry!” She began sobbing in Pernian, burying her face against his abdomen.

“Shh, shh,” he soothed, picking her up. He tucked her tearstained face against his chest and carried her to the couch. I followed him inside. Elania was sitting in the living room, looking incredibly relieved. There was a tender look on her face as she watched Comenius settle on the couch, rocking his crying daughter in his arms while murmuring assurances to her in their mother tongue.

“I am so glad you found her,” Elania said to me, tears in her dark eyes. “Comenius was terrified that she might have been hurt in the quake.” She paused, her brow furrowing. “Where is your wolf-shifter friend?”

Grief hit me with the force of a train, and I collapsed into a chair. “He’s dead,” I said, and the words sounded like they were coming out of someone else’s mouth. There was no way I was sitting here, so completely calm, talking about Fenris’s death. I should be screaming, crying, tearing my hair out. Cursing the gods above for their cruel machinations. Instead, I was just sitting here, my strength completely sapped, so weighted down by grief I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get up again.

How could he be gone?

“Dead?” Comenius echoed, finally tearing his attention away from his daughter. He looked stricken at the news. “What happened?”

I explained how we’d managed to track Rusalia to the school, and how the quake had hit after we’d found her in the basement. Silent tears ran down my cheeks as I described Fenris’s selfless sacrifice, how he’d chosen to give me his knowledge and memories so that I might get away with Rusalia, and how it had weakened him so much that he hadn’t been able to follow us through the escape tunnel. By the time I got to the part where the tunnel had collapsed, my entire body was shaking, my cheeks raw from scrubbing away at the tears that wouldn’t stop coming.

Elania silently put a heap of sandwiches before me, and I devoured without tasting anything. I had no appetite, but I was running on fumes and my shifter body was crying out for fuel. “I’m so sorry, Naya,” Comenius said. He set a now-sleeping Rusalia aside, then knelt in front of my chair. “I know how important Fenris was to you. We shall all miss him.”