Night Study (Soulfinders, #2)(127)

“Everyone except Yelena go inside the cave,” Valek ordered. When they hesitated, he said, “Go now!”

They hurried to obey. Valek stripped off his shirt to remove the null shield Leif had attached, tossing it far away.

“Valek...?” Yelena began, but then she pressed her lips together. “Tell me what you need.”

“I need you to imagine you have magic and you’re going to heal Leif. Think of each step and how you’d use the magic to repair the damage. I’ll follow your instructions. Be very specific.”

She drew in a deep breath. “Imagine in my mind, right?”

“Yes. Visualize as much as possible.” He reached for her hand, but she pulled away.

“Touching me will block your magic. Tell me when you’re ready.”

Valek grabbed the bolt in both his hands. “When I yank this free, start.”

“Okay. Make sure you press your hand to the wound.”

“Got it. One, two, three.” Valek tugged the shaft from Leif’s chest. Blood welled, pouring out. He covered the hole with his hand and dropped his mental barrier.

Yelena’s instructions flooded his mind. He reached for the blanket of power. A bolt of energy pulsed, and power flowed inside him. The temptation to grab it all consumed him. Bruns and the Commander’s plans to take over Sitia would be easy to stop. Nothing could match his power. Nothing could harm him or Yelena or the baby.

“Focus on Leif.”

Yelena’s voice sliced through the greed. With effort, he extracted a small thread and sent it into Leif’s wound. He matched the images in Yelena’s mind of stitching skin and bone together with that glowing fiber of magic. One thing Valek did know how to do—sew. The other assassins hadn’t called him the King Knitter for nothing. As he worked, pulling thread after thread to repair the damage, the images in Yelena’s mind faded. Valek needed to reinforce the connection over and over. It was as if another magician sucked at the magic he used. Odd—but then again, it might be normal. He had nothing to compare it to.

“You got it. Keep going,” she encouraged him.

Healing a wound involved more than he’d ever imagined. Broken bones needed to be fused together. Muscles woven back in place. Tissue smoothed. Veins repaired and reconnected.

Exhaustion flirted with him, but he shoved it aside.

“Blood,” Yelena said. “He’s lost too much. You need to generate more.”

“How?”

“Inside the bones.” She showed him a mental image.

He seized additional magic from the blanket to keep their link, then drew extra strands to induce Leif’s bones to produce blood. And when his own body fatigued, he tugged a few more to energize him.

“The color is returning to Leif’s face,” Yelena said. “His pulse is stronger.”

Valek removed his hand. A livid red scar surrounded with black, purple and green bruises marked Leif’s chest.

Relief, joy and pride pulsed through Valek. He’d saved Leif’s life. With magic! The power still rushed through his veins, as if he’d drunk too much whiskey. Valek worked on his own injuries. The cracked ribs gone. The bump on his head erased. The bruised muscles and all the cuts, sewn together. He hadn’t felt this good in a long, long time.

“Valek, stop!”

Valek focused on Yelena. Worry and love and gratitude and jealousy swirled in her mind. And that...tug. It sucked his magic, as if he’d sprung a leak. Good thing an unlimited power supply was so easy to reach.

The magic filled him, and he wrapped it around his body, layer after layer after layer, protecting him. Valek ignored Yelena’s sharp tone. Her fear grated on him, so he broke their connection. Now he wouldn’t lose any power to that leak. He’d keep it safe. And keep it from everyone. Owen and Ben Moon and all those who used it to harm others wouldn’t be able to hurt another. No. Valek controlled the magic now, and he wasn’t going to share. With anyone.





33


YELENA


Valek gathered too much power. He was going to flame out and kill himself and anyone nearby. I had to stop him, but wasn’t sure how. Panic threatened to jumble my thoughts, but I wasn’t going to lose him now. I yelled for Ari and Janco. They rushed from the cave.

Pointing at Leif, who stirred, I said, “Take him inside. Tell the twins, Teegan and Heli to come out here now!”

They didn’t hesitate. An eternity later, the magicians arrived.

“Oh, no,” Zethan said. “He’s out of control.”

Zohav backed away. “We need to take cover. It’s not safe.”

“Can you bleed off the magic?” I asked them.

Heli raised her arms and a gust cooled my sweaty forehead. “Some, but he’s just drawing more.”

I glanced at the twins. “How about you?”

“Are you crazy? You’re going to get us all killed,” Zohav said.

“Yeah, we can. Zo, that’s our brother.”

“But you heard Heli, it won’t stop him, just delay the inevitable.”

“Since I’m still learning control, I’ve been augmenting Zo’s and Zee’s powers,” Teegan said. “We can bleed off more magic that way.”

“Good. Use as much as you can. I’ll do the rest.” Grabbing Valek’s shirt from where he’d tossed it, I put it on and held the material close.