Scorched Treachery (Imdalind, #3)(69)

Perhaps forever.





Chapter Twenty-One





One moment. I took one moment and risked closing my eyes to say goodbye. I looked into the blackness behind my lids and said goodbye to my brother, I thanked him for what he had given up to help me and silently prayed he would be all right and that I would see him again. I said my final goodbye to Talon, the man who had loved me no matter what and had protected me from myself for a hundred years, helping me grow as a person and learn to love life. I placed my hand against the cold stone of the mountain and felt my magic surge, the heat behind my eyes growing as I fought back the tears.

Then the moment was gone. I shoved the pain and loss into the black pit of my icy heart and opened my eyes to the crowd of tourists. They snapped pictures of the carving, made crude signs in front of their cameras and complained about their lack of water. I heard them but let it all wash over me as my eyes scanned for what I was really looking for.

My magic ran through the ground, serving as my sensor. My magic did not work as Ilyan’s did, it did not alert me to any power nearby. I had to scan.

It rushed through the ground as I searched for him. My eyes narrowed as I found him near the edge of the crowd, surrounded by at least twenty of his men. Edmund stood still, presumably looking through the crowd for me.

My jaw set in a scowl as I looked at him, my magic pulsing in excitement.

I could take out at least three of Edmund’s guards before he would notice, if the tourists surrounding them didn’t notice the men turning to pillars of ash right beside them. I doubted that would happen. Besides, I wasn’t sure that causing trauma for innocent bystanders was really my thing anymore.

I didn’t want it to be.

As much as I could fight, as much as I wanted to, I also knew it wasn’t the best choice anymore. I had lost Talon, Ryland was gone, and I had trapped Cail in the caves of Prague with my father. I stepped closer to Sain as I weighed my options. I needed to get us out of here.

I ignored the stubborn ache in my chest and continued to glare toward Edmund, wishing that I was as heartless as I had been once upon a time.

I needed to get to Ilyan and to Joclyn, so that together we could end this. As much as regaining the fire magic had benefitted me, Joclyn was the only one that could stop the wicked man.

I needed to get back to her. Which meant fighting was not an option for us here. Our best chance was to fly toward Ilyan’s ancient evacuation tunnel hidden in the catacombs of St. Vitus Cathedral in downtown Prague.

There were a few problems with this plan. First and foremost, it was in downtown Prague. We were currently tucked away in the mountains, and it would take me at least fifteen minutes to fly us there, if Edmund didn’t track us right away.

The Cathedral also sat in the middle of one of the busiest squares in the old town, and at this time of year, it would be flooded by tourists. I would have to be careful. I couldn’t let Edmund follow us, too many people would die. Too many people already had.

“St. Vitus.” Sain’s voice was a whisper next to me. I had almost forgotten he was there. I turned to face him, not daring to keep my focus off the crowd in front of me for too long.

“Excuse me?” I asked, alarmed that he had somehow seen into my head, which given who he was, was a distinct possibility.

“We are going to St. Vitus, but we need to go by the Orloj where Kadan put his clock. I must retrieve something or this escape will have been in vain.” His voice wasn’t normal. It wasn’t like when he was given the Black Water, but more like when he had told me of Talon’s death. I couldn’t doubt that what he was saying was true.

Considering what Edmund had done to him over the centuries, it was amazing his sight was still part of him at all, but if this was how the remains of his power chose to make itself known, then I would take all the help I would get.

I grabbed Sain’s frail hand and held it in my small one. Our best bet was to fly, and if I could do this without detection, it would be a miracle.

I tensed my bare toes into the loose dirt that I stood on, letting the power inside me build. It bubbled and boiled until my body felt like it was vibrating; the anger and power bleeding together in a torrent that flooded out of me, through the dirt, and into one of the large wooden benches that someone had placed on the side of the path.

The second the power had filled it, I sent a pulse, one strong surge of magic that boomed through the air in a violent explosion. Fire filled the sky as screams of the tourists sounded, the noise barely able to be heard above the echo of the blast that was still bounced around the small canyon.

Tourists screamed and ran in their mad attempt to escape the blast. People ran into each other, children and women screamed as frantic men trampled over them. I could just make out Edmund as he turned toward the explosion, his eyes scanning the crowd for me.

I wasn’t stupid enough to expect him to run toward the blast. He was smart, and hundreds of years of working with him had taught me his weakness.

I dropped the shield around us, the lack of security making us visible to him, but making it easier for me to merge with the crowd. I didn’t wait to see if he had noticed us, because I knew he would. I took off running toward the now destroyed bench, my hand tight around Sain’s as I weaved us through the terrified hoard that was fleeing the scene.

Please don’t let anyone get hurt.

I shielded us again, hoping that our brief stint of visibility was enough time for Edmund to have noticed us, and sent my magic into a bench on the other side of the canyon.