by Devri Walls
“Giselle, please,” he said. “Don’t make me do this.”
“Do what, Tybolt? Are you going to use some spell to knock me out of the tree?”
“We both know that won’t work.” Unfortunately. She kept coming, and he swore every possible combination of curse words he could think of while he pulled his dagger. Giselle stopped where she was and drew her weapon, preparing for a fight.
The clash of swords rang out nearby as Auriella finally caught up to the archer. Giselle glanced in the direction and grinned. “Auriella’s going sword to sword with Jasper—interesting choice.”
Tybolt’s blood ran cold. It wasn’t an interesting choice—it was Auriella’s only choice. They’d given the rest of the weapons to the thieves, so a sword and dagger was all she had. She was very good, but Jasper was the best sword fighter by far and no one, including Auriella, had ever beat him. She had only minutes before her swings would start to lag, and milliseconds would turn into a full second when his blade would slip past her block. Tybolt needed to get to her now, which meant Giselle needed to be avoided.
The next tree was at least twenty-five feet away. That was a stretch on his best day, but he knew if he called the tree over to him, Giselle would make the jump as well. Then they would be in the same situation as they were now, just one tree over.
Tybolt leaned back against the trunk and took two steps, then leapt into open air. The branches of the next oak were wide and spread out with too much room between them—perfect for what he was attempting. He took his dagger in both hands above his head and prepared for impact. For a second he thought he might miss entirely, but he reached out and the blade bit into wood. He had a moment of hope, but as his full weight came down on the blade, it jerked free.
He could hear every insult Auriella would’ve sworn at him as he fell. He should’ve known it wouldn’t work. Had he not been so focused on rescuing her, he would’ve figured it out before he jumped.
No going back now.
He twisted, dropping his dagger and desperately grasping for something, anything, to stop his descent. He was about to call for help when his back slammed into a branch and the wind was knocked out of him.
Before he could recover he was falling again, and his head smashed into the next one. He bounced from branch to branch until he gripped one. His body jerked to a stop, pulling his arms and shoulders so far apart Tybolt worried they’d dislocate. He wanted to moan, but he still couldn’t breathe, so he hung there, gasping for breath instead.
Giselle was still where he’d left her, eyes wide. He saw the fear, but then her stubbornness took the lead and she leapt into action. She aimed lower than he had, learning from his mistake. She stretched out like a flying squirrel and fell in a perfect downward arc, managing to grasp a branch just above him.
The sound of blades smashing and sliding against each other reinforced his sense of urgency. He didn’t have time for this. Tybolt couldn’t spell Giselle, but he’d learned long ago that everything else was fair game.
Tybolt swung himself to the side so he no longer hung below her. He looked at the branch she precariously dangled from. All he needed was one word. One simple word telling nature what he wanted it to do. “Break,” he commanded. It cracked.
Giselle’s eyes went wide. Her mouth formed the word “No,” but it was too late. The branch snapped in half. She dropped. Her hair swirled around her, obscuring her face but doing nothing to dampen the sound of her scream.
Tybolt closed his eyes when she thudded into the ground. The scream abruptly silenced.
He dropped as quickly as he could from branch to branch, and then to the ground.
He landed in a crouch, looking right into Giselle’s eyes. They stared, completely empty but seeming to blame him nonetheless. Stiffly, he got to his feet and retrieved his dagger. There was no time to mourn.
Tybolt ran towards the sound of metal on metal, drawing his sword. They came into view just as Jasper leaned into Auriella and pushed her backwards. She stepped, trying to rebalance herself, but caught the edge of a fallen branch. Her foot rolled to the side and she fell to one knee. Despite that, she kept her sword up and a firm look of determination on her face.
Tybolt yelled and vaulted into the air. The sound caught Jasper’s attention, and he hesitated. Auriella took advantage of the distraction and rolled out of reach. Tybolt landed and swung hard, forcing Jasper to block.
“You all right?” he yelled.
“Fine. I had it under control.”
Even Jasper snorted. “Let’s go.” He spun his sword with a practiced twist of his wrist and lowered his stance. “I’ll put a sword through both of you as easily as one.”
“Rest,” Tybolt shouted to Auriella.
She started to object but was breathing too hard to speak. She was no good fighting exhausted and was smart enough to know it.
Jasper maneuvered with the grace of a man half his size. “I could use someone like you on my side,” Tybolt said.
“Yes, you could.” Jasper slid his blade up Tybolt’s, shoving it to the side.
Tybolt twisted away. “You prefer to stay with Rowan?”
“I’m not siding with a wizard.” Jasper launched into a series of blows that rained down in an arm-numbing attack.
“Rowan’s a wizard too.” Tybolt grunted, trying to hold him back. He was losing, that much was very clear. Desperate, he called to the trees for help. A branch swung out and caught Jasper in the stomach, launching him across the clearing.
Tybolt looked for Auriella, but she was nowhere to be seen. He ran forward, hoping to get Jasper at sword point. He wasn’t fast enough. Jasper leapt straight into the air before Tybolt registered what was happening.
A handful of dirt flew into Tybolt’s eyes and mouth. It stung and blurred his vision. He cried out and turned his head to the side.
This was it, his fatal mistake. It was all over. He would feel the cut of steel that would end his life. It felt like minutes but was probably less than a second before he heard a grunt and a thud.
Tybolt staggered backwards, rubbing at his eyes. Jasper lay on the ground, an arrow protruding from his neck. Auriella stood behind, a second arrow already nocked.
“Well.” Tybolt dropped his sword and leaned over his knees, breathing hard. “You waited long enough to offer some help.”
“I knocked the bow out of his hand before he could pick you out of the tree, it took me a while to find it. And of course then you were busy negotiating. I thought I’d wait until you were finished,” Auriella said dryly. She slid the bow over her shoulder.
“You’re always so thoughtful. It’s one of the things I love most about you.”
“Is it?” She crossed her arms. “Where’s Giselle?”
“Dead.” His snarky remarks fled and his demeanor fell. “I used my magic, both times.”
“So?”
“I cheated,” he answered honestly. “I didn’t beat either of them in a fair fight.”
Auriella stepped closer and put her palm against his cheek. “What good does a fair fight do us?”
He leaned in, savoring the warmth of her skin and the casual familiarity of her touch. She was right. “None whatsoever.”
The sun had nearly set as Tybolt, Auriella, and Asher ran towards Eriroc. They cleared the tree line and headed down the steep, rocky incline. Gravel slid beneath Tybolt’s boots, and it felt like he was trying to run on marbles.
Thunder crashed, and Tybolt glanced towards the coast. Earlier he’d thought Rowan had attempted a Fracture yet lacked the power to complete it. But no, that storm had just been a precursor.
Rolling in was, without a doubt, a second Fracture.
Huge banks of purple clouds billowed in towers, stretching upwards. They glowed internally from bursts of snapping lightning. Bolts ran from side to side, encapsulated, while the occasional one escaped and snaked for the ocean. The first roll of thunder rumbled so deep he could feel it in his bones.
The full force of the in
coming winds smashed into them, and each had to plant their feet and lean in to keep from being thrown like paper dolls. The ground groaned, and Tybolt felt a slight movement beneath his feet. It was all too familiar. He grabbed Auriella and threw her to the side, leaping right behind. The ground crumbled where they’d been standing.
He smashed into earth and rolled, grateful for the throbbing in his shoulder—it meant he was on solid ground. He sat up, breathing hard. Asher yelled and dropped into oblivion as a seven-foot crevice opened inches from Tybolt’s nose.
“Asher!” Tybolt scrambled towards the edge, looking over. The crevice was a cloud of dust and dirt, obscuring everything. “Asher!” he yelled.
“There!” Auriella pointed to a shape clinging to the side of the wall.
“Help me.” Tybolt wiggled out over the edge, and Auriella grabbed his legs. Asher reached, but their fingers were nearly a foot apart. The ground beneath Tybolt’s waist shifted, and Auriella yanked backwards just as the lip crumbled.
“Tybolt,” Asher cried up. “Help.”
“We can’t reach you,” Auriella called.
A gale force wind slammed into them.
Auriella cupped her hands over her mouth. “Can you climb out?”
“Use the…” Asher’s words were lost in the wind.
“What?” Tybolt called. The winds were so strong he had to adjust his weight to the back of his heels to keep from being blown over the edge.
“LORD OF THE FERN BUSH!” Asher screamed at the top of his lungs in a mix of terror and frustration.
“Lord of the…” Tybolt trailed off. Of course. He pulled with everything he had, imagining the roots on the crevice walls wrapping themselves around Asher. He could feel something working within him, but between the dust and the wind he couldn’t see a thing.
Then, like an eerie apparition, Asher rose over the edge of the canyon like he was flying. Only with careful inspection through the haze could you make out the roots—thick and thin, with clods of dirt hanging from them. They moved Asher to safety under Tybolt’s command, then dropped him unceremoniously.
Auriella ran and knelt next to him. “Asher, are you all right?”
A bolt of lightning smashed down in the forest just above them. A deep rumbling followed, and Tybolt’s heart sank. “Landslide!” he shouted.
Auriella turned, horror written all over her face. “Run!” she shouted. “Run!”
They all leapt over the crevice, sprinting down the hill for the city. Tybolt glanced over his shoulder as the top of the hill slid towards them like a wave on the ocean. “We aren’t going to make it.”
The other two ignored him, pumping their arms and running with everything they had. But even with their speed they couldn’t outrun a landslide—especially not while heading into the wind of a Fracture.
Ahead of him, a handful of trees bowed high over the path like a half arch. Under normal circumstances they all could’ve leapt into the safety of the branches, but now the ground shook beneath them and the wind pushed them backwards. They would need some help.
“Get ready to jump.” Tybolt called for the tree—it didn’t budge. Had nature grown tired of him already? He shouted again, less of a request and more of a demand. The branches acquiesced and bent.
Tybolt reached up and grabbed the branch, nearly jerking his arms out of his sockets when he was wrenched to a stop. He looked to both sides to make sure the others were safe.
Auriella’s arms were wrapped tightly around the tree. “Tybolt!”
The landslide bore down on them. Tybolt yelped and released his hold on nature. Asher nearly lost his grip and scrambled to hook his leg over the branch as they flew up.
Below them the earth rushed by, a churning mass of mud, sticks, and rocks. Above, purple banks of clouds rolled over them, dark in purpose but glowing with an unearthly beauty. A solid sheet of rain dropped, drenching them instantly.
Behind them the forest groaned and creaked. Tybolt stood on top of their saving grace and pushed the leaves aside. On the top of the hill, the trees were vanishing as if some giant mole was pulling them down into the earth.
He offered a silent prayer that everyone had made it through the tunnels.
The main force of the storm reached them, and the rain that pelted his face felt more like stones than water. Water dripped down his back and filled his boots.
Finally, the landslide slowed to a stop.
“We have to hurry,” Tybolt shouted. “Before the island splits in half!”
The rain poured in torrents so thick Tybolt could barely see, but even through the blur the walls of the city quivered and rolled with the earth—just the way they were designed. But the force of the earthquake still increased, and the sudden jolts were too violent to expect any structure made of stone to withstand, no matter how well designed.
The front gates banged open and shut with violent tenacity. Asher threw himself between the two wooden jaws and forced them open. Auriella turned to the side and wiggled into the city. Tybolt was about to squeeze through when he hesitated. What if the thieves hadn’t been able to destroy the markings? In order to check he’d have to actually step in and look around the corner. The last thing Rowan needed right now was more power.
“Tybolt!” Asher shouted, his face a mask of pain as he strained under the weight of the wood and the strength of the wind. “What are you waiting for?”
“The markings, I need to make sure they’re gone,” he called as loudly as he could. Auriella moved to the side to check, then motioned for him to enter. The thieves had succeeded!
He hadn’t taken a step before a figure from inside the city slipped around Auriella and through the door.
Tybolt grabbed him by the shoulders. “Malachi! What are doing out here? Get somewhere safe!”
“I’m here to take you to the entrance to the tunnels. The city is divided—some fight for you, others against. We have a path set to get you across, but we must hurry!”
“And they sent you?” Malachi’s shoulders slumped at the insult, and Tybolt was afraid the wind might carry him away.
“Tybolt!” Asher roared.
“Never mind, move. Quickly.”
The city was in chaos. Men fought in the streets with whatever weapons they could find: swords, pitchforks, wooden slats. A scrawny villager flew out of an open doorway into the street, no doubt sent by a wizard. Tybolt shoved Malachi through the gates and followed right behind.
Asher let the door slam shut, but then he cried out as an arrow went through his shoulder.
“Get behind the house!” Tybolt shouted to Malachi. He grabbed Asher and pulled him with them. Auriella whirled and grabbed her bow, getting off a shot before they’d reached shelter.
Asher leaned against the side of the house. “Where’d that come from?” He gripped the shaft and grunted as he snapped it off, leaving the tip inside.
“There are archers on the roofs,” Auriella said, sliding back behind the house. She shoved her wet hair out of her face. “With this wind, every shot is counting on dumb luck.”
“Lucky me.” Asher threw the broken arrow to the ground.
A burst of bright magic arched overhead and smashed into the offending villager. The man fell from the roof, bow still in hand.
“We have to hurry, Master Tybolt.” Malachi peeked around the house. “I don’t know how long the wizards can hold the path. The villagers are angry. They’re blaming this weather on them.”
One of the gates to the city succumbed to the weather and was ripped off. The door took flight and smashed into the first building it encountered, shattering into a thousand pieces of shrapnel.
Terric stormed through the opening. Tybolt had no idea how he’d avoided the landslide, but here he was. In the cold, the wound on his face nearly glowed red—he panted with a crooked smile on his lips.
“I don’t have time for this,” Tybolt said.
“I’ll deal with Terric,” Auriella said.
“No.”
“I have an issue to settle with him, and you have to stop Rowan.” Auriella set her jaw and raised her chin. “If you don’t, we’ll lose everything.
“She’s right.” Asher held out his hand. “Auriella, give me your bow. I’ll cover Tybolt from the roofs.”
“Asher,” Tybolt said. “It’s no good in this wind—”
His eyes twinkled as he took the bow and quiver. “Don’t worry about me. You have your skills, I have mine.”
Malachi tugged anxiously on Tybolt’s sleeve. “Master Tybolt, let’s go!”
“Auriella, we can deal with Terric later. After—”
“He has my father.” Auriella stepped out into the storm and headed straight for Terric.
Terric saw the incoming threat and his lips twisted. Tybolt had seen that particular smile many a time. It was the one Terric wore whenever he was about to inflict pain.
Asher bolted next, moving to the roof in a single leap while Terric was distracted.
Auriella could handle herself against Terric, this much he knew. That didn’t mean he wanted to let her. But this time he had to. Too much was at stake. Tybolt growled under his breath and turned, following Malachi in the opposite direction.
It was a strange sensation. He could see men fighting each other in the streets and the telltale red of arrow fletching cutting through the air, but the wind howled so fiercely over the pounding of the rain that he couldn’t hear the shouts or the clang of swords. An arrow thudded into the wall of the home ahead of him, but he didn’t hear the thwack as it bit into wood.
They slipped through an alleyway and found Alistair waiting at the end. “Ready?” he asked.
Before Tybolt could answer, Tilly came pounding around the corner on her horse with two more Hunters behind. Both they and their horses were filthy and bloodied. How they’d survived the Fracture, he had no idea.
Alistair grabbed Tybolt and pulled him close enough to make sure he was heard. “You can’t fight three Hunters and Rowan! Go! I’ll keep them away from the palace. Once you get in the tunnels, keep going until you can’t go any further. There’s a ladder at the end that will bring you up to a secret passageway that runs through the walls of the castle. Go to the right. Push the smallest brick and a door will open. This will bring you out between the throne room and the royal bedroom.”