“Carbon dioxide,” Tabor suddenly spurted out. “Reach out an oxygen-pattern and collect what you can.” The three Air Mages threw out gray patterns and formed balls of dense oxygen still in the air. They reeled it back to gather in one large orb where the five of them gathered.
“Everyone take a breath and hold it. It will buy us more time,” Tabor instructed, leading by example. Gabriel wracked his brain in the meantime, trying to make up the connections between soda, fire, carbon dioxide, and whatever else in the room he was missing.
‘The burning of the soda ash caused the carbon dioxide, so what in the room would counter it?’ His mind felt faint so he took another breath, though he could feel his body slowly giving way. It had been over a day since he slept and with each pattern formed, he felt stretched and tighter inside.
To his right, Kindle exhaled and collapsed. “Kindle!” Nolen cried and fell to a knee beside her. She shook and her mouth gasped for oxygen. “Father, this is an Air ward, surely. Do you know nothing of creating oxygen?” He stood quickly to inhale a breath in the orb but gasped, finding little left.
“Lithium peroxide would create it, but it is a powder and not here,” Tabor whispered at a monotone, forcing the words out with as little effort. “Nolen?”
The Prince suddenly fell forward, collapsing over Kindle’s legs and convulsing as he too gasped for oxygen. Gabriel took a breath and felt guilty for it.
‘What else creates oxygen…or cleans or absorbs carbon dioxide?’
Mikelle suddenly grabbed his arm, her eyes wide, and her face turning red. “Water,” she gasped. He reached for the pack around his shoulder to find it missing. Kindle had left it behind in the Void room. She pointed to the silver flakes. “Water,” she said again before her eyes rolled up and she collapsed. He eased her to the ground without much effort.
Tabor gasped suddenly, and the orb of oxygen around them vanished. “Carbon dioxide scrubber,” he breathed. “Lithium. Water.” He pointed to the bowl of silver flecks and made a mixing motion as he collapsed over the convulsing bodies. It almost pleased Gabriel to see his captor in the throes of death.
Gabriel fell forward and broke the bowl the flecks sat in, spilling the oil into the floor in a sudden rush. The effort caused him to suck in a breath of air, of which there was none but poison. The brain would not let his body die, thus forcing him to breathe, but his subconscious did not understand the situation.
‘This or death.’ Gabriel reached deep within himself to secure Water. ‘The women are dying.’ Mikelle told him there was water beneath them, moving water, which meant he could use the Element. His mind began to fog as he selected the percolation-pattern; it was the best way to bring water up that he could think of. ‘This will hurt,’ was his last thought before he fueled the Water pattern.
The light around him dimmed as blackness crept in around the sides of his eyes, and right before his body forcibly inhaled the toxic carbon dioxide, he saw a patch of darkening soil under his hand. The hand burned with the effects of Overturn, but he did not notice it much as he fell into the dirt and saw no more.
Chapter 15
“—briel! Wake up! Oh stars, he’s burnt.”
A female voice came wafting through Gabriel’s sensations, murky at first but sharpened as he came to full consciousness.
“How did this happen?” another female voice asked, Anatolian accented.
“He fueled a pattern,” a deeper voice replied.
Gabriel opened his eyes. The faint green light illuminated his vision along with the sudden jolt of burning pain from his hands. He hissed a breath in through his teeth.
“Lie still,” Mikelle said, and he felt her hand on his shoulder force him down harder. “Did you do this?” Kindle sat with her back to him, pressed up against his side with one of her hands in his, hiding it behind her frame.
“Of course he did,” Nolen replied, and for the first time, his tone did not have anger or reproach in it. “How did you figure it out?”
Gabriel looked to his left to see the broken bowl by his knees. “Mage Tabor suspected the flecks to be—ah!” He stopped as Kindle wrapped his hands in a faint chill-pattern. “Lithium, and said to mix it with water. I drew it up from beneath us and…remember no more.”
“I need something to bind these,” Kindle said.
“You saved us,” Tabor said and stepped into his vision. “I thank you boy.”
Gabriel tried to raise his free hand, but Mikelle already had a fast hold on it. “This is unfair,” she muttered in Arconian as she wound a blue pattern around the air over his hand. Cold water flooded over the burned skin moments later giving him some relief.
“How bad is it?”
Nolen had no reproach for him, but met his eyes and turned away. “It is bad. We will need to get you to the Silex quickly if we hope to save your hands.”
Gabriel felt weak and fatigued, but he was stronger than the women and pulled his hands from their grasp, holding them before him. They were bad. Someone had pulled off his coat and rolled his sleeves up to his elbows. Both hands were red and blistered to the elbow, and around a few nails, the skin was black. He bled from a dozen cracks around his wrists, and the more he moved, the more they opened. Still, the wristlets were cold against his skin.
At least his skin had not been flayed, and no bones were exposed. He flexed his index finger and felt it stretch tightly, but he released it before it could tear. “Oh, stars.”
Tabor helped him to his feet, so he could see the door that had opened in the wall. It led to a corridor softly lit with white light from a source far away. Gabriel felt stretched even tighter as he walked, as if there was only a touch of Elements still inside him. It took him little time to lag behind them.
They stepped into a cavernous room cut in a circle with a high ceiling. In the center was a thick pillar that met the ceiling, and within came the bright light that lit up the cavern, giving the red stone a purple tone. Twisting vines crept up the walls, and a small brook cut through the far half, ebbing softly in the quiet space.
“Are there more wards in here?” Kindle asked, peering about as she clutched the collar of her dress.
“I want you three to stay here,” Nolen replied. “I cannot have you further endangered, so remain where we know the soil is safe. You, come,” he said to Gabriel.
Nolen took his time crossing the space to the pillar, picking his steps at random and growing more and more tense the further he went. Gabriel did not care where he stepped, following in a straight line behind him, each step agony on his senses. Atop his exhaustion, the pain in his hands made him only want to sleep.
“You are lagging.” Nolen observed, stopping.
“I’m sorry. I’m so tired.”
“Well…buck up.” Nolen turned away, but Gabriel saw the tightness in his lips and knew he was worried. To his relief and surprise, Nolen led them to the stream and gave Gabriel a few minutes to soak his hands in the cold water, cutting the pain for blessed moments.
Nolen flexed his hands as they saw the door, a simple arched thing cut from the rock and illuminated from inside.
“Stay close,” Nolen said and stepped within.
The inside was cut from the rock, with a tall ceiling and no outlets but the door behind them. In the center stood a pedestal at waist level with a glowing white orb that bore misty shapes moving within. Nolen strode up quickly, his face bright with happiness as he hovered his hand over the orb. “There is probably one last ward.” He looked at Gabriel’s hands and back at the light. “If some ailment should befall me, I want you to take the Silex and fix me, understood?”
“Yes,” Gabriel replied and leaned up against the wall. His hands dripped blood into the red-gray dirt. Cracks had opened without him wishing as if his skin was revolting against itself.
Nolen hesitated and looked down at the blood soaked soil. “I will heal your hands first,” he said with a touch of concern, and Gabriel thought it the nicest thing he heard the Prince say.
Nolen took a breath and sank his hands into the glowing light, watching the surface break and swell around his fingers like a pool of water. He managed to get both hands in up to the knuckles, but his face tightened, and he sucked in a breath, followed by a sharp exhaled cry as he jerked his hands free—without the Silex.
Both hands were scorched black and smoking, and Gabriel smelled charred flesh. Nolen gasped as he tried to move them, but stopped as his skin split open to reveal red underneath. It was much worse than Gabriel’s afflictions, and to their horror, burns slowly crept up his hands.
Nolen pulled strings of Spirit from Gabriel, and with the smallest of movements laid a healing pattern. He fueled it and instantly the pain from his face vanished as the skin turned gray and the split seams sealed.
Gabriel fell to his knees as if someone cut them from him, bracing himself against the wall. Nolen, to his credit, stopped the pattern and quickly severed the connection, his face frowning with something a little less than worry. Gabriel’s mind reeled, and his forehead burned.
“I—I can’t,” he breathed, feeling the energy that left him. “Please, no more.”
“So soon?” Nolen asked.
‘Finally,’ Gabriel thought and closed his eyes.
“I cannot grip anything with these hands. I need you to get the Silex and mend us.”
Gabriel’s eyes opened. Perhaps he could die without the pain coursing through him, but he was so tired. He closed his eyes again.
“Mage, wake up. Your job is not finished.” Nolen snapped and tapped Gabriel’s knee. “Get up and get me the Silex.”
Gabriel mustered what little strength he had and forced himself to stand. Nolen offered him an arm, and awkwardly they stood without the use of their hands. The Prince gave a shoulder, and Gabriel hooked it with his elbow. Once on his feet, blood rushed from his head, giving him a moment’s pause until his senses returned as he faced the daunting task of seizing the Silex.
“If that was the last ward, chances are it is dispelled. You may escape without a further burn.” Nolen said.
‘I don’t care anymore.’
Gabriel stood before the pillar, and Nolen let him go. He braced the heel of his left hand on the edge for support, feeling the skin crack with a nauseating sensation. The orb swirled white and gray tones like a tiny cloud trapped in a bubble. At this distance, it radiated a little heat. ‘Do I have any last words?’ he wondered. ‘Is there anything I have left?’ Without hesitation he plunged his hand in.
He expected the burning to begin quickly and waited to pull his hand back as roasted meat, but none came. His hot fingers brushed against something cool and slender. His hand ran down a metallic object with a dozen ridges, and he secured his fingers around it.
Slowly, he slid the Silex free. Everyone spoke of the Silex as a singular object, but it was much more than that. It was wrought in gold, shaped in a crescent with a short chain from tip to tip, so it could be worn around the neck. It sat comfortably in his hand and would have spanned both, reaching ten inches. Divided in five equal quadrants were orbs an inch across, each representing the Elements with their deep colors swirling. They moved within much like the ward that held it. To his surprise, the five pieces delicately carved with discerning symbols were easily broken apart, linked together in tiny jigsaw puzzle pieces.
White sat in the center as the most versatile Element, and flanking it were Earth and Fire, the best defensive Element followed by the best attack. Outside were blue Water and gray Air, sneaky and easily used Elements. Gabriel turned it over in his hand and saw the back was identically carved, but white Spirit had been replaced with black Void.
As soon as he made contact with it, the sudden influx of Elements wafted into him as strong as they once used to be. The power made him close his eyes and exhale with pleasure as if a lover had kissed him. He felt the stream far off bubbling behind him, and the earth growing all around him as if he was enveloped by a blanket. Nolen and the others gave off enough kinetic energy for him to pinpoint their location with his eyes closed, and though there was no fire nearby, he knew he could create it again. And faintly, ever so strangely, a new Element brushed his skin with a gentle caress. His ears sharpened, and he heard Nolen’s strained breath.
“Do not forget I am wounded,” Nolen said his voice slightly louder than usual.
Gabriel opened his eyes and without pause laid the patterns, drawing from the Silex’s unlimited power rather than his own, and seeped a healing-pattern in Nolen’s burns. As that pattern worked, he set one into his own hands and felt the heat lift as the skin knit together with an itchy sensation. Nolen stood and made for the door.
“Let us leave here speedily.” Nolen said and extended a hand, beckoning for the Silex.
Without second thought, Gabriel relinquished the ultimate Class Ten power and set it in Nolen’s hand. As soon as he broke contact, his fatigue returned and his eyes felt heavy.
“Gabriel, no!” Mikelle yelled and balled her fists. “You had it all back.”
“No, I have nothing.”
A door broke open across the cavern as they left the column, and Nolen motioned for them to march for it. Mikelle looked as though she had something to say, but pinched her lips and swept past Gabriel. Kindle put her hand on Gabriel’s arm as he turned to follow.
“That was very noble of you, giving it to Nolen like you did,” she said softly. “It is not good to anger him. I made a deal with Nolen, and things should go better for you now. We agreed once he found the Silex, you would come live with me. It will be a better life. We will stay in a castle along the Ellonine. I will keep you far from Nolen and make sure no more harm comes to you.”
‘Sold,’ he mused darkly. ‘Traded like some common slave.’ The cavern opened to a long hallway with stairs pointing skyward with a pinprick of light at the far end. They mounted the stairs, and Gabriel’s energy dwindled with every step.
“I should like you to show me how to use Earth,” she continued. “Seeing as it is the opposite Element of Air. I have always admired those who could create such lovely things, flowers and vines and the like. It is hard to grow things so high in the Nevis Range even in summer.” Her voice droned on as the blood beat in Gabriel’s ears. A cold sensation crept up his face with every step.
“Princess, I do not think I can manage,” he whispered and faltered. He braced his hand on the rough red wall and doubled over, breathing heavily. It was not the stairs—he could handle stairs—but something inside him much greater.
“Nolen!” Kindle shouted, her voice echoing. The Prince turned, not much further ahead, and slowly made his way back down the steps.
“I am not carrying you out,” Nolen stated flatly.
“I can manage,” Gabriel replied weakly, but he did not believe himself. Something deep inside, the last reserve of his energy, flickered within like a sputtering candle and with every breath he felt it weaken. He took one step forward, bracing himself along the wall with a hand while Kindle stood with his other arm securely in her hands, but she was no stronger, and he could not rely on her to support him. He glanced up to see Mikelle looking anxious, but the girl steeled her face and returned to him, putting an arm over her shoulders.
Together they took another step, then another. His head reeled with each breath, and he closed his eyes, feeling the wall for direction.
Nolen walked on ahead with Tabor not far behind while Kindle brought up the rear, but it did not take long for Nolen’s bootfalls to stop and wait.
“We will never make it out of here at this rate,” he muttered and Gabriel heard him returning. The Prince put a rough arm around his back and hauled him towards the light that had grown ahead of them. They moved more quickly as light ahead broadened.
Chapter 16
The sidestep was faster than Robyn expected, changing the ivory and green ballroom in Kilkiny to a landscape of weathered red rocks and broken buildings. She turned her head as they arrived, and the world sharpened to decipher where
the Mages had brought her. She did not realize the location right away. The answers came to her on the whispered voices of the men and women around her: Roshenin. She knew the stories and seen sketches, but she never ventured near the city. No one did.
She grouped in the front of the masses of Mages, surrounded by their most skilled fighters and several of the Council. The Head Mage stood not far off in a swath of white, his cloak thrown back over his shoulders in a most dignified way. From his position, he gestured and gave quiet orders.
Six spies emerged from the surrounding buildings and gathered around the Head Mage. They gave reports, pointing to the large palace they stood before. It would have been a beautiful thing in its prime, but now it stood weathered, split, and peeled.
Mages dispersed and flanked around the foregrounds of the palace while some worked their way up the various stairs.
The plan, Robyn was told, was to take Nolen by surprise but give him a moment to redeem himself, handing over both Gabriel and the Silex. Should that not work, all were to attack at the Head Mage’s sign.
The stump of Robyn’s left arm itched, and her brain reminded her there should be a hand. The rude awakening was one of many the past few days had given her. Her servants had to lace up her boots and clasp the complex cloak together pinned at her shoulders and draped over her left arm. The tight boning corset felt right about her torso and hips, as if it were holding her together, and she needed all the help she could get.
Gabriel was somewhere in that massive palace. She longed for this moment for so long, that now it was here, she could hardly stand still for the beating in her chest. She fidgeted with the cloak.
Balien stood beside her, part of her guard. Lady Aisling begged him to stay to watch the palace, but there was no other place Balien was going to be than with his sister to find his foster-brother. Balien’s fair face scowled as he searched the palace. He marked the people around him, no doubt measuring battle tactics and looking for paths for the Mages.
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