The sun was slipping closer to the horizon with every passing minute. Walking from the ambush site to Grant’s mansion had taken a lot longer than riding would have, and the fact that there was an army camped right below the hill wasn’t exactly helping our efforts either. Finding what we needed would become next to impossible once darkness fell, so we were going to have to pick up the pace.
“Tell me again what the message said,” I prompted as I pushed aside bush number five hundred and twenty-three and peered down at the ground below.
From a few steps away, Callan straightened from his own search and dragged a hand through his messy black hair. “That there was an escape tunnel hidden in a copse of trees on the ridge and that it would take us halfway into Grant’s gardens.”
The message that Henry had sent to Callan weeks ago when they had arrived at Grant’s mansion had been written in code, so I hadn’t been able to read it myself. And now as I trudged through the underbrush and shoved aside yet another cluster of leaves, I was starting to wonder if that damn force mage hadn’t actually been able to read the letter either.
“Which copse of trees?” Straightening, I threw my arms out in a frustrated gesture. “And which ridge?”
“He didn’t say. Grant probably wouldn’t let him, in case it fell into the wrong hands.”
“It was written in code!”
“Yeah, but it’s Grant. He’s so damn secretive that his left hand is probably keeping secrets from his right.”
Tilting my head back, I raked my fingers through my hair and stared up at the orange and purple streaks that now painted the sky. I let out a groan.
“And besides,” Callan continued, “I doubt he thought we’d have to search for it while also dodging Quill’s entire army.”
I tipped my head back down and scowled at him. “When the hell did you become so calm and rational? I distinctly remember you almost strangling me to death just because I happened to send you to wait right next to where some constables were taking a break.”
A laugh tore from his chest. Raising his eyebrows, he shot me a pointed look. “What do you mean? That was a perfectly rational response.”
I snorted.
But before I could retort, the sound of thundering hooves rolled across the landscape.
Panic shot up my spine.
Callan and I darted behind the closest tree trunks right as a large group of horses became visible on the slope. They weren’t coming from the camp around Grant’s mansion, but rather from the direction that we had come from. From the ambush site where we had left twenty dead bodies behind. Shit.
While staying behind the cover of the tree, I discreetly scanned the approaching riders. By my best estimate, there were twenty-five of them. If we could ambush them before they realized that we were here, it would probably be another relatively easy win.
My gaze drifted towards the army camped below the ridge on the other side.
Taking out twenty-five normal magic users in an ambush might not be a problem, but if they managed to alert the rest of their army before we could kill them all, then we would be in serious trouble.
I opened my mouth to tell Callan as much when the five people riding at the front of the squad at last came close enough for me to make out their faces.
Another wave of panic, mixed with indecision, pulsed through me.
Chancellor Godric Quill was riding at the head of the squad, and four twenty-year-olds flanked him. Lance Carmichael, his girlfriend Jessica, and their friends Leoni and Darren. Behind them were what looked like twenty constables.
I slid my gaze to Callan. His expression mirrored my own.
We might be able to take out twenty-five constables before they could alert the army down below, if we were lucky. But add four people with the undiluted power levels of dark mages, plus the Chancellor, into the mix, and we were looking at a recipe for disaster.
“Spread out!” Quill called. “They can’t have gotten far.”
The rough bark scraped against my skin as I pressed myself harder against the tree trunk. We couldn’t stay there. It was only a matter of time before they found us, so hiding was out of the question. And so was open battle.
“We need a hostage,” I whispered as I met Callan’s gaze.
He nodded before casting another glance towards the approaching search party. “Lance?”
“Yes.”
“Alright.”
“Get ready to create a distraction when I tell you to.”
He nodded again.
Leaves rustled around us as a warm summer breeze swirled through the copse of trees. After motioning for Callan to follow, I snuck towards the other side of the grove. The company of riders had split up into pairs as they searched the ridge for any sign of us. A few of the constables had already reached the other small thicket that we had checked out before we moved on to this one. But if Lance and Jessica stayed the course they were currently on, they would be passing by the far side of this grove soon.
“Are you sure it’s them, Chancellor?” Darren called from a short distance to our right.
Godric Quill looked up from the patch of grass he had been staring at before replying, “Yes. You saw the state of the bodies back there. Some were missing limbs or heads while others had no injuries at all. It’s the work of Callan Blackwell and Audrey Sable. I would stake my career on it.”
“I knew it,” Leoni growled. She shook her head while she kept riding next to Darren. “As soon as that patrol didn’t return, I knew that it was those two villains who had attacked them. They finally come back to Eldar from wherever they’ve been hiding these past weeks, and the first thing they do is to start slaughtering people again. By the Current, I hate them so much that I can barely breathe.”
I rolled my eyes. First of all, they were the ones who had attacked us. Secondly, we hadn’t been hiding. And thirdly… Well, she was right about the rest, I supposed.
Drawing myself up against the tree at the edge of the grove, I glanced over at Callan and then judged the distance to Jessica and Lance. They were almost upon us now. I met Callan’s gaze and then nodded towards a spot behind the two approaching students. Callan nodded back and then brushed his palms together.
“We’ll get them this time, Leoni,” Jessica called across the grass. “And then this will all be over and we can go home.”
From this close, even I could see the doubt that swirled in Lance’s blue eyes at her words. But he said nothing.
They kept riding closer.
My pulse thrummed in my ears.
We had to time this perfectly.
“Now,” I hissed while touching my palms together and calling up a glittering green tendril.
Callan shot a small force blast towards a tree farther down. It slammed into the trunk, sending chips of bark flying through the air. The noise made both Lance and Jessica whip around in their saddles.
Using their second of inattention, I expanded my poison cloud and threw it at them. The glittering green color caught their attention before it could strike and they flung themselves sideways, practically toppling off their horses. Lance managed to avoid getting hit by a mere second and crashed down on the thick grass while his horse reared and then bolted. Jessica wasn’t so lucky.
Since she had been riding on the side closest to the trees, the poison slammed into her before she could duck. She crashed down on the ground a few steps from Lance while her horse galloped after his. The Binder shot to his feet, whipping his head from side to side. Jessica didn’t.
I kept part of the poison cloud hovering around her head, to make it clear to everyone around us what was happening, while she lay on the grass, fighting for breath as the rest of the lethal mist swirled through her throat and lungs.
“They’re here!” Lance bellowed towards Quill before snapping his gaze back to his girlfriend. “Jessica, get up and…”
He trailed off, and fear pulsed in his eyes as he took in the poison cloud around her.
Callan and I had stepped out of the trees the moment that the two of them toppled from their horses. And with Jessica riding so close to the grove, we had reached her before Lance could even get back up on his feet.
Technically, Callan could have used that time to throw an attack at him. But Callan couldn’t keep people hostage with his magic the way that I could, and killing the Binder right now would only lead to a battle we couldn’t win. And since I couldn’t poison Lance without first releasing my grip on the magic currently inside Jessica’s body, we would have to make do with just one hostage.
So far it was enough, because Lance was only staring at the two of us where we stood a single stride from his girlfriend. Jessica lay writhing on the ground, choking and dry heaving from my poison.
Shouts rang out across the grasslands as Quill called back the other constables while Leoni and Darren raced towards us. Lance stood frozen a few steps away from us on the other side of Jessica. He had managed to get the black dye out of his hair, so it was now back to its usual golden color, and it gleamed like molten metal in the light from the setting sun as he looked up to meet our gazes.
“I’m sure you can guess what I will do if you so much as twitch your fingers in a way I don’t like,” I said to the Binder.
His blue eyes darted down to Jessica again. Then he dragged them back up to me and swallowed. True dread and fear shone across his whole face as he met my gaze and pleaded, “Don’t.”
“That depends entirely on how the rest of this conversation plays out.”
Before he could reply, Darren and Leoni’s horses skidded to a halt behind him. Their horses’ hooves created ruts in the soft ground as they stopped abruptly. Neither of them dismounted.
“You!” Leoni spat. Lightning flashed in her brown eyes and her curly brown hair rippled around her face as she shook her head violently at me. “Drop your magic right now or I swear I will—”
“Does it look like you are in any position to make demands right now?” I interrupted, and raised my eyebrows expectantly.
While holding her gaze with mercilessly cold eyes, I increased the strength of my poison. Jessica thrashed on the ground as the green mist forced its way deeper into her body. Fury crackled across Leoni’s face as she stared down at me from atop her horse.
“Stop,” Lance pleaded. “Please.”
I eased up a bit, and Jessica went back to simply dry heaving.
“You should—” Darren began.
But he was cut off by a commanding voice before he could finish.
“Audrey Sable,” Chancellor Quill said as he reined in his horse on Lance’s other side. His blue eyes slid to the force mage standing next to me with his arms crossed. “And Callan Blackwell. I knew I’d find you eventually.”
The rest of Quill’s company slowly formed up behind him until all twenty constables were positioned in two neat lines. Several horses snorted and stomped their hooves as they came to a halt.
I let a smile full of sweet poison slide home on my lips as I met Quill’s gaze and said in a mocking voice, “Aww, have you missed us that much?”
A summer wind blew through the hills, ruffling his gray hair as he glared down at us. “You slaughtered an entire patrol. They were good people. Men and women with families. Loved ones. Friends.”
“They shouldn’t have ambushed us. And you shouldn’t have sent them out here in the first place.” I lifted my shoulders in a nonchalant shrug. “So really, I think the villain in this situation is actually you.”
“I am not the one currently torturing a student with poison.”
“Which I wouldn’t have had to do if you had just left us alone. But you didn’t. So here we are.”
Righteous fury blazed on Quill’s features as he raised his chin. “I will see you brought to justice if it’s the last thing I do.”
Callan snorted. “Good luck with that.”
“Please let her breathe normally,” Lance interjected before the Chancellor could retort. His worried gaze flicked between my face and Jessica’s.
I rolled my eyes and blew out an annoyed sigh, but pulled back my magic enough that Jessica could now suck in a few deeper breaths. The poison cloud stayed around her head, though.
“Thank you,” Lance whispered, his gaze fixed on her as she struggled into a kneeling position.
“Don’t thank them,” Quill snapped. Then he composed himself again before returning his attention to me and Callan. His horse paced a step back and forth as he shifted his weight in the saddle. “They don’t deserve gratitude.”
“You’d do well to show some gratitude, Chancellor,” Callan said, a mocking smile on his lips. “Unless you want us to kill this poor girl.”
“No!” Lance blurted out.
But Quill just held up his hand, silencing him. The orange and deep red light from the slowly setting sun cast ominous shadows across his unforgiving face. Then a smug smile drifted across his mouth.
“You know, we searched the hills,” he began, a sharp glint in his eyes. “Very thoroughly. And there are no dark mages there.”
A hint of worry swirled through my chest, but I kept a taunting smirk on my lips as I said, “Is that what you think?”
“I know it. All the other hills and valleys and mansions are deserted. We were led to believe that there were hundreds of you out here, but it can’t have been more than ten. And now, all that’s left is the two of you.” He nodded towards the sloping ridge on the other side of the grove. “And that troublesome emotion mage in that mansion.”
Callan and I exchanged a look.
And then I burst out laughing.
Thankfully, Callan did too.
“You really have no idea who you’re up against, do you?” I said while making a show of wiping away tears of amusement and shaking my head.
Callan, who fortunately understood what we needed to do, chuckled as well. I really hadn’t given him enough credit when it came to his skills regarding lies and deceit.
“Do you have any idea how many dark mages are inside that massive mansion right now?” Callan challenged, and jerked his chin in the direction of Grant’s home.
“It can’t be more than a handful,” Quill answered. “No one has gone in or out since we laid siege to it weeks ago.”
“That you know of.”
“What does that mean?”
“Did you forget the part about us being dark mages?” I picked up, sensing where Callan was going with this.
Quill narrowed his eyes. “What does that have to do with anything? You still can’t have moved a massive army in through those accursed gardens without us seeing it.”
“Except…” A wicked smile spread across my lips. “A worldwalker doesn’t have to go through the garden.”
Everything went silent. I swore even the wind stopped for a few seconds. Confusion danced across Darren and Leoni’s faces as they turned towards the Chancellor. Lance kept his eyes locked on Jessica. Red light from the setting sun fell across his face, turning his eyes a strange purple color.
“You’re bluffing,” Godric Quill said at last. His horse paced again as he shook his head. “There hasn’t been a worldwalker in centuries.”
Callan smirked. “That you know of.”
“I would have known about it.”
“Would you? How much do you really know about dark mages, Chancellor?”
Quill opened his mouth to retort, but then closed it again.
It was a bluff, of course. And a rather outrageous one at that. Worldwalkers were mages who could travel from one place to the next in the blink of an eye, but nowadays, they were so incredibly rare that no one was really sure how their magic even worked. No one could say for certain whether worldwalkers could only move through space themselves, or if they could bring people with them. Which was why the bluff worked so perfectly when combined with the fact that the Chancellor knew absolutely nothing about our dark mage society. He was right, of course. While there were rumors about one existing somewhere up north, the city of Eldar hadn’t seen a worldwalker in centuries. But there was no way for him to know that for certain.
“Trust me, Chancellor, this is a war you really can’t win,” Callan said, and flashed him a wolfish smile. “Better back off while you still can.”
At last, Quill seemed to recover from his shock. Giving his head a few quick shakes, he sat up straighter and then raised his hand as if to give a signal.
I immediately strengthened the poison again until Jessica was doubled over on the grass, choking violently.
“Ah, ah, ah,” I warned, and shook my head. “Make one move, and she dies.”
Godric tightened his grip on the reins until his knuckles turned white. Hell, he really was furious now. But was it because we were threatening Jessica or because of the news about the worldwalker?
“I’m sure Jessica would be honored to sacrifice her life in order to bring the two of you to justice,” he said, his voice tight with anger.
Lance whipped around to face him. Shock danced across the Binder’s features as he stared up at his leader in utter disbelief.
Worry swept through my chest. If Quill was truly prepared to sacrifice Jessica, we would be in deep shit. A battle against twenty constables on horseback, the leader of the parliament of Eldar, and three students with the power levels of dark mages who would also be fueled by rage and grief from Jessica’s death, would not end well for us.
“Did you hear that, Lance?” I said in an effort to shift the situation back in our favor. “That’s how much your beloved Chancellor truly cares about you. He doesn’t give a shit what happens to you as long as he gets what he wants.” My lips curled in a cruel smile. “Doesn’t that sound familiar? What was it you said about dark mages again?”
Quill blinked, as if realizing what his words had sounded like. His blue eyes darted between the four students, and his face softened slightly as he said, “Don’t listen to her. She’s just trying to drive a wedge between us.”
Leoni and Darren gave him a determined nod and turned back towards us, hatred once again seeping into their brown eyes. But Lance’s gaze lingered on the side of Godric’s face for a few more seconds before he returned his attention to us.
“Here’s what’s gonna happen,” Callan began. Raising a hand, he spun it in the air. “You take all of your constables and ride back to your little camp. And then, once you’re long gone, we’ll let poor Jessica go.”
“Why should we trust you?” Leoni spat. Her horse walked a few steps to the side as she leaned forward in the saddle. “You might kill her anyway as soon as we’re gone.”
I shrugged, and the glittering green mist around Jessica swirled slightly. “Yes, we might. But if you don’t leave now, we will kill her. And then she will definitely be dead.”
“If we leave, they will let her go,” Lance said before Leoni or any of the others could respond.
They all turned to look at him. I did too. Based on the tone of his voice, it was impossible to tell if that had been a statement or a plea. The Binder, however, didn’t seem to notice their stares. His eyes were fixed on Jessica’s.
“You will be alright,” he said. “Just do as they say. I’ll see you soon.”
I decreased the strength of the poison enough for her to draw in a deep breath and nod.
Lance dragged his blue eyes back up to us. For a few seconds, no one said anything. The Binder only held my gaze before shifting it to Callan and doing the same. Then, without another word, he turned and walked away.
Darren and Leoni exchanged a glance before flicking their gazes towards the Chancellor. Still seated atop his horse, Quill glared down at us in tension-filled silence for another couple of seconds. Then he flashed some kind of hand signal.
Horses snorted and neighed as the constables turned them around and started after the retreating Binder. Leoni and Darren did the same.
The low-hanging sun painted Quill’s face in a deep red color, making it look like it was covered in blood. That righteous fury on his face had hardened into something cold and unyielding as he held our gazes.
“I will personally,” he said, biting out each word like a curse, “drain every drop of magic from your bodies before this is over.”
Matching smiles that were pure evil spread across my and Callan’s lips.
He jerked his chin. “Run along now, Chancellor.”
“While we still let you.”
