Page 77 of Cast in Atonement

“I’ll be fine!”

Mandoran offered no further argument. He turned to race down the hall, catching up with the Dragon; Severn caught Kaylin by the arm, turned her around, and began to sprint.

Kaylin looked back over her shoulder; she could no longer see Evanton; she could see an almost blinding flash of light, as if light were exploding. It didn’t shatter, but it began to fill the hall, spreading from its center, which was Evanton.

13

The spread of light looked like white fire as it followed them through the gallery, reflected in darkness by the frames of what had once been paintings. Kaylin wasn’t worried about the paintings; she was worried about the statues. Although they appeared to be composed of marble, the marble seemed almost fluid as the heads of the statues situated in alcoves turned toward the source of the light.

Hope squawked loudly.

“I know, I know—I’m running as fast as I can!”

Barrani and Dragon speed outstripped mortal speed, but Kaylin’s Hawk training allowed her to keep up. Severn was beside her, as if pacing her.

She expected the light to slow its spread; it didn’t. The walls, ceilings, and floors of the gallery were now a glow of blinding white; details—if they still existed—couldn’t be seen. Hope bit her ear the next time she tried to take a backward glimpse.

“Mandoran! Terrano isn’t with us!”

“He’s still alive. Sedarias is angry, but she isn’t panicking. But Teela will kill me if you get caught in whatever the hells that is—keep up!”

They made it to the foyer, and there they came to a stop. The statues that had been at opposite ends of the foyer were no longer situated on their respective pedestals; they were standing on the floor, in the foyer entrance, as if to bar the way. If they hadn’t been composed of stone, they would have looked like oversized Barrani.

“Do we need these statues?” Bellusdeo demanded.

“Not if they’re not going to move, we don’t.”

“Good.” She turned to Mandoran and handed Mrs. Erickson into his keeping. Kaylin was almost surprised to see that the old woman hadn’t passed out.

Draconic breath could be exhaled while the Dragon was in their human form; Bellusdeo proved it, if there was any doubt. Her flame was orange-edged yellow, with a heart of white—the same white that seemed to be eating the gallery. Unlike the white light, this flame shed heat; Kaylin was surprised the perpetual loose strands of her hair didn’t catch fire.

The breath was hot enough to melt stone—both the statues and the floor. “The rest of us have to walk across that!” Mandoran shouted. He couldn’t tuck Mrs. Erickson under his arm, so chose to piggyback her instead. Mrs. Erickson was almost mute, her eyes too wide.

“Evanton’s likely still alive,” she told Mrs. Erickson. “He’s a mage. He wouldn’t have done anything stupid.” This was harder to sell, as he’d demonstrably done something stupid, but Mrs. Erickson still held mages in awe.

“What if he needs our help?”

“Given present company, that’s probably the last thing he needs. But he didn’t think we’d survive whatever it is he was doing. We just need to get out of here before we start to make any plans.” Bellusdeo’s breath had left the legs of the statues standing in a yard-wide path of deformed marble.

The rest of the floor could be crossed, and they did that.

Hope squawked and smacked Kaylin’s face with his wing. She looked at him—his snout was pointing directly overhead at the chandelier.

At what had once been the chandelier. The hanging crystals had brightened significantly, white light with hearts of something that might have been blue had it not been so blinding. In and of itself, the illumination wasn’t a problem.

It was the way light seemed to drop in writhing tendrils from the hanging crystals; those tendrils were rooted in the metal that held the crystals in place. The entire mass began to rotate, but not evenly; it was as if the tendrils were fighting each other for control.

This was definitely something she could only see with Hope’s wing. “Stick to the walls!” she shouted.

“You’re afraid the chandelier will fall?” Mandoran glanced at the ceiling where the chandelier was anchored.

“Something like that—just don’t get beneath any part of it. We’re almost at the door.”

“The way things are going, do you actually expect the door to be there?”

The door, to Kaylin’s great relief, hadn’t changed. It was the only thing that hadn’t. The frame was scuffed in places, the paint scratched; the size of the foyer made it look far narrower than it actually was. Bakkon had done something with webbing to keep the door from closing, and the webbing persisted, thank whatever gods happened to be looking.

Bellusdeo took the rear. Kaylin’s attempt to point out that Imperial Hawks were present met with very red eyes, and she decided on the better part of valor. She was off duty, after all.

---