Page 69 of Dragons Of Shadow and Sea

"Not yet, Gran," Delaynie cautions. "There's not room."

"I can try another portal," I offer, though I'm not sure I have enough magic.

"Oh!" Mariutza turns to me as if she'd forgotten I was here. "Faltine, where have you been?"

Delaynie and I share a glance, but we don't have time to explain.

Slowly, we make our way up the spiraling steps, Mariutza's breathing becoming rough. You would never know she'd just taken out a dozen member of the Shadow King's royal guard. Evil soldiers are no problem; turns out her real nemesis is stairs.

When we emerge onto a landing, it's a relief to see the last rays of the sunset pouring in through a large set of windows. We're facing west. That's something, right?

But then the stairs continue up and up, and my heart falls. Mariutza is never going to be able to make it to the top. There has to be another way out.

A bubble of hysterical laughter rises in my chest. Maybe Mariutza should release her dragon. It could knock out the wall and fly us down to Rook's ship.

It's a terrible plan, but I'm half-considering suggesting it when all the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. The lights flicker, and a sudden chill creeps into the air. I shudder. A slithering darkness feels like it's pressing in all around me.

"Uh-oh," Mariutza breathes.

We turn as one to find a billowing cloud of black smoke surging toward us. The Sorceress steps through it, flanked by dozens of guards. She lifts her hands and they glow purple. The cloud of smoke rises higher, and there's a sudden tightness around my throat. I gasp for air, my eyes burning.

Lord Rook's advice comes surging back to me. If anyone comes near you, smash the spheres.

I fumble for the bag still draped over my arm. As I put my hand in, dark energy twists its way up my fingertips. The souls inside the orbs call out, and I recoil from the onslaught of voices. How can I use them as weapons? How could anyone?

"Jenya?" Mariutza rasps, blinking at the Sorceress. She and Delaynie are clawing at their own throats, but while Delaynie is in as much distress as I am, Mariutza can still get enough air to breathe.

The Sorceress does a double-take, and the hold on my windpipe eases for a fraction of a second.

It's enough.

I thrust my hand back into the bag and pull out the top sphere. I can't just smash it, but what if I don't have to? Saying a silent prayer to the gods, I close my eyes.

And it isn't like it was with my parents. Whoever is trapped inside the orb, I have no personal connection with them.

Somewhere deep in the back of my mind, I hear a quiet Thank you.

And then the room erupts in light.

The Sorceress was distracted by Mariutza, but she's thrown back on her heels by the release of the spirit trapped inside the Soul Sphere. The grip on our throats disappears completely.

And Mariutza takes full advantage. "You," she spits.

And then the old woman is raising a swirling, crackling violet cloud of her own. Instead of pure shadow, it's riven through with lightning.

"Grandma," Delaynie cries out in alarm.

But Mariutza only intensifies her attack. "You know what she did. To me, to us. To your mother."

Delaynie's eyes mist over. After only a moment's hesitation, she nods. Moving to stand shoulder to shoulder with her grandmother, she lifts her hands, and brilliant purple plumes of energy shoot through the already overwhelming cloud.

And Mariutza was the one running around shoving balls of shadows into people's faces. She was the one idly moving the light in the cell. Since the moment we met, her aura has been a riot of chaotic shadow magic.

The quieter energy surrounding Delaynie shouldn't have fooled me.

Her magic is a match for her grandmother's--maybe more than. Together, they create something beautiful and terrible. I watch, agape, as the wave of purple energy swells before exploding outward. The sorceress howls, carried backward, and the guards surrounding her drop to the ground.

Then Mariutza looks to me. "Run."

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