Page 43 of Rune Assassin

Clara leaned into the hearth and took a peek into the dark interior. She pursed her lips. “It didn’t quite escape. Yes, we will definitely need your blood.”

“Even the chimney is blocked off?” I guessed.

She nodded. “Yes. Whoever stuck us in here is very thorough.” She held out her hand to me. “Now give me your hand.”

I reluctantly held out my hand and Clara grabbed my wrist. She pricked my finger and I winced at the slight touch of pain. A single drop of blood pooled on the tip of my finger.

“Now let’s add it to the pot,” she instructed me as she tugged me closer to the fire.

A foreboding struck me and I dug my heels. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

She glared at me and tugged on my arm. “It’s the only way!”

I didn’t budge. “This might not be safe. My magic tends to be pretty explosive.”

Clara narrowed her eyes at me. “Stop this foolishness. We will not escape without it.”

I sighed. “Alright, but I hope there’s enough of us to escape.”

She tugged me the last stretch and held my finger over the pot. The blood had congealed during our argument and she violently shook my finger to loosen a droplet. I watched in slow motion as one tiny tear slipped out of the wound and fell toward the gurgling mess. Premonition and my perpetually bad luck made me throw myself to the ground, inadvertently taking Clara with me. Tegan did the same behind us.

I didn’t need to see when the droplet hit. It told us with a massive explosion of light that blew out the glass and flung the door open. The many vials and glass jars shattered, blasting their contents everywhere around the room. The warm wind swept over us and up the chimney, extinguishing the fire and driving all the cobwebs and dust to swirl about in a fury of choking dirt.

The blast was thankfully brief and I lifted my dust-covered head to view complete chaos.

Clara did the same and her face twisted with horror. “My lovelies!” She scrambled to her feet and began scooping all the contents of the jars and vials into her pots and pans. “All my work ruined!”

I climbed to my feet as Tegan did the same, brushing himself off. “I did try to warn you,” I reminded her.

She shot me a look of death and wagged a wooden spoon in my direction. “How did you do that? What treachery is it in your blood?”

Tegan set his hands on my shoulders and shook his head. “We don’t have time for that. We need to get back to the house and see what’s the matter with Miles.”

He slipped toward the door, but I grabbed Tegan’s arm and arrested his movement. “Wait a second. Didn’t Miles mention something about how somebody wouldn’t let us out?”

Clara dropped more gunk into one of her pots and wrinkled her wizened old nose. “Trickery or lies. He has spouted both today.”

Tegan stared ahead at the open doorway and frowned. “I wouldn’t have expected him to betray his master’s wishes.”

She scoffed. “You can never tell with anyone these days. Now out with you or I’ll get out first.”

Tegan’s eyes darted over the area. Nothing stirred save for a few blades of grass which the ocean breeze disturbed. “I don’t think either of those is a good idea. He wouldn’t have left us here without some sort of guard.”

“Why is he doing all of this, anyway?” I wondered. “I mean, what does he have to gain by keeping us from going to the trial?”

“I haven’t finished the final preparations,” Clara spoke up as she threw her hands up. “Gah! Useless! I will have to replace everything else!”

Tegan caught my eye. “You noticed Miles’ unusual behavior after he shut us in.”

I nodded. “Yeah, but I just thought maybe he’d gone off the deep end.” I received a blank expression for that colloquialism. “Gone insane.”

Tegan stared ahead at the door and pursed his lips. “I’m not so sure but we’ll have to get out of here to find out. I’ll go first.”

I tightened my grip on his arm and frowned at him. “Why you?”

He grinned at me. “Because I have scale plate armor.”

I stared at him a moment before I released him. “Point taken.”

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