Page 51 of Rune Assassin

Shouts came from the owner and I grabbed the sides of the dip in the walls just as the servants rushed us. “Go!” I shouted as I hopped into the opening.

Tegan cracked the reins and we took off down the driveway. I squeaked as we bumped over the ground and I nearly lost my footing. We flitted past the long lines and were soon out in the countryside.

And in a world of trouble with our companion.

CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN

“This is kidnapping!”Clara snapped as she righted herself in the seat beside Tegan.

He ignored her and looked over at me. “Can you make it in?”

I glanced at the seat occupied by their two butts and shook my head. “It’s alright. I’ll be fine.”

Every bump was an exercise in grip function for my hands and I was glad when we rolled onto the familiar lane that led to the small woods. Clara sat in sullen silence but kept casting nasty looks in our directions. We finally reached the fresh trail and Tegan rolled us to a stop.

I hopped off backward and he exited on the other side before he turned to offer Clara a hand. “We’re here.”

She stared daggers at his offer and finally swatted his hand away. “I will help myself the rest of the way.”

Clara hopped down and her legs buckled under the distance. She would have face-planted if I hadn’t caught her. I grinned down at her. “We have a little farther to go than the ground here.”

The witch gave me a wicked look and pushed me away. “I’ll walk on my own power.”

Tegan jerked his head toward the rough trail. “It’s this way.”

Clara wrinkled her nose but followed him while I brought up the rear. We marched through the tall grass and eventually ended up at the ring of stones. Tegan knelt beside one of them while our witch companion shuffled to the center. He brushed away some of the dirt and revealed the rune-inscribed face.

“We found these earlier this morning,” he explained to her.

Clara grasped her hands in front of herself and closed her eyes. I tilted my head to one side and watched her stand there in perfect stillness. She could have been a statue were it not for the shallow breathing. I cast a curious look at Tegan but he pressed a finger to his lips.

Clara took in a deep breath and raised her hands. The emblems on the faces of the stones came to life with a bright almost luminescent red glow. I started back and Tegan jumped to his feet. The brilliance grew brighter the higher Clara lifted her arms to the sky until I could barely look at the light.

That’s when I felt it, or rather, what I didn’t feel. The ground. I looked down at my feet and saw that I hovered several inches above the earth and that distance was only growing wider.

“Hey!” I shouted as I tumbled forward as though I was in zero-g. “Let us down!”

Ah, the consequences of my actions. Clara brought her arms down in a sharp arc. The light from the stones vanished as did the magic holding Tegan and me up. We crashed to earth and I landed on my butt. Tegan with his superior experience landed like a cat beside me but graciously helped me up to salvage what little was left of my dignity.

I rubbed my derriere as I glared at our companion who turned to us with a mischievous smile. “What the hell was that about? You could have warned us you were going to do that!”

Her eyes twinkled with delight as she crossed her arm over her chest. “Think of it as making us even for the ride over here.”

“So you know what these stones mean?” Tegan guessed.

She swept her eyes over the stones and her good humor faded. “Yes. These are the rune stones I set out for the spectators, though there are a few more here than I remember making.”

I blinked at her. “You set out stones that can make people float?”

Her lip curled upward. “It was that fool’s idea to have the audience float above the fields to watch the second trial.”

“Does the audience know what’s going to happen?” I asked her.

She shook her head. “No, but that would be the fool’s fault and not mine.”

“So you put some of these here?” I guessed.

“Not a one,” she revealed as she shuffled over to one of the stones and kicked it with her foot. “These are supposed to be closer to the road. Someone’s moved them and added their own.”

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