Page 95 of Horn of Winter

I quickly fixed the witch’s position in my mind, then pointed my second knife in her direction and unleashed the power, doing my best to force all the inner electricity through the blade and back into the air. My lungs burned, and I couldn’t seem to get enough air into my body—a body that was on fire figuratively if not yet literally—and my vision was clouding over.

If I didn’t get rid of the heat very quickly, I could die, just as Beira had warned.

I thrust the knife point into a slate tile, somehow managing not to slice all the way through and hit the framework underneath. The slate itself was fire resistant, but the wooden fabric of the building was not, and the last thing I wanted was to set it on fire or fry all their electrics.

The blade began to pulse and the tiles underneath me became heated. My body continued to shake, and my vision became tunnel-like as I zoomed toward unconsciousness. I dropped one knife, dragged my phone from my pocket, and used voice command to send Mathi another text that simply said,Drained. Hurry.

It took the last of my strength.

When I came to, he was squatting beside me, a bottle of water in one hand and a block of chocolate in the other. I was somehow still gripping the knife, though I’d fallen sideways heavily enough to crack nearby tiles. How I managed not to skewer myself with the knife’s hilt I’ll never know.

“You brought me chocolate,” I croaked. “And here I was thinking you didn’t care.”

“I will always care, just not in the way you deserve.” He put them both down, then gently helped me sit upright. My breath hissed through clenched teeth, and muscles from top to bottom protested. Even my damn hair seemed to hurt. He handed me the bottle of water, then opened the chocolate for me. “I take it our witch got away again?”

“I actually don’t know. She was on the bank building’s rooftop.” I sheathed the knives, took a long drink, then accepted the row of chocolate he handed me, demolishing it in seconds. “What time is it?”

There was still a lot of noise coming from the streets below, and the moon hadn’t appeared to have risen too much more, so I doubted hours had passed. But we had a witch to deal with, and if she wasn’t dead, then we needed to get her—and the horn—back to Borrhás.

Before he decided we’d had enough time and started a little destruction of his own.

“It’s just gone eight,” Mathi replied. “And please, do not ever send me a text stating that you’re drained again. Had I a heart, it would have had an attack.”

“Idiot.” But at least I’d been out for less than five minutes. I held out my right hand. “Help me up.”

“I don’t think that’s wise. Your hair looks kinda fried and your eyes are as red as Tony’s were.”

“Neither of which alters the fact we need to check whether I managed to stop the witch or not, and if Idid, we can’t let the IIT know. Not when we have a god demanding her soul.”

He hesitated, then nodded and took my hand; he was nothing if not practical. Though he was as gentle as possible, the movement still had a dozen different parts of my body protesting, and another hiss escaped.

It was apparently too much for him to handle, because he scowled and said, “Seriously, you need to let me go take care of the witch while you?—”

“You can’t take her to Borrhás, Mathi. You can’t even get into Liadon’s domain.”

“I’m well aware of that, but if she’s not dead, I can keep her under sedation until you’re capable?—”

“We’re running out of time. We need to do it now.”

Why I was suddenly sure of that, I couldn’t say. Maybe second sight was subtly prodding; maybe it was simply fear. Either way, we dare not waste precious minutes, let alone hours.

“Fine,” he said, voice flat. A sure sign he was seriously annoyed.

I took several deep breaths in an attempt to ease the latest wave of dizziness hitting my brain, then ate some more chocolate and put it and the water into my coat pocket before cautiously moving forward. Mathi kept close, catching me when my steps wavered, or feet slipped. Thankfully, we made it back to my rooftop and the skylight in one piece. Mathi went down first and steadied me as I followed.

After he released the skylight and had leashed it in place again, I said, “How did you get here so quickly?”

“I’d just left the IIT building when the lightning streaked across the sky. I guessed that meant you were either in trouble or battling the witch, so I asked to be driven here.Thatwas when I received your first text. Knowing your propensity for tackling problems alone, I do believe we broke the local speed limits getting here.”

I smiled, though it felt a somewhat pale imitation of its usual self. “But how did you get in? Ingrid would have locked up when she left, and I can’t see her giving you the code without clearing it with me first.”

“She didn’t have to, because I know the rear code.”

I glanced up as I cautiously went down the loft ladder. “You do? How?”

“I pay attention, that’s how.”

His voice was wry, and I couldn’t help smiling. “I guess, given the current situation with the council, that’s probably wise anyway.”

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