Page 204 of The Dark Mirror

‘Fuck.’ My gaze darted around the arena. ‘Where the hell is Cade?’

‘Underqueen,’ Mistry called as I rose. ‘Draghetti has been tracking the Buzzers. They’re all here, in the hypogeum. He’s giving us ten minutes before he detonates the Colosseum.’

‘What?’ Nick allowed me to bolster him up, panting. ‘He’s going to blow the whole place?’

‘I need longer,’ I told Mistry, glancing at my watch. ‘You have to give the Ranthen a chance to stop this.’

‘It’s a bloodbath. Hundreds of people are dead,’ Mistry shouted. ‘We don’t have time to—’

‘Suzanna,’ Jaxon barked.

I looked up, grasping Nick. Another hail of ancient stone was flying towards us. The poltergeist averted it, and it missed us by a foot, crashing along the floor instead. Sukie had died when some cruel boys threw rocks at her, and she definitely wasn’t letting Jaxon go that way.

Jaxon doubled over. He was turning as white as his shirt, both sleeves damp with blood. Even at the scrimmage, I had never seen him use his gift so much. I jerked him back as a Buzzer began to stalk the edge of our protective circle, its elongated teeth on full display.

Cade was still nearby, no doubt trying to shake off the terror of the memory. I could sense him somewhere in the stands, but I was already too drained to send my spirit after him. I would need to track him down myself. When I started to run, Sukie came with me.

‘Paige,’ Nick bellowed. ‘Don’t leave the circle!’

I stopped when sand blew across my face. An Italian military chopper was hovering over the ruin. Gomeisa stared it down, as if he was daring this mechanical toy to move against him.

He made a gesture. As more of the Colosseum tumbled, he lifted a slab of broken stone and hurled it towards the helicopter. The pilot had no time to react, but Lucida Sargas thrust up her own hand. The slab came to a gradual stop, a foot away from the helicopter.

She had the same gift.

The chopper banked away from us. Lucida threw the rubble back at Gomeisa, who retaliated. Stone crashed on stone with a sound like a thunderclap, scattering chips across the ground.

Cade emerged from the dust, two more Rephs in his wake. He must have recovered his strength, and now he was back to finish me off. Seeing me, he charged, his expression livid. My spirit reared. I sprinted to meet him.

And then the floor split, right under my boot.

The ground became a chasm. I tried to back up, but it was too late. I was already falling.

A hand grabbed mine. I hung over the underground tunnels, where scores of Buzzers were loping through a labyrinth of walls and arches. The last of the daylight filled it, and the creatures saw me, their screams growing louder. In moments, I had lost count of them.

I looked up to see Jaxon, holding my weight.

A Buzzer snapped at my boots. I hadn’t understood what was happening, but now I saw. The floor was retracting, exposing the warren of tunnels, and Jaxon Hall was all that stood between me and my doom. If he let go, the Buzzers would shred me. Our gazes locked, and I knew he was considering it, so nothing would stop him taking the Rose Crown.

Then he yanked me up to the floor. I crumpled into his arms, too shaken to speak.

‘Watch your step, darling,’ Jaxon said.

I had no time to question him. He pointed Jean towards another Buzzer, stopping it before it could reach us.

He carted me towards our circle as the floor slid farther back, taking us away from the battling Rephs. By the time it stopped, an insurmountable gap had opened between one side of the battleground and the other, revealing most of the hypogeum. All I could see down there were Buzzers. I couldn’t feel anything but the great oily mass of their dreamscapes.

‘I can’t overpower Cade,’ I said, breathing hard. ‘He’s too strong.’

Jaxon was the last person I wanted to ask for help, but I was desperate. His soft laugh chilled my spine.

‘You are a queen of thieves and scoundrels,’ he said, almost tenderly. ‘Not a hero, Paige.’

A peal of Gloss drew our attention. Lucida was pinned under an immense slab of stone. Seeing her position, Terebell tossed her sword to Pleione and ran to their ally, hefting the stone aside. It must have weighed at least a tonne, but Terebell raised it enough to free Lucida. She turned over, her arm bent in an awkward position.

Kornephoros was stalking towards them. I stopped him with a surge of pressure, but the mental skirmish with Cade had drained so much of my strength. If I had any hope of protecting the Ranthen, I would have to get closer. Terebell laid both hands on Lucida, and the æther vibrated around them.

‘Underqueen, we need to leave,’ Mistry said. ‘If we’re going to have a chance of getting clear—’

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