Page 52 of Ruled By Magic

He returned the radio and raised his voice. “We’re evacuating. A device has been activated that’s blocking teleportation, but I can move you through it. I’ll teleport everyone to the city. Line up. Those with children first.”

An older man wearing a suit with a red tie marched over to Leo. “You’re just going to abandon the palace? Let these people take whatever they want?”

Leo glared back at him. “If you want to fight them, be my guest.”

Another explosion blasted above. The man shook his head and walked off. Leo approached me. The fear on his face sent a low trickle of dread through my veins. He spoke so only I could hear.

“This is going to take a lot of magic. I should be fine, but there’s a chance I could approach burnout. If I do, I’ll be useless when we reach Hexara. Weak, or even unconscious.” His brow tightened. “And I have no idea what it’ll do to my magic. I wish we could go somewhere safe first, but they must have spies. I can’t risk it.”

I dredged through the little I knew of mages. They had a well of power they could draw on safely, and a second reserve only for emergencies. Using too much of the second well led to a long period of recovery. Burned them out. The phrase carried a grim finality.

“You can trust me. I can deal with Hex.” I spilled out the words without giving myself time to doubt them. Could I? I’d have to.

He searched my face and dragged a hand through his hair. “This is madness.” Another ear-splitting bang. Leo’s gaze shot to the crowd, now in a rough line. “I can’t guarantee your safety. But I’m sure you’ll want to go to Hexara.”

“I do.”

Leo stared at me a moment longer, then nodded. He approached the group of children, spoke to the teacher, and took her hand. They disappeared. He returned and repeated the process with the kids.

The line snaked toward him. I counted just over a hundred people. As each reached him, he grasped their arm, and they flashed out of existence. A moment later, he appeared alone. Under other circumstances it would have been fascinating to watch, but all I saw was the increasing strain on Leo’s face, the stoop of his shoulders and slowness of his movements. Helen got to him and glanced my way before he took her to safety. Her eyes stayed locked on me as they vanished.

A few more sentries straggled in. They barred the door behind them. The explosions ceased. We had a few moments of silence before a metallic screeching sound tore into my ears. Were they cutting through the metal of the bunker? How long did we have?

Only a young guard and I remained. Leo’s legs went out from under him. The guard he had been about to teleport caught him, lowering him to the ground. Head in his hands, Leo groaned. He looked at me with pain-filled eyes and waved me closer.

“Have to do this sitting. Could be a rough ride.” A whisper. He grasped the guard’s hand, tensed, and they disappeared. A minute passed before he reappeared, sprawled on the floor. For too long he didn’t rouse, then his eyelids flickered open a crack. I wrapped my hands around his as the metallic shrieking changed, reaching a higher pitch.

Leo took a ragged breath. He pulled the link-up from his pocket and handed it to me. “Try not to let Hexara kill me.”

The world dropped away with a lurch.

I slammed into the ground and rolled. The impact drove the breath from my lungs. Coughing, I struggled to standing and brushed away detritus from the forest floor. My skin burned with a hundred tiny lacerations.

I held my hands up and could only see the outline in the dark. A few faint stars shone through the canopy, but neither of the moons were visible. My glowing necklace did nothing to counter the blackness.

“Leo!” My voice sounded loud in the silence. The gloom pressed in. I crouched and patted the ground. Sharp twigs and stones scraped my palms. Blood pounded in my ears. Dangerous creatures filled the forest. Bears, wolves, vicious cats. They could be closing in. Gooseflesh rose on my arms.

The link-up!

Had it smashed when I landed? I fumbled, pressed a button, and almost dropped it as the display came to life. It gave off enough light to pierce the dark. I allowed myself one relieved sob and hunted for Leo.

I walked in circles, slowly getting wider. I’d seen the technique on a vid, and it seemed as good as any. Was I keeping the center point in the right place? Everything looked the same. It would be so easy to miss him.

A humped shape, larger than anything else, caught my eye. My hand trembled as I bent for a closer look. He lay on his side, crumpled and unmoving, with his arm thrown over his face. Sick dread filled me. Was he dead? I gripped his cold wrist and felt for a pulse. After an eternity, I found one. Weak and slow, but there. Face close to his, I could feel his breath, but only just. I tapped his cheek hard and shook him, but he wouldn’t wake.

Burned out.

Would he recover? How would he cope without his magic? I stroked his forehead. He’d risked himself to save the palace staff. Mages and non-mages alike. He’d been brave—heroic, even—and he trusted me to protect him while he recovered.

Standing, I peered into the dark but could make nothing out. No signal on the link-up, no sign of life anywhere. What if, in his weakened state, Leo made a mistake? We could be deep in the forest with no hope of rescue. Predators might be nearby. The first tendrils of genuine panic took root inside me, and I forced them down. Another glance at Leo, and I threw caution to the wind. “Hex!”

Nothing.

If I wandered off, I might not find my way back. The link-up’s battery sat at fifty-one percent. How long would it last? I tried to keep Leo’s position in my mind as an anchor as I crept along the tree line. We were in a clearing surrounded by thick forest on all sides.

The leaf litter crunched. Something skittered across my foot, and I jumped back. Bugs horrified me, with their spindly legs and shiny bodies. As a kid, I once woke to a fat, black roach on my pillow, and never quite recovered. How many were crawling about under my feet?

A break in the trees. I lifted the link-up to see what lay ahead, but blackness swallowed the weak light. It seemed wrong to leave Leo alone and helpless, but if I didn’t find someone to help, we were as good as dead. Without supplies, we’d never make it back to civilization. Decision made, I rushed over to him. Still breathing, still alive. I faced the waiting darkness.

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