Page 89 of Pawns of Fate
“You can do it, Nicholas!” Rose sounded ecstatic, so perhaps he hadn’t died.
He looked over at Lysander, who actually looked afraid… of him.
The truth hit Nicholas with more ferocity than any of Lysander’s attacks. Rose had increased his mana, not Lysander’s.
His beautiful, brilliant, amazing wife. He was going to give her the world when this was over. But for now, he had a shadow mage to destroy.
He charged Lysander, whose shadowy magic now twisteduselessly around the lightning sparks that accompanied Nicholas’s blade. He swung at the mage a few times, but Lysander avoided every blow, melting in and out of his shadowy form. After a short chase, Nicholas thrust his blade close to the mage’s heart, cutting through the leather armor and across Lysander’s pectoral muscle.
Lysander let out a horrible groan filled with pain and frustration. Nicholas raised his blade over his head and began chanting a lightning spell he’d long thought out of his reach, but Lysander’s form began to melt into shadow. Nicholas slammed his sword down, catching the mage’s shoulder fully this time. Before Lysander could completely liquefy into his shadow form and dart away, Nicholas saw his face flash with pain, then rage.
Lysander’s shadowy form rushed toward the pillars of star crystal in the middle of the cavern.He’s going for the spells,Nicholas realized. And there wasn’t anything Nicholas could do to stop him. Any lightning he sent that way was bound to cause an explosion, too. Lysander was going to take the whole cavern down, and Rose and Nicholas would go with it.
His eyes landed on Rose, who was cradling Kagon’s unconscious reptilian form. She must have reached the same conclusion as him, because her eyes were full of panic.
“We have to run!” they screamed simultaneously. A cluster of star crystals fell from the cavern’s ceiling and nearly crushed Rose as she ran. They made it to the tunnel that would lead them outside just as the ground began to shake. Nicholas spared a glance over his shoulder, but all that remained in the cavern was flames, falling rocks, and wisps of shadow magic.
They ran for a while, until the tunnel walls stopped shaking from the terrifying tremors. Nicholas looked over at Rose, who was breathing heavily and had to lean on the wall for support.
Nicholas crushed her to his chest. “Are you alright?” he asked, knowing she wasn’t.
“I’m just tired,” she answered through labored breaths, still clutching Kagon’s body. “I can see why my ancestor didn’t do that very often.”
Nicholas chuckled. “And you’ll never have to again. Do you have enough strength to keep walking?”
Rose’s nose wrinkled and her lips pursed as she tried to convince Nicholas that she did. But they only made it a few feet before she almost fainted with exhaustion.
Nicholas picked Rose up and carried her out of the cave, determined to take his wife home even if he had to hold her every step of the way.
ROSE
Rose woke tothe feeling of sand scratching her face. Her body felt terrible, like someone had replaced her blood with sludge. After a few heavy breaths, she sat up and looked at her surroundings.
Bright sun and desert greeted her bleary eyes. Hot windstung her face. She remembered Lysander mentioning the Ojoh, so it was reasonable to assume he’d teleported them to their desert. That still left quite a few possibilities as to their exact location, none of them particularly close to civilization.
Nicholas lay beside her, his arms wrapped around her waist. She checked his neck for a pulse. He was alive and breathing.
She craned her neck. The entrance to the cave was a short distance behind them. A thread of panic wove through her. She didn’t want to be anywhere near that place. Even with the explosion, she couldn’t be sure that Lysander was well and truly dead.
“Nicholas,” she pleaded as she shook his body. “Please, Nicholas, you have to wake up.”
He didn’t respond for a long time. Tension clawed her spine, anxiety setting in. What if she’d missed an injury? Or he was still suffering the effects of the snake bite?
Only when her pleas turned into outright sobs did Nicholas finally wake up. Rose threw her arms around him.
“I thought you might not wake up!”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep, Rose. I’ll always be here with you.”
He kissed her deeply, and Rose felt some of her tension ease. Their situation was too precarious for the stress to melt away completely, but Nicholas’s words and touch calmed her racing heartbeat.
“Where did Kagon go?” Rose asked hesitantly, patting around in the sand, looking for the snake. Pity filled her when she thought about the druid and his predicament. She wanted tohelp him, since he’d helped them in the end.
“He must have left while we were sleeping.” Nicholas let out a sigh and stroked Rose’s hair. “I knew you’d want to look after him, but it’s better this way, Rose. Hedidassist Lysander with our kidnapping.” He shook his head. “We’ve got enough to worry about as it is.”
Nicholas was right. They were hiding in the shade of a large boulder, but as the sun journeyed across the sky, their shade was becoming smaller and smaller. Not to mention their lack of food and water. They needed to find an Ojoh village or outpost, and they needed to find it soon.
Nicholas stood up, swaying slightly. She was about to stand and help him when he straightened and reached to aid her. The two started their journey into the desert, hand in hand.
