Page 35 of A Blightress of Wrath
Ishook my head and set down my half eaten food, pulling open the door withKarusright behind me.
“Philius!” she yelled into the morning air.
Shebrushed past me, running toward the barn.Iwas right behind her, calling with her as we entered.Allof us began a search over the entire grounds, calling his name into the frozen air, rioting the sheep and upsetting the horses let out to pasture.
“He’sgone,”Mychaelpuffed beside me.
“Helpme gather everyone,”Ihuffed back.
Thenine of us gathered in front of the cottage.Ataut surface of panic fell over us as we met each other’s gazes, each thinking but unable to voice what we truly feared.
“Hecan’t be far,”Istarted. “Hehas thirty minutes on us.Hedidn’t take a horse and the snow beyond the circle around the farm is deep.Ilyenna,Talon, you start on the perimeter at the road.Rotateclockwise and the rest of us will set up around the remaining area.”
“Whatare we looking for?”Ilyennaasked, already turning to leave.
“Footprints,”Ireplied. “Callout when you find his prints.Donot follow.Stickto the perimeter.Wemeet back here in fifteen minutes.”
ItookKarus’shand in mine and we headed to the other side of the barn where the foothills met a deep ravine that then climbed upward into the side of another hill.
Karusstalked the edge of the snowfall with me.Wesearched carefully for any sign of her brother, whom she cursed at continuously in a muttering of obscenitiesIknew came from a place of fear.Shecursed again with something about bringing theLumenswith us next time then halted, grabbing my arm and pointing.Aset of tracks led through the snowfall into the steep hillside.
“Let’scall everyone back,” she said as she turned around, headed for the house.
Istood for a moment in the calm of dawn, my eyes tracing over the pathPhiliusmust have taken.Adeep foreboding had me clenching my teeth, knowingPhiliushad taken a route that would lead straight to the abandonedTectusTrail.
Chapter17
Karus
Philiuswas gone.Iwarred with the thought of reaching out to the woman who haunted a dark corner of my mind—the woman whoIknew was the reason for his leaving.
Idebated it in my own head a dozen times before glancing toRevas we all trudged through the snow, melting our path little by little with magic.Heshook his head once, knowing whatIwas thinking without me ever having to say it aloud.
“Weboth know it’s theBlightress.”Iconfirmed my thoughts in a grumble, pulling back a particularly thorny blackberry branch and hauling myself up another foot along the hillside.
“Morereason not to contact her.WhetherPhiliuswent by choice or by her command, she wants you to reach out to her.”
Hetook a moment to glance behind us to see how the rest of our party faired.IlyennaandTalonwere right behind us whileRenn,Rell, andMychaeldrafted the middle of our line,NyeimahandFiguerahat the end.We’dgathered everyone together and packed a meager amount of food, planning to return to the farm if we did not find him by midday.
“Maybewe should hear what she has to say.Maybewe?—”
Hecut me off as he used his power to pull back more of the underbrush, andIused mine to melt the snow. “No.Thisis either a trap or she really does want to train him in her own way.Ifthe first, we need to keep her out of your head.Ifthe second…”
Hetrailed off, stopping for just a moment to let his black eyes darken. “Ifthe second, he’s already lost to us.Ineed you to think about that and what it means for you and him.”
Iscoffed, “Philiusis a stubborn ass, but he’s not interested in actually training with her.Hetold me he wasn’t, andIbelieve him.”Iknelt against the steep ground, balancing by holding onto a jagged rock jutting from the side of the hill. “Liquiren,”Ispoke in frustration, my hand flat on the snow.Abrilliant surge of green power spilled from my fingertips, racing across the rest of the hill to melt what snow was left.Ilifted my hand, bringing the snowmelt up above us and flicked my fingers to the side.Thegush of icy water flew down the hill, splashing into the ravine below.
Rev’sbrows rose.Ishrugged and kept moving, able to see the path to the top of the hill a little easier.
Whenwe reached the top,Isurveyed theTectusTrailwhileRevhelped pull the rest of our party to the narrow path.Thetrail had been cut into the side of another hill that rose before us.Isearched the snow, looking forPhilius’sprints to direct us.Theyled north and upwards.
“Reformthe line,”Icalled asFiguerahtookRev’shand to help her up onto the road. “Wecontinue up this trail and do not break our line.TheBlightressis unpredictable at best, vicious at worst, so eyes open.”
“Andwhat ifPhiliusleft on purpose?”Figuerahdemanded, taking a moment to catch her breath. “Whatif we find him on her side?”
Nervousmurmurings crept through the line of magic wielders, andIshared an apprehensive look withRev.
Hegripped my hand tighter and addressed them. “Ifany of you would like to go back at this point, do so now.Youmay return to the farm and wait for us there.It’syour choice, not ours.”
