Page 108 of The Last One
“Unfortunately,” Jadon says, “that would be Azzam Cavern.”
Philia gasps.
I don’t know Azzam Cavern, but Philia does, and her reaction frightens me. “Veril!” I spin around to find him standing frozen near the hearth. “Veril,” I bark again.
At my voice, the Renrian snaps out of his trance.
“Is there something you can do?” I ask. “Something that will scare them away? Some kind of enchantment that could hide us, make us disappear?”
Veril’s mouth pops open, then closes, then opens again to say, “No. Yes. There’s, I don’t know, I’ve never had to, yes.” He takes a deep breath and slowly releases it. “Yes, I can figure something out, but I must be outside to—”
Bam!More creaking wood.
“Kai,” Jadon says, “we need to distract them while Veril figures out a spell.”
I turn to Veril. “How long do you need?”
The old man’s eyes lighten to their lavender glow. “All the time you can give me. Enchantments aren’t as simple as blinking my eyes.” His gaze settles on mine. “This may not work, dearest. I’ve never enchanted under such pressure and from battabies especially.”
Jadon steps beside me, Chaos in hand. “We’ll go outside and start backing down the walkway. Then, like we did with the cursuflies, the soldiers, and the burnu, we’ll separate. I’ll go right toward the creek. You’ll go left toward—”
Bam! Bam! Bam!The pots and glass vials rattle. A braid of garlic bulbs and one of the dry-aging ducks fall from their nails.
“I don’t have my amulet, but I’ll still try to blast them first with—” I hold up my left hand.
Silence drops over the cottage. None of us are foolish enough to believe the battabies have grown bored with us and are now flitting back to their roost.
“Let’s take this time to prepare,” Jadon says in a near-whisper.
Moving slowly in case my movements make noise, I pluck Fury from the floor. My shoulders and scalp tingle, and my hands burn hot.My hands are hot!I gape at them, so surprised that a sob nearly breaks from my chest. Even without my amulet, I have my power.
Olivia and Philia gape at me. “Your eyes,” the redhead whispers.
Jadon does a double take, but not at my eyes. “You can’t go out there like that. You need armor. You’re just starting to heal.”
I look down at my tunic, already feeling strain and pain in my muscles.
“Jay, you’re not wearing armor, either,” Olivia adds.
He shakes his head. “I don’t care about that. I care abouther.”
My grip tightens on Fury. “But—”
“If you get hurt again,” he says, “you’ll never reach Mount Devour.”
Shit. He’s right.
We need to figure something out. Likenow.
32
Veril and Philia hurry together to the bedroom, then immediately return to the sitting room. Philia carries a heavy leather tunic with long sleeves of mail.
“It’s a little big,” the Renrian says, taking Fury from my hold, “but it’s more protection than what you’re wearing now.”
“Where’d you get that?” Olivia says, her eyes darting between the tunic and the window.
“That big trunk sitting at the end of the bed,” Philia says. “It’s Veril’s.”
