Page 111 of Knight's End
Chapter Twenty-Five
Before I could blast him again, the stranger stood and ran. He ran so fast that he became a blur and disappeared out of the passage that led to the cave.
Shite!
Was he going to warn others? Was he going to get reinforcements? Would the sea people still fight us if they knew the witch was dead? I couldn’t follow him, I’d never catch him anyway, and I’d leave Avia and Ryan even more vulnerable. My heart pounded as I thought of possibilities and waded through the murky water searching for the knife he’d thrown. I needed a weapon.
A sound echoed off the rocks behind me and I whirled, spraying dusky red water everywhere. I had to tell my heart to calm down, because it wasn’t an enemy. Posey arrived back, her purple petals drooping as she supported Connor under his good shoulder. His curls were plastered to his forehead and sweat beaded on his brow. His eyes even had that droop of illness to them. She pulled him down the narrow walkway toward the water as she said, “I sent Blue to get Lizza.”
“Did you see someone in the tunnel?” I asked, eyes darting behind her.
“No.”
Declan leaned around her; blue eyes concerned. “There’s someone else here?”
“Declan, I need you to guard us,” I spat out, as soon as I saw my scholar. “A man followed the sea witch in here. He was spying on us.”
Declan’s brow furrowed. “A human?”
“He looked human. Wait. No. He had pointed ears. Part-elf maybe? But he had speed like Blue.”
“No one has speed like Blue.” My blond knight shook his head, his hair falling over his forehead. He took a stronger stance as he turned to guard the entryway of the cavern.
I hurried forward to help Posey bring Connor over. He looked too weak himself to be able to do much. Every step we took, he gritted his teeth in pain.
I helped set him gently on his feet in the water next to Ryan, who crouched protectively over Avia. The ice shards that had stabbed them were starting to melt, letting even more blood flow from their wounds. They were both also wracked with shivers from the cold.
Connor studied the two of them. “Shite. This is bad. This is worse than I’ve ever healed.” That was before he saw the knife in Avia’s chest. When he did, he took a step backward, and might have stumbled if we hadn’t caught him.
“Can you blast us?” Ryan’s voice was breathier—weaker—than I’d ever heard it. His gaze was dull as he stared at Connor.
Panic surged through me and my eyes flew to my best friend. For the millionth time, I cursed my sarding magic. Why couldn’t I have gotten healing? Or something useful? Shite! The seconds seemed to crawl on as Connor’s eyes studied the wounds.
Connor swallowed hard and nodded at Ryan. “Guess a blast won’t hurt.” Then he extended his hands, blowing out a shaky breath. Pink magic streamed from his fingertips and covered Ryan and Avia. But Connor’s healing magic didn’t have its normal luminescence. It was pale and weak. He was clearly exhausted. I saw him squeeze his eyes shut and push harder.
He wouldn’t be able to heal them like this. No one would make it if they kept going like this. We had to do something. I had to do something. I pressed my hand into Connor’s back and blasted him with peace. I yelled out, “Dec, take their exhaustion!”
“I won’t be able to defend us.”
“If you don’t, there won’t be anusleft to defend,” I yelled back.
I sent another blast of peace through Connor, trying to light up his spine. My thighs ripped apart and I nearly collapsed from the pain. But I kept the magic pulsing through him. And the pink light seemed to grow brighter.
When I heard Declan howl behind me, I knew he hadn’t just taken their exhaustion. He’d tried to take their pain, too. I looked over to see him latch onto the rough rock wall in front of him as he screamed. His back arched and his lips twisted in pain.
The pink light grew brighter around me.
I looked back at my sister. Avia looked peaceful; Ryan’s gaze on Connor was steady and Connor was pouring light into both of them, one hand extended toward each person.
“It’s working,” I yelled. “Keep going!”
Ryan started instructing Connor in what to do, how to weave his magic to heal them best as Declan sobbed in the background. Those sobs tore at my heart. And once I felt like Connor was stronger, I turned one hand and sent another blast of peace toward Declan. His screams softened to whimpers of pain.
“Come on, come on,” I chanted under my breath. Every bone in my body ached but I shoved it aside as Connor worked.
The minutes passed in tense silence, the only sounds the small ripples of water when we moved or Declan’s breathless pants.
When Ryan stood and clapped Connor on the back, I expected to feel relief. Joy. But my eyes simply turned to Avia. We weren’t done yet.
