Page 91 of Death of the Glass Angel
The debris slammed into the rock above their heads, splintering the shield he’d created. “Run.” He pushed her.
“Shit.” Mela cursed again, but she ran.
Felsin backed down the hall, following her lead, his eyes glued to the mirage evoker’s back. Phantom tendrils rose from the mirrored lake, obscuring whatever lay on its other side. Shaking his head to knock himself from his enraptured gaze, Felsin turned away.
The mirage evoker had saved them—it would protect Janus, too. He had to trust it.
He only hoped he wasn’t making a terrible mistake.
* * *
Janus clutched the glass ornament, breathing heavily. She was underground, in the strange tunnel complex. Talon had been with her, trapped in the dungeons. And an evoker had invaded her mind, searching for something she did not understand.
She could recall everything, and yet it felt wrong. Like someone else had seen these memories, and Janus owned them unfairly. Janus had not lived them. So why were they in her head? What was going on?
The ground rumbled, knocking Janus off her feet. Her knees hit the stone with a sharp crack of pain, but she clutched the bulb to her chest, intent on protecting it. Crashing sounded in the distance as reverberations shook through the walls and ceiling. Was the entire tunnel system collapsing?
A door swung open and shut in the distance, slamming heavily. Running footsteps echoed down the hall, growing louder as someone approached. Standing, Janus pressed her back to the wall, preparing to defend herself.
A man in a blue coat, his face pale and eyes haggard, appeared in the doorway, intense relief arising in his countenance. Talon rushed forward, grabbing Janus by the arms, silently ensuring she was unharmed. He pressed a hand to her cheek, turning her head gently.
“I’m fine.” She stuttered.
Another tremor shook the room, and Janus looked up to see cracks forming above their heads. Dust fell over them, support beams in the hall outside shaking as they threatened to give way. Talon shoved Janus, propelling her into the hall. Heeding his message, she managed to move her feet, running toward the workroom.
Reflective water pooled beneath the door crack, flowing from the workroom into the hall. A shadow painted it black, and from its embrace emerged the mirage evoker; its glassy eyes shifted onto Janus.
Talon grabbed Janus and threw her behind him. A lump formed in Janus’s throat. No. She was supposed to protect him. He was the one who’d drawn the death card.
Eros. The name rang in Janus’s head, drowning out the world.
Reflective liquid pooled across their feet, coating the walls and ceiling, disorienting Janus as all became mirrors. She saw herself and Talon reflected several times over, but the mirage evoker appeared only once amongst the confusing imagery. Its hand rose, grasping tendrils dashing toward them.
Between the mirage evoker and the tremors, only death awaited them. But if the mirage evoker blocked their way forward, and no path was available behind, then the only way out was up.
Inhaling, Janus closed her eyes. In the temple of Yesharu, an elevator shaft connected the worship hall to the monks’ quarters. She had ridden it several times. Once with Eros. Another time with Gemellus, years later.
The rock hidden beneath the mirrors bent to her will, rough stone transmuting as a cage of metal surrounded her and Talon. Rocks collapsed and shook above her head as the earth was displaced, allowing a shaft to cut through its length. Janus’s eyes flew open, meeting the mirage evoker’s one last time as his tendrils were about to reach her.
She glimpsed something in its shrouded mien: pride.
The elevator she conjured rocketed up, the sound of a lever being turned ringing behind her.
Talon gasped, nearly losing his footing. The mirror washed away as the elevator rose, revealing the rickety cage carving up through rock. Bronze light raged around Janus’ fingertips as her spell ferried them to the unknown.
Dark earth rushed past until the elevator burst above the surface and jerked to a violent stop, throwing open the doors and spilling Janus across the ground. Jarred against a rock, Janus lost concentration on the memory—the metal cage collapsed as though quickly rusting, crumbling into dirt as it rejoined the earth.
An early morning sky greeted Janus. Mountains surrounded them, rocky and barren save for tufts of grass and the occasional tree. Talon dragged himself to his feet and offered her a hand.
Glancing back to ensure the mirage evoker was not behind them, Janus dropped the glass angel into her pocket. Staggering forward, she threw her arms around Talon and laughed.
“Good thinking.” He commended, breathing heavily. “You. . .come up with odd spells.”
“Felsin said whatever came to mind,” Janus murmured into his chest. Something wet and sticky ran down her arm. Blood. Stepping back, Janus noticed the bloodstained gauze wrapped around his arm. “Your arm-” She spluttered.
“I’m alright,” Talon said, surveying their surroundings. “We’re miles from the city.”
“What about the others?” Janus asked, trailing after him as he walked north.
