Born in Fire (Page 22)

I waggled my fingers in the air and bit my lip, thinking. In short, yes, I could. And I should, because this was a life-for-a-life situation. Without a powerful mage or me, this unicorn, and probably the little baby that needed its mother’s milk, was as good as dead.

I owed them this. The problem was that I might end up giving my life as payment for their help.

Chapter Ten

“What’s this help you have?” I asked with a sigh.

He pulled back the flap on his satchel and peered inside. Instead of digging around like I would’ve, he reached in and plucked out the item. He stepped through the bush, followed by the colt, and handed over a small, light green orb.

“Keep that colt away from the spell,” I hollered with a shock of fear.

He shepherded the creature away.

“Okay, then,” I said, holding the spell between my finger and thumb to analyze it. “Very disco. Why is it green?”

“We have our mages color-code the spells so we can easily identify their properties.”

“Organized.” I didn’t need that, of course. I could feel the spell’s properties. Also, I rarely had the luxury of too many spells in my possession. Still, I loved the idea. “Can you get some with sparkles?”

He leveled me with a glare. No, then?

“Not a big push of power in here.” I rolled it behind my fingers as I eyed the spell. There was nothing for it—without the sword to act as a medium for my power, I’d have to apply it directly. I would basically be handing Darius the key to figuring me out.

The unicorns were putting me in a tight spot.

“Look, Darius, I’m going to need you to look away.”

“No.”

“I’m not asking. If you want my help, then you need to let me do this. I can’t work with your eyeballs scratching at the back of my head.”

“If you succumb to the magic—”

“That’ll be immediate without a sword. I’m about to wrestle directly with it, spell to spell. If I lose, there is no coming back. So…off you get.”

He took a deep breath, staring at me. It was a reaction I hadn’t seen yet. I had no idea what it meant.

Slowly, he shook his head before eyeing the unicorn. “Okay.”

“Lovely. Go play in the meadow with little Max.”

“This is a female.”

“Little Lucy, then.”

I studied the spell around the unicorn and pinched the casing between my pointer finger and thumb. “Do I throw this, or gently let it go about its business?” I called.

“Use it like a normal spell casing.”

Impossible. This one actually had a spell in it.

After a glance behind me to make sure he wasn’t in eyesight, I dropped the casing into my pouch and rubbed my hands together. Time for real magic.

Palm aimed toward the unicorn, I swept my hand through the air. Fire sprang up, outlining the spell. I stepped back and created a thin wall of fire in front of me in case something went wrong and the spell exploded.

Focusing now, I felt the spell with my fire, managing the heat and intensity until it was happily eating away the magic like fuel. Not sensing any changes in the spell’s properties, I amped up the flame, burning away the magic.

“It is working?” Darius asked.

I jumped and ripped the wall of fire away. A glance behind said Darius had kept his word—so far, anyway—and wasn’t peeking through the hedge.

I let out a haggard breath and clutched at my rampaging heart.

“Yes, it’s really helping. Thanks.” After another glance behind, I quickly threw up a veil of fire and refocused on my task at hand.

I pushed the fire down toward the ground, where the spell wasn’t properly rooted, eating away the fringe. The air around the unicorn pulsed with color and light, making me smile, before it changed. Like a piece of paper consumed by flame, the spell oxidized before blackening and flaking away. The last traces of it sputtered before losing the fight and unraveling. Cold air gushed outward, ruffling the leaves and smacking harmlessly into my wall of fire.

I ripped the fire away, letting it shrink to nothing in midair. Heat pulsed through me, a glorious feeling. I wished I could use my true magic all the time.

The unicorn neighed, loudly, and stamped its foot. It swung that vicious-looking horn my way.

“Holy crap!” I bent, then dodged a hoof striking out. “You snapped out of that way faster than a human would.” It bit down at me, missed, and swung its head again. That brutal horn sliced the air right next to my face.

“Darius! Help! Darius!” I ducked away, but nearly caught a hoof in the chest. I dove and rolled, not sure what to do. I couldn’t very well fight the thing—if I did it harm, a whole faction of old vamps would come for me.

“I saved you,” I yelled, throwing my hands out. “I’m a good guy.”

It reared, clearly having no desire for discussion.

I threw myself back as Darius popped up by my side.

“What the hell took you so long?” I demanded, feinting like a boxer.

“I am here,” he said, putting a hand up. It took me a moment to realize he wasn’t talking to me. “I am here. Calm now. Your solino is safe. I brought Reagan to help you.”

Lucy wobbled through the brush, already much sturdier on her new legs. She gave a soft neigh and ambled toward food.

“This doesn’t look like it happened long ago,” Darius said quickly, putting a hand to my shoulder and backing us up. “We caught it early. That was lucky. Let’s leave now before she smells our scent on her newborn.”

When we crossed the meadow without being chased down, I asked, “Why didn’t the colt—or solino, I guess—run into the spell with her?”

“Size, probably, wouldn’t you think? A snare is only so big.”

I nodded, because yes, it did make sense—and I should’ve known that. Fatigue was dragging at me. Despite the pick-me-up of unicorn blood, using so much power in so short a time, not to mention sleep deprivation and hunger, had drained me. I felt weak and shaky.

I barely made it to the other side of the small island, which only took an hour’s walk. Despite my current issues, though, it wasn’t a big place for animals that size. I said as much to Darius.

“The Island of Eternal Light stretches north to south, mostly. It is not overly wide.” Darius nodded at a fierce-looking vampire, the first living sentinel we’d seen. “We found a magical snare and rendered it useless. Get a team and patrol the island. If you find anything, send word.”

The vampire nodded but didn’t head out. Apparently he’d get to it when he was good and ready.

Darius directed me back the way we’d come. “There is nothing more to see here at present. We’ll continue on to the Brink and start collecting more information.”

“Are you serious?” I trudged alongside him.

“What is the matter?”

“You must think humans are really clumsy if my stiff-legged lurch rings normal.”

“You’re tired?”

“So tired I can’t think of a sarcastic response to that question.” My toe hit a rock, and I stumbled. Darius’s hand shot out, steadying me before I fell on my face. “Thanks. Are you going to send in a replacement for that sentinel?”

“No. To use that entrance, the mage would have to go through land the elves closely watch. Only a fool would try to get by them.”

“Why, what will the elves do?”

“Question them. I will carry you.”

“So…only fools would get themselves into positions where they would have to provide answers?”

He bent and scooped me up into his arms. I didn’t complain, because if I did, chances were he’d throw me over his shoulder. “Have you spent so little time in the Realm?”

“Very little time. Almost none, actually.”

He put on a burst of speed that made me clutch his shoulders and nearly squeal in delight. Thrilling, running so fast. I wished I could do it.

“Elves are not a species to trifle with, even for us. They are brutal, when they want to be. Extremely powerful. It is never wise to put yourself in their path.”

“They rule the Realm, though. If they are oppressive, why don’t people rise up?”

“How often do people in the Brink rise up?” He ducked under a branch and swerved around a group of unicorns munching grass. “When you are on the correct side, the elves are fair, usually.”

“Which side is the correct side?”

“The one that bows to them.”

“Which side are you on?” I could already guess the answer.

He slowed as we reached the other side in record time. Gently, he put me down and waited until I was steady before stepping away. “Vlad’s.”

“My guess is, Vlad doesn’t bow.”

“Of course he does, as do we all—when we have to. That is why we still exist. But we won’t bow forever. The elves want to rid this Realm of the temptation of the unicorns, and, with them, us. They have not acted yet, but they will. When they do, we will be ready.” He looked down at the visible boot. He’d left the bait, his own kind, to save me. “Can you tell if she lives?”

“Well…I don’t know about lives, since she’s a vampire, but…” I grimaced at his straight face. Not the time for that sort of joke. “The short answer is…maybe.”