Page 51 of Iridian

“Rose,” Taland choked, but he wasn’t looking at me. He was looking at my wrist, where my bracelet barely hung on my finger. Hill hadalmosttaken it off me completely.

Goddess, everything hurt, but I prayed that my ribs were only bruised, not broken. I prayed that I had enough energy in me for one last spell.

Tears in my eyes as I looked at Taland. “Together?” I whispered, and the moment I raised my hand, the bracelet fell from me completely. Taland grabbed it on one side and held it between us. I touched the other.

“Together,” he said, as Hill spewed curse words at us, still not steady on his feet but pissed. And weak.

And ready to fucking die.

“Cheining?” I asked in barely any voice, and Taland nodded.

We both knew the spell. We were both Mud. The bracelet would channel magic from both of us.

Goddess, please, let it work…

Together, we chanted the words at the same time, much slower than we ought to, but we were getting faster. The more we breathed, the better control of our jaws we had, and eventually, I even managed to sit up and pull Taland with me. The bracelet was in both our hands, and Hill was bleeding, pissed off like a rabid fucking dog as he came for us. Except that spell I did on him must have damaged him more than he was willing to accept because he was holding his right shoulder with his hand and he was dragging his foot behind, almost like my magic had completely paralyzed his entire side.

That sliver of hope I felt before now turned brighter and grew bigger and gave more voice to the words of my spell until I was shouting them. He was only halfway to us, and Taland was already on his feet, pulling me by the arm, his other hand still on the bracelet.

Hill’s bloodshot eyes were open wide. His teeth were gritted, and he was growling like a beast as he kept trying to get to us, even though he could see that it was no use. Even though he knew the spell would be long finished, and he didn’t even have the strength to turn to his magic anymore.

Colorful flames shot from both Taland’s and my hands. The bracelet had released both our magics, indeed.

The killing spell was on its way to Hill.

Though it moved fast, so fast, to me it felt like ages until it hit home. Until it fell on Hill’s chest, slipped under his skin, and cut off his breath completely, leaving his eyes wide open.

Even my heart stood still for a good moment, waiting to see…

The asshole still didn’t go down. His hand was still moving, rising toward us slowly.

Taland fell to his knees beside me, exhausted.

I lost my fucking mind for real.

I didn’t look at Taland at all, afraid it would somehow stop me when I had such little energy left. I just dropped the braceletand ran forward, wrapped my arms around David Hill and took him to the fucking ground.

“Die, die, die,”I said, or maybe I just thought it, but I was planning to wrap my arm around his neck and cut off his breathing completely until he died for real, except…

It was a mistake.

Goddess, I should have waited. I should have given the spell a little bit of time to work. I should have stayed put, shouldn’t have gone to him at all.

Because the spell did work, and by the time I realized that his heart was indeed going to explode, it was too late.

All that magic we’d put in himreleaseditself from his body when not only his heart, but every organ inside Hill exploded like he’d had dynamite under his flesh. Taland called my name but I couldn’t answer, couldn’t even look at him, couldn’t stop the magic that made Hill’s body explode from throwing me up in the air.

Too close. I was too close to the edge.

I should have waited.

Blood everywhere, on my face and mouth and eyes—and hands. Magic pushed me back violently and I tried in vain to grab the smooth surface of the rock.

I slipped.

I fell.

No voice left me. The scream got stuck in my throat and paralysis came over me as if from a spell. Taland called my name again, but I was falling so fast…

---