Page 56 of War Mage

“Who dares?” he shouts, looking away from me for a moment.

“Now!” I hear the prince yell and suddenly there’s a flurry of activity. Shadowy figures emerge from the corners of the throne room and start killing the indolent nobles on their chairs. There are screams and hissing and curses, but the drunk and lazy courtiers are no match for the prince’s elite soldiers.

“If he bleeds, we can kill him!” shouts Malik, loosing another arrow. This time, though, Grazrath catches it before it can strike him.

“Malik? You?” the demon says incredulously. “But I am your king!”

“My king was my father, you grotesque monster,” the vampire prince snarls. “This is for him!”

Then he darts forward, faster than my eyes can follow, sword in hand. Grazrath bats away the sword with his still demon hands, snarling aggressively.

“I may have been hit with soulfire, but I can still teach a princeling like you a lesson!” growls Grazrath, pushing the offensive. But Malik is strong and well-trained and he gives as good as he is getting. He slashes with his sword, drawing blood from Grazrath’s chest, and even though it appears to be a surface wound, red blood trickles down the demon’s chest, showing his vulnerability.

But their fight is a little too close for comfort. I turn away from the spectacle and try to crawl away, but my head is swimming with pain and confusion. I know that I need to get away from here, but I can’t think hard enough to remember how to do so.

Then, sure strong hands grab me in a firm, but gentle, grip. “Come on, Adara. We need to get away from here,” comes Urim’s voice in my ear. “Use your voidwalking and get us out of here.”

“Urim . . . I . . . my vision is blurred,” I manage to mumble. “And my thoughts jumbled. Voidwalking . . . would be dangerous.”

“You must try,” the orc says steadily. “You can’t still be here if Grazrath repels the resistance. He’ll kill you. Just remember your studies of the map. You can get us out of here.”

I take a deep breath, trying to think clearly. He’s right. I want to live and to do that, we must escape.

“Hold onto me,” I tell Urim. He obediently holds onto me a little tighter, but not painfully so. Then, I manage to tear open a hole in reality and fall through, pulling the orc with me.

The sounds of the battle in the throne room cut off as the void snaps shut behind us and we are left in familiar darkness. I try to concentrate, to remember my calculations from my studies on the ship.

“Five steps down,” I mutter, my voice echoing in the infinite space. “Two steps left, four steps down, one step right.”

I begin counting off, praying that I’m correct. “Five, two, four, one. Five, two, four, one.”

I step deliberately, pulling Urim behind me as I move. If my calculations are correct and the map was accurate, this should take us right outside the castle gates, but out of sight of the gate guards. My head aches and throbs and it’s hard to keep count. That knock to my head definitely scrambled my brains and I probably need a healer, but that will have to come later. Right now, escape is all that matters.

I finally take my last step and pray to any gods that might be listening that I counted right and we aren’t about to fall into a moat, or appear in a wall, or land in front of the guards that will try to kill us. Then I rip open the void and we step out.

We’re in some sort of alley, just like I predicted, one that is only a few lengths from the palace. I collapse against the stone wall of the alleyway, relieved and spent. A sharp pain echoes through my skull, letting me know that I pushed too hard. Urim’s strong and comforting grip keeps me upright.

“Are you well?” he asks. “We need to get to the Fabric District. Tevin will hide us until we can find out if Malik was successful.”

“My head . . .” I tell him weakly. “I’m not sure I can make my way there.”

I wobble on my feet and my vision whites out for a moment. Urim catches me in his still-chained arms. He peers at me in the darkness, even the moon above is blotted out by the smoke in the sky.

“Your pupils are blown, though that could be from the darkness,” he says. “But seeing as you just took a blow to the head, I would say that you have a cerebral commotion. You need a healing potion immediately. Don’t fall asleep, it’ll make it worse.”

But his voice sounds like it’s far away and my eyes struggle to stay open.

“I’ll try . . .” I murmur. And then I know no more.

Chapter 26

Adara

Ijerk awake in darkness. A hand grabs my arm and I pull away and scream.

“Peace, Adara, peace,” I hear a familiar voice. “It is just me.”

“Urim,” I breathe out, sagging in relief. “How long was I out?”

---