Page 92 of Sun Elves of Ardani

The magic-eater crossed the distance between them in three long bounds and dove toward Rhian. From this close, it was enormous—as tall as a house. Rhian doused it in flame, making it shriek and flinch.

“Eliyr, help me,” Kadaki said urgently. Magic pulled at her as pieces of the spell threatened to break apart. The spell she was weaving was larger than any she’d ever attempted, and even with the power granted to her by the obelisk, it was coming together too slowly. Seeing the spell she was trying to create, Eliyr aided her, fitting pieces of it together until the entire enormous pattern was complete.

Rhian struck at the magic-eater with her sword, knocking its blackened skull sideways, but the beast quickly recovered. It raised its head over her, opening its jaw wide to clamp down on her.

Kadaki snapped her wrist, activating the spell with a practiced motion and a flood of pure willpower. Particles of magic glowed all around them. The world began to whirl. And then they were somewhere else.

Chapter 25

Neiryn held tightly to Kadaki as the world twisted around them. There was a stomach-turning sensation of spinning and floating and then a rapid stop punctuated by pain in his backside as they hit the ground. The pounding rain had been replaced by silence, and a faint bluish glow penetrated the darkness. There was a series of crashes as other people fell around them. Kadaki was still crushing him against her chest. With her holding on to him, the journey had not been as violent as it had been for others.

They were in the ruins, the obelisk towering beside them. Kadaki and Eliyr had brought them here. All of them—all of Rhian’s soldiers, and all the Ardanians that had been in the vicinity. Everyone groaned with pain or nausea, clutching whatever body parts had hit the ground first. At least one person was throwing up.

Kadaki set Neiryn down and then doubled over, taking deep breaths. Her face was wan. She wasn’t all right.

“Eliyr,” she said, wasting no time. She pointed to the spot high on the wall where the magic-eater had come from last time. “Go to the tunnel up there and close it. Seal off all the entrances so that thing can’t get back in.”

Neiryn thought Rhian would protest her giving orders to their subordinates, but she didn’t.

“You brought us to the magic-eater’s lair?” Tanwyn asked. “Why?”

“Because it’s the only place where I can get more magic,” Kadaki said, waving to the obelisk. “And it’s away from the magic-eater and the anomaly. We’ll stay here until we find a way to deal with the magic-eater.”

Everyone glanced at Rhian. She nodded her approval.

Kadaki looked down at Neiryn. “You,” she said, tapping a finger against his chest. “Don’t move until I come back.” She stared at him until he gave her a small nod of assent. He had no desire to get up at the moment, anyway.

He watched her walk to the obelisk. Without hesitation, she thrust her hand against it. Not just passively accepting the outpouring of magic, but drawing it out by force. Her body went rigid as power rippled from the obelisk. The concentrated magic in the air tasted of sparking metal and made Neiryn’s hair stand on end.

She withdrew her hand from the obelisk. With a few quick motions, she cast again, and then she was gone.

She returned some time later with another group of Ardanians, and then another. Over the next hour, Kadaki made half a dozen trips back to the surface with small groups of both Ardanians and Ysurans to retrieve food and other supplies they’d need to survive in the ruins in the near future. They were preparing for a long stay here. And now that Neiryn thought about it, it wasn’t such a crazy idea. This place had originally been built for living in, after all. The canals meant there was a system of fresh water and waste disposal in place. With Kadaki able to take them in and out at will, it would be possible for them to survive down here for a very long time.

Rhian approached Neiryn. Her eyes moved up and down his body, taking in the burns, the slice across his throat, the sweat on his brow, and the heaviness of his eyelids. Spell fever was hitting him hard now. He trembled intermittently with chills, and waves of weakness and nausea assaulted him even when he lay motionless. He had not felt so frail since Kuda Varai.

He had never heard of anyone dying from spell fever, fortunately. It was just extremely unpleasant.

“Still alive?” Rhian asked wryly.

He waved a hand in a “sort of” gesture. She smiled. Neiryn pantomimed writing. Rhian left and returned a short while later with a notebook and pencil.

“Your human was thinking ahead,” she said. “She brought this for you. She said you’ll need it. Sounds ominous to me.”

Neiryn ignored the comment and wrote cryptically,Caradoc dead.

Rhian’s brow creased as she read the words. She rubbed her chin for a moment before she replied. “He’s not the only one. We will have to try to gather ashes to send back to the families of the dead.”

Not your fault,Neiryn wrote.

Her lips tightened. Rather than acknowledging his comment, she said quietly, “The Ardanians don’t trust us enough to willingly cooperate with us, nor do they respect us enough to defer to our leadership. I fear the situation here is beyond repair.”

Neiryn glanced around the cavern. Eliyr, Kadaki, and Roshan were leading the others in marking out a safe perimeter and setting up beds, food, and infirmaries in this cavern and the next. There were no clear divisions between the Ysurans and the Ardanians. All of them worked together on whatever tasks needed to be done. There was an uneasy, unexpected peace.

Have a chance to gain their respect now,Neiryn wrote.

She followed his gaze, and her hard expression softened.

Rhian returned to work taking care of the civilians and the injured, leaving Neiryn alone. He closed his eyes, tucking the book against his side, and resisted the urge to raise a hand to his throat and feel the damage for himself. He already knew how horrifying the wound was, even after Kadaki had worked on it. Rhian had done an admirable job of not staring at it.

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