Page 71 of Dead Wrong

I couldn’t help but see Balthus in the man’s eyes. This wouldn’t make up for what I did to Azzy and his father, but maybe it would help tip the scales back towards balance.

“Don’t thank me till your family is safe,” I replied, taking a deep, steadying breath. It was now or never, so I nodded to the Unseen, then sprang forward, my feet catching on the pavement as I dashed in a straight line down the open driveway and toward the main gate.

I didn’t get far before the whistling noise returned. Another bolt of pulsating magic trained on me, impossibly fast. Reaching for my aura, I poured my strength into it, focusing it forward and adding layer upon layer till the air in front of me shimmered. The impact was sudden, and the shattering noise deafening as the newly formed ward splintered then gave, the bolt of light hitting dead center, then deflecting to clip my shoulder with searing pain. I didn’t stop moving, even as blood poured down my arm, wet and warm. I pushed through, still heading in the same direction as the bolt’s origin, my feet thundering against the pavement. The Unseen should have made it to the garden by now, so there was no reason for me to continue onward, and yet I kept moving, reaching into my magic stores once again to rebuild the ward that had narrowly saved my second life. My head was spinning by the third layer, and a familiar pain split through my skull. Cirian’s loaned power was waning, and I was running straight toward a return trip to my grave.

Another whistling sound, and I braced for the impact.

A streak of grey and purple in my periphery, and the bolt skittered across the driveway, exploding in a flash of light. I skidded to a halt, holding up the stolen blade toward the newcomer on the pavement, dressed in soldier’s garb. They had their back turned to me, facing away from the chateau and towards the entrance gate.

I lacked the strength to Command them, so I would have to hope I could best them with my blade.

“You’re bleeding, Tobi.”

The deep voice sent chills along my exposed skin. Another whistle, another bolt of light bursting into existence from the tower a few hundred feet away. Before I could react, the newcomer moved in a blur, their hands glowing with purple light as they batted the bolt away, and it drove into the ground like the last one. Their hat slipped off their head in the motion, revealing lavender hair and a pair of pointed ears.

“Azzy.” My voice was weaker than I anticipated, and my head swam as the strain of holding onto my ward took its toll.

He was beside me in a second, wrapping an arm under mine and bearing the brunt of my weight as he moved us off the driveway and towards the gardens. “Remind me that we need to have a serious conversation about your incessant need to stand out.”

I wanted to laugh, but the best I could do was chuckle, the ward around me crumbling as I reached the bottom of my reserves, and the pounding headache set in.

“Did the others make it?” I asked as we cleared the hedges, ducking down long enough that Azzy could get a look at my shoulder. He tore a shred of fabric from the edge of my disguise as if it were paper, tying it quickly around the wound. I hissed a breath as he tightened it down.

“Kaine has them,” he replied, inspecting his work. “I came out to cover their escape before I join the force inside. They’re working on breaking into the cellar.”

“Guess I should thank you,” I said, trying to laugh again, but what came out sounded broken and harsh.

“Not necessary,” he replied, peeking over the hedges and then ducking down quickly as another bolt soared over us, setting a row of rosebushes on fire across the path. “I was already in the neighborhood.”

“What kind of weapon is that?” I asked, needing to distract myself from the growing list of pains threatening to relieve me of consciousness.

“No bloody idea. I’ve not seen anything like it before. Leave it to Adoranda to save the most dangerous toys for herself.” He went quiet for a moment, but then his face was in front of mine, concern bending his features.

Shit, I must have passed out for a second. Gods, he was pretty. Especially when his violet eyes were wide, and his lavender hair was pushed back off his forehead so he couldn’t hide behind it.

“You still with me, Tobi?”

“Mostly,” I confirmed, giving my head the slightest nod. “Sorry, I flew a little close to the sun earlier, and I’m paying for it.”

“No troubles. If we can hide out long enough for Kaine to get back, I’ll send you with him to?—”

“No!” I shouted, sickly adrenaline flooding my veins with icy panic. “I’m okay. I need to help get Bastien out of there. They’re going to kill him.”

“I know,” Azzy replied, a hand on my uninjured shoulder to keep me in place. “But you’re in no shape to move right now, Tobi.”

“I’m fine,” I lied, shrugging him off. “And it doesn’t matter. If Bastien dies, then I’m dead all over again.”

Another whistling, and we both flinched as the explosion went off, filling the air around us with dust.

“Shit, they’re getting closer.” Azzy hooked a finger under my chin, raising my gaze to meet his. “Stay put. I’ll be right back.”

“Wait, Azzy, please don’t leave me here?—”

His body shimmered in a haze, then vanished.

I was alone in the garden.

Without the whistling sound, I could hear the bubbling fountain a few dozen yards away. I wasn’t far from where Cirian and I used to spar one another. On the other side of the garden, a bird sang a hopeful song, oblivious to the destruction around it. I focused on its song, hoping that it would keep me from slipping away again.

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