Page 77 of Of Blooming Embers
Approaching the structure, our group, protected by Breena’s shield, reflected in the shiny panel. Marek tapped the surface with his staff as Gavrel poked it with his sword. They looked at one another with matching droll expressions.
Amusement stirred in my throat, but I swallowed it as a thrumming pulse of ember forced their weapons away from the building. I hovered my fingers over the panel, and prickles of icy energy needled at my flesh.
Gavrel grabbed my other wrist before I could fully touch the wall. I shook my head, and he sighed, knowing I was going to do it anyway. Power zapped my skin when I pressed my finger to the surface. I snatched my hand back and shook it out to rid myself of the lingering sting.
Brows furrowed, Marek reached out, his dark flames skating overhim. Breena squeaked and smacked his arm. He hesitated, raising an eyebrow at her.
She crossed her arms and sniffed, pushing her worried expression into a mask of indifference. “Just felt like smacking ya. Go ahead and touch this death trap.”
Marek pinched his lips and narrowed his eyes before slapping his palm on the wall. He groaned, his eyes crushing closed as his power zipped over his arm and slammed into the surface.
All at once, a sharp, grating sound throbbed through the air, and I cringed. The hairs on the back of my neck and arms raised, and my ember prickled down my spine.
“Marek!” I shouted as muscles tensed across his arm and back, the raven tattoo on his shoulder blades twitching with each painful twist of his expression. The stone rippled beneath my cousin’s touch like ink, creeping over his hand with sticky fingers that sucked him in. Marek fought back, battering the panel with his flames and quarterstaff, but it was no use. “It’s … it’s not enough. I can’t pull free,” he snarled.
Rhaegar and Gavrel grabbed my cousin’s torso and shoulders, yanking him out, but the blackness coated his forearm now, dragging him into the wall like quicksand.
My heartbeat filled my ears in time with the pulsing screak of the structure. Panic gripped my bones and vibrated through my limbs. I unleashed my gift, fractured rainbows splintering over me, and breathed in deeply.
Breena pushed her shoulders back, and her shield burned brighter. “Blimey, woman. Take my ember and help ’im!”
My brow crumpled, my mouth hanging open, and hands numb.I am you, and you are me. I focused on Breena’s ember, and my power purred as it lapped at hers.
Her jaw set as she concentrated, the orb around us sputtering. I looked at Gavrel and Rhaegar, and they nodded. My halo grabbed onto their radiance, too, their light twisting and melting with Breena’s as it bled into mine.
I focused, pushing the combined energy through my body anddown my arms. The branch patterns zinged and rippled along my forearms, the colors melding as my ember consumed and blended the others’ gifts into something new.
Now.
Pulsing in time with my measured breaths, a blaze of iridescence covered my hands. I moved toward Marek and gripped his biceps just as the structure’s molten tendrils coated his elbow.
All at once, I forced my power into my cousin’s aura. My halo exploded around me, and his was a blazing ebony inferno. He sagged, and a look of astonishment quickly turned into determination as he slammed his enhanced gift into the liquid shadows.
They reared back with a squelching screech, releasing him. The last of my borrowed ember poured into Marek. He forced his power over the wall, which splattered and gurgled in an outward ripple until a tall, undulating opening presented itself to us.
Breena’s shield dropped, her power sinking. Without hesitation, we all barged through the doorway. As the screaming mist sucked back into the base, the passage sealed itself with a loud squish behind us.
Mine and Marek’s auras fizzled out, and my shoulders slumped, exhaustion pulling at my frame. Marek jammed his staff into the floor, his fist tight as if he would topple over without its support.
The Murk’s heavy weight of despair lessened, but a skittering sense of unease took its place across my shoulders.
“This place is fecking exhausting,” Breena complained, rubbing her hands over her arms.
Rhaegar turned slowly as he nodded. “The Murk is draining everything more quickly. Our strength. Time. Ember. Best be moving along.”
Gavrel and Rhaegar’s glowing tattoos and weapons guided us as my sight adjusted to the dimness.
Taking a step back, Rhaegar bumped into something solid. A light flickered within. He spun, his axe swinging into the object, but the glowing blade simply bounced off the glass surface with a clack. “I’llbe damned.” He retreated, sucking in air as the light within the glass snuffed out.
With wide eyes, we all turned in place, taking in the scene around us. There were countless hovering glass spheres filled with slithering vapor. Sporadically, honey-colored light flashed in each like watching lightning crashing around a storm cloud.
They scattered throughout the massive open space, from floor to ceiling. The midnight-black walls, ceiling, and floor blended seamlessly, making the glass vestibules appear to be giant bubbles frozen in a fathomless, glinting void.
“There’s something … there’s something inside.” I reached out to the nearest container, and it flickered to life. Its haze twirled agitatedly, weaving with the amber light and pulsing within like a heartbeat.
Mesmerized, I moved closer to get a better look. Suddenly, a hand slammed into the glass from within. I yelped, stumbling. The others flanked my sides, weapons ready.
The older man pushed against his prison; a silent scream carved into his face. He writhed in terror, his eyes glassy and unseeing.
