Page 111 of Circle of Shadows
No! Back into formation.
The magic hesitated, as if momentarily confused. Then most of the particles began to drift back into the shape of their saws.
She exhaled.
All right. Cutting back and forth on crystal was dangerous. Perhaps she had to approach this more like chopping vegetables.
Slice straight down, she willed the magic.
At first, she couldn’t see anything happening. But then she noticed a thin line appear on either side of the wall where it was separating from the rest of the palace. Her green knives worked slowly but steadily.
The floor panel on the far side of the courtyard opened. Empress Aki stuck out her head. “Everything all right?”
“It is now,” Sora said. “You can come out from the tunnel, although you should probably stay on that side of the courtyard, just in case.”
Empress Aki and her Imperial Guards emerged. One of them noticed Sora was injured. “I’ll get her some bandages,” he said.
He returned a few minutes later and dressed her wounds. Sora breathed into his touch. It was actually helpful to have someone else with her, grounding her as she focused intensely on the saws.
She began again. The wall trembled, and the Ora crest glinted in the faint light of the impending sunrise.
The saws neared the bottom. Sora’s eyes began to cross; the concentration was taxing.
And then, the last, final slice.
She exhaled deeply and closed her eyes for a moment. Then she turned to Empress Aki. “Your Majesty, we have our magnifying glass.”
“Excellent. Can you get it down to the Citadel?”
Sora was tired, but she nodded. There would be time for rest later. “I’ll use magic to levitate it down the hill.”
Empress Aki looked up at the purpling sky to gauge the time. “You go on ahead. I just need to do one thing here at the palace. I want to go to Sola’s temple to pray.”
“But—”
“Don’t worry. I have some Imperial Guards with me, and I’ll leave by way of the secret tunnels again. You need to get to the Citadel, though. It’s imperative that you arrive before my brother’s army does, if you are to have them all in one place at the fortress gates to blind them.”
Sora didn’t like the idea of leaving the empress behind. But she was the sovereign, which meant Sora didn’t really have a choice. Besides, Empress Aki’s reasoning made sense, and she did have a contingent of Imperial Guards, the best warriors in the kingdom.
“All right, Your Majesty. Be safe. I’ll see you back at the Citadel soon.”
Chapter Sixty-Four
Fairy slipped into Bullfrog’s room the same way Broomstick had—through the window. She’d stopped by the dormitory to grab vials of wood-ear mushroom powder and swallow’s saliva, which could be combined to form an antidote to genka. Unfortunately, she didn’t have much wood ear; her old stash was in the satchel she’d given to Spirit, and Fairy hadn’t had time since to forage for more.
I hope what I have is enough to wake Daemon.
As soon as she was inside Bullfrog’s quarters, she found her way to the bedroom and slid open the closet door.
“Oh, Wolfie,” she said, as she saw him slumped in a heap on top of the spare bedding. It was a little sad to see him like this, a ferocious, wild animal from the woods reduced to a grinning fool with spit dribbling down his chin.
It was almost the same as what had happened to her. Fairy may not be an orphan raised by wolves, but she was pretty formidable too. And she’d also been completelydisarmed, a trophy for the Dragon Prince to carry victoriously in his arms.
“I understand sacrifices must be made for the greater good, but let’s not do it like this,” she said, partly to herself, partly to Wolf. “Idle drooling really doesn’t suit the League of Rogues.”
Quickly, she poured the wood-ear powder into an empty vial, then used a dropper to add half an ounce of swallow’s saliva. The concoction let off a noxious brown cloud that stunk of steaming-hot cow dung.
Fairy wrinkled her nose as she carried it over to the closet. “I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to drink this.”
