Page 25 of Magic Hunted
The grimoire nudged its tether, releasing a sprinkle of magic. An impression blossomed in my mind, born from the grimoire. Of me healing him using the magic the grimoire would offer. It showed my hands glowing gold, moving from my body to his through the crack in the bond barrier.
But if I did that, there was a chance the fracture in the bond barrier would crack more. Maybe shatter. His soul-light could fully merge with mine. Bonded. Together for eternity. Everything I was would be laid bare for them all to see, trapped to me forever.
His eyes closed and his head dropped to the ground. His heart raced, punching against his chest, and I knew if I didn’t do something, he would die. I had to make a choice. An impossible choice. Damn it all to the seven hells, but I couldn’t leave him.
The grimoire had guided me to use my human hands, which meant I’d have to Change. I didn’t know how to morph my physical state from one form to the next, but I had to try. I closed my eyes, seeing my human form in my mind and willing it forward. My Change wasn’t fast or clean but my body began to reform. Bones elongated and popped. Muscles cramped and stretched, and finally I knelt on the rock, pressed against Savvas’ fur.
“Savvas?” I rasped. He didn’t answer. I eased an eyelid open to see his narrow, unresponsive pupils.
“Savvas, if you can hear me, Change to heal,” I said, shaking him.
He was unconscious. Barely breathing. He was weak. Why was he so weak? His wounds should have healed with his Change. Shifters were strong and could go for days without food or water. Something about this wasn’t natural.
I clenched my eyes, breathing ragged, wishing for a miracle yet knowing I was it. He’d die if I didn’t help and that was…I couldn’t…I wouldn’t let that happen. If he couldn’t Change then the only other option was to use magic and the only magic I could use was from the grimoire.
I placed my hands against his side, sinking my fingers into his thick pelt, my stomach churning with sludge. I swallowed hard, knowing I was giving him my biggest secret. Handing over my trust and my hope because I had no idea what I was doing. “Please forgive me.”
I urged the grimoire and magic shot upwards at my call because of course it did. It needed our bond to be released. It didn’t care how or why, only that it happened. Golden light flooded me, rising towards the bond barrier, too strong, too fast. The barrier creaked beneath the force, but it was too small for the magnitude of magic trying to pass through. It bounced back in a wave I couldn’t control. Magic exploded out of me, too much to hold within my body. Sparks rose to the rock ceiling and disappeared into the stone.
Gods. No. Too much!
The ground shook and a distant rumble grew louder. I shook Savvas, but he didn’t move. “Savvas! Get up. We have to run.”
I shook him harder, but he didn’t even twitch and then it was too late. Rock exploded around us and bugs emerged into the tunnel, descending on us. Chunks of stone burst above me. I flung myself over Savvas as the ceiling rained down rubble over us. Pain exploded through my head as a shard struck my temple.
Black edged my vision as an enormous bug charged us. The fierce warrior leapt off the bug’s back and withdrew his sword from its sheath between his shoulders. He pressed the tip against my throat. A warm trickle of blood ran down my throat. “Give me back my magic, thief, or I will cut it right out of you before you can draw your next breath.”
The grimoire reacted. Magic surged through me and into my hands where I clutched Savvas. It shot through the fracture in the bond barrier, passing along Savvas’ soul-light and sinking into his body. It healed his wound instantly, renewing his strength and power in an instant.
Savvas’ eyes snapped open, locking on the elves surrounding us. His enraged snarl reverberated around me, through me, as every solid muscle in his body tensed. He leapt to his feet, free from my hands and the flow of magic still coursing from me.
The magic rebounded, driving through me in a caustic wave of brilliant energy. Magic imbued my bones, tore through my muscle and flowed in my veins, shredding me from the inside.
I flew upwards with the force, but when my vision cleared I looked down at myself sprawled on the ground. My hair was strewn on the rock about my head, my eyes blank and unseeing.My body. That was my body and I hovered above it!Savvas snarled, crouching over me as too many elves descended on him. He didn’t have a hope of fending them off.
“Leave him. He’s done nothing to you!” I cried out.
I reached for Savvas, but my insubstantial hand passed through his side without feeling him at all. A wave of magic caught me, tossed me away from him before golden light surrounded me, blinding me with its brilliance. Magic whipped around me, propelling my corporeal form until everything stilled. The light cleared and a face, devastatingly handsome, formed in front of my eyes.
A shining golden circlet was on his forehead. In the middle a golden gem glimmered, the facets glimmering with thousands of light refractions. They sparkled with brilliant energy, cascading points of light all around.
His eyes were closed, giving the impression he was asleep, but it wasn’t peaceful. His mouth was open as though he was screaming. His sleek brows were drawn tightly. His cheeks jutted in sharp angles and his head was thrown back. He wasn’t just in pain.
He was inagony.
He was encased in ice. Frozen in time. Neither dead nor alive, but in a suspended state of true torture.
Magic whipped me with golden streaks of energy and blinded me. Invisible fingers enclosed around me and I was propelled backwards and away from the man. I was slammed into something solid and jerked awake.
Hands held me down as I struggled to breathe. To understand where I was. My fist connected with a hard chest and my kick landed on someone else. I had to get to Savvas. He was too weak to fight against so many warrior elves. I had to…
“Haera! Stop!”
My body went limp at the bite of alpha command. My eyes flew open. Ashir leaned over me, his tense features filling my vision.
“Ashir? Is that…you?” I whispered.
The tense lines bracketing his mouth eased. “I’m here, Haera. It’s me.”
