Page 32 of Silver & Smoke
‘But what about the shadow artefacts? And all the advanced alchemy created by the masters?’ Wren managed. ‘We can’t let them take it.’
‘No, we can’t.’ Torj’s expression was grim as the building shook with another explosion from below. ‘But you’re not going to like my suggestion.’
Wren looked around desperately, shoving the last of her potions in her cloak pockets. ‘What is it?’
‘We have to take it away before they get hold of it,’ Torj said. ‘We have to destroy Drevenor.’
CHAPTER 16
Wren
‘I will delve into the dark abyss of knowledge and guard the secrets entrusted to me’
– Drevenor Academy Oath of Secrecy
AS TORJ’S WORDShung in the air between them, something inside Wren crumbled. The truth of it settled in her chest like a stone – cold, immovable and agonizingly right. Silas the Kingsbane had already wielded dark alchemy against them; they couldn’t afford for him to gain access to anything else.
Knowledge is the victor over fate. The mind is a blade.The academy’s familiar scent of fragrant herbs had been swallowed by the harsh reek of metal and blood. Wren’s throat tightened as she scanned her room one final time, fingertips ghosting over belongings that weren’t just possessions, but milestones. Each piece told a story: the mortar and pestle worn smooth from countless hours of grinding ingredients, the crucible where she’d first mastered the cure... Even her workbench was a map of her journey from novice to sage, her fingers tracing the burn marks and stains. But wrapped up in it all was Torj. It was the place they’d come together, the place where they’d finally let themselves fall...
But she found herself nodding, a plan formulating in her mind.‘You’re right,’ she told Torj. ‘We have a responsibility. Everything within these walls – the experiments, the weapons, the research – we can’t let them have it. Master Crawford’s dungeons are full of elixirs and ingredients that will fuel a fire. We have enough experiments and stores to set off a chain reaction of fires and explosions.’
‘We need to get out of here first,’ Kipp said, grimacing as he peered out her door. ‘The enemy is making their way up the levels as we speak.’
‘So, you’re saying the only way out is through a fucking window at this height?’ Cal asked.
‘Something like that,’ Kipp replied.
‘We’ve been in worse situations,’ Thea ventured, though she winced.
But Wren grabbed her sister’s arm, a memory sparking. ‘When you were shieldbearers, how did you escape the Chained Islands? In the initiation trial?’
Thea’s gaze shot to Cal. ‘That would be the work of Callahan the Flaming Arrow... He shot an arrow with a rope across the cliffs and we used our belts to glide down the line.’
Wren nodded; she remembered Thea telling her about it years ago. ‘Then that’s how we get out of here. Break a window, use a—’
Glass shattered as Torj kicked a window in, fragments falling onto the enemy below. Several soldiers looked up, pointing and shouting. He was already motioning to Cal. ‘If you can get an arrow in that support beam over there, it should hold—’
Several men from the People’s Vanguard burst into the room and attacked, and Wren found herself surrounded and protected by Warswords, with Kipp, Dessa and Zavier pressed close to her as well. The clash of steel, the cries of pain were all too familiar, as was the claustrophobic feeling of being jostled among sweaty bodies, but Cal was now tying a length of rope to an arrow.
‘The weight will change the dynamic of the—’ Torj started.
‘I know, Bear Slayer,’ Cal reminded him gently. ‘I’m not a shieldbearer any more.’
‘No, you’re Callahan the Flaming fucking Arrow,’ Kipp said, clapping a hand on his shoulder. ‘Aim true, or we’re all fucked.’
Cal rolled his eyes at Wren as he handed Torj one end of the rope to tie around a pillar behind them, his bow creaking as he notched the arrow to the string. ‘No pressure.’
But Wren was too anxious to offer a smile back.
Her friend’s arrow soared, embedding deep into the untouched healer’s workshop facade in the far corner. After testing the taut strength of the rope, Cal looped his belt over it and climbed up onto the windowsill. ‘See you down there,’ he said, before launching himself into the night.
Dessa screamed, but she was soon being lifted by Kipp.
‘Shouldn’t a Warsword take her?’ Thea called.
Kipp only grinned. ‘I know I’ve been a shell of my former self since the beautiful Dessa left me, but she knows from plenty of experience that I can handle her—’
‘I didn’tleave you.’ Dessa slapped his arm, the height before her suddenly forgotten. ‘Wemutually agreedthat our time together had run its course. Actually, those wereyourexact words.’
