Page 50 of A Court So Dark
Still nothing.
Was he still waiting for me to blast the door? Was he questioning my ability to shoot laser beams? I shook my head. No. That was my own insecurity talking. Cardian had seen me go against Varamede. He knew what I could do. He just didn’t know I needed a live charge.
I pounded on the door some more, but it seemed he had left.
Unable to ignore Kalyll any further, I walked back to him.
I knelt in front of the sphere. Tentatively, I raised a hand and slowly moved it toward the crackling surface of Kalyll’s prison, unsure of whether or not it would hurt me. But he was touching it from the inside, so I was hoping it wouldn’t light me up like a Christmas tree.
My hand lined up perfectly with his as I laid it on the force field. A strange prickly sensation went up my arm, but that was the extent of its effect. My hand looked tiny against his large one, almost like a child’s.
“Kalyll,” I whispered in a trembling voice. “What have they done to you?”
“You’re… here. You’re awake. How?” He managed a broken smile. His lower lip was swollen and cracked. Dry blood was caked on his chin, trailing down his neck.
“It doesn’t matter how. I can explain later. Now, we have to get you out of here.” I glanced around. “Any idea how?”
He shook his head, and his expression changed, the smile turning into a frown. “It was stupid to come.”
I pulled away from the sphere and stretched to my full height to look at him better. “You’re welcome.”
His legs trembling visibly, he also rose. He towered over me thanks to his broad shoulders and added height from the floating sphere.
“Now, we’re both… trapped,” he said.
“Not for long,” I boasted. I had no idea where my confidence was coming from, but doom and gloom weren’t going to help, were they?
Kalyll glanced toward the locked door. “Did you come alone?”
I shrugged one shoulder. “Yes.”
His upper lip curled up. “Whose idea was it to send you? It should have been Jeondar or Silver.”
“Do you realize you’re digging yourself into a big hole?” I asked. “Watch yourself, or I might start shoveling dirt into it.”
To my surprise, the smile returned. “This is why I love you. You always put me in my place.” His knees gave out then, and he collapsed to the bottom of the sphere.
I knelt once more. His body was molded to the shape of the sphere, and I could look him eye to eye.
“That bastard will pay for this.” I pressed a hand to the force field as if to cradle his cheek. I needed to heal him.
Praying the sphere didn’t block my attempt, I released a burst of healing power. As it hit, the force field buzzed and wavered like a television with static. At first, nothing happened, but then Kalyll lifted his head and blinked in surprise, his cobalt eyes locking with mine as he exhaled in relief.
“I didn’t think it would work.” I pressed my other hand to the sphere. “Touch here, too.”
Kalyll started to lift his hand, then put it back down. “It’s designed that way to let the sorcerer’s spells in.”
“What sorcerer?” I asked.
Kalyll didn’t respond.
But there was only one answer. Cardian couldn’t even do his own torturing. He had a sorcerer in charge of Kalyll’s torment. Bastard!
“Touch your hand here,” I urged him.
“No. Save your energy. You might need it.” Already his voice sounded stronger, and a little bit of color had returned to his cheeks. He needed this.
“And you’ll need yours, so we can run out of here, so c’mon,” I insisted.
