Page 132 of The City of Zirdai
Knocking the scalpel out of Yates’ hand, she sat up.
Yates grabbed her. “You’re not going anywhere.”
She twisted from his grasp and hopped to her feet. Before he could straighten, she kicked, aiming for the dark bruise on his temple from Rendor’s strike. The heel of her boot connected with his skull. The force sent her back a few steps while he only wobbled. She focused all her magic on him in one powerful blast.
Sleep.
He swayed but fought the command.
Cursing his thick head yet again, she sent another blast.
Sleep!
Finally, he slumped to the ground. Then she turned to the rest of the seers.
They held out their hands. “Don’t, please. We—”
“You had your chance. You didn’t take it. So I will takeyourmagic.” Or rather, close it. However she called it, it was still harder to do without using their power.
Once she finished, she looked around for the priestess, but the woman was gone and the prince lay on the floor in a pool of his blood. The priestess had sliced his throat open. He stared at her with wide-eyed horror, but Shyla remained in place until he died, bearing witness. No grief touched her over the prince’s death. Instead outrage that his demise was too easy gripped her. He should have been stripped naked and hung upside down for a few sun jumps to pay for his crimes.
An insistent banging on the door spurred her into motion. She opened the glass doors. Jaft, Rae, and a bunch of Invisible Swords practically tumbled into the room.
Jaft gaped at the prone forms. “Did you kill them all?”
“No. The priestess killed the prince, the rest are recovering. Come on, everyone, I need backup.” She raced to the other entrance.
“For what?” he asked, almost on her heels.
“To hunt down the priestess.”
At each intersection, she sent teams of two to each side while she kept straight with the rest. Something pulled her in that direction. This area of the complex was intact, but soon they reached rooms with collapsed walls or holes in the floor.
They rounded a corner and spotted the priestess. She stood on a small pile of debris. In front of her was a large gap where there used to be a floor. The destruction she had caused prevented her from escaping. Shyla took a moment to appreciate the irony.
The priestess turned and stared at Shyla. The fury in her gaze was mild compared to the evil thoughts in her head.
“You will not touch me,” the priestess said to Shyla. “You are sun-cursed.Iam a child of the Sun Goddess and shewillprotect me.” She leaped across the gap.
Or rather, she tried. The Sun Goddess did not grant her wings. The priestess fell without a sound. Although, when she hit the bottom, there was a loud thud. Shyla and Jaft rushed to the edge. Perhaps the priestess survived the fall.
The unnatural angle of the woman’s neck meant there hadn’t been a miracle.
Shyla returned to the throne room and sent her people to search the entire level and deal with any remaining deacons or Arch Deacons. “Take a couple of wielders with you in case you find seers.”
“Seers?” Jaft asked.
“That’s what the priestess called her magic wielders.”
“Figures. Come along, Seer Rae.”
“Stop that right now or I’ll make youbelievesand rats are crawling up your pant leg.”
Jaft gulped. “Understood.”
Shyla questioned Timin about the survivors. “What did the priestess do to them?”
“She had them all taken to the black cells,” he said.
