I was going to need it.
With so much of my magic concentrated on keeping Ryland stable, I wasn’t going to be able to scan the forest as I had originally planned, a fact that was only going to make our situation worse.
We might know that a herd of Trpaslík were shadowing us, waiting to attack, but now we had no idea when.
It only added to the fun, though.
Thunder resounded above us again as we ran through the forest much faster than we had before. While the distribution of invalids might have been better with speed, it was the only thing that was on our side anymore.
We needed to get there.
I stared ahead, trying to block out the constant moans and outcries from the broken boy I stowed, focusing with all my might on the forest that surrounded us. I was waiting for a twig, a bush, an explosion, a clown to pop out in warning, something to clue me in on when they would attack us.
So far, there was nothing.
Nothing except the sound of our own feet, the pained noises from Ryland and Dramin, and the long, meandering line that Ilyan had placed in my mind, the line that part of me was still questioning.
Not like I had a choice now.
A bright red line intercepted the path we were following not far ahead of us, the map Ilyan had placed in my mind casting the magical instructions before me like a blue print.
Burn the trail here.
His instruction were as clear as day, his voice echoing through my mind as my feet began to slow on their own. The bind he had placed over all of us kept me in perfect time with what the plan was.
I laughed aloud at the realization. All my worries and questioning for nothing. Even if we had chosen to break the path, he would know. He had done this to me a few times before, and I always hated it. I wasn’t sure this qualified as using your magic for good, but I didn’t question it.
Thom and the Draks sped past me as I came to a stop, my hand still firm against Ryland’s skin as I let him fall to the ground, the full weight of his body coming to rest on my shoulders. It was a miracle I was able to stay upright underneath his bulk.
I held onto him as tightly as I could while pushing my magic through the earth as I took the chance to scan our surroundings, knowing I wouldn’t have another chance until the next intersection Ilyan had made in the map.
With the speed of the lightning that cut through the blackened sky, my magic spread through the soil, pressing against the bounds as I looked, as I searched for the same magic I had felt before. I found nothing, nothing but the same angry energy I had felt before. The presence was so heavy I could feel it wind its way over my magic, weighing it down, holding it in place as if it could devour it.
Burn the trail.
His voice came again, louder this time, and I knew I couldn’t ignore it. My magic recoiled back into me like a snake, the slithering tendrils moving through me like warm bubbles before I sent them out again, into the soil in a fan of heat and power that burned through the trail we had created, forging a new one away from us, through the forest and right back to the abbey.
It was an old trick, but one that almost always worked. Few people could actually feel and track the magic of those that were around them. The majority of the time, we all relied on good old-fashioned tracking.
Change the path, confuse your pursuers.
It was easy enough, yet something about it was digging into my gut.
I looked toward the trees, toward where I had felt the magic before, and fought the urge to scan again.
Ryland screamed beside me, the nonsense flying out of his mouth fast enough that I couldn’t mask it if I tried.
“Let me kill her!” he roared. “I need to kill her.”
I plunged my magic into him as quickly as I could, knowing it wouldn’t be enough, and then began running again. His weight lifted off the ground as my magic filled him, his body hovering beside me as I picked up my pace and moved after Thom and the others, realizing they hadn’t gotten too far ahead of us.
The trees began to get closer together, the forest darker as the endlessly tall shafts closed us in. The trees stretched toward the snaps of lightning that came so fast the forest was nothing other than light and dark, a strobe of light that made it hard to see where I was going. Even with my heightened sight, even with Ilyan’s lines stretching before us, everything felt heavy. It was as though I had walked into a fun house maze only to get lost for hours.
My stomach twisted, the tense ball only calming when Thom came into view. Their pace was even slower than before as the two men carried Dramin, who now appeared to be unconscious.
“Is he okay?” I asked as I caught up with them, my voice broken and heaving from exertion.