I had only made it halfway around the hoard before I erupted into the air, my arms clinging to Ilyan as I took him with me. We soared away from the screams and the angry calls, only to land in the nearby courtyard of the abbey, the enemy I had hoped to escape only feet from us.
The heat from the fire I had created seeped into me as the screaming continued, the agony of those I had cursed to a slow death twisting my insides. I didn’t look back to see what I had done; I pushed the regret away, turned, and ran, my red shoes making a hollow sound against the stone as Ilyan followed me.
I pulled us into the closest entry I could find, the stone entry collapsing behind us as we entered the building, trapping us inside. The fire that had engulfed the building cast long shadows as we raced through the stone hallways, the heat from the fire growing the further into the belly of the building we moved.
Closer.
Closer.
Edmund was so close that I could hear his laugh echo in my head. My breathing picked up as his magic grew, the fear that had been misplaced for so long surging violently through me. I pushed the fear away, knowing I had no choice other than to continue, to face him and the insanity that he had controlled me with.
We ran up a small flight of stairs to emerge into what should have been another hallway, but instead was now only open air.
Happy laughter met my ears as a small group of Trpaslíks who had been destroying the space turned, the joy in their voices fading into a menacing growl as they caught sight of us.
I stepped forward, ready to fight my way past them just as more than a dozen came streaming in behind them, their eyes lit in hatred as they ran at us with the others, ready to destroy us.
I squared my shoulders, ready to attack, but Ilyan pulled me away, his muscles tense as we ran toward the pulse of Edmund’s magic, searching for a way to break through the lines of guards Edmund had set for us.
Ilyan pulled me down the elevated hallways as ash flowed around us, the waves of destroyed stone rising and falling beside us, letting pools of firelight cover the floor and the angry crackle of the flames fill my ears. Ilyan’s hand was tight around mine as Edmund’s magic grew the closer we got to him.
The icy chill of his magic ran down my spine, writhed through my stomach. My fear and anxiety grew the nearer we came. I fought my mania, my anxiety; I wasn’t sure how much longer I would last.
I tried to push beyond my broken emotions, I knew I needed to. It was my destiny to beat him, to defeat him. I just wasn’t sure I was strong enough to keep the terrors away. Even with Ilyan’s magic running through me, Edmund’s magic awakened something that was proving to be bigger than me.
I panted as we ran, my breath breaking as the flames seemed to grow, the red of the fire dripping over the stones in streaks of blood. Ilyan stopped abruptly as we came head on with at least ten of Edmund’s men. Their battle cries raged over the fire, sparking at the anxiety that was already threatening to drown me. They were ready for us, just as we were ready for them.
I pushed away my mania, a deep scream ripping from my lips as I rushed them, Ilyan by my side as flashes of fire and smoke and light and dark surrounded us. I fought from one to another, desperate to make it through, to fight just as Edmund’s magic flared, the power so strong I knew he was only a few steps away.
I screamed in terror as my insanity blended in my eyes, the few stone walls that surrounded us bleeding red rivers as my scream continued. Edmund’s magic pulsed into me like a hot knife that cut into me. It was pain and heat and agony and I screamed more, the pain rushing into me so quickly that I knew it wasn’t my insanity that brought the pain. It wasn’t my nightmares that caused the blood to flow over my stomach.
My body seized in agony as a Trpaslík’s sword that I hadn’t seen, a weapon I hadn’t expected, sliced through my stomach, an acidic magic plunging into me.
Ilyan spun as my scream rent the air, his eyes wide in fear as he watched the sword pull from my stomach, watched my blood spray over the man who had attacked me, and watched it flood out of me.
My scream grew as Ilyan disappeared from sight only to feel his magic pulse behind me, the life of the Trpaslík who had injured me leaving with only a pulse of Ilyan’s magic. I gasped as life left my attacker, my body falling as his did. I screamed as my bones split and shattered, my skin burned as I fell. I was falling, endlessly falling. I waited for the impact, for my back to break only to have Ilyan’s strong hands catch me, pulling me into him. I tried to reach to him, but everything was pain as my body tried to turn itself inside out. All I could focus on was my pain, on keeping my hands against me, desperate to stop the blood from flowing.
Ilyan’s magic pulsed into me as my own sped to my belly, my stomach attempting to knit itself back together before it was too late. My mind screamed in fear, telling me that it already was. I could feel the Trpaslík’s venomous magic burn off my magic’s attempts to heal me, the blood flow only increasing.