No matter what I’d wanted to believe about Ryker, I didn’t truly believe he was a bad guy. His people didn’t walk around smiling the way they did because he was some sort of tyrant. They were happy. Genuinely so.
Then there was the Cave Dweller asking for protection. There was something much bigger going on here, and the more I saw, the more I was hesitant to walk away, at least without getting some answers.
I stepped back, and he allowed me to, his hands dropping to his sides.
“What is it you want in there?” I held up a hand quickly to stop him as I thought of what might happen if I went and got caught. He was right about that. “No, don’t tell me. Tell me this instead: whatever you’re getting, what do you need it for?”
“War is coming whether I do this or not. But what I get might be the only thing that saves us.”
I believed him. Believed every horrible, scary word he’d just said. The Cave Dweller knew as well. That was why she’d asked for protection—because nobody would be safe if war broke out again.
I bit my lip. “I’m going to go drop that ward, and you’re going to get in there and get what you need.”
I waited for him to agree with me. He didn’t. I’d rather he had.
“Don’t get funny on me now. I told you before, I don’t like you and you don’t like me, and that’s the way we’re keeping it.” I wished I could believe my own words, because it would make things so much easier.
“If it goes bad, I won’t leave you there.”
I nodded. My promise to him wasn’t spoken out loud, but there was no way I’d leave him behind either.
Burn was nearing, and we both turned as he came into view. “We have to get going. I swallowed that disgusting eye, and damned if I did that for nothing.”
“Time to go.” I smiled before I turned back to the guys waiting for us.
Chapter 33
Burn and I walked toward Bedlam. Large fires burned along the perimeter, and guards holding large mirrors shot out beams of light. They zigzagged around us but never halted. Even as we approached in plain sight, no one sounded the alarm.
Dragons swooped down close to the buildings before rising again and circling. I counted four in total. They were beautiful creatures, as long as they didn’t try and eat us.
“You think you can do this?” Burn asked, as we were closer than twenty feet from where we believed the ward to be.
“I have no idea. That might’ve been something to ask before now.” I didn’t hear panic in his voice, but it must’ve been there.
“I really hope we live.” His voice nearly cracked this time.
“Me too.” It was all us now.
Ryker was a ways behind us, Sneak getting him as close as he could without raising an alarm. Ruck was the eyes. He’d send a signal to Ryker once he knew the ward had dropped. Ryker and Sneak would get in as Burn, juiced by me, would hopefully hold off the masses and also act as a distraction for Ryker. Once Ryker got what he needed, he’d come and get us out.
We hadn’t discussed how exactly Ryker was getting us out, but I had a feeling it had something to do with the way people dropped dead around him. I hadn’t asked much because I didn’t really want to know. I’d already seen him do it. That was plenty for me.
We closed the last ten yards, moving closer to the shadow of some trees and shrubs. Bedlam didn’t have a wall like Dorley or a lot of the other countries did. It didn’t need one. It had one of the best ward makers in the world.
Most of Bedlam was asleep, but you could see the difference between this place and the Valley. A few buildings were pristine, while the majority were nothing more than shacks. I could see a large, almost castle like house on a hill in the center of the city.
We walked forward and then hit the ward. The largest dragon swooped down toward us but flew past. It was as if we’d sent out some sort of ripple and it knew we were there but couldn’t find us.
Burn leaned close. “If you break this ward, that dragon might burn us alive.”
I froze. “Ryker said it wouldn’t.”
“He told me that, too. I’m still thinking it’s a possibility.”
“Just keep watch,” I said, hoping to shut him up. This was stressful enough without imagining a dragon picking its teeth with my bones. The Cave Dweller said once I dropped the ward, not even her eye would be able to hide us.
I laid both hands on the ward, feeling the puzzle beneath my hands. All I had to do now was find the right spot to pull a piece from and it would tumble like a house of cards.
This was one hell of a puzzle, though, and it felt like there were a million pieces. But there was always one weak piece, and I’d find it.
I could feel sweat dripping down my face as I centered all my attention on it.
“Can you do it?” Burn was only a foot away.
“I’ll do it. Shut up.” I could see him turning and watching. Burn wanted a fight. He wasn’t used to sitting back and waiting, and it showed in his restlessness.
I ignored him and focused everything I had on the ward. The magic ran through my hands as I ran them over the surface. There would be a weak point. Had to be. No ward was unbreakable.
“Found it.” The relief was staggering. I forced my magic toward that fragile point in the wall. I pushed through the weak spot and felt the rest of the magic crumble.
“Duck,” Burn yelled, pushing me to the ground as every dragon in Bedlam headed in our direction.
Ryker was wrong. We were about to get burned alive. I covered my head, knowing it wouldn’t do a thing. The sound of their massive wings slapped the air above us and then started to fade.
The dragons passed over us and flew off into the distance. Had they been trapped behind the ward? Burn and I were on our feet again, just in time to hear the alarm horns blaring. Every guard on duty was now looking directly at us, and I saw a group of twenty or more heading in our direction.
“Juice me,” Burn said.
I grabbed his arm, and my depleted magic stuttered under the newest request. Before I could give him enough juice to build a good ward, an arrow shot through his chest. Burn crumpled in front of me.
I heard screams, “Don’t shoot the girl,” in the distance as I watched Burn struggling on the ground in front of me. Ryker was probably already in Bedlam, but Sneak couldn’t be that far away. If I could divert attention away from Burn, Sneak or Ruck might be able to get to Burn and save him in time.
I took off and ran, away from Burn, away from where I knew Sneak and Ruck might be. I pushed everything I had into my legs, knowing I wouldn’t be able to outpace the horde coming for me for long. It just had to be long enough.
I only bought them five minutes or so, but hopefully the distance was enough.
I was tackled to the ground by more than one person, a heel on my head keeping me there. My coat was ripped in two, and then the shirt from my back. “Yeah, this is the one Loretta told us about.”
A hand touched my back and my magic shot to the area. I heard a yowl, and then there was a hit to the back of my head.
Chapter 34
A swell of unknown magic crept up my spine, waking me. It was strong, but not as strong as Ryker’s. It was controlled, but barely.
There was a metal band around my wrist and stone under my cheek. Wind gusted as if I were up somewhere high.
The magic grew closer and hovered nearby. I opened my eyes instead of feigning sleep. I was high above the city on a flat rooftop with a forty-something man. His magic hovered in between us. I’d never seen such a fine red coat, or shoes that shone the way his did. Heavy metals were draped around his neck, and his dark hair looked pristine, as if he spent hours on his appearance.
I sat up, and the chain connecting my wrist to a hook in the floor rattled.
“Do you know who I am?” the man asked as he stayed more than five feet away from me. I guessed that was farther than the chain would stretch.
“King Harvos?”
He smiled, all teeth and venom packaged in fine threads.
I pushed matted hair back. “You here to kill me, or is this a social call?”