33
VALEK
Yelena’s scream stabbed right through Valek’s heart. He moved without thought. Devlen grabbed his arm, stopping him.
“Wait for it,” Devlen said.
They crouched in the woods just outside the fence. Town watchmen surrounded the complex. Captain Fleming had gone above and beyond, recruiting as many soldiers from the local towns that he could in mere hours.
When Yelena screamed again, Valek growled. “What is she waiting for?”
“The right opportunity.”
Valek had put a great deal of trust into Onora. When the assassin had volunteered to be captured, Valek initially resisted the idea. But then he agreed she had the best chance. However, now he questioned his decision.
Many agonizing minutes passed.
“There,” Devlen said. “Smoke.”
Valek whistled and the signal repeated on both sides. He waited just long enough for the message to reach all the soldiers. Then he and Devlen and the watchmen all climbed over the fence. Magic clung to the metal links. Hell.
“They know we’re coming,” he shouted to both sides.
“How?” Devlen asked as he joined him.
“Magic woven through the fence.”
“Then we better hurry.”
They raced toward the building leaking smoke. It had been a stable. Men poured out, coughing with tears running down their cheeks. The watchmen engaged them, but Valek bypassed them, slipping inside. He crouched low, staying under the cloud. Glass shards from Onora’s smoke bombs crunched under his boots.
Through the gray haze, he spotted Onora and Janco fighting a trio of guards.
“Where’s Yelena?” Valek asked.
“Owen has her,” Janco shouted. “They disappeared. That way.” He pointed right as he ducked under an opponent’s sword.
“Owen?”
“Ben’s not-so-dead brother.”
He’d think about Owen’s rise from the dead later. Yelena first. Valek followed Janco’s directions. At the end of the row of stalls was a corridor. The smoke thinned as he ghosted down the hall and into a training ring.
Owen pulled a hatch open in the center. Yelena lay nearby. She pressed her hands to her head and moaned in pain.
Valek drew his knives and ran toward them. Owen spotted the movement and Valek slammed into an invisible wall. The impact dazed him for a second. A null shield blocked him. Magic couldn’t pierce it, but objects could. He flipped his weapons, grabbing the blades, and aimed at Owen. The shield tightened and knocked into his hands just as he threw the weapons. They missed. One struck the soft dirt near Yelena and the other sailed past. The shield pressed around him, trapping his arms.
“Wow,” Owen said. “It’s true. The infamous Valek can be stopped by a simple null shield. That information was worth every gold coin I spent for it.” He glanced at Yelena. “I planned to use her as a hostage, but she’ll only slow me down.” Owen knelt next to her. “I’ll just finish what I started.” Touching her forehead with two fingers, he closed his eyes.
Yelena jerked. In a panic, Valek struggled against the invisible force wrapped around him, but it didn’t budge. Without her magic, she wouldn’t survive. That word, survive, sparked a memory. She’d survived before back when she didn’t know she had power.
Valek yelled, “Fight him. Come on, Yelena. You don’t need magic. You survived Mogkan and Reyad. Come on. Fight. Survive!”