An idea came to me. The globes.
I reached down and tore my dagger away from my boot. In my free hand, I ignited a globe. Fire? That wouldn’t work. I tossed it and formed another. Glass.
No.
A light dotted the blackness in front of me. The exit.
“Come on. I need ice,” I yelled above the wind’s howl, anger taking over me.
A shimmery white sphere sprouted on my palm.
“Yes!” I tossed it at the blooming light, hoping it would spread as it had across the bookcases when that Sentinel had thrown it at me.
I was getting closer, and adrenaline shot through my veins at a speed faster than I was going.
The globe hit the side of the exit and ice rushed around the opening, crackling and fanning out, growing until it covered it. I landed hard on the ice, the vials in the box I still had clinking against each other. The heel of my boot went through the frozen membrane. I stabbed my dagger into the ice and used it to hold on.
The box got closer. It was too far left. I would miss it. I tried to stretch more, but it wasn’t enough. I kicked my other boot against the ice to make a foothold. Facing the ice, my boots holding me up, I removed the dagger and stabbed the ice as far as I could reach in the direction the box was heading.
I rolled to my back to face the gateway and punctured my heel into the ice to keep from slipping. The box landed on my stomach and punched the air out of me. I clung to it with my free hand, not moving, trying to catch my breath.
“Great. Now how am I going to get through the exit?”
I had to break the ice. With as much force as I could, I kicked my heel against the ice. It cracked but didn’t budge.
I kicked again.
Crack.
And again.
Crack.
The crack spread across the surface.
On the next strike of my boot, I broke through, shooting out of the gateway. I turned and fell backward, keeping the boxes in front of me. My body dropped hard onto a marble floor. One box landed on my chest and the other on my stomach.
I laid there, stunned, my back stinging. “That hurt.”
The bookcase I’d flown out of was dripping, the ice thawing and slipping down the spines of books.
“Gia.” Bastien fell to his knees beside me. “Are you injured?”
“I’m not sure.” I pushed myself up to a sitting position and, surprisingly, I hadn’t broken my back. Bastien lifted the box with the broken strap off my chest. I placed the other box on the floor, opened it, and examined the vials. Two were broken, liquid puddled at the bottom. Each damaged one represented a life I couldn’t save.
“What happened?” he asked.
“The strap broke. It must’ve torn when I crashed the aircraft.”
Bastien unsnapped the other box and lifted the lid. “No others are damaged in this one. Just the three broken vials from before.”
“So now what?”
“We need to summon Doylis and my guards,” he said. “They’re waiting for us. Can you use the tracer?”
My fingers touched the silver tracer on my wrist. I’d forgotten about it. I blew on the butterfly form. It pulled from my skin and hung in the air in front of me.
“Find Doylis.” The tracer jetted off, bouncing along the display cases filled with antique books until disappearing around a corner. A dim light shone across the dark wood and gold leaf accents on the pillars and bookcases surrounding the large room.
“We should get to a place less in the open.” Bastien lifted two of the leather boxes and carried them into a nearby alcove surrounded by polished bookcases. I followed him with mine and placed the carriers on the floor, sat beside them, and hugged my legs, resting my head on my knees. Bastien put his down next to mine and took a seat beside me.
“I messed up.” The weight of my mistake crushed me. “I damaged vials.”
Bastien slid an arm around my back. “It was an accident. You never flew an aircraft before.”
I tilted my head to look at him. “People will die because of me.”
He lifted my chin with his fingers. “There are forty vials in each box. You will save one hundred and fifty-five beings.”
A deep voice called Bastien’s name from the reading room.
“It’s Doylis.” He released my chin, stood, and offered me his hand.
I gripped it, and he towed me to my feet. He kept hold of my hand all the way to the reading room.
With Doylis were five older Sentinels—two women and three men in their late twenties or early thirties. Bastien let go of my hand and crossed the room to them. “I’m so glad to see you, dear friend.”
Doylis towered over Bastien and the others. “Glad to see you made it, as well.”
The tracer flew over and bounced in front of me. I lifted my wrist and it sank into my skin.
The gateway book flew out of the bookcase, water spraying out as it opened. Arik jumped out of the thawing page, followed by Demos.
I sucked in a ragged breath and quickly backed away from them.
I hadn’t seen Demos since our hideout in Ireland. His Sentinel gear was a little banged up. A few of the red plumes on his Roman-style helmet were bent, the visor dented.
Arik straightened, water dripping from his clothes and hair. His brown eyes peered through the eyeholes in his helmet and surveyed Bastien and the others before landing on me. “What is this? Gia, you need to come with me.” He held out his hand, his fingers motioning me over.
Three of the Sentinels moved between us.
“If you go with them,” Arik said, hurt sounding in his voice. “You will be deemed a traitor.”
My hands curled into fists. “You would let thousands die? How could you? Arik, please, don’t do this.” The look on his face told me no matter how hard I pleaded with him, he wouldn’t listen.
Demos’s face screwed up in confusion. “What is she saying?”
My gaze went from Arik to Demos. “There’s a cure for the disease spreading through the Mystik covens. The council has forbidden its release.”
“Why don’t they want to distribute it?” Demos asked.
With my eyes back on Arik, I said, “Ask him.”
Arik pulled his fingers through his wet hair. “It hasn’t been tested. Get your battle globe ready.”
“They’ll die without it.” My fists tightened, nails biting into my skin. He had to understand. Had I really misjudged him this much? I believed he’d fight to save people. “It’s been tested. It works. I’m doing this with or without you. Try to stop me.”
“We have our orders.” Arik formed a fire globe on his palm. “Gia, if you go against them, you are an enemy of the Wizard havens, and I must take you in. Don’t turn this into a fight.”
Demos stepped in front of me, faced Arik, and sprouted a green globe. A faint howl came from the swirling wind in his hand. “We may have pledged our allegiance to the council, but she’s the presage. We are sworn to protect her.”
By the look on Arik’s face, Demos’s betrayal had gutted him. His jaw stiffened, and he squared his shoulders. “Back down,” he warned. “The council comes first.”