The moment their horses crossed over onto the pristine stone of the East-West Way the soldiers who had remained in the encampment were alerted to their presence. Shouts rose only to be echoed by those who had chased the shadow riders. Vhalla’s head whipped back to Fritz. The Southerner was blinking, bleary eyed, his body halfway limp. The thinning of the fog wasn’t just her imagination.
Her heart raced. It pounded in her ears louder than Lightning’s hooves, and, for a brief moment, it gave her the illusion of the Bond. Vhalla gained strength from the beautiful lie.
The other beast launched off the gate, and fire arced through the sky. Aldrik and Jax moved in unison, creating a protective canopy of flame above them, thwarting the monster’s attack and setting buildings to flame at the same time.
With a flash of light, the gates sprang to life. Vhalla let out a holler of laughter in relief. There was no sign of Elecia, but if the woman had made it this far, she’d see it through the rest of the way. The massive doors sighed as they pushed against the ground, easing open.
A burst of desert air hit Vhalla’s cheeks, and she’d never felt anything sweeter. It was as though, despite everything, the wind still reached out to her. That it knew her Channel still lived deep within her, seeking it out. It called, promising that her future was there in its dusty breeze.
“Single file!” Aldrik bellowed. The heavy doors were moving slower than a glacier.
“Close the gate!” a man shouted from a high crystal ledge.
“Not on your life!” Elecia proclaimed, triumphantly. A dagger protruded from the man’s eye, and the Western woman threw the corpse aside, adjusting her bandana proudly.
“If you have time to pose, you have time to get down here!” Jax called up to her, throwing out another arc of fire.
Elecia ran down the pitch of the short roof below her, falling to the ground with a roll. She recovered, scrambling to her feet and launching into an all-out run. Two screeches filled the air, and Aldrik focused on maintaining a shield of fire large enough to cover the three of them.
Vhalla did as she was supposed to do. She focused on getting herself through the gate. Everyone had a job, and hers was to follow orders and keep herself alive.
“It’s the Fire Lord!” a woman growled.
These were Tower sorcerers; of course someone would recognize Aldrik’s magic. But when Vhalla cursed, Aldrik laughed.
“If you know who I am, why do you even try to fight?” He opened both arms wide. Two walls of fire ignited the camp, and most of the soldiers who were trying to rain their own magic upon them.
A scream wiped the expression from Aldrik’s face.
Elecia rolled on the ground, tackled by an icicle-wielding Waterrunner.
“Elecia!” Vhalla cried.
“ ‘Cia!” Aldrik used the childhood nickname in anguish.
Elecia threw the man off, pouncing on his chest and slitting his throat viciously. “Go!” she screamed.
Vhalla began to turn Lightning.
“By the Mother, woman, go.”
Vhalla’s heart beat in her throat. She had fallen to the last in their line, and if she didn’t go, Elecia likely wouldn’t make it. Another tongue of flame licked at a sorcerer behind Elecia, the woman running in a desperate attempt to catch up.
She turned forward and braced her heart at the feeling of leaving her friend behind.
They crossed through the doors, barely enough clearance for them to race through single-file. A whole encampment greeted them on the other side. But the crimson, phoenix-bearing pennons that fluttered were a welcome sight.
Western soldiers, likely those who had been sent to help the East, had been roused by the commotion. A line stood across the road, swords at the ready.
“Let us pass!” Aldrik ordered at the top of his lungs. “By the order of your true Emperor, let us pass!” He shot a ball of flame high into the sky for emphasis, and it lit up the ground below like a small sun.
The soldiers parted, and the Emperor’s company continued to race down the East-West way. Fire and ice erupted above them as the Western army joined the fray, fighting off the beasts and pushing through the gates. Vhalla swept her eyes quickly over her group. Aldrik in front, Fritz at her side, Jax pulling up the rear.
Vhalla whirled her horse in place, Lightning whinnying in protest at the sudden demand.
“We must go back.”
Her heart was about to break a rib, her breath frozen in her chest. Vhalla tried to make sense of the commotion at the gate. Western soldiers swarmed the opening. Groundbreakers attempted to raise stones to prevent the gate from closing. Firebearers kept the abominations at bay. They had kicked an ants’ nest, and Vhalla only cared about finding one in the swarm.
“Vhalla—”
She knew Aldrik would tell her to keep going. She knew she had made her choice. She was the one who had agreed to Elecia’s plan, knowing the risks. Now she had to live with the knowledge that she had gotten her friend killed.
“No, no, it’s my fault. I must go back for her.” Vhalla’s voice cracked for the first time in a long time.
“Vhalla—”