An angry snarling seeped through the growing haze at the edges of my mind, followed by a startled yell. My knees hit the ground, and I sucked in a lungful of air. I blinked several times to clear the spots before I finally looked up.
Vehrin was flipping over where he had been knocked to the ground by Kael. The shifter vaulted over the top of the mage and was moving to attack from behind when the massive, black panther leaped into my vision. Kael dodged a swipe, but only barely. I shot to my feet as Kael darted toward me. He bumped my hip with his head and let out an impatient snarl, a clear sign to follow.
“Get them!” Vehrin hollered behind us.
The thumping footfalls of the panther drew quickly closer. I pumped my legs faster, pushing past the strain and burning muscles. Kael ran beside me and kept his own speed in check to match with my human strides. He was going to get killed just to stay with me.
The pair of us reached the wall of the ancient abbey just in time to duck around a corner and avoid the snarling panther’s grasping claws.
“This way.” I lurched toward the right, and Kael followed me down a crumbling passage.
“Go after them!” the mage yelled, his ancient timbre urging the panther on.
The walls shivered beside us and dust shook free to fall in our faces as the panther thudded into the ruins. If he kept that up, we would all end up buried in stones. Kael snarled and bumped into me so hard I nearly fell, but we managed to avoid the giant paw that reached in through an arched window.
As we ran, I caught flashes of black and occasionally the sharp eyes of the panther. We had to do something. We couldn’t run forever.
A swirl of dark magic in the air rose the hairs on my head. Shouts suddenly echoed up through the passageway behind us. I risked a glance over my shoulder. What appeared to be soldiers were now in pursuit.
Like the panther, they must have been created by the mage. They moved with too much fluidity to be human. In their hands, they carried weapons, blades and arrows that seemed cut from black glass. One of the arrows whistled by, narrowly missing my face.
Kael’s claws scratched at the stone beneath our feet as he took a sharp turn to the right. I followed as an arrow hit the corner at my back with a soft click. It was hard to tell how many soldiers exactly were following us, but by the thudding of their feet, it was more than a few.
I gritted my teeth. “We have to get back to the mage.”
I could see Vehrin through a window as we ran past. Pulling in a steadying breath through my nose, I let my magic curl around my hand. Only a couple more yards and we would reach another window. I would have a clear shot.
My feet pounded across the gritty floor. I held my breath as we reached the window. Vehrin couldn’t see me.
Just as my magic began to roll from my fingertips, the world around me crumbled. The panther broke through the wall, and I tilted to the side.
My attack flew past the mage by a good two feet.
I’d missed.
The panther roared, and I winced as the sound reverberated through my skull. The walls continued to groan around us, and loose stones fell heavily. I blinked away the dust falling in my eyes. The building was coming down around us. It was now or never.
Thankfully, Kael seemed to be in sync with my rapid thoughts, and the pair of us leaped through an archway and back out into the open.
I skipped back from the crumbling wall and steadied my feet, then turned my back on the rubble to scan the area in front of me.
The mage was nowhere to be seen.
I saw nothing save for dust and chaos.
The magic-wrought soldiers poured out of the ruined abbey, and I could no longer search for the mage as the assailants rushed toward me.
Kael departed from my side with a snarl, and my own magic warmed my palms. I let loose a volley of energy at the oncoming soldiers. I managed to hit one, and he burst apart in a blast of ash. Two of them broke away to swing to either side of me. My head twitched back and forth as I tried to keep an eye on both of them at once. I took a chance, and even though it left my back open for attack, I surged toward one of them.
My assault hit my target square in the face, and he crumpled wordlessly to the ground, disintegrated. The other soldier rushed up behind me. I could sense him, like a black shadow pressing against my skin, but before I could turn, his arms wrapped around me.
For a moment, I struggled against his grip. Then he pressed a knife, cold and thin as ice, to my throat.
He tugged me backward, and I had no delusions that he was taking me anywhere but to the mage. But I was determined to get to Vehrin on my own terms. Not wasting another breath, I quickly jabbed my captor in the ribs with a sharp elbow.
I may as well have hit a pillow. His body seemed to mold around my strike. He quickly pinned my arms against my sides.
How was I supposed to get away from somebody I couldn’t even attack?
Magic.
It had worked on the other shadowy soldiers. It would be difficult to launch an attack with my arms held to me, but I was able to get my hand to his leg. I let my power go free.
The man didn’t yell, but I could feel a buzzing sensation rippling through him. He jerked away. I pivoted and thrust a blazing fist into his chest. He arched back and hit the ground in a burst of cinders.
After stepping back from the remains, I wheeled around in search of the mage. He was standing quite a distance away, his arms folded behind his back and his stare intent as if he were watching a riveting show.
Before I could make my way to him, more of Vehrin’s soldiers charged toward me. I ground my teeth. I didn’t have time for this. Somewhere behind me, Kael snarled. He was surely locked in a battle with the massive black panther once again.
Anger burned hot inside me as fierce as the magic that wrapped around my fingers. As the group of soldiers neared, I rushed forward to meet them. I would have never believed I would be capable of fighting so many attackers simultaneously, but whether it was frustration or adrenaline, I sent forth one attack after the other. With each hit that landed, the soldiers erupted into puffs of black smoke.
Finally, there were only two left. They tried to catch me off guard by breaking away as the ones before them had, but I sidestepped into one of their paths. As he reached for me, I ducked and hurdled my body into his. We hit the ground, and in the turmoil, my hands managed to find his throat.
Again, the shadow-wrought man made no noise. His mouth opened wordlessly, and his eyes bulged under my touch until he burst into fine ash, leaving my hands dark with smears of soot.
In my peripheral, the remaining soldier charged at me. I threw my arm out, letting my magic fly from my fingertips just as the man reached for me. I squeezed my eyes shut against the cloud of ebony dust that billowed out.
I drew my arm across my brow to stop sweat from dripping into my eye, though I likely did little more than smear the ash across my face. I peered around, allowing myself a momentary breath of relief that no more soldiers seemed to be heading my way.
It didn’t seem possible that I had killed all of them, but now I had a clear path to the mage. His gaze met mine across the grass.
I took a moment to get my mind right. Then I took a step forward.
A thunderous roar broke through the chill air. I tore my gaze from my target and looked back. Kael had managed to latch onto the massive panther’s leg, his teeth and claws sinking into the cat’s ebony fur. Vehrin’s panther thrashed as it tried to dislodge the shifter. Finally, with a shake of his paw, he sent Kael slamming into a wall. The jaguar crumpled limply to the ground.
“Kael!” My voice cracked, and my heartbeats felt weak, my breaths shallow. There was no way he could have survived that blow.
Then, his tail twitched ever so slightly.
He was alive. The giant panther padded closer with calculated, predatory steps, its sharp shoulders rolling smoothly as he advanced, prepared to finish Kael off.
I chewed on my bottom lip as I glanced between Kael and Vehrin. The mage’s cheek was lifted in a slight smirk, as if he knew the difficult choice straining my thoughts.
I wanted to save Kael, but in doing so, I would leave myself vulnerable. However, if I went for the mage, I would be abandoning Kael to certain death.
A frustrated yell roared up my throat. I pulled my gaze from Vehrin and tore across the grass and toward the panther. He had set a giant paw on the smaller cat, and Kael struggled beneath the pressing weight, his legs kicking and strained growls issuing through him.
Something in me snapped.
I couldn’t stand to see Kael hurting in such a way. My lip curled back over my teeth as my boots pounded the ground. As I neared the panther, my fingers curled around the handle of my knife. I hadn’t even realized I’d pulled it out. Magic would have likely done me more good at that point, but I couldn’t bring myself to loosen the hold on my trusty Chaucer.
The panther was so intent on crushing my partner, he didn’t notice my quick approach until I was nearly upon him. At the last second, he turned toward me with an indignant snarl. His body uncoiled as he lunged at me. Either by instinct or pure dumb luck, my feet slid forward and my back hit the ground. I thrust my arm up as the panther hurtled over me. My knife bit through fur and flesh. With a loud thump, the panther landed behind me. I flipped over and tensed, ready for another attack.
The panther was on his side, and his ribs expanded weakly with strained breaths. He was making a pitiful gurgling sound, and blood pumped through a wound in his throat. Then, he stilled.
A hissing caught my attention, and I looked down. The steel of my knife was hissing and corroded with growing pockmarks. Pieces of the metal began to drop to the ground. I let out a forceful sigh through my nostrils and dropped what remained of the knife my father had given me to the ground.
Behind me, Kael groaned. I pivoted to find he had shifted back into a man. I hurried over to him. His face was pinched, and I could tell he was in pain but trying not to look as if he were. He had a hand pressed to his side, blood pulsing through his fingers.
My own blood boiled.
I pulled my bag from my shoulders—it was a miracle I still had it—and tossed it on the ground beside Kael.
“I’ll be back,” I told him.
Kael’s brow furrowed. “Wait…Livvie.” His voice was strained, tight. He reached toward me with a red-stained hand.
“Put some pressure on that.” I jerked my head toward the gash on his side. I hoped he would be okay, but I couldn’t worry about it now. “I’m going to take care of the mage.”
Kael sputtered out protests, but I stepped away and headed across the grass. Energy warmed my palms, licked my wrists, and tumbled down my fingertips.
My magic came from within me, powerful, callous, unforgiving. I locked my gaze with Vehrin and let my own ancient mage come out.
The dark mage was more powerful than myself, and I feared Kael would not survive that injury, but for him, I would try.