It was way too soon for another field trip. But I didn’t have many other options, since Elder Kohler hadn’t yet officially booted me from the team.
Unlike yesterday, the task forces had split up today. Our team included me, Loken, Mauryn, and four people I didn’t know. Again, Yashor piloted our vehicle, and Rey—grinning like a giddy fool—slipped into the driver’s seat of the other, which would stay with us for this mission. We’d gotten word that the female Mage had been spotted just north of Vallara.
“You know, I don’t have to go with you guys,” I whispered to Loken. His arm brushed against mine in the transport, sending delightful tingles through my body every time one of us moved.
His forehead creased. “Why wouldn’t you come with us?”
“Because you want me off the team.”
He leaned his head back against the headrest as the vehicle rocked into motion. “No. I don’t. I was just upset.”
“Because I left you.” My voice barely reached a whisper. I chewed the inside of my cheek but said nothing else. Conflicting emotions warred in my chest. I deserved some kind of punishment.
Loken stared up at the ceiling. “You abandoned your team.” My heart dropped into the pit of my stomach. “But it was an unfair position for you to be in. And anyway, that’s not why I was upset.”
Our transport shot upward through the opening in the ceiling, and then sped north. I was getting used to the world rushing past me. I didn’t even avert my eyes downward this time.
“I thought you were dead,” Loken whispered.
I turned from the window to find him staring at me, his gray eyes silvery, reflecting the sunlight. I wanted to reach for his hand. But I didn’t want to create an awkward scene around the other practitioners in the transport, especially since I knew only two people in here other than the driver. I hadn’t made the best impression on the Ethereal task force. I wanted to start squarely within the good graces of these other practitioners.
I clasped my hands in my lap. “I’m fine.”
“Thank the gods.”
“You believe in the gods?”
“I’m working on it. It’s a new development.”
“Since when?”
One side of his mouth quirked up. “Since yesterday, when you went missing.” He chuckled. Then his face became serious again. “I’m not going to lose you.”
My fingers tingled with the need to touch him. I resisted. “Well then, I guess I’ll just have to work harder on my ability, so I can protect myself and not drive you crazy.”
“Thanks.” He grinned widely, showing off a set of straight white teeth.
Mauryn’s voice broke into our conversation. “Are any of us concerned that this Mage is clearly close enough to Vallara to go after all the practitioners at the Council, yet she’s hanging out on the outskirts of the city?”
“Why should we be concerned about that?” I asked.
“If a Mage is drawn to something, he—or she, in this case—usually just goes for it,” Mauryn said. “Why not this time? It’s like she’s waiting for something. Stalling. It’s like she has a plan.”
“Mages aren’t capable of planning,” said a blonde woman I didn’t know. She tossed a haughty glance Mauryn’s way.
“On what is that hypothesis based?” asked Mauryn.
“On the fact that they’re nothing more than unintelligent energy-eating machines,” she said. “Barely sentient.”
Based on my limited exposure, I had to agree with Mauryn. “Well, that’s clearly not true,” I said. “How do you explain that the Council’s captive Mages never attempted escape until their cage was damaged? If they operated on instinct only, they would have tried to escape before. They would have hurled every element they had at the glass and the door. Instead, they bided their time until they had a true opportunity.”
No one spoke for a moment. Everyone stared at me—Loken, Mauryn, and four people I didn’t know. A hint of annoyance clawed at me. Was it so shocking that I had something worthwhile to say?
“What? I’m smart,” I grumbled.
“It’s an interesting theory,” Loken said. “They’ve never shown any ability to plan in the past. But that doesn’t mean they’re not capable of it. Maybe they didn’t have the proper motivation. Animals in the wild are mostly instinctual, but even they stalk their prey when the situation calls for it.”
“So we’re prey?” I asked.
Loken shrugged. “Sorry.”
“But this is more than planning by individual Mages,” said Mauryn, scratching the dark stubble on his chin. “This is coordination. We’ve got numerous Mages coming in this direction. That’s no accident.”
“So what do they want now that requires”—I shot a glance at Loken—“stalking?”
We all looked at one another, dumbly silent. The blonde who’d originally objected to the idea now chewed her lower lip, looking less confident about her position.
The trees and the rest of the world outside had slowed their motions past the windows.
“Why are we slowing down?” Loken called up to Yashor.
“Look outside,” he said. His voice was tight, struggling to climb from his throat.
A man sitting across from me—a Flooder, based on the vial of water attached to his belt—stared out the window behind my head. His mouth hung open. Dread tightened my chest as I twisted in my seat. I gaped at the ground outside the vehicle.
Strewn outside was a line of bodies, each one spaced twenty or so yards from the last one. The bodies stretched out in front of us. There must have been twenty or thirty of them, broken, bloody, their limbs twisted at odd angles. They lay face up and in a straight line.
“Yeah, that doesn’t at all look like planning.” My voice dripped sarcasm. I shot the blonde lady a pointed look.
The transport had slowed to a crawl now. Six of us pressed our faces against the large window on my side of the transport, squished together so we could all stare horror-struck at the scene. Only the blonde woman remained on the other side, her chest puffed up with now-false confidence. Her widened eyes said she felt the same horror we did, and she didn’t need the close-up.
The end of the line of bodies came into view as we crested a hill. I moved to the back window and stared out along the route we’d traveled, along the path of bodies extending behind us into the distance.
The transport floated to a stop and settled to the ground next to the last corpse.
“Why do you think the Mage stopped here?” I asked.
Loken threw the door open and jumped out of the vehicle. “Because she’s here.”
My fingers curled around the armrest. That was the part of me that begged to stay in the transport, to stay away from the energy-sucking animal we now suspected was smart enough to stalk us—to plan a trap for us even.
But I would not be a liability to anyone anymore. And staying in this vehicle meant one less Ethereal was out there to destroy that Mage. I yanked my arm from the armrest and followed Loken outside.
“Remember your training, people,” Loken shouted to the group.
Rey and another group of practitioners I didn’t know stepped from the vehicle that had trailed us here. They trudged toward us from their transport, their eyes pinned on the corpses. One of them, a tall man with a shock of red hair, froze at the end of the line of bodies, staring down at the last corpse. Rey clapped him on the shoulder and nudged him away.
“As your team leaders will have taught you by now,” Loken said when the new group joined us, “the basic Mage-kill strategy is a Breather on either side, and a Bender makes the kill blow.” He pointed to Rey and then Yashor. “I’ll need you two up front with me.” He looked around at the group of practitioners surrounding him. “The rest of you need to be ready to assist if something goes wrong. Don’t do anything stupid. Don’t be a hero.”
We all nodded, our faces solemn. Yashor’s already fair face paled further.
“What should I do?” asked a male practitioner who’d ridden in my transport.
“We don’t know which direction she’ll come from, but when she shows up, get behind Rey, Yashor, and me. Stay on your guard in case she gets past us. If she does, you guys will need to keep her stationery. She’s a Breather, so I can’t catch her if she runs.”
Loken spun a circle, examining the space around us.
“While we’re waiting, a quick quiz: What are the alternative kill strategies?” His eyes continued to dart around our surroundings.
“The Breathers can be replaced by any other practitioners who can keep the Mage relatively stationary,” said a Burner I didn’t know. She’d ridden in the other vehicle.
“Just about any practitioner can do the job of the Breathers with proper control,” said Mauryn. “But it’s most natural for Br—”
“Here she comes!” shouted Loken.
He stared in the direction we’d come from. Terror and anticipation warred in my gut.
Along with the rest of the group, I hustled to the get behind the three people who would be fighting this battle. My fingertips tingled with nervousness. I concentrated on feeling the air around me. Ether occupied that air; all I had to do was tap into it.
The female Mage slowed as she approached. Her black gaze swept across the members of the group. My eyes targeted Rey and Loken. I feared for them as much as for myself. I imagined them broken and bloody, added to that line of bodies that had led us here. The image steeled me against some of the terror.
My fists clenched and unclenched. I wouldn’t have anyone else die while I did nothing. If anything went wrong, I’d be ready to step in.
Rey and Yashor stepped forward on opposite sides of the Mage. In coordination, both Breathers pushed air away from them toward each other, and toward the Mage standing between them. Wind whipped around them and around her.
The Mage’s progress forward slowed to nearly a stop as the Breathers held her in place in the pressure of their wind. Her mouth opened in an angry wail, so loud and high-pitched that I flinched away from the sound. It filled the inside of my head, trying to block out all other thoughts. My hands flew to my ears, but I resisted the urge to cover them. I’d need all my senses intact.
She pushed back against Rey and Yashor. Wind gusted around the entire group. My ears filled with the sounds of her screams and the wind streaming past. A few of my companions toppled over and slid across the ground away from the rest. Their bodies tumbled end over end, until they struggled back to their feet. I bent my knees and leaned toward the swirling air to brace myself.
Loken moved slowly into the midst of the miniature tornado. His body pushed against the wind. His arms trembled as he raised the sword against the air pressure and readied for the kill.
Muscles strained in Yashor’s neck. His whole body vibrated, and he stumbled backward. The wind dropped suddenly as he lost control. No longer locked in place, the Mage charged Yashor in a burst of speed. She slammed against him and tackled him to the ground.
Pinning him underneath her, the Mage rammed her palms into Yashor’s chest. His face contorted, lips twisted, eyes bulged. He released a scream that reached down into my stomach and twisted it into knots.
The Mage’s hands glowed white, and color faded from Yashor’s face. Like white fire, the glow rolled from her hands up to her shoulders. She sucked energy from Yashor and into herself.
Loken had changed direction and now pushed his way through the ever-increasing wind toward Yashor. The Mage continued to propel air outward, keeping Loken and the rest of us away from her and her victim.
I shoved my fear aside and pushed toward them. But every time I raised a foot from the ground, the wind pushed me backward. With each step, I moved farther away from Yashor, whose screams had reached a pitch higher than I’d never heard from a man.
Where the glow from the Mage’s hands rolled up her arms and met her shoulders, it disappeared into her chest. Each roll of white flames left Yashor paler. He skin went white, then gray, then darkened. His scream broke in a whimper, although his mouth still hung open in silent horror. His head lolled on his neck.
I locked my gaze on Rey, silently begging him to do something. He didn’t spare me a glance. His mouth was set in a tight line. His arms extended in front of him, continuing to propel air toward the Mage, trying to shove her off of Yashor. His muscles bulged with the effort. Sweat trickled down his temple.
Yashor jerked in the Mage’s arms, and then sagged. He stopped moving. His skin continued to darken. It flaked away like charred paper. The glowing fire between him and the Mage stopped abruptly. She dropped his lifeless body. Yashor’s corpse shattered as it hit the ground, like black paper scattering in the wind.
The Mage shivered, as if from delight. She spun toward Rey.
A shout ripped up my throat. I whispered a quick prayer and rushed her, flinging strokes of ether from my hands. Three hit her square in the chest in rapid succession. Each blast pushed her backward. A deep-crimson burn covered her chest—a mass of twisted flesh where I’d opened her up.
With a shriek, she flew at me in a blur of motion. I switched direction and flung more ether bolts at her as I jogged backward. It took her no more than a few seconds to reach me, even with my attacks pushing her away. Each attack I threw felt weaker than the last. My energy was waning. My arms burned.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the blonde Mover from my transport run toward us. The ground broke beneath her feet. A crack split through the earth and raced toward the Mage, welcoming her into its depths. The Mage dropped into the chasm. The ground rushed back together at her waist and clamped her torso into place.
“Kill her now!” the Mover shouted. She dropped to her knees. Her hands pressed into the ground, and her shoulders shook violently. “I can’t hold it for long. Kill her!”
Part of the Mage’s hair stuck in the ground. With a screech of anger, she jerked her head forward, tearing a large clump of it from her head. She twisted and writhed in the earth, steadily dislodging herself. Her body moved so quickly as she struggled, like a pale blur vibrating against the ground.
Loken held a hand in front of him. Six metal spikes flew from his palm toward the Mage.
Four of them took her in the neck. Her throat shredded into strips of flesh. Her head hung to the side, resting on her shoulder by the remaining bits of flesh. Screams spilled from her bloody maw.
Loken ran toward her and drew his sword. The shortsword stretched into a long, thin blade. Before he was within range of her arms, Loken swung the adapted longblade and sheared the remainder of her neck.
Her shrieking ceased. Her head toppled from her shoulders. The long curtain of pale hair tangled around her face as the head hit the ground with a thump and rolled.