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Dusk turned away from the wall and looked back down at Lex. He was pale. His skin was cold, and a trickle of blood was running down his jaw from his mouth. If his chest was moving, Dusk couldn’t see it in the dark. He felt tears welling up. Out of pain, sorrow, or hopelessness, he didn’t know. With the crystal gone, there was nothing Dusk could do to keep him from slipping away.
Lord d'Ronja suddenly knelt at Lex’s opposite side. He leaned down and put his ear to Lex’s mouth, listening in the consuming, crushing silence.
“He’s not breathing.” He looked up at Dusk, fear evident in his eyes. “Plug his nose and breathe into his mouth when I tell you!” he cried, putting both his hands on Lex’s chest.
“What?” Dusk choked, not understanding what he wanted.
“Just do what I tell you!”
Dusk leaned down with his face close to Lex’s. There was blood everywhere. He didn’t understand what was happening, but he didn’t care. He’d try anything to keep Lex on their side of the divide. Lord d'Ronja placed his hands on top of each other over Lex’s sternum and began pushing them downward with force. Dusk thought he would crack all of Lex’s ribs.
“Breathe now,” he commanded, pausing for a moment.
Dusk pinched Lex’s nose shut and breathed into his mouth. It took less force than he anticipated to make his lungs inflate. He tasted like iron and copper. As he pulled away Lord d'Ronja began to compress his chest again, counting under his breath before telling him to breathe once more. They repeated the process several times and just when Dusk was just ready to give up to his grief, he felt a convulsion under lips. He pulled back as Lex began to cough up blood, his eyes flashing open. Lord d'Ronja quickly turned him over on his side so that blood wouldn’t fill his mouth and drown him again. After a few more coughs Lex went still again, his eyes flickering to a close. But he continued to breathe in a low wheeze.
“Hold him there,” his father said, sinking back down on his knees.
Dusk held Lex’s arm so that he wouldn’t roll onto his back. His chest rose and fell slowly although his breathing made an awful rattling sound. He was alive. The tears began to flow down Dusk’s face as he looked back at Lord d'Ronja. The once pristinely clean and put together man was now thoroughly disheveled. His black cloak was covered in dirt and dust, shredded in places by the obsidian spike he’d tripped over and his hands were coated in his son’s blood. At that moment he didn’t look much like the noble Dusk had always imagined lording over the mines. For a moment he wanted to feel bad for that rumpled looking man in front of him. But the mines had been around much longer than he’d been under Tiernan’s spell. Lord d'Ronja had allowed the slavery to continue of his own free will and Dusk had no pity to give him just yet.
The crunching of stones caused him to spin around, fearful of another attack. Instead he saw Lyra standing there, the bindings now completely gone from her body. There were a few wounds on her arms and torso where the stones had cut her, but overall she seemed unharmed. A dark bluish blood slowly trickled from the wounds, but she didn’t seem to care.
“Dusk,” she said with urgency. “Grab your bow, we need to clear the mountain and save what’s left of my people. They have no way to protect themselves.”
“What about Lex?” Dusk asked, still holding his shoulder.
“My people and I can help him, but we need the safety of the mountain to do that.” She looked at Dusk earnestly. “Please.”
Lord d'Ronja reached out and took Lex’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of him.”
Dusk glanced down to Lex, then to his father. With a nod he pushed himself to his feet, knowing he had no other choice. He scrambled over to where his bow had fallen, pulling it up from the dirt and examining its surface. It was still intact and true to Fayard’s word, the string had not broken even as it had skid across the razor sharp obsidian shards on the ground. Dusk slid it over his shoulder, checking the quiver that was still at his side. He had a handful of arrows, but not enough to be helpful for long. Lyra held out an arm and he clambered his way up to her back. There were rows of massive spikes running along her spine, each spaced just far enough apart so that he could sit with his legs on either side comfortably.
“Hold on,” she warned.
With a downward thrust of her wings she trod forward, throwing herself over the edge of the volcano. Dusk felt his heart leap into his throat, the sensation of falling causing all of his limbs to freeze up as he grasped the bony spike in front of him. Outside the moon had been bright enough to light the surrounding area, but past the lip of the volcano was pitch darkness. The only thing visible was the winding stream of lava far below them like an orange thread. Wind whipped his hair and Dusk wondered how Lyra could see anything in such blackness. He locked his arms around a spike as she spiraled downwards. Without moving his head too much he attempted to look around, searching for the Circle members who had infiltrated the volcano. Off to his left he caught sight of a small glowing light swinging violently.
“Down there!” he cried, pointing towards the lantern he recognized.
“I see it,” Lyra growled, violently turning herself toward the light.
They sped towards the wall of the volcano. Dusk thought they were going to crash into it, but just before they collided Lyra gave a strong beat of her wings and he watched as the rush of air knocked over several figures, including the one holding the lantern. She clutched at the stone walkway, stone crumbling under her claws as she snarled in their direction. Dusk pulled an arrow from his quiver and shot towards the dark figures. One of them cried out, although he couldn’t see who he’d struck or if it was a killing blow. Amongst them he could make out one figure in white holding the lantern, getting back to their feet.
Before he could warn Lyra, he saw three black-clad figures join hands in a bright flash of green light. A beam of energy flew towards them and landed a heavy blow against Lyra’s hindquarters. She cried out in pain, flames shooting from her mouth up into the air unexpectedly. Dusk gripped the spike and leaned over the abyss to get a better look at the damage. He could see boiling green flames licking at her scales, leaving a long gash behind that bubbled at the edges with the blood evaporating before it could run down her leg. Instinctually he pulled another arrow and aimed back towards the figures that were preparing for another attack. Even with a dragon he knew that they stood no chance against a handful of magic users all by themselves. He let the arrow fly and heard it strike, a guttural cry echoing across the stoney interior of the mountain.
“Get out of the way!” Lyra roared, arching her head back towards the group.
The white robed figure used the distraction to dart behind the lip of a tunnel opening. Dusk felt the dragon’s body expand and grow hot underneath him as she took a deep breath. Her mouth and eyes began to glow, the bright violet of her irises menacing in the dark. The Circle grunts saw the light and knew what was headed their way. Dusk saw shimmering shields suddenly apparate in front of those who were armed with the dust, leaving the others exposed to fend for themselves with their iron bucklers.
With a screaming roar Lyra lurched forward, jetting liquid flame from her mouth that lit up the entire interior of the volcano. Dusk watched as eight figures immediately caught fire and vaporized in front of him, their iron shields clattering to the ground useless with arms still smoldering in their straps. Another half dozen stood with their bodies turned sideways, shoulders tucked into a magical shield that kept the intense flames from reaching them. But Dusk knew how the shields drained energy and Lyra’s fire was too severe for them to last long. She continued to bear down on them, her ribs quaking with effort and the fire growing almost white hot as it spilled out across them like molten lava. The stone around them grew hot and began to glow. Dusk saw the realization dawn on their faces amid the onslaught. One by one the dust ran out and the shields shattered, each of the figures engulfed in flame and eviscerated before they had a chance to scream. When the last had finally disintegrated to ash, Lyra pulled back to take a deep, cooling breath.
The white figure stepped out from the mouth of the tunnel, holding a hand up to block the heat coming off the now-glowing stones. They tried to speak and sputtered as they inhaled a mouthful of ash. Lyra climbed over the stone towards them like a bat clinging to a wall, unbothered by the residual heat. A few larger pieces of the walkway broke away, unable to bear her enormous weight, and tumbled out of sight. Dusk lifted his cloak over his face, repulsed by the thought of inhaling any ash that had once been a person. The light from the lantern showed a dark-skinned woman with her head shaved clean. A dark stain he could only assume was blood adorned her right side, but it wasn’t immediately clear if it belonged to her or someone else and she didn’t seem to be stumbling or in pain. She looked up at them, still coughing, but relief plain in her eyes.
“Th-thank you!” she managed to squeak out before going back to clearing her lungs.
“Selussa! Are there anymore of the Circle here? Where are the others? Did anyone else make it?” Lyra asked quickly, begging for information.
“I m-managed to grab a f-few and escape back into the m-mountain,” Selussa responded, trying to take deep breaths through her linen cloak. “I came back to find more, but those monsters had already gotten through the gate. I don’t know how many are left beyond them.”
“How many made it here with you?”
Selussa was quiet for a moment. “Not many.” She looked deep into Lyra’s violet eyes. “They appeared out of nowhere, like they’d been invisible among us. The alarm wasn’t raised until after the first few had their throats cut. We never saw them coming. We fought off as many as we could while we ran, but with their magic, most of us didn’t stand a chance.”
Lyra stared down at Selussa for a long moment until she shook her head, breaking away from her own spiral of thoughts. “Dusk, you and Selussa care for the others and search for more survivors,” Lyra commanded, her voice full of sadness and fury. “I’m going to clear the valley and the bottom of the volcano. They’ll pay for what they’ve done,” she seethed
She held out an arm so that Dusk could climb over to the stone path. As soon as he was clear, Lyra let go of the wall, and sank into the darkness. Dusk looked around at the stone walkway that was beginning to fade back to its natural color and the ash piling up on the ground like dark snow. He couldn’t believe how much trouble had come to pass in so little time. He felt a tightening in his chest as he glanced up at the top of the volcano, knowing Lex was still up there wounded and possibly dying.
He turned his attention back to Selussa. “Are you hurt?” he asked, pointing to the blood stain on her side.
She glanced down at it. “This? Oh no, I’m fine. I can’t say the same for the man who tried to kill me though.” For the first time Dusk noticed the dagger in her other hand that was soaked in blood up to the hilt. “He thought I looked too weak to bother using magic.” She looked back to Dusk, her features heavily shadowed in the lantern light. “He was wrong.”
Dusk nodded. “Where are the others?”
“I took them to the library and locked them inside. They should be safe for the moment.” She lifted the lantern so that the light illuminated the burned pathway in front of them. “There’s nobody else back that way and it will be too hot to travel across for the time being. There is still your group’s quarters ahead. We should clear that first before heading back to the others.”
Dusk nocked an arrow. “Lead the way.”
Together they carefully made their way down the familiar path, keeping an eye out for any sign of movement. Dusk routinely checked behind them to make sure they weren’t being followed, but the path remained open and clear. More than once he thought he heard the roars of Lyra echo back up from the valley, but as soon as they passed into the tunnel that led to his room, there was only silence. With the utmost care they crept down the tunnel until the doors came into view. The braziers on the walls still glowed with soft orange light. Three of the doors stood open, two were closed, and the last that led to Lex’s room stood only partially ajar.
Dusk took the lead. He glanced into the open rooms first and saw nobody, just disheveled beds and the contents of packs strewn over the ground. They looked like they’d been ransacked. As he stepped back out Selussa pointed towards the door that was partially open and Dusk saw shifting light from within. He came up in front of the door, arrow drawn back and ready to fire. Selussa was right beside him with her dagger held at eye level and the shuttered lantern sitting on the floor next to her. With a brief nod he stepped forward and kicked the door inwards causing it to slam against the stone. A dark-cloaked figure jumped, startled by the noise, and dropped a bag that he was rummaging through. It was Lex’s satchel.
A rage welled up inside Dusk’s heart seeing Lex’s things being pillaged by some stranger and he loosed the arrow, aiming for the man’s heart. It nearly struck true and before the man could utter more than a groan, he fell clutching at his chest. Dusk stormed forward seeing he was still breathing. At his side was a pouch of dust and his left hand was reaching towards it, fingers shaking. All the anger and fury that had built up in Dusk over the past hour was released as he reached down, gave the arrow a vicious twist, and ripped it out of the man’s body. Before there had been almost no blood, the arrow having blocked it from escaping. It was all that was keeping the man alive. But now a torrent was gushing forth from the hole in his chest. The man reached up, pushing his hand over it as if trying to force the blood back into his body. His hood fell away and Dusk felt his heart sink as he saw the red-headed man in front of him was merely a child, easily no more than fifteen. His already-ashen skin went pale quickly as the blood drained away. The light sapped out of his eyes and he sank back down to the ground, his hands falling to his sides as blood pooled across the floor.
“Check the other two rooms,” Dusk muttered to Selussa, his voice hollow as he stared down at the boy in front of him.
He looked so much like Nine had that day they’d found Tephyss. The same day Maxon had put a pickaxe through his eye. Both boys, although separated by months and thousands of miles, had come to a similar fate before their time, mixed up in things they didn’t understand with people who saw them as expendable. Dusk cursed Tiernan under his breath. It was only right that his broken body was lying at the bottom of the volcano at that very moment. But even with him out of the way, their problems seemed to have only grown in his absence. Nedarya and her goals were completely unknown to him and he feared something much worse than Tiernan had been set loose upon the world.
“They’re clear,” Selussa said, coming back into the room a moment later. “We should go back to the others and tell them everything is safe.”
“No,” Dusk replied bluntly. “Take me to the top of the volcano. Lex is hurt and I’m going to need your help to save him.”