Page 10

Cinared, can you still hear me? I asked, hoping wherever he was, I could still call him back if needed.

Yes, the spell from the pillars is no longer targeting me. Something is suppressing it. Give me a moment and be ready to jump on my back as soon as I touch down.

No, stay where you are. Someone is heading to the pillars. If they have means to suppress its power, I must know. Sana’s mention of a key goaded me into action. The light from the columns had faded while I trudged through the ash, trying to ignore how it clung to my boots.

At the sight of two men in Tangrian tabards, I ducked down, using the undulating terrain to mask my presence. They stood by the srebrec columns, each pressing a strange rod against some runes.

My muscles tensed in anticipation. I hid behind a rock, pulling the collar of my shirt over my face, when the creak of wheels and snorting of horses signalled the approach of more people.

As I waited, the sky darkened, and the drizzle turned my hiding space into a cold pit of mud.

‘Seriously?’ I muttered, wondering which god I had offended today.

A small cavalcade crested the hill, heading between the pillars. Four riders dressed in armour surrounded a plain travel carriage and flying Tangra’s banner. If they weren’t my enemies, I’d feel pity for the poor bastards forced to wear a full plate in this weather.

‘Is it safe yet?’ came the voice from the carriage, a bald head emerging from the window.

The man was wearing a mantle that made his head look like it sat on a golden plate. With such an escort, it could mean only one thing. A Tangrian high priest was headed for Dagome.

‘Yes, Clericus.’ The voice of one knight echoed from his helmet. ‘The fae assured me this would work, and it seems he spoke the truth.’

The carriage crawled forward on the muddy road, while I committed the Clericus’ face to memory, but the real threat was the man he had spoken to, the one leading the group.

He knew the maker of the key, and if nothing else, this gave him my attention. Still, first I had to get the key.

I couldn’t do anything until they’d passed, and that felt like forever. Even after the group disappeared into the distance, the guards remained, holding the rods in place.

‘Time to get those sticks,’ I muttered, hand already on my sword hilt. I slowly drew it from the scabbard, taking a step forward. It was harder than I thought. The pressure built in the air again.

As I moved, one man faltered, then collapsed to the ground. His compatriot swayed, turning a vacant stare towards the sky. I watched in horror as he too stumbled. The rod, device, or whatever the damn thing was, fell from his hands as he struck the ground with a dull thud.

The runes flashed, their faint glow gradually brightening until a beacon erupted from the pillar’s apex, spiralling downward until it disappeared into the ground.

I took one step, then another. Sheer bloody-minded determination pushed me onward, but whatever suppressed the magic had stopped working.

My thoughts became sluggish, and I shook my head, fighting to clear them as my feet carried me forward.

After only a few metres, I faltered, too tired to even breathe. Every movement became pointless, a final struggle of a fish caught in a net.

‘I’ll just…’ I muttered, kneeling down and closing my eye.

Wake up! Get away from that thing! Cinared’s voice blasted my skull with such force that blood gushed from my nose. I scrambled back. Look at the bodies by the pillars, the dragon commanded.

The compulsion in his voice forced me to stand and face the bodies.

Then everything hit me at once: the tiredness, the incessant pull of my soul’s Wild Magic, even the desiccated face of the guard, his head tilted up to face the stars.

The Tangrian soldiers had died, and even though I’d witnessed their demise, the corpses were now dry husks with leathery skin tightly wrapped around protruding bones.

‘Fuck!’ I roared, hammering a fist into my thigh, welcoming the pain to awaken the berserker. ‘Come on, you bastard! I need you!’

I drew my dagger and hammered the pommel into my hip. The brutal force snapped my spine straight, setting my nerves on fire, but Wild Magic surged in my veins.

I ran, each step a battle against hostile magic. My lips peeled as the berserker roared, my soul singing with fury.

In the end, I pitched forward almost on all fours, dragging my hand through the dirt, capturing the fallen rod, then turning sharply and bolting away from the structure. I ran until my legs gave way, and I crashed to the ground, as helpless as a newborn. My berserker’s strength faded beneath the pillars’ magic.

I’m sorry, Viper…