The Lights Under the Lake

Chapter 13 - Statues

*Author's Note*

Hi guys! 

Thanks for waiting for this chapter. Since we're nearing the close of this book, I have a couple of things I've been working on which I'd quite like to publish on here - comment and tell me whether you'd be interested - all fantasyish with some elements of sci-fi... 

But, in the meantime, please enjoy! 

I hope you all have amazing summers :)

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CASSIAN PULLED HIMSELF OFF the ground through sheer force of will. He had been dangling by his ankle, and Vya had a grip like steel. He winced.

At first glance, the deserted courtyard seemed empty.

As the moon cast its silver glow over him, he saw figures. 

Still as statues. He must have been unconscious for a while.

It hadn't even been nearing sunset when they had jumped out the window.

One of the figures was lying down, it's hands covering its face. It's outline seemed strangely smooth. Her unruly hair should have been sticking up all over the place, but it seemed smooth and pinned down.

"Bri." he breathed, limping over to her.

He remembered the magic growing, and then falling. Under his feet crunched ... what? He let a handful of rubble slip through his fingers.

Stone?

He didn't remember the ground being littered with fragments of rock.

Bri was lying still, unmoving. He couldn't even make out her breathing. Cass couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

The fall must have knocked him unconscious. Vya had been holding him, and he supposed she must have been hit by the magic.

He couldn't worry about that now though.

Dropping to his knees next to her, he prepared to turn her over, trying to pull her head onto his lap. For a split second, his hand was met with rough stone.

He flinched away in shock, just as Bri breathed a deep breath in, turning her head to look at him in the limited light.

"What happened?" she croaked.

"I don't-- I don't know." he replied, feeling numb except for the sheer sense of relief coursing through his veins. "Listen - Keres must have gotten away, and I don't know what's happened to everyone else but--"

Bri scrambled away from him, scrabbling on the ground for a large piece of rock, which she held threateningly.

"Who are you?" she hissed. "What did you do to me?"

Cassian blinked. He thought about laughing, but something in Bri's eyes made him stop. "What do you mean? Come on Bri."

"No one calls me Bri." she whispered, lowering the rock. She met his eyes for a long second, then raised the stone again. "How do you know my name?"

Cassian raised his hands slowly. "You've got to listen to me--"

"Why should I?" Bri raised an eyebrow. "You could be a murderer for all I know."

With a crackle, the roof three streets away burst into flame. Bri whipped her head back and forth, trying to keep an eye on both Cass and the fire. The orange light illuminated the town centre just enough for Cassian to make out the rest of the scene.