The Glass Thief

Chapter Five

VIA

Everything burned.

The world was a haze of dark smoke, flickering light, and blistering heat. The last of the fire had finally fled from my hands, leaving my palms shiny and raw.

I felt as if all the blood had been drained from my body. The one thing I wanted was to lie down and sleep for a hundred years--but some deeper instinct told me to get up and run.

Trying in vain not to inhale the smoke that threatened to pour into my lungs, I stumbled to my feet and ran.

But which way is out...?

I screeched as a burning body staggered past me. The man's arms pinwheeled wildly as he was consumed by flame. A heavy ceiling beam crashed down between us, sending up a spray of embers.

As he vanished from my sight, the truth finally sank in. I'm going to die.

By the stars and sea--I'm going to die.

"The door!" I heard someone gasp through the smoke. "Alben's gone, the lock..."

"The lock's melted!" came the answering shout. "It shouldn't work anymore, just kick it down!"

The building shuddered as the would-be kidnappers rammed into the door, almost knocking it off its hinges. But it wasn't the only thing that gave way. As smoke poured out into the street outside, the entire front wall gave an almighty groan and disintegrated into rubble.

I shielded my head with my arms as burning debris showered upon me like rain. Running as fast as I dared, with my Academy robes smouldering against my skin, I leaped over a fallen bookcase and into the freedom of the world beyond.

Moments later, the roof collapsed behind me with a thunderous boom.

I rolled out into the sunshine, gasping, my throat raw from the smoke. For a while I could only lie there, blinking up at the sun, incredulous that I was still breathing.

But a quieter, darker thought wormed its way into my mind as I lay in the shadow of the burning ruins.

This is your fault, Via.

You did this.

"Via!"

I heard someone running towards me. Small hands gripped my shoulders, helping me into a half-sitting position. Cool water trickled between my lips, which I drank up gratefully.

"Tarah," I managed as my friend's worried face swam into view. I pushed the waterskin away. "Thank you."

"I'm so sorry, Via. I ran as fast as I could, but when we got back and saw the fire, I thought you were... were..." She flung her arms around my neck, sobbing into my shoulder.

I shifted uncomfortably, always unsure how to deal with sudden emotional displays. In the end, I settled for patting my friend's head reassuringly.

"You did great, Tarah. Thanks for coming back for me... and for giving me this." I fished out Tarah's Pendant from beneath my singed robes and held it out to her.

To my horror, the glass bead didn't look the same as it had before. Usually, when a Pendant's magic was depleted, the sigil would simply fade away and would need to be re-carved by a Sigillor.

But that wasn't what had happened to Tarah's.

Instead, the entire bead had melted into a misshapen twist of glass.

"Oh, don't worry about that," Tarah said, her brows creased in concern. "At least you're okay."

Then her gaze shifted from the ruined Pendant to the flaming rubble of the bookshop.

Her eyes widened in shock. "The Pendant did this? What did you--?"

"Stand back!"

The crowd of people that had gathered around the building scrambled away at the shout, making way for a tall woman clad in the blue-and-silver armour of a Master Sigillor.

Tarah and I watched as the woman drew a three-pronged shield from her back, and I saw that its glass surface was etched with Agos--the Water Sigil.

The Sigillor raised her arm, hefting the shield high. A torrent of water shot out of the shield, engulfing the burning ruins. The flames yielded to the water in a billowing cloud of steam.

Within moments, the fire was out.

I stared at the Sigillor with open amazement. That was the sole reason why I studied at the Academy--to learn to wield the sigils with such power and poise.

As the woman walked towards us, Tarah got to her feet and bowed, a gesture of respect to someone of the Sigillor's rank. I would have done the same if I didn't feel so shattered.

"Sigillor Eshani, thank you."

Eshani made a dismissive gesture. "I should be the one thanking you for summoning me." She looked over the ruins with a critical eye, before turning to me. "Are you all right?"

For the first time since escaping the bookstore, I looked down at myself. I instantly regretted it. The sleeves of my Academy robes had been burned off to the elbows, and the skin beneath was crossed with angry red burns. I didn't even want to think about what the rest of me looked like.

Eshani grimaced in sympathy. "I guess not. Here, I'll put a Blood Sigil on you until we can get you to a proper healer."

She crouched down in front of me. "May I have your hands?"

I did as I was asked, offering my hands to her palm-up, like we'd learned at school. A strange expression came over the Sigillor's face.

At first, I wondered if I was doing something wrong. Then Tarah breathed, "Oh my word."

With a growing sense of foreboding, I made myself look at my hands.

All the breath died in my throat.

Burned onto each palm, seared into the flesh in raised red lines, was the Fire Sigil.