The Hidden Crystal

Chapter 30

Iris didn't wait until nightfall that day. As soon as the tears dissipated, she took hold of the amulet and launched herself into the sky, refusing to allow herself to look west, directing herself eastward. The landscape below flew by, the whispers trailing behind, struggling to keep up with her. She had to find it. Somehow, that would end this torment - for her, for Char, for the world crying and groaning in agony from everything going wrong. Flashes of light lit up the sky ahead of her. She stopped, feeling the telltale snapping and crackling, and redirected herself toward the battle. That's what it had to be: Micah using the magic he'd stolen from others to tear everything apart.

She was higher than the dragons wheeling in the sky above the archers on the ground. Five dragons, none of whom she recognized. But there was Micah, far down below, seated on his horse and launching magic in all directions. He was shielding the archers, deflecting the dragons' fire, sending flames of his own into the sky, all at the same time. The dragons couldn't get close. They were struggling to dodge his attacks and the arrows flying in all directions, empowered by magic to travel higher than any normal arrows could. This was a losing battle. Iris dove past them, just as a streak of white left Micah's hand and traveled at impossible speed straight for one of the dragons. Anger rose in Iris' chest.

No.

Just one word, spoken firmly, not even shouted, and the white exploded into nothingness a few feet from its intended target. She looked down at the ground, straight into Micah's venomous glare, and her heart quailed within her. But she couldn't back down now. She took a deep breath and held her hand out, palm up.

Come back.

White streaked from the blue barriers toward her hand, touching her skin and traveling up her arm, spiraling and wrapping her arm in a sleeve as it crawled up and across to her chest. The first tongue of white touched the amulet and vanished, sucked back into the crystal, the rest following with ever-increasing speed. Micah was livid, his barriers shrinking and withering without Iris' magic to bolster them. The dragons saw their opportunity and moved in. A single, thin line of red left Micah's hand, striking Iris' right hand with sickening force. She squeezed her eyes shut and held it off until the last drop of her magic returned, but the red was thin enough to snake around the tail end of the white and pierce her chest. She cried out as it wrapped around the amulet, wrapping around her heart, constricting and burning. The whispers finally caught up to her, crowding around her, yanking her back. The red line snapped, and they carried her away, west to the tower.

"Oh, no," she gasped, sitting upright as soon as she plunged back into her body. She was breathing hard, covered in a thin layer of perspiration. The fairies were already dabbing at her forehead with a cool, damp cloth.

"You have to go," she said quickly. "Now."

They didn't bother to give her the signal for 'no,' just kept up their work with no interruption. She brushed them away and climbed out of bed.

"I just interfered with Micah's magic on the battlefield. He's angry - very angry - and when he comes back, he's going to kill you all," she said insistently, going to the window and fumbling with its latch. "You have to go. He can't kill me yet." The rusted latch finally gave way with a grunt of effort from Iris, and she threw the window open. "Go!"

They hovered in front of her, little golden orbs of light, unsure which way to go. She stared at them in desperation, the cold wind whipping her hair across her face. Finally, one darted in to touch her lips, and then zipped out the window. The rest followed, one by one, until they were all gone. She took a deep, shuddering breath and pulled the window closed, wiping a tear from her eye. A deep exhaustion flooded her core. Her private training sessions were helping, but she still didn't have much stamina when it came to magic use, and it didn't seem like the magic she took back was providing her with any energy. She curled up on the sofa and closed her eyes. If she couldn't recover before Micah came back, she was in for a world of pain.