The Hidden Crystal

Chapter 47

Focus on the crystal.

Iris felt the air snapping and crackling as soon as she left the church. The metallic clanking of armor and the steady pounding of booted feet on cobblestones echoed throughout the city. She took a deep breath and held the amulet in her right hand.

Focus on the crystal.

There was something else, something rhythmically pulsing beneath the clamor of the army, something drawing her with a gentility that contrasted sharply with the harsh blue tendrils of Micah's magic licking across her skin. She held onto the amulet and followed it at a run, her shoes clattering loudly on the vacant street. A deep chuckle echoed through her mind.

Have you given up, Iris? I am disappointed. I was looking forward to trapping you in a corner and squashing your friends before your eyes.

A chill ran down her spine, but she swallowed the fear with the bile rising in her throat and forced herself to listen for that soft pulsing, feel for that gentle draw. It came from the same direction as the snapping and crackling. Micah was already at the castle, and he was waiting for her. The blue tendrils made her skin crawl.

You can't resist it, can you? He laughed. I'm afraid I lied to you, Iris. I know about the crystal.

The whispers were crowding into her head, too, urging her to keep her focus. She raced through the dark, quiet buildings, occasional muffled conversation and laughter erupting from within the shuttered windows, and the army marching down main street came into view. Heads turned toward her, but not a single soldier broke rank. Her heart was pounding in time with the crystal's pulsing.

Where did you leave your friends, Iris? He chuckled again. I suppose it doesn't matter. It's only a matter of time until they come looking for you, isn't it?

Her stomach twisted painfully. Char and Rath probably knew she was missing by now. She didn't fully understand why she slipped away from them, but it was too late to think about that. The crystal was calling to the amulet - to her - and she had to answer. The lines of soldiers blurred in her peripheral vision as she ran past them, straight ahead to the open castle gate. To Micah. There was no avoiding him.

"Iris! Stop!"

Char's shout tore at her heart, but she only ran faster. She was almost there, too far gone for him to overtake her. This was the way it had to be. She tightened her fingers around the amulet and sent him the words she hadn't given herself a chance to say.

I'm sorry, Char. I love you.

She felt his shock like a blow, echoing through her body and shattering her heart. But the relentless draw of the crystal was merging with the painful pull of Micah's magic - or maybe Micah's magic was merging with the crystal's draw. She didn't know, and it didn't matter. The guards at the gate didn't stop her. A pair of frigid blue eyes waiting at the massive front doors did. She skidded to a halt, gasping for breath, blood rushing to her ears as he smirked down at her.

"Iris!"

She turned around and held her left hand out toward the gate. A wall of white sealed the entrance from the cobblestone street all the way up to the portcullis at the top of the stone arch, cutting through the neat lines of soldiers to divide the army and stop Char and Rath. The hurt in Char's green eyes reminded her of the hurt when she told him to leave the tower. Rath's blue eyes were narrowed and angry, and she wasn't sure if that anger was directed toward her or the man behind her. Maybe both. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, listening for the pulse of the crystal, feeling for its draw. Footsteps tapped against stone, descending the stairs behind her.