The Hidden Crystal

Chapter 47

Focus on the crystal.

Iris wasn't sure what she expected when she stepped out of the church, but an empty street wasn't it. She knew from the snapping and crackling in the air Micah wasn't far away, though, and somewhere in the distance, she heard the metallic clanking of armor and the steady pounding of booted feet on cobblestones.

She took a deep breath and wrapped her right hand around the amulet.

Focus on the crystal.

There was something else, something pulsing with a steady rhythm beneath the clamor of the army, something drawing her with a gentility contrasting the harsh blue tendrils of Micah's magic. She wanted—needed—to run after it. She needed to find it.

But she held her ground. She let the repulsive blue magic lick across her skin.

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.

The fear she was trying to hold at bay became a suffocating terror gripping her heart. She swallowed bile and clutched the amulet tighter. It wouldn't protect her, but the familiarity of the whispers provided her with some comfort, indistinct and vague though their words were. Although even that was some small comfort. They weren't telling her to go anywhere or do anything beyond focusing on the crystal. That meant she was doing the right thing by standing here, waiting for Micah.

Not that she had any doubts about that. Saving the orphans from Micah's wrath was not just the right decision. It was the only decision.

But she was still shaking. It was still all she could do to remain upright.

She heard the clip-clop of horse's hooves. She heard booted feet coming closer.

Focus on the crystal.

She felt the crystal pulsing in time with the pounding of her heart. This was a way to get into the castle while protecting those she loved from Micah, she reminded herself. This would get her one step closer to ending all of this.

Soldiers appeared at the end of the block, men in dull, dirty armor marching in neat, ordered rows and columns. A white horse walked amidst them, and atop that horse—

Iris swayed on her feet.

She caught herself and curled her left hand into a fist at her side. No. She would not show weakness in front of Micah.

Where did you leave your friends, Iris? He chuckled again, his frigid blue eyes locked on her as he continued prodding her mind. I suppose it doesn't matter. It's only a matter of time until they come looking for you, isn't it?

Iris hoped Char had left. She hoped he hadn't stayed to watch this from the shadows. It wasn't the entire army, but the small detachment was still more than he and Rath could handle in their human forms, even without Micah's presence. There was nothing the dragons could do except get themselves injured or killed.

"Get her. The rest of you, search the building."

"No!" Iris backed away as two soldiers approached her, casting frantic glances at the soldiers headed toward the church. "There's no need to search anything. They're gone. There are only children and a priest inside. A search would be pointless!"

Micah smirked. "Do not make me repeat myself," he told his men.

"No!"

A wall of white sealed the front doors off as the two soldiers seized Iris' arms. She struggled against them, refusing to release the amulet, her heart pounding a wild, erratic beat in her ears, and then Micah's voice cut through the air.