Empyreal, Book 1

Chapter 33

Sarah's maniacal laughter echoed through the ballroom as wedding guests scrambled for the exits. Her body levitated several feet off the ground, her hair whipping wildly around her as an unearthly aura pulsed around her.

"What in God's name is happening?" Dorian gasped as he and Tamsyn reached the top of the staircase. They clung to the railing, their eyes fixed on Sarah's writhing figure below.

Tamsyn's breath came in panicked gasps. "This can't be real. People don't just...float like that."

Sarah's gaze snapped upwards, locking onto them. Her lips curled into a cruel smile. With a flick of her wrist, the doors slammed shut, sealing off the room.

Dorian's heart hammered against his ribs. There was something ancient and dangerous in Sarah's eyes now, nothing of the timid girl he once knew. This was primal magic, raw and uncontrolled.

"We have to get out of here," Tamsyn whimpered, clutching Dorian's arm.

Sarah drifted towards them, her tattered gown billowing around her. Dorian's mind raced.

Years of magical study hadn't prepared him for this.

"What do you want from us?" he called out, struggling to keep his voice steady.

Sarah halted, head cocked. When she spoke, her voice was a chilling whisper. "I want you to see who I truly am."

The crystal chandelier above them flickered, then exploded in a rain of glass and light. Dorian pulled Tamsyn down, shielding her body with his own. Sarah's laughter rose once more as shards clattered around them.

Dorian's breaths came raggedly. There would be no reasoning with her tonight. All he could do was get Tamsyn to safety - and hope he could bring the real Sarah back.

Dorian grabbed Tamsyn's hand and made a break for the balcony doors. Sarah's power whipped around them, slamming the doors shut before they could reach them.

"Leaving so soon?" Sarah laughed, hovering inches from the floor. "The fun's just beginning."

Dorian whirled around, ready to face her again, but Tamsyn cried out in pain. Her arm was bent at an unnatural angle, broken by an invisible force.

Sarah smiled. "Poor little dove. Did you get hurt?"

Rage boiled up in Dorian. He had to find a way to stop this, and fast. Sarah was too far gone to reason with now. There was only one person who might know what to do.

"Stay here," Dorian told Tamsyn through gritted teeth. He sprinted for the servant's passage hidden behind a tapestry, praying it hadn't been sealed off. The hidden door swung open under his touch. Dorian cast one last look back at Tamsyn's terrified face, then slipped into the darkness.

He had to find Malachi. The reclusive mage had dabbled deeper into the arcane arts than any man alive. If anyone understood what was happening to Sarah, it was him.

Dorian moved swiftly down the staircase dodging Sarah until he spotted Malachi in the far corner of the ballroom.

The remaining party guests cowered along the walls. With a flick of her wrist, Sarah sent a table crashing into the wall inches from a sobbing noblewoman.

"We have to stop her," Dorian said. "Before she kills someone."

Malachi nodded. "I know a binding spell that may restrain her. Help me cast it."

They moved to stand before Sarah, raising their arms. Malachi began chanting strange words in a harsh, guttural language. Dorian joined in the incantation, focusing all his will on containing Sarah's wild magic.