Ever So Lightly- Book 1

47

Chira's scream knocked something loose in Jasper and he jerked against Kade's hold. The knife at his throat bit in. Droplets of blood began to pool and then fall, one by one, running down past the collar of his shirt, mixing with the sweat already there.

"Now, now Ende." Kade's voice was like acid in his ear. "What good will that do?"

What good would it do? None. Not with that knife at his throat. Jasper's eyes desperately scoured the room, searching for anything that could get them out of this mess. He thanked the stars again and again that Zephyr had somehow managed to stay hidden, wherever she was. Jasper looked toward Bennet, who was still shielding Saria and the old man. If he could cause a distraction of some sort, maybe they could escape, go get help. Bennet at last met his eyes and Jasper looked from his friend to the door and back. Bennet shook his head so slightly, eyes widening in panic. Of course he wouldn't want Jasper to do anything.

Blast it, they couldn't stand like this all day! Chira's guards had already payed the price for his not acting quickly enough, Jasper wouldn't let anyone else pay it. Houndsley was a loose cannon at best, and with that knife at Chira's throat... Jasper looked up, as though to find an answer from non-existent stars in the middle of the blasted day.

Movement in the sky snagged his gaze. A person on the ledge above. A person with silver hair. No.

A commotion within the room ripped Jasper's attention back down. Saria had punched a soldier that had made a move for Matthew. Right in the jaw. Under better circumstances Jasper would have laughed. Kade yelled for others to restrain her. Bennet looked ready to lunge for his sword, and Jasper could feel his captor tensing for a fight. This was all spiraling too quickly. Jasper needed to do something. His gaze flitted upward once again. Just in time to see the girl above fling herself over the ledge.

~

None of this was working the way Kade had imagined it would. Sweat began beading along his brow, to trickle down the back of his neck. The elven girl in Houndsley's grip was decidedly not a good thing. She could prove a useful bargaining chip, but the brute was more likely to kill her then to take her captive.

Kade let out a long breath through his nose. He had to take control of this situation, before he lost the opportunity. Maybe he could just kill the deserter. That ought to scare the rest of them enough, get them to fall into line.

He cringed as the redhead assaulted one of his men.

"Get her under control!" Kade barked, keeping an eye on DeGrae, who kept glancing toward his sword. Kade felt Ende tense in his grasp. He followed the man's gaze upward.

A cloaked figure was falling toward the glass dome. A figure Kade recognized.

Funny, he thought. She looks the same falling now as she did when I pushed her over that waterfall.

~

Falling

falling

falling.

Zephyr felt weightless. Like eternity stretched out beneath her as the faceted glass dome loomed larger and larger the closer she got. She pulled and pulled and pulled on the air around her, grasping as much as she could. Tighter, tighter, tighter.

And right before she hit the glass, Zephyr pushed.

The ceiling beneath her exploded into millions of tiny shards as her air smashed into it. She winced as several pieces escaped her grasp, piercing and slicing her own skin. Zephyr felt her Gift singing with power as she struggled to now pull as much air upward as she could. Blood leaked from her nose and over her lips as the glass slowed. She let herself fall harder, faster, unable to hold herself with her own power.

Zephyr slammed to the ground in a crouch, one knee screaming with pain as it smacked against the rock floor. She looked up from where she knelt, immediately finding Jasper's gaze, before tearing her own away to stare into the eyes of his captor.

Kade's wrath was a sight to behold, but it was nothing compared to the rage that filled her as she really, truly took in the sight of the knife he held to Jasper's throat. An instant after she hit the ground, Zephyr stood, gritting her teeth against the pain and the blood filling her mouth, the air around her still pressing upward to barely hold the glass above.

With a scream that held every bit of the anger and pain and fear that she had felt since Kade had walked into her life and tried to take everything from her, Zephyr's power shot out from her in a blast. The millions of glass shards flew toward the walls in a storm, crashing loud enough to wake the mountains themselves.

The distraction worked.

Jasper slammed his elbow into Kade's stomach. The air whooshed out of his captor, his hold loosening just enough for Jasper to smash a second elbow into his face. A sickening crunch sounded as Kade's nose flattened, and with that, the room erupted into chaos.

Zephyr ran toward Jasper, trying to ignore the ache in her knee. She kicked Bennet's sword back toward him. He swooped it up and rammed it into the gut of an advancing enemy soldier in one smooth movement. By the time she reached him, Jasper had his own sword out and was pointing it at Kade. The other man simply gave them a bloody smile as he vanished.

"No!" Zephyr screamed, lunging toward where he had been sprawled before them, but Kade was long gone already. She whipped back around in time to see Frederick and a group of rebels, clothes bloody, burst through the doors of the meeting hall. Already the enemy soldiers were beginning to drop their weapons, hands raised in surrender. Only Houndsley refused to give up. He still held Chira in his grasp, his sword pressed firmly to her throat. Bennet approached, his sword held ready.

"Let her go, captain. You've lost, what good would it do to hurt the girl? Let her go and we'll spare your life."

Rage contorted the man's pock-marked features. He seemed at war with himself, until finally he flung the girl away. Chira stumbled forward and fell to her knees, gasping as though she'd held her breath the entire time he'd had her. Houndsley watched the girl, and Zephyr could see the exact moment he changed his mind.

"Chira!" she screamed, but there was no way the girl could escape before the big man brought his sword down on her neck. Drained as she was, Zephyr flung out the last vestiges of her power toward Houndsley.

The air hit him with a thud, and was just enough to knock him back a pace. Right onto Jasper's waiting sword.