Smoke Rising: Book III

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Five

Emery

The sound of the shot sends vibrations ricocheting into my bones as the chain necklace flies through the air and into my hands.

I crush the crystal hanging by the chain with an explosion spell, and the ghosts disappear in the shadows on the walls.

Ling falls to the ground, his blood spattered across the window like mist. I turn on my heel and run, not even bothering with the elevator. I'm down four flights of stairs in less than a minute, and I slam through the doors into the lobby. My blood pounds against my ears as I scan the room for him.

"Where is he?" I yell. Huxley begins to sit up on the coffee table, and Jahzara shakes her head. "Where is he?" I practically scream, my voice rippling with pain.

Someone touches my shoulder, and I turn to punch whoever has the goddamn nerve to try and comfort me right now.

"I'm right here love." My fists unclench and relief washes over me as I throw my arms around him and our lips collide. I get lost in the solace of his arms around me, of the warmth of his body against mine, and I don't let him go. It until I'm sure this is real. Not until he pulls away and presses his forehead against mine. "You really saves my ass back there."

Maybe it's the flood of emotions rushing through the both of us, or maybe it's just because of how grateful I am that he's alive; but I can't help but laugh. It's accompanied by a wave of exhaustion, and my knees practically give in as I feel the lack of energy hit me as my adrenaline crashes.

"I need to go lie down," I say, ready for a seriously long nap.

"I'm sorry Emery, but you can't." The change in his tone snaps me awake, though my eyes feel heavier than they've ever felt before.

"Why?" I step back, never letting go of his arms.

Eli's eyes become dark and serious. "Because the bombs could drop at any moment."

Alarms go off in my head, the adrenaline kicking into full gear again. But even with the extra help, I don't have the strength to stop the bombs.

"This can't be happening," I shake my head, backing away. You are one push away from losing it. Blue was right, I'm going to break and I don't think I'm going to stand back up this time. You have the strength to keep going. Theo's words ring in my head. He was wrong. He was so wrong. "I can't do this again."

Eli can clearly see the road I'm headed towards, because he grabs me and practically shakes me as he forces me to listen to his words. "Nobody else is dying here today." It isn't a guess. It doesn't even really sound like a fact. He says it like an order. "You do what you can with the energy you have. But we have an entire base full of Energy and Elemental Casters, and we have me."

Before my very eyes, I watch Eli be replaced by Commander Jackson. He begins shouting out orders, yelling for Beecham, Jahzara, Ross, Huxley, and so on, all the while never letting go of my hand. We race outside, darkness sweeping up the sky. Lights are being moved from the top of the wall surrounding the base up to the sky.

"He won't nuke us. It would mean disaster for the whole east coast. But he will drop tons of explosives, probably laced with magic blocking potions. We need to get a forcefield up before the planes get here. Everyone—" he shouts over the field of energy Casters. "Put everything you've got out. Imagine the energy as a shield, and project it as high as you can."

Golden-green energy shoots up towards the sky already, and it grows larger and larger by the second.

Eli turns his attention on me, holding my face in his hands. "I swear to you Emery, we are both getting out of this. But I have to go."