I fell forward as the shelf I was leaning against disappeared beneath me. My hands slapped against black marble. Lightning streaked down the walls, and my hair levitated from the electricity.
“Lothaire?” I screamed down the empty marble hall. Crystal chandeliers hung unlit, and maroon light streamed through stained-glass windows.
Crawling forward on my hands and knees, I screamed, “Is anyone here?”
Lighting slammed against the floor.
Marble burned hotter beneath my hands.
I rolled onto my back and bellowed with everything I had, “Lothaire?” Chest heaving, I lay still and waited.
Please, sun god. Please let him be here. Let him hear me.
Precious seconds turned into minutes.
Nothing.
Of all people, I should have known that prayer wouldn’t work—not to him. Never to him.
I slapped my palm against the now cold marble as I thought about the dates. It was around the time when the academy had a break. Lothaire would be elsewhere.
Screaming through gritted teeth, I stared up at the intricate crystal chandelier and accepted—unless a miracle happened in the next few seconds—there was no way I could retrieve timely help for Aran and Sadie.
The High Court hadn’t answered, which wasn’t a good sign. The military council tended to disappear for days while they handled “top-secret” business.
There was no one to alert.
No one to rescue Sadie and Aran.
I was the only one who knew where they were.
I activated the RJE device.
Crack.
I was lying on my back next to the table in the strategy room.
Grabbing the furniture, I hoisted myself to my feet using the table legs. I pulled open drawers and grabbed a different RJE device. I desperately searched for the weapons prohibited by the Official Peace Accords that the High Court “supposedly” kept for demonstration purposes.
Thank the sun god that weeks ago I’d paid attention to Dick’s presentation.
I’d bet he knew exactly what he was doing when he’d left them.
Finally, I opened the correct drawer. Rifling through the various canisters of chemical weapons, I sobbed with relief when I found the circular enchantment.
It pocketed the high-caliber explosive.
In a fog, I threw myself forward toward the blackboard. Slamming into furniture on one leg, I half hopped, half crawled toward my destination.
At the board, I did the only thing I could do.
Once I was satisfied with my work, I reopened the connection to Aran.
My heart rate skyrocketed.
Sadie was on her knees—hands extended forward toward the now five infected she’d enslaved with her blood—like she was physically pushing them forward.
Infected screamed as they died, and ungodly chittered as they erupted.
Sadie’s army of five wielded enchanted swords with much more dexterity than the average infected.
They cut through the crowd.
Slain bodies were strewn across the floor: pincers, hands, scarlet splatter, and vibrant green gore.
From the number of ungodly and infected corpses, they’d given up trying to wound and had resorted to killing.
Sadie had been extremely efficient.
About half the infected were slain, there were a few dozen left.
It was still too many.
Aran stood beside Sadie and killed the infected and Ungodly that got past their enslaved army.
“You’ve done enough!” Aran shouted at Sadie. “You’re going to hurt yourself. Release them.”
“No,” Sadie snarled.
Her golden skin had a green tint, and blood dripped from her eyes, nose, and mouth. White hair clung to her naked body and was slick with sweat. She shook forcefully with exhaustion.
“Release them now,” Aran ordered as she stepped in front of her protectively.
“No!” Sadie shouted as she bowed her back and bellowed like controlling the infected was ripping her apart from the inside. Blood gushed out of her mouth.
Aran screamed an expletive and whirled around. She slammed the hilt of her sword against Sadie’s temple, and she dropped unconscious.
In a blur of movement, Aran grabbed her body and dragged her back into the corner. She propped her against the wall and stood over her body.
The five enslaved infected dropped dead.
The room went uncannily still.
There was a loud ripping as ungodly tore from their corpses. Every creature in the room turned toward Aran. Pincers snapped. Swords glowed.
I pulled out of her mind, gasping, stomach churning as I processed what I’d seen.
The urge to go get Warren and get his help was overwhelming, and I almost acted on the impulse, but I stopped myself. He was skilled, but he was still just a teenage boy. He didn’t possess nearly as much power as the soldiers who fought against the ungodly.