Queen Adria's light beam flashed so brightly that none of us could move an inch. But I did hear a scream, and it was Redmond's.
He flung back sharply, whooshing through the air that I could barely make him out. When he landed on the hard ground, I flinched when I heard bones cracking.
"We need to get her away from the civilians!" Lucius shouted, his form reappearing as the light diminished.
Dorian and Gerard were quickly on the move, retreating from her range and towards the people scramming to escape. I didn't understand what was going on. Why did Her Majesty attack us? Why did she look as if she had no idea who we were?
But my instincts told me to push those questions to the back of my mind for now.
I sprinted for Redmond, the queen's empty eyes following my every step. Kneeling down and hoisting up his shoulders, I noted the light particles fading from his skin. He groaned, coughing blood and dirt.
Shit!
"Can you stand?" I urged him. Adria was gazing down on us with dangerous intent.
He nodded his answer, attempting to pull himself off. He released short breaths through his mouth, hissing at the pain.
"You're lucky this didn't kill you."
"It almost did," he bit back.
Adria made a humming noise, almost like she wanted to say something. That powerful magic came to life again, rumbling from within the ground beneath us. My stomach dropped when I saw the floating orb of golden light on her palm. I tugged at Redmond's tunic, trying to yank him forward. His green-brown eyes widened at the definite threat.
She didn't even blink before she hurled it at us.
I braced myself to form a shield of fire. Redmond was quicker, though, as he slapped the palm of his hand down, and spiked vines sprouted from the earth. One pierced through the light sphere, and the other shot straight for the queen's arm.
She gracefully dodged it, the metal clinking off her armor like a soft whisper. Nonetheless, the attack gave us a brief chance. We darted to the side, getting as far away from her as possible.
The smooth skin around the queen's mouth twitched, and those hollow eyes narrowed. She was obviously annoyed. But her attention diverted elsewhere, and she turned her body around almost like a statue.
Gerard, Dorian, and Lucius were barking orders for the village people to find somewhere to hide. Orm and a silvery hawk led the children away from the crumbled clock tower.
"She's going after them," I said, panic lacing my voice.
"Why would she do this?" Redmond couldn't master the unfiltered shock. "I don't understand."
"Perhaps we could ask her once she stops trying to kill us."
Another rumble of magic, and this time, thin strings of pure white light wove around her body. They twisted up her arm, then expanded as they rushed from her fingertips. They soared high, solidifying, before dropping down to rain on the villagers.
My feet kicked off in a run, Redmond faltering in his steps before following behind me.
It was Lucius whose magic barricaded the terrified lives. The profound violet energy oozed out of him to paint an arch in the sky, breaking apart the light spears. Dorian's ghostly wolves unhinged their jaws and slashed their claws, tearing off what remained.
"Adria, stop!" Redmond called out, and I had to place my arm before his chest so he wouldn't do anything as stupid as running to her. "You don't want to do this!"
She didn't give any indication that she was listening -or was even bothered. Instead, the skin between her eyebrows creased, and she made an expression that might have been a snarl.
She's about to attack again!
And indeed, her arms intertwined with light threads, and the whites of her eyes were becoming a dark glow of gold. Her growing power pulsed with my every heartbeat.
I quickly conjured up what I had learned these past few months with the Book of Decimus. My fire seemed eager to be released, and for once, I didn't feel the need to hold it back.
Flames encased my hand, vivid and blazing, and they parted to form a bow. With my other hand, I gripped an arrow made of red fire. I drew it against the flaming string and fired at the queen's shoulder.
The arrow hit her, and she jolted back with a cry. I didn't wait for her to regain her posture but fired a second, a third, then another, and another until she dropped to her knees. I made sure not to mark her skin, directing my aim at her fully-covered body. Seconds later, her white armor was tinted black.
Now that she was on the ground...
"Redmond!" I didn't need to say anything further for him to understand.
His vines sprung from where he was standing, slithering swiftly to bind Queen Adria's wrists and ankles. She thrashed against them, trying to wiggle herself free. Her once soft eyes lit with such wrath, and I saw the desperation etched onto Redmond's face upon looking at her.
"Redmond, can you seal her below the ground?" I asked him.
His torn expression whipped at me. "What? No! I -there has to be another way!"
I could feel the plea in my own eyes. "I know it's hard. But we're not sure if these vines can hold her down."
He looked conflicted, shaking his head twice.
I touched his arm. "Redmond, please. Just until we figure out what's going on."
"I-I don't..."
"What the hell are you two standing for!?" Dorian barked, trotting towards us with his wolves pouncing behind him. He stopped between us, pulling onto mine and Redmond's arms. "We don't have time to chat. We need to get as far away from her!"
"I was telling Redmond -"
The rest of my words were dulled out when the queen blasted with light. The force knocked us back, and my feet flew off the ground. Not soon after, my back collided with the cracked earth underneath. Redmond and Dorian landed on top of me.
"Get off!" I tried to squirm myself out.
The pair coughed, cursing as they each rolled to the side. I propped myself on my elbows, blinking through the sand and dirt in my eyes. My chest twisted. Adria broke free, and she was headed for the collapsed clock tower.
"Lucius and Gerard are evacuating as many people as possible," informed Dorian. "No matter what, we can't let her harm the villagers."
He extended a hand to help me up. I grabbed it, ignoring the terrible ache along my spine. I looked to my left, but Redmond was already speeding towards Adria, the blood from his right arm coating his dark skin.
Shit!
I ran after him, dismissing Dorian's urgent call.
Adria was inching closer to the stone houses, her steps slow and menacing, as if she was taking her time. I spotted Lucius guiding two women and a child to the gate, glancing over his shoulder at the queen prowling closer. Gerard was shouting commands until the veins on his neck were visible, "To the gate! To the gate!"
The queen suddenly halted, but that didn't make the dread in my stomach any lesser. In fact, it worsened.
She peered at where Gerard was scurrying a family out of their home and shot a blinding beam straight at the house's roof. It didn't take long for the upper planks to break apart and crash down, all while the screams of the people who were not out yet filled the air.
I didn't realize I was screaming until my throat felt like glass. I couldn't see any of them as the house was reduced to nothing but large piles of rock and shattered pillars.
"Gerard!" Lucius roared.
No...
Redmond was saying no over and over again. Dorian was silent as death beside me. The queen moved along as if what happened was nothing more than squatting a fly. I could feel my balance slipping, my knees faltering to the ground.
It can't be. It just can't!
But then we heard a soft rumble, almost like something was waking from beneath the earth. Adria heard it too and stopped in her steps to find where she had buried Gerard and that family.
Some of the small stones were tumbling off the bigger ones, and one, in particular, rose slowly from the heaped mess. Relief rushed through me when Gerard appeared under the rock, one hand used to push it up and the other tucked under a young boy.
Both were covered with red dust, but blood ran down Gerard's head. The boy was coughing violently. And I quickly realized he was the only one spared. The parents and the little sister didn't make it.
I sent a silent prayer for their souls to whoever bothered to listen.
The queen's jaw twitched, and the look on her face said she was offended that anyone managed to survive. She turned her full attention to Gerard and the boy.
The panic and fear that consumed me earlier were subsiding, and instead, my body was charged with rage. I glanced at Redmond's face and saw the hard-set expression dawning on his soft eyes.
'Leave the queen to us," I told Dorian. "You focus on getting everyone out."
The markings on Dorian's arms sparked, and three silver wolves conjured behind him. He squeezed my shoulder before running off to assist Gerard and Lucius.
The ground beneath me shook, and I planted my feet firmly so I wouldn't fall. I looked up to see Redmond's hands flat on the soil, the earth quivering and shuddering underneath his skin. The ground started splitting open, tearing apart at each side. It barricaded the queen from the rest of the village and trapped her with us.
But if we weren't fast, she could teleport out of here. So, I didn't hesitate to attack.
Fire welled up around me, twisting and spiraling into countless ropes of flames. They flew at her, their glow a bright crimson against the sand. She clenched her fist, and a barrier of light encased her. Some of the ropes broke at the contact, but I willed them to curve at her right side. The flames hit. They sent her rolling on the ground.
Redmond didn't waste a second. He encircled her, summoning his magic as sheets of thick stone erected and formed a wall around Her Majesty.
The queen growled, bracing herself up. From the narrow openings of the wall, I could see her banging her fists on the stones. Redmond and I looked at each other and nodded. We teleported inside with her, with orange flames and green vines appearing then disappearing.
Adria's eyes were glowing as furiously as that jade stone on her forehead. The moment she set her vision on us, golden orbs of light were hurled at us. I crouched to the left to avoid it, and Redmond dodged to the right.
"Fools!" Her voice was both hers and not. "You cannot stop me."
Redmond inhaled sharply.
Her skin started to brighten, to glow, and I knew she was about to teleport. I dived forward, my hand catching fire, and struck her on the chest before she could do anything. The fire hissed as it collided with metal, but her body was blown back to the hard wall. She made a large crack as she slammed through it. Redmond rushed past me, banged a hand on the solid surface, and seconds later, two chains made of stone sprouted out and cuffed her wrists.
"Do you think that will be enough to hold her?" I asked.
"No," he shook his head. "But it will give us some time to figure out what to do next."
"Hardly any."
After all, she was partially unconscious.
"What's that?" Redmond wondered, and I shifted my eyes to see him looking up.
When I had glanced at what he was looking at, I saw what might have been small red dots in the sky. But I realized they weren't dots at all. They were coming closer, plunging down at us fast, and resembled familiar bright red sparks.
Wait...
I didn't have time to voice my concern. Something exploded behind us, sending shattering rocks our way. Redmond pulled me along and covered my body with his as we went down. There was ringing in my ears, and the sound of the screams became higher and louder.
Those types of screams...I knew them too well. I knew what caused them.
"Well, glad we're not late." A feminine voice spoke, and all the blood in my body stilled.
Redmond had released me, and I was looking over his shoulder at Evine's horrifying grin. She glided along the sand with her blue cloak trailing behind her and her crimson staff in a gloved hand. Beside her, a burly man with long pale blond hair and a scar on his eye scowled at us. He held almost the same staff, albeit Evine's was decorated with a jeweled serpent head.
"Jura," she snapped her fingers towards the restrained Queen Adria, who watched them with dull eyes. "Assist our queen. I'll deal with the Slifer pests."
The man grumbled a yes, then stomped to release the awaiting queen.
Evine smiled as if this was amusing her. "Ah, Lydia and Redmond, I presume?"
"You," I didn't recognize my own voice. It was low, full of rage and contempt. She was the one responsible for Luxus' death, the one responsible for the princess losing her magic. "I will make you pay for everything! I will make sure there's not even ash left when I'm done with you!"
She blinked at me, then put a hand to her ear and chuckled. "I'm sorry, could you speak louder? I can't hear you through all the screaming."
The wizard hunters' magic was raining down on the villagers, and it was as if I was back in Imarnia, in the garden, where everything fell apart. From the gap Evine made in the wall, I could see them swarming in, taking whatever they wanted and leaving emptiness and death behind. I could also see the far-away violet gleams and the ethereal beasts roaming around and fighting back.
That Jura man blasted two shots to the cuffs keeping Adria immobile, and just like that, she was free again. It was Redmond who looked at Evine with hate. "What the hell did you do to her!? Where are the rest of their majesties!?"
She raised an eyebrow and pointed her staff at him. Green serpent-like energy floated out and wrapped around Redmond's body. A scream got caught in my throat, and I desperately tried to claw the magic off of him. But every time my skin made contact, it would scald me. Redmond attempted to shrug his shoulders and writhe free, but it only seemed like the constraints were getting tighter.
"Hush now, boy," Evine silenced him. "It's only a little experiment of ours. And now that it's proven true, we're here to reap the rewards."
"Let him go!" I threw a fireball at her, but Adria's light swallowed it.
Evine turned to the other woman and smirked, then waved her off with her staff as Adria and Jura bowed and walked away. I couldn't believe what I was seeing before me. She had complete control over the queen. Does that...does that mean Gabriel and the others were the same too?
"The last time I saw you, you were a walking torch." She gave me a once-over. "Such pretty flames. I would like to have them for myself. Pity I was told not to."
I set fire to my fist. "You're not getting anything!"
Her lips simpered as if she knew something I didn't. "We'll see about that."
Then her eyes darted behind me. I wanted to turn quickly and prepare myself, but I couldn't move. My arms and legs refused to cooperate with me as if they suddenly stopped working.
What's happening to me? Why can't I move!
"Lydia, what's wrong?" Redmond managed to squeeze out those words.
"I...I don't know."
I looked at my legs, but nothing was pinning me down. And yet, I felt like my whole body was frozen in place. Then my eyes landed on my shadow.
And I felt it -felt him.
The realization rushed at me the same way I was forced to plunge to the ground on both my hands and knees as if something had grabbed my ankle and jerked me down. I couldn't even lift a finger or keep my head lowered.
Redmond was breathing loudly, and his breath quickened when something brushed past us.
I could recognize the cloak sweeping on the ground from the corner of my eyes, black as the night. I could feel his magic in my blood, pulsing into every nerve and cell. The shadows that surrounded him were whispering, almost beckoning.
When those dark grey eyes stared down at me, empty and hollow, I felt the blackness seeping in, crushing everything in its path. And I forgot how to breathe, how to speak, and how to know what's real or not.
I have thought about this moment for months, wondering how it would play out in my mind. Sometimes, it would be hopeful, joyous even. And sometimes, it would be fearful.
It was Gabriel, but it also wasn't. Not with those blank and soulless eyes. Not with that terrible emerald stone carved into his forehead.