Heir of Pendel (A Pandoran Novel, #4) (31 page)

The bolt hit in the same moment my shield materialized, but the impact sent me flying backwards, right into a stable door. My head rammed against wood and pain exploded in my skull, and I winced as my body slid to the ground. The horse behind me whinnied, and I staggered back to my feet, my vision whirling. That would leave a nasty bump on my head.

"Not bad, not bad," Tiernan said from behind the pile of debris. "But not so impressive, either. You shouldn't fight me, princess. I will get what I want. I always get what I want."

"Right, just like you did in the dungeons." I shot another pulse of energy, but this time, Tiernan reflected it back at me. I couldn't deflect it in time. I leapt to the side, rolling on the ground as the force crashed into a stable door, sending bits of wood and hay everywhere. The air burst with sudden warmth, and I glanced back to see the stable engulfed in flame. The air smelled like burning wood, and the horse inside screamed. It kicked through what remained of its stable door and bolted out and down the lane, flames curling from its body as it burst through the main doors and galloped out into the night. I was glad at least someone was getting out of here. And then I suddenly got an idea. It wasn't a very good idea, but it just might work.

"Come with me back to Valdon."

"So Eris can murder me like he murdered the king and my brother?" I coughed. The smoke grew thicker now, making it difficult to breathe.

"He desires your allegiance."

"That's never going to happen," I spat as I crawled away from the burning stable.

"I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss him, if I were you. The things you could do with his guidance…you could be great—unstoppable. No one would dare to raise a hand against you."

I coughed on smoke as I shot another bolt of light at him, but I missed. "You don’t know me at all if you think I want power."

"Oh, I know you well enough. You'll want power—all the power in the world—if it means you have the ability to protect
him
." He shot another ball of fire at me and I dodged just in time. This one hit a trough near the back wall. Water sizzled and droplets exploded, raining down with hot orange sparks.

"I thought he wanted me alive!" I shouted over the flames.

"His majesty does, but I am not his majesty, and I have license to act in any way I see fit should you not come willingly." Another ball of flame flew at me, and I scrambled behind a small pyramid of hay. The flame careened into a pile of tools and supplies, and parts flew everywhere. I ducked, covering my head with my arms as scraps of metal and leather bit at my skin. He was taking his time because he thought he had won. He was just toying with me now.

"You can come willingly or I will force you out. I don't care how badly you're burned in the process. It's your choice," he said.

While he spoke, I poured all of my focus into the support beam beside me. I strained, clenching my teeth while pressing my senses against the solid wood. My body was already so tired—tired from the magic I'd used escaping my room and all the magic I'd flung at Tiernan. Pulling at my well of magic now was like trying to draw an anchor from the bottom of the ocean. The weight ground against me, resisting with every tug and every pull, trying to bring me back down with it. My skull pounded with each pulse and my body trembled from strain as beads of sweat slid into my eyes. I was at the end of my strength. There was nothing left inside of me to give. I was going to burn in here and then be dragged back to Valdon, back to my uncle.

My strength gave way with a groan, and the support beam finally cracked. I didn't have much time to pat myself on the back because Tiernan threw another ball of flame at me.

It struck the tower of hay I'd been hiding behind. I gathered what little strength I had left and dove. The blast sent me flying. My shoulder slammed into a stable door so hard the impact broke the hinge, forcing the door open. Pain seared through my collarbone as I flew into the stable and collided with the horse inside. I bounced on the ground and rolled into the inside wall. I groaned, rolling onto my back while narrowly missing being stomped on. My body ached as I choked and gagged on hot, smoky air. I wiped my eyes and glanced up to see the new fire consume the hay and start climbing the wall, its orange fingers snaking toward the roof. The painted stallion in my stable reared and whinnied, wanting to escape but too scared by the fire. I pressed myself to the wall of his stable to keep from getting kicked.

"Give up yet?" Tiernan taunted.

Dark smoke filled the stables, making it harder and harder to see. My eyes burned from smoke and my entire body ached, and then the support beam groaned.

I clambered on to the stallion, gripped his mane and kicked him hard in the ribs. He brayed and reared, not wanting to run and trying to throw me off. A loud crack split through the support beam and the ceiling above swayed. I cursed and kicked my horse in the ribs again, harder this time as I pressed silent thoughts to him.

Run. You have to run or we'll both be dead. I can protect you from the fire, but you have to run!

With my next kick, the horse finally planted his front hooves on the ground and exploded through the stable with me on his back. I gripped harder and focused, drawing the wind toward us, pulling it through every crack and open space, hugging it around us like a fire blanket. My heart pounded and my palms turned slick with sweat, and I readjusted my grip on his mane to keep from sliding off as he bolted down the lane, straight at Tiernan.

Tiernan stood between the exit and us, his eyes huge and raging. He opened his palm, preparing to strike me down when another loud, splintering crack cut through the sound of the flames. It was all the distraction we needed as we galloped straight at him, fire curling all around us as if we were some demon horse and rider running right out of hell. The back wall of the stables gave out with a loud crash, the beams inside fractured and the roof collapsed.

My horse and I burst through the main door seconds before the lintel smashed down on our heads. There was another crash, much larger than the first, and I glanced over my shoulder to see the stables crumbling to the ground as though it were a great ship being swallowed by an ocean of fire. The sky was alight with flaming tentacles, reaching and stretching and yawning now that it was free. The horses still inside shrieked and squealed, filling the night with the horrible sounds of their deaths. I gripped my stallion's mane harder while fighting back tears. All those poor horses. Yells and hollers suddenly echoed from far behind me, jerking me out of my despair. I led my horse in the opposite direction, the pair of us galloping away from the estate.

The snow fell harder, swarming around us as we ran. I wasn’t accustomed to riding bareback, and my fingers already ached from clutching my horse's mane so tightly. And then there was the magic. Using so much of it and in such a short amount of time was catching up with me fast. My legs and arms had turned to lead, and I sagged forward, struggling to stay on. My eyes started closing, and I blinked and shook my head, trying to force myself awake. Now was not the time to be falling asleep.

The road veered left, and up ahead I noticed the stone bridge Danton and I had crossed just last night. But we'd turned off the road right after the bridge, and tonight I would be staying on it because he'd said it ultimately led out of Orindor. The black river roared the closer we came, drowning out my horse's gallop. We ran over the bridge and landed on the opposite bank when a shadow blurred from my right. My horse whinnied and reared, my slick fingers lost purchase, and I slid from my horse's back, landing hard on my tailbone. Snow and grit bit into my palms, and then a strong grip grabbed hold of my arms.

19

DARIA

I
t was Danton, and he did not look very happy to see me.

There was no way he could've known what had just happened, but he was probably putting it together right then. It wouldn't take him long. One look at me would tell anyone I was a fugitive on the run.

"What are you doing out here?" I jerked my arm away from him, but he only squeezed harder.

He looked me over, taking in the mess of my charred cloak and dirty clothes, and between all the fighting and rolling through dirt and hay, there was no telling what my face looked like. "I was on my way into town and heard someone coming." He sniffed at the air. "Why do you smell like a bonfire?"

"Why don't you ask your uncle?" I snapped.

His face turned stone cold.

"He killed Isla!" I screamed at him. "I was standing right there, Danton, and I heard her screams and I watched your uncle suck the life out of her. Is that what you wanted?"

Danton looked like a ghost of himself, his certainty wavering like a reed in the wind. "Where is he now?"

"I don't know," I said through clenched teeth. "I left him in your stables that
he
tried burning down with me inside!"

His gaze slid past me, in the direction of his home, as if he were looking for the solution out there.

"Danton, you have to let me go! I have to stop this!"

He jerked me so close our breaths mingled. "
You
? What can
you
possibly do to hold this back? To hold anything back? This is greater than you and me, Daria. It always has been. We have to survive it. That's all we're ever able to do—survive. Come back with me." He squeezed my arm tighter. "I can protect you—"

"When are you going to get it, Danton? You can't! He came
here
, to your home to take me back to Eris, and your father let him! If you really meant to protect me, you'd let me get the hell away from here."

His jaw worked as he held me there, my face mere inches from his. "But where would you go?"

I wasn't headed toward a place. I was headed toward a person, and by the look in his eyes, I knew he'd just figured it out.

His features steeled. "You can't defeat them, Daria. Not even with
his
help."

I stared straight into those hard Pontefract eyes. "Then. Help. Us."

"You know I can't."

"Is that
your
answer, or your father's?"

His lips thinned.

"Danton, just yesterday you told me how I help you realize there's another way. How you feared you'd lost the piece of yourself that was good and honest, and somehow I'd given you hope that that man was still alive, deep down inside of you." I searched his eyes. His expression was unreadable, but I knew my words had penetrated. I could feel the turmoil building inside of him. "You wanted to be a better man and set yourself apart from your father. Well, here's your chance, Danton. Come with me," I pleaded. "Help us save the people of this world before it's too late."

He stood so close, paralyzed with indecision. He had me. He knew he had me, and he knew I knew it too. I couldn't fight him; I was too weak. And if he so chose, I would be escorted straight back to his home, and now that my secret was out, there was no way I'd ever escape. I'd probably be thrown in the dungeons this time, with magic-binding cuffs as a permanent accessory.

His jaw worked again as I felt flashes of emotion: anger, bitterness, resentment. But there was also something else, something softer and warmer, slowly smothering the others until at last he sighed and dropped his head as if it were suddenly too heavy to hold up. He released his grip on me and his arm fell limply to his side. "Go." He sounded so weary, so…defeated.

The wind ruffled his blond hair, but the rest of him was still. At first I thought I hadn't heard right, but when he made no move to escort me back to his father, I knew he was really letting me go. But…

"You won't…come?" I whispered.

His shoulders rose and fell with a breath, and he gazed back at me. He looked as though he'd just lost the only thing that had ever mattered to him, and it made my heart hurt a little. "It's…better if I stay here and divert them from your trail," he said.

I understood and was grateful, but I was also surprised by how much I'd hoped he'd come with me, and by how much it pained me to see him like this. Without thinking, I leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek, right near his mouth. When I pulled back, his eyes followed me, surprised and unsure.

"Thank you," I whispered, pressing my palm to his cheek. "If we come out of this war alive, I will not forget you or all you've done for me. I swear it on my life."

His chest expanded with a deep breath while his gaze remained fastened on mine. He grabbed my hand from his face and pulled it down so our hands rested in the space between us, and he didn't let go. "Don't go through town. When you reach the split, veer left. That will take you away from Bristol, and no telling who might recognize you there. A few miles after the split, you'll come upon an obelisk. It marks an old path no one remembers and no one uses anymore. Follow it north, and it will take you safely to the Olde Road and you…you can be on your way. And here…" He released my hand to grab something from his horse's saddle, and then he handed it to me. "Take this."

It was a sword and sheath, and a very nice one at that.

"It's all right," he said, noting my hesitation. "I've got plenty more, and you need this more than I do at the moment. I'd give you my saddle as well, but that may earn me a few unwanted questions." A thought struck him, and he tugged off his gloves. "Take these too."

I took the sword and gloves from his hands, and an overwhelming sense of guilt swelled inside of me. I glanced up to find him watching me. His gaze filled with tenderness as it floated down to my mouth and back up to my eyes.

"Danton…thank you," I whispered, hoping he could hear how much all of this meant to me.

He leaned forward a little, and I thought he was about to kiss me, but he didn't. Instead he stepped back, and in a whirl of wool and snow, he leapt into the saddle of his horse. He stared in the direction of his home, his expression resolved, while clouds of warm air rose from both his and his horse's nostrils. He led his horse a few paces in the direction of his home, then paused to glance back at me. "Daria…" His eyes flickered over my face with the brush of affection. "Be careful." He gave his horse a swift kick and galloped off toward his home, and he didn't look back again.