If I changed the rune tied to the barrier slightly, I could nullify my own rune.I softly traced it on my arm as I paced.Or if it senses intentions, do I just change my intention?
The man holding Holt chuckled darkly and it broke me from my reverie.
“Yes, she’s the one we were sent for.”
I stopped pacing and stared at them, the three rebels holding Holt captive.
“An exchange, then? A life for a life?” The man smiled predatorily again.
“I could be bribed.”
I nodded once. “Then we have a deal.”
“Fay, no!” other voices joined Holt’s and Sharol’s as I focused on clearing my mind and changing my intentions.
I need to save these people. I need to protect them.Wards, at their core, were built for protection. I figured that if I changedmyintentions to be one of selfless protection, the ward would understand and respond in kind.
I focused on my mantra as I extended my hand to the barrier, and as I met no resistance, I opened my eyes and smiled.
I did it!
Everyone’s eyes on the other side of the barrier were wide, even the blond man had stopped pacing and regarded me with a sort of deep curiosity.
The only one not intrigued was Holt. He looked broken, sad.
“Oh, my little Fay. I wish you would’ve listened,” he whispered, his voice cracking at the end.
I halted my slow progress through the ward, drawn to the only person who had loved me enough to care for me as a child.
“Know that I love you, my girl, but I can’t let this happen. It’s not supposed to happen this way. Not yet.” Tears tracked down his deep-brown skin. I had never seen Holt cry, ever.
Suddenly I saw the crystal on his neck glow a bright white, brighter than I had ever seen. It washed over the entirety of his face, obscuring his expression, but I knew his eyes were still trained on me. With the force of a tornado, Holt blasted me back from the barrier’s edge, the wards suddenly snapping back into place and activating from the onslaught of magic.
I stumbled back, my arm retreating from the barrier’s edge. I tried again to break through, but my mind was too jumbled, my intentions not clear.
“No! Holt!” I screamed, standing as close to the barrier as I dared.
The rebels holding Holt regained their footing after the sudden burst of wind.
The one holding the knife pulled Holt’s head back against his body, the edge now digging into his neck. Blood trailed down his beautiful brown skin, mirroring the tears tracking from his eyes.
“Deal’s off.”
The blond man and I took steps toward Holt at the same time, but it was a futile action.
“I lov—” Holt’s words were cut off as the man dragged the knife slowly across Holt’s throat, pressing so deep he nearly severed his head from his neck. Blood spurted straight from the wound, hissing as it hit the barrier. All the while, Holt’s eyes stayed trained on me.
“NOOO!” My scream came out a broken plea that morphed into intelligible sobbing. “Holt! I love you. I love you. Father! I should’ve told you earlier, I should’ve told you earlier. I love you. Holt, Father,” I blubbered numbly and incoherently as I watched his body fall to the ground, his bloodpooling to match the stain of the Librarian’s blood from yesterday. Holt’s eyes were open and unblinking, still staring at me as if I was the world.
My breaths were coming in choked gasps, my body shaking. At some point my legs had given out and I was lying on the ground, facing the only parent I had ever known.
Gone. He’s gone.
I reached my fingers for his, his hand just on the other side of the barrier. I don’t know how long I laid like that.
Minutes.
Hours.
