“No one, other than the children, is innocent in all this. We all knew what we were getting into… including the servants.”
“He’s right,” Ianto said.
“What about the duke?” I asked. “Any sign of him?”
“We don’t think he got out of the palace before it collapsed. We searched the remaining buildings, but there was no sign of him,” Ianto answered.
“Hopefully, he didn’t open a portal out of Tempest,” I muttered.
“I’d far prefer him dead, but at least he’d be gone.”
“Not if he comes back with an army,” Tucker said.
“With what money?” Ianto inquired. “I doubt he escaped with much… if he escaped.”
“I don’t know, but while he lives, Tempest is in danger.”
“I saw him in the palace right before the collapse. I don’t think he managed to get free, but if he did, we’ll prepare for his return,” I said. “Plus, I’m not sure if the duke can open a portal out of the palace. Yes, he was residing there and had established himself as Tempest’s ruler, but he wasn’t granted permission by Ivan to come and go as he pleased from the palace while the king was alive. I’m not sure if the duke managed to find someone to change that or not.”
“Let’s hope not,” Tucker said. “Anyway, there’s not much we can do about him right now. We have work to do.”
I looked behind him at the massive pile of stone and debris. Helplessness rose in my chest, but I shoved it aside. I didn’t care what it took; I’d unearth everyone trapped below.
CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR
Ellery
I’d been right about the sun setting on another day. The silvery glow of the rising moons bathed the land as I stalked around the rubble, examining it closely. They’d managed to accomplish a lot, but I had an idea that could accomplish more.
I asked the others to leave the pit before lifting my hands and twisting them in a smooth motion. With deft movements, I’d done something I never had before by opening the lock inside the Earl of Oakley’s bedroom.
Now I concentrated on creating something new to help with this. I couldn’t create a tornado; it would help remove the debris, but it would only cause more damage and could kill those trapped below.
I didn’t let myself think about Ryker and the others while I worked. If I got too emotional, it might affect my abilities.
The amsirah had moved back, but I heard their whispers. They knew I was the one who’d done this, and I had to prove to them that I could keep my abilities under control and would never be a threat to them.
I had to show them that, while I’d destroyed the palace, I’d do whatever it took to help and protect them.
Indon and the other gargoyles circled above, watching and waiting to help if I called to them. I prayed I wouldn’t have to do that.
With care, I created a funnel of wind that wasn’t quite a tornado, but it rattled the rocks until one of them rose into the air. Another followed, then another, and another.
They rose higher and higher as they emerged from the pile more rapidly. The gargoyles snatched some of them from the air, but I lifted the others out of the hole and settled them on the edge.
As I gained more confidence in my ability to keep this under control, the process went faster. The amsirah resumed stacking the rocks into the backs of wagons and hauling them away to keep space open for me.
Those with the ability to control the wind helped speed up the process by blowing the rocks to the side of the pit, rather than having me set them there. I uncovered numerous bodies of guards and servants who weren’t lucky enough to escape the downfall.
Many were still alive, but others had their skulls smashed in so badly their brains covered the stones around them, making it impossible for them to heal. Others were so crushed that their hearts were pulverized.
As we worked, we sorted the dead into different piles. We’d bury the servants and burn the soldiers.
We also separated all the survivors. They took the guards to the Revenant Woods, where the poltergeists eagerly awaited their arrival.
I agreed with their decision to give the guards a fighting chance, even if it wasn’t much of one; I was okay with that. After Ianto returned from one of his trips to the forest, he told me that Farley and the other poltergeists started singing whenever they brought more of the condemned to them. It was a little macabre, but if it kept them happy, then so be it.
After a couple of hours, I uncovered Zira. She burst out of the rubble and into the air, but when she went to take flight, her broken wing created an odd flapping movement.
