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I flung one hand out, directing part of its power at the wall, forming a column of sheer energy that pulsed between the floor and the broken ceiling beam, forcing its weight up and off the door. With my other hand, I made a sweeping motion. The rubble that blocked the door rose in the air, flung itself past me, and then settled on either side of the shaking walls behind, leaving a path wide enough to walk thro
ugh. I redirected that energy back to the column, reinforcing it.
Pain began to pulse in the back of my head. I might be using wild magic to hold up the wall, but it was costing me personally.
“Aiden,” I growled, “force the door open and get everyone out.”
There were several thumps that echoed through the wall and tore through me via the wild magic, then the door burst open and Aiden appeared. He took one look at me, then turned and growled, “Everyone out—fast!”
Men and women streamed through the door—and there were far more than I’d expected. I pressed my back against the wall to give them room to pass; they stank of fear and smoke and blood; some were burned, some were cut and bleeding, but most looked unharmed. The main stairs into the basement might have collapsed, but that same collapse might also have protected them from subsequent explosions.
With what sounded like a gunshot, the plaster above me cracked and fell. I thrust a hand up, knocking the huge chunk away with wild magic. Pain lanced through my head, and moisture dropped over my eyelashes and slipped down my cheeks. I couldn’t hold for much longer…
“Hurry” was all I said.
Six more people came out, then Aiden was beside me. “Fuck, Lizzie, you’re bleeding—”
I was? “It doesn’t matter—go. Get everyone out of here—”
“Not without you—”
“I’m currently the only thing stopping this section of hall collapsing, so get your ass out of here. I’ll be right behind you.”
He made a low sound deep in his throat, then swung around, wrapped an arm around a limping young man, and disappeared into the smoke and dust haze that now filled the hall.
I waited, one arm still outstretched, feeding the wild magic into the column, keeping it strong. My limbs shook, and the ache in my head was now fierce enough that my vision was blurring.
Why?
I wasn’t really doing anything here that I hadn’t done before…
Magic is never without cost came the comment. It wasn’t Katie—it was too masculine in tone. Gabe, speaking through her. You may be one with the wild magic, and will therefore avoid the price most pay for its use, but you are still flesh and blood rather than energy. Using it in such a manner will always come at a personal cost.
Like eyes bleeding?
Yes. They will heal, but every time you use the wild magic in this manner, the worse the bleeding will become and the longer it will take you to recover.
Not something I wanted to hear… but right now, it didn’t really matter.
Aiden and the others had climbed the stairs and were now in the hall leading to the parking area. It was time for me to release the wall and get the hell out of here.
You will have to run came Katie’s comment. Fast.
I took a deep breath, then clenched my fingers and unleashed the wild magic. The thick column of blue-white light flickered and then broke apart, once again becoming tiny fragments of blue-white light. Without support, the wall immediately dropped. As the doorframe took its weight and began to splinter further, I spun and ran back along the hall. Threads of wild magic spun ahead of me, providing enough light to not only see through the gloom but to also see the ever-widening fissures appearing in the walls and the ceiling.
With a soft whoomph, the basement wall collapsed. A heartbeat later, a thick cloud of dust flowed over me, cutting what little visibility there was, throwing me into a deep, dangerous darkness.
Tiny filaments of wild magic encircled my wrist, and Katie’s energy—her being—flowed into me. My senses expanded—sharpened—and while the fog of dust and smoke remained as thick as ever, I could at least see shadows now. It was enough to keep running, to avoid tripping over anything. The stairs came into view. I was almost safe…
But that thought had barely even crossed my mind when what sounded like a freight train started up behind me.
The ceiling and walls were collapsing.
I swore, grabbed the railing, and bolted up the stairs two at a time.
Faster, faster, Katie urged, panic in her tone.
I tried to obey, but my strength was slipping away and I had nothing left in the tank. It was all I could do to remain upright.
