Glancing at Kull’s sleeping form, I prayed he would forgive me for what I was about to do. I only hoped my unholy act bought his freedom.
Placing Bloodbane on the floor, I took several steps back. This was going to be dangerous. I’d created fire hot enough to liquefy metal before, but this fire had to be hot enough to disintegrate it. Now I would find out if I had enough power within me to destroy the one talisman Kull held sacred above any other.
Good thing he loved me.
Collecting the power within me, I focused on the sword, letting my anger fuel my magic. Bands of blue and amber wrapped around my wrists and traveled in hot waves up my arms. My hands fisted, and the magic released into the sword. The fire burned from ocher to white as it consumed the blade. Heat singed my eyebrows and forced me to back away, but I kept my focus on the sword, allowing all my energy to flow into fueling the magic.
Bursts of light blinded me as the sword melted. Flames licked the fragments that fell away, casting embers that flitted into the air. In a matter of minutes, nothing remained of the sword but a black stain on the floor. Sweating and breathing heavily, I stumbled back, then rushed to Kull, so dizzy I almost fell as I moved to his side.
“Kull,” I said, shaking his shoulder.
As he opened his eyes, the collar encircling his neck glowed bright. In that brief moment when his eyes met mine, he didn’t know me. A wild, unsettling fear replaced his look of centered calmness, and he clamped my wrist.
“Where am I?” He breathed as if he’d come back from the brink of drowning.
“It’s all right. I’m here,” I said.
“Olive?”
“Yes, it’s me. I’m right here.”
I grabbed his hand in mine. The collar glowed brighter and then began to disappear. It faded slowly, disintegrating the same way the sword had done. His eyes opened wide as he touched his neck.
“What’s happening?” he asked.
“It’s okay. I destroyed the collar. You’re free.”
“What? How?”
“I… umm, it’s a bit of a long story. I’d better tell you when we’re out of this castle. Do you think you can walk?”
His heavy breathing echoed through the empty room. Finally, he sat up. I didn’t know what kind of pain he was suffering, and I didn’t know if the witch were responsible or not, but I did know that mental pain was worse than physical. Those deep scars no one could see healed slowly, if they ever healed at all.
I smoothed the hair away from his brow. If she’d injured him, I would not rest until she paid for it.
“Kull, what’s wrong? Did the witch hurt you?”
“I…” He gasped. His eyes scanned the room as if he were a caged animal. “Olive?”
“I’m here.”
Closing his eyes, he steadied his breathing. I glanced back at the door. We needed to escape now before the witch or one of the wraiths discovered that I’d destroyed the sword and the collar.
“Do you know the way to the waterfall?” I asked.
“Yes.” He sat up. “It’s not far.”
“Can you walk?”
He nodded but was slow to stand up, so I put my arm around him.
“Where’s the exit?”
“There’s a doorway in the back. It’s locked, but Bloodbane will make short work of the lock.” He turned to the wall where his sword had hung. “Where’s my sword?”
He walked to the wall, keeping his eyes on the black spot on the floor. I couldn’t follow. I wasn’t sure if he’d ever forgive me for this. He’d left me for ten months after his father’s death. What would he do after I’d destroyed his sword?
“Kull,” I said, “I need to tell you something.”
He scuffed his boot on the blackened spot.
“I’m sorry, but destroying the sword was the only way to get that collar off your neck.”
He was silent for a moment. What was he thinking? He’d told me once that the sword was an heirloom. How old was it? Hundreds of years? Sighing, my heart felt heavy. Kneeling in the ash, he rubbed it with his fingertips, as if paying homage to an honored friend, as if a piece of himself had died with the sword.
When he stood, he gave me a small smile, but I saw the sadness in his eyes. I almost felt I could hear his heart breaking as he walked toward me.
“We need to go,” he said.
“Are you angry with me?”
“Of course not. I’d rather have my life than my sword.” He sighed. “But I will not lie, Bloodbane will be missed. I hardly felt like myself without my sword, and now I suppose I’ll never feel like myself again.”
I rested my hand on his shoulder. “Will you be all right?”
“Yes, as soon as we’re free of this place. Come, I’ll show you the passage I found.”
I followed him through the cavernous room and to the back wall where a small metal door sat in a stone alcove. A lock was attached to the door’s handle.
“I’ll try to pry the mechanism apart,” Kull said.
It took him a moment, but he crushed the metal in his hands until it split apart, and then he grunted as he finally pulled the broken lock away from the door.
“Easy,” he said, smiling. “I don’t think anyone uses this passage much, or else we would’ve had a harder time of it.”
“That, or you’ve got incredible grip strength,” I said.
“Yes.” His smile broadened. “I like that explanation better.”
Kull found a torch and some oiled cloth and lit it as we walked through the doorway and down a winding path. The firelight flickered off the rough stone walls. Cobwebs blocked our way in several places. Up ahead came the sound of rushing water, and soon we emerged under the moonlit sky onto a ledge that jutted out from a cliffside. The rushing waterfall created a dazzling white curtain that blocked our path. Kull extinguished the torch and led me to
