They trembled.
It might work.
He shoved harder.
A little more trembling.
Not enough, though.
What if I carved at the stone with the sword? If there was magic in it, I might be able to use that against the stone and break free.
He swung.
The stone shattered.
Gavin swung the sword again and slammed through the stone, carving through it within a few strokes. The debris cleared, giving him an open pathway to the tunnel, and he saw the ladder—and the way out.
He sprinted to the ladder and climbed back into Cyran’s home, and he paused just long enough to look around once. He hurried outside and closed the door behind him, then he raced along the street.
It seemed as if it took an impossibly long time for him to get to the Roasted Dragon, but when he reached it, there was movement outside of the tavern. He had no idea who was there, but given the time of night, anyone there was not supposed to be.
Gavin darted forward, holding onto the sword. A dark-cloaked figure turned toward him, and a burst of power struck him. He ignored the blast, focusing instead on the figure itself. There was something unusual about them. The power that struck him was incredible, almost more than he could withstand, though he’d faced magical attacks before. This was just one more—only that this was another attack on the Dragon.
He was responsible for bringing this attack here. Once again, he had brought magic to a place that did not deserve it. Once again, he was responsible for bringing that power to bear in a place that had long ago exiled power. No one had said anything to him, though they didn’t need to. He felt the blame regardless.
He could feel energy around him, though he didn’t know why. It was possible the core reserves of power within him somehow alerted him to the power that existed in the world.
The figure wore a black cloak, and colors swirled around them that reminded him of the vines the sorceress had used against him, so different than other sorcerers he had faced. Others had power, but they were forced to use spells and incantations, not just throwing power out like this.
Whoever faced him was powerful.
Swinging the blade, Gavin carved through the magic, and then he swiped across the sorcerer’s chest. They fell in a spray of blood.
Another attack started toward him, beginning to sweep power around him. Again it reminded him of the same lines of energy that Erica had used on him, but this sorcerer didn’t seem as capable as she had been. Gavin cut through them, and the magical vines dropped harmlessly away from him.
He spun and slammed the flat of the blade against the sorcerer’s forehead, and then he dropped, kicking and driving his heel into their back. Something cracked, and they went staggering forward. He hesitated as he watched the cloaked figure move toward the entrance to the Dragon.
Gavin raced toward the door and opened it, revealing the chaos inside. Strange vines of energy spread out all over, almost as if trying to crawl along the walls. He couldn’t see the sorceress.
Gaspar was backed against the wall. He looked over at Gavin and nodded. “Took you long enough.”
“I had to carve through some stone.”
“New sword? Didn’t think you would’ve had time to pick one up.”
“Cyran left it behind for me.”
Gaspar chuckled, and he nodded toward the staircase. “I don’t know what they’re doing, but they’re using magic to hold us at bay.”
“Alex?”
“Upstairs, but Jessica is there.”
“She should have known better,” Gavin said.
“Imogen is with them,” Gaspar said. That meant something more to Gaspar than it did to Gavin.
He carved through the green vines and raced toward the stairs. He headed up and detected a sense of ongoing energy at the top. He could feel the strangeness of it, and he focused his power into the sword.
He used it to attack the energy here. The sorceress wasn’t anywhere to be found, but he could feel her effect, and the occasional streaking line of power along the walls suggested she was still here, even if he couldn’t see her.
At the end of the hall, near the room where they had placed Alex, he felt resistance. Gavin swiped through it with the new sword and found that he was able to carve through it far more easily than he had been able to do before. He pulled the room door open and found the sorceress inside.
She stood near the door with power creeping away from her, heading toward Alex, Jessica, and Imogen. Imogen swept that narrow blade of hers toward everything that the sorceress did and somehow managed to keep the magic at bay.
Maybe she had an El’aras blade.
It was a different style than the one Gavin had, but it seemed to withstand the attack fairly well. She worked quickly, swinging the narrow blade at each of the vines the sorceress sent at her, holding them off. She had positioned herself in front of Jessica and Alex, but it wouldn’t be long before those vines overwhelmed her. Gavin darted forward, rolling in front of Imogen, and he swept the sword through the vines.
The sorceress smiled at him. “You escaped. You really are quite capable, Gavin Lorren.”
“You would’ve been better off killing me.”
“I’m not sure I can kill you. I thought I might be able to delay you longer than I did, but perhaps you’re far more skilled than I had been warned.” She glared at him. “Regardless, you are troublesome.” She shifted her attack, and the ground seemed to flow up, magic manifesting as something physical as if earth and plants and everything swallowed him.
Gavin acted quickly. He swung the sword, but there was nothing to cut. Other than the vines she’d been using, this new magic seemed to flow up from the ground right below his feet. He didn’t
