Madis hit the ground in a splatter of water that hung in midair. He lifted his face, its lines deeper than ever. “Rickard,” he whispered. Daniel could hear it. He could hear everything. “Please. H-Help. I can’t seem to-”
“I’m here,” Rickard said. For a moment, his expression softened. “I’ll help you.”
The waters shivered, starting to pulse with the energy that radiated away from Daniel. The surface of the pool shook with tiny reverberations.
A smile stretched across Madis’s craggy face. He lurched forward, reaching for Rickard—who clasped hands with him, pulling him closer.
No. Daniel gritted his teeth, calling his magic up. Faster. We need to move, Alex, before-
His eyes widened.
He saw Rickard pull Madis closer.
He saw him plunge a hand into Madis’s coat, yanking a familiar book from within.
And he saw him drop Madis back into the waters, taking a step away.
Madis stumbled forward, trying to rise again—and just like before, he tumbled back into the waters. “Y-You can’t-”
“You asked for my help,” Daniel heard Rickard say. The man was still backing away, casting a wary eye toward Daniel. “And I am. You’ll live on. And I’ll do a better job from here on out.”
“Rickard-”
“It’s Madis, now,” Rickard spat. He turned, clutching the book to his chest, and burst into a dead run.
“Like hell,” Daniel gasped, his eyes narrowing. He took a step—and with that, the power simmering within him erupted. The waters burst from the ground, blossoming into a circular wave that swept out and away from him.
The roar of gunshots increased to fever pitch. Daniel didn’t even look.
Silver washed over the world, wiping everything away. The smoke. The bookshelves. The people. Will’s eyes widened, illuminated by the glow. The wave hit him about the chest, carrying him to the ground.
Screams. The gunshots rang out for one final moment, then went quiet. The crackling of mages around them died away. Daniel pushed on, fingers tensed. The tidal wave surged on, crashing down the aisles with furious intensity.
Rickard ran. He bolted ahead of the devouring wave, disappearing from sight a scant few seconds later. Daniel gritted his teeth, urging the magic after him, but there was…nothing. No impact, no searing point of gleaming magic. He was too damn fast.
With a pang, he saw Indira’s body vanish beneath the wave. Olivia pressed her face to his shoulder, biting back a sob.
Madis lurched to his feet, wobbling dangerously. Pale-faced, he plunged a hand into his jacket, pulling a gun free. Alexandria’s presence in Daniel’s mind sharpened in an instant.
She needn’t have worried. Daniel spun, bringing his other hand up.
The ground beneath Madis’s feet shook. He went down hard.
The waters surged in.
And then it was quiet, and still, and the world gently shimmered with silver-blue light.
Daniel panted, his hands still outstretched. His senses strained, searching for...something. A footstep. A hint of movement.
The mists grew thicker. The water was evaporating, fading out to fog before their eyes. Within seconds, the wooden floors were bare.
Daniel reeled as the building around them started twisting, warping again. Alexandria’s help was ending. Normalcy would return.
“Is...Is it over?” Olivia whispered.
He hardly noticed. His head screamed in pain, like someone was standing beside him with a hammer, drumming on it. That nosebleed was back. He hit the ground hard, his vision going grey.
Someone moved with him. Olivia. Right. “H-Hey,” he heard her say. “You good? Stay with me.”
“I’m...f-fine,” Daniel rasped. He wasn’t. That was a lie. He pressed a hand to his face, trying to convince the world to stop spinning. It merrily refused.
“You...You got them.” Olivia didn’t quite sound like she believed the words herself. “Holy shit. What was that? What was-”
Her hands tightened around his arm. Her words died in a muted hiss.
Daniel lifted his head, peering blearily out at the library—only, it wasn’t a library anymore. It was the wreckage of a home-turned-office, the walls blackened and burning. The rafters hung overhead, partially sheared through. Everything around them had been scorched away.
Everything, and everyone.
But he’d heard it too. Voices. Angry voices. Getting closer.
“Holy shit!” he heard someone cry. “Did you-”
“I saw it.”
“Were Rickard and Madis-”
“They’re still in there. Go get the others. We have to-”
“Move,” Olivia whispered. Her hand around his arm became a vise, lifting him into the air. Daniel nodded, trying to help as best he could.
His leg didn’t hurt. Alexandria’s help on that front seemed to be permanent. Of course, he couldn’t quite decide between ‘nothing hurts’ and ‘everything hurts’, when it came right down to it. The haze filling his vision came from more than just Alexandria’s magic, he knew.
Stumbling awkwardly, he let Olivia tow them toward a door on the side of the house. Or a hole. He couldn’t remember if it’d been a door, before.
The voices got louder and louder—and they found friends. He’d have been utterly panicked, if he’d had the strength to feel anything at all.
Olivia peered through the hole-door, and he heard her let out a low hiss. “O-Okay,” she whispered. “We’re going to run.”
Run? She wanted him to run, when it felt like his legs might give out beneath him at a moment’s notice. But...Olivia knew that. She wouldn’t suggest it if it wasn’t necessary. So Daniel nodded, steeling himself.
Her hands tightened around his arm—and then she pulled him out into the light.
Grass. Grass underfoot, and the smell of smoke, and houses off in the distance. A forest pressed in around the Booklenders’ house. Olivia dragged Daniel toward the houses and their
