Wind-Scarred (The Will of the Elements, Book 1) (43 page)

Sebastian moved fast. In the blink of an eye
he had charged past Ezra, kicking the struck in the head and
leveling his bolt-thrower on the seer. His shot flew true, only to
be caught at the last second by a stream of water as his target
bobbed and wove toward them. Seb was already reloading and
preparing another round when a blast of water caught his hand and
froze the weapon solid.

He took a swing at his opponent, but the
water-seer smoothly danced under his arm, so swift and graceful
that he could have been standing still. One hand flashed to his hip
as the other blurred toward his throat, twisting upwards, and
suddenly Sebastian was flying toward the ceiling. He hit with bone
shattering force and plummeted to the ground, lifeless.

Ezra's body reacted before he could think.
His sword flashed out, arcing in a deadly slash the instant the
seer came in range. He may as well have been swinging a pillow. The
seer skipped away lightly, one hand sweeping out to fluidly
re-direct the sword's tip to the floor as the other gestured toward
the ice currently binding the bolt-thrower. The frozen water flowed
away from the weapon it held captive, catching Ezra's blade and
anchoring it immovably to solid stone. Freed from the ice's grasp,
Sebastian's hand fell open, the small crossbow dropping free, less
than a meter away. Ezra released the sword and desperately lunged
for the weapon just as two cool fingers pressed lightly to his
throat. His body went rigid. He couldn't breathe. The ice around
his foot melted away as the seer effortlessly lifted him, turning
him around.

“
Well now,” purred a soft, feminine voice. “This is a
surprise.” Her free hand moved to lift away her deep hood. Glossy
black hair spilled out to frame a lovely face; smooth, copper
colored skin, marred only by three small, artfully arranged scars;
stars resting above eyes like the ocean on a cloudless night.
Ezra's heart dropped as he tried to speak. Or maybe
scream.

“
Hello, boy,” Ariella said gently. “I hope you remember
me.”

The seer frowned slightly, and Ezra could
breathe again. “Ariella,” he croaked, “you're looking well.”

“
Ah,” the water-seer smiled serenely, “good, you do remember.
And I adore wit. Please try to hold on to that as long as possible.
It makes things so much more enjoyable, in the long
run.”

Ezra gulped.
Note to self: stop trying to be
clever
. “How did you find me?”

“
The will of the Mother,” she said gently. “I heard of a
disturbance in Faringway from an apprentice on his pilgrimage
through the Midland Heights. It was not far out of my way, so I
thought to investigate. Several of the villagers were happy to
point me to where the Children of Lightning were hunting warriors
from the Forbidden City.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I had never
hoped it would be you. But, where Water is willing, fate shows the
way.”

Ezra's eyes darted to where Sebastion lay.
The young man's neck was twisted at the wrong angle, his arms and
legs splayed bonelessly around him. He was obviously dead. The seer
had killed him with no more effort than it took Ezra to draw a
sword, and here she was talking about fate in that soft, gentle
voice, as if to a child. She was a psychopath. He had pissed off a
murderous, psychopathic water-seer assassin, who... Ezra blinked as
Sarah's words echoed in his head. His tongue felt around inside his
mouth, and he bared his teeth into something that might have been a
grin.

“
Release me,” the thunder-struck hissed. “That I might take my
vengeance upon these unworthy demons.”

Ariella ignored him, tilting her head
curiously at Ezra. “Oh? Have you found something that amuses you,
boy?”

Ezra met her gaze and held it, letting out a
low, mirthless chuckle as he did. “Why yes, lady seer,” he
answered, eyes never wavering. “I believe I have.”

At that moment, Gal darted
into the room from the tunnel leading out, barreling toward them
and snarling, “Get your hands off him, you witch!” Ariella calmly
noted the swiftly approaching girl and rolled her wrist almost
negligently, calling the water from Ezra's sword to form a blade of
her own at her fingertips. Ezra bit down hard, activating the cap
over his back tooth and hoping that it worked. An odd, prickling
sensation passed through his body, like the one he had felt when he
passed through the Sanctuary shield, only somehow in
reverse.
Probably because I'm entering a
field instead of exiting one
, some
analytical part of his mind noted. He fell to the floor, the
water-seer's grip on him suddenly released. Dropping to a crouch,
his fingers closed on the hilt of his sword just as the liquid
flowing from the seer's fingers splashed to the rock
below.

The world seemed to slow down, focusing into
a few, brilliant moments. Ezra saw the look of confusion on
Ariella's face just as a bolt from Sarah's weapon impacted her
shoulder. He felt the reassuring weight of his sword extending from
his hand as he lunged forward, aiming at her heart. He felt the
blade part her heavy robe, slicing upwards, biting into the soft
flesh beneath.

But the water-seer was better trained than
that. She spun with the motion of Sarah's attack, back hunching
forward as she re-oriented her body, changing a fatal lunge into a
painful slice drawn across her belly. Ariella's face contorted in
pain, rage and, yes, a little fear as she landed awkwardly,
stumbling away from Ezra. Blood welled up along the cut, seeping
out to stain her beautifully patterned clothing as she fell back.
Suddenly the world returned to its normal speed. Out of the corner
of his eye, Ezra caught a glimpse of Gal sliding past Sebastian's
lifeless form, scooping up the fallen bolt-thrower and letting fly
at the downed seer. The elementalist's hand shot up instinctively
to cover her neck and face.

And the water on the floor came with it,
catching and holding the bolt.

Gal grabbed Ezra with her free hand, yanking
him back toward the mouth of the cavern even as she skidded to a
halt. They ran for all they were worth as Ariella screamed curses
after them. Scrambling behind the wall, Ezra was caught by Sarah as
Gal dropped into a shooter's stance, deftly reloading her weapon
and holding it at the ready. “Steady,” Sarah hissed at him. “We've
got you.” Her eyes darted to Gal. “Sebastian?”

Gal blinked hard and shook her head tightly.
Mat was lying against the wall, looking dazed, one hand held to his
forehead. There was a little blood dripping through his fingers, a
matching spot on the tunnel wall next to him. Ezra sheathed his
sword shakily.

“
Right,” Sarah began, exhaling heavily, “we need to grab Mat
and get out of here, try to lose them in the-”

A harsh, grinding sound cut her off. Gal
shot them a warning glance then peeked around the corner. She
pulled her head back almost immediately as a stroke of lightning
crackled past. “She's sawing at the cables,” Gal said quietly.
“Letting the strucking Son of Lightning up.”

“
Blighted thunder,” Sarah cursed, voice weak. “And it's broad
daylight outside. Getting away from the seer would have been hard
enough, but the two of them...” Sarah trailed off, looking
worriedly at Mat and Ezra. Her gaze touched on Gal and she narrowed
her eyes. “Gal, what are you... no, don't you dare. Don't even
think about it.”

Gal was staring intently at something
sitting just along the wall, barely visible around the corner. She
licked her lips and nodded once, sharply, to herself. Spinning
around, she grabbed Ezra and pulled him into a mind-blowing kiss.
The heat of it, the burning passion, left him feeling weak in the
knees. “Whoa,” he breathed as she let go, unsheathing his sword and
pulling it with her as she did. Her eyes flickered over his
shoulder toward Sarah, a pleading look in them.

“
I
love you, Ezra Hawkins,” Gal whispered fiercely. She shoved him in
the chest, hard, then twirled and raced back into the room, diving
and rolling past forks of lightning that couldn't quite touch her.
Sarah's hand closed around his bicep like a steel clamp, pulling
him backwards. A sharp twang sounded, the cables parting, and the
thunder-struck let out a roar of triumph. Ezra reached a hand out
toward Gal, confused, as he was forced relentlessly away, further
down the tunnel. Gal reached the remote triggering device and hit
it, turning back to smile heartrendingly at Ezra before raising the
sword and bolt-thrower in defiance and leaping out of sight, toward
the center of the room. The charges went off in a deafening tsunami
of sound and force, flattening Ezra and his teammates to the ground
as tons of stone fell to seal the cavern completely.

Ezra blinked at the wall of
rock in horror, tears streaming down his cheeks, the taste of Gal
still burning on his lips.
No, no that
couldn't... not Gal. Oh please, not her
. He
turned on Sarah, eyes blazing in fury. She stood stooped,
supporting Mat's weight, eyes shining as tears glistened down her
face. “I'm so sorry, Ezra,” she whispered, choking as a sob wracked
her body. “Please, please I need your help. I can't carry him
alone, and w-we, we have to run. Please, Ezra, I'm sorry, please
help me.”

Ezra's anger left him. He
suddenly felt viciously tired and horribly, horribly alone.
No wonder Sarah is always so
bitter
, he thought.
If she's been living with this feeling all along...
it's amazing she can operate at
all
. He swallowed hard, straightening his
spine and lifting his chin. His team needed him. There would be
time to mourn later. He nodded and got a shoulder under Mat,
lifting him and helping Sarah lead him forward one slow, shuffling
step at a time.

Before they had gotten out of sight of the
rock slide, they heard the sounds of explosive impacts from the far
side, regular and chilling. They urged Mat to greater speed,
glancing fearfully over their shoulders as the thumps of their
enemies' power echoed after them. After a minute or two, they had
gotten out of range of the noises, which was almost worse. By the
time they reached the sunlit entrance to the cave, Mat was moving
under his own power, if delicately.

Sarah scanned the area, holding her
bolt-thrower low as she automatically reloaded. “We need to get
behind that ridge up ahead,” she said, nodding toward of the lip of
another crater. “I remember seeing another tunnel there. They'll
expect us to turn left or right, to try and skirt the mountain then
head to the forest. We can hole up for now, then double back into
the cave system once we're clear. We stay out of sight, only drink
water from containers, and keep quiet for a few days, then we can
try to strike out for another portal.”

Mat rubbed at his head and nodded gingerly.
“Yeah, I... that sounds like a plan. Man, my head is throbbing.” He
squinted down at his hand. “Is that my blood? And why is the sun so
bright?”

“
He gonna be okay?” Ezra asked as they set off for the ridge at
a gentle jog, to accommodate Mat.

Sarah let out a nervous laugh as they
reached the ridge. “Yeah, if he can focus enough to complain, he'll
be just fine. It's when Mat goes quiet that you really have
to-”

The bolt-thrower clattered to the ground.
Ezra turned to see Sarah, back arched in pain, as a bolt of
lightning transfixed her chest.

Sarah fell to the ground, body jerking in
little convulsions. Mat screamed something as he pulled her further
over the ridge, grabbing the bolt-thrower and taking up a defensive
crouch over her body. Another bolt of lightning flashed from
somewhere inside the cave, crackling through the air above
them.

“
No,” Ezra mumbled numbly. “Not like this... not like
this.”

Mat glared back at the cave, then turned to
Ezra, eyes haunted. “Listen, Ezra, we're not going to be able to
move her safely. I'm still too out of it. I need you to run. Get as
far away from here as you can. Try to make contact with the Guild,
try...” Mat swallowed and shook his head, as if to clear it. “I
don't know, just try something.”

Ezra stared at Mat, not believing what he
was hearing. Run off on his own, leave them behind? He quickly
scanned the land around them. Rock and dirt, everywhere. There was
no way. He couldn't outrun the seer, even if he somehow managed to
avoid getting fried by the thunder-struck. Another bolt of
lightning buzzed out from the cave, and a quiet, child-like voice
behind them said, “She doesn't look so good.”

Mat and Ezra spun toward the voice, their
faces masks of shock and disbelief. There, sitting calmly on the
lip of the crater just behind them, was a little boy. His skin was
as black as a moonless night. His eyes were a light, hazel brown. A
mess of tight, wiry curls adorned his head. He looked questioningly
at Ezra. “I don't think you're going to get out of this,” he
stated, almost sadly, completely ignoring the bolt of lightning
that sizzled by not ten centimeters from his head.

“
Ezra,” Mat said shakily, “I think I may have hit my head
harder than I thought.” He paused, as if carefully considering his
next words. “Why is there a little kid out here commenting on our
escape?”

“
I...” Ezra began, not knowing what to say. There was something
so familiar about the boy, as if he'd seen him somewhere before.
Ezra's mind worked furiously, trying to place the face. The little
boy smiled broadly, white teeth gleaming in the afternoon light,
and it clicked into place. Southedge. The boy who stood on the
weather vane and then disappeared... it was him. Another memory
jumped out: Helena, the little boy who had run into Mat, then
turned and grinned... it was exactly the same smile. Ezra stared in
open-mouthed amazement.