Page 59 of Avalon Tower
We creep forward, leading our horses through the grassy field and doing our best to make as little noise as possible. My heart jumps at every crackling leaf, every snapping twig. The two agents seem to be able to glide along the earth, silent as the air.
As we move, dawn starts to break, the sky blushing with coral, blending into indigo. As the sun rises, the pearly barrier reflects the dawn light—rust, violet, tangerine.
And then, all at once, Freya and Raphael halt. I take another step and freeze as well. A rumble grows louder, a faint vibration through the grasses. The sound of galloping horses.
“They’re coming right for us,” Raphael says. “Let’s go.”
He releases the reins and slaps his horse, who goes off in a mild canter. Freya does the same, her horse following Raphael’s mount. Instinctively, the horses trot away from the veil.
“That’ll buy us some time,” Raphael says, his voice still low. “Let’s run.”
I race after his silhouette, desperately trying to keep pace. We run crouched, trying to stay in the shadows, but as we get closer to the veil, it becomes impossible. Now, the magical barrier is washing us in a shimmering glow. The only thing still keeping me moving is my adrenaline, which spikes as I hear the hooves thundering over the earth.
We make a mad dash through the grass, and the veil hums in my ears, prickling my skin like a thousand tiny needles.
Freya reaches it first and whirls to look at me. “Can we cross?”
“No,” I whisper. “Wait!”
I try to concentrate on the magic, but I can feel the weight of their eyes on me.
“They’re getting closer,” Freya snaps. “Come on, Nia.”
“Let her focus,” Raphael says.
I can feel it, the mesh of energy, the thinness of the weaker sections. If I channel my powers at one of them, the veil will crack and let us through. I summon all the energy I can muster, feeling for those vulnerable parts.
The veil keeps humming, the hooves pounding closer. If I don’t figure this out now, we’re going to die at the hands of the Fey.
“We’ll have to go through,” Freya shouts. “Either we live or we die. We can’t afford to get caught, and they’re almost here.”
“Wait.” I clench my teeth.
I concentrate, trying to forget about everything, the people whose lives depend on me, the mission, Arzel, whose death will be meaningless if I don’t get us through. Only the veil matters.
And its noise seems to grow even louder in my ears.
“Nia, it’s now or never,” Freya says.
I turn to glance at the incoming riders. They’re so frighteningly close, just a few yards away. The leader’s eyes bore straight into me, a malicious golden gaze. With a snarl, he raises an enormous axe above his head, screaming a battle cry.
My fear nearly paralyzes me, but I use it instead to drown out my other thoughts. I hurl it at the veil, unfocused, directionless.
The entire veil flickers, its buzz dying. Raphael grips my arm and pulls me across.
I stumble, racing for a few steps through narrow fields crisscrossed by stone walls. An oak forest spreads across the landscape. Coppery light kisses the tree leaves.
My body feels frozen, shivering. Icy air stings my skin, and my teeth chatter. It looks like spring, but it feels like the dead of January.
The hum rises in my ears, and I can see the riders through the haze of the veil. They rear their horses to a halt on the other side, and one of them raises his bow.
Fuck. We might be through the magical barrier, but it won’t stop arrows.
Something whizzes past me, but it’s coming from behind. Freya’s arrow finds a soldier’s throat on the other side.
“Keep going!” Raphael shouts.
He and Freya are off again.