Page 62 of Hunted
In my mind, the spell was simple. I wanted to create a ball of light that would surround us and keep the creature from getting to us. As long as it couldn’t kill my light, it wouldn’t be able to reach us… then all I had to do was keep the spell from failing.
Easy… except I had no idea whether or not that would work. Still, I traced the rune into the air, watching my fingertips glow and leave a trail of glowing light wherever they went. When the sigil was ready, I called upon my magic and released the sigil into the sky, hoping that a blanket of light would fall around us.
There was a bright flash, and a pulse of magic that went racing through the air. I didn’t have a choice but to close my eyes, it was way too bright for even me to deal with. But I could feel the light around us, bathing us not just with illumination, but with warmth too. A soft twinkling in the air accompanied the release of my magic, followed by a shriek from somewhere around us.
I dared open my eyes again, if only slightly. Ahead of us I spotted what looked like the edge of a dome of light that was causing the snow under it to sizzle and melt. Beyond it was that curtain of inky darkness, but it was receding. Looking up, I saw the orb of light that hung over us—it pulsated with power, sending fresh waves of light out of its warm, golden center.
“You did it!” Tallin yelled.
“Amara…” Valerian exhaled, “That’s incredible…”
“Let’s not count our chickens,” I said. “I still have to maintain this if I want to keep the creature at bay. At best, I’ve bought us a few minutes to come up with a plan.”
“Chickens?” Valerian frowned.
I shook my head. “It’s a human thing.” I paused. “I hope my grandmothers didn’t go to the cottage.”
“I kind of hope they did,” Tallin said. “If they did, then they may be on their way to help us.”
“I don’t want them to help. I don’t want to put them in danger.”
“Whether you like it or not,” Valerian said, “We are all in danger. The three of us, your grandmothers, everyone. The best we can do now is pool our resources and figure out a way to destroy this thing before it destroys us. If such a feat is even possible.”
“It has to be…” Tallin said, “It just has to be. We’ve tried everything else.”
I looked over at the darkness again, watching it as it tested the edges of my magic bubble. “Not everything…” I said, trailing off.
Valerian looked at me with a troubled expression. “What do you mean?”
“I mean—”
“—Amara!” Tallin yelled.
When I looked at him, he was pointing one of his paws up at the sky. Turning my eyes up, I realized the light orb was flickering, sputtering… and shrinking.
“What?!” I shrieked. “I just summoned that!”
“And you bought us some time, just like you said you would,” Valerian said. “I think I have an idea.”
“What is it?”
“I think we should split up.”
“Right, no, that’s a bad idea. Terrible idea. Why?”
“Because it wants both of us, but if it can’t come and get us both, it will have to split its attention. Maybe I can keep its attention on me, and you can regroup with your grandmothers… when you find a way out of this, you can just come and get me.”
“Get you?! From where?”
“I’m not sure. I’ll run as far and as fast as I can, then I’ll double back.”
“And if it comes after me?”
Valerian pointed across my shoulder. “If it goes after you, we regroup on that hill over there.”
I shook my head. “I hate this plan. I don’t want it going after you.”
He rested his hand on the shoulder he had been pointing across a moment ago. “I’ll run fast,” he said, adding a grin. “And I won’t get tired.”