Page 100 of Wings of Snow
The hunter’s expression smoothed, becoming impossible to read. A second passed in which he still held the crystal tightly in his palm. Another second passed before he released it, his fingers opening reluctantly.
The yellow gem bounced onto Norivun’s awaiting palm, and the prince held it up to the sunlight that penetrated my air dome. “Itisfrom Harrivee. It’s the same kind of crystal I use. Tell me, how did you come across it? We usually don’t allow our gems to leave the Solis continent, especially the ones from Harrivee’s meadows.”
The Fire Wolf held his hand out for it, his jaw working. “I honestly don’t know. Like I said, I inherited it.”
Despite the crystal coming into a foreigner’s possession, Norivun returned it without a word, then clasped his hands behind his back beneath his wings. “I’m guessing your crystal will be used to channel our magic and combine it?”
“Yes,” the hunter replied gruffly. “If we’re going to break through the warlock’s netting and destroy it completely, I’m going to need all of our magic. This spell is complex.” He hefted the ax up. “And a final cleave from this should do the trick. Hopefully.”
Strong magic pulsed from the ax, and a part of me wanted to touch it while another part begged me to recoil.
“What is that weapon?” I took a step closer to him. “I can feel its energy.”
“Full of questions, you are.” The Fire Wolf shifted it farther away.
“It’s her greatest quality,” Haxil said as he crossed his arms.
The hunter shrugged. “This is a blade from the underworld. That’s all you need to know. I’d advise you not to touch it.”
Norivun and I shared a side-eye before I gave a respectful bow. “As you wish, but before you start, we’d like to activate a looking glass. What we’re attempting to do in this field needs to be documented.”
The hunter shrugged. “Fine by me.”
My mate extracted the looking glass from his pocket, and then whispered the spell that would levitate it and allow it to record our actions. It rose from his fingertips, and its mirror-like surface began to glow.
Once the looking glass was suspended above us, its magic holding it in place as it recorded everything we were doing, Norivun gave a curt nod. “That should do it.”
“You’ll all need to join hands.” The Fire Wolf indicated for us to stand in a circle, then moved himself to the center. “You’ll have to open up to me and trust me.”
An unsettled feeling slid through me. To allow someone access to our magic meant dropping our Shields entirely.
Norivun’s nostrils flared, and I could only guess that he was scenting the hunter for any trace of deceit, but since our bonded link didn’t pulse with growing worry, I knew he believed the hunter meant us no harm.
Norivun backed up, then slid his hand through mine. “Haxil, Ryder, Sandus, and Nish, I ask that you drop your Shields, just this once.”
They all glowered but gave swift nods, then joined hands until all of us stood in a circle. All at once, they lowered their Shields.
The force of their collective auras hit me like a tsunami. Calling upon my own magic, I had to force my Shield to lower. Ever since Georgyanna’s attacks while I’d been training with Matron Olsander, I’d made it a point to never lower it.
The second all of our Shields were down, the air changed. Raw, potent auras simmered around us, nearly crackling with intensity.
The Fire Wolf’s lips kicked up. “Nice. That should do it.”
The hunter took out the underworld lava rock and set it carefully in the soil, right over the heart of where I’d felt the warlock’s power. Following that, he hunkered to the ground and laid the parchment out in front of him. Then, with the ax in one hand and his yellow crystal in the other, he began to chant the foreign Latin words.
The hairs on the back of my neck abruptly stood on end.
Air within my dome began to shudder as though a phantom wind called to it.
Prickly sensations needled along my skin, and then?—
My breath sucked in when the magic residing within my gut began to fly out of me. I gasped, almost doubling over from the force of it, as Norivun gripped my hand harder as a grimace twisted his features.
All of the guards appeared similar, everyone grunting or sweating under the epic pull of the spell the Fire Wolf was wielding. It was similar to what Drachu had done to me, but not painful, and something told me the spell wouldn’t rob me of my life, that it would stop before such an event occurred.
The lava rock abruptly exploded, creating a huge tunnel deep into the soil. Its circumference was at least a wingspan, and I inched farther from its edge while keeping my hands joined with my mate and his guard.
The yellow crystal the Fire Wolf held glowed, sparks emitting from it, then a portal appeared before him, burrowing into the soil and going down, down, down.