Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 93948 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93948 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
“Bowen! The canyon!”
“I heard,” he grits out. “But he’s still sending rain.”
“Oh, you bloody fool.” Evelyn makes a sound impressively like a snarl. “Don’t you dare die out of pure stubbornness. Send what you can. He’s not going to be able to maintain this level of attack forever—and neither are you.”
Bowen makes a pained sound and weaves in place. At first, I think he’s going down, and I tense, ready to grab him and pull him to the relative safety of our shield, but then I realize he’s moving the liquid overhead in the direction that Siobhan indicated.
It courses northwest, faster and faster. Siobhan watches the movement with narrowed eyes. “You’re almost there. A little farther and then you can release it.”
I don’t ask her how she can possibly see that far. Her eyesight is better than anyone else’s I’ve ever met, courtesy of her heritage. I trust her word. Apparently Bowen does, too, because when she says, “Now!” the acid falls from the sky in a waterfall of death.
I don’t know if I believe in gods, ancient or dead or otherwise, but I almost pray right then and there that no one is in the location Siobhan has directed Bowen to deposit the acid. If they are, they’re not long for this world or any other. The thought makes me sick.
But not as much as the realization that washes over me when I look up. Because, although Bowen has deposited a large lake’s worth of acid away from us, it’s not over.
It’s still raining.
Chapter 24
Siobhan
Acid rain. On an entire fucking city. I stare into the sky through Evelyn’s shield and wonder where it all went so wrong. My sister isn’t a fool; she wouldn’t have successfully joined the Council if she was. This kind of attack would never be sanctioned. How can you pretend you’re hunting monsters and protecting people when you send out a damn storm that will kill anyone caught in it?
“We have to stop her.” Even as I say the words, the realization of what Morrigan is attempting to accomplish with this reckless move rolls over me. Of course we have to stop her. Of course she’s using extreme violence to draw me out. She’s tired of chasing me and wants me to come to her. “That bitch,” I breathe.
Bowen is on his knees, all color bleached from his face. The fact that he’s still conscious after that display of power boggles the mind. I knew he was powerful, but I had no idea the depth of it. “It’s still raining,” he rasps.
“Yes, but not as hard.” Evelyn doesn’t look too good, either. Her hands shake where they dig into the earth at our feet. Her spells truly are something to be coveted. It’s a good thing the Council isn’t aware of her, or they would have sent someone to haul her to Lyari to work directly for them.
Bastian squints at the sky. “I think it’s stopping.”
“It is.” Dia has her head tilted back and is fully relaxed, trusting us to ensure she makes it out of this. Or at least trusting Bowen. “If you send some of that wind now, Nox, it will disperse the remainder of it. He’s not feeding energy into the storm any longer.” She huffs out a breath that’s almost a laugh. “No stamina, that boy.”
I haven’t spent much time among the elderly. Life on the streets of Lyari is hard, and the privilege of growing old isn’t given to many. Even after leaving Lyari, my experience has been limited. The sea isn’t the kindest mistress. If sailors and fishermen live long enough to reach old age, they shift to a life spent with their feet planted firmly on the ground, rather than at the whim of the waves.
Even so, surely Dia is…different…from other people her age—and not simply because she’s still sailing.
Bowen staggers to his feet. “I can—”
“I’ve got it.” Nox sounds more tired than I’ve ever heard them. I want to tell them not to do this, not to drain any more magic from their depleted reserves, but I already know they won’t listen. And the people of Kanghri don’t deserve to suffer because my sister wants me dead.
I exchange an agonized look with Bastian, understanding blooming between us. It will always be like this. If not Nox, then it will be one of us, putting ourselves in danger in service of the greater good. “Be quick,” I finally say.
I go and stand behind them, bracing them with my body and my strength as they send their magic out in the form of air streams. Within moments, the clouds overhead break apart as if a giant reached up and swiped them away. The acid rain eases and then stops altogether.
Nox slumps back against me. “I’m tapped.” Their words slur a little. “Well isn’t as deep as it used to be.”