Trial by Fire (Worldwalker 1)

All of it, Rowan?

At this level, I can take whatever you can gather, Lily.

There’s another level?

Firewalking. Don’t think of it now, just Gift me.

Her smoke stone opened like a book of light. She poured all her power through it and into Rowan and gave him the Gift. Giving the Gift was different from the dribs and drabs of power she’d been channeling into her mechanics to dig tunnels and climb ropes. This was on a different level entirely. It turned her mechanics into gods who could do the impossible. It filled them up and set them free so that only the limits of their imagination limited their physical abilities.

She was getting better at transmuting energy. Every calorie of heat from the fire changed easily into raw force inside her willstone. This much power also tempted Lily to take them over, to steal their will. She wanted to own each of them so badly she ached, but she wanted Rowan most of all. He was the strongest by far, even though both Caleb and Tristan were physically bigger than he was. Rowan’s mind was like a diamond—strong, clear, and so tightly bound onto itself that he could handle enormous amounts of pressure.

Let me keep myself, Lily.

Yes. I will. I’m sorry.

It’s okay. It’s time to start over the wall. Let go of the heat. I’ll catch you.

The witch wind ended abruptly and she fell from the sky. Rowan rose up to meet her and caught her in midair. Lily saw that Tristan and Caleb were with him, and all together they sped to the great wall around Salem. The landscape swept past her so quickly, and they climbed over the hundred-foot wall so fast that she thought they might be flying. They crested the wall and slipped past the sentries, hidden by the darkness and their incredible speed. In moments, they were over the wall, and through the strip of no-man’s-land on the other side. When they reached a busy city street they slowed.

Rowan held Lily high against his side with his left arm. He swung her down to the ground and she released her tight hold on his neck.

Face glamour, Lily. And tuck your stones under your shirt.

They continued down the street, melting into the crowd like they belonged there.

Rowan? Why aren’t we running?

The streets are too well lit, and there are too many people to try and maneuver through.

Lily glanced over at Tristan and Caleb. She could easily see the excitement they felt. They were enjoying this. Caleb looked borderline giddy, and because all four had been linked through mindspeak for most of the night, the sensation spread through all of them.

Tristan led the way, although it was easy to see where they were headed—the Citadel. The giant granite structure was across the city, at the edge of the ocean, but the ramparts were still visible through all the other soaring structures of Salem. They wove through the streets swiftly, and as they neared the giant gate that Lily had entered on her first day in this world, their excitement turned into focus.

Tristan and Caleb peeled off to the left and right and disappeared in the dark. Lily knew that their camouflage magic wouldn’t work once they got inside the Citadel and clashed with Lillian’s wards, but camouflage still worked along its perimeter. Rowan lifted Lily and sent the signal.

Over.

Rowan brought Lily over the Citadel wall in one leap. When they landed inside the inner courtyard, she could hear muffled thumps and gasps as Tristan and Caleb took out the guards. They were exposed, but Rowan moved across the courtyard quickly enough so that no one would be able to see them in the dark. He stopped at the portcullis that led down to the dungeons. By the time Caleb and Tristan were done hiding the guards’ bodies behind the scaffolding of the gallows, Rowan had bent the bars of the portcullis and made an opening.

The small raiding party swept down the steps together. They only had minutes to find the scientists and get them out of there before they were discovered. Rowan reached out to all of them.

When we split up down there, the granite will block our willstones from each other, and we won’t be able to mindspeak. Once you release your prisoner, take him, and run as fast as you can through the city. If you get held up in a fight, Lily and I will be right behind you to help. We’ll rendezvous back at camp. Good luck.

They raced silently down the torch-lit steps. Lily felt the chill and smelled the stone all around her. It was the smell that got to her. She hadn’t anticipated this. Her heart began to pound and panic fizzed in her blood.

I don’t know if I can go back into the dark, Rowan.

It’ll be okay. This isn’t a prison for witches, Lily. It’s made to hold regular people, so there will be light and heat all the way down. Stay calm.

I’m trying.

Caleb stopped his descent and went down the passageway off the main staircase to retrieve the scientist on the topmost level. The rest of the party went down two more flights, while Tristan broke off to retrieve the scientist on that level. Lily and Rowan descended all the way down to the lowest level. At the bottom of the steps were four small passageways that radiated out in different directions. The largest passageway led straight ahead to an alcove. It was filled with guards.

Rowan put Lily down at the base of the steps and stepped in front of her. All the guards turned to look at him.

A mad scramble began as the guards lunged to grab whatever weapon was closest. They came at Rowan with swords, daggers, maces, and spears. He strode down the passageway toward them, his chin down, his fists at his sides as he covered the distance, and then he burst into a flurry of motion.

Rowan grabbed weapons by their blades and yanked them out of the guards’ hands. He turned with the swords and spears that they would have used on him and ran them through with their own weapons. Fountains of blood followed Rowan’s path through the cluster of doomed men. His willstone flashed with pulses of light, and Lily threw back her head, exulting in the feeling of power she shared with Rowan.