Wicked Deal (Shadow Guild: The Rebel 2)

The white-haired man reached for me, and I swiped out with my blade. It cut deeply into his forearm, but he was too quick. He grabbed Orion’s Heart from my neck, breaking the chain.

He raised it upright as he chanted the last words of the spell. His face twisted with pain, and he released the gem. He’d held it for only a moment, but it was too late. His hand had turned black from the contact.

Overhead, the star-shaped window in the ceiling opened again. A beam of light rose from Orion’s Heart and shot into the sky. The gem glowed as fiercely as the power source had. Even brighter.

“You carried this the entire time,” Ivan’s eyes gleamed with sadistic glee as he scrambled upright, looking toward the ceiling and the beam of light that grew stronger. “So much power in such a small stone. More than my power source. Enough to destroy all of Guild City.”

The stone glowed between us, pulsing with a power that made my muscles tremble and my bones shake. Ivan gave me one last triumphant look, then ran for the door, sprinting through the fighting figures of our two small armies.

Horror yawned inside me as I watched the Orion’s Heart pulse. The paint on the floor had begun to glow brightly as the magic transferred throughout the church.

How long did we have?

Grey neared me, his gaze going between me and the retreating Ivan. “Do you need help?”

“Go get him.” I had no idea what I was going to do, only that I had to stop this. Deep in my gut, I knew I could stop it. And we couldn’t let Ivan escape. He was capable of too much horror.

Grey charged past me in pursuit of Ivan.

Shaking, I stared at the pulsing gem, my mind racing. The spell had started again. I could feel it surging on the air, growing stronger with every minute. It would blow soon.

I could turn it back, but I had no container for it. Nothing to truly stop it. Without that, it would blow eventually.

It glowed brighter. Through the blinding light, it began to crack. A great roar sounded. The bomb was powering up. The magic would spin out of control and destroy us all.

We needed something, anything, to contain it.

I grabbed the stone and held it tightly in my palm.

Pain flared, agony like I’d never known.

I gripped it tightly, determined to force it back together. I had the briefest flash of knowledge—this could kill me.

Then the bomb exploded, blasting magic everywhere, a power so fierce that it felt like my skin was torn from my body and my bones were pulverized. I flew through the air and slammed to the ground.

Then power—such overwhelming power—expanded, and everything went dark.

17

Grey

Horrified, I watched Carrow crash to the ground, consumed in an aura of blinding light. For the briefest moment, she was a supernova. The power that pulsed through the church was enough to stop my heart for a second, and then it died.

The light faded, and Carrow lay still.

Terror shot through me.

At my feet, Ivan lay bound in the manacles I’d brought. The bastard had been so strong that I’d nearly been unable to get him.

I left him and sprinted for Carrow. My limbs felt like blocks of ice as I fell to my knees at her side. Her hands lay relaxed and open, and the ashes of Orion’s Heart were scattered in her right palm.

The stone was gone.

Fear threatened to suffocate me as I gathered her close. She was pale as snow with dark shadows under her cheeks. The magic that pulsed from her was strong enough to burn me, making my skin vibrate where it touched hers.

But her life force…

I couldn't feel it.