A distant rumble shook dust from the ceiling. The battle in the main cavern was intensifying. Being extra careful, I flew back the way I’d come.
Frustration burned within me as I raced toward the sounds of battle. Blackstone had anticipated our response. Only his underestimating Bart kept us from being captured. It wouldn’t, however, save us if we didn’t escape sooner rather than later.
When I burst back into the main chamber, I emerged into a war zone. Three more mages had joined Blackstone, but six were lying on the ground in various states of unconsciousness. The remaining mages surrounded the woman fighting Cael and devoted all their energy to defending themselves. Spent energy made the air crackle, and deflected spells had scorched the walls.
The group backpedaled toward the tunnels, collecting two of their fallen comrades. Amid this chaos, Bart and Blackstone remained locked in their personal duel. Neither showed signs of panic or fear, but to my perception, Bart was winning. Or perhaps that was what Blackstone wanted us to think.
“We need to get out of here,”I said, giving the fight a wide berth as I made it to my friends. “This entire cave complex is marked with glyphs.”
I hovered behind Cael, and for the second time in this fight, Blackstone looked surprised and frustrated. His expression confirmed my suspicion. He’d planned for the possibility I might escape the first attempt to capture me.
Blackstone’s eyes darted toward us, and his expression changed. He slowly moved backward toward his associates, checking the ground as he walked. After several steps, he stopped and motioned behind his back to the others. Pointing his gem toward the ceiling, a sheet of black energy dropped, separating us from his group.
Bart seized on Blackstone’s momentary distraction, casting a spell that penetrated his shield and struck him directly in the chest. Blackstone staggered backward, genuine surprise flashing across his face.
“We need to go!”I repeated.
Whatever he’d done, the cave seemed to shudder. An ominous groan came from the ceiling just before dust and tiny rocks rained down.
“He’s bringing down the cave!” Leo shouted.
Not just the cave, the entire mountain. Blackstone proved once again he was a meticulous planner.“Cael, I need your help,”I said.
“My help?” Cael looked at his mate. “Are you sure?”
Bart might be the only archmage, but no one tool fit all problems.“You’re the strongest earth magic user. I need you to amplify my healing energy to repair whatever damage Blackstone caused.”
“Are you sure that will work?” Bart asked.
I wasn’t sure of anything other than we wouldn’t make it out if we didn’t reverse what Blackstone had done.“If we don’t repair the damage, the mountain will crush us before we reach the exit.”
“The idea is sound,” Percy said. “Earth magic will heal the damage, not just give us time to flee.”
“Everyone else out,” Otto shouted. “We’ll keep the tunnel open so you can get out.”
I wrapped Cael in my phoenix flames and watched him call Earth magic through the ground. The instability Blackstone created was wide and deep, and wouldn’t be easy to heal. Merging the power he’d summoned with my fire, he pushed it up and out.
Slowly, our combined energy filled in gaps and healed fissures. The damage, however, was extensive and concentrated in the direction we needed to use to escape.
“Focus on the way out,”I said.“I’ll bet my flames Blackstone has his tunnels protected.”
I sensed Cael’s hesitation. Healing the ends wouldn’t work if the center continued to crumble. Allowing the tunnels to collapse, however, would be worse.
We located the seam meant to destroy the tunnels. We started from the outside to shore it up. Linked as we were, I saw Cael’s intention. If we quickly saved the tunnel, we could work on the center before it swallowed us up.
The mountain rumbled around us, and it didn’t feel like we’d make it. If the center imploded, it would overwhelm our effort to save the tunnel. My consciousness raced along the magic Cael was using, and he’d cured enough of the damage that the rest was stable.“Shift back to this cavern,”I said, showing him my idea.
Cael left his supports in place and returned to the epicenter of the problem. For a second, I didn’t think we’d make it, but a sudden swell of Earth Magic pushed my healing energy up through the mountain like lava through a volcano.
“We did it!” Cael shouted, wiping the sweat from his face. “I’m not sure where you got that burst of power from, but it did the trick.”
I thought he’d supplied the extra magic, so I didn’t answer. Instead, I turned and led the way out.
The others had regrouped a safe distance from the cave entrance. Otto, Percy, and Anso were in a discussion, so we stopped by Bart and Leo.
“Otto wants to seal the cave,” Leo said. “Percy disagrees, and Anso is playing referee.”
Shifting, I avoided getting drawn into that conversation—although I agreed with Otto. The place was so corrupted with dark magic that nothing good would want to enter.
