Focusing on my breathing, I felt the sparks gather — tiny, electric threads of mana that pulsed beneath my skin. I let them join, a little at a time, and slowly infused them through my limbs, over and over. Heat spread through me, low and steady; it threatened, but it didn't feel like I would explode. That steadiness was a mercy. If I pushed too fast the pressure built until my muscles screamed; if I bled the mana in slowly, it eased the strain and let me keep control.
I tried forcing the mana through my body. It wasn't easy—my limbs trembled on the verge of tearing themselves free—but I could feel strength gathering where before there had only been numbness. It was incredible. I had never felt this strong. The chains that bound my wrists bit into my skin, but I knew I could break them. I could see it now: the iron links were nothing more than an annoyance to something newly awoken inside me.
"Hey, kid, I've got a plan," a voice whispered sharply from the darkness.
She looked over at me, irritation folding into worry. "Stop calling me kid. My name is Oriane Evermere."
"Right. Oriane." I forced the word out. "Okay. I'm going to break out of these chains and untie you. I will hide behind the door when I give the signal. Then scream when I want the guard to come in."
She hesitated, concern furrowing her brow, but there was nowhere else to turn. She nodded.
I knelt and concentrated on the base of the chain. Then with a sound like a snapping twig, the link gave. I hadn't expected it to come so cleanly; a rush of triumph flooded me. I tore another link free and worked the remaining chain into a makeshift weapon, coiling it around my forearm.
I moved to Oriane and fumbled at her bindings. Her hands were trembling but steady enough; when the ropes slid loose she rubbed her wrists.I crouched where I could see the corridor and started to charge—small pulses at first, then fuller waves of mana that hummed under my skin. I caught Oriane's eye and gave her a thumbs up.
She screamed.
The a guard burst through the door, barking, "Shut it, brat!" His face red, his sword drawn. In the next heartbeat the metal chain coiled out like a living thing and wrapped around his throat. He clawed at it, then started to lose strength; his knees buckled and he crashed to the floor.
I didn't bother taking his sword—it was too large for my body— "Let's hurry. There might be more guards," I whispered.
"Okay," Oriane said, and we moved.
We slipped out of the basement and into a narrow stairwell. A guard at the landing hardly had time to shout before a black chain smashed into his face; the sound was sickening and final. We crested the stairs into a dim room where four people sat playing cards around a scarred table. They looked up as we entered, hands reaching for weapons.
I wiped the chain on the edge of a broken chair and lashed out, knocking one man senseless. The others charged. Using the chain like a tripping vine I snagged a leg; one man stumbled and nearly went down. A guard to my left wound up to swing. I lashed the chain at him but he ducked. "Damn, when did this kid learn to fight?" one of them cried as I felt the mana surge hotter and more painful.
I jumped toward the guard trying to flank Oriane and, off-balance from the accelerated charge inside me, I slammed my fist into his sword hand. There was a sick crunch as wood and metal clattered; he howled and dropped the weapon. "Watch out—he's using mana!" someone shouted, too late.
Two men remained standing. One of them, his face twisted with fury, spat, "My hand, you brat! I'll kill you for that."
Up close I saw they weren't Corven and his usual gang. It seems like they have been disposed of already. "Figures," I muttered between clenched teeth.
I lashed a chain at one man's legs, trying to topple him, but he dodged cleanly. Fatigue was starting to bite—manipulating strain, of controlling the flow of mana took its toll. The muscles in my arms trembled and my palms bled where the chain bit into them. The man with the broken hand lunged at me with a heavy downward swing; I sidestepped and poured more energy into my next strike, aiming low. My fist found his chin and the world tilted as he slumped. I could feel the shards of bone crack under my knuckles, but pain was distant and manageable.
The last man staggered from the impact and I finished him with a spinning lash of chain that knocked him cold. We stood amid the scattered cards and splintered chairs, breathing hard. The room smelled of sweat and spilled ale.
"Let's go," Oriane urged. I grabbed her hand and we bolted through the front door into night air so cold it made my tired lungs ache. Outside, a single carriage waited in the lane, its horses stamping and snorting.
"Do you know how to drive a carriage?" I asked.
She shook her head. "No."
"Okay." I didn't have much choice. We cut the harnesses free and slapped the horses to get them moving. They bolted, ears back, barrels flashing under the moon.
Looking around I noticed that we were in a farmhouse beside a dark sweep of forest. From here, I could just see the city wall—its silhouette a jagged line against the horizon. "Look," I breathed. "I can see the walls. We're almost free."
"I see it too. Come on—let's find my parents," Oriane said, her voice shaky but determined.
We stepped toward the farmhouse when the door swung open and the first man I'd knocked out stumbled into the night, a whistle clenched in his teeth and a pained scowl on his face. He staggered toward us, and panic surged cold and fast. "Oh no—get on my back, now kid!"
"Stop calling me that!" I snapped at Oriane as she scrambled onto my shoulders, trying to shove herself onto me with a clumsy, urgent motion. I could hear someone shouting in the distance—more footfalls, the crack of a returning whistle. Viper.Iskar. The names flashed like knives.
There were more people around the farmhouse than we'd guessed. When Oriane was secure, I charged up as much mana as I could sustain and sprinted. Pain lanced through my lungs with every breath, but the sight of the city wall ahead drove me forward. I vaulted over low stones, felt splinters cut my palms, and listened to the sound of pursuit growing louder behind us.
I didn't know if I could hold this for long. My hands throbbed where the chains had bitten and my bones hummed with the aftershocks of the blows.