Divided: The Alliance Series Book Four (21 page)

“Yes,” I said. “Their eyes are the only part of them that isn’t protected.”

“So?” said Aric. “You think I didn’t notice? We’re outnumbered by a mile. We can’t blind all of them.”

“Can’t…” I hadn’t even thought of blinding them. “What if we used magic?” But most people couldn’t use magic in a world where the levels were non-existent.

“No way,” said Aric. “There are a hundred of them. We’d never be fast enough. They’d crush us.”

True—literally true. I suppressed a shudder.

“Yes, but it’s a start,” I said. “I can’t blind all of them permanently.
But what if all of us used magic at once? That’s enough to dazzle a normal person, right? What happened when you used magic in the Passages?”

Aric blinked. “Guess that’s true. But they’d all have to be looking the same way.
And
you’d have to get everyone to do it at once.”

“I know,” I said. “It’s not ideal. This place is without magic, anyway. But… it’s
something.
Better than being chewed up by a plant, or sacrificed—or whatever they’re planning to do with us.” I hesitated. “I sent a message out. I don’t know if anyone will get it, but they’re about to move us all offworld, and we’ll be back to square one even if someone does pick it up. The only thing I can think of right now is stalling them.”

“Huh,” said Aric. “So what’s your plan?”

I looked around at the other humans, all of whom were blatantly listening in. “Anyone want to really piss off that plant?”

CHAPTER TWELVE

ADA

Unsurprisingly, Aric said, “No way.”

“No one’s going to go for that, Ada,” said Gervene. “It’s too risky.”

“They’re moving us,” I said, in a low voice. “When they tell us to walk on, head over there.” I pointed at one particular section of road that was, miraculously, free of creeping plants. Provided no one strayed too close to the edge, we might be able to avoid a horrible death.

If I provoked the creeping plant, hopefully it would turn on the Stoneskins. It was a terrible idea, in all honesty, but if I distracted them, I could get the others out of harm’s way. And after… no idea.

Would the other Stoneskins sacrifice their lives for their king? The StoneKing seemed to have been picked as the leader because his built-in tracker would lead them to their destination, and because of his batshit-crazy plan. Surely they couldn’t all be hellbent on revenge. Either way, if they lost their leader, the other Stoneskins would have no way to Enzar because they’d lose their tracker. But the StoneKing was protected by his giant servants. It’d take a major disruption to get him on his own. And I had no time to think of a better option
.
But then, I wasn’t exactly inexperienced in causing a ruckus.

I checked my communicator, and the odd signal was still there, but no response. No indication anyone had received my message. I couldn’t rely on blind faith.

“Right,” I said to Gervene. “We need to get everyone over there. As far from the plants as possible.”

I’d controlled one god-like magic-creature before, and I had no idea if this one worked the same way. But I knew what would draw its attention.

Gervene moved through the crowd, telling people our plan in a low whisper. Most of our fellow prisoners wore blank expressions. Resigned. Hopeless. My fists clenched. I wouldn’t sacrifice other people’s lives for a last-ditch plan, but impatience prickled under my skin all the same. They had to at least
want
to get away, even if they’d long given it up as an impossible dream.

“Come on,” I said, beckoning to everyone close by. “If you don’t want to die, get over there.”

“That’s it,” Aric muttered, and started bodily lifting people over onto the raised section of road. “Get over here if you don’t wanna die, you bloody idiots.”

“That’s one way to do it.” I edged through the crowd to the place where the road cracked, where the tendrils of killer plant waited within. Three Stoneskins had spotted me and headed my way, anger evident on their rocklike features.

I pulled on magic—the little magic I could get at—and the presence of the living plant pushed against me. The tendrils began to move.

Come on!
I was a living source, apparently, for God’s sake. Ignoring the presence of the magic-creature, I concentrated on magic itself, the magic inside me. I hadn’t used it in so long, but it didn’t just disappear. Sparks flew, and I pushed the charge higher. Every hair on my body stood on end. More power built, too much to be coming from me. I was pulling it from somewhere else.

From the other humans. They were magic-wielders, every single one of them. Some of them shifted, blankness clearing from their faces as they picked up on the magic. They must have internal sources. But none of them tried to stop me taking their magic.
Sorry. I’ll have to borrow your power for a bit.

Most of the humans had moved over to the safe place now, or been lifted there by Aric, giving me a clear view of the Stoneskins’ camp—and beyond it, the doorway opening. A piece of the world was peeling away… but even as I watched, magic flowing through my veins, the door began to close, the edges shifting.

Holy shit. I wasn’t just dragging power out of the magic-wielders, I was draining every source within reach. Including the world-key, or whatever the Stoneskins were using to open the door.

I pulled on it, hard, and magic sparked brighter than ever, a vivid red glow settling over the abandoned buildings, and around me. A rush of inspiration struck. I had to release the energy before the Stoneskins got too close otherwise they’d block it altogether, but none of them seemed to want to get near the creeping plant.

A vine snagged my ankle. I yelped, and the magic escaped in a thunderous crash, shaking the ground under my feet. The sky lit up, red, then white. I’d almost hit third level without even realising it. Several people screamed.

“Let me go!” I snarled at the plant, blinking the glare from my vision. “I’m a magic source, like you.” Lights burst behind my eyes, and my skin tingled. Just as Veyak did, it was attempting to use me as a vessel. Anger buzzed at me, like when I faced a kimaros. The plant was a living source, and it must have been conscious once, before someone had overloaded it with magical energy. Same as Veyak and the others.
Stop. I’m not the enemy.

“That won’t work,” I said, kicking at the tendril around my leg. “I’m adamantine. I’m not your enemy. Attack
them
!”

The vine tugged my leg, without warning, and my elbows scraped against the concrete floor. I struggled, glimpsing several Stoneskins caught in a similar trap, vines wrapped around them like ropes. To my relief, the humans were out of reach, on the other side of the road, and most of them had the sense to move away from the plant. For now.

I kicked out again, letting magic flow through my limbs. I concentrated all my effort on the place where the vine curled around my leg, and released the charge.

The vine let go, and I stumbled back. The doorway had closed, and the Stoneskins headed towards the other humans, and what had been a safe place had turned into a trap with no way out.
No.

Seeing the plant had let go of me, two of them marched towards me. It was a weak magic source, and couldn’t do any damage, least of all to magicproof creatures like them. Helplessness sank its claws into me again.

The communicator buzzed in my pocket.

“Get over here, Adamantine, or I will order my soldiers to kill them.
All
of them.”

The StoneKing himself marched towards me, knocking his fellow soldiers aside. They stared after him, mouths hanging open.

I went still, my heart thudding.
Crap.

“Adamantine, if you use magic again, your friends will die. You’ve left me no choice in the matter.”

The two large Stoneskins climbed over to the humans and had Aric and Gervene trapped within seconds.
Dammit.

“You bastard,” I whispered.

“Did you really think a decrepit source like the xervec would serve you?” He tilted his head on one side, pityingly. “You will be my personal prisoner, Adamantine. I think that’s a wise decision, don’t you?”

Fuck you.
Before I could say the words, the Stoneskins lifted Aric and Gervene off the ground. Gervene gasped for breath.

I just nodded, the fight knocked out of me.

This isn’t over.
I glared at StoneKing as he took me by the arm and steered me through the group.

The Stoneskins herded the other humans back over the road, and towards the place where they’d been opening the doorway. The StoneKing dragged me along with him, several other Stoneskins on either side, barring all chance of escape. With the StoneKing touching my arm even lightly, I couldn’t so much as access a hint of magic.

Two more Stoneskins stood either side of the road. Between them, the air shimmered above a carved symbol on the ground. They were opening a doorway again. I hadn’t drained all the magic from their source.

Not Enzar. Please. No.

But the blue gleam through the gap in the world was familiar. The Passages. A shiver of dread washed over me. If he didn’t have such a tight grip on my arm, I could use magic again, and stop that door.

Too late. The two Stoneskins stepped into the Passages and the StoneKing dragged me after him. The icy air and the smooth metal under my feet were so familiar… I twisted to look to either side, but the view blurred, distorted, and where the corridor should have been was what appeared to be a solid wall. The Stoneskins had done something to isolate this part of the Passages. So no one would be able to find us. Bastards thought of everything.

“Lead the way,” said one of the two, and the StoneKing stepped forward, holding something in his free hand—a gleaming piece of metal, black with a bluish sheen.

The world-key. It had to be.

A wild desperation clawed at me, and before I could contemplate how stupid it was, I lunged and kicked the StoneKing’s hand with everything I had. The StoneKing hadn’t expected the attack and his grip was loose, as was the other Stoneskin’s as my foot connected. The piece of metal fell, bouncing on the floor, and for a moment, the shimmering barrier fragmented, images flashing across it one after the other—the view of a night sky, then a desert, then the tops of towering skyscrapers with cars parked in mid-air. Valeria. I struggled desperately, but the StoneKing’s grip went so tight, my hand numbed, then broke out in pain like white fire.

“Pick that up!” he shouted, and one of the other Stoneskins grabbed wildly at the fragment—it skittered out of sight, bouncing off the Passage wall, and the vista of Neo Greyle grew even larger, filling the Passage from floor to ceiling. High in the air, on a level with the rooftops—several kids with hover boots shot past, and we were so
close to a parked car I could almost touch it. Close enough to be heard.

“Hey!” I shouted. “Over here!”

A rough hand cut off my words, smacking my face, and blood filled my mouth where I’d bitten the inside of my cheek. Two Stoneskins grabbed at the Passage fragment, but the doorway moved, and they fell into empty air.

“
No!”
The StoneKing shoved me back. I slammed into one of the giants, whose huge concrete arms closed around me. The StoneKing seized the Passage fragment, but it was too late—the two Stoneskins had already fallen through the doorway. Which closed, leaving only blue walls behind. Valeria was gone, and two of the bastard’s servants along with it.

I didn’t know whether to yell in frustration or laugh, so instead, I spat a mouthful of blood onto the Passage floor. The StoneKing turned back, the metal fragment in hand, and moved to the door once again, grabbing my arm roughly.

“You’ll pay for that,” he said in a low, dangerous voice. “You do realise we could all have been pulled through that doorway?”

The StoneKing shook me. Not hard, but my teeth rattled in my head all the same.
Holy shit. He’s going to kill me. Or the others. Dammit.
Why had I been such an idiot? I didn’t know the first thing about world-keys, and I’d kicked a dangerous object around the Passages when for all I knew, it might have blown the place up.

Still. He didn’t need to know I hadn’t known what I was doing. I met his gaze, stared into those green eyes, and wished I had a free hand to scratch them out.

“Adamantine,” he said, “I was under the impression Earth did not allow most people to access information on inter-world travel. I thought lowly Alliance guards such as yourself wouldn’t know how to manipulate your way around the worlds.”

He thought I knew something? Kay knew more than I did about world-keys, but then again, he was an amplifier and could open a door to anywhere if he had a signal to follow. Like on Vey-Xanetha. If he had a tracker, maybe he could find me.

That’s too big a leap.
I said nothing, watching the StoneKing. He frowned at me, looking me up and down.

“Do you known how to reach your homeworld?”