Page 119 of Sword & Sacrifice

He slipped inside and searched the shelves. There were dozens of bottles, cloth sachets, and little wooden boxes. Everything was neatly organized in alphabetical order, with labels underneath each container.

The list of ingredients scrolled through Penn’s mind: hop-marjoram, mullein, myrhis, and powdered yew berries.

Penn plucked ingredients from the shelves one by one, placing them on her worktable. But as he reached for the powdered yew berries, he stared in horror at the little empty cubbyhole. It was the last ingredient he needed, the one she’d stressed was most important to make the potion work, and she didn’t have any.

He cursed and began searching the room, praying to every god he could think of—fate, fortune, love, even the god of death—that she had a spare bottle somewhere. He didn’t need much, just a pinch.

There, rolled under the bench, a little bottle. Only half of the faded label was visible: yew be. Sighing in relief, he snatched it up. Clinging to the sides and tucked into the bottom edges of the bottle was just a pinch of bright red powder. He would only have one chance to make this potion properly.

Penn set the bottle on the table next to the other ingredients. When he reached for the first ingredient, his hand froze. Something was wrong—missing. Slowly, he turned his head to look into the empty hallway.

Valerian’s body was gone. All that remained was a dark puddle and bloody footprints leading out the front door.

Abandoning the potion ingredients, Penn ran to the door and was halfway out of the house when he collided with someone. Relieved, he twisted his hands in Valerian’s shirt and looked up into his eyes, not caring if they were blue or hazel or any combination, as long as he was still alive.

Only to look into Niall’s real face, bloated and blotchy red, his features twisted in fury. “What have you done with Alistair?”

Chapter Forty-Eight

The familiarity of home filled the air. Casselarn was an hour away, maybe less. Even with the danger ahead and Silas left behind, Archer was happy to be home again.

Scout picked up the pace, also eager to return home. Archer wondered if the horse sensed his rider was already there. If so, he hoped Penn was safe—as safe as he could be in the company of villains.

“Wait!” Adelaide called.

For once, Archer was the impulsive one. He hadn’t even realized Scout had pulled him several paces ahead of the others until that shout. Before he could rein the horse in, they slammed into an invisible wall. Scout neighed in distress and reared back.

Archer lost his grip and fell off the horse. As soon as he hit the ground, he rolled away, careful not to get trampled under Scout’s frantically stomping hooves. Eventually, the horse calmed down and began pacing along the invisible line, huffing and snorting as if arguing with it to let him through.

Adelaide crouched next to Archer, her lips pursed in a tight line, though her gaze was unfocused as she stared ahead. Rainbows shimmered in her eyes. “Alistair has raised a barrier around the city.”

“Like yours?” Archer asked as he pushed himself to his feet.

She approached the barrier and ran her fingers through the air. Everywhere she touched shimmered briefly in rainbow colors before fading again. “Not so much ‘like mine’ as I am the original creator.”

“Like the one around the cottage?” The barrier around Adelaide’s cottage had three layers that acted both as defense and offense. If anyone tried to break through it, they would likely die of the backlash.

“No, this is simpler, one I had started to put in place before Penn called me away. It is only a single layer, though it is meant to cover all of Casselarn. There’s no way around it”

“What do we do?” Norwin asked.

Adelaide took a deep breath. “I can break it, but it will not be pleasant.” She locked eyes with Archer and said, “Find Penn, find Valerian, and end this.”

Archer nodded and grabbed Scout’s reins. The horse had calmed down enough to allow Archer near him but sweat covered his coat and he was still panting heavily. The magic would only distress the horse further, so Archer walked him a ways back down the trail, out of sight, and tied him in place.

When Archer returned, Adelaide had already begun her spell. She stood with her head tilted back, her hands held out at her sides. The wind picked up around them, transforming from a gentle breeze to a howling gale. Leaves and twigs flew through the air, smacking against the invisible wall, outlining the barrier.

A loud crack echoed around them. Archer looked up in time to see a branch split in half. He grabbed Norwin and yanked him out of the way. Instead of falling to the ground, the wind picked up the branch and whipped it straight at the barrier. It collided with enough force to skewer a hole right through the invisible wall.

Archer crouched over Norwin, and they lowered themselves to the ground, making as small of targets as possible.

The wind continued to pick up speed and strength. Debris swirled around them, all headed straight for the barrier. Rocks battered it, causing cracks of light to appear wherever they hit. Branches and sticks skewered it at every angle.

A low, groaning creak drew Archer’s attention to a nearby pine. It swayed, its old roots valiantly trying to keep it upright, but it was no match for Adelaide’s winds. With one last ear-splitting crack, it toppled forward, right onto the barrier.

The barrier held for a single breath before collapsing beneath the weight of the pine. All the other branches that had been suspended inside the barrier scattered to the ground, covering it in debris.

Adelaide still stood in the center of the swirling winds, and they seemed to be picking up speed.