Page 75 of The Blood Rites

I break off running before I even realise I’ve moved, chasing after Marissa. She stands at the edge, her eyes wide with panic, darting side to side, searching for the best route upwards. I seize her hand and pull her towards me, spinning her around.

“We don’t have time to go up," I say. "We need to find cover.”

I spin us around, searching for any space to hide in. I spot a lip of rock jutting out a few meters away and drag us towards it. It’s a small recess, just big enough for the two of us if we squeeze.

I yank her in with me, half carrying her, diving into the pocket as the sound of the wave draws closer.

“Look at me, Marissa,” I say, placing my hands firmly on either side of her face. “We need to work together. Do you think you can do that?”

“What do you mean?” she whimpers.

I take a deep breath. “We need to summon a shield to block off this hole from the wave.”

She shudders, looking like she’s about to burst into tears. The shadow outside our little cavern grows, and I know the wave is upon us.

“We’ll be fine,” I say. “You can do it. You just need to channel your Mana with mine. You saw what the Fireborn did with their flames when they attacked Kael, right?”

She nods, sniffling a little, before collecting herself.

“Maybe we can do the same. Just hold my hand, and we’ll work together, but we have to do it now.”

With one hand in Marissa’s, I raise the other, and she lifts her spare.

I don’t need to dig deep; my Mana is bubbling just below the surface. I summon it to my fingertips and create the strongest shield I can imagine. I force the light into every inch of space, covering the opening fully. Marissa's fingers glow gold, but she's too panicked to push the light beyond her skin.

I’m about to encourage her when the wave hits.

The impact is cataclysmic. The world shakes, the stone screeching like it’s going to crumble.

Marissa‘s fingers lose their glow, and she rips her hand from mine, covering her ears as she screams.

I yank my arm out from where it’s stuck beneath her body and use both hands to channel as much of my power into the barrier as possible.

The golden light pulses as the water churns against my shield, fighting to get inside.

Tiny jets of water spray my face as they sneak through the gaps at the border.

Concentrate. Fill the gaps.

Marissa continues to shriek. The noise is deafening, her high-pitched wail mixing with the roar of the wave.

A humming resonates beneath my skin. There is Mana in the wave, remnants of the Mother Shard’s magic.

I can feel it searching, looking for us.

Marissa is sobbing now. “We’re going to die.”

She presses herself against me hard enough to hurt.

My shield cracks, golden light spraying out in bursts. A streak of salty water leaks through, splashing into my eyes and filling my mouth. I can’t see; I can’t breathe. I focus everything on keeping the shield intact.

Then, just as suddenly, the water recedes.

I collapse the shield and it fizzles away to nothing as I strain for breath. I watch as the rest of the water sluices off into the chasm beneath the shelf.

Marissa coughs, then starts laughing—high-pitched and manic, the laughter of someone who has reached their limit and can’t believe what’s happening around them.

We shuffle our way out of the small cavern, and I immediately look for Rask and Orla, but they are gone. There is a streak of blood and a swathe of dark green fabric on a sharp outcropping on the far side of the walkway, but nothing else.