“We can’t do that in here. You might bring the whole place down.”
“Then how do we get past?”
He pointed the talking stick, which already I was beginning to think of as his wand and he as a master magician. “Ana-acro.” The top layer of debris rose into the air and then out of the entrance at Eli’s command. In seconds, he’d cleared enough for us to crawl through.
“I’ve got to admit,” Selene said as she watched Eli slide through the rubble and mount the stairs. “I’m impressed.”
He shrugged. “I’ve been practicing a long time.”
Despite all the destruction around us, I could sense Eli’s underlying happiness at finally coming into his power. I just hoped we lived long enough for him to enjoy it.
The journey up the stairs became something close to mountain climbing. We used the hoist spell to clear a path where there was room, but too often we had to claw and scrape and shimmy our way through the wreckage.
By the time we reached the top, my knuckles were bleeding from dozens of nicks, and a thick layer of dust was plastered to every inch of me, outside and in, it seemed. I couldn’t draw a full breath without coughing.
The door leading onto the lower roof of the hall wouldn’t budge when we pushed against it, forcing us to blast it open with magic. A frightening rumble rose up the stairwell when we did, and we dashed out onto the roof. Right away, I slid to a stop before I tumbled through a hole.
“Everybody walk really easy up here,” Eli said.
“No kidding.” Selene brushed hair out of her face. It wasn’t black anymore but gray with dust.
I bit my lip, my gaze fixed on the watchtower standing more than fifty feet away. An open staircase wrapped around the edge of it, but it looked intact. If I could just reach it.
I glanced at Selene and Eli. “You two stay here. There’s no reason for all of us to risk walking over this floor.”
Eli shook his head. “No way.”
“Yeah, I’m with him.” Selene pointed a thumb at Eli.
“But Lady Elaine said only I could use the sword. So I don’t need you up there.”
Eli scoffed. “You don’t know that, Dusty. You have no idea what you might find. We’re staying with you and that’s final. Now stop wasting time.”
He turned and started forward, leaving me no choice. We made it a few steps, but then a part of the roof dropped out right in between Eli and me. He jumped forward while I clambered back, both of us just barely avoiding a fall.
Selene grabbed my arm to steady me. “We need to spread out as much as we can to lighten the strain.”
“Good idea,” Eli said, and he moved off to the right. I stayed in the middle while Selene went left.
Crossing the floor soon became like a trip through the Gauntlet in gym class.
The next hole that opened up in front of me appeared faster than the first, but it was small enough so I jumped over it. Two steps later another hole appeared, this one four times the size of the last. I jumped it anyway, and halfway through the arc, I cast the gliding spell. Magic slid beneath my heels like ice, propelling me forward.
As I landed, a tremor went through the entire island itself, turning the tower into a giant funhouse floor. I staggered forward, fighting to stay upright.
To my left Selene cried out as her entire leg fell through a hole. Eli turned, pointed his wand, and shouted, “Ana-acro.”
“Don’t!” I screamed, but it was too late.
The spell reached Selene and hoisted her into the air, but only for a second before breaking. It didn’t work properly on living flesh.
Selene tumbled, landing hard. I held back a scream as the roof beneath her began to collapse. I reached out with my mind-magic to hold the surface together long enough for her to roll forward, out of danger.
“I’m sorry, Selene,” Eli shouted. “Are you okay?”
She made an indistinguishable noise that might’ve been relief or pain. But then she got to her feet. “I’m okay. Just … just don’t do that again.”
“Right. Never again.” Eli wiped sweat from his brow with the back of his shirtsleeve.
We moved on, finally reaching the foot of the steps a short while later. This time I led. All three of us understood that was the way it should be. As I climbed the first step, my heart thudded against my chest, not quickening, just beating harder as if to steady me for what lay ahead.
The going was easier than it had been on the roof, but far scarier. Every time the ground shook, I had to stop walking and press my back against the side of the tower, praying I didn’t tumble over the edge or that the stairs didn’t crumble away. It seemed we’d been at this for hours, but I knew it had only been minutes. We were high enough that I could see the entire inner island. Most of the bridges had been destroyed, and the fissures marked the island like giant pockmarks in the earth, still spewing forth rock and fire and water.
As we rounded the other side, climbing higher, I spotted the first hole in the stairs. It wasn’t large, only about two feet. I jumped it easily, but the next one was larger by at least a foot. I reared back ready to go for it, but lost my nerve at the last second.
“I’ll go first,” Eli said. “Then I can help you from the other side.” He squeezed past Selene and then me, his hand lingering on my arm for a moment. Then he leaped across, making it look effortless. Selene went next without needing help. Then I went, falling an inch short. My knees struck the edge, and I started to slide. Eli grabbed my wrists, catching me. Then he reared back and hauled me up. For a second as I regained my feet I thought I might pass out from the terror of it. But I shook it off, and we pressed on.
We didn’t come across any more gaps as bad as that until we were almost at the very top. I came to a stop and stared out at the open space between me and the last of the staircase. It had to be fifteen feet at least—impossible to jump across. And none of us knew any spells that would get us over it.
I slumped against the wall, defeat overtaking me at last. I was too exhausted to cry. We’d come so close but could go no farther.
Behind me, I heard Eli swearing under his breath, but Selene moved past me, all the way to the edge. She stared at the gap, an odd expression on her face.
“Don’t bother,” I said, trying to keep the bitterness from my voice. “There’s no way any of us can jump that.”
“Dusty’s right,” Eli said. “The best we can do now is head down and try to get off the island before it sinks.”
Selene didn’t seem to have heard either of us. She stared at the gap a little longer and then tilted her head up, examining the sky.
I touched her shoulder. “What are you doing?”
Selene slowly turned around and faced me, her eyes ablaze with something like excitement. “I can do it.”
I exhaled. “No you can’t. That would be suicide.”
She shook her head. “I can fly us across.”
It slowly dawned on me—Selene was a siren, and sirens had wings. “But how?” I said. “You’ve never flown before. It was restricted by The Will.” No magickind was permitted to fly. It was too easy for ordinaries to spot, too risky.
She nodded. “It was restricted by The Will, but not anymore. And I’ve been practicing, building up strength.”
“You’ve been wh—” I broke off as the answer came to me.
“That’s why I’ve been sneaking out at night,” Selene said, knowing my thoughts. “Me and a couple of the other sirens have been teaching ourselves how to fly. It’s been hard, and I can’t do it for more than a couple of minutes, but I’m a lot better than I was.”
It was incredible, and yet it all made sense—her need to be out at night, to wear dark clothes, even her inexplicable fall into the bushes at Coleville. She hadn’t been walking and stumbled at all.