Then it was over. He sent emergency healing cells to his bubbling skin. “That happen a lot?” he gasped.
“Three times in a cycle day,” Quade confirmed, the bubbles on his face remaining. “Takes me that long to heal now.” He scratched a second mark in the dirt. “As soon as the third one comes, I have to run and move the magnets again.” He sighed, the sound soul weary. “They’re weak. Not sure what happened when the worlds changed, but they’ve lost their charge. Any idea how to recharge them?”
“No,” Ivar said. “But I’ll find out.”
“It’ll be too late. The less they charge, the faster we fall. Maybe that’s good. A hard collision will serve better to kill Ulric.”
“You need to leave. Tell me what to do to protect the world, and I’ll tell you how to go back home,” Ivar urged. It was his turn to serve. To protect Quade.
“Can’t.” Quade shrugged. “Every day I draw closer to Ulric and his world. I can stem the tide briefly by the routine with the magnets, but it’d take too long to teach you. If I knew we’d just collide and die, I’d stop. But his world is bigger. More powerful. I might die and he might be set free. Can’t allow that.”
“Teach me. I’ll learn fast,” Ivar urged, ready to throw Quade through a portal. But how could he set Quade on the path through the portal? Only the Fae had that skill, and he hadn’t had time to learn it.
“Nay. You have to leave. The balance is absolute.” Quade tugged at the fur of his boots. “Whenever there’s a change, the lava gets worse. If one animal is born, another must die. But not two. See?” He leaned forward, a look of madness crossing his hollowed cheekbones. His arms were thinner than last time—too thin. “Can only kill rarely to eat.”
“I don’t need food,” Ivar countered. “Just tell me what to do.”
“No time. You have to leave after the second fire, or we descend. Can’t descend any faster.” For a second lucidity glimmered in his eyes. “Find out what happens if we collide. If I should let it happen or not.”
The fire hit again, this time with a bright blue color, burning even the walls.
Ivar ducked his head and let the pain wash over him. God, it was excruciating. “Please let me help.”
Quade jumped up and grabbed Ivar’s arm in an iron grip. “No time. Trust me. It wants my blood, anyway. You have to go or we’ll go faster. Get answers if you can. A direction.”
Ivar had known, deep down, that Quade couldn’t leave yet. “Do you remember how to read?” Ivar handed over the other pack.
“Yes.” Quade took it, frowning.
“Follow the instructions. I think those need to go by the magnets and at any other far points you find. Once they finish working or wear out, just bring them back here.” That would definitely happen before Ivar could return. “That’ll get you the answers we need.”
“All right. You need to go. Now,” Quade said.
Ivar tore the picture out of his back pocket and unfolded the paper. “Do you know her?”
Quade took the photograph and remained perfectly still. “Where did you get this?”
“We met her. Sought her out. She has skills—”
Quade pivoted and rammed Ivar into the wall. He leaned in close, his breath foul. “Leave her out of this. She does not exist. Got it, brother?”
Ivar didn’t try to break the hold. “She’s part demon and part Fae. If anybody can help you out of here, it’s her.” Especially if the path was closing, as Ivar suspected. He probably had only one more chance to make it here, now that he knew the path. “We need her.”
“Promise me,” Quade growled. “I’ve asked for nothing. For centuries, for an eternity, I’ve asked for nothing. Except for this. Leave this woman be.”
Ivar could give nothing but the vow. “I promise.”
Quade released him, taking the picture. “If you can get answers, then do so. If not, I’ll fight the collision until my last breath, and then if there’s a chance, I’ll fight and kill him.”
“I’ll get you answers and be back to help. To take your place if nothing else, so be prepared to tell me how.” Ivar clutched his brother’s arm. “Until then, stay alive. We’ll get you freedom.”
Quade’s mangled lip half lifted. “Don’t want freedom. Just want to end this with Ulric dead. That’s all.”