Smoke and Memories (The Dark Sorcerer #3) - D.K. Holmberg Page 0,10
within her ring. There had to be something, but whatever power she sensed was obscuring its source.
Could that be what they had detected out in the forest?
She didn’t have time to think more about it. Somebody shoved her again.
Jayna lost control over the protection she held around Char.
She stumbled forward, sprawling outward, and could see through an opening in the crowd how two separate attacks had suddenly struck Char at the same time.
One was another of that sparkly type of attack, flames streaking around him—the barrier withstood that—but the other was a concussive blast, and it sent Char flying forward.
His protection was gone.
Jayna swore under her breath and scrambled to her feet, immediately calling upon the energy of the Toral ring, pain shooting through her, before she used it wildly and without any real control, sending it streaking out from her.
Ceran would definitely know she borrowed his power now.
Jayna unleashed it, and it threw the crowd back.
She stumbled into the clearing, grabbed Char, and pulled him to his feet.
“Jayna?”
“Get up!” she hissed.
“What are you doing?”
“Saving your ass,” she said, shoving him from behind.
He gripped his maroon robes, squeezing them, and his fingers wiggled, creating another pattern, and a burst of energy surrounded him once again.
“I had this.”
“You sure did,” she said. “You looked like you were just fine with all of the attacks that were coming in your direction. I’m sorry I decided to get in here and try to help you.”
Char shook his head. “You didn’t need to intervene. I didn’t need your help.”
“You know how many dular are out here?”
“Probably all of them,” he said.
“You know how many people here have another kind of power?”
“I don’t know.”
They stumbled forward, and the crowd reacted, moving with them, but Jayna hoped they had a little bit more time. They needed to buy a few moments, nothing more than that, and when they did . . .
Something struck the barrier she and Char held.
It was potent.
She looked back, trying to gauge what it was, but there was no sign of who and what had just attacked. Unlike the other enchantments that had struck, this one didn’t leave any sort of sparkling flames or concussive blast. The crowd continued to press forward, oblivious of the recent attack.
“What are you doing out here, anyway?”
“I came to look at something,” he said.
“Why out here? With the unrest in the city, it’s dangerous for you to be out here.”
“I didn’t know it was this bad,” he said.
Jayna glanced behind her again. The crowd continued to push against the barrier. The angry voices continued shouting, but with a bit of hesitation now. A few people in the crowd looked at her as if they recognized her.
Still, explosions thundered around her, coming from dular who tossed their enchantments; not all of them were as violent as the ones that had knocked her down, but most carried considerable power. Even those who didn’t have their own enchantments had access to them within the city.
Jayna had to hold steady, but she had to keep Char moving.
“I didn’t know it was this bad either. We should get out of the streets.”
“I don’t need you to save me. Especially not like that,” he said.
“What do you mean, ‘like that’?”
“The way you’re using that power.”
“I’m using what I need to in order to defend you.”
“You could do it in other ways,” Char said.
They rounded a corner and Jayna froze.
More people came toward them, almost as if it had been directed. Now they faced crowds in either direction. They were going to have to force their way forward, or somehow find a way of hiding. She had no idea where or how.
“Any suggestions?” she asked him.
“I told you that I was—”
“I’m sorry I intervened, but that last blast was more potent than the others. I don’t know who was responsible for it, but there’s something instigating the crowd.”
He watched her. “Something?”
“I don’t know if it’s some dark sorcerer, or something else, but there’s a power at work here and it’s trying to incite the crowd against you.”
She pulled him forward, holding on to the barrier around her with the dragon stone, but every so often, a blast of energy would strike, and Jayna had to brace herself, solidifying the protection around her even more.
“Can you add anything to this?” she asked Char.
“I thought you had this.”
“You were the one who said they had this. I’m just trying to help a friend.”
The crowd continued forcing their way toward them.