Phoenix Flame by Sara Holland

Author:Sara Holland [Holland, Sara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781526621542
Google: rAj7DwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2021-03-04T00:00:00+00:00

14

“Graylin?” I stab at the walkie-talkie with my finger while Nahteran stands up, silent, with quizzical eyes. “Graylin, what vault? Where are you?”

But only another burst of static answers me. I wait, my heart in my throat, but there’s nothing further. The device falls silent. For a long moment, Nahteran and I stand there in the silence. My body trembles, on alert.

We found it.

“What is it you’re looking for?” Nahteran asks quietly.

“A suit of armor.” The words spill from my mouth, as if expelled by the growing bubble of panic taking up residence in my chest. “A suit of armor made of phoenix flame. It’s a metal that creates—creates tears, holes—”

I’m not explaining this well at all. I pull up my sleeve, showing the gauntlet, its gold pattern shimmering against my skin. “It lets people travel between the worlds, the Realms, but it damages the barrier. We think that’s how Cadius has been getting souls in and out of Winterkill. It’s Mom’s actually. She and Cadius have a past.”

Nahteran’s eyes widen as he looks at the gauntlet, seeming to process this new information. Then he raises his eyes to mine. “I know where the vault is.”

My breath catches. “Really?”

“I think so. At least, I know the general direction.”

Nahteran straightens his jacket and strides toward the door, suddenly all movement and purpose. I slip out after him, keeping pace with three steps for every two of his.

My head is spinning. Just a few minutes ago, I was holding the trade records in my hands, starting to put together who S.P. was. I was positive that my brother really was lost, that after everything, ten years of numbness and a few weeks of wild hope, I would never see him again. But now he’s walking ahead of me, moving with a purpose and a certainty that I’ve scarcely seen, even in adults. For the first time I notice the slender, leather-sheathed sword hanging from his waist.

The party is raging on, everyone seeming louder and drunker and more awful than they did when we arrived. I’m not sure if it’s because of the night wearing on or because my brain has overloaded its processing capacity. But even staggering, yelling, howling with laughter, the guests draw back to make way for Nahteran. He cuts through the crowd like a knife, and I follow, keeping one hand on the walkie-talkie.

Ever since I entered Cadius’s office, I’ve scarcely spared a thought for Brekken or Graylin, even though we were supposed to stay together. Everything else flew out of my mind when I read my brother’s name, and then saw the real him. I hope they’re okay. I hope …

Nahteran leads us down to the lower levels of the estate, whereas earlier Brekken and Cadius had led me up. Here the ornamentation in the halls doesn’t just get simpler, it disappears entirely. The light too. The oil lamps get fewer and farther between and then cease altogether. I move up beside Nahteran and pull out a flashlight, another of the useful things Marcus made us pack.

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