Page 107 of Liar Witch

Panic will kill me faster than the ocean can.

I’m a hundred feet away when I first spot the door. Clutching my broom in a death grip with one hand, I reach blindly with the other for my belt.

“Moon Mother, Lady of Destruction, clear my path,” I yell, frantically lobbing several of my small explosives at the door.

It’s enough to blast a hole in the metal just large enough for me to zoom though.

When I’m out at the small jetty where my pirates received the barrels, I finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Only to have a stalactite fall inches from my face. Shaken free by a tremor that makes the whole island groan.

I push the broom forward again, praying to the Goddess that I don’t get lost in this labyrinth. I don’t slow down until I see the sky. Even then, I don’t really breathe until I’m high above the island. That’s when I finally risk glancing back at the destruction below.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Nilsa

The facility erupts in a burst of flame, ash and rock. I lean harder over the handle of my broom, urging it faster so that I can outfly the angry volcano. Beneath me, the water churns with the sirens fleeing the blast.

If the ships surrounding the facility didn’t know something was up before, they certainly do now. Below the volcano, I can see them all surrounding two charred, burning wreckages on one side of the bay.

The sirens don’t have long. Even with the damage Klaus has caused, our enemies will be quick to figure out that it was a diversion.

TheDeadwoodis a distant speck on the horizon, and I point my broom in that direction. Waiting with one watchful eye on the ships behind us just long enough to make sure the fleeing captives aren’t spotted as they slip away.

The moment the last of the sirens reach the open sea, the group disperses, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

They’ll be harder to recapture if they split up.

The remaining ships are scrambling. I can see the men on the decks running around, yelling orders.

They’ve realised something is wrong.

But they’re too late.

A huge ball of flame launches out of the volcano and lands smack bang in the middle of the largest ship. Screams fill the air as the frigate is cleaved in two by the fiery blast.

They don’t even have a chance to abandon ship as the volcano’s pyroclastic fury rains down on them. Another ship goes down.

Then another.

And another.

It was never Rinaldi who could control the volcano. It was always the salamanders.

Not a single ship is left unscathed. The salamanders’ rage at being kept prisoner for so long won’t allow for any survivors. I have a feeling that they won’t be friendly to anyone else who comes near the place. Especially with Cassie staying there.

We’ve done it.

Ignira is destroyed. Wiped from the map. Cassie will ensure that Rinaldi’s head finds its way to her mother; and my pirates have fulfilled their end of the bargain by collecting their cargo and having nothing to do with it.

The Eagle will have to work hard to recover from this kind of a blow. It will take years, even if I fail to kill her a second time.

That possibility cannot be allowed to happen. If I don’t manage to kill her and she discovers the loss, she’ll take out her anger on my men.

Vow or not.

The grin leaves my face as I realise we can’t even celebrate this small win. I have to hide exactly what happened down there from everyone except Klaus.