Page 33 of Tree of Ash (The Runic Saga #2)

The Outer Wall

Larissa

Halla. Halla. Halla.

Larissa’s sister’s name acted as a talisman against the claustrophobia as she rode in the back of Kelby’s truck.

It was more than just the boxes pressed up against her back; it was the memories of her recent trip into Perle and its disastrous consequences that threatened to break Larissa’s composure.

To distract herself, she reviewed their objectives. Infiltrate Perle. Disable the gates. Subdue the sentries. Wait for the Vienám’s second wave. Remove Regent Hammon from power. Find Halla. Find Halla.

Halla. Halla. Halla.

Muffled by boxes but loud enough to pierce the din, Anara’s caw broke through Larissa’s repetitions. The Wall was in sight.

The truck’s deceleration contrasted sharply against the blood racing through Larissa’s veins.

Her truck had taken the lead of their convoy.

Darien hid in the truck behind her, but all five trucks would need to clear the gates before they could attack.

The elements of surprise and shock would allow them to conquer the Intake Yard before reinforcements could be summoned.

The simplicity of their plan did not calm Larissa’s race of emotions.

Fear. Hope. She wasn’t sure which was strongest, only that they battled each other in her soul.

Larissa focused on cycling her galdr through her body, letting it consume her thoughts.

She had to be steady. They had to keep the gates open, or the Vienám’s intended invasion would turn into a drawn-out siege.

Larissa’s fingers grazed the grip of her gun, hoping that Halvor’s estimations of the sentries manning the Intake Yard had been correct.

If there were truly so few, Larissa might not have to draw her weapon.

After what seemed like hundreds of pauses and jolts in the truck bed, the trucks approached the gate. Sentries’ voices sounded as they walked around the truck, inspecting the produce that hid Larissa.

One’s muffled voice passed through the crates. “Follow the previous truck into the unloading area. Once you are finished, you may collect your family’s rations.”

The truck rumbled forward for only a short time before it stopped altogether, but Larissa was not free until the others made it inside as well. For this reason, Larissa had been packed into the farthest corner of the truck bed; but with every box that was removed, her adrenaline grew.

“The last truck was just cleared,” she heard Kelby murmur close to her hiding space. “Get ready, Princess.”

Larissa gripped the gun so hard it hurt. Her galdr warmed her stomach, spreading through her limbs and lighting every nerve on fire.

For my people.

She was ready.

For Halla.

Kelby removed the final box blocking her escape.

Shock and surprise , Larissa reminded herself.

Kelby pulled her to her feet. At the end of the truck, one of the laborers gaped at her with an open mouth and wide eyes.

Nothing about Larissa, from her heavy work boots to the silvery scar that stretched back into her braided hair, would suggest royalty, but even he could not miss the golden auras surrounding her hands.

Anara cawed above in delight as Darien, Haki, Jari, and Halvor rose from their own confines.

The farmers, laborers, and slaves froze, their mouths open in shock.

Some of the slaves were only children, marked by their bracelets and frenzied whispering at the sight of Larissa, but their presence nearly undermined Larissa’s composure.

She scanned them quickly, assuring herself that Halla was not among them.

The sentry nearest Larissa took notice first and pointed his gun at her. “Where did you come from? Get down from there!”

She raised one hand slowly, catching their stares with the golden electricity that glowed and crackled between her fingers.

“I am Princess Lovisa, the true ruler of the Perle Kingdom. This is your only opportunity to lay down your weapons.”

Several of the sentries balked, their hands shifting on their weapons. The other farmers and slaves stepped back at Larissa’s demonstration.

“And I’m óeinn, king of the gods,” the sentry heckled, seemingly unfazed by Larissa’s show of galdr . “Regent Hammon can put your little light show to shame.”

She flexed her fingers. Pebbles and rocks around the Intake Yard rose, trembling in the air. She knew that this was her one chance to prevent any violence. “I don’t want to hurt you. You are my people. This is your last chance to stand down.”

Though the sentry’s face tightened, he pointed his gun straight at Larissa’s heart. His finger curled against the trigger. “Get down from there, or I’ll kill you where you stand.”

An eerie calm cooled the fire in Larissa’s stomach.

The sentry never saw the raven that swooped down. Nor did he see the raven shift into a young woman who tackled him to the ground with surprising grace as she removed the weapon from his hands. By the time he looked up, his own weapon was trained between his eyes.

Anara’s hand held steady. “You should listen to your Princess.”

“Shifter,” the man hissed. Then louder, “Kill the shifter!”

As if broken from a trance, the other sentries reached for their weapons.

Larissa flung her arms forward, palms out, pelting the rocks in the direction of the sentries, who dropped their weapons to cover their faces.

A shot rang out, and a sentry lay dead at Anara’s feet, but the bullet had not come from her gun.

General Ishaan was already turning his weapon on the next nearest sentry.

Then there was only chaos.

Darien and the others jumped from their truck beds, joining the melee that kicked up a dust cloud all around them.

Slaves hid behind trucks while farm hands rallied to Larissa’s side.

She ducked as a gunshot rang out then flung herself from the truck bed onto the sentry nearest her, knocking the gun clean out of his hand.

They rolled across the dirt, each trying to gain the upper hand.

Larissa cried out as the sentry twisted her braid around his hand and pulled her to the ground. He landed on top of her, pinning her arms beneath his knees and wrapping his hands against her throat until the world spun.

The noise of the fighting grew louder; no one could see her.

She could not see them either, but she could see the gun that lay on the ground only a few feet away.

Focusing her mind, her hand flexed as a glow encompassed her fingers.

Before the sentry could realize what she was doing, the gun flew straight into the man’s temple with enough force that he fell to the ground beside her and did not get up again.

A thin trail of blood trickled from the side of his eye.

Clambering to her hands and knees, she took great gulps of air, noting the way the man’s chest rose and fell. She hadn’t killed him, but she could have. The thought shook her.

“Larissa!”

Darien’s hand landed on her back.

“I’m fine,” she choked out, raising her eyes to look at him.

“I was across the bay; I tried to get here.” He glanced at the unmoving sentry beside them. “Looks like you did just fine without me.”

“Oh yeah,” she huffed, accepting his hand as he helped her to her feet “Just fine.”

With her breath returning, she looked around the bay.

The other farmers who knew nothing about their plan had joined them, wielding only their fists.

Even some of the bay workers had engaged in the fight, while others fled or hid behind trucks.

As quickly as it had started, the fight was over.

Haki and Jari tied up the unconscious or wounded sentries.

“Traitors,” one man spat in disgust. “It doesn’t surprise me that Haki would turn, but you, Jari?”

“I never turned,” he retorted. “I never served the False Empress.”

In wolf form, Anara herded more sentries toward them. They trembled at the sight of her lips curled back in a snarl. Even the sentry closest to Jari clamped his mouth at her approach. Halvor tended to Kelby, who had a nasty hole in his leg. But where was Ishaan?

A great grinding noise met her ears.

“The gates!” Darien shouted.

But it wasn’t the iron gates still hanging open that concerned Larissa.

It was the enormous, solid stone walls sliding out from within the Outer Wall, pushing toward each other slowly.

Halvor had warned them about this fail-safe.

If those walls were to close, it would take nothing short of explosives to bring down the wall.

Larissa’s gaze snapped up to the top level of the Outer Wall, upon which sat the guard tower.

She could only make out the shape of the man inside operating the machinery.

Ishaan was already on top of the wall, running toward the tower, but he would never make it before the walls slammed shut.

Larissa ran toward the narrowing gap, placing herself between the great rock walls and spreading out her arms toward each.

Hot galdr raced down her arms and gathered at her fingertips, just waiting for her to direct it.

Larissa closed her eyes, trusting that Darien would protect her from any attack.

The walls inched ever closer, but she shifted her mind’s eye to the space between them, imagining the empty air solidifying into a brick wall, unyielding and unbreakable.

Her fingers flexed of their own accord as she directed all of her energy into that empty space, solidifying it, strengthening it, creating a barrier against the encroaching stone.

She felt the moment the walls hit her galdr .

It was as if someone had reached down into her lungs, stealing all the air from her body. The walls shuddered in protest as the gears grinded against one another in frustration, but they stopped all the same.

Immediately, her fingers trembled.

“You can do this, Lara,” Darien stood with his back pressed against hers.