House of the Raven (The Eldrystone #1)

37. CHAPTER 37

37

VALERIA

“Methinks the Plumanegras lay eggs. How else might they sprout wings and become feathered friends?”

Jester of Castella Royal Court - 1757 DV

E veryone is bowing now, but it’s from fear as the ravens swoop down, talons extended.

In the place where my sister stood just a moment ago, there’s empty space.

How?! How is she doing this?

The question booms in my head as I crouch, avoiding a scratch to the face. We don’t possess the espiritu for that anymore.

Jago throws an arm over me and forces me down. “Did you know?!”

I shake my head. “Amira has no espiritu.”

I’m the only one who ever showed any signs of magical powers, which now I know came from the amulet.

At the thought, my heart seizes. The Eldrystone! Did Amira find it? Oh, gods! That has to be it. But how? Only Cuervo knows exactly where it is, and he would never relinquish it. I’m about to run out of the ballroom to go in search of Cuervo when my ears start ringing, and my heart picks up a desperate rhythm. Gods! Something bad is about to happen .

An explosion rocks the floor.

The very air quivers as espiritu tears through the room with an ear-splitting roar. The chandeliers shatter into a thousand glittering shards, their radiant crystals raining down like deadly hail. The walls groan as they splinter, and the tapestries tear to tatters. The dance floor trembles and cracks, sending guests tumbling. Chaos reigns, a whirlwind of panic and clogging dust. Acrid smoke saturates the air, and the bitter taste of espiritu fills my mouth.

My ears ring. I lift my head and try to see through the cloud of dust. Immediately, I’m transported to that day at the plaza after the veilfallen’s attacked.

“They’re h-ere.” My throat is filled with grit. I cough, looking around. “Jago.” He’s several feet away from me, lying on his back. I crawl in his direction. “Jago!”

He doesn’t answer.

When I reach him, I see blood streaming down his temple. I grab the collar of his jacket and shake him. He moans, eyelids fluttering, though he doesn’t fully open them.

“You’re all right,” I say in relief.

I help him sit up. He’s dazed but is able to steady himself after a few shakes of his head. “What just happened?”

Ravens still croak above, flying in useless circles. But why do that? Why not help? I push the questions away as I assist Jago to a standing position. He steadies himself with the aid of a chair. Turning away from him, I look around at the chaos. Is this Orys’s doing? Or the veilfallen’s?

Danger lurks. Ready yourself. Bastien’s and Esmeralda’s twin warnings ring inside my head like tolling bells. This is what they meant. Gaspar, El Gran Místico, possesses espiritu that grants him foretelling abilities. I’ve seen what he can do. But what about Bastien? How did he…?

My eyes search for him, and my heart and mind war with each other. The former wants him to be all right, unscathed, while the latter brims with suspicion. I don’t see him anywhere. All I see are broken bodies—some frozen in grotesque shapes, others staggering in confusion, trying to find an escape or searching for loved ones.

A hooded shape steps over a body, parting the floating dust particles.

Veilfallen!

The figure throws his hands up in the air and electric espiritu pours forth in a crackling spider web. The still-unbroken chandeliers tremble and refract rainbows of light. The ravens cry out in unison as the electricity hits them, their calls resonating throughout the ballroom. For an instant, they seem suspended in midair, then they plummet and smack the floor one after the other and lie there twitching.

“No!” I cry out. “Amira.” I take several steps toward the closest raven, a small broken shape that is slowly turning to smoke.

I stare in disgust. That wasn’t part of Amira. That was a cheap magic trick. Whirling, I search the top of the marble steps.

Where is she?

I start running in that direction, but Jago grabs my arm and stops me.

“No! Look.” He points with his chin.

More veilfallen are pouring into the ballroom, all hooded and armed. Where are the royal guards? Why aren’t they here fighting? Have they already been defeated?

“We have to get out of here, Val.” Jago starts pulling me toward a side door.

I shake my head. “I have to find Amira. I have to help her.”

“And how are you going to do that?” He looks at me as if I’ve gone crazy .

The place is crawling with the veilfallen. I’m wearing a stupid dress, and I don’t have a weapon. I don’t have anything. Except…

I grab Jago’s forearms and pull him close. “Go to my bedchamber, call Cuervo, and tell him to get the necklace for me.”

“What? The Eldrystone? I thought you lost it. You lied?”

“I don’t have time to explain, please.”

Jago’s face twists into a grimace. “That may not be the best idea.”

“What other choice do we have?”

“We can run.”

“No, we can’t. Just do it!” I beg. “I can’t leave Amira.”

“What is a necklace going—?”

I cut him off. “Go and do what I said. NOW!”

Without waiting for an answer or protest, I take off running toward the staircase. That was the last place where I saw Amira, my sister, who I now know, without a doubt, is under the influence of that bastardo sorcerer.

She couldn’t possibly be in possession of The Eldrystone. That raven swarm was a deceitful ploy unworthy of Niamhara and the ancestral espiritu the Plumanegras once held. There’s only one plausible explanation for the deceptive ruse meant to fool the entire court: Orys orchestrated it.

My dress swishes around me, cutting my steps short. I walk around a body, then backtrack as I realize it’s a guard.

“I’m sorry,” I murmur, removing his rapier. It gives that satisfying metallic whisper that always boosts my confidence.

I rush awkwardly up the steps, jumping over debris, hoping my dress doesn’t catch. When I reach the top, I notice Emerito crouching behind one of the marble columns that frame the landing. I rush to his side.

“Where is Amira?” I demand.

He looks at me in a strange way and slowly rises to his full height, never breaking eye contact .

“You’re too late to save her.” His eyes flash, and in one blink, they change color, going from brown to cold, clouded gray.

I take a step back. Slowly, his features morph, giving way to Orys’s grotesque, twisted countenance. His drooping mouth attempts something like a smile.

Without hesitation, I raise my rapier and lunge, aiming for his middle. With an effortless wave of his hand, he sends me flying backward. As my bottom hits the floor, the sword clatters down the steps, and I keep moving, sliding along with terrible momentum. My back collides against something soft that lets out an umph .

Head swimming from the impact of Orys’s espiritu, I sit up and look back at what I hit. Amira lies in a heap, the whites of her eyes showing, her face peppered in sweat and the black makeup running down.

I whirl and kneel in front of her. “Amira!”

She gives no sign that she knows I’m here.

“Amira! Please!” I lightly slap her face several times. “It’s me, Val.”

Her eyes roll around, all white, no sign of her irises.

“No, please, no,” she mumbles feverishly.

“Stop! They’re mine,” a female voice yells behind me.

I glance over my shoulder to see Orys marching toward Amira and me, but there’s someone behind him, someone wearing a heavy hood: a veilfallen.

Bright espiritu explodes from her hands. Orys whirls just in time to counterattack.

The veilfallen are fighting Orys! I thought they were working together, but it seems I was wrong.

The muddled red of Orys’s espiritu clashes against the veilfallen’s white attack. Blinding light pierces my eyes. Jerking my face around, I focus on my sister. I have to get her to safety. Hooking my hands through her underarms, I start pulling her toward the gilded doors. Her feet drag behind her. Black feathers from her dress litter the path as we go .

Orys crouches, seems to dig deep, then pushes forward. The veilfallen’s feet come off the ground. She growls with effort, teeth bare.

My back hits the double doors. They don’t open.

“Shit.” I let go of my sister to twist the knob. I open one of the doors a crack, then pick Amira back up. When I glance up, a red sphere is rushing toward my chest. Orys doesn’t intend to let us go.

Puta madre!