A Necessary Evil (Book 1)

Chapter 61

Once they made it inside the palace borders, Andreas, Raphael, and Zane knew it would be a race to get to the courtyard if they were going to be in time to save Lana. The sun had already set, and they feared they already may be too late. Luckily Raphael knew all the shortcuts, and Andreas promised himself to find out exactly how he knew that later. Right now nothing was more important than making sure Lana was safe.

They ran as fast as they could until they reached a massive door. Andreas didn’t stop like Raphael and Zane did. Those doors were the only thing standing between him and Lana. He raced toward them at full speed. “Andreas, are you mad?” Raphael yelled after him. Perhaps I am, he thought to himself. He was no longer thinking clearly. His nerves were twisting inside him, warning him. His anxiety rose to a whole new level. I’m not going to be too late. I’m not going to be too late, he kept chanting in his mind. His shoulder collided with the door and it gave way to him.

Raphael and Zane followed quickly behind as Andreas ran to the light in the center of the courtyard. Andreas’ eyes widened as he ran, knowing he needed to pick up the pace, but realizing he would never be fast enough. He was already too late.

Lana raised her head to the sky, her eyes closed, and then her body sagged. “LANA, NO!” he shrieked at the top of his lungs and in that moment the flames were gone. The rope that had been tied around her body had been burned through and she sunk to the ground. Andreas ran to her, but there was barely anything left of her to run to.

He ignored the sounds of outrage coming from the people around him. He ignored it all. His attention was solely focused on the girl lying in a heap. When he reached her, his knees gave out from under him and he dropped to her side. Without even second thought he pulled her into his arms. Her skin was red and black, the flesh burnt away exposing bone. Her hair was almost gone completely, and her face was barely recognizable. How much pain had she endured? He searched frantically for her pulse to find any indication that she was still alive, but came up short. Andreas shook his head slowly, not ready to believe it. She was not dead. No. She could not be dead.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, but refused to acknowledge it. “I’m so sorry, Andreas, but she is dead,” Raphael said, his voice grim. Andreas took in a deep breath and gently placed Lana down on the floor. He would make time to grieve for her later. As for now, the people who had done this to her were all still there. He might not have been able to avenge his brother, but he would be damned if he didn’t avenge her. He let his grief turn into red hot rage.

“Let go of me, Raphael, if you do not fancy losing your life,” he warned. They were all going to die. Every single one of them that had idly sat by and watched her burn. He would make them pay. They would finally see exactly what it was they feared in magic users.

***

Raphael let go of Andreas’ shoulder and stepped toward Lana’s body. He could see the waves of rage rolling over Andreas. Perhaps he hadn’t planned as well as he thought. He had no idea Andreas cared so much for the girl. Raphael would have to find a way to calm him down before things got out of hand, but he wasn’t sure how.

He bent down next to Lana; she was in a worse condition than he thought she would be. “I’m so sorry for this,” he whispered and brushed a strand of what was left of her hair from her eyes. He stood up once more and observed Andreas’ reaction. Zane was at Lana’s side in an instant, taking her into his arms the same way Andreas had. He was sobbing, unable to hide his feelings any longer.

“Lana, I’m so sorry, Lana. Please come back, I can’t lose you. Please,” Zane kept repeating hysterically. Raphael couldn’t allow himself to feel pain for him yet. He still needed to do his job and keep an eye out for when Almahalc might show up.