Chapter 303 The barrier

Chapter 303: Chapter 303 The barrier

Talia’s POV

"Stop," I commanded, and my voice cracked on the word.

The word came out weak and broken, and barely more than a whisper. I could feel the magic flicker in my chest, but it was too weak to hold. The guards that had been running, suddenly slowed, but just for a moment. I saw their steps falter, and I saw the confusion flicker across their faces.

But they did not stop.

They kept coming, with their torches flickering, and their footsteps pounding against the stone. They had heard me, but they had not listened or obeyed, because my magic was too weak, as the silver, and the blood magic had drained too much of me.

I felt Kaelen’s hand tighten around mine. "Talia, we need to run."

I shook my head. "No, Kaelen."

"Talia..." He called, with desperation filling his voice.

"No," I said again, and my voice was stronger this time. "I am not running."

I opened my mouth, and I tried again. I reached deep inside myself, past the exhaustion and the pain and the fear. I found the last spark of magic, buried beneath the silver and the blood loss and the weakness. It was barely a flicker, and barely enough to hold onto, but it was there.

I had to make it enough. "Stop!" I commanded.

The word was louder this time, and stronger. It echoed through the tunnel, bouncing off the stone walls, and I felt the magic surge through my chest, as I poured everything I had left into that one word.

The guards slowed again. They stumbled, and I saw the confusion on their faces. They were fighting it, but they were not stopping.

They were still coming.

"Talia," Kaelen said, his voice very desperate. "It is not working. Please we need to go now."

I shook my head. "It has to work, Kaelen. It has to."

I tried again, but my voice was fading. The guards were getting closer, and I could see the torches reflecting in their eyes, and they were almost upon us.

"Talia, please," Kaelen said. "We have to go."

I felt something stir in my chest. It was not the magic I had been trying to use, it was something deeper, and something older. It felt like something that had been waiting for this moment.

Then suddenly, my necklace began to glow.

I looked down, and I saw the light spreading from the pendant. It was faint at first, and barely visible in the torchlight, then it grew brighter, and brighter. It felt warm and golden, like the sun breaking through clouds.

Kaelen spoke, and his voice was filled with wonder. "Talia, what...is happening?"

I shook my head, with my eyes fixed on the glowing pendant. "I do not know, Kaelen. I do not know."

The light spread from my chest, radiating outward like ripples in water. It wrapped around me, warm and protective, and I felt it pulsing in time with my heartbeat, like the pendant was alive.

Then suddenly, the guards stopped.

They did not slow this time, they stopped completely. Their eyes were wide, and I could see the fear on their faces. They must had seen a lot of things in Malachai’s service, but they had never seen anything like this.

"Talia," My mother called, and her voice was trembling. "Your necklace..."

I looked down, and I saw the light. It was coming from the pendant, the one my mother had given me, and the same one that had held the glamour charm that protected me for fifteen years. And also the one that still held her magic.

I looked at Seraphina. "Mother, what is happening?"

She shook her head, and her eyes filled with tears and wonder. "I put a piece of myself in that pendant, Talia. I put my magic, my love, and my hope that it would protect you. And I can see that it has been protecting you all these years, and it is not going to stop now."

The next moment, more light exploded from my chest.

It burst outward, filling the tunnel with golden brightness, that I had to shield my eyes, and I felt the warmth spreading through my body. It was like being wrapped in a blanket, and like being held by someone who loved me.

The guards screamed. They stumbled backward, with their hands raised to protect their faces. They could not get through the light, and they could not get past it.

Then I saw that a barrier had formed between us, and it was a wall of light, separating us from them. It was beautiful and terrifying, and I could feel the power pulsing through it.

"Talia," Kaelen said, his voice filled with awe. "You did it."

I shook my head. "It is not me, Kaelen. It is my mother’s magic."

I looked at my mother, and I saw the tears on her face. "The pendant," she said. "My own mother gave it to me before I left the Silvertongue village to Cresswood, and I also put a piece of myself in it. And I am glad that it has been protecting you all these years.."

I smiled, and I looked at the barrier of light, and I felt the hope rising in my chest. The guards could not get through, and they could not reach us.

"Talia," Kaelen said. "We need to go."

I nodded. "I know, Kaelen."

I looked at the guards one last time, frozen behind the barrier of light. They could not touch us, and they could not hurt us. But I knew that they would not stay frozen forever.

"Talia!" Kaelen shouted. "Run!"

We turned, and we ran. The barrier had bought us time, but it had not saved us completely. Or at least, not yet.

I nodded at Kaelen. "We need to get out of here," I said, but for some reason, I was struggling to stay conscious, and my voice was ragged. "We need... to find... the others."

Kaelen nodded. "Cain and the others, they are still out there." Then he looked at me. “Are you okay, Talia?”

I was starting to feel worse, but I lied anyway. “I’m fine, Kaelen. I just want...to get out of this place.”

Kaelen nodded, then my mother ran beside us, with her body weak but her eyes fierce. "Where are they? Your friends?"

I looked at the tunnel ahead, and I felt the hope rising in my chest. "We will find them, mother. Once we are out, we have to find them.”