Hunted Sorcery (Jon Oklar Book 2) by B.T. Narro (best book series to read txt) 📗

And yet, his wound was healed a moment later.

Willelma had blood running down her arm, her sleeve ripped. She used her mind to throw another spear of ice at him, but it shattered against his wall of dteria. Cason threw out his hands, and his dteria slammed into her and sent her too far into the smoke for me to have sight of her any longer.

There was a sharp whistle that seemed to get Cason’s attention. He shot into the air and was gone.

I knew his spell couldn’t have gravely injured Willelma, so I rushed toward the keep instead of checking on her. The door was broken off its hinges. I ran inside to find two guards lying in pools of blood, cracks on the floor around them as if they’d fallen from high up.

A team of armed guards ignored them as they ran past me and out the keep. I crouched in front of the two injured, feeling the pulse of one. He was alive, but he probably wouldn’t be for long.

“Jon!” the king shouted from the second floor. He leaned over the railing. I’d never seen the man so panicked. “Pearson stole a large chest. He must be stopped. It must be recovered!”

I listened as I healed the guard, but the strain of the healing took too much for me to reply.

“Stop healing them and go after him!” the king ordered.

I stopped my healing spell. I had repaired the fractures in the man’s head. He had other broken bones, but he should live for now. I checked the pulse of the other quickly, thinking I should be able to spare a few seconds to save his life, but he was already dead.

“Jon!” the king screamed.

I got up on wobbly legs and stumbled out of the keep after the many guards. The smoke was clearing, finally. I could see far enough across the courtyard to catch the backs of the guards who’d left the keep before me.

But suddenly these men were blown back through the air as if flicked by some monstrous giant. One landed right near me, his leg twisted in a gruesome way. With the healing spell already at the forefront of my mind, it just took a moment to mend his broken bone.

My heart was pounding as I had to ignore the other man who was injured from the fall but would clearly live. Pearson needed to be stopped. I didn’t know how much of the king’s riches were in the stolen chest, but I wouldn’t soon forget Nykal’s expression. Pearson had to be stopped.

The guard whose leg I’d healed ran ahead of me, my fatigue wearing me down. I puttered on, soon seeing the open portcullis ahead, and the lowered drawbridge soon after. There were many guards in Pearson’s way, but none could hope to stand up to him. His dteria was too powerful. I didn’t even know what I was supposed to do if I caught up.

The man carried a large chest on his shoulder as if it were a small container without the many pounds of gold and jewels I had to assume were in there. An archer shot down at Pearson from above the drawbridge, but the arrow stopped at the invisible wall of dteria surrounding the sorcerer.

What could take Pearson down? It seemed that only fire could burn through his defenses, but both Leon and Remi were out arresting Luther.

The king had entrusted me to defend his castle, and I damn well would. I just had to figure out how.

There was one dark mage in my way to the open drawbridge, but he seemed more interested in fleeing than dealing with any of us running after Pearson. He threw back two of the king’s armored guards, then soared up and over the castle walls. He landed in front of Pearson soon after, joining Cason and one other near the open drawbridge.

They threw men back with ease. I did catch sight of Josef, the fire mage, but he was thrown back as well before he could do anything.

Horrified, I noticed a carriage with two horses ready and waiting a short distance from the chaos. I would never condone the injuring of any horse, but I didn’t see how else to stop Pearson from escaping. I would cut one leg of each animal and heal it later.

I wasn’t going to make it, however. Pearson wasn’t walking very quickly, perhaps finally fatigued from carrying the large container on his shoulder.

A large number of dark mages seemed to come from nowhere. They swarmed the guards just outside the castle.

By the time I arrived, a battle had broken out, too many spells and swinging swords for me to keep track of it all. I tried to get through everyone, but these sorcerers were attempting to stop all guards from getting to Pearson, and they were doing a damn good job of it. I was thrown several times, getting up and rushing forward after each one. Pearson was just about to get in his carriage on my third attempt.

This time I made it deep enough through the chaos to notice Cason among the many enemies. After hurling three guards away from the battle with one spell, he collapsed to one knee in clear exhaustion. He was not as important as Pearson, though, as I resisted and tensed every muscle while charging around the outskirts. I was hit with at least one spell of dteria, but it only made me stumble before I picked up speed again.

It was too little too late. Almost all of my allies seemed to have given up; or perhaps they were just injured as they lay on the ground far from the battle. None were dead, but they didn’t look as if they would be getting up anytime soon.

I was afforded a clear view of the carriage, Pearson waiting inside with the door open. A driver sat on a high bench, with the two horses’ reins in