Perfekt Balance (The Ære Saga Book 3) by S.T. Bende Page B

the circular stone staircase. I bit
back a yelp as my elbow made contact with an uneven shard sticking
out from the wall. Runa’s laughter echoed through the rocky
chamber, letting me know she was close behind.
    “Do you honestly think this little escape act
is going to work?” Runa barely sounded winded as she called from
somewhere behind me.
    “ You
achieve what you believe,” I panted. And it was my absolute belief
that if I didn’t make it out of here right
now , I might not get another chance.
    The
staircase filled with a bright blue light as a beam shot over my
head. It struck the wall directly in front of me, sharp rocks
raining down on my head and arms. I pushed forward, ignoring the
pain as a dozen tiny tears erupted across my skin. I knew my
Asgardian super-healing would fix the wounds in minutes. My magic
might have been muted by whatever cloak Runa placed on this
structure, but my energetic gifts remained mercifully
unaffected. For now. I ducked as another beam shot past me, this one narrowly
missing my arm. It struck the wall, creating a boulder-sized hole.
Another beam struck the ceiling, and I covered my head as the
stones from above clattered to the ground, blocking the staircase.
I skidded to a stop just before I plowed headfirst into the rubble.
A keening cackle came from behind me.
    “Now what are you going to do?” Runa’s voice
sounded unnervingly close.
    What was I going to do? Forse had told me to identify two plausible
escape routes in any situation. But the staircase was blocked, and
the monster trying to kill me was closing in. The only way out
was…
    I didn’t bother to look down. No matter how
high I still was, the freshly blasted wall was my only escape. I
bent my knees and launched myself off the staircase, through the
hole and away from Runa.
    The
second I was outside, panic wrapped me in its manacles, and I
flailed wildly. Oh, gods. I must be twelve meters high.
And I’m…over a moat? If I hit the water from this height…but I
won’t. I jumped as far as I could from the wall, and there’s no way
Runa could summon enough dark magic to extend the blocker this far
beyond the edge of the building; the cloak is going to wear off any
minute. I held out my hands
and pushed energy at the rapidly approaching ground, secure in the
knowledge that my magic would kick in and slow my
descent.
    Any second now.
    It was about to happen.
    Oh my gods. Why isn’t it kicking in? How did she cloak the
outside of the tower? I
closed my eyes and braced myself for the collision, praying
whatever injuries I incurred wouldn’t prevent me from swimming to
the shore and clawing my way back to my friends…wherever they were.
But before I felt the sharp strike of the impact, my body was
yanked upward. My head bowed under the force and heavy energy
squeezed my heart. Darkness overwhelmed me, as I was ripped away
from the moat and back through the hole.
    “No!” I screamed, clawing at the air in a
pointless attempt to overpower Runa and her blue beams of
terror.
    “Yes,” she hissed, as the beam pulled me back
up the staircase and down the narrow hallway before flinging me
into the cell I’d just escaped. I landed on my hip and skidded
across the uneven surface. The stones scraped through my clothes
and left me feeling raw and bruised. But I pushed myself to my
feet, refusing to give up.
    Runa wasn’t taking me without a fight.
    “ You’re
going to tell me where they keep Fenrir.” Runa slammed the cell
door behind her and stalked toward me. “And you’re going to tell
me now .”
    My gaze shifted between the closed door and
the barred window. I needed to buy time while I figured out another
escape route. I wrapped my arms around my stomach so my fingers
grazed the worst of the bruises. They hurt, but I’d had worse. “I’d
love to help you, Runa, but I can’t. Nobody told me where they took
Fenrir after we captured him. Maybe his guards knew it’d make me a
target.”
    “ Liar.”
Runa