Marked For Death: A Dark Urban Fantasy Novel Becca Blake (fiction novels to read .txt) 📖

most of it.” I squeezed out of the narrow closet and found the hallway with the holding cells.

Wooden doors lined the long corridor, each with a space at the top cut out to fit iron bars. I paused to glance inside each of the doors we passed until we found the cell holding Orion.

He faced the wall, huddled on a cot that was much too small for his body. He still wore the white button-down shirt he’d had on under his suit the day of the trial, crusty brown blood stains and all, though he’d since removed the suit jacket and tie.

My knees went weak with a mixture of relief at finding him alive and pain at seeing him in such a pitiful condition.

“Orion?” I called out to him softly.

His eyes snapped open as he turned over to face us. “What are you two doing here? You need to leave—it’s not safe.”

“We’re not leaving you.” I tried the handle, but of course, it was locked.

Jacob gestured for me to stand aside as he moved to kick in the door. It took him a few tries, but eventually, the wood splintered.

The strip of lights in the hallway turned red, and an alarm blared through the speakers.

“Guess that’s the end of our good luck,” I muttered.

Jacob cursed under his breath. “It would’ve been nice if Celia warned us about the alarm.”

“I assume the two of you have a plan and didn’t just run in here completely clueless.” Orion said.

Jacob and I exchanged a nervous glance. We planned out how we would get here, but we didn’t know exactly what we would find when we arrived. We’d been hoping to rely on stealth to free Orion and get him out of the building. The wailing alarm blasting through the air wasn’t part of the plan.

“Incoming,” Jacob called over his shoulder, freeing his gun from its holster.

The two guards from earlier rounded the bend. When they saw us, they broke into a sprint.

“Stop there!”

Jacob passed Orion a gun, then ducked into the cell across the hallway with me.

I peeked around the corner and took a shot, and opposite us, Orion did the same.

The two men from earlier were making their way toward us—not running, but not walking, either. They held up a magical ward in front of them as they advanced. It caught my bullet in the air and sent it flying harmlessly against the wall.

“Help me break this ward!” I said.

We continued firing down the hall, but none of our shots made it through the powerful barrier the men were holding. They pushed through to the end of the hall and stood in the doorway, backing us into the cells. I dropped the useless firearm in favor of my sword.

Before I could get to it, a fist caught me in the chest, and the air left my lungs. I doubled over, gasping for breath.

Jacob continued firing until he ran out of shots. The other guard allowed him no time to reload as he dropped his ward and closed the distance between them.

As the guards cornered us, a powerful scream tore from Orion’s throat, and blue light flooded the hall.

“What the—” one of the men shouted.

Bolts of energy streaked from Orion’s hands. The men collapsed, and their bodies convulsed under the electricity until they went still.

Orion stared down at his hands, eyes wide with fear and shock.

I gave his arm a rough shake. “We need to go.”

He squared his shoulders and became Commander Orion again—composed, decisive, and strong. “Right. Follow my lead.”

I stepped over the bodies of the men Orion killed, trying not to look too hard at their charred skin, or the way their faces were still contorted in pain. After using their keys to remove the chains, Orion snatched weapons from the dead men.

We started up the stairs to find another guard waiting for us, his arms shaking along with the rifle he held. “Where are Jackson and Ellis?”

“Let us go, Dugan,” Orion said. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I can’t let you out of here.” Dugan lifted the rifle and pointed it at Orion.

Anger surged through me, warming my arms up to the tips of my fingers. We didn’t have time for this.

I shot a blast of fire that caught Dugan in the chest. He dropped, writhing in pain. I rushed up the stairs and plunged my sword into his gut.

“We have to move,” I said. “Get Orion to the exit. I’ll be right behind you.”

“What are you doing?” Jacob asked.

“Just do it!”

Once they disappeared down the hallway, I let the rage take me again. For the first time, I called the power to me willingly—not out of a moment of passion in the heat of battle, but because I wanted to harness it.

If the Council would name me an enemy and an Oathbreaker no matter what I did, then I would become exactly what they feared. Instead of fighting to suppress the dark magic, I would embrace it.

My arms glowed with orange fury, and I let it all free.

The flames raced across the wooden floors and crawled up the walls as I set the entryway of the town hall alight.

Chapter Twenty-Two

As I ran, the magical fire followed me down the hallway, devouring everything in its path.

I left it to do its work as I leaped out the window. My boots slipped on the slick grass as I landed, and I rolled forward.

Orion pulled me to my feet, and the three of us sprinted into the trees behind the town hall.

I crouched low behind a bush. Sirens sounded in the distance as Haygrove’s fire department headed our direction.

“That was reckless.” The orange glow from the raging inferno we left behind lit Orion’s features as he glared at me like I’d gone too far.

“It’s a distraction,” I said. “We need to get you out of town while everyone focuses on the fire.”

“Get me out of town? What about you two?”

“We just need one more day,” I said. “The enchantment should be finished