For a second there, I felt like a guilty little schoolgirl caught doing something that was against the rules. Technically speaking, the last part was true, but we were fighting to save thousands of innocent creatures.

It was time to kick things up a notch. We had Lumi now. We just had to get her out of this place. Adaris stepped into the room, leaving his two guards in the doorway. Avril and I looked at each other, then went straight for their throats, leaving Harper, Caspian, and Lumi to deal with the prince.

I took on one of the daemons, dodging his rapier as it swung left and right, its blade thirsty for my blood. I swerved around and slashed his back, then severed the tendons behind his right knee. He growled from the pain, but I didn’t give him the time to react.

I drove my sword through the back of his neck, then twisted with all my strength. He croaked, then choked and gurgled as blood ran down my blade, poking out at the front. I pushed him down, pulling my sword back in the process.

Avril’s daemon was also down.

Harper showed no mercy toward Adaris, either. We dragged the daemons’ bodies inside and closed the door again, as Harper fought the daemon prince. Caspian secured a position in the corner with Lumi, who watched as Harper dodged Adaris’s broadsword, then hit back with decisive swings of her blade.

I noticed Lumi muttering something, her lips moving rapidly as she slowly lifted a hand, wiggling her fingers. Their tips took on an incandescent hue, then sent out a pulse through the air. It smacked Adaris between his shoulder blades. He stiffened, suddenly out of air. Lumi had just cast a spell on the daemon.

It gave Harper the window of opportunity she needed, and she drove her sword through his chest. Adaris collapsed, bleeding out, as Harper stared at Lumi.

“I didn’t know you could perform spells with just… words,” she breathed.

“What we wrote down in the triple tome is barely a fraction of what we can do,” Lumi said, leaning against Caspian, her legs still weak. “Those are just what we selected to pass down to generations of non-witches, in case we were ever destroyed. The power of the Word goes well beyond that, and it’s too dangerous for just anyone to wield such magic.”

“So, it’s true. Non-witches can become swamp witches?” Harper replied.

Lumi nodded. “Yes. We’re not born but made. However, it’s not an easy path. It is a complicated and lengthy process. It requires plenty of self-sacrifice.”

“I get it,” Avril said. “Lumi’s got the real magic going on, the heavyweight stuff that daemons and Maras don’t even know about. She’s been stringing them along with spells that require potions and charms and all kinds of symbols. It’s why they’ve kept her gagged all this time. They probably suspected she would eventually get herself out of here just by uttering her magic.”

“That is correct,” Lumi replied, then froze in sheer horror.

Adaris wasn’t dead yet. He got up and raised his sword at Harper—too fast for any of us to react. He was right behind Harper, and by the time she’d turn to stop him, there was a high chance he’d get her.

My stomach tightened. Lumi quickly whispered a spell, then flicked her wrist.

Adaris’s head was instantly thrown to the side. We all heard the horrific crack of his spine breaking. He dropped dead, and Harper exhaled sharply.

“Oh, wow,” she murmured.

Lumi’s eyes rolled in her head. She passed out. Caspian caught her and sat her in the chair, while Harper produced a small bottle with a special elixir that Patrik had cooked for all of us, to help jolt any of us back to consciousness. It was a powerful smell, enough to make Lumi’s eyes pop open.

She squirmed and pushed the bottle away, visibly disgusted.

“Good grief, I haven’t smelled a Druid potion in ages,” she muttered, then rubbed her face with her palms, regaining full awareness of her environment.

“Sorry, but we need you awake,” Harper replied, putting the bottle away.

“I’m still weak,” Lumi said. “That kill-spell took its toll on me.”

Harper smiled. “Thank you for that. But we need you to stay awake and capable of taking down the shield. It is the single most important thing you can do for us right now.”

“Harper, just so you know, we’ve got confirmation that our people in GASP are waiting outside the shield,” I said. It was finally an appropriate time to brief her on this. “The Exiled Maras spotted them on one of the moons. They plan to attack them, but Aymon and several of our crew are taking care of that. Point is, our people are here. All we need to do is take down the damn spell.”

Harper stared at me for a couple of seconds, before she lit up like a Christmas tree. “Hell, yeah!” She stood, then helped Lumi up as well. “Wait, who’s Aymon?”

“A Correction Officer who switched sides,” Avril explained. “He’s the one who helped us prepare for all this. He’s somewhere in the Palisade, I think, disabling whatever the Exiled Maras plan to use against GASP.”

“I can take care of that, too,” Lumi interjected. “Just get me somewhere safe so I can sit down, break all the charms they’ve put in place, and disable their attack spells.”

“Holy moly, you can do all that?” I breathed, in awe of her.

“It took us thousands of years to master the art of the Word,” Lumi replied, wearing a sad smile. “My sisters and I were always aware that everything we could do needed a way of being undone, as well, to preserve the balance in the world, if it ever got out of hand.”

Avril sniffed the air, frowning. “Guys, it’s getting hot in here. There are more daemons coming to our location,” she said, then narrowed her eyes at Lumi. “We need a fresh take on this,” she added.

“What are you suggesting?” Harper asked, somewhat confused. “I thought we were just going to sneak out of here.”

“I’ve got a better idea. You might not like it,” she replied, then shifted her focus back to Lumi. “I’m going to need your help with this, if you can.”

Lumi raised her eyebrows, curious, like the rest of us.