“We’ll still probably have Merlins and Protectors stationed there,” Maddox said. “To keep the Slayers off our back while we grab the book.”
“Which is here,” Dani tapped the entire second floor, labeled Ancient History (complete with chubby Vikings, Scots, Greeks and even, strangely enough, a T. rex. Kaylee was beginning to question how seriously Dani was taking this). “The book is in the Celtic History gallery.”
There was no outside access to the second floor, short of a terrace on the south end they could scale, which meant the Slayers could too. There were also two main staircases. One was at the far end of Norse hall, past Ancient Asia; the other linked directly with the Grand Hall, currently labeled ‘Rotating Exhibit’. That explained the oddly-placed T. rex.
“Alastair will want to see this, if he hasn’t already,” Jade said. “We can organize teams—watch it, Maddox!”
Maddox had taken a sharp left turn down a deserted street. At some point they’d entered Rothsburg. A stubby skyline was haloed in the distance. Spotlights of streetlamps guided their way through streets of brick storefronts.
“Lost him,” Maddox said triumphantly into the rearview mirror. “The guy was giving me the creeps.”
Jade glanced back. “Good job. You probably ‘lost’ some baffled commuter.”
“Better safe than sorry.”
“Safe house should be just up one more street on the right,” Edwin said.
“And we’ll arrive tail-less, thanks to me,” Maddox said. “You’re welcome—”
Kaylee barely had time to shout a warning before a black SUV came barreling out of the alleyway ahead and cut them off. Maddox slammed on the brakes a second before another one blocked their retreat behind them.
“Everybody bail!” Jade yelled.
Kaylee hit the concrete at a run, barreling in the direction the others were going.
“Leave it, Maddox!” Jade yelled.
Maddox gave his mini-van one final, pained look, then followed after them.
Slayers dressed in black body armor had exited the other vehicles and were trying to close off their escape. A couple had crossbows, but others wore magic gauntlets. Just like—
Kaylee’s stomach lurched as she drew on her magic. She swung around, clawed hand raised to the sky. A bolt of lightning seared down and collected there before she pounded it against the ground, knocking the nearest Slayers off their feet.
“We have to lose them before we reach the safe house,” Jade said beside her. She knocked aside a few crossbow bolts. “Follow the others.”
Maddox was leading Edwin and Dani down another narrow alley. The next street over was clear. Edwin gestured to the map when they stopped.
“One more up. Keep moving that way. I’m laying a trap.”
He began flicking his hands in a complicated fashion across the mouth of the alleyway. He noticed Kaylee still beside him.
“Go, Kaylee! I’ll be right there!”
But Kaylee stuck around until he’d finished and the nearest Slayers rounded the corner. They pointed at her and shouted. Edwin tugged her arm.
“That’ll slow them down.”
“What did you do?”
Kaylee’s question was answered once the Slayers tried to follow them through the alley. The lead ones suddenly jerked to a stop as if stuck in a giant web. The rest clogged up those behind until half a dozen were bottlenecked, weapons caught in now-visible threads of orange.
“Always wanted to try that,” Edwin said happily.
They caught up with the others on the next street.
“Where now?” Maddox said.
Edwin spun in a circle. “Hardware, hardware…”
“Watch out!”
Dani plowed into Kaylee. There was a monstrous roar and another black SUV zoomed past, kicking up grit and concrete. The SUV swerved around and faced them. Its headlights blinded Kaylee as she struggled to stand and help Dani up. She could barely make out a couple figures leaning out the side, weapons aimed at them.
“On the rooftops, too,” Maddox said, slowing raising his hands.
Sure enough, at least a half dozen more Slayers had assembled above them, closing off any chance they had at escaping the street.
“On my mark,” Kaylee said.
“They’ll kill us before we can move, Kaylee,” Jade said.
“They’ll kill us if we don’t. One…Two—”
A low thump, like the concussion of a firework, sounded from behind the nearest building. A ball of light slammed into the side of the SUV, careening it into the brick wall across the street.
The distraction was enough. Kaylee unleashed a blast of ice at the nearest Slayer above them just as Edwin cast a protective charm around the group. A dome of light enveloped them, deflecting the slew of crossbow bolts and throwing knives.
“Drop it…now, Edwin!” Kaylee yelled.
Edwin did. Kaylee unleashed another torrent of ice towards the next Slayer before he brought the shield up again.
“I can’t keep the charm up while moving, “Edwin said. “We need to make a break for the next street.”
“There!”
Maddox pointed to a woman who had just appeared in the alleyway across from them, wielding a ball of magic in one hand.
“Hurry up!” She yelled.
“Go!” Edwin dropped the shield. Kaylee spun to buy them time to get to cover but the Slayers above were all gone. In their place, thick vines curled over the lip of the building, like snakes seeking prey.
They nearly ran into Alastair when they stopped, panting, in the alleyway. His sleeves were rolled up, exposing glittering emerald scales. An aura of power emanated off him as his slitted eyes took them in.
“I see you all made it in one piece.”
“We’re not safe yet,” the woman said. She double-checked the street was clear, then joined their group. She had a couple more people behind her now. One was Zaria, grinning at them.
“You guys finally decided to join the party.”
“Chat later,” the woman snapped, clearly not happy at having Zaria with them. “Alastair, we should move. My men are still scouring for any stragglers.”
“So are mine,” Zaria added.
The woman ground her teeth.
“Take them the rest of the way, Stephanie,” Alastair said to her. “I’ll round up the remainders and join you there.”
Stephanie gave a small salute. “Yes, sir.” Zaria rolled her eyes and gave a mocking salute of her own.
“Of course, your majesty.”
Stephanie looked ready to punch her.
Alastair took one big step, then was airborne, lifted to the rooftop above in two flaps of massive, semi-transparent magic wings that had sprung from the back of his suit.
Stephanie beckoned them. “This way. Hurry.”
They crossed the next street and took another series of turns until Stephanie pointed to a nearly hidden staircase attached to the side of a building. At the top was a single door lit by a dim bulb. They ascended and Stephanie rapped on the door. There was the scuffle of someone moving on the other side.
“There’s no one here,” a voice said.
“Because we don’t exist,” Stephanie promptly answered.
A deadbolt was pulled back and a middle-aged man ushered them in.
“In the back,” he pointed, shutting the door and locking it as soon as they were all through.
Kaylee and the others squeezed through the hallway into a gratefully large living room. Already the thrill of the fight was trickling out of her, leaving her arms and legs heavy. The others, too, looked exhausted. Any one of the numerous plush couches or chairs looked good enough to crash on.
“Well.”
Stephanie brushed past Zaria and planted her hands on her hips. “Welcome to Rothsberg. You’ve made quite the mess.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Kaylee wished she could reach into the sky and pull down the sun. It was too risky to make any move for the book in the dayt
ime, so the group was resigned to lying around the apartment until dark, while members of the Convocation and the occasional rogue from Zaria bustled in and out, eating lunch at the cramped table and then taking off for another round of patrols.
It was clear the Convocation only tolerated Zaria’s group grudgingly, no doubt on Alastair’s orders. More than one disgruntled glance was shot their way whenever Zaria and her older rogues came in. It wasn’t until Edwin got up and talked to one of the older rogues about what was happening with securing the book that the two groups began to relax.
By the afternoon, Kaylee had grown too jittery to stay put. She paced around the apartment and managed to catch Stephanie’s sleeve before she went out again.
“What’s happening?”
“Nothing,” Stephanie replied. “Museum’s open as usual. We’ve got alternating watches on the book.”
“Then just grab it when they’re not looking!” Kaylee said.
Stephanie gave her a look that immediately made Kaylee feel childish. “I can guarantee that for every Protector and Merlin we have there, they have a Slayer just waiting for us to try something like that. The second one of us goes for the book there’ll be chaos, and I for one don’t want unnecessary civilian casualties.”
Kaylee didn’t either, but she also didn’t want to lose the book. It was odd, however, that the Slayers were being so cautious. She remembered the djinn giant the Slayers had released in the mall the previous year. They hadn’t cared about innocent casualties then, and it was only by a small miracle there hadn’t been any. Now, despite nearly killing each other the night before, it seemed the Slayers and Convocation were treating the daytime in Rothsberg as a cease-fire of sorts, rather than a chance to avenge their ancient blood feud.
“Relax, Kaylee,” Zaria said as Stephanie tugged her arm free and left with her group. “You’ll see action soon enough.”
“I’m surprised you haven’t tried for the book yourself.” Kaylee didn’t intend the retort to be mean, just fact. And apparently Zaria saw it that way too, because she shrugged.
“Alastair and I have an understanding. Priority numero uno is getting the book away from the Slayers. Then we can quibble over the details. Like how and when he’s going to deliver it to me.”
She finished off the rest of an apple and popped the core in her mouth. There was a crunching sound, almost like metal grinding metal. Zaria nodded to her.
“See ya soon.”
After more hours spent whittling away time watching Jade and Maddox sharpen their weapons, and Dani trying to teach them a modified form of gin rummy she’d learned on the debate team, Stephanie returned. She didn’t look tired at all, despite spending all day scouting.
“Almost time,” she assured them. “Alastair should be here any moment and we can—ah, there he is.”
The man at the front door opened it and Alastair and Zaria came in. Alastair accepted a water bottle from one of the Protectors.
“We’re all ready to go,” he said to Stephanie. “Zaria will be with me. The rest of you have your assignments. We’ll begin in,” he checked his watch, “half an hour. A little before the museum closes.”
“It’ll still be light out,” Stephanie warned.
“For a bit, but that’s a risk I’m willing to take. I have a feeling there were more Slayers there than we originally thought.”
“How many?”
“At least thirty.”
Stephanie paled. A couple of the Merlins nearby let out hisses of disdain. Zaria merely rolled her eyes and said, “We can take ‘em.”
“You all know your jobs and you’re good at them,” Alastair said. “There’re more adversaries than we thought, but that just proves this book is more at the crux of whatever plan they have than we thought. Once we get it, we’ll deal them a severe blow.”
“Once I get it,” Zaria corrected, earning the glares from other Convocation members. “Our deal, Alastair.”
“Has not been fully discussed, and now is not the time,” Alastair said.
“We await your signal,” Stephanie said. She gave Alastair another small salute, then motioned to the other Convocation members to follow her.
“Where’s our position?” Kaylee asked.
Alastair gave her a level look. “Before I tell you that, I want your assurance that whatever familial ties you have invested in this won’t cloud your judgement. At least, cloud it no more than it usually is.”
“I promise—”
“This isn’t just about your brother, or Randy. A lot of good men and women are putting their lives on the line for the safety of the Convocation. If your focus on seeking out or getting back at somebody is going to hinder that, then you need to stay here.”
Kaylee felt hot embarrassment flush through her, along with the sensation of every eye in the room.
“I promise. But if we find either of them—”
“Then either I or Stephanie will determine what to do at that time.” Alastair paused to let that sink in. Then, “Edwin, if you please.”
Edwin flicked his hand. A large map of the museum flew off the table and hovered in front of them.
“We’re approaching from multiple points,” Alastair said. “Our main objective is to hold off the Slayers long enough for us to disarm whatever electronic and magical alarms the book may have and extract it safely. I will be leading the main team to the second floor where the book is. We’ll have four more groups spread out. Two on the third floor, and two on the first floor.”
Alastair tapped the lower level, consisting of storage, Griffon theatre, and one lonely display of navigational instruments from the 1800’s.
“I’m assigning Kaylee, Jade, Edwin, and Maddox here. Dani, since you’re so new at this, I’m inclined to keep you here in the safe house.”
Dani stuck out her chin. “I’m part of this. I should be there, too.”
Alastair nodded with approval, as if that was exactly the answer he wanted to hear. “Agreed. However, since you haven’t had as much training as the others I’m placing you with an outer perimeter squad. Your job is to keep your eyes open and alert us of any changes outside the museum.”
“Like Slayers going in?”
“Precisely.”
Maddox raised his hand. “Um, there’s nothing on the lower level. I don’t think the Slayers are going to actually care about it.”
Alastair quirked an eyebrow. “That’s exactly why I’m putting you there.”
“You can’t keep us out of the fight!” Kaylee said. “I thought we were as much a part of this as anyone else!”
“Miss Richards, I think you misunderstand me. Although I agree it’s time you contribute more to the Convocation, don’t think for a moment that means I’m going to be stupid about it. There’s a big difference between allowing you on this mission and throwing you into the heart of the fray alongside Merlins and Protectors with years of experience and an enemy composed of trained killers.”
“But—”
“If this doesn’t sound good you can always stay here,” Alastair added.
“We’re fine with it, Alastair,” Jade said while Kaylee bit her tongue.
“Good choice.” Alastair pulled the map from the air and rolled it up.
“There will come a time where you will be on the front line, Miss Richards.” He slapped the map into his open palm, his voice taking on a deadly serious edge. “And at that time, I promise it will be the last place in the world you’ll want to be.”
The museum grounds were silent. The dark tint of the sky settled an oppressive weight in the air, creating the sensation of something big about to begin.
Maddox checked the watch Alastair had given him. Their cell phones had long since started acting up with all the excess magic in the air.
“The other teams should be heading in.”
“Then we should too,” Kaylee said.
She tried focusing her magic to her eyes. The Eyes of Dragon were one of the more advanced shifting techniques.
Despite her eyes naturally changing when she shifted, Kaylee wouldn’t actually get any benefit from it unless she knew how to harness the sudden flood of new information it provided. She usually didn’t, and, much like shifting her ears, harnessing that information was difficult.
When she pushed her magic through her eyes the grounds came into sharper focus. Color became richer. Supposedly, when she got really good at it, she’d be able to see as well in the dark as she did in the light, and even through walls, but right now the only thing she could make out near the museum was a murky haze. Certainly not a glimpse of Slayers or Randy like she’d hoped.
“I’ve got nothing,” Kaylee said.
“Me neither,” Jade said. “We’re clear.”
Kaylee shook her head to clear her vision, then followed the others.
They ran through a small rock garden and between some hedges until they came to a loading area where Kaylee guessed the latest exhibits were delivered. Maddox stepped up to the key pad at the door and held out a small charm. The charm frizzed and sparked where it touched the metal. The keypad beeped green.
“Wait.” Maddox blocked their way inside. “I want to know if what you said to Alastair was true, Kaylee. That this isn’t some revenge against your brother or Randy.”
Kaylee tried to push past but he held his ground. She sighed. “This isn’t the time, Maddox.”
“This is the perfect time. This is different than other things we’ve done. We’ve done some pretty stupid stuff, but no one would have gotten hurt except us if we’d screwed up. Now other people could be hurt. Especially us.”
“This isn’t about Randy or Reese,” Kaylee said firmly. “But I wouldn’t be against running into them, either.”
“Let’s go, Maddox,” Jade said. “She said what you wanted to hear. Get inside before some Slayers come along.”
“Dani will let us know before that,” Edwin said. He glanced at the surrounding gardens, as though he knew exactly where Dani was, crouched along with the other perimeter scouts.
Maddox finally nodded and pushed the rest of the way inside.
They entered a low-ceilinged basement, lit only by the faint glow of after-hours security lights. Stacks of irregularly shaped wood boxes were laid out in an indecipherable order in front of metal racks piled with unpacking tools.
Dragon's Curse (Heir of Dragons: Book 2) Page 20