by Brenda Drake
“This is easy,” he said. “Why do we have to practice this?”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure I’d notice the difference between a normal shock and a trap. Guess we just don’t trust any static.”
“Well, it’s gone now.” He dropped his arm. “Now what? I’d like to get back soon. Deidre wants to catch a midnight release.”
“We could check one library and go home.”
He slipped his hand into his pants pocket again. It was as if that crystal was his security blanket. “Sounds good.”
“So how are you and Deidre doing?”
“Well, you know…” Sadness crossed his face.
“No, I don’t know. You don’t talk about her much, and Deidre doesn’t talk to me.”
“I’ve been hard on her. I try not to be, but it’s like I can’t control anything anymore. Well, that was before Professor Attwood gave me the crystal.” He shrugged his shoulder. “I’m trying to make up for things. Not sure if it’s too late or not.”
“I’m sure it’s not too late.” But I wondered if it might be. From what I had seen of Deidre the last few weeks, she and Emily were hanging out a lot. The two together attracted tons of attention from the guys.
He bumped my shoulder with his. “Thanks.”
“For what?”
“Downplaying it.” He bumped me harder this time.
I bumped him even harder. “Stop it. I hate when you do that.”
“I haven’t done that since we were like…twelve.”
The gateway book rattled against the carpet.
“Uncle Philip?” I glanced from the book to Nick. “You might not get to go to that movie.”
“Shit. Deidre won’t be happy—”
A body, clothed in Sentinel gear, flew up from the book and then crashed back down onto it.
Chapter Five
The guy’s head hit hard against the wooden floor beside the carpet runner. A puddle of blood formed underneath him, soaking into the carpet. His dark hair covered his face, but something about him was familiar to me.
I ran to the body, dropping to my knees beside him. Nick just stood there, a shocked expression on his face. I brushed the hair from the guy’s face. Antonio. The lead Sentinel for the Vatican. Arik and I had illegally jumped into the Vatican Library on the first day I discovered the gateways, and Antonio wasn’t very nice about it. Arik had received an infraction on his record because Antonio had filed a report instead of issuing a warning.
Antonio moaned, his eyes focusing on me. “Gianna.”
I pinched my eyebrows together. “You remember me?”
“I do. Everyone knows you.” He coughed and bloody spit dribbled onto his lips. “You must get out of here. Fast.” He coughed again, choking on his blood. “The Red is coming.”
“Who’s The Red?”
“He’s…a very…dangerous Laniar. He’s…” He grunted. “He’s searching for Conemar.” He swallowed hard and winced under the pain. “He did not believe me… You must go.”
“Believe what?” I asked.
“That Conemar isn’t imprisoned in the gallows under the Vatican.” Something thumped under him. “Hide. He comes.” A series of coughs shook Antonio’s body, blood now streaming down his chin. The thumping got louder, jerking Antonio’s body up and down.
“Gia, come on!” Nick took off in the opposite direction of Antonio and the gateway book.
I froze. “Nick! We have to help him. I don’t know what to do.”
Antonio’s eyes were closed when I looked back at him.
Is he dead? I was pretty sure he was and whoever was trying to jump into the library wanted to make sure of it.
“Nick,” I shouted. “We have to jump with him. Get back here.” The gateway book was underneath Antonio. I pushed him but couldn’t roll him over. I grasped the corner of the book and tugged, but it wouldn’t budge. “I can’t get it. Help me.”
Nick hurried over.
The book bucked again. Harder this time.
“It’s too late. Someone’s jumping through it. Run.” I popped up and ran after Nick. My feet slipped on the wet floor, and I face-planted into Antonio’s blood. Scrambling on all fours, I tried to get to my feet.
Nick spotted me struggling over his shoulder and turned back. “Get up, get up, get up!”
Antonio flew into the air behind me, his lifeless body flopping like a rag doll. He slammed against the floor with a sickening, wet thud, his arm knocking the book shut before it could fully open.
I made it to my feet and sprinted for Nick.
“You’re leaving a trail of blood.” He formed fire in his hands and touched it to the carpet runner. It was like a spark gobbling up a fuse. The fire rushed across the carpet and picked up speed as it grew.
“What are you doing?” I screamed. The fire roared past me, heat licking my skin and heading for Antonio. I formed my globe and pitched it at him. It landed on his stomach and exploded across his body, encasing him in a pink membrane of protection just as the inferno reached him.
Nick sprinted to me. “Get on my back. Your boots are bloody.”
“You could’ve killed him.”
“He’s already dead.” Nick turned his back to me and hunched over. “Get on.”
I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and hopped onto his back. He turned and dropped another fireball on my red footprints. He carried me into one of the alcoves at the end of the room. We hid under the only table pushed against a column holding up the galley above our heads.
Nick flattened his body against the floor.
A whoosh sounded from where we had just come. “What’s that?”
“My fire ball going out,” he said through heaving breaths.
Another whoosh.
“That’s the other one,” he said, in case I didn’t get it.
What sounded like heavy boots landed hard on the floor. I tried to count how many thuds I heard, but lost count. Ten. Maybe twelve.
“Do you think it’s that Red guy?” I whispered, and tried to shrink myself into a ball beside Nick.
“Not just that Red guy,” he whispered back. “He said The Red. Anytime there’s a ‘the’ in front of someone’s name, it’s a bad thing. We are so screwed.”
I reached for my side, but my sword wasn’t there. It was still on the display case with my shield. What if they find it? I crawled toward the other side of the column.
Nick nudged my leg with his foot, and I glanced over at him. “Where are you going?” he mouthed.
I pointed to my waist, indicating my missing scabbard, and brought my pointer finger to my lips to quiet him.
His eyes widened.
I continued crawling and peered around the column.
Several men and various creatures surrounded Antonio. In the middle of them, a man stood taller than the rest. His long, scraggily hair and beard were as red as fire. He had broad shoulders, a thick neck, massive arms, and a large snout that distorted his face, making him look more animal than human, like the Laniars I knew. He had to be The Red. I shuddered at the menacing sight of him.
“He started a fire,” a man in street clothes said. “Why’d he do that?”
“An accident maybe,” another man in Sentinel gear said. “But how come he wasn’t burned? See here.” He pointed at where my globe had blocked the fire from touching the carpet. “It’s as though something covered him.”
The Red examined Antonio. “Sentinels can’t shield themselves, they can only block magic. This is indeed curious.” He glanced down the long center of the room, directly in my direction.
I moved back into the shadows.
A scrawnier Laniar nudged Antonio’s side with his boot. “He still breathes.”
He’s alive? Thank God.
The Red’s gaze returned to Antonio.
“What shall we do with him?” a rust-colored man with horns rasped.
“Looky here,” a stocky man with a partially bald head and bushy sideburns said, holding my sword, breas
tplate, and shield.
My heart skidded to a stop. I held my breath, watching and hoping they’d think it was Antonio’s gear.
“Where’d you get that?” the Horned Man asked.
“On one of the display cases. He must’ve set it down there.”
The Red grabbed the shield from the man’s fat hands. “This is not a shield belonging to a Vatican Sentinel. Their shields have crosses on them, not animals. And it’s shaped like a woman.” He dropped my shield on the floor. “Search the place. He wasn’t alone.”
I scrambled back under the table, clutching my knees to my chest and trying to make myself as small as possible. I glanced at Nick beside me. There was too much moonlight coming into the alcove. His face looked as freaked out as I felt inside. My stomach rolled, and my breaths sounded loud in my ears. Frenzied footsteps grew closer as the men searched the alcoves on either side of the reading room. Soon they would reach us.
“Red!” one of the men yelled from the other side of the room. “There’s movement in the gateway. Sentinels. Coming here—”
A swoosh, then rustling of pages and boots thudding against the floor resounded through the library. Something came out of the book and knocked the man to the floor. The men searching for us turned and ran back toward the others.
The clash of metal mixed with thuds, grunts, and curses. I froze, listening. Every painful beat of my heart caused me to draw in sharp breaths. Nearly hyperventilating, I regretted our choice to hide in the alcove. We were sitting ducks there.
Get it together, Gia, I scolded myself, but then reasoned, okay, you can do this. You’ve fought before. Don’t overthink it. Just go!
I hustled out from under the table.
Nick clamped on to my arm. “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to help.” I yanked my arm from his grasp. “Are you coming?”
“Hell no!”
I left him there and bolted down the carpet runner. One of the Sentinels I’d seen in the Vatican Library before dropped a golden globe onto Antonio. The Sentinel studied him for a moment and then shouted something to a guy standing with his back to me before grasping Antonio by the jacket and jumping into the gateway book with him.
I tripped over the burnt separation of the carpet and landed on my hands and knees. And my heart slammed against my chest when I saw him.
Bastien. He was in danger. I had to help him.
He shot an electric charge at a Laniar with large ears and the tiniest nose I’d ever seen. The charge hit a display case, and shattered glass flew up in the air. Bastien’s aim was off. He spoke another charm and studied his hands, the light slowly building in them. Two Sentinels quickly stepped in front of him, shielding him from The Red’s gang.
It took several seconds before the fear holding me back subsided. I jumped to my feet and bounded up the charred remains of the carpet, heading for my gear lying on the floor. The scrawny guy in the group rushed me, spinning two small swords around him. I ignited my globe and catapulted it at him, knocking him to the ground. He scrambled on all fours for my gear. I dived for my shield at the same time the stocky man reached for it, but I was quicker and grasped the handle as I slid by. He clutched at my clothes and we crashed into the wall. I slammed the shield against his head, but he still clung to me. He punched my side hard, and I dropped the shield, gasping.
A flaming ball hit his back and his jacket caught fire. I teetered to my feet. Nick grinned, wisps of smoke surrounding him.
I frowned at him. “Will you stop throwing fire already? We’re in a library. There’s paper everywhere. Why do you keep doing that?”
“It’s my easiest conjure,” he said. “The others take too long.”
I picked up my shield and continued after my sword, pain shocking my side. I searched the area for Bastien. He was helping one of his men and didn’t notice The Red heading for him. I uncurled my hand and created my battle globe, letting the pink sphere build larger than Sinead had warned me about doing. I heaved it between The Red and Bastien. The Red slammed into the pink wall and narrowed his eyes in my direction.
The energy whooshed out of me, and I slumped to the floor. Staring at the bottom of a bookcase nearby, I willed myself to stand, but I was too weak. Two huge boots stopped in front me, and their owner yanked me up by my ponytail. My scalp burned under the force.
A cry broke from my lips.
Panicked, I flailed my fist at him, coming up short. He’s going to kill me.
“Let go,” I screamed, trying to wiggle free, and came face to face with The Red. His glare was menacing, and another cry trapped in my throat. I extended my toes, trying to reach the ground.
Tears ran from the corners of my eyes. The pain was intense.
“Where is he?” His breath smelled like roadkill.
“Who?” I kicked his leg. The veins in his massive arm protruded like ropes under his pale skin as he lifted me up higher.
“Conemar. What did your people do with him?”
“My people?” I grabbed his arm and tried to pull his grasp away from my hair. “He’s dead.”
“You lie,” he practically snorted out of his nose.
I tried to conjure my globe, but nothing happened. I couldn’t concentrate with the pain searing my scalp.
“Tell me or I’ll skin your friend.”
I slid my eyes in the direction he was looking. Two of his men, Sentinels by the look of them, held Nick by the arms.
I swallowed. “I can’t think with you pulling my hair.”
He grunted and lowered me to my feet but kept his hold on my ponytail. “Now, where is he?” The scars running across his forehead and throat reminded me of those on Barnum, a slain knight who was Frankensteined back together by a wizard many centuries ago. He and three of his fellow warriors had been turned into monsters. The Tetrad. Connected by one soul, they were powerful. Conemar wanted it, and this freak of nature probably did, too.
“He’s gone.” I dug my fingers into his arm, but he didn’t even flinch. “We used an ancient charm to send him to another realm or something. I’m not sure where.”
An evil, feral snarl came from him. “So he’s alive, then. I will find him.” He let go of my hair, and I landed on my knees.
He stormed off toward the gateway book.
I glanced around the room through blurry eyes. Standing several heads taller, the horned man had his arms wrapped around Bastien. The French Sentinels’ swords lay on the ground in surrender. Like a wet match, I kept trying to ignite my globe and failing.
“Stubs, your men take care of them,” The Red said.
The Laniar with the small nose looked surprised. “But master, he’s a Renard.”
“We don’t want them following us.” The Red motioned his other men to follow him before jumping into the gateway.
Stubs and four other Laniars remained.
I tried my globe again, and it finally sprouted. Focusing on Stubs, I lobbed the globe and it whizzed through the air hitting its target. It knocked him back and spread like a helmet around his head. He fell to the ground. Then rolled on top the gateway book, spoke the key, and disappeared. The French Sentinels snatched up their swords and fought the rest of The Red’s men.
I readied another globe and faced the men holding Nick. They released his arms and ran down the room, toward the exits. I popped the globe in my hand, and flickers of light zapped around it. Two French Sentinels chased after the men.
I dropped to my butt on the floor and wiped the wetness from my eyes with shaky fingers. Nick gathered up my gear.
Bastien sat on his heels in front of me. “Gia, you’re a bloody mess.”
I glanced down. Antonio’s blood stained my clothes, neck, and hands. My heart sank.
He handed me a hanky. “A hanky? What are you, ninety?”
“It comes in handy for situations like this,” he said. “Are you injured?”
I shook my head. “No. Do you think he’ll make it,” I whispered, wiping my chin with the hanky.<
br />
“Who?”
“Antonio.”
“I believe so. He’s been in worse condition before.”
“Worse than gutted?”
A sympathetic smile played on his lips. “It looked worse than it actually was.”
“Huh?” I watched him curiously. “How do you know?”
“The Sentinel who took him scanned his wounds. Nothing vital was hit.”
Nick placed my stuff beside me on the floor. “It’s a good thing he didn’t fry, then.”
I wanted to smack the grin off Nick’s face. “That was really careless of you, by the way. You could’ve killed him. And look at the place. It’s a burnt mess.”
“Hell, Gia, I didn’t think it out, okay? You were leaving bloody footprints everywhere. They would’ve found us.” Nick pushed his sweaty hair back from his face. “I’m sorry.”
A tortured expression contorted his face, and I softened. “It’s okay. I probably would’ve done the same thing. Where’s your crystal?”
He slipped his hand into his pocket and walked off, nodding. The shadows in the dark room engulfing him as the distance between us grew.
“He’s bad off,” Bastien said.
“Yeah, ever since the curers released his power, he’s been struggling with his emotions.”
Bastien reached over and brushed the sweaty hair away from my face. “You’re in need of a bath, or rather, a proper scrubbing crew.” He sighed. “We should get you back home.”
“Yeah, we should.” I stood.
He looked down at me. “Are you all right?”
All right? I was scared shitless, but I’d never let anyone know it. I had to be strong, there was too much at risk to be weak. “Yeah, I’m good,” I said.
His soft blue eyes surveyed my face.
That stare punctured me, sending chills through my body. I leaned toward him and quickly stepped back, all words and thoughts escaping me. What the hell? All I wanted was for him to hold me and make me feel safe. My heart pounded against my chest, and I felt weightless.
I’m just shaken up. I’d reach out to anyone right now.
He took a step toward me. “Gia, listen—”