Pursuing Flight

by C. I. Black

  You get two minutes. No more. And any sign the voices are too strong, you stop.

  We have to confirm where she is or we could waste all our time searching for her.

  He wanted to disagree but he couldn’t. Werner had suggested Stanbury might be in her office, but he really didn’t know.

  Werner squared his shoulders. “Let’s not and we just get the hell out of here, Becca.”

  “No.” She matched his stance and raised an eyebrow, her expression daring him to keep pressing. “I’m helping Nero. You get the others to safety.”

  “This is a terrible plan,” he grumbled.

  “It is.” And as much as Nero wanted to argue with that, he couldn’t. “But I have less than half an hour to stop Stanbury from permanently gaining the dugga’s magic, so it’s now or never.” It didn’t matter that he wasn’t fully healed from having his magic ripped from his essence. If he was going to get it back, or in the very least, prevent Stanbury from learning about the members of the Asar Nergal and the puzur, he needed to act now.

  “I still don’t trust you.”

  “You don’t have to.” The ache in Nero’s chest billowed and he ground his teeth. “You just have to get everyone we find in this hall out of the building and some place safe. I’ll find you when we’re done.”

  “A part of me hopes you don’t.” Werner pressed his cheek against the Plexiglas and glanced down the hall. “Looks clear.”

  “Good.” Nero crouched in front of the door and hissed his power word. A yell would have been better to bolster his will against the weight of the null magic, but he didn’t want to alert anyone they might not have seen farther down the hall about what he was doing.

  His magic, a tiny ball within the core of his being, strained against the null magic. The spell wasn’t as strong as the one in the room where Stanbury had taken his dugga’s magic. A different sorcerer had cast it, or she hadn’t put in the same amount of time creating the glyphs to maintain its strength. But still, Mother of All, it had been easier to summon his wind when he’d been pissed and had all that emotion to add power to his magic.

  He clenched his jaw, fighting to bring a small breath of wind forward. He didn’t need much, just enough to slip under the door and depress five buttons on the keypad.

  “Any day now,” Werner hissed.

  “I’m trying.”

  Werner checked the other direction of the hall. “I thought you said your ancient dragon magic was more powerful than the null spell on the cell?”

  “It was more powerful when I was about to lose my temper.” Nero’s pulse pounded in agonizing beats through his head, and the ache in his chest billowed again.

  “Well, Stanbury is going to find and torture all of your kids if you don’t get that door open,” Becca said. “Get pissed about that.”

  “I am.” But his wind still wasn’t breaking through the spell.

  “Come on,” Werner growled. “You promised me a great escape.” He seized Nero’s shoulder and shoved him against the door. “I’m tired of waiting.” He rammed his fist into Nero’s gut, and the force stole his breath.

  “Werner.” Becca grabbed his arm, but he wrenched from her grip and jerked his elbow toward her face.

  Power erupted in Nero’s soul and exploded from his hands in a wild gale. He snapped it into a whip and seized Werner’s arm before he could hit Becca, slamming the other man against the Plexiglas.

  Werner raised his other hand, palm up in submission. “Now use that wind to unlock the door.”

  Nero wrenched his wind from Werner and shoved it under the door. He didn’t like Werner’s style, but it had gotten the job done, and fast. Lucky for Werner, Nero had just enough self-control not to break his neck when he’d threatened Becca.

  “Get ready to move.” Becca glared at Werner and shifted closer to Nero. He could feel her tension, a quiet far-off ripple at the edge of his senses, mixed with determination and exhilaration. They didn’t know if unlocking the door would set off an alert and security would know right away they’d escaped, or if they had a few seconds before being spotted in the hall on a monitor.

  “Was before and still am,” Werner said.

  Nero pressed his face against the Plexiglas to get the best view he could of the panel. He could perform any number of amazing fine-detailed things with his wind, but what he didn’t have was a sense of touch, which meant he had to use the memory of his quick glance at the keypad to assume where the numbers were. He should have tried to rip the bolts out of the hinges but that required brute force, and he didn’t know if he’d be able to summon enough wind against the null magic spell for that. Guess that was plan B, since he was pretty sure a failed code would alert someone monitoring security about their escape attempt.

  You’ve got this, Becca whispered in his head, her essence warming his soul.

  He had to have this. For her.

  For your kids.

  For all of you. He drew in a quick breath, created a square of wind the size of the security panel and aligned the two. With the image of the keypad in his mind’s eye, he extended a knob of wind aligned with the first number of the code and depressed the button, then the next and the next until all five digits had been entered.

  The lock clicked, and Becca eased the door open. No one came running and no alarms sounded. Which didn’t mean their escape hadn’t been noticed.

  Nero released his wind and ran out, followed by Becca and Werner. The weight of the null magic spell vanished, and Becca’s presence rushed into his head, solid and sure, where she was supposed to be, along with a sudden blast of voices all clamoring for her attention. His own magic, the promise of his magical wind, tickled over his forearms, as if it hadn’t been fully released or he was a young drake again and not in full control. Not ideal, and he wasn’t a hundred percent, but he was determined to put up one hell of a fight.

  The ache in his chest swelled again, the pulsing coming faster and stronger than before. He didn’t know if that was because he was free of the null magic and whether the spell had somehow also been affecting his soul. And he wasn’t going to spend a lot of time thinking about it. Stop Stanbury. Get his dugga’s magic back. That was the plan.

  He called his wind again, savoring the feel of its strength surging through his limbs and gusting around him, and turned his attention toward the elevators to cover Werner — who was checking the other cells — and Becca — while she tried to focus inward and find Stanbury.

  Werner ran to the next cell over and staggered to a stop. “Another keypad.”

  Inside, a man stood with one hand pressed against the glass and pointing into the hall with the other. His hair and beard were matted like Werner’s, and his expression was wild.

  “Get the others. Theirs is just a deadbolt,” he yelled through the glass.

  Becca jerked toward him, and Nero felt her concentration on her magic vanished. “Glenn.”

  “Get the others.” Glenn pointed again, his movements shaky and desperate.

  Five people in the other cell hurried forward. They all wore hospital gowns, like Becca had when Nero had first found her, and while their hands and faces were clean, their hair was unkempt and they were all undernourished. They also all had the flickering aura of human mages, none as powerful as Becca or even Werner, but all had fully developed magic.

  “I’m not leaving you,” Becca said to the guy with the beard.

  “Neither am I.” Werner glared at the keypad.

  “Becca, get back and find Stanbury.” Nero gathered his wind. “Werner, get the others in the cell. I’ve got this.”

  You don’t know the code. But she rushed out of the way toward the stairs.

  I don’t need the code. “I’m going with plan B.”

  Werner frowned. “What’s plan B?”

  “Get the others and get them clear,” Nero growled. “Now.”

  Werner unlocked the door and hurried the five others toward Becca as Nero surged his wind into the door’s hinges. He yanke
d out the bolts then wrenched the door free and tossed it down the hall toward the elevators. Two men in tactical gear with Tasers scrambled out of the way, one of them screaming for backup with M4s and a tranq gun.

  “Crap. I was hoping it would take them longer to get to us,” Becca said. Nero couldn’t tell if she’d begun to focus her magic again or not.

  “Focus.” Please. Nero didn’t want to end up running all around the building looking for Stanbury, and he could only hope Becca could control her earth magic long enough to find her. She’d said before she’d gated to help him that she’d almost found Grey with her telepathy. She was certain she could do it now.

  I have to. I won’t let Stanbury hurt your family. She wouldn’t be responsible for anyone losing their family again.

  I know you won’t. With his wind, Nero heaved the door up and slammed it into the two men again, ramming them against the wall at the end of the hall.

  “Becca. Location?” He didn’t want to make her run and concentrate at the same time, but they were going to have to get moving soon or switch to the plan where they captured one of the security guards and hoped he knew Stanbury’s location.

  The ache in his chest billowed again, and the searing pain from Stanbury’s spell flared with it. His wind stuttered. Mother of All. He squeezed his will into his magic, fighting to keep it activated.

  “Come on, Becca,” Werner said, ushering the escapees to the stairwell at the end of the hall. “Let’s get the hell out of here, for good this time.”

  “Not without stopping Stanbury first.” Her mind squeezed around Nero’s essence like it had before when she’d been clinging to her sanity, making it hard to breathe and concentrate.

  The men in the hall shoved the door aside and staggered to their feet.

  Where is she? Where? The force of Becca’s will tightened.

  Nero blasted a wall of wind into the security guards. His heart raced— no, her heart. There were so many voices, yelling, screaming, filling him— her.

  “I’ve almost got it.”

  But he could sense she was barely holding on to herself among all the voices, let alone able to find one specific mind, and he was barely holding on to himself, too. This wasn’t going to work. If she didn’t shut her magic off, she was going to lose her essence to the force of her power and never get it back.

  37

  Becca’s mind reeled, caught in a tornado of thoughts, whispering, screaming, happy, sad, hundreds upon hundreds of them, all clamoring for attention, all threatening to drown her essence and sweep her away.

  Stop. “You have to stop.” Nero’s desperation cut through the roar, a tiny anchor in the whirling chaos.

  “I’ve almost found her.” If she could just focus, she was sure she’d be able to find Stanbury’s mind out of all the others. She’d found Grey. Except she hadn’t really found him, only known he’d been close.

  Becca, please. Nero’s essence— no, his physical body jerked away from her, and he blasted more wind at the men in the hall. Men with howling fear, their thoughts panicked. They didn’t have the right weapons. They needed help. They—

  “Come on, Becca. Let’s get out of here.” Werner, Glenn, and the others were almost at the end of the hall, and a part of her just wanted to flee with them. But a stronger part couldn’t leave Nero. This was her chance to save kids instead of helplessly listening to them scream. And God damn it, there was something about Nero, something she couldn’t explain, that wouldn’t let her abandon him. She barely knew him and didn’t know his kids at all, but he needed help, and she could help. That was it. He needed help. But in her heart, she knew the reason was more than that, soul-deeper than that.

  “Let it go and get to the stairs.” Nero grabbed her arm. Your power is too strong, and you’re untrained. You’ll lose yourself. I can’t lose my dugga’s magic and them and you, too.

  You won’t. She wasn’t going to let that happen.

  She wrenched free of his grip. “I’m finding her, and we’re getting your power back.”

  Stanbury had to be close. Nero had said she’d taken his magic in a room in the building. Of course, Stanbury could have left in the twenty minutes they were locked in the cell. But—

  Mother of All. She was as stubborn as a dragon— Nero’s thoughts. Not hers. It was even becoming hard to separate him from her and everyone else.

  She strained to keep her essence within her. He’d cursed her for being stubborn as a dragon. Well, she’d be stubborn and make her magic do what she wanted.

  She mentally shoved at any of the voices that she sensed weren’t nearby, but there were still too many. Come on, Stanbury. I know you’re here. She’d heard the other woman’s thoughts before she’d first escaped. Surely that would help her make a connection now. They were running out of time. Maybe if she thought about how that first connection had felt, her subconscious would be able to recognize Stanbury’s thoughts again.

  But that sent a shiver racing through her and the terrifying thought that magic was real seized her heart. Her pulse raced faster, and she clamped down on that thought.

  “Becca?”

  Yes, magic was real, and she had magic. She’d already dealt with this and had no intention of going back.

  “Becca,” Nero growled, his tone tense, his thoughts heavy with worry.

  Wind gusted past her and someone yelled, but she didn’t dare break her concentration to check what was going on. Their plan wouldn’t work if they couldn’t find Stanbury, and it certainly wouldn’t work if they couldn’t find her quickly. Nero was running out of time.

  Nero grabbed her arm again. “You need to move. I can defend you better in the stairwell.” As well as ensure Werner gets the others to safety.

  I don’t want to lose my concentration. She tried to pull away again, but Nero tightened his grip.

  “Do you have her?”

  “No.”

  “Then haul ass to the stairwell and try again.” Since I can’t convince you to stop. He blasted more wind at three men between them and the stairwell door and shoved her into action.

  She didn’t want to lose what she had, but he was right. If the stairwell was a better position for him, then that was where she needed to be.

  “We’re running out of time,” she said as she bolted to the door.

  One of the men clambered to his feet. She punched him in the head, knocking him back to the floor, and took his Glock.

  Nero’s wind seized the other two men and tossed them down the hall into the first two.

  “Then find her.” Nero jerked his chin at Werner, who was holding the door open. “You guys get out of here and don’t stop for anything.”

  “Stating the obvious, snake,” Werner said. He turned to Becca. “Don’t let him mind-control you.”

  “Clearly not my magic.” Nero swept a gust of wind around them. “But I’ve got her back.”

  “And I trust him.” Becca squeezed Werner’s hand. “I’ll find you when this is done.”

  “You better.” Werner wrapped an arm around Glenn’s back, taking some of his weight, and they hurried down the stairs with the others.

  She prayed they’d finally escape. It had been a nightmare, a real nightmare, for all of them for too long, and it needed to end. And to do that, she needed to find Stanbury. She grabbed Nero’s shoulder, and all the other voices disappeared, as they had before in the coffee shop and back in his house. Something steadied within her, and a new hope blossomed. Maybe if there was just Nero’s voice to ignore—

  I’m trying something new.

  Work fast.

  His muscles bunched underneath her hand, and the howl of a wind blast roared through the stairwell.

  She closed her eyes, savoring the feel of just him, solid and sure within her, then imagined a wisp of smoke unfurling. Stanbury. The woman was cocky and demanding. She hadn’t cared if she killed Becca. She had wanted to find the dugga at all costs.

  The smoke shuddered. Becca tightened her grip on Nero’s shou
lder. He was still in pain, the searing agony from the spell and a growing ache from the part of his soul that had been damaged by the spell. His internal injuries from the bullet wound in his chest, that he’d taken from Becca, still had not completely healed, as well as more recent wounds from when Stanbury’s men had captured him.

  And none of that was important right now. He needed to protect his inamorata and his puzur.

  And she needed to find Stanbury.

  The wisp of smoke jerked taut and shot up the stairwell. A voice hissed something, angry about something— no, furious about Nero and Becca’s escape. The voice— she had wanted to keep them, study them, find out how Becca could be connected to the dugga, and if Becca was now mentally connected to her, Stanbury, now that she was the dugga.

  Yes. Stanbury.

  The voice paused, listening, as if she thought she’d heard something but wasn’t sure.

  Becca held her breath.

  Someone yelled and wind swept around her.

  Running out of time, Nero growled.

  She shoved him aside — feeling his flash of shock, which quickly turned to understanding at her dismissal — and she focused on Stanbury. She needed a location, a clue, anything to tell her where the woman was.

  “Send more men to the stairwell,” Stanbury said.

  “Protocol also requires men to your position.”

  “Do you honestly think they’re going to make it to my office? It’s on the top floor.”

  Got her. Becca wrenched her focus from Stanbury and released Nero’s shoulder. The voices roared around her with a force that made her knees buckle. She grabbed the railing and fought to turn the volume down.

  “I know where she is,” she said, realizing the moment she’d said it that Nero knew, too. A part of his consciousness had been with her, helping to keep her steady and control her magic.

  “She’d have to be ten flights up, wouldn’t she?” His wind wrapped around them and swept them up three sets of stairs before sputtering out and dropping them on the landing.