by Brenda Drake
“What?” Afton’s eyes widened. “They can’t kill us. It’s illegal. We have to call the police.”
“It’s not illegal in our world,” Lei clarified.
“Who are these Mystiks, anyway?” I asked.
“They’re wizards, Sentinels, and other mystical beings,” she said.
Afton grimaced. “Where exactly are these things?”
“We’re not things,” Lei spat. “Wizards and Sentinels are part human. We have a stake in protecting humans. There are some unusual creatures living among us in the Mystik world. And not all of them are bad. They’re gentle and kind, most of the time.”
“It’s the other times I’m worried about,” Nick said.
“Why haven’t we ever seen any of these creatures?” I asked.
“Because when they’re in your world, they mask their forms or conceal their abilities,” Lei said.
“This is crazy.” Nick shifted nervously. “I don’t know what to believe anymore.”
“No worries, ducky.” Lei placed her hand on Nick’s arm. “We keep the Mystiks from entering your world, and we take care of the naughty ones. Besides, your people have monsters of their own to handle. The wizard havens are against harming humans. You’ll just have to trust us to protect you.”
“Let’s get a jump on it before the hounds descend on us.” Demos quirked a smile at Afton. “Get it? Get a jump. We’re going to jump into the gateway.”
Afton pinched a look at him. “Hilarious.”
I glanced at the creature on the floor. If there were more of them coming for us, I wanted to leave fast.
Arik issued orders. “Demos, you take Afton to Spain, then—”
“He’s not taking her,” Nick broke in.
“You haven’t a say in the matter. Lei, take Nick to Ireland, and I’ll take Gia to Italy. Then we meet in Boston. Are we clear?”
“Yes,” said Lei. She went over to the book, spoke something in Italian, and studied the page. The only word I caught was “window.”
“What is she doing?” I asked Arik.
“She turned the photograph into a window,” he said. “She can see inside the library and ascertain if it’s safe to jump.”
“I’m not sure if that’s reassuring or terrifying,” Afton said.
Nick slipped his arm over her shoulder. “We’re going to be okay.”
Demos cocked an eyebrow at Nick. “Is she your girlfriend?”
“Oh, please, I am so not his girlfriend,” Afton said.
“Then why doesn’t he want me to take you?”
“Demos, enough already. Get going,” Arik said.
“Don’t get your knickers in a twist. I’m going. Come on, sweet.” Demos grabbed Afton’s hand and led her to the book. “It’s easier if you jump up the instant the book tugs at you. So when you feel the suction, just hop in with me. Got it?”
Afton tried to pull away from him. “No. Are you freaking crazy?”
“Ah, come on, you can trust me.” He clutched her waist and gave Nick a smirk as he did. “Aprire la porta.”
Afton shrieked as the book sucked them in. They vanished in a wake of flipping pages, just like the others who’d disappeared earlier. It creeped me out that I was beginning to understand what they were doing. I bet my mother had known about this, too.
Nick crossed his arms. “I’m not going through that again.”
“It’s your only way home.” Arik clapped Nick’s back. “That is, unless you’d prefer to purchase an airline ticket.”
“It can be tough when you’re a beginner, love,” Lei said. “Just remember, we jump when we feel the pull. Concentrate on keeping your legs down and you’ll land on your feet, not your face.”
Arik snickered. “Or your arse.”
Nick untangled his arms. “We’re so screwed. We probably tripped an alarm or got caught on security cameras.”
“The instant someone enters a library by way of the gateway books, magic immobilizes all alarms and cameras,” Arik said.
“Okay, let’s go before we’re hound snacks,” Lei said to Nick.
“Will you just stop saying stuff like that already?” Nick raked his fingers through his hair.
“Sorry, ducky,” she said and stepped over to the book. “You ready?”
He stared at her for several seconds before joining her. “Let’s do this.”
Nick was so anxious to leave after Lei spoke the charm that he almost jumped into the book by himself. Lei snatched the back of his shirt and fell in with him.
Arik shot me a crooked smile. “Are you ready?”
I caught my breath. “I guess so.”
He thumbed the pages until he found the right one, grabbed my hand, and recited the charm. When a pressure tugged at me, I jumped up with him. A powerful burst of wind lifted us above the book and then dropped us feet first. My foot kicked the book, turning the page before we entered the gateway.
Arik cursed.
Chapter Four
Arik clutched my hand as we plummeted through the inky void. Chilly air rushed across my body and my teeth clattered. He raised his hand and said a word I couldn’t hear over the wind’s howl. A ball of light sprouted from his palm and lit up my frosty breaths. There was nothing else to see within the gateway—no walls, ceilings, or floors—only his light searching the blackness.
I struggled to keep my skirt from flying up in the turbulence. I didn’t want him to see my underwear. We slowed, and my legs went level with my body. I thrashed around, trying to get my feet underneath me. Arik made it look easy, like skiing on air. In contrast, I mimicked a novice on the bunny hill, frantically struggling to stay upright.
We shot out of a book cabinet, knocking open its doors and spilling books. I landed on my feet, barely, and stumbled into Arik’s rock-hard arms.
“You all right?”
His amused gaze touched my face and my stomach belly-flopped. I swiftly pulled away from him to hide my flushing cheeks. “Yeah, I’m good, thanks.”
Arik glanced around, a concerned look igniting on his face. “Bugger,” he snapped under his breath.
A smell like antiquated, dusty books mixed with pine cleaner lingered in the air. It was warm and my fingers tingled as they thawed. We were in a large room. Every single wall, pillar, and arch had murals of saints and bible scenes painted on it. Gold trimmed everything. I’d seen this room before when I was younger. Father Mortimer had shown us pictures of it at Sunday school. The Vatican?
The tapping sound of booted feet came from a hallway on the right. A girl and five guys, all about my age and dressed in what I assumed was Sentinel gear, entered the room.
Arik brought his mouth close to my ear. His warm breath brushed my neck, sending chills across my skin. “Follow my lead. They can’t know you’re human.”
“Okay.” I was about to lie in the Vatican. And I was pretty sure committing even a minor sin in this place would put me on the damnation list.
“Well, well, Arik, we weren’t aware you were to pay us a visit,” a guy with a large nose and dark curly hair said. He broke from the others and crossed to us, his boots click-clacking against the black-and-white checkered floor.
Arik took my hand and gripped it tight. “Antonio?”
“Who did you expect? Jesus Christ? Maybe the Pope?” Antonio frowned. “The Vatican library is off limits without permission. Have you forgotten the protocol? Your Monitor is supposed to send ours a request to visit. What are you doing here?”
“I meant to jump into the Florence library,” Arik answered.
“It isn’t like you to make mistakes. Who’s the girl?”
“She’s a Sentinel.”
“Why is she in human clothes?”
“We’re performing some jump exercises. She’s in costume.”
“Really?” Antonio rubbed his chin. “This has nothing to do with the human scent permeating the gateways, does it?”
“I haven’t encountered any humans, but we did run into another unattended hound
. It was one of the Writhes’. And this isn’t the first time this evening we’ve come across one.”
“We’ve stumbled on a few, as well. That’s why we’re here tonight, protecting the Vatican. Though there aren’t many traveling the gateways these days with—” He stopped as his dark clay-colored eyes settled on my face. “You’re Italian—”
Arik stepped in front of me, blocking Antonio’s view. “We have to get back.”
“I wasn’t aware we had a novice from Italy at the academy.” He pursed his lips as he eyeballed me. “How old are you?”
“She’s fourteen and was privately tutored until recently.” Arik scooted back, causing me to move toward the bookcase. “We’re being timed.”
I lowered my head so he couldn’t tell I was older. The ponytail was my saving grace. Everyone said I looked younger with one.
“Certainly. I’d love to watch your trainee transport.”
My stomach hit the floor. Great. What if I can’t do it this time?
“I apologize for the breach,” Arik said. “It won’t happen again. We’ll be on our way. Good evening.”
Antonio inclined his head. “Good evening.”
Arik rested his hand on my lower back. I was acutely aware of every twitch of his fingers as he guided me to the cabinet. He removed his hand to grab the gateway book, and a shiver ran up my back. After finding the photograph of the Boston Athenæum, he placed the book on the floor.
“You remember the key?”
I nodded.
He grabbed my trembling hand. “Don’t tense like that. You’ll mess up. Are you ready?”
“Yes.” I drew in a deep breath.
Antonio studied us. “She’s a fledgling. Don’t push her.”
Arik squeezed my hand. “You can do it.”
“Aprire, um, apri—”
“No pauses.”
I relaxed my breathing and focused on the page. “Aprire la porta.”
We jumped into the gateway.
The others were waiting for us when we entered the Athenæum. “That first step’s a real bugger, eh? At least you didn’t land on your face like Alpha Male over there did.” Demos nodded toward my friends.
Nick was beside Afton in the middle of the room, shifting his weight from foot to foot—something he always did whenever he had pent-up energy. Lei stood guard by the doors, scowling at Nick’s anxious display.
“I put the book on the floor,” Demos continued. “Landing can be tricky when the book is on a table or in a bookshelf.”
“Thanks?” I wasn’t sure how to answer him. I’d already landed through a bookcase. Twice. Since I’d made it home in one piece, there was no way I’d ever go through that possessed book again.
Lei crossed the room to Demos. “We should go already, before our trail is discovered.”
Arik looked from Demos to Lei. “I must see our wards safely home. Incidentally, Gia and I jumped into the Vatican library by error.”
Demos snickered. “Splendid. You’ll get an infraction from the Wizard Council for that.”
“You’re one to judge,” Lei said. “How many times have you had to sit out a mission because of your bad marks?”
“Hey, at least I’m entertaining,” Demos said. “No one wants to live up to your perfection, Miss I-never-have-any-fun.”
“I know how to have fun,” Lei muttered.
“We happened upon Antonio and his band,” Arik interrupted. “They’ve also encountered hounds in the libraries. Be certain to inform Merl to increase security. Also, have him check the Monitors about the delayed response with the hound.”
Nick’s forehead puckered. “Who’s Merl?”
“He’s our haven’s High Wizard.” Arik undid the buckle of his belt and removed it from his waist, then wrapped it around the attached scabbard.
“That’s an insane name for a wizard.”
“His full name is Merlin,” Lei said. “I should add he isn’t the King Arthur one. His father thought it a riot to name his wizard son after a fictitious wizard. Merl hates when someone addresses him as Merlin.”
“Yeah, Merl’s father was a blast. Bless the old bloke,” Demos said. “Merl is more serious than his father was.”
Arik frowned at Demos. “It’s time to leave.”
“It was a pleasure meeting each of you.” Lei bowed her head toward us. She spoke the key and jumped into the gateway book.
Arik took off his vest and tossed it to Demos. He extended his scabbard and blade. “Can you take care of these for me?”
Demos took them. “Certainly.” He inclined his head to us while diving into the book.
“Let’s be on our way, shall we?” Arik walked off toward the elevators.
“Oh, great,” Nick whispered. “Here’s where he kills us.”
“You’re such an epic moron. He could’ve killed us ages ago.” Afton rushed after Arik.
“That’s not nice, Afton,” I said and gave Nick a sympathetic look. “You know how she is…”
“No joke. She’s got bite.” His gaze followed her. “I like her that way.”
Nick and I stopped beside Afton and Arik to wait for the elevator. Arik gave me a sidelong look. “You handled yourself quite well back there, in the Vatican.”
I smiled all the way to my toes at the compliment. “Thank you. I was a mess, though.”
“Nah, you were a real peach.” He smirked, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
My eyes widened. How freaking embarrassing. He did see my peach-colored panties. And they weren’t sexy Afton-type panties; they bordered somewhere between little girl and granny glam. Ever so casually, I smoothed down my skirt, thankful it was in place.
The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. I avoided eye contact with Arik. This was going to be one long elevator ride.
“We have to get our things,” Afton said as the doors closed.
“What time is it?” I asked.
Nick checked his cell phone’s screen. “It’s almost four.”
“The front desk closes soon.” I yanked the claim ticket out of my skirt pocket.
We retrieved our purses and umbrellas from the coat check and then stepped outside under leaden skies and drenching rain. I wrestled with my weather-beaten umbrella, rain pounding on my head until it opened, then I dashed down the steps after the others with the loose handle wiggling in my hand.
Traffic jerked and stopped on the street, horns blaring and brakes squealing. Arik’s biker-knight apparel caused many questioning glances. The rain plastered his dark hair against his forehead and dripped a trail of water down the side of his strong jaw. His every move was easy and sure. I’d checked out hot guys before. Not one swaggered like Arik. I’d felt attraction before, too, but this was way different. Each time he looked at me, it was like a thousand wings took flight in my stomach.
“Do you want to get under?” I yelled over the downpour clapping against the fading petals of my rose-colored umbrella.
He flashed me his dimples. “No, thank you. The rain is refreshing.”
Lightning shocked the dark clouds, making them look like purple smoke. Nick and Afton were several feet ahead of us, arguing about something. Nick’s black umbrella bounced snappishly over their heads. I hurried to catch them.
“What’s wrong with you two?” I flinched at a sudden smack of thunder.
“He’s mad that I called him a moron,” Afton said with irritation.
“I am not. I’m used to your crap.”
“That’s not nice,” I said.
“I know,” Nick agreed. “She has no filter.”
“I do, too,” Afton protested.
“Really?” I fumed. “I meant you both aren’t being nice. And don’t you think we have more to worry about than this?”
“You do have more to worry about,” Arik said, catching up to us. “That hound in Paris was sent by a Writhe.”
“You’re insane,” Nick said. “I feel like we’re in some weird video game.”
“This isn�
�t a game,” Arik said. “I don’t think you fully understand. Our Monitors detected your presence in the gateway and so did the Writhes. They’ll kill you if they find you. I can’t be certain if any other hunters sensed you. If they did, they’ll track you. This very moment you’re leaving a trail, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
My voice quivered. “But we did that library hop thing, so they’ll lose our scent. Right?”
“It won’t erase it, just slow them down.” Arik stopped and spun around, his eyes fixed down the street. “We have to get somewhere fast.”
“Why?” I turned to see what had distracted him. “What’s wrong—?”
A mountain with legs charged up the street. The man, bald and scarred, didn’t have to dodge pedestrians, because they hurried out of his way. Terror shrieked through my body. The bad people. The thing I’d feared my whole life was barreling down on me.
“Who’s that?” Nick asked.
“A hunter,” Arik said.
“Hurry! The T is just around the corner!” Afton hustled up the street. Nick chased her, and Arik and I ran after them, flying around the corner into the Park Street station.
The creep was gaining on us. Arik grabbed a trash can and slammed it into the hunter. The man swayed on his feet, and Arik snatched my hand and pulled me down the steps, pushing between people along the way.
This isn’t happening. This is not happening.
My foot slipped on the last step and I nose-dived. Ripped from Arik’s grasp, I hit the floor. Screams pulled from my chest as I slid and crashed into a line of bicycles. A kickstand cut into my leg. The taste of salt and copper exploded on my tongue. I touched a crack in my lip, blood staining my fingertips.
Arik dropped to the floor beside me. Inside the train, Afton and Nick waved at us to hurry before the doors shut.
The hunter reached the platform. There wasn’t an iris or a pupil in either of his white marble eyes. A scowl crossed his mangled face as he sniffed the air. He passed us and headed toward Afton and Nick.
“He smells them and not me,” I whispered to Arik between breaths. “Why?” When I tried to move, the pain in my leg brought me back down to the floor.