by Meg Cowley
I ran as fast as I could through the dark halls of bones, not looking back. Another screech echoed along the tunnels as Jamie hit again. The flare of light brightened all for a moment as all of our magics combined. A growing roar rumbled after me.
I chanced a look back.
Somehow, she had magnified and turned my own fire against me. It raged up the hall, filling it edge to edge and ceiling to floor: a giant inferno that seemed to have a life of its own tearing towards me. I pushed my flagging legs as hard as I could, racing on with my head tucked down.
I did not need to look behind me to see the flames advancing. I could see the light growing bigger, getting closer, and hear the crackle and roar of the fire. One hand clutched Pandora’s Box to my chest and the other flung water behind me: a giant soaring jet that fizzled and hissed as it was vaporised by the heat.
And still, the fire advanced. I could feel the heat on my back now as I dived past leering skulls that were wide eyed and gleefully grinning in a macabre, soundless laugh.
My hair was beginning to catch alight in the heat, and I struggled for breath as the fire hungrily stole the air around and ahead of me. I wasn’t going to make it, I knew, as I bolted into the double height hall, and towards the tiny way we had entered: one man wide and not even one man high. I couldn’t run at full pace. The fire would smash its way through the tiny space far faster than I could run. I could think of nothing else to do. I charged into the small tunnel and stabbed my clawed hand at the ceiling above my head.
The rumble of the stone was lower and deeper than the roar of the fire. The walls and ceiling blasted apart behind me, pelting my back with debris that urged me on, as above me, the tunnel began to collapse. I ran as fast as I could, head bowed and arms tucked in. It was cold behind me, the last lash of the fire blocked by the falling rocks, but now I had a new problem. Rocks pelted me as the tunnel’s ceiling disintegrated, battering my head, shoulders, and arms.
Dust, dirt, and debris enveloped me faster than I could run. The lights flickered out, plunging me into darkness. My cavein had cut the circuit. I threw light ahead of me and ran, single mindedly focusing on the floor beneath my feet and moving forward, always forward. I could not afford to falter or stumble, not now. I hoped Jamie had taken care of Cleo and had managed to escape, but the fleeting thought vanished as self-preservation took hold.
I threw myself out into the stairwell in a cloud of debris and collapsed on the stairs, my chest heaving. I coughed it all back up, retching onto the stairs, for I was inhaling more dirt than anything else.
As the rumbles ceased into hissing trickles, I knew I had escaped the fire. My eyes closed in a moment’s release before adrenaline forced me onto my feet. There were over a hundred stairs and probably a couple of security guards between freedom and me.
I wiped my forehead with an arm encrusted with dirt and smoke, and started the long jog up the stairs, casting out before me.
There were two, I felt, and neither Magicai, to my relief. They were already asleep with the last of my magic when I charged outside. The fresh, cold night air hit me like a wall, a blissful wall of life. I didn’t care about the pollution of the city tainting it. I drank it in, sweet and plentiful, banishing the stale, mouldy, smoky, and debris filled air of the Catacombs.
My strength was flagging. I shook from exhaustion. The box at my chest was still quiescent, but I could not guarantee Cleo would be incapacitated, or perhaps even finished, or even dead if Jamie’s anger had indeed taken over.
I was still on the run.
Chapter Fourteen
There was only one place I could go for now: back to the grimy little hotel. No one else would know to find me there. I sucked in some energy and cast dampeners around me so no one would be able to track me, and at a loping jog, ran back to the hotel.
I ragged the curtains shut, locked and bolted the door, and flicked on one small lamp. By its light, I charted routes to the airport, flight times home, and gathered our documents, ready to leave. My nerves were on edge; I scoured every corner of my hearing for any sound and sent out magical feelers to alert me to anyone approaching.
I needed a shower desperately, but I would not be parted from the box, not even for a minute, and I did not want the noise of the shower obscuring my hearing in any case. Instead of a shower, I scoured myself clean with magic. It worked to an extent. I was clean in appearance, even though I felt a filmy layer of grime pervade. It would take a real scrub to shift it, but I’d at least be able to get through airport security in this state.
I checked the time again. I would be able to stay for a couple of hours at most, I knew, before I would have to move on. I didn’t want to leave Jamie behind, but I had to get Pandora’s Box back to headquarters at any cost. We could not afford for it to fall into the wrong hands again.
I dithered minute after minute, in silence.
I checked my watch again and again. Seconds passed as slowly as days, yet before I knew it, my time was up. I couldn’t afford to wait any longer. Slowly, reluctantly, I grabbed my rucksack and tucked Pandora’s Box in the top, when one of my sensors triggered. I froze, sending out more.
Approaching fast.
One person.
Magicai.
A tap at the door.
“Zoe?”
I sagged in relief and dropped the pack to open the door.
“Jamie, thank God.” Our embrace could have crushed bones. I was so damn relieved to see him in one piece, I didn’t have the words. “Is she coming? What happened?”
“No, no. She’s gone.” I felt him slump against me, his head in my neck.
“Dead?” I was still tense.
He nodded. I wobbled too as my forehead sunk against his shoulder. I pulled away.
“I’m so glad you’re okay. I was so scared. We have to go, now. We can’t take any risks. Tell me everything on the way.”
In less than a minute, we were back on the street and on our way to an Uber pickup to take us to the airport. Jamie cleaned himself up on route as I had: with magic.
“What happened?” I asked as we bundled into the cab and erected our usual sound shield.
Jamie sagged into the seat and closed his eyes. He dragged his hand through his hair and across his forehead. “I think you saw most of it. I took her down whilst she was trying to attack you.”
I glanced at him sidelong. First Hayley and now Jamie, my friend, a killer. But it had been kill or be killed. We both knew the stakes. How did we get into these messes, where death was the only way out?
Nick flashed before my eyes. Jamie had done what was necessary to save himself... and billions of lives. I couldn’t judge him for that. The world would be a better place without The Ghost.
“She warded the box, but she hadn’t warded herself, you see.” He smiled grimly at me. “So whilst we had some protection to deflect her attacks, she had nothing. Daft, really. She was the weak link. The spell you sent at her was perfect: the fire. Her attack absorbed it and, well, to be honest, I was terrified seeing it chasing you, but I didn’t have time to think. I struck again and again until she went down, and then I had no choice but to leg it. The noise had attracted attention, you see, understandably. It was an effort to get past her goons. I’m not even sure how I managed it.”
He blinked a few times and shook his head. The adrenaline was wearing off him, too. Now would come the shock, unless we were careful.
“What about the guests, the bidders?”
“Gone. She bundled them off quickly, it seems. I slipped right past the buyer on my way out. He won’t be pleased. He’s an Ordinary, but it’s curious. I think I must have been out of juice. I tried to put him to sleep like I had with the rest of them, but it didn’t phase him at all. He watched me run past, in shock, I reckon. I don’t think he saw me clearly, and if he did, it wouldn’t matter anyway. He has no idea who I am.”
“You’re sure she’s dead?” I pressed, leaning towards him.
He shook his head. “As sur
e as I can be. She wasn’t moving. I didn’t have time to check for a pulse. But I sent out a feeler and… nothing. Nothing there.”
I sighed in relief and sunk back into the seat.
“Thank goodness. Well done.”
“We did it.” He threw me a tired attempt of his cocky grin.
“Not yet,” I reminded him, grim faced. “We still have to get back to headquarters.”
~
It was a tense journey back to London, and an effort not to look suspicious, for we constantly examined every inch of our surroundings and every person near us as we travelled. It was impossible to think we were in the clear just like that, but we made it back unscathed, albeit bags of nerves running on smoke. We were exhausted, starving, and had almost no magical reserves. Even my bracelet, which usually stored something, was bone dry and the runes were sluggish and dull of lustre.
Duncan himself collected us from the airport with an inevitable MI5 security detail escorting us back to the city centre.
“It’s good to see you, Zoe.” He greeted me with an uncharacteristic hug. “We were worried. You’ve not been dark that long for quite a while, now.”
With everything that had happened, I had completely forgotten to keep him in the loop, save to let him know we were coming home. There was a lot to fill him in on.
I did so over the car journey into central London. it was painstakingly slow, but much safer than public transport given what I carried in my innocuous backpack disguised as a bar of chocolate.
He was silent after I’d finished, blowing out a long breath of disbelief. “Crikey. You have been busy.”
“Just a bit.” I yawned, fighting to keep my eyes open. I could not sleep yet. Neither of us could. First, we had to face Marc Nowak.
Whilst we grabbed a quick power nap in the back of the car, replenishing our magic too as we drew closer to London’s vast web of ley lines, Duncan drove with Pandora’s Box on the front passenger seat, sinking charm after charm into it. Layers of protection for when it inevitably passed into MI5’s care once more. We didn’t have a choice on that, but Duncan would at least make sure this could not happen again.
I did feel a little brighter as Duncan awoke me with a gentle shake of my shoulder, though I knew I would happily sleep for a whole day after this. We slid out of the car and into the underground entrance to MI5. My heart hammered for a few moments before I managed to calm it.
A different underground. Not there. I wasn’t back in the catacombs.
Wide open concrete spaces here. And brighter lights. I swallowed. I didn’t want to go back to the Catacombs anytime soon, though, I suspected it would not be possible. I was quite sure we’d destroyed a good deal of them. I suppressed the guilt. Better to sacrifice the bones of the dead than the lives of the living, right? It wasn’t something I’d enjoyed doing, but it seemed a price worth paying to save the human race from Pandora’s Box.
Marc met us there. He looked even worse in the orange-hued strip lighting of the car park. He didn’t speak until we were well inside the building. Up a lift we went, and back into rooms flooded with daylight. I’d lost track of what day or time it was. I’d figure that out later.
He heaved a huge sigh of relief when I pulled Pandora’s Box out of my rucksack and laid on his pristine glass desk. His finger jammed on a buzzer, and in trooped a bio hazard team in full hazmat suits and masks. They carefully placed the box inside a biohazard carrier and sealed it inside.
Marc waved them out, staring at the carrier on the desk with open curiosity and a little apprehension.
“Tell me everything,” he asked quietly.
So, we did, Jamie taking over in some places and I in others. We didn’t leave out a detail, not even what had happened to Cleo — only the magic. Marc was an Ordinary. It wasn’t worth our lives to tell him that.
“You overpowered her and her men, separated and managed to escape?” His eyebrows couldn’t have risen any higher. Disbelief oozed from every pore.
“I have jujitsu training to one of the highest levels,” I said coolly, narrowing my eyes.
“And I boxed as a kid,” offered Jamie, glaring at him.
“We’re more than capable of taking on a few thugs and a petite lady.”
“And she’s dead?” Marc probed.
Jamie nodded. “In the crossfire.” He glanced at me. “It was my blow that did it.” He straightened. “I’ll take full responsibility.”
“He acted in self-defence,” I cut in. “She would have killed us. She nearly did. We witnessed her commit two murders,” I reminded him.
Marc chewed on the inside of his cheek and glanced at the box. “You did get it back,” he admitted. “I have no doubt you have saved potentially billions of lives by doing so. I’m prepared to ah… turn a blind eye to that. The official line will be an underground gas explosion.”
“You — or the French — won’t bring charges?”
“How can one be charged for the death of a ghost?” he asked, suddenly bland faced. I suppressed a shiver. Marc might have seemed spineless to me at times, but I could sense something within him that was more cool and calculating than I had realised. Here was a man who dealt in death and lies, in subversion and spies. I bet he turned a blind eye to a lot worse things. I exchanged a look with Jamie.
“So, we’re free to go?” I said. “All of us?”
Jamie tensed beside me.
“I suppose so,” Marc said at last. “But the box stays here.” As we’d anticipated.
Duncan cleared his throat. “I will be overseeing its protection.”
“I think not!” Marc spluttered.
“I have the Prime Minister’s authorization to do so,” Duncan said. His gaze did not waver as he stared Marc down. “Keep it here, if you wish. But I will ensure it is adequately protected. We cannot afford for another of your breaches.”
Marc scowled. “Fine.”
“Go, you two. Get some sleep.” Duncan turned to us and in his small smile, I saw the hint of smugness he had concealed from Marc.
My lips twitched. “Gladly.” I turned to Marc and glared at him. “Don’t make me do that again.” I stalked to the door and turned, waiting for Jamie.
He stood and stuck out his arm. “Get this tracker out of me. You don’t need it anymore, and I’m pretty sure it’s a breach of my human rights.”
A muscle in Marc’s cheek twitched. But a second later, he buzzed his assistant and muttered some instructions through the intercom. “It’ll be done at once. Before you go.” He beckoned to Jamie. I couldn’t hear what he said as he muttered.
Jamie slowly nodded. Confusion clouded his face as he tipped his head to look at Marc, who was ever impassive.
“I trust that’s satisfactory. If you don’t mind, I have business to attend to.” Marc gestured to the door.
“Never a pleasure, Marc, hopefully I won’t see you soon.” Jamie strolled towards me. With one last look and a wink back to Duncan, who was clearly not budging, to Marc’s great displeasure, we left.
~
Soon, we were back at my apartment with a takeout of epic proportions; I didn’t feel like eating in public today. After we ate, I showered. It felt good to be clean. Jamie begged a shower, too, though he had no truly clean clothes to wear.
We sat at my small table, each clutching a cup of coffee.
“I can’t believe we managed it,” Jamie said.
I nodded. It had been a heck of a lot more difficult than I had anticipated, and Jamie had thought it would have been a walk in the park. I was just glad we had recovered Pandora’s Box. Now it would be protected with Ordinary physical and Magicai magical wards.
“What did Marc say to you, before we left?” I asked, tilting my head to one side. I couldn’t help my nosiness.
Jamie bit his lip.
“What?”
“He actually did a really cool thing. I’m pardoned, officially, for every crime on my record — everything I’ve done in my old jobs. All warrants for my arrest
have been voided. I have no criminal record anymore. I’m no longer a wanted man.”
My mouth opened.
“Yeah, I know,” Jamie chuckled. “I guess he doesn’t come across as the caring type, but he was grateful we succeeded. I think because we saved his ass, too.”
“That means…” I said slowly.
“Yeah.”
“Want me to see if Duncan has room on the team?”
Jamie grinned. “That’d be awesome.”
I sipped at my coffee, strangely pleased. Maybe it would be good to work with him above board, for a change. “Are you sure you can handle all that red tape?” I shot at him.
He wrinkled his nose. “Well… What they don’t know can’t harm, right?”
I laughed. “You don’t change.”
“Why would I?” He winked. “How about now?”
“What?”
“Will you go out with me?” Now that he was above board, again, he meant.
My smile faded. He raised an eyebrow when I didn’t immediately answer. “I like you, Jamie. I always have done. And I know you like me, too. As more than a friend. I won’t deny, there are times I’m tempted, but right now, I’m not ready for that. Can we be friends; just friends?”
He sighed and his smile dropped. “If that’s what you want, but promise me one thing?”
“Hmm?”
“When you are ready, come to me first.”
I snorted. “What makes you think you’re so irresistible?”
He gestured to himself, winked, and blew me a kiss.
“You’re an idiot,” I cackled. “I’m regretting this already. Maybe it would be a total nightmare to work with you. You’d be too busy looking at yourself in the mirror to get any work done!”
He grinned and slouched in the chair, chugging the last of his drink.
“Go home, anyway. You need sleep and so do I. And no, not together.” I rolled my eyes.
He rolled his, too. “I know, I know,” he said, holding up his hands in mock defence. “Just friends.”