“Done?” Luke asked, clearly surprised.
I gave a little shake of my head and walked toward the closest sheet of magic. His arm thrust out in front of me.
“If you go out there, you’ll end up like your friends.”
“I don’t think so,” I said.
He dropped his arm. “Your funeral.”
“Let’s hope not.”
A strand of the sound got louder when I got near the shining sheet of magic. It swirled and twisted uneasily, almost like it was alive. I squinted at it. It almost seemed like there was a pattern in it. Or maybe like it was a bunch of pieces sewn together. But pieces of what?
I lifted my hand and hesitated. If I was wrong, I’d be trapped, just like Luke said. My hand tightened on the bolt. I could try it out and see how well it worked. I could feel the magic in the sheet, and I knew the null wasn’t strong enough. It needed a lot more power, which only the sheet could provide. I had to risk this.
I reached out and touched my fingers to the magic. Instantly, the sheet dropped over me, shrouding me from head to foot. My skin prickled, and energy crackled over it. It was like standing in a jar of Pop Rocks. The sounds I’d been hearing whined louder. It began to sound like a chorus of voices straight out of an insane asylum. I had a sense of being stung by bees from the bottoms of my feet to the top of my head. That, and invisible fingers started pinching at me.
I turned into Gumby. I teetered on the balls of my feet and started to fall. My fingers were still lifted. I channeled energy into them, sending out tentacles to suck the power out of the shroud.
At first, the magic resisted, then the fabric knotted into sticky clumps. It felt like clumps of tapioca. I fed the power into the bolt null clutched in my other hand.
Thirty seconds passed, and then the whining turned to screams. What was left of the sheet coruscated and rippled outward, tearing apart into patchwork tatters. Threads of binding power tangled with the seeking tentacles of my power. It was as if the binding power had been sewing the other bits together. The rags of leftover magic drifted in the air like dandelion fluff caught on a summer wind.
As the shroud tore apart, I regained strength, catching myself mid-stagger. The stinging and pinching subsided. I hardly noticed. I reached out and captured one of the tatters in my hand. It fluttered and twisted as if trying to get away. Then it flattened, pressing soft against my skin. It sent a chill through me—not ordinary cold, but the kind I associated with the trace dimension. The kind that frosted the untouchable places deep inside me. I shook my hand to get it off, but it didn’t slide away. “What the fuck?”
“What’s wrong?” Luke rasped.
I glanced at him. Grooves cut deep lines around his mouth. He had his arms crossed over his chest, every muscle bunched tight. If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought he was nervous.
I didn’t know how to explain what had happened, even if I wanted to, which I didn’t. “Nothing.” I rubbed the back of my hand against my pants, but the cling-wrap magic stayed stuck.
“Can you hurry up? I want to get back before someone misses me.”
“You should come with me.”
His mouth twisted. “Why don’t you worry about yourself? Can you get your people out of the trap?”
Right. He wouldn’t leave Madison behind. My fingers tightened on the null I’d made. Was it enough? I wasn’t sure. The shroud hadn’t acted like any magic I’d experienced before. On the other hand, something about it felt familiar. I just couldn’t place it. I rubbed the back of my hand against my thigh again. Where the patch of magic clung to me, my skin had gone numb and a chill ached deep inside me.
“Well?” Luke demanded.
I glared at him, then went to kneel beside Leo. My brother and two members of Dalton’s team were wrapped in the same blanket. It shimmered and pulsed with rainbow color. I activated the bolt null and thrust my hand inside.
Cold closed around my wrist, and once again, I felt the sensation of pinching and stinging where the shroud touched me. I’d created the null to suck in power like a battery, rather than just stamp it out. I hadn’t realized I’d done it that way. It was harder to do than just make a normal null, but far more efficient in the end. Once again, the shroud tore apart into tattered bits that drifted through the air and along the floor. I frowned at them. Why did they seem so familiar?
I didn’t get a chance to think about it. Leo groaned and blinked.
“Hey,” I said, relief making tears well in my eyes. I blinked them away, swallowing the sudden ache in my throat. “Are you okay?”
He stiffened and sat up with a jerk. “Riley? Where did you come from?”
He pulled me into a hug and then caught sight of Luke behind me. “Who’s that?” Leo jumped to his feet, staggering and then steadying himself. He tried to step in front of me to shield me, but I held him back.
“This is Luke. He’s helping me escape,” I said. “Luke, meet my brother, Leo.”
“I don’t give a fuck who he is. Get on with it,” Luke said.
Right. He was on borrowed time, and so were we.
“Can you see if there are any batteries in the packs?” I asked Leo. His toe lamps were dead, as were everybody else’s. Luke had the only light, and he was taking it with him. I didn’t wait for him to answer. I turned to Luke.
“You can go if you want.” I winced. That sounded obnoxious. I didn’t mean it to be. “What I mean is, thank you. I owe you big-time. You should go back before someone misses you.”
Luke glowered at me beneath his headlamp. For all his eagerness to leave, he seemed firmly rooted to the rock. “What about the others?” He jerked his chin at Dalton and the rest of my unconscious bodyguard squad.
“It won’t be a problem.”
“Then do it.”
“Where did you meet your new friend? Nazis-are-us?” Leo asked, handing me a headlamp he’d fished out of his pack.
“He was my prison guard.”
“Was he?” Leo eyed Luke with narrowed eyes.
My brother didn’t have the bulk that Luke had, but I’d give him odds in a fight. He might be a jeweler, but he was all muscle and tough as hell. I figured their talents were pretty even, though I knew better than most the tricks my brother could do with metal. He’d tortured me with them as a kid. I’d learned to null out his power in sheer self-defense.
“Relax. He’s a good guy.” I smiled when Luke’s mouth fell open. I bet he didn’t get compliments that often, and getting one from me was probably grounds for a heart attack. “He helped me escape and brought me here to help you. I owe him.”
Leo nodded, still watching Luke, his face flinty. “Yes, we do. Thanks.” He looked at me. “Why don’t you get to work on the others?”
I repeated the nulling process on the rest of our team. Dalton had been tangled by himself in two different blankets, while the others had been wrapped together in one. By the time I was done, the bolt null was pulsing with power, and a confetti of magic tatters floated through the cavern. As they brushed against me, several fastened on my skin, sticking to me like patches of silken ice.
I could have activated the bolt null again to see if that would get rid of them, but they didn’t seem to be doing any damage, and I wanted to examine them later. The magic was totally unfamiliar. I could feel bits of various talents in all of it like different body parts all Frankensteined together. Only that wasn’t possible. Talents didn’t meld that way. Two people with different talents could weave them together into something like a song, but this felt different, like a patchwork. I growled inwardly at myself. I couldn’t find the words to even make sense of it to myself. It was why I wanted to examine the bits later.
I extended my hand to help the last two bodyguards to their feet—Mac and Sharon, if I remembered right. Both looked dazed, and they leaned heavily against each o
ther as they stretched their arms and legs. Mac had a bruise on his forehead. Sharon’s chin had a scrape, and dried blood clung to the corner of her mouth. Dalton looked none the worse for wear, but he was absolutely seething.
He glowered at me. “Are you all right?”
“Thanks to that heal-all you gave me,” I said, which was probably the only thank-you he was likely to get on the subject.
He didn’t crack a smile. His gaze shifted to Luke, and he slipped his gun from its holster. At least he didn’t lift it. Yet. “Who’s this?”
I repeated the introduction I’d given Leo, who’d none-too-subtly shifted to put his hand on an ore cart that remained on the rails. Luke also stood on the rails. With his metal magic, my brother could bind Luke or kill him in less than a heartbeat.
“You’ve got the rock; you should be safe enough from traps,” Luke said to me, ignoring the others. “One more thing: Percy won’t give up. He’ll be coming after you. If he finds out the fumigation didn’t take, he’s going to want to know why. Hell, I want to know why. And don’t think he’s the only one. Just because you’ve seen one claw of the monster doesn’t mean you’ve got a clue what the rest of it looks like.”
He stopped, his tongue pressing out against the inside of his lower lip, like he was trying to make up his mind. All of a sudden, he gave a little nod. “Wait here.”
He swung around and disappeared up one of the side passages. My companions had found their packs and their lights, as well as protein bars and bottles of water.
“What’s he up to?” Dalton said, then looked at me. His silver eyes were rimmed blue again and shined as if lit from within. It looked a little too Terminator for me. “Do you trust him?”
“Why would he help me escape and then screw me over now?”
I couldn’t tell if that reassured him or not. Luke reappeared about thirty seconds later. He was cradling a body against his chest.
I didn’t have to see her face to know it was Madison. Her long blond hair gave her away. That, and I didn’t know who else Luke would be carrying around as carefully as he was holding Madison.
“What the fuck?” Dalton said.
“Take her out of here,” Luke said to me. “That’s what I want for helping you.” Frustration, desperation, and a more complex cocktail of emotions flooded his trace. He was a volcano—all rock and ice on top, and below a molten mess.
“What did you do to her?” I asked. Madison hung in his arms like a rag doll.
“Her bracelet’s a sleep charm. She’ll wake up when you take it off her.”
Something wasn’t right. “Why aren’t you coming out with her?” I didn’t say it, but I knew he got the message—why aren’t you escaping, too, when the whole reason you breathe is leaving?
Luke’s teeth bared in a snarl. “I’ve got reasons.” He looked at my companions. “Who’s going to carry her?”
Dalton folded his arms. The members of his squad just stood like statues, like kids in science class who hadn’t done their homework and were hoping the teacher didn’t call on them. Finally Leo glanced at me and stepped forward, taking Madison. Luke looked like he’d rather cut off his arm than let her go. Instead, he stepped back.
“Tell her not to worry. I’ll take care of everything,” he said to me, and then disappeared back the way we’d come.
What the hell did that mean? I started after him, but Dalton grabbed my arm. “We’ve got to go.”
I shook away his hand. As much as I wanted to argue, he was right. I looked at Leo. “Thanks.”
He gave me a lopsided grin, then frowned. “I won’t be able to carry her far.”
“Not a problem.” I grabbed the bracelet circling her wrist. The silver and blue glass beads were strung on a stretchy cord. I pulled it off Madison’s wrist and tucked it in my pocket. Instantly, she stiffened and blinked awake. She frowned up at Leo.
“Who are you? Let go of me!” She pushed against him and kicked. Hard.
“Easy now,” Leo said, setting her on her feet, and raising his hands up in surrender. “I’m friendly.”
Madison backed away, then caught sight of me. Her brow creased in confusion. “Riley? What’s going on? Where are we?”
“The quick and dirty version is that Luke helped me escape, then charmed you to sleep and told us to take you out of the tunnels.”
Even in the gloom I could see the color drain from her face. Her eyes widened. “No! I can’t. I have to get back. How do I get back?” She twisted around, looking at the various tunnels.
“You can’t,” I said firmly. I didn’t care what Percy was holding over her head, I wasn’t leading her back, even if I could find the way. Luke said he had her covered, and I was going to trust him. Mostly because I didn’t figure I had a choice. Neither did Madison. “We’re heading to the surface. Luke said to tell you not to worry. He’d take care of things for you.”
Madison startled me by swearing a blue streak. Abruptly she stopped, her lips clamped white. She closed her eyes and drew a breath and slowly let it out. She opened her eyes again. She looked at me.
“Percy has my family. If I escape, he’ll hurt them.” Her voice broke on the word “hurt.”
“Shit,” Leo said.
He took the word right out of my mouth. “Luke seemed to think he could take care of them.” It was the most reassuring thing I could come up with. Pathetic.
“How?”
I thought of Luke’s talent for burning stone. Madison probably didn’t know about it. “He’s got more going for him than you know. Besides, he doesn’t have to hold the fort long. We’re going to get reinforcements and go back in. We’re going to put Percy out of business.”
At least, that was my plan. I didn’t know if Price and Touray were going to agree.
Chapter 10
I introduced Madison to everyone. I even remembered everybody’s names: Dalton, because I’d never forget the most irritating man on the planet—though Luke gave him some serious competition—Maggie, Bret, Sharon, and Mac. Lastly, I introduced Leo.
Madison eyed Dalton warily, no doubt disturbed by his eyes, though I suppose it could have been the cold brutality of his expression. On the other hand, After Luke, Dalton wasn’t a whole lot worse. She nodded to the others. Her gaze lingered on Leo. I wasn’t surprised. My stepbrother was serious eye candy. The startling thing was that he seemed to be blushing. Or maybe it was the way the shadows fell on his face. Finally, she looked back at me.
“I have go back,” she said.
“Not now,” I said. “Not without help.”
She considered that, turning it in her mind like a jeweler examining a diamond. Once again she surprised me. She looked so young and seemed so sheltered. Then again, she’d been dealing with Percy for who knows how long. As young and innocent as she looked on the outside, she had a core of iron.
“How long is it going to take to get help?” she asked.
“I’m not sure. The faster we get moving, the faster we find out.”
“This help of yours is strong enough to handle my uncle?”
“Uncle?” I repeated.
She hunched her shoulders. “Not by blood. He’s my mom’s sister’s first husband.”
“This is all very interesting, but we should get moving before we get caught,” Dalton said. Grooves cut deeply into his face. The flashlight shine of his eyes had begun to dim, but he still radiated anger and menace.
“Everybody ready?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “I’ll take point with Sharon and look for booby traps. The rest of you stay twenty feet behind. Mac, you lead them, Bret and Maggie, bring up the rear. No straggling.” He glared meaningfully at me, Leo, and Madison, then started across the cavern to the tunnel opening that they’d probably entered from.
“Stop!” I yelled, just before he stalked
into one of the still-intact magic blankets. He ought to have been more careful than that, given his paranoid nature. He was off his game. But then, he’d been unconscious and bound in magic for who knows how long. Plus, he’d let me get kidnapped, and I’d escaped, and rescued him. That had to be humbling. At least it ought to be. I grinned at that thought. I’d be reminding him of it, regularly and often.
At my shout, Dalton froze in place. He twisted his head to look at me. “What’s wrong?”
“Back up three steps.”
To his credit, he obeyed without question, setting each foot carefully.
“There are magic blankets hanging from the roof,” I said. “You guys got wrapped up in four of them, so this area down here is safe enough. There are five others. I’ll have to guide you out.”
The placement of the blankets seemed haphazard, but looking now, I realized they’d been hung with an eye toward getting people all the way inside the cavern before the trap sprung, increasing the odds that no one would escape. Impressive, in a pathologically insane villain-of-the-week sort of way.
I guided everyone out, one at a time, leaving Dalton until last. As I led him out, I glanced back. I hoped Luke would be all right. I hoped he really could protect Madison’s family until we could bring the cavalry.
I snorted to myself. Some cavalry: Gregg Touray, Tyet kingpin, whom I feared more than just about anyone else on the planet. Still, as monsters went, as far as I knew, he wasn’t as bad as Percy.
Of course, that all depending on convincing him to help me. I was fairly certain the SD production would be enough to get him motivated. He claimed to want to shut it down. I hoped that when Touray found out that Sparkle Dust was actually made from people, he’d be as horrified as I was. On the other hand, trusting him with this information was a definite risk. There was no doubt SD was hugely profitable, and no doubt that Touray’s business had come under siege by other Tyet factions. Maybe he’d want to take over operations for the income potential. At the very least, he’d want something in exchange for his help, and I already knew what his price tag was. He’d better not expect me to come wrapped in a red bow.
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