“That would have been expensive,” Allyn said.
“Very. If someone took the time and money to print this book, then it must be important.” Liam’s eyes glazed over as his mind went to a different place. “I wonder where the other copies went…”
“What does it say?
Returning from his faraway place, Liam looked at Allyn. “Things I’ve never heard about. Listen to this. ‘The air was thick, a byproduct of the tense atmosphere. It wasn’t an open forum, but that didn’t mean the Council was free from prying ears. Their vote would determine the fate of all magi, present and future. One decision brought death, a slow drawn-out affair that would span generations. The other offered salvation. At a price. To grant the ray of hope, the Council would pay with a Great Sacrifice—their Great Sacrifice. To grant life, they died. To sentence death, they lived—’”
The door opened, interrupting Liam. Four people walked in, led by a young man with sandy-blond hair and fair skin. Shorter than Allyn by nearly a full head and not particularly muscular, he strode in with his arms at his sides, almost flexing. Behind him, three more young magi fanned out in a V formation.
“Can we help you?” Allyn asked.
“My name is Cason,” the man with the blond hair said. “Grand Mage Hyland sent me to request your presence in his study.” For a Family that ignored tradition, Cason was overly formal.
“But we just started!” Liam protested.
Cason frowned. “And you can return when Grand Mage Hyland deems it so. Until then, if you will please follow me.” He held his hand up to the door, pointing the way.
“Fine,” Liam groaned, grabbing his coat dramatically. He folded it over his arm, hiding the book. Liam caught Allyn’s eye. His face was expressionless, but his eyes pleaded with him not to say anything. “Let’s go.”
“All of you,” Cason said, nudging Nyla with his foot.
“I’m busy,” Nyla said, her eyes buried in her book.
“Grand Mage Hyland requested all of you.”
“I’m sure it doesn’t concern me. Take them.” She pointed to Allyn and Liam. “They’re distracting me anyway.”
The slender man with spiked black hair behind Cason snickered. The other two struggled to hide their amusement. Cason strode forward, trying to reestablish his authority, and yanked the book from Nyla’s hands. She reached for it, but he tossed it across the room. “He said all of you.”
Nyla chewed on her bottom lip, glaring at Cason. He stood over her, unflinching.
Allyn watched nervously. This wasn’t how he’d expected things to go. He’d expected a familiarity among the Families, a special bond like seeing a distant cousin for the first time in a long time. He hadn’t expected the friction or the pissing contests between jocks. But these jocks weren’t all bluster.
Nyla stubbornly got to her feet, making it clear she didn’t like it.
Cason led them out of the room, Spike, the man with the spiked black hair, and Scarlet, a beautiful woman with auburn hair, forming up behind them. They rode their heels, never more than a step behind.
We aren’t being summoned, Allyn thought, We’re being herded. They didn’t go back the way they’d come in. Instead, Cason took them to a new section of the estate.
Cason gave a curt nod, and the man beside him broke formation and disappeared down an adjoining corridor.
“What are you going to do with that book?” Allyn asked Liam under his breath.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Liam shot a nervous glance at Scarlet. She kept her eyes ahead, seemingly unaware of their conversation.
“I saw you hide it under your coat. What are you thinking? If you get caught, they’ll kick us out, and we won’t find anything.”
“This is too important.” Liam patted his coat.
“Nothing is more important to me than my sister.”
“You don’t understand. This book describes events prior to the Fracture. Do you know what that means?”
“It could be fake.”
“We’ll never know until we read it. What did you say? Words are just words until they’re read? Besides, I can’t leave it behind to be destroyed like the other books in their library. I’m sorry, Allyn. I just can’t.”
Allyn shook his head. “Don’t get caught.”
“Don’t tell on me.”
Descending a stairwell, they emerged at the basement level. Unlike the rooms and hallways above, these were quiet and empty, and they lacked windows and natural light. Scarlet and Spike eased off their heels a bit, allowing Allyn to relax, not feeling like he had a dog nipping at his heels. They rounded the corner into a long corridor. At the end stood two large double doors whose dark wood was a stark contrast to the light-gray concrete walls. They looked old—and strong.
Nyla slowed, falling into step between Liam and Allyn. “Something’s not right,” she whispered. “Don’t let them touch you, especially her.” She nodded toward Scarlet.
Liam’s back stiffened, and he looked at Allyn from the corners of his eyes. A chill ran through Allyn, causing the hair on his arms and the back of his neck to stand. If Nyla was uneasy, if Liam was nervous, he should be terrified.
“What’s wrong?” Allyn asked.
“That’s a holding room,” Nyla said, nodding to the doors ahead.
“A what?”
“Shhh,” Nyla said.
Cason turned on his heel and nodded. A firm hand grabbed the back of Allyn’s neck. A powerful wave of exhaustion followed. His body became weak, his legs buckling under him. Darkness crept in from the edges of his vision. He’d been through this before. He was being forced unconscious.
As quickly as the hand had grabbed his neck, another slapped it away. Nyla—in a single, fluid motion—drove her palm into Scarlet’s chest, throwing her backward into the wall. She spun, whipping her leg into Spike’s face. He fell to the floor.
Allyn staggered, relief flooding through his body. He felt as though he’d been woken up from a deep sleep. His body reacted slowly, and everything took a half-second longer to process.
Nyla bolted forward, driving her knee into Scarlet’s face as she tried to get up. Blood splattered the concrete floor, and Scarlet landed in a heap atop Spike.
A concussion of air threw them backward. Allyn bounced off Liam, and they each skidded to a stop several feet down the corridor. Nyla yanked them to their feet and huddled them up behind her, shielding them from Cason.
Cason waited, watching. Allyn looked down the corridor behind him; it was long and narrow with nowhere to hide. Spike and Scarlet got to their feet, each taking up position at Cason’s shoulders. Scarlet, her face bloodied, rubbed her chest where Nyla had hit her. A bruise was already forming on Spike’s cheek.
“Stay behind me,” Nyla said.
“What are you going to do?” Allyn asked.
“Just stay behind me.”
“There’s nowhere to go,” Cason said. “Be good boys and girls and play nice. There’s no need for this to continue.”
“You’re a traitor,” Nyla said.
Cason laughed. “To what? A traitor to who?” He waved the two magi forward. They split up, strolling down each side of the corridor, while Cason took the center.
“You’re working with Lukas,” Nyla said.
Cason smiled.
Allyn stepped aside, outside Nyla’s protection.
“No,” Liam said, grabbing Allyn’s arm.
Yanking it free easily, Allyn kept his eyes on Cason. “What do you want?”
“I think you know what we want,” Cason said. “We want you to reach your potential.”
“Is that what you’re doing with my sister? Helping her reach her potential?”
“Perhaps,” Cason said, smiling wickedly. Spike and Sc
arlet circled, blocking off their only escape. “I do wonder, though, if she is so important to you, why are you here and not trying to save her?”
Allyn’s hands balled into fists.
“I’ll tell you why,” Cason said. “They don’t want to find her. They don’t want to lose you.”
“That’s not true,” Allyn said.
“Yes it is. They know that as soon as you find your sister, you’re leaving, and they’ll lose something special.”
“What am I?”
“Come with me and find out.”
Allyn took a tentative step toward him.
“Allyn!” Liam shouted. “No!”
Ignoring Liam, Allyn stepped forward, offering his hand.
Cason smiled, reaching for Allyn’s hand.
Allyn slapped it away and drove his shoulder into the man’s chest. Cason collapsed. Tripping, Allyn fell on top of him.
“Get down!” Nyla screamed.
An explosion sent him and Cason crashing into the double doors, throwing them open. They tumbled into the holding room.
It was surprisingly well furnished with several armchairs and modern couches spread throughout. A large ornate rug stretched from one end of the room to the other, and landscape artwork hung from the walls, giving the windowless room a feeling of warmth.
More explosions thundered behind them. Liam and Nyla were in a pitched battle with Spike and Scarlet. Allyn grappled with Cason, trying to pin his hands to the floor. Jaxon had taught him that hand motions weren’t necessary to wield, but they did make it easier.
Cason drove his forehead into Allyn’s nose.
Blinding pain shot through Allyn’s face. He rolled onto his side, blinking in quick succession, trying to regain his vision. The room was a blurry mess. A blob of color in his vision was accompanied by more pain in his chest. Allyn rolled into a ball, protecting his head with his arms as blows rained down. Cason hit him, kicked him, and beat him until he was nearly unconscious, nearly dead.
The blows stopped, and Allyn was only faintly aware of a crash behind him. He uncurled, his muscles screaming in agony. Someone touched him. He fought the hand away. Then a voice was yelling at him.
Why are they yelling?
The hands became more urgent—more violent.
Allyn balled his hands into fists and swung indiscriminately.
“Allyn!” the voice said. “It’s me!”
I know that voice. Liam.
Allyn stopped fighting, and Liam tried to pull him up, but as Allyn tried to stand, his legs collapsed. His left eye was swollen shut, and he couldn’t move his left arm.
Liam wrapped Allyn’s good arm around his neck and held him up. With his good eye, Allyn watched as Nyla landed blow after blow to Cason’s mid-section and face. But the man never went down.
Cason blocked a punch and, with his off hand, sent Nyla stumbling backward. Without missing a beat, he spun into a crouch, blasting her with a concussion of air. Nyla cascaded through the air into the wall, then fell to the floor, motionless.
Wiping blood from his lip, Cason refocused his attention on Allyn. He tossed a softball-sized fireball back and forth between hands. The flame burned brightly but gave off little light and didn’t flicker in the air. Cason tossed it high into the air, and then catching it with his right hand, he spun and threw it at them with a powerful overhand pitch.
“No!” Allyn screamed. He hooked Liam’s head between his forearm and chest and spun him around so Allyn was between him and Cason. Searing pain screamed across Allyn’s back.
The room went dark.
Chapter 12
“Lukas is building an army,” Graeme said as he entered Darian’s study.
Darian motioned for him to take a seat on a couch beside the door. The cold leather creaked as Graeme sank into it. Darian’s private study was decent sized. A black-and-white mural of a snowy landscape covered the opposite wall, and a third was filled with windows overlooking the cliff and the ocean beyond. Floating shelves held books, photographs, and other personal belongings, while a large desk with a computer monitor sat in the center of the room.
“That is a very serious accusation,” Darian said, grabbing a decanter from a small bar in the corner. He filled a wine glass with a deep-red liquid. He held it to his nose, breathing in the aroma, before taking a sip.
“It’s not one I make lightly,” Graeme said.
Darian nodded to an empty glass, silently asking Graeme if he would like one.
“Please,” Graeme said.
Darian filled a second glass. “I assume you have evidence to back it up?”
“The man sitting in your library isn’t enough?”
“A man nobody knows, who cannot wield, or has any known ties to any surviving Family? That’s not a lot to hang your hat on.”
“Then perhaps you can tell me what Lukas wants with him and his sister,” Graeme said.
Darian stared out the window in silence, tapping the side of his glass with his fingernail. He seemed distant and distracted. “We live in dark times. He might be using the sister as bait.”
“The thought crossed my mind, but I have reason to believe otherwise.”
Darian’s blue eyes opened wide in surprise. “You have a spy.”
“I never said that.”
“How else would you know?”
“I have my secrets.”
Darian sniffed. “It does seem to answer a lot of questions,” he said quietly, almost to himself. He looked down, seemingly noticing for the first time that he still held two glasses of wine, and brought the second to Graeme. “Do you know where he is hiding?”
“No,” Graeme said. “I don’t.”
Darian watched him, his eyes narrowing. “I’m not sure I believe you.”
Graeme shrugged. “That’s unimportant.”
“On the contrary.” Darian leaned against the corner of his desk. “It’s very important. If you want to unite the Families against him and fight a war, you’ll need us to believe you.”
Graeme sipped his wine. The merlot evaporated on his tongue, leaving behind a dry, chalky residue. “I don’t want to start a war. I want to prevent one.”
“War is easy to prevent. You don’t fight it.”
Graeme pinched his forehead. Darian was the youngest grand mage in the Families and the first in a growing trend of anointed young leaders, but Graeme hadn’t thought he was naive. Why is he being so flippant? “Sometimes, you don’t have a choice. Our way of life is being threatened, and our very existence lies in the balance. Isn’t that worth fighting for?”
“We lived on the brink long before Lukas divided your Family,” Darian said. “Our numbers have dwindled since the Fracture. We’re hanging on by our fingernails, and the world only continues to get smaller. There will come a day when there will be nowhere left to hide. What then? I’m not saying I agree with Lukas, but maybe it is time to try something new.”
“Then that is something that should be agreed upon by the Families,” Graeme said. “Not by a rogue magi who doesn’t have the responsibility you and I do.”
“He has a responsibility to his followers.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“Maybe not,” Darian said. “But maybe it’s more difficult. He promises change, a brighter future, and that he’s the one that will lead them to a better world. His followers expect that from him and nothing less. And they expect it quickly. He’s put himself in a precarious spot.”
“He’s done it to himself.”
Darian grimaced.
“What?”
“It’s just that—” The door to the study opened, and a young magi stepped into the room. “Yes?” Darian asked.
“The, uh, the shelter is full,” he said, refusing to
look at Graeme.
“Thank you,” Darian said.
The young man nodded and turned to leave.
Darian closed the door behind him. “My apologies. I was just saying that your Family has been through a lot. A splinter is never easy. It suggests a lack of leadership, a lack of direction, or both. Lukas left your family, Graeme. Can you honestly tell me this isn’t a personal crusade to squelch a mutiny within your Family to avoid embarrassment?”
Graeme sat motionless. “How dare you.”
Darian held up his hands in surrender. “I meant no offense.”
“This has nothing to do with me. Do you understand? Nothing.”
“I just had to be sure.”
“I hope I made myself clear.” In one swallow, Graeme drained the wine glass.
“Crystal.” Darian exhaled deeply, his head and shoulders dipping slightly. “I was also afraid you might say that.”
Darian opened the door, holding it open as four magi entered the study.
“What’s this?” Graeme jumped to his feet.
“It’s necessary, I’m afraid.” Then, with a weak, sympathetic smile, he added, “I’m sorry.”
Graeme didn’t resist when the men grabbed him and bound his hands behind his back. Fighting so many magi inside the small study was suicide. “How long? How long has Lukas had you in his pocket?”
“I told you I thought it was time for a change,” Darian said. “I can’t sit back idly any longer and watch as our people die.”
“You’re digging your own grave.”
Darian shrugged. “We’ll see.” He turned to the magi holding Graeme. “Where are the others?”
“Cason has them in the shelter,” the magi said. “We’re still rounding up the other two.”
“Excellent,” Darian said. “Once they’re secure, I want them separated from each other, understood?”
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