Kai scanned several wide doorways leading away from the parlor-ish room. “We should split up. Aaron and Ezra, you go left. Tori and I will go right. Look for Nadine, but don’t engage Varvara. Beware of traps. Meet back here in fifteen minutes.”
Split up? Seriously? Was I the only one who’d ever watched a horror movie before?
But Aaron and Ezra were already heading across the parlor. I cast a worried glance after them, then hastened in the opposite direction, following Kai. Together, we ventured deeper into the silent mansion, our survival hinging on little more than faith and luck—both of which I’d always made a point of never counting on.
Chapter Twenty-One
“How is splitting up a good idea?” I hissed at Kai as we passed through another gaudy sitting room.
“We can cover more ground. The faster we find Nadine and get out, the better. If we can avoid confronting Varvara …”
Trailing off, he hastened through another archway and into a grand corridor, complete with twelve-foot ceilings and monster-sized gold chandeliers. At the front of the house, a huge curving staircase dominated the three-story-tall foyer.
“Varvara wants Nadine’s loyalty,” I whispered. “I think she’ll avoid treating Nadine like an outright prisoner. Let’s check the bedrooms.”
He nodded, and we scampered up the stairs to the third floor and ventured into a hallway covered with deep, luxurious carpet.
Quiz time. How many bedrooms does a multi-million-dollar, 20,000-square-foot mansion have? Answer: too damn many. Who needed this many bedrooms? It was ridiculous! Luckily, they were easy to check because, surprise, the doors were all open. And, just as luckily, they were all devoid of any nasty surprises. If I hadn’t known better, I would never have guessed an evil sorceress lived here.
At the end of the hall, we finally found a suspicious room. What tipped us off? The door was closed.
Kai and I stood in front of the door, considering our options. The unpleasant thing about Arcana was that, unless the runes were visible, magic could be hard to detect. And we didn’t have any sorcerers to help us.
I pulled out my Queen of Spades and positioned myself in front of the door. Cautiously, Kai touched the handle. Nothing happened, so he turned the polished knob. Locked. His lock picks came out again and in five seconds he had the door open. We peeked inside.
Barely noticing the paneled walls, lush drapery, and cluster of uncomfortable armchairs, I homed in on the giant round bed, raised on a carpeted platform, with another colossal chandelier hanging above it. A chandelier in a bedroom? Yuck.
Sprawled across the bed, fully dressed with her face buried in a pillow, was Nadine. I took an eager step into the room, but Kai grabbed my arm. That’s when I noticed the haze in the air, a sweet, smoky scent I didn’t recognize. On the table beside the bed, white tendrils coiled up from an incense burner, forming unnaturally perfect curls. Alchemy? Something to keep Nadine asleep?
Kai pulled a black handkerchief from his pocket, shook out the folds, and tied it over his nose and mouth.
“Okay, now you really look like a ninja,” I declared.
He huffed. “Let’s hope that smoke doesn’t work too fast.”
I wanted to go instead, but he’d have an easier time lifting the hundred-pound girl. Shoving my card back in my pocket, I gripped the doorway. My instincts screamed at me. Too easy. This was way too easy.
Kai inhaled deeply, then strode into the room.
I don’t know what made me look. A faint noise? An invisible pulse of magic? Whatever it was, I glanced at the windowsill where nine Russian nesting dolls were lined up from largest to smallest, their painted faces smiling benignly.
Kai crossed the path of the dolls and their bodies popped open with soft clicks. Green mist burst from inside—and shiny flashes shot at him like bullets.
“Kai!” I shouted, my warning far too late.
He jerked sideways and I heard him gasp—breathing in the perfumed smoke that filled the room. Catching himself, he launched toward the bed and grabbed Nadine’s legs. He dragged her to the edge of the mattress, flipped her dead weight over his shoulder, and sprinted back to me. I yanked the door shut as he stumbled to a halt, breathing hard.
I pulled Nadine off his shoulder and lowered her so she was slumped against the wall. When I turned back to him, he was pulling three silver needles out of his bicep. Thin trails of blood ran down his arm. Six more metal spines were stuck in his vest.
Staring at the darts, I gulped. “What are the chances that those things are poisoned?”
“One hundred percent.”
“Shit.” I had to get him out of here. He needed a healer or an alchemist—or both. I crouched and shook Nadine’s shoulder. “Hey, Nadine. Wake up. Come on, open your eyes.”
She groaned, then her eyelids fluttered. Squinting blearily, she raised her head. “Tori! What are you doing here?”
“Rescuing you, kiddo.” Taking her arm, I pulled her to her feet. “You didn’t want to be saved last time I offered, but I’m guessing that’s changed?”
She wobbled before catching her balance. “How did you—never mind. We need to get out of here. Varvara—my neighbor—she’s a mythic. She thinks she’s saving me from the druid, but she doesn’t understand that—”
“Oh, she understands,” I interrupted grimly, hauling her into motion with Kai on our heels. “Varvara is a dark-arts sorceress, and she isn’t your friend. We need to get you out of here before—”
“Ah.” The sighing exclamation brought me to a sliding halt in the middle of the dark corridor. “What terrible lies,” the heavily accented voice continued. “Nadine, devushka, do not listen.”
The hall was dimly lit but I couldn’t see the speaker—not until she moved, stepping from a cloud of shadows I hadn’t noticed until that moment. Tall, willowy, with fine lines gracefully aging her aristocratic features. Her thin lips were painted dark crimson, her deep-set eyes were adorned with smoky makeup, and her silver hair was swept into an elegant topknot. With high-waisted brown slacks, a forest-green blouse, and a long tan coat draped over her shoulders, she looked ready to stroll through an exclusive art gallery.
“Varvara!” Nadine gasped. “Is that true?”
The sorceress pursed her red lips. “Why would you believe these dogs? The druid has sent them to steal you away.”
“I already told you the druid isn’t like that. He—”
“He has ensnared you, darling. These people? They are part of his trap. This woman who lies, you know her through the druid, yes? She befriended you by his command.”
Nadine’s eyes darted to me, then back to Varvara. “N-no, that’s not—”
“That,” I interrupted loudly, “is the biggest load of bullshit I’ve ever heard. Could you be any more cliché?”
“I will protect you, Nadine,” Varvara said serenely. “Soon you will return to your senses and see he is the one who has deceived you, not I.”
“I—I don’t want to go.”
Though it was well hidden, I saw a flash of impatience in the sorceress’s face. She didn’t enjoy all this playacting, but she was determined to woo Nadine to her side by making Zak seem like the real enemy. At least she was taking her sweet time about attacking us—more precious seconds for Aaron and Ezra to hear the commotion and get their asses up here.
“Nadine,” I said softly. “The druid told me he wants you to come home. He promised to protect you.”
Tears filmed Nadine’s eyes and her lips moved, forming a silent word. Home.
“I will protect you.” This time, Varvara couldn’t hide the angry bite in her voice. “Come with me and I will take you far beyond his reach.”
Nadine raised her chin. “No. I don’t want to go with you.”
Malicious fury filled the sorceress’s eyes. “You leave me no choice. I do this for you, devushka.”
Varvara raised her hand and it gleamed with gold—an elaborate, interconnected piece of jewelry. Rings circled each finger a
nd her thumb, linked to larger pieces that covered the back of her hand, all connected to a wide bracelet. Her fingers were tipped with two-inch gold claws.
As she moved, Kai lurched into my back. His weight pressed against me, almost pushing me to the floor, and he hooked an arm over my shoulder to brace himself. He stretched his other arm over Nadine’s shoulder, fingers spread wide.
The air crackled. All the hair on my body stood on end.
White light shot down his arm, arched between his fingers, then exploded from his palm. The lightning bolt leaped across the hallway, then burst into a thousand snaking branches. All my muscles tensed, hot tingles and spikes of pain racing through me.
It was over in an instant, leaving only the stench of burnt carpet. The lights had gone out, plunging the house into darkness, and white spots dotted my vision.
Kai grabbed my arm and I snatched Nadine’s hand. Together, we bolted down the corridor to a dead end. Dragging them with me, I wheeled through an open doorway into a giant bedroom. Moonlight, shining through the floor-to-ceiling windows, cast silver squares across the dark carpet.
We sprinted to the window. Kai sagged against the wall beside it, coughing breathlessly. I grabbed a delicate end table by the legs and swung it into the window. Glass smashed in a spray of jagged shards and cool night air rushed into the stuffy room.
I stuck my head out the broken window and peered down at the concrete terrace. We could jump—if we wanted to break our legs.
Nadine gasped.
Whirling, I almost pressed back against the window before remembering I’d broken it. Varvara stood in the threshold, unharmed by Kai’s explosive attack. She raised her hand again, a swift incantation in Latin falling from her thin lips.
In front of her gold-clawed fingers, bubbling black smoke formed into the shape of a long spearhead.
I yanked out my Queen of Spades card. “Ori repercutio!”
I barely got the words out as the spearhead blasted into motion. The air rippled off my card and flung the phantom blade backward. It shot past Varvara’s shoulder, whipped across the corridor, and tore a hole through the wall.
Varvara’s eyebrows rose elegantly. “A fellow sorceress? Your pronunciation is boorish.”
Clutching my card, I fought to keep the terror off my face. I’d used the Queen of Spades and now I would have no defense for at least five minutes while the spell recharged. Behind me, Kai was leaning against the wall, his breathing shallow. I couldn’t count on his help. Where the hell were Aaron and Ezra? Had they gone for a swim in the damn pool?
Varvara raised her hands, both adorned with spelled jewelry, and she began the same incantation. Two inky black spearheads morphed into existence—one aimed at me, one aimed at Kai.
“Varvara, stop!” Nadine cried.
She paused her incantation. “I cannot, child. I will protect you, even if I earn your hatred.”
“Don’t kill them!” Her hands clenched. “I—I’ll go with you. Let’s just leave.”
“No, Nadine!” I snarled. “Don’t you dare!”
Varvara gazed thoughtfully at her desired apprentice, then lowered her hands. The spears evaporated. “If that is your wish. Come, devushka.”
I gritted my teeth. Nadine cast me a pained look as though pleading for my understanding, then walked to Varvara. Placing a gold-clawed hand on Nadine’s shoulder, the sorceress smiled sweetly at me. Her other hand slipped into her pocket, and as she guided Nadine into the hallway, she flicked a small object back into the room before slamming the door shut.
A dark pellet rolled across the carpet. The moment it stopped moving, blackness oozed out of it. The mist roiled across the floor in waves, spreading steadily.
I pivoted toward Kai. Braced against the wall as though standing required his full concentration, he jerked his shoulders, suppressing a cough. Something dark ran down his chin from the corner of his mouth. Blood.
He was coughing up blood.
His unfocused eyes met mine, and I knew his time was running out—and that wasn’t even counting the evil black mist spreading implacably toward us. It spanned the floor in front of the only exit, and I wasn’t dumb enough to walk into it. That’s exactly what Varvara wanted us to do.
I grabbed Kai’s arm and pulled it over my shoulders, but I had no idea where to go. My Queen of Spades card was at least three minutes away from recharging, and the mist would reach us before then. I didn’t think it would work on an alchemic substance anyway.
The fog flowed closer, only two feet away. Kai sagged against me, breathing way too fast.
A cool draft danced through the broken window, carrying with it a teasing hint of a scent. I inhaled sharply through my nose, wondering if I was insane. But no. The guys had told me again and again to trust them. To have faith. To believe in them.
So I hauled Kai to the windowsill, and as the black mist reached for our ankles, I shoved him through the opening and leaped out after him.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The wind swept upward, slamming into me like a tornado, and then I crashed into a body. We went down in a tangle of limbs and my head smacked into someone’s shoulder. Owww.
“Shit, Tori!” Aaron gasped. “We weren’t ready for you. Wait for the signal next time, okay?”
Raising my head, I met Aaron’s anxious blue eyes. Beside us, Ezra had both arms around Kai, supporting him as he hacked bloody saliva across the white terrace.
“What happened?” Aaron demanded as we scrambled up.
“Kai was poisoned by Russian dolls,” I babbled at top speed. “Nadine went with Varvara to save us. Where the hell were you two?”
“We triggered a trap and had to bail,” Ezra growled.
“We were circling around the house when we heard you break the upstairs window,” Aaron said. “Where’s Varvara now?”
“She and Nadine are still inside the mansion.”
“Not for long,” Kai panted. “She’ll take Nadine to the boat now.”
With one arm still curled around my waist, Aaron raked his other hand through his hair. “Damn. This has gone all kinds of sideways. How long until reinforcements arrive?”
Ezra checked his phone. “Twenty-five minutes.”
Varvara would be long gone with Nadine by then—but as my gaze shifted to Kai, blood running from his mouth as he rasped for air, panic seized my heart. Kai didn’t have twenty-five minutes. He was halfway to drowning in his own blood. Even if we ran for the car right now, we might not get him to a hospital in time.
He raised his head. “Aaron … Ezra …” he panted. “Go save her.”
“Kai—”
“I’ll hold it together … until help arrives.”
Aaron and Ezra exchanged glances—and seeing the blankness in Ezra’s stare, I abruptly noticed how cold it was. My breath puffed white.
Aaron swore quietly, then squeezed my waist. “Stay with Kai. Text the team and make sure they’ve got a healer and an alchemist on the way.”
Ezra eased Kai to the ground. Releasing me, Aaron cast Kai one final look—anguish flaring in his eyes—then he and Ezra raced toward the doors that led from the terrace into the house’s second level. Ezra kicked the door open and they disappeared inside.
I crouched to extract Kai’s phone from his pocket. He unlocked it for me and I typed rapid-fire messages to Girard, updating him on the situation. His response popped up—30 min out.
Thirty minutes? That was too long! Kai would be dead by then. I started to type just that when an orange blaze lit the night—followed by a girl’s scream. My head snapped toward the railing at the edge of the terrace. Beyond it was the garden.
Varvara and Nadine were outside, and the guys had reached them.
“What’s happening?” Kai asked breathily. “Let’s get closer.”
Nodding, I pulled his arm over my shoulder and levered him to his feet. He sagged against me, his steps weaving as we lumbered to the terrace edge. Gripping the balustrade for support, I peered across the man
icured backyard. A wide brick pathway cut through a long rectangle of grass, surrounded by shapely bushes and trimmed trees. In the center was a round patio of patterned brick, guarded on either side by polished suits of medieval armor on pedestals.
Varvara stood in the brick circle, Nadine kneeling behind her with eerie red light crisscrossing her torso—the same type of restraint from the coffee table spell in the Rivers’ living room. Aaron, his sword drawn and coated in flames, faced the sorceress. Ezra covered his left flank, a Twin Terror in each hand, both blades gleaming in the firelight.
Aaron lunged for the sorceress, his sword whipping through the air. She gestured and Aaron flew backward. Landing on his feet, he launched into motion again, casting a band of fire at Varvara’s face. He rushed in behind the flames, blade drawn back for a lethal strike.
The air around Varvara rippled. Purple smoke erupted around her, then Aaron’s flames exploded everywhere. I flinched as he and the sorceress disappeared in a maelstrom of orange flames, red sparks, and purple fog.
Wind gusted, blowing the colorful mist away.
Varvara had her arm outstretched, her metal-coated hand gripping the side of Aaron’s face. He stood rigidly, sword pointed at the ground instead of his enemy. She shoved him away and he stumbled, shaking his head side to side, the movements slow and stunned. I clutched the railing. Was Aaron okay?
He staggered backward until he’d opened ten feet between him and Varvara. She watched him withdraw, her scarlet smile visible even from the terrace. Ezra hastened toward the pyromage, ready to take over.
With another shake of his head, Aaron raised his weapon to resume the fight. A chill skimmed down my spine, dread closing my throat.
Aaron took two steps sideways, drew his sword back, and cut Ezra down in one swift stroke.
I screamed as Ezra fell. Kai made a noise between a gasp and moan, his hand biting into my arm hard enough to bruise.
Dark Arts and a Daiquiri (The Guild Codex: Spellbound Book 2) Page 20