The paper in her hand had a single word.
Run.
Bailey leaned over and read it. “Run, huh? Never seen that before.”
She crumpled the paper and tossed it on the table. “I probably need to after eating all those carbs.”
But Jun couldn’t help frowning at the tiny ball of crumpled paper. An unsettling feeling prickled in the back of her throat, leaving her feeling jittery, but Jun swallowed it down. It was just a stupid fortune like all the others. It didn’t mean anything.
“If you need someone to run with,” Bailey said with a grin, “I could keep you company.”
Jun smiled back, grateful for the distraction. “Are you recruiting me into your fitness routine?”
“Something like that.”
“In that case, I might need some more carbs,” June said, and she ate the pieces of her fortune cookie. She checked the time on her phone and sighed. “I actually do have to run. I got work.” She normally didn’t work weekends, but Antonio practically begged her after one of the other girls called out sick.
“Thanks for inviting me over,” Jun said as she gathered her things.
“We should do it again sometime. You know, if you’re up to it.”
She couldn’t deny his hopeful grin. Neither did she have to lie or find an excuse to say otherwise. “Yeah, I’d like that.”
Her good mood stayed with her until she began to deliver pizza, and then it evaporated completely. The higher tips working on a Saturday did not make up for the college aged boys who thought waving money at her entitled them to something.
“No, my number is not included with your order,” Jun said with a tense smile frozen on her face—a testament to her years of experience in customer service.
Many of her customers recognized that smile as professional courtesy.
Mr. Shattuck Ave. did not.
“Want the best sex of your life?” he asked while she handed him his box. He purposely reached further to feel her hand.
“No.” She stepped away, wiping the back of her hands on her pants.
“Then I’m the guy for you.” He winked.
Now’s the time to run.
She did, all the way to the Crust Mobile. Behind the wheel, Jun shook her head. This was ridiculous. She was listening to a cookie. What was wrong with her? She headed back to Feelin’ Saucy to collect the next batch of pizzas.
Jun went through two more drop offs, but because of roadwork and traffic, the last four boxes of this delivery were cooling down fast. She parked in front of an old laundromat and hastily rounded the corner. It wasn’t until she’d rang the doorbell and was waiting in front of the heavy wooden door with the green chipping paint that she realized the laundromat seemed familiar.
1306. Nikolai lived here.
The floorboards creaked as someone heavy descended the stairs.
Jun backed up a few steps. Should she just drop the pizzas and run back to the van? Except—it was too late. The door already jostled as someone undid the locks. Jun froze as the door opened and she kept her head down, hair and cap slanted over her eyes. She lifted the box with the flimsy hope that he would be too interested in the pizza to notice her.
His gaze swept over her indifferently as he eyed the boxes of pizzas in her hand. “So that’s four large pizzas. Pepperoni, the margarita, the sausage with extra cheese, and the ridiculous order with the anchovies, onion, and broccoli?”
He looked at her expectantly, and Jun realized that he was waiting for her.
“Yes, it’s all there. Fifty-nine, eighty-one, please.”
He took the boxes and dug into his sweatpants for the folded-up bills. When he held out the money, palm up with healed over calluses, Jun reached for it. Her thumb brushed coarse, leather-thick skin as she wrapped her hands around the bills, and she felt the shock—static that shot up through her arm. She jerked her hand away, the money held tight in her fist. For a moment she dared to hope she’d been the only one to feel it.
Nikolai stared at her, first wide-eyed, then narrowed. This close, it was impossible to ignore the rigid set of his jaw or the thick muscles tightening.
Something in the pit of her stomach dropped, and the same jittery feeling itched under her skin and raised the fine hairs at the back of her neck.
Shit.
Jun took a step back, as if that small measure of space was going to do anything.
Nikolai frowned, his eyes sweeping across her features. “All right, thanks,” he finally said, closing the door on her.
Breathing hard like she ran miles rather than the few yards from Nikolai’s house to her escape vehicle, Jun was soon on the road and down the street.
She stopped short at a red light, jamming her foot on the break. The Crust jerked to a halt, and the cars behind her honked. Jun checked the rear-view windows, sure the face of the driver in every car would be his. When she released her tight grip on the steering wheel to turn the radio on, her unsteady fingers flipped the window wipers.
When he recognized her, she thought he’d have done something, maybe grab her and pull her up the stairs. Had she been wrong about him and Evan’s disappearance? The way her stomach twisted told her otherwise.
Somehow, on autopilot, she found her way back to Feelin’ Saucy. She turned off the engine and sighed. Her arms were numb from gripping the steering wheel. Little crescent shapes were embedded in her palms. All around her were students, nothing out of the ordinary. Her shift was over, and in another forty-five minutes, she’d be eating sushi with her dad.
Alexa nodded at her as Jun returned the keys. Was Alexa wrong about the whole instinct thing? Had this all been in her head?
The streetlamps glowed orange, mimicking the hazy sunset lingering behind the buildings. While walking, she texted her dad that her shift was over. He saw the message and already began typing a response. Probably asking for all the details about her ‘date.’
Jun unlocked her car and just as she was opening the door, a hand shot out from behind, grabbing her wrist with enough force to bruise. Before she could even think to do something—wrench her arm free, blow the horn, scream—she was shoved to the passenger seat, her face pressed into the door panel, hands forced behind her back as if she weighed nothing. Jun craned her head back for a glimpse. She’d been wrong. Nikolai had been waiting for her.
A sharp blow struck the back of her head, and her thoughts faded into the darkness.
7
The junk car rattled as Nikolai pressed the accelerator, its engine groaning so the whole street could hear. Though his eyes were on the road, his focus was on the girl seated next to him. His knife, sheathed at his belt, was ready for the first hint of magic.
Nikolai knew that choosing to act alone was incredibly stupid. Hell, it could get him—or worse, a whole lot of innocent people—killed. Except he couldn’t alert the others just yet. Not when he wasn’t completely sure himself.
Unconscious, she looked so damn vulnerable. Barely ninety pounds, soft features. She even owned a bag shaped like a teddy bear. Nothing like any magician he’d seen before. If he hadn't felt that sharp zap of magic himself, he'd swear it was the wrong girl. Nikolai shook his head. But she was in Cartwright’s class. One of the two girls in attendance. The one who knit.
That couldn’t be a coincidence.
The car strained up the steep incline of the California hills, the engine’s racket getting louder as the light of the sun disappeared below the horizon. He hadn’t made it to their destination when her eyes started to flutter. Wincing, she came to. With her arms tied behind her back, it took some twisting for her to get up.
Nikolai rested his finger on his blade, bracing for her reaction. Earthquake on the road. Toss the car off course—a crash could kill him as fast as magic.
The girl looked to the dashboard on the car, leaning closer and blinking at the numbers.
“Shit,” she muttered.
Fumbling with her tied hands, she patted her side pocket.
�
��Shit,” she repeated.
She faced him, and Nikolai let his index finger slide out the handle of the blade.
“I need to call my father,” she said. It was urgent enough to be a demand.
Nikolai tensed his hand on the wheel. Whatever she was trying to pull, he wasn’t falling for it.
“Nikolai, please.”
“How do you know my name?” There was no record of it in the system. The only way she’d know would be from some means of magic. It was sloppy work for her to know his name when he couldn’t recall hers.
“I delivered you pizza,” she said flatly. “Maybe next time don’t have it shouted from the second floor. Look, my dad’s going to be worried. I was supposed to meet him two hours ago for sushi.”
Sushi? Was this girl for real? “That’s not going to happen.”
She was quiet long enough for Nikolai to wonder if maybe she was still dazed from the blow before she spoke again. “He’s seventy-three and has had two heart attacks already. I’m not going to do anything. I just can’t let him worry.”
Her words trailed away, and moisture gathered in the corner of her eyes.
Nikolai pulled out his phone, knowing it was stupid. There was no way this girl was some normal civilian. She was taking this far too well. She had to be planning something. Even if she hadn’t immediately blasted him apart, she must still be planning to kill him. With one hand on the wheel and the other holding out the phone, it would take an extra six seconds to access his blade. God, he was an idiot. “What’s his number?”
She blinked at him, before reeling off the numbers slowly while he punched them in.
It rang on speaker twice before someone picked up. “Hello?” asked a shaky voice.
“Hey, Dad.” She sounded different. Relieved.
“Jun Berry! What happened? Is everything all right?”
Jun Berry? Jun Bear.
Ranked seventh in the class. No conduct records. Nikolai had written her off.
“Yeah, it’s nothing. My phone died at the library and I had to borrow one. It’s that essay I wrote. I read the prompt wrong. I was trying to fix it real quick. I mean. I could just pull an all-nighter and still make it over to you.”
“No, no, no. Little Berry, I don’t want you to have to do that. Take care of that essay.”
“But I would rather see you.”
“I know how important this degree is to you. We can get dinner to celebrate your graduation.”
“Okay, love you, Dad.” Her voice hitched and she bit her lip, looking away.
“Love you.”
The call ended, and Jun sighed. She turned back around, looking out the window.
What was she doing? Most likely it was a ploy to distract him, but why would she need to? He pressed on the gas harder, and the car lurched forward.
Nikolai gritted his teeth as the engine began to churn and smoke escaped from the hood. He had no choice but to pull over to the side of the road and turn the car off.
He got out and went around to her side. She shrank back when he opened the door. “Did you do this?” he demanded.
You’re kidding me? Her expression was as obvious as if she said the words out loud. “No. You did this,” Jun said. “You completely shot the accelerator.”
The car was still smoking, and he couldn’t waste time getting it to run. Beyond the guardrails were the woods. Isolated enough. It would have to do.
“Nice going, by the way. Did they teach you how to drive in kidnap school?” Jun muttered under her breath.
She was still pretending to be normal. Fine. He could play along with her little game.
Nikolai pulled her out of the car. “Walk.”
After the first few rows of trees, visibility dimmed, and then they were stepping in blind. Nikolai kept her ahead of him, pushing her forward every time she paused. Any second she could slither out of the rope tying her wrists. He waited for her to make a run for it.
They were far enough for the road to disappear from view. The lingering heat from being in the car faded fast, and the nighttime air was chilling. From the smell of rot and bog, they must have been nearing a swamp or lake. Thick dirt began to soften, and his shoes sunk in mud in areas. In the distance, water reflected back at him.
Through the thinning tree branches, the moon broke free of the clouds. Nikolai held his hand against her back, keeping her moving. He felt her shiver.
The trees dispersed, cut off suddenly by a ravine. Fifteen feet or so below them was a lake. Now, in the dark, it gave the impression of a cliffside. He didn’t want to drag this any further, and this was the perfect spot for what he had in mind.
“You still won’t admit it, then.” Nikolai watched her intently. He fully expected her to flee or fight now that she was cornered. He stepped closer to her, and Jun backed up until she was right at the edge.
“Admit what?” she snapped, with a slight tremor that rattled her teeth.
“What you are.” Nikolai waited for a look of guilt, understanding, anything. When it was clear that she wasn’t going to say a word, he pushed her, hard enough that she stumbled back over the ledge.
She screamed as she fell. A scream ending abruptly with a splash. And then silence. Nikolai waited, watching the black water churn for a few rapid heartbeats. It would be child’s play for a magician to break out of those bonds and escape. He braced himself for her retaliation—it would come any minute now. There was no flash of lightning. No earthquake. No odd haze obscuring his vision.
There was nothing on the surface of the water but the ever-widening ring of ripples, spreading out from the spot where the water swallowed Jun up.
The water stilled completely. Seconds passed. Nikolai was tense, waiting. Wondering if this was just a trick. Until that uncertainty gave way to a weightier thought—how long had she been under the water? Longer than a magician would take to break free, but also longer than it would take any average swimmer to make it to the surface.
“Damn it.”
It had been too long. Too long even for a trap.
Nikolai dove in after her.
8
Jun’s stomach lurched as she was pushed, the impact sent her reeling backward. For a full second, she had a clear view of the night sky, stars swimming in her vision. And then she broke the surface.
Cold pierced her, first enveloping her with pain before leaching away at her strength. Panicked, Jun gulped for air and inhaled water. Immediately she tried to cough it out, but there was nothing but more water to replace it with. Agony seized her lungs and clawed her throat. She tried to kick, jerk her tied arms free, see through the black water surrounding her, but all she managed to do was arch in awkward circles. The water was everywhere. It slowed her thrashing limbs.
She was going to die. She knew it then. Dread seemed to seep to her bones, sinking her further. With her remaining strength, she kicked wildly, but in reality, it was mere twitches. It didn’t matter anyway since it was impossible to tell where the surface was, her awareness already fading.
It wasn’t cold anymore. Her burning lungs quieted down. As her struggles stopped, Jun drifted, and the water was gentle, taking her deeper. The darkness pressed in from all around until it was the only thing left.
Then it was forced out of her. A harsh pressure blew past her throat into her lungs, reigniting all her raw pain. Chasing away the fog in her mind. It all came out, brackish water and stomach acid, down her front. Jun had just enough mind to twist to the side, though the movement felt oddly sluggish. She breathed in thin streams of air, wrestling and pulling each ragged bit into her body. Each cough wracked her body. Her waterlogged lungs hurt as if they were being squeezed. Jun fell flat on her back, realizing after a moment she was no longer in the water. She concentrated on the soothing feel of air against the sting of acid at her throat.
Then she heard the crunch of leaves by her head, and Jun finally recognized the black shape above her as Nikolai. There was no further energy for her to move, let alone run like
her mind was screaming at her to do. Her whole body shook from the exhaustion and the cold. He may have pulled her out of the water, but it wasn’t to save her. No. She knew he had much worse things in store for her.
Another branch snapped, this time a few feet away. It took her a few moments searching in the dark to realize he was no longer there. It was her chance to escape, maybe her only one. She forced herself to move, and her leg dragged against the dirt like a log. She twisted to her side, but that alone caused her muscles to give out. Still she tried, even as she scraped against the forest floor, gasping.
If she disappeared, then her dad would worry himself into an early grave. She couldn’t do that to him, not after what she’d done to her mother. The guilt pushed her forward, inching blindly along jagged rocks. She tried to dig her nails into the flesh of the earth, pulling herself forward with a raw desperation, but she couldn’t force her numb fingers to grip properly.
A breeze drifted through the trees, chilling her damp clothes, as if she wore ice. Too soon, she heard the crunch of returning steps. Jun stifled a groan of bitter disappointment as she rested her forehead against the dirt and let herself slip off into exhaustion.
The crackle of fire jostled her awake. She gasped, adrenaline pounding through her as she drew away, certain she was about to be eaten by the flames. It took a moment for her panicked mind to register that she wasn’t burning. She was dry. Warm.
She propped up onto her elbows and looked wildly around, her eyes slowly adjusting to the dark. The fire was just about down to embers. Pink streaks lined the horizon. How long had she been out here? She reached for her cellphone before recalling with sudden clarity the precise moment when it tumbled out of her hand. Even during a kidnapping, she registered seeing her newly paid off smartphone tumble, hitting the ground with a sharp crack.
Magician Rising (Divination in Darkness Book 1) Page 6
