“You all are talking like I’m not in the room, and like I’m not telling you no.”
Riley turned her head so that she could see Linda.
The woman was old, no doubt about that, but she’d cured Riley. She’d reversed Rendal’s spell, setting her right.
“Is he there?” she asked. “Is Rendal in New Perth?”
“Don’t ask me any more questions,” Linda responded. “You rest, and then you leave.”
Riley’s eyes narrowed. “Is he there? He is, isn’t he? He went immediately.”
“Yes, girl. He did. He’s got your kingdom under his thumb.”
Riley closed her eyes, tears behind her eyelids. “Can you see Mason?”
“I don’t know any Mason. I can see Rendal because I can see New Perth. I don’t know anyone else in there.”
Riley heard William shift uncomfortably in his chair. She knew that if she opened her eyes, he’d be gripping the armrests, the wood nearly about to break under his strength.
“I can’t beat him,” she finally whispered. “I need your help. I need you to teach me what I’m missing.”
“I want nothing to do with you, girl. I want nothing to do with any of you. I did what I came to this place to do, and I failed. Or maybe Ezekiel was wrong; maybe humanity isn’t made for magic. Maybe we’re too damned corrupt. Either way, I’m too old. I’m too tired.”
“You’re going to help us or I’m gonna kill you.” William stood, unsheathing a massive axe from his back.
The woman’s head whipped around, her eyes red. Without moving, the axe in William’s hand broke in half, and the business end flew up to his neck.
He backed up quickly, the blade’s edge chasing his neck.
He hit the wall, shaking the entire room. The blade was at his neck, his hands grabbing what was left of the handle and trying to force it away.
Riley rose off the bed, her instincts taking over and forcing away any feelings of weakness or dizziness.
Her own eyes were red, and a part of her was focusing on helping William push the axe away, and the other part was sending a trail of fire from her hand.
It wrapped the old woman in a cocoon, although it didn’t touch her.
The old woman was strong, and she wasn’t holding back, yet Riley was able to keep her at bay. The axe was slowly, inch by inch, backing away from William’s neck.
“Release it,” Riley commanded, her voice a steel whip. Alexandra, Worth, and Eric didn’t move. They just watched the epic standoff.
Riley could see the old woman staring at her through the flickering flames.
A smile cracked her wrinkled face, and suddenly the axe fell to the ground. Linda’s eyes went back to their normal brown color.
Riley killed the flames.
“WHAT THE FUCK!” William shouted. “I’ll break your brittle bones, you old bitch!”
The woman slowly sat up, still smiling. “Hush, boy. I needed to see.”
“See what?” Riley asked. The adrenaline in her body kept the dizziness at bay.
“If she was worth my damn time. I don’t want to help—not you, nor anyone else—but I made a promise to Ezekiel a long time ago. I haven’t seen him, and I don’t know if he’s alive, but I did promise I’d do good with magic. If I’m going to help, I needed to make sure it’d be worth it. That you could actually do something.”
“And?”
“And you might have a chance. If that big lug doesn’t keep his mouth shut, though, I will rip his tongue out.” Linda was still smiling as she spoke.
William sneered. “Riley, whatever she teaches you, use it to kill her.”
“You two are going to be best of buds by the time we’re done,” Riley said. “Now we need to get to work.”
Chapter Five
Brighten lay on the other side of the cage, he, Kris and Lucie all looking as if they were sleeping close to one another.
Erin had snapped at them about three minutes ago when she’d heard keys jingling on the other side of the wall. Brighten didn’t know the plan, only his part of it—which was to lie here and act like he was freaking asleep.
Not gonna work. This is dumb as hell, and we’re all going to die. And right before we do, I’m gonna open my eyes and say, “I told you so.”
“Hey, big guy.”
Brighten had to really focus to keep his face from changing.
He’d never heard Erin sound like that—or anyone else, either.
Sultry.
Sexy.
What the hell was going on?
He cracked one eye slightly open. He was lying on his side in between Kris and Lucie, so being seen wasn’t a huge risk. Plus, he couldn’t help it.
“No need to leave,” Erin whispered. “You and I should talk for a minute.”
She was pressed against the bars, her back arched and her ass poking out behind her. Her breasts were practically falling through the space between the bars.
The guard had been walking away, but he stopped.
Oh, dear Father and Mother, Brighten thought. What is happening?
“They’re asleep. And trust me, I can be quiet if I need to be.”
The guard turned around his face, showing all the confusion Brighten felt inside.
“I know.” Erin grinned mischievously. “Why would I want to have a good time with you? That’s what you’re asking yourself, isn’t it?”
The guard remained silent, but he wasn’t leaving.
He can’t be this stupid, Brighten thought. No one is this stupid.
“I have needs,” Erin continued in that sultry voice. “Just look at me. You know I’m used to getting what I want and getting it regularly, but down here in this cage? I can’t get anything. So just give it to me for a second, and I will never tell anyone.”
Her grin grew.
“I’ll be your little secret.”
“You’re full of shit,” the guard whispered, although Brighten could hear the longing in his voice.
He wants it to be true.
“First, look at you. You’re twice my size, big boy. Even if I was lying, which I’m not, what am I going to be able to do to you?”
A hell of a lot, Brighten thought. Erin could probably kill most of the guards in this damn place.
“But,” she kept going, “you don’t have to trust me. Just come to the bars, and I’ll show you what I’m talking about. We can do everything we need to through these spaces here. No need to come inside. Then, when we’re both finished, you go on your way, and no one has to know.”
This bastard is actually considering it. The guard’s eyes had narrowed, but Brighten could tell he didn’t think Erin posed any threat. Plus, with the bars in the way, he saw no danger.
Holy shit, this might actually work, Brighten thought.
The guard stepped forward. “You do anything dumb and I’m going to break your face, you understand?”
“Nothing dumb, baby. Just fun. Now get over here.”
The guard walked toward the bars and started unbuttoning his pants.
“No, no. Let me do it.” Erin grinned. “That’s part of the fun.”
She reached down to his pants, looking like she was actually about to give him what he wanted.
Brighten sort of felt bad for the guard in the seconds before it happened.
Her hand flashed out and nailed the man right in the crotch. He doubled over, trying to back away, but Erin’s other hand grabbed his hair, twisting his head up so he had to stare at her.
“Dumb ass. Never, ever think with your dick.”
She whipped his head forward, bashing it into the bars.
Once. Twice. Three times.
The guard collapsed to the floor, out cold with blood trickling from his mouth.
“All right, whipper-snapper. Get your ass up and come help me get these keys.”
Kris was already on her feet when Brighten started moving.
“How did you know that stupid stuff would work?” he asked.
Erin laug
hed as if she hadn’t just bashed a man’s face into some bar, breaking his jaw. “Oh, honey. Men like him? They’re about four months ahead of a monkey in terms of evolution. They think with one thing, and one thing only. Kris, you’re a smart girl, but don’t ever fall for a guy like that.”
“Like him?” Kris asked as she reached the bars. “I’d sooner kiss Brighten.”
“There ya go. Good girl.”
“Well done.” Lucie was the last one to reach her feet. “I’m too old to tempt anyone these days, so I’m lucky you’re here.”
“Oh, I’m sure you have your ways too.” Erin squatted, pulling the body close. “Kris, reach through there and grab those keys.”
It took Kris a few seconds, but she grabbed the large ring of keys from the guard’s belt loop. She stood up and handed them to Erin.
“How the hell are we going to find the right one? We don’t have much time. His absence is going to be noticed.”
“The power of positive thinking! I keep telling you two.” Erin winked and took the keys over to the cell door.
Brighten watched as she started trying them. Minutes passed and he felt his anxiety rise, but he kept his mouth shut. He didn’t want to hear anything else about the power of positive thinking, and he also didn’t want to be proven wrong again. Erin just kept turning out to be right, and he was sure she would this time, too.
“There…we…go!” she whispered excitedly as one of the keys turned inside the lock.
The door swung open.
“All right, let’s grab this big idiot and lock him up.” She stepped out of the cage, took the man’s legs, and pulled him inside. She looked at the other three. “What are you waiting for?”
Lucie stepped up and squatted over the man. She started patting him down. “Need to see if there’s something that’ll take this damned necklace off.” She completed her search, finding nothing. “Damn it.”
“Okay, we’ll worry about that later. Let’s get the hell out of here.”
“And go where? And do what?” Brighten finally asked. “We need to get out of this place. Get back to Sidnie. Anywhere but here.”
Erin turned around and looked directly at him.
“That’s not what we’re doing.”
“Why not? What are we going to be able to do here? Are you going to fight Rendal?”
“All the stuff you did back in Sidnie, and now you’re scared again.” Erin shook her head sadly.
“Everything we did back there amounted to nothing. Rendal is still alive, and he’s more powerful than ever. Riley… We don’t even know where she is. What are we supposed to do?”
Erin turned to Lucie. “You know Riley better than anyone else here, right?”
“Aye, I’d say I do.”
“Do you think she’ll survive?”
“If anyone in this world can, it’ll be her.”
“And if she survives, will she come here?”
“Aye.” Lucie nodded. “She’ll come here as soon as she can.”
Erin looked at Brighten again. “That’s what we’re going to do. When she comes here, it can’t be like it was in Sidnie. It can’t be five of us versus an entire kingdom. We have to get the people ready for her return. When she battles Rendal, we’re going to fight the military. She was ready to die for you and your kingdom. It’s time for you to be ready to do the same.”
“Unless you’re too chickenshit.” Kris slugged him hard in the arm.
Brighten gritted his teeth, refusing to show that it had hurt. “Fine. Let’s just get out of here before another guard comes down.”
“That’s the Brighten I know and love.” Erin gave him a brilliant smile.
She pulled off the pair of cuffs from the guard’s belt, slapping one side to the man’s wrist and the other through the bars.
“Maybe next time he’ll think with the head atop his neck.”
She laughed as the four trotted out.
Chapter Six
“How many people have taught you magic, or tried to teach you, at least?”
Riley stood next to Linda, the two of them staring out at the ocean. They had come out to the beach, leaving the wrecked city behind them. Riley didn’t like the place, although she kept that to herself. She didn’t know how anyone could make it home and live there for years on end without any human contact.
“Let’s see.” She counted them up quickly in her mind. “Three, if you include Lucie.”
“Lucie?” the old woman asked.
“She knows how to use magic. She was one of Rendal’s students once upon a time.”
“Ah, I see. She didn’t follow him all the way, though?”
Riley shook her head. “She stayed true to New Perth.”
“How many times have you faced Rendal?”
“I’m starting to lose count. Five, maybe?”
“And he’s bested you each time?”
Riley didn’t like the way she put it, her competitive nature rising up. “I wouldn’t call it that. We battled to a standstill last time, and I got Mason back, which was all I wanted. I’m closing the gap on him.”
“Battled to a standstill except he basically killed you,” the old woman sniped. “Would have killed you, if not for me. Is that what you Right Hands call a ‘standstill?’”
“Living alone make you this grumpy, or have you always been?”
“When you get to be my age, everything hurts, so you do your best to make sure everyone knows it.” Linda grinned. “Tell me why you think he keeps besting you.”
“He’s older, and he’s been practicing magic a lot longer than I have.”
“Worth’s been practicing a lot longer than you. Can he best you?” Linda asked.
Riley shook her head.
“So that’s not it. What else?”
“One reason is, he’s got all those damned nanocytes running through his bloodstream.”
“That makes him stronger, yes, but Rendal was not the most naturally powerful person. I’ve met many people who had greater magical potential than he did. The nanocytes—if what you say is happening is actually happening—will make him more capable, yet you yourself tell me you’ve gotten closer to defeating him each time. How is that possible?”
“I don’t know,” Riley almost shouted. She let a few seconds pass, her emotions cooling some. “I’m getting better, I guess.”
“Getting good enough to defeat those extra nanocytes, from the way it sounds. Or coming closer.” Linda grinned again. “Are you putting nanocytes in your blood? Is that how you’re doing it?”
Riley knew she was being playfully mocked, so she said nothing.
“It’s got nothing to do with any of those things. It isn’t that Rendal is older or has been practicing longer. I saw what you did when I attacked William. You have real strength and great control over your abilities. Sure, I know you can’t practice psychic magic yet, but that ties into the same things I’m asking about with Rendal.”
“I don’t know why I can’t beat him then,” Riley repeated.
Linda didn’t respond but started walking toward the ocean. Riley remained where she was, just watching the woman.
Linda reached the water but didn’t stop.
Riley’s mouth dropped open.
Instead of walking into the water, she walked on top of it. Her body didn’t sink but just kept going forward, none of her getting wet.
She stopped maybe ten feet out and turned around.
Come on, Linda told Riley, her voice in Riley’s head instead of her ears.
Riley followed, although she stopped once her feet touched the water. She was definitely getting wet.
“I’d like to go inside your head for a moment. Do you mind?” Linda called from atop the water.
“How are you doing that?” Riley asked.
“I’m manipulating the world around me, the same as how we use all magic. Can I dip into your head for a second?”
“Sure,” Riley answered.
She felt the woman move insi
de her mind, although it was faint. Linda was definitely adept at doing this, more so than anyone Riley had ever met.
“Ah, there,” Linda said, nodding.
Riley felt the woman pull back and leave her mind completely.
Linda turned to her left, staring at the ocean in front of her. She raised her right hand, and as Riley watched, the water rose. Two human figures grew from the sea, both of them holding swords.
Riley could tell that one was female, the other male.
One looked like…well, like Riley. The ocean made it hard to decipher facial features, but she thought the other might have been Eric.
The two figures started to fight with swords, and Riley remembered it perfectly. They had been hiding in the mansion back in Sidnie. The two of them had been practicing their sword work.
“I can tell you recall this.”
The female water figure was backing up, taking the hits from the male with her sword. Tiny bits of water splashed like wet sparks, yet the figures held firm as more water from the ocean replenished them.
Finally, the woman dodged a blow—and in a spectacular move spun around the man and placed her sword’s point in his back.
The figures froze.
“What did you ask that young man then?” Linda said.
“I asked him why I kept beating him.”
“That’s right. And what did he tell you?”
“Basically the same things I just told you. I was too fast. I’d practiced longer.”
The two figures backed away from each other, the male bent over and leaning on his knees. The water that made up his back heaved up and down, simulating him breathing hard.
“But what did you tell him?” Linda asked.
“That me winning had nothing to do with my speed or sword work.”
“It didn’t, did it? As a man, he should have been faster than you, right?”
“Maybe, yeah,” Riley answered.
“Do you know what I’m getting at?”
Riley nodded.
“Then tell me the reason you thought he couldn’t best you, this young man.”
Magic Unchained (Hand Of Justice Book 4) Page 5
