by Jami Gray
I was frantic to get away from her and that needle, but my body didn’t fucking move. This time there was another, less painful sting as she sank the needle into my arm. What is she doing to me? Panic rose, scrambling for purchase, but I ruthlessly squashed it under desperate determination. A tangled snarl managed to escape my frozen vocal chords.
Her gaze flicked up, and my breath caught as that orange flame burned bright and steady in the depth of her eyes. “Quiet. Still.”
This time, her commands shoved against that spiked barb in my head, and the knowledge finally clicked. Kerri wasn’t a minor pattern mage—the bitch was an Auctori mage, someone who could influence thoughts and actions.
She lifted a syringe, now filled with my blood, and smiled with satisfaction. “Perfect.” She set it on the floor next to me and then turned back to pat my face with an infuriating insolence. “We’re almost done.”
She dug into her pocket and pulled out another syringe, this one filled with a pale-green liquid. My heart raced, and trapped in my unresponsive body, I could hear myself screaming in rage and fear.
I felt another prick, and then she was gathering the empty syringe, the glowing crystal, and the second blood-filled syringe before getting to her feet. “Stay here, and be good.”
Seething, I watched her cross the circle and step out, taking both the crystal and the syringes over to where Neil waited with barely concealed impatience. Anger rose with every heartbeat, so deep it was frightening. There was no knowing how long it would take for the injection to take effect, but until it did, I would make damn sure Kerri regretted it. With single-minded focus, I went after the psychic barb, determined to turn the tables on Kerri. On closer inspection, I was thrilled to discover the barb wasn’t as deeply rooted as—I hoped—Kerri expected. That would explain why her control only extended to my physical body and not my mind.
Unfortunately, there was a tether attached to the barb, and I quickly understood it was her direct line of control. My body might not obey me, but my mind and magic would, and that was my loophole. I would need to reconfigure the magic of the mental barb so the next time Kerri pulled, it would snap back into her gray matter, shifting the control to me.
Spurred on by fear and frustration, I narrowed my focus and slipped into the magic. With teeth-gritting focus, I began recrafting the barb’s intent. It wasn’t easy, especially as I had to be mindful of not tripping the tether. Plus, I was trying not to think about what was currently coursing through my veins. I had a few breath-stealing moments when Kerri’s attention shifted to me as she made sure I was where she wanted me before she went back to whatever she was working on. Each time that happened, I lightened my touch but didn’t stop. Finally, it was done.
I’d only get one shot at this, and it was going to hurt. First things first, I needed Kerri back in the circle because the minute she triggered the barb, it would tear free from me and zip along the tether back to her. I wasn’t sure the barb would cross the casting lines if she was physically outside the circle. So like any good bait, I tripped that psychic tether, mimicking an escape attempt.
Sure enough, her head jerked up, and her gaze narrowed. Still frozen in place, all I could do was glare back. She grabbed something from the table in front of her then said something to Neil, who flicked a look my way, shook his head, and went back to his computer and slides. Kerri, a frustrated frown on her face, rounded the tall lab table and headed for me, light catching on something silver in her hand. I held my breath and her stare as she touched the wards and stepped into the circle. The magical cage resettled behind her.
She cocked her head, crouched at my side, and tapped my cheek with the razor-sharp blade of a scalpel. “What are you doing?”
Everything slowed and crystalized at the same time, a sensation eerily similar to what I’d experienced when I changed from driver to transporter. Her magic slid down the tether, and the barb quivered in reaction. I braced as little white starbursts spotted my vision, and I mentally started my countdown. Her magic closed around the barb and pulsed. The barb trembled then jerked free with an agonizing tearing sensation. It shot back along that tether with stunning speed, taking my magic with it, and sank deep inside Kerri. Fire erupted in my face as Kerri’s hand jerked, dragging the tip of the scalpel along my cheek.
The invisible cage on my body disintegrated. I turned my head and said, “Quiet.” Kerri’s eyes widened, and her mouth opened in a silent gasp. “Still,” I hissed.
She began to topple backward, but I was already moving. With my hands still bound behind me, I awkwardly got to my knees and shuffled over. When I was close, I bent down, getting eye level with an immobilized Kerri. She stared at me with a mix of fear and anger, and I could feel her fighting against the barb. She was damn strong and knew what she was doing, whereas I was winging it and pissed. Still, I would bank my fury against hers any day of the week.
Staring deep into her eyes, I ruthlessly flexed my magical hold and hissed, “Release me.”
She jerkily rolled up then crawled around me so she could slice through the ties on my hands. The sharp scalpel made quick work of the bindings. My arms dropped, and the painful rush of returning blood left me clenching my teeth. The barb wiggled harder as Kerri took advantage of my momentary slip in concentration.
She slashed out with scalpel, but I was already rolling away from the wicked strike, tightening my grip on the magical tether. “Stop.”
Kerri crouched on the floor, frozen, a hand raised for a second strike, teeth bared, and a furious light in her eyes. Distantly, I could hear Neil saying something, but since it would take some time for him to bypass the circle, I concentrated on Kerri. I clumsily got to my feet and wrenched the scalpel from her hand, feeling better with an actual weapon.
Staring down at her, I ordered, “Sit.”
With stiff movements, she sat. I risked checking where Neil was and found him outside the outer ring, red-faced and furious. Between his hands, a sickly yellow orb tinged in black formed.
I scanned the inner runes, and recognizing one for strength, I stepped over and sank my magic into it. Maybe I was angrier than I realized, because a powerful wash of silvery magic swept through the circle in a thunderous wave, drowning out the orange flame and replacing it with a Prism shield that took my breath away.
Okay, that’s new.
I didn’t get much time to appreciate the massive shield before Neil looked at Kerri and snarled, “Now.”
He threw his sickly-looking magic at the shield. It hit and erupted into a storm of red, purple, and black at the same time that Kerri tried to reclaim the barb. Power roared in my head, and my grip on Kerri’s tether tightened so fast and so hard that a low moan escaped her unmoving mouth and a red-tinged tear leaked from her eye. Seeing it satisfied the feral part of me, and I didn’t let up.
No way will I lose control of that bitch now. As for Neil… Buoyed by an intoxicating rush of power, I stalked to the edge of the circle until I was as close to him as I could get. He was partway through another spell, but I deliberately looked at the fading tendrils of his last spell, which was being absorbed by my magic, leaving nothing behind but my beautifully strong Prism.
I then turned back to his red-ringed gaze, crossed my arms over my chest, and smirked. “Go ahead, asshole. Throw another one, and see what happens.”
The implied threat was enough that he paused, hand in midair, his gaze skating from me to Kerri and back. “You can’t stay in there forever.”
I shrugged just as Sabella’s stone gave a warm pulse. At the same time, something small and furry scurried across the floor, and charged up Neil’s leg. He gave a short yelp and kicked out, trying to dislodge the brown desert rat trying to gnaw its way through his calf. I started laughing as his kick grew more frantic, but he finally managed to dislodge the rodent. It hit the floor, landing in the narrow space between me, the circle, and Neil. There was a brush of familiar magic as Neil kicked out one last time. The rat darted away and disappeared throu
gh an empty doorway I hadn’t noticed before.
My smile gained teeth, but I kept talking to Neil, refusing to reveal that Zev was somewhere nearby. “Was that one of your experiments?”
Neil’s lips curled, and his hands brightened as he gathered his magic. This time, it was a writhing knot of inky-black red-eyed snakes. Or something that resembled snakes. A whimper sounded from behind me, but I didn’t dare take my attention from Neil. His arms shifted, but before he could unleash whatever the hell he held, blue-tinted lightening whipped around his torso, spinning him around to face a furious Zev.
Neil’s face contorted with rage as the writhing magic he held bent and reshaped, clashing with Zev’s magic. I didn’t get a chance to enjoy the fight because Kerri got desperate, throwing everything she had into reclaiming her magic. I lost my slippery hold on my temper.
Pain exploded in my skull, and I spun around with my own roar of rage, reaching for my magic. When it answered, a distant alarm told me that something was wrong, but my need to hurt Kerri shoved it away. I latched on to the magical tether and let loose. My magic tore along the tether, whipped around the barb, and tore apart Kerri’s pathetic attempt with incendiary power. A far-off scream sounded nearby, but caught in the overwhelming flood of magic, it barely penetrated.
It didn’t take me long to realize I was in trouble. My magic was loose, gaining strength too fast for me to reclaim control, and I was drowning under the unrelenting onslaught. My vision whited out, and I could barely feel my body. I was nothing but an anchorless mind caught in a storm of power. If I was lucky, I’d get snagged by a metaphorical tree until it passed, hopefully leaving behind enough tatters I wouldn’t end up a vegetable. I did my best to survive the raging winds even as it tore bits and pieces away. I narrowed my focus to simply enduring and wasn’t sure how long I’d drifted in the colorless winds when the first brilliant fork of lightening caught my attention.
It was so unexpected and bright that I thought it was an illusion. I stared into the haze, wanting to catch another glimpse. Then it came again, this time a little bit closer, leaving a fascinating trail of blue in its wake and bringing a voice with it. “Rory! Snap out of it, dammit!”
Recognition hit and, with it, a burst of determination. “Zev?” My voice was just a croak, nowhere near loud enough to be heard above the storm. I tried again. “Zev?”
This time I got an answer. “Rory, listen to me. You need to let go.”
Let go of what? I didn’t know if I asked the question out loud or not, but I must have, because Zev said, “Whatever connection you have to Kerri, let it go!”
Who’s Kerri?
“Rory, are you listening to me?” Panic rode Zev’s voice, and it was so unexpected that it felt like a mental head slap. “For fuck’s sake, you’ve got to let go before it’s too late.”
Reality snapped back with painful clarity. Kerri. The barb and tether. The injection. The circle. Shit.
Heeding Zev’s urgency, I frantically searched for the glowing tether, only to realize it was coiled up my arms like incandescent ivy. The magic churning through it burned so bright that it was blinding. With rising desperation, I began to tear it down my arms as Zev continued to yell at me. It was difficult and painful, but I managed to block his voice out so I could concentrate on loosening the magical bindings. Moments later, the last fiery ties of power fell free, and I found myself on my knees next to a slack-faced Kerri in the middle of a burning Arcane circle, feeling curiously hollow.
“Rory!”
Light and shadows flickered across my vision like a manic strobe, and I narrowed my eyes against the bright kaleidoscope of magic that had replaced the previously placid power lines of the Arcane circle.
“Zev?” Damn, my throat hurts. I coughed and tried again, “Zev?”
“Rory, hurry.”
I turned toward his voice and finally saw him, caught on the outer ring of the circle. He stood there, hands extended, muscles straining, his body outlined in the same intense blue from the earlier lightning storm as wild magic flowed around him in mesmerizing currents. There was something familiar about his pose, but it kept slipping through my fingers.
“What’s going on?”
“Get up and help me reverse the circle.”
I swayed on my knees, his words bouncing around my skull without settling.
“Rory, dammit, snap out of it and get up!”
My brain might be skipping, but his harsh demand brought me to my feet. “I’m up.”
I rubbed my face hard, feeling a sting and smearing something along my cheek. I dropped my hands and looked around, the strange sense of distance dissipating fast as the world came back into focus. And it wasn’t pretty. The reason for Zev’s strange position clicked into place. He was trying to channel the raging power whipping through the circle.
“What do you need me to do?” I asked.
“Like we did with the Drainer’s Circle. Take the opposite point.”
As soon as I heard “Drainer’s Circle,” I was on my way to the position opposite Zev, memories of how we broke Lena free of the lethal spell chasing me. As I got close to the circle’s edge, something shifted inside me, but with Zev’s urgency pushing me forward, I ignored it and stepped into the current.
Magic rushed me, flooding into the previously hollow spaces, filling them between one breath and the next. My vision whited out as power seared through me with vicious force. I did my best to ride out the volatile magic, desperately trying to gain some kind of hold, but it was like trying to catch lightning. I lost track of where I was, and my sense of self was precarious, but I grimly held on, breathing my way through the initial onslaught. My awareness came back in pieces, and as soon as I had a tentative hold, I caught Zev’s eye.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
Truthfully? No, but this is as good as it’s going to get, so it will have to do. “Yeah,” I gritted out.
I could feel him attempting to corral the magic, to pull it back and make it obey. I did my best to mimic him. It took a few moments before I could determine that we were dealing with multiple magics fused together.
As I added my strength to his, I couldn’t help but ask, “What happened?”
Despite the draining fight, Zev managed to answer, “Neil.”
The part of my brain not occupied with saving our asses put the pieces together. Neil was Fusor mage, and the spell he’d tossed at my Prism must have melded my magic, his magic, and whatever remained of Kerri’s magic into one frightening element. Oh shit. I wasn’t sure Zev and I would be enough to stop this mess. “Tell me what to do.”
In the flickering light of the magic, Zev’s face was drawn and sweat dripped from his temple, but his eyes burned with a deep determination. “Can you reach your magic? Pull it back to you?”
I changed focus, reaching for that familiar energy. I found it tangled with something dark and twisted. I called it back, doing my best to pull it free. It wasn’t easy, each inch a hard-won battle, but I kept at it, determined not to lose. Neither Zev nor I could afford the consequences. My muscles shook under the strain, and I could feel a warm trickle from nose and ears. Even knowing what that meant, I couldn’t stop. If I did, Zev would pay. My legs weakened, and I sank to my knees, still fighting.
Then I heard another voice, one I hadn’t expected. “What the hell?”
I lifted my head to see a wan Imogen come to a stop next to Zev, who looked as bad as I felt. She rushed around to a midpoint between Zev and me, her gaze on the floor. Whatever she was looking for, she must have found, because she stepped into the circle, and added her magic to ours. It was the shift in power we needed. With her help, we managed to tear apart what Neil had fused together and sink each magical power line through the now-fragile runes. My magic bucked under my grip, but I held tight, determined to lock it down. By the time I threw the last lock home, I could barely think, much less move. The last vestiges of magic faded away, and with the circle now still and silent, I finally let go
, barely feeling anything as my body gave in and sank under the encroaching darkness.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Awareness seeped in, a drop at a time. First to penetrate was the faint rhythmic beeping. It was annoying, but I was too tired to make it stop. Then came snippets of voices, the words fragmented and meanings unclear. I slipped back under, and when I rose again, I was met with a low hum of aches and the larger discomfort of an unrelenting itch that crawled over every inch of my skin. I went to scratch, but my arm weighed a freaking ton. Grunting with effort, I peeled my eyes open only to be greeted with an eye-watering glare. I turned away, screwing my eyes closed to escape.
“Turn ’em off.” My tongue got tangled on the words, and an undecipherable mumble emerged. But someone must have translated, because the light pressing against my lids disappeared.
This time, when I got my eyes open, it didn’t hurt. I blinked, shifting shadows into discernable shapes like the railing on the bed and the blocky machine emitting those annoying beeps. A hospital. I was in the hospital. The beeping sped up, there was a dull clunk, and then something warm and firm squeezed my hand. I lifted my gaze, and it collided with the deep, relieved chocolate depths that belonged to one person: Zev.
My rising anxiety slowed and then receded, taking that damn itch with it. I swallowed, not that it did much for my dry mouth, so I tried to lick my lips and ran into the same problem. Zev reached over, grabbed a plastic cup with a straw, and held it up to my mouth. Leaning forward set off a chain reaction of low-grade aches. I’m thirsty, dammit. It took a second to remember how to suck, but when it finally clicked, cool water hit my parched mouth and slid down my sore throat. I almost cried in relief.
“Slow, babe.” His voice was low with an underlying roughness I didn’t understand.
When I finally curbed the worst of my thirst, I lay back and watched him set the cup aside. He picked up a remote and hit a button. The bed under my head rose, angling me just enough to make it comfortable. He tossed the remote onto the table and nudged it back a bit so he could drag his chair in close. The entire time, he kept my hand in his, not that I gave him much choice.
