Betrayed by Magic: A New Adult Fantasy novel (The Baine Chronicles Book 5)

by Jasmine Walt

  “Very well,” Elnos said, reaching for his portion of pie. We all dug in silently, and I tried my best to push away the heaviness that settled onto my shoulders. I’d be damned if I was going to sit here and act like this was our last meal together. Iannis and I had faced ridiculous odds in the past—we would do it again, and get my friends home safe.

  I just wished I knew whether or not I could still call Noria one of those friends.

  13

  Still disguised as humans, Iannis and I left the inn with Elnos and made our way to the hidden Resistance compound. As Iannis had predicted, it was on the northern outskirts of town. Technically, that was walking distance, but it was a good five miles from the inn, and it took us longer to get there than I would have liked. We could hardly take the carriage and remain inconspicuous, and though Iannis and I could travel much faster than a brisk walk, Elnos had no such ability.

  “This is where Annia and I made camp,” Elnos said quietly, leading us into a small clearing halfway up a hillside covered by dense forest. The trees provided cover, while allowing us to spy on the enemy. “I put up a special ward that repels the attention of patrols, so we shouldn’t be discovered.”

  “Well done,” Iannis murmured as we carefully crawled up the hillside to get a better view. We’d trekked through the forest to avoid the guards patrolling the wire fence that surrounded the large plot of land before us. Within that plot sat a plain greyish building, about two stories high, and I counted twelve windows that I could see from the side. The rest of the building disappeared into the cover of the trees, making it impossible to see exactly how large it was without getting closer.

  “There don’t seem to be many guards,” I said, taking stock of the security. One man sat inside the booth outside the main gate, munching on a bag of snacks as he kept an eye on the road. I spotted two more guards making their rounds across the perimeter.

  “There are more than you’d think,” Elnos said. “Especially at night. The patrol that caught Annia prowls the surrounding forest. They also have guns on the rooftops.”

  “What?” Guns were strictly forbidden in the Federation, their possession punishable by death. To find them in use here would be more proof that the place belonged to the Resistance. Sure enough, I picked out a small, humanoid shape on the rooftop of the main building, and another on the garage port. “By Magorah,” I growled, curling my hands around the blades of grass sticking up from the dirt. “These guns are really becoming an issue.”

  “Bullets can be shielded against,” Iannis said, his eyes narrowed as he studied the main building, “though they are a nuisance. It’s the ward that worries me.”

  “How big is it?” I asked, knowing he would be able to see it.

  Iannis was silent for a moment. “It begins just inside the fence, and surrounds the buildings as well as a good portion of the wooded area. I’d say at least ten acres, total.”

  “Shit,” I muttered, trying to wrap my head around that. “The facility must be huge, then.”

  “Indeed,” Iannis agreed grimly. “This particular type of ward is most often tied to an object within its boundaries, usually referred to as an anchor. Getting your hands on that is the only means to shut the ward off, but of course you must first get inside. I believe Argon Chartis favors this method of warding.”

  “That bastard,” I hissed, baring my teeth. “I wish I’d had the chance to kill him.”

  “You chopped off his leg,” Iannis reminded me. “That is an impressive feat in itself. Chartis may be a traitor, but he is an experienced mage, and I would not feel comfortable allowing you to face him in a duel.”

  “Well then, you’d better kill him yourself,” I retorted. “Because he seems to be tripping us up at every turn.”

  “I guess Director Chartis wasn’t told exactly what is being produced inside the bunker,” Elnos surmised. “I can’t imagine any mage helping the Resistance develop a mage-killing disease, no matter how much he might hate you, Lord Iannis.”

  “You’re probably right, but that doesn’t make me feel better,” I grumbled.

  “I suppose you’ve triggered the alarm yourself, Elnos,” Iannis said. “What happened when you did?”

  “Nothing much.” Elnos shrugged. “No guards came out. But the patrol doubled, and Annia and I could barely leave the camp after that. I believe they won’t actively go after a mage, since they likely have no way to defend against magic aside from the ward Chartis set up.”

  “That must mean they haven’t perfected the weapon they’re working on,” I commented.

  “Yes, or they’re simply unwilling to use it yet,” Elnos said. “Besides, they would have to have a very fast-acting disease for it to be of any use as a defensive weapon.”

  “Do you think I might be able to slip through?” I asked. “Since I’m only half-mage, perhaps I won’t trigger the wards.”

  “I doubt it,” Iannis said. “This particular spell is very sensitive, and will recognize you as a mage even though you are half-shifter.”

  “The bracelet charm Annia wore did not set it off, so small magical artifacts and enhancements seem to go through,” Elnos observed. “But hardly a person with any degree of inherent magic.”

  “Isn’t it worth a try, at least?”

  “I do not believe it would be wise to trigger the alarm again,” Elnos argued. “They’ve just begun to relax, since nearly four days have passed since that incident.”

  “I agree,” Iannis said firmly. “There is no use alerting them to our presence and losing our element of surprise.”

  “Okay, so then, what do we do to get in?” I demanded. “If you’re not willing to let me try, then who else? I guess we could try recruiting a local human as our inside agent, but I doubt they’d be willing.”

  “Sending in an untrained human would be far too risky,” Iannis said sternly. “No, I’m afraid we’re going to need to head back to Parabas and confer with the local Chief Mage.”

  “Do you think he’ll have any solutions to offer?”

  “Not likely,” Iannis said regretfully. “I imagine he will come to the same conclusion I have—that our only choice is to annihilate the entire place.”

  “What!” I nearly jumped to my feet before remembering that we were supposed to stay hidden. “You can’t do that! Noria and Annia are in there!”

  “I must protest as well, Lord Iannis,” Elnos said, desperation tingeing his voice. “I came out here with Annia to rescue Noria. I refuse to see our efforts wasted.”

  “I understand, but we cannot risk the safety of the entire nation over two lives,” Iannis said, his voice hard. He locked eyes on me, his gaze burning with intensity. “I told you that this might happen, Sunaya.”

  “Yes, and you also told me that it would be a last resort!” I said hotly, tears burning at the corners of my eyes. I couldn’t lose Annia, not after all she’d done to help me, and I couldn’t bear to see Noria meet her end in such a horrific manner.

  “And so it will,” Iannis said gently, laying a hand on my forearm. “I cannot take action on the compound without conferring with Lord Logar, since this is out of my jurisdiction. So no matter what we decide, I must return to Parabas and meet with him. But if there is any way I can get your friends out safely, I will see that it is done.”

  “Okay.” I let out a slow breath. That was the best response I could hope for really. I mentally prepared myself to leave the compound and my friends behind, to return to Parabas with Iannis and try to find a solution. Hopefully, nothing else would go wrong while we were gone.

  “In the meantime, you and Elnos should stay here,” Iannis said, surprising me. “You can keep watch on the compound and perhaps eavesdrop on the guards and staff when they are in town. It is unlikely that Noria is allowed to go out, since she is a new recruit, but not impossible. If you find anything useful, or if you do manage to breach the wards by some miracle, Elnos can send me a message by ether pigeon.” He gave Elnos a stern look. “Is that understood? I d
o not want to be met with any unpleasant surprises when I return.”

  “Yes, My Lord.” Elnos bowed his head.

  “How long are you going to be gone for?” I asked, torn. On the one hand, I didn’t want to be separated from Iannis, but a weight had lifted from my shoulders at the news that I wouldn’t have to leave. Maybe I would be able to find a way in while Iannis was gone, and get Annia and Noria out before he came back with an army of mages to flatten the place.

  “No longer than two days, I estimate,” Iannis said. “Lord Logar is a busy man, but he will not want to delay acting on such an urgent issue.”

  “Okay.” I could work with that. “Should we camp here, or stay in the town?”

  “Whichever is easiest for you, but it is best that you not stray too far,” Iannis said. “I would like you and Elnos to confiscate and destroy any packages leaving the facility—they may contain these deadly concoctions that we are trying to prevent from spreading.”

  “I’ve been doing that already,” Elnos said, nodding. “I didn’t know what they were sending out, but since it’s the Resistance in charge here, I knew it could be nothing good. I figured it would be too risky to ambush arriving packages, as it would make whoever is running the compound suspicious if expected packages started going missing. But it’s been easy to transmogrify packages leaving the compound.

  “Transmogrify?” My eyebrows winged up as I regarded Elnos with interest. “Into what?”

  “Usually water, or grape juice, if it is a liquid, or bread if it is a solid.” Elnos’s lips twitched. “I imagine whoever is receiving these shipments is very frustrated.”

  “That is impressive, and lucky for us all,” Iannis commented. “Were they very large shipments?”

  “So far I’ve only done two,” Elnos confessed. “One left by a rather large wagon, the other in a smaller steamcar. It was easy enough to break a wheel or flatten a tire from the cover of the trees on the side of the road, then sneak into the back and change the contents before they noticed.” Elnos smiled shyly, rubbing the back of his neck as he realized how much attention he was getting. “I’m studying chemistry, which gives me quite an advantage in transmogrification.”

  “That is very good work,” Iannis praised. “You would make a good spy.”

  Elnos shook his head. “I’m much more comfortable in my workshop.”

  We descended from the hill, back down into the warded clearing. Frowning, I looked around at the fire pit and tents Elnos and Annia had set up. “Is there going to be enough food?”

  “I’m afraid not. I planned on picking some up from the market in town, but I forgot to do so before we left the inn. Annia and I stocked up when we arrived, but we’re out now.”

  “I guess we can do that, and maybe snoop around in the local pubs and catch some useful gossip.”

  “Try not to get into too much trouble while I’m gone, Sunaya.” Iannis settled his hands on my waist, drawing me close and dropping the disguise. “I want you alive when I get back.”

  “I plan to be.” I framed his gorgeous face with my hands and kissed him, hard. His arms banded around me, drawing me tight to him as we savored the moment. Sparks sizzled through my veins, igniting my hunger, and I nipped his bottom lip before pulling back.

  “I love you,” I whispered, allowing my gaze to roam over his face. I soaked in every curve and edge of bone in his aristocratic features, every line and dent in his alabaster skin. But most of all, I soaked in the emotion blazing from those iridescent eyes, those impossibly vibrant irises that he inherited from a mythical Tua ancestor long ago.

  “I love you.” Iannis brushed a thumb over my cheekbones, then pulled away. “I’ll be back soon,” he said to me, then turned to Elnos. They locked gazes for a moment, some kind of unspoken communication passing between them before Elnos nodded.

  And then he disappeared, one moment here, the next gone in a burst of wind and speed.

  14

  Three days later.

  “Sunaya, don’t be foolish!” Elnos hissed from the tree line. “Come back here!”

  “No,” I growled, stalking forward. My boots thumped along the dirt path that led directly to the back entrance of the compound. Or, rather, the exit, as it was a metal door sunken into the back of a hillside, with no handle. It could only be opened from the inside, as Annia had discovered when she’d tried to get in this way.

  “I won’t let you do this!” Elnos dashed from the trees and grabbed my arm, pulling me to a stop. “Why set off the alarm and risk exposing us, when Lord Iannis will be back any moment now?”

  “Iannis should have been back yesterday!” Angry, I ripped my arm free as I whirled around to face Elnos. He was a good deal taller than I was, nearly as tall as Iannis, so I had to crane my neck in order to glare at him. “It’s been three days with no sign of him, and we haven’t been able to discover any way into the compound. All we’ve managed to do is ruin those two outgoing shipments yesterday!”

  “I understand your frustration,” Elnos said, and indeed, his own voice was brimming with the same emotion. “But charging in now and risking our safety is a foolish plan. We have time until Lord Iannis returns. Surely we can think of something—”

  “Like what?” I propped my hands on my hips. “We’re out of options. We’ve found no way to get past the wards, and eavesdropping on those guards in town hasn’t gotten us anywhere. Impersonating them won’t do us any good, because you tried to breach the wards disguised as a human and you still set them off. The ether pigeons we sent in to warn Noria and Annia didn’t seem to do any good either.” They’d probably fizzled out the moment they’d touched the border, though they hadn’t actually set off the alarm.

  “You don’t know that,” Elnos said tightly. “For all we know, Noria may have noticed our attempts to breach the barrier. She could be trying to engineer an escape attempt right now. What if we trigger the alarm and ruin her chances of getting out?”

  “And what if triggering the alarm provides a diversion, and makes it easier for her?” I argued.

  Elnos let out an annoyed sigh. “This is a ridiculous argument.”

  “Yes, it is,” I agreed, spinning on my heel. Ignoring Elnos’s protests, I stalked toward the back entrance of the bunker. The scent of magic grew thicker the closer I got. I was just inches away from butting up against the wards.

  “Sunaya.” Iannis’s voice resonated in my head, and I stumbled over a rock.

  “Iannis?” I shot out a hand, bracing myself against a tree to steady myself. “Are you back?”

  “Yes. Meet me at the camp with Elnos. I have urgent news.”

  “Damn right you do. You’re late!”

  “Sunaya?” Elnos asked, puzzlement in his eyes. “What’s going on?”

  Sighing, I turned back to him. “Iannis is back. He wants us to go meet up with him at our campsite.”

  “Thank goodness,” Elnos said, sounding incredibly relieved. Guess he was getting his wish after all.

  We headed back to camp as quickly as we could—or rather, as quickly as Elnos could, since I couldn’t leave him in the dust. About ten yards away, I caught a trace of Iannis’s sandalwood and magic scent on the wind, and a smile curved my lips in spite of my irritation. But the smile faded as I caught another scent, a familiar one, and I froze.

  “What is it?” Elnos asked as I sniffed the air.

  “No,” I growled. “No fucking way.”

  I took off before Elnos could ask what I was talking about, tearing up the path as fast as my legs could carry me. Voices coming from the clearing became more audible, and I burst into the campsite, my heart pumping hard.

  Not from exertion, but from anger.

  “That was fast,” Iannis said, turning to face me from the middle of the clearing.

  “Yeah, no fucking kidding.” I jabbed a finger in the air at the figure standing behind him, who I could only partially see. “You wanna tell me just what he’s doing here?”

  “Hello, cousin.” Ryl
an Baine stepped out from behind Iannis, an unrepentant smile on his handsome face. He was dressed in a red t-shirt, leather pants, and sturdy boots, and the gaunt, emaciated look had faded from his features. My cousin was healthy and bursting with life and energy, instead of suffering like he should have been.

  “I brought him here.” Fenris ducked out of Elnos’s tent, and I started. I’d been so focused on Rylan’s scent that I hadn’t noticed his. “Iannis called me from Parabas and explained the situation. It occurred to us to use one of the Resistance soldiers that we already had sitting around in Prison Isle to infiltrate the bunker, in exchange for a reduced sentence. Your cousin Rylan was the natural choice, Sunaya.”

  “And I thank you profusely for that.” Rylan sketched a bow, his long, straight black hair swinging forward like a curtain as he did so.

  “No way. This is not happening.” Ignoring Rylan completely, I squared off with Iannis. “How could you do this to me? How could you bring Rylan here, into our midst, on such an important mission, after knowing how he betrayed me?”

  “Because Rylan loves you,” Iannis said simply. “It makes perfect sense to me to bring someone in who is emotionally invested, rather than a Resistance soldier none of us know, and who is just as likely to betray as they are to help us.”

  “And how exactly do we know that Rylan isn’t going to follow pattern and betray us again?”

  “Sunaya, please.” Rylan stepped forward, annoyance in his yellow shifter eyes. He reached for my hand, but I backed away. “You can be mad at me all you want, but I was only trying to protect you. And yes, I was a loyal member of the Resistance, but that was before I learned they planned to wipe out the shifters once they were done with the mages. I may not agree with the current regime, but at least the mages aren’t trying to annihilate us. The human backers of the Resistance are just as much my enemy now as they are yours.”

  “I doubt that,” I muttered, giving him a nasty look. But I detected no lie in anything he said. Much as I wanted to spurn him, he believed what he said. And we didn’t have time to find someone else.