Postmortem (Medicine and Magic Book 2)

by SA Magnusson

  I sagged, dropping to my knees.

  Derek was there, and he helped me stand, supporting me.

  “What did you do?”

  “I think I pulled it away from him,” I said.

  “What do you mean?”

  The ball of magic remained in the room, and it took an effort of will on my part to hold it. What would happen if I released it?

  “There was a spell overlying him, and I pulled it free. I have it wrapped in magic, but I don’t know how long I can hold onto it.”

  “You’ve wrapped a spell off?” I nodded. “What even made you think of doing that?”

  “Something my grandmother did when I was attacked the last time. She caught a dark magic spell and wrapped it with her own magic, sealing it off.”

  At the time, I had been impressed by her power and control, but now that I was the one holding onto a ball of magic, I understood why she had forced it into Lexy. If she hadn’t, she would have needed to hold onto it.

  “Did you figure out some way to get out of here?”

  “From what I can tell, there isn’t. The spell they used has completely sealed us off. There isn’t any way for us to escape.”

  I looked over at Rory. His color might be better than it had been when I first came to the room. Taking a moment to examine him, I couldn’t find anything wrong with him but couldn’t tell whether my effort to remove the spell had made any real difference.

  How long would I need to hold onto the spell?

  The door to the room opened suddenly.

  Barden stood watching me. “You’ve been given enough time.”

  “You’re going to let us go,” I said. He wasn’t holding onto a spell, at least not from what I could tell, and I maintained my connection to the sealed-off spell. I would hold it as long as I could, but seeing Barden, a thought had come to me.

  “I think not. You see, if you failed with him, then there is no reason to let you go. And if you succeed…”

  I shifted the ball containing the spell, placing it between Barden and me. “I’ve pulled the spell off of him. I don’t know if you can tell, but I have it contained within a spell that is directly in front of you. The moment I release it, that spell will cling to you. The same attack will strike you. Unless you release us.”

  I tried to keep my face neutral.

  “Such a thing is not possible.”

  I shrugged. “If you don’t believe it, then try me. You brought me here because you believe that I could do this. And I have, so I’ve fulfilled my side of the bargain. Rory will recover. Now you are going to fulfill your side of the bargain and release us. If you don’t, then you will get to see whether I’m telling the truth or not.”

  Cold surged along my spine and I suspected he used a spell to try to determine whether I was telling the truth or not. It was possible he was attempting to probe into Rory to see whether he had recovered, but there was another possibility.

  “And if you think to attack either of us, the spell will be released on you regardless. Both of us are leaving.”

  Barden turned his attention to me. “You’re making a mistake.”

  “Maybe, but I’m getting out of here. You abducted me and you brought me here to force me to help you, and I did. Now you’re going to let me go.”

  He watched me for a moment before stepping back into the hall.

  I held onto the spell, pushing it out into the hallway, ready to release it upon Barden if it came down to it. If it did, I wasn’t sure I had the strength to remove it again, though I doubted I would want to.

  “Come on. We’re leaving.”

  “Kate. I don’t know that this is such a good idea.”

  “And I don’t know how long I can hold onto the spell.”

  Derek met my eyes for a moment before nodding.

  We hurried into the hallway and I kept my attention on Barden. Rage boiled within him, barely beneath the surface, and there was little doubt in my mind he would attack me at the first moment he thought it was safe to do so. Maybe it would be best for me to simply release the spell and incapacitate him. It would certainly give me a chance to get out of here.

  Curiosity drove me to question him. “Why do you antagonize the council?”

  He sneered at me. “How is it that you know so little?”

  “I’m not necessarily the most experienced in the magical world. Why draw their attention?”

  Barden glared at me. “What is dark magic but something different? The council fears it because it is different, and they fear it because it will disrupt their control.”

  “You haven’t been using it for nefarious purposes?”

  Barden pressed his lips together into a tight frown. “Nefarious? And what is nefarious but a desire to protect those who share a similar power?”

  “It’s how you’re using the power that’s nefarious.”

  “Is it?”

  “I was there when one of your people attacked. I saw what she was willing to do.”

  His frown deepened. “What makes you think she was one of my people and not acting on her own?”

  I snorted. “You attacked me. Twice. And now you would have me believe that you don’t have some evil intent?”

  I backed along the hallway, keeping Derek with me. My grip on the spell was beginning to slip, but I strained to hold onto it. Eventually I’d have to let it go, but I wanted to do it someplace where it wouldn’t cause any damage, and I needed to hold onto it long enough to get away from Barden.

  We reached the door leading into the computer cluster. It was a strange thing to have in the middle of the warehouse, stranger still that it was a place that the Dark Council operated. Why the computers? Could that all be part of the organization they ran that Derek mentioned?

  “Had you been willing to listen, an attack wouldn’t have been necessary.”

  “I have a hard time believing you came with some benevolent purpose.”

  “Perhaps not benevolent, but you have to understand that my people are suffering.”

  I reached the doorway leading out into the rest of the warehouse. From here, there was nothing but empty space. And the van that had brought me here.

  “I’m going to need the keys to your van.”

  “And how far do you think you can go?”

  “Not going to keep the van, but I’m going to get away from you and then I’ll leave it. One of your people can pick it up later.”

  “I’m not concerned about such property.”

  “No? You have more of these kidnap vans?”

  “If we need to.”

  “Don’t. All you’re doing is drawing attention from the council.”

  “We don’t fear the council.”

  “I think you do.”

  A spell built, but somehow, I was aware that it was behind me and I spun, instinctively pushing out with my magic.

  The ball containing the spell that had covered Rory slammed into Darvish.

  It burst, exploding with a force that slammed him backward, and the spell within slipped out and slithered over Darvish. As before, it felt as if it were something alive.

  Crap.

  “Grab him,” I said to Derek.

  “What?”

  “Grab him.”

  I turned back to Barden and could already feel his magic building. I shifted the control of my magic, pushing it into a barrier that I stretched from floor to ceiling, using the confined space of the warehouse to block whatever he might do. I backed away slowly and Derek grabbed Darvish, dragging him toward the van.

  “Throw him in the back.”

  The spell slammed against my barrier, beating upon it. Another struck, and then another. With each spell, the barrier began to collapse and I struggled to hold onto it.

  “You’re going to have to drive,” I said to Derek. “I have to hold onto this spell as long as I can.”

  “What if the keys aren’t in it?”

  “You have magic, don’t you?”

  I didn’t know if it woul
d even work to hot wire a car, but if it couldn’t be used in such a way, what good was magic?

  Derek grunted before starting the van. It rumbled to life and he glanced over at me. “Keys were in it.”

  As my barrier began to crumble, Derek slammed on the gas and we went rocketing out of the warehouse. I glanced back to see Darvish lying motionless and didn’t need to probe him to know that the spell had wrapped around him, like some terrible and insidious thing that was alive.

  “Where to?” Derek asked as we reached the road.

  I wasn’t sure where a good place to go would be. I needed to reach my grandparents and I needed to see if Aron was unharmed, which meant going back to my condo. It would be a place the Dark Council could reach, but then, with the protections Aron had placed on my condo, maybe it was the safest place we could go.

  “My home,” I said.

  “They know where you live.”

  “I know they do, but where else could we go?”

  “I might know a place.”

  15

  When Derek stopped the car, I looked up at the massive building. I’d been by the Basilica of Saint Mary before but had never been this close. The architecture of it was amazing, even to someone who wasn’t religious. It was long and narrow, with stained glass windows lining it. Two towers rose above from one end while a domed tower rose from the other.

  “I didn’t know you were the religious type,” I said.

  Derek glanced over at me. “Why not?”

  There wasn’t really a reason why not. It wasn’t that those within the magical community couldn’t be religious. If anyone would believe in the presence of a higher power, it would be people with magic that allowed them to access that kind of power.

  “I guess in the conversations we’ve had, it’s never come out.”

  “We’ve talked at work, Kate. Most of our conversations have been about patients.” He glanced at the back of the van where Darvish remained motionless.

  “Why here and not the cathedral in St. Paul?”

  He smiled. “You’ll understand. Just wait here.”

  “Wait?”

  “We can’t just drag an unconscious man into the church. Wait a minute and I’ll be back.”

  I twisted in my chair so I could keep an eye on Darvish while we waited. His breathing was regular, but he didn’t move otherwise. Probing him with my magic, straining as I did, I discovered the spell was more robust than it had been. It must have gotten stronger in the time since I had peeled it off Rory, but that didn’t make any sense. A spell wouldn’t intensify on its own like that, not without whoever had placed it helping. Considering that we’d driven here—and fast—there wouldn’t be any way for someone to have intensified the spell.

  After another probe of the spell, I thought I could remove it, but hesitated. If I did and Darvish came around, it would be unlikely that I could hold onto it and overpower him by myself. Not only was he a skilled mage, he was a martial arts expert and wouldn’t need his magic to overpower me.

  I was forced to wait.

  It didn’t take long for Derek to return. When he did, a man who had to have been Derek’s twin accompanied him, and they came straight toward the van. The other man wore a black shirt and pants with a gold cross hanging around his neck.

  I crawled out of my seat and frowned. “Is this—”

  “This is David. My brother.”

  “I thought you said your family were all mages.”

  I didn’t think there was an issue with revealing the connection to the magical world around Derek’s brother. If there was, he wouldn’t have brought him out here.

  “Most are. David and I are not.”

  “Your twin?”

  David smiled at me. “Dr. Michaels? I’ve heard all about you.”

  “Great. At least you’ve heard of me.”

  David looked into the van. “You really do have someone unconscious back there.”

  “I told you that we did.”

  “I wasn’t sure whether to believe you. It wouldn’t be the first time you would try to prank me.”

  “Not about this. Not here.”

  “What’s this about?” I asked. There was something I was missing, some reason Derek thought it made sense for us to come to the basilica.

  Derek motioned for me to help him with Darvish and we dragged him out of the back of the van and across the street. I couldn’t help but look along the street to see if anyone was watching us. What must it look like for us to drag a man here? We could just explain that he was drunk, but with the way his head lolled forward, it looked more like he was dead.

  “Even for those who aren’t connected to magic, churches represent power,” David said, walking alongside me. He had a softer voice than Derek, but if I were to see them dressed the same and side by side, I wouldn’t be able to tell them apart. “For those within the magical world, certain churches have a different significance.”

  “Why is that?” And why hadn’t my grandparents ever told me that?

  Then again, why would they have needed to? I wasn’t a part of the magical world. Until recently. And even then, I had refused to be a part of it, choosing instead to continue with my medical training.

  “These places of power create something of a neutral ground.”

  “Neutral?”

  “There are other powers in the world besides the mage council, the shifters, and the vampires, Dr. Michaels. Places like the basilica help to ensure that we have a way to communicate with those powers.”

  “You mean powers on the other side of the Veil.”

  David nodded as we reached a side door. “The basilica sits close to a crossing, protecting it.”

  “Couldn’t those on the other side simply cross over then?”

  Why would Lexy and the others have needed to weaken the Veil if they could simply have come to a place like the basilica? Their attack would have been unnecessary—and overly complicated.

  “The power within it allows for only those who have the necessary permission to cross. That permission must come from both sides.”

  “Whose permission?”

  “The Faerie Queen.”

  We reached the door before I had a chance to question more, but at least I had an idea of why Lexy hadn’t used the basilica to drag the demon king across the Veil. She wouldn’t have been able to do so. It would have been hard enough for her to defeat the mage council, but to try to overpower the fae would have been impossible.

  The doorway led into the basilica but didn’t bring us into the main part of the church. We were in a side entrance and while the decorations on the wall, along with the stained glass letting colored light stream in, was impressive, I doubted it would be nearly as impressive as the inside of the church.

  “Where are we taking him?” I whispered. It seemed like the right thing to do within the basilica.

  “We need to hold him until we can get help,” Derek said, looking at David.

  “What kind of help will you summon?” David asked.

  “The council. At least, their representatives. The Dark Council might be after us.”

  “Oh, Derek, what have you gotten me into?”

  “We’ll be safe here. They won’t dare attack this place.”

  “I’m not so certain they wouldn’t. There have been attempts to overtake the basilica before. It would not be the first time someone would be foolish enough to try it.”

  “Neutral ground? They would have to know that doing so would bring the wrong kind of attention to them.”

  “Most don’t think like that,” David said.

  “It’ll be fine. We just need to hold him here a little while until we can call her grandparents.”

  David glanced over at me. “And who are your grandparents?”

  “Veran and Cyn Michaels.”

  “They’re your grandparents?”

  “They are.”

  Derek continued to lead us, pushing us along through the basilica. From the way he guided us,
I could tell that he knew where he was going. He had been here before. Regardless of what he claimed about his religiousness, I wondered if perhaps he wasn’t more devout than he admitted.

  “We’ll have to be quick. I don’t know how long we can remain concealed here,” David said.

  “Like I said,” Derek said, looking up at his brother, “I don’t intend to be here all that long. Just until we get—”

  “Help. I heard you.”

  “Do the two of you really need to argue like that?”

  “She’s right,” David said.

  “I know she’s right. She’s usually right.”

  I shook my head, shifting Darvish so that I could keep a hold of him. He was heavy, and the longer I held him, the harder it was for me to maintain my grip. I didn’t know how much longer I’d be able to hold onto him, but figured I had to hold out as long as possible.

  We reached stairs leading down. I glanced over at David. “This way?”

  “We are closer to the earth. It provides a certain level of power. You’ll understand.”

  He guided us down the stairs. They seemed to stretch on an impossibly long time, continuing to descend, and when he came to a stop, there was an ornately carved door before me. A series of religious symbols, mostly crosses and some other symbols I didn’t easily recognize, were carved into it.

  I expected David—or Derek—to use magic to open it, but David took a more mundane approach, pulling a key from his pocket and unlocking it. “Most believe this is nothing more than a storeroom,” he said, glancing over my shoulder.

  When we stepped inside, my breath caught. It was much more than a storeroom. The walls were all of solid stone, as if they had been brought here in a single piece. The floor was smooth until it reached the center of the room where a circle had been etched in the ground. It appeared to be a perfect circle and was rimmed with silver and gold.

  “Set him there,” David said motioning to the center of the circle.

  When I did, magic surged, and I could tell that it came from David rather than Derek.

  “You’re a mage.”

  David smiled. “A mage. A servant. I am many things.”

  “Oh, stop,” Derek said.

  “What did you do?”