Dark Heart of Magic
Page 70
The old boathouse. I was in the old boathouse that Katia had mentioned. Her special spot with Felix. I shuddered.
“You really should have stayed at the picnic tables,” a voice muttered. “We both should have.”
I looked to my left to see Deah sitting on the floor a few feet away. One of her arms was chained to the wall as well, and she’d been struggling against the shackle and chain for quite a while, judging by the red marks that circled her wrist.
“What’s going on?” I asked, trying to focus despite the pounding in my brain. “Who did this to us?”
“You really don’t remember?”
I shook my head and bit back another groan as that small motion made the ache intensify in my skull. I cradled my head in my free hand and took some deep breaths, trying to get the pounding pain under control.
Finally, I managed it and raised my head again. Deah sat slumped up against the wall, a miserable expression on her face. She kept glancing at the door across from us.
“She’ll be back soon,” Deah said in a flat voice. “I imagine that she’ll get started then.”
Suddenly, everything came rushing back to me. Finding Deah in the woods, hearing Katia brag about all the horrible things she’d done, fighting Katia, losing when she’d used her stolen speed magic to punch me out.
“How did we get here?” I asked.
Deah shrugged. “I was knocked out for most of it. All I remember is Katia throwing me over her shoulder and carrying me through the woods. She must have done the same thing to you, and now, here we are.”
“We have to get out of here before she comes back.”
Deah snorted. “Way to state the obvious, Lila. But it’s not going to happen. Believe me, I’ve tried.”
She cursed and rattled her chain again, but it didn’t jerk free of the wall.
Thump-thump-thump.
Thump-thump-thump.
Thump-thump-thump.
Footsteps sounded outside, getting louder and louder as they headed in our direction. Deah scrambled to her feet, and I did the same, the links in our chains clank-clank-clanking together in a dark, ominous chorus.
The door to the boathouse slammed open, and Katia strolled inside. She gave me and Deah a thin smile, then went over and set down the gold winner’s cup on top of the table. She also threw down two black leather scabbards next to it. Our swords. I tensed and so did Deah. If we could just get our hands on the weapons, we might have a chance.
Katia noticed us staring longingly at the swords and unsheathed first one, then the other, staring at the scrollwork carved into the hilts and black blades.
“Funny how they both have stars carved into them,” she said. “Almost like you two were from the same family or something.”
“That’s because we are,” I said. “We’re cousins. Our moms, Seleste and Serena Sterling, were sisters.”
Deah gasped, her eyes bulging in shock. She’d never expected me to say something like that. Even I wasn’t quite sure why I’d revealed that particular secret right now. Maybe because I was tired of people keeping things from me and didn’t want to do the same thing to her.
Deah kept staring at me. I shrugged back at her.
“Seleste might get confused, but she doesn’t get that confused,” I said. “I do look quite a bit like my mom.”
“Whatever. I didn’t bring you two here to listen to your family drama.” Katia held up my sword, admiring it. “But I have been wanting a new blade. Maybe I’ll use yours, Lila. You won’t be needing it anymore.”
My hands curled into fists. “The only way you’re getting my mom’s sword is over my dead body.”
She smirked at me. “Why do you think we’re all here at the boathouse? So no one will hear the two of you scream when I take your magic.”
Deah’s hands also clenched into fists, and she surged forward, but the chain on her arm pulled her up short.
Katia grinned and clucked her tongue. “What’s the matter, Deah? Feeling a little . . . tied up?” She laughed. “Or maybe you just don’t know what to do now that you’re not the center of attention. When there’s no one around to make sure that I fight fair.”
Deah didn’t say anything, but if looks could kill, Katia would have been feeding the fishes by now.
“Now, you two just hang tight,” Katia said. “I want to check my traps before we get started.”
“What traps?” I asked.
She laid my sword down on the table. “Oh, the ones I stole from Uncle Nikolai last summer. He had several of them rusting away in a shed at the Volkov compound. I doubt he even noticed they were gone.”
I remembered what Mo had told me about murdered monsters being found on the edge of the Volkov property last year. So Katia had been killing creatures last summer as well. I wondered how many monsters she’d tortured just to get their magic.
“This summer, I set some traps along the lake in hopes of catching more trolls than I did last year,” Katia said. “There was a copper crusher in one of them when I looked earlier. I’m going to go take care of it right now.”
I shuddered, thinking of the cage I’d found on the Draconi property—and how Katia would carve up the crusher to take its strength magic.
“Anyway, I’ll be back in a few minutes, and then we’ll see just how loud the two of you can scream.”
Katia smirked at us again, then turned and left the boathouse, slamming the door shut behind her. Deah started pulling on her chain again, even harder than before.
I sighed. “Maybe we should talk about being cousins—”
“Shut it,” Deah snapped, still pulling and pulling on her chain. “The only thing I’m concerned about right now is getting out of here. And you should be too.”
She was right. Escape first, talk later. Still, her tone annoyed me.
“Well, that’s not going to work, unless you have some strength magic that I don’t know about,” I said.
“Well, do you have a better idea?” she snapped.
“Maybe.”
I held up my arm and looked at the shackle on my wrist. The shackle was old and thick, too thick for me to have any chance of breaking it, but Katia had snapped a tiny metal padlock through the loops to secure the two halves of the shackle together. A nice, new, shiny padlock that wasn’t nearly as sturdy as it appeared to be. The sort of padlock that I’d picked open a hundred times before. I grinned. We were as good as out of here.
“You really should have stayed at the picnic tables,” a voice muttered. “We both should have.”
I looked to my left to see Deah sitting on the floor a few feet away. One of her arms was chained to the wall as well, and she’d been struggling against the shackle and chain for quite a while, judging by the red marks that circled her wrist.
“What’s going on?” I asked, trying to focus despite the pounding in my brain. “Who did this to us?”
“You really don’t remember?”
I shook my head and bit back another groan as that small motion made the ache intensify in my skull. I cradled my head in my free hand and took some deep breaths, trying to get the pounding pain under control.
Finally, I managed it and raised my head again. Deah sat slumped up against the wall, a miserable expression on her face. She kept glancing at the door across from us.
“She’ll be back soon,” Deah said in a flat voice. “I imagine that she’ll get started then.”
Suddenly, everything came rushing back to me. Finding Deah in the woods, hearing Katia brag about all the horrible things she’d done, fighting Katia, losing when she’d used her stolen speed magic to punch me out.
“How did we get here?” I asked.
Deah shrugged. “I was knocked out for most of it. All I remember is Katia throwing me over her shoulder and carrying me through the woods. She must have done the same thing to you, and now, here we are.”
“We have to get out of here before she comes back.”
Deah snorted. “Way to state the obvious, Lila. But it’s not going to happen. Believe me, I’ve tried.”
She cursed and rattled her chain again, but it didn’t jerk free of the wall.
Thump-thump-thump.
Thump-thump-thump.
Thump-thump-thump.
Footsteps sounded outside, getting louder and louder as they headed in our direction. Deah scrambled to her feet, and I did the same, the links in our chains clank-clank-clanking together in a dark, ominous chorus.
The door to the boathouse slammed open, and Katia strolled inside. She gave me and Deah a thin smile, then went over and set down the gold winner’s cup on top of the table. She also threw down two black leather scabbards next to it. Our swords. I tensed and so did Deah. If we could just get our hands on the weapons, we might have a chance.
Katia noticed us staring longingly at the swords and unsheathed first one, then the other, staring at the scrollwork carved into the hilts and black blades.
“Funny how they both have stars carved into them,” she said. “Almost like you two were from the same family or something.”
“That’s because we are,” I said. “We’re cousins. Our moms, Seleste and Serena Sterling, were sisters.”
Deah gasped, her eyes bulging in shock. She’d never expected me to say something like that. Even I wasn’t quite sure why I’d revealed that particular secret right now. Maybe because I was tired of people keeping things from me and didn’t want to do the same thing to her.
Deah kept staring at me. I shrugged back at her.
“Seleste might get confused, but she doesn’t get that confused,” I said. “I do look quite a bit like my mom.”
“Whatever. I didn’t bring you two here to listen to your family drama.” Katia held up my sword, admiring it. “But I have been wanting a new blade. Maybe I’ll use yours, Lila. You won’t be needing it anymore.”
My hands curled into fists. “The only way you’re getting my mom’s sword is over my dead body.”
She smirked at me. “Why do you think we’re all here at the boathouse? So no one will hear the two of you scream when I take your magic.”
Deah’s hands also clenched into fists, and she surged forward, but the chain on her arm pulled her up short.
Katia grinned and clucked her tongue. “What’s the matter, Deah? Feeling a little . . . tied up?” She laughed. “Or maybe you just don’t know what to do now that you’re not the center of attention. When there’s no one around to make sure that I fight fair.”
Deah didn’t say anything, but if looks could kill, Katia would have been feeding the fishes by now.
“Now, you two just hang tight,” Katia said. “I want to check my traps before we get started.”
“What traps?” I asked.
She laid my sword down on the table. “Oh, the ones I stole from Uncle Nikolai last summer. He had several of them rusting away in a shed at the Volkov compound. I doubt he even noticed they were gone.”
I remembered what Mo had told me about murdered monsters being found on the edge of the Volkov property last year. So Katia had been killing creatures last summer as well. I wondered how many monsters she’d tortured just to get their magic.
“This summer, I set some traps along the lake in hopes of catching more trolls than I did last year,” Katia said. “There was a copper crusher in one of them when I looked earlier. I’m going to go take care of it right now.”
I shuddered, thinking of the cage I’d found on the Draconi property—and how Katia would carve up the crusher to take its strength magic.
“Anyway, I’ll be back in a few minutes, and then we’ll see just how loud the two of you can scream.”
Katia smirked at us again, then turned and left the boathouse, slamming the door shut behind her. Deah started pulling on her chain again, even harder than before.
I sighed. “Maybe we should talk about being cousins—”
“Shut it,” Deah snapped, still pulling and pulling on her chain. “The only thing I’m concerned about right now is getting out of here. And you should be too.”
She was right. Escape first, talk later. Still, her tone annoyed me.
“Well, that’s not going to work, unless you have some strength magic that I don’t know about,” I said.
“Well, do you have a better idea?” she snapped.
“Maybe.”
I held up my arm and looked at the shackle on my wrist. The shackle was old and thick, too thick for me to have any chance of breaking it, but Katia had snapped a tiny metal padlock through the loops to secure the two halves of the shackle together. A nice, new, shiny padlock that wasn’t nearly as sturdy as it appeared to be. The sort of padlock that I’d picked open a hundred times before. I grinned. We were as good as out of here.
