Rival Magic
Page 62
The underground base was near Las Vegas. As they’d fled the night of Finn’s defeat, she’d used her new powerful magic, still pumped up on adrenaline and anger and fear, to track Alden all the way here. She’d felt that he was somewhere nearby. She just hadn’t known where. So Kai had brought them all here, a launching point to find Alden.
Sera wanted to help, not to be stuck down here. But they’d all told her if she left the base, Alden would link to her mind. As soon as he did that, he would be able to find her. And then everyone here would be in danger. She couldn’t live with herself if these good people died because of her. So she stayed down here while Kai tried to track Alden himself. The problem was his magic-tracking range was nowhere near as good as hers. Sera feared that by the time Kai got close enough to track, Alden would be close enough to sway his team. This whole thing sucked. She was powerless, completely stuck. Even if she went out with them to find Alden, she still wasn’t sure they could defeat him.
“I know this isn’t what I promised, Sera,” Kai said. “And I’m sorry for that.”
“Nah, I’m not complaining. As long as you keep bringing me pizza.”
“You’re so easy to please.”
“What can I say? I enjoy the simple pleasures in life.”
A wicked look sparked in Kai’s eyes. His hand traced down her side, raising a trail of goosebumps across her skin. Then his hand slid over her hip and down her thigh.
A knock sounded on the door, and his hand froze. Sera sighed. He kissed her quickly, then stood up to go answer the door. Nowadays, they couldn’t afford to just stay in bed all day and ignore the world.
“You have visitors,” Tony said.
The door wasn’t wide open, so Sera couldn’t see him, but she thought she caught a hint of hope in his voice.
“Who?” Kai asked him.
“Edric and Darin Kensington.”
“Margery’s sons? We’ll be right down.”
Then Kai closed the door. As he pulled on more clothes, Sera got out of bed.
“Did you tell Margery where to find us?” she asked.
He gave her a hard look. “No. After her forces abandoned us at Witching Point, I didn’t think it wise to leave a calling card.”
She slipped into her underwear. “Then how did they find us here?”
“I intend to find out,” Kai declared.
“I know that look. That’s the look you get when you’re psyching yourself up to bash heads.”
“Sera, I’m surprised you think of me as such a brute.”
She pulled her top over her head, then kissed his cheek. “I guess it takes one to know one.”
He laughed.
“Tony seemed hopeful about our visitors,” she commented as they left their room.
The hallway looked like a really crammed motel—if the motel were underground and had metal rails instead of soft, carpeted hallways. And instead of a view to the outside, they all had a view into the central open area. The base was several levels deep, and from the hall of doors, you could look down into the core of the place, a big common room with desks and computers and whiteboards and a scattering of sofas. On the other side of the lowest level was the dining area. It was packed full of long tables with benches for people to sit on. When it was mealtime, cooking smells wafted up the open space, spreading to every corner of the base.
“Tony needs a little hope right now. We all do,” Kai said. “But we must remain cautious.”
Sera and Kai took the staircase down to the bottom. The metal steps shook and moaned, like scaffolding around a house. They looked a lot like scaffolding too. Cutler and the other Knights of the Occult were at the bottom, clustered around the computers, writing lists and drawing diagrams on the boards. Cutler’s mother, a tall and stately woman dressed in leather armor was directing them. She was the leader of the knights, the one who decided which dark threats they fought. There was a frightening gleam in her hard eyes, like she’d lived to see many battles. Sera was glad she was on their side—and that, unlike so many people from the older magic families, she didn’t seem to have any problems with the Dragon Born.
Sera passed an alcove in the wall, the area Riley had claimed for his lab. Down here, he was in charge of the armory and potions. Pieces of armor hung from a long row of stands along one wall. Swords and other weapons were mounted across another wall. Along the third wall, colored potions sat on high shelves, all meticulously arranged. Riley had more organizational skills than Sera and Alex put together.
Callum and Dal stood beside Riley. They set a few burnt objects onto the counter.
“What happened?” Riley asked, lifting the pieces of warped material in front of his eyes to get a closer look.
“This one exploded a little early,” Callum told him.
“Define ‘early’.”
“Almost faster than I could throw it.”
Riley jotted a few notes down in his notebook. “It must have been reacting to your elemental magic. I’ll need to increase the shielding.” He held up another piece of melted metal. “And this one?”
“It let off a big boom,” Dal told him.
“How big?”
“It knocked out everyone within a range of about half a block.”
Riley frowned down at the bomb. “I wonder what I need to do to get it to a full block if we’re going to debilitate most of Alden’s followers in a single burst.”
Sera wanted to help, not to be stuck down here. But they’d all told her if she left the base, Alden would link to her mind. As soon as he did that, he would be able to find her. And then everyone here would be in danger. She couldn’t live with herself if these good people died because of her. So she stayed down here while Kai tried to track Alden himself. The problem was his magic-tracking range was nowhere near as good as hers. Sera feared that by the time Kai got close enough to track, Alden would be close enough to sway his team. This whole thing sucked. She was powerless, completely stuck. Even if she went out with them to find Alden, she still wasn’t sure they could defeat him.
“I know this isn’t what I promised, Sera,” Kai said. “And I’m sorry for that.”
“Nah, I’m not complaining. As long as you keep bringing me pizza.”
“You’re so easy to please.”
“What can I say? I enjoy the simple pleasures in life.”
A wicked look sparked in Kai’s eyes. His hand traced down her side, raising a trail of goosebumps across her skin. Then his hand slid over her hip and down her thigh.
A knock sounded on the door, and his hand froze. Sera sighed. He kissed her quickly, then stood up to go answer the door. Nowadays, they couldn’t afford to just stay in bed all day and ignore the world.
“You have visitors,” Tony said.
The door wasn’t wide open, so Sera couldn’t see him, but she thought she caught a hint of hope in his voice.
“Who?” Kai asked him.
“Edric and Darin Kensington.”
“Margery’s sons? We’ll be right down.”
Then Kai closed the door. As he pulled on more clothes, Sera got out of bed.
“Did you tell Margery where to find us?” she asked.
He gave her a hard look. “No. After her forces abandoned us at Witching Point, I didn’t think it wise to leave a calling card.”
She slipped into her underwear. “Then how did they find us here?”
“I intend to find out,” Kai declared.
“I know that look. That’s the look you get when you’re psyching yourself up to bash heads.”
“Sera, I’m surprised you think of me as such a brute.”
She pulled her top over her head, then kissed his cheek. “I guess it takes one to know one.”
He laughed.
“Tony seemed hopeful about our visitors,” she commented as they left their room.
The hallway looked like a really crammed motel—if the motel were underground and had metal rails instead of soft, carpeted hallways. And instead of a view to the outside, they all had a view into the central open area. The base was several levels deep, and from the hall of doors, you could look down into the core of the place, a big common room with desks and computers and whiteboards and a scattering of sofas. On the other side of the lowest level was the dining area. It was packed full of long tables with benches for people to sit on. When it was mealtime, cooking smells wafted up the open space, spreading to every corner of the base.
“Tony needs a little hope right now. We all do,” Kai said. “But we must remain cautious.”
Sera and Kai took the staircase down to the bottom. The metal steps shook and moaned, like scaffolding around a house. They looked a lot like scaffolding too. Cutler and the other Knights of the Occult were at the bottom, clustered around the computers, writing lists and drawing diagrams on the boards. Cutler’s mother, a tall and stately woman dressed in leather armor was directing them. She was the leader of the knights, the one who decided which dark threats they fought. There was a frightening gleam in her hard eyes, like she’d lived to see many battles. Sera was glad she was on their side—and that, unlike so many people from the older magic families, she didn’t seem to have any problems with the Dragon Born.
Sera passed an alcove in the wall, the area Riley had claimed for his lab. Down here, he was in charge of the armory and potions. Pieces of armor hung from a long row of stands along one wall. Swords and other weapons were mounted across another wall. Along the third wall, colored potions sat on high shelves, all meticulously arranged. Riley had more organizational skills than Sera and Alex put together.
Callum and Dal stood beside Riley. They set a few burnt objects onto the counter.
“What happened?” Riley asked, lifting the pieces of warped material in front of his eyes to get a closer look.
“This one exploded a little early,” Callum told him.
“Define ‘early’.”
“Almost faster than I could throw it.”
Riley jotted a few notes down in his notebook. “It must have been reacting to your elemental magic. I’ll need to increase the shielding.” He held up another piece of melted metal. “And this one?”
“It let off a big boom,” Dal told him.
“How big?”
“It knocked out everyone within a range of about half a block.”
Riley frowned down at the bomb. “I wonder what I need to do to get it to a full block if we’re going to debilitate most of Alden’s followers in a single burst.”
