Lives of Magic (Seven Wanderers Trilogy) (29 page)

I went further, gathering energy from the life around me. I reached out with my magic, taking what I could. Kian and the magicians felt like a dead zone. I could not penetrate their energy. But the fire burned bright and I knew what I was going to do. I felt the pressure begin to build in my chest just as it had when I had been attacked at the hotel. It grew until I couldn’t take it anymore.

Somewhere far away, I knew the frost beneath my feet had melted and the grass was withered. I took what I could and bunched it to me. I waited, listening, for the ritual to reach its crescendo. My blood boiled and it warmed my skin until I smelled burning flesh. The hands holding mine loosened. I was nearing my limit. I opened my eyes just in time to see Smooth Voice look over to me in utter confusion.

I released my magic into the fire, willing it to grow. The blast shocked even me as the pressure exploded within the flames, and I flew through the air.

I
hit the ground. The breath was knocked out of me but I scrambled to stand. My ears popped and the sudden cold rushed at my limbs. For a moment, all was silent. Then angry curses and yells sounded behind me. Struggling to breathe, I forced myself up.

Kian appeared and grabbed my hand. One side of his face was covered in blood, as if he had been dragged along the ground. “Run!” he yelled.

I didn’t need to be spurred on. Not only did Kian pull me along with him, but the knowledge that the magicians could be chasing us bit at my ankles like a rabid dog. I ran for my life through the dark night, frost crunching underneath my bare feet.

We stopped to catch our breath when we got around to the other side of the large house. A few deer grazed in the distance, looking up at us every once in a while. We were completely at odds with our environment. While the snow had stopped and the moon began to peek out from behind the clouds, the landscape radiated serenity.

I tried to be quiet but my throat felt raw and it was still hard to inhale. Every breath pinched my lungs and I doubled over. When I straightened, Kian was looking suspiciously into the night.

“What?” I whispered.

“It’s too quiet,” he replied.

All was silent. Wisps of steam came from my mouth as I exhaled. Not even wind stirred. My heart froze. Suddenly, footsteps sounded all around us as if an army was descending.

“Go!” Kian shouted at me, pushing me away as Smooth Voice and Third Magician appeared on either side of him. I hesitated as Kian fought them both to keep them from chasing me. Could he win? Or would he die for me? When he motioned once again for me to run, I took off.

Like a hare being chased by hounds, I ran blindly into the night. I could sense magic in the air as the moon hid once again and my surroundings grew unnaturally dark. I stumbled over a root and soon was lost. The darkness felt like blindness. I could barely see my hand in front of my face. My imagination kicked in and I imagined my captors lying in wait for me.

I stumbled through the black for a few minutes until my hands found a wall. While comforted that I was not out in the open by myself, I was scared to be so close to the house. My pulse raced as I used my hands to feel around the side of the house. The frozen pebbles under my feet cut into me, and as the darkness consumed everything, I began to feel as if I was trapped under a blanket.

A small part of my mind began to push the blanket off me. It was hard, and I was soon sweating and dragging for breath even worse than before. But the night grew steadily lighter. Thick magic obscured my vision and I didn’t have the strength to lift it.

A hand grabbed me from behind, stifling my scream as the other wrapped itself around my throat. My hands flew up to pull the attacker off me and I felt thick muscular arms. I was nearly naked and pressed against a bare chest. The stranger’s heart beat against my back as horror seeped up into my throat.

I struggled in vain as I was dragged into the house through a back door. My vision cleared, and though it was still dark, I could see the moonlight reflect off of pots and pans. I was being hauled through a server’s kitchen. In the short moments that passed, I tried to remember Kian’s self-defence. I elbowed, kicked, and bit, but the sheer brute force of my captor was too much.

We passed through some kind of door and I was thrown into the small room. I landed roughly on the stone floor, skidding and skinning my legs. I tried to drag myself up to face the man and found my hands gripping wooden shelves. I guessed we were in the pantry, based on the dusty and empty racks. The small room was only big enough for the shelving and a small table that served as a cutting board.

I was nearly up when rough hands grabbed my hair and pulled me to a standing position. I bit back a cry as I was pressed into the shelves. My arms grated against the wall and flakes of blue chipped off. The only light came from the open door and the moonlight beyond that.

Hot breath spread against the skin on the back of my neck and my hair was moved aside. Hands began at my neck and ran down my arms as I struggled to break free. The razor-sharp knife suddenly appeared in my vision as the glow of the moon reflected from it. I felt vomit rising in my stomach and up my throat.

“I would hate to do it,” a voice said in my ear. Bald Man breathed so close I could feel every exhalation and it caused my body to convulse. “But I will. I will gut you right here.”

He turned the knife until it nipped at the skin on my neck, the point causing a dot of pain to spread. He then dragged it across a few inches, lightly, just enough for me to feel the blood begin to trickle onto my collarbone. I stood stock-still.

He brought the knife away and ran his hands over my arms again, this time ending at my neck. He wrapped his fingers around it slowly, squeezing. I fought to keep a whimper lodged firmly in my throat. I would not give him the satisfaction.

He released my neck and wrapped one hand in my hair. Without warning, he yanked me off the shelves and threw me into the small table. I was forced to lean over it, my hands gripping the edge.

Before I could move, Bald Man was on top of me. His left hand covered my own, and though I tossed and turned, I could not get him off. His right hand began to travel along the side of my body and over my hip. I could hear his breathing accelerate and thought I would be sick.

Suddenly, a thump echoed in the small space and the magician’s weight came down on me full force. I gasped in shock, but then he was pushed off my body and landed in a heap on the floor. I turned, ready for another assault, but Kian stood over the prone form with a frying pan in his hand.

I stopped and stared for only a second before I flew at him. In that moment, it didn’t matter that one magician was unconscious at my feet while two more chased us. I just wanted to hold him.

I hit Kian with such a force that he stumbled back a step before wrapping his arms around me and lifting me off the ground. I buried my face in his neck, the smell of him bringing happiness back to my heart. Any indecision or confusion was gone. My feelings were crystal-clear. I never wanted to let go.

We could have stood there, embracing, for hours. I lost all track of time as I framed my body to his and let him hold me. Kian pulled away too soon, worry lining his face.

“We have to go,” he whispered. I nodded, even as a touch of disappointment echoed inside me.

As we crept through the house, I refused to think what would have happened to me had Kian not intervened. I might have been in this situation because of him, but I was not about to delude myself with thinking that I could have fought off the magicians by myself when they did find me. Not even four of us together would stand a chance.

“What did you do to the other two?” I whispered as we passed through the entranceway. I felt exposed in the wide hall even though we kept to the shadows of the walls.

“Magicians can’t control your body until they control your mind,” Kian whispered, taking my hand and pulling me through to another kitchen. This one was neater and looked more used. “And they can’t do that until they perform the ritual on you.”

“But how did you fight them?” I remembered the magic settling over me and shuddered.

“They gave me their magic to find you.” Kian spoke in short snippets. This was a story he did not want to tell. “I only had a little, but I could use it to delay them and confuse them. But that’s gone now.”

“What do you mean?” I whispered.

“As I came to find you, I felt
him
take it back.”

I understood Kian’s “him” to be the third magician. A hundred questions sprang to my lips when he mentioned their supposed agreement, but I swallowed them all down. The important thing was that my power had not been torn away in some ritual and we were leaving.

I was still shaking, but now the cold felt like numbness and it was the knowledge of being enslaved that sent fear shooting down my spine. I spotted a door at the end of the kitchen and my heart began to beat faster with thoughts of escape. I reached for the handle when Kian stopped me.

He picked up a knife from the counter and turned it in his hand. With the handle, he broke the lock on the inside of the door and swung it open. Snow hit us full force. The wind blew through my bones, warning of a full-blown blizzard. My stomach sank as I thought of trudging through that weather. The wind tore the door from Kian’s grasp and slammed it against the house.

Kian leaned out into the winter night and tossed the knife into the snow, where it was quickly covered. It created a stain on the snow and I turned my gaze to Kian’s hand, which had been sliced when he broke the lock. Despite our situation, he smiled into the night.

“They will look for tracks but find none,” he said with satisfaction. Then, taking me by the arm with his uninjured hand, he led me down a flight of stairs into a type of cellar.

The cold concrete sent chills up my legs and my teeth chattered. I was confused but didn’t argue. In the cellar Kian removed a series of dusty rugs and revealed a wooden trap door. The latch looked fresh and I wondered how long he had been planning this escape. Opening the wooden lid, he placed the rugs carefully into place so that they would cover the room again once the top was closed.

I looked at him for confirmation, and he smiled. It was all I needed. Taking a deep breath, and thankful I did not mind small spaces, I climbed through the lid and down metal rungs that had been installed against the wall. My feet touched more carpet. Despite being underground, the place was warm. The musty smell of dust and dead air did not bother me after being in the cold for so long.

Piles of carpets were stacked underneath me, creating a soft floor. I tried to not think of what kind of creatures might be living inside them. Wooden shelves held random artefacts, from necklaces to binoculars.

Kian climbed down and sealed the top. Complete darkness fell until he lit a lantern. I smiled when I realized it was the kind campers used to keep off mosquitoes. The white electric light made me squint.

“The magicians are not at home in this world. It is too big for them,” Kian said as he sat cross-legged across from me. “They can only sense magic. They live off it and feed on it, but there is hardly any left in this world. That’s why you’re so valuable to them.” He peered into my eyes with a sudden intensity and I shied away.

“They want to grow their power. They aim to take control, and as they do so quietly, they may succeed.” He reached out for my hand and took it in his. In the dim light, his downcast face looked to be made of shadow and his expression appeared sorrowful.

Kian took my fingers lightly and brought them to his lips. The feel of it reverberated up my arm and into my chest.

“But they will not get yours,” he said it as if it was a vow. “Or Seth’s, or Garrison’s, or Moira’s.”

“Won’t they find us?” My voice was hushed. The small room killed any echo and the tight space made me feel safe. It was just smaller than a medium-sized tent.

Kian shook his head. “Do not use your magic. Do not access that place inside yourself, wherever it lives. Forget it until we are through this. They can only sense you through your power. You are invisible to them as a regular human being.” He looked at me with a glint in his eyes. “And despite everything, you are still very much a human being.”

I thought about everything I had left behind as a human being. All of the events since being stolen away from my home by Kian had culminated in tonight, where I had nearly been enslaved by magicians.

The shudder that the memory of Bald Man’s hands sent through my body unlocked a gateway of emotions. Despite an inner voice telling me to get a grip, a flood of tears and muted sobs escaped like a hurricane. All of the fear I had suppressed found its way out of my body. Kian extended an arm and held me close to his chest. I did not stop when I had soaked his shirt and cried off most of the blue paint on my face.

I was exhausted when I finally calmed, but our situation kept me from sleep.

“I betrayed you,” Kian said. His voice was rough. He sat up, burying his head in his hands as if it would make the situation go away. I could only see a mop of black until he looked back to me, eyes bright.

“You did what you had to,” I said. “We are safer now.”

Kian shook his head. The way he winced made me nervous. “They tempted me and I agreed to do whatever they wanted. They didn’t even bother to perform the ritual on me. I have no magic and they knew I was within their control.” His expression held disgust. Then he turned to me and it melted from his face, revealing the most pure and innocent look I had ever seen on him. It reminded me of someone.

“They didn’t count on you,” he told me quietly. “They didn’t know how I would fall for you.”

I was curious about what the magicians had offered and struggled to place the familiar face. But my mind was most captivated by his last words.

I pulled him closer to me until we sat side by side. The wall at my back was cold but I rested my head on his shoulder. Reluctantly, Kian wrapped an arm around me.

“I forgive you,” I said.

We sat in silence until my fear gave way to exhaustion and I fell asleep. Even under the ground while being hunted, I felt better with him by my side.