I was going to kill that son of a bitch.
I was going to rip him apart, and then I would think about the rest.
I’d already shoved my mother’s crystal in the pocket of Caelum’s joggers, doing it to free my other hand after the elder Bones disappeared from the closet door’s opening. Now I stalked after him, and geared up the magic in my sun primal again. I decided on a spell, and raised both hands towards the lavatory door, about to rip it off its hinges––
When the door behind me slammed open before I could.
I turnedaround where I stood, my hands still up, magic running up and down my arms like an out-of-control electrical current. I was on the verge of releasing the spell, of defending myself and Bones, when something in me paused long enough for me to make out the features of the mage standing in front.
It was Valor.
Valor La Fey, my cousin.
His eyes stared at me in shock, so wide it might have looked comical if not for everything else that sparked and careened in my mind. I stared back at him, uncomprehending at first. Then something clicked inside my head. I saw the Praecuri uniform, and it registered that he wasn’t alone. Behind him, I saw the stairwell crammed with other bodies, all wearing uniforms alike or fairly similar to his.
The magical charge left me like someone had pulled a plug, or maybe flipped a switch.
My arms dropped.
Suddenly, I was exhausted, like I’d just run a marathon after not sleeping for a week.
I stared at my cousin, and nearly swayed on my feet.
I saw Valor’s jaw harden, right as his wife, Esalia, appeared at his side, her expression even more confused than her husband’s when she saw me. Then after a swift glance around the room, her eyes hardened. It was Esalia who ended up speaking first.
“Where is he, Leda?” she demanded.
I didn’t move.
My eyes flickered to Bones, who still hadn’t moved.
They both followed my stare, and Valor audibly sucked in a breath.
“Is he dead?” I asked.
Neither of them answered me.
Then Valor looked back at me. “Where’s his father?” he asked, his voice suddenly cold. “Where’s Malefic?”
The question confused me at first, until I glanced back over my shoulder.
I stepped to one side, and leaned a hand on the stone wall to steady myself.
“He’s in there.” I motioned towards the lavatory. I jerked my jaw towards the closet a beat later. “Except his arm. That’s in there.”
Esalia flinched, then exchanged looks with her husband. Valor’s jaw hardened, then he glanced behind him, and barked out a series of commands.
Only then did everyone enter the room, and only then did it really hit me that they hadn’t. I watched as Valor and Esalia crossed the stone floor, their steps purposeful. In addition to the black uniforms, they wore heavy capes and thick boots, their clothing and hair wet and sprinkled with snow. Within seconds, it seemed, a whole crowd was inside the tower, as the rest of the agents and officers who’d been in the stairwell followed behind.
I could barely comprehend the numbers, or really focus on their faces.
I was already aiming my feet in Bones’s direction.
I wove through the crowd of Praecuri and other uniforms, uniforms I didn’t know well enough to identify, as they began surrounding the lavatory door. I didn’t meet eyes, ignored the stares, not understanding or really hearing the words of the few who tried to talk to me, or to warn me to stay out of the way as they made the situation safe.
I didn’t listen closely when my cousin began yelling through the wooden door, telling the mage inside they were coming in, warning him that if he resisted them in any way, he risked physical and magical injury, if not death.
I made it to Bones before the lavatory door opened.
