“Make it quick,” I said.
Considine winked at me as he slunk past me, pouncing on Gideon like a shadow from a nightmare come to life.
The wizard tried to throw the fireball at Considine, but the vampire caught him by the wrist before he could fling it.
Considine twirled Gideon like a dancer. When the wizard’s back was to him, Considine wrenched Gideon’s wrist up behind his own back, making the wizard whimper in pain.
Next, Considine kicked Gideon’s legs out from underneath him, so the wizard collapsed to the ground and grabbed Gideon’s other wrist, holding them both with one hand.
“Help!” Gideon crowed. “House—House, what are you doing?” He yelled, his voice loud in the narrow hallway.
“Dobe quiet,” Considine ordered, smacking the Heir upside the head.
Gideon shrieked as if Considine had delivered a deathblow to him, and three wizards crowded in the blocked kitchen doorway.
“Gideon!” A man shouted—I recognized him as Adept Tellier, Gideon’s dad.
Considine eyed the Adept as he tugged a set of magic canceling cuffs off his belt and slapped one cuff on Gideon’s left hand.
While Considine dragged Gideon backwards, toward the staircase, I slid past them, heading in the direction they’d come from.
“I’ve got this,” I said, briefly resting my hand on Considine’s shoulder and nodding toward the wizards.
“Very well. I suggest you break the tall one’s nose—that might make his face match his poor attitude,” Considine advised.
He’s having fun, I realized, taking in Considine’s grin and relaxed posture.
As I turned to address the wizards—who were trying to push the armchair aside and making a mess of it since three people were trying to move it at once—I realized, with some surprise.I’m having fun, too.
“We’re here for the oracle!” I shouted, emboldened. “Release them and you won’t be harmed. Resist, and we’ll be forced to stop you.”
Adept Tellier went statue still as he stared at me while his cronies—a middle-aged woman and a young male wizard who looked about Gideon’s age—finally succeeded in pushing the armchair in the same direction, moving it off to the left.
The male wizard immediately threw a ball of orange fire at me, his wizard tattoo flashing on his face.
I dodged it with ease—his fire was markedly smaller than anything April or Juggernaut usually wielded—and popped him in the jaw using the hilt of my dagger.
His head snapped backwards, and with a well-aimed kick to his chest I knocked him into the middle-aged woman wizard.
She went down with his unexpected weight, and the pair collapsed on the ground in a tangle.
“You,” Adept Tellier snarled, still standing in the entryway to the kitchen. An ugly glare twisted his face, which turned a mottled purple with the strength of his emotions. “You’re the slayer who attacked us. House! Avenge us!”
The hallway was so profoundly silent, even I felt a little awkward about the House’s obvious refusal.
Adept Tellier thrust his left hand into the air, showing off his wedding band and a ring dotted with orange stones—which was likely the signet ring that connected him to the House Beacon—the House’s source of power. “House! Obey me, I call upon your magic!” He kicked the wall—as if that was going to make the House listen to him.
Nothing happened.
While the Adept carried on, I risked looking behind me to check on Considine. He looped the cuffs around one of the stair rails, then slapped the other cuff on Gideon’s right hand,anchoring the Heir to the staircase and blocking his ability to summon magic.
That’s the Heir down, next, the Adept.
I kept my body loose—trying to appear unbothered as Adept Tellier’s tattoo surfaced on his cheekbone and he started to channel lightning in his hands. He ignored me—giving me plenty of openings to exploit.
I waited until the Adept leaned forward, his arms going down as he likely prepared to lean back and throw the electricity at me with maximum momentum.
With his head obligingly lowered, it took minimum effort to kick him, landing a blow upside the jaw and along his ear.
