What the hell was he waiting for?
Dara edged forward again, glancing out from behind the pulpit. He could barely see Lehrer from here now, just a slice of dark suit and tawny hair before Lehrer finally turned the knob and vanished down the stairs to the crypt.
To Noam.
Dara dragged himself to his feet, grasping the edge of the lectern for balance. He was shaking badly enough it was hard to walk—but he made it, clinging to the wall as he moved down the wooden stairs again and stole across the chancel to the open crypt door.
The stairs led down into shadow, cut only by the slightest glint of flickering amber light. Dara grasped the banister and moved down slowly, slowly. His heart was a live thing in his mouth, wild and broken as all those animals Lehrer used to kill in front of him, trying to force Dara to bring their minds back to life.
Dara peered around the edge of the stone wall that blocked the stairs from the rest of the crypt.
Lehrer knelt on the floor before Noam, tipped forward with one hand pressed against the center of Noam’s chest.
It was all Dara could do to keep from launching himself forward, the immediate surging panic that Lehrer was killing him already, was reaching magic into the electrical signals inside Noam’s heart and drawing them flat.
Dara pulled out the syringe instead, gingerly tugging the cap off the needle and slipping it into his pocket.
He crept out into the crypt itself, step by cautious step, approaching Lehrer from behind.
Lehrer didn’t seem to hear him, didn’t seem to notice, too focused on seizing whatever magic Noam had left.
Closer.
Dara could see the way the back of Lehrer’s collar puckered away from his neck, the faint sheen of perspiration on his spine. Lehrer’s suit was discolored now, layered in a thin patina of stone dust. From this angle Dara could make out the line of his jugular, the sharp edge of one cheekbone.
Noam beyond him, ashen and so, so still.
Dara was right behind Lehrer, close enough he smelled the sickly scent of his black vanilla aftershave, when Lehrer shifted, turning his head toward—
The needle sank into flesh, and Dara pressed down on the plunger as their eyes met, Lehrer’s pale and furious as Dara stumbled back, fear like unfathomable agony burning through his blood.
Lehrer rose to his feet and yanked the needle from his neck. Threw it aside.
His mouth was moving—he was saying something, and all Dara could hear was the low rumble of wordless noise. Lehrer lifted a hand, gestured, and ...
... nothing happened.
For a moment they stared at each other, Lehrer’s shoulders still heaving with the effort of so much magic. And then slowly, unsteadily, Dara’s hands lifted up to pull the earplugs free.
Sound rushed in to fill the void of silence. Lehrer’s breath came in ragged bursts, the distant roar of battle far away but drawing closer. Dara’s own pulse pounded in his skull.
“You have no idea what you’ve done,” Lehrer said, the words dragged out of him hoarse and rough, as if over broken glass.
He took a step forward, and Dara held up both hands. “Stay there.”
A cruel smile twisted Lehrer’s lips. “Or what, Dara? You’ll kill me?”
Another step; Dara stumbled back, the limestone floor gone slippery underfoot.
“You have no weapons. No magic.” Lehrer drew closer still, his cheeks coal-bright and his gaze glowing with some terrible internal heat. “But I don’t need magic to destroy you, Dara. I think we both know that.”
“Stop,” Dara whispered, knowing it was no good, his throat full of gravel and his heart sunken in his chest.
There was nowhere else to go. Dara’s back hit the rough wall of the crypt, Lehrer advancing with slow, deliberate steps.
The dead watched with indifferent eyes as Lehrer lifted a hand and slid his fingers along the line of Dara’s jaw. And Dara was fixed in place, unable to move, unable to breathe. Lehrer’s touch drifted downward, along Dara’s throat, and he said, “You’ve always been such a disappointment.”
Something silver and blazing exploded in the cramped space, blinding as a dying star. Lehrer flew back, crashing against a pillar with enough force dust rained down from the ceiling above.
