Before, Marcus had to transform spells in order to break them, but now, he just dissolved the ward without any effort.
“That was it,” Marcus said proudly. “Easy as could be.”
“There’s a group entering the casino now,” Gavyn told us. “The doors are narrow, so Ava’s going to have to concentrate to move you each through single file. There’s a group coming up behind this one. You’ll have a ten-second window. And… move.”
We moved quickly at Gavyn’s instruction and slipped past the security guards and onto the casino floor.
“Something doesn’t smell right,” one of the security guards told the other. He sniffed the air, and I knew he was preparing to strike.
“Fuck, they’ve caught you. Run!” Alistair screamed over the comms.
“Stay calm,” I started to hiss, but it was already too late. Rishi panicked and leapt from Marcus’ arms, tearing across the casino.
“Rishi, no!” Marcus yelled.
“There!” the guard screamed. We’d certainly been caught now.
“Go!” I shoved at the others. The security guards raced after us, but since they couldn’t see us due to Ava’s invisibility magic, they had difficulty pursuing us at super-human speed. One of them rushed by so fast that Air billowed around us, but he was past us in a split-second. The other jumped toward us, but he landed flat on the ground.
Eddie yelped as he ran into someone, and I realized it was one of the employees at a blackjack table. Cards went flying into the air, raining down all around us. The warmth of Ava’s magic disappeared around me, and I knew I had to be visible.
“There he is!” a guard yelled.
Ava’s invisibility magic enveloped me again, and I took off running. I must’ve appeared to the guards for only a split-second, and they were already in pursuit. By now, there had to be at least five security guards tailing us.
We ran as fast as we could. Danny bumped into a poker table, and chips went flying across the floor. Oberi must’ve slipped on the chips, because she fell to the ground with a heavy crash. Ava gasped and tried to catch herself on the lever of a slot machine. An award-winning chime went off, along with the simulated sound of coins clanging together.
“Oh, hey!” Ava said brightly. “I won a jackpot!”
“No time.” I shoved Oberi upright, and Ava clung to her mane. Rishi yowled as he rejoined us.
“There’s a restaurant along the outer wall, straight ahead of you,” Gavyn informed us through the comms. “Inside, there’s a hall through the kitchens leading to the stairwell.”
We raced through the restaurant and into the kitchens, pots and pans clanging as we passed through. In here, it smelled of copper, and I realized it was a blood bar. Two cooks stood in the kitchens, and they fled in fear when we entered. Someone elsecame through the back, and I sensed strong magic rolling off him. It had to be one of the security guards.
Marcus didn’t even hesitate. The crackle of a high-powered battle orb came, then the vampire was blasted into the wall so hard that it crumbled around him. Before the vamp could get up, I heard metal slide across the countertop. Marcus grabbed a large knife— a cleaver, I guessed. He swung it at the vampire, and the bones in his neck snapped. The vamp was done for. Marcus really wasn’t kidding when he said he’d been ready to do whatever it took to get the key.
“All right. Go Marcus!” Alistair cheered through my earpiece.
“Someone get Alistair off the comms!” I snapped.
“Aw, but I’m having so much fun—” he started to protest. I heard a brief scuffle, like Max had yanked the equipment away from Alistair.
“Marcus, you good?” I asked. I worried how he’d take killing someone, after everything we’d talked about.
Except Marcus didn’t seem bothered at all. “Never been better, boss. Let’s get this done.”
Shouts came from outside the kitchen in the restaurant. Other vampires were coming.
“You’ve got four more goons coming your way,” Gavyn said.
I quickly barked orders. “Eddie, Danny, and Marcus, go ahead and clear a path upstairs. Ava and I will take care of these assholes.”
The others went on ahead, while Ava and I faced the opposite doorway. The vampires burst through the door so fast it blasted off its hinges. I thrust my Air magic upward, sweeping all four of them into a fast current that halted their super-speed in its tracks. Ava blasted her Fire at them, and their screams instantly died as they perished in the flames.
“Marcus and Eddie have cleared the stairwell,” Gavyn said through my earpiece. “Ava, Charlie, move now.”
Oberi and I took off running, and we entered a tall, narrow stairwell that was only ever used in emergencies. I could feel a column of air swirling upward, and I knew there was enough space between the stairs that we could fly straight up. Marcus, Eddie, and Danny were already long gone, so I could only assume Marcus used his telekinesis to hover everyone else to the top.
