Page 17 of Familiar of the Witch

We walked forward until we came to a door and a code box. It beeped as Oscar put in the code and I held my breath while we waited to see if it worked or if Plan B – B for bomb – would be needed.

The light flashed green then the door gave an obnoxiously loud buzz and popped open. It opened further and I hoped Oscar was pulling it rather than a guard who was curious about what appeared to be a self-opening door.

Bastion and I waited a beat. When there were no cries of alarm, he tugged me forward. My heart was thudding, and not in a Bastion-is-looking-at-me-like-I’m-cake kind of a way, and my palms were sweaty. I’m good in a crisis when blood is on the floor, but it seemed thatcreeping in darkness to break into a forbidden portal was not in my skillset.

Frankly, I was peeing myself. I wished I could blame early menopause but I wasn’t there yet; it was just me being cowardly.Not cowardly,I told myself firmly. Cowardly would be if I’d stayed home with a hot drink and a good book. Instead I was terrified but still moving forward, one step at a time.You’re facing your fear, DeLea,I told myself,and that’s brave. Keep stepping forward.

Luckily, Bastion was skilled in this sort of ninja crap. He led us onwards, pausing occasionally. We made achingly slow progress as we passed a number of guards. I felt sure that they could hear the hammering of my heart; I was certain it was breaking the silence around me.

The soldiers we passed were focused on their job. There was no idle chatter or hint of comradeship. They were alert and ready. Unfortunately for us.

We continued to sneak so slowly that it felt like we might be going backwards. Every time I glanced at the portal, it was still so damned far away but finally, after what felt like several days, we were near it. One guard was standing directly in front of it.

Bastion tugged my hand to make me crouch down as we watched the guard. He didn’t move; he didn’tso much as shift his weight. He was directly in our path, and I had no idea how we’d get around him short of tugging him into the portal with us. Which would mean we took one helluva pissed-off soldier back in time with us. I couldn’t think of another option, though; we couldn’t crouch there forever waiting for the changing of the guard. And every second that passed made it more likely we would be found.

‘Unless you want me to slice his throat, you’ll need to use a sleep potion on him,’ Bastion whispered so quietly I had to strain to hear him. ‘It’ll take too long to choke him and the other guards will be on us in a flash. We need something that’s almost instant.’

I baulked at the idea of painting an anaesthetic potion with anisarune on someone who was unaware of it, but the thought of Bastion killing a man who was only doing his job pleased me even less. I guessed the sleep potion was the only other option.

I moved Bastion’s hand to my shoulder and pulled my tote bag around to the front of my body. I slowly undid the zip and the faint sound made me wince, but the guard didn’t look in our direction once. Opening my bag as silently as I could, I pulled out a jar.

Thankfully everything about me seemed to be invisible including my clothesandmy potions, so theguard wasn’t confronted by a jar floating through the air. Unfortunately, because everything on me was invisible including my clothesandmy potions, I couldn’t tell by touch which Kilner jar was which.

I fumbled around until I found a metal clasp, carefully opened the lid and sniffed. Ach! The acrid scent told me it was a healing potion. I closed the lid carefully and set it down by my foot so that I could return it to my bag after I’d located the correct jar.

It was like some kind of crazy lucky dip. I grabbed another jar and tried again. The familiar scent of an anaesthetic potion wafted up to me. Thank the Goddess; I had ten jars of potions with me so I was lucky to have found the right one so quickly.

I rifled through my bag to find my favourite paintbrush, which I could recognise by its width and the feel of its wooden handle. I dipped it into the pot and scooped up a generous amount of potion, then closed the pot and put it back in my bag. I picked up the potion by my foot and stowed that away, too. Then I slung my bag round to my back and stepped forward.

Bastion followed me, keeping his hand firmly on my shoulder. His touch reassured me; I was certainly playingin amateur hour but he wasn’t. He did this kind of thing all the time and he had my back.

I approached the guard from the side. The bombed-out church was lit with fairy lights, adding a soft glow to the darkness. The only visible skin to work with was on the back of the guard’s hand or on his face. Grimacing, I aimed for the former. He’d feel the cold, slimy potion the instant it touched his skin, so I pulled my magic forward ready to activate the rune the moment it was formed. The only problem was, I couldn’t see the rune I was drawing. There were definite downsides to invisibility.

It’s just like any other runing,I told myself firmly.

My heart was still hammering in my ears as I reached forward and drewisaon the back of the guard’s hand in two quick strokes. He frowned and looking down then raised his other hand, no doubt to wipe at the wet sensation. I released my magic through the rune before he could make contact with it. In my urgency, I used a little too much magic and he collapsed instantly in a dead faint.

Presumably Bastion or Oscar caught him at the last moment because invisible hands lowered him gently to the ground.

‘Go!’ Oscar hissed. ‘Picture the time and the location you need, then walk through theportal!’

‘Three pm, Melva’s offices,’ Bastion murmured to me. His hand slid down my shoulder to find my fingers again and his breath tickled my ear, doing all sorts of interesting things to my body. I had no time to examine them further or to respond as he tugged me forward. Hands linked once more, we walked forward into the shimmering light and let the portal consume us.

Three pm, Melva’s offices.

Chapter 15

We’d stepped into the portal in darkness but it spat us out into light. As Oscar had predicted, his IR magic had been stripped from us and suddenly I could see Bastion holding my hand. It made my tummy give a happy lurch to see my pale skin next to his tanned flesh. His skin was rougher than mine, like he’d seen hard work. My hands had too, but I moisturise compulsively. It is my one vanity.

I was ogling Bastion whilst he was looking around and checking for danger. Seeing none he relaxed slightly, but only a fool would have thought he wasn’t ready to eviscerate them at any time. Our little jaunt into invisibility was a reminder that not all our enemies would be so obliging as to be visible and announce their arrival with trumpets.

Bastion had tucked his body around me defensively. I’d like to have pretended it was because he wanted to hug me, but I knew it was so that he could be my griffin-shield. Ilooked up at the exact moment that he looked down at me. His eyes were dark and focused on me with an intensity I rarely saw. They flicked to my lips and I was suddenly sure that this was going to be the moment of our first kiss. My body swayed a little closer of its own volition.

Tension hummed between us, but Bastion didn’t make his move. I looked at him, lust fading to confusion. Did he want me to make a move instead? Worse – what if he didn’t want me at all? Uncertainty and anxiety lanced through me.

He reached down and lifted my chin up so our eyes met. ‘I want you, Bambi, more than you know,’ he admitted ruefully. ‘But not yet. Not until you know.’

‘Know what?’ I asked desperately.

---