Page 7 of Crimson Skies

“You’re not human.”

“No, I’m not,” Zach said curtly.

The power he could feel from Wallace confirmed what Atropos had revealed to them. He was one of the few Level One mages on Earth.

Suzie had been surprised to hear this. The last time she’d seen Wallace, he’d only been a Level Two magic user.

Wallace studied them with a faint frown. “Somehow, I get the feeling you guys ending up here wasn’t an accident.”

“You’re right,” Suzie said. “We’ve been looking for you. We need you to come to San Francisco.”

4

A pale hazewas lightening the horizon to the east when Julia Chen landed soundlessly on the gabled rooftop of a temple amidst snow flurries. She crouched on the gilded, clay tiles and scanned her surroundings.

Smoke spiraled from the mud and brick houses outside the walled monastery complex, the thin trails invisible to all but those who possessed otherworldly eyes. Though the hour was early, the locals were already up.

It would be a while yet before dawn leached the darkness out of the valley.

Julia’s breath misted faintly in front of her face as she waited, alone but for the hawks circling the surrounding hills for early morning prey. Faint lights soon appeared in the living quarters dotting the monastery. The smell of yak butter wafted from the square below as figures began shuffling into view, shaved heads gleaming in the soft glow of the lamps they carried and feet invisible beneath their wine-red robes as they trod the slush-covered ground.

The monks were gathering for morning prayer.

Adrianne Hogan’s voice came over her earpiece. “He’s on the move.”

“Sly bastard,” Bailey Green murmured. “He’s using the underground corridor again.”

Julia frowned. The mage they were hunting for was one slippery customer.

Then again, we wouldn’t be after him if he wasn’t strong.

After investigating a series of sightings across the Middle East and Eastern Europe, the trail for Zhao Yuan had gotten cold in Kazakhstan. It was Atropos who’d told them they would find the mage back in his homeland of China. One of Bailey’s contacts in Chengdu had come through with some crucial information that had finally allowed them to track Yuan down to the Qinghai Province.

Still, this is the last place I’d imagined finding him.

The low chant of sutras echoed through the temple for the next two hours. By the time morning prayer ended and longhorns cut through the silence of the valley, day was breaking over the Tibetan Plateau, the pink and orange hues painting the sky to the north and east reflecting off distant, ice-capped mountains.

“Target will be in your reach in thirty seconds,” Adrianne said crisply.

Since one of Yuan’s strengths was his ability to detect magic cores, the sorceress and her wizard boyfriend were maintaining a safe distance from the monastery lest he pick up on their presence.

Adrianne started counting down. “Fifteen…ten… five…Now!”

Julia unleashed her Terrene powers, pulled open the section of roof she’d targeted, and dropped down into the room below. Shocked gasps rose from the monks crowding the breakfast hall as she landed amidst them in a cloud of fine snow. Their eyes rounded.

Her gaze locked on Zhao Yuan across a wooden table.

The mage was already moving, the piece of freshly cooked flatbread he’d been about to put in his mouth splashing in his cup of hot butter tea as he jumped to his feet and bolted across the room. He glanced her way, his dark eyes full of displeasure.

The floor trembled. Earth magic exploded into existence in front of Julia.

She barely caught the boulder Yuan had materialized. A muffled curse left her as she skidded back half a dozen feet under the momentum of its weight. The floorboards cracked beneath her when she came to a stop. Julia scowled and pulverized the stone to fine dust with her hands.

He’s a Level One alright!

“Wait!” she barked after the mage’s disappearing figure. “We’re not with the—!”

Yuan was gone.

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