Page 94 of Soulbound
—right into another man.
The fellow's eyes widened, his moustache quivering as he opened his mouth, and Sebastian slammed him back into the wall, clapping a hand over the bastard's mouth. A knee drove into his thigh, narrowly missing his groin, and he staggered back, taking the stranger with him.
A blistering fist hammered into his head. He caught a flash of Cleo's startled eyes, as she hovered helplessly. No sorcery! No sorcery! He didn't know whether it got through to her, for his back hit the kitchen bench, and pain sliced through him.
A month's worth of hard training suddenly opened up in his mind. He blocked the next blow, getting his feet under him, just as power bloomed within his attacker.
He was dangerously open to any metaphysical attacks. And so was Cleo.
Grabbing a fistful of the man's hair, Sebastian wrenched with both hands, snapping the man's neck.
The hard weight landed on him, driving him back against the bench again as they both slumped. His heart was pounding. He held them both there, listening, gradually hearing the sharp rasp of Cleo's startled breath over his ravaged heartbeat. She'd clapped both hands over her mouth, and slowly lowered them, swallowing hard.
"Are you all right?"
He nodded, and there was a second where his gaze dipped to the body in his arms, and he realized he'd just killed a man—
Not his first time. Probably not his last, but she looked shocked.
"Cleo." He let the man's body down, hauling him toward the pantry by his boots. "There's no time for panic. Can you feel the Blade?"
Color seemed to be flooding back into her cheeks. "Definitely below us."
"Richard?" a man called from above. "Was that you?"
Silence lingered in the house. Cleo shot him a look.
Jesus. They must have heard the scuffle, as quick as it was. She held her hands out to him as if to say, what are we going to do?
He cleared his throat and called gruffly, "Aye. Just tripped on somewhat."
"We're going to have to move quickly," he sent. "Find the cellar."
Cleo swirled her look away cloak off her shoulders and handed it to him. "Cover him."
Then she scurried toward the pantry, as he lowered the fellow to the floor and swung the cloak over him. Instantly he was encouraged to see past the lump on the floor. It would have to do.
"This way!"
He followed her past the pantry, to a rickety staircase.
There was a faint tingle as he reached for the door at the bottom. This ward was stronger and more aggressive than the one protecting the house.
He hadn't come all this way only to be deterred now. Footsteps creaked somewhere above them, but they were far lighter than the other two. A little flurry of nerves stirred in his gut. He hadn't seen his mother in the house yet, but the signs of her were everywhere. Perhaps they were in luck. Perhaps she wasn't at home.
His fist clenched. A part of him hoped she was.
Cleo rested a hand in the middle of his spine, as if she sensed his tension. "My Premonition is itching again."
They either needed to break the ward on the cellar and search for the Blade, or try and escape.
This wasn't the time for a confrontation. He had Cleo at his side, and the fate of Drake rested upon his ability to steal the Blade out from under Morgana's nose. Escape wasn't an option.
"The second I break this ward, she'll know," he told her. "Time for Bishop's distraction. Are you ready?"
"To thwart one of your mother's schemes?" Cleo's thumb stirred against his spine, though her breath still came shortly. "I'm all in."
Sebastian swelled with power, and triggered the globes he'd left all through the house.
