Page 84 of Runaway Magic
Fourteen relaxed his stance minutely. “Guardian,” he said cautiously.
“I’m touched you remember, but I mostly go by Jack. Cymbeline sent me to fetch you topside so we can all get out of here, but if you don’t mind, I’d like to give you a few upgrades first.”
Upgrades? What the hell was that supposed to mean? “Why would I accept upgrades from the person who helped trap me the last time we encountered each other?”
“Okay, fair, but in my defense, you tried to kill me and mine. Like, a lot.” Jack rubbed at an eyebrow with the palm of his hand and sighed dramatically. “I don’t have time for the trust falls and weekend retreats necessary to get you to let me touch you—which I need to do in order to help you—so I’m just going to show you the severity of your situation.”
The light coming from Jack expanded to expose the hole Fourteen had fallen into, allowing him to see what Jack meant. The bottom of the hole could have accommodated three of Fourteen’s SUVs with barely enough room to open the doors on one of them. Five meters from the floor, irritatingly smooth walls closed in overhead to form a wide gash with rough walls that appeared scalable if he could reach them.
He couldn’t jump that height. Not even with his enhancements.
Fourteen moved forward to examine the glossy surface of his prison and hissed in pain on the first step. The ambient light revealed a long, narrow rock embedded in his calf. He pulled it out and flicked it to the floor. Further examination showed the blood flow from the wound to be within acceptable parameters, so he ignored it and limped to the wall.
It was smooth like glass and continued through the entire base of the hole. Even with Fourteen’s considerable climbing skills, he couldn’t get himself out. Panic rose, but he didn’t have time for it, so he told it to piss off until later. Surprisingly, it worked.
Fourteen turned to Jack. “This doesn’t look natural to me.”
“Whoever cast the spell was trying to trap you, probably so they could kill your man.” At Fourteen’s murderous growl, Jack threw up his hands defensively, palms out. “Which they aren’t! Sterling has a decent shield around them, and my partner Adelle, who you’ve already met, is with them. They’re completely safe right now. Mostly.”
Fourteen rolled his eyes internally at the wordmostly.Even with his stunted social skills, Fourteen knew a successful rescue operation relied heavily on making the rescuee believe you could get them to safety. He didn’t know how to convey it properly, but he did know using the wordmostlywas a dumbass choice of words.
Jack wasn’t filling him with a ton of confidence in his abilities right now, but if Fourteen wanted to get back to Cym’s side, he was going to have to sacrifice his need for control of the situation. “What did you have in mind?”
A broad smile formed on Jack’s face. “This is going to be fun, but I need Adelle for this. She has a Crafted toy I’m going to require.” The man’s dark eyes went unfocused, and Fourteen was caught briefly by their swirling depths. Something about them made him feel restless, and he was forced to look away until Jack snapped back to attention. “Okay, Adelle’s made your group as safe as she can for the moment, and she’ll be right down.”
Had Fourteen hit his head harder than he’d thought? Because Jack hadn’t used a phone or a headset to communicate with his teammate. Fourteen touched the laceration on histemple gingerly. He’d had worse and continued functioning optimally. Or maybe Jack had injured his brain on his way down to Fourteen.
Or maybe it was a magic thing.
It was probably that last one.
“Oh hey, I can help you with that head problem if you like. Um, I think I can anyway, just… uh, don’t hit me, okay?” Jack reached out a tentative hand in offering.
“What are you going to do?” Wariness laced each word and Fourteen leaned back out of reach.
“Heal you, I hope. I’m going to need to touch your skin to do it, to get past your shield. It’s going to feel weird, but it won’t hurt.” Jack waggled his fingers expectantly.
Should Fourteen trust this man? He appeared friendly and helpful, but Fourteen had been betrayed by friendly types before. He could always kill him if he tried something. Jack had at least six inches on him and was built like a tank, but if he was making skin contact, Fourteen would likely be inside any shield the man could put up against him, so he felt confident of his odds. At least one of the ten different ways Fourteen could think of to kill this guardian would do the job.
Fourteen cocked his head, examining Jack, and added three more to the list.
Finally, he stripped a glove off and offered his nondominant hand to Jack. He could do a lot with either hand, but it paid to be cautious.
Jack took it in his and closed his eyes. “Huh. You got a lot going on up there, don’t you?”
“Is commentary necessary for this task?”
“No, but it passes the time.” Several heartbeats passed, and Jack said “Adelle’s coming down, don’t freak out.”
A moment later, a familiar blonde woman landed lightly on the floor in a crouch roughly an arm’s length to his left. Fourteensilently approved of her black-on-black ensemble—it would suit her well for the evening’s operation. When she stood, she moved with the agility of a warrior.
Fourteen met her eyes and nodded curtly.
She gave him the ghost of a smile. “Good to see you again, too. I’m glad you two are managing to play nicely.”
“You wouldn’t believe what he’s got going on inside. Fascinating!” Jack’s eyes were closed, but he looked like he was watching the best movie of his life.
“Stop sightseeing and finish up. The sooner we get them out of here, the sooner we can get to Marshall.”
