Page 57 of Runaway Magic
He pulled both of his teammates in for a hug, and they all sat huddled together staring at the aurora that appeared overhead. As blue, amber, and multicolored jets of light danced playfully in the sky, the team quietly adjusted to the near miss they’d just experienced.
Eventually, Marshall stirred. “Okay, here’s the plan. We’re going to stay here until every single one of us is completely tanked up. Once we’re back in our bodies, we’re going to wallow in that palatial lounge of Clayton’s, and have all of Jack’s favorite foods delivered to us, which we will then proceed to eat in front of him while he watches. Because, I swear to the gods, Jack, if you ever do something like that again, I’ll fade you myself! Copy?” His voice shook with emotions he couldn’t even begin to process.
Adelle nodded soberly in agreement. “Copy.”
“Copy,” Jack said, though his mulish expression told Marshall the gravity of the situation was lost on him.
“And after that, we are going to show the Blaikes exactly how we feel about witches who consort with demons.”
Chapter 14
Fourteen
The moment Cym’s compulsion faded, Fourteen skidded to a halt, tires squealing. The smell of burning rubber filled the air.
His heart raced like he’d torn halfway across the city on foot rather than on his bike, and sharp spikes of anger flooded through him, desperately burning away at the conditioning that riddled his mind.
God fucking damn Cym.
Torrents of pure emotion ripped through Fourteen’s body, only to be stopped cold by the nothingness of his conditioning. There was a battle inside his chest, swamping him in waves. Cold, then fire. Nothingness, then pure, unadulterated rage.
How fucking dare he? After everything they–
Fourteen turned the bike around.
When he found Cym, he was going to… what?
What did Fourteen want to do?
So many fucking things. Only half involved saving Cym. The other half involved a lot more strangling than Fourteen was comfortable with, and after briefly considering them, he shoved them into the cold parts of his mind to deal with later.
Fourteen was going to have to save that sneaky little shit again. And after that he’d probably have to keep doing it again and again unless something changed drastically.
It was becoming increasingly clear to Fourteen that Cym was going to fight him every step of the way to safety. Once Fourteen had him back, he was going to take Cym somewhere safe.
He had a safehouse in Montreal with a modified basement that might hold Cym for a time. If Fourteen wore earplugs, Cym couldn’t order Fourteen to let him go.
His bike darted into the morning traffic, and he ignored the indignant honking of the delivery truck he missed by an inch.
Fourteen could have gotten Cym away from his aunt. It would have been a challenge, but he could have gotten them both out if Cym had just fucking trusted him. Having a self-sacrificing handler was not something Fourteen had been programmed to deal with. Having a sexy, barely legal, self-sacrificing handler was going to get him killed.
Or the world burned down.
It was a toss-up as to which would happen first, but Fourteen knew which one he was voting for.
The stupid world really had it coming if it did end up burning.
Cym had turned Fourteen upside down and inside out mere hours after they met, turning Fourteen from a compliant drone into a man who had something to fight for.
Fourteen thought of the dream he’d shared with Cym, and the cold slipped to the edges of his consciousness. If Fourteen had had a choice in the matter, he never would have woken up.
That would have been a damned shame.
Fourteen’s lips curled in a half smile as he remembered the sensation of waking up with Cym in his arms.
After their shared dream, Cym’s magical effect on Fourteen seemed to have lessened a little, so touching his skin was less of an intense therapy session and more of a religious experience. The feeling of his small body nestled against Fourteen’s was something he knew he could spend a lifetime studying, and the idea that he could be free enough to do so was exhilarating.
Granted, having Cym as his handler wasn’t ideal. Cym’s reaction when Fourteen had admitted he had to let Cym do whatever he wanted was confusing, but Fourteen was willing to work with it.
