Page 93 of Runaway Magic
“Relax, Addy. He’s got this. It was just a small lapse. Ready to go, soldier boy?” Jack scooped up Fourteen’s poleaxe and offered it to him.
Fourteen raised an eyebrow. “Seriously?”
“Adelle’s connection to Sterling said he was that way. Is that still true?
Adelle nodded. “Yep.”
“You’re still interested in getting your boy back, aren’t you?”
“He’s not a boy,” Fourteen stated firmly. If he was, then the things Fourteen wanted to do to Cym would be beyond even his moral flexibility.
“Fair point,” Jack conceded. “You still want to get your man, right?”
“Yes, but…” Fourteen wanted to find Cym, but he wasn’t used to being thrown back into the field after slipping his leash. From what he could remember, any time he’d gone berserk, he’d hadmandatory time in the capsule before being assigned another mission.
But The Company didn’t own him anymore. Fourteen could do anything he wanted.
“Then take up your weapon, my man. You aren’t charming enough to rely on your personality to get you past these monsters. I, on the other hand, could probably manage it if I didn’t have you two weighing me down.” Jack’s fathomless eyes sparkled impishly in the firelight as he held out the poleaxe.
Fourteen eyed the weapon thoughtfully. All he had to do was keep it together long enough to find Cym. After that it didn’t matter what happened. If Fourteen fell apart, Cym could fix him, and if he couldn’t, at least he had the guardians to help him now. They weren’t Fourteen, but they would be the next best thing in keeping Cym safe.
He closed his hand around the staff of the weapon. Damned if it didn’t feel good. “Where to?”
Adelle’s face went distant, and he saw her magic flare around her head briefly before she snapped back to the present. Her eyes locked on to Jack’s, and Fourteen saw a thin thread of orange stretch out to touch Jack. After a minute, she nodded curtly and said, “Fine. We’ll do it your way.” She jerked a thumb back in the direction of the glittering mess of dissolving demon behind her. “This way.”
Their boots scattered the remnants of the demon into stardust as they tromped through. Hopefully the glitter clinging to Fourteen’s pants would dissipate as well.
It wasn’t covert to sparkle.
Fourteen followed Adelle as she led their team unerringly to the main building, and questions swam in his head. Why would Cym be in the main building instead of the forest? Had he been captured again? How did Fourteen know he was still alive? All he had was the word of near-strangers that he was.
He quashed the last thought before it had a chance to sink hooks into him. Said near-strangers had saved his life multiple times tonight, and he knew questioning his allies at this point would only hamper the mission. They were all he had, and he had no choice but to follow them.
Fourteen had to continue on the assumption Cym was still alive, otherwise there was no need to keep the cold at bay anymore. He wouldn’t need to fight it anymore. He could just let his faulty conditioning take over and let whatever happened happen.
He shook his head slightly to dislodge the invasive thoughts. There was no point in dwelling on them until he needed to.
When they reached the main building, Fourteen was relieved that it had escaped Harper’s fires. At first glance, it was an unimaginative, three-story, prefabricated box, but the magic climbing up the walls made Fourteen look at it again.
The windows crawled with a red mesh of power, writhing and pulsing inside the glass rather than on top of it. He was willing to guess they weren’t a weak point of entry. The red bled out into a subtle orange woven into the walls and the effect was unsettling. It made him feel like the house was breathing.
As Adelle marched up the stairs, the red sigils enmeshed with the front door lashed out violently, only to be absorbed by the warm orange halo surrounding her. She pressed forward, drawing the red into herself and transmuting it into orange. By the time she passed through the door, it was nothing more than the white rectangle its original designer had meant it to be.
Fourteen covered their six as he entered the building. If they were going to be attacked, now would be the time for it. “Where is he?”
“He’s straight ahead,” Adelle corrected. “It’s quicker to follow the magic I pumped into Sterling. All I have to do is look for it.”
“You mean you aren’t even looking for Cym?” Fourteen’s voice was a barely controlled growl. Why the fuck had he trusted strangers?
Adelle was unfazed and turned her back to him as she made her way down the long hall in front of them. “Cym’s essence is different from other witches. It’s more slippery and tends to blend in with the magic around him, making him difficult to find. If I checked specifically for Cym, I’d have to stop every few yards and reconnect to him to make sure he hasn’t moved or been affected by someone else’s magic. In this situation, it’s quicker for me to follow his brother.”
“It’s sound logic.” Jack jumped in to assure him. “I mean, if he didn’t cut and run on Cym earlier, he isn’t likely to now.”
“Unless they were separated by the explosion.” Fourteen pointed out. He might respect their fighting skills, but optimism was a weakness that had no place on a mission.
Adelle hesitated and turned, “I’m sure?—”
The door at the end of the hallway burst open, releasing a dozen or so people—all running as if their lives depended on it. Sterling brought up the rear.
