Page 104 of Magic Claimed
As long as he thought that’s truly what they were up to.
“Why shouldn’t I have a little extra insurance?” I retorted. “You were just going to take what you wanted and leave me with nothing, like the treacherous snake you are.”
“Unfortunately for you,” Blake said softly, “that’s still what’s going to happen. Except now I’ve decided I might need a little extra insurance of my own.”
His hand reached up to clutch something close to his throat…
Bingo.
He was still wearing the gem. The one he’d used the day he attacked The Assemblage, when he’d revealed a key part of the magic it contained. The answer to all of our questions about how the dragon disappeared after attacking The Portal, how Heather had been in so many places seemingly at once, and how he’d suddenly appeared out of the back of an abandoned trailer.
And also why we’d needed this desperate plan.
“Gateway is ready,” he told his minions. “Bruce, Everett, watch our backs.”
I didn’t have time to shout or pretend to struggle. Tape sealed my mouth shut, and my phone was pulled from my pocket just before something dark went over my head. I felt the prick of a needle in my neck, cutting off access to my magic almost immediately.
Curses on Elayara and all her stupid serums.
But I didn’t fall unconscious. Instead, I heard every word as my arms were seized in a strong grip and I was dragged forward across the asphalt.
“Now, Kes, I understand that you’re upset by this development, but I want you to know that I do intend to keep my promises to you. You will never be mistreated or touched without your permission.”
Hah. Not after I’d insinuated she could ruin their artifacts. He might not know for sure if I was telling the truth, but he wasn’t about to risk losing his power.
“But I will have to ask you to come with us without resisting.Because otherwise I will be forced to do something rather permanent to your friend Raine, and I don’t think that’s something you’d be able to live with.”
I heard nothing in response, but I was still being dragged forward. Then I heard the squeal of rusty door hinges, and the hollow clang of the metal trailer floor under booted feet.
“It’s stable,” I heard Blake say, “but I’m uncertain how long it’s going to last. I will go first, with Kes, then you’ll bring Raine. Move through one at a time in case the gateway fails.”
My thoughts were foggy and sluggish from whatever they’d drugged me with, but I was alert enough to put some effort into playing my assigned part. Even as the hands on my arms pulled me forward, too strong to resist, I began to fight them, twisting and bucking and digging in my heels. Making incoherent sounds from behind the tape over my mouth.
But then my feet left the ground, and I seemed to hang in the air for longer than should have been possible—as if gravity had been suspended for a brief moment of time…
And then I fell, with an involuntary grunt as the wind was knocked out of me. My head struck a smooth, cold surface, and it felt like something in my shoulder crunched beneath the impact.
“Good.” That was Blake’s voice, echoing oddly in my ears. “Everyone is through, and phase one is complete. The gateway has collapsed, but we have what we need. For now. Send word that phase two can begin on schedule and step up the timeline for securing Tairen-li-Corva. The dragon in the Bureau is proving to be more frustrating than we anticipated.”
It was strangely disappointing to realize that even when Iexpected the worst from Blake, he managed to surpass my expectations. He’d never intended to keep any of his promises. Never had an antidote, never considered sparing the lives of the innocent humans in Oklahoma City.
But even through the fog of the serum they’d used to shut down my magic, I still clung determinedly to consciousness. Ready to see the plan through. Because this very betrayal—Blake’s utterly predictable addiction to power and control—was the one hope we still had.
“Take Kes to the first level,” Blake ordered. “But keep her away from the test subjects. I have calls to make, and of course I’ll be on site for the operation in the morning, but I want to begin the initial test phases as soon as possible.”
Test subjects…
Sometimes I hated being right.
But not as much as I hated Blake. He was about to unleash horrific violence on my city and commit untold atrocities against other humans, all because he simply could not face his own fears.
Instead of healing, he’d sought control. Power at any cost, so that he would never again be at the mercy of anyone else’s desires.
And now I was stuck—many miles from the ones I loved, utterly committed to my part in this plan. Unable to help defend the people and the city I called home. Unable to stand at Callum’s side for what might be the last few days remaining to him.
But I wouldn’t go back and change my decision, even if I could. Someone had to stand between Blake and the teens whohad no idea what was about to happen. No idea that he referred to them astest subjects. No idea that what they’d been promised was going to come at the cost of the greatest agony they’d ever experienced.
No idea that some of them were likely to end up dead.
