Chapter 31
Thirty-One
Northcliff
There have been a number of times in my life where I’ve wished I was an only child.
The moment Eddy bursts out from beneath the desk and snatches the dagger from Mathias’s hand is definitely in the top three.
My heart is in my fucking throat as they wrestle for the blade. The lich isn’t letting go, even though she caught him off guard. The only reason she isn’t thrown away or killed is because his grimoire is just out of his reach.
Worse, Kyrith is still under there. My legs tense, ready to dive in between them.
Dakari is faster.
Mathias is shoved back from my sister so violently that he hits the wall beside the door. The impact sends the bricks crumbling, dust flying into the air.
It’s a heavy blow. I take advantage of the distraction to rush to my twin’s side, gripping her arm as she thrusts the cracked golden blade into her belt.
She shrugs me off and turns to struggle with something on the desk. Jesus fucking Christ. The tip of the dagger has broken off entirely. Her fingers turn bloody as she works to pull the last shard of gleaming metal out of the wood.
I push her aside, grip the sharp metal, and tug. It slices my finger, stinging like a bitch, but stays stuck.
“I’ve got this. Get Kyrith,” she says, shoving me right back. “She’s unconscious.”
Dakari is behind us, his eyes never leaving the crumpled lich who’s already shaking himself off as brick after brick pelts him. His immense black grimoire is still on the desk, but it smacks into my side as the lich summons it to him.
I can’t grab it. I’m busy pulling Kyrith out from under the table.
“Gotcha,” Eddy snarls, yanking free her prize. She wraps it in her sleeve, then rushes to a small cabinet, rapping on the door with bloodied knuckles. “Ad Arcanaeum!”
I don’t expect it to work, but the door swings open. She doesn’t wait, cramming herself through the small opening.
Her head pokes back through, eyes wide as she yells, “Come on!”
I heft Kyrith over one shoulder, glancing back at Dakari as I sprint after Eddy. He’s still fighting, but Mathias is armed now.
My twin grabs Kyrith, dragging her unceremoniously through the door. I try to follow, but pause with one leg inside, twisting back to check on Dakari.
He’s barely holding his own. He’s getting closer, but he can’t turn his back on the lich.
“Run!” I urge him, flicking open my own grimoire, casting one of the shields Kyrith taught me.
It’s messy, but I give it everything I have. The paper-thin pearly wall of power gives Dakari enough space to stop attacking and just flee.
He’s three steps away. Two.
I move fully into the Arcanaeum, clearing the too-small doorway as the lich snarls a spell I don’t recognise.
Dakari dives through, smashing into me when his momentum carries him farther than I predicted.
Ooof. The air is knocked out of me as I land on my back on the linoleum floor. Reacting instinctively, I jerk my foot up, kicking the door shut. A half-second later, it disintegrates, turned to ash by the force of whatever spell Mathias launched after us.
The handle, key plate, and hinges clatter to the floor noisily.
“Holy fucking shit,” I wheeze.
We’re both winded, but Eddy is already there, offering me her hand.
I take it, putting more of my weight on her than I intend to as my legs wobble.
We’ve come out in the foyer. The Library is still decorated as it was when Mathias had control.
All around us, that mist is creeping in, swirling around our ankles, which is weird. Normally it stays outside.
It’s quiet. Dead quiet.
Wrong.
I’d hoped Kyrith wouldn’t have to see the Arcanaeum like this, but we’re here. She can fix it.
“You okay?” I ask, searching for Dakari.
“Never better.” He coughs, pressing a hand to his side as he pushes himself up using the wall. His grimoire is out, and he’s examining the other doors like he’s waiting for them to swing open. When they don’t, he asks, “Kyrith?”
I’m already crossing to where she’s sprawled on the floor a few feet away.
“She’s fine,” Eddy says. “I checked her first. She just passed out, like last time.”
I shrug off my jacket, balling it in my hands before slipping it under Kyrith’s head. She’s stirring, and I cup her cheek, freezing when she leans into my touch. The corner of my lip quirks.
She can be affectionate…when she’s asleep.
“We need to get the others here.” Dakari groans as he stands. “All of them. If Benny is dead—”
“Pierce is going to be very fucking pissed,” I finish, gut sinking.
Dakari gives me a shallow nod. “Jasper is stable. I left him on the sofa back at Leo’s place. If the others didn’t manage to save Benny, they’ll have gone back there. I’ll keep watch on these two.”
“The dagger is broken,” Eddy mumbles, picking up the shard lying discarded on the floor and trying to match up the jagged edge with the rest of the cracked blade. “Do you think that means…?”
I shrug. I don’t have a clue. Maybe Kyrith or Leo will know. If it’s broken, that could be a good thing. Mathias can’t use it against us anymore.
My eyes catch on the gleaming red gem in the pommel. “We have his soul vessel.”
Shit. That’s going to make for one angry lich.
“The others.” Dakari repeats. “They need to be here. Now.”
Or Mathias might use them against us somehow.
I rap my knuckles on the nearest door. “Leo’s house.”
Thankfully, it still works like it used to, if a little slower. With how dead the Library seems, I was worried we’d be stuck here.
The dusty, old-fashioned living room is warmer than it should be. I choke on soot-filled air before I realise why; I’ve stepped into a magical firestorm.
“Jesus!” I cough, but a shield cuts in front of me before the next fire blast can make contact with my unsuspecting face.
Leo grabs me, dragging me down to where he’s taking shelter behind the sofa with Jasper’s unconscious body. The thing is on fire, floral fabric going up in smoke faster than I thought possible
“Pierce, man. Come on.” Lambert’s voice is almost lost to the roar of the magic. “Look, you’ve got every right to be angry. Grieve all you want. But the Arcanaeum is open. We need to go.”
I can barely see him. His skin has turned to stone, glowing like lava under the force of Pierce’s magic.
Shit. Angry is an understatement.
“The Arcanaeum, now.” I grab Leo and urge him towards the door.
The two of us drag Jasper away from the blond man currently screaming flames at the ceiling from his mouth. He’s set almost everything in here ablaze.
“He’s gone,” Lambert says. “Yeah. But we’re here for you, dude. We’ll get your mom back for it, but right now—”
Leo and I make it to the portal, but before we can pass through, a shadow fills the frame.
What the fuck is she doing?
I reach out, but Kyrith brushes me off, completely unaffected by the fire.
Her lips press together in sympathy as she strides through the flames like they’re nothing, grimoire floating softly at her side.
Jesus. I almost had a heart attack when she walked into the burning room, but it’s clear she’s got this.
Bit by bit, she extinguishes the chaos around us with murmured spells.
By the time she reaches the man at the centre of it all, everything is back to how it was when we left. Photographs straighten themselves on the walls. The floral pattern on the sofa doesn’t have so much as a soot stain.
Behind him, the TV turns back on. The screen is consumed by a blown-up image of Benny on his knees, his face contorted in agony as Isidora grips both of his bound hands. Blinding white light pours from his eyes, nose, and mouth.
Magical overload.
An execution reserved for necromancers.
Along the bottom of the screen, the news ribbon announces that the execution was at seven this morning.
Shit. No wonder Pierce lost it. They tried to rescue his grandfather, but something must’ve gone wrong. Now it’s being blasted all over the media.
The closer Kyrith gets, the more his flames retreat. They flicker along his shoulders, in his hair. Then they’re gone. Smoke wafts from his body as he stares at her, his shoulders heaving like he can’t get any air. His eyes are red rimmed, jaw trembling.
Fuck. I’m not sure he’d want any of us to see him looking so lost, but when she reaches for him, he breaks. There’s a thump as his grimoire drops to the floor, and then he follows, his knees slamming into the hideous carpet. Kyrith crouches beside him, wrapping him in a hug.
“She killed him,” he mutters, over and over on shallow, hiccoughing breaths. “She killed him. She killed him.” His voice cracks. “I couldn’t move. He’s…gone.”
I don’t hear Kyrith’s response.
Lambert drops his stone spell and heads straight for us, strong-arming his brother and Jasper through the door.
“C’mon, bro. He doesn’t want us to see this.”
He’s right. I busy myself with helping. By the time I look back, Kyrith is cradling Pierce’s face in both hands, speaking softly but firmly to him.
Lambert tugs at my sleeve, but I resist. “I won’t watch, but I’m not leaving them here alone.”
“We’re coming,” Kyrith says, never taking her eyes off Pierce. “Aren’t we?”
He grunts a confirmation, but I still don’t breathe easily until we’re all finally inside the Library and the door is sealed behind us.
Safe.
For the first time in weeks.
My shoulders drop, even as Eddy pipes up, asking the inevitable question. “What now?”
Kyrith releases Pierce’s hand as she drops to her knees beside Jasper. Her gaze remains diligently fixed on the unconscious healer, refusing to acknowledge the changes to her sacred Library. She flicks through spells until she finds the one she needs, then starts casting.
My heart, which hasn’t stopped pounding since I saw Mathias stride up to the desk she was hiding beneath, pangs softly.
She loves this place. The lich has turned it into something unrecognisable. Every single cell in my body wants to reach out and erase the pain in the stiff set of her jaw.
“We need to recover,” Leo says, breaking the silence. “Fortify the Library, in case he comes after us. And then…”
“Mathias and my mother die.” Pierce glowers at the closed door like he’s considering charging back through it and taking them both on himself.
“About that…” I hedge. “Your mother isn’t a problem anymore.”
He drills into me with those blazing grey eyes. “She’s dead?”
“Mathias drained her to gain access to the Arcanaeum,” Dakari says, still clutching his side. “She died painfully, if that helps.”
Pierce says nothing.
Oof. Yeah, we wanted her dead, but the bloke was essentially just orphaned in the space of five minutes. Maybe our delivery could’ve been a little smoother?
Then again, I’ve never been subtle, and Dakari isn’t looking so great, either. There are deep lines of strain around his mouth, and his eyes are half closed.
“Are you okay?” I ask again.
I thought he was just winded before, but he should’ve recovered by now, right?
“It’s not bad,” he denies.
Shit. Now that I’m looking for it, what I thought was just the black fabric of his shirt is actually the scorched and charred flesh of his side.
“Sit down,” Lambert orders, noticing the same thing. “Leo, do you know any restoration magic?”
His brother’s lips twist, his expression inscrutable. “I can manage the basic shite, yeah. Or, at least, I can make it hurt less until Kyrith sorts him.”
“Kyrie,” the Librarian murmurs under her breath, barely lifting her focus from her work on Jasper. “I preferred it when you called me Kyrie.”
She doesn’t look at him, casting spell after spell as she traces her fingers over the lines on the Scot’s skin, but Leo can’t stop staring at her.
“Kyrie.” He mouths it like a prayer.
I smirk. Guess he’s one step closer to being back in her good books.
“Get on with it.” Dakari breaks the silence as he slumps onto his ass on the floor beside Jasper.
Leo thumbs through the pages of his grimoire, brows creased.
He’s not fast enough. Dakari’s eyes roll back in his skull a moment later, and I have to dive for his head to stop it cracking against the floor.
“‘Not bad’ my arse,” Leo says. “Well, I guess he doesn’t need the numbing spell if he’s passed out from blood loss.”
Kyrith is decidedly less chill. “Can you—?”
“Relax. I can deal with this.” A pause, then he mutters, “At least, I can stop him bleeding out before you get to him.”
I fall back on my heels, watching as the two of them get to work.