Chapter 53
Chapter
Fifty-Three
Caden
H and it over now.
Through a crack in the warehouse window, I watch as Mathias eyes Sydney. My blood runs cold.
Shock may have slipped us past Mathias’s security spells, but getting out with the book and our lives intact is another beast entirely.
The area is clear of human guards—Mathias’s arrogance on full display. The Doomsday Brethren and I wait for Shock’s “go” signal, but I can’t tear my eyes from Sydney and her deadly dance with the evil wizard.
He’s toying with her, a predator playing with its prey. Every fiber of my being screams to burst in and end him. I white-knuckle my semiautomatic, fearing that refusing a wand was madness. After all, a 9mm can’t take him down. Our battle in the tunnel proved that bullets barely scratch him.
I’ve rigged C4 at every corner and window—a human element Mathias won’t expect. Once inside, I’ll plant more on the overhead support beams. One press of a button, and this place would become a tomb.
But will that be enough to kill the most powerful wizard in a millennium?
“That’s why I came here,” Sydney says, sounding deceptively calm. “To give you the Doomsday Diary. But I wonder… You’re such a powerful figure in magickind, could I persuade you to answer a few questions first? I’m quite in awe.”
Her mix of starstruck and sheepish is masterful. The audacity to lie to the most dangerous wizard alive staggers me. She’s poking a bloody dragon, and even Shock looks unsettled.
Mathias leans back, predatory grace in every movement. “A woman with backbone… I haven’t known many human females. Perhaps I should remedy that.”
Sydney’s coy downward glance is perfect. “Is that a yes?”
“Amusing and lovely. But I smell a man on you. A wizard.” Mathias’s reply chills my blood.
My heart shudders to a stop. Can he identify me as her lover? Shit. I didn’t think of that. Does he know she’s been with someone aligned against him?
She glances at Shock, who shrugs. “She fancies my brother. They’ve been nearly inseparable for days.”
Mathias’s gaze dissects Sydney. “Ah, that’s where he’s been. And he convinced you to bring the book to me?”
“It’s my book and my choice,” Sydney counters. “But Shock actually suggested I give it to you. I just have a few questions.”
Every muscle in my body tenses as Mathias weighs her words. He’s deciding whether he believes her. He’s deciding her fate.
Sydney adjusts her bag on her knees, angling the hidden camera. My brave, foolish girl is courting death, because she’s determined to get her story, and it’s tearing me apart. I have to get her out without compromising the mission.
“I understand the book has awesome power?”
“Indeed. An object so important to magickind hasn’t been seen in centuries. It will give me the means to provide equality to the Deprived.”
“A commendable goal, but how will the Doomsday Diary help you achieve it? Will you be able to control, say, an entire class of magickind if you chose?”
“The book is shrouded in mystery, and it deserves respect. I must study it carefully. So to answer you now would be premature and rash.”
“Of course,” Sydney counters. “But give me an idea of the things you anticipate being able to do with this diary.”
“Forgive me if I decline to answer your question. Because Shock looks quite protective and you’re Zain’s current amour. I’d prefer not to be…impolite.” The wizard sends her a tight smile. “The book, please.”
Mathias’s tone makes it clear the wizard is done indulging Sydney. She needs to get the hell out.
Fear burns my veins as I mouth to Bram. Now ?
He shakes his head.
Fuck all. This is killing me. I clutch my gun so tight that my knuckles turn white. When it comes to work, Sydney doesn’t understand the word “stop.” If she pushes Mathias further, what happened to Anka and Aquarius will look like a picnic.
“In a moment,” Sydney promises. “I’m dying to know… What about your background makes you willing to lead the Deprived out of their oppression and poverty? It’s such an admirable cause, and a favorable story about the inspiration behind your dedication might help rally others to assist.”
With a brow raised, Mathias leans forward and speaks softly. “The time for reporting magickind’s news in your human rag has ended. My presence is still something of a surprise. I prefer to keep it that way. No more questions. The book. Now.”
Give it to him before he kills you and get out! I scream mentally, willing Sydney to heed me.
She frowns. “You understand why I’m reluctant to turn over what is, by your own admission, an awesome weapon without more information.”
“I’m a busy man. By your own admission, my cause is an admirable one, and my attention is better spent on the war and the matter of equality.”
Sydney purses her lips. “Indeed. But I have heard troubling rumors about your treatment of witches. Can you comment?”
“Give him the book, damn it,” Shock snarls, snatching it and shoving it at Mathias. “You came to do that, and now you have. Let’s go.”
Sydney manages to look flustered and irritated. “I wasn’t done asking questions. What about?—”
“Yes, you were,” Shock warns. “Stand up and get out.”
I hope like hell that Sydney heeds him. If she walks out of this warehouse alive, she has no idea the tirade I plan to unleash on her.
“What about Auropha MacKinnett, Anka MacTavish, and others?”
Fury creeps into Mathias’s murky black magical signature. I hold my breath, terrified he’ll end her with a flick of his wrist.
“Enough! You don’t get to question him, you insolent little human.” Shock grabs Sydney and drags her to the door.
But I’m grateful to Shock for every centimeter he puts between her and Mathias.
“Stop.” Mathias commands. “The wizard I scent on you doesn’t smell like Zain.”
My heart threatens to explode. Sydney’s flush betrays her, but her retort is pure fire. “If you’re not inclined to tell me your intentions concerning the book or your past actions, I hardly feel obligated to explain my sex life.”
“It’s in your best interest to reconsider. Are you fraternizing with my enemies? Maybe one of the Doomsday Brethren?”
Terror floods my veins.
Sydney’s glare could melt steel. “Would I be bringing you the book if I was?”
She turns and strides out, the picture of defiance.
Then all hell breaks loose.
As she crosses the threshold, the Doomsday Diary vanishes from Mathias’s hands. The wizard’s horrific roar echoes as he whirls for her, eyes blazing with fury.
I don’t wait for a signal. I kick in the window, leaping through and rolling into a crouch, gun drawn. I’ve got one chance to surprise this fucker, and I’m taking it.
Mathias spins toward the noise, wand raised, blue eyes ringed in red. The gun’s plastic grip burns in my hand, its weight nothing compared to the gravity of his magic. Again, I wonder if I would have been better off with a wand.
Cursing, Bram jumps through the window beside me, distracting Mathias. I fire. The bullet tears through Mathias’s stomach, malice transforming his expression as blood darkens his shirt.
“You’re going to die,” he growls. “Along with Rion.”
His wand jerks our way. Bram deflects but stumbles back, gasping. My next shot misses as Mathias dodges.
Mathias flicks his wand. Bram waves his own and deflects the incoming spell. But the effort costs him. As he stumbles back, I pop off another shot. But the element of surprise is gone. Mathias dodges my bullet.
Bram brings down the wall behind Mathias in a tumble of plaster, revealing Sydney, clutching the book and her bag. Bloody hell, why hasn’t she left with Shock?
As Mathias raises his wand toward her, I leap forward with a roar. Marrok and Tynan crash through another window, Ice charges the front door, and Duke teleports behind Mathias.
We’ve completely surrounded the evil wizard. Time to play…once Sydney leaves.
“Go!” I shout at her.
She ignores me. Fury and fear surge, my adrenaline on overdrive. I itch to snap Mathias’s wand—and neck—in two.
“You’re done tormenting and raping magickind, tearing apart families,” Bram vows. “You’ll never get your hands on the Doomsday Diary.”
“You overestimate your ragtag band, Rion.” With a wave of his wand, the wall behind Duke vanishes, revealing a sea of Anarki zombies. Not dozens or hundreds, but thousands—all with grave-white faces and vacant expressions.
“So many. How?” Bram gasps.
Clutching his bleeding gut, Mathias smiles. “You have your secret weapon; I have mine.”
The Anarki lurch forward as one. Over their heads, I see a U.S. Marine fighting two wizards. They overpower him, strapping him to a slanted dais. As a round object passes over his skull, he lets out a spine-chilling yell of pain. Moments later, he’s an Anarki zombie, eyes vacant as he joins the attacking horde.
Fuck. If I had a wand, maybe I could have freed him.
The object is yanked away and moved to the next victim. He was strong and vital only moments ago. That man is gone now. In his place is an Anarki zombie, like all the others coming toward me, a puppet whose flesh is already rotting. The eyes staring back are devoid of life as he melts into the attacking crowd.
At least fifty more soldiers await the same fate, lined up one after the other against the warehouse’s back wall. The two wizards are passing the round object over one head at a time, all to horrific screams. A few moments later, they leave behind corpses, alive only by Mathias’s magic and will.
Time to save who we can, detonate the C4, and blow this joint—literally.
With Mathias’s attentions engaged by the others, I race to complete my mission, darting to the first visible support beam and applying the explosive putty.
Marrok steps toward the crowd of Anarki zombies, sword drawn. He swings, cutting several in half. Black blood spurts in every direction. With a fist pump, I dodge my way to the next support beam—stopping to slice and dice any Anarki intent on stopping me. Duke joins me, shooting down several zombies in his way.
While I bend to secure the next explosive, Mathias snarls, eyes narrowed at Bram as he closes in on one side. Ice approaches from the front, Tynan from his opposite side.
“Your Anarki can’t stop us. We’re not going to rest until you’re back in exile,” Bram says. “You’re surrounded. Give up.”
Mathias snorts, the sound abrasive and amused. “You may have Merlin’s blood in your veins, but I will still decimate you and your worthless bunch.”
He summons the Anarki. The frigid zombies crush in, forming a protective circle around their master. Marrok and Duke cut through them. Bram dodges his would-be killers with a blade here and an elbow there. Tynan follows, determined to get his pound of flesh.
Sydney, still by the door, grabs an aerosol can and lighter from her bag. “Duck!” she screams, unleashing a fireball that singes the first row of zombies. The second row pauses their catatonic march, either tripping over their dead cohorts or falling victim to the fire.
Then the spray sputters out, and the horde surges forward again.
A zombie reaches Sydney, pinning her to the wall. She grabs her handbag and tries to twist away. Blood spreads across her white sleeve as she gasps in pain. My protective instincts explode. I leap over zombies, shooting and knifing my way to her.
Suddenly, I’m in front of another, this one wearing fatigues. Evil pours from his eyes. With my bullets running low, I clutch my knife, then look back up at the zombie. Recognition shocks me.
“Brian?”
My marine buddy’s face, now pasty white with vacant eyes, stares back at me. I swallow, unable to move.
Kill him! Shock’s voice roars in my head.
How is this possible?
Kill him before he tears you to pieces, Shock demands.
“Brian?” I try one last time.
Nothing but a creepy smile and a shivery death grip that reaches ever closer.
Sydney’s scream snaps me back to the moment. With an anguished curse, I plunge the knife into Brian’s neck, nearly decapitating him. He crumples to the ground, dead, but still no longer human.
Guilt, grief, and relief war inside me as I step over his body and scramble to Sydney. I compartmentalize what just happened into a box for later and slam the zombie choking her into the wall. But another drags her along the floor, blood spreading across her torn shirt.
I grab that zombie holding Sydney and push him face first into the concrete wall. It’s still fighting after the first blow, so I deliver two more. The undead soldier goes limp.
Panic burns through me as I realize another zombie has Sydney by the neck and I won’t reach her in time. A swell of energy bounds inside me, tingling in my fingertips. Suddenly, I picture the broken glass on the floor flying toward the Anarki. My arms raise, seemingly of their own volition, and hurtle forward.
The intensity of the moment, the fear for Sydney, and the unexpected surge of magical power course through me. I’m terrified I’ll lose her, furious at myself for not protecting her better, and shocked by this sudden manifestation of magic I’ve long denied. As the glass flies, I pray it’s enough to save her, knowing that if it isn’t, I’ll tear this place apart with my bare hands to keep her safe.