Chapter 8 #2
I slid my body beneath the railing of the fence, then shimmied onto one of the beams that crisscrossed along the side of the bridge.
Fear rippled through me at the sight of bundles of traxtoline fastened all across the underside of the bridge – enough to blow a huge hole that would collapse the structure, especially with the weight of cars and carriages atop it.
Near the side of the bridge that I was on, a kind of device was wired to the sticks of traxtoline, and there was a timer fastened to that, ticking down, down, down.
The device itself was mechanical – the magic was coming from some kind of glowing substance that fastened the traxtoline to the underside of the bridge, something that I instinctively knew would make it impossible for me to remove both the traxtoline and the device.
“Iannis,” I said, my mental voice trembling a little. “There’s a really big bomb down here. And I think it’s about to go off really soon.”
If the Chief Mage had any problem with me using his given name, he chose not to voice it now. “You need to freeze it,” he shouted from above. “That’s the only way to stop it.”
“In shifter form?” I demanded. I’d never tried to use magic in beast form before, and while I figured it should theoretically be possible, I wasn’t confident about it.
I didn’t know the Words necessary to conjure enough ice to freeze both the device and the traxtoline.
In this form the beast half of me tended to come more to the forefront, and it was afraid of magic.
I was worried that I might lose control.
“I’ll help you,” Iannis called, and then he murmured something, something too quiet for me to hear. In the next second I gasped at a strange presence within me – the presence of another soul.
“Relax,” Iannis’s voice echoed in my mind, and I froze as I realized that somehow, he’d managed to get inside me.
This was much more invasive than mind-speech, not only could I feel his concern and urgency, but I could actually feel Iannis’s essence inside me, a strange combination of icy-hot that made me shiver. “Let me guide you.”
Closing my eyes, I drew in a deep breath, then forced my muscles to relax.
Iannis told me the Words of the spell, and then a hot, electric current began flowing through me – his own magic, melding with mine.
The only time something similar had happened was when he’d unlocked my powers, and it was a sensation I doubted I would ever get used to.
I opened my eyes and focused in on the explosive, more confident now.
Even though an onlooker would simply see a lone panther clinging to the side of the bridge, Iannis was with me, almost as if he stood right behind me, guiding me with his own hands.
I unwrapped one of my limbs from the beam and stretched the pad of my front paw toward the device, and then I spoke the Words in my mind, directing my intent through them.
Frigid magic spilled out of my paw, sending ice crackling across the device.
The timer jumped, and my heart stopped for a moment, paralyzed at the idea that I might have accidentally set off the device before the bundles of traxtoline had frozen.
But the device didn’t go off, and the magic quickly spread, running across the length of explosives until they were completely encased in ice.
The magic continued back and forth a couple of times, covering the bomb with layer upon layer of ice, and I didn’t stop until the timer had ceased to move from within the frozen block.
“Excellent job,” Iannis said. “Now we need to get rid of it.”
“Okay.” I eyed the explosives nervously. “How are we going to do that?”
There was silence for a moment. “I believe the easiest way would be to use an alchemical spell to turn the device itself into ice.”
“Wait, what? You can actually do that?”
“Yes.” Dry humor tinged Iannis’s voice. “Alchemical magic is a little beyond your scope, so I’ll have to work directly through you this time. Hold out your paw, as before.”
I did as he asked, and listened as Iannis spoke another incantation in my mind.
The spell activated, and I goggled at the amount of energy that came pouring out of my paws – if Iannis hadn’t been lending me his magic I would certainly have used all mine up, and probably fallen into the bay from exhaustion.
I watched as the magic penetrated through the layers of ice and seeped into the explosive device like water soaking into a sponge.
It took several minutes, but gradually the device turned more and more translucent, until it was barely distinguishable from the block of ice encasing it.
“Excellent,” Iannis said when it was done. “Now come back up.”
He withdrew from me then, and the sudden change was so shocking I nearly lost my grip on the beam and went tumbling into the water -- a fall that could potentially kill me.
Trembling, I clung to the beam for a long moment until I felt sure of myself, then slowly pulled myself back up to the surface.
“Are you hurt?” Iannis demanded the moment I was topside. He jumped from his horse to crouch down in front of me, meeting my eyes.
“I’m fine. Just a little shaky. Give me a minute.”
The majority of the bridge was empty now, save for a few abandoned carriages and steamcars.
Still, I was surprised when Iannis sat down on the curb next to me and stroked a hand down my fur.
A warm current flowed down my spine, banishing some of the hollow, icy feeling, and I had to resist the urge to lean into him.
His masculine scent was incredibly compelling, and as he sat beside me on the bridge, looking at me with such concern in his eyes, he was more approachable than he’d ever been.
But I didn’t lean on him, because that would break the barrier that had mutually been erected between us, and there was no coming back from that.
Once my heartbeat had steadied, I pushed myself to my feet, then shifted back into human form. By the time my vision had cleared, Iannis was standing, his expression stern once again. But there was a look in his eye I’d never seen before, something that could almost be mistaken for admiration.
“Perhaps I could have found a way to do this without you, but I probably would not have found the explosive device in time. Thank you for insisting on coming along.”
I grinned at that. “That’s the first time you’ve ever thanked me for my stubbornness.”
“Indeed.” He hesitated, uncertainty flickering in his eyes for a moment. “The magic I used to help you defuse the bomb… I would appreciate it if you kept it to yourself. It is not something I’d care to share with others.”
“Umm, okay.” My brows furrowed in confusion. “What, did you use black magic or something?” What he’d done hadn’t felt evil, but it had certainly thrown me off. If Iannis could do something as crazy as invade my soul, what else was he capable of?
“Not black magic, just… unconventional.” He frowned. “I would rather not explain myself further.”
“Fine.” I held up a hand – it really wasn’t that important, and I didn’t want to strain our relationship after things seemed to finally be moving in a better direction. “I won’t ask questions. Your secret is safe with me.”
“Thank you.” He gave me another small smile. “As a reward for your good work today, I’m giving you the rest of the day off.”
“You what?”
“You heard me,” he said dryly as he swung himself up onto his horse. “Try not to waste it. You’ll be back to work in the Guild tomorrow afternoon.”
My grin widened as he galloped away, and I was so happy that it didn’t even occur to me until he was out of sight that I didn’t have a ride back to the Palace.