Jason grabs hold of his side and winces in pain. Baun"s weapon must have connected with Jason"s ribs. My former friend points at me and laughs. "You"re a lucky b.a.s.t.a.r.d." He backs away, holding his arms wide. "Like what I"ve done with the place? Meet you at the hall."
A loud whistle blows and Jason"s men retreat. I roll to my feet and rub my head. I"ve got to pay more attention to my surroundings. Baun leans against a stone pillar that appears to have no use other than to get in the way of a gamer"s hand-to-hand combat skills. I search the area, but I still don"t see Kera.
When the dust settles, Wyatt comes up to me and slams his sword into its sheath. "Figures the little s.h.i.t is into this and not Call of Duty."
"Did you see Kera?"
He takes out a bandanna and wipes his face. "She"s over by Reece. He got himself hurt again. I think he head-b.u.t.ted a guy wearing a helmet."
"What about Leo?"
He squints over at me. "He"s not here."
That doesn"t sound like Leo, and I frown. "When I left, he was waiting for you. Where is he?"
"I don"t know. He wasn"t around when we got there."
I suddenly feel sick. "What about Bodog?"
"Haven"t seen him, either."
"Lucinda?"
He snaps his fingers and points at me. "That I know. She took two of the sisters and left right after she talked to Bodog. I guess I did see him. But I haven"t since then."
"Where"d they go?"
His lips curl in a wry smile. "You"re seriously asking me that? Like she"s going to tell me."
An unbelievably beautiful brunette strolls up to Wyatt, all hips and jiggle. I can smell her sweat. It"s like strawberries and cream. She flings her arms around his neck and kisses him on the cheek. "Did I do well?"
He grabs her around the waist and gives her a squeeze. "You did fine, sweetheart."
She squeals and gives him a huge kiss on the lips, wrapping one leg around his waist. PDA is not her problem.
I clear my throat, breaking them apart. She blinks her long, dark lashes at me, and I get the feeling she isn"t impressed with what she sees. I don"t care. I"ve got Kera. "Do you know where your sisters and Lucinda went?"
She looks askance at Wyatt and he nods. "If you know, I"d be grateful if you told him."
"How grateful?"
He nuzzles her neck. "Very."
She turns to me, all smiles and giggles. "She said she had to go collect a man."
"Leo?"
"Yes. I believe that was his name."
"Where?"
She shrugs her glossy shoulders and turns to Wyatt. "I await your promise over there," she says, nodding toward the mill, then walks away.
We both stare after her. The way she walks. It really is impressive.
"Seven." Wyatt holds up seven fingers. "And they all want me. I have my own variety pack."
"They"re sisters."
"Yeah. Cool, huh?"
Not my fantasy. All I want is one girl who loves me unconditionally, and that girl is Kera. I spot her talking to Baun. I don"t like the way he"s leaning toward her, like he"s sharing a secret or talking her into doing something she shouldn"t. Like letting him borrow her powers. I pat Wyatt on the back and start toward Kera, but not without one last warning. "Be careful. Any friend of Lucinda"s is probably not all human."
"Hey, I checked. None of them are cats...or any other animal form."
That may be, but there is something different about them. "Do what you want, dude, but be careful."
When I get to Baun and Kera, I pull her close. "Leo"s gone."
"Another friend of yours?" Baun asks. "I must admit, I"m impressed with the collection you have. Kera and I were just discussing your rise in popularity."
I scowl, which is totally useless when it comes to his non-seeing self, and pull Kera into a patch of shade. "This game. Jason picked it for a reason. I"ve never been much of a gamer, but Leo said he and Jason would play it for hours. Leo"s my best bet for dealing with all the traps, but he"s nowhere in sight. I think Jason took him to keep him from helping me."
"But Jason and Leo are friends. Jason wouldn"t hurt him. He wouldn"t," she repeats when she sees my doubt.
Jason and I used to be friends, too. I squeeze her hand. "Let"s hope so."
A commotion rises as a soldier races up to Wyatt and hands him a message. After he reads it, he curses and joins us in the shade. "Something is happening in the Unknown. There"s been a surge of magic."
"What does that mean?"
"They can"t tell, but it doesn"t sound good."
"A surge could mean anything," Kera says.
A sharp laugh follows a wry curve of Baun"s lips. "Or it could mean they"ve found the transference method."
"What"s that?
"It"s where they combine their magic and teleport themselves from one point to another. But nothing in the Unknown has that kind of power."
"How are they doing it, then?"
Baun rubs the tip of his staff against the cobblestones, scarring lines on their surface. "Granel is giving them the knowledge. Someone else is giving them the power."
Wyatt and I say at the same time, "Jason."
"It can"t be him," Kera reminds us. "He"s not a first."
"There are secrets in the dark ways that even I don"t know, but Granel does. He"s spent his whole life digging into them. If there is a way to harvest power, he"s found it, and it"s looking like he"s given that ability to Jason."
"Why give it to Jason?" Wyatt asks sounding as confused as I feel. "Why not use it himself?"
"Have you met Granel?" Baun asks, a slight sneer in his voice. "He"s smart. He"s tenacious, and he loves the dark arts. But all the power in the world cannot make you brave. I give him credit for knowing his own limits."
"So he gives it to Jason," I say, and look at Wyatt, "someone who has more b.a.l.l.s than brains."
Wyatt cusses. "I"m really beginning to not like that kid."
I don"t want to admit it, but I have no idea how to stop the inevitable. Baun has more power, and more experience using it, than anyone here. But without his sight, he"s at a serious disadvantage. I don"t want to ask him, but I"d be a fool not to. "Do you have any suggestions on how to stop this?"
Baun, his eyes a sightless blue, stops rubbing the tip of his staff on the ground, and says in one word what I want to do, but have no chance at doing. "Win."
Heartless.
I"ve got to hand it to Jason. He wants me at the Hall of Whispers and he"s making sure I can get there without any trouble. The streets are behaving themselves and hold steady, but once we"re through they move in a chaotic jumble, effectively stopping us from going back. We"re at the doors to the great hall in no time.
Wyatt sent a few of his girlfriends with Reece to oversee the Unknown. Though each of those girls is better than ten men, they"re still not enough...but then nothing would be.
According to Baun, the only way to stop all this is for me to do a major beat-down on Jason, one I can"t do alone. I"m not at all happy, because that means I have to bring Baun and Kera along.
As we approach, Wyatt gives me a rundown of all the tricks that are embedded in the game. "The Hall of Whispers is the worst part of the game. Everyone bites it in there. He could use all the challenges, but then again, Jason seems to like surprises. He may have created his own traps."
"How exciting," I say, my sarcasm thick.
"We will be fine," Baun insists. He isn"t listening to anything Wyatt is saying. Why would he? To him Wyatt is only a human.
Wyatt"s not dumb. He picks up on Baun"s att.i.tude. "Oh yeah, I forgot," he drawls, "this is all about magic and not about intellect."
"Magic is the apex of intellect. That you don"t know it proves your ignorance."
I cringe, but don"t say anything. Ignoring my dad is the only way I"ll stay sane at this point. If I delve too far into his character, I"m scared I"ll find something really nasty.
Wyatt leans close and whispers, "Man, your dad"s a sweetheart."
"Sorry. He"s not used to interacting with people." At least I hope that"s his problem.
"From what you"ve told me about him, I don"t think he ever did. But hey, don"t worry about it. We all have someone in the family we"re embarra.s.sed about. I have Reece. You have him."
"You wanna trade?" I ask.
"h.e.l.l no." Wyatt stares up at the doors, and he"s suddenly all business. "I"m sending in two teams of three." He points out the six men who volunteered to go in before us. "The entrance splits immediately in two. I"m sending one team right and the other left, so it doesn"t matter which way you choose. The teams will clear the way for you."
I don"t like it. I"m not sure what Jason has planned, but if he"s as ticked off as he seems, it"s going to get rough in there.
"I"ll head up the last team," Wyatt continues, "and make sure no one sneaks up on you." He holds out his hand, and I take it. "Good luck. Don"t worry. We"ll take care of you."
I wish I had that kind of optimism. A signal from Wyatt is given and the first two teams enter the building.
I go to Kera and Baun. He"s now wearing a stripped-down version of what he had on earlier. More on the heavy leather side than inflexible steel. It"s far more lightweight and practical for what we"re about to encounter. I wouldn"t mind something similar and I tell him. He smiles and touches both mine and Kera"s shoulders. The next moment we"re decked out in leather and breathable material. I run my hand over the protective steel armbands and pull on the crossing bands that hold my sword against my back. The dark brown pants and ivory shirt fit well, and the leather overshirt is snug without being too tight.
Kera inspects the embellished bronze cuffs on her wrists and shins and the thick belt that wraps around her waist as well as her upper left thigh, where her dagger is now stored along with a few throwing stars. She smiles and brushes her hands along the soft fabric. "It"s similar to one I own. Thank you, Baun."
She already has an outfit like this? Definitely not a getup for a delicate n.o.ble"s daughter. Why did I ever think she couldn"t take care of herself?
I don"t see the point in delaying any longer. The teams have most likely cleared the first couple of rooms by now. "Ready?" I ask.
Kera glances from me to Baun, then stares straight at the Hall of Whispers. "There is no other way?" Doubt and fear seep into her voice.
Baun c.o.c.ks his head as if he"s eavesdropping on our conversation, and not very subtly. I take her hand and pull her around a corner out of earshot. Her skin is cool, yet slightly damp. I take her face between my hands and tilt it up to mine. "There are three of us and one of him. No way can he win. It"s not possible."
"Even if he gained his power like Baun said, I don"t understand what he"s doing. Nothing he does makes sense. He"s destroying everything, even himself, because you can"t create something this ma.s.sive and not cause yourself harm," she says and motions to the city around us.
He told me what he wanted. Me dead. He wants to go into the human world with a ruthless army he can control and rule them all. "It doesn"t matter why he"s doing this. It will all be over soon. I promise."
She hugs me, and I hold her tight. We stand there, glued together for a moment before I pull away. "We"re going to be all right."
"I believe you." She rises on her tiptoes and kisses me. It"s soft and sweet and drives me crazy. She knows exactly how to move, exactly where to touch me to make me want more. I don"t want this to end, but I know it has to. I step back and hold her at arm"s length and smile. "Where did you learn to kiss like that?"
She smiles back. "You."
I think I love her even more. I pull her close for one more kiss. Linger, then yank away. That addictive feeling I get when I"m near her is taking over and I can"t allow it. Not now. "We have to go."
She places her forehead against my chest and sighs. "I know."
I take her hand and we return to Baun.
The three of us climb the steps to the hall and the ma.s.sive oak doors. Baun hesitates and says in Wyatt"s direction, "You do know there are men surrounding the area?"
Wyatt and the three men with him turn. An arrow takes out the guy on Wyatt"s left. Everyone takes cover and Wyatt pushes us forward.
We enter the hall and the doors slam shut. I tug, but they don"t budge. On the other side we can hear the m.u.f.fled shouts of Wyatt and his men. So much for our backs being watched.
Baun puts his hand on my arm, stilling my efforts to open the door. "The best way to help everyone is to find your friend and end this."
He"s right. Though I hate to admit it.
The foyer splits to the right and left. Kera starts to the right and I stop her. Call me crazy, but I suddenly don"t trust the obvious. "Wyatt says there"s a cheat. We can skip a whole series of traps if we can figure out how to open this wall." I motion to the wall in front of us covered in little b.u.t.tons carved like tiny flowers. "Each b.u.t.ton has to be pushed in the right order or else there"s an explosion and we all die. Unfortunately, he"s never been able to figure out the code."
Kera stands back and searches for a pattern the way I do. Baun steps forward, a little too close. He runs his fingers over the tiny flowers. I call him back at the same moment he pushes a b.u.t.ton, then another and another. In all, he pushes twelve b.u.t.tons and the wall slides apart. Only then does my heart start beating again.
"We could have died!" I snap.