Betrayed by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #5)(42)

Rylan pulled the captain’s key ring from his pocket, then made an educated guess as to which key to use. Thankfully, he got it right on the second try, and the door swung open to reveal an elegantly furnished guest room.

“This must be where Thorgana or her emissaries stay when they come to visit,” I said, looking at the thick carpeting and hand-carved furnishings. The room was nicely appointed, but lacked any sort of personal effects, suggesting that no one was currently occupying it.

“The scent is strongest over there,” Rylan said, crossing to the opposite wall where a desk and chair sat. He picked up the writing implements and paper that sat atop the varnished surface, sniffing.

“It’s the clock,” Iannis told me. “I can see the magic surrounding it.”

“I think it’s this clock,” Rylan said before I could relay the message. He reached up to grab the round brass object, which hung over the desk.

“Wait!” Iannis cried, and my heart rate shot up at the alarm in his voice.

But it was too late. Rylan’s fingers curled around the clock, and he brought it down with a tug. As it separated from the wall, a strange red glow burst from the face, and bolts of energy struck Rylan in the chest.

“No!” I shrieked as Rylan let out a cry of pain. He toppled backward, and everything went black.





18





“Rylan!” I screamed as the campsite came back into view around me. I’d been unceremoniously knocked out of his head when he lost consciousness, and I had no idea what was going on. My palms were sweaty, my heart pounding with fear for my cousin. Had the shock killed him?

“Rylan, wake up!”

“I think he’s alive,” Iannis said quietly. His violet eyes were heavy with concern, but he didn’t seem nearly as worried as I was. “That booby trap might have been strong enough to kill a human, but not a healthy young shifter. I do hope he doesn’t stay unconscious for long. We need him to destroy the clock, and if someone were to happen upon him before he wakes, we could lose our only chance of getting inside.”

“Fuck.” I jumped up and began circling the fire pit, agitation in every step. “Why didn’t you see the booby trap sooner?” I asked, unable to keep the accusation from my voice.

“Sunaya…” Fenris began, his eyes narrowing. But Iannis shook his head, and he subsided.

“Without actually being present, it wasn’t possible for me to detect the trap,” Iannis told me. “I was able to see the magic, but not what sort of magic it was. In my elation at spotting the key, I didn’t think to warn Rylan about the possibility of a trap until it was too late.”

“Crap.” I kicked at a rock, and it went shooting up the hillside. Dammit, but I needed to get over there! “Rylan!” I shouted again, as loudly as I could, hoping that my mental voice would wake him.

“I’m… here….” Rylan’s voice echoed faintly in my head. My knees went weak as relief surged through me, and I braced my hand against a tree to steady myself.

“Thank Magorah,” I said, my voice a little shaky. “Are you okay?”

“I feel like I’ve been hit by lightning, but I’ll live,” he grumbled.

“Can you stand?”

“I’m getting to my feet now.”

“Good. Iannis says that you need to destroy the clock.”

“Hell no,” Rylan growled. “I’m not touching that thing again. I don’t think I could survive another hit like that.”

“The trap should no longer be active,” Iannis said—he was still joined with me, so he could hear Rylan. “I believe it was a one-shot spell.”

“You believe?” I said testily. “Are you willing to risk my cousin’s life on that?”

“If he does not destroy the clock, then everyone inside will be destroyed when Lord Logar arrives with his mages,” Iannis said sternly. “There is no choice in the matter.”

“Fuck.” Why did I keep finding myself in these impossible situations? “Rylan, Iannis says the spell’s deactivated. You have to destroy the clock or we won’t be able to get you all out.”

“Fine,” Rylan said. “But you owe me a bottle of teca.”

“Done.”

“We should get up the hill,” Elnos said. “That way we’ll be able to see if the wards come down.”

We scrambled up the hill, my heart beating a rapid tattoo against my chest as anxiety chewed my gut. Was Rylan going to be able to destroy the clock? Or would it hit him with that spell again? What if he did destroy the clock, but the wards didn’t come down? What would we do then?

“I smashed the f*cking thing to bits,” Rylan said, no small amount of relish in his voice. “Is there anything else I need to do?”

“The wards are down,” Elnos said, his voice bubbling with excitement. “We can get in now!”

“Yes!” I crowed, a grin spreading across my face even as a strident alarm pealed across the open air from the direction of the bunker, assaulting my sensitive ears. “We’re good to go. Get out of there and go grab Noria. We’re coming in.”



Our plan was to go around to the back of the bunker, where Annia had been captured, and blast our way through the metal hatch. But as we began descending the hill, the garage doors opened, and guards raced outside with guns held ready. Their single-minded rush reminded me of a suddenly disturbed anthill. My eardrums vibrated at the high-pitched whistle of several steam engines starting up from within the garage.