Hunted by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #3)(54)

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Iannis said coldly. “In case you haven’t noticed, you’re surrounded and outnumbered.”

It was true. Fenris had freed the delegates from their bonds, and they were on their feet now. Even though they looked like they could be knocked over by a stiff wind, they came to stand around the former Director of the Mages Guild, their lips tight and their eyes filled with the need for retribution. Fenris had his arm at the elbow of the oldest delegate, holding him steady, but I had no doubt that if Chartis tried anything, Fenris would kill him.

“This isn’t how it was supposed to happen,” Chartis cried in a trembling voice as his body collapsed against the dirt. Rivulets of blood seeped into the ground beneath him, and his face was growing paler by the second. “I should have been the next Chief Mage, not you! I was next in line for the position!”

“Had you been more interested in serving the people rather than serving yourself, perhaps you might have gotten the position,” Iannis said. There wasn’t an ounce of compassion in his stony voice. “Instead, you abused the position that you did have, and rather than trying to work your way back into the good graces of the Guild after I rightfully dismissed you, you’ve turned traitor.” His eyes lifted to Fenris. “Bring me a set of those cuffs so I can bind him and cauterize his wound.”

As Fenris went to gather a pair of the magic-suppressing cuffs lying on the ground, I noticed Chartis make a furtive move out of the corner of my eye. Turning, I saw that he was clutching a star-shaped charm, and though his lips were pressed together in agony, his eyes gleamed with a kind of triumph.

“No!” I shouted, jumping forward, but I was too late. Chartis spoke a Word, and the charm exploded with light, knocking us all back. I squeezed my eyelids shut against the blinding glare, bracing myself against the wall for whatever was to come. Power sizzled in the air as a tremor shook the ground, and rubble rained down onto my head.

“This is not the last you’ve seen of me!” Chartis’s voice echoed through the tunnel as the light faded. When I opened my eyes, he was gone, the severed leg lying in a pool of bright red blood the only proof that he’d ever been here.





19





I turned to ask Iannis what the hell just happened, but before I could speak a portion of the ceiling at the back of the tunnel caved in. Clouds of dust and debris filled the air, making my eyes water and the flames in the torches sputter, and the ground beneath my feet began to tilt. Fuck. The whole damn tunnel was about to collapse on top of us!

“Come on!” I shouted, grabbing the sleeve of the nearest delegate and dragging him forward. He stumbled over the body of a fallen Resistance soldier, but I continued pulling him along. “We’ve got to get out of here!”

The delegates were too weak to levitate themselves out of the shaft, so Fenris and I ushered them into the elevator cage, choking on clouds of dust and rubble as we went. Fenris got into the cage with them, then shouted several Words. The elevator began to glow, then slowly rose up the shaft with a loud screech, taking the delegates to safety.

The next thing I knew, Iannis’s arms were around me, and I bit back a scream of my own as he jumped out of the collapsing tunnel and straight into the abyss below. We fell for ten very long, very terrifying seconds, and then the levitation spell finally activated, dragging us to a halt. I sighed in relief as we began to float upward, leaning my head back against Iannis’s chest.

“By Magorah,” I said, then took in a deep breath to ease the tremors in my body. “You scared the living hell out of me.”

Warmth swept through me as his arms tightened a little more snugly around me and he rested his triangular chin on the top of my head. “Are you alright, Sunaya?”

“Aside from my hand, I think I’m okay.” There was also the fact that my stomach was doing somersaults right now, but there was no need to bring that up.

Iannis swore, and he gently grasped my hand and lifted it to the light filtering in from above. It was already starting to heal, but the slices were very deep, and now that adrenaline was wearing off the wound hurt like hell.

“I’ll deal with this when we get topside,” he promised.

“Thanks.” I sighed, relieved that I wouldn’t have to suffer with the pain for several hours.

“No, thank you.” There was a hint of admiration in Iannis’s tone. “If you hadn’t severed Argon’s leg just then, I’m not sure what would have happened.”

“I’m sure you would have figured something out.” But pride swelled my chest, and I grinned for a moment until I remembered that Argon had escaped. “How the hell did we lose him, though? I don’t understand.”

“He had a gulaya.” Iannis’s voice tightened. “It’s an old-fashioned type of charm, very powerful and rare, that anchors the wearer to a particular place. It requires a lot of power to create, not to mention illegal ingredients, but if the charm is made properly the wearer can use it to teleport back to that single location at any time.”

“Well f*ck.” I wanted to say more, but we floated out of the shaft, and I had to shield my gaze as my eyes worked to adjust to the morning sunlight spilling over the horizon. Iannis set me down, then gently encircled my wrist with his hand and spoke a few Words. A blue glow enveloped my hand, and I squeezed my eyes shut against the searing pain that ripped through my fingers as the magic knitted my flesh and bone back together.