The Bronze Key (Magisterium #3)(58)

The other man got out of the semi cab, climbing down to frown at the driver. He was dressed in olive green, like the other Assembly members. Call remembered seeing him before, but didn’t remember where. Tamara drew in a sharp breath. She knew him, of course. He was probably important.

Alex had gone a little wide-eyed, and even Alma looked as though she was ready to call the whole thing off. Call had to act quickly, before panic got ahold of them. They’d come here to free the animals that were trapped in the back of the truck, animals like Havoc, that were in danger. Just thinking about that and looking over at Havoc, crouched down in the ditch, gave Call a fresh burst of resolve.

“On three,” he whispered to Aaron. “Soul tap. You take the driver; I’ll get the other guy.”

Aaron’s mouth turned up on one side and Call wondered if he was looking forward to trying the spell for real. Maybe he was thinking about the animals, too.

Reaching out with his magic, he felt around for the soul of the Assembly member. It was different from reaching for Alma’s in the safe environment of the Magisterium, where he could take all the time he needed and she was prepared for it. The Assembly member’s soul was slippery, hard to latch on to, as if it were darting away from him. He could almost see it — a silvery thing that gave the distinct impression of being twisted around on itself in complicated coils. He reached out, fast, without the time for finesse he’d had before. He felt the chaos magic connect in more of a slap than a tap.

At least it wasn’t a squeeze this time.

The man went down. When Call shifted his focus back to his own self, he was lying on his back. Aaron and Tamara were crouched over him.

“Do you know who that was?” Tamara demanded. “Do you know who you just knocked out?”

Call shook his head. Of course he didn’t know.

“Jasper’s dad,” Tamara said.

“Whoa.” Call had known Jasper’s dad was on the Assembly, had even seen him at the party where Jennifer died. He couldn’t believe he’d forgotten. Now he understood the expressions everyone else had been wearing. “I am awesome! Jasper’s going to be so mad.”

He and Aaron high-fived.

“You are so immature,” Tamara said, reaching out a hand to help pull him to his feet. Havoc barked and leaped up to put his paws on Call’s chest. Call scratched the wolf’s head and looked around. Jasper’s dad lay peacefully in the road, his olive-green robes spread out around him on the asphalt. Up close he was a fairly nondescript guy with dark brown hair and a neatly clipped beard.

The passed-out body of the trucker had been laid in a ditch by the side of the road. As Call watched, Alex clambered out of the ditch and walked over to Jasper’s dad. He levitated him a little off the ground and began to move him toward the roadside.

Alex looked exhausted, gray and pale, as if he’d drained all his energy. Call glanced around. Where was Alma? Shouldn’t she be helping him?

“She’s over there,” Aaron said, as if reading Call’s mind, and pointed. Alma was standing in front of the eighteen-wheeler’s door, which was looped with chain and a massive padlock. Her white hair streamed on the wind. She was gesturing with her hands, sparks flying from them — metal magic. The air smelled like hot iron.

“Oh no,” Tamara breathed, just as the padlock ripped free and the back of the truck popped open. Alma grabbed the bottom of it and shoved upward, as if she were raising a portcullis.

“They’re here,” she shouted, and then screamed.

From the truck poured a flood of Chaos-ridden animals. Havoc gave a long yowl as they exploded out of their confinement — wolves, dogs, slinking weasels and darting rats, deer and opossums, and even bears, big lumbering things with multicolored, coruscating eyes.

“I thought they’d be in cages!” Alma cried as they began running in all directions. “Quick! We have to corral them!”

The animals ignored her. She ran after them, levitating a few back to the truck, but it was hard to contain them while adding more.

“We could disappear them,” Aaron said quietly. “Into the void.”

“No!” said Call. He couldn’t do that, even if the animals did look terrifying. Even if some of them were coming toward the place where they were all standing. The three of them, and Havoc, backed up toward their van. Suddenly, it seemed very small to Call.

“Quick.” It was Alex, limping over to them. The animals were moving behind him, rushing around the road, chasing one another. They were weirdly soundless, unlike regular animals. Call could hear a low growl, but it was coming from Havoc. “We need to do a looping spell. It’s shaping air so that it makes a sort of fence around them.”

“Can you do it?” Call asked.

Alex shook his head. “I’m drained.” He really did look terrible. Even the whites of his eyes looked gray.

“So are we,” said Aaron, indicating himself and Call.

Alex turned to Tamara. “Tamara, I can show you how. It’s not that hard.”

“I can do it, even if it is hard,” she told him, her voice steely. “Tell me what to do.”

“Whoa,” said Aaron. Something had darted by him — something sleek and dark, with blazing eyes. He pressed his back against the van, pulling Call after him. Havoc tried to lunge forward, but Call called him back with a snapped command.