Magical Midlife Meeting (Leveling Up #5)(69)

Closer now, nearly there, I spotted a flat spot on a big outcropping of a mountain, open to the sky. A helicopter waited, its rotors still spinning. The maw of an open cave could be seen beyond it.

“How in the hell?” I murmured.

There were too many questions to process—how had Elliot managed to get Austin into that bird? How had he silenced the chopper? How powerful was this guy?

The most important of all—was he still toying with me?

I gestured for Nathanial to descend, and he squeezed me to his chest and dove at a stomach-losing pace. On the side area beside the helicopter, he snapped out his wings, slamming on the brakes, and gently lowered to a stop. Despite the fact that we’d practiced these maneuvers—a lot—my stomach rolled. I wasn’t sure if I would ever get used to that.

Austin’s progress had stopped, inside yet another mountain. Elliot was cutting off my aerial artillery.

Hollace dropped the basajaun before rising higher into the air and changing form. With people already gathered on the small platform beside the chopper, he was too big to land.

A gargoyle swooped toward him before I could point and shout, grabbing him up and depositing him next to us.

“What do you want me to do, Jessie Ironheart?” the basajaun asked as he caught up.

“What can you do? Can you feel his positioning within the mountain or anything?”

“When I get inside, I should have a better idea. It’s hard to make a first acquaintance on the surface.”

“Then let’s get inside.” I turned back to everyone, the platform filled up and gargoyles still in the sky. “Keep on your guard. We don’t know what we’re walking into.”

I stayed in my human form, checked to make sure the helicopter was empty, and then jogged to the large opening in the side of the rock face. The air changed as soon as I passed through, much colder than it should’ve been. I pulled magical warmth over myself as my eyes adjusted to the darker interior.

The tunnel had concrete sides and was similar in size to the one leading to our rooms. Service lights were on one side, giving off enough of a glow for me to see a few steps in front of me but not enough to illuminate the way ahead. I suspected that was by design.

The basajaun didn’t follow, and I glanced back to see what was keeping him.

A rockface greeted me. Rough and dark, it gave zero indication that it had ever been anything else.

I backtracked and put my hand against it. It felt exactly as it looked.

Scowling, I pulled at my magic—

“That’s not going to work.”

I jumped and spun, pulling my defenses tightly around me, recognizing Elliot’s smug voice and looking for the source. A momentary bout of vertigo dizzied me. The tunnel from a moment ago had changed. Smaller but just as dim, this one had electric-blue and butter-yellow flowers crawling up the sides. As I watched, they moved softly, swaying in a magical breeze.

I blinked and rubbed at my eyes, holding on to that well of black rage.

Instead of asking where I was, or what was going on, as I desperately wanted to, I took the situation in stride, walking forward with clear purpose. Austin’s presence pulsed straight ahead, a hundred yards or so.

“Do you want to cover up?”

A little table appeared on my right. A garment lay folded on the flat surface.

Right now, I didn’t care about my nudity. Nor did I care about the likelihood that I was trapped down here with a manipulative mage and no backup. I only cared about Austin’s safety.

Without comment, I continued walking onward, working closer to Austin.

“Are you at all nervous?” the floating voice asked.

No comment. I was done playing his games.

“Do you think your power is greater than mine?” he asked. “It was your team that won those battles—all of them. I should know, I’ve been watching. But now you are alone.”

I was never alone. I had Austin in my heart, and my links to the Ivy House crew remained fully functional. They were all frustrated and angry and trying to find a way in. The basajaun was calm, probably because he was trying to make nice with the mountain, however that worked. They might not be physically present, but they were still with me. They wouldn’t give up on me.

Rage burning bright, determination fueling me, I strode on, getting closer. The tunnel was long and unchanging, the lights spaced a consistent five feet apart.

“So much for pleasantries,” the voice said. An opening glowed up ahead, bright lemon light spilling into the shadowy passage. “Let’s get to business, shall we?”

The slice of light was shaped like a half-moon on top and straight at the bottom. I couldn’t tell if it was a doorway or a bend leading to another tunnel with much better lighting.

“I want a trade,” Elliot said. “You for him.”

No. There would be no trade. There would be a dead mage and a safe shifter.

The opening grew in size as I neared it. Above, the basajaun stayed stationary while the others spread out farther, searching. If they found an opening, it would still be a chore to get through the tunnels without a map, unless they were all as straightforward as this one. My hope for reinforcements probably rested on the basajaun making friends with an inanimate object.

“Say yes, and I will put him outside with the rest of your crew. You’ll feel him out there. You’ll know he’s safe. You know I don’t have the forces to take them on. I just want to talk to you, Jacinta. I want to have a conversation with you. You’ll be perfectly safe too.”