A Book of Spirits and Thieves (Spirits and Thieves #1)(54)

“Get in the car, kid.”

Adam just stared at him. “What the hell was that?”

“What was what?”

“You . . . what you did in there. You didn’t have to nearly beat him to death.”

“He gave you drugs.”

“So what? He didn’t force them on me. He offered, I took them. I wanted to see what it was like.”

“That’s how it starts.”

Adam eyes were wide. “What is wrong with you?”

“Nothing. I feel great. Actually, I’ve never felt better.” He flexed his fist, expecting to see bruised and bloodied knuckles, but his hand was unblemished.

“That wasn’t you,” Adam said, shaking his head. “That was a . . . a monster.”

“Enough melodrama. Let’s go.” He moved toward Adam, who flinched away from him as if he couldn’t bear to be touched.

“Who are you?” he whispered.

“I’m your brother,” Farrell said, relishing the cool sensation within him that made him see the world clearly. “And I only want to protect you.”





Chapter 15


MADDOX



When the guards arrived at dawn to take him to his second audience with the goddess, he was ready.

“He’s coming with me,” Maddox insisted, nodding toward Barnabas.

The blond guard glanced at “Crazy Barney” and laughed. “Bonded overnight, did you?”

“You’d be surprised.”

“He can’t come with you.”

“The goddess wants me to use my magic to help her. And my magic—it’s very unpredictable. But with Barney around, it’s much easier to control. How can I explain it?” Maddox tapped his chin, as if thinking deeply. “Have you ever had a good luck charm?”

The dark-haired guard nodded. “I had a hen’s toe that my grandfather once gave me. Brought me great luck until I lost it.”

“Yes, exactly. He’s my hen’s toe,” Maddox said, nodding. “If he’s not in the same room, I might not be able to access my magic. And I don’t think the goddess will be pleased if I tell her that my humble request was denied.”

This earned him groans and dirty looks from the guards, but after much debate, they decided to bring Barnabas, in chains, along with them to the throne room.

That went smoothly, Maddox thought. Perhaps Livius taught him how to lie better than he’d ever realized.

Barnabas had refused to share any real details about his plan. “Get me in that throne room and be ready for our imminent escape,” he’d said. “And I also have a task for your spirit friend while we’re otherwise occupied.”

Later, after he’d fallen asleep and started to snore, Becca regarded Maddox with disbelief.

“I don’t trust him,” she said. “He’s crazy.”

“It’s an act.”

“Who would break into a dungeon, even if it’s to get to you?”

“A madman.”

“Exactly. He knows too much about what you can do. He only wants to use you.”

“If he can get me out of here alive, I might be all right with that.”

“I like a nice walk,” Barnabas said now, his chains clanking with every step, drawing Maddox’s mind back to the present. “Good for the bones. Good for the marrow. Makes it glow at night like fire-sprites, which, confidentially speaking, are a delicious treat with a nice goblet of wine to help douse their flames.”

“Fire-sprites? Quiet, you crazy bastard,” the blond guard growled. “Or I’ll gut you where you stand.”

“No,” Maddox said quickly. “No gutting. He needs to be fully intact to be my hen’s toe. Be quiet, Barney.”

“Yes, my young friend. I shall be quiet. It has been far too long since I last feasted my eyes upon Her Radiance’s golden flesh. I tingle at the thought.”

“Shut up,” the blond guard growled, shoving him forward along the hallway.

Maddox wasn’t sure what to make of Barnabas, not yet, but since no one else was there to assist him in this particular time of need, he had no choice but to hold tightly on to optimism.

He wished Becca were walking by his side—that would help bolster his courage greatly. But Barnabas had given her the task of locating a specific room in the palace (“We could do it ourselves, but better to have an invisible friend help us,” he’d said), so she’d gone in the opposite direction.

They were brought to the front of the tree-and-plant-filled hall to kneel at the bottom of the steps before Valoria, who sat on her throne.

“What is this?” the goddess said with displeasure. “What is this filthy creature you insult me with?”

“Greetings, radiant being.” Barnabas nodded into a deep bow, his forehead brushing against the moss. “It is an honor to breathe the same rather humid air as you on this lovely, vine-entangled morning.”

“The madman,” the blond guard explained. “The witch boy claims that he needs him here to do his magic, as a good luck charm.”

“Does he, now.” She considered them one at a time. “I suppose it doesn’t matter. His stench will be removed from my presence before too long. Now, boy. Can you do what I ask of you?”