Fourteen had to continue on the assumption Cym was still alive, otherwise there was no need to keep the cold at bay anymore. He wouldn’t need to fight it anymore. He could just let his faulty conditioning take over and let whatever happened happen.
He shook his head slightly to dislodge the invasive thoughts. There was no point in dwelling on them until he needed to.
When they reached the main building, Fourteen was relieved that it had escaped Harper’s fires. At first glance, it was an unimaginative, three-story, prefabricated box, but the magic climbing up the walls made Fourteen look at it again.
The windows crawled with a red mesh of power, writhing and pulsing inside the glass rather than on top of it. He was willing to guess they weren’t a weak point of entry. The red bled out into a subtle orange woven into the walls and the effect was unsettling. It made him feel like the house was breathing.
As Adelle marched up the stairs, the red sigils enmeshed with the front door lashed out violently, only to be absorbed by the warm orange halo surrounding her. She pressed forward, drawing the red into herself and transmuting it into orange. By the time she passed through the door, it was nothing more than the white rectangle its original designer had meant it to be.
Fourteen covered their six as he entered the building. If they were going to be attacked, now would be the time for it. “Where is he?”
“He’s straight ahead,” Adelle corrected. “It’s quicker to follow the magic I pumped into Sterling. All I have to do is look for it.”
“You mean you aren’t even looking for Cym?” Fourteen’s voice was a barely controlled growl. Why the fuck had he trusted strangers?
Adelle was unfazed and turned her back to him as she made her way down the long hall in front of them. “Cym’s essence is different from other witches. It’s more slippery and tends to blend in with the magic around him, making him difficult to find. If I checked specifically for Cym, I’d have to stop every few yards and reconnect to him to make sure he hasn’t moved or been affected by someone else’s magic. In this situation, it’s quicker for me to follow his brother.”
“It’s sound logic.” Jack jumped in to assure him. “I mean, if he didn’t cut and run on Cym earlier, he isn’t likely to now.”
“Unless they were separated by the explosion.” Fourteen pointed out. He might respect their fighting skills, but optimism was a weakness that had no place on a mission.
Adelle hesitated and turned, “I’m sure—”
The door at the end of the hallway burst open, releasing a dozen or so people—all running as if their lives depended on it. Sterling brought up the rear.
“It’s nice to see you guys,” Sterling grabbed Adelle’s arm and turned her back the way she’d come, “But for now, it’s time to run!”
Fourteen stood his ground and blocked the way. “Where. Is. Cym?” He gripped the poleaxe so tightly he heard the leather of his glove creak.
“Safe in the forest. Now go!”
Fourteen complied.
As one, the team raced back the way they came, quickly catching up with the fleeing witches in front of them. Fourteen was fairly certain he saw the building ripple around him as he ran.
“Not that I don’t love a good run, but might I inquire—?” Jack attempted.
“No!”
They reached the front door only to come up against a bottleneck as several witches tried to force their way through one small door.
“This wouldn’t have happened at the old house,” Sterling said with a touch of hysteria, shifting his weight anxiously from foot to foot. “Hester couldn’t have spent a few more dollars on a set of double doors?”
The walls rippled again, and this time, Fourteen felt something in his body ripple too.
Yanking a slender, prepubescent boy out of the doorway to make enough room for an old man and a rotund woman to fit through, Jack asked, “Sterling, what did you…? Oh no. Seriously? Tell me you didn’t.” He chucked the young boy through the opening as soon as it was clear.
“The entire upper floor was full of monsters, and I was out of magic!” Sterling shouted as he dove through the door.
Fourteen was at his heels rather than bringing up the rear. This wasn’t his mission and these weren’t his clients. Fourteen was under no obligation to get anyone here to safety.
Fourteen turned at the bottom of the steps to see Jack toss Adelle out the door and jump after her. The entire house blinked out of existence seconds after Jack’s feet left the concrete. The only thing left was a hole where the foundation used to be.
“What the hell?” Fourteen thought he was past being surprised by the magical world, but apparently not.
“Astin had us trapped in a room upstairs… He… he wasn’t Astin anymore!” Sterling shuddered and hugged himself. “Alex cut a hole in the floor—he has a carpentry gift—and we ended up in the infirmary. They were going to catch us. Astin was already coming through the hole we made. There were so many of them, and they had something horrible with them.” Sterling choked as he tried not to cry.
Adelle put her arms around the boy and crooned, “It’s okay, you saved everyone, it’s okay.”
“There was a crate full of crystal boxes that hadn’t been unpacked.”
Jack’s face was grave as he nodded as if in confirmation to himself.
“So, I threw it to the ground and smashed everything inside and ran. I was hoping for a distraction…” Sterling buried his face in his arms and shivered. Adelle tightened her arms around him and stroked his hair.
Jack whistled. “That would do it. That much magic blending together and refracting off the crystal… My guess is the buildup of all that undirected power took everything it was touching back to the Source.”
“Can we get them back?” Sterling asked, sounding much younger than his sixteen years.
Jack’s kind face creased in sadness. “I’ll check when we get out of this, but…”
Adelle kicked him.
“There’s certainly a chance of it.” Jack finished lamely.
“My condolences on you killing half of your family, kid. Can we find Cym now?” Fourteen snapped. His patience was a thing of the past.
The look Adelle threw him was pure anger, and Fourteen didn’t give a single shit. Maybe he would have been more concerned if he’d seen orange magic flare up inside her, but her anger wasn’t a threat, merely an emotion.
