Page 35 of Light Magic

Elias and Eugene stood in the doorway, their arms shifted into their lion forms.

“What’s going on?” I asked, rounding the table.

They walked into the room.

“Don’t you know?” Elias asked. His tone from before, the dejected mien, the sad voice … it was all gone. “Eugene thought you were smarter than that.”

I knew why they were here. To get me for the reward. That much was clear. “What did you do to them?”

“Remember that necklace?” Eugene asked. “Yeah, it was all a lie. The whole thing. We found out Mrs. Dennis had access to the Grand Eternity Hall, where we had heard the fugitive angel was hiding, so we threatened her son if she didn’t help us. We got a random necklace of hers and made her enchant it with a sleeping spell that would work on witches and warlocks.”

Elias laughed. “Her included.”

“Don’t worry,” Eugene said. “Your friends will wake up tomorrow morning with a headache.”

Hiding behind a tall chair, I reached into the table and got a steak knife that was there, out of place.

Elias tsked. “What do you think you’ll be able to do with that?”

I raised the knife. “Kill you.”

He laughed again. “You’re funny.”

“Maybe that’s why the angels are offering such a large reward for you,” Eugene said, and Elias laughed once more.

They took slow steps toward me, as if they were enjoying this game.

I wasn’t.

My heart was beating out of my chest, and my hand shook around the knife.

I almost told them to stop. Right now, there was nothing I could say or do that would persuade them to change their minds.

There was only one thing left to do.

I bolted to the backdoor, where I had seen Myg going several times, but had never gone through myself.

The lights went on in the narrow corridor, and when I turned a corner, they went off, but blinked on the other side.

“All right, all right,” I muttered, following the lights.

The hall hadn’t played with me. It had tried to steer me away from the dining room so these two couldn’t get me. Damn, I had been so stupid. I wouldn’t doubt the hall ever again.

I ran through a giant, half-modern, half-ancient kitchen, through another narrow corridor, past a closet, and into a large hallway like the ones on the second floor.

The lights continued blinking, taking me away from the dining room. Behind me, I heard Elias and Eugene on my tail, cursing as vines sprouted from the walls to stop them. But with their powerful claws, they cut through them like paper.

The lights flickered in the library. I rushed in and the doors closed on their own.

I stopped for a second to catch my breath. What now? Would the doors hold them until the others woke up? They said it would be tomorrow morning. Could I hide in here until then?

“Come out, little angel!” Eugene shouted.

The door shook with their heavy bangs.

No, it wouldn’t hold until tomorrow morning.

The lights flickered beside one of the long tables. I dashed there … and then stopped. “What are you trying to tell me?”

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