Page 98 of A Blackened Bond

“I promise we’ll explain everything to you after this, and then you can decide whether you want in with our business like this. I don’t want you jumping into the fray without all the facts and regretting getting involved with us later.”

“That won’t happen.” I softly call as a gentle smile tilts his lips.

He bends forward again placing a kiss on my forehead before letting me go and heading toward Mallyn.

“I’ll always make sure you have all the information you need. And then, the decision will be yours.Always.”

They open the door and head out quickly, leaving no room for further discussion, before closing the door behind them.

A sigh leaves my lips as I roll my eyes. These boys need a proper awakening if they think I am the type to sit shit out.

“Well…” Erving says, as a larger boom rings out below us, voices now mixing in with the sound. “I’m happy for the company.” He twirls around in his chair, a small, awkward smile gracing his lips before he twists back towards the monitors. Three of the screens flicker out, turning completely black.

Erving sighs, “Great, they used concealment magic and serious grade shit at that.” The lights flicker above us. “Annnnd electronicdisruptors…wonderful.”

“Anything I can do to help?” I call, glancing around the vast room and the boxes and crates scattered around the place.

“Not unless you have some nullifying wards?” He twists around, quirking a brow before I shake my head. As if I would carry around wards that take years to enchant or tens of thousands to buy.

Nullification magic was a specialty and a rare ability that even elder witches or warlocks could take decades to master.

“Unfortunately, I’m all out,” I call sarcastically.

Erving grins. “Now I see why they like you, you’ve got a little bite to you. You’ll need that with Annex.” He lets out a small shiver at the mention of the psycho before turning back toward his keyboard and tapping away furiously.

And that’s when I see the magic forming on his fingertips and flowing from them into his keyboard.

I take a step closer, never having seen this type of magic being used this way before. I had heard of talented individuals in my past life, geniuses who could combine the modern technology of humans and magic as one, mixing them and making them flow easily together as one form.

“How are you—”

I’m cut off as a ringing noise vibrates along the furthest wall of the room—the one with crates stacked in front of it.

“Do you hear that?” I ask, taking a few steps toward the wall and the scattered crates.

“Hear what?” Erving asks.

“That vibration…it’s coming from here.” I step closer as a fizzing sound rings out around the room. Erving’s eyes widen, quickly pulling up one of the blackened screens before pouring magic directly into it. It flickers back and forth, a hazy image flashing of three large figures in a dark room placing something against a cement wall.

Erving points a shaky finger toward the direction of the vibration and the wall a few feet from us. “They’re in the other room.”

He starts gathering things around him: a laptop bag, some cables, and a few slender boxes. “We’ve gotta move quickly. Whatever they’re using will blast through that wall soon. I don’t have any protection spells cast on it like the others.” His face pales as he rushes to grab more things.

And I flit my gaze around the room before returning to the monitors. “I thought those guys were downstairs with Ezra and Mallyn, or with Annex?”

Erving shakes his head. “There must have been more of them. And they want whatever’s in this room.” His movements become more frantic. “The others must be a distraction.”

“Shit.” He calls out, his hands frantically reaching for things in the crates around him.

I spot the strange weapons decorating the wall beside his brightly-coloured posters. There’s a couple of ornate blades, a long, fancy spear, a mace with crystal-tipped spikes, a strange spiked metal chain, and a bronze axe larger than my head. It seems Erving collected more than just monitors, posters, or games to play with.

“They’re collector editions,” Erving states, a frown pulling at his lips as his brows crease together. “But there’s no time to move them all.”

A small whimper seeps from his lips as he takes the spear down, clutching it in his hands as if it were a child and not a dangerous weapon.

My hands trace along the curved metal chain, my eyes catching on its silver spikes and swiftly realising it resembles a whip. I pull it down from the wall as the ringing in the room grows louder.

“Quickly, let’s move—” Erving shouts, just as the wall explodes and throws him to the ground, a rumble thundering out around us as the wall crumbles from the magical blast.

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