Page 106 of Of Nine So Bold

Oh… fuck.

Magic surged under my skin. He wouldn’t hurt Gwyneira. I didn’t care what I had to do or what he might do to me. I wouldn’t let him?—

“Zenirya did fall, yes.” Casimir’s voice was as pleasant and unruffled as ever. “To vampires, in point of fact.”

What was he doing? Did he not see the threat here?

“However,” the vampire continued, “my lineage is rather unique, and my magic is as well. This allowed me to escape the fate the vampire witch planned for me and to counteract the madness the Voidborn inflicted upon their creations. My lovely companion has found her own way of doing that as well.” He smiled again. “I assure you, neither of us are servants of the Voidborn. Quite the opposite. Now if you would be so kind…?” He gestured for Ignatius to accompany him to the nascent gateway magic.

I couldn’t breathe. For a long moment, the scholar didn’t move except to turn that questioning look on me yet again.

He was far from satisfied, I could tell. Was he still going to attack? Use magic to hurt Gwyneira or Casimir?

Ignatius’s head dipped in a small nod. “Very well.” Motioning for Casimir to accompany him, he turned to the gateway spell.

A shuddering breath left my lungs as I started after them. I felt like we’d just escaped the guillotine.

And we’d only begun.

“Hey!” Norbert shouted when even his henchman friends followed Ignatius. “What about me?”

“Oh, we’ll get around to you, Norbie,” Clay called over his shoulder. “Maybe.”

Norbert roared with fury.

“The gateway is here.” Ignatius pointed to a collection of stones.

My footsteps slowed. Gateways were strange spells. An inversion of space, in a way. It was often possible to come upon one and not know until you were close. And if they were not set up correctly, stumbling into one meant you may never be seen again.

As escape plans went, to attempt such a thing had been bold, given how risky gateways could be.

“So, um, what do you need to do?” Lars glanced at us, questioning.

“If the Zeniryan king would please direct his power here…” Ignatius pointed. “Then with my power and his, we may have enough to finish the spell.”

Casimir came up to the scholar’s side, looking far more confident than I would have. The duke’s henchmen retreated, still watching us but clearly not interested in getting caught by any magic.

Maybe they had some measure of intelligence after all.

Casimir’s power rose, extending out toward the stones. In my mind’s eye, I could see it. A glow like sunlight on gold. A heartbeat later, Ignatius’s magic swept in like a landslide. I gasped, but it didn’t crush him. Instead, his power surrounded Casimir’s energy, funneling it and maneuvering it as required for the spell.

“Impressive,” Casimir murmured.

That was one word for it.

Ignatius smiled, but it was a distracted expression, his gaze locked intently upon the stones and the spell I could see strengthening there.

But to say gateways were tricky was an understatement.

The magic began to buck and twist, fighting the two men like a thrashing rope made of light. Sweat beaded on Ignatius’s brow, dripping down his stone-like cheeks like condensation in a cave. Casimir’s breaths came short and fast between his clenched teeth.

My friends noticed. A worried sound came from Niko before Ozias grunted to shush him.

I couldn’t take my eyes from the spell, my heart racing. Gateways gone wrong were the stuff of nightmares. Tales of swaths of cities erased from existence. Of people found with half their bodies justmissing. What it would do in this cavewas anyone’s guess, but I doubted the possibilities included our survival.

To build a spell beneath all the suppressive magic in this mine would be difficult on a good day, and for a scholar who’d been bound away from his own power for decades…

A choked grunt of effort left Casimir as the magic bucked again.

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