Page 11 of Saving Destiny

“Shawnessy's kid has always belonged to us, in life and death,” the man continues. Albeit faint, the satisfying scent of his fear mingles with the odor of decay and pestilence. The man’s tone is a petulant whine, however. He’s used to getting his way. I file his claim away for later and don’t miss his use of the wordus. He’s probably acting on Addington’s orders.

“Kodi belongs to the library now,” I respond in an effort to distract him as my senses search the office. Although the thread is insubstantial, I can see it now that I’m closer. It appears to emanate from a wooden surface in the middle of the room, likely a desk. The object it originates from offends me with its unnatural, malevolent power. It has very little organic energy and even appears to repel bacteria. How strange.

While keeping most of my attention focused on our prey’s location, I contact Zosia through the mental link.“The magic seems to originate from something on the desk or table in the center of this room. It feels … wrong. Can you ask Garrett to describe the objects there?”

Since my fellow guardian hasn’t entered the room, his shifted form is probably too massive to fit through the broken window. An accomplished shifter could transform in a heartbeat and land inside the room or on the sill, and I doubt Garrett lacks the skill. It isn’t necessary for him to enter if I can destroy whatever controls the magic holding Kodi.

“Garrett can’t see the leash, but he says the desk in the middle of the room is mostly empty of anything but papers, a computer tablet, and a softball-sized glass sphere. There are magical wards preventing him from entering through the window.”I’m about to move forward when she continues.“My memories suggest that the collar designed to drain and absorb my magic might have been electronic. I wouldn’t dismiss the tablet as an option.”

My thoughts and steps falter. I was about to do exactly what she warned against; it’s common knowledge that magic reacts strangely when combined with smart chips or advanced technology. Has someone discovered how to combine the two powerful forces? Is this why I can barely see the thread of energy that holds Kodi captive? Most manmade appliances are processed and refined to the point that they lose any trace of their natural origins and can evade my sight. Machines or computers made entirely of plastic, metal, and glass are like landmines to me. I cannot sense them or see them.

“I shall just have to break both or him,”I reply definitively. My adrenaline urges me forward, but I can’t determine whether the vamp-mage is armed. Deadly weapons forged entirely from steel and glass can be invisible to my strange sight.

“Don’t touch them!”Her shriek is so loud inside my head that it causes me to wince and immediately stop.“Bren and the library both say the same thing. Don’t let your skin come into contact with the object or Walthers.”

I curse silently. I’d been so eager to free Kodi and return to Zosia that I’d stopped thinking with my usual thoroughness. Walthers is tainted by corrupt magic and the source could affect me in a similar fashion. My skin crawls when I briefly consider touching the object that repels me, and my intuition suspects the electronics. I suppress a shudder at the thought. Everything within this room is unnatural, and I want nothing more to do with it.

“Release the ghost now or I shall crush the tablet,” I threaten aloud. Simultaneously, I search for a tool to smash Walthers and everything on the desk without touching anything.

Momentary shock ripples through our prey’s energy, but I almost miss it. Auras typically resemble placid water, but his is like thick molasses. His emotions reverberate dully as if encountering resistance.

His surprise indicates that he didn’t expect us to discover the source because magic usually emanates from a person. Although objects can be enchanted, the spells are typically inactive and stationary; they can’t be used for advanced, long-distance spells, such as draining spiritual power from a ghost. Everything about this situation defies explanation, and the mounting abnormalities disturb me.

“I will ruin your lives one by one.” Walthers spits out the threat like a spoiled child. “The ghost and the library will be ours,” he adds as he takes a step toward the desk and the source of the malevolent magic. His capitulation to our demands suggests the source must be more important than Kodi. It indicates the object’s value and rarity, and I add the detail to my growing list of clues.

“It’s the tablet!”Zosia informs me when Walthers reaches the desk and Garrett relays his actions. The pain of Kodi’s strained bond eases at the same time as the polluted magic loosens its vise-like grip on my head. The object is remarkably less offensive when the spells are inactive, but Walthers’ vile nature remains.

“Kodi’s falling! He’s free!”Zosia crows with victory and relief.

I snarl in our enemy’s direction, and I’m certain my eyes glow with crimson light. He’s no threat to us and he surrendered faster than I thought he would. Addington could have chosen a more powerful supernatural as an ally, but Walthers’ political status and influence likely tipped the favor in his direction. The threat of a vamp-mage is strong, even if Walthers doesn’t exhibit any vampiric traits besides the fangs.

I despise leaving him and the source undamaged, but Garrett and I aren’t prepared to destroy either. I doubt the tablet will break easily and being unable to touch it decreases our chances. We cannot finish this battle today.

“This is your warning, Walthers. Do not threaten the library or its guardians ever again.” Vampiric fury hardens my tone and glows in my eyes, tinting my strange vision with a reddish glow. Garrett echoes the threat with a shrill screech that nearly bursts my eardrums.

Moving with enhanced speed, I dart several paces down the outer corridor before I pause. My keen sense of hearing recognizes Walthers' voice as he grumbles angrily to himself. “Fucking kids. You dare to threaten us? We created all of you ...." His volume rises with an undercurrent of insanity. Does he know that I can still hear him? Does he offer this information on purpose? Or is his mind too far gone? A sardonic chuckle precedes his next words, and he sings them with an off-key cadence. “We made you, and we can unmake you.”

The foul magic has obviously disturbed his mind, but I don’t immediately dismiss his words as I bolt from the building. An eagerness to return to the safety of the library grips me as possibilities whirl in my mind. As a born vampire, I am one in a million – an aberration that shouldn’t have survived. Garrett’s shifter breed is so rare that he’s almost considered extinct, and Bren is a prophesier with additional wild and unknown magic.

The idea I courted earlier – that our alliance isn’t a coincidence – returns. Which forces are at work, and who manipulates the odds? Most importantly, does Walthers' threat carry any weight?

We might have saved Kodi, but I don’t feel victorious. Instead, dread sinks into my being. What did Addington and Walthers do? And how?

Chapter 7

Zosia

The process of simultaneously engaging in a mental conversation with two guardians, channeling the library’s power through a gargoyle, and transmitting images to Bren is exhausting. I’m also supremely frustrated at my inability to see what’s happening once Avery is inside the classroom building. Fear grips me, and I’m increasingly grateful for Bren’s closeness. I clutch his hands as if they’re my sole hope. Walthers is truly evil and three of my guardians are currently unprotected by the library. I’m scared that none of them will return.

“Are they just going to leave the tablet there?” I wail after the leash is severed. I watch with a muffled scream while Kodi plummets to the ground. The fall can’t hurt him, but the sight of it chills me. He doesn’t drop like a stone because his mass, or density, is practically nonexistent. Instead, he floats downward like a feather until he’s lying on the grassy patch in front of the House of Others.

The griffin leaves Walthers’ broken window and stands over Kodi like a monstrous bodyguard, even though the spectators can’t see the ghost. The students whisper and point at the shattered window and the shifter in their midst, but they have no idea what’s happening. I anxiously wait for Kodi to open his eyes, but they remain closed.

“They don’t have a choice,” Bren replies softly. “If either of them touches the object, it will lead to horrible consequences, and they can’t kill Walthers without repercussions.” This is the second time Bren has warned me. I'd shouted the first at Avery, afraid he’d already done just that.

While my rational mind understands the sense in his words, I hate it. The altercation was anticlimactic, and I still feel useless. I'd wanted to leave my lack of purpose in my old life, but today’s events aren’t promising.

I squint through one cracked eyelid and am briefly shocked at Bren’s nearness. We’d leaned into each other while I’d broadcasted the gargoyle’s sight to him. His thighs are pressed around mine, and he’s practically in my lap. At first, his proximity had made concentrating impossible. Now, though, it feels … comforting. My eye closes again as I repeat the last few images of the battle.

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