Page 88 of The Aether

Inside the cell with her, the Arcane Devourer shifted closer, testing the sturdiness of the bubble she’d conjured. His sour expression gave her a little thrill. As strong as he was from the power he’d amassed over the last day, he was still no match for her. But he could be soon.

Papa had made a mistake by not clearing the building. Although his team had provided a sense of security to the residents, none of them would know those same people were being fed horrific images and tortured by Morcant. Convinced death and destruction awaited them if they left their homes, most of the occupants huddled inside their living rooms or bedrooms. Those non-magical mortals were his main energy source, and they were giving him the strength to piggyback the telepathic lines her father had created with the Sentinels.

A buzzing began, as if the fluorescent light above her was about to fizzle out.

With a dark frown, Morcant glanced at the ceiling.

“Beastie?”Papa’s voice cut across Trevor’s, the buzzing, and the ever-shifting visions of today’s outcome.

She didn’t answer him. Didn’t have to, because she knew he could see her in his mind. Her smile widened and had the bonus effect of making Morcant nervous. The man had no idea what she was hearing.

“That’s my girl,”Papa said approvingly.“Why did you call me Daddy instead of Papa? Was that a warning?”

She nodded and pointed at Morcant, then to the roof of the tunnel, lined with gray clay-like blocks. Earlier, she’d heard the real Morgan Black call those soft bricks C-4 as he removed the wrappers and inserted the black and red wires. He’d said it was enough to take down a city block.

“Stop pointing, girl,” Morcant snapped.

Channeling her grandmother’s taunting laugh, Sabrina extended a finger in his direction.

“Are you prepared to die, Morcant Thywyll?” she asked in a deep voice, pretending to be the Ghost of Christmas Past, like in movie versions of her favorite Charles Dickens book. “Repent now, or burn in hell.”

She only had a general idea of what repent meant, but it sounded good, and it caused his skin to pale more than it already was. Deathly pale, she’d heard it said.

Papa’s chuckle filled her mind, along with Mack’s light laugh. Sabrina thought she’d heard Fintan snort, too.

“Keep it up, my diabolical darling. Your distraction is pure brilliance.”

After she threw around a few more dire predictions, she crossed her arms smugly.

“Nicely done,”Papa told her approvingly.“Are you able to maintain your protection spell a while longer, or are you growing tired?”

To show she could, she added a ton of glitter to the dome. Her father’s bark of laughter made her happy.

“Good. In case I’ve never verbalized it, I’m extremely proud of you, Beastie. A parent couldn’t hope for a more clever or resourceful child than you.”

His voice sounded raspy in her mind, as if he had something in his throat, and she understood it as love because she felt the same way.“Papa? Thank you for coming to get me.”

“As if I’d ever leave you in Morcant’s clutches!”

She smiled.“I meant from Mama’s old house. The day you and Grandpa Nate made me pancakes.”

“My deepest regret was ever letting you go in the first place.”The buzzing stopped for a few heartbeats, but when it started again, Papa said,“I’m sending Mack to warn the others about the explosives. Hang tight, Beastie.”

As she waited, a few of the scarier visions began to dissolve, and in their place were greater outcomes of today. There was still the worst one, though. The one where Morcant won and she was enslaved to him forever. Yet she knew better than to let her fear take control.

Since Papa began training her, Sabrina had learned to dull the sharper emotions. She didn’t always think before she reacted, but she was developing new skills every day. Patience. Critical Thinking. Clarity. Big words Papa used every day to instruct her in the ways of an Aether. She constantly prayed she was as good and fair as he was. Glancing at Morcant, she narrowed her eyes. As deadly when it came to dealing with enemies likehim.

A sudden dark premonition struck her. Staving off a shiver, she jumped to her feet. If she’d have had time, she would’ve giggled and chased Morcant around the cell just to see him sweat. But she didn’t. She had to save the others. Prevent them from coming their current route.

The door to the cell was locked, and the wires ran to another block of C-4 attached to the bolt. Should anyone open it, they would all be toast. Her captor had bragged about it, in addition to the spell he’d cast. Stating they’d never know, he quoted some old bug commercial about roaches checking in, but not out.

Butsheknew.

Morcant intended to allow Papa’s team to enter, because he’d also applied an old Blocker tool to keep anyone from leaving.

Sabrina wasn’t concerned. If he died, so did his stupid spell.

Frowning, she wondered if she was strong enough to kill him by herself. That had been one of her visions. If she did, she could end this, but her future would be full of haters. Jam-packed with those from the witch community who would forever be afraid of her. The Authority would never stop sending people to hurt her family, all to get to her.

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