Page 58 of The Maestro's Mates
Probably the latter. She’d find the most inconvenient spot possible before any aggressive moves toward the Circle. She wasn’t stupid. She had to have known if she’d failed,someonewould come after her.
Hopping back in the car after being eyed by a young mom with two kids under five—probably because of his disheveled appearance—he sped off north once more. He had at least another hour to go, if not two, before he got anywhere near close.
He kept closer tabs now, one hand on the piece of jewelry at all times, gauging when he’d need to get off themain roads. Eventually, he did, the way getting bumpier and the pavement more broken the stronger the necklace pulled.
Finally, he came to an impasse.
Looking at the possible routes on his phone, it was clear this was about as far as he would be able to travel by car. The woods were dense, with tall, thick underbrush stuffed in between each larger evergreen trunk.
This was going to suck.
Leaving the car behind at a rest stop, he stared melancholically at the line of trees in front of him. He hadn’t been smart enough to bring anything to hack through the brush with.
Sighing, he walked back to the trunk of the car. Would his mother have stashed some kind of weapon in there? Sliding the key into the lock, the latch popped open as the top swung upward, revealing a sight that shocked Sebastian, even though it shouldn’t have given Linda’s proclivities.
The trunk had twelve hard black cases of varying sizes. He was looking at a travel armory. Opening one case revealed a small pistol. Another contained a butterfly knife.
Shaking his head, he popped one of the longer ones open. There it was. A machete. Shrugging, he picked it up, the large, lightweight knife balancing perfectly in his hand.
Might as well get to it.
Grasping the wrapped necklace in his left hand, Sebastian hacked a path with his right. His instincts told him he was only a few miles from his sister, although those miles would be hard won. The brush was tightly packed, and he’d be fighting through a foot or two at a time.
It was times like these when he wished he had any skill at flying. Chaos affinities were the worst for that sort of thing, though. His spirits might hoist him aloft and thendecide at the last minute it would be funny if he came crashing down.
The going was slow, and as he went, his clothes grew damp with sweat. Briars and barbs poked holes in his jeans and light coat. It was only the ever-growing pull of the necklace that kept Sebastian fighting his way through.
By the time he reached a clearing, the sun was setting, casting dark layers of shadows throughout the forest. Sebastian was exhausted, panting hard as he stumbled out of the undergrowth.
He was met with a welcome sight. There at the far edge of the clearing was a rickety wooden shack, its boards ashen gray from years of weathering.
The necklace pulled straight toward it.
He stopped for a moment, grasping the machete tightly. He swung his backpack around and, after tucking the necklace away into the large compartment, grabbed a small glass spell jar from one of the front pockets. A simple flash spell. It wouldn’t do any damage, but it would blind anyone who might attack him, giving him an extra moment to react.
Taking a deep breath, he strode to the rotting front door of the shack. He didn’t know what he might find inside, but he knew his sister was here somewhere. His first tactic would be talking. There had to be some way through this without bloodshed.
Reaching down, he grasped the rusted iron door handle and pulled, wincing at the effort it took to unstick it from the frame. He stepped inside.
There was no one there.
He moved to the center of the one-room shack, glancing around, then staring at the dirt floor. Hissisterhadto be here. Spinning around, he opened his senses, attempting to find any trace of Veronica or her magic.
And that’s when a bright orange cage of energy sprang up around him. Instinctively, he threw the spell jar to the ground, and the whole cabin was filled with a blinding light. In his surprise, he forgot to shield his own eyes, and his vision instantly went blurry.
Dammit.
He reached around blindly, but didn’t dare to move far. As his hands neared any of the bars of magical energy, intense heat poured off them. Ultimately, he stopped moving altogether, accepting defeat.
His eyesight was starting to return when a figure stepped into the doorway.
“Hello, little brother.”
Chapter 22
Pavel
“Another whiskey?”
