Bright Blaze of Magic
Page 62

“Lila! Darling!” Seleste said, leaning over, putting her arm around my shoulder, and hugging me tight. “So nice to see you up and about this morning. Nasty things, those copper crushers.”
I thought of those ruby-red eyes creeping closer and closer to me. I couldn’t hold back a shudder. “You have no idea.”
Seleste arched her eyebrows.
“Well, I guess you do, since you probably had a vision of it. Thanks for telling my friends where to find me.”
She fluttered her hand at me. “Don’t be silly, darling. That’s what family is for.”
I nodded and looked across the table at Deah, who was staring back at me. When she realized that I was really all right, some of the tension in her face eased.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” Deah said.
She hesitated, then leaned over, reached out, and squeezed my hand. I nodded at her and squeezed back.
Felix opened his mouth to start talking, the way he normally did, but my stomach let out a loud rumble, drowning him out before he could get started.
He looked at me, an amused grin on his face. “Hungry much?”
“You have no idea,” I said, reaching for the first strip of bacon on my plate.
While I shoveled food into my mouth, my friends told me about finding me outside the old apartment building last night.
“You should have seen yourself,” Felix said. “You were just leaning up against the side of the building and staring off into the distance, mumbling like you were talking to someone who was sitting right next to you. It was actually kind of funny.”
Devon, Poppy, and Deah all shot him warning looks.
Felix shrugged. “Well, it was, even if Lila was poisoned with copper crusher venom at the time. I kind of wish I had recorded it on my phone for blackmail purposes.”
He winked at me. I rolled my eyes and shoved another piece of bacon into my mouth.
The others kept talking while I ate and then made several trips back over to the buffet table to refill my plate, especially my bacon supply. I had just polished off the last of my pancakes and my final strip of bacon when Claudia rose to her feet and moved to the front of the dining hall, along with Roberto Salazar and Hiroshi Ito. Everyone slowly quieted down and turned to face the heads of their respective Families.
“Everyone knows the horrors of the past few days,” Hiroshi said. “You all know that Victor has attacked us, all of us, and that he will keep right on attacking until either he is defeated or we are.”
Uneasy murmurs rippled through the dining hall, and once again, several folks turned and gave Deah and Seleste harsh glares. Deah squared her shoulders, lifted her chin, and glared right back at them, not scared of anyone, while Seleste smiled and waved her hand, as though she was reconnecting with old friends. At least that got some folks to look at her with puzzled expressions instead of angry ones.
“Victor has proposed a truce, of sorts, along with a meeting,” Hiroshi continued. “During the day, all the Families will stand down and go about their normal routines. All the guards and workers are to return to their regular stations on the Midway, and all businesses are to be open as usual, so as not to alarm or alert the tourists to the problems we’re having.”
I snorted. Victor might want all the other Families defeated and under his thumb, but he loved money almost as much as he did magic. Of course he would want all the businesses to be open during the day in order to get as much cash from the tourist rubes as he could.
“Victor might have called a truce, but I want everyone to be extra careful,” Roberto Salazar chimed in. “No one goes anywhere alone and I want at least one guard with every worker. Understood?”
Everyone nodded and murmured their agreement.
“As to the meeting,” Hiroshi said. “I’ll let Claudia address that.”
Claudia nodded at him, then stepped forward, her hands clasped in front of her, staring out over the sea of faces. “Victor has demanded that I fight him in a duel, or he will order his men to attack everyone associated with the other Families—guards, workers, even pixies.” Her mouth hardened and anger flared in her eyes. “I have chosen to accept his challenge. The duel will take place tonight, and the winner will take control of both of our Families.”
Shocked gasps rang out through the crowd, and worry and tension tightened more than one person’s face, including my own. In an instant, people started shouting, each one trying to be heard over the other.
“No way!”
“You can’t do that!”
“He’ll kill you!”
More and more shocked gasps and murmurs sounded, but Claudia held up a hand, asking for quiet.
“I’ve agreed to the duel because it is the best way to avoid more bloodshed,” she said. “We all know that Victor is the main threat. Most of the Draconis are decent folks, like everyone in this room. It’s not their fault that they work for a man who wants to destroy us all.”
More looks were directed at Deah and Seleste, but this time there was some sympathy mixed in with the glares.
“Victor challenged me to a duel, but I have decided to choose a champion for myself, for the entire Sinclair Family.” Claudia paused. “And that champion is Lila Merriweather.”
My friends whipped around, staring at me, their eyes wide and their mouths gaping open in shock. But they weren’t the only ones looking at me now. Every single person and pixie in the dining hall regarded me with a mixture of shock, surprise, and wary hope. It was the hope that made my throat tighten, my spine straighten, and my chin lift—hope that I could finally end the threat that Victor posed to all of us.
Devon was the only one who wasn’t surprised by Claudia’s announcement. He stared at me and slowly nodded his head, blazing conviction and rock-hard certainty flashing in his eyes. He knew how important this was, not just to the Sinclairs and the other Families, but to me personally. He knew that this was my chance to finally make Victor pay for murdering my mom.
And he believed that I could win.
That meant so much to me, more than he would ever know. I reached my hand out across the table and Devon threaded his fingers through mine. I smiled at him and he winked back at me.
“The duel is to be held at midnight tonight at the lochness bridge, well away from the Midway and all the shopping squares,” Claudia said. “Victor will be there, and I’m betting that so will all of the other Draconis. If the duel doesn’t go his way, I have no doubt that Victor will order his men to attack us, to try to wipe us out so he can take control of the town anyway. I’m asking for volunteers to come to the lochness bridge to make sure that doesn’t happen.”