“Cutler?” she called up.
“Yes?”
“Kai is almost done eating through that barrier. You should get going.”
“But—”
The flames let out a single, ear-piercing crack, then dissolved into steam. Kai’s blue eyes, lit up like an electric storm, glared out through the steamy mist at Cutler.
“Ok, fine,” Cutler said and hurried back up the way he’d come.
Sera caught Kai’s arm as he made to follow. He turned his glare on her.
“Let him go,” she said calmly.
Fire-charred steam snorted out of his nose.
“You wanted to call the commandos,” Sera reminded him, wiping the soot from her cheek.
Still fuming, Kai took out his phone. His finger had hardly tapped the screen, however, when Sera’s phone buzzed in her pocket. She checked the message—and froze.
“What is it?” Kai asked.
“Finn,” she said and turned her phone to show him the message: a picture of her and Kai standing inside the fighting pit, the word ‘soon’ typed out beneath it.
Kai’s magic pulsed out. A blast of wind shot out from the fighting pit, rippling up the rows. The seats clapped in protest. High above, the enormous television screen rocked.
Even before the wind had dissipated, Kai was talking into his phone. “Report.”
A soft rustle of words hummed out of the phone, but it was too quiet for Sera to hear.
“Put it on speakerphone,” she whispered to Kai.
She was surprised when he did as she’d asked.
“…was pretty well-hidden. No sign of the teleportation glyphs,” Tony’s voice buzzed out of the phone’s tiny speaker.
“Told you,” she muttered to Kai.
“The team of Magic Sniffers you told us to bring along had better luck,” said Tony. “They uncovered the glyphs. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough magic left in them to take us anywhere. It seems Finn’s crew cast a magic consumption spell as they fled.”
“I thought we’d decided to call them minions,” Dal’s voice piped up.
“No, you decided that.”
“Callum thought it was a good idea too.”
Kai cleared his throat.
“Sorry,” Dal said and fell silent again.
“The magic consumption spell Finn’s crew cast ate away at the residual magic,” Tony said. “It sped up the magical decay by over ten times. All that remained of the glyphs was little more than a skeleton.”
Kai looked at Sera. She sighed. Even if she had been there, she wouldn’t have been able to do anything. Finn’s minions—yes, she liked the name too—were sneaky. They’d learned a thing or two about covering their tracks since last time.
“Keep looking,” Kai told the commandos. “They must have left behind some trace. Question the prison guards. Atlantis is protected by magical barriers that are supposed to keep prisoners in and rescue teams out. Finn’s followers couldn’t have popped in and out of there without some inside help. Find out who helped them. Do whatever you must to find Finn.” Then he hung up.
“You think one of the prison guards helped Finn escape?” she asked.
“Perhaps. Tony, Dal, and Callum will find out.”
“I wish I were there, helping them.”
“They can handle it. They do this sort of thing all the time. And you have your plate full with the Magic Games.”
“I know. That’s why I wish I were somewhere else.”
“Your magic is erratic,” he said, his brows drawing together. “You need to calm down. There’s no need to be nervous.”
A pained laugh burst from her mouth. “Isn’t there? The Magic Council wants to crack open my mind and serve it up to an arena of overly zealous supernaturals.” She pointed up at the television screens. “With closeups.”
“Sera, listen to me.” He turned to face her, setting his hands on her arms. “You will be fine. We’re just going to take this one match at a time. Today is only the preliminaries. You are the best monster hunter on this side of the Atlantic. That’s all you have to do today: fight. The mind games don’t start until later.”
“When?”
“Don’t worry about it. Just focus on knocking down your opponents.”
“Knocking down opponents, you say?” she replied. “I can do that.”
“I know you can.”
Magic erupted from the levels above, blasting open the doors to the hallway. Security guards flooded inside, pouring down the aisles in a stampede of thumping boots. Every single one of them looked like he’d been built to smash rocks. With his bare hands.
“You’re good at talking your way out of trouble, right?” she asked Kai as the guards flooded the fighting pit.
“Of course.”
“Excellent. Because I’m only good at fighting my way out of trouble.”
He grunted in assent, then turned to the guard in front. “I am Kai Drachenburg.”
A few of the guards exchanged wary glances and shifted their weight. Apparently, Kai’s reputation preceded him.
“I know who you are,” the head guard shot back, unimpressed. “And you don’t belong in the pit. Come with us.” He looked as though someone had just spat in his coffee. A security guard who took his job seriously. Go figure.
“Your response time is abysmal,” Kai said as Mr. Serious waved the other guards forward.
“Yes?”
“Kai is almost done eating through that barrier. You should get going.”
“But—”
The flames let out a single, ear-piercing crack, then dissolved into steam. Kai’s blue eyes, lit up like an electric storm, glared out through the steamy mist at Cutler.
“Ok, fine,” Cutler said and hurried back up the way he’d come.
Sera caught Kai’s arm as he made to follow. He turned his glare on her.
“Let him go,” she said calmly.
Fire-charred steam snorted out of his nose.
“You wanted to call the commandos,” Sera reminded him, wiping the soot from her cheek.
Still fuming, Kai took out his phone. His finger had hardly tapped the screen, however, when Sera’s phone buzzed in her pocket. She checked the message—and froze.
“What is it?” Kai asked.
“Finn,” she said and turned her phone to show him the message: a picture of her and Kai standing inside the fighting pit, the word ‘soon’ typed out beneath it.
Kai’s magic pulsed out. A blast of wind shot out from the fighting pit, rippling up the rows. The seats clapped in protest. High above, the enormous television screen rocked.
Even before the wind had dissipated, Kai was talking into his phone. “Report.”
A soft rustle of words hummed out of the phone, but it was too quiet for Sera to hear.
“Put it on speakerphone,” she whispered to Kai.
She was surprised when he did as she’d asked.
“…was pretty well-hidden. No sign of the teleportation glyphs,” Tony’s voice buzzed out of the phone’s tiny speaker.
“Told you,” she muttered to Kai.
“The team of Magic Sniffers you told us to bring along had better luck,” said Tony. “They uncovered the glyphs. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough magic left in them to take us anywhere. It seems Finn’s crew cast a magic consumption spell as they fled.”
“I thought we’d decided to call them minions,” Dal’s voice piped up.
“No, you decided that.”
“Callum thought it was a good idea too.”
Kai cleared his throat.
“Sorry,” Dal said and fell silent again.
“The magic consumption spell Finn’s crew cast ate away at the residual magic,” Tony said. “It sped up the magical decay by over ten times. All that remained of the glyphs was little more than a skeleton.”
Kai looked at Sera. She sighed. Even if she had been there, she wouldn’t have been able to do anything. Finn’s minions—yes, she liked the name too—were sneaky. They’d learned a thing or two about covering their tracks since last time.
“Keep looking,” Kai told the commandos. “They must have left behind some trace. Question the prison guards. Atlantis is protected by magical barriers that are supposed to keep prisoners in and rescue teams out. Finn’s followers couldn’t have popped in and out of there without some inside help. Find out who helped them. Do whatever you must to find Finn.” Then he hung up.
“You think one of the prison guards helped Finn escape?” she asked.
“Perhaps. Tony, Dal, and Callum will find out.”
“I wish I were there, helping them.”
“They can handle it. They do this sort of thing all the time. And you have your plate full with the Magic Games.”
“I know. That’s why I wish I were somewhere else.”
“Your magic is erratic,” he said, his brows drawing together. “You need to calm down. There’s no need to be nervous.”
A pained laugh burst from her mouth. “Isn’t there? The Magic Council wants to crack open my mind and serve it up to an arena of overly zealous supernaturals.” She pointed up at the television screens. “With closeups.”
“Sera, listen to me.” He turned to face her, setting his hands on her arms. “You will be fine. We’re just going to take this one match at a time. Today is only the preliminaries. You are the best monster hunter on this side of the Atlantic. That’s all you have to do today: fight. The mind games don’t start until later.”
“When?”
“Don’t worry about it. Just focus on knocking down your opponents.”
“Knocking down opponents, you say?” she replied. “I can do that.”
“I know you can.”
Magic erupted from the levels above, blasting open the doors to the hallway. Security guards flooded inside, pouring down the aisles in a stampede of thumping boots. Every single one of them looked like he’d been built to smash rocks. With his bare hands.
“You’re good at talking your way out of trouble, right?” she asked Kai as the guards flooded the fighting pit.
“Of course.”
“Excellent. Because I’m only good at fighting my way out of trouble.”
He grunted in assent, then turned to the guard in front. “I am Kai Drachenburg.”
A few of the guards exchanged wary glances and shifted their weight. Apparently, Kai’s reputation preceded him.
“I know who you are,” the head guard shot back, unimpressed. “And you don’t belong in the pit. Come with us.” He looked as though someone had just spat in his coffee. A security guard who took his job seriously. Go figure.
“Your response time is abysmal,” Kai said as Mr. Serious waved the other guards forward.
