Adamant (9 page)

“We’ve always been in debt.” I chewed on my lower lip. Stress habit. “I know. I should have… I don’t know. It’s done now. I’ll figure something out when we get home. If Nell doesn’t bury me in the garden.”

“Come on, Nell’s kind enough to give you the dignity of a quick death,” said Alber. “It’ll be painless.”

“What on Earth are you two talking about?” said a voice from behind us, causing me to jump and spill hot chocolate everywhere. Skyla had arrived, clad in leather—actual leather, not guard uniform. Probably meant she was hoping for a fight. For once, I was
not.

“Ouch,” I said, dabbing at myself.

“You’re as twitchy as Nell,” said Alber. “Remember when she threw a knife out the window at me when I came home late?”

“Hey. No talking about my murderer. I want to enjoy my last hour on Earth in peace.”

“Do I really want to know where this conversation’s going?” asked Skyla.

“Lost my job,” I said. “As of tonight, I’ll be the first in the Fletcher family’s emporium of stuffed human corpses.”

Alber laughed so hard he knocked his glass of Coke over, too.

“You two,” said Skyla, shaking her head. “We should head out. Who are you meeting again?”

“Delta,” I said, waving my phone. Lucky bugger could leave Valeria whenever he wanted. Delta was always running around other worlds having adventures, or so it seemed to me. Hell, there wasn’t even an age restriction on travelling offworld. Earth’s Alliance was ridiculous in that respect. You had to be twenty-one to even apply for a permit, and all applications were Alliance-scanned, so I’d never have been able to leave Earth legally even if I’d wanted to. Right now, it felt like I’d got the shitty end of the deal. That could easily have been me, if Nell and I had been assigned to Valeria, not Earth. The offworlder population there was high enough that although using a magic-shot was illegal, it was easier to get away with it. And there were hover cars. But then again, I’d brought Delta for a tour of London and he’d been enraptured by the public transport system. Each to his own, I guess.

Still, talking to Skyla raised my spirits a touch. As it was light outside, we took our time getting to the alleyway which housed the entrance to the Passages, waiting to make sure no one was watching. Bruise-coloured clouds crowded over the brick buildings, promising a storm later. The biting air was far too cold for a summer evening.

“Are you sure it’s safe taking that stuff in there?” asked Skyla, with a glance at the bag. “Magic and the Passages don’t mix, do they?”

“This is dormant,” I said, shaking the bag. “Harmless, at least until you use it in a formula. Are
you
sure the Alliance patrols are running as usual? We can’t really afford anything else to go wrong.”

“I’ll go into the Passages, if you’re worried,” said Skyla. “I don’t mind, honest.”

I hesitated. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust her—she was one of maybe five people who’d won my trust over the years—but the idea of handing over the bloodrock made the image of Nell’s stern face rise in my mind.

“I’ll take it,” said Alber. “You can be our lookout, right?”

No,
I thought. Yeah, I’d had a close call, but it shouldn’t be this big a deal.

“Come on, we have to go,” said Skyla, and she found the sliding door behind the brick wall.

“See you in a bit, okay?” said Alber, and before I could protest, the two of them had disappeared into the Passages.

And I was left outside, on Earth, alone.

The minutes crawled by. I grew bored contemplating the cracks in the opposite wall and began surfing the Internet on my phone. I sent Delta a quick text warning him he’d not be meeting me, but didn’t get a reply. The magic from behind the door sparked against my skin, and it took supreme effort not to pull on it. It was like an addiction I’d been born with, a craving for something more than the life I had on Earth. It wasn’t fair to Nell at all, or to anyone else, but now, with all the Multiverse a mere foot away, the pull to explore ached within me, even more insistent than usual. It would take only three steps.

Two.

One.

A scream rang out from the Passage. I jerked back, heart thumping, hand going for the dagger in my boot. Caution warred with instinct for a brief struggle, and then I ran through the door.

An icy breeze swept over me, and the magic exploded all around me like fireworks. Something had caused a major disturbance, and it definitely hadn’t come from Earth.

I ran, feet striking the stone floor and echoing off the walls. I was sure the scream had been Skyla’s. Skidding around a corner, I collided with Alber, and the two of us fell to the ground. He shook all over, and it was pretty obvious why.

A gigantic reptilian creature towered over us, at least eight feet tall, stooped under the ceiling and perched on two legs like a dinosaur with two short, skeletal wings. It opened its beak and screamed, and frantic scrambling sounds told me Skyla was trapped on its other side.

I recognised it from pictures, though I’d never seen one before. A wyvern. Where in hell had it come from?
Stupid question,
I thought, as its barbed tail flicked through the air, its deadly stinger aimed for the spot where I’d stood half a second ago. Those stings held enough poison to kill you in less than a minute. Icy fear flowed down my spine.

“Skyla!” I shouted. “Get out of there!” She lay flat on the ground, blood spattered around her, and my heart plummeted—
please don’t let her be dead!

She pushed to her feet, breathing heavily. Wait, that wasn’t human blood. The wyvern was hurt, its wings covered in numerous deep cuts. But the monster was heading right for her, its back to me. I couldn’t get to her. Cursing, I let the magic flow to my fingertips and the response vibrated in my bones. I fired a bolt of energy at the ground and then jumped, the energy rebounding and striking the wyvern in its scaly hide. The beast roared, its barbed tail knocking into a nearby door. The resounding sparks of magic burned holes in its skin through gaps where someone had knocked scales off, and it flailed, tail thrashing with enough force to break concrete. The floor shook, and I took a couple of steps back. No amount of magic within my blood could save me from that poison. And its half-metre-long claws were equally deadly. They could tear you to shreds.

Skyla leaped out of the way of its swiping claws, slashing with a dagger. A hideous screech told me she’d hit her mark. Alber slumped against the wall, eyes wide in terror. He’d never been good at dealing with monsters. I made sure he was well out of range, and then ran forwards.

My own dagger ready, I leaped and struck the wyvern from behind. I’d never fought a creature with so much external protection, and most of my strikes simply bounced off its armour. I had to keep withdrawing out of range of its thrashing tail.

Worse, I didn’t dare use magic above level one, otherwise it’d blow the place up. Second level magic might pierce the armour, but I was losing power with every strike I aimed. Burnout? Or was its armour partly magic-proof?

This wasn’t good. Gathering energy in the form of a crackling red orb, I put everything I had behind the dagger in my right hand, and hurled it as the beast bowed its head. If I hit just the right point, it’d pierce through the brain.

I missed, and the dagger clattered away down the Passage, sending sparks of red magic rebounding after it. Cursing, I dodged the tail again and grabbed for my second dagger. The beast swung around, Skyla still clinging to its side and striking it with her weapon. Crap. Now it was between us and the door. A claw swiped and Skyla yelled, letting go. She rolled out of the way of its rampaging feet and came to stand at my side, but we were hopelessly outmatched. And if it moved a few metres to the left, it’d be loose on Earth. Where no one would arrive in time to keep it from attacking other people, because the Alliance didn’t know about that Passage.

Shit.

Skyla grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the way of a claw. The monster reared up to its full height, letting out a roar loud enough to make my eardrums hurt. Claws slashed madly, and the beast drove us farther and farther back, out into another, narrower corridor.

“We’ve got to lure it away,” I gasped, my dagger suddenly a flimsy knife in comparison to those claws.

“This way!” Skyla pulled me down a side tunnel, panting, hair plastered to her face with blood from a cut on her cheek. The wyvern screeched, angry its prey was escaping, and struck out. We backed up down the tunnel. The ceiling was narrow, so I’d hoped the wyvern wouldn’t be able to fit, but it dropped to the ground and began to slither in a rapid, snakelike movement. I knew we’d driven ourselves into a bigger trap. Skyla’s nails dug into my arm. We backed away, and as its teeth snapped, pure panic took over.

We ran, the beast’s cries echoing behind us, faster, faster—claws swiped at our backs and I felt my coat tear, shredded to ribbons. Another swipe, and the dagger clattered from my hand.
No!

No time to stop. My heart pounded in tandem with our frantic steps. We ran through corridors even I didn’t know, until I skidded to a halt at a dead end.

Dead. We were dead.

Skyla leaned against the wall, gasping. “Shit. Shit.”

I looked around wildly. Nothing but blank, blue-lit wall… wait. One section of wall didn’t look right. A hidden staircase. I grabbed Skyla’s arm and pulled her towards it just as the wyvern came slithering into the corridor. Cursing, we scrambled up the stairs, higher up into the Passages—the first level.

And the wyvern was still following us. Crap.
Crap.
The corridor we stood in ended at another dead end. Only one way to turn, and we ran. I’d never been here before, not this part of the first level, I didn’t have a freaking clue where we were going, how we’d ever get back. But the only thing between us and death was running like hell, until we lost the monster. The roaring breath at our heels told me that wasn’t happening anytime soon. I couldn’t run forever. My muscles screamed, my legs ached, Skyla was chalk white and the cut on her face was streaming blood, and we couldn’t stop. I wouldn’t die in this place.

Corridor after corridor. A maze with no way out. And a monster raging behind us, getting closer–

It was too late to stop, to avoid running into the people suddenly up ahead…

Alliance guards.

***

KAY

Go time
, I thought as we left Central that evening. The Law Division had sent out yet more alerts. London’s West Office had closed their Passage entrance, forbidding even people with permits to travel offworld. The UK Alliance had put Earth’s main corridor, used by people from hundreds of worlds, on lockdown. They really did think there were illegal magic-wielders out there. Carl had given us each a pair of metal handcuffs along with the standard stunners.

“They’re laced with obsidiate and adamantine,” he’d said. “Not that you’re likely to have to use them, but if you do catch a magic-wielder, it’ll incapacitate them.”

I hadn’t missed the significant look Aric gave me. Maybe I should just lock him up in the handcuffs and leave him in a corner somewhere.

“Scared?” he whispered behind me at the door into the Passages. “There might be something dangerous waiting in the dark…”

I stepped back onto his foot. Hard.

“Bastard,” he said, between clenched teeth.

I turned to give him a humourless smile. “Shouldn’t startle me like that,” I said, softly. “It might well be your face next time.”

And then I followed the others, stunner at the ready in case he decided to ambush me from behind.

A clamour echoed from the corridor ahead. “There’s trouble,” said the leading guard.

I was already prepared, but a new tension seared my veins. I recognised that cry.

Wyvern.

I couldn’t help it—I glanced at Aric. If he had anything to do with this… but no. His eyes were stretched wide with terror, his face stark white.

We rounded a corner and met total chaos. Sparks of magic danced off the walls, creating a haze of blinding light, and I swore, flicking the stunner to life in my hand. I couldn’t see more than a few inches in front of me, and running headlong towards a wyvern blinded was the height of stupidity. But the others on our team were already on the case.

“I’m calling backup!” yelled the leader. “We’ll take care of the lizard—stop those magic-wielders!”

Hell. Those sparks were pure, raw magic energy—level two. These were the real deal, all right. Blurred figures moved in the dark, and when one of them pelted towards the exit, I took off after them.

I might have been blinded, but I was faster than they were—faster than she was. My arms locked around her waist and sent us both sprawling to the ground. She kicked and squirmed but I held her pinned down. Screaming curses, she twisted around to glare at me from behind wild dark red hair. She was little more than a kid, I realised—but I couldn’t afford to let her get away.

I went for the handcuffs. And the floor beneath us began to shake.

Damn.
She’d hit the ground with magic, and with us both down, the backlash could hit either of us. I had the advantage of magicproof uniform, but she didn’t. An untrained magic-wielder? Dangerous, whoever she was. I dragged her away from the backlash, a ripple that pulsed through the air. The magic was so thick here, I could see the backlash rippled outwards, strike the wall, and rebound. Swearing, I ducked, and the girl took the opportunity to squirm out of my grip.
Oh no, you don’t.