Fearless (The Blue Fire Saga) (46 page)

Throngs of people milled about in the
concourse, seeming tiny in the huge room. Some crisscrossed the floor at a rapid walk, others stood still or strolled slowly, gawking at the architecture and décor
just like
she was.
In addition to being a very busy terminal, s
he had read that
Grand Central
was
also
one of
New York City’s most popular tourist attractions
.

The crowds and the plethora of
transit options were
the reasons
Dominic had chose
n
this place for their meeting. D
espite the size
of the station
, he h
ad given her an easy spot
to meet: by the information counter under the
famous
four-sided clock. He had instructed
her to wait there for him
and he would pick her up on the move. W
ith the black w
aziri on his tail, he and Leesa would not be staying still for even a few minutes
.

She strolled toward the spherical
clock, in no hurry. Even from this
distance,
she could see
the hands of the clock telling her
it was still t
en minutes before
noon. The crowd
grew thicker as she neared
the circular marble and brass information counter. A few people were actually seeking inform
ation from the half dozen workers
behind the counter, but most were simply studying the
beautiful,
unusual clock. Many were taking pictures or videos
of the famous landmark
with cameras or smart phones.
Leesa had read that the four faces of the clock were
each
fashioned of polished opal, and that it was valued at more than ten million dollars.

She was still admiring
at the clock when she felt a hand on her elbow.
Turning, she saw
Dominic beside her.
He looked the same as ever.
She saw no sign that he had been on the run for several weeks. As usual, his clothes seemed clean and fresh. She definitely needed to learn that spell, she reminded herself,
once
the business with the black waziri was finished.

“Let’s go,” he
said, guiding her away from the counter.

“It’s good to see you,” Leesa said.

Dominic turned his head toward
her
and smiled.
“You, too.”

They strode rapidly across the floor, but not so quickly that they stood out among the many other hurrying commuters.
Dominic led
her onto a steeply sloped ramp that took them down to the subway platforms. A train had just arrived, so
as soon as the doors slid open, Leesa and Dominic
stepped onto it
.
There were only a few other people in the car, so they chose a seat that gave them
some
privacy and
sat
down next to each other.

“Are we going anywhere in particular?” Leesa asked.

“No,” Dominic replied as the doors slid shut. “
We just need to keep moving
.”

A mome
nt later, they were rac
ing away through a dark tunnel.

This was a much different experience for Leesa than her earlier train ride. The only scenery
here
w
as the dark wall rushing by just
a few feet from the
window.
Every now and then
the illuminated windows of
another train flashed by on
the
opposite side of the car.
The first time it happened, Leesa gasped. There couldn’t have been more than a couple of feet between the speeding trains.
It didn’t seem to faze any of the other passengers, so she guessed it must be safe. She turned her thoughts back to the matter at hand.

“Can the black waziri follow you even down here in these tunnels?”

“They can, but not
so
easily as when I travel above ground. They have to follow behind in the same tunnel.”

Leesa thought for a moment.
“Once they know which train we
’re on, what’s to keep one of them from leapfr
ogging ahead and waiting for us
?”

“Nothing,” Dominic admitted, though
he did
not appear
overly concerned by
the idea.
He pulled
a folded
subway map
from his pocket
.

“That’s why we are going to keep changing trains,” he continued as he spread the map out on his lap.

Leesa looked down at the map. She saw lines of at least six different colors crisscrossing the city
. Each color represented a different
subway line.

“I wish more cities had
systems as extensive as New York,” Dominic said. “It’s the ea
siest place for me to gain
ground on my pursuers. I used it
right after I fled
from Connecticut.”

The train slowed to a stop. Dominic grabbed Leesa’s hand and stood up.

“Let’s go,” he said.
“Time to change direction.”

He led Leesa out of the car and up a set of stairs out into daylight. She blinked as her eyes adjusted to the sunny brightness, but as soon as they crossed the
busy
street they descended another set of stairs and boarded a new train.

“Has there been any change in your magic,” Dominic asked after they sat down.
“Has it come back at all?”

Leesa shook her head.
“No, not
at all.”

“Good.”

Good
? Leesa wasn’t sure she had heard him correctly.
“What do you mean?
Why is that good?”

“Because my plan d
epends on it.
I’m hoping we can use
it
to weaken our enemies, and then perhaps defeat them.”

Leesa frowned.
“I don’t understand.
How?”

“First, we must lure them into the area where their magic will be diminished, like yours and Rave’
s. Then, while
they are
weakened, I will
destroy them.”

Leesa thought for a moment. Something about what Dominic was saying didn’t make sense. Finally, she had it.

“
If you come
there,
your magic will be weakened as well,” she said. “You won’t have the power to destroy them.”

“I will if we do this right.”
Dominic laid his hand atop
Leesa’s. “
My plan is dangerous,” he said.
“Especially for you.
I’ll understand if you don’t want to do it after I
tell you what I have in mind
.”

Leesa looked down at Dominic’s hand and then back up into his face. If he had a plan to rid them of two of their most powerful enemies, she had to at least consider it, no matter how dangerous. She trusted Dominic—trusted his wisdom and his concern for her. He would not ask her to do anything that wasn’t worth the risk.
And he would do his best to insure her safety.

“Tell me
your plan
,” she said.

37
.
AVATAR

D
ominic reached into his back pocket and pulled
out his magic wallet. He glanced around the subway car
to make sure
no one was watching. N
o
ne of their fellow passengers appeared to be showing any interest in a couple they probably guessed to be father and daughter—they were all lost in their own private worlds, faces stuck behind newspapers or listening to music with
their eyes
closed.

Even so, Dominic turned his body sideways and held the wallet between him and Leesa before sticking his hand inside.
Leesa watched, no longer surprised but still amazed, as Dominic’s
arm disappeared
into the wallet
halfway
up
to his elbow. When he withdrew it, he was holding
a beautiful rectangular box slightly smaller than his hand and no more than two inches deep.
T
he box looked like it
had
been carved from ivory, with engraved silver plates reinforcing each of its
eight
corners. A ninth piece of silver joined the top of the box to the bottom. From its position, Leesa thought it was probably a lock or clasp of some kind, but she could see no locking mechanism.

“
T
hat’s
beautiful,
”
she said, thinking the box must be some sort of magic talisman. “What is it?”

Dominic kept t
he box low and between them
, shielding it from sight.

“It’s just a box
—a very lovely
box, I grant you—but still pretty much just a box.
It is what’
s inside that
i
s important
.”

“It’s not very big,” Leesa said. “What’
s inside
?”

“The key to my plan.”

Leesa looked down at the box again, trying to imagine what could
possibly
be inside such a small container that could be the key to defeating several black wizards. Whatever it was, if it was so pow
erful,
why Domin
ic hadn’t used it against Josef?
They had all nearly lost their lives in that battle, so why hadn’t he used it then? She guessed he must have had his reasons—wizard reasons probably, which didn’t always make sense to ordinary people, or even to apprentice wizards, for that matter.