Chapter Seventeen

“Go, go, go!” Eadric roared, vaulting over the counter and tackling Asterin to the floor. Another knife flew through the entranceway of Sal’s Bakery, stopped less than an inch from Casper’s chest by the air barrier that Nicole threw in front of him just in time. “Gino, Nicole, into the back room!”

“No,” Asterin hissed, fighting against Eadric’s unyielding grip. “I’m not leaving Casper—” She let out a yelp as her feet swung off the floor and Eadric slung her over his shoulder like a sack of flour. “Put me down!”

Nicole cursed and shielded her face as the bakery’s display window shattered, showering all three Elites in glass. The terrified screams of horses rang through the air. Silver-blue knives darted in the morning light like a school of fish, bouncing off Nicole’s barriers. One managed to break through. It sank hilt-deep into Casper’s shoulder and out the other side, piercing the nearby counter with a dull thud.

Nicole whirled desperately on Gino. “A little help here?”

“On it!” the Elite exclaimed.

A whimsical, melodious laugh drifted through the shattered window, raising the hairs on Asterin’s neck. “Let go of me!” she snarled, writhing sideways and chomping down on Eadric’s arm as he sprinted for the back room.

The captain swore but held fast. “Yeah, sorry, I was ready for that.” He kicked down the door and barreled into the kitchen beyond. Asterin spotted Sal and a few other bakers sprawled across the tile in bloodied aprons, their starched hats strewn about like wayward leaves among the littered glass.

“Windows!” Asterin hollered in realization just as three glowing blue knives shot toward them. Eadric ducked just in time and the knives lodged into the wall, but to her disbelief, they shuddered and slid themselves out, hovering midair. “Eadric—”

Eadric only ran faster, dodging steel pots and pans hanging from hooks above and nearly causing her to bite off her own tongue. “You deal with them, damnit,” he gritted out.

She hardly heard a word as the three knives whizzed straight for her face. Jets of ice exploded from her palms, knocking them off course. But like hounds locked on a scent, they surged at her again and again, relentless. Finally, she gathered her wits and blasted a huge jet of water upward. She froze the water immediately, trapping the psycho-blades within a huge slab of ice fixed to the ceiling.

Gino and Nicole skidded around the corner. Asterin just had enough time to yell, “Windows!” for Nicole to throw up an air barrier against another half-dozen knives. One blade rebounded into a baking pan rack. The rack teetered for a heartbeat before tipping over with a crash, raining unbaked croissants upon them. Asterin kept her eyes on the knives as they clattered to the ground, but to her great relief, they failed to so much as twitch.

Eadric released her at last. “Stay between us,” he said. “Nicole, Gino, you take the wings and rear. I’ll—”

“What about Casper?” Asterin demanded. “And the horses?”

The Elites shared a quick glance as they took up position. “Nicole managed to cut the horses loose,” said Gino. “The rest doesn’t matter. We need to get you out of here.”

Asterin clenched her fists. “I’m not leaving without Casper.”

Eadric whirled on her, fury scrawled across his features. “Yes, you are,” he spat in a tone he had never before used with her. “And that is an order.”

In her shock, she managed to blurt, “You can’t order me.”

Nicole’s hand fluttered just shy of her arm. “Our duty is to protect you with our lives, Your Majesty. We’re your Elites, and we will stop at nothing to keep you safe. So please—” The words continued to spill out, each a precious gem. “Help us honor our promise to you. Follow Captain Covington’s orders. For—for Casper.”

Asterin swallowed hard, thinking of Casper’s blazing eyes and that horrible blade protruding from his body. Finally, she nodded. “But how do we get out? Whoever is after us obviously has eyes on the building and apparently an endless supply of knives. As soon as we step out . . .”

“Storage room,” Gino suggested. “There must be one below us, to keep the supplies cool. Two of you are earth-wielders, and Your Majesty a powerful one at that. We’ll tunnel our way out.”

“Good thinking,” said Eadric. He scanned the kitchen and pointed at Sal’s body, sagging against the far wall, partly obstructed by the large brick oven in the center of the room. “There.”

It took Asterin a moment to realize that Sal was actually sitting on a rectangular patch of iron, the crook of one knee draped over a handle. “So we just need to get past those windows again without getting stabbed.”

They all stiffened as that sweet, horrible, musical laughter filled the air once more, drawing closer with each second, promising death. “Hurry,” Eadric hissed.

“I’ve got this,” Asterin said. She cast thick blocks of ice to replace the broken windows. “When I say go, everyone sprint for Sal. And . . . go!”

And then she dashed away in the opposite direction, toward the back exit.

“Asterin Faelenhart, what in hell do you think you’re doing?” Eadric snarled, his arms already wrapped around Sal’s beefy torso.

“Just get the hatch open. And that’s an order.” She frowned and peered at her makeshift windows. “My ice is still perfectly intact . . .” At that moment, she caught a glimpse of Grey rearing angrily outside and galloping up the road, a cloaked rider upon his back. “Someone just rode by on Grey!” But who? Two cloaked figures blurred past after Eadric’s steed, and she just managed to detect a flash of white hair from beneath a hood.

“It must have worked, then,” said Gino, relief palpable in his voice.

“What worked?”

“Hatch’s open,” Eadric barked.

“Fine,” Asterin snapped, bracing herself for the splintering of ice and psycho-blades as she bolted for the door, but none came.

Eadric leaped down the ladder, whereupon her Elites practically shoved her down the stairs and into the captain’s waiting arms. Just as Gino had predicted, the walls were covered with shelves of baking ingredients, and the air was cool and damp enough to raise gooseflesh along her skin. The hatch slammed shut above their heads, trapping them in darkness. Gino and Asterin summoned small spheres of light to combat it. Electricity crackled down Eadric’s arms, casting his body in a bluish glow a little too reminiscent of the psycho-blades for Asterin’s comfort.

“All right,” she muttered, nudging aside bags of sugar. Her fingers found the wall that would lead them down to the harbor. The surface crumbled at her command to reveal the earth beyond. Nicole joined her to ensure that the sides of the growing hole remained stable.

Muffled footfalls sounded above them. They all froze.

“What a mess. And a waste of croissants,” a deep, unfamiliar voice rumbled above them.

Asterin cursed in her head. If the floor was thin enough to hear people talking, tunneling would surely disturb the ground above and reveal their location.

“Hey, you,” another voice grunted, laced with pain. “I’m going to kick your ass.”

Asterin’s heart raced. “Casper,” she hissed. “He’s still alive.” She was halfway to the ladder when she slammed face-first into an invisible wall. Wincing with one palm pressed into her bruised forehead, she stared dumbly at the affinity stone Nicole kept brandished in her direction. “What are you doing?”

“Keeping you safe,” the Elite whispered.

A snort of disgust from above. “Kick my ass? Are you unaware that I’ve got your wrists bound and you’re leaking blood all over the floor?”

“Are you unaware that I’m about to burn you to a crisp?”

“Nicole—” Asterin growled.

“In your state? Somehow, I doubt that.”

“No,” Nicole bit out, her head shaking furiously. The air expanded, pushing Asterin backward, farther away from the hatch leading to Casper. “I won’t let you.”

“Well, surprise, you gloved bastard.”

BOOM.

The explosion above decimated the sound of their shouts. It rocked the very earth, sending them all toppling over. Asterin barely had time to twist away as a shelf and the row of jars upon it crashed on the ground. Shards of glass sliced her face. Yet even disoriented, bleeding, and choking on scorched air, she began clawing her way toward the ladder. Then a pair of arms locked around her chest and dragged her away. She hissed and thrashed, until Eadric’s face swam into view, his mouth moving in a repetitive stream of frantic words that reached her deafened ears only when the shrill ringing from the explosion finally abated.

“The tunnel, Asterin! The gods-damned tunnel! We need to get to safety!”

A sudden rage filled her. This was supposed to be a simple trip to see Quinlan, she thought, shoving away from Eadric and staggering forward.

“Your Majesty, please!” Gino exclaimed.

A feral roar clawed its way out of her throat as she stormed over to the unfinished hole in the wall. Fine. I’ll make a gods-damned tunnel.

The rage in her head quieted into a lethal hush.

And after that, I’ll find and hunt down every one of the sons of bitches responsible for this.

Then she planted her palms against the rugged, unforgiving earth and let her magic explode.