AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Make love, not war,” Arden croons, earning him an instant snarl from the enchantress.
“Prieto. I swear, if you keep taking credit for lines that your black soul will never comprehend…”
“How about disruption, not detonation?” Kara offers a bit too brightly. But it accomplishes the purpose, defusing them both.
“Ah. There’s the golden ticket,” Circe commends. “Except that motto might be easier declared than done.”
Arden pulls out his phone and wakes up the screen. “Not all the favors I redeemed were in other realms. Courtesy of the Malibu Planners office, here are the up-to-date blueprints for Rerek’s place. Wish I could say it possesses anything unique from every other residence along this stretch. The front entrance basically seems like nothing, though it’s a heavily monitored fortress in its own right. The majority of the larger entrances face the shore at the other side.”
“Viable entrances that are surrounded by clear glass walls,” I say with a frown. “So our element of surprise might as well be some hand sparklers and a marching band.”
It’s a better metaphor for the moment than I think. As Kara steps forward again, she looks like one of those symbolic sparklers, ignited in breathtaking human form. “Unless…” she ventures, eyes agleam and feet rocking, “we enteranotherway.”
Circe’s the first one to comprehend that declaration, lifting her head to follow the figurative comet trail behind Kara’s look. “Another way…as in theroof?” Her gaze bugs wide. “And that’s deflection over detonation…how?”
“Ah.” Arden smirks. “For a dour demon who enjoys card games with Rasputin and Lizzie Borden when summoned down under, Rerek is strangely fond of skylights.”
“The villa came that way,” Kara explains. “For a bunch of years, Rerek planned to get rid of them. He even talked to some trendy gothic artist out of Rotterdam about doing murals over them.”
“What happened to all that?” I ask.
“Jaden mentioned that he liked the skylights.”
“Then Jaden might get to thank himself for his rescue,” Arden remarks. “If we can figure out how to make this happen.”
Circe sweeps us all with a puzzled look. “Why am I suddenly lost here?”
“A breach through the roof.” Kara peels away from us, angling herself right and left in a desperate bid to get better glances at the rooflines, only to huff with frustration. I doubt any of us will be much help. It’s impossible to observe anything about the villa other than its modernistic front atrium.
“The…roof,” Circe echoes, her throat hoarse. “Skylights…” Not as gruff this time, but that’s because of the dread replacing it. “Ohhh, no. Ohhh, Kara, youcannotbe thinking—”
“Circe.”
Kara finishes by spinning back around. There’s new confidence in her stance. Brighter flecks in her gaze. Even the way her hands and fingers are poised, spread and ready at her sides…
I’m not just dazzled.
I’m proud. To immeasurable depths.
“Circe,” she intones again.
“No.” The high sorceress knows the reiteration tactic too. “Hecate and I spent only a few hours with you yesterday! If something happens and you—”
“Nothing’s going to happen except whatshould.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Did you tell yourself that beforeyourfirst magical calling?”
“I changed a prince into a frog, Kara. Yes, that’s right. Why do you think they turned the story into a fairy tale and not an epic hero’s poem? Because it was basic spellcasting. As easy as brushing my teeth. None of it involved…gravity.” She shakes her head. “And getting past whatever mortal security perimeter Rerek has in place. Not to mention the crafty bastard himself…”
“Negative,” I say, unable to tamp a subtle but wicked smile. “Rerek will be the last of your concerns.”
Circe looks up, eyes wide and piercing. “Is he not home? How do you know?”
I crack my knuckles. “Oh, I very much look forward to him being home.”
The sorceress groans. Her shoulders sag. Desperately, she snaps her stare at Arden. “You understand all this, right? You’refullyaware of what we’re talking about here? She wants to levitate her brother and sister by a distance we still don’t know, out a skylight we’re not sure we can open. That’s if we can even find the right one.”
