City of Magic: The Complete Series by Helen Harper (book club recommendations TXT) 📕

The helicopter tilted alarmingly to the left then its back rotor gave out and it started to spin, as if completely out of the pilot’s control. I was already running towards the barrier towards it when it disappeared from sight completely and there was an almighty crash. Well, fuck.

I knew these streets. Using the side alleys that were all but invisible to anyone who wasn’t familiar with them, I reached the crash site within moments. Monroe was hot on my tail. The smoke and flames rising up from the wreckage were extraordinary.

I darted forward. Monroe grabbed my arm and hauled me back. ‘You can’t. It’s too dangerous.’

‘The pilot is still in there! We have to help him.’

‘Not,’ he said through gritted teeth, ‘if you’re going to get yourself killed in the process. The fire’s too strong and the whole thing might explode at any moment. Don’t lose your mind completely, Charlotte.’

‘I keep telling you,’ I hissed. ‘It’s Charley.’

I was irritated because he was right. I knew from my own experience that I wasn’t going to get close to the helicopter, not while it was burning like this.

I shook off Monroe’s arm. ‘I’m supposed to be some sort of enchantress,’ I told him. ‘There has to be a way to fix this.’ I had to find one quickly – that helicopter would soon be engulfed in flames. The pilot didn’t have long; the flames were licking towards the cockpit and I could make out the shape of his unconscious body.

If I’d thought that Monroe was going to roll his eyes and wander off, I’d underestimated the man. His eyes narrowed, focusing on the burning aircraft. ‘That trick you pulled at the canal,’ he said. ‘When you used magic to bring yourself back to shore. Can you do the same but bring the pilot to us? Ideally without dragging him along the ground and through the fire.’

I swallowed. In theory it should be possible but Monroe was right: if I simply used magic to tug the pilot’s body, I’d end up pulling him through the worst of the fire. He’d be cremated before I even took a breath.

There wasn’t time to consider how it would work. The flames and heat were already growing to disastrous proportions.

I closed my eyes. It would be too difficult to watch if my actions did nothing more than hasten the pilot’s death. Somehow using my mind rather my vision seemed to make sense – but what the hell did I know? I was making this shit up as I went along.

I blocked out everything – the roar of the flames, the reek of petrol, the goosebumps making me shiver like I had a fever – and conjured up the image I needed. I imagined myself raising the pilot’s body up into the air then moving him out of the cockpit towards us.

Something unclicked deep in the recesses of my brain. It was working. I knew without looking that it was working. I could feel him moving. And then something snagged.

Beside me, Monroe drew in a sharp breath. ‘Seatbelt,’ he muttered. ‘He’s still clipped in.’

Shit. That was something I hadn’t thought of. ‘Can you see it?’ I asked, pressure building in my temples and throbbing painfully. ‘Can you describe it?’

‘It’s over his shoulders.’ He cursed. ‘Hang on.’

I squeezed my eyes tighter shut. My own heart was thumping loudly in my ears loud. Da dum. Da dum. Da dum. Da…

‘Crossed at his chest,’ Monroe said. ‘I think there’s a button at the front to release it. I can’t reach it or him.’ He paused. ‘I’m sorry.’

I barely heard his apology. I was already focusing, creating an imaginary finger to release the seatbelt and free the pilot. I tugged and tugged until I thought I had it, then Monroe muttered again. ‘Fuck.’

Alarm slammed through me and I almost lost my control completely. I could feel the pilot slipping from my mental grasp and I yelped.

‘Don’t stop!’ Monroe’s voice was urgent. ‘You’ve got him. I was … surprised.’

My mouth was as dry as sandpaper. I tried to swallow again before opening one eye a crack. The limp body of the pilot was coming towards us, inch by inch. He was floating and I was making it happen.

I gasped and hastily closed my eye. If I thought too much about what I was doing and what was making it happen, I’d lose my grip. I furrowed my brow and tensed every muscle. Come on. Come on.

From the very edges of my consciousness, I felt Monroe move. ‘I’ve got him. I’ve got him, Charley.’

I exhaled, feeling the release in my lungs. I hadn’t even realised I was holding my breath. The pressure in my head eased and my knees buckled.

We had the pilot. We’d done it.

Chapter Eighteen

‘He’s in a bad way.’ Cath’s brow was creased with worry.

I avoided looking at her bloodstained clothes and met her eyes. ‘There must be something you can do.’

‘Not enough. He’s lost too much blood and I think there’s internal damage.’ She gestured helplessly at the unconscious pilot. ‘All I can do is pat heads and sew up wounds. This is beyond me, far beyond me.’

In my peripheral vision I caught sight of Julie licking her lips. That was a sight I didn’t want to see.

‘You’ve done your best, Cath,’ I sighed. ‘That’s all we can ask.’ I reminded myself that, when all was said and done, she was only a kid and squeezed her arm reassuringly. ‘How long do we have till the city borders close?’

‘A little over three hours.’ Her fingers plucked at her sleeves. ‘The Army’ll be able to help him. They’ll have the equipment and the people to save him.’

‘Yeah.’ I sighed. ‘I know.’

Monroe glowered at me from the corner. ‘I’ll take him. I’m strong enough to fight anything that comes at us along the way and get him to where he needs to be.’ At my raised eyebrows, his glower intensified. ‘What?’ he demanded. ‘I’m not