The Librarian: A Remnants of Magic Novel (The Librarian of Alexandria Book 2) by Casey White (read ebook pdf txt) 📕

The light warped, starting to coil in on itself, and Daniel froze.

Cyril. The mage who’d been putting up barriers around them, who’d been keeping outsiders away. He stumbled closer, clutching a hammer in his hand—the one just starting to go incandescent. The hair on the back of Daniel’s neck stood on end.

The mage hardly seemed to be comfortable standing. He wobbled with every step he took, and the arm with the hammer shook ominously. The men around him didn’t seem to want to get any closer, though.

Was one of them Rickard? The thought was small and treacherous, quickly worming its way too deep in Daniel’s thoughts to be removed. Is he here?

He didn’t have much doubt on that much, not anymore.

Cyril staggered forward another step, though, thrusting his hammer-wielding hand forward—and the light swirling around it splintered, ripping away into sheets and planes of brilliantly-glowing gold that arced toward.

“No!” Maya cried, lunging forward as the blades lanced through her car. “That’s my-”

James grabbed hold of her, pulling her back with one hand clamped firmly over his mouth. “Quiet,” Daniel heard him mutter. “C’mon, Maya, please.”

Daniel just stared at the car, one hand still clutching the edge of the curtains. Maya’s car sagged on its frame. One tire hissed, half-deflated already, and each of the dozen missiles that had sprayed through the vehicle left a path of destruction in its wake. Bits of shattered plastic and automotive paint scattered across the asphalt.

“Shit,” he whispered.

What the hell was he going to do now?

Get your shit together.

Daniel stiffened, standing straight. His hand fell from the curtains. They were coming. He couldn’t stop that, now. And they didn’t have a car anymore.

But he’d be damned if he let Indira take this life away from him.

“We have to move,” Daniel hissed. He twisted back away from the window. “They’re out there. Right now. We can-”

When he turned, though, still clinging to Leon’s shoulder, he saw only cheap plaster and peeling paint. “Crap,” he whispered. The motel only had the one exit—because of course it did. It had all the modern amenities 60’s-era construction could offer, including a single door and a single window. Both of which pointed straight out toward their pursuers.

He glanced back toward the window, all too aware of the seconds that were passing as he sat here wasting time.

They could make a run for it. Bust out through the door, fast as they could, and hopefully catch Rickard’s men by surprise. If they were quick, maybe they could make it around the edge of the building before they brought out the guns. Or the magic.

No. Daniel shook his head, casting the idea aside almost immediately. He wouldn’t be able to run fast enough, and...he glanced to the side, to where Leon stood.

Even if he was prepared to accept the consequences of a mad-dash run like that, he didn’t think Leon would feel the same. If Daniel stumbled, if he slowed down, he already knew Leon wouldn’t just leave him behind. And if Rickard had been serious...there was no way Daniel was going to trust his friends’ fates to a risky plan like that.

There had to be another way. Daniel pulled free from Leon, staggering back through the motel room. His lips moved, shaping half-formed words that flitted through his mind.

Through the wall? Sure, they could probably bash through the ancient plaster and timbers—if they had an axe. And it would take long. Far too long.

Maybe the bathroom had a window. He hurled himself toward the tiny, damp room, clutching the door frame for stability.

The bathroom did not have a window, just molding tile and a fan that dripped dust from above. Daniel cursed under his breath, turning back, and-

“There,” he gasped. His nerves sang as he stiffened, grabbing for the dresser someone had stuffed into a corner. “H-Hurry. Hurry, guys.”

“What?” he heard Leon cry. “D- Owl, what the hell are you-”

“We can get out through here,” Daniel spat, his eyes turned upward to the roof.

The room’s drop ceiling was as visibly aged as the rest of the room, its tiles faded to browns and off-whites. But damn it, they could get through there. If it meant they made it out of this alive and free, he’d call the damn place vintage, instead of calling it a shitheap.

“T-That’s not going to work,” Maya hissed. “We’re too big. We’ll fall right through-”

“Into the next room,” Daniel said, twisting enough to fix his almost-manic stare on her. “We’ll fall over the wall—into the next room.”

Because these motels were all cheaply built. He could almost remember the shape of it when they’d driven in. Two rows of rooms, backed up to each other, with their exits facing out the fronts. Which meant if they could just get over there, they’d have that much more distance between them and Rickard’s men.

With every second they stood there debating amongst themselves, his pulse raced faster. They’d wasted so much time. Any minute now, there’d be someone at the door, and-

“Man’s right,” James said, shoving forward. “Come on.”

Daniel blinked, momentarily stunned. And then he grinned at his unexpected savior. “James.”

“Stop arguing and just move,” James said roughly. He glanced over to Maya, dropping to a crouch. “You first.”

Maya glanced between James and Daniel, as though doubting the whole arrangement, but when James made an irritated noise, she moved.

The dresser groaned under her weight. She squirmed up on top of it, one foot braced against James’ hands, and worked one of the tiles loose.

“Hurry,” Daniel said. His eyes stayed glued to the door. His ears strained for the slightest noise. Were those footsteps he heard? He couldn’t tell. Maybe they were—or maybe it was just the thudding of his heart, the rush of his blood ringing in his ears.

“I-I’m working on it,” Maya hissed. “Where the hell am I-”

“Move toward the wall,” Daniel said. “There should be a gap. You might have to-”

“I-I see it,” he heard her say, suddenly elated. “Crap.