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

from glancing back toward where their pursuers had to be approaching. At any moment, he expected them to come bursting out of the darkness, accelerating toward them.

Worse still were the eyes he could feel on the back of his neck as he worked. Leon, probably, or James. Maybe all of them. He ignored them as best he could, forcing himself to focus on his work. They could be judgemental as much as they wanted later, as long as they were alive.

And judgemental or not, he saw all of them relax as the door popped open. “Get in,” he mumbled, hurling himself at the steering column.

“Are you sure you want to drive?” he heard Maya say, her voice low. “I...I think you should-”

Daniel nodded, already peeling the plastic back to expose the wires beneath. “You can drive. But unless you know how to hotwire-”

“N-No,” Maya said, waving her hands frantically. “God, no. Have at it.”

“Have at it faster,” James rumbled. He pressed closer, holding to the roof of the SUV to keep from swaying. His eyelids drooped. “They’re coming.”

“W-What?” Maya squeaked.

“They’re not,” Olivia said. “Not yet.”

James’ nose wrinkled. “Well, they will be. So hurry up.”

“Going as fast as I can,” Daniel spat. He’d done this before, in Alexandria. Anything to stave off the boredom, he’d told himself. He’d never thought he’d actually use the skill, though. With pain and exhaustion warring for control of his mind, every movement was slow, deliberate.

But James still clutched Cyril’s hammer. Daniel’s gut churned.

Again. This was happening again, just like with Leon. He didn’t even have to visit Alexandria to know what changes were taking place.

But they needed the strength. They were running out of weapons, and Rickard’s people were fresh. So he turned his eyes away from the hammer, gritting his teeth, and kept fumbling with the wires.

When the car roared to life, Maya shoved past him. “Let me. Get in the back.”

For once, he was all too willing to let them drag him into the SUV, slamming the door just as soon as his feet cleared. His leg was numb, and his head ached, and he still felt that horrible emptiness in his gut.

It was enough to let Maya throw the SUV into reverse, gunning out of the alley, and droop. Olivia was squeezed up against his right side, with Leon frowning across from beyond her.

“Go,” James rasped. He sat poised in the passenger seat, clutching the handle over the window. “They might be-”

“I know,” Maya snapped. She spun the wheel hard, hitting the brakes. Tired rubber screeched across the quiet air. Putting the SUV into drive, she hit the gas again.

The alley, once their safe refuge, vanished into the haze behind them.

“What now?” James said. He glanced back to them, his eyes dark. “What do we do?”

“Find the freeway,” Leon said. He leaned forward, bracing his elbows against his knees, and nodded once. His pipe lay flat against his leg, clutched in one hand. “We get back on and we keep driving. How’s this thing looking on gas, Maya?”

“Fine,” Maya said, and a smile flickered across her face. “It’s not full, but we’ve got a good half tank. We can go for a while.”

“Sweet,” Leon said. “Okay. That sounds good.”

“O-Okay,” Maya said. Her head bobbed, though, and her eyes were unfocused. “I can...We can do that.”

“Hey,” James said. He reached over, squeezing her knee. “We’re good. We’re okay.”

“I...I know,” Maya said. She smiled weakly at him, but her lips trembled. “I’m fine.”

“Think of it this way,” James said. “You won’t have to worry about that chemistry exam.”

It was ridiculous. Maya’s expression quivered again—and then fractured entirely. Peals of laughter filled the cab, with Maya’s giggles underlaid by Leon’s snorts and the low, rumbling of James.

Through it all, though, Daniel stayed quiet. So did Olivia, he realized.

Eventually, they quieted, and he licked his lips.

“Actually,” he whispered.

Just like that, they all stopped.

“No,” Leon said, leaning forward again.

Daniel blinked. “What? I didn’t-”

“The way you said that. Actually. You were about to cut in with something else, weren’t you? Some sort of grand plan?”

“W-Well-”

“He’s right,” Maya said. She twisted, glancing back through waves of black hair to eye him. “I-I think we should just go. If...If we can’t go to the police, then maybe we can keep running and-”

“They found us before,” Daniel said. Olivia didn’t move a finger, but he could feel her deflating beside him. Drooping. “We drove for hours, and they still caught up to us.”

“So we go farther, then?” Maya said. “We can...We could outrun them. Try to-”

“They’re following us with magic,” Olivia said. Her voice was quiet enough that everyone clammed up, straining to hear her. She balled up her fists, her shoulders rising even as her chin ducked lower to her chest. “It doesn’t matter how far we go. They’ll be following—and so they won’t let us get enough distance on them to break the connection. Assuming it can be broken”

“The one asshole,” Daniel said. His heart sank, but...he’d expected this, too. “The one who was messing with my blood.”

Olivia nodded, still looking down. “...Yeah.”

“So you knew,” James said. His voice was quiet, but no less dangerous for it. “You knew they had this guy, and you didn’t say anything.”

“I didn’t know,” she snapped. “I...I’m guessing. But it checks out. And-”

“If we let them keep chasing us around and around and around, it’s only a matter of time,” Daniel said. “We’re tired and hurt. They’ll wait for us to exhaust ourselves and then run us to ground.”

“So let’s kill enough of them they can’t,” James said. “Fuckers already lost a few, right?”

Maya flinched. The SUV jerked, resuming its straight flight just as soon as she regained her composure.

“There are too many of them,” Olivia said, shaking her head. “And they’d just...they’ll back off until reinforcements arrive.”

James scowled, turning back to the window with a huff.

“So what?” Leon said. His eyes were glued to Daniel’s face. “What do you think? Any ideas?”

Daniel swallowed. He did have some ideas. He just knew how