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

little Leon was going to like them. Hell, he didn’t like them either. But they couldn’t keep going like this. Someone had to do something.

It might as well be him.

“Right now, they’re the hunters, and we’re the prey,” he said quietly. “If we’re going to have a chance of turning this around, we need to change that. And we need to get that mage out of the picture.”

“The one tracking you,” Leon said.

Daniel nodded. “...Yeah. We need to…” He chuckled sourly. “We need to get them to move how we want them to.”

“Yeah?” James said roughly. “And how the hell are we supposed to do that?”

“We use bait.”

The car went silent. For a long moment, the steady rumbling of the ancient, worn-out engine was the only noise to be heard.

“Fucking what?” Maya said.

“Wait,” James said. “What are you-”

He stopped just as quickly, biting off the words, and turned back to face front. But Daniel saw him swallow.

Leon didn’t say anything. That was somehow the worst part—he stayed perfectly silent. But Daniel could feel his accusatory stare burning into his skin.

It’s for you, he wanted to say. It’s to keep you safe. You, and Maya, and James. No one should get put in danger because of me. I have to keep you from being hurt worse.

“You have magic now,” he said instead, letting his voice drop softer. “What you did with the tree...I saw it.”

“Yeah,” Leon breathed. He sank back into his seat, as though that was all the reminder he needed of the terrifying scene. “What was that? What did I-”

“And you,” Daniel said, turning to James. “You still have that hammer.”

“What?” James raised the hammer. His brow furrowed. “Yeah. I guess I do.”

“Oh,” Leon said. “Oh. You...You don’t think he-”

“We’ve got magic, if we can figure out how to use it,” Daniel said. “So we just have to…” He licked his lips. “We just need a plan.”

“Right,” Leon said. “This is that bait thing, isn’t it? Gotta be honest. I’m not loving the sounds of this.”

“I know,” Daniel said. He smiled faintly. I’m sorry.

Instead, he looked from Leon to Olivia—who jumped. “W-What?” she said.

“Well,” he said, shifting in his seat. He offered her a wan smile before turning his gaze back to the others. “I’ve got a plan. But you might not like it."

Olivia stared, pale. “Okay,” she said at last. “Hit me.”

Daniel exhaled. His leg was starting to return to its prior agony, the exertions from the last hour fading. “We need to lure them in,” he said. “We need to make them think we’re vulnerable. And we know they’re chasing after me. So if they’re coming for me, all we have to do is stick me in a dead end somewhere and-”

“What?” she snapped, just a hair shy of a shriek. “Owl, why the hell would-”

“Because we need to do something,” he said. “And this is as good as I’ve got. Unless…” He chewed on an idea, his brow furrowing. “Unless you think you could convince Indira? You’ve worked together for a long time. She’s the one who put you up to...everything.” Almost everything. If Indira was to be believed, some of Olivia’s exuberance had been her taking the initiative. Even still, Indira had had her fingers deeply in the mix.

“Yes,” Olivia said. “She did trust me. Before I went and defected. How do you think she’s going to see me now?” Her voice rose, growing sharper. Angrier. “I gave that future up, Owl. It’s gone. I can’t undo things.”

“I know,” Daniel said. “But could you convince her you’re regretting that? Just enough to turn on me?”

No one spoke—but Daniel could feel the eyes on him. The stares.

“No,” Olivia said. She shook her head, faster and faster. “No, she wouldn’t believe it. She’d see through me in an instant. She’s smart, and even if she did believe me-”

“Rickard,” Daniel said with a sigh.

“And we’d be tipping our hand,” Leon said. Daniel glanced at him, and he shrugged. “It’s the truth. Our element of surprise would be gone.”

“Yeah,” Daniel said. He sat back, returning to his thoughts. “Then...we’ll have to play this straight.” He chuckled. “At least you’re admitting we have the element of surprise. We just need to find a way to use it.”

“W-What?” Maya said.

“What?” Olivia echoed. She was still ghostly pale, her eyes wide, but with every passing second seemed to get a grip on herself.

“We’ll come up with something,” he said, insistent. “They’ll be following us anyway. They’ll see us go to ground. Maybe they’ll...they’ll think we’re exhausted. Trying to hole up again. And then, when their eyes are focused on me-”

“We come in from the back,” James said.

Daniel smiled grimly. “Right.”

“Hell, no,” Leon said. His voice was low. Dangerously low. “Do you realize how stupid that sounds? They’re chasing us, and you want to just hand yourself over to them?”

“I’m not handing myself over,” Daniel said. “We justneed to get around to their rear lines. This tracker guy is not coming up to fight on the front. He’s smarter than that. So we’re going to have to make do somehow.”

“But if they get you, they’ll-”

“They won’t,” Daniel said. “We’ll keep ourselves a back way out. A plan B. We’ll take two cars—two getaways.”

“So you’re going to steal another car,” Maya said. She kept her voice neutral, but Daniel heard the wry humor running through it.

“No,” Leon said. “Again. Let me repeat. Hell, no. This is stupid. You’re going to just wait for them to come to you? And then, what. Once they show up-”

“You and everyone else will be waiting,” Daniel said. “A safe distance away. When they show up, they’ll be off balance. Unsure. Confused. While they’re-” He bit the word off, shaking his head. While they’re closing in on me. “While they’re distracted, you guys can make for the back of the group. Bust in, find the big asshole who keeps ogling us. And then take him out.”

“And you?” Leon’s eyes flashed