It was taking too long, though—and he could hear the pair of men shifting from foot to foot, still outside Leon’s window. Were they normal humans, sent from the Booklenders? Indira would have put her best people on the task. Whoever those people were. Daniel bit his lip. His mind was too fogged, too hazy from exhaustion and panic. He couldn’t make out their faces.
But he didn’t remember the name ‘Rickard’, either. That was new. If he was one of Indira’s underlings, surely Daniel would have remembered that much.
Which meant the man probably wasn’t from Indira at all. Or the two outside the window.
Which meant they probably weren’t Booklenders. They were probably-
“It’s freezing out here,” the first man muttered. “Come the hell on. Can we just-”
“Fine,” the second man sighed. “Let’s check the back, and then we’ll go help Sara inside.”
Right on cue, a door shut somewhere in the house behind them. Somewhere near. Daniel’s eyes flicked toward the noise, his pulse quickening. Before long, they’d face another onslaught from another direction—and he really, really didn’t trust their hiding place to hold up to a second inspection.
Their voices faded, drifting away. All the while, the noise from the house grew louder.
He wanted to go back to bed. He wanted to head straight back to Alexandria, to where he was safe, and he had magic, and if anyone wanted to mess with him, he could lock them up in a teeny tiny box of iron and kick them straight out the front door.
For the first time in forever, he wished he was Librarian Owl again.
He wasn’t, though, and he didn’t have time to mope about things. If he hesitated, they’d come back—or that ‘Sara’ they were talking about would come barging in.
Daniel was on his feet in an instant, grabbing hold of Leon again.Before he could doubt himself or second-guess the stupidity of what he was about to do, he’d already lunged forward toward the window.
His feet came up on automatic. With a heave, he dumped himself through the wooden frame, landing on the grass beyond. His head snapped up, with one hand yanking his hood back into place.
The pair were almost around the corner of the house, he saw wistfully.
Almost.
It was a pair of men, he saw, one a bit older than the other with streaks of salt at his temples. Daniel’s horrified eyes traced out the unmistakable imprint of a gun under the older man’s jacket.
The other intruder had no weapon—but when both turned, eyes wide at the sound, his hands came up to the ready.
Mage, Daniel’s mind shrieked. Run. Get away. Now.
Leon landed with a grunt. Before he could straighten or settle himself, Daniel latched onto his wrist again. “Come on!” he cried. There was no more secrecy to be had. Not when he could already hear the two men bellowing behind them. The jig was up, and it didn’t matter if he shrieked it to the world.
To his utter relief, Leon picked himself up faster than he would’ve expected. For a step or two, Daniel dragged him along—and then Leon was on his feet, bolting right alongside him.
“Stop!” he heard someone roar behind him. The second man—the older one, if he was placing it right. The one with the gun, his mind supplied. “Stop, kid, or I’ll-”
“No!” someone else cried. “Don’t! Let me-”
Daniel ran. Every step he took seemed slow, bogged down by the air that pressed in around him. It weighed at his legs, sucking the breath from his lungs until he panted for relief. When he glanced back, though, he could see figures behind them. Too many figures. They swarmed from the front of the house, joining the two men who’d caught them.
Run, damn it. They didn’t have far to go. They’d get to the car, and then- and then they’d figure something out. Somehow.
The ground rumbled under his feet.
Unable to stop himself, Daniel glanced down. He was sure—he’d felt it. He hadn’t made it up. It had felt like-
This time, the tremor wasn’t so gentle. The soil roared beneath them, as though it was right on the edge of tearing itself apart. His blood turned to ice in an instant.
He’d said it himself, hadn’t he? Each of the mages had...something. Something they were good at. Was this his first example of outside-world magic?
Daniel stared, caught in horrified fascination, as his foot sank straight into the soil. It writhed beneath him, seething like water, like a thing alive. And then it tightened, clamping down until-
Leon spun at his agonized cry. His lips fluttered, but he bit down on whatever he’d been about to cry out. He grabbed hold of Daniel instead, yanking hard even as the ground liquified beneath the both of them.
He couldn’t do it alone, Daniel realized. They’d both get stuck. Already, he could hear the stomp of people racing across the yard. They’d kill Leon—or hold him as leverage. They’d keep him, until they had what they wanted. Alexandria.
He wouldn’t let that happen.
His feet were trapped, but he still had his hands. Daniel grabbed for the gun hidden beneath his jacket, twisting back to face their opponents. A thousand days spent whiling away the quiet in an Alexandria-supplied range took over. His hands were steadier as he brought the pistol up, from muscle memory if not actual calm.
At the motion, several of the figures skidded to a stop, their eyes going wide. In the back, one turned and started to bolt toward the house again.
Daniel smiled grimly. They’d come after him, the Librarian—but they had so little resolve? His hand straightened, bringing the sights in line on-
On the man out front. The younger fellow from the house, the one who’d happened across them. He wasn’t running, unlike his friends. Even if his expression was set, though, there was a terror in his eyes that couldn’t be wiped away by practice or training. His
