Daniel squirmed, biting his lip. A patio. Just like Olivia had said, at least.
But all that meant was that she’d been here, his mind screamed. She might have set foot in the place—that didn’t make her an ally. No way in hell.
He’d do this on his own. Setting his jaw, he tucked his chin to his chest and stepped forward into-
A branch cracked, snapping underfoot. Not his foot. Someone else was here.
Leon’s hand closed about his shoulder. In an instant, he’d yanked Daniel back, shoving him to the ground just as quickly. The branches swallowed them whole.
“Quiet,” Leon whispered in his ear.
As much as he appreciated the warning, Daniel very much did not need it. He was already watching, wide-eyed, as a figure stepped around the back corner of the building.
It was a man, one Daniel had never seen before. And...A shiver ran down his spine. He had to assume the man was here with Indira, but he didn’t look anything like the overly-academic Booklenders. He was wearing a jacket, but even past that, Daniel could see the muscles rippling across his shoulders and arms. And even if he didn’t have it in hand, the imprint of a pistol in his pocket was too recognizable for Daniel to mistake.
Leon pressed against his side. Daniel didn’t say a word—he only leaned back, taking solace in the knowledge that at least he wasn’t here alone.
He’d planned on mages. He hadn’t planned on mages with guns. Maybe he should have, but...it’d seemed ridiculous. They never had guns in the stories.
And now here they were.
The man continued his walk, picking a lazy path around the edge of the patio. A cigarette hung from his lips, the tip glowing with a rosy light against the gloom. His eyes dragged across the neighborhood around them. The trees.
Daniel didn’t move. He didn’t breathe.
A heartbeat and forever later, the man’s eyes flicked away—and he kept walking, trudging around the other side of the apartment. Just like that, he was gone.
Leon sighed, the noise whisper-soft, but Daniel shifted, bringing himself up to the balls of his feet. Just like that, he felt Leon move alongside him. “W-Wait. What are you-”
“Come on,” Daniel whispered, offering a tiny smile to his friend. “Almost there.”
His hand met Leon’s—and closed around it.
He saw Leon’s eyes widen fractionally.
And then he squeezed back.
A warmth spread across Daniel’s thoughts, but the moment wouldn’t last. This was their chance.
Still gripping Leon’s hand, he surged out of the shadows, dragging him along.
The yard had seemed so small from inside the trees. Once they were out in the open, Daniel realized how horribly wrong that assumption had been. The yard was an open expanse, an eternity of bare grass and dirt between them and their target. He tried not to think about it, but it didn’t help.
His veins were full of adrenaline by the time he hurled himself between the two sheds, pulling Leon with him.
Only one target left. His eyes settled onto the storm door. There was no doubt in his mind that inside, they’d find more enemies. More people with magic and guns, here to cause harm.
Which meant he had a decision to make. He could go this alone. He could trust in his own training to protect everyone. Alexandria had been a place of learning, but learning took many forms—and he’d spent a long, long time inside her walls. It hadn’t just been books he’d studied.
Once they got through the door, they’d be in close quarters. He might be able to take advantage of that and get the jump on them. Maybe. But if he got it wrong…
He couldn’t afford to get it wrong.
Again, he chewed on his lip, still staring at the door. He had another option, his thoughts screamed. If he had someone on the inside, it would make things easier. It would take the uncertainty out of the matter, if only a little.
Assuming he could trust Olivia, that was.
“Hey,” he heard Leon murmur. “Daniel. What are we doing?”
What were they doing?
Olivia had had ulterior motives. There was no denying that. But...did that make her malicious?
His inner thoughts roared, screaming their displeasure at the line of thinking he was going down.
He didn’t trust her. At all. But...She’d wanted personal power. She’d been willing to use herself to get it. There was a long, long way between that and being okay with hunting people. Torturing them.
He’d trust Olivia that much. For now.
“I’m going to do it,” Daniel mumbled.
Leon’s head snapped around to face him. “W-What?”
Daniel twisted, straining his ears, but no footsteps approached. The guard was gone—for now. But probably not for forever. “I don’t- I don’t know another way,” he whispered. “To keep everyone safe.”
Leon stared at him, his blue eyes round. Slowly, he nodded, just once. “Okay.”
There was a plea buried under those words. Be careful.
Daniel didn’t need a reminder of that, either.
With hands that only shook a little, he raised his burner phone. That unregistered number was still there, waiting on top of the myriad attempts he’d made to reach James and Leon. It was too easy to pull it up, switching to texts.
And then the chat interface lay in front of him, and his fingers were moving across the keyboard.
Go.
His chest twinged as he hit the send button, and the message was off. There. It was done, and too late to take it back now.
With a final glance to Leon, he broke from their hiding place, accelerating toward the back door to the house.
Every step of the way, his senses screamed. He’d hear it at any minute, he knew—another set of footsteps. A voice, raised in alarm. Someone would spot them, and they’d have nowhere left to hide.
The only sound was the pounding of their own
