Bridge of Glass (Arcane History Book 4) by Scott Thrower

Author:Scott Thrower [Thrower, Scott]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Periodically Productions
Published: 2020-12-15T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

Panicked faces turned to me from all around the room, except for little Mary, completely unaware of the danger as she patted at Suarez’s invisible cheeks.

“Go out the back,” I said. “Whatever it is, I’ll try to slow it down. If you catch sight of something, don’t look away from it—not even for a second. They’re not after humans and they probably don’t think you’re a risk, so don’t draw attention.”

The professor shook his head. “They’ll notice Mary.”

Suarez passed child to her father. “Don’t be insane, Charlie. We can’t all just file out the back. They could be there as well. And without you finishing the satchel, they’ll probably sense Benedict before we hop a fence.”

“How did they follow us?” Pestle asked.

“I don’t know.” I knew the locked door would be no defense at all. I turned to look back outside, hoping to see what we were up again, praying it wasn’t the full collection.

“Charlie,” Suarez said, putting a hand on my shoulder, “get to work on the satchel. If it works, it’ll give us more options.” He started pulling off clothes as Mrs. Mindle averted her eyes and Irene stared. “Henry, are you still handy with a sword?”

“Of course.” Henry limped over to the umbrella stand and shook his cane free. The blade shone just as bright as the day I inscribed it, not a nick on the edge despite being carried into more than one fight.

“You’re forgetting they can see you,” Pestle said to the kid, shaking his head.

Suarez removed his trousers. “They can,” he replied, “but at least I won’t be shocking the locals.”

“Suarez,” I started, “it’s not just the fae people forget. It’s the entire moment they’re in. The moving of a chair, an opening door, the scream of a baby. Henry’s not going—”

An invisible hand grabbed my chin. “You’re going to have to trust me to do things at some point. I’m not a pet, and I’m not your apprentice. Now fix that satchel.”

And then the front door was unlatched. Henry pulled the door shut behind them. Pestle locked it again as I went back into the lounge.

“Professor,” I said, settling down on the dusty rug, “keep an eye out at the window. Once you see something, remember not to look away.”

He nodded hurriedly, passing Mary to Irene and pushing back the heavy velvet curtains. The maid was so spooked she nearly dropped the girl, but then she sat on the sofa and wrapped her bony arms around her instead.

I started forming the necessary incantation in my head. The words, as with the rest of ritual magic, were there to focus the caster’s mind. A truly advanced brain, a god’s perhaps, didn’t need all the bells and whistles to control magic, but mere mortals needed all the help they could get. I’d managed a few feats myself without symbols and ritual to guide me, even without the boost of Benedict’s pure power, but it was an exhausting process and too easy to derail. It was best left to simple effects, not something as complicated as the bag.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.