Eyes Like Autumn (Seasons of the Magi Book 1) by C. E. DeRosier

Author:C. E. DeRosier [DeRosier, C. E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-03-24T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

As sure as I was that the jewel was exactly the object I needed, I was equally as sure Sue shouldn’t follow me into the room.

“Stay here,” I told her, and, considering she didn’t want to be left out of my breaking-and-entering experience, I added, “I need you to keep an eye out for Johannes in here in case he manages to slip past Atohi outside.”

She frowned into the room, but nodded. “Good luck, girly.”

The wooden stairs groaned as I descended them. This basement seemed disjointed from the rest of the house; nothing down here was nearly as picturesque as the classic contemporary furniture, the marble counters, the smooth cherry oak of Johannes’s coffee table. It smelled heavily of earth.

I nearly ran face-first into a chain hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the room. When I tugged it, a dim bulb flickered on, only emanating enough light to reveal the floor and the walls were stone. It made the tiny room feel even more like a dungeon. It seemed somehow fitting that the item restraining Atohi would be in such a place.

But, this had to be a trap. The ease of it all had trap written all over it. And yet my fingers twitched with the urge to grab the shining jewel and run as fast as I could.

I finally gripped it, half anticipating a large stone would drop down and roll after me Indiana Jones-style. I was completely still for a moment, and that was when I heard it: a low rumble of a growl, just barely audible. A set of smoldering red eyes appeared in my peripheral vision, locked on to me. No, no, no. How was he here?

But the more I watched him out of the corner of my eye, the more I realized: this one seemed smaller. Magic, a swirl of blue, purple, and black, oozed from the little eye sockets before dissipating in the air just the same, but it definitely wasn’t Johannes.

I slowly turned, jewel in hand, purposefully not looking in the direction of the beast. I just needed to get back up the stairs. Praying to whatever higher power would listen, I made my way up the stairs, giving Sue a wide-eyed look of fright. Had the steps creaked this much on the way down? Every noise they made, I could just picture being the final straw for the creature before it pounced.

It made no move to attack, but I could feel its stare following my every move. When I got to the top step, I broke into a run, grabbing Suzanne's arm to pull her with me.

A black blur whizzed past us and disappeared around the corner. We skidded to a stop, startled by its sudden presence. I slipped the talisman into my jacket pocket, zipping it up to keep the stone in place.

“What is that?” Sue asked, pointing a shaking finger in the direction the creature had gone.

“It was in the basement. It has to be the same kind of Magus as Johannes.

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