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“You’re thinking it was a distraction to get to Kate?” Isaac asked.
Kate jerked her gaze to Isaac. “But I don’t have the sword. Jack does.”
“Not right now, you don’t. But it doesn’t mean you won’t soon. Plus, Maverick might not know that,” Ben said. “Unfortunately, Sam had a lot of opportunity to study Maverick…” Ben’s voice cracked and his eyes became glassy with moisture.
Sam leaned into her dad, wrapping an arm around his waist and giving him a quick hug. “It’s okay, Dad,” Sam whispered, but it was loud enough for Kate to hear, and probably Isaac too.
“We can’t underestimate Maverick,” Sam said after she turned to face Isaac and Kate. “I don’t believe he had a conscious even before he consumed what was in the box. He was an extreme narcissist, believing he could have whatever he wanted, and nothing should stand in his way. So, my guess is whether or not he thinks you have the sword, he knows you have the ability to forge it into something else, so he’ll come for you.”
Ben nodded at his daughter. “I believe Sam is right,” Ben said, his eyes now clear and focused. “Once the council members and those working with us have secured the other buildings, we’ll come up with a plan.”
“That won’t be necessary, Ben,” a deep, Darth Vader-like voice said from behind them.
All four of them spun to see Maverick’s feet touch down on the floor after his voice reached them.
Kate hadn’t seen Maverick, real name Forest Sharpe, since she was little, but her gut was telling her the man in front of her was him. He’d been a council leader with her father. Maverick didn’t look much different than she expected, just older. If she’d met him on the street, she would think he was someone’s nice old grandfather. But looks could be deceiving.
Damon had told her that Maverick and his cohorts were responsible for her father’s death. They had also been responsible for stealing children and faking their deaths. Kate briefly struggled with reconciling knowing what she did and seeing the ordinary-looking older man in front of her. But evil and hatred could come in all forms. She had learned that the hard way.
“Your protection spells are amusing, but not even worth the magic it took to cast them.” He walked closer, a smile on his face like he was greeting old friends. “How are you feeling Ben? Recovered from your little incident in Mexico? I see you’ve gotten acquainted with your daughter again after you abandoned her for more than twenty years.”
Kate could hear the taunts in Maverick’s voice. When Ben took a step forward she sucked in her breath, fearing what was to come.
She pulled in energy around her and pushed magic into her fingertips, unsure what to do but wanting to be ready.
Maverick lifted his chain, his gaze locking on hers. “Oh, Kate. You’re so cute, thinking that charging your measly magic will help you. If I want something, I’ll take it. Right, Ben?” he jeered.
As Kate watched, her magic still tingling and ready in her fingers, something happened to Maverick’s face. His cheek pushed out on one side as if someone had pinched the skin and pulled. Just as quickly, the bulge disappeared, and one appeared in his neck before it too vanished.
“What do you want, Maverick?” Ben asked. “Or maybe you’re here to brag. You always were an arrogant asshole. I see nothing has changed.”
“And you always were a self-righteous bastard, Ben.” Maverick smiled, his teeth looking Hollywood-white. “And as for what I want?” He grinned wider. “I’m here to have some fun.” Maverick raised his hand above his head, snapped his fingers, and the entire building rocked.
* * *
When Maverick raised his arm above his head, Isaac knew something bad was about to happen. Even before Maverick snapped his fingers.
Isaac reached for Kate, tugging her against him as the snap of Maverick’s fingers reverberated through Ink Magic with the sound of a million fingers snapping at once. The building shook, and Isaac took Kate to the ground with him, shielding her body with his. The action was becoming all too familiar and he feared that eventually it wouldn’t be enough to protect her.
When something hit him in the back, he erected a magic bubble around them. It wouldn’t be enough to save them if the building came down, but it would protect them against falling debris.
“How’s that for fun, Ben?” Maverick asked, his voice carrying over the sounds of shouts and banging coming from the other buildings.
Isaac shifted off Kate and disintegrated the bubble. “You okay?” he whispered.
When she nodded, he helped her stand and saw that Sam and Ben seemed to be okay as well.
“Not my kind of fun,” Ben told Maverick. “Just tell us what the fuck you want, Maverick, and then you can go on your merry way.”
Maverick’s face contorted; a portion of his cheek bulged out, and then another. “Stop!” he shouted, frantically looking around the room. “Shut the fuck up!”
A new sense of dread settled over Isaac. None of them had spoken a word. Something was happening to the man, and it didn’t look like Maverick was in control of himself.
As if pulled by a string, Maverick jerked his face forward to face them. Then his gaze locked on Ben. “Kate has become a pain in my ass. Just like her father!”
Kate gasped from beside him, and he moved closer to her.
“You remember, Curtis, don’t you, Ben?” Maverick continued, but his jovial demeanor was now nowhere to be seen. “Curtis thought he could stop my plans to control all magics. He believed he was better than me right until his dying breath.”
