Page 119 of Twist of Fate

The buyer didn’t retreat. He raised one hand with no more urgency than he’d shown while adjusting his cuff. The intruder struck an invisible barrier and rebounded into the wall hard enough to crack the surface.

Luke’s assessment shifted. The buyer didn’t merely know magic existed. He commanded enough of it to stop an attacker without taking a single step.

The other intruder attacked from the opposite side. The air warped between them, a visible distortion slamming into the buyer’s barrier. This time, the buyer braced. The impact drove him back half a step, the first visible crack in his composure.

The office shuddered around them.

Whatever arrangement Hale had made, these intruders were not part of it. Two magical forces had converged on the same exchange, and Luke had no idea what either one intended—or what would happen if one of them gained control.

He grabbed Hale’s arm and hauled him upright. “Move.”

“What—”

“Now.”

Luke dragged him toward the far wall while the buyer held off another attack. The barrier flashed under the impact, sending a wave of pressure through the room. Papers flew off of Hale’s desk and fractured glass skittered across the floor.

Luke reached the panel for the private elevator and struck the control.

Nothing happened.

“Open it.”

Hale stared past him at the fight.

Luke tightened his grip. “If we stay in this room, we’re dead. Open it.”

Another impact drove a crack through the wall beside them.

Hale slapped his palm against the scanner. The panel flashed green, and a section of the wall slid aside to reveal the elevator. Luke shoved Hale inside and followed. The buyer’s barrier flared once more as the masked intruders closed around him.

Then the elevator doors shut, cutting off the fight.

“Call Patrick,” Luke ordered. “Tell him to pull the fire alarm and evacuate the building.”

Hale stared at him.

“Now.”

Hale pulled out his phone and made the call. “Patrick, pull the fire alarm. Get everyone out of the building.”

Whatever Patrick said in response made Hale’s mouth tighten.

“I don’t care about protocol. Evacuate everyone.”

Hale ended the call as the first alarm began to shriek beyond the elevator doors.

Good. At least Patrick had listened.

The elevator descended, carrying them farther from the fight. Luke turned toward Hale. There was no reason to maintain the pretense between them now.

“What did you build?”

Hale dragged a hand down his face. “They weren’t supposed to be here.”

“That isn’t what I asked.”

Hale shook his head as if he could still avoid the answer.