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Will he even be able to get inside with the protection rune guarding the place?
I watch as he takes another step back and this time he kicks the door, solidly planting his foot against it, but it doesn’t budge. Again, he curses, and runs his fingers through his hair.
“Go help him,” Devyn urges in a whisper. “I’ll be fine for a few minutes, I’m sure.”
My eyes bounce back and forth between the two of them. “It doesn’t matter how hard we hit that door. The rune isn’t going to let us in.”
“Maybe,” she argues, a furrow of worry forming between her pale brows. “The rune is meant to keep out enemies, which you’re not. It doesn’t hurt to try.”
I’m tempted to argue so we can abandon this vain attempt to break in and leave before something nasty shows up, but I know she’s right. If we don’t possess any bad intentions toward whoever resides beyond the rune, perhaps it won’t work on us. If we only want to help, maybe the magic will somehow realize that and let us in.
And then I feel silly for considering magic to be a sentient being that can mindread.
“Alright, fine,” I grumble. I glance around once more to make sure the coast is clear before turning and heading to help Elio. Devyn will be okay for a few seconds while I try to help him kick in the door. I don’t plan to try more than once anyway.
“What are you–” Elio starts, but I cut him off.
“On three.” I jerk my head toward the door. “But if it doesn’t work, we leave. Fair?”
He nods. “Right. We can come up with another plan outside the city. I’m getting uneasy with how long we’ve been here already.”
We position ourselves in front of the door, and I silently plead for the magic to fail. If something happened to Ignatius, if he’s hurt–or worse–inside, we need to get in. If he’s not here, maybe he’ll have left some hint to where he was headed when he left.Doubtful. But a weight in my stomach tells me the answers we need are waiting for us just beyond this door.
“One…” Elio counts us down, and I ready myself to kick. “Two. Three.”
We move in unison, rushing toward the door and kicking it at the same time. I fully expect it to hold against the force, but it swings in abruptly and we crash through the doorway together.
ChapterSix
DEVYN
When Azarius and Elio land on top of one another, I can’t help but snort a laugh before quickly composing myself. I rush from the middle of the street to Ignatius’ doorstep as Azarius shoves Elio off of him and clamors to his feet.
“Personal space. I don’t like youthatmuch,” he groans and dusts himself off.
Elio scowls, but says nothing as he gets up. He’s too busy taking in the living room scene to argue with Azarius, and I have to squeeze my way past them to see what he’s staring at.
When I see it, my stomach hits the floor.
“What the fuck happened here?” Az whispers, stepping further into the room.
“A struggle,” Elio answers. “Definitely a struggle.”
If we thought the outside of the house was in bad shape, it pales in comparison to the inside. The shelves on the far wall, topped with all of Ignatius’ possessions, have been ripped down. Warlock paraphernalia litters the floor from containers to crystals, with sand and spilled ingredients crushed into the carpet. The sofas have been sliced open, leaving stuffing protruding from gaping holes.
A hitch forms in my chest at the horror, and I call out into the silence. “Ignatius! Are you here?”
Not to my surprise, there is no answer.
Elio crosses the room to peer down the hall, and the way he shakes his head tells me that the rest of the place didn’t fare much better. Whoever broke in was on a mission. Was it to capture Ignatius or kill him? Were they looking for something?Did they succeed?
“I’ll be right back,” Elio says before disappearing down the hall and checking the other rooms for any sign of the warlock. The grim expression on his face when he returns gives me my answer.
“This isn’t good,” Azarius says. He nudges a broken container with the tip of his shoe and it glitters in the light spilling in from the open door.
“No. This is bad.” Elio snaps his gaze in our direction. “This is really fucking bad.”
I can’t seem to take a full breath without my chest aching, and I can’t stop staring around the room, soaking everything in. This will surely haunt my dreams later when I’m finally able to fall asleep.
