“For the common good!”
“For the Circle’s good. I’m not so sure that has much to do with what’s good for everybody else. Not anymore.”
“What did she do to you?” Liam asked, his voice soft with amazement. “You almost died defending the Circle on more than one occasion!”
“It was a different organization then.”
“Nothing has changed! I know Marsden has been stirring up trouble, but—”
A spell came out of the night and dropped Liam to his knees. I looked around, confused, because Pritkin hadn’t cast it. A tall African-American mage stepped forward as Liam toppled over. He had a buzz cut and enough muscles to give Marco a run for his money. “We don’t have time for this,” he said harshly, and waved a hand at me.
My power suddenly came rushing back, a steady hum running under my skin, through my bones, singing in my cells, ready, ready, ready. I pulled it around me like a familiar coat as the mage glowered at me. “Caleb, meet Cassie,” Pritkin said dryly.
The mage didn’t look to be in the mood for pleasantries. “We have no way to get them out, assuming there is anyone alive down there. But you do,” he told me.
It had the flavor of a command more than a request, especially in his deep baritone. But at the moment, I wasn’t feeling picky. I didn’t really believe anyone had survived that, wards or no. But I had to know for sure. “I can take only two people with me,” I said.
“Me and Pritkin,” Caleb said, extending his hand. I eyed it unhappily. I’d already taken one mage’s hand tonight, and look where that had got me.
Pritkin didn’t say anything, letting me make the decision for once. Only there wasn’t much of one to make. Whatever my feelings toward the Circle, right now, I needed the help. I took his hand. “Where to?” I asked Pritkin.
“How strong is your ward?”
“I think the ley line blew it out. Why?”
“That creates a problem,” he said, glancing at the other mage.
“Don’t look at me,” Caleb said grimly. “The line all but fried me before I could get out of there, and what was left I expended shielding us from the debris. I’m done.” There was a general round of agreement from the watchers. It looked like nobody had shields worth a damn.
“What difference does it make?” I demanded. The idea that there might actually be survivors had lodged in my head and was beating a frantic tattoo against my skull. I felt almost dizzy at the rapid shift of emotions—from disbelief to rage to numb horror to barely acknowledged hope—all in the space of maybe half an hour.
“We can’t risk shifting in there without a ward,” Pritkin said flatly. “MAGIC’s shields may have held, but if not, we could find ourselves inside a landslide—”
“Then I’ll shift us back out!”
“—or solid rock.”
“We have to risk it!” Pritkin was usually the one pulling the
crazy stunts. This was no time for him to learn caution.
“We can’t.” It sounded final.
“Watch me,” I told him seriously.
“There is a difference between courage and foolhardiness! Dying yourself will not help—”
“And neither will standing here! Rafe deserves better than that from me. He’d give me better than that!”
Caleb looked confused. “Rafe?”
“Vampire,” Pritkin said shortly.
“You’d risk your life for one of those things?” Caleb asked me, incredulous.
“Yeah. Too bad you don’t have friends like that. But if they’re all war mages, I can’t say I’m surprised,” I snapped.
“Miss Palmer.” That was Pritkin, and since he was back to formal mode, I assumed he wasn’t happy. Unfortunately for him, neither was I.