Chapter 94 Magic and Escape
TOM
The paralysis spell is strong. Human magic woven tight. Professor Fell's good at this.
But I'm better.
Fae magic doesn't work like human magic. Humans force energy. Fae redirect it. Use the spell's own power against itself.
I cut through the purple web. Fae-blessed dagger slicing magical threads. Each cut sends backlash through my body. Pain like lightning. But the spell breaks.
Callum gasps. Freed from paralysis. Drops to his knees.
"Get them out!" I point at the others. "I'll handle Fell."
Callum drags Valentina toward the exit. She's still partially frozen. He carries her.
Danny, Marcus, and James are recovering. The spell's breaking but slowly.
Fell is on his feet. Furious. Bleeding from where the explosion hit him.
"You." He glares at me. "Fae-touched mongrel. You ruined everything."
"Good." I advance. Dagger ready. "I'm really good at ruining things."
Fell starts chanting. New spell. This one's different. Darker. The air gets heavy.
I recognize it. Death curse. Human necromancy. He's trying to kill me directly.
I counter with fae binding. Old magic. Older than his Order. Older than London itself.
Our spells collide. Purple and silver light mixing. The magical backlash explodes outward. Windows shatter. Walls crack.
Fell staggers back. Blood pouring from his ears. Nose. Eyes.
"You can't win," he gasps. "Human magic has thousands of years of development."
"Fae magic has millions." I press the attack. My dagger cutting through his defenses. "We were doing this before your species could speak."
Another spell clash. This one knocks us both down.
I'm bleeding from everywhere. Nose, ears, eyes. Magic overuse is killing me. I can feel it.
But Fell's worse. He's on his knees. Trying to crawl away.
"The Order will hunt you," he manages. "All of you. The hybrid children. The research. You can't stop it."
"We'll see." I raise the dagger. About to finish him.
"Tom! We need to go!" Callum's at the exit. Supporting Valentina. "Building's coming down!"
The magical backlash destabilized the structure. Ceiling cracking. Walls buckling.
I look at Fell. Bleeding. Broken. No longer a threat.
"Run to your Order," I tell him. "Tell them we're coming for the children."
I leave him there. Sprint for the exit.
The building groans. Stone falling. Dust everywhere.
I hit the exit running. Daylight hits me. Fresh air.
Behind me, the blood club collapses. Entire front section caving in. Fell's still inside somewhere.
Maybe dead. Maybe alive. Don't care.
Our vehicles are waiting. Isla's got the medical station set up in one van. Already treating Danny's shoulder wound.
"Everyone here?" Callum does headcount.
"Marcus, James, Danny, Valentina, Tom." He counts again. "We're missing Sarah, Lisa, and Kevin."
"They didn't make it out," Danny says quietly. "Kevin took a shot to the head. Lisa and Sarah were caught in the collapse."
Three dead. Out of seven who went in.
The math is brutal. Nearly fifty percent casualties.
"Get in!" Isla shouts. "We need to move before backup arrives!"
We pile into vehicles. I'm in the back of Isla's van. She's checking my injuries.
"You're bleeding internally," she says. "Magic overuse. How bad is it?"
"Bad." I can taste copper. "But I'll live. Probably."
"Probably isn't good enough."
"It's all I've got."
Valentina sits across from me. She's weak. Silver exposure from the cell. Dehydration. Psychological trauma.
But alive.
"Thank you," she says to me. "For countering the spell."
"Thank Callum. He's the one who organized this suicide mission." I lean back. Everything hurts. "I just provided the magical support."
"Three people died for me."
"Three people died fighting tyranny," Callum corrects. He's in the driver's seat. "Don't make it about you specifically. They died because they chose to fight."
"Does that make it better?"
"No. But it makes it meaningful."
We drive in silence. Through London's morning streets. Away from the collapsed blood club. Away from Mordaunt's territory.
Toward the Rookeries. Toward whatever safety we can find.
Isla works on my injuries. Stops the bleeding where she can. Gives me something for the pain.
"You need rest," she says. "No magic for at least a week. Your body's wrecked."
"We don't have a week. Parliament's going to respond."
"Let them respond. You're in no condition to fight."
She's right. The magic battle with Fell destroyed me. I can barely move without agony shooting through my body.
But we got Valentina out. Three deaths for one rescue.
Worth it?
I don't know.
Callum seems to think so. He's driving with grim determination. Getting us home.
Valentina looks at him. "You shouldn't have come."
"I couldn't not come."
"It was stupid. Reckless. You could have died."
"I nearly did." He glances at her in the mirror. "But you're worth it."
The way he says it. The look they exchange. There's something there. Unspoken but real.
I close my eyes. Let the painkillers work. Try to rest.
Behind us, sirens. Mordaunt's reinforcements arriving at the collapsed blood club.
Too late. We're gone.
We made it.
Barely.