Fearless Magic (18 page)

“I'm doing this alone,” I repeated confidently, staring Jericho in the eyes, until I couldn't stand the intensity of his hazel-eyed, silent accusations.

“No, you're not,” he countered.

I walked passed him, finding the kitchen and the refrigerator. The last three hours were intense. Although we made it to the Chunnel safely and were under the impression that we were not followed, we couldn't be positive. The three of us had spent the entire two and a half hour ride in silent pensiveness and now that we were on the other side of the English Channel, fears and jitters heightened.

Paris had felt very much like enemy territory. The City of Lights was the home of the Cartiers, the Grand Duke and Duchess of Canesburry, the king's sister, the next heir to the throne should the Crowned Prince meet an untimely death.
And
Sebastian
get his stolen magic back. Paris was there home, and definitely enemy territory.

But London?

London was the lair of the best. And I didn't just want to infiltrate that den of iniquity, I intended to cut the beast's head off and hold it up high for the entire kingdom to witness. Or at least figuratively, that's what I wanted to do.

I searched the small refrigerator for something to drink and when I realized there was nothing but water, I gave in and grabbed two, ice cold bottles. I tossed one to Sebastian, giving into my guilty conscience for just a moment.

“This is not up for discussion,” I declared, gasping for breath and wiping the corners of my mouth with my sleeve, after taking the lid off the bottle and drinking its entire contents in seconds. “I've thought about it. The mission is risky enough, but besides that, I'm the only one that can shut off the magic. I'm the only one they won't feel coming.”

“We can figure that out, that's just a detail,” Jericho argued, not at all convinced by my reasoning.

“It's just a detail, but a big detail, and after what happened in Paris, security will be heightened. It's just too much of a hassle. I'll just go in really quick, finish the job, and be out in no time,” I reasoned, lightly. I had already made up my mind; Jericho was not going to dissuade me.

“No, absolutely not, it's out of the question,” Jericho, turned around, running his hands through his hair and sighing exasperatedly.

“You can argue with me, but we all know that it's the only way into the palace. The Titans are going to sense any out of place magic. Sebastian, tell them I'm right.” I turned towards Sebastian who found the closest chair to the door and slumped down into it, his head in his hands, staring at the floor. I wasn't even sure if he was still awake.

“Come on, E, nothing he says will make any difference,” Titus laughed. “But, Jericho, she has a point. If I or you or even Gabriel tries to get in there, they will feel it. They will know something's wrong. But she just might be able to get all the way inside without setting off any alarms.
If
she can get all the way in without blowing something up. Can you, Eden? Can you suppress it that long without exploding something the minute your magic turns back on?” Titus turned to me when Jericho ignored him.

“Yes, of course I can,” I panicked inwardly though, deciding I'd better practice before I followed through with my plan. Amory's magic was so strong, so consuming that I wasn't sure if I had the willpower to suppress it. Or like Titus said, make it all the way inside without blowing something up. “I'll practice though, just to be sure.”

“Good idea,” Titus agreed. “Hey, remember when you used to break stuff all the time? Before you knew about being an Immortal and all that?”

“Uh, yeah, I remember,” I mumbled, rolling my eyes at the memory, and then cringing because I suddenly hated the idea that people were watching me during those trying times.

“That was the best surveillance,” Titus joked, his blue eyes twinkling with the mischief.

“For you maybe,” I couldn't help but laugh too.

“Jericho, I think Eden is right,” Gabriel offered his opinion for the first time. “Two of us could be close, just in case anything were to go wrong, but with only one person on the palace grounds, it will be easier for her to move around undetected. If she can really suppress her magic, like she claims, than it is our only option if we want to get all the way to the prince,” he finished thoughtfully.

“She is right,” Sebastian lifted his head, eying me seriously. “The grounds are a full five acres before you even reach the palace, there is no way you could all make it all that way undetected. You're only option is Eden.”

“Of course, it is.” Jericho turned around slowly to face me again and I saw the concern in his eyes, his face wrinkled with worry, my heart sunk. “Our only option is always Eden.”

“I'll be Ok, I promise,” I walked over to Jericho, unable to bear the distance. “And I'll be fast, I'll be in and out before you can miss me.”

“If only that were true,” Jericho sighed.

“This is the way we're doing it, Jericho; I need you on board. I need your support.” I reached out for his hand, and he gave it to me easily.

“You have my support; you'll always have my support. I don't like this, but of course, you are right and so go alone, I guess. Go do your super-hero thing....” Jericho smiled sadly down at me, and his expression was so caring, so filled with longing that I almost gave into him even though he wasn't fighting me.

“Ok, good.” I cleared my throat, tearing my eyes away from Jericho's and stabilizing my resolve.

“Sebastian, rumor has it that underground tunnels lead to a pool house. Are they true?” Jericho turned from me, asking our prisoner for directions to kill his cousin with the first hint of respect I had heard in his voice.

“Yes, they're true, and they do lead to the pool house on the north side of the property. Kiran and I used to play in them when we were younger, so unless something drastic happened in the last five years then they should still be open. I can draw you a map of the grounds, Eden. Once you're on the greens, you'll still have to get inside the house, and to Kiran's room,” Sebastian explained quietly.

“I should be clear right now, Eden,” Jericho interrupted, “I know that we use the word, 'palace,' but really it's an extremely large house in the countryside just outside of London. It's not like what you saw in India. It just happens to be one of the larger, nicer estates in the country.”

“Ah, ok.” I had to mentally adjust my thinking. I pictured a medieval stone castle, dark and gloomy with lots of secret passageways and echoing hallways that would be easy to hide in. I pictured Romania. Now, I would be breaking into a house, with narrow hallways and smaller spaces. “So are there security cameras?”

“Of course,” Sebastian snapped and then shook his head as if to come back to himself, “I apologize, there will be security cameras, but the palace is not a fortress, it is not like Romania. Give me some paper, I'll draw you a map.”

Silence prevailed for a few minutes while the rest of us searched the apartment casually, looking for a paper and pen. Gabriel found what we needed in a desk in the sitting room and brought it over to Sebastian who immediately began drawing a rough sketch of the grounds.

“Here is where the tunnel will come out.” he drew a building labeled pool house and a treed area with an arrow pointing outwards from it toward a large box labeled main house. His sketch was basic and crude, but obvious enough so that I could understand the lay of the land.

A large main house sat in the middle of ten acres of land. Five different swimming pools dotted the property, but only the largest pool had a house connected to it. From Sebastian's drawing I could tell a thick wooded area and a tall, secured, stone wall surrounded the entire property.

“It might be easier,” Sebastian continued, “if you could get to Kiran's room from the outside, instead of breaking into the house.” He sat back on his chair, biting his thumbnail; the simple gesture reminded me of Avalon, sending an agonizing chill down my back.

“Where is his room?” I asked, wishing I hadn't missed the P.E. rock climbing trip so I could do my Eternal Walk in India, after all.

Sebastian pointed to a box on the south side of the house with a large balcony drawn around it. He explained that it might be possible to scale the outside of the house using the vined lattice that adorned the backside of the mansion. I could climb the lattice and shimmy my way over the balcony, quietly take out Talbott, or whoever was in there with him, finish the job, and leave the same way; no one would know the difference.

The plan actually sounded like it could work.

“It sounds way too easy,” I mumbled, finding my own thumbnail to chew on.

“I was thinking the same thing,” Gabriel offered, less than comforting.

“Sebastian, if this is some sort of trick, I swear to God, I will kill you myself,” Jericho growled, from behind me. He ran his fingers through his hair and then started pacing the length of the kitchen nervously.

“Well, obviously, the Guard doesn't anticipate someone without magic wanting to break into the palace and that is why it will be easy. If Eden, can turn off her magic then she can move around the grounds undetected, theoretically, anyway. That's why it sounds easy, this is not a trick,” he insisted sadly, slumping down further in his chair, his sunken eyes turning black with misery.

“My magic will not be a problem,” I promised everyone in the room, including myself. “Are you sure he will be in this room, though?” I asked, pointing to the rough map on the arm of Sebastian's chair.

“That is his room, but whether his is there for sure, I cannot say.” Sebastian looked up at me, with desperation. He was giving me directions to murder his cousin, his best friend, and his crowned prince and I almost broke for him. Kiran was my enemy, and Sebastian too, for that matter, but I couldn't separate my compassion for a human life from my desire for revenge.

“How many Guards will be there with him?” I asked, trying to put together as much intel about this mission as I could.

“The grounds will be covered with Guard, and the house as well, but as far as in his room, last time I visited there, it was just Kiran and one other Guard, usually Talbott. There will be a nurse as well, but as far as magical ability, she won't be anything you need to worry about.” Sebastian looked to the side, towards a window on the far side of the apartment. My eyes followed his and I stared out at the busy London street, wishing I was meeting all of these beautiful cities under completely different circumstances.

“Will Lucan be there?” I asked. My fears subsided at the mention of his name and the angry vengeance that swallowed my soul, swelled inside of me, reminding me of my purpose.

“No, he is in....” Sebastian cleared his throat nervously, “Romania.”

“Of course,” I whispered, almost going blind with rage at the idea he was with my brother. I knew that Lucan was torturing and assaulting Avalon daily, but those were the kind of facts that would always claw at my heart and make panic and hysteria nag at my neck.

“I don't like this,” Jericho interrupted loudly. “Something just doesn't feel right.”

“Do we have another choice?” I turned to him, asking genuinely. “Is there another option? Another way to get to him? Is there another alternative besides killing him?” I asked, looking to each man in the room individually, but I was met with silence, even from Jericho. “Seriously, if there is another way I am wide open to suggestions, but we all know that there isn't. We all know, that this is our only option and our only opportunity.”

I looked at Jericho, hoping that above everyone else, I had convinced him. He looked back at me, pain etched in his hazel eyes. I wanted to say more, to comfort him, to promise that I would be all right, but I couldn't find the right words, or the false hope that even I didn't believe in. He stared at me a moment longer and then left the room, mumbling something about needing a shower.

“Man, there is nothing to eat here!” Titus exclaimed, breaking the tension in the room.

“Are you hungry, Eden?” Gabriel asked, his voice and thick accent soothing against my frayed nerves.

“Actually, yes, I am,” I lied, deciding I needed to have as much energy for tonight as possible.

“Titus, do you know a good place to get some food to bring back?” Gabriel asked, his fingers never leaving his rosary, and Titus nodded, lighting up at the mere mention of sustenance. “All right, then, let's go get some. Will you be Ok, Eden?”

“Yes, of course, that's a great idea,” I assured them.

“We'll be back in a few minutes. If you try anything, if you even look at her wrong, I will break your scrawny, mortal arm off, got it?” Titus threatened Sebastian on his way out the door.

Sebastian rolled his eyes, but shook his head yes anyway. After the door closed behind Gabriel and Titus, I walked to a couch across from Sebastian's chair and sat down, silently suppressing my magic, making sure it would disappear without complication.

“How is it that it comes so naturally to you and I feel like the definition of death?” Sebastian asked almost playfully.

“What comes naturally? My Magic? How can you even tell?” Amory's magic did not give me the fight that I thought it would. I could easily turn it off, but turning it back on was a different story. The strong magical forces came back more aggressively than I expected. I could handle the jolt of electricity now because there were only seconds between the magic turning off and turning on, but I was nervous for later tonight when there would be an hour or more of buildup.