Page 13 of Wicked Enemy

“Incoming!”

Dropping the letter mid-sentence, I whipped around and sprinted out of my study and across the hallway. Anna, who usually worked as one of my runners but now functioned as a lookout, waved for me to hurry from where she stood next to my bedroom window.

“There,” she said as I skidded to a halt next to her.

Squinting, I looked towards where she was pointing.

At the end of the street, two people were sneaking closer to my Court. While studying their faces, I brushed my palms together and sent my magic flowing into the outer wall next to me.

I had no idea who the slim man on the left was, but the athletic woman on the right I recognized as one of Connor Bale’s top people. I was pretty sure that her name was Kamala.

Irritation rippled through me. So, the House of Lightning had at last decided to try their luck.

It had been a week since I slaughtered Aaron’s people when the House of Onyx tried to attack. I had hoped that the other Houses would wait a little longer before making a move. Though I supposed that I should be grateful that Connor had only sent two scouts and not his entire army.

“What would you like us to do, sir?” Shinji asked from behind me.

I hadn’t even heard him follow me into the room. While keeping my eyes on the two scouts creeping closer, I replied, “Nothing. There are only two of them. I’ll handle it.”

Gray light from the overcast sky painted the street in gloomy colors, but Kamala and her companion were still clearly visible. When I built my headquarters here, I had made sure that the only way to reach the front doors was by walking down a street with no hiding places. If someone tried to attack, I would always see them coming.

Anna cast worried glances between me and the approaching dark mages when I just allowed them to sneak right up to the building, but she wisely said nothing. Since I had already sent my magic into the wall, my attack was already prepared. Now, all I needed to do was to wait for them to reach the perfect spot.

Once they were halfway between the doors and the edge of the building, I struck.

Metal spikes shot out of the wall.

Kamala reacted immediately. While jumping backwards and to the side, she slammed her palms together and yanked up a water shield in front of her. It pushed aside the spike enough that it only grazed her thigh.

Her companion wasn’t as lucky.

Shock pulsed across his features as a thick metal spike speared through his chest. He coughed once, spraying blood into the air before him. Then his head slumped forward.

I retracted the spike, letting it return to the wall. The man’s limp body toppled to the ground. There was now a large hole where his heart should have been.

“Shit,” Kamala swore so loudly that I could hear it through the window.

Just to make sure that she really took the hint, I sent another wave of spikes shooting out of the wall. She leaped backwards again while raising another shield. Then she spared only one more look at her friend before she sprinted back down the street.

“That should buy us another few days,” I muttered to myself while releasing the grip on my magic. Turning to Anna, I added, “Keep watching the street. Let me know if someone else approaches.”

She nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“Shinji.” I jerked my chin while starting towards the door. “With me.”

He followed me across the corridor and back to my study where we had been planning our next move when Anna sounded the alarm.

Oil lamps burned brightly in the ceiling, illuminating the otherwise darkened room and making the gold veins in the black walls and floor and ceiling glimmer. I passed by the bookshelves and set course straight for the map replica of Malgrave in the center of the room. The letter I had been reading when Anna called was now lying draped across the miniature Bridge of Life. I picked it up and finished scanning the page while Shinji took up position opposite me.

“It’s time,” I said as I finished reading. Setting down the letter on the side of the map, I met Shinji’s gaze. “Ben is finally ready. The jailbreak happens tomorrow.”

Shinji dipped his chin in acknowledgement.

“You’re clear on what to do?”

“Yes, sir.”

“It needs to be big enough to draw out most of the white boots.”