The glowing patterns snapped together in my head. Alessandro was trapped in the center, able to use his magic, but cut off from the rest of the room and the building by the power of the circle. He couldn’t manifest any weapons because his magic didn’t work past the arcane boundary. Benedict, on the other hand, was free to use his magic, and the circle allowed him to attack at will. The lines would channel his power and unleash it on whoever was trapped in the center.
It was eerily similar to the trap I had created in my bedroom, but my trap was designed to contain and inflict mental pressure. This circle was designed to contain and amplify Benedict’s power. Old blood smears and scratch marks scarred the wooden floor under Alessandro’s feet. The kind of scratch marks human nails made.
This was Benedict’s fun room. He brought women here and tortured them in that circle. This was what Alessandro had saved me from with that shot shattering the elephant. The teleport spell had been less than thirty feet away from that window. I had crossed the rug that covered it to talk to Benedict.
Benedict must have tried it with Alessandro, but Alessandro’s magic worked within the small space allowed to him. He would have nullified Benedict’s attack. The moment Benedict left the smaller circle, the power of the bigger one would dissipate, and Alessandro would be free. They had trapped each other.
Benedict’s suit coat lay discarded on the floor. His tie was missing, his shirt open at the collar. Sweat drenched his face, darkening his hairline. They must have been at this for hours.
All I had to do was knock Benedict out of his point of power. There were forty feet between us.
“Get out,” Alessandro snapped, his voice harsh.
“Let me guess,” I said to Benedict. “You were packing, getting ready to disappear, and then, poof, Alessandro lands in your trap, and a terrified teleport mage appears in the room. You had no time to do anything except step into the circle to activate it and contain Alessandro before he killed you. Did you murder the teleport mage?”
“Catalina, run!”
Benedict smiled. It looked a bit deranged. “Unlike our friend, I’m genuinely happy you’re here.”
He would try to force me to walk to him. The magic of my body could power the circle even if I was unconscious. If he managed to knock me out, he could drop me into the circle under his feet and walk away, while Alessandro remained trapped. He must have tried it with the teleport mage, but she died before he could get his hands on her.
I had to let Benedict think he was winning. If he thought I retained my will, he would kill me.
“Come here,” Benedict ordered.
“Walk away,” Alessandro called out. “His magic is line-of-sight only.”
The dark cloud erupted out of Benedict. I snapped my wings up, shielding my mind. The ghostly serpents struck. Fangs tore into my feathers, ripping lesions in my defenses. I let them slither in. Panic burst in my mind, a gaping, bottomless hole filled with darkness and fear. I collapsed into it, curling into a ball to keep from unraveling.
The void melted away. I blinked my eyes open. The boundary of the circle shone only inches away. I had collapsed on the floor in a fetal ball.
“Dear God,” Benedict squeezed out.
He shook in the circle, his face slack with euphoria.
“You taste like nothing else,” he whispered. “Come here.”
I leaned on my hands, drawing a tiny line with my chalk from the boundary out, and struggled to my feet. He didn’t notice. He was too focused on getting another hit.
“No.” I turned.
The serpents struck again. Pain ripped through me. Before it dragged me down, I let my magic wind about them. They took it back to Benedict, carrying my power in their phantom mouths.
Darkness melted away. Benedict moaned.
“It hurts . . .” I murmured. I was out of breath. My mind burned, writhing from hundreds of needles stabbing it. I drew another line.
“Come here. Come to me and it won’t hurt anymore.” His voice was almost tender.
In the circle Alessandro was screaming.
I needed one more. I almost had him. I turned, trying to crawl away.
The serpent swarm engulfed me. This time I couldn’t escape into the darkness. They wrapped around me, biting, striking, pulling me to Benedict, as my power wound around their bodies. It hurt. It hurt worse than anything I’d ever felt. The agony pierced