Dreamwalker (Stormwalker #5) - Allyson James Page 0,57
would become the lobby. Crumbled brick and plaster lay everywhere, boards were strewn across the floor, and a few beams sagged from the ceiling. The staircase was a set of crumbling cement risers in the corner, which led to a wooden gallery half falling from the second floor. One post held up the balcony precariously from the first floor, but the rest of it sagged.
“Third floor,” I said, pointing. “The door at the end of the gallery opens to stairs that lead to it.”
Mick took in the mess, resigned. Of course it would be on the top floor, reached only via the unstable balcony.
He started up the stairs without a word. Mick paused after a couple of steps to trace a sigil on the wall, whispering a few words. The sigil glowed before vanishing, sinking protective magic into the building.
As I passed, I touched the rune he’d drawn, feeling the familiar tingle of his magic. My heart warmed. I added a spark to the ward myself and continued up the stairs.
Mick stopped every few steps and repeated the marking, putting his protection into the walls, which I then added to. The magic he was using was nowhere near his dragon power, but even so, the bite of it was intense.
“Where is the magic coming from?” I asked him hesitantly. “I thought …”
Mick reached the top of the stairs and swung around, sparks in his eyes. “I was born of earth magic, dragon long before I was ever man. Even if a spell took me away from the dragon, the earth magic is still in me. It can’t ever not be a part of me.” His eyes glittered, sharp with anger. “The same with you. It’s forever ingrained.” Mick turned away and gave a shrug. “Besides,” he rumbled. “I learn things.”
I turned to Drake, my throat tight, as Mick made his careful way along the gallery. Drake was incongruous in Mick’s clothes—jeans and black T-shirt. I thought he looked better in the informalwear, but by Drake’s dark stare, I knew he wouldn’t agree with me.
“What happened with Bancroft?” I asked him, to distract myself from the hollowness in my heart. “You survived, obviously.”
“I drove him off.” Drake looked unhappy. “Bancroft was injured and withdrew from battle. Needless to say, I am out of a job. I turned on my master, and that is unforgivable.”
I let my anger grow. “You turned on your master to save a friend.”
“That does not signify. Loyalty is prized above all else. I violated that rule.”
“He violated my rules of killing people I love,” I said hotly. “Besides, none of this might have happened in the reality we’re trying to get back to. You’ll return to your job as usual.”
Drake lifted his shoulders in a smooth, dragonlike shrug. “No, I will not. I thought Bancroft and Aine wrong tonight and even cruel. I might have to withdraw my services when we return.”
“Quit, you mean? You can do that?”
“I was never compelled to work for Bancroft.” Drake looked annoyed. “I applied for the job and took it of my own free will. Bancroft has had my full loyalty for many years. But now … I will have to think.”
“Can I point out that none of this is real? When I woke up last time, it was as though nothing in my dream had happened. I forgot the details pretty quickly.”
“Who can say what is real?” Drake asked, sounding mournful. “Bancroft and Aine behaved true to their natures. I have looked the other way at their high-handedness for a long time, because it was my job to do so. But I will have to think on whether I can remain with them or not.”
I left Drake to wrestle with his conscience and followed Mick around the gallery to the next set of stairs. I stepped lightly, making sure he’d finished walking across the boards before I attempted them myself.
The door to the next flight of stairs was locked, but Mick easily kicked it open. Wooden steps ran upward, Mick testing every one with his weight as he went. Graffiti marred the walls of the stairwell, kids having used the abandoned building to meet and party.
At the top of the stairs, another door opened to a set of rooms that took up half the space as the floor below it. A door on the opposite side of the largest room led to a flat roof, where Mick and I liked to sit of nights and gaze at the stars.