Sorceress, Interrupted - By A. J. Menden Page 0,60
asked quietly. “Who says?”
Whatever his response was going to be, it was drowned out by the voice suddenly screaming in my head: Fantazia, I need your help!
I groaned, futilely throwing my hands over my ears. “Jesus, London!”
Cyrus eyed me. “This is an interesting way of distracting me.”
I gave him a dark look, wincing. “No, someone is telepathically screaming in my ear!”
“Uh-huh. Sure. That’s what they all say.”
I ignored him and concentrated on London. What’s wrong? What do you need help with?
Coming for me . . . Hacker’s coming for me. He knows I know. Please find me. She faded out.
“London? London!” I called, also trying to reach her telepathically.
“What was that all about?” Cyrus asked.
“London, one of the people who hangs out at Memory Plague. You know her, I’m sure.”
He shook his head. “Name doesn’t ring a bell.”
“Woman that dresses like a Victorian Gothic undead?”
“Oh, her.” He nodded. “What did she want?”
“Says the Hacker is after her because he knows she knows—who he is, what his big scheme is . . . I don’t know, she didn’t say. But she wants me to come to her.”
Cyrus looked doubtful. “Let me get this straight. Just a little bit ago you went to another magic-user’s house, at his request, because he knew who was behind these attacks and was afraid of that person coming after them.”
I nodded.
“When you get there he’s dead, and you get jumped by Dragon cultists.”
“Basically, yes.”
“Now you’re getting another call from another magic-user who wants you to come find her because she knows who’s behind the attacks and is afraid that person’s coming after her?”
I nodded again.
“So . . . you know it’s a trap, right?”
“Oh, definitely.” I rubbed my hands together. “And I can’t let a good trap go to waste.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“It’s possible they’re trying to lure you in to drain you,” Mindy said. I’d gone to let her know what I was planning, and to make sure Emily got the protection she needed. She was trying to get me to wait until the others came back.
I nodded. “It’s possible.”
“It’s possible they want to kill you like your friend.”
I laughed. “They’re welcome to try. We all know how hard that is to accomplish.”
Cyrus frowned and said, “You’re not taking this seriously, Fantazia.”
“I am,” I replied. “I’m just ready to go and get this over with and not sit here and obsessively plan it.”
Cyrus and Mindy exchanged looks of exasperation. Emily just furrowed her brow and frowned at me.
“Fay go bye-bye?”
“Yep, gotta go help someone—like your mommy and daddy do on a regular basis.”
“Unlike your mommy and daddy, Fay’s rushing in without thinking,” Cyrus said to the little girl. He turned to me and said, “If you’re knowingly walking into a trap, you’ve got to plan ahead.”
“Like you planned ahead for your various schemes?”
Cyrus threw up his hands. “And look where it got me! Jail time, for starters.”
“Look, I have to go,” I said. “I’m not scared of the Dragon or his little groupies. People like that want you to fear them; they get off on it. I’m not going to give them what they want. I’m going to help London. If it’s a trap—and it most likely is—then I’m going to fight my way out. I may win, I may lose, but I don’t have time to wait around for backup.”
“Take Cyrus,” Mindy said. “You can’t knowingly walk into a trap without any help. That’s, like, self-defense 101.”
“Too bad I’m not a hero and didn’t go to school for it like the rest of you people,” I retorted. “If Cyrus goes with me, I might not find London. What if they’re using her as bait for me alone? Think of the information I might miss. Or, what if they attack and Cyrus is caught in the crossfire?”
“You’re concerned for my well-being?” Cyrus asked. I detected a hint of hope in his voice amid the incredulity.
I ignored him and continued. “There’s also the vague possibility that this isn’t a trap. What if London really does need my help because someone’s coming after her, but she won’t tell me what it is if I show up with Cyrus? Again, no information for us.”
“Uh, just ask Cyrus to go and wait outside.”
“Seriously?” Cyrus said. He looked annoyed.
“You could always take one of my transporters,” Mindy mused. “Then you can transport out if things get hairy, or maybe have Cyrus transport in if you need him.”
“I can do the same thing with a teleportation spell,” I pointed out. “Of course, if