Myrin smiled a bloody smile. “That’s right. Containment. A gift from my dearly departed brother. You thought you could beat me? Oh, Sam. Finally, you have underestimated me. And it will be the last thing you ever do.”
“Sweet molasses,” I managed to say. “Hey, Ryan?”
“Yeah?” he said, eyes only on Myrin.
“Now might be a good time to run.”
“What?”
“Run.”
And I grabbed his arm as Myrin’s hands moved in a complicated motion, and I pulled Ryan away, away, away. He squawked angrily, both of us sliding on the ash beneath our feet. We managed to stay upright, and as I ran, my grip on Ryan’s arm tightening, I glanced over my shoulder in time to see Myrin detonate, that pulse of infected magic overflowing, cracking the road beneath his feet.
The chase was on.
Chapter 19: Home Again
IT WAS about that time—when we were running for our lives, a crazy douchebag supervillain essentially flying after us, his magic warped and so fucking angry—that I realized we were screwed.
So naturally, I felt the need to share this with my beloved.
“We’re gonna die!” I screamed at him.
“What?” he shouted back.
“We’re going to get so murdered!”
“Fuck that,” he snarled at me. “I already died once today. I’m not going to do it again.”
“Now is probably a really bad time to tell you that you need to watch your fucking mouth, but seriously. Ryan. Watch your fucking mouth. You’re a godsdamned knight who—oh my gods, duck!”
And we did, just in time to have a freaking carriage hurled over our heads and smash into a storefront, glass shattering, wood breaking, the awning collapsing to the ground.
“Okay, so he might be a little pissed!”
“Oh really? You think?”
“Don’t get snarky with me, Foxheart. I just gave you life.”
“After you took it—here, this way!”
I almost lost my footing as he pulled me down a narrow alley. There was a great crash behind us, and I looked back in time to see the building on the opposite side of the street collapse.
“Now would be a good time to do something magical,” Ryan snapped at me. “Can’t you suck us through a hole like Randall does?”
“Oh my gods, phrasing. Why would you say it like that? And you know I can’t do that like he can. Way to make me feel inadequate!”
We burst out of the other side of the alley, the sky above us darkening as black clouds appeared out of nowhere. Thunder rumbled overhead as the streets dimmed. The wind was picking up like a great storm was brewing.
We could hear the City of Lockes being torn apart behind us, but we didn’t stop to see what was happening. Ryan looked left, then right, then left before we started running again.
“You need to do something,” he called over his shoulder as the air filled with the scent of a heavy rain.
“Um, hello. Did I or did I not just bring you back to life? You know what happens when I use a shit-ton o
f magic. I don’t have enough strength to face him right now.”
“I thought you were—I’m not talking about taking him head-on, Sam! We need to get out of here.”