20
Maggie could onlyduck and run for cover as the chaos ensued.
Gunfire. The sound of hundreds of people descending into a panic. Screams and shouting. The sound of stones crumbling.
And the inaudible, yet ear-piercing sound of a lich’s screech.
She heard glass shattering nearby as she ran as fast as she could through the throngs of people pushing in all directions. Someone grabbed her arm, and for a brief moment she panicked, before she saw who it was. Harry. He pulled her along as fast as he could, shoving people out of the way when he needed to. She forgot how strong he was. When they reached an alleyway, he made sure she went in first before following her.
Pressing her back against the building, she dared to look out into the huge park that sat out in front of the Hagia Sophia on one end and the Blue Mosque on the other. It was surrounded on all sides by other beautiful buildings that sadly she didn’t know much about. It had been amazing to see such an old and ancient place, and she had to keep reminding herself that they were there on a job, not sightseeing.
And now it seemed like any chance of being able to wander the streets and get a tour from Gideon of his old home was out of the question.
Seeing as the lich was currently in the process of trashing the place. Gunfire rang out, along with the roar of—wait. “Is that fire?” She pointed. “Does somebody have a goddamn flame thrower?”
“Pretty sure they can use magic, too, Mags.” Harry kept his hand around her upper arm as he watched the alley for signs of trouble. The occasional tourist managed to make it through and ran past them.
“They can shoot fire?” She laughed. Her laugh turned into a cackle of excitement as she watched lightning arc through the air. “Holy shit! That’s awesome! I wanna shoot lightning. Think I can get Gideon to teach me how to—”
“Not the time, Mags.”
Shadows snapped through the lines of trees, visible over the fleeing crowds. She heard the snapping of timber, and with another ear-piercing screech, more glass shattered nearby. “Fine, fine.”
She winced as she watched the dark shadow of Gideon get hurled through the air, smashing into a nearby building. He blew a hole straight through the wall, rocks showering around him. She was pretty sure that was an art museum. “Oooh, shit. That looks expensive to fix.”
“We should go.”
“I’d be more worried if I thought they could hurt him. But he can’t die, remember?”
“He can’t. You can.” He tugged on her arm. “Come on.”
“But, I mean, a lich is trashing Sultan Ahmet Park. How many times do you get to see—”
Three men in black charged into the alley. Judging by the white squares at their collars and the guns they were carrying, it was pretty obvious who they were with.
Well, two guys had guns. The third had a sword. And it was on fire. “Whoooaaa.” She pointed at the guy in the lead with the flaming sword. “That’s awesome! Did you do that, or did they give it to you in priest sch—”
“Not now, Mags!” Harry shouted as he yanked her nearly off her feet, dragging her down the alley in a full-on run.
She tried not to laugh as the men shouted at them to stop. She really did. But things became less funny as a bullet embedded itself into the old stone wall beside her, taking a chunk out of the rock and sending bits of gravel into her face.
There was another loud shriek from overhead. But this time, it wasn’t the cry of a lich. It was the cry of a vulture. She glanced back to see Eurydice dive out of the sky, all black feathers, bone, and rage.
The bird landed on the face of the man with the sword, and judging by the man’s panicked and pained screaming, was tearing him to shreds.
More gunfire. But this time not directed at them. She wanted to see the vulture at work, but Harry kept yanking her along. “Don’t make me throw you over my shoulder, Mags. I’ll do it.”
“Okay! Okay.” She took his hand in lieu of his grip around her upper arm and let him lead as they ran through the city. She wasn’t sure where they were going, or how far they had made it. But they ran for as long as her body could keep up. Eventually, she had to stop to lean against the wall, panting and gasping. “Not”—she wheezed—“a revenant. Gotta breathe.”
The sounds of the chaos were far away now, mixed with the screaming sirens of probably every kind of response vehicle Istanbul owned. But Harry was still on high alert, keeping an eye out for danger.
The air in the city was hot and thick, and she felt more than a little sick to her stomach. Cardio isn’t my thing.Cardio in a hot city in the summer is really, really not my thing. She sat on an old wood shipping box against the wall down the new alley they had picked to hide in and struggled to fill her lungs.
But slowly, little bit by little bit, she could breathe again. The world looked considerably less fuzzy. “Shit. I almost passed out.”
“Glad you didn’t. Easier to run if you’re on two feet.”
“Look at you, being all serious business mode.” She leaned her elbows on her knees and really wished they were hiding somewhere with air conditioning. She was sweaty now, her hoodie feeling pretty gross. Somewhere along the way, in the blur of running for her life, she had scraped up her arm pretty badly. There was a huge rip in the fabric and an abrasion on her forearm. It was bleeding, but it wasn’t a threat. It just stung like a bitch, and there were little pieces of rock and dirt stuck to the road-burn-looking injury. “Ow.”