The Tethering: The Complete Collection

23. MAGI

23

MAGI

Hours passed. MAGI agents were on their way. Aunt Iz had tried to skry Emilia, but there was no sign of her.

Aunt Iz tried calling and skrying Mr. Wayland again, but he didn’t answer. No one had heard from Dexter either.

A shadow of suspicion fell over the house. Council members were supposed to be reachable at all times, especially after such an explosive meeting.

As soon as the MAGI agents arrived, Aunt Iz pulled them into a side room. Jacob made no attempt to eavesdrop, but he was sure she was saying what no one else in the group dared. The Wayland family was missing. Either they had been kidn*pped as well, or they were somehow connected to Emilia being taken.

Finally, Aunt Iz brought the MAGI agents back into the dining room. There were two of them, a man and a woman. The woman, who didn’t appear to be much older than Jacob, was petite with a rosy face and blond hair. She didn’t seem authoritative or imposing at all. But the man looked like exactly what they needed. He was a very tall, dark-skinned man with huge muscles and a shaved head. He looked, frankly…terrifying.

Aunt Iz introduced the newcomers. “These are MAGI Agents Larkin Gardner and Jeremy Stone.”

“We’ve hacked into the New York Police Department’s traffic camera system,” MAGI Gardner said. “Unfortunately, the video doesn’t show her being pulled into the car. But based on timing and the description of the vehicle, we have narrowed down possible license plate numbers and are currently trying to find out if any of those vehicles have left the city. We are also checking the license plate numbers to see if any of the owners have magical connections. Does anyone have any other information?” She scanned each face in the room.

Jacob was about to say something about Dexter when Samuel caught his eye and gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head. The urge to scream that Dexter must be involved somehow boiled in Jacob, but he held his tongue. He wasn’t supposed to know what had happened in the Council meeting after his acquittal earlier that afternoon. And if Samuel thought he shouldn’t mention his suspicions, he would have to trust him.

It was a horrible night of waiting. Every hour seemed to last an eternity, and every passing second tightened the knot of fear in Jacob’s chest. He thought the night would never end. He would be trapped waiting for the rest of time.

As the sun began to rise, there had still been no news. Gardner and Stone had gone back to headquarters. MAGI Gardner said she needed some information from the Spellnet system. Jacob had a feeling she didn’t want to ask another agent to search the computers for whatever it was she needed.

Aunt Iz had installed the Council members into guest rooms. But she herself sat on the couch in the living room, staring into the fire. Samuel had left an hour ago with the usual lack of explanation as to where he was going.

Jacob paced in the dining room. He wanted to explode, to break everything in the house, to scream until his lungs ripped out of his body. But destroying the house would only distract the people who were trying to save Emilia. So he paced.

Where was Dexter? As much as he hated Dexter, Dexter did love Emilia. He must have gotten the message by now. Dexter was usually glued to his phone. But if he had gotten the message, why hadn’t he come?

There was only one explanation. Dexter must already know where Emilia was. Even if he hadn’t been the one who kidn*pped her, he must know who had. On the plus side, Dexter would never let any harm come to Emilia. Dexter might be a jerk, but he would protect her. But what Dexter thought best and what Emilia wanted were not necessarily the same thing.

It didn’t matter if Dexter loved her. There was no excuse for taking Emilia away from her family.

Sunlight filled the empty streets. New York City felt like a lie. This city did sleep. It was only he and Iz who didn’t.

Claire lay curled up like a kitten, her head on Connor’s lap, who was slumped and drooling against the arm of the couch. Neither of them had stirred when each of the three Council members were woken by urgent phone calls dragging them away to deal with crises in their own territories.

Ms. Olivia was the first. A fire on a preserve called her away. A human found dead, burned from the inside out, causing the police to ask unfortunate questions, woke the elderly gentleman less than an hour later. The redheaded woman had to leave when the water from the lake next to her home vanished.

All of them gave their apologies as they left, but there was nothing else to be done. Mayhem had broken out in every territory whose leader had sided with Iz at the Council meeting.

How long would it be before something happened in the Gray lands? Was taking Emilia Iz’s punishment for speaking out against the Dragons? Jacob wanted to ask Iz, but how could he explain his theory without telling her he and Emilia had heard everything said after he left the meeting? Was taking Emilia enough, or would the Dragons attack again?

Not that it mattered if the Dragons were planning some other horror. They couldn’t stop it, so they would just have to wait. Jacob stared out the window, watching the city come back to life.

He didn’t have to wait long for an answer. Molly hadn’t even managed to chivvy everyone to breakfast when the professor came stumbling out of his study, white as a sheet. He hung onto the living room doorframe for support. Molly rushed over to him, wrapping an arm around his waist to keep him from collapsing.

“I’ve just heard from Proteus,” the professor said. “There’s been an attack at the Graylock Preserve. A group of wizards, some with Dragon tattoos, attacked a hermit wizarding settlement. The hermits called the centaurs for help, but by the time they arrived, the settlement had been slaughtered. The centaurs were ambushed. Proteus and a few others managed to escape, but the rest…” The professor sagged farther into Molly’s arms.

“Has MAGI been notified?” Aunt Iz’s voice trembled.

Molly led the professor to a chair. “Proteus tried to skry, but all the mirrors showed an empty MAGI office. It looked like it had been ransacked.”

“Someone broke into MAGI?” Claire asked, looking around as though hoping someone would tell her it wasn’t true. “But it’s so well protected. If the MAGI are gone, who’s going to help the centaurs? Where’s Larkin? She can fix it.”

No one answered. No one wanted to tell Claire there was no other help. No one mentioned where Larkin might be.

“There’s more,” Professor Eames said. “The Dragons at the Graylock Preserve…Proteus thought he recognized their leader. It was Mr. Wayland.”

Jacob started shaking. The Council was in shambles. MAGI was gone. The Grays were alone. The people in this room were all they had left.

“We have to go,” Jacob said. “If Mr. Wayland is there, Emilia could be there, too. We have to go!”

“I’ll arrange transport and leave as soon as possible.” Samuel turned to leave the room.

“Me, too.” Jacob moved to follow Samuel. “I’m going, too.”

“Jacob.” Samuel shook his head and laid a hand on Jacob’s shoulder. “It’s too dangerous for you to go.” He stifled Jacob’s objection. “I’ll go, Jacob, and see if there is any sign of Emilia.”

“Samuel,” Aunt Iz said quietly. “It’s too dangerous to go alone.”

“I will go, Isadora,” the professor said as he struggled to push himself out of his chair.

“No, Joseph.” Iz shook her head.

“I’ll go with him,” Molly said.

Jacob had heard stories about Molly fighting before, but it was hard for him to picture.

“You need to stay with the children,” Iz said. “Someone needs to protect them, and I have to go to MAGI. We need to find out what has happened to them. And I need to find Larkin.”

“Then let me go!” Jacob marched over to Iz. “I’ll stay out of the way. I’ll be careful. But I can’t just sit here and wait when we might actually have a shot at rescuing Emilia. Please, Aunt Iz. I have to go.”

Iz looked deep into Jacob’s eyes. He stared back, hoping he could pass whatever test her mind was putting him through.

Seconds slid past. Iz broke eye contact and squared her shoulders. “Claire, hack the Spellnet system and crash it. If MAGI is out of commission, we can’t let the Dragons get ahold of that information. Connor, give her whatever assistance she needs. Molly, help the professor inform our friends of the situation. Be careful not to tell them anything that could endanger Emilia if she is being held at the Graylock Preserve. And try to find a reason the Dragons would choose Graylock to attack.

“Samuel, take Jacob. Try to locate Emilia. Do not attack the Dragons. Get in and out quickly. If you can rescue Emilia without a fight, do it. If not, come back here. I will try to find some trustworthy wizards who may be willing to help.” Aunt Iz took Jacob’s hands. “Do exactly as Samuel tells you. Stay hidden. You are only going as the lookout, nothing more. I know you want to bring Emilia home, but think of what she would want. She would never forgive herself if anything happened to you. And neither would I.”

Jacob wanted to say he would be careful, but he couldn’t form the words. Without meeting her eyes, he squeezed her hands and walked away.

The family separated, each of them going to their appointed tasks. Jacob barely had time to change out of his theatre clothes before Samuel had a car waiting for them outside. The driver whisked them away to a tall building at the very tip of Manhattan. They went up an elevator that made Jacob’s ears pop and out onto the roof where a helicopter waited for them.

Jacob didn’t know how Samuel had arranged it so quickly, but at this point those types of questions seemed irrelevant. The air from the helicopter’s whirling blades beat them back as though it were a living creature determined to keep them from sheltering themselves within its bowels. Samuel put his hand on the back of Jacob’s head, forcing him to double over. He didn’t let the pressure off until Jacob was safely inside. Even after Samuel had slid the door shut behind him, Jacob could still feel the noise of the churning air vibrating in his chest.

The pilot never spoke. He sat stonily silent until they were ready to take off. Did he know he was flying two wizards to rescue a witch who was being held on land that had been taken in a b****y battle between wizards and centaurs?

Without a word, they flew over the New York skyline as it glistened in the early morning light. The helicopter ride would have been terrifying even if Jacob weren’t going into a deadly situation trying to figure out if the girl he loved was still alive. And despite what Aunt Iz wanted, he had no intention of leaving without Emilia.