Chapter Eighteen
Skylar
I paced back and forth, peeking out the widow far too often. It was nearing sunrise. Xander had been gone for hours. Every time I heard a noise, I held my breath and waited for the door to open. It always turned out to be one of the mages or David or Elias.
“You know, worrying about him isn’t going to change anything,” David said.
“How would you feel if this were reversed? If it were me in there? Would you be as callous then?” I asked.
“Of course not,” David said. “I’d have already asked the mages for help to get me in through a back door.”
“Madison said the back doors were heavily guarded,” I said.
“Not that kind of back door.” His brow furrowed. “I thought you were a bounty hunter?”
“I am. Well, I was,” I clarified. “I’m not in the guild anymore. In fact, I’m probably still on their wanted list.”
“You sure don’t know as much as you should,” he said.
“That’s not helpful, David,” I said.
“You, mage twin,” David called to Kate.
“I have a name,” she said.
“I’m sure it’s lovely but as we don’t intend to see one another after this joint venture, I didn’t bother to learn it,” he said.
She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. “What do you want, demon?”
“Back doors. You know how to make them, I assume?” he asked.
“Sure,” she said. “Every mage knows that. At least in theory. Most can’t pull it off precisely.”
“I’m guessing your lot can,” he said.
She shrugged. “Naturally.”
“So why haven’t we discussed that as an option for getting into the palace?” David asked.
“We don’t have enough information. We could open a door to anything. It could be game over,” she said.
“Wait, what are you talking about?” I asked.
“Back doors,” Kate said. “It’s a way of using magic to create a portal of sorts. Only it’s not as complex because you’re finding openings in our world that already exist. Fissures that allow magic to pass though. Excellent for getting places faster if you know where the openings are. Dangerous if you guess,” she said.
“Wait, these are all over our world? Just doorways anywhere? Everywhere?” I felt a little nauseous. Did that mean a mage could just walk into any place they wanted? How had I not known this?
“Like I said, they have to be mapped out and tracked. So most are well known and marked. New ones are created from time to time.” Kate didn’t seem to notice how surprised I was. She explained it as if it was the most natural thing in the word.
“But you can create a new one?” I asked.
“We can, but it’s risky,” she said.
“Can’t be any more risky than charging in headfirst to a vampire nest,” I said.
“Oh no, I know where this is going.” She stood, rising from her place on the couch. “I am not going to chance this. It’s suicide.”
“We’re already talking suicide if we try to break in,” David pointed out.