Legacy of the Necromancer [Legacy, BK1 - Completed]

Chapter 6:2

I stepped through the portal and on to the sand. The ocean's roar was deafening after the quiet evening in the grove. I moved away from the portal and crouched low in the underbrush of ferns and reeds that grew between the dead end road and the surf.

Liam stood off a little ways, looking disoriented. I grabbed his hand and pulled him down next to me. The last thing we needed was for someone to spot us before we even had a chance to get started.

The portal started closing, shrinking in on itself. At the last minute, Poe came flying through, circling in ever larger arcs.

"Okay, I didn't think that was actually possible." Avery took a deep breath, still looking wild. "What now?"

"Now," I said, "we go hunting. Can I see the letter again?"

She handed it to me as I dug out my phone and used the light from the screen to read the directions Avery's cousin listed in the letter. I glanced around in the darkness. The moon was already lower in the sky. We'd have to make this fast.

A large, fenced-in warehouse stood across the road. The metal siding tattooed in faded graffiti, and the windows were dark rows staring out at the sea. Poe had brought us almost exactly where we needed to be. I'd have to ask him how he'd managed that. I would have been too afraid of the Witches sensing the residual magic from the portal.

"Ok, seriously. What are we going to do now?" Liam asked.

I pointed at the warehouse. "We've got to get in there."

"Oh, well that's easy. Let's just walk in the front door." He gave me a dry look. "There are probably cameras everywhere. How are we going to manage that without getting caught?"

"Very carefully," I said absently, thinking as quickly as I could. "Do you remember that time in middle school? We were in the barn while you were practicing one of the script spells? Do you remember how you kept getting it wrong?"

"I don't see how that's relevant to the moment, Ezra."

"Think about it," I insisted. "Why did Dad come out and make you stop?"

He paused for a moment, but then answered, "Because it was messing with the electricity in the house. I kept blowing out the fuses." Liam turned back to the warehouse. "I don't know if I could replicate that. I can't even remember what I did wrong."

I adjusted my bag, stopping it from cutting into my neck. "You didn't ground it right and created a feedback loop."

Liam shared a look with Avery before she asked me, "How do you even remember that?"

"I was obsessed with Talent. You notice everything when you're obsessed." I glanced up, trying to find Poe against the inky black sky. "We should hurry, before we're seen. Can you do it?"

"I could try."

Liam's voice was uncharacteristically soft, and it didn't inspire the greatest confidence. I clamped a hand on his shoulder.

"Let's get closer before you do anything."

We crept through the tall grasses, to the road and the fence that lay just beyond. There was a gate where the road met the fence at the dead end, with a small, one-man guard house to go with it.

As quietly as we could, we moved keeping low. Liam was the first to reach the guard house. It was dark. He peered over the window ledge.

"It's empty," he whispered.

I moved past him and tried the door. It was unlocked, but the door itself stuck in the frame. I forced it as gently as I could, cringing at each noise it made as it came open.