Keys to the Repository Read online

  “Nice move with the stasis,” Jack said, turning to Schuyler.

  “Any time,” she smiled. She had taken the edges of the spell that had recently paralyzed her and hit the Venator with it.

  Jack took it from there, and with a powerful gesture, he threw the fat guard far off the side of the cliff, sending him crashing to the rocks below.

  “You got the tank?” he asked, as they scrambled down the cliffside to the pirate boat waiting for them below.

  “Of course.” She nodded. They had planned their escape well: Jack had driven the yacht’s anchor impossibly deep into the rocky ocean bottom, while Schuyler had emptied the yacht’s fuel supply while she was belowdecks. The night before, they had sabotaged the boat’s sails and the radio.

  They ran across the beach toward the pirate boat, where their new friend Ghedi was waiting for them. Schuyler had met him during one of their trips to the St.Tropez market, where the former member of the self-styled “Somali Marines” was helping unload a pallet of fresh fish upon the dock. Ghedi missed his days of adventure and jumped at the chance to help the two trapped Americans.

  “All yours, bossing,” Ghedi smiled, showing a row of gleaming white teeth. He leaped off the starboard side. He would catch a ride back to the market on the ferry.

  “Thanks, man,” Jack said, taking the wheel. “Check your accounts tomorrow.”

  The Somali grinned more widely, and Schuyler knew the fun of stealing the boat was almost payment enough.

  The massive engine roared to life as they sped away from the shore. Schuyler glanced to where the two Venators were floating, lifeless, in the water. She comforted herself with the knowledge that both would survive; they were ancient creatures, and no cliffside fall could truly harm them. Only their egos would be bruised. Still, they wouldn’t be able to recover for a while, and by then she and Jack would be well on their way.

  She exhaled. Finally. On to Florence, to begin the search for the keepers and secure the Gate before the Silver Bloods found it. They were back on track.

  “All right?” Jack asked, guiding the ship with expert ease through the stormy waves. He reached for her hand and squeezed it tightly.

  She held it against her cheek, loving the feel of his rough calluses against her skin. They had done it. They were together. Safe. Free. Then she froze. “Jack, behind us.”

  “I know. I hear the engines,” he said, without even bothering to look over his shoulder.

  Schuyler stared at the horizon, where three dark shapes had appeared. Their forms grew larger and larger as the crafts drew closer. Apparently Iggy and Drago hadn’t been their only jailers.

  Escape was going to be harder than they thought.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Many thanks and love to the people who helped bring this book to the world, especially my husband and collaborator, Mike Johnston; my editors, Jennifer Besser and Christian Trimmer, and the rest of the superfabulous team at Hyper-ion; my agent, Richard Abate; Kathryn Williams, for her helpful research. Thank you to the DLC, Green, Johnston, Torre, Ong, and Gaisano families. Thank you to my readers. Love to all!